BPS Newsletter
Issue 14 - 29th November 2019
Forging Partnerships to Build Strong Relationships - by Mr Luke Chaeter
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we approach, what I am sure will be a tremendous Christmas Bazaar, tomorrow, I would like to thank all parents and the wider community for supporting, what I know will be an excellent event. I am particularly looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible, and also enjoying the various creative stalls, and my personal favourite, the eateries. I will also be spending some time on the Burger Stand, however, unfortunately, my time will be spent flipping the burgers.....not eating them!
This week, we have welcomed Mr Mike Smith (Deputy Headteacher - Dulwich College Singapore Junior School) who is currently embarking on his National Professional Qualification for Headship. This is a rigorous qualification, and it has been a pleasure supporting him through this process. Building links with some of the best international schools in the World is extremely beneficial, as not only will this further improve professional development opportunities, but opportunities to enrich the experience of our children!
I would like to also thank Mrs Jeni Wong for the great workshop regarding proposed changes to our SRE program. We are currently reviewing the way in which we approach Sex and Relationship Education, to ensure that we are in a position to provide high quality learning in this area. Mrs Wong presented to parents at a Tuesday Workshop, which was very well received by all in attendance. Further opportunities to discuss this will be made available early in Semester 2, to ensure that all have an informed understanding of what this actually means in a Primary School setting, where further parental views will be collated to shape an excellent curriculum for the needs of our students.
Thursday evening, it was a pleasure to attend the Regent Hotel Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The students represented TES extremely well, I, as well as the many parents who attended, must have been very proud!
Finally, I would like to wish you a wonderful Sunday, as I hope to see many of you at the Bazaar on Saturday,
Best wishes,
Luke Chaeter
Coaching Parent Workshop
Have you ever wondered what 'Coaching' is and how we use coaching at the British Secondary and High School? Have you ever wondered if there are better ways to communicate and find positive ways forward when life as a parent becomes challenging?
BSHS is delighted to offer an opportunity for parents to take part in a workshop about coaching. During the workshop, Renzo Pellandini (who is both a parent and a professional coach) will be sharing some of the tools he uses and his expertise in the field of coaching. Rowena Bracken, Head of Positive Education, will also share some of the 'Grow' conversation tools and the approaches to coaching used in the BSHS.
Workshop Outline:
· How the BSHS Uses Coaching
· Solution-Focused Coaching: Balanced Dialogue.
· The Language Used in Coaching.
· Active Listening
· Coaching Conversations
· Benefits of Coaching as Parents
When: Tuesday 3rd December 2019
Time: 6.30pm-8.00pm
Where: ESC Sport Centre
This workshop will be held at the ESC Sports Centre. and we hope you will enjoy the discussions and practical tools you will explore.
Please RSVP for this event by emailing: HSSecretary@tes.tp.edu.tw
Physical Education Parent Workshop - How we operate and what you can do to support at home - by Mr Peter Poulton
This workshop is an opportunity for parents to gain a better understanding of the design, implementation and overall vision of PE and Sport at TES. I will talk about the PE curriculum and how this links with school sport and also about confirmed and potential sports events and trips. Additionally, there will suggestions and tips about how parents can mirror and extend learning at home so that the children make more efficient progress and development. There will also be an opportunity for parents to ask questions and enquire about specific elements of the PE and Sport programme.
Earthquake Procedure - by Mr Luke Chaeter
On Wednesday 27th November at precisely 2.30pm, the EPC Campus conducted a planned Earthquake Procedure. Please see the below format.
SIGNAL
No signal—ground/ building may shake
ACTION
‘Duck, Cover, Hold On’ procedure—Open classroom door. The building is not evacuated unless the bell or siren sounds or if it is deemed dangerous to stay in the building.
ALL CLEAR
· When tremor stops; building will be checked by maintenance and alarm sounded if evacuation is needed
· For ‘after shocks’ and further tremors, repeat the drill.
· If the alarm does not sound, teachers will resume classes when they feel it is safe to do so.
Throughout the year, we will conduct various scenarios, to ensure that all on-site are prepared for all eventualities.
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Regent Hotel - by Ms Patricia Lin
Lower choir children had the great privilege of performing at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Regent Hotel last night. It was very exciting to perform in front of important guests and to see the huge Christmas tree light up. The choir performed two songs and were later surprised by Santa Claus and Mrs Claus, who rewarded them with welcomed candy. Thank you to all the parents for your support and to the teachers who came along to help with this wonderful event.
Home Language Matters...profoundly! - by Mr Michael Norris
This past week, we had the pleasure of hosting Eowyn Crisfield, an expert in the field of support for multilingual learners in multilingual school contexts. As part of her visit, Eowyn has worked closely with a number of staff in highlighting the importance of home language and how the maintenance and development of home language is pivotal in ensuring linguistic and academic success.
Last night, Eowyn presented a parent workshop centered on parents as language partners and their role in ‘having a language plan’ for their children. Eowyn referenced Jim Cummins who has done extensive research in the field of why bilingual children’s home language is so important in educational contexts. Important takeaways from this research, implicit in Eowyn’s parent workshop, can be summarised as follows:
With globalisation comes increased mobility and movement of people. As a result schools, including international schools, are being characterised by a more linguistically diverse student demographic.
This presents implications for education and assimilation of languages in these linguistically diverse contexts.
In particular, the language of instruction becomes instrumental in shaping literacy across the curriculum.
If multilingual schools are to build on harnessing the prior knowledge of all learners and valuing what students bring to the classroom, it is critically important that home language be recognised as a medium and conduit for this process.
An appropriate language policy needs to be adopted by schools in ensuring appropriate education for culturally and linguistically diverse children.
The development of children’s home language is a strong predictor of their second language development.
Children’s mother tongues are fragile and easily lost in the early years of school.
Parents need to be clear regarding which languages they want their children to master and why, and then make appropriate educational choices for them.
What role do parents have in ensuring that their children have opportunities of accessing the curriculum in both their home language and in English? Is this a choice that parents opt for? Is this part of the linguistic journey they want their children to embark on?
Eowyn’s slides can be found in the link below:
Parent Teacher Consultations and Reports - by Mr Aidan Stallwood
Further to the communication you have received around our Parent Teacher Consultations we would like to add some more guidance to best prepare for a productive discussion:
- please review your child's Seesaw account
- please come with questions, these can be linked to the Individual Learning Record (ILR), Mid Year Report, Seesaw or educational aspect
The ILR and Mid Year Report will be available from on Wednesday 4th December 2019 through the TESmile platform. The report is the first of two which focuses on your child's effort and academic achievement for the 2019-2020 academic year.
These documents show you the overall progress your child has made in a range of academic subjects and take into account externally marked assessments as well as on-going assessments within school.
We have made some adjustments this year to what we report and continue to welcome feedback on this through our PTA, PTC, or alternatively, you can choose
to email directly to ptcfeedback@tes.tp.edu.tw or me. To help explain some of the information you will receive you may wish to refer back to the
Parent Assessment guide, which aims to outline our school approach to assessment. This should also be available on our school website https://taipeieuropeanschool.com, but should there be any queries feel free to contact me.
Visiting Chinese Teachers - by Mr Craig Gamble
This morning BPS hosted a group of 20 teachers from across Taiwan who all teach English in their respective schools. Once again this visit was arranged through the British Council here in Taiwan and is an annual occasion cementing a strong relationship between our school and the British Council.
The group were given an introductory presentation about TES BPS and our Mission and Vision to offer educational excellence, coupled with European culture and values, in the context of Taiwanese society; as well as our belief in educating the whole child and providing the foundation and structure that will allow each child to develop a love of learning that will stay with them throughout their life.
This was followed by a tour of the campus before the teachers joined a range of classes across the year groups to see our wonderful children and teachers in action across all areas of the curriculum. The Chinese teachers commented on how useful and informative they found their time in the school and that they were looking forward to taking some of the strategies and teaching techniques they had witnessed back to their own classrooms. We look forward to welcoming the British Council and the Chinese teachers again next year.
TES Reverse Christmas Tree Project 2020 - by Mr Corné Coetzee
As the Christmas season is around the corner it is time for our Reverse Christmas Tree fundraiser. This year, TES has decided to donate to the Tabitha project in Cambodia once again. This is a lovely opportunity for children to learn that giving during Christmas time is so much more rewarding than just waiting on Santa to receive Christmas presents.
Many people in Cambodia can't even afford basic housing and are struggling to provide food for their families. Funds donated by TES will go directly towards the ESC Tabitha Project. The amount of money we donate will allow them to buy resources and materials for building houses for these disadvantaged families. Last year we helped 10 families with houses.
Children will receive a red envelope on Thursday 5th December to take home and place their donation in. Please return the red envelope on the last day of school on Friday 13th December. All children will be allowed to wear Christmas colours on that day in celebration of the Reverse Christmas Tree initiative.
The Tribe Council hope that you can donate to these families, as they are less fortunate than us and they are in great need of our help.
Important Reminder by Mr Luke Chaeter
Safeguarding - Adult Toilets at Pick-up/drop-off or during ECA's
Please ensure that when visiting the EPC if requiring the toilet, please specifically use the toilets marked 'Adults.' These are evenly distributed around the site.
If you have young children (Nursery - Year 2) who require to use the toilet on pick-up or drop-off, or whilst ECA's are in progress, please ensure that the toilets in the infant section are used. These have been designed for easy access for children of that age, and should not need adult support. Adults should not be entering children's toilets, children should not be entering adult toilets. Thank you for your support, we endeavour to ensure that our campus is as safe as possible at all times.
School Lunch Order
Please be informed about the lunch ordering period for Jan. 2020 is from 2nd until 11th Dec. Please place the order in time if needed.
FRIDAY MUSIC CORNER - LET'S ENJOY THE MUSIC!
Taipei European School British Primary Section
Website: https://taipeieuropeanschool.com/index.php?id=120
Location: No. 99, Fuguo Road, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111
Phone: +886-2-8145-9007
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/British-Primary-Section-Taipei-European-School-1781787432102978/