Thursday, 2 April 2026 | N-182526

The Strength of the Stillness

There is nothing quite like the sound of the bell marking the start of a well-deserved break. During this time, our campus grows quiet as we join the nation in preparing for the vibrant celebration of the Khmer New Year. In that same spirit, we enter the expectant silence of Good Friday. We remember that the sacrifice of the Cross was not an end, but the necessary preparation for something glorious: the victory of the Resurrection.

Seasons of silence and stillness are purposeful pauses. These moments are never truly empty; they are the deep preparation for a greater, more joyous display yet to come. By withdrawing for a moment into the grace of the Cross, we prepare to rise for the finale of our year—renewed in spirit, sharpened in focus, and ready to finish with strength.

HIGHLIGHTS

A Reading Adventure!

What an adventure it has been! Our students wrapped up Book Week this morning with a spectacular parade of their favorite characters. A highlight of the week was our 'Campfire Story' session, where parent Becky McLaughin joined us by the bonfire to celebrate our students' achievements.

Just as reading opens new worlds, our students’ progress has been a journey of its own. You can see this reflected in the 'reading maps' displayed throughout our Primary classrooms, marking the many routes traveled and hours spent lost in a good book. We celebrate the record number of library checkouts this month!

Stay tuned—the winners of the 'Plant a Tree' challenge and the Pizza Party will be announced in the school assembly right after the break!

A fruitful season of High School Football

As Season 3 winds down, we are so proud of the incredible performance of our High School athletes. Their recent victories at the PPAC8 Interschool Sports Tournament:

🥇 A Girls: Season 3 Champions (Two rounds running!)

🥉 B Boys & B Girls: 3rd Place Finishers

🏅 A Boys: A strong 5th Place finish

HOPE was exceptionally well-represented on the field. Congratulations to all our athletes for their dedication and sportsmanship. Go Koupreys!

The last Model United Nations Conference of the year

Twenty-four students attended the recent Northbridge International School Model United Nations Conference last weekend marking the end of a busy season of conferences for our MUN Club. Middle school and high school students represented more than 20 countries through the different committees in this conference.

Thank you to Mrs Megan Holmes and Mr Wayne McMaster for the continuous support and preparation of our delegates as the MUN activities conclude this year.

ACADEMICS

Annual Fine Arts Exhibition and Musical Recitals

Right after the break, we invite our entire community to celebrate the creative achievements of our students! We will be hosting an exhibition in the Hall to showcase work that represents many months of learning, practice, and artistic mastery.

The Art Exhibition will be open to the HOPE Community on Thursday, April 23rd and Friday, April 24th. Our IGCSE and IB Art will be displayed in the Hall, and our Primary and Middle School work will be displayed in the Art room and C9 Area.

Please join us on the following days for our Music Recitals:

Thursday, April 23: Primary Recital | 2:45 – 4:00 pm
Friday, April 24: Secondary Recital | 4:00 – 5:00 pm

We look forward to seeing you there and celebrating our students' incredible talents!

Getting Ready for Swim Week

Our Primary students are diving into Swim Week from April 29 to May 5! This program is a part of the PE curriculum designed to help children feel comfortable in the water. Throughout the week, we will focus on developing life-saving water safety awareness, boosting individual confidence, and refining swimming techniques and strokes.

Permission to participate in Primary Swimming Week 2026

Primary parents should fill out the permission form before Sunday 19 April.

Program Details:

📍 Venue: Jasmine Aquatic Center
📅 Dates: Wed 29 April - Tue 5 May
🕒 Time: 8am -1:15pm daily

🎒 What to Bring: Swimwear, towel, water bottle, goggles (optional), change of clothes

Primary Report Changes

We are making some changes to how academic reporting is shared in the Primary School. This semester, you will begin to see more assessments and feedback released through SEQTA Engage.

Rather than waiting for end-of-semester reports, feedback will now be shared more regularly throughout the semester.

We believe this shift offers several important benefits:

Timeliness and Relevance: Feedback will be provided closer to when learning takes place, making it more meaningful and easier to act on. This supports both early intervention and the celebration of progress.
A Clearer Picture of Progress: Ongoing updates provide a more complete view of your child’s development across subjects, highlighting strengths as well as areas for growth over time.
Strengthened Home-School Partnership:Regular communication through SEQTA Engage supports more focused conversations at home, helping you align with classroom learning goals.
Less Pressure at the End of Semester: By spreading assessment and feedback across the semester, we reduce the reliance on a single summary report and provide a richer, more balanced picture of learning.

Academic reports will still be released at the end of the semester, although they will be less detailed and shorter than before.

You can find SEQTA Engage at engage.hope.edu.kh or install the app for android or iphone.

- Student Highlights -

Grace Park to the 14th Cambodia Korean Speech Contest

Grace (Eunbyeol) Park has secured her spot on the world stage after a standout performance at the 14th Cambodia Korean Speech Contest held at the Korean Embassy.

Grace won the Grand Prize in the overseas Korean category with her compelling speech, "In the Age of AI, What Must We Not Lose?". She rose to the top of a competitive field of 135 participants, proving her skills as one of the best speakers in the region.

As the local winner, Grace will now represent Cambodia at the 30th World Korean Speech Contest. The finals will take place on October 8 at the historic King Sejong’s Royal Tomb in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.

CAS Projects Spotlight!

Grace Suh and Lyseng Tan, Grade 11 students, developed a CAS Project for female students to be supported during their periods. This project aims to have menstruation products available in female bathrooms for emergencies. They also want to raise awareness of the body changes that are a normal and healthy part of development.

Eun Bi Shin and Lyseng Tan are also fundraising and raising awareness for another project in support of PPAWS Cambodia Animal Welfare Society. PPAWS is a veterinary clinic and animal shelter that works to reduce animal suffering, control overpopulation, and support communities in Cambodia. By raising 150+ USD, they will enable a fund for “Free Monday” — a program where PPAWS provides free surgeries for stray animals twice a month (10 surgeries each time).You will find them after the break selling some treats around the campus.

Submit your work to the HOPE Academic Journal

The HOPE Academic Journal is a student-driven publication that aims to feature relevant and outstanding academic works of Secondary Students every semester. The HOPE Academic Journal not only celebrates the achievements of our current students but also serves to inspire younger kids by showing what is possible when they apply themselves to their studies and research.

This Semester’s Theme: Sustainability

While our upcoming issue will specifically feature a section on Sustainability, we remain open to all content. We encourage you to submit any work you are proud of, regardless of the topic.

What can you submit?

Students and staff are welcome to submit or nominate:

Written Work: Essays, research papers, or creative writing.
Creative Media: Songs, artwork, photos, and videos.
Projects: Notable coursework or ‘paperwork’ of academic merit.

How to Submit

Please send your work to the Committee at: journal@hope.edu.kh

All submissions will be reviewed by the editors and approved by the Oversight Board before publication.

CAMPUS

Road Safety and Traffic Rules

Please keep these key points for Road Safety & Traffic Standards (shared earlier this week by email) in mind for all school arrivals and departures:

Speed Limit: Please slow down to a walking pace (10 km/h) when in the drop-off and pick-up lanes.
Right of Way: Always yield to students crossing the pavement.
Navigation: Follow directional arrows; enter through the Primary Gate and exit via the Guardhouse Gate.
Turns: Only make right turns when exiting the campus or parking areas.
Safe Loading: Loading/unloading is permitted only the school side of the street. Do not cross the main road.

Parking & Vehicle Rules

Parking Cards: If double parking in the gravel area, please display your card on the dashboard with your family name and phone number. These cards will be handed out after the Khmer New Year Break.
Drop-Off Lane: Do not leave your vehicle unattended in this lane.
Motos & E-Bikes: Students must be at least 15 years old to ride motorized bikes to school.
Helmets: Helmets are mandatory for all moto and bicycle riders at all times.

We ask every member of our community to be cooperative for the safety of the school. Check out the recent email with some of these details.

A note from our Nurses

Our goal is to keep all our students healthy and safe. To help us do this, please remember that students in all grades should not carry any medicine in their bags. This includes pills, lozenges, eyedrops, syrups, etc.

If your child needs medicine during the school day:

Please bring it to us: A parent or guardian should drop off the medicine into Sickbay, located in the Front Office, in the morning.
Original packaging: Please bring the medicine in its original packaging (if possible) so we have all the right information.

We are here to help! Please come and see us if you have any questions. Email Tanya and/or Juhee at nurse@hope.edu.kh

Upcoming SAT Test

The SAT will be offered at HOPE International School on May 2nd, 2026, open to anyone interested, including students from other schools. Registration closes on April 17.

The SAT® Suite of Assessments is a standardized test used as an entrance requirement for many Universities in the USA. To register, please visit College Board’s registration page and create a College Board account. Be sure to select HOPE International as your testing site.

For more information on fee waivers, please visit this link.

Campus Guidelines

Over the break, the campus is open for community use from 8 AM to 5 PM. We kindly ask all visitors to adhere to these campus guidelines, especially during break times and holidays. Remember to bring your HOPE ID card or parent lanyard to show the guards that you are part of the HOPE community. This document outlines the expected guidelines for proper campus usage. All HOPE students must be supervised by an adult when they are on campus.

COMMUNITY

Volunteer Spotlight

HOPE’s mission would not be possible without the incredible people serving behind the scenes. This month, we are shining a spotlight on Joanna Marie Colon and Grace (Kyung-eun) Park. Both of them have poured their time, heart, and energy into our community, and we are so grateful for their commitment.

This school community is so blessed with your service!

Next on the Calendar

Friday, April 3

Good Friday | No School

Saturday, April 4

Middle School Volleybal Grading Tournament

April 6-19

Khmer New Year Break

April 22-24

Fine Art Exhibition and Recitals | The Hall

Thursday | 2:45 - 4:00 pm | Primary Recital

Friday | 4:00 - 5:00 pm | Secondary Recital

Saturday, April 25

High School Badminton Tournament

April 29-May 5

Swimming Week | Jasmine Swimming Pool

See full Calendar

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Job Openings

Spread the news and pray that the Lord will send new, passionate staff members to serve this wonderful community. Visit hope.edu.kh/jobs

HR Recruitment Poster 26-27.png

Admissions Open

We have a few openings at HOPE and we would love to welcome more missional families into our community. If you know someone who would love to be a part of HOPE, please have them contact Admissions soon to secure their place. We can't wait to see our community grow! hope.edu.kh/admissions

Yearbook Sponsorship!

See complete proposal

The Yearbook Team is hard at work on this year’s edition, and we want to make sure it is affordable for every student. We are looking for sponsors who would like to advertise their business in our pages.

If you or someone you know is interested in a sponsorship opportunity, please share this proposal or contact Hector Anica at hector.anica@hope.edu.kh.

Take time to pray for...

Finance
- Phanna Rum
- Saem Yon
- Seangmey Phan
Human Resources
- Laurence Ling
- Edizza Mora
- Puttheavy Ket

ICT
- Mike Gooch
- Tom Omondi
- Theira Lev
- Sreyrath Tom

MarComm
- Hector Anica
- Samnang Chum

That's it!

Have a wonderful

Khmer New Year Break!

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