8 Dec 2017

Year 1 Update – Wk 16

Wednesday 13th December – Year 1 Christmas Party, Please cancel Deli Fresh lunch!

Thursday 14th December – Christmas Concert and Christmas Bake Off

Friday 15th December – Last day of term. School finishes at 12.00pm. Mid year reports available to parents on the Beacon.

Monday 8th January – Term two starts.

If your child has not got a hat or regularly forgets to bring it to school please make an extra effort to help them bring it to school.

Action day Today the year one children paired up with a child in year six child to help pack food into some parcels. Please ask your children about their experience.

U.O.I rotations This week for U.O.I rotations the children explored many new ways of expressing themselves. Here are some photos for you to enjoy.

Fire Drill On Tuesday we practised what it would be like to have a fire at school. We were all very impressed with how the children quickly left the school and quietly walked to the meeting point.

Central Idea:

Imagination helps us think, create and express ourselves.

Next week the children will continue to experience different ways we can express ourselves through Visual Arts, Dance, Drama and Story.

Throughout these experiences children will be encouraged to develop a reflective and open-minded approach. They will be watching and talking about their own art works and also thinking about what other people have created.

Christmas party You will now have received a letter with information about our class Christmas party. The children and adults often get very excited by this time of year and love to share their favourite party treats with classmates. Please stick to the suggested items and amounts so that we can minimise waste. We also ask that you clearly label any containers that you wish to have returned to you.

Christmas cards Children wishing to give christmas cards to school friends need to remember the following things.

Please remember to write clearly inside the card who it is to and from.
Envelopes need to have the persons name on the front who the card is for and also their class.
Cards should be put in the school christmas postbox and will be distributed by special year 6 delivery elves!

Parent Helper needed for UOI Rotations

Please email susan.chung@bhs.edu.hk if you are able to support our UOI Rotations every Thursday at 11.15am – 12.30pm in Term 2.

School Uniform

Now that the weather is cooling down please make sure that your child is appropriately dressed.

We encourage children not to wear long sleeved tops underneath their P.E top. A warmer short sleeved top is a good idea. To keep warm the children can wear their P.E jacket on top of the P.E t-shirt. When it gets colder children can wear the red jumper under the P.E jacket. They can also wear the purple school uniform fleece on top of the P.E jacket if still cold. Also we would suggest foot less tights under the P.E pants in the winter as the pants are not very warm. Even in the winter our classrooms are very warm. We teach the children to take a layer off when they come inside and put a layer on when they go outside.

Please spend some time at home encouraging your child to be independent by helping them to learn how to put their jackets and sweaters on themselves.

maths

Next week the children will play some maths games and work on some maths challenges that reinforce their learning over the past few weeks. Some of these games may have a Christmas theme too!

Fun with Maths at Festival Walk

Your child might have chosen to have some fun with Maths at Festival Walk by bringing home some questions entitled ‘Fun With Maths at Festival Walk’. Please return the work to school once your child has completed it so Mrs Dale can prepare your child a certificate of participation. We hope you have fun with your child.

Mathletics: Please spend some time each week exploring the different activities that we have set for the children. Under the ‘play’ section, children can practise their basic facts by playing games with partners from around the world. It is not intended that the children will do these tasks totally independently so please help your child to become familiar with the layout of Mathletics and how to go about completing the tasks. After Christmas there will be some new tasks set for your child.

Next week the children will be writing letters to Santa. They will be encouraged to use the correct punctuation such as full stops, capital letters and remember to use a finger space between words.

Our reading focus of visualisation will continue with the children using their imagination to describe what they think.

Next week we will continue with unit 3 of our phonics programme. Below are our focus phonemes and camera words. Please support this work at home playing the games included on the phonic bookmark.

Phonics

Phonemes: v w y z j n k e

Camera Words: all me they is no said

Not all words can be decoded phonetically. We call these tricky words, ‘camera words’ because children must learn them as though they were taking a photo of the word with their ‘mind’s eye’. They are encouraged to memorise the part of the word which is tricky.

Congratulations to the following children:

1L – Ashley Chan

1P – Brandon Fong

1W – Ashley Siu

Here is an article from Little steps Asia about volunteering with kids.

Top 10 Family Volunteering Opportunities Giving Back…Family Style!

Enjoy a rewarding and memorable holiday season this year that money simply can’t buy. Caring for our community can start young with mommy and daddy as role models. Donate your time and touch another’s heart whether you help packing warm meals, visit handicapped children, or foster a pet and more – take your pick!

1. Serve-A-Thon Hong Kong 2018

Join in this one week volunteering marathon event and help the needies. As one of the largest volunteering event in Hong Kong, it brings together NGOs, coprorates, schools and civic organisations to take time and give back to the comunity while raising the community’s awarenss on importnat social issues in Hong Kong.

WHEN: May 5-13, 2018.

WHO: All are welcome! Sign up as a group, or join individually.

HOW: www.serveathonhk.org.hk/

2. Kids4Kids Budding Reading Programs:

Families wishing to share their love of reading with kids from low income families are welcome to join the Family Volunteering Program. Family Volunteering is a great way for parents, guardians and children over 6 years of age to get involved in a meaningful weekend activity together and enjoy the value of helping others. Training sessions are held at a Kids4Kids workspace. The training will cover basic reading skills, introduce the background of beneficiaries, their characteristics, and roles and responsibilities of volunteers.

WHEN: Ongoing.

WHO: Kids age 8 or above and their families.

HOW: Click here to get involved. You can also email brp@kids4kids.org.hk for more information.

3. Sponsor A Child @ OneSky (formerly Half The Sky):

Families can sponsor an orphan or rural village child in China. This is a great way to give back on a global scale while allowing the kids to understand something they can relate too as well – kids!

WHEN: Ongoing.

WHO: All ages.

HOW: Email donateHK@halfthesky.org or click here.

4. Bizzie Bee Craft Kits:

These cool kits are rockin’ Hong Kong this holiday period. Bizzie Bee is a Hong Kong social enterprise. Purchase one of their DIY Craft Kits and then have a little fun as a family at home. All the proceeds will be used to support the underprivileged in Hogn Kong. You can explain to the kids why the activity is important, where donations go, and let them soak in the giving back vibe. Help the others through play!

WHEN: ongoing. Buy now!

WHO: All ages.

HOW: http://www.bizziebee.org

5. Volunteer At Food Angel Kitchens @ Food Angel:

Volunteer your morning or afternoon to pack hot meals with these angels at their central kitchen in Chai Wan or Sham Shui Po. Made using surplus ingredients, the meals get served to underprivileged communities in HK. Their website lists daily volunteer vacancies for kids aged 16 and up, register online. If you have little ones, sign up to be a Bread Angel to help redistribute edible surplus bread.

WHEN: ongoing.

WHO: Daily activities for teens 16 and up. Little ones can register for Bread Angel to help redistribute edible surplus bread.

HOW: www.foodangel.org.hk.

6. Beach Cleanups @ HK Cleanup:

Kids all love a treasure hunt! Sign up with HKCleanup and invite a family or a crew to join your hunt for trash and recyclables at one of HK’s non-managed beaches that really needs that extra loving care. Once registered, HKCleanup will furnish you with all instructions including drop-off points for your treasures. What other great way to get the kids to pitch-in and learn a thing or two about recycling? And as a reward, pack a picnic lunch to enjoy on the cleaned beach after!

WHEN: Ongoing

WHO: All ages.

HOW: http://www.hkcleanup.org

7. HOPE Worldwide’s Great Santa Night Run

Celebrate Christmas and help raise money to support HOPE worldwide’s charity work for the underprivileged in Hong Kong. Get dressed up as Santa Claus and run for a good cuase- at night! The family run race is 3km. Sign up the little ones in the event and compete for the Youngest Santa Claus Award. Have fun with the whole family in this festive fundraising event.

WHEN: December 16, 2017.

WHO: Team up and join in the family run. Maximum 2 participants in the team, formed by one parent and one kid.

HOW: Enroll online now. Details here.

8. Social Career Online Volunteer Platform

Go online now – volunteering can’t be any easier. Social Career is a non-profit technology organization providing an online platform for the public to serach for the latest volunteering opporunities in Hong Kong. Choose according to locations, roles, service date and recipients and find one that suits you best.

WHEN: ongoing. check online for a variety of volunteer opportunities.

WHO: All ages.

HOW: www.socialcareer.org

Overseas family volunteering ideas:

1. Give A Day Global

Spend a day of your holidays giving back to the local community. Give A Day Global offers a wide varieties of volunteering family programs in various locations, like South Africa, Thailand, Laos, India and more… Explore more how you can help while you are travelling.

WHEN: ongoing.

WHO: All ages.

HOW: www.giveadayglobal.org/

2. Projects Abroad

Plan a family trip abroad for a good cause. Teach the kids the concept of giving back through travelling, Projects Abroad provides different volunteer programs for family to join in. You can also contact them to set up a specific project to accomodate to your family needs and situation.

WHEN: onging.

WHO: Kids age 4 or above and family.

HOW: www.projects-abroad.hk/en/volunteer-projects/volunteering-abroad-for-families/