16December2011Newsletter

Reminder: Please do not walk your child through the car park at the end of the school day.  Please use the pedestrian entrance for access to Stubbs Road.

 Please do not use the school car park spaces to leave your car when you are on trips or visiting the school.  All car spaces are allocated to staff.  Also, please do not double park.  There have been times when staff have been blocked in because of inconsiderate parking.

 Please be reminded that our school uniform for girls is black school shoes (not party or dress) and either plain white or plain black ( no coloured inserts or laces) sports shoes for P.E. for both boys and girls.

 Sandra Webster – Principal

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, Bradbury School has enrolled in the upcoming Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2012.  This year the theme is: New Tales of the Yangtze River. Submissions are due on January 31^st 2012 to the panel of judges at HKYWA.  Each school is allowed to submit 10 entries for writing and 5 for artwork so we will need to shortlist the entries. All submissions are due in to Bradbury School, Monday 16^th January to carolyn.andrews@bs.esf.edu.hk – please make a note of this date.

 The panel is quite specific on how to prepare electronic submissions.  Please note that I am in no way permitted to change the student’s original work, so please make sure to follow these guidelines below:

 Student Group, Category, Title and Page number must be on all pages in the header. name of the student must not be included

• Art submission must be on A3 and submitted to me in hard copy
• Electronic work must be on A4 paper with 1" margin around - double spaced - 12 point Arial or Times Roman font

Award Categories and Word Limits

You can access more information about the competition at the following website: http://www.hkywa.com/ or drop by the school to read previous winning entries found in an anthology that is on display in the library and main entrance to the school.

 Paul Melsom from ‘Eagle Owl on Lantau’ spoke to all the Year 4 children recently about Ecosystems around Hong Kong and what different people are doing to help protect them.  Some children were overheard on our recent Cheung Chau camp talking about the quality of fire beaters and fire breaks they saw on our hike to the Pirate Cave! 

 A big thanks to Paul for sharing his extensive knowledge and passion with the children.

 Lisa Marwick - Year 4 Teacher

To celebrate the end of our Unit of Inquiry on water, Year 5 had an open morning for parents to come and observe what the children had been learning and to talk to them about their summative task which was to 'Clean a sample of dirty water using house hold equipment'. The children enjoyed explaining their experiments and applying it to their learning of scientific processes.

Year 5 had a great time on camp recently in Sai Kung at the Chong Hing Water Sports Center. The children enjoyed taking risks, trying new activities such as archery and and sleeping in tents.  We had lovely weather and the children got to make new friends.

 Amanda Bremner – 5B Teacher/Year 5 Leader

Dear Parents from Island School’s Partner Primary Schools

 Island School Redevelopment Parents Information Meeting 7.00pm Wednesday 18th January 2012

 All partner primary school parents are invited to a meeting in the school hall to discuss the school's impending redevelopment. There have been significant developments with regard to the rebuilding of Island School in the last few weeks. Ronald Lu & Partners have been awarded the tender to undertake the first feasibility studies and the development of a detailed concept brief for the design of the new school. We want to keep parents in the loop throughout the redevelopment process. This is a two way process that seeks to ensure that parents are kept well informed and that they contribute to discussions from which the vision for the new school will emerge. This first meeting will aim to inform parents of where we are at present, it will detail the process going forward over the next eight months and will provide a forum for questions and answers. Present at the meeting will be representatives of the ESF facilities Development Department, Ronald Lu & Partners (Architects), Chris Binge IS Principal, representatives from school council and Matt Smith / Gareth Stevens (Project Liaison Officers)

 Background: Island School Redevelopment

As many of you will know Island School was opened in 1967 in the buildings across the road from where we are now, and the present building was constructed in the early 70s. There are lovely pictures in the book “No Ordinary School” of the students of the day carrying the furniture across the road to the newly completed blocks 3 and 4. The other buildings of our current site were added during the next few years, and the number of students increased until it reached the 1200 that has been the stable number for many years now.

 Our current school buildings have been very much part of creating the unique atmosphere of the school, and everyone who has spent time here remembers the playgrounds when they are crowded with students supporting teams in a house competition and feel more like an amphitheatre than a school. However there are significant problems associated with the site we now occupy. We are overcrowded both within many of the classrooms, but also with the number of classrooms. Teaching styles are restricted by these constraints and modern schools really need more flexible spaces. Of just as much concern is the state and condition of the structures. They are safe and solid and under constant observation, but the technical reports indicate that the maintenance costs of the buildings will increase steadily over the coming years.

 The time has come to start working on new buildings for Island School. We are about to embark on a project that we hope will culminate in a new school that is a flagship for the ESF, a school that fits current ideas in 21st century education and is ready to accommodate new progress for the next 50 years of our school’s life. It is an exciting and thrilling project to be involved in and I am pleased to announce that two vital steps have been taken in the last couple of weeks.

 The ESF board has thrown their support behind the project and we have now engaged the architects firm of Ronald Lu and partners to do the feasibility study for a new school and prepare the brief for the design stage which will start next year. In order to make sure the new plans reflect the ethos, educational needs and aspirations of the Island School community, we have appointed Gareth Stevens and Matthew Smith to act as a liaison team between the school, the architects and the ESF development office. They will have their timetable and duties reduced significantly in the new year in order to make sure the process goes well.

 Of course the big question is where the new school will be. At the moment we are not completely sure of the government’s thinking on this project and there are two distinct possibilities, both with their positive and negative points. We may be given a piece of land on Hong Kong Island where we can build a school unimpeded, and move into completed buildings once they are finished. The advantage will be lack of disruption, but we will have to give up our present location. The alternative would be to rebuild a new school on the present site. This retains our location, but will require moving off the site for some time as it is built. Until the government gives us a direction as to what is possible, we need to look at both possibilities equally. The architects have been instructed to do this, and to look at the problems and opportunities for both projects.

 Part of Gareth and Matthew’s role in this is to ensure we have as much communication with the whole community as possible. We need to hear views and opinion to help us solve the problems, and to allow us to get the full story about that wonderful but intangible Island School spirit. We need to be able to make sure the new buildings will retain the spirit along with giving new opportunities.

 I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday, and season’s greetings to all.

 Chris Binge

 For any further information please contact Gareth Stevens – Vice Principal gws@mail.island.edu.hk

Please remember to recycle as much Christmas wrapping paper and as many cards as you can this festive season – you can utilise the recycling paper bins around Hong Kong or send in cards to school to be used for art work next year…….Happy Holidays!

 Be festive, be green  

 Aylish Franklin – Y1 Teacher/Environmental Leader

Bradbury School Winter Night Market

The PTA would like to say THANK YOU to so many people who contributed to the success of our 2^nd Annual Bradbury School Winter Night Market! It was so wonderful to have the support from the Bradbury Parent and Teacher community!!  The night was filled with a true festive spirit that was apparent to anyone who entered – so many friends and families gathered, talking, eating, laughing, singing, dancing, and really enjoying themselves!!  That is what makes Bradbury so special – such a diverse community of families coming together to support this major fundraiser – which in turn supports our number one assets – our kids!  We also hope you were also able to get in some Christmas shopping!

As you know this was also our major PTA fundraiser for the year – and we are pleased to report that the event raised more than HK$220,000. Spending plans are still under discussion but are likely to include continued upgrades to the playgrounds. We do of course welcome input from parents or teachers – if you have suggestions for projects within the school that the PTA might be able to fund please email us at pta@bs.esf.edu.hk.

Raffle Prize Winners

The winners of the RAFFLE DRAW from the Night Market:

Please bring your ticket stub to the PTA office to claim your prize.

Talent Show Winners


A BIG round of applause to all the finalists who gave us all a wonderful performance! You should all feel very proud!!

Congratulations to the winners:

 Wow what a week! This week the Year 1’s had their first athletics meet. Year 5 had visiting coaches, Linda Wilson from ESL and Aaron Stockdale, come and work with them in water polo. Year 3 had their end of unit netball tournament, Year 6 their end of unit cricket tournament.

 As well as all this the extension part of our athletics program kicked in this week with 20 of our top Year 5 and 6 athletes heading off to Stanley Ho sport ground for an athletics meet. This is the first time Bradbury School students have competed in an athletics meet against other schools. Details of how the children got on and photos from all these events can be found on The P.E. page of The Buzz.

 After School Activities

There have been a number of tournaments and matches for our teams lately. As with curriculum P.E. details of all these events can be found on the P.E. page of The Buzz.

 You can find the list of activities for next term below. Please fill it in and return it to Miss Farry before Wednesday 4^th January.

                             After School Activities for Term Two

 Please print out and fill in the following form and return it to Miss Farry before Wednesday 4^th January.

 All activities will start on Monday 9^th January and run until Friday 23^rd March.

 All fees charged for these activities are to cover the costs of buses, pitch hirage and coaches. If there are too many children for an activity, enrolment will be on a first come, first served basis. Assume your child has a place in the activity unless you hear otherwise from me.

 If you enrol your child in these activities remember that the expectation is that they are committed to the activity for the term.

 If activities are cancelled we will ring you around lunch time on the day to make arrangements for your child to get home. All school based activities will go ahead regardless of the weather.

 I would like to enroll my child _______________________ class ____________  for the following activities:

I understand that I am responsible for making arrangements for my child to be picked up at the designated time.

I enclose a check, made payable to Bradbury School, for ______________

(Please write your child’s name and class on the back of the check and attach it to this form)

Signed_________________________________

Emergency contact number, to be used if necessary during the activity ______________

At Bradbury School we have heaps of after school activities run by our staff and by our sister company ESL. A number of Bradbury Students attend the ESL tennis sessions and hit the courts in the ESL ATA Team Tennis competition. Players from numerous ESF, International, and local schools across HK came together on the 19th November to play in the ATA ESL team competition held on the courts of South Island School. Players competed in their respective age groups 7&U, 9&U and 11&U both individually and within a team. The competition catered to players not only new to tennis but also for more experienced match players in a fun friendly competitive environment.
  

Bradbury School had several representatives who did very well and enjoyed their events:

7&U - Benjamin and Nathaniel Calkins

9&U - Anthony Aldcroft and Vidur Malik

11&U James Stunt

 Congratulations to both Anthony and Vidur representing Team Bradbury who were joint winners of the 9&U team competition scoring the same number of wins and points as Team Kennedy. A great competition and performance on the day! Also a further congratulations to James Stunt who played a key role as part of the 11&U Winning 'ESF combo team' made up of players from Peak, Bradbury, and Glenealy.

 There will be further competitions and events run by Australasia Tennis Aces next year, so if you are keen tennis player and want to test your skills and accelerate your learning through competition the ATA team would love to see you out on the court in one of their events. Upcoming tennis opportunities: ATA's popular ESL Tennis Christmas Camps (South Island School 19-23rd, and 28-30th Dec) TERM 2 - ESL ATA Tennis at Bradbury School - Enrol Now: www.esf.org.hk or email: sports@esf.org.hk
 

During the Winter break, ESL is offering Multi-sports Camps at Sha Tin College and South Island School.  Our Sports Camps especially aimed at children, to keep them active and entertained throughout the holiday.  This is a great opportunity for children to try a variety of sports, enhance physical abilities, social development and self confidence in a safe and energising environment.

 For children who would like to spend extra time training in a specific sport, there are several choices of specialist clinics at different sites

 Please check our website www.esf.org.hk or contact us at 2711 1280 for the details of our Winter Sports Camps/Clinics schedule.

 DISCLAIMER: Bradbury School is not responsible for the quality and safety of programmes offered by third parties. However, please note that all hirers are required to provide third party insurance. Parents are urged to take steps to ensure that they are satisfied with any and all aspects of the after school programme(s) they elect to opt in to.