Summer Borrowing from the EPC Library

Please click on the link below for information about borrowing books over the summer vacation.

  http://libguides.tes.tp.edu.tw/newsletter

University Information

The University and Careers' Counsellors from TES High School, Sally Champagne and Paul Wyss, will be holding a drop-in session in the Parents' Cafe at the EPC next week. You will have an opportunity to seek information or advice about university destinations and applications. I know for many parents this stage in your child's life seems a long way off, but it is helpful to know about the options available and what the potential pathways for students are.

Please see below for more details...

When:   Tuesday 3rd June
Time:    8:30 - 10:30am
Where:  EPC Parent's Cafe

Time is Ticking Away!

How lovely it is to have some sunshine after last week's stormy weather and non-stop rain.
The purpose of today's post is to issue some reminders about school events which will be occurring over the final three weeks of this term.

ECAs
This is the last week of all ECAs. 

New Classes for 2014-15
On Friday 30th May the class teachers will inform their students of their new teacher for next year. The students will then spend Periods 2 and 3 in their new class, with their new teacher or a stand-in. Your child will bring home a letter informing you of who their teacher will be next year. It will also contain information on all leaving staff and the academic staff for the whole British Primary Section for 2014-15.

Lost Property
Our two wonderful PTA parents, Rachel and Faye have very kindly sorted out lost property on Tuesdays by returning labelled items to classrooms. I would like to pass on a huge thanks to them for helping with what can sometimes be an unpleasant task.
All lost property will be displayed in the atrium from Tuesday 3rd June to Thursday 5th June. Any lost property, that is not labelled will be disposed of on Friday 13th June.

Tribe Day
On Friday 6th June the British Junior Section will be celebrating Tribe Day.The students are currently amassing as many merits as they can before the cut-off day for calculating the totals.
At the Tribe Day assembly the student councillors will reveal the winning tribe and all students in that tribe and the student councillors will be rewarded with a DVD and snack. 

Last Day of Term
Please note that the last day of term will be a non-uniform day.

Exciting News!
Many parents have been asking me about my plans for the next academic year. Originally I had planned to travel 'home' to New Zealand but those plans have been put on hold due to a happy announcement from my daughter and son-in-law. Yes, you've guessed it - I am going to be a grandmother. My daughter is expecting a baby in November. As she lives in the Netherlands, I will be going back to England so I can be closer to her. 

Summer Term 2014

The forthcoming term is definitely action-packed as you can see from the dates on my CHIRPS page.
Please find below some more detail about some of the events that will be happening over the next seven weeks.
Visiting Teachers
Seventeen English teachers from Taipei City Government schools are spending the week in our school. There is always much to be learned from the mutual exchanges about education for all teachers involved in this project. The visitors are very impressed by the behaviour of our students and the creative ways in which our teachers support and enhance children's learning.
Parent/Teacher meetings
Online booking for the CLC and Specialist teacher's parent/teacher meetings will open at midday on Thursday 2nd May. You will shortly be receiving an email with further information. The meetings will take place on Thursday 22nd May from 7:30am - 7:30pm. If you are unable to get an appointment on that day then please make an arrangement directly with the teacher concerned. 
Europe Day
This is an important event in our school calendar when the three sections get together to celebrate the things we have in common. This morning in assembly the students practised the European anthem 'Ode to Joy' and our tri-section song 'A Song to Sing' with verses sung in the three different languages. Children will wear school uniform as normal on the day.
British Section Annual General Meeting
All parents are invited to attend this meeting which will be held in the amphitheatre on Tuesday 13th May at 8:30am. There will be short presentations from the Chair and Treasurer as well as informative reports from the children. The meeting will finish at around 9:30am. 
Assessments
Over the next couple of weeks all students in BJ will be sitting tests in Reading, Writing and Maths. The results from these tests are used to verify the teachers' judgements about the English National Curriculum levels. The levels will be reported to parents at the end of this academic year.
Years 3-5 New classes for 2014-15
Each year the teachers review the classes for the following year.This usually involves a mixing of classes in order to ensure there is a balance of children (i.e. girls/boys, EAL/native speakers of English, SEN/higher attaining children) in each class. Teachers also take into account friendship groups and new children coming to the school. We ask all the students to write down the names of three children so we can ensure they are in a class with a friend.The new classes are finalised by the leadership team. Parents will be informed of  their child's new class and teacher on Friday 30th May as well as staffing changes across the school. 
Tribe Day
Children will wear their tribe colours to school on Friday 6th June.
Last day of school
This will be a non-uniform day. This gives leaving families a chance to donate second hand uniform to the PTA. Further information will be available closer to the date.

Sports Day

            Tri Section Junior Sports Event

Parents are invited to attend the Junior Sports Events. 

Please see below for further details.

DATE:

FRIDAY 11 APRIL

VENUE

EPC CAMPUS – ASTROTURF

START 8:10 – FINISH 10:20

YR3, YR4, CE1, CE2 + KL1/2

START 10:30 – FINISH 12:40

YR5, YR6, CM1, CM2 + KL3/4

ALL CHILDREN TO WEAR PE KIT

WITH TRIBE-COLOURED TOP

(RED-BLUE-GREEN-YELLOW)

REMEMBER…

HAT, WATER BOTTLE, SUNSCREEN

A FRUIT SNACK WILL BE PROVIDED

PARENTS WELCOME!

Please come along and cheer on!

Don’t miss the opening ‘mob’ dance!

Tribe Council Visit to Neihu Recycling Centre

The TES Student Council (known as the Tribe Council) enjoyed an interesting and informative trip to Neihu Recycling Centre today. 

The Tribe Council, which comprises students from all classes in Years 2 to 6, learnt about the processes involved in collecting, sorting and refining recyclable materials including plastic bottles, paper and electrical goods. The trip focused upon the environmental message to 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle'. 

The students now have an even better knowledge of what they can do to care for the Earth - we even pitched in to help with sorting the paper - see the photos below.

Thanks to Ms Kao and Mrs Kriel for accompanying Mr Stebbing and the students on the trip and to Ms Joyce Tsao for her help in organising the trip. 

Information Updates

Please see below for information about forthcoming events.
FOBISIA Primary Music Carnival 
Ms Kao, accompanied by Mrs Livesey and Mrs Liufalani, will be taking 18 students from years five and six to Kuala Lumpur for the annual FOBISIA Music Carnival. They leave on Thursday 27th March and return to Taipei on Monday 31st March. The students will be involved in choral singing or instrumental workshops to prepare them for a musical extravaganza on the Sunday afternoon. There will not be Choir on Thursday after school.
Mrs Liufalani's class will be covered by a substitute teacher.
Maths information Session for parents
Mr Fagg will be sharing information on the teaching of maths investigations in BJ. This session follows on from the previous one on calculations. The focus is on the application of knowledge and the development of children's thinking.
All parents are welcome. The session is on Tuesday 1st April at 1:50pm in the amphitheatre.
Student Council Dress Up Day
Our council have decided to run a 'Multiples Day' on Thursday 3rd April as a fundraising activity. Please see your child's class blog for further information.
No School on Friday 4th April
There is a public holiday for 'Children's Day' on 4th April so please note school will be closed.
No ECAs week beginning Monday 7th April 
Please click on this link to see the ECA timetable for further information.
Sports Morning
The Junior Sports 'day' is on Friday 11th April. Further information about this event will be posted in the near future.
Friday is the last day of term so school will be closed for two weeks. Term Three starts on Monday 28th April.
Encyclopedia Britannica
A great resource has been added to our school library. It is the online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica for schools. 
This link  http://school.ebonline.com/ will take you to the site. You will need a username and password, which will be available either on your child's class blog or in their Home/Link diary. 

Secondary and High School Information

Last Wednesday Chrysta Garnett, Head of Secondary & High School, and Darren Latchford, IB (International Baccalaureate) Coordinator, held an information session for parents of primary students on the educational journey for students at TES. There was information about the programmes for KS3 (Years 7/8/9) students in the Secondary School and the IGCSE and IB Diploma programmes for students in the High School.

This link will take you to the general presentation about the programmes on offer and the University destinations for TES students. The following link (IB information) is to the presentation showing more specific information about the IB Diploma, which is the gold standard for accessing top universities worldwide. 

Further information about the Secondary/High School Curriculum and University and Careers can be found on the TES (please click) website.

Maths Investigation Workshop

On Tuesday, 1^st April, Mr Fagg will be presenting a maths workshop in the amphitheatre from 1:50 – 2:50pm.  The subject of the workshop is maths investigations, which is an area that the primary school has been focusing on this year.  If you would like to find out what maths investigations are, why they are important for your child and how you can assist you child at home with them, then we look forward to seeing you at the workshop.

Two Important Messages

After School
Please be reminded that students are only allowed to stay and play after school in the Central Playground area if they are being supervised by a parent. All students (unless they are attending a dance class or music lesson or have a sibling involved in either of these activities) must leave the campus by 4:30pm. Students must not play in either the infant or junior playgrounds. I have reminded BJ students about the rules for the Central Playground in assembly today, particularly the rule about not throwing the bark chips. 
School Uniform
In order to support parents and to ensure that the children take pride in their appearance as a TES student I will be strictly enforcing our school uniform policy. Children not wearing correct school uniform will need to report daily to the office at break time and parents will be notified in the Home/Link diary.
The expectations, which can also be found in the parent handbook and in the home/link diary, are below.
  
Boys:

A blue and white school shirt

A TES school zip - up long sleeved top

A TES sleeveless V neck vest (as required and if cold)

School navy blue shorts or navy blue trousers

Black, navy blue or white socks (worn below the knee - plain colour only – without motif)

Smart, breathable black leather shoes that fasten with a buckle, Velcro fastener or laces

(Sandals, flip flops, trainers are not acceptable)

TES School cap (applicable to all Primary age children for wearing when the children are 

outside)

PLEASE NOTE: Jeans, tracksuit bottoms and army / utility trousers are not 

acceptable.

Girls:

A School dress (available for Infant and Junior children)

A blue and white school shirt

A TES school zip - up long sleeved top or a TES cardigan

A TES sleeveless V neck vest (as required and if cold)

School Skirt, school skorts, school navy blue shorts or navy blue trousers

Black, navy blue or white socks (worn below the knee - plain colour only – without motif) or 

Black or navy blue tights

Smart, breathable black leather shoes that fasten with a buckle, Velcro fastener or laces

(Sandals, flip flops, trainers are not acceptable)

TES School cap (applicable to all Primary age children for wearing when the children are 

outside)

PLEASE NOTE: Jeans, tracksuit bottoms and army / utility trousers are not

acceptable.

Reminder: Parent Information session on Wednesday 19th March

This is a reminder that the new Head of the British Secondary and High School, Ms Chrysta Garnett, will be running a parent information session for parents of the primary students at the EPC on Wednesday afternoon. Please see the poster for details.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions about either the Secondary or High School programmes. 

Assessment Information

Thank you to all those who attended the BJ parent information session on assessment in Key Stage Two (years three to six) this afternoon.

As promised here is the link to the power point presentation. PowerPoint Presentation on Assessment in BJ

During the presentation Mr Millward and I made reference to various documents on the TES website. By clicking on the link below you will be taken to a section with links to information about the target statements for each sub-level of progress in reading, writing and maths as well as a copy of the age related expectations for the end of each year group.
Attainment and Assessment in BJ

Latest Newsletter from the EPC Library

Please click on the link to discover what's new in the Library and to find out about new books.  Library News 

Reminder: Information session for parents on Friday

Please be reminded about our parent information session being held this Friday at 1:40pm in the amphitheatre.

Mr Millward and I will be sharing information about how we assess students in the British Junior Section and how we use that information to help them make progress. We will include information about testing.

Carnavale

Carnavale (also known as Mardi-Gras) is an event hosted by the French Section for all students in the primary campus. Please see the information below from the Head of the French section, Jean-Yves Vesseau, and check your child's class blog for further details.

Carnival season is upon us again and TES will celebrate in style on Tuesday March 4.

All students from the three sections  - infant and junior - will parade their fancy costumes around the junior playground starting at 8:30 am. 

Parents will therefore be expected to make their way to the junior playground and take a seat on the stands. Of course, you're more than welcome to wear a fancy dress too and take part in the procession.

At the end of the procession, just after 9, we will all watch a Diabolo show (please note that you will have the possibility to buy diabolos once the students are back in class). 

Children will go back to class at 9:15 where they will feverishly wait for the crepes cooked by the parents. 

 A huge thank you to all the parents involved!

In case of rain, the parade will be cancelled but your child can still come in his/her fancy dress and will get their crepe just the same.

I am looking forward to seeing you on March 4 for what promises to be an unforgettable Mardi Gras!

Jean-Yves Vesseau

Gorgeous Photo

Please come and view the latest photo of all the Junior students. It covers the display wall just opposite the entrance to the Junior Wing. It was taken on our Chinese New Year celebration day and features the students and staff from all sections.






If you come and view the photo tomorrow morning you will be able to add a message in your mother tongue on our curved wall. 
We will be asking the children to write a simple greeting in their mother tongue using a gold pen. It could be as simple as 'hello' or you may want to write something that expresses the importance of mother tongue such as this quote... 'One should respect one's motherland, one's culture and one's mother tongue because they are the givers of happiness'

Information about Open Week

We are very much looking forward to hosting our first ever 'Open Week' in the British Junior Section this week. We are proud to be sharing the excellent teaching and learning that occurs in our section and hope that this opportunity gives you some insight into what happens in the classroom.  Please see the points below for some useful information:

• Most  slots have now been filled so if you have not made any bookings please check to see if there are any times still available. 
• Remember that you are only supposed to visit your child's class.
• Next week the teachers will put the timetables outside their classrooms so please check before you enter the classroom that you are listed.
• Please be reminded that phones should be switched off and that parents are not allowed to take photos or film the lesson.

Assemblies

All parents have been invited to attend the assemblies next week. There has been a slight change due to an opportunity provided by the French Section.

The children in Year Four will now be attending assembly with the Year 5 and 6 students as we have been able to invite a motivational speaker 'Judith Fox' to talk to the students about her brother Terry Fox. You are welcome to attend this assembly.

The Year 3 PSHE assembly will go ahead as usual and parents from any year group are welcome to attend.

Please see the times below:

8:15 - 8:45am Year 3 Assembly

8:50 - 9:30am Year 4/5/6 Assembly

Mathletics for Parents

Mr Millward will be running two information afternoons about our Mathletics programme in the amphitheatre.This is a great opportunity to find out how the programme supports children's learning.Each information session, which will last for 30 -45 minutes, will be the same.

The days and times are below:

Monday 24th February 1:50pm

Wednesday 26th February 1:50pm

Welcome Back

Dear parents and students,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the new families that have joined us for the second semester. We have three families who have returned to Taiwan and to TES - it's great to have you back. 

For new families please note that I use my blog to inform you about upcoming events  as well as reporting back on the exciting things that have happened in school. If you click on the tab 'CHIRPS' you will be taken to a page showing important dates for the term. I aim to write a new post every fortnight, but sometimes it will be weekly. In order not to miss out on information you can sign up to receive an email every time I post something on my blog. You will be able to do this by filling in the required details on the right hand side of my blog page. As always if you have any problems please contact the office or Mr Millward duncan.millward@tes.tp.edu.tw 

Reminder: 

For safety reasons, children are not allowed to use the boiling water function on the water dispensers in the canteen. If you would like your child to have hot food, other than the school lunch, then please see the information below

• Food must be packed in a stainless steel container (plastic boxes will not be placed in the steamer).Lunch boxes must be labeled with your child’s name and year group (this is to ensure that lunchboxes are placed in the steamer at the correct time Please ensure your child is familiar with the system below:
• Students

On arrival at school, place your lunch box in the refrigerator, which is located in the cafeteria near the lunch box racks.
The kitchen staff will collect your lunch box from the refrigerator and place it in the steamer 30-40 minutes before your lunch sitting.
When you come to the cafeteria for lunch you will find your lunch box placed on a table near the lunch box racks (the lunch boxes will be removed from the steamer approximately 10 minutes before lunch starts to ensure they are not too hot for you to handle).

Upcoming Events:

Paying it Forward

Next week is 'Random Acts of Kindness Week' which we think gives us a great opportunity to remind our students of the importance of being kind and making a difference to the lives of others.Starting after assembly on Tuesday all students will be given 10 stickers. Each time they do something kind for someone else they give the recipient two stickers. One sticker is to wear and the other is to 'pay it forward'. That person must then do something kind for somebody else and pass on stickers. At the end of the week we will make a display in the atrium of all the kind acts that have occurred. 

If you are interested in talking about this at home then please look at the links on the following website http://www.pinterest.com/4thrprogram/kids-random-acts-of-kindness/

Maths Workshop for parents on Friday 14th February at 1:50pm (location to be confirmed)

This workshop is for parents to learn more about the calculation strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division that we teach children. You will learn about the steps involved in teaching children to grasp an efficient method. If your child is already highly proficient in using a variety of calculation methods then you would probably find our next workshop (Friday 21st March at 1:50pm) on investigations more useful.

Visit to the Secondary Campus for parents of Year 6 students

The ESC (European Secondary Campus) Parents' Association extends an invitation to all Year 6 parents to attend a coffee morning on Wednesday 12th February 10:00 -11:30am in the Canteen (Phase 2 building). This will be an opportunity to find out about life at ESC and also to have a tour of the school.

Open Week on Monday 24th February - Thursday 27th February

Open Week is a great opportunity for parents to find out more about teaching and learning in our school. Information about Open Week and how to book your place will be emailed to parents on Monday 10th February. Please note - this is only available to parents. 

Tribe Day Thursday 27th February

As many of you already know all students are placed into one of four tribes which are named after the main aboriginal tribes of Taiwan namely, Paiwan (green), Ami (red), Rukai (yellow) and Bunan (blue). Three times a year we hold a Tribe Day where the students come to school dressed in their tribe colours. When students receive  merits (for good work/behaviour) they are added to their tribe's total for the term. At the Tribe assembly on that day we reveal the winning tribe so far. 

Friday Assembly

Each Friday we celebrate student achievement. It may be for excellent work, excellent effort or good behaviour. Mr Fagg also gives out Mathletics certificates which are awarded to children who work consistently hard over time. Our first Gold certificate was awarded today to Jonathan in Year 4. 

Congratulations Jonathan!

International Mother-Tongue Language Day - Friday 21st February

Please see Mr Millward's blog to find out more about what is happening on this day.

Please note that the the CHIRPS page has been updated.

Warm regards

Adele Corry

Xin Nian Kuai Le

Chinese Market
On Tuesday, during Chinese classes,Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 attended a traditional Chinese New Year Market, which was held in the atrium. There were opportunities to win prizes, practise calligraphy and very importantly, sample some delicious food. Mr Millward and I very much enjoyed our  ice-cream spring rolls. 

Rolling the dice and adding the totals - trying to beat Sung Laoshi

Calligraphy with Liu Laoshi

Head and deputy hard at work...
enjoying ice-cream spring rolls

Thank you to Kao Laoshi and her team for organising this event and also the Chinese New Year Lion dance and performance by students. There will be a link to a video of the children performance in my next post.

Happy New Year of the Horse

Table Tennis/Whiff Whaff/Ping Pong Final

The lightning backhand drive, blocking, light topspin strokes, the forehand smash and lobs with sidespin were all in evidence in the amphitheater on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. 

Yes - I am talking about the nail-biting table tennis finals between Helena and Emily, and Joel and Chris.

The final was a result of the table tennis competition which has taken place at break times since the beginning of this term. 

88 children took part in the competition from all three school sections compared to 55 who played last year. Many thanks to Mr Harding who organised the competition and to the umpires namely, Mr Robinson, Mr Millward, Mr Fagg and Mr Stebbing and Mr Milner.

Congratulations to Helena (B6.1) who is the TES Girls’ Table Tennis Champion. She beat Emily (B6.2) 11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 7-11, 11-9 in a very tense and entertaining final in which both girls played tremendously well.  

 Congratulations to Chris (B5.3) who is the TES Boys’ Table Tennis Champion. He beat Joel (B6.1) 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 in a great final full of attacking play and resolute defense from both boys.

Reminders

Please note:

1. No ECAS this week or next week
2. Children will need to bring in money to spend at the Chinese New Year market tomorrow (Tuesday 28th January). If they would like to buy something from Da Ai Technology (not-for-profit company who make products from recycled plastic bottles) they will need to bring in an extra NT$ 250. For the games and food at the market we suggest $NT 100 -150 - coins only please.
3. We will be having a Chinese New Year dress-up day on Wednesday 29th January.    On this day the Junior School Tribe Council will be collecting money to support the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF).                                                         Students are invited to wear the colour red or traditional Chinese clothing and to give     $NT 50 or more towards TFCF. Thank you for your support. 
4. There will be no school from Thursday 30th January - Thursday 6th February
5. Thursday 6th February at 1:50pm in the amphitheatre - parent workshop to find out about our assessment procedures in BJ.

Chess

On Sunday, 12^th January, two children from TES took part in a Blitz chess competition at the Vida Chess Centre in Xindian.  Brendon from Year 3 played very well against some much older and more experienced opponents to finish 13^th out of the 21 participants.  Aidan from Year 6, the TES school chess champion for the last two years, also performed fantastically in his first ever Blitz competition and finished second overall.  I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Brendon and Aidan for representing TES so well and making the effort to participate in the competition.

If you would like your child to take part in a chess competition, there are regular events around Taipei. 

On Sunday 12^th January, a group of children from TES took part in a tag team chess competition at the Vida Chess Centre in Xindian.  In this chess format, children play with a partner and take alternate moves against another team.  An added difficulty is that children are not allowed to communicate with each other.  Altogether 16 teams took part, and despite the fact that the TES children were unused to this particular chess format, I am pleased to say that Aidan and David from Year 6 won the competition.  I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the following children for taking part and representing TES so well:

Year 3 – Jiri , Mick , Juan

Year 4 – Lawrence

Year 5 – Jose

Year 6 – Scott, Baltazar

Further details  with the dates of other chess activities taking place throughout the year, can be found here:

http://taipeichess.com/2014/01/21/we-will-hold-the-2014-first-monthly-chess-tournament-on-126-%e6%9c%88%e8%b3%bd%e5%a0%b1%e5%90%8d%e4%b8%ad/

Dear Parents,

I hope you found the report on your child's National Curriculum levels given to you during the parent/teacher meetings last week useful in helping you find out how well he/she is achieving and what the targets are for the rest of this academic year.

I will providing information about how we assess the students using the National Curriculum levels

at a parent workshop on Thursday 6th February at 1:50pm in the amphitheatre.

Further information about this will be available in a flyer being sent home next week.

School Photos Please note that if your child was absent for their individual photos there are some time slots available tomorrow afternoon. The class teachers have been informed so please write a note in your child's diary to ask the teacher if he/she can be sent to the amphitheatre. 

Typhoon Haiyan

TES is a wonderful community of people as seen in the amount of money raised for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Last Friday we invited people from the Tzu Chi Foundation to accept a cheque totalling NT$486,872.

The Da Ai Technology Company (a not-for-profit arm of Tzu Chi) brought along some of their products which are made from recycled plastic bottles. Thank you to our Student Councillors who modelled the items for us. However despite the equally beautiful Miss Dalmanego and Miss Winfieldale, who modelled lovely coats, the show was stolen by TES' top models (as seen in the photos below). 

The term modelling is often used in educational circles in relation to teachers providing excellent examples to colleagues. Although these two members of the primary senior management team think they know how to strut their stuff on the catwalk their colleagues' advice is 

'Don't give up your day job!'

Ethan, Euan and Amber keeping out the cold.












Who thought clothes made from recycled plastic bottles could look this good!
(Miss Dalmanego and Miss Winfieldale)

Natalie,Jessica and Simran modelling hats and a scarf and perhaps thinking...

 'What do Mr Gamble and Mr Millward think they look like?'


Below; Modelling is a serious business! Clare, Christy, Bill and Druv

















Tomorrow I will be posting information about some of our talented chess players and there will also be some reminders about forthcoming events.

Curriculum Information for Years 3 - 6

What will my Child be learning this term?

Over the past weeks a lot of work has been put into updating the school website to provide information on the British Infant and British Junior Sections. The curriculum information has been updated to provide parents and visitors with information on subject areas, including topic areas being studied in each year group.

Information is regularly updated on the website with resources from parent workshops and events within the sections.

Please click the link to go to the website: Curriculum Units (click here for topic information) and Literacy and Maths (click here for the termly overviews)

Happy New Year 2014

Dear parents,
I do hope you had an enjoyable festive season and that the new year brings everything you wish for.

Parent/Teacher meetings

Next week we are holding our Parent/Teacher meetings so you will have an opportunity to discuss your child's latest academic report. At the meeting the teacher will be reporting your child's English National Curriculum levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. Today your child took home a guide to what the levels mean so when you meet the teacher you will have a better understanding. The  teacher will let you know your child's current level of attainment and also their end of year target level.

I will be holding an information afternoon to explain more about the levels of attainment in the National Curriculum and how we assess children. It will be held on Thursday 6th February at 1:45pm in the amphitheatre.

Curriculum Information

The class blogs are a window into your child's learning on a weekly basis. Further information about the curriculum each class will be covering this term will soon be available on the website (on Thursday 16th January). The link will be shared with you on your child's class blog.

Maths Workshop

On Friday 14th February Mr Fagg will be leading a workshop for parents demonstrating the strategies we use to teach calculation. This workshop will be particularly useful to parents who are unfamiliar with the methods we teach children to use for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We will be covering the basic skills so if your child is already highly competent at calculation it may be more useful for you to come to another workshop  on maths investigations we are running later in the year. 

Events

School Photos: Please see the letter that was sent home on Wednesday 8th January. Family photos (brothers and sisters who attend the EPC) will be taken at your request and older siblings can collect younger siblings from the Infant section. Please note if you have a child in Nursery then we are asking parents to collect him/her. 

Chinese New Year Market: To celebrate this important festival we hold a market place for all children in the junior section. Children will have an opportunity to play traditional games and be able to buy some traditional foods eaten at this time of the year. Children will need to bring in some money on this day. There will be further information from the CLC team closer to the date. They will also be treated to a traditional lion dance on Wednesday 29th January. On this day we ask all the children to wear either red or a Chinese costume. 

Chinese New Year holiday: There will be no school from Thursday 30th January to Wednesday 5th February.

Academic Calendar 2014 -15: Quite a few parents have asked about  term dates for next year. if you click on the following link it will take you to the TES academic calendar.   http://www.taipeieuropeanschool.com/calendarY.php

Have a nice weekend.

Kind regards

Adele Corry