2 Feb 2018

Year 1 Update – Wk 20

Friday 9th February – 1P Ark Eden Trip

Monday 12th February – China day – Please can all children come to school in Chinese New Year clothes

Monday 12th February – CNY assembly – 1P and half of 1L will be participating in the fashion show.

Tuesday 13th – February CNY assembly – 1W and half of 1L will be participating in the fashion show.

Thursday 15th February Year 1 Dim Sum Lunch (Please sign the eNotice and send cheques to school), please note the time change due to early school closure and email susan.chung@bhs.edu.hk if you and your child will not be joining. Please remember to send in your cheques for this excursion.

Monday 26th February – School starts again after the CNY holiday.

Friday 2nd March – Student Led Conferences (Booking system opens for parents of siblings on 5th Feb and all other parents on 12th Feb) If you are a new parent to BHS, please view the video at this link to find out more about Student-Led Conferences https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fJmLcUqq7NEvl7y1XG0dc3aw5DrFo8c_

Tuesday 6th March – Bake sale

Friday 9th March – 1L Assembly

Friday 16th March – 1W Assembly

100 Days of School

IP kicked off our 100 Days of School celebrations with their fantastic assembly this morning. We were all impressed by the way in which all the children spoke confidently and shared all the learning they have done at school over the past 100 days. Well done 1P! Today all the classes have been marking this very special day by reflecting on what they have learnt in the past 100 days, reading stories linked to the number 100 and engaging their creative sides by making crowns and turning the number 100 into something from their imagination.

Ark Eden Trip

This week 1L and 1W enjoyed a chilly but fantastic trip to Ark Eden on Lantau Island. The children participated in a series of rotations based on streams, ponds and wetlands, the living forest and garden creatures. The teachers were incredibly impressed with the great attitude that the children demonstrated throughout the day. For many children, it was the first time that they had touched worms, fished for shrimps and engaged in helping to make compost. They demonstrated an open mind throughout and took risks in their learning. We were very proud of them all! Thank you to all the parents who braved the cold to come and help us on our excursion.

Photos will follow after 1P’s trip next week.

Trip to the Farm

Thank you to Glamour 1W and Scott 1L, who sent us these lovely photos of them enjoying the great outdoors at Kam Tin Country Club. We would love to see more photos of the children out and about learning about the environment around them.

Central Idea:

Plants and animals depend on each other for survival in their environments

Lines of Inquiry:

How plants and animals contribute to life on earth (function)
Ways in which livings things are all connected (connection)
How living things grow (change)

Next week 1P will enjoy their trip to Ark Eden and will experience the joy of being outside learning about the connections between plants and animals. We will also be starting to move onto the “discovering” part of our inquiry cycle where we will start to explore how plants and animals contribute to life on Earth. The children will observe any changes that have happened to their beans and record the growth in their bean diaries.

Ms Jeves will continue to work with the Year One classes looking at the concept of connection. The children will start to learn about bees by thinking about what they already know about bees and what they want to find out.

UOI Home Learning

Our first line of inquiry for this unit focuses on the contributions that plants and animals make to life on Earth. Having spent some time this week tuning into this, we have realised that many of the children are unsure about where much of the food they eat comes from. So this week we have sent home our first UOI home learning task. Today the children have brought home a paper plate which we would like them to use to draw, collage or paint a meal that they have enjoyed at home. Please spend some time discussing with your child in your home language, where the different foods on the plate have come from. Some things we would like you to consider are:

* What are the names of the foods?

* Where does the food grow?

* Does it grow under the ground or above the ground?

* Does any of the food on the plate come from an animal? If so which animal?

Please send the plates back to school by next Friday 9th February. We will be asking the children to share their plates with the class so please spend some time helping them to prepare for this. Thank you.

Chinese New Year Celebrations at BHS

Just a reminder that all of the Year One students will participate in either the afternoon or evening performance of our BHS Chinese New Year assembly. We would like to share our assembly with parents but due to limited space in the hall, we invite a maximum of 2 family members per child.

	When they will perform	What they will need to wear
1P and Half of 1L Fashion Show	Monday 12^th February at 1.30pm	Chinese New Year Clothes (Dresses, Jackets etc.)
1W and half of 1L Fashion Show	Tuesday 13^th February at 6.00pm (Children should arrive at school by 5.45pm)	Chinese New Year Clothes (Dresses, Jackets etc.)

1L Parents, there is a sticker in your child’s diary letting you know whether they will be performing on the afternoon of Monday 12^th February or the evening of Tuesday 13^th February.

maths

Next week we will begin our new maths unit based on measuring and comparing weight and mass. The children will be engaging in practical, hands on activities where they will be using the language of weight such as, heavy, light, heavier, lighter, heaviest, lightest.

We have now set new tasks for the children to complete. 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.

Next week we will be continuing with our poetry focus. We have spent some time reading and discussing The Sound Collector Poem by Roger McGough. This week the children will collect sounds from around the school and create their own class poems based on the structure of The Sound Collector.

In Reader’s Workshop, we will continue to support the work that Ms Jeves is doing with the children by encouraging them to make connections between what we are reading and their own experiences. When the children are making connections we use sentence starters such as:

* This reminds me of……

* I made a connection…..

* I remember when…..

* This makes me think of…..

Phonics

Unit 4 will start next week and the corresponding bookmarks will be sent home. When you are reading try to help your child notice these phonemes or keep a tally of the camera words you come across in their home readers or library books.

Phonemes: ll ff ss zz

Camera Words: you play this come my home

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:

1P – Joshua Teh

1L and 1W will have two Golden Book certificates next week.

BHS Dance Off 2018

On Monday, in our assembly, the Student Council launched our BHS Dance Off. This is a fun event for children who enjoy dancing. We will hold heats after CNY during lunchtime where participants will have the opportunity to perform their dance. If they are successful then they will perform their dance at the International Food fair. If your child is interested here is some useful information

have fun
you can perform in groups or solo
the dance should be around 1 minute
heats for the competition will take place at lunchtime after CNY
sign up sheets are in every classroom
there will be a lower school and upper competition

You can support your child by helping them create and rehearse their dance.

Hiking in Hong Kong

If you fancy getting out and about this weekend. See the article below from Little Steps Asia. We would love to see some photos of the children enjoying the great outdoors!

Cooler temperatures means that it’s time to hit the hiking trails and explore the great outdoorswith the whole loveable gang. Whether you’re hiking for the first time this season or a regular on the trails, we’ve rounded up the best Hong Kong hikes to enjoy with your children. Hikes are all ranked based on difficulty levels: Little Legs (toddlers) for ages 2+, Young Hikers 9 (kids on up) for ages 6+ and Stroller Friendly for babies that need a stroller. Now pack up your water bottle, sunscreen, bug repellent, and let’s go!

TAI LONG WAN: YOUNG HIKERS (Age 6+) – New Territories

Many first hikes happen on this popular Sai Kung trail, which offers up picturesque scenery while winding through a dense forest that passes by deserted traditional Hakka Chinese houses along the way. From Sai Kung town, take minibus NR29 to Sai Wan Pavilion and follow the signs pointing towards Sai Wan. It’s a flat road with a few inclines that is more suitable for active kids. Everyone will enjoy the white sand beach at the end of the hike.

Tai Long Wan, http://www.littlestepsasia.com/hong-kong/articles/play/tai-long-wan. Food is available for order in Sai Wan and Tai Long Wan – so no need to pack a lunch!

What is Nearby? Why not visit the secret Sheung Lok Stream waterfalls while you are there? Click here for our video and more information.

DRAGONS BACK: YOUNG HIKERS (Age 6+) – Hong Kong Island

Take your tykes on this popular hike that brings you through Shek O Country Park and some of the prettiest terrain in Hong Kong. Not only is it a smooth journey with few inclines, it’ll also afford for plenty of beach time afterwards at Big Wave beach. The entire trail will take between two to four hours; bring sunscreen, a hat and a camera to snap photos of the pretty scenery. Click here for tips and directions.

Dragon’s Back Hong Kong Hike For Kids, http://www.littlestepsasia.com/hong-kong/articles/play/dragons-back-kids

What’s nearby? Enjoy lunch in Shek O after the big hike! Kids will also enjoy the awesome beach – it’s gorgeous.

LANTAU ISLAND: YOUNG HIKERS (Age 6+) – Lantau Island

There are numerous trails across Lantau, but test out the easiest one first and see how the family copes. The 6km trail starts at Mui Wo ferry pier. Follow signs leading to the Trappist Haven Monastery. The trail goes off-road along the water’s edge before arriving on the other side of Discovery Bay at Nim Shue Wan ferry pier. Reward your little rascals with lunch at a waterfront restaurant along the boardwalk or hit the beach.

Lantau Island Hike For Kids, Website

Mui Wo (Discovery Bay) to Lantau With Kids, http://www.littlestepsasia.com/hong-kong/articles/play/family-hike-discovery-bay

What’s nearby? So much! Go camping at Long Coast (advanced planning required), dine and play at Mavericks, beach eats at Bathers, or ride bikes and enjoy vino at The China Club in Mui Wo. There is also cultural fun on Lantau too with the Big Buddha and Tai O!

PO TOI O: YOUNG HIKERS (Age 6+) – Clearwater Bay

The three-hour-long journey may seem daunting at first but the flat terrain winds through the Clear Water Bay Golf Course and offers pretty vistas that stretch out to Clear Water Bay and Sai Kung. Residents of Clear Water Bay know this hike well, and the added cultural value of a visit to Tin Hau temple makes the long hike worth it. Take the MTR to Cheung Kwan O and then minibus 103M along Clearwater Bay Road.

Clearwater Bay Hiking With Kids, http://www.littlestepsasia.com/hong-kong/articles/play/hike-feast

What’s nearby? Click here for the Clearwater Bay Guide! Be sure to eat at Po Toi O after your hike.

TAI TAM RESERVOIR: LITTLE LEGS (Age 2+) – Hong Kong Island (Southside)

If you can’t keep your kids’ attention spans for longer than an hour, then perhaps the scenery along the Tai Tam Reservoir trail will. Starting at Parkview, the trail weaves through a picturesque journey with mesmerizing views of the Southside. Halfway through, the trail splits with a flight of stairs leading up to one of the toughest hikes in Hong Kong – The Twins – which winds up in Stanley, while the other smoother path takes you across the Tai Tam Reservoir.

Tai Tam Reservoir Trail With Kids, Website

What’s nearby? Stanley – head here for lunch!

LAMMA ISLAND: LITTLE LEGS (Age 2+) – Lamma Island

Make an afternoon out of it by taking the entire bunch over to Lamma for a leisurely stroll around the island. The flat and easy Family Trail finishes off at the beach, where you can splash around before pulling up seats at one of the Chinese seafood restaurants at the pier, such as the scrummy Lamma Hilton Shum Kee Seafood restaurant among many others. Catch a ferry from Central Pier No. 4. The journey is approximately 25 minutes.

Lamma Island Hiking With Kids, Website

What’s nearby? Eat seafood by the sea at one of Lamma Island’s fantastic alfresco restaurants.

POK FU LAM: LITTLE LEGS (Age 2+) – Hong Kong Island

From Central, take a bus or drive up to Pok Fu Lam Reservoir Road and walk along the flat, tranquil path that leads through the greenery and offers a breath of fresh air above the city. With lovely views of the reservoir and Lamma Island from afar, this easy walk is just what you and your little ones need to blow off some steam.

Pok Fu Lam Hiking With Kids, Website

What’s nearby? Picnic by the reservoir or head into Cyberport for lunch!

BOWEN ROAD: STROLLER FRIENDLY (Age 0+) – Hong Kong Island

Take your car up to Bowen Road and park it, or grab a cab to drop you and your wee ones off. The trail is short and sweet, plus you simply can’t beat the city views while walking along the shaded, lush path. The popular trail is a prized spot for runners – including moms that run with strollers in tow – and can be just the place to burn off that extra, post-natal chub.

Bowen Road Fitness Trail, Website

What’s nearby? A visit to Hong Kong Zoological and Botanic Gardens is always perfect.

THE PEAK: STROLLER FRIENDLY (Age 0+) – The Peak

Take the tram or one of the numerous buses up to The Peak Trail. Although it’s touristy, the flat road is a breeze for strollers, and the looped, shady path offers spectacular views of the Island. Plus, there are plenty of family-friendly restaurants where you can change your bub and enjoy lunch with top views of the city we love! Another option to take up or down from the Peak is the famous Morning Trail – easy for strollers and toddlers.

The Peak Trail, Website

The Morning Trail, Website

What’s nearby? Hong Kong’s best playground at the peak! Visit Mount Austin Playground for views, play, and picnic fun. Lunch at the Peak Lookout is kid-friendly and offers nice views.

SHEUNG YIU VILLAGE: STROLLER FRIENDLY (Age 0+) – New Territories

Go for a leisurely hike and learn about Hong Kong history on this stroller and little-leg-apt trail, situated in Sai Kung Country Park. The paved trail is shaded, and there are varying degrees of difficulty to choose from. Start in Sheung Yiu – for those with prams, walk to the museum, those with young kiddos can loop around Tai Mong Sai Road, and those with older children can head out to High Island Reservoir.

Sheung Yiu Family Walk, http://www.littlestepsasia.com/hong-kong/articles/play/sheung-yiu-family-walk

What’s nearby? Visit Sai Kung after for a meal by the sea or a play in the square.