SCHOOL BLOG Tuesday 26th November 2013 As you know, last weekend was a busy one at Wu Kai Sha as we held an IB Regional Workshop event in school. This was the first such event to be held by the IB anywhere in the world and the first time a large IB event has been held in an Early Years setting. The IB representatives were full of praise and gratitude for us making the event happen and for the very smooth organisation by our team. The event was truly international with delegates attending from Asia-Pacific and countries further afield including the USA, Dubai, Fiji and Bangladesh to name a few. The stakes were certainly high and the spotlight was definitely being shone on our school! There was a highly charged, purposeful and professional buzz all weekend long! Delegates were full of praise and enthusiasm about our learning environment from the moment they walked through the door and there were literally hundreds of photographs being taken of our displays, indoor and outdoor learning spaces, provocations and resources. Many people could be heard talking about the evidence of learning that was visible throughout the school and in classrooms. This is an affirmation of the great care and effort everyone puts into creating the best possible learning environment for children at Wu Kai Sha and we were quite simply overwhelmed by the positive and encouraging comments we received. Our parents were also included in plans for the weekend. An IB information session for Wu Kai Sha parents was held in school on Saturday evening and this was attended by over 60 parents. *What are CPD days?* Continuous Professional Development (CPD) days provide teachers with the opportunity to enhance their professional knowledge and skills with the underlying aim of enriching the learning experiences for their students. CPD days are an important additional responsibility on top of the required teaching days. Two of the five ESF CPD days are centrally agreed. The remaining CPD days are set by individual schools to take place at the most appropriate times to support school development initiatives. *Philippine Fundraiser* We would like to say a huge thank you to paretns for all of the kind donations we received towards our Philippine Fundraiser. Many children were interested in this natural disaster and were keen to help out victims. We rased a grand total of $31,592 and have after investigating approriate charities, have chosen to donate the money to UNICEF who are directly supporting children and victims of Typhoon Haiyan. *Sports / Family Day at Ma On Shan Park* Our Sports / Family days are due to take place on the 3rd December (K1) and 4th December (K2). A range of activities for the children to participate in have been organised including a look and find game, storytelling, and a treasure hunt which we hope will help your children develop social skills and friendships with their peers.Please refer to the letter which will be sent out to families today for more details. *Library System Launch* I am excited to inform you about the launch of our new online library catalogue. The system allows students, staff and parents to browse our entire library collection and reserve books and resources for use at home. The Wu Kai Sha library currently includes over 1400 books, Story Sacks and audio-visual resources as well as hundreds of approved websites. We will begin lending our library resources in phases beginning with K2 children. Later in the year we will develop the service to include K1 when appropriate. Specific details and a copy of our lending policy will be sent to you soon. We will also be arranging short training and information sessions in the weeks ahead. Christopher Coyle Principal *LEARNING IN K1* Things have been exciting in K1 over the past couple of weeks. Lots of learning has been happening and all K1 classes have been continuing their inquiries into the colour and light unit through various learning engagements including colour mixing, stories about how colour changes with light, and dark tents with light sources inside. The childrens inquiries have continued outside in the shared area; looking at reflective materials, different shades of colours on the light box and exploring apps on the iPads. All classes have enjoyed looking at patterns in the environment and have explored creating one on their own. We have some very exciting things happening over the next few weeks in the run up to Christmas. We are looking forward to our trip to Ma On Shan park on the 3rd December and we are busy planning some exciting activities for you all to enjoy. One of the activities involves using a smartphone! If you have a smartphone please make sure you have a ‘QR Reader’ app downloaded....all will be revealed on the day!! There is a sample code below so you can check your app works. If you have any questions regarding the day at Ma On Shan Park then please speak to your childs teacher. Thank you for your continued support. Lucy Maplestone-Singh K1 Leader *LEARNING IN K2* It’s been an exciting time in K2 this week. We have started our new unit How we express ourselves. The Crane Class have been exploring the stage in their classroom and what it can be used for. Robin Class have been exploring shape and creating floor sculptures, influenced by the Artist Kandinsky. Emu Class have been creating their own adventures in space, using the space shuttle they created. Magpie Class have been exploring ways in which they could retell the story of the Gruffalo. All classes have also started thinking about the Christmas Nativity and are beginning to understand the story of Christmas. Thank you very much to the many people who have offered to help with the preparation for the show. It is very much appreciated. Sarah Green K2 Team Leader
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 07:06:45 +0000
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