Learning for Life. Term 2 Issue 2 Upcoming events 13 FEB China Day Principal Message • Student-Led Conferences • Chinese New Year • Assessment and Reporting Introduction On the lookout for CREATIVE Parent Volunteers Working with Us SJS Reporting Schedule Openings for EA and Lunch Supervisor China Day (Friday 13 FEB) Parents Welcome 8.45 - 10am PTA - Food Angel workshop Others • Specialist services available to support students and families at SJS • Pupil Council ACTION - Christian Action 16 - 20 FEB HALF Term 3-5 MAR PTA Hot Dog Day 10 MAR Y5 Market Day 12 MAR PAP Workshop 9 13 MAR Neighbourhood Watch 1 18 MAR Y4-6 Sports Day 25 MAR Y1-3 Sports Day 27 MAR Last day of T2 - Noon Finish D ear Parents, Student-Led Conferences It was encouraging to see many parents taking an active involvement in their child’s learning at the StudentLed Conferences on Friday. I hope you found the sessions informative and enjoyed the opportunity to discuss, with your child and their teacher, the progress being made at school. The atmosphere on the day was very positive especially as many students took the opportunity to share some elements of their games and PE programmes with their parents. The playground was a lively place to be – full of the fun of learning. in place at SJS. The purpose is to provide some clarity around when teachers report to parents and how student progress information is compiled. I have taken the opportunity, later in this newsletter, to outline the assessment and reporting procedures Principal’s Message Y CN Chinese New Year All that remains is to remind you of the invitation to come into school between 8.45 – 10.00am on Friday to share our China Day Performances. We will be treated to a programme of dancing, singing and cultural demonstrations. Children are invited to come to school dressed in traditional Chinese Costume or in red/gold clothing on Friday. Following the performance and for the remainder of the day the children will follow their usual Friday timetable interspersed with a number of Chinese cultural experiences. School will finish at the usual time of 2.45pm Gong Xi Fa Cai •China Day rehearsal Principal’s Message Assessment and Reporting Introduction Teachers assess student progress in many ways at SJS. By far the most important set of information is the continuous ‘formative’ assessment carried out as teachers interact with students on a daily basis. Teachers are skilled at monitoring progress by listening to the answers given to questions asked, by monitoring the written evidence of learning shown, by observing children in collaborative situations and by noticing how children interact with their learning. Teachers also build assessment opportunities into their planning. In fact, the planning for many learning programmes (Units of Inquiry, Maths and English topics) will start with a discussion of the most appropriate assessment task for the desired learning outcome and work backwards from that point. The data gathered from these ‘summative’ tasks is used to support the assessment already generated by teachers. In addition, we use a number of ‘standardised’ assessment tasks at SJS which help teachers check whether the achievement levels of their students is in line with expectations – are our students doing as well as students in the same year group in other schools. Parents of children in Years 3-6 will be aware of International Schools Assessment (ISA) and Interactive Computerised Assessment (InCAS) scores as they are reported home as soon as they are received. Additional assessments that your children may mention include: Progress Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS), PM Benchmarks (Reading), TORCH (Reading), PAT Mathematics, Beginning of the Month Writing. These results are used by teachers to build a picture of individual student progress. They are not regularly reported to parents, but teachers use the information to inform parents of progress. Our aim is to ensure parents are informed of their child’s progress regularly of that there are ‘no surprises’ in the End of Year Report. The tables below show when written reports on student progress are sent home and when formalised opportunities for teachers to meet with parents are set up. Teachers will of course arrange meetings with parents when and as necessary. Principal’s Message Written Reports on Child’s progress SJS Reporting Schedule Meeting with Child’s Teacher SEPT OCT NOV / DEC FEB Meet the Teacher / Year Ahead Meetings Parent Teacher Conferences Learning Journeys SEPT •Interactive Computerised Assessment (InCAS) Years 3 & 5 OCT •Unit of Inquiry 1 Gateway Report •Portfolio goes home DEC •Unit of Inquiry 2 Gateway Report •Portfolio goes home •International Schools Assessment (ISA) - Year 4 & 6 FEB •Unit of Inquiry 3 Gateway Report •Portfolio goes home FEB •Mid Year Gateway Reports - English & Mathematics MAR •Unit of Inquiry 4 Gateway Report •Portfolio goes home MAY •Unit of Inquiry 5 Gateway Report •Portfolio goes home •End of Year Reports Student-Led Conferences JUN •Portfolios go home with Unit of Inquiry 6 assessment •Interactive Computerised Assessment (INCAS) Year 6 SJS Reporting Schedule HK A YW 6.3 Winter 6.1 Charmaine 4.1 Meagan 5.2 Zoe 6.3 Marjovie 3.5 Saffron 5.2 Alpha Prizes An overall student will be named the Hong Kong Young Writer of the Year. Awards will also be given to the winning entry in each of the literary, Digital Storytelling and Digital Publishing award categories. Certificates of participation will be issued to all students whose work is selected for the shortlist. Anthology Publication All award-winning works will be published, along with a selection of shortlisted entries. P3 reserves the right to “lightly edit” works that are published. Two thousand copies will be available for free redemption which includes those available from Bookazine bookstores in Hong Kong. An online version of the anthology will also be available from the Anthology section of the website in May 2014. Working with us s The following children will be representing SJS in the HKYWA 2015 Writer’s Awards. Congratulations to all children who submitted a piece, it is always a great pleasure to read the writing of our budding authors. ie nc ca Va Hong Kong Young Writers Awards Openings to be a supply Educational Assistant / Lunchtime Supervisor at SJS SJS currently has 49 teachers, an additional 37 Educational Assistants (EA) and 13 Lunchtime Supervisors. We are interested in inviting high energy, hardworking personnel to work for us as supply EAs (both in regular and Mandarin classes) and Lunchtime Supervisors. If you are interested, please send your resume to Ms. Kari Yeung via email [email protected] . Candidates will be shortlisted for an interview. ** Personal data is collected and used for recruitment purposes only. Awards Ceremony There will be an awards ceremony on April 30th for all who are published in the anthology. Stay tuned for more information. HKYWA / Vacancies NW ON THE LOOKOUT FOR CREATIVE PARENT VOLUNTEERS If you have a skill or craft you would like to teach a group of children during our Neighbourhood Watch Day day on the 13th of March, we would love to have you participate in this fantastic celebration with us! We would like to provide our students with an opportunity to learn from the parents in our community during the lunch times of the Neighbourhood Watch Day. Perhaps you have a hidden talent for friendship bracelets or origami. Maybe you are a wizard with water colours? Come and share your skills and talents with a group of our enthusiastic SJS friends. Please inform us of the following details and send your email to [email protected] by February 23rd. Thank you for your partnership! Name: _______________________ Craft Idea: ____________________ Targeted towards students in Year: ___ Number of students that can be included: _____________________ Resources/Quantity required: ________ _______________________________ Neighbourhood Watch / HKSMF ESF STUDENT COMPUTING Conference On Saturday April 24th we are running in conjunction with BSD Academy a Student Computer Conference here at Island School. The conference will be open to students from Year 5 to Year 9 and is aimed at any students with an interest in exploring computing and programming. ESF Student Computing Conference Date: Saturday 24th April Time: 9am - 1pm Target: Students from Years 5 - 9 Venue: Island School This conference includes: • Student programming workshops • Some hands on computer science unplugged activities , • An app prototyping competition • Speakers talking about the value of learning about computing • A ‘what’s exciting’ in the tech work presentation The event will be free to participants. Below is a link to a Google form for students to register for the conference and can I please ask that you advertise this to your students and encourage them to register. We have a limit of around 90 students due to the nature of the activities so I would encourage early registration. I will try to send you a poster later in the week, I am awaiting some information from some sponsors that we hope to have. Register here: http://goo.gl/forms/laot1j5LVf Kevin Lester Senior Head of House Island School Curriculum Chair ESF ESF Student Computing Conference China Day Friday 13 February Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most important celebration on the Chinese calendar. This year we will celebrate the event at SJS on Friday 13 February by facilitating a special programme for the children. outdoor performance will be shifted to the Hall. Parents will not be able to attend due to the limited seating. We will use “Cover It Live” and upload lots of pictures on Velocity to share with you the special event. The day will commence with a celebration of performances on the playground from 8.45am until 10am. Parents are cordially invited to come along and watch the performances. Please check our website before you set off. We will update the information before 8:00am on Friday. For the remainder of the day teachers and volunteers will be running a series of activities and workshops which reflect various aspects of Chinese Culture. We are very excited and looking forward to the celebration. But if it is raining, the School will finish at the usual time of 2.45pm We wish you a prosperous Year of Goat. Xin Nian Kuai le! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Upcoming - China Day activities 10 b Fe AR M 13 China Day Year 5 Market Day • Performance: 8:45 - 10 am (Parents Welcome) 12 • Student to dress in Traditional Chinese Costume or Red/Gold clothing b Fe AR 0 M -2 16 - 20 February 13 16 HALF TERM AR M Parents as Partners Workshop 9 Portfolio and Assessment • LEAP Lai See donation (23rd - 27th February) 5 3M M Y4-6 Sports Day AR Tuesday 3 March for Years 1-2 and Y4 Senior Choir ONLY 18 AR PTA Lunch Time Hot Dog Day Wednesday 4 March for Years 3-4 M Y1-3 Sports Day AR Hot Dogs $10 each 25 Thursday 5 March for Years 5-6 Upcoming Events FEB 27 Friday Parents as Partners Workshop Home Learning through Information Literacy Ms Welham will be leading this PAP workshop on the 27th February 2015. PAP Workshop This workshop has been designed to help families support learning at home through information literacy. It will be a hands-on session that will provide participants with the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge of the tools learners at SJS use. All parents and helpers welcome. • Date: 27 February • Time: 8.45 - 9.45 pm • Place: Learning Centre Please log in and register via the school Gateway > eNotice, and respond by 25 February 2015. Parents as Partners Workshop Sha Tin Junior School Parent Teacher Association Limited Food Angel workshop March 11 Wednesday @ 3pm - 4pm Workshop 1 (Venue Class 1.2) How to turn orange skin into cleansing detergent The PTA is committed to continuing to raise awareness of the needs of our society. We have organized for Food Angel Charity to run two workshops for our students with all proceeds going to Food Angel’s. Food Angel is a food rescue and Food assistance program launched in 2011 Workshop 2 (Venue Class 1.5) How to use unwanted vegetables to dye a bag by Bo Charity Foundation with mission of “WASTE NOT, HUNGER NOT”. The program rescues edible surplus food from different sectors of food industry that would otherwise be disposed of as waste. Following strict safety protocols, the rescued food items will then be prepared as nutritious hot meals in our central kitchen and be redistributed to serve the underprivileged communities in Hong Kong. We have limited places in each workshop. The cost for attendance is $100. Please sign up via the flier sent out yesterday. PTA - Food Angel workshop At the start of the race I felt nervous but excited at the same time. My friends were with me and we were talking tactics. Once the race started I tried to keep up with the people at the front. I was slow to start with but I soon caught up with the leaders. On the second lap I overtook the leader just before the forest section. I knew that I had a chance to come first. I held first position for the entire final lap and made a sprint to the finish. I was very proud of myself and the SJS team. Zara 5.1 ESF Cross Country Challenge Students’ Recognition ESF Cross Country Challenge Students’ Recognition Performing Arts Piano and Dance I am delighted to congratulate: Annabelle of class 1.3 for participating in the HKYPAF Hong Kong Teenagers performing arts festival 2014 and being awarded silver medal in the piano competition. She is also passing her examinations in both of the Pre-level One Ballet and Jazz dance assessments. Students’ Recognition I am delighted to congratulate: Taekwondo Brenton of class 3.2 for gaining a bronze I am delighted to congratulate: medal in his group (age 8, blue belt level) from the 2015 Hong Kong Eastern Dragon Taekwondo Poomsae Championship. Sam of class 3.3 for being awarded a green belt at a recent Taekwondo examination. I am delighted to congratulate: Joshua of class 6.5 for participating in the 5th Hong Kong Inter-school and Asia ITF Taekwondo Tournament and winning silver medal in the under 50 kg, boys category. Students’ Recognition Karatedo I am delighted to congratulate: Nicole of class 6.5 for being awarded 2nd Runner Up in Girl Junior Kata Age 10-11 in Hong Kong Karatedo Youth Game 2014. Students’ Recognition Running I am delighted to congratulate: Spencer of class 6.4 for achieving 3rd place in the U13 category of the annual 2km Riverside Winwin run race. I am delighted to congratulate: Cherry of class 6.5 for winning the 3 kilometres Youth Group I Long Run at 10th Pacers Charity New Year Run 2015 held by Pacers Athletics Club. Students’ Recognition Football I am delighted to congratulate: Elano of class 4.4 for joining the Hong Kong Junior Football League and winning the tournament. Students’ Recognition Swimming I am delighted to congratulate: Spencer of class 6.4 for winning 1st place in the 100 metres backstroke at the HKASA swimming competition. Students’ Recognition Disclaimer Please note: The following programmes are not school based. It is run by some reputable organizations in Hong Kong. And information is passed to parents on this basis. Disclaimer Specialist services available to support students and families at SJS At SJS we are able to offer a number of additional services through private practitioners who come into school to support student learning. Some of these specialist programmes are funded by the school and others are at parent cost but have the advantage of convenience and greater collaboration between specialist, school and home. This can ensure a more focussed and consistent approach for students. instructions and memory related difficulties. The therapist who has been conducting our in-school service has been working with students at SJS for a number of years and has made a significant difference to student learning. Occupational therapy (at parent cost) - Focussing on fine and gross motor development, handwriting difficulties and social skills. We are fortunate to Services and programmes currently available have two very experienced Occupational Therapists who are available to work with are children from Years 1 - 6. Both individual and, if appropriate, small group therapy is Speech and Language therapy available. (at parent cost) - Focussing on a range of languageCounselling related difficulties including articulation, (partially funded by school) organisation and sequencing of ideas - SJS employs the services of a counsellor for language both spoken and written, from St John’s Counselling Services to processing of information, following support our students and families. The counsellor visits school every Friday morning to work with students experiencing a range of academic, social and emotional challenges, including grief counselling. The counsellor is one of the senior counsellors with St Johns. She is highly experienced in working with children and has a Master’s degree in play therapy. You may like to look at the St John’s website to learn more about their philosophy and practice. www.sjcshk.com To find out more about any of these services or to arrange an appointment, please contact either your child’s class teacher or Elise Draeger. S TE DA UP Each Thursday in February, starting this week, the Pupil Council will be having a teacher’s bake sale in the staffroom at snack time. 10 Pupil Council reps will be responsible for baking and selling each week. The money raised will support both Christian Action Charity as well as the school playground fund. Dear friends of CKM, Happy new year! We hope that the start of the year has been good. Kindest regards, We here at CKM have not been so lucky as we face a very worrying challenge – to find support/sponsors for the refugee children under our Education Sponsorship Programme by March or they will not be able to go to school next school year! Chungking Mansions Service Centre We have attached our urgent appeal letter and the sponsorship brochure and we hope that your school or your friends and family can help us fill in the gap so the refugee children can continue learning. We hope that this basic right is not taken away from them simply because we cannot fill in the minimal gap in their school fees! Please help! Thank you and should you have any inquiries, please don’t hesitate to call us at 2723 6626 or send email to [email protected] or [email protected] . Christian Action - Chungking Mansions Service Center for Refugees & Asylum Seekers Tel: +852-2723-6626| Fax: +852-2723-6331 | Website: www.christian-action.org.hk | Visit us on Facebook! Pupil Council Action Student Recognition If your child has achieved something special, we would happy to feature their efforts in the newsletter if we can. Please send the details to my Communication Officer Gateway Link https://sjs.tg.esf.edu.hk Maximum size of attached files are: 8 mb [email protected] Enquiry on Gateway E-mail: [email protected] Report Absent Email To Remove or Change of your E-mail or Update your contact Please email your child’s class teacher and cc a copy to Login to the Gateway and go to [email protected] Admin > Change Request to update your contact information in school Contact Us
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