Newsletter Term 1 Issue 5

Learning for Life.
Photograph of Year 6
Visit STC Science Laboratory
Term 1 Issue 5
Principal’s Message
Positive Education
Part 3
Pupil Council
Winter Fair
Talent Wanted!
for School Fair & China Day
D
ear Parents,
Lunch with Your Child
School Fair – Saturday 21 November
What a wonderful turn out for the ‘Lunch with Your Child’
sessions. It was great to see so many of you enjoying a social
lunch engagement over the last few days. Thank you for
taking time out from your day to join us. You can see, from the
children’s reactions, how important it is for them to welcome
you to their school.
Our thoughts now turn to the School Fair, which takes place on
Saturday 21 November - less than two weeks away. There are
still opportunities to contribute or help out on the day. Please
contact the PTA Office if you can offer assistance and make sure
you come along on the day to join the fun.
Please don’t forget to submit your raffle tickets (sold and
unsold) on or before the deadline next Friday, 13th November.
Fair T shirt sales are progressing strongly and children are
invited to wear their t-shirts to school next week, as part of the
build up to the Fair.
Principal’s Message
Winter Fair – Thursday 10 December
Masarang
This is not to be confused with the School Fair! Our Pupil
Council are in the throes of organizing a Winter Fair to run
alongside our Holiday Concert programme on Thursday 10
December. The stalls will be open after the Y1 and Y2 Concert
in the afternoon and again during the evening for the Y3-6
Concert.
We were delighted to learn that our friends from the Masarang
Foundation were so impressed by our student reflections
following the Photo Exhibition that they decided to add them to
their website.
Please have a look at: http://masarang.hk/
We are looking forward to a very festive day. Please see the
details later in this newsletter.
Principal’s Message
Transition Programmes
One of our priorities this year is to review the processes we have in place to smooth the children’s pathway as they leave us after Year 6
and start their first year in secondary school. As so many of our children transition to Sha Tin College, our focus has been to review and
develop the links we have in place with ‘the school across the car park’.
Two such recent events are highlighted in this newsletter:
• Year 6 link with the STC Science Department
• Year 4 link with the STC Design Technology (Textile) Department
Our children benefit and are always enthusiastic to learn from the STC teachers and students and to use their facilities. There is always
something special about learning Science in a secondary science lab!!
In addition to the links with the Science and Design Technology departments, other projects include:
Mathematics Mentoring Programme
Chinese
Joint website
Music
Various joint performances and tutor programmes
Student Action
STC students to support SJS Community Action programme
SJS to support STC CAS week
Best regards,
Perry Tunesi
Principal’s Message
Positive Education
The underlying idea behind the emphasis on
strengths is that we get more of what we focus on.
Jenny Fox Eades
Deliberate Acts of Kindness
This activity is about the character
strength of kindness. It involves doing
things for others with no motive other
than being kind for its own sake. Doing
something kind for others does not only
help others, it helps us too by making us
feel better about ourselves.
Ask your child to think of things they can
do for others. Tell them that it doesn’t
matter whether it’s a big thing or a little
thing – lots of thoughtful little things are
just as important as big ones. Tell them
it’s even better if it’s a secret - so the
person doesn’t know it was she/he who
did it!
Here are some ideas to start you off:
• Pack up some old clothes and take them to a charity shop
• Open the door for someone
• Offer to carry shopping for someone
• Write a thank you card to someone for a gift
• Phone up someone on their birthday and sing ‘Happy Birthday’
to them.
• Tell someone they look great
• Smile at everyone you see for a day
• Do a chore for someone that you know they hate doing
• Thank your teacher for a good lesson
• Write a friend a note to say how much they mean to you.
Ask them to report back about a week later to talk about what they
did and how they felt about it.
Positive Education
The Incredibles
This fun activity helps you to discover the superheroes in your family or group!
What you need:
• Paper
• Colouring pens
• Pencils
• Child-safe badge blanks that you can decorate yourself.
What you do:
• Some of the television science fiction and fantasy series have several
superheroes with different skills. In order to solve a problem, or to save
the world, they need to use all their different skills and work together as a
team.
• Think about each of the people in your family, class or group. What are
their special skills? What kind of superhero are they? How do they use
their hero-skills to help your family, class or group sort out its everyday
challenges and reach its goals?
• Make a list of the super-heroes your family, class or group needs to help
meet its challenges or reach its goals.
• Then decide who has the special skills to be the different superheroes.
For example, who is the super-comforter, super-fixer, super-tidier, supercheerer-upper, super-brave-person, super-nurse, super-peacemaker, etc?
• When you’ve decided which super-skill each person has, work in twos or
threes to make superhero badges for each other.
Some things to talk about together:
What are some of the goals and challenges your
family or group faces?
What superheroes have you already discovered?
What new superheroes might you need?
How can all the superheroes work together to
help your group or family reach your goals or
deal with your challenges?
How can we let each other know when a
superhero is needed?
Other ideas:
• Design some super-person T-shirt logos, like
‘Superman’. Create the design on your computer
and use special T-shirt printing paper. Iron your
super-logos onto plain white T-shirts.
• When you need one of your special superheroes,
you could say, ‘I think we need our SuperPeacemaker!’ Or think of other fun ways of
inviting your super-heroes to come to the rescue,
like humming your group’s super-hero theme
tune!
Positive Education
How to develop your own strengths?
• Find out your own strengths. Take the adults’ strengths test at
www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu - click on the “VIA
Survey of Character Strengths”. You will have to register on the
website to be able to do the test, but it won’t cost you anything.
It will take about 45 minutes to answer all the questions. Then
you will get a rating of your top 5 strengths which are called
your ‘signature’ strengths. Give it a try – it can be helpful just
knowing what your strengths are.
• Be a good role model for the children you work and live with.
Know your strengths, be proud of them and use them daily if
you can. Being aware of your own strengths helps you to be
aware of strengths in the children you work and live with.
• You could make a list of your top strengths and put it
somewhere to remind you – on your desktop or in your diary or
wallet.
• It is important to focus on your top strengths, for example, you
might say: “I’m a kind, sociable, brave, curious person with a
good sense of humour.” This focus on your top strengths will
give you a greater sense of happiness and confidence in general.
• Accept that you will find some character strengths more difficult
than others, for example, perseverance may not be your strong
point, but don’t dwell too much on this. For example, you may
be enthusiastic about projects but find it difficult to persevere
and get them finished. Don’t worry too much about your lack of
perseverance. Focus on your enthusiasm and how that makes
you feel good and helps you get started with projects. Think
about how to use your enthusiasm to get other people involved
in a project – perhaps they will help you complete it!
Some of the information and ideas above have been shared with
you from: http://www.handsonscotland.co.uk
Take a look at their website for more suggestions.
Positive Education
We have published in the last two issues
of SJS Newsletter some ideas of Positive
Education and how it can implement our vision:
Learning for Life.
We are continuing make this a whole school
focus for our curriculum and programme
development. We aim to further build our
positive school culture that places wellbeing at
the core of education. This will be an ongoing
journey and we encourage our whole school
community to join us in this as we develop
positive practices and further embed Positive
Education at SJS.
Link: Term 1 Issue 3 (Page 4 - 7)
Link: Term 1 Issue 4 (Page 6 - 11)
• Implementation of programmes
• Martin Seligman’s 5 essential
elements
• The Science of Character
• Character Strengths
• How to help children develop their
strengths?
Positive Education
SJS student reflections have been
published on the Masarang’s website.
Visit their page
Masarang Photo Exhibition
Parents as Partners Workshop 1
Reading, Writing, Mathematics,
& Inquiry Through Play in the Early Years
Presentation Notes now available on VELoCity
The presentation notes for the workshop 1 is now available on the
VELoCity. Parents can find it under [Others > Parents as Partners].
Photo from Workshop 1 Morning Session
To provide you with strategies to use at home to assist your child
develop early reading, writing, and mathematics skills and to build
your knowledge around the importance and place of play we are
offering a morning and evening workshop. The workshops will
cover exactly the same information so please only sign-up for one.
The sessions are aimed at parents of children in Year 1 but if you
have a child in kindergarten you may find the information useful for
future reference. Please note that a workshop may be cancelled if
we have insufficient numbers.
Mrs Whitaker and Mrs Jeynes will be presenting again on Thursday
12 November, at 6pm in the school hall.
VELoCity
* Please login VELoCity with your
child’s account and password.
PAP Workshop 1
Term 1
Dates for Parents as Partners Workshops 2015/16
5 November (8.45am)
The Role of Play
Coffee Morning
How does play enhance
performance in core areas?
Term 2
12 November (6pm)
Reading, Writing, Maths
and Inquiry through
Play in the Early Years
3 December (6.30pm)
The Role of Questioning
in Teaching and Learning
Personalized Learning
and the link
to Home Learning
How do we look to personalise
our home learning programme?
**6.30pm start
How does play enhance
performance in core areas?
Coffee Morning
18 February (6pm)
23 February (8.45am)
17 March (6pm)
Positive Education
Positive Education
Transition Programmes
by Moira Conry Stocker
Coffee Morning
An introduction to the key ideas of Positive Education.
Learn some key concepts, some strategies for yourself,
and some strategies to explore with your child.
Term 3
27 November (8.45am)
21 April (6pm)
12 May (6pm)
Learning Technologies
Positive Parenting
The rise of social media and the
need for cybersafety and lifestyle
choices.
An introduction to the
key ideas of Positive Parenting
The importance of a through
train education. Break out
into K-1 and 6-7 transitions.
Presentation notes used in each workshops
will be available on the VELoCity
under Others, Parents as Partners.
* Please login VELoCity with your child’s
username and password.
PAP Workshops
Year 4 Stitching with students
from Sha Tin College
Design and Technology - Textile Deparment
Year 4 student are designing a logo for
their unit of inquiry.
Ms Czirok, teacher of
Design Technology
- Textile, shared
her experience
and taught Year 4
stitiching skills and
ideas.
December
10
Thursday
The Pupil Council Winter Fair will take place charity as well as helping the SJS learning
environments.
on Thursday 10th December, to co-incide
with the school holiday concerts which take
place on that afternoon and evening.
There will be an array of items for students
to purchase. We ask you to start to collect
We now have all 30 members of our Pupil
items for donation now. We are asking for
Council who are busily organising their first the following items:
fundraising event, with the guidance of Ms • Soft toys and teddy bears,
Hill and Mrs Brown. Our chosen charity this • Good quality used toys,
year is ‘Save the Children’. Money raised
• English or Mandarin books.
from our events this year will support this
All items can be brought to school from
Monday 9th November until Friday 4th
December. Pupil Council members will be
in the playground from 8:00 each morning
with large boxes to collect items. Items can
be also sent to Mrs Brown in 1.1 classroom
anytime.
Thank you for your support for our Pupil
Council.
Pupil Council Winter Fair
Invitation of Parent Talents
in Chinese Performing Arts
on China Day, 4 February
As you are aware, SJS celebrates Chinese New Year on China Day every year since 2012. It brings
our students many fond memories about SJS. The highlight of the day is certainly our students’
performance.
This year we would like to invite one or two parents who have talents in Chinese performing arts,
such as Chinese musical instruments or dance, for example, to celebrate the special occasion
together with your children.
Please email me if you are interested and let me know what item(s) you are performing. I am sure it
will be a very special China Day with your participation.
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely
Patricia Wu
Lead Teacher Mandarin
Email: [email protected]
Talents for China Day
SJS HAS TALENT
School Fair TALENT SHOW
DATE:
Saturday 21 November 2015
TIME:
12:30 to 1:00pm
PLACE: Stage will be set up in carpark area in front of SC
If you can sing, dance or play a musical instrument you are
invited to perform at the school fair talent show!
MEET Ms. Tinner BY THE STAGE NO LATER THAN 12:15 pm
Should there be too many participants and there is no time
left for you to participate, arrangements will be made for you
to perform during one of the school assemblies.
School Fair Talent Show
Dedicated new web page created for parents
We have created a new page dedicated to helping parents
understand, and make the most of, the programmes we offer
in partnership with IB World Schools – this is part of our
shared commitment to the success of their children. You will
find information and FAQs about the four programmes, plus
recommended resources, research, advice on how to get
transcripts, how to help students prepare for the move to higher
education, and much more. Feel free to link to the page from your
school website and please tell us what you think of the page - we
are collecting early feedback using this link until 30 November.
Visit the parents page
(Message copied from the recent IB Global News issue 8, 2015)
IB Global News
Hugh of class 5.1 for being
selected for Emirates Junior Golf
Clinic at USB Hong Kong Open
2015 Venue Hong Kong Golf Club,
Fanling.
He is conducted by Mr. Marcas
FRASER, PGA European Tour,
Ballantine’s Champion 2010,
BMW Russian Open Champion.
Aneki of class 5.3
Brenton of class 4.1
for gaining bronze trophy
from the Hong Kong Boys’
Taekwondo Competition.
‘This was my first time competing in the Asia Junior Figure Skating
Competition, one of the most important competitions in Asia. I
was so excited to be competing against Olympic skaters from China,
Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. When we were practicing I
noticed that they didn’t waste a minute.
Even though I didn’t win, I learned an important lesson from the
experienced skaters - that you have to practice everyday to get better
and better. You also have to stay focused and try your hardest. I am
determined to do this.’
Student Recognition
Andrea of class 6.5 for winning three
first prizes in three categories (Open,
Russian & Sonata Groups) in the 10th
Singapore Zhongsin International Music
Competition (China Region) 2016.
Austin of class 3.2 for gaining second
Jeanne of class 5.2 and Jay of class 2.3 for
being shortlisted in a musical performance Peter Pan.
prize in Open group, and third prize in
Bach Group, class 1 cello in the 10th
Singapore Zhongsin International Music
Competition (China Region) 2016.
Student Recognition
Disclaimer
Please note: The following programmes are not school based.
They are run by some reputable organizations in Hong Kong
and information is passed to parents on this basis.
Disclaimer
Dear Students and Parents of SJS,
CTY-Administered SCAT Testing at Sha Tin Junior School Hong Kong (Testing Code: 38018)
To provide additional options for CTY Talent Search students, CTY will offer a paper-based School and
College Ability Test (SCAT) testing at SJS. The schedule is as below:
Date: November 16, 2015 (Monday)
Time:
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. (approximately 75 minutes)
Grade:
2-5 (Years 3-6)
Fee:USD 155
(including USD 55 for Talent Search application and USD 100 for the test fee)
Venue: To be announced nearer the date by Sha Tin Junior School
Registration:
Please refer to the following page
You can visit: http://cty.jhu.edu/talent/testing/about/scat.html for further information about the test
and contact us at [email protected] with any questions.
Best Regards,
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY)
cty.jhu.edu
T: (852) 3104-3494
About JHU-­‐CTY (http://cty.jhu.edu/) As part of the Johns Hopkins University, CTY conducts the oldest and most extensive university-­‐based Talent Search by offering an above-­‐grade level testing to the 2nd to 8th graders worldwide. For qualified academically advanced students, CTY offers challenging summer, online and family academic programs. CTY-­‐Administered SCAT Testing at Sha Tin Junior School Hong Kong To provide additional options for CTY Talent Search students in Sha Tin Junior School Hong Kong, CTY will offer a paper-­‐based School and College Ability Test (SCAT) testing for its 2nd – 5th graders (Years 3 – 6). The schedule is as below: Date: November 16, 2015 (Monday) Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. (approximately 75 minutes) Fee: USD 155 (including USD 55 for Talent Search application and USD 100 for the test fee) Venue: To be announced nearer the date, Sha Tin Junior School Hong Kong During the registration, please deduct one from the student’s current year at SJS to get the equivalent grade level under the US system (e.g. year 6 at SJS = grade 5 at CTY). For further information about the test (including some sample questions), you may visit: http://cty.jhu.edu/talent/testing/about/scat.html Instruction of Registration for the Testing To apply for this CTY-­‐Administered SCAT testing, you will need to follow the instructions listed below carefully and submit the application from now to November 6, 2015 (extended to November 9, 2015). Please note that there are three possible ways to apply, depending on whether you have ever registered with CTY before. Please follow the appropriate link to register for the test: Category of Student Link to CTY Administered Testing New to CTY http://cty.jhu.edu/mytalentsearchnew CTY student who has not yet registered for this http://cty.jhu.edu/mytalentsearch year’s Talent Search (Please login as a Parent) CTY student who has already registered for this http://cty.jhu.edu/mytest year’s Talent Search (Please login as a Parent) IMPORTANT: Kindly note that you MUST put down in Step 3 under “CTY-­‐Administered Testing” the Testing Code 38018 in order to register for the test. Otherwise, your registration will not be processed correctly. Testing Code: 38018 Should you have any questions on the above, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or (852) 3104-­‐3494. Hot Lunch Order
Form Collection Dates
Lunch Month
Form to student
Deadline
October
Friday 11 September
Thursday 17 September
November
Friday 9 October
Friday 16 October
Lunch with your Child Day
Friday 9 October
Friday 16 October
December
Wednesday 11 November
Wednesday 18 November
January
Friday 11 December
Friday 18 December
February
Tuesday 12 January
Tuesday 19 January
March
Thursday 4 February
Tuesday 16 February
April
Thursday 10 March
Wednesday 16 March
May
Thursday 14 April
Wednesday 20 April
June
Wednesday 11 May
Wednesday 18 May
Lunch order forms can be found at the bottom of the PTA’s page from our school website.
Hot Lunch Order
Form Collection Dates
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 the 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
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