BRADBURY NEWSLETTER – 24 NOVEMBER 2017
GREETINGS TO OUR BRADBURY COMMUNITY
A few years ago, we made a radical departure from the established model of Chinese instruction and added a 5th Chinese teacher to take a native/near native Chinese class. This was in order to recognize and value the existing language skills of many of our students. This not only focused instruction for these students, but also reduced class size in the other classes. Combined with an EA, this meant that the student teacher ratio is usually no more than 13: 1.
We made this more because we believed it was in the best interests of student learning outcomes – and still believe this! The Chinese team and I were very happy to receive feedback from a new parent who had transferred from another school, commending the high standards of Chinese in this class and well as the challenging and engaging curriculum. Needless to say, they are delighted with their child’s progress.
Similarly, two of our Chinese teachers, Ms. Jenny Chen and Ms. Angela Gou presented a workshop along with some of our students on teaching writing in the Native/Near Native class. Chinese teachers from the other ESF schools were fascinated not only with the language ability of our near-native students, but also with the high level of learner autonomy. They agreed that the presented activities and resources have enabled learning through the use of students’ first language, and have advanced their understanding of Chinese linguistic and literature. Congratulations to our near-native students and teachers.
Chinese has always been a controversial topic that provokes high levels of anxiety and emotion amongst parents. In ESF primary schools, Chinese is taught as a curriculum subject, with strong links to the U.O.I.’s the children are working on. Where possible, in line with our school’s philosophy, an inquiry approach is taken along with the more traditional didactic one. We aim to expose our students to the language, for them to value and enjoy it.
Later in the year, Bradbury will host The 4th International Zhou Youguang Cup Chinese Talent Show (Hong Kong) 2018, a competition designed to promote Chinese culture and strengthen Chinese education among Hong Kong students. Last year Bradbury won several Championship prizes and one of our teachers won a Best Teacher Award. We are hoping that once again, Bradbury will be well represented in this event.
Sandra Webster
Principal
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Many thanks for the congratulations and best wishes on my recent marriage. We had a wonderful day with family and friends, which was a great start to married life!
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Chinese Classes
Pre-Assessment & Peer Feedback
Reading Report
Editing Process
Creating Word Bank
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Important Dates
| DATE | EVENT | TIME |
| 29 Nov 2017 (Wed) –
01 Dec 2017 (Fri) |
4H/4F Camp | 8:30 a.m. |
| 01 Dec 2017 (Fri) | Winter Night Market | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. |
| 08 Dec 2017 (Fri) | Year 1 Carol Concert | |
| 11 Dec 2017 (Mon) –
14 Dec 2017 (Thu) |
Year 6 Camp | 8:30 a.m. |
| 15 Dec 2017 (Fri) | Last Day of Term (Early release day) | 12:00 noon |
| 15 Dec 2017 (Fri) | Deadline for deposit for Y7 acceptance (2018-2019) | |
| 15 Dec 2017 (Fri) –noon
05 January 2018 (Fri) (inclusive) |
Christmas Holidays (No Classes) | ——– |
| 08 January 2018 | First Day of Term 2 – Classes Begin | 8:30 a.m. |
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Year 4 S.T.E.A.M. – Food Technology
By Katie Phillips, Y4 Year Leader
In our Year 4 STEAM Food Technology sessions the children are learning about different types of food and their health values. We are trying different techniques used when cooking while creating and tasting some delicious food.
Today the STEAM Food Technology group harvested some of the basil grown by the Year 4 children for their Year-long Action project.
First Mrs Thomas gave us some top tips for harvesting leaves:
- Pick the big leaves so the little leaves can grow into big leaves.
- Don’t pull the leaves off because it will damage the plant.
- Use your nails to pick the basil leaves off the stem.
- Be careful not to rip or ruin the tiny leaves.
After we had carefully harvested the leaves we washed and dried them gently. Once back in the classroom, we crushed garlic, squeezed lemons and tore up our basil leaves. We then used it to create an amazing Pesto pasta which the Food Technology group delivered to Year 4 children to taste. It was overwhelmingly popular we have also had requests to make more!
The Year 4 children are successfully growing a range of different plants which will be used in many different ways throughout the year! These can be seen in Telly-Tubby land.
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Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2018
By Therese Gallen, Vice Principal/Language Coordinator
Bradbury School is entered in this year’s Hong Kong Young Writers Awards. This competition is an opportunity for children to write for different purposes, both for the competition and to showcase their writing at school, as all entries will be displayed in the school foyer.
A meeting was held this Wednesday over the lunch breaks for interested students to gain information about how to enter and ideas about the theme. There will be another meeting next Thursday for any students who could not make this week’s meeting. Meetings are announced over the school tannoy system. To further support students both myself and Ms Thompson will be available to answer questions and offer support during scheduled morning tea and library sessions, where students can drop into the library to work on their entry, ask questions or get feedback.
This year’s theme is ‘New Journeys to the West’ .
“ Almost 1400 years ago, a brave young monk made a multi-year journey from China across the southwestern mountain to India. His trip was celebrated in a novel called Journey to the West, written about 500 years ago.”
Many of our students will already have heard the story of Xuanzang and his magical companions – including the Monkey King, a friar and a talking pig. There have been many books and movie/video versions (including ‘monkey magic’) , of this story.
Students are able to enter the following categories with the following word limits:
- Fiction– Years 1-3 up to 500 words, Years 4-6- up to 1000 words
- Non-fiction– Years 1-3 up to 500 words, Years 4-6 up to 1000 words
- Poetry – no word limits
- Cover Art– Must be A3 size and portrait orientation (not landscape)
Entries over the word limits cannot be accepted. A3 paper is available from Ms Fritzi at the front office.
Please click on the link below for more information about the competition.
I am also including a link for a cartoon series of “Journey to the West” with English subtitles that students may like to watch to get an idea of the story- you may need to read them out for younger students. However, there are many, many episodes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKbgNS5-h2I
Students’ completed entries are due into school on Monday January 8th, which is the first day back after the Christmas holiday. This allows students over 8 weeks to work on their entry, including the Christmas holiday if needed. Students are also welcome to hand their completed entry into Ms Fritzi at the front office before the Christmas break. Students must submit a hard copy of their entry- printed or handwritten- but may be called upon to provide an electronic copy if they are selected as a school entry.
It is important for parents to note that all work must be the student’s’ own work, unassisted by adults or older students. Of course parents are able to help by looking at the online website with students and supporting them in researching the competition’s theme, discussing their ideas and following through with them.
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Bradbury School Action Day – 27 April 2018
By Carol Farrington, Action Leader & Amanda Bremner, PYP Leader
This academic year we will, once again, have a whole school Action Day to celebrate and share the integration of action within our students’ learning experiences. Action Learning is the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that empower us to be socially responsible citizens and to take authentic, sustainable action within the local and global community in order to make a difference to the world around us.
The Action Day is scheduled for the Friday the 27th of April. On this day there will be a variety of events happening, including packing bags of toiletries. These will be distributed to some of Hong Kong’s most needy and vulnerable people with the assistance of the charity Sunshine Action. Our aim is that up to 3000 hygiene bags will be packed by students and parent volunteers.
So, we’d like you to collect UNUSED toiletry items from any hotel that you visit during the forthcoming holiday and subsequent weeks right up to 27th April. Every day millions of unused and partly used toiletry items are thrown away by hotels and end up in landfills, so our action will have an environmental, as well as a service element to it. The children can bring the items on the poster, into school and put them in the Action Day box that is in their classroom. We’ll also run a competition between the classes for collecting the most items! Alternatively they can be placed in the boxes that are in the school foyer.
So… let’s get collecting!!!
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The 4th International Zhou Youguang Cup Chinese Talent Show (Hong Kong) 2018
By Lynette Pang, Head of Chinese Dept.
To better promote Chinese Culture and to strengthen Chinese education amongst Hong Kong’s youngsters, Bradbury School together with other schools are going to hold the 4th Zhou Youguang Cup Chinese Talent Show in April, 2018 at 6 ESF primary schools and Australian International School.
We also aim to use this event to showcase young Chinese learners’ talent and to offer them a platform for communication. Here is some basic information of the Chinese Talent Show:
A snapshot: Please click Here to watch a video of last year’s Chinese Talent Show.
Participants: Students of 4-11 years old, in kindergarten, primary or secondary schools
Competition groups:
Chinese Native Speakers – both parents are of Chinese origin, and using Chinese as her/his first
language.
Non Chinese Native Speakers – with one or two non-Chinese speaking background parents, or using other languages as first language
Use of Language:
Putonghua is the only accepted language in speech items. Both simplified and traditional Chinese characters are accepted in writing items.
Key Regulations:
Every participant should select competition items matching their age as well as their year level ( For Bradbury School students, Year 1 students aged 5 will be allocated in Kindergarten group, Year 1 students aged 6 will be allocated in Lower Primary group; Year 2 /3 students will be allocated in Lower Primary group; Year 4/5 will be allocated in Middle Primary Group and Year 6 students will be allocated in Upper Primary Group)
Every participant can choose no more than three competition items that match their age group.
Prizes:
Any participants whose total score from three competition items is the highest will be awarded the title of “champion”;
Champions will get a certificate of award and a special cup; they will also be qualified to enter the national final;
Each item from each group will have one first prize, one second prize and one third prize (a certificate will be awarded); additionally, there will be several awards of excellence (a certificate will be given to the winners).
One or two extraordinary participants from this year’s event will be chosen to be the “Chinese Culture Ambassador”; they will become the image ambassador showing up on Hong Kong region’s poster for the year.
Please click Here for detailed information, including types of items
Registration Period: 25th November 2017 – 26th January 2018
Registration Methods and Payment:
Online Registration:
Please register at https://goo.gl/forms/uudMlVcZ8MCg8oai2
A cheque collected by School office:
The cheque is made payable to: HONG KONG ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF PINYIN QUALITY EDUCATION (PYQE) ;
Please write down your child’s name and competition items at the back of the cheque ( Cash is not acceptable).
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YouTube and Children’s Cartoons
An important announcement on:
We know that many children enjoy watching cartoons on YouTube at home, yet parents should be aware that there is a growing trend of inappropriate videos that feature popular cartoon characters.
Characters from Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig and more are appearing in crudely animated videos that often feature characters being beaten, maimed or even killed.
These videos are even sneaking through with the YouTube Kids app.
What you can do:
- Help your child to select appropriate videos
- Stay in the same room to be able to check the video is appropriate
- Use YouTube tools to report content and disable ‘Autoplay’.
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Box of Hope Appeal 2017
By Steve Fennelly, Vice Principal
Wow! What an absolutely huge response we have had from all of our children for the Box of Hope appeal this year. We managed to collect over 500 boxes of hope for children around South East Asia.
The recipients of last year’s boxes were from:
Harmony House, Refuge Home, Kowloon, Po Leung Kuk, Emergency care ward, Birthday Happiness, Treats, Duchess of Kent Hospital, SOCO, HKSPC, Home of Loving Faithfulness, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of HK, Caritas Lok Yi School, Enlighten Action for Epilepsy, St. Christopher’s Home Hong Kong(SKHSCH), International Social Services HK Branch, Hong Kong Children & Youth Services, Tung Wah Hospitals SGH, Salvation Army, Hip Hong Society, Pathfinders HK, Sunbeam Children’s Village, Baiwan, Half The Sky, China, Cradle of Hope, Macau, Escola Sao Jose Orphanage, Macau, Loreto Vietnam, Saigon Children’s Charity, This Life Cambodia, Cambodian Children’s Fund, Mother’s Heart Cambodia, M’Lop Tapang and International Care Ministries.
Thank you all so much for your generosity and the time you have taken to help your children create these boxes of hope.
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Bradbury Students attend ‘Team Fear’
By Steve Fennelly, Vice Principal
We were very proud to see so many Bradbury students competing in ‘Team Fear’ last weekend!
They completed a 9km adventure course where they jumped into the sea, swam through cold water and climbed on slippery and treacherous rocks. They were absolutely amazing with great effort, great team-work and great dedication!
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Chicken Pox
By Lauren Lau, School Nurse
We have recently been informed that there have been cases of Chicken pox in the school.
Chicken pox is a common illness. It occurs as red, itchy rashes on the skin on the abdomen, on the back and the face. If you are aware that your child has contracted chicken pox, please keep them at home and take them to the doctor for treatment.
Main signs and symptoms of Chicken Pox
- Rashes (Red, itchy rash on the skin)
- Spots ( may or may not develop into blisters)
- Spots may be spread all over the body.
- Fever
- Abdominal pain
- Sore throat
- Headache
Prevention
Chicken pox (Varicella) Vaccination helps reduce the symptom of chicken pox, however the students may contract chickenpox in a mild form only. It is possible for children who have not had chicken pox to be vaccinated against the illness. Please contact your family doctor for details.
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Library News
By Jane Thompson, Teacher Librarian & Connie Leung, Library Assistant
PARENTS READING WORKSHOP
We are extremely lucky to be able to offer a complimentary workshop to parents with the reading guru Julie Fowlkes. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to learn more about the reading process and how to encourage and motivate children to read at home.
Julie is a highly experienced reading advisor from the U.S and she is in Hong Kong in association with the ‘Bring me a Book’ organisation. Julie will be presenting a 90 minute workshop ‘Motivating the Reluctant Reader’. This will be held in the library on Wednesday December 6th from 8:30-10:30 am. If you would like to take this wonderful opportunity to learn about how to help your child with reading then RSVP Ms Fritzi fritzi.yu@bradbury.edu.hk
Responses will be taken on a first come first served basis as the maximum for the workshop is 25.
READING IN UNUSUAL PLACES
We will be running the Reading in Unusual Places competition again this year. We thought we would give the students plenty of notice so they can have a photo taken during the Christmas break or Chinese New Year Holiday. We will be accepting entries from Monday January 8th and the competition will close on Friday 2nd March. The three winners will have their photos published in the Bradbury School Yearbook. Please note that you can only submit only one photo per student.
Email entries to me at jane.thompson@bradbury.edu.hk.
SECOND HAND BOOKS FOR WINTER NIGHT MARKET
We are still collecting second hand books for the night market. If you can make a donation of books that are in good condition for adults, teens or children then please send them to the library. Please note that we do not need school text books.
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Attendance in After School Activities
Please be reminded that if you have enrolled in an after school activity you are expected to attend it. If for any reason could not attend the after school activity, please inform the teacher in charge or ask your child to inform the teacher.
You could also inform the school office and we will pass on the message to the teacher.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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Lost & Found
We like to encourage our students to take care and be responsible for their own belongings.
Please ensure that you name all of your child’s belongings, as staff cannot be asked to hunt for lost items.
Named items of lost property are returned to their owners. Un-named items are put in the LOST PROPERTY BINS on each corridor starting from the 1/F to the 4/F, both on the east and west stairs.
By 15 December, any items that are in the bins will be disposed off.
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P.T.A. News
By Julia Dunn, PTA Chairperson & Lin Gong, Bradbury School PTA Limited
WINTER NIGHT MARKET
Friday 1 December 2017
The Winter Night Market is the major annual fundraiser for the Bradbury School PTA and we need YOUR help to make it a success!
VOLUNTEERS
Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to help, however there are still some time slots that need filled. If you can spare an hour to help please complete the online volunteers sign up form.
WORKING BEE – Thursday 30th November
Please join us in the PTA office for a morning of coffee, cake, sorting and wrapping at our Night Market Working Bee from 8.30 onwards. RSVP to your class parent.
RAFFLE TICKETS
All raffle tickets and stubs should now have been returned to the PTA shop.
If you still have not returned yours please do so by Monday 27th November.
Raffle tickets will still be available for purchase from the PTA shop until Friday 1st December during school hours and then at the Night Market from the PTA table until 6.30pm
Students have done an amazing job of selling tickets this year- Thank you for your hard work! The winner of the most tickets sold competition will be announced at the Night Market.
YEAR GROUP HAMPERS
The year group hampers are now finished and on display in the school entrance. They look amazing so please pop in to take a look. A huge THANK YOU to our Class parents for the time and effort that went into making them and to all the parents who made donations and contributed prizes!
SILENT AUCTION
This year we have some amazing prizes up for auction, so make sure you head over to the PTA Stall and make a BID!! You may even win a parking space to use during school hours at Bradbury school!!!
THE GREAT BRADBURY BAKE OFF!
This year we will be running a cake/baked goods stall. Please sign up on the volunteer form or email the PTA to donate something delicious to sell on the stall.
USED BOOKS
We are now collecting books for the used bookstall. Please go through your bookshelves and cupboards and have a clear-out! (No text books please.) Please drop off in the PTA shop.
SHUTTLE BUS
Kwoon Chung will be running a shuttle bus to School from the General Post Office in Central and the Cricket Club.
Times as follows:
GPO to Bradbury – 5:00pm and 6:00pm
Bradbury to GPO – 7:30pm and 8:30pm
HKCC to Bradbury – 5:20pm, 5:45pm , 6.10pm
Bradbury to HKCC – 8:00pm and 8:30pm
DISCOVERY DOME
I am excited to announce that DISCOVERY DOME will once again be running ‘Amazing Space’ sessions throughout the evening.
Each session will be $50 (all of which goes straight to the PTA!) and last for 12 minutes. SIGN UP AT THE DISCOVERY DOME TABLE NEXT TO THE PTA STALL. Space is limited so get there early!!
I would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to our wonderful Bradbury parents Lorne and Rachel Ali, who are running the whole session as a donation to the PTA. Look out for Discovery Dome posters around school for more information.
CASH COUPONS
This year we will only be accepting coupons on all the PTA run stalls including Games, Books, Craft, International Food Stalls, The Great Bradbury Bake Stall, The Discovery Dome and the Bar.
Coupons in books of $100 can be purchased on the night at ticket sales booths or in advance from the PTA shop.
You can also purchase a Game Stamp Card for $100 (12 turns for the price of 10!) This can be used to play all of the PTA games and on the craft stall. A prize can be claimed from the PTA stall when all stamps have been filled.
PLEASE NOTE THAT VENDORS WILL NOT ACCEPT PTA COUPONS.
GAMES AND CRAFT
This year each year group is in charge of running a game stall.
We have some fantastic games organized; Lucky Dip, Ping Pong Toss, Lolly Toss, Lucky Key, Guess the Sweets in the Jar and new this year – Mini Golf, the incredible mini golf course that 5B are creating in the Yr2 playground (aka Telly Tubby Land). We also have some fun Christmas craft for the children to try.
There is a $10 charge for each game and craft, which can be paid for by coupon or game stamp card only. (These can be purchased on the night or in advance from the PTA shop)
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO PARKING AT THE WINTER NIGHT MARKET!!!!
Lastly I would like to say huge thank you to everyone who helped out at the Sausage Sizzle last week and to Marilu Logudic and Survin Ng for their amazing organizational skills!! We even managed to raise $13K for the PTA!!!
The money raised from the Cake sales and Sausage sizzles is donated to the school to fund extra resources for each year group. Our goal is to allocate $5K for each year group and $3K for the LSE department, so thanks to your efforts we are well on our way to meeting this target!
Don’t forget to like our Facebook page for news and updates about the Winter Night Market and other upcoming events!
Julia Dunn
PTA Chairperson
Email: pta@bradbury.edu.hk
Website: https://www.bradbury.edu.hk/pta-2/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BradburyschoolPTA/
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Third-Party Organised After School Activities
Dear Parents,
The following companies are currently hiring our facilities to provide extra-curricular activities for students. You may browse the school website under “LIFE AT BRADBURY” for their programs and enroll your child directly to the company:
ESF Sports Programme, contact at 2760 3900 or sports@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
Backershagen B.V. (LanguageOne) – Global Mother Tongue Education, contact Leandra Lok at
5501 5262 or leandra.lok@languageone.nl website: www.languageone.nl
Banana Art Club – Art Class, contact Michelle Chan at 6020 5476 or bananaartclub@gmail.com website: www.bananaartclub.com
Brilliant Learning International Ltd. (Sanskriti) – Sanskriti/Hindi Language Class, contact Geetanjali Dhar at 3563 4300 or info@sanskritiglobal.org website: www.sanskritiglobal.org
Discovery Dome Hong Kong Ltd. – Astronomy Club with a Portable Mobile Planetarium (Year 3-6 students), contact Lorne Ali at 9754 4081 or lorneali@hotmail.com, website www.discoverydome.hk
Foundation Academy Ltd. – Foundation’s Filmmaker, contact Namrata Bindra at 3107 8810 or academy@foundationge.com website: http://www.foundationacademy.co/filmmaker/
HoYinPingChess / Hong Kong Junior Chess Club – Chess Class, Holiday Camp, Tournament, contact Yin Ping Ho at 9215 2682 or hoyinpingchess@gmail.com website: www.hoyinpingchess.com/index/lesson.html /www.hoyinpingchess.com/index/camp.html or www.hkjuniorchess.org
Move For Life Ltd. – “Move” Dance Class, contact Rosie Martin at 5491 2473 or info@moveforlife.asia website: www.moveforlife.asia
Primary Matters – Writing Workshop, contact Marion McNally at 9465 4468 or primarymattershk@gmail.com website: www.primarymattershk.com
Starlit Voice Ltd. – LAMDA Musical Theatre & Group Drama, contact Vincent Warren at 2108 2182 or info@starlit.hk website: www.starlitvoice.com
Valley Rugby Football Club Ltd. – Netball FUNdamentals 12 week Programme, contact Chanelle Candy at 2815 3670 or netball@valleyrfc.com website: http://www.valleyrfc.com/netball—junior-academy.html
N.B. 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 liability 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.
