Newsletter #3
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
Other News
Dear Parents,
There has been lots of great learning and teaching happening this week and it has been a pleasure to spend some time in the Year 1 classes getting to know the children. On this note, you may have seen an email request asking you to complete a short survey (just three questions) to help us collect data about what ‘good learning is’. If you can spare just a few minutes to respond, it will be a great help for the upcoming CPD day on Saturday 10th September when all the teachers and EAs will be working on developing a shared belief about what effective learning and teaching is at BHS. Thanks in advance for your input.
It was wonderful to meet parents of all the new students, mostly Year 1s but others from different year groups too, at the PTA Cheese and Wine social last Tuesday. I hope you feel welcomed and already a member of the BHS family. We had excellent attendance at the ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening later that night. I trust you found the information helpful. The presentations from each year group are available on the school website. Click HERE for the presentations.
Our annual PTA Bowling event is coming up next Friday, 9th September. The teachers will be there too and are looking forward to seeing many of their students and parents at the event. It promises to be an enjoyable evening for our BHS families and will be a great way to socialize and meet fellow parents and teachers in a relaxed and fun environment. If you haven’t got tickets yet for the whole family, please get in touch with the PTA.…wristbands are limited!
If you are wishing to apply for a Year 1 placement for the 2017-18 academic year, you must complete the online application. You can find all the information you need to know on our website. Click HERE for the information.
Uniform
The children are looking great in their uniform! Thank you for your support. I am sure you will appreciate that to have a uniform policy that works means that everyone should follow it, without exception. A quick reminder of the company Karaso: https://www.karasoflex.com/ who do provide suitable foot wear, although other suitable shoes are available throughout Hong Kong. There are some samples available to look at outside our PTA Shop. Please note that this is an option available to parents and that the PTA is not able to provide assistance with any orders or questions about the shoes.
Karaso has kindly agreed to donate 10% of the proceeds to the BHS PTA meaning you can get school shoes for your child whilst supporting the school. A special promo code needs to be used when ordering: BHSKARASO. (Please note that this is an external company not affiliated to BHS or the BHS PTA).
BHS Community Choir
Last January we held the inaugural meeting of the BHS Community Choir and went on to perform at the International Food Fair, the Chinese New Year show and the Summer Music Concert. The choir will re-form this year, starting on Thursday October 20th at 7pm. Everyone is welcome – no experience necessary! New and existing members are very welcome. Please click on this link to register: https://goo.gl/forms/fERvdJNghaaC1YYa2
IMPORTANT DATES
| SEPTEMBER | |
| 5th | Year 1 PIPS baseline assessments; Year 3 InCAS assessments |
| 7th | Year 6 swimming |
| 8th | PTA Meeting, 3.30pm |
| 9th | 3D Class Assembly, 9am |
| 9th | PTA Social Event – Bowling |
| 10th (Saturday) | BHS CPD Day for teachers |
| 12th | Year 2 excursion to Penfold Park |
| 12th | School Council Meeting, 5pm |
| 14th | Year 6 swimming |
| 15th | PTA Mid-Autumn Market |
| 16th | Public Holiday (Day after Mid-Autumn Festival) – School Closed |
| 21st | Year 6 Swimming |
| 23rd | Year 4 Sharing for Parents, 9am |
| 26th-30th | ISA Assessments |
| 27th and 29th | Parent-Teacher Consultations |
| 28th | Year 6 Swimming |
| 28th | ESF Environmental Conference |
The Year Group Weekly Updates and Single Subject Monthly Updates are available on the school website – so please remember to refer to the website each week to be informed about what is happening in your child’s class.
Best wishes,
_
James Harrison
Principal
Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations at BHS
Dear Parents,
The Mid-Autumn festival, also known as the Moon festival, is a popular holiday celebrated by the Chinese people. It is held on the 15th day of the 
eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Traditionally, on this day, family members and friends gather to have fruits and moon cakes and to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon.
Each year in BHS, students participate in the celebrations by joining in activities that are related to the festival, in the Mandarin classrooms. They also visit the PTA Mid-Autumn Mini Market where they can buy lanterns, fruits and raisins. As many of our volunteering parents are fluent Mandarin speakers, the students are encouraged to practise speaking Mandarin during their shopping.
Be sure to join the fun on Thursday Sept 15th, 2016!
Watch this space next week for more details of the celebrations!
中秋快乐！zhong qiu kuai le!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
The Mandarin Department
BHS SLT Award
Each week, the Senior Leadership Team watch carefully to notice children who are really demonstrating examples of kindness, sharing, politeness and thinking of others. A few lucky children recieve a special certificate on Golden Book Assembly to recognise their wonderful attitude. Here are the recipients for the last two weeks.
Monday 29th August
| Name & Class | Reason | |
| Lauren Stanion – 6D | For caring for the school environment by collecting snack boxes on the playground and taking them to lost property. | |
| Justin Chan – 6D | For a great job preparing for last weeks Zones assembly | |
| Wilson Lau – 5M | For being so polite when running an errand |
Monday 22nd August
| Name & Class | Reason | |
| Mali Tan – 2G | For confidently sharing her ideas during class discussions. | |
| Alexandra Lai – 5P | For having such a positive attitude in number maths | |
| Tanisha Rahman – 6D | Being a great cooperative team member with lots of great ideas | |
| Sun Young Li – 5Y | An excellent start to the new school year | |
| Savannah So – 3M | For having really healthy snacks |
Parent Workshops 2016-17
Term 1
| Date | Workshop |
| 27 & 29 September | Parent Teacher Conferences |
| 3 October | Gifted & Talented – John Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth |
| 4 & 5 October | Camp Information Evenings |
| 27 October 6pm | Year 1 Maths |
| 27 October 6:45pm | Year 3 Maths |
| 27 October 7:30pm | Year 5 Maths |
| 18 October 6:30-8pm | Positive Parenting Workshop
Marie Marchand – Sibling Rivalry |
| 26 October | The Power of Play |
| 8, 10, 22 November – Day Appointments
24, 30 November – Evening Appointments |
Mandarin Parent Teacher Consultations |
| 9 November | English Reading Workshop for Helpers |
| 9 November | English Reading Workshop for Parents |
| 29 November | Introduction to PYP (Year 1 parents and new parents) |
Applications for Year 7 Places
Parents of our Year 6 students need to submit an application for a Year 7 ESF place via The Gateway between 5th September and 16th September 2016.
Information available on the ESF website at http://www.esf.edu.hk/node/5470 for key dates and http://www.esf.edu.hk/esf-zones for school zones.
An instructional guide for parents has been uploaded to the website. Go to the Admissions tab and click on ‘Year 7 applications’. Or click HERE.
Chad Pheasant
Vice Principal
Positive Parenting workshop with Marie Marchand.
Parents mark your calendars for an event not to be missed.
Workshop Topic: Sibling Rivalry.
October 18th from 6.30 – 8.00pm in the BHS hall.
Parents of SEN
For parents of students at LOA 2 (mainstream) or LOA 3/4 (LSC) you will be contacted soon by your child’s SEN teacher to schedule an IEP meeting. For mainstream LOA 2 students this meeting will replace what was formerly known as the SSP – Student Support Plan meetings. The IEP meeting will provide a time for you to discuss and plan goals with your child’s teacher for the year. The IEP meeting will replace the forthcoming parent teacher conference on September 27th . Please contact Belinda McLaughlin if you have any questions. belinda.mclaughlin@bhs.edu.hk
Belinda McLaughlin
Head of Special Educational Needs
Day of Mindfulness for Children
“Address the transition/ adaptation from summer vacation back to school” for Primary 3-5 students
1pm – 4pm, 17 September 2016 (Sat) at HKU Campus CAISE, Faculty of Education, HKU & Plum Village Mindfulness Academy
We are happy to announce that the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE) at the University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with Plum Village Mindfulness Academy, are going to run a Day of Mindfulness for Children on 17 September 2016 (Sat), from 1pm to 4pm at the main campus of The University of Hong Kong. The event will accommodate not more than 15 Primary students from Grade 3 to 5.
What is ‘Day of Mindfulness for Children’? It is a day for children to experience the happiness of the present moment by having a series of mindfulness practice activities. This mindfulness practice will help children become more focused and attentive in their daily lives. In this age of computer games, electronic devices and TV, it is important to guide children to spend more time understanding themselves better and to find joy in life. Practice of mindfulness can also increase the quality of learning.
About the facilitators Plum Village has held mindfulness retreats, workshops and trainings for teachers, medical doctors, psychologists, social workers and allied health workers in Hong Kong since 2007. Children’s programmes are held on every first Sunday of the month and in annual family retreat.
Day of Mindfulness for Children will be led by monks and nuns with a registered social worker of Plum Village Mindfulness Academy (PVMA), a unit established in August 2014 by the Plum Village Foundation Hong Kong Ltd which serves as an institute for research, education, and training in mindfulness. Its establishment meets the growing needs of collaboration with educational and professional institutions, and the training of working professionals in many different fields, especially in the education, health care and human services areas. PVMA serves as a medium for bringing mindfulness into the mainstream in a non-sectarian way.
Mindfulness Teachings and practices of mindfulness have been updated and improved upon by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village to make them more relevant and adaptive to the contemporary world. Buddhism practiced in Plum Village is a way of mindful living, not a religion.
Language: The program will be conducted in English.
Program Fee: HK$780
Registration: http://caise.edu.hku.hk/dom-child/
It is open for registration from now till 9 September 2016 (Fri), first-come-first-serve (Max. 15 students).Submit the online registration form and you will receive the acknowledgement of receipt by email.
Write a crossed cheque HK$780 payable to The University of Hong Kong and mark your name and mobile number on the back.
Send the cheque by post toCAISE, Faculty of Education Room 504, Meng Wah Complex, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. RE: DOM for Children
Should you need further information please call Ms. Virginia Cheung at 3917-5828 or email to caise@hku.hk.
Important Information for Year 6 Parents
Prospective Parents of KGV 2017-18
Prospective parents are invited to attend the KGV Year 6 Parent Information and Middle School Curriculum Evening, 5-6pm on the 7th of September.
It will be held in the Hall at KGV School.
Please note there is no visitor parking on the school site. For any enquiries, please contact sarah.jones@kgv.edu.hk
Chad Pheasant
Vice Principal
Supply Educational Assistants
Dear Parents,
Are you interested in working as an Educational Assistant at Beacon Hill School? We need enthusiastic, energetic people who are prepared to be called on (sometimes at short notice) to cover in the event of staff absence. If you enjoy working with young children and would like to be part of our team, please send a short letter along with your CV and contact details to susan.chung@bhs.edu.hk
Working as a supply educational assistant is a good way to gain the experience required to be considered for any positions advertised in the future.
All applicants must be holders of a valid work visa in Hong Kong and have a good standard of spoken English.
Susan Chung
Vice Principal
Gifted and Talented
Dear Parents,
We have spent the last year developing a Gifted and Talented policy which can be viewed on the Gateway, and outlines how we may go about identifying who those students are. Beacon Hill School is at the early stages of identification and developing a Gifted and Talented register.
As part of this development, we are offering an information evening at Beacon Hill School from a representative of the John Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth on Monday 3rd October at 6.30pm for Year 3-6 parents only. Please see details below.
Susan Chung
Vice Principal
RE: JHU-CTY 2016-17 Fall Information Session at BHS (Oct 3)
Dear Parents,
Greetings from the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY)! As part of the Johns Hopkins University, CTY conducts the oldest and most extensive university-based Talent Search by offering an above-grade level testing to the 2nd to 8th graders (year 3 – 9 students) worldwide. For academically advanced students who qualify, CTY offers challenging summer and online programs.
In the coming fall, we will host an information session at Beacon Hill School (BHS). The schedule is as below:
| Date: | October 3, 2016 (Monday) |
| Time: | 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. |
| Venue: | BHS – Main Hall |
| RSVP: | https://centerfortalentedyouth.formstack.com/forms/bhs_information_session_rsvp
(Please RSVP on or before September 26) |
During the session, we will provide first-hand information about CTY summer and online programs, including their benefits to the students and how to qualify. Come and check us out! We look forward to seeing you on the day!
Best Regards,
East Asia Office (EAO)
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY)
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.
