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Dear Parents,
Mr. Brewster is currently in Singapore where he has been a member of a visiting team for the Council of International Schools (CIS). The team have spent time since last weekend at United World College Singapore reviewing their teaching, planning, governance etc as part of the Council's accreditation process - something that we at Beacon Hill School underwent not so long ago. We have been updating him regularly on what has been happening back at BHS and he cannot wait to get back!
Beacon Hill continues to be a very busy place. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, our Year 6s and 3s had wonderful experiences on camp despite some rather damp weather at times. The teachers who went on these camps came back with glowing reports about the wonderful attitudes of the children who were keen to have a go at everything. Since then the Year 4s and 5s have also been on camp and they too had a great time. Thanks to all the members of staff who are involved in organising and attending these camps.
This morning we all enjoyed watching 6P present their class assembly with the ‘Outward Bound’ theme. Well done to them and Mr. Pheasant for sharing the events of this experience!
Since the last newsletter some of our children performed at Arts in the Park with the support of Mr. Gibson, Mrs. Westmacott and Mrs. Blair. I enjoyed watching our singers and dancers on the Sunday event and hope the many parents who were there enjoyed the creative atmosphere in the park. There have been plenty of other exciting things happening at school including some classes taking part in dance activities with a ‘Dance Academy’, the Year 2s experiencing a ‘Drum Jam’, our netball team participating in a tournament and this week of course the Parent Consultations – we hope these proved to be informative and help to build the relationship between the school, your child and yourselves.
Parent Tip of the Week – Part 2
Continuing our new section in our newsletter that may be of some help to parents in the day to day life of being a Mum and Dad, this week we will look at DEVELOPING INDEPENDENCE! We thought this follows on well after our recent ‘Camp Weeks’.
Children start the drive toward independence at an early age. Some parents accustomed to meeting all of their children's needs are reluctant to give in to their children's demands for independence. However, this is the time for parents to find the balance between letting their children begin to do things for themselves and providing their children with the support and guidance they need.
Why develop independence?
• To develop self-esteem
• To develop skills to help themselves and others
• Helps with their learning at school
• Helps with problem-solving
• Supports cooperative learning
Let your children do things for themselves.
- Even very young children begin to show an interest in doing things for themselves. You can encourage independence by letting your child do things for themselves as soon as they express a desire to do so. If it seems like they are struggling, try not to step in to help because you think it would be quicker or easier to do it yourself. It is in these moments that your child is learning.
- Focus on effort and avoid being critical of the end product. You should praise children for doing things on their own. As children grow and mature, they will naturally want to do more and more for themselves.
There are simple everyday things that younger primary age children should be doing for themselves, such as getting themselves dressed, feeding themselves, cleaning their teeth, putting away their toys and carrying their own school bag. For older children, they should be encouraged to organise their routines for homework, help keep their bedroom tidy and plan ahead for the next day.
Countdown To Christmas
Unbelievably we only have three weeks of this term left – school closes at 12pm on Friday 16th December. During this run-up to the Christmas break our choir will be performing at various venues:
- CityPlaza, Tai Koo, Wed 7th December, 1.30 pm.
- IFC Central, Sun 11th December, 1pm.
- IFC Central, Tues 13th December, 5pm.
- BHS PTA playground, Xmas Concert Wednesday 14th December, 7pm
- HK International Airport, Thursday 15th December, 12.30pm.
- Festival Walk, Thursday 15th December 4pm.
We would love to see you there supporting the children.
Beacon Hill School will also be having its annual Christmas Concert and we look forward to seeing you there.
James Harrison
Vice Principal |
