1 Sep 2017

Year 1 Update – Wk 3

Friday 8th September – No school – BHS CPD Day

Thursday 14th September – Year 1 Power of Play Workshop – Please see letter sent via The Gateway eNotice.

Friday 15th September – PTA Bowling Evening

Monday 18th September – 1L Trip to Wise Kids – Please see letter sent via The Gateway eNotice.

Tuesday 19th September – 1P Trip to Wise Kids – Please see letter sent via The Gateway eNotice.

Friday 22nd September – 1W Trip to Wise Kids – Please see letter sent via The Gateway eNotice.

This week we have been impressed with how well all of the children have adapted to full days at school. They are all enjoying their lunches at school and having fun in the playground with their friends. This week we have been focusing on how we can build relationships with our classmates and we have been pleased to see that the children are learning how to ask a friend to play and important skills to maintain a friendship such as, sharing and taking turns.

It was so lovely to see so many of you at the Meet the Teacher evening on Tuesday. We realise that we covered a great deal of information during our presentation and therefore we have put the Power Point slides on the school website so that you can refer back to them. If you do have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher via the Home-School Diary or email.

Central Idea: Relationships develop through play and connecting with others.

In UOI this week we have been continuing to explore how play can help us to develop friendships. The children have had the opportunity to inquire into different types of play such as, messy play, imaginative play and physical play. They have also been thinking of ways in which they can initiate and sustain play with their classmates. Next week we will continue to be play detectives, looking for types of play around the school and the children will have the opportunity to explore different forms of play and how we are required to take on different roles depending on what we are doing.

Ms Jeves has worked with all the Year 1 classes this week. She has been encouraging the children to ask questions to find out information about people, using the who, what, where, why and when question words.They had great fun trying to find out what was in Ms Jeves box by asking relevant questions.

Hats

We have noticed that many children have lost their hats this week. Please ensure that your child’s hat has their name and class clearly written inside. If your child does lose their hat and it is named it will eventually make its way back to our classes, however, if it is not named it will be placed in the Lost and Found Box which can be found in the school playground outside the Nurse’s office.

Immunisation Records

Please ensure that you return all relevant medical forms sent out previously to us as soon as possible. We have had some questions about the Immunisation records that need to be sent into school, so we would like to confirm that the original immunisation record book is required. Please be assured that it will be looked after and returned to you in a plastic zip lock bag as soon as Nurse Rosalind has finished with them all.

Wise Kids and The Power of Play Workshop Letters

This week you will have received an email containing the information for our Year 1 trip to Wise kids and the play workshop that we will be running in a couple of weeks. Please log onto The Gateway to give permission for the trip and sign up for the workshop. If you have any problems with this please let us know.

Parent Helpers for UOI & PMP

We still have a few gaps to fill for Parent Helpers for UOI rotations on a Thursday from 11.15-12.30pm and Tuesdays 11.15-12pm for 1W PMP. If you are able to help at these times, please contact susan.chung@bhs.edu.hk

maths

This week we have been continuing our unit based on number sense. The children have been exploring the different ways that we can make numbers using our fingers. They have also been counting, reading, writing and ordering numbers.

All of the children have their Mathletics usernames and passwords in the front of their Home-School Diaries. Please spend some time each week exploring the different activities that we have set for the children. It is not intended that the children will do these tasks totally independently so please help your child to become familiar with the layout of Mathletics and how to go about completing the tasks. Have fun!

In Year 1 we spend a lot of time building the children’s confidence and awareness that they are writers even when they are still learning their letters and words. To help with this, there will be a range of writing and mark making experiences for children to enjoy. We will also be starting our Writer’s Workshop by encouraging the children to think about different types of writing that they come across at home, at school and in the wider environment.

Library

Next week the Year 1 children will be borrowing books from the library for the first time. They will need to have a book bag in school which is clearly named. We will provide a waterproof cover for those few children who have been unable to buy a school book bag due to no stock being available, we have a list of these children.

It is very helpful to your child and the teachers if you fasten a key ring or piece of colourful ribbon to the handle of the book bag to make it easily recognisable. Thank you!

Phonics

Next week we will be introducing the first set of phonemes and camera words. We will be sending home a bookmark outlining the phonemes and camera words that we will be covering and some games that you can try at home with your child.

Phonemes: s m c t g p a o

Camera Words: to are she I the was

Not all words can be decoded phonetically. We call these tricky words, ‘camera words’ because children must learn them as though they were taking a photo of the word with their ‘mind’s eye’. They are encouraged to memorise the part of the word which is tricky.

This week the Year 1 children enjoyed their first Golden Book assembly. We would like to congratulate the following children.

1W – Scarlett Yuen

1P – Ian Dai

1L – Lauren Chong

Information Literacy – Vanessa Mauvielle

Home Reading

Next Monday your child will bring home their first home reading book and their Home Reading Journal.It has been decided that everyone must have a red book bag to keep their book in when it is making it’s way from home and school. If the children do not have a red book bag they will not be able to change their home reading book. We understand that many of you have been unable to buy a bag from the PTA so in the interim period please send the money ($60) into school and we will help you to fill out an order form for the red bag and we will give your child a temporary plastic folder until the BHS book bags arrive. Janlee who works in the PTA office will keep a list of the children who have paid for a red book bag. Please make sure that your child has their red book bag or money to purchase a book bag on Monday. Thank you so much!

It is important that reading is an enjoyable and relaxing experience right from the beginning. At Beacon Hill School we want to develop a love of reading and create life long readers.

When the children start to learn to read they may not be able to read the words in the books that they are bringing home and that is perfectly OK. Please read the book to your child and enjoy the story and pictures together. Please do not force them to read the words or memorise and repeat them back to you.

Sometimes the children will choose to bring home a wordless book and this is a great opportunity for your child to come up with their own stories based on the pictures.

Discussion about what you have read together is so important in developing reading comprehension and understanding so please take some time to discuss the book before, during and after you have read.

Tips

Here are some tips to help you ensure that reading at home is a fun, relaxing and quality time that you can spend with your child.

Make sure that you find a comfortable and cosy place to read.
No more than 10 minutes per day reading their home reading book. Of course this does not include bedtime stories and you reading books to your child.
Try to find a time to read when your child is not too tired.
Enjoy a variety of fiction and non-fiction books together. Reading is more than just reading school books!
Share a bedtime story together. Children love bedtime stories!
See home reading as a relaxing experience that you can enjoy together.
Visit a public library and let your child choose books that they like to read.

Year 1 Update – Wk 3

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