Wednesday 28 May 2014

Summer Borrowing from the EPC Library

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

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

Monday 26 May 2014

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. 

Tuesday 29 April 2014

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.



Monday 7 April 2014

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!

Wednesday 26 March 2014

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. 







Tuesday 25 March 2014

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.