BRADBURY NEWSLETTER – 18 MAY 2018
Dear Bradbury Community
I would like to let you know that our CIS/IB review last week was very successful, with the strength and quality of the education students at Bradbury receive well highlighted.
The CIS teams said that:
the school culture is characterised by openness, fairness, trust and mutual respect.
They said
interviews with staff, students and parents indicate a strong and positive climate.
They also said that Bradbury has a robust and productive home- school relationship and that our school exemplifies cohesion and stability while embracing and encouraging innovation and good practice.
The IB team also had high praise for Bradbury. Their comments included
- Teachers said the workplace was supportive, stimulating, challenging and collaborative based on understanding and mutual respect
- The whole community lives the learner profile
- There are high rates of satisfaction around communication from parent body
- The ethos of respect evident throughout school
- Students were proudly engaged in conversations around their learning
They also said that on paper, our inclusion model looked ‘too good to be true’, but once they got here, they realised it was even better!
As a school, we are very proud of this outcome and look forward to building on, continuing and developing the best practice already in place at Bradbury.
Thank you parents for your support in making this a great school.
Best
Sandra Webster
Principal
Important Dates
| DATE | EVENT | TIME |
| 21 May 2018 (Monday) | CPD Day – No Classes | —– |
| 22 May 2018 (Tuesday) | Buddha’s Birthday – No Classes | —– |
| 23 May 2018 (Wednesday) | An Evening of STEAM | 5:00—6:00 p.m. |
| 26 May 2018 (Saturday) | Chinese Talent Show | 10:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m. |
| 29 May 2018 (Tuesday) | Y5/Y6 Student Led Conference | |
| 31 May 2018 (Thursday) | Year 1 Cake Sale | 9:30—11:00 a.m. |
| 01 June 2018 (Friday) | New Year 1 Visits | |
| 06 June 2018 (Wednesday) | Y3/Y4 Student Led Conference | |
| 14 June 2018 (Thursday) | The School Production | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| 14 June 2018 (Thursday) | Y1/Y2 Student Led Conference | |
| 18 June 2018 (Monday) | Dragon Boat Festival – No Classes | —– |
| 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. |
| 29 June 2018 (Friday) | Last Day of Term 3
(School ends at 12 noon) |
12:00 noon |
Student Led Conferences 2017-18
By Sandra Webster, Principal
As part of our annual assessment and reporting process, we will be organising Student Led Conferences once again this term. The purpose of Student Led Conferences is very different from that of Parent/Teacher Consultations in that it includes your child in the process and challenges them to take ownership of assessment of their work. The students will lead the conference, and will also take responsibility for their learning by sharing the process with you. The conference will involve your child discussing and reflecting on their work and identifying strengths and areas for improvement. It enables you to gain a clear insight into the kind of work your child is doing and offers an opportunity for you to discuss their work in the school context.
In order to facilitate this valuable learning opportunity for our students, on the day of their conference they will attend school only at the time of their conference. We will be sending you the time of your child’s conference soon. In the meantime please note the dates of the Student Led Conferences this term:
Tuesday 29th May 2018: Years 5 & 6
Wednesday 06th June 2018: Years 3 & 4
Thursday 14th June 2018: Years 1 & 2
We shall look forward to sharing this valuable learning experience with you.
Bradbury Bulletin Board
- Welcome Ms. Shalini Gupta who will be covering 5B while Ms. Melanie Broomfield is on adoption leave.
- WANTED: PART TIME GARDENER – Part time gardener (hours negotiable ) to care for the living walls throughout the school starting in August 2018. This is a paid position. If you are interested, can you please contact Sandra Webster.
Zero Plastic Lunch on World Ocean Day
#ZeroPlasticLunch
By Amanda Bremner, PYP Coordinator
Bradbury School is super excited to support CNN’s Zero Plastic Lunch on World Oceans Day June 8th.
What’s happening?
On June 8, CNN will be live blogging World Oceans Day on CNN.com around the clock. They will feature the best Zero Plastic Lunch efforts on their live blog, which will be on the CNN homepage all day.
What our students will be doing?
- Ditch single-use plastics on June 8!
- Sharing pictures of their normal lunch in the days/weeks beforehand and then take pictures of their Zero Plastic lunch on June 8 to see the difference with no packaging.
Teachers will let parents and family know more details closer to the time.
Tsunami Hits: An Inquiry Provocation
By Katie Phillips, Yr 4 Leader
On Thursday morning Year 4 children were unable to reach their classrooms due to a natural disaster. In response to this unfortunate event, the children were required to follow an evacuation procedure to a safe zone. After being processed and issued with identity cards, they were required to find their missing family members in the crowd and await further information.
Once in the safe zone, families checked their identity cards to see what their entitlements were to water, food and shelter. Much to their surprise, they found that supplies were limited due to the severity of the natural disaster. This meant that the distribution of resources was unequal between the families and many had little to no resources to support them through the disaster. To assist all of the families, some of the children were allocated special roles, such as first responders and native language speakers. They were called forward and helped those who were injured or were sent to communicate with families who had specific needs.
This provocation aimed to connect our prior learning on Natural Disasters to our new Unit of Inquiry. Its purpose was to give the students a sense of the confusion, inequality and chaos that may be associated with a natural disaster. The idea of having to move away to another place for safety, provides a springboard into our Where We are In Place and Time Unit, where students will explore the opportunities and challenges associated with human migration.
After the experience, the children reflected upon the variety of feelings and thoughts they had in this situation. These ranged from fear, excitement, frustration and anger through to boredom and relief. The Year 4 children have now begun to empathise with people who may have experienced similar situations.
Supporting Fair Trade at Bradbury
By Amanda Bremner, PYP Coordinator
This year, the Y6 action agents have worked hard to introduce Fair Trade products into Bradbury School. As part of the Eco Schools programme we are currently working towards addressing the following questions:
- Do the teachers have Fair Trade tea and coffee in the staffroom?
- Are there any other Fair Trade products used in school? (fruit juice, footballs, bananas)
The Action Agents have learned how to budget, sampled and sourced Fair-Trade products as well as, surveying potential consumers to work out potential costs and profit margins. The students have then put together a fair trade basket in the staff room providing regular snacks for the staff.
Any money raised by the Year 6 Action Agents will go towards providing educational opportunities for children in Cambodia through a partner programme run by United World College. The students will receive a Bronze level certificate for their actions and can go on to complete the Silver and Gold level requirements at Secondary School. As well as planning for and taking action there is a requirement for the students to share their learning with the school community.
Over the next few weeks the students will have a stall during Student Led Conferences for our community to purchase Fair-Trade ginger or chocolate biscuits ($20 per pack) and/or chocolate bars ($15 each). The Year 6 students will also be having a cultural food day/lunch and the students will have the above items for sale once again on this day.
Please support this great cause and our school Action Agents.
P.T.A. News
By Julia Dunn, PTA Chairperson, Catherine Hufton, Vice Chairman & Lin Gong, Bradbury School PTA Limited
YEAR 1 CAKE SALE
The Year 1 cake sale will be held on Thursday, 31th May 2018. We would be grateful if each year 1 Student could contribute one dozen (only) individual sized cakes for this event. Please have your child deliver the cakes to the school 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.
Although brownies and cupcakes are very popular, there is a school wide focus on health this year. To encourage children to make healthier choices we would love to see some alternatives that more nutritious and lower in sugar.
Volunteers – we require 9 helpers on the day between 9:30am and 11:00am, please email your class parent or the PTA at pta@bradbury.edu.hk or call 2893 2256 if you can help.
If you would like your child/children to buy a cake, please provide them with $10 and they will have an opportunity to buy a cake at morning break on Thursday.
YEAR BOOK ORDERING
The PTA, with support from the School, will produce a Bradbury School 2017-2018 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 2018.
Each of our Bradbury families will receive their first copy of the Year Book as part of their PTA Membership Fee. If you would like to have any extra copy, please complete the order form and return it to your class teacher by next Friday so that the print run can be arranged. The cost of each extra copy of our Year Book is HK$150.
SCHOOL DISCO
Disco dates have now been confirmed:
Tuesday 19 June – Yr3/4
Wednesday 20 June – Yr 5/6
Thursday 21 June – Yr 1/2
We encourage classes to use these as end of year parties and more information will be sent to you via your class parents closer to the time. Please look out for email from your class parents for more details.
As always, if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions for events or spending plans, 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/
Dear Parents,
PTA MEMBERSHIP AND BUS APPLICATION FOR 2018/19 SCHOOL YEAR
Under the ESF Ordinance, all parents are automatically members of the PTA of their child/children’s school. Annual PTA membership of Bradbury PTA is HK$700 per family. This amount is included in the bus fee of all bus users, but must be paid separately by non-users of the bus service.
The Bus Service
The PTA administered Bradbury School bus service is one of the most extensive and cost effective escorted bus services in Hong Kong. Our network of routes transports about 560 children safely to and from school every day and the rates are very favourable compared with those charged for escorted bus services at other schools.
If you wish to use the bus service for the 2018/19 school year please complete and return the attached application form by Friday 25th May. We need your cooperation to submit your application by this date so that routes and bus stops can be finalized. Please note that any applications from current students received after this date will be subject to a $100 surcharge.
Please read the following information before submitting your application:
- Students who subscribed to the bus service for the 2017/18 school year will not automatically be re-enrolled for the 2018/19 school year. You must submit a new application and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Waiting lists will be maintained once buses are full.
- Please consult the attached provisional list of routes and bus stops when completing your application. Please note that this list is subject to possible revision once all applications have been received. We reserve the right to make changes as necessary to accommodate as many students as possible.
- Please also note that the bus service is not a ‘door to door’ service. Routes and stops will be determined based on student safety, practicality and efficiency. Requests for changes to routes and stops will be considered only in special circumstances, and are subject to the approval of the PTA committee and the bus company.
- Please note that the buses are air-conditioned, equipped with seat belts and the children are supervised throughout their journey by a dedicated bus escort. All users are obliged to comply with PTA rules for good behaviour whilst travelling on the buses and seat belt use is compulsory.
- You may choose to pay the full year’s bus fees in advance or in three installments (by sending in three post-dated cheques).
- Completed application forms, together with your payment, must be submitted to the PTA shop by Friday 25th May. Payment can be as follows:
- Pay yearly:
- a) Pay online, only if you have HSBC account. Our Bradbury School PTA Ltd. Account number is 808-642524-838. Please attach the bank acknowledgement note to your application.
- b) Pay at any HSBC branch directly into the above account. Make sure to attach the bank payment slip with your application.
- c) Pay by cheque. Please attach your cheque with your bus application form.
- Pay termly: a) Pay by cheque. Please attach the three post dated cheques with your bus application.
No applications will be processed without the signed application form and payment(s).
Places cannot be guaranteed in the event of late application.
Confirmation of bus places will be e-mailed to you before the end of the current school year with final details of bus number, stop and time.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Lin at 2893-2256 or pta@bradbury.edu.hk.
The Journey to the East
Hong Kong Young Writer’s Awards entry by Ashlye Lo, Year 6
Chapter One: Entertainment
“Are we there yet?”, an aggravated yet tired Monkey King moaned as he kicked a pebble.
“No! Be patient, will you? We’re all tired of hearing you whine! Besides, we’re not even walking and here you are, complaining that you’re bored!”, Monk Tang replied as Pig Jie and Merchant Sha nodded in agreement.
“Of course Pig Jie could entertain you, but I’m too tired to deal with his shape-shifting nonsense!”
“NOW THAT’S JUST INSULTING! It’s not nonsense! I’m a self-proclaimed, self-trained and self-certified performer!” Pig Jie glared at his companion, angry as a bull.
“Now, now, settle down before this turns into a catfight or a wrestling match!”, Merchant Sha exclaimed, separating them with his arms out like a wall.
“But I wanna see them wrestle, just like last time!” The young Monkey King grinned as he put down his golden “Jin Gu Bang” (Golden Staff) and started chanting, “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”
Unfortunately, Pig Jie and Monk Tang weren’t listening to Merchant Sha when he was talking and had managed to push him out of the way. Just as a side note, Monk Tang was usually a very calm and easy person, but when arguments like this start, he’s not as calm.
Pig Jie had started to draw a large circle on the dirt floor.
“YOU’RE GOING DOWN!”
“NO, YOU’RE GOING DOWN!”
“YOU TWO, STOP!” Merchant Sha bellowed so loudly, the earth wobbled. The two warriors looked up from their circle.
“He started it!”
“I didn’t, you…pig!”
“DID!”
“DIDN’T!”
“STOP!”
When the fighters looked up, they were surprised to see the Monkey King’s eyes were narrowed and his staff was outstretched.
“WE’VE RESTED ENOUGH! LET US GO ALREADY!”
The others quickly retrieved their bags and leaped on their horses.
“Finally!” Merchant Sha stroked his horse’s mane. His horse was black with a brown mane. His name was Heitang or, in English, Black Candy. Monk Tang’s was white with a golden mane. Her name was Jinhai (Translation: Gold Sea). Pig Jie’s horse was brown with a black mane and his horse’s name was Zongmao (Translation: Brown Feather). Monkey King sat on a white cloud instead of a horse.
“Let’s move!” Monk Tang got his horse going and they started to set off once again for the EAST.
Chapter Two: Confusion
(Attention! These few lines are your very own narrators talking!)
Alicia: Wait, what? I thought they would travel to the WEST!
Leona: Well, they were but I wanted the story to have a little twist.
Alicia: (pulls out Narrator’s Handbook, opens it, points at rule) Hey! Hey! Hey! Narrator Rule Number Five; Stick With The Story!
Leona: (points at another rule) B…b…but Narrator Rule Number Nine says; If You Wish To Have A Twist, You May!
Alicia: Oh fine! Now, back to the story!
————————————————————————–
Soon after they set off, they reached what looked like a gloomy town. The townspeople had drooping, sad expressions as they walked around slowly. Their houses had cracks in them and there were no plants growing anywhere.
“What happened there?” Merchant Sha hopped off his horse, pointed at the village and scanned the area.
“Hmm, I would say maybe Nian (New Year’s Monster) came and destroyed the village!” Monk Tang looked at the mist that enveloped the town and took out a small vial. The mist slowly made its way into the vial and when the last of it slithered in, Monkey King pushed a wooden stopper to stop the mist from flowing out. When they looked up, they saw a thriving town filled with people smiling.
“But…?” Pig Jie’s eyes widened with surprise as his mouth, or should we say snout, dropped to the floor. Literally.
“Aha! No wonder the townspeople looked odd! This is Apica Mist!” Monk Tang inspected the magical dust and tucked it safely inside one of his pockets.
“But who would put Apica Mist HERE?” Merchant Sha grunted as he heaved Pig Jie’s snout back where it belonged.
“It must have been…”
“THE DARK WITCH!” Pig Jie exclaimed, jumping onto his horse. “Come on! I know where she is!”
Chapter 3: Fighting Magic
“So, you have arrived.” The Dark Witch’s piercing voice echoed through her lair.
“It’s over, Elytria.”, Monk Tang said confidently.
“Oh, it’s just begun, Monk-y!” Elytria cackled and tossed her black tresses behind her sassily.
“HEY! I resent that!”, Monkey King exclaimed.
She got up from her throne, snapped her fingers, stomped down the black stone stairs and soon, there was a girl behind her, who brought her a silver wand.
“Thank you, Isiana.” Elytria smiled at her assistant.
“You’re most welcome!” Isiana beamed at her master.
“Expelliria!” Elytria pointed her wand at the group and a purple fireball lurched out. Monk Tang closed his eyes, snapped HIS fingers and POOF! Elytria and Isiana were in a cage!
“IMPOSSIBLE! I STUDIED THAT SPELL FOR YEARS!”, Elytria roared.
“Well, I studied the cage spell for a century before I got it right! Not my problem that you chose evil over good!”, Monk Tang retorted, making the cage levitate into the air.
“I don’t feel good…” Isiana turned green, then white.
————————————————————————–
Leona: I wanna know what happens next to Isiana!
Alicia: Okay, I’ll tell you what happened! She faints!
Chapter 4: The Return
After Elytria and Isiana surrendered, they scurried out of the cavern, leaped onto their horses and galloped off, leaving the cavern in a puff of dust. When they reached their home village, they said “Good night!” to each other and quietly drifted off to sleep, dreaming about the wonderful adventure they had.
Chapter 5: The End
Alicia: Wait, what? It’s the end already? I was enjoying narrating!
Leona: I know, it’s so fun! But, everything must have an end.
Alicia: I guess you’re right. Well, I hope you-
Leona: Readers enjoyed this-
Alicia: STOP INTERRUPTING ME!
Leona: Well, I (ahem), sorry, WE hope you enjoyed reading this story!
Alicia: Goodbye now!
THE END
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.
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.
The KGV Alumni is organising a Donor Drive on 25th May (Friday) at the Causeway Bay Blood Donation Centre. Please join Jennifer and the Alumni team take action. Jennifer will be there from 6:30-8:30 pm. We hope you can help the family by joining this Donor Drive too.
Address: 14/F Plaza 2000, 2-4 Russell Street, Causeway Bay. Exit A CWB MTR station
Telephone: 2834-2084
