Newsletter16September2011

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2011-09-16 11:49

Bradbury School newsletter

2011/2012 Issue No. 02 Friday 16 September 2011

Principal's Message
Important Dates
Medical News: School Dental
Library News
Lessons: P.E./Music/Korean
Parent Expertise Questionnaire
PYP News: Model of Inquiry
Learning Support Centre News
P.T.A. News
Year 3 Inquiry Choices
The Carmen Project

Dear Parents,

Thank you for taking time to come along to our Parent Information Evenings. It was good to see so many of you here.

I would like to invite you to our Annual School Picnic, to be held 7 October, 5.30 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. on the tarmac playground. This is a casual low key evening designed to allow for an informal get together and a chance to get to know other parents. Bring a rug and a picnic, enjoy the music, relax and get to meet other Bradbury parents.

Yours sincerely,

Sandra Webster

Principal

IMPORTANT DATES

DATE	EVENT	TIME
30 September 2011 (Friday)	CPD Day – No Classes	-----
05 October 2011 (Wednesday)	Public Holiday – Chung Yeung Festival	-----
06 October 2011 (Thursday)	Year 2 P.T.A. Pizza Sale	12.00 p.m. – 1.00 p.m.
06 October 2011 ( Thursday)	Year 5 Netball Tournament in School	Lesson Time
06 October 2011 (Thursday)	Year 6 Soccer Tournament in Happy Valley	9.30 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.
07 October 2011 (Friday)	SCHOOL PICNIC	5.30 p.m. – 7.30 p.m.
07 October 2011 (Friday)	Year 4 Soccer Tournament in Happy Valley	9.30 a.m.
13 October 2011 (Thursday) – 14 October 2011 (Friday)	CPD Day – No Classes	-----
17 October 2011 (Monday) – 21 October 2011 (Friday)	Autumn Half Term Holidays – No Classes	-----
24 October 2011 (Monday)	Back to School	8.30 a.m.
02 November 2011 (Wednesday)	Year 4 Athletics Meet in Causeway Bay Sports Ground	9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
03 November 2011 (Thursday)	Year 6 Atheletics Meet in Causeway Bay Sports Ground	9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
04 November 2011 (Friday)	Year 5 Atheletics Meet in Causeway Bay Sports Ground	9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
10 November 2011 (Thursday)	Library Opening For Parents	7.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m.
10 November 2011 (Thursday)	Year 3 Atheletics Meet in Causeway Bay Sports Ground	9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
14 December 2011 (Wednesday)	Year 1 Atheletics Meet in Causeway Bay Sports Ground	9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
15 December 2011 (Thursday)	Year 2 Atheletics Meet in Causeway Bay Sports Ground	9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
02 December 2011 (Friday)	Year 4 Cricket Tournament in Happy Valley	9.30 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.
14 December 2011 (Wednesday)	Year 3 Netball Tournament in School	8.40 a.m. – 10.20 a.m.
15 December 2011 (Thursday)	Year 6 Cricket Tournament in Happy Valley	9.30 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.

MEDICAL NEWS: DENTAL CARE

Please note that the Student Health Service/ School Dental Service application form has been sent out to the students. Please fill in the form and hand it in before the 26 September 2011(Monday).

If you are interested in applying for the School Dental Service for your child, you are required to submit the completed application form together with a cheque of HK $20, made payable to Bradbury School. Please write your child’s name and class at the back of the cheque.

If you have not received the application form, please contact me.

Lauren Lau - School Health Professional

LIBRARY NEWS

Parent Help

We are looking for some parent volunteers to help in the library. Our busiest time of the day is between 8.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m when all the library books are being returned and need shelving. If you have the time once a week or fortnight, we would love to see you! We would also appreciate any offers of help to cover our new library books. We will provide training, a cuppa and a lovely space to work in our new book processing workroom. Please contact me if you are able to help.

Library Monitors

We have selected 15 keen, enthusiastic children from years 5 & 6 to be our library monitors for this year. The students had to write applications describing why they wanted the job and why they should get it. They will all receive training, and be rostered on at lunchtimes to help with circulation and library jobs. Congratulations to:

James Davidson Yo Yo Chung Kiran Kakarla

Kennedy Stock Kuvira Munshi Lucy Wong

Dana Kim Adele Roooney Rosie Holt

Cindy Kim Jeannie Lee Aarushi Jain

Bernice Lam Shawn Simon Avantika Malhotra

Magazine Subscriptions

We have subscribed to some newspapers and magazines for our library collection, including Daily 7 & Daily 10. If you are interested in having a home subscription for this children’s newspaper please use this email address: marketing@daily7-daily10.com

Pamela Gaukroger - Teacher Librarian

LESSONS: P.E./ MUSIC/ KOREAN MOTHER TONGUE

P.E. LESSONS

For safety reasons please ensure children wear full P.E. kit and training shoes and that all long hair is tied up for P.E. lessons.

After School Activities

We are no longer taking enrolments for after school activities.

After school activities are well underway. Some of the footballers and netballers have even had their first matches. Reports and photos from sporting events can be found on the P.E. page of The Buzz.

Please be reminded that the teachers who run after school activities do so on a voluntary basis. It is unfair to expect them to stay with your children after the activity has finished because you are late for pick up. Please ensure that you pick up your children on time from their activities. Children who are not collected on time will be excluded from the activitiy.

We are responsible for your children until they are handed over to a responsible adult. If you wish for your child to travel home alone this is fine, but we need this in writing from you, other wise we will not let them travel home alone. One note for the term is suficient.

Marie Farry – P.E. Leader

DRUM LESSONS

I am delighted to have found a teacher who is able to offer drum and percussion lessons for any children in Years 3 to 6 who are interested in playing. The teacher is flexible in what he can offer and will teach individual sessions or groups, covering drum kit, djembe drums and percussion instruments. The cost of lessons will depend on the size of each group and the day and time of lessons is also flexible.

If your child is interested in having drum/percussion lessons, please email me at gethyn.clothier@bs.esf.edu.hk to express your interest. Once I know how many children are interested I will ask the teacher to contact you directly to discuss the details.

Gethyn Clothier - Head of Performing Arts

KOREAN MOTHER TONGUE MAINTENANCE CLASS

ESF centre is holding a Korean Mother Tongue Maintenance class once a month at Bradbury School. It is open for all year levels and held by a Korean teaching staff from ESF centre. If you are interested please contact joann.han@esfcentre.edu.hk

한글 교실

Bradbury 에서 한 달에 한 번씩 한국어 교실을 개최합니다. 모든 학년의 한국 학생들을 대상으로 하며, esf 선생님의 주관으로 실시됩니다.

관심 있으신 분들은 joann.han@esfcentre.edu.hk 로 연락바랍니다.

감사합니다.

PARENT EXPERTISE QUESTIONNAIRE 2011

In the Primary Years Program (PYP) students undertake six Units of Inquiry each year. At Bradbury we like to give the students opportunities to enrich their learning through the experiences, knowledge & action of others. Therefore we would be more than grateful if you would be willing to assist by helping with planning, suggesting useful contacts or giving a talk or presentation to the students. The type of help suitable would be dependent upon areas of expertise or experience that are relevant to the Inquiries.

The curriculum areas that this pertains to are Social Studies, which is the study of people in relation to their past, present & future, their environment & their society, Science, the exploration of behaviours & the interrelationships among natural, physical & materials worlds and Visual Arts.

If you are able to assist please fill in the pro-forma attached & return it by email (farringtonc@bs.esf.edu.hk) or contact us if you would like further clarification. You do not have to restrict yourself to the year group that your child/ren is/are in. We will collate a list of volunteers which will be made available to the teachers. If they feel your expertise to be useful they will contact you directly & will be able to discuss how you can help in greater detail.

Regards,

Carol Farrington – Social Studies Leader

Chris Duncan - PYP Co-ordinator/Vice Principal

Grant Anderson – Science Leader

Brigitte van der Vossen – Visual Arts Leader

PYP NEWS: MODEL OF INQUIRY

At Bradbury School we use many tools to support our students to develop their INQUIRY skills. Our recent Professional Development with Kath Murdoch greatly assisted the teaching staff to further identify and implement strategies that support inquiry-based learning and teaching. Below you will find one of the Inquiry models that we may use to plan our Units of Inquiry (UOI). Planning models assist teachers to plan for learning, teaching and assessment. These models provide a framework for scaffolding learning. The following model from Kath Murdoch can be used by teachers for developing integrated inquiry learning.

Kath Murdoch’s Model of Inquiry

Stage 1 – Turning in

Activities are suggested here simply to get students engaged in thinking about the topic. They are designed to sensitise and motivate students to get the ball rolling. Students draw on previous experiences.

Stage 2 – Preparing to find out

These activities are designed with three main aims:

To give you some insight into what the students already know about the topic and where their initial interest lie
To help students focus clearly on what they already know and what they will try to find out. Some activities require the student to make decisions about the ways they will go about gathering information
To prepare the student for the experience to follow (eg an excursion) and to focus their investigations

Stage 3 – Finding out

For each unit, a selection of shared experiences is suggested from which you may choose one or two. These experiences are usually direct. The experiences are designed to give students the opportunity to gather new information about a topic.

Stage 4 – Sorting out

In this stage a variety of activities is suggested across a wide range of curriculum areas such as art, language, maths, drama, music and movement. Here, students will process information they have gathered and present it in a number of different ways. They may also begin to draw some conclusions about what it is they have learnt. They usually begin with more concrete curriculum areas (such as art) and move to the more abstract (such as written language).

Stage 5 – Going further

This selection of activities is designed to challenge and extend students’ unit or suggest related activities that could extend from the major sequence.

Stage 6 – Making connections

At this stage, students will be drawing conclusions about what they have learnt. This is an important time for you to evaluate the success of the unit and the needs and achievements of individuals. This is where students put it all together.

Stage 7 – Taking action

This is a very important element of the inquiry process. It is important that students be given opportunities to act upon what they have learnt.

Source: Kath Murdoch, Integrating naturally, Dellasta, 1992, Melbourne, Australia

Chris Duncan - PYP Coordinator/ Vice Principal

LEARNING SUPPORT CENTRE NEWS

DR. STEVE CHINN

The Trouble with Maths

10-12 October 2011

The Dyslexia Association (HK) is pleased to welcome Steve Chinn whose unique 3-day course, "The Trouble with Maths" will be hosted by the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong in October. Steve has an in-depth understanding of the minds of children with learning disabilities that interfere with the learning of Maths, and is able to join these children on their level to find out more about how they learn and what they need to learn. He is also able to transmit this information to the teachers, professionals and parents who attend his courses in a language that they understand, providing an abundance of practical examples.

Venue : The ESF Centre, 25/F Fortis Centre

1063 King’s Road, Quarry Bay

(10/11 October)

Hong Kong Football Club, Sports Road,

Happy Valley

(12 October)

Time :9.00am – 4.30pm

Please see the attached programme for details of the course.

For more information about Steve and his work, go to stevechinn.co.uk

I would like to attend Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/All three days (circle which) and enclose the relevant fee of HK$1500 per day (regular participants) or $1100 per day (ESF teachers only). Regular participants who wish to attend all three days can enjoy an ‘early-bird’ reduced fee of $4000 by registering before September 15^th. Fees are non-refundable except in the event of cancellation. Cheques should be made payable to Dyslexia Association (Hong Kong) and sent to 16A Mount Butler Qtrs., 111 Mount Butler Road, Tai Hang, Hong Kong.

Name ……………………………..………………..………………………..……………………………….

Address …………………………………..….……..………………..………………………………………..

…………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………

E-mail……….……………..…………………….…and contact telephone ….………………………

School (if any) ……………………………………………………………………………………..............

Outline of the programme

Part 1. The Trouble with Maths. An Overview. Developing an Understanding of the Learner.

A review of the factors that can act as barriers to learning.

Factors that contribute to learning difficulties in maths

Factors that contribute to success in maths

Building understanding and empathy for dyslexic and dyscalculic learners

Dyscalculia

The vocabulary and language of maths including word problems

Thinking style in maths: It's importance for teachers and learners.

Part 2. Diagnosis and Assessment.

An overview of the maths tests psychologists use and of commercially available standardised tests. How to appraise tests.

Criterion-referenced tests

Setting up an informal test protocol.

Individual Education Plans

Error patterns.

The affective domain

Expectations, Beliefs, Anxiety

Attributional style

Part 3. Teaching Numeracy

An explanation of the structure and principles of developmental mathematics. How to make maths more learner friendly.

Strategies for accessing (and understanding) the basic addition and

subtraction facts.

Breaking through the counting barrier.

Addition and subtraction..

Multiplication facts. Rote learning and alternative strategies. How this illustrates developmental teaching.

'Long' multiplication and division, traditional and non-traditional methods.

Developmental maths. Building on the basics to explain the

foundations of algebra.

Using concrete/manipulative materials. Multisensory learning

Fractions, decimals and percentages. Two styles of teaching.

A summary and review of the seminars

Marilyn Day – Head of Learning Support Centre

P.T.A. NEWS

SAVE THE DATE

Winter Night Market - Friday, December 9, 2011

Look for more details to follow in future Bradbury School newsletters!

Raffle Prizes: Your Help Needed!!

The Winter Night Market will be our major fundraising event of the school year. A key part of this fundraiser is the raffle, which raised over $100,000 last year!

We would like to ask any parents who are willing to donate one of the major prizes for this raffle to contact the PTA (at pta@bs.esf.edu.hk) before 23^rd September.

Examples of prizes which would have been on the raffle in the past:

· Travel vouchers

· Hotel / villa vouchers

· Restaurant vouchers

· Vouchers for spa or salon treatments

· Vouchers for retail outlets

· Vouchers for photography studios

If you run a business or work for a company which might be willing to donate a prize in one of these areas, we would LOVE to hear from you!

PTA Spending Plans

The PTA committee held the first meeting of the school year on Monday, September 12. We are currently looking for ideas / projects the PTA can support and invest in to help enhance our children’s experience at Bradbury. Sandra has some areas of interest she is going to present to the PTA, and we have asked the teacher members of the committee to further the discussion with their team. We would also welcome suggestions from parents and students. If anyone has a proposal they would like to put forward for consideration at our next meeting, please email your ideas before October 17^th to pta@bs.esf.edu.hk.

Cassie Jullienne – P.T.A. Chairperson

YEAR 3 INQUIRY CHOICES

For our Year 3 inquiry 'Choices we make can affect our health' we had a fun aerobics session. Sandy Dodd, from the HK Cricket Club, was our energietic instructor and challenged our students through some fun and lively activities to support their fitness. Hope the Year 3's will try some of these at home. A big thank you to Sandy for her help in keeping us fit.

Andy Thums, Year 3 leader

CARMEN PROJECT

The Carmen Project – An ESF & Scottish Opera Collaboration, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong, will be held on 23 September 2011 at the Drama Theatre of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. There will be two performances at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets are now available at Hong Kong Ticketing and Tom Lee Music Stores at HK$150 (adult) or HK$75 (full-time student / senior citizen/ disabled). The project is sponsored by Zurich Insurance Company Limited and L’hotel Island South.

Around 200 Year 10 to 13 students from seven secondary ESF schools will be working with the artists from Scottish Opera to produce a cross-curricular expressive arts project based on the music and plot of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen. They will be taking on various roles---as singers, orchestral players, composers, librettists, costume designers, stage designers and film makers. It is an innovative education initiative which integrates music, arts & design, theatre studies and film making into an integrated learning experience for both teachers and students. Through this partnership with Scottish Opera, students will be taken from their classrooms to an artistic realm where there is no limit to creativity.

For more information about this project, please visit http://www.esf.edu.hk/carmen.

Bradbury School | 43C Stubbs Road, Hong Kong

Attachment	Size
Parental Expertise Questionnaire 2011-1.doc	119 KB

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