Fun Video about Healthy Eating

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

In Year 1, we are currently learning about healthy lifestyles for our final unit of inquiry. This unit focuses on preparing the children to make balanced choices which will help them to lead a healthy life. Below is a short video which helps to show the advantages of eating healthy food rather than junk food. 

Regards, 

Mr.Meehan 

The Gruffalo

                                   

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week we have been discussing the story 'The Gruffalo' by Julia Donaldson.

Below is a link to a great YouTube video with the entire story being sung. Please try to spend a bit of time with your child learning the words to the song and discussing the main characters - the mouse and the gruffalo. 

Have a nice weekend!

Mr.Meehan

P.S. The children were brilliant during this morning's assembly. Well done everyone!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThZqDoJi5S0 

Video Update

Please note that the video of parents reading with the class has recently been updated. Click below to view the latest version.

Happy Easter Everybody!!!

Reading with our Parents

Hi folks,

Here are a few pictures of some of the parents who've come in to read with our class over the past two weeks. It's been great to have so many of you in and the children have really enjoyed listening and responding to stories in English, Cantonese and Putongwa. I know that some of you will be visiting the class after the Easter holidays so I will add more pictures then.

Many thanks,

Mr. Meehan 

The 3 Little Pigs

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As part of your child's homework for the Easter holidays, I have asked that they practice retelling the story of The 3 Little Pigs. You will find more information about this in your child's handbook.

Below are some links to help your child develop their speech, particularly in terms of the sentence openers and vocabulary they should try to use. We have discussed this in class today, so hopefully your child has lots of fun telling you the story. Please encourage them to practice it in English and Chinese.

Kind regards,
Mr. Meehan

Some useful sentence openers
Once upon a time....                  First of all....                      After that....
After a while....                          Next....                             Just then....
Eventually....                             Suddenly....                        Finally....

Capital Letters & Full Stops

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week we have been improving our use of capital letters and full stops when writing. Some of the homework your child has been given on Education City is relating to this. Please check the 'Comments' section on Education City for a more detailed outline of this.

Below are links to some interactive games from the BBC website which you may also want to try with your child.

Regards,
Mr. Meehan

Full Stops
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/hms_game.shtml

Capital Letters
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/lug_game.shtml 

Phonics & Spellings in Year 1

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As you are aware, Reception, Year 1A and Year 1B take part in three phonics sessions per week, with a mix of children from all three classes. You will also be aware that your child takes home 5-10 spellings per week given to them by their class teacher. These spellings are differentiated based on your child's spelling ability.

Having discussed this with Mr.Richardson, we have decided to be more consistent with the spellings that your child takes home and we would like for these to be more in line with what they are learning in Phonics. For example, if your child is learning the 'ar' sound in Phonics, they will receive spelling such as far, car, star, start etc. On Tuesday 8th April, your child will be given a new list of spellings to have learnt by the following Monday.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can email me at mrmeehan@think.edu.hk 

Regards,
Mr.Meehan

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Some useful links to help develop your child's spelling:
http://www.kidsspell.com/ 
http://primarygamesarena.com/spelling
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Earth Hour - Saturday 29th March - 8.30pm -9.30pm

On Saturday 29th March from 8.30pm to 9.30pm, people across the world will participate in Earth Hour. Hong Kong has been celebrating Earth Hour since 2009 and every year, dozens of iconic buildings and landmarks turn switch off their lights to conserve energy. Last year 2.8 million people in Hong Kong took part in the 'lights-off' event.

In 1B we have been talking about the reasons people celebrate Earth hour and the kind of things that we can do to look after our planet. The children were very knowledgeable about the types of things that they can do to conserve energy and look after their environment. We created some wonderful posters which will be displayed across the school. Well done boys and girls!

Our trip to the Toy Museum

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here are some photographs taken during Year 1's trip to the Toy Museum.

- Can you identify the old/traditional toys and the new/modern toys?
- How are the toys similar/different?
- What materials are the toys made from?
- Do they have any movable parts?

Regards,
Mr. Meehan

Toys from the past

Hi folks,

Please find attached a very useful Powerpoint which we shared in class today. I encourage you to discuss this further with your child at home. Maybe you can both work together to find modern and traditional versions of the same toy.

Regards,
Mr. Meehan

 

Ocean Park

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here are some photographs taken during Year 1's trip to Ocean Park. The pupils attitude and behaviour were excellent throughout the day. We had a wonderful time learning how to care for the various creatures including penguins, seals and fish.

Regards,
Mr. Meehan

Chinese New Year Celebrations

Hi folks,

Here are some pictures taken earlier in the month for our Chinese New Year Celebrations. I hope you enjoy them!

Regards,
Mr. Meehan

Animal Habitats

Please check out the wonderful homework completed by all of the students in 1B. Excellent job boys and girls!

Reading Partners & Measurement

Here are some pictures taken yesterday in school. In the morning, the children used metre sticks and measuring tapes to measure the length and width of the basketball court, then they read with the Year 6/7 pupils in the afternoon. A great day for all involved!

Reading Partners

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I wanted to let you know that the Year 6/7 pupils came into 1B yesterday to help our pupils develop their reading. Both sets of pupils displayed a wonderful attitude and it was very beneficial for all so we will be continuing to do this on a weekly basis.

If you have any questions about the Reading Partners programme, please don't hesitate to contact me. Pictures to follow!

Regards,
Mr.Meehan

Animal Habitats

Dear Parents,

We have two weeks left in our Sharing the Planet Unit of Inquiry about animals.  For our summative assessment, the children need to choose an animal and create a suitable home for it. We have been learning about animal habitats in school (Polar, Jungle, Desert, Ocean etc.) and I have outlined some useful links below which will help your child. Feel free to Google the term 'animal habitat diorama' to get some further ideas. 

The completed project is known as a 'diorama' and can be made using a shoe box, paint, clay, paper, lollipop sticks or anything else you can find at home. Pupils should consider the other animals and plants who share their chosen habitat and also think about what their animal will eat/drink as well as where they will sleep. 

The students will be creating this at home over the next 10 days and should bring their work into school by Tuesday 21^st January when will then be sharing their work in class. If you have any questions about the task, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Mr. Meehan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSOVRD3NfCQ 

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=habitats

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/living_things/plant_animal_habitats/read/3/

CSL Blog

Hi folks,

Ms. Wu has asked me to share the link to her blog with you. You will find a link to this on the right hand side of my blog.

Kind regards,
Mr.Meehan

http://thinkyear1csl.blogspot.hk/

Happy New Year!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Happy New Year! It’s great to see your child back in school and we’re all really looking forward to 2014.

This term, your child will be expected to complete homework online at www.educationcity.com. The username and password are on the inside cover of your child's handbook. Also, a weekly spelling test will take place every Monday, beginning next week. Each week, your child will be expected to learn 8-10 words. This week’s list has already been send home with your child.

If you have any questions or concerns about the above, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Regards,

Mr. Meehan 

mrmeehan@think.edu.hk