Year 1 Update – Wk 22

Friday 3rd March – Student Led Conferences Monday13th March – Friday 17th March – Book Week Friday 24th March – 1W class assembly; parents please come to school at 9am. Friday 24th March- International Food Fair Friday 31st March- Easter Holidays – School Closes at 12pm Tuesday 18th April – School reopens for term 3

Sports day A fantastic sports day yesterday. It was lovely to see so many parents come along and watch their children participating in their first B.H.S sports day. We were very lucky with the weather – not too hot and not too cold!

Artefact booklets this week the children completed the last page for their artefact booklet. Children also made a cover page for their booklet and thoroughly enjoyed putting their booklets together. Booklets will be in the children’s portfolios which they will share with you next Friday during their student-led conference session.

End of unit 3 this week saw the end of our Where We are in Place and Time unit of inquiry. Children reflected upon the artefact that they chose to find out more about during U.O.I rotations. They also finished making the artefact that they chose, designed and made. You will be able to read your child’s reflection next Friday.

Student-led conferences Next Friday 3rd March is student led conference day at school. Please remember to arrive promptly with your child, they do not need to wear their school uniform. The conference will last 40 minutes. This is an opportunity for your child to share their learning with you. Please refer to the booklet that was sent home for information about how our conferences work at B.H.S. B.H.S PTA Food Fair On Friday 24th March the B.H.S PTA will hold a food fair. This is lots of fun for children and parents. Please come along if you can and bring the family. There are lots of good food to eat and fun games in the hall for children to play. The B.H.S PTA raffle will be drawn at the Food Fair. Please remember to send in any sold and unsold tickets.

Healthy kids We would like to ask you to be extra vigilant about reminding your children to wash their hands at home after going to the toilet and before eating. At school we encourage good hand hygiene. We are also finding that many of our children need to be told to blow their nose. Many children are sniffing at school and sometimes not remembering to cover their mouth when sneezing. Please remember to email your child’s class teacher as well as the school office if your child is sick and will not be coming to school. Sharing the planet Central Idea: Plants and animals depend of each other for survival in their environments

We are really excited about starting unit four next week. This unit looks at the inter-relationship between living things and how they survive in our environment. Next week the children will complete a pre-assessment as well as a provocation. There will be lots of sorting and looking at where our food comes from.

Next week Miss Jeves will continue to work with us in our classrooms as well as join our sessions in the learning centre. Miss Jeves works in each year one classroom for two sessions during her time with us. Next week she will be involved in the start of our new unit of inquiry as we look at living and non-living things.

Central Idea: We collect information to make sense of the world around us and can be organised in different ways This week we started our unit on data handling. The children were asked to represent skittles in as many ways as they could. This created lots of discussions about how many colours as well as how we can read what information can show us. Please ask your children about what they did with skittles in maths! Next week we will be continuing our data unit. We will look at tally charts as well as putting information into bar charts. We will also spend time talking about possible questions to ask to find out information such as favourite games, favourite fruit and favourite stories.

Next week during English, the children will be filling in reflection sheets in preparation for student-led conference day. Children will be required to reflect upon their work habits, how they are learning in our curriculum areas as well as how they learn best. In preparation for student led conference, children will be practising what they are going to say during the stations as well as practising how to share their portfolio with you. Phonics This week we will continue to learn to read and spell words with the unit 4 phonemes: ll, ff, ss, zz and camera Words: you play this come my have.

Please continue to support our work in school by playing the suggested games on the back of the bookmark sent home last week regularly at home. 1F- Kinson Lee, Hoi Fung Chan and Aiden McLoughlin

1W – Rory Zhang

1L – No Golden book certificate

I.CT award Harlan Davies from 1F

Congratulations to all our Golden Book Certificate children.

Activity – biking

During U.O.I rotations all children have the opportunity to be outside in the playground during one of their stations. We have sand and water play as well as bikes and scooters for the children to ride on. Riding a bike with two wheels is such a great skill for all children to learn. Here is a very informative article from an online parenting magazine called ‘little steps asia’ about the bike parks in .

Escape the urban concrete jungle and head to the great outdoors with the family… on bicycles! From seaside cycling to country parks, there are a ton of options within easy reach across Hong Kong. Get those helmets on, saddle up, and go!

TSEUNG KWAN O

Prepare to be impressed by the maze of bike paths for families at Tseung Kwan O! These wheel-friendly (not-car-friendly) paths are not only well-done but offer a slew of variety for bikers and bladers of all ages. Journey through tunnels, stop for a picnic, or play at one of Hong Kong’s largest playgrounds. We recommend starting at the Velodrome where you will find a bike rental company catering to kids and adults (they have tandem too). The trail is directly in front of their store.

Bike Paths In Tseung Kwan O, Start at Velodrome, Po Hong Road, Tseung Kwan O. Rent your bike at entrance of Velodrome and start your journey on the paths. Note, the Velodrome has an awesome playground by the entrance making it a favorite stop once you return the bikes.

SHA TIN TO TAI MEI TUK

This is one of the most popular cycling routes in Hong Kong. From Sha Tin Park, cycle along the easy track along the Shing Mun River and continue along the coastline of , until you reach the grand dam at Tai Mei Tuk. This is a beautiful bike ride so make sure you pack a picnic and take in all of the scenery. Families can also start at Science Park (bike rentals are available here as well). Science Park offers lots of food, coffee, and drinks so it is also a nice place to start your journey.

Sha Tin to Tai Mei Tuk, From Sha Tin: From MTR Sha Tin Station Exit A, walk to Shing Mun River via New Town Plaza and Sha Tin Park. Rent a bike at the bike pavilions in the park. Alternatively, you can start at Science Park where you will find The Contact Store offering funky and stylish bike rental (think blue, pink, and adorable cruisers). The trail is directly around the corner from The Contact Store.

BMX BIKE PARK

Gear up! Hong Kong’s very own BMX Park is sure to get your little rider’s adrenaline going. All young adventurers and adults are welcome – from first- timers to experienced little Evil Knievel’s! With over 39,000 square meters of trails and tracks, this BMX Bike Park is sure to thrill. This is fun for adventure seeking kids ages 3+.

BMX Bike Park, 91 Kwai Hei Street, Gin Drinkers Bay, , Hong Kong, +852 2419 9613 [email protected], www.facebook.com/hkbmxpark

QUARRY BAY PARK

Throw the bikes in the car, and head to Quarry Bay Park for a ride on Hong Kong’s longest cycling track. No matter their level, your kids will love freely racing around the scenic 640-meter loop. And you’ll love that it’s flat and cushioned and never too crowded. There’s even a handy jogging path that runs alongside the entire length of the bike path so runners are welcome too!

Quarry Bay Park Cycling Track, Quarry Bay Park (near Hoi Tai Street), Quarry Bay, Hong Kong +852 2513 8499, www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/facilities/facilitieslist/facilities.php?ftid=17&did=2

NAM SANG WAI

This is a great 8km route that’s easy for all of the family to enjoy. Start and finish at MTR Yuen Long. The route takes around 1.5-2 hours depending on how quickly you cycle and how much you want to explore en-route. There are places to stop off along the way including a lot of fantastic bird watching at the marshlands. You can see Shenzhen on nice days! Note, some of the trail is open to cars too so if you are with little ones, take note.

Nam Sang Wai, MTR Yuen Long – trail starts directly behind the MTR. Rent bikes at Tin Fung Bicycle Company, Shop B, G/F, Lee Kwan Building, 37 On lok Road, Yuen Long, www.yl.hk/ad/3808/.

TOLO HARBOUR CYCLING

The Tolo Harbour Cycling Track starts in Shatin via the Hong Kong Science Park, extending to the Tai Po Waterfront Park and Tai Mei Tuk. Rent your bikes in Shatin or Tai Po Market, and then enjoy the ride and seaside scenery. In addition to the harbour you can also see the dam in the Plover Cove Reservoir in the distance.

CYBERPORT WATERFRONT

This lovely little green area is filled with families on the weekends, and you can bring doggie too. It’s the perfect place to teach little ones how to ride a bike as it is flat. They will be off their training wheels in no time! Just remember to BYOB (bring your own bike) as there is no bike rental. Enjoy a weekend brunch at the nearby Le Meridien Cyberport hotel or grab a takeaway picnic from the nearby supermarket.

MUI WO

For a fabulous day out, hop on the ferry to Mui Wo on Lantau.Check schedules online and take the fast ferry, although dogs are only allowed on the slow ferry. The Friendly Bicycle Shop, near ParknShop (on the left, just beyond the bus station, as you arrive on the ferry) rents HK$30 a day ordinary bikes and mountain bikes at HK$150. Cycle around the paths and small roads along and behind Silvermine Beach or head to the northwest of Mui Wo basin to the Silvermine Waterfall.

Happy cycling!