Bradbury Newsletter 10th June 2016

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Greetings to you all!  

It was great to see so many of you at our Student Led Conferences over the past weeks.  From the conversations with many of you, as well as your smiles, they were a wonderful success! The idea of these is to give our students an opportunity to articulate their learning and to give you the opportunity to share in it.  It means a lot to our students to have you there, focussing on just them and what they have to say.  Thank you for coming along, we very much appreciated it.  

Today, we have the last of our CPD Days.  The focus of this day is sharing our good practice and analysing what makes it successful, in order to take these success elements forward into our practice next year.  Teaching is such a dynamic profession, it is vital that we constanly upskill ourselves.  

Farewell also to the following staff.  Thank you for your many contributions to our school,  some over many years. We wish you everything wonderful for your next adventure.

Marilyn Day- teacher, finishing work;

Karen Carmody- teacher, moving to JCSR on promotion;

Shaaron Piatek- teacher, returning to New Zealand;

Rebecca Glick – teacher, returning to the U.S.A.

Sue Bousfield- temporary librarian, year contract ended;

Nerida Kiprotich- teacher, moving to Discovery College;

Tez Campion- EA, retiring;

Annie Wan- EA, now qualified as a teacher and has won a teaching position;

Jane Robinson- EA, finishing work;

Rebecca Hardman, EA, now qualified as a teacher and has won a teaching position;

Ah Chun, cleaner, retiring; and

Wah Suk, Assistant Site Manger, retiring
Thank you.

Sandra Webster

Principal  

WANTED: PART TIME GARDENER

Part time gardener (hours negotiable ) to care for the living walls throughout the school.  This is a paid position.  If you are interested, can you please contact Sandra Webster.

Sandra Webster – Principal

P.T.A. SHOP OPENING HOURS

For the convenience of parents, we have made special arrangements for the shop opening hours at the beginning of the new school year. We encourage the parents to purchase the uniforms and stationery early as it will be very crowded in the shop at the beginning of the new term. The PTA shop will be closed during summer holiday.

Open Date: August: 9, 10, 11, 12  (open from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

Our shop will open regularly Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 15 August 2016 onwards.
Lin Gong – PTA Administrator

YEAR 5 DRAMA

YEAR 6 PERSONAL INQUIRY PROJECT

A number of students in the upper phase have been taking control of their learning in personal inquiry projects. Maya from 6A has created her own speaker whilst others have created sweets, cakes, dresses and even scale models of medieval catapults! Please read Maya’s quick recount of her project…

Steve Fennelly – Vice Principal/Upper Phase Leader

My Speaker

By Maya Tobback –  Year 6

  First, I had to connect everything and test it to see if it worked and I hadn’t short circuited anything.  Then I sketched the design and measurements for the box.

After that me and my dad sawed the wood. Mr Allan helped me to drill holes and attach the speakers. Some other projects were : making candy, learning to play an instrument, making a mashup of songs, making games and many more!

HOW CAN WE HELP TO MAKE OUR CHILDREN’S INTERNET BROWSING SAFER?

Easy, Free Browser Hacks to Make the Internet Safer for Your Child

Create a more children-friendly online experience with smart tweaks to your internet browser.

Caroline Knorr Senior Parenting Editor | Mom of one6/6/2016

If you’re wondering which parental controls to install on your desktop, laptop, or tablet, the answer might be right at your fingertips — literally! The top three internet browsers — Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari — each offer settings and add-ons to help make your children’s online experience more age-appropriate. With a few tweaks, you can block sites, filter search results, and even create a white list of sites that are OK for your children.

As helpful as they are, though, parental control settings are just one piece of the keeping-children-safe-online puzzle. And the settings will require tweaks as your children get older. You’ll probably want stricter settings when your children are just starting to go online and gradually ease up as your children need fewer protections. Most importantly, talk to your children about responsible online behavior — and model it, too. Together, explore ways to customize the tools your children use for school, entertainment, and socializing. Learning how to use technology appropriately and discovering how to make it work for your needs are key to getting the best out of technology — while minimizing risks.
Set up Google SafeSearch

SafeSearch filters out the most sketchy websites and images, and it’s a good first step in keeping the web a safe place for children to explore. You’ll need a Gmail account and be logged in to set up SafeSearch, and you’ll need to set it up for each browser and device you use. Make sure each browser uses Google as its search engine; follow the instructions below to check.

In Google Chrome

• Click on Menu (at the top right of your browser window, the Menu usually appears as three parallel lines; it should say “Customize and control Google Chrome”).
• Click Settings, then scroll down to Search.
• Under where it says “Set which search engine is used when searching from the omnibox,” the drop-down should say Google.
• Next, click on your account (the icon on the top right). Click on My Account, then click on Personal Info and Privacy. Under Your Personal Info, scroll down and click on Search Settings. Under SafeSearch filters, select Turn on SafeSearch and then Lock SafeSearch. Here, you can password-protect the SafeSearch setting.

In Apple Safari

• In the Settings menu, click on Safari.
• Click on Search Engine and select Google.
• Next, click on your Safari icon and go to Google.com. Scroll to Settings and select “Search settings.” Under SafeSearch Filters, select “Filter explicit results.” Tap Save. Tap the question mark icon next to SafeSearch Filters to enable that setting for all your devices.

In Mozilla Firefox

• Click on Menu (at the top right of your browser window, the Menu usually appears as three parallel lines; it should say “Open menu”).
• Click Options, then click on Search.
• Under Default Search Engine the drop-down should say Google.
• Next, go to Google.com. Scroll to Settings, then select “Search settings.” Under “SafeSearch filters,” click on “Turn on SafeSearch” and lock it by typing in your password.

Swap out the search engine for a children-friendlier one

Kid browsers or search sites offer an extra layer of protection for children roaming the internet, because they come with built-in parental controls and can be easier for younger children to use.

In Google Chrome

• Click the Menu icon and click Settings. Scroll down to Search. Click on “Manage search engines.” At the bottom of the new window that opens, you’ll see a box that says “Add a new search engine.” Here, you can put in any children-friendly search you like — for example, one of these. Once you’ve added the URL, click on “Make default.”

In Apple Safari

• In Settings, click General and scroll down to Restrictions. You can turn off many features in Restrictions, but for now simply disable Safari. Next, go to the App Store and do a search for “search engines for childrenren” or “browsers for childrenren.” Choose and install a new search engine based on the description and reviews. Whenever you want Safari back, just re-enable it by going back into Restrictions, and the Safari icon will reappear.

In Mozilla Firefox

• Click the Menu icon and click Options. Select Search. At the bottom of the page, click “Add more search engines.” On the Add-on page, click More at the top of the page, and under Search Providers, click Kids. Here, you can choose from a wide range of children-friendly search engines. Follow the steps to add to Firefox. Go back to the Search page under Options and select the new children’s browser as the default search engine.

Customize your browser

Each browser offers unique features to prevent children from stumbling onto age-inappropriate content.

In Google Chrome

• Create a supervised user account. Click on Menu, select Settings, and scroll down to People. Click Add Person. Here, you can add a user, such as your children, whom you can supervise by clicking “Control and view the websites this person visits when they use your browser.” You’ll get a dashboard where you can set up search filters to block unwanted content.
• Make your Chrome browser off-limits. Also under People, deselect Enable Guest Browsing and “Let anyone add a person to Chrome.” These two settings prevent others from using your browser.
• Turn off images. On the Settings page, click “Show advanced settings.” Under Privacy, click “Content settings.” Under Images, click “Do not show any images.”

In Apple Safari

• Set up additional content filters. Also in Restrictions, scroll down to Allowed Content. Here, you can set age restrictions for downloadable content and websites. Under Websites, check Limit Adult Content. Next, you can add websites to the Always Allow and Never Allow lists.

In Mozilla Firefox

• Install add-on parental controls. Go to the Menu and click Add-ons. Click on the Search icon and type in the kind of feature you would like to add, such as “parental controls” or “search filter.” Choose an add-on based on the features and reviews. You can experiment with different ones because they’re easy to add and remove. Usually, the add-on’s icon will appear at the top of the screen so you know it’s working. Test it by searching for something it’s supposed to filter. If it doesn’t work, click on Extensions to troubleshoot.

HONG KONG YOUNG WRITERS ENTRIES

By Sian Littlewood – Year 6 Student
Hi, my name is Joseph, I’m from Xi’an in China. Lots of weird things have happened in my life, but nothing was as crazy as what happened to me on the 29th of March 1974. It all started when I was on my friend, Clements farm, helping him dig a water well. The trees were swaying with the gentle spring breeze, the birds singing a song, and I kept digging along. Clement went up for some water at the worst time, right after he left the ground beneath cracked open and I fell inside, after that my vision went black.  
You’re probably thinking I broke an arm but actually I was absolutely fine. The reason my vision went black was because I decided to seal my eyes shut, I saw what was in front of me and it was terrifying.

“CLEMENT! HELP!” I yelled. Nothing. No reply. Just the howl of the wind. I said a few unpleasant words in chinese. I sat there praying that Clement would come back. Then suddenly,

“JOE!? JOE!? ARE YOU OK!? Clements voice sounded alarmed, “I’ll get some help!” And then he took off.

“CLEMENT?!” I shouted. I was so annoyed, just like that he’s gone, just-POOF! I forced myself to open one eye, “Oh my gosh,” I thought. I was standing in a hall filled with dozens of probably Terracotta soldiers.
I tried to examine the soldiers’ faces, but it was very dark, the only light was from the hole. They all seemed to have different expressions. I noticed there were horses and chariots as well. “Interesting,” I thought. I came across a soldier holding a beautiful oval-shaped green gem. The soldier was taller than most of the others, he was probably a general. “This looks nice,” I said as I slipped it into my pocket. A voice from above had called, it was Clement,  “Joe, don’t worry the police are here!”

“Finally you’re back!” I said as I turned my back to the soldiers and looked up at the hole.
The police started making their way down. I looked back at the soldiers and to my horror the first line of soldiers had appeared to have moved since I last saw them, one of them was standing very close to me. I noticed the soldier’s expression changed from peaceful to angry, and his hand was reaching for me.
“Well guys…” a policeman started “I learned that before, when an emperor died they used to bury them with soldiers.”

“Great, I found an emperor’s tomb,” I thought.

“I’d better tell the community about this,” another policeman said as he picked up a pad of paper and began to make of list of people he was going to call.

“And guys,” I said, “look at the soldiers and where they are.”

“Ok,” everyone replied,

“Now turn around and don’t look at them,” I said, everyone did as they were told and I counted to three. “Ok, now turn around.” The soldiers had moved again.

“I better call the paranormal investigator as well.”
It was pretty easy to find the paranormal investigator among the crowd, he was tall and had a hat that made him look like a secret agent/spy/detective. He was also wearing a big brown coat and cool sunglasses.

“I’m Joe” I said, sticking my hand out,

“I’m James” he said back shaking my hand.

So I told and showed James everything there was to know and he nodded,

“Maybe they’re angry. What makes you angry?” he said

“Umm…” I thought, “when my wife loses my socks in the wash!”

James chuckled, “Well, I guess no one’s stole or lost anything obviously so…”

“Ok then I’ll see ya later,” I said.
I wanted to go look at the soldiers more carefully. I zig-zagged through the maze of soldiers. Suddenly I felt a touch on my shoulder. I spun around and shone my flashlight. It was an angry looking soldier. I quickly turned around to keep going but another soldier was blocking my path, my left and right were also occupied. “HELP!” I shouted. There was no point. Useless. They were too far away. If I didn’t look at the soldiers they would move closer so I had to spin around in a circle.
I started to feel dizzy. Suddenly I fell to the ground.

w.27 I dropped my flashlight and could not see anything, that meant the soldiers could move. I felt them closing in. “NOO!” I shouted. Then it hit me,

“They are angry! I stole something!” I reached into my pocket and grabbed the gem. “Here!” I said, holding it out, immediately it vanished out of my hand, the hall lights went on and I could see again.
I found out I was on the other side of the room, far from the others. The soldiers somehow magically had returned to their original places. I sprinted past the soldiers back to everyone else, they were all looking confused. Then out of the blue a soldier sprang to life and stumbled to the front, it was the tall soldier I took the gem from.

“Hi everyone! Im Yao Zhi Ai and I’m the general of the Terracotta Army!” Everybody was shocked and could do nothing but stare.

“When the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang was very old and was soon to die…” The soldier started.

“Here we go, a history lesson.” I thought.

“… The Chinese people built 8,000 soldiers and a special green gem to bury with Qin Shi Huang, to protect in his afterlife…”

“Great, that’s why,” I thought as I grew more and more impatient.

“… and that is our story. Thank you!” Yao Zhi Ai finally said, as he waddled back into place and became inanimate again.
Yep, so that’s how I discovered the Terracotta army and became forever scared of the dark. After that, I pretended it never happened and I went back to farming.

The Key Handle

By Aoi Sakamoto – Year 6 Student

Chapter 1

I took a deep breath as I looked around the tomb, examining each and every terracotta soldier I saw. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an exquisite one painted in gold……

“Mom, mom,” I called, “Does this have a special meaning?” “Was he the emperor’s most favourite worker?”

Just like all the rumours I heard, each soldier was different. Different eyes, different clothes, and wait a minute! There are some soldiers which have beards!!!

I went through another maze of soldiers, and I came to the last row on the right. I squinted all the way to the other side of the tomb, just in case I didn’t miss another painted one like the gold one I just had seen. Among the grey dusty soldiers, I saw a strip of beige far back, right at the other side of the tomb.  I softly scampered towards the soldier, as I came closer, it revealed its human-like skin colour, it felt smooth as silk. It looked like it had been painted with special chemicals and protected by a thin layer of chromium. The soldier held a bow and an arrow and seemed like aiming something. I took a picture of the painted soldier. “I have a bad feeling about that arrow” I told myself.  Shaking, I bent down and touched the arrow with my fingertips. I knew it! These weapons were real, but were also covered in chromium so they were in good condition!!! I glanced back at my phone, looking at the picture I took then I noticed a gold handle was stuck behind the painted soldier’s back. What was it? I was extremely curious.
Chapter 2

I looked at my watch, it was still 14:00. Maybe I had time to take a little peek before going home. The handle was made of metal, it stuck out like a door knob. I couldn’t help touching the knob and seeing what would happen.

I discreetly twisted the stiff handle, trying hard to not make a noise while it squeaked every time I twisted it. After a long time trying to get the handle to twist, the wall behind the soldier made a loud thundering sound. I hurriedly looked up from the soldier, stunned to see the wall behind him cracked open. I looked back at the people all around me, surprised to see no one looking my way. I cautiously entered the door and found myself in a long cliff-like runway walking towards the end.  Suddenly, I wasn’t too sure about this. I was shocked. I realised I was so high up. Just as I was about to turn around and go back, I caught a glimpse of something shining in gold hidden behind some metal ornaments. I rushed to the ornaments, forgetting about the height. I pulled aside the dangling beads and paper, hoping to find a treasure box hidden inside. My hands trembled and shook as I slid off the cover of the coffin, wondering what surprise I would see. I peeked inside a little, too scared about what was going to happen next. I saw a label engraved to the lid that said “Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of China” All of a sudden, I knew what it meant. I had found the tomb of Qin Shi Huang!!! When I was about to take a picture, a hand landed on my shoulder, shaking me……
Chapter 3

“Wake up, wake up!” my mother’s voice startled me. I lay in bed not knowing what to say and what to do. Hold your horses! I was in China, sleeping in a cozy hotel bed, and I was going to see the real Terracotta Warriors!!! It was all just a dream……

Terracotta Warriors  

By Charlize Cheung – Year 2 Student
Once upon a time, there lived a terracotta maker.  One day, the King asked him to make some terracotta soldiers.  In the morning, he started to make the terracotta soldiers.  He got bored in the afternoon and made a bridesmaid. Next day, he went to the palace early in the morning and kept on making the soldiers.  He worked till the evening time and got bored again and made another beautiful bridesmaid.   Suddenly, the King came up and asked   “Have you chosen the name for this team of soldiers?” The maker nodded and told the King that he named them “Terracotta Warriors”.
One night, when the maker was asleep, the terracotta warriors came to life. Suddenly, a white envelope floated down to the ground and one of the bridesmaids opened it and it said:
Dear Terracotta Bridesmaids,
You are invited to our wedding ball.
Yours sincerely,

Prince
The terracotta bridesmaid called Ella read aloud. Ella looked up and said “It is already sunrise.”  She told another bridesmaid Bella that we had better return to our places.  So, Ella put the card into a pocket of her dress and they all stood still and once again they returned to statues.
Next day, when the maker was asleep, the terracotta bridesmaids went to the ball.  The Kingdom was very busy. The Prince was trying on his new clothes and boots. The bride was choosing a shining veil, a sparkling wedding dress and a few gowns to get ready for the wedding.
Lots of guests who came to the wedding were dressed in elegant dresses and clothes. The two terracotta bridesmaids went to get their flowers. When the ball started, the bride and the prince had the first dance. The bridesmaids and the other guests joined in.  Suddenly, the two bridesmaids each stepped on a beautiful and huge diamond and asked if anybody knew what kind of diamond they were. A wise man came up and told them they were wishing diamonds and only the first person who saw it could make a wish.  All the guests were shocked and they all wanted to have it. So, Bella wished that everybody here could have a diamond.  One of the guests who got the diamond said “I want to be the King”.  The King was very angry. He fell from his throne and fainted. Another guest said “I want to be the richest man in the world.” The Prince said “I want my dad to be the King” and everybody began to argue.
When Ella saw what had happened, she made her wish and said “ I wish everything was back to before they found the wishing diamonds.” Suddenly, the maker woke up in fright and ran to the palace to take a look if everything was still there.  When he got there, he realized it was just a dream. But one thing that he didn’t know was that Ella and Bella really did have a diamond in each of their pockets.

ISLAND SCHOOL NEWS

At this meeting senior staff will talk about: curriculum updates, the current decant and redevelopment situation and some of the highlights from our very complimentary recent Council of International Schools Report.

Event information
Time: 6.30pm
Date: 20 June 2016
Location: Island School

If you wish to attend this event please email rsvp@online.island.edu.hk to confirm your attendance.