Bradbury Newsletter 15th April 2016
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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE |
| Dear Parents
Greetings to you all! A very warm welcome back to the third and final term of the academic year. This term sees us begin to prepare for next year, including organising class placements. If there is something that we need to be aware of in doing this for your child, please let me know, but note that this does not include requests for specific teachers or for students to be placed with specific friends. Other school happenings this term include our 2016/17 Year 1 Parent Induction sessions, Year 6 Celebration of Achievement, Student Led Conferences, Tournament of the Minds and Battle of the Books. The latter two are interschool competitions, so good luck to our competitors. May I take this opportunity to wish all of our Year 6 students a very enjoyable last term of primary schooling. Kind regards.
Sandra Webster Principal |
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IMPORTANT DATES |
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INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS IN BRADBURY SCHOOL |
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Children at Bradbury School have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument and lessons are taught by experienced peripatetic teachers as follows:
These lessons are generally taught individually, either at lunchtime or after school and on a private basis. Lessons costs approximately $300 for 30 minutes, but this does vary slightly depending on the teacher. The school has several clarinets and flutes that can be rented for $500/term and guitars for $400/term. If you would like your child to begin lessons, please email Mr Clothier in the Music Department (clothierg1@mybradburyschool.com) stating your child’s name, class and preferred instrument. One of the instrumental teachers will then contact you to discuss specific arrangements such as time and cost of lessons, purchase of instrument, any books needed, etc. SCHOOL CHOIRS The Upper Choir, for children in Years 4 to 6, will continue to rehearse on Thursdays from 3 to 3.45 pm. Any children who would like to join are welcome to come along! The Lower Choir, for children in Years 2 and 3, rehearses on Wednesday lunchtimes and all children are welcome to join. GOOGLE DRIVE I regularly upload videos and photographs of classroom and other musical activities at Bradbury School to my Google Drive which you can access at any time. The following link should take you directly to this: Best regards. Gethyn Clothier – Music Leader |
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CHINESE READING RESOURCES – MANDARIN MATRIX (P3 PUBLISHER) |
| This is a reminder that P3 publishing will come to school on 19 April 2016 at 5:00 p.m. to introduce the Mandarin Matrix programme as a possible way to support your child’s Mandarin. The workshop will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room on the first floor. Please RSVP to susan@mandarinmatrix.com if you are planning to come along.
Please note: Bradbury School has no direct involvement in this company. It is your decision whether or not the programme is useful in assisting your child to learning Chinese. There is no obligation or expectation that you will purchase it. Lynette Pang – Head of Mandarin Department |
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FOOD PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTION |
| Sunshine Action will be packing and distributing food for Mothers and Fathers Day as well as the Dragon Boat Festival and Buddha’s Birthday. We hope to have some Bradbury school families/staff involved in this event. Please find the details below;
When: Saturday 7 May (Packing) Saturday 14 May (Distributing) Families/staff can opt to do one or both events Where: Wong Wan Tin College Shatin Time: 8.50am to 1.00pm We will be doing a collection for tinned fruit and vegetables to take to this event closer to the time. If you are interested in participating, please let Ms. Fritzi know in the office and more details will be sent out closer to the time. FEEDING PEOPLE IN NEED Our next Sunshine Action community feed is Monday the 30 May and this will again be held in Nam Cheong from 6 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. If you are interested in joining this event, please also let Ms. Fritzi know. Amanda Bremner – P.Y.P. Co-ordinator |
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P.T.A. NEWS |
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SAVE THE DATE April 21 Year 2 Cake Sale May 5 Sausage Sizzle May 6 Year Book Cover Competition Deadline May 20 School Disco
YEAR 2 CAKE SALE The Year 2 cake sale will be held on Thursday 21 April 2016. We would be grateful if each Year 2 student could contribute one dozen (only) individual sized cakes for this event. Brownies are more welcomed. Please have your child deliver the cakes to the hall on Thursday morning. If you would like your container returned, please clearly label both the top and bottom with your child’s name and class. Please remember no nuts or nut products. Volunteers – we require about 10 helpers on the day between 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. All years – If you would like your child/children to buy a cake, please provide them with $10 per cake and they will have an opportunity to buy cakes at morning break on Thursday. Many thanks. Bradbury School PTA SAUSAGE SIZZLE IT IS SAUSAGE SIZZLE TIME AGAIN!! Order forms have been sent home in your child’s diary this week. Sausages are $25 each and a vegetarian option will be available. Please return your competed form and payment to your class teacher by Thursday 28 April. We need lots of VOLUNTEERS for the morning of the Sausage sizzle to help with the cooking and delivering of sausages to the classrooms. If you can spare any time during the morning please email the PTA at PTA@Bradbury.edu.hk or contact your Class Parent. A BIG thank you in advance for those of you that can help. This would not be possible without you!!
SCHOOL DISCO I am very excited to announce that we will be holding our first PTA School Disco on Friday 20 May. Watch this space for more information! 2015/16 YEAR BOOK As part of the PTA Membership Fee, each family will receive one copy of the yearbook. If you would like to order additional copies they will be available for $150. Please complete the form below and return to your child’s teacher or Lin in the PTA shop. We are having a Yearbook Cover Contest!! Please see attached flyer for more details! Deadline for entries – Friday 6 May.
Julia Dunn – PTA Chairperson
“A Memento of Your Child’s Year” Dear Parents, The PTA, with support from the School, will produce a Bradbury School 2015-2016 Year Book. The Year Book is a beautiful memento of the school year and records the variety of activities your child has and will continue to experience at Bradbury school. The book will be predominantly a colour publication in A4 size. It will feature photographs and pictures with a contribution from every class in the School. The book is due for release in June 2016. Each of our Bradbury families will receive their first copy of our Year Book for free. If you would like to have any extra copy, please complete the form below and return it to your class teacher by Friday, 29th April 2016 so that the print run can be arranged. The cost of each extra copy of our Year Book is HK$150. BRADBURY SCHOOL YEAR BOOK ORDER (2015-2016)
NAME OF CHILD: CLASS:
I would like to order ___ extra copy/copies of the Bradbury School 2015-2016 Year Book at HK$150 for each copy.
I enclose a cheque made payable to “Bradbury School PTA Limited” for HK$ .
Name of Parent: Signed:
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM & CHEQUE TO YOUR CHILD’S CLASS TEACHER BY Friday, 29th April 2016.
Thank you Bradbury School PTA |
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LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES |
We are all aware of the amount of time that our children are spending using technology and a question that I have been asked many times is, how much is too much? Please find below a reading about this from the ‘Common Sense Media’ website. This website is one I use a lot when planning for digital citizenship programs and for researching appropriate apps and uses of technology both at school and at home.
How much screen time is OK for my kid(s)?Kids are spending more time with screen media — and at younger ages — than ever before. But there really is no magic number that’s “just right.” What’s more important is the quality of kids’ media and how it fits into their — and your family’s — lifestyle. The notion of screen time as a one-dimensional activity is changing. Computers, tablets, and smartphones are multipurpose devices that can be used for lots of purposes. Designating their use simply as “screen time” can miss some important variations. The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens identifies four main categories of screen time. · Passive consumption: watching TV, reading, and listening to music · Interactive consumption: playing games and browsing the Internet · Communication: video-chatting and using social media · Content creation: using devices to make digital art or music Clearly, there’s a lot of difference among these activities. But as valuable as many of them can be, it’s still important for kids’ overall healthy development to balance their lives with enriching experiences found off screens. These tips can help: · Pay attention to how your kids act during and after watching TV, playing video games, or hanging out online. If they’re using high-quality, age-appropriate media; their behavior is positive; and their screen-time activities are balanced with plenty of healthy screen-free ones, there’s no need to worry. · If you’re concerned about heavy media use, consider creating a schedule that works for your family. This can include weekly screen-time limits, limits on the kinds of screens kids can use, and guidelines on the types of activities they can do or programs they can watch. Make sure to get your kids’ input so the plan teaches media literacy and self-regulation, and use this as an opportunity to discover what they like watching, introduce new shows and apps for them to try, or schedule a family movie night. Finally, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) — one of the only established organizations to make recommendations on screen time — offers guidelines that put limits on media exposure. Studies have shown a link between heavy media use and issues such as obesity, lack of sleep, academic challenges, aggression, and other behavior difficulties. However, the AAP will be issuing new recommendations in 2016 emphasizing that not all screen time is equal and that take into account the many different kinds of activities that occur on screens (for example, watching TV is not the same as video-chatting with Grandma). The reality is that most families will go through periods of heavy and light media use, but, so long as there’s a balance, kids should be just fine. Source: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/screen-time/how-much-screen-time-is-ok-for-my-kids Steve Fennelly – Vice Principal and Learning Technologies Leader |
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MINDSETS – STRATEGIES, STUDY AND OTHER SKILLS |
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| Research shows that teaching study skills and strategies without the mindset of growth does not result in high achievement. Whereas teaching strategies alongside teaching a growth mindset does. These growth mindset skills include learning how neurons in the brain form new connections as children push themselves out of their comfort zone. This creates the motivation to put the study skills into practice so the brain grows through the learning of new and difficult things.
Study skills include teaching children how to think for themselves and become autonomous from adult intervention when faced with learning or social challenges gives them tools for life. The following point were used successfully with 3 year olds:
· Come up with a strategy of how you are going to break into positive thoughts · You are smart enough to know how to handle this without getting upset · You can figure this out · Go and talk to … and get a plan · Put your hands together and come up with something different than fighting · When a child gets things wrong, give constructive criticism – feedback that helps them to understand how to fix the problem, rather than labelling or excusing the child
Carol Farrington – P.S.E. Leader |
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EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES BY THIRD PARTIES |
| The following companies are currently hiring our facilities to provide Extra Curricular activities for students. You may browse the school website under “Community” for their programs and enroll your child directly to the company:
ESF Educational Services Ltd. – Language and Sports Programme, contact Candy Leung at 2760 3900 or cleung@esf.org.hk website: www.esf.org.hk
Adventure Sports Academy Ltd. – Soccer & Basketball Training, contact Eilis Cheung at 3998 4042 or info@adventuresportsacademy.com website: www.adventuresportsacademy.com/#!basketball-schedules/c1ovn
Brilliant Learning International Ltd. (Sanskriti) – Sanskriti/Hindi Language Class, contact Geeta Dhar at 3563 4300 or sanskriti@sanskriti.com.hk website: www.sanskriti.com.hk
HoYinPingChess / Hong Kong Junior Chess Club – Chess Class / Junior Chess Tournament, contact Yin Ping Ho at 9215 2682 or hoyinpingchess@gmail.com website: www.HoYinPingChess.com / www.hkjuniorchess.org
Primary Matters – Writing Workshop, contact Marion McNally at 9465 4468 or primarymattershk@gmail.com website: www.primarymattershk.com
RugBees Ltd. – Rugby Play Programme, contact Kit Wong at 2117 3055 or kit@rugbees.com website: www.rugbees.com
Starlit Company Ltd. – Drama Programme, contact Clarissa Evans at 2108 2182 or info@starlit.hk website: www.starlitvoice.com/site2/voice/home/page.html?cid=5&aid=137040132800913
World All Styles Martial Arts Association – Martial Arts Class, contact Ka Lok Ho at 9120 4689 or wamakfyip@yahoo.com website: www.wama-karate.com |
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THE MISSING EMERALD by: Jamie Harvey – 6A Student |
| It has been many years since the Terra Cotta Warriors last battle: a glorious victory over the Bana Army. To this day, the Bana Army still seek revenge on the Terra Cotta Warriors.
The Terra Cotta Warriors have a special crown, always carried by their leader. This crown holds many valuable jewels including sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Legend says that if the crown is incomplete, the whole Terra Cotta Army will turn to solid stone. In the year of 0019, the ruler of the Terra Cotta Army became incredibly ill and sadly passed away. All the soldiers came to mourn their trustworthy leader. It was time to pass on the crown to the new head, Fei. During the crowning ceremony it was noticed that something was missing. An expensive emerald was gone! Panic spread throughout the army. The Terra Cotta Warriors knew that soon, they would turn to stone. Immediately, a search for the missing emerald began. One smart warrior named Wu noticed a strange message appear on one of the castle walls. It read:
“The emerald is within your reach, at the deepest part of the nearest cave.”
Other soldiers congratulated him and together, they came up with a plan to find the emerald and return it to Fei as soon as possible. He placed the finder of the note, Wu as captain of this quest. The army carefully listened to Wu’s orders and began to search for the missing jewel. The bright sun shone directly above them as they headed directly towards the tora cave. “Where is the deepest part of the cave?“ one member of the crew wondered aloud. “I don’t think that anyone knows where the deepest part of the Tora cave really is” another replied. The Terra Cotta Army soon reached the entrance of the nearest cave. Wu stopped and told the men to prepare to enter, warning them that it would be dark and they may need flaming torches. Inside the Tora Cave were many twists and turns and ups and downs. The Army walked along a very narrow path to the bottom of the cave when Wu spotted another message written on the cave wall, it read: “If the crown is still incomplete at midnight, The whole Terra Cotta Army will turn to stone.” A wave of fear came over the Terra Cotta warriors. The army had already spent hours inside the cave and midnight was fast approaching. Nobody was sure where to find the deepest part of the cave. Wu ordered the Terra Cotta warriors to speed up. At their current pace, it could take a very long time to reach their destination. Meanwhile Fei sat in the Terra Cotta Army castle and nervously tapped his fingers together. He knew that he would also be turned to stone at midnight if the crown was still incomplete. The rest of the Army in the cave were also scared knowing that time was ticking. Suddenly a soldier noticed more writing on the wall. He quickly shouted “Look, another message!!”. This time, the note read: “There is a secret passage from your current location to the area of the jewel. Look around! PS: Time is running out”
Wu immediately spotted a pathway and ordered his army to follow him. “It must be already eleven o’clock if the note said that time was running out” Wu thought. As the Terra Cotta Army marched along the path, a bright light shone from around the corner. At the front of the line, Wu rushed to see what the mysterious glare was. A glowing emerald hid underneath a giant rock. Wu ran to the rock covering the jewel and quickly took the emerald with glee. His face lit up with happiness. He had led the Terra Cotta Army to find the missing gem. The whole army cheered and congratulated their temporary leader, Wu. The warriors were heading out of the cave when they came across the leader of the Bana Army and ten members of his gang, obstructing their way. “Why are you here?” Wu asked angrily. “Revenge! We came here for revenge! When we heard you were in the Tora Cave searching for your lost emerald, we immediately came up with a plan to seek revenge. We will try to block your way until midnight when you will turn to stone” their enemy calmly replied. “You will never be able to do that” and with those words, Wu sneakily took out his razor sharp knife. The Bana Army rapidly ran back out of the Tora Cave. “Those fools! How can you fight a battle without weapons?” Wu thought. The Terra Cotta Warriors quickly headed back to their castle and gave their master : Fei, the shining emerald. With a smile, Fei congratulated them while telling one of their servants to bring out the crown. He ordered all the Terra Cotta Warriors to stand in marching formation. “Now I will place the emerald into the crown. After this moment none of us will be turned into stone” Fei loudly said Everyone cheered with the exception of the last row of soldiers, who already turned into solid stone. Nobody knew that it was already midnight and the legend was becoming a reality. It happened so quickly that before Fei had the chance to place the jewel into the crown, every member of the Terra Cotta Army including all the servants were turned to rock statues. The day the Terra Cotta Army turned stone was a very long time ago. To this day, the warriors still stand as they did. Nobody knows where the precious jewel is now. Legend says that if the jewel is found and the crown is completed, the Terra Cotta Army will live again. Will that day ever come? |
