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Transitioning to K2

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Following our celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival, we began preparing for the transition to K2 by exploring our school community. The children reflected on various areas of the school where they enjoyed playing this past year. To introduce the concept of summer, we read the story "Katie Discovers Summer" (凯蒂在夏天). This prompted the children to share their favorite summer activities, including swimming and enjoying ice cream. In a creative activity, we made ice cream artwork using a mixture of glue, shaving foam, and food coloring. As the children learned about their new K2 classes, we aimed to reinforce their sense of belonging. To achieve this, we invited them to create new name badges featuring their K2 class logos. We appreciate your continued support in enhancing the children’s learning experiences and your volunteer efforts in Chinese activities. Wishing you a wonderful summer, and we look forward to seeing everyone next school year. Class Blog:  Panda Chinese Albums:...
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Panda Class Blog - 18th June 2025

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Dear Panda Families,  We can't believe this is our final blog post, as we mark the end of Term 3. It has been a fantastic K1 year! We have loved teaching your children and are so impressed by all they have achieved!  We look forward to seeing you tomorrow for our Art Day! The children are welcome to express their unique style and personality through their own outfit choices!   The Pandas are showing they are ready and raring for a summer holiday, and also that they're ready to embrace their new learning adventures and journeys in K2! Thank you for supporting them, and us, every step of the way!  Some of our Panda friends are leaving Hillside, so we'd like to take this opportunity to say: it's not goodbye, but see you soon, and please stay in touch with us, we will miss you!  The children have been very resilient with our open play plans due to the weather (heat and rain), and have adapted to the changes well! We've been enjoying marbling in the Frog Class, ...
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Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival

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Dear Parents and Caregivers, As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, I am excited to share that the children have been learning about the various celebrations associated with this event.  We have explored traditional customs through the stories of “端午节” (Dragon Boat Festival), including the delightful sticky rice dumplings (粽子) and the thrilling dragon boat race (龙舟比赛).  The children particularly enjoyed playing with the dragon headbands they crafted themselves. To reinforce key vocabulary, the children have been sitting in the "dragon boat" and singing the song "划龙舟" (Row the Dragon Boat) together in class and small groups.  This week, we delved deeper into the festival's origins and created a fun experience by imitating a dragon boat race with tummy boards! It has truly been a highlight of our learning journey. We hope you and your families had a joyful and healthy Dragon Boat Festival! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out ...
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Panda Class Blog - 2nd June 2025

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  Dear Panda Families, We hope you had an enjoyable weekend!  The Pandas are continuing to embrace the Creative Arts in our Unit 'How We Express Ourselves', and we have been exploring sculptures around the world, and having good class discussions in our circle times about what we think about the sculptures and what materials we think they are made of.  We've looked at Rodin's 'Thinker', 'Angel of the North' by Anthony Gormley, The Statue of Liberty, Ballerinas by Degas and many more! The children have also been busy making their own sculptures using playdough and clay during open play.  The Pandas enjoyed painting in the style of Monet and have created some beautiful pieces of art! We have made our very own Panda Art Gallery for you to view when you visit us on the 19th of June for Art Day! The children are really proud of their work, and we hope you will be too! Information about Art Day is copied below from the recent Hillside Newsletter. We look forwa...
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Panda Class Blog - 21st May 2025

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Dear Panda Families,  We hope you are all well!  The Pandas continue to shine each day, and we are very impressed with how well they are engaging in our Unit 'How We Express Ourselves'.  We have been learning about different musical instruments, as well as various types of music such as pop, rock, jazz, classical and hip-hop! The children are learning to express how different pieces of music make them feel. We use a visual prompt to remind us how to describe our feelings too.  We are now looking at different artists and have recently learnt about Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, Degas and will soon be looking at Monet's Waterlillies!  The classroom is buzzing with creative energy as the children have been storytelling to one another and creating their own stories through puppets, popsicle stick puppets and other props. We will be integrating role play and dress up soon, too, and are looking forward to seeing where their imaginations will take them! We enjoyed paintin...
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Exciting Updates from Our Classroom

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Dear Parents and Caregivers, I am thrilled to share some wonderful updates from our classroom over the past two weeks!  As part of our unit on "How We Express Ourselves," we had the privilege of welcoming Fai Shi Fu, the puppetry master, who captivated our students with a mesmerising performance featuring string puppets. The children not only enjoyed the show but also learned about the rich history and theory behind the puppets' movements. Their engagement with the monkey's tricks was a joy to see, and many were eager to try their hand at moving the little lion puppets. Furthermore,  we began by exploring the vibrant world of colours. Through the engaging story of "Press Here " (小黄点), the children learned about the three primary colours and patterns. To reinforce these key concepts, the children participated in hands-on activities like sorting and counting colourful round pieces. They also enjoyed a fun board game called “Press Here,” which complemented th...
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