BRADBURY NEWSLETTER – 15 JUNE 2018
Greetings to you all.
Wow, what a wonderful night last night! I cannot speak highly enough of our students’ production of Scheherazade. A total of 150 children from Years 2-6 worked together over many weeks to prepare, practise and present this performance for our enjoyment. What a great job they did. My congratulations to each of them.
Thank you to the many staff who supported Mr. Clothier and Mrs. Thompson to produce this musical. A big thank you to all of our parents who also supported this by helping their children learn their lines, practise and get into costume and make-up. As a school we are very grateful for this support.
No doubt, like me, you were a very proud member of our Bradbury School Community.
Sincerely,
Sandra Webster
Principal
Bradbury School’s Production of ‘Scheherazade: Tales of the Arabian Nights’
Important Dates
| DATE | EVENT | TIME |
| 18 June 2018 (Monday) | Dragon Boat Festival – No Classes | —– |
| 19 June 2018 (Tuesday) | Parent Helpers Morning Tea | 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. |
| 19 June 2018 (Tuesday) | Year 3 & Year 4 Disco | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. |
| 20 June 2018 (Wednesday) | Year 5 & Year 6 Disco | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. |
| 21 June 2018 (Thursday) | Year 1 & Year 2 Disco | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. |
| 22 June 2018 (Friday) | Year 6 Celebration of Achievement Assembly (please note this is the new date) | 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. |
| 25 June 2018 (Monday) | Reports Open on Gateway | —– |
| 28 June 2018 (Thursday) | STEAM Assembly | 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. |
| 28 June 2018 (Thursday) | Students Meet New Class | 1:10 p.m. |
| 29 June 2018 (Friday) | Last Day of Term 3
(School ends at 12 noon) |
12:00 noon |
| 13 August 2018 (Monday) | First Day of School Term 2018-2019
(All Years 2 – 6 ) |
8:30 a.m. |
| 13 August 2018 (Monday) | First Day for Year 1 (Group A) | 9:00 a.m. |
| 14 August 2018 (Tuesday) | First Day for Year 1 Only (Group B) | 9:00 a.m. |
SEEKING ALL GREEN THUMBS
Bradbury School is very proud of the achievements that we have made in greening and creating attractive spaces for members of our learning community. To continue to sustain our current practice we are seeking help from the Parent Community .
Part-time Gardener
We are currently looking for a part-time Gardener to maintain our spaces. The role will include:
– caring for the lush green walls that we have around the school;
– watering potted plants along the corridors;
– replacing plants as needed;
– pruning and maintaining the Lower Playground Garden.
This is a paid position and the successful applicant would need to be available for 10 hours per week. If you are interested in this position, please contact Alan Tang, alan.tang@bradbury.edu.hk.
Parent Volunteer/s
The students at Bradbury School are becoming very keen gardeners. To help support the development of sustainable gardening practices across the school we are looking for parents who would be available across lunchtime periods to work with small groups of students. Students may be involved in activities such as weeding, watering, pruning and propagating new plants. This is a voluntary position and the interested person/s would need to be available for one hour per week. Please contact Amanda Bremner for further information, amanda.bremner@bradbury.edu.hk.
Bradbury School Annual Reports 2017-18
By Sandra Webster, Principal
On Monday 25th June 2018 you will be able to access, print and save (as a PDF document), your child’s Annual School Report from Gateway.
You can access your child’s report by following the instructions below:
- Log into Gateway using your parent login details. (If you can’t remember either your User ID or Password for Gateway select “forgot password or login name” on Gateway login page.)
- Once in Gateway, click on the photo of your child then select:
- ARR Report
- PDF Report (from the tabs)
- Generate Report
A PDF file of your child’s Annual School report should now download onto your computer. You can save this file as a PDF document and print it out.
If you cannot see the report then you may need to update your PDF reader (e.g. Adobe) to the latest version or enable Chinese Characters on your PDF reader.
You can access your child’s online report, which has more detailed language and maths objectives, by selecting:
- ARR Report
- Online Report (from the tabs)
Teachers will be available next week to discuss your child’s report if you feel that it is necessary. Please contact the teacher directly should you wish to arrange a meeting.
Gateway Emergency Contacts
By John Ainsworth, Vice Principal
In the interest of student welfare and in order to keep our database current, please log in to Gateway to check and update, if necessary, the Emergency Contact information for your child.
The Emergency Contacts on Gateway should NOT be the parents of the student. We already have contact details of parents on Gateway and therefore the Emergency Contacts should be additional to the parents.
Massive Thanks from the Bradbury Student Council
By Steve Fennelly, Vice Principal
Dear Bradbury School Community,
Our Student Council would like to thank you all for your amazing generosity in supporting Bethune House through your donations on ‘Dress Casual Day’. As you know, our students raised the idea during a meeting, co-wrote a proposal including dates, possible donation amounts and the reason behind choosing Bethune House as a charity.
This proposal was read by Ms Webster, who came into a meeting to discuss the logistics and reasons with the students. Ms Webster was very impressed by the children’s initiative and encouraged the council to go ahead and organise the day.
Using their mathematics skills, the council estimated that they could raise around HK$8000, including donations from the teachers – the adults were asked to donate a little more – HK$50 if they chose to wear denim! However, after the children counted the collections on Monday, they were amazed and overwhelmed to find that the school had actually raised a fantastic HK$15,750!
We, and Bethune House, thank you all for your support. We plan to present Bethune House with the cheque in the next two weeks and hope that it will help their cause.
We’d also like to thank one of our parents for contacting Mr Fennelly directly and asking if her law firm could help with pro bono work for the ladies in the shelter. The charity and the law firm are now in contact and we wish them luck for the future.
Thanks again,
Mr Fennelly and the Bradbury Student Council
Year 2 – Dynamo Dee’s Adventure into Forces
By Claudia Tarr, Year 2 Leader
Last Friday the Year 2 students enjoyed a day of investigating different types of forces and their effects. This was led by our STEAM specialists, Mr. Casey and Mr. Flaherty.
Thank you to all the parents who helped out as the children were thoroughly engaged in racing down the Hypersonic Highway, launching an attack on a castle, blowing down targets in the Zooka Zone, accelerating in The Lost Valley and shooting rockets into space.
Lost and Found
We have accumulated a lot of un-named lost property. If your child has lost any items of clothing, shoes, drink bottles, lunch boxes etc. please come to school to look in the Lost & Found Property Bins to claim what belongs to you. Any unclaimed items inside the bins at the end of the school day of 29 June 2018 will be disposed of.
Zero Plastic Lunch
By Amanda Bremner, PYP Coordinator
Every year, the world produces 300 million tonnes of plastic — eight million tonnes of which goes into our oceans.
More than 40% of our plastic trash falls under the ‘single-use’ category — that is, plastic designed to be used just once. Sometimes this plastic is used for minutes before being discarded, but it stays in our environment for hundreds of years.
As single-use plastics decompose, they release toxic chemicals that damage natural habitat and harm marine animals. Of all the plastic created, only 9% of it has been recycled. And by 2050, the UN predicts that there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans.
On June 8 CNN asked students around the world to celebrate World Oceans Day with a Zero Plastic Lunch — a lunch with no single-use plastic components.
The students we’re asked to evaluate the number of single-use plastics — such as packaging, cutlery and straws — that they use throughout the week. They had to think about replacing these items with environmentally friendly alternatives.
Here are some pictures of Bradbury students lunches on this day.
PYP Update
By Amanda Bremner, PYP Coordinator
The IB will be launching the enhanced Primary Years Programme (PYP) in October 2018.
Informed by research, analysis and school feedback, multiple elements of the PYP framework have been strengthened and enhanced, to increase alignment across the IB programmes and to allow greater flexibility for our global community of learners.
Summary of key enhancements for the Learner:
We all have AGENCY, the capacity to act intentionally. Recognising and supporting agency in the enhanced PYP will create a culture of mutual respect, acknowledging the rights and responsibilities of students, schools and the wider learning community, enabling students to take ownership of their learning and teachers of their teaching.
The EARLY LEARNER will be redefined to include young students from 3-6 years, with enhancements offering the flexibility to inquire into a minimum of four units in Years 1 & 2. Increased support for the early learner will highlight the importance of planning uninterrupted time for play, building strong relationships, creating and maintaining responsive learning spaces and engaging in symbolic exploration and expression.
LEARNER PROFILE Attributes will be reinforced, and brought to life throughout the learning community, allowing greater flexibility to incorporate learning dispositions relevant to your own school context.
The EXHIBITION will be repositioned as a powerful demonstration of student agency. Improved guidance and support materials will help schools to share the responsibility across the learning community.
Summary of key enhancements for the Learning Community:
In exploring A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS, you will find increased focus and guidance on inclusion and well-being to foster positive and trusting relationships, self- efficacy and agency across school communities.
Improved guidance will support the integration of INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS through action, agency, language, the learner profile and the shared responsibilities of the learning community.
LEADERSHIP will explore different ways to draw on a range of capabilities to innovate and encourage agency in a PYP school.
TECHNOLOGY builds on immersing students in the interplay between learning technology, learning about technology and learning through technology.
Research underlines the importance of LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS and how they affect and reflect our values and beliefs about learning. Programme enhancements will help you and your students to create flexible, inviting and intentional learning spaces, essential for supporting agency, physical and emotional well-being, and inquiry based learning.
I will keep you all updated as we receive more information around these changes in the new school year.
Library News
By Jane Thompson, Librarian Teacher & Connie Leung, Library Assistant
LAST BORROWING & RETURNING OF BOOKS
All books returned by: Tuesday 19th June
If you are departing early for the holidays or your child is not returning to Bradbury for the next academic year, then please ensure that all of your children’s books have been returned before your child’s final day.
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS 2018-2019
HK Battle of the Books is a live school-on-school battle to find the book trivia champion school. The competition is open to international primary and international secondary schools, as well as local primary and secondary schools through a special modified section.
The Battle of the Books programme was introduced to Hong Kong international schools in 1999. Since this time, it has grown significantly. Battle of the Books is designed to introduce Year 5 & 6 students to a variety of reading material, build teamwork skills, and ensure that reading is fun.
Last year boasted the largest field yet, with a total of 104 teams registered for the 2016-17 competition.
Battle of the Books HK has now released the list of 20 books for the primary section for next academic year and we have copies in the library or visit their website. The books are always carefully chosen and make a great collection of recommended books for children to read. There will be a lunchtime Battle of the Books Club commencing in Term 1 2018.
https://sites.google.com/site/hkbattleofthebooks/home
OTHER RECOMMENDED READING
Find below a website that deals with reading from tots to teens. It has great book recommendations as well as discussing parental concerns around reading . A great resource.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Journey to the West
Hong Kong Young Writer’s Awards entry by Lucy Lee, Y6
My hand touches
the familiar surface of the house
that I have lived in for many a year
Built by my late father in the 30s
a memory never to be lost in the heart of Austria
My hometown where always have planned to stay
To live until the day I perish unto to the depths of the planet
My wish, my dream is shattered when German soldiers raid our home
And take our treasures away, retreating back to their country full of merciless people,
Leaving heartbroken mothers and fathers full of rage
My heart is filled with fear, for the soldiers have left us a warning:
‘Surrender or die,’ was what they said
I look outside the window, seeing men get their weapons
getting ready to fight
But i know they will lose the fight
So escape
I escape to Switzerland where i will be safe for some time
who knows how long
So i pack my things and lie in bed
Twisting and turning, trying to sleep
Finally I fall asleep
I wake up at midnight
climbing over the mountain and looking onto my country for the last time.
Spellbulary 2018
By Therese Gallen, Vice Principal
Congratulations to Tze Sing Wong in 3C, who recently competed in the Hong Kong wide “Spellbulary” competition. He won 5th place in his age group….well done Tze Sing!
P.T.A. News
By Julia Dunn, PTA Chairperson, Catherine Hufton, Vice Chairman & Lin Gong, Bradbury School PTA Limited
SAVE THE DATE
Tues 19 June
Yr 3/4 Disco 3-4pm School Hall
Wed 20 June
Yr 5/6 Disco 3-4pm School Hall
Thurs 21 June
Yr 1/2 Disco Lunchtime School Hall
DISCO
Students at the year 5/6 and 3/4 discos should wear normal uniform to school and bring a change of clothes if they wish. They will be kept in class between the end of school and the start of the disco and will have an opportunity to change. Pizza will be provided during the disco but children should bring their own water bottles. Parents will be able to collect their children from the covered playground at 4pm. All Students attending the disco will be WALKERS on that day so please write a note in their diaries. Students in Yr 1/2 should wear their PE kit on the day of the disco. They will have a class shared lunch before heading down to the Disco.
P.T.A. SHOP OPENING HOURS FOR BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019
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 7, 8, 9, 10 (open from 10:00a.m. – 3:00p.m.)
Our shop will open regularly Monday through Friday from 8:30a.m. to 11:30a.m. 13 August onwards.
I would like to say a big thank you to the teachers, parents and PTA committee members who have volunteered to help with the discos and of course a huge thank you to our resident DJ Steve Fennelly!! The PTA cannot hold any of our events without your help and support so THANK YOU.
As always, if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, or if you are interested in joining the PTA committee please email pta@bradbury.edu.hk.
Julia Dunn
PTA Chairperson
Email:pta@bradbury.edu.hk
Website: https://www.bradbury.edu.hk/pta-2/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BradburyschoolPTA/
SCHOOL TERMS AND HOLIDAYS 2018 -2019
The English Schools Foundation recently finalised the following dates for the Academic Year 2018-2019.
Please find below the term dates for Academic Year 2018-2019. We suggest that you keep this in a place where you can easily access it for your reference. It would be most helpful if you would please avoid calling the office to reconfirm the term dates. If there are any changes to the schedule, we will inform you via the newsletter. This will also be posted on the website under Community > Academic Year Dates 2018-2019.
TERM 1: AUTUMN TERM
AUTUMN TERM BEGINS: 13 August 2018, Monday (8.30 a.m.)
ENDS: 14 December 2018, Friday (12.00 noon)
HALF-TERM HOLIDAYS: 15 October 2018 (Monday) – 19 October 2018 (Friday) Inclusive
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS: 14 December 2018, (Friday, 12 noon) – 04 January 2019 (Friday) Inclusive
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CPD DAYS (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS):
24 September 2018 (Monday) CPD Day (TBC)
25 September 2018 (Tuesday) The Day after the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival
01 October 2018 ( Monday) National Day
17 October 2018 (Wednesday) Chung Yeung Festival
25 December 2018 (Tuesday) Christmas Day
26 December 2018 (Wednesday) The first weekday after Christmas Day
01 January 2019 (Tuesday) New Year’s Day
TERM 2: SPRING TERM
SPRING TERM BEGINS: 07 January 2019, Monday (8.30 a.m.)
ENDS: 12 April 2019, Friday (12.00 noon)
CHINESE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS: 04 February 2019 (Monday) – 08 February 2019 (Friday) Inclusive
EASTER BREAK HOLIDAYS: 15 April 2019 (Monday) – 26 April 2019 (Friday) Inclusive
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CPD DAYS (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS):
18 January 2019 (Friday) CPD Day
05 February 2019 (Tuesday) Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day
06 February 2019 (Wednesday) Second day of Chinese Lunar New Year
07 February 2019 (Thursday) Third day of Chinese Lunar New Year
15 March 2019 (Friday) CPD Day
05 April 2019 (Friday) Ching Ming Festival
19 April 2019 (Friday) Good Friday
22 April 2019 (Monday) Easter Monday
TERM 3: SUMMER TERM
SUMMER TERM BEGINS: 29 April 2019, Monday (8.30 a.m.)
ENDS: 28 June 2019, Friday (12.00 noon)
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CPD DAYS (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS):
01 May 2019 (Wednesday) Labour Day
13 May 2019 (Monday) The Buddha’s Birthday
06 June 2019 (Thursday) CPD Day
07 June 2019 (Friday) Dragon Boat Festival
Special Briefing: Island School’s Redevelopment
Dear Parents / Caregivers / Friends of Island School
A special ESF Board meeting was held at Tai Wai campus last week to discuss the Island School redevelopment and updated timelines associated with the tendering and building contracts. School Council Chair, Michael Lok and I were invited to participate in the meeting. I would like to thank the members of the ESF Board for this opportunity and their continued support.
The ESF Board were advised that the plans for the redevelopment, including Government funding for the project, are on track and the completion date for the works is now forecast to be March 2022, which means that the move back to Borrett Road is scheduled for summer 2022. It must be remembered that as with any building project, these dates are targets and subject to the usual revisions associated with major building works.
Tendering for the works is now underway and the design work is well advanced.
I invite all interested parents to come to a special briefing on the redevelopment, including a look at the latest designs at our Sha Tin Wai campus at 5.30pm on 19 June 2018.
For those unable to attend, our website will contain the presentation and other relevant information shortly after the parent meeting.
I would also like to thank the Island School community for your support.
Please register for the meeting at the link below
Stephen Loggie
Island School, Principal
The Shiu Family need our help!
Jennifer, Gavin and their girls have been part of the ESF family for years. Gavin (Dad) is an ex-Glenealy and KGV student, and daughters Felicity and Natalie are Glenealy alumni too. Jennifer (Mum) is currently teaching in a supply capacity in GS for 3 days per week and is also a valued supply teacher within the ESF community. Sadly Gavin is very unwell and the family are reaching out to all networks for support. Please see the flyer below for further information.
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, contact 2711 1280 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
Brilliant Learning International Ltd. (Sanskriti) – Sanskriti/Hindi Language Class, contact Geetanjali Dhar at 3563 4300 or info@sanskritiglobal.org Website: www.sanskritiglobal.org
CentreStage Studios HK Ltd. – Singing, Acting, Dancing – Ballet, Jazz, Tap Dance, contact Imogen Taylor or Kaijah Bell at 5236 7960 or 2689 2272 or admin@centrestagestudioshk.com
Website: www.centrestagestudioshk.com
Discovery Dome Hong Kong Ltd. – Astronomy Club with a Portable Mobile Planetarium, contact Lorne Ali at 9754 4081 or lorneali@hotmail.com
Website www.discoverydome.hk
Foundation Academy Ltd. – Foundation’s Filmmaker, contact Foundation Academy at 3107 8810 or
academy@foundationge.com Website: http://www.foundationacademy.co/filmmaker/
HoYinPingChess – Chess Class, Holiday Camp, contact Yin Ping Ho at 9215 2682 or hoyinpingchess@gmail.com Website: www.hoyinpingchess.com/index/lesson.html / www.hoyinpingchess.com/index/camp.html
Hong Kong Star Basketball Training Centre Limited – Basketball, contact Yuki Lai at 9669 4280 or yukilai@hk-bbstc.com Website: www.hk-bbstc.org
Move For Life Ltd. – “Move” Dance Class, contact Rosie Martin at 5491 2473 or info@moveforlife.asia Website: www.moveforlife.asia
Starlit Voice Ltd. – LAMDA Musical Theatre & Group Drama, contact Vincent Warren at 2108 2182 or info@starlit.hk Website: www.starlitvoice.com
Swedish Cultural Society – Swedish Language and Culture, contact Linda at 9316-6599 or svenskaskolanhongkong@hotmail.com
Website: www.svenskaskolan.hk
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.
