Learning

Dover Activities HS UN Night — Activities

A vital part of student life and learning, our multifaceted Activities programme provides students with opportunities to explore new interests, develop their strengths and pursue their passions.

They can do this through existing activities, or by finding students and staff who will join them in starting a new one as they make like-minded friends and interact with students from other grades and parts of the school.

Open to all students, the programme is divided into Arts and Performance, Create and Innovate, Home Languages Programme, Learn and Lead, Mind Matters, Representative Sports, and Wellness for Life. Founded on the notion of breadth of opportunity, our intentionally diverse programme provides students with opportunities to develop and to enjoy success beyond the classroom.

Activities invigorate the life of the College by bringing students together for creative, athletic, leadership and other endeavours. They are a vital part of student life and learning.

Activities in action

Activities programme

The Activities programme encourages self-discovery and empowers students to take appropriate risks while exploring their capabilities. They also build leadership and social skills and an understanding of group dynamics. Most importantly, they experience both success and failure and learn the value of commitment.

Students sign up for each of the four Activities seasons each school year via our online system, which allocates students based on their preferences. Parents are able to view their child's activity commitments, together with their academic timetable, via our website portal. Students who usually take the bus home are provided with an ‘activity bus’ after activities have concluded at no additional cost.

Categories of Activities

Dover Activities JS G2 Arts Festival Show — Arts and Performance
Activities that promote visual, auditory and movement expression. Originality, collaboration and perseverance are important skills.

**Examples of Arts and Performance activities include:** Ballet, Choir, Creative Drama, Dance Productions, Drama Productions, Music Ensembles, Jazz Band, Hip Hop, Orchestra and many more.

Dover Activities JS Whole School UWC Day — Create and Innovate
These activities encourage students to unleash curiosity, generating new possibilities and alternative ideas. Students are encouraged to be original and adaptable and to improvise, whether working with engines, food or robotics.

**Examples of Create and Innovate activities include:** Art Studio, Animation, Coding, Chinese Calligraphy, Drawing, F1 Racing, Masterchef, Silk Painting, Stem, Urban Gardening and many more.

Dover Activities MS Break Chess Game Library — Mind Matters
These activities require students to inquire, question, make connections and extend their understanding. Mind Matters
focuses on problem solving, analysis and evaluation in a variety of different settings with age-appropriate support.

**Examples of Mind Matters activities include:** Board Games, Chess, Computer Programming, Competitive Maths Club, Mindful Colouring, Rubik’s Cube Club and many more.

Dover Activities MS Junior Chefs Activity — Wellness for Life
These activities will develop an understanding of the relationship between a healthy body and a healthy mind. The value of self discipline, awareness and confidence are important aspects of these activities as students pay attention to their bodies and minds and the connections between them.

**Examples of Wellness for Life Activities include:** Aerial, Boot Camp, Boxing, Community Programmes, Fencing, Karate, Multisport, Recreational Sports, Rock Climbing, Taekwondo, Ultimate Frisbee, Yoga and many more.

East MS Activities — Learn and Lead
Communicate and lead through collaboration in diverse settings. Students assume shared responsibility and resolve issues whilst working with others.

Flexibility, adaptability and cooperation are required to develop trust and influence as a leader.

**Examples of Learn and Lead Activities include:** Debating Club, Ifp, Law Society, Medical Society, Model United Nations, Student Council, Student Voices, Tedx and many more.

Dover East Basketball — Representative Sports
Representative sports promote confidence, resilience and determination throughout a wide variety of competitive sports on offer. Commitment, dedication and sportsmanship are essential components of sport.

**Examples of Representative Sports Activities include:** Badminton, Basketball, Cross Country, Cricket, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Netball, Rugby, Sailing, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Touch, Volleyball.

East International Mother Language Day — Home Languages
Designed to promote linguistic diversity and inclusion, the Home Languages Programme develops students’ proficiency in their home language through age appropriate literacy activities.

Students develop their writing and reading skills, as well as speaking and listening skills. They are taught in ability groups by qualified teachers who are native speakers. The Home Languages Programme section of this site provides more details.

**Examples of Home Languages offerings include:** Bahasa Indonesian, Bengali, Cantonese, Dutch, Filipino, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Urdu.

Primary School (K1–G1)

Infant School students have plenty of opportunities to explore their interests through the learning programme. There are myriad opportunities for them to try out new things, to build social skills and develop resilience and perseverance—all the skills and qualities that the Activities programme is designed to develop.

When the Infant School finishes at 2pm, we have a small number of after school activities open to students. These include both activities led by teachers and other ones led by specialist coaches, which charge a fee. The activities on offer vary depending on age, and all activities are aimed at supporting students in broadening their interests, building their social skills and developing their resilience and perseverance.

The Activities programme expands further when the students move into the Junior School in Grade 2, when the school day extends to a 3pm finish and enables students to join the more extensive programme offered at that time.

Primary School (G2–5)

The four ‘seasons’ each year allows students to try as many new activities as they would like throughout the school year. Myriad opportunities are offered in each category in each season, meaning that students are challenged to make decisions and to prioritise their interests, time and energy.

Teachers and parents work with students to make sure they are not over-extended and maintain a healthy balance. Students are encouraged to discuss their preferences in the Activity programme with their parents and to complete the request sign-up form together.

Activities take place during lunch or after school in fixed time slots, and students who usually take the bus home after school are provided with an ‘activity bus’ to take them home after activities have concluded.

Middle School (G6–8)

Through the Activities Programme, Middle School students are able to try a number of new activities in each of the four activity seasons, which is important in this crucial period of self exploration and personal growth. While many activities are offered as a single season sign-up, some ask students to commit to participation for at least two blocks (half the year), because of the project based nature of the activity. Many of these longer activities challenge students to build leadership and social skills and an understanding of group dynamics as they work together towards a common goal.

As students approach High School and are asked to make subject choices, the ability to experience a wide range of activities allows students to further explore topics or subject areas, in greater detail before committing to courses in the High School academic programme.

The different categories present myriad opportunities in each season, meaning that students are challenged to make decisions and to prioritise their interests, time and energy. Mentors work with students to make sure they are not over-extended and maintain a healthy balance.

High School (G9–12)

A wide range of activities is offered to High School students each week in four ‘activity seasons’ throughout the year, and all High School students are expected to participate, usually about three to four hours per week during lunchtime and after school. Many activities ask students for a six or 12 month commitment, and a few of these also request additional participation on weekends or during holidays.

A number of our activities are closely linked to the academic programme, particularly in the Arts and Performance category. There are numerous opportunities for students to extend their classroom learning in a professional-standard setting under the guidance of our experienced teachers and specialist educational support staff. However, our belief in the necessity of developing a balanced approach to life means that these activities are not limited to students who are taking the subjects in the academic programme.

For students in the IB Diploma, participation in the activity programme can, with prior agreement from their mentor, the CAS Coordinator and individual teacher-facilitators, potentially count towards some of the IB Core requirements in Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS). Student participation in CAS-linked activities is supported by an online system which assists students to structure their programme and reflect on outcomes as they record evidence of personal learning that is submitted to the IB for award of the Diploma.

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