25 Feb 2019

Year 2 Update Week 23

Thursday 7th March – World Maths Day…..see below for more information!

Friday 8th March – Student-Led Conferences

Friday 29th March – PTA International Food Fair

Thursday 4th April – ESF Choral Concert

Friday 5th April – Ching Ming Festival.….no school

Wednesday 10th April – Easter Concert

Friday 12 April – Last day of school before Easter holidays, 12 pm finish

Student Led Conferences – Friday 8th March

Bookings for the upcoming Student Led Conferences will close on Monday 4th March. Please go to the Gateway bhs.tg.esf.edu.hk to book your appointment if you haven’t already done so. Details were sent out in our newsletters on the 15th and 22nd February. Please note that your child only needs to come to school with you for the hour’s appointment as all the teachers will be involved in running the conferences. However, if your child wishes to show you what they have been doing in the FMS program please come to school a little earlier as that will be possible during the day until 3 pm in the soft playroom off the playground.

If you have any questions please contact Ms Jeves jevese2@beaconhill.edu.hk.

Maths Week

Next week is Maths Week at BHS. During the week there will be treasure hunts and lunchtime activities happening which all students are invited to take part in during break and lunch times. In addition to this, students can enter our Figure Me Out competition. All those wishing to take part in the competition can come and collect a template from outside 401 or alternatively they can design their own template. I have included an image of what this might look like below. Entries should be returned to school no later than Monday 11th March.

Reading Assessments

We are currently in the process of completing new reading assessments with the children. Each assessment takes some time to complete, thank you for your understanding. Colours of reading books span many levels and so if your child does not move to a new colour, this does not indicate a lack of progress.

Book Drive

Brody, Ryan and Muchan in Year 6 are organising a Book Drive to help spread our love of reading. The Sony Corporation will collect books to create mobile libraries in South Africa for schools that do not have enough books for children to read. If you have books that are:

Please send them to school. There is a collection box in the school foyer. Any books you can donate will help spread the enjoyment of reading.

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 kannis.tsui@bhs.edu.hk and they will be shared 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

School Uniform

Please ensure your child has a hat every day. As with Sports Day, the day can start out cloudy, but then brighten up and the children can get catch the sun easily.

Timetable

	PE Kit	Library Bags
2D	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday	Thursday
2F	Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday	Thursday
2K	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday	Wednesday

Unit of Inquiry

This week some children have inquired into which ball can bounce the highest and magnetism.

Children have also been inquiring into the properties of materials by exploring different states of matter and how materials change. We have used BrainPOP Jnr. to engage our thinking around this.

Some children have had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of this when conducting an experiment into how ice cream is made. Mr Thompson led this session in 2F this week. He will offer this experience to 2D and 2K next week!

Maths

The children have been engaged in multiplication word problems and games in order to help them develop both problem-solving strategies as well as number fluency. They have applied the comprehension strategy of visualising when sharing their mathematical thinking.

English

Children have continued looking at examples of how authors choose their words carefully to create an exciting beginning to a story and then thought of their own engaging sentence.

Some Year 2s have started making connections between two stories, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Little Wolves. In writing lessons, they have been unpacking the language and structure of both of these stories. Using and adapting these, some children have begun to plan their own versions of the classic fairy tale.

Fun Friends

The Year 2 classes are currently completing their FEELINGS sessions. The important messages from these initial sessions are that all feelings are ok, how we feel can influence our behaviour choices and we can practise being brave.

Once the FEELING sessions are finished, we will move on to “R” for RELAX. Please use the username and password in your child’s Home School Diary to log into the Fun Friends online programme to see how you can support this social emotional learning at home.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Best of luck to Michael and his family in their new adventures.

Welcome to Storm Lau and his family. Storm is joining 2F.

2D have had the opportunity to welcome both Summer Wong and Michael Lee into our class.

Central idea: Scientists explore materials to discover how they can be used.

Lines of inquiry

1. The properties of materials (form)
2. How scientists carry out investigations (function)
3. How materials can change (change)

Central Idea:

The operations of multiplication and division are related to each other and are used to process information to solve problems.

Lines of inquiry:

How we solve problems using multiplication and division
Mental and written strategies for multiplication and division
The language and symbols of multiplication and division

Next week the children will look further into how multiplication relates to division and will be encouraged to show a growth mindset as they solve further problems.

All of the Year 2 classes have also spent some time on the Daily 10. This is a useful way to check and support your child’s mental math skills. Different levels can be set. Please see the link below: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/daily10

Hit the Button is another fun game that practises a range of different mental maths, including multiplication facts. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Writing focus: Writing to entertain

The children will continue to explore narrative as they create their own stories within a group.

When reading, the children make connections by using what they already know to connect a text to their life experiences, another text, or the world.

They will also be encouraged to use the comprehension strategy of Visualising, as they engage in a text they will create pictures in their head.

Well done to:

2K – Scott Poon

2D – Travis Bennett

2F – Siobhan Marley

SLT award – Jayden Wong (2K)

Spelling

Please learn the final list of spellings. Thank you for continuing to practise writing the words in sentences. In our class handwriting lessons, we have begun to introduce the children to cursive handwriting. Correct letter formation is very important. Please encourage this at home.

Home Reading

Please read at home with your child each day and sign their Reading Journal. Please encourage your child to write the date and title in their Reading Journal, including for Big Universe.

In Big Universe, select ‘Library’. On the right-hand side you will be able to select the ‘grade’ for your child. The appropriate grade selection is kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade. This covers the age group of our children at BHS.

Mandarin – All children are encouraged to take a reading book home on the days when they have Mandarin lessons.

Games and Activities to Develop Vocabulary

We have noticed that many of our Year 2 children would benefit from developing a broader vocabulary. With this in mind, we would like to recommend some games you can easily play at home, or on the move that will give your child the opportunity to develop their awareness and language skills.

I Spy With My Little Eye

Benefits: vocabulary development, phonics and spelling awareness, observation skills and focus

Equipment: None

Number of players: Unlimited

Location: Anywhere!

Say, “I spy with my little eye something beginning with …” Start playing the game using objects in the room you can see. Begin with obvious items and over time move to more discreet objects. You can vary the game by using the initial sounds (phonics), or letters (spelling) or even colours or numbers. You can increase the challenge level by saying, “I spy with my little eye, something that ends in …”

Word Association Game

Benefits: vocabulary development, fluency, memory and recall

Equipment: None

Number of players: Pairs are good, but more players possible if everyone takes turns

Location: Anywhere!

The first player, chosen randomly, says one word out loud. The other player has to quickly say a word that has some connection with the previous word. Players lose if …