Newsletter #26
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
Sports
PTA News
ESF News
Other News
Dear Parents,
This has been another very busy week at BHS and ends with our International Food Fair from 5pm this afternoon.
On Monday morning all the children in the school were in mixed-age groups experiencing and enjoying a range of artistic activities to celebrate our China Culture Day which replaced the activities that had to be cancelled leading up to the Chinese New Year holiday due to the school closures. Thank you to the Mandarin Department for leading this. Some of the performers who should have shared at the Chinese New Year show will have an opportunity to do so at this afternoon’s Food Fair.
Our annual Year 3 to 6 Sports Day took place yesterday at King’s Park and the weather couldn’t have been better. Children from Years 3 to 6 participated in our ‘clock sports’ activities and then all took part in sprint races. Thank you to parents who were able to come and cheer on the children and thank you to Mr Teahan for coordinating the whole event.
1W’s class assembly was this morning and I was very impressed with the way the children confidently shared their learning from a recent unit of inquiry focusing on how plants and animals depend upon each other for survival in the environment. They entertained us with the story of The Great Kapok Tree which brought to life the reasons why we need to protect the environment. Well done to all of 1W and to all the adults who helped – Mrs Frith, Mrs Wu, Ms Donna, Ms Kannis and Mr Gibson.
50th Fortnight – 12th – 23rd March
We have almost concluded our 50th Fortnight, with our International Food Fair being the final event starting at 5pm today! Remember to bring your own reusable containers and cutlery if you wish to purchase the food as we want to avoid needless waste in our effort to be more environmentally friendly.
Last Saturday, ESF rounded off it’s 50th Anniversary celebrations with the Anniversary Carnival held at KGV. Our ukulele players and our hip-hop dance group represented BHS and I was very proud of their performances. I hope you were able to get along and enjoyed the carnival atmosphere. For more photos, click HERE.
You will recently have received an eNotice email regarding Student Continuation information. If you have a child in Years 1 to 5 please go to the Gateway and complete the request – it should only take a couple of minutes. This will help us plan and prepare for the new academic year.
ESF Stakeholder Survey
Thank you to those who were able to complete the survey. We had a 52% parent response rate which was well above the ESF average. Once I have the results I will share them with you – this will likely be early next term.
IB (PYP) School Evaluation
Since last August, the staff have been busy working on a self-study and preparing a report to be submitted to IB. This is in preparation for an evaluation visit to school by two IB Evaluators (in this case, both travelling from Australia). They will visit us from Monday 23rd – Wednesday 25th April. During this time they will conduct meetings with representative stakeholders (staff, school council members, parents, students) and make visits to classrooms to evaluate the school against 73 standards and practices. We are well-prepared for the visit and will share the outcomes later this school year.
IMPORTANT DATES
Student Achievement Beyond School
Gabriel (3S) has formed a BHS chess team with Marcus and Julien (both in 3S) and Felix (3A). We are delighted to share with you that our BHS team entered a competition on 11th March and were the fourth place team in the Lower Primary Section. This a great achievement. Each of them need to play 6 games against the opponents for the whole day, and the boys battled very hard against 84 players from 28 schools in Hong Kong. The final results were:
The Winner – Discovery College
2nd Place – Kau Yan School
3rd Place – RCHK
4th Place – BHS
Congratulations to the boys and thanks to their families for helping to organise this.
Have a lovely weekend.
Principal
News from the English Team
Book Quiz
On Tuesday many of our children took part in a Book Quiz which was part of our 50th Fortnight celebrations. It was lots of fun and great to see what avid readers some of our children are!
Well done to the winning team: Bookworms – Celine (1L),Jada (1W), Felix (3A), Chloe (4F), Kaitlyn (6Y)
Here are some of the questions from the picture and chapter book rounds. How would you and the other members of your family have done?
- In which book would you find the Once-ler, thneeds and Bar-ba-loots?
- What kind of animal is Tiddler?
- Which author has written about a bus driving pigeon and a Knuffle Bunny?
- In “We’re going on a bear hunt” by Michael Rosen, what makes the squelch, squerch sound?
- Which item of clothing does the bear want back in the popular book by Jon Klassen?
- Where is Paddington Bear from?
- Who was the first child to find a golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
- Who became Head of Hogwarts for a very short time in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?
1.The Lorax 2. A fish 3.Mo Willems 4.Mud 5.Hat 6.Peru 7.Augustus Gloop 8. Dolores Umbridge
Sarah Brennan visits Beacon Hill
This week Year 1, 2,3 and 6 enjoyed a visit from Sarah Brennan, an Australian author who has lived in Hong Kong for many years. Sarah entertained the children with her latest story featuring the animals from the Chinese zodiac, The Tale of Desmond Dog. The story which is illustrated by Harry Harrison, tells of a brave dog and his struggles against the pirate queen Ching Shih. The end of the book tells a little of the history of this period of Hong Kong and Chinese history. You child will have brought home an order form on Wednesday and if they want to buy their own copy of one of Sarah’s books they need to bring it back to school before Wednesday 28th. Sarah will sign the book for your child so please ensure you write down their name clearly on the form. Click HERE for more photos.
Unit Of Inquiry Overviews
The Unit 5 Unit of Inquiry Overviews are available on the BHS website. Click here to view them. The overview for each year groups gives you all the essential information for your child’s current unit of inquiry with some suggestions on how you can help.
Andy Thompson
ESF Tag Rugby Tournament
On Tuesday 20th March, the Beacon Hill tag rugby team played in the annual ESF tag rugby tournament. The team played very well only losing one of their matches. We started with a close 5 all draw against RCHK. Our next game we scored some excellent tries in a 6-4 victory over Discovery College. Our best game of the day was 2 all draw against the eventual champions, Kellett Pok Fu Lam. Despite not losing a game in the group stage we narrowly missed out on a place in the cup. Our plate semi final was against CIS and both defences were excellent and we unfortunately lost 4-1. Highlights of the day were Mia and Josh’s length of the field tries and a try against DC where everyone passed the ball at least once. Dylan and Josh were chosen as Beacon Hill’s players of the tournament.
Tim Teahan
International Food Fair
23 Mar 2018 (Friday 5-8pm)
Regards,
BHS PTA
Health
Chickenpox
We would like to inform you of the fact that one student is on sick leave diagnosed with Chickenpox. The child is resting at home and will resume school as per doctor’s advice in order to prevent the spread of this communicable disease to others.
It is very contagious.
The signs and symptoms include a low-grade fever, a skin rash on the scalp and body (mainly the trunk). The vesicles are itchy.
If you suspect that your child has Chickenpox, please consult the doctor for confirmation of diagnosis.
Please closely monitor other children in the household.
HEAD LICE or NITS
Reminder:
The eggs of the head lice are usually found near the root of the hair and there is the sensation of any itchy scalp.
Nits are tiny and whitish, yellowish or brownish in colour.
How do you catch it?
- Via direct head-to-head contact with the infested person.
- The lice crawls.
If you suspect that the child has head lice or nits, please have it treated thoroughly by using medicated lotion or shampoo prescribed by the doctor to destroy the head lice or nits.
The use of a fine-toothed comb may help to remove the nits and please throw away the eggs properly.
Please check the child’s hair regularly for signs of head lice or nits.
Please check your eyebrows or beard, if you have one.
- Anyone may catch it.
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.
