Year 1 Update – Week 18
Tuesday 24th January – Popcorn at snack time. Please read and complete enotice for more details.
How We Express Ourselves
Central Idea: Thinking helps us to imagine and create.
Our focus will continue to be on designing, planning and then making their ideas on how to solve the problems. The children will be required to show growing independence with the tasks and be ready to talk through their ideas.
We have noticed that many of the children are still not confident when cutting and sticking so any opportunity to play with craft and drawing materials at home will be of enormous benefit to them.
Dim Sum and Flower Market Trip
Please complete the eNotice and send in your payment for our special Chinese New Year celebration Dim Sum and flower market trip if you haven’t already done so on Monday 21st January. In the exceptional cases where there is no family member available to accompany your child, we will encourage them to choose a friend and their family to sit next to during the Dim Sum and ensure that they are fully supervised in the market. If your child will be unable to attend the trip because they will be away from school that day please let your child’s teacher know.
Health awareness
As we enter flu season we ask that for the next few weeks you check your child’s temperature in the morning before they leave for school. The aim is to prevent the spread of illness and ensure that children are fit and ready to learn. A child with a temperature of 38 degrees or higher should not be coming to school. We would also suggest that if your child has had a temperature overnight it would not be appropriate to send them to school. As always please talk to your child about the importance of thorough hand washing. There will be a record sheet attached to your child’s diary on Monday that we ask you to complete each day.
Thank you for your support.
Emily Jeves Vice Principal Year 1 and 2
Action in the PYP at BHS
It has been great celebrating the talents and achievements of our students through the ’Student Achievement’ section in the newsletter. We would like to do something similar with Student Action. Action in the PYP is when students are inspired through their learning and their experiences to make a difference to their lives or the community connected to real life issues and opportunities. We would like to celebrate our students taking action outside of school.
Please could you email examples to me, andy.thompson@bhs.edu.hk and I will share through our newsletter.
There are different types of Action. We would like to start with a focus on Participation. See below for a definition and examples
| Type of Action | Examples |
| Participation
Being actively involved in their learning and contributing as an individual or a group |
Getting involved with community projects
Making appropriate choices and taking responsibility to help people Taking on different roles e.g. being a leader, completing my chores, working in a group, looking after my pet Taking part in any decision making process Joining a new club |
We Need You!
Parent volunteers are so important at Beacon Hill school as they help to support even more engaging and meaningful learning experiences. We are currently looking for parents to help during our Wednesday Inquiry Play rotations. This is a termly commitment and you will be asked to support the learning of groups of children from all the Year 1 classes. The session runs from 10.50am to 12 pm EVERY Wednesday.
We are also looking for Native Mandarin speakers to support the following weekly Mandarin play sessions. These sessions run on Thursdays from 11.15 to 12.45pm. Thank you to the parents who are already signed up.
| Week 4 with 1P and 1L
Thursday 28/2 |
| Week 5 with 1L and 1W
Thursday 7/3 |
| Week 6 with 1P and 1W
Thursday 21/3 |
| Week 7 with 1P and 1L
Thursday 28/3 |
| Week 8 with 1L and 1W
Thursday 4/4 |
If you are available to help for either the term of Inquiry play rotations on Wednesdays or any of the Mandarin sessions on Thursdays please contact Ms Jeves at jevese2@beaconhill.edu.hk THANK YOU!
Mathletics: – there are now some more activities open. Please enjoy supporting your child with these tasks.
Please help the children to complete the Mathletics tasks that have been assigned to your child. The children can also enjoy Maths Live and play other children live across the world.
Next week in reading we are continuing our focus on the problems in stories and reflecting on how and why they were solved. We will also look for examples in stories where authors give a description of a character. We will be looking particularly at the language that makes a ‘good description’ such as interesting details and exciting adjectives.
Next week in writing our focus will be story writing. Some children may describe characters, some may focus on a problem and a solution and some may write a simple story. Please ask your child what they are writing about.
Unit 3 Phonics:
1L – Takara Lai
1P – Adrina Wong
1W – Thomas Pearson
Congratulations to all our Golden Book children!
Attend the Fun Event Full of Crafts and Family Activities
Photo Credit: Kidenza
Chinese New Year is imminent, and if you’ve got kids to entertain in Hong Kong during this festive period, take your pick from a range of craft activities. For bundles of fun, ensure that you don’t miss out on the one-day playful workshops by Kidenza. The main reason to come here on 2nd February 2019 is, of course, educational fun and two festive events. Just as importantly, parents get an opportunity to participate in some creative activities with their little ones, and get messy outside of their home in a productive way. To say the least, it is a wonderful bonding time for families with kids. The two workshops will feature authentic Pig-themed decorations including making a candy bowl, designing a festive CNY decoration and doing screen-printing Fai Chun! It is also worth mentioning the exceptionally kind, patient and professional staff, that provide support and encouragement to the youngsters and parents alike.
Date: 2nd February 2019
Time:
- Candy Bowl Handcrafting + Screen Print Fai Chun (best for kids aged 6 upwards): 10am – 12:30pm;
- CNY Decoration for the Year of the Pig + Screen Print Fai Chun (suitable for children over 4): 1:30pm – 3:30pm.
Venue: Kidenza. 2/F, Tung Chiu Commercial Centre, 193 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai (Wan Chai Station, Exit A1, 2-min walk).
Craft Your Own Chinese New Year Decorations
Video Credit: Central Market Kuala Lumpur YouTube Channel
Lunar New Year is an ideal time to get crafty and not only because it is a great festive activity that doesn’t cost a fortune. It is also because you can get kids involved and keep their hands busy without too much input. With extended families and friends visiting your house, there is no better time to use your creations to deck out the house and display your little one’s crafty talents proudly! Of course, getting crafty at home with kids can cause a mess, but it is a great chance to develop their sensory skills whilst creating a fun decoration. We’ve found cheap and cheerful ways of having a festive home with the fancy looking Ang Pow Chinese New Year Lantern. Check out this video tutorial – it’s one of our favourites. Let the kids go nuts and get into the festive spirit!
Make Your Own Ang Pow with Kids
Video Credit: Laney and Dax Celebrate YouTube Channel
Giving “lucky money” to children in red envelopes is one of the favourite and most fun traditions for kids and their families, as Ang Pow evokes feelings of excitement and expectation. If none of stock-produced red envelopes hasn’t stolen your heart yet, craft your own ones decorating them with Chinese characters for luck and happiness. This is also a delightful and enjoyable activity for children, which totally engrosses them into the process. Furthermore, making Ang Pow arouses the interest and curiosity of the origins of the red envelopes. It is a wonderful bonding time for families with kids – to say the least – kids gladly become decent team members in the build-up to Chinese New Year.
