2 Sep 2016

Year 6 Update WK 3

Wednesday 7, 14, 21, 28th September – Year 6 Swimming lessons…6D to leave school as close to 8:30 as possible, 6H leave at 9:30 and 6F to leave at 10:30am – letters to come home shortly

Friday 9th September – PTA Bowling

Thursday 15th September – Mid-Autumn Festival Market at school…please bring a small amount of money to spend at our market

Friday 16th September – Mid-Autumn Festival holiday…school closed

Wednesday 21st September – International Day of Peace

Tuesday 27th September – Parent Consultations 3-Way Conference…book via The Gateway soon

Thursday 29th September – Parent Consultations 3-Way Conference...book via The Gateway soon

Wednesday 5th October – Camp Information Evening 7pm…in the hall

Thursday 6th October – BHS staff training, school closed

Friday 7th October – BHS staff training, school closed

Saturday 8th October to Sunday16th October – half-term holiday

Monday 17th October – ESF staff training, school closed

Thank you to all the parents who came to the ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening. It was great to see you all and we hope you now have a clear picture of the year ahead. Please don’t hesitate to contact your class teacher if you need any other information.

Miss Fearn jennifer.fearn@bhs.edu.hk

Mr Hoskins mike.hoskins@bhs.edu.hk

Mr Hubbard dave.hubbard@bhs.edu.hk

Secondary Transfer Arrangements

Secondary School Applications for our Year 6 Children

If you wish for your child(ren) to attend an ESF secondary school you will need to complete the secondary transfer application procedure on Gateway. This can only be accessed from Monday, 5th September until Friday, 16th September.

Please see this week’s newsletter to see how to access an instructional guide for you to fill in the application form online through logging in to Gateway.

All places for secondary school are determined by residential address and are allocated centrally, not by Beacon Hill School.

If you have any difficulties accessing Gateway then please email Mr. Pheasant
chad.pheasant@bhs.edu.hk

For more information please click below:
http://www.esf.edu.hk/node/5470

For zoning information please click below:
http://www.esf.edu.hk/esf-zones

This year we will be introducing ‘iTime’ in Year 6. This will involve children inquiring into their personal passions, interests, wonderings and curiosities. If you have a passion or interest that you would like to share with the Year 6’s please don’t hesitate to contact your class teacher.

We have been talking to the children about healthy lifestyles and healthy choices. After looking at their snacks we have discussed alternative foods which may be a healthier option. Could you please find some time to discuss this with your child and agree on the types of snacks they are bringing to school.

It is recommended by the National Sleep Foundation that Year 6 children have between 9-11 hours sleep every night.

Research suggests that sleep helps learning and memory in two distinct ways. First, a sleep-deprived person can not focus attention optimally and therefore struggles to learn efficiently. Second, sleep itself has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential for learning new information.

We think it is important to teach the children about healthy sleep habits and to continue to emphasise the need for regular and consistent sleep schedules.

Top Tips from the National Sleep Foundation

Make your child’s bedroom conducive to sleep – dark, cool and quiet.

Keep TV and computers out of the bedroom.

Stationery – Most of the children in Year 6 have shown that they are ready to learn by bringing all of the relevant stationery to school. However, some children are still missing some vital pieces of equipment. Here is a reminder of what to bring.

Black/blue ballpoint pens
HB pencils
Pencil sharpener
Eraser
Transparent 30cm ruler
Coloured pencils
Felt tip pens/coloured markers
highlighters (different colours)
Scissors
2 glue sticks
2 black/blue whiteboard markers and a cloth eraser
Calculator
Geometry set
Inexpensive headphones (on-ear or in-ear)

Please label all of the above items if possible. Any of the items can be bought at the school office, except the headphones. It really makes our lives easier if all of the children have the correct stationery at school.

Please note that many of the children’s glue sticks are already needing to be replenished.

Heat and Air index – Can you remind your children to check the posters before play times, just to make sure that the conditions are right and it is safe for them to run around.

This week the children have been thinking about how their behaviour has an impact on others.

Mrs McLaughlin and the SEN department have taught the children about the different ‘Zones of Regulation’ which help us to recognise our feelings and level of alertness.

The golden book awards are as follows:

Hogan Wong – Learning Centre

Kristi Chau and Alyssa Ho – 6F

Hugo Hellen – 6D

Ria Hirawat – 6H

A big thank you to our assembly helpers! Kirsty Lee and Avina Chan

Year 6 Unit of Inquiry 1

Transdisciplinary Theme : Sharing the Planet

Central Idea : Peoples response to conflict may impact the quality of human life.

Lines of Inquiry – We will inquire into…

causes of conflict
conflict resolution and management
consequences of resolutions

Concepts : causation, perspective, responsibility

Learner Profile : open-minded, communicator, caring

Attitudes : co-operation, tolerance, empathy

This week we have been inquiring into the different types of conflicts and what they can look like personally, locally and globally. Children have been busy making an informative poster to show their understanding.

In drama we have been looking at conflict through freeze frames and role plays. Children have been focusing on emotions, empathy, non-verbal communication and facial gestures to highlight the many different types of conflict.

Strand Maths – Measurement

Central Idea – Conversion of units and measurements allows us to make sense of the world we live in.

The children have been using non-standard units to measure a variety of challenging objects and areas. Following this exploration they inquired into how they could convert their results into standard measurements.

Number Maths – Place Value

Central Idea – The base 10 place value system extends infinitely in two directions.

Our young mathematicians have been challenged this week solving a variety of number investigations. ‘Light the lights’ had the children searching for a pattern, tabling their results, discussing what they found and creating a mathematical rule. ‘Spot Thirteen’ had the children competing for the highest score, whilst looking for a repeatable pattern. Children made connections between the place value system, pattern and function and shape.

Have a go!

Spot Thirteen

https://nrich.maths.org/7513

Light the Lights

https://nrich.maths.org/7044

This week in English we have continued to deconstruct exposition texts. The children have been identifying the language features of these texts and what is needed in order to be successful expositional writers. We have been developing our oral skills through conducting mini debates about a variety of topics;

Is T.V. good for children?

Do we still need Zoos?

Learning Centre – we were all visited by Ms Jeeves who taught us how to formulate interesting and relevant questions that will help us in our learning, especially i-Time.