Bradbury Newsletter 27 May 2016
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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE |
| Dear Parents,
Greetings to you all! Thanks to our Year 5 & 6 parents who attended our Student Led Conference this week and to our Year 1 parents who attended the recent assemblies. Your support makes a difference. We are continuing our efforts to make Bradbury School a green zone. Last Friday’s university roof collapse incident has prompted the government to review the entire programme and approval process for a green roof, so we are currently investigating our options for a ‘Plan B.’ As you may recall, we were granted over $600,000 to develop one or part of our main building rooftop as a green area. Over the summer, we will add a further four living wall gardens to our stairwells. To help us maintain these and our other gardens, I am looking to employ a part time gardener, to work around three to four hours a week on these. Ideally, this would be a keen gardener who knows about plant and garden maintenance, what to plant and when. If you are interested, can you please let me know? With mosquito season in full force, I have recently ordered two additional CO2 gas mosquito machines for the playgrounds. These work by mimicking the gases and scents given off by humans, attracting the mosquitoes to the machines instead of us. Please feel free to spray your child before they come to school. Students are also welcome to wear their long sleeved shirts/blouses to school in order to have less skin exposed to mosquitoes. Thank you.
Sandra Webster Principal |
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IMPORTANT DATES |
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SCHOOL DENTAL CARE SERVICE |
| Please note that the School Dental Care Service appointment slips has been sent out to the students. Please remind your child to bring their own toothbrush, and School Dental Care Service Student Handbook when attending.
If you are unable to attend the time which is allocated for your child, please change your appointment time through the website ( http://www.schooldental.gov.hk). If you have any problems please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards. Lauren Lau – School Health Professional |
| SCHOOL TERMS AND HOLIDAYS 2016-2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The English Schools Foundation recently finalised the following dates for the Academic Year 2016-2017.
Please find below the term dates for Academic Year 2016-2017. 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 2016-2017.
AUTUMN HALF-TERM HOLIDAYS : 10 October 2016 (Monday) – 17 October 2016 (Monday) Inclusive
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS : 13 December 2016, (Tuesday,12 noon) – 02 January 2017 (Monday) Inclusive
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CPD DAYS
CHINESE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS: 27 January 2017 (Friday) – 03 February 2017 (Friday) Inclusive
EASTER BREAK HOLIDAYS : 31 March 2017, (Friday,12 noon) – 17 April 2017 (Monday) Inclusive
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CPD DAYS
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CPD DAYS :
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E.S.F. INFORMATION SEMINAR |
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Please be informed that E.S.F. is organising the next parent seminar on Thursday, 2 June 2016.
Topic: How personalised learning in ESF secondary schools paves the way to success (Speakers: Chris Durbin and Julie Wong) · Date: Thursday, 2 June 2016 · Time: 7pm – 8pm · Venue: ESF Centre Interested parents should register at http://www.esf.edu.hk/seminar-2Jun2016.
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BRADBURY ACTION – DISTRIBUTING FOOD BAGS |
| On Saturday 21st May some Bradbury families helped to distribute Fortune Food Bags to the Elderly on HK Island. The students took food bags they had previously packed on the 7th May to the flats of many elderly residents some of which, were over 90 years of age. This gave the students a chance to see how some people live and a chance to make a difference to the lives of others.
Amanda Bremner – P.Y.P. Co-ordinator |
| THANK YOU FROM PLASTIC FREE SEAS |
| A huge thank you for choosing Plastic Free Seas as one of the recipient charities for this year’s Year 6 Action Day. Your donation has gone toward the purchase of smaller life jackets so that we can safely take Year 6 students on our Education and Research Sea Classroom, as well as towards our ongoing land education programme. We have worked with over 17,000 students in more than 70 schools, and without support such as yours, we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do. Plastic Free Seas is a registered HK charity, dedicated to advocating change in the way we all use plastics in society today, through education and campaigns. For more information visit www.plasticfreeseas.org.
Congratulations to the Year 6 students on an amazing Exhibition, and to the teachers! The team at Plastic Free Seas
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YEAR 5 CONFLICT |
| Year 5 have been focusing on the causes and consequences of conflict in their final unit of inquiry for the year. On Thursday 19th May, year 5 students had an inspirational and thought-provoking visit from a group of refugees from VCSL (Vine Community Services Ltd). Hearing their stories first hand had a deep impact on students and teachers and it gave us all a greater insight into the reality of conflict on people’s individual lives. It highlighted the devastation and dangers that these people face as their lives are turned upside down and they must escape with nothing, to start a new life in a foreign country with very few civilian rights at all. The year 5 students and teachers wanted to raise awareness and also to take meaningful action through donating toiletries, clothes, shoes and bedding to help the refugee community with some basic everyday items. We received overwhelming support from year 5 families and have a large collection that will be delivered to the VCSL for distribution in the coming weeks. We’d like to thank all of those who donated and we look forward to creating more opportunities to help these refugee families in the future.Matthew Cook – Year 5 Leader |
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ACTION EVENT |
| Last weekend Mr. Heggie participated in the Sunshine Action Save the Sea progamme which promotes responsible aquaculture, education around sea environments for aquatic life living and involved the releasing of fish fry or small fish into protected sea areas.
Amanda Bremner – P.Y.P Co-ordinator |
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MINDSETS – FIXED AND GROWTH |
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Carol Farrington – P.S.E. Leader |
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YEAR 2 MUSEUM VISIT |
| On Thursday 12th and Friday 13th May Year 2 visited the History museum in TST in connection with our final Unit of Inquiry ‘Generations’ – Where we are in place and time. The purpose of this visit was to allow the children to identify things in Hong Kong that had changed over time such as Victoria Harbour, the shops, the clothes people wear and the games we play. The children also discovered many things that have not changed for many years and can still be seen in Hong Kong such as Lion dance, Cheung Chau Bun festival, Chinese opera performances and the trams that run across hong Kong Island.
The children thoroughly enjoyed this visit and came back to school with lots of questions to drive our unit of inquiry forward.
Katie Phillips – Year 2 Year Leader |
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POEM FROM CLASS 4F |
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P.E. NEWS |
| The Year 5 swimmers took part in the Discovery College Swim Meet on Tuesday, 24th May with all of the swimmers competing admirably with a very talented field in a very warm and humid swimming pool.
Mya Gardner proved too strong for her competitors winning the 50m Butterfly with a time of 20.63 and won a gold medal for her efforts. Well done to all involved. There’s definitely a bright future within swimming at Bradbury. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank, parents, Julia Dunn and Jason Conlin for supporting the team throughout the day. Ally Maclay – P.E. Leader |
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KNOWING MORE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA |
| After talking to some parents at Bradbury and to students and parents at an ESF secondary school recently, I found that a number of parents wanted to know more about social media and how to spot issues before they become out of hand.
The following article was published on the Common Sense Media website this January. 9 Social Media Red Flags Parents Should Know About Find out which social media features are cause for concern — no matter which app your child is using. Christine Elgersma • 1/8/2016 •
It can be hard to keep up with the latest apps that children are using. Just when you’ve figured out how to talk to your children about Facebook, they’ve moved on to Instagram or Snapchat. But here’s the deal: Even when new apps come along, adding new features such as the ability to disappear or track your location, they’re often not that different from other apps. And if you know what to look for, you can help your child avoid some common social media pitfalls such as drama, cyberbullying, and oversharing. Does a red flag mean your child shouldn’t use a particular app? Not at all. Most children use social media apps safely – and children don’t always use every feature of every app. Also, you can often disable certain features so they’re no longer a problem. Finally, talking about using social media safely, responsibly, and respectfully is the best way to help your child identify and avoid red flags. Here are the most common social media red flags, the apps they’re found in, and tips for dealing with them. Age-inappropriate content. Some examples: Ask.fm, Tumblr, Vine Friends can share explicit stuff via messaging, but the bigger concern is whether an app features a lot of user-generated content that isn’t appropriate to your child’s age. Your teen may not even need to follow users who are posting explicit stuff to come across it. What to do: Ask your child whom she follows, and ask to see what’s being posted. Use the app yourself and get a sense of what comes up in an average feed. Then try searching for content you’re concerned about and see how easy it is to find. Check the terms of use to see what the app allows and whether users can flag violators. Public default settings. Some examples: Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine, Ask.fm Many apps allow a user to have a public or private profile, only shared with friends; however, some apps are public by default, which means that a child’s name, picture, and posts are available to everyone. What to do: As soon as you download the app, go into the settings to check the defaults. If a child is using the same program on a browser, check there, too. Location tracking and sharing. Some examples: Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram Wherever you go, there you are – and your social media apps know it. Though you may only indicate a city or neighbourhood in a profile, allowing location identification often means that you’re tracked within a city block, and your posts may include your location. What to do: Turn off location settings on the phone AND in the app; check to see whether previous posts include location information, and delete it. Real-time video streaming. Some examples: YouNow, Periscope, Meerkat, YouTube and Facebook Live streaming is just that – live – so it’s very easy to share something you didn’t mean to. Children may use these apps in private (such as in their bedrooms) and inadvertently share personal information without knowing exactly who is watching. Though they may seem temporary, embarrassing or mean moments are easily captured and shared later. What to do: Talk to your children about why they want to share video of themselves and what they should and shouldn’t share. Talk about positive, constructive uses of video sharing, such as creating shorts using editing programs or creating an interest-based channel to funnel your teen’s creativity. Ads and in-app purchases. Some examples: Kik, Line, Snapchat, Facebook Free apps have to get paid somehow, and many developers do it through advertising and providing purchase opportunities. Some track what you buy and show you targeted ads, and some even have targeted chats with businesses, which means your child is invited into a chat with someone trying to sell a product. What to do: Know what’s available in the app and set limits around purchases. Check out the types of ads coming at your children, teach them to recognize all the kinds of digital marketing, and talk about what to do if they’re approached online by someone trying to sell something. “Temporary” pictures and videos. Some examples: Snapchat, Burn Note, Yik Yak, Line, Meerkat, Periscope, YouNow Nothing shared between devices is truly temporary, even when an app builds its whole marketing around it. Compromising pictures and texts get children in real trouble because they believe what they’re sending is private and will disappear. What to do: Let your children know that nothing they send is truly temporary, and it’s easy for others to share what you’ve sent. Because it’s often hard for children to really consider consequences, and they might think it won’t happen to them, it might be worth sharing some of the recent cases of children getting in legal trouble because of “disappearing” pictures. Subpar reporting tools. Some examples: Yik Yak, Snapchat, Omegle, Yeti – Campus Stories Most apps have a system for reporting abuse or violations of the terms of use — but not all do. The level of moderation also varies widely. Some apps monitor posts or use automated filters to flag content. What to do: Read the terms of service to get an idea of what’s allowed and how much posts are moderated, and have your children read it, too. Make sure they know how to report harassment and block other users when necessary. Anonymity. Some examples: Yik Yak, Whisper, Ask.fm, Omegle Anonymity doesn’t always breed cruelty, but it often does. On anonymous sites, people feel that their comments are consequence-free — and end up hurting others. Also, though children may feel safe enough to share sensitive or painful things they might not otherwise, they often don’t get the necessary support or help — and may get attacked. What to do: Make sure your teen understands the risks involved and that they know how to block and report other users if necessary. Also, if they need connection but it’s hard to talk about a problem (especially with you), give them opportunities to share with other safe, trusted people. Cyberbullying. Some examples: Yik Yak, Ask.fm, Burnbook (only website right now) Though many apps have improved their monitoring and reporting features, cyberbullying is still a reality. It can happen on any social media app, but some have a notorious mean streak. If an app allows anonymous posting and is used in schools, chances are some teens will abuse it. Steve Fennelly – Vice Principal/ Learning Technologies Leader |
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P.T.A. BUS APPLICATION |
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| The bus application for 2016/17 has been due now. If you still haven’t applied for it, please apply ASAP. Otherwise you may not be able to take the bus when school starts on August 15.
PLEASE PRINT YOUR INFORMATION BELOW USING BLOCK CAPITALS
CHILD’S FAMILY NAME
CHILD/CHILDREN’S FIRST NAME CLASS
MOTHER’S MOBILE NO. FATHER’S MOBILE NO.
E-MAIL ADDRESS(1):
E-MAIL ADDRESS(2):
HOME ADDRESS:
EMERGENCY CONTACT NAME & TELEPHONE NUMBER: (If the parents cannot be reached) Name: Mobile No. Na
REQUEST TO USE BUS (please delete it if bus is not required)
PREFERRED BUS ROUTE NO: …………………… STOP: (letter as on list) …………..………START DATE: ……………………….
I agree to abide by all the rules and conditions for use of the School Bus Service. (the bus rules and conditions are posted at school website: www.bradbury.edu.hk)
SIGNATURE: ……………………………………………………………………… DATE: ……………………………………………………….
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
Membership Number: ………………..…….. Date Received: …………………………………Computer input:…………………………….
Cheque No. (paid yearly)…………… …………………………………………….. Amount: …………………………………………………………
Cheque No (paid termly)……………………………….., …………………………………., …………………………………….…… PTA MEMBERSHIP/BUS APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
1. Under the ESF Ordinance, all parents are automatically members of the PTA of their child/children’s school(s). Annual PTA membership of Bradbury PTA is HK$650 per family (which includes a school calendar and a yearbook). This amount is included in the bus fee of all bus users and is to be paid separately by non-users of the bus service. 2. The application form together with the cheque(s) should be sent to:
Bradbury School PTA Limited 43C Stubbs Road Hong Kong
3. Please write the crossed cheque(s) payable to BRADBURY SCHOOL PTA LIMITED
The application will not be processed without the signed application form and cheque(s). Please write your child(ren)’s full name(s) and bus number on the back of the cheque(s). If a receipt is required, please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope.
4. Seats on the buses will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Waiting lists will be maintained once the buses are full and parents will be informed if their child(ren) is(are) on the waiting list.
5. The bus fee payment schedule (full year based on 10.5months or by terms, first term 4.5months, second term 3 months and third term 3 months) including the annual PTA membership fee is as per the following table. In case of payment by term, please submit 3 postdated cheques together with your application form.
Bus 1 to Bus 10, bus 13 Fees
For payment by terms, three cheques must be submitted with your application. Please add $100 surcharge, if you pay after May 20 for current students. Fee for siblings and PTA membership can all be included in one cheque. Add$9,870(yearly), $4,230, $2,820, $2,820(termly) for third, fourth child respectively. Please add new Year 1 student, if your child has been accepted Bus 11 to 12 Fees (Discovery Bay direct service)
If you would like to pay yearly, you can just write one cheque for $25,430. For payment by terms, three cheques must be submitted with your application. Please add $100 surcharge, if you pay after May 20 for current students. Fee for siblings and PTA membership can all be included in one cheque. Add$10,620, $7,080, $7,080(termly) for second, third child respectively. Please add new Year 1 student, if your child has been accepted. DB students are only allowed to apply for bus 11or 12.
6. In the event of a child leaving the school, parents need to provide one month’s written notice when applying for a refund in respect of full calendar months for which the Bus Service is not required. PTA membership fee is not refundable; even if you withdraw from the school at the beginning of the school year.
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| YEAR 6 EXHIBITION WEBSITE |
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Please check out the Year 6 Exhibition Website which can be accessed on our Bradbury School website. You can find this under PYP > Exhibition
Amanda Bremner – P.Y.P. Co-ordinator |
