Newsletter #22
Beacon Hill School latest newsletter available to read now. Find out the latest news around the school and upcoming events.
Principal’s Words
Important Dates
Around BHS
SEN News
PTA News
ESF News
Other News
Dear Parents,
Our International Food Fair is not far away now – Friday 18th March to be precise. This is our major fundraiser for the year and all money raised will go to improving our playground environment. If you are able to help out in any way, please contact Janley, our PTA Coordinator – pta@bhs.edu.hk Please keep selling as many raffle tickets as you can and we look forward to seeing you all at the event.
This week has been another busy week. We have had various visits such as the Year 5s going into Central as part of their ‘How We Organise Ourselves’ unit and Year 3 visiting the Crossroads Foundation which supports their inquiry in the ‘Sharing the Planet’ unit. Today our Year 6 children went to Kowloon Junior School to participate in an NGO conference which will support their work during the Exhibition. All of these experiences help the students make connections to our community and make the learning more authentic.
Today we were treated to a wonderful class assembly by 1H. This was the first time these young students have performed on the stage to the whole school and their parents and they did a magnificent job. They shared with us a wonderful story about what they would do if they were crayons in BHS, after the school was closed! I am glad to say that they all realised that they needed to get back to the 1H classroom before school reopened and that they are better and stronger when they work and play together. It as a lovely, colourful way to end the week. Thank you 1H and the adults who supported them.
Thank you to those parents who were able to come on Tuesday night to our Learning Technology workshop. We hope it was useful and gave you a good insight into how the students and teachers at Beacon Hill School use technology to support their learning and teaching. Throughout this year we are offering various parent information evenings. To better plan for next year we would like to get your input on the kinds of areas you would be interested in learning more about. We will include a link to a survey in an upcoming newsletter and I would appreciate you spending a few minutes to complete this so that we can tailor our workshop offerings to better suit your needs in the coming academic year.
Please note that next Friday we have our Student Led Conferences. There will be no school as normal on that day. You and your child should come to school at the allotted time for the conference.
IMPORTANT DATES
| FEBRUARY | |
| 26th | 3rd Unit of Inquiry report comment available on The Gateway |
| MARCH | |
| 1st | Year 1 to LEAP |
| 1st | Year 6 Exhibition Meeting for Parents, 9am, School Hall |
| 1st | 6L Trip to Dialogue in the Dark |
| 2nd | Year 5 trip to Sham Shui Po/Prince Edward for Big Business |
| 2nd | 6F Trip to Dialogue in the Dark |
| 3rd | Road Race trials |
| 3rd | PTA Meeting, 3.30pm, School Staffroom |
| 4th | Student Led Conferences (No formal classes on this day) |
| 8th | Graham Base, Author/Illustrator visiting Year 4 |
| 9th | Year 5 trip to Sham Shui Po/Prince Edward for Big Business |
| 9th | Parent Information Workshop – Marie Marchand, 6.30pm (for parents of students in Years 4-6) |
| 10th | ESF Mixed Basketball Tournament, KJS |
| 11th | Chamber Choir to Sha Tin Junior School Neighbourhood Watch Day |
| 11th | 4W Class Assembly, 9am, School Hall |
| 12th | CIS Road Race |
| 14th-18th | Green Week |
Please note that you can view our calendar on the school website.
ESF Stakeholder Survey
Stakeholders will soon be invited by email to participate in the biennial ESF Stakeholder Survey, which will be open from 14th to 24th March 2016. Through this survey we aim to find out about the impressions that parents, staff and students have formed about the education we provide. The feedback from the survey will help us build on our strengths and inform our future planning.
A parent invite will be emailed to the primary contact parent in your family on 14th March. [If you have a child at another ESF school you will receive a separate invite by email to participate in that school’s survey].
Students in Years 5 and 6 will also receive an email inviting them to participate in the survey – WE WILL PROVIDE TIME IN SCHOOL FOR THEM TO COMPLETE THIS.
We would be very grateful if you would spare the time to complete the survey. It’s shorter than in the past and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete (though may take a little longer if you wish to add comments in the optional comment boxes).
BHS Community Choir
This brand new choir started in January. If you would like to join, please just come along. New recruits are welcome any time – you don’t need to have any musical background; just enthusiasm. Rehearsals are on Thursday afternoons at 3.15pm and also on Thursday evenings from 7pm in the Music Room on the 6/F – you are welcome to come to either session. Our next performance will be at the International Food Fair. Please click HERE for music.
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JAMES HARRISON
PRINCIPAL
News from the English Team
Friday 4th March
Student Led Conferences will be happening next Friday. The library will be open for much of the day, so if you have time come along to borrow if you already have a family borrowing card or take the opportunity to apply for one. We will have forms available for you. If you cannot make that remember that the registration form can be found on the school website.
| Before school | After school | |
| Monday | 2.45-3.30pm | |
| Tuesday | 8.15- 9.00am | |
| Wednesday | 2.45-3.30pm | |
| Friday | 8.30-9.15am |
Just a reminder parents should only use their family library card and not borrow books on their child’s card. We believe that it is important for the children to be able to choose books that they want to read during the school day.
Tinkering Tuesday
This week we had our first “Tinkering Tuesday” in the library at lunchtime. Much has been written about the importance for learning of children being able to have time devoted to tinkering. This is fiddling, investigating, inventing, playing and creating with all sorts of materials and technology. This allows the children to use their imagination, practise skills they have learnt, communicate and collaborate. Each Tuesday the library will have different materials available at lunchtime for the children to tinker with. Here are some pictures from this week.
UOI Reports on the Gateway
Dear Parents,
The report for your child’s third unit of inquiry is now open for viewing on the Gateway. To do so, you will need to:
- Log on to the Gateway – tg.esf.edu.hk
- Click on the ARR tab and Click on ARR Report
- Click on the Printing Tab
- Select the current year (2015/16)
- Select your child’s name
- Select UOI comments
Please remember to share this with your child also.
Our teachers look forward to meeting you all at the Student Led Conferences next Friday.
Kind regards,
Susan Chung
Vice Principal
Parenting workshop with Marie Marchand. Wednesday March 9th from 6.30 – 8pm in the BHS school hall.
An open invitation for all parents to attend this informative parent workshop. This workshop will provide an opportunity to enhance your parenting skills particularly with children approaching pre-teens. This workshop also supports the Years 6 Unit of Inquiry on changes and puberty and Year 5 sex education unit later in the year.
Communication with Pre-Teens
Is your message getting across like you would like to? Why isn’t your pre-teen listening? How can you talk and listen to your pre-teen so they will listen and talk to you? This workshop will describe the different stages of adolescence, clarify the reasons why messages are not clear and will give you ‘tools’ to make communication between you and your pre-teen more positive.
About 20 minutes will be spent on stages of adolescence and the rest will all be practical tools to communicate with pre-teens.
Marie has over 25 years of international experience in early childhood teaching in Canada, Switzerland and Hong Kong. Her workshops are interactive and are renowned for their personal examples, practical suggestions and humour. They offer quick and easy tools that can be used the next day. She earned her B. Ed. in Childhood Education from McGill University, Canada. She taught kindergarten in international schools for over twenty years during which she also launched her parenting business, created and delivered courses in Hong Kong and Canada. Marie’s work is accredited by the Academy for Coaching Parenting International (ACPI) since 2010. She is also the proud author of a book for children called HOME FROM HOME.
If you would like to attend this event, please reply to: http://goo.gl/forms/UpGzFdJBc8
Our Friday, March 18, 2016 International Food Fair (“IFF”) Grand Raffle Draw and IFF evening preparations are underway! A Food Donation &/or Parent Volunteer Form has been sent-out. We greatly appreciate however way you can contribute! In addition to tasty donated Homemade foods, there will be exciting Hall Games, Bouncy Castle, Talent Show & other surprises, so mark your calendars and come join the fun & friendly family atmosphere!
This year proceeds from Raffle ticket sales will be pledged towards BHS Playground Improvement. Besides Grand Raffle Draw fabulous prizes, the highest number of tickets sold by lower and upper school classes will enjoy a BHS PTA sponsored class outing!
Two Grand Raffle Ticket booklets have been distributed to each BHS student for sales to family & friends in a labelled plastic bag. If your child & family want to sell more, please indicate on the labelled bags. Please assist your children to ensure that all SOLD and UNSOLD tickets and money are accounted for upon return to BHS PTA office per labelled information as BHS PTA must comply to strict HK Lottery License guidelines and audit. All SOLD ticket stubs including money & UNSOLD tickets should be returned to the BHS PTA office by March 5, 2016.
Find out how much your child enjoys Coding and 3D printing in the new ICT Room “the Cloud” and the wonderful Family Library Card and Teacher Librarian initiatives in our new Learning Resource Centre library. These projects are happening in spaces that are a DIRECT result of IFF Grand Raffle tickets sales and our enthusiastic BHS Community Support!
Reminders:
- We NEED MORE Food Donations & Volunteers! Please let us know if you can help.
- March 2016 Deli Fresh lunch order deadline has lapsed. Please contact DeliFresh directly for order and payment acceptance.
Enjoy your weekend,
Rowena Chow
Chair, BHS PTA
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YEAR 5 PARENTS
Dear Year 5 parents,
As you may be aware, there have been discussions across ESF and the decision has been has been made to move in the direction of MYP. We are writing to inform you that all students currently in Y5 who are offered a place at KGV for August 2017 will start the IBO MYP (Middle Years Programme). For KGV, this is a natural development from our Middle School Curriculum and will become accredited as part of the MYP. The MYP will then roll out through years 7-9 for this and subsequent cohorts. This will deliver improved curriculum continuity with the IBO PYP (Primary Years Programme).
There will be an ESF wide parent consultation about the Y10-11 curriculum and the future of (I)GCSE examinations. We will continue to do (I)GCSEs in Year 10 and 11 until this consultation has concluded and beyond if, as a result of the consultation, the ESF Board recommends no change. KGV will invite you into school to find out more about the MYP curriculum framework in the summer term.
We look forward to meeting you then,
Best wishes
Ed Wickins, Executive Principal
Judy Cooper, Head of KGV
Kowloon Learning Campus Update
We have had a very encouraging start to our work “breaking down barriers” between the three ESF schools in Kowloon and developing a new way of working across the KLC. In 2016, we will continue to work on our 7 goals: Developing curriculum continuity, increasing teacher collaboration, improving access and opportunities for inclusion, coordinating student support, increasing use of specialist facilities, developing learning technology solutions, and encouraging lifelong learning.Parents’ opinions are vital to us. We will be holding a parents consultation on Wednesday 16th March 2016, starting at 9am in Beacon Hill School. All parents are welcome to attend and hear a brief report on progress before having the chance to ask questions.
We look forward to seeing you.
Ed Wickins
Executive Principal, Kowloon Learning Campus
Health
Immunization (Part Two)
All documents submitted by parents or guardians, these will be returned to you (together with any instructions from the Immunization Team of the Department of Health for you to follow-up, if applicable) the following week starting Monday, 29 February 2016, via your child’s class teacher.
About Fever
Children with fever and respiratory symptoms are strongly advised not to attend school until 48 hours after the fever has subsided. Please do not send your child to school if s/he has fever. A child with fever higher than 37.5°C (via oral temperature) or higher than 38°C (via ear temperature) should not be allowed to attend school. This is strongly advised by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) to prevent outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory infections. Please check your child’s temperature.
Always Keep Hands Clean.
Thank you.
Ms Chen
Disclaimer: Beacon Hill School and the English School Foundation do not recommend or endorse any external events in this newsletter. There is no contractual arrangement between BHS/ESF and the event organisers.
