Sports Day. A lovely day was had by just about everyone at our Sports Activity Day last Friday.  Although the forecast had not been good it turned out to be a perfect day for outside activity – may be except for the light wind which caused a little difficulty in the balloon activity for the younger children!  It was great to see the children being so active and enjoying the challenges and opportunities they were being set.

In the morning the Nursery to Year 3 students took part in activities as varied as shooting at basketball nets, moving water with Sponge Bob and keeping balloons in the air.  They got used to working with other students in their House groups.  It was Year 4 to 6 students who had their opportunity to be sporty next in activities such as Badminton and Dodge Ball.

In the afternoon it was the Secondary students’ turn to show their active side.  This time the Houses competed against each other in events such as throwing a basketball as far as possible from a seated position, an obstacle race, timed sprints and a group problem solving activity.

Unlike a more traditional Sports Day the children were able to keep active and involved nearly all of the time, rather than watching others.  Many of the Primary students were quite tired out after their active morning, and may be the Secondary students too though they were less likely to let that be seen!

We aim to have a more competitive day of Sports for the younger students later this year.

After the scores from all the events were totalled the final position for the Houses was

4^th Tang

3^rd Song

2^nd Qin

1^st Han

When these scores were put on to the totals for House Points in made a big difference to the rankings.  In fact 3 of the Houses, Qin, Song and Tang are now on exactly the same total for the year at 160 points.  Han are well out in front and will take some catching.

Thanks to the students who took part with such enthusiasm in all the events and demonstrated great behaviour, the teachers for supporting the events and our PE teachers, Shane Blackbourn and Russell Hogg, for the thorough organisation which led to a smooth and enjoyable day.

Manga High. The Manga High website (www.mangahigh.com)  is an interactive tool for learning and revising mathematics, and includes games and a wide range of other interactive mathematical exercises. The website encourages students to not only learn the basics of a topic, but also to completely master it.

The school has decided to enter students from Years 7-11 into an online Manga High competition against a number of other international schools in Asia. When students do well in activities they earn points, and the school with the highest total of points will win various items, including medals for the top students and a drone. As an extra incentive we will be giving out House Points to the best students in Hanova.

The competition runs from Monday April 27^th to Sunday May 10^th, which means that students can use the activities to help them with their revision for the end of year exams. Initially students will be directed towards particular activities but the website will also suggest activities based on the students’ progress and their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Over the next few days students in Years 7-11 will all be given passwords for the competition organised by the Manga High website. Although the competition starts on Monday, students can still access the activities before then.

Personal Project Year 10 Parent Information Session. A reminder about this event taking place on Monday, 27^th at 3:45pm in the Library.  The information will help parents and students to understand the expectations and plan for this most important aspect of the Middle Years Programme.  More information was in last week’s newsletter.

Labour Day holiday. Please remember that school will be closed from Wednesday, 29^th April till Friday, 1^st May.  The last day of school is Tuesday, 28^th April and the school will be open again on Monday, 4^th May.  As it is Labour Day holiday there will be no Saturday Sports on 2^nd May.

Best regards,

Martin Hughes

 

Forthcoming events                

Thursday, 23^rd               Deadline of lunchtime for all monies for books (Book Fair)

Thursday, 23^rd               Y7-9 student and parent information session re Residential trip to Yangshuo 11:50am in Auditorium

Thursday, 23^rd               Y10-13 student and parent information session re Residential trip to Chengdu

Kanding 11:50am in Room A303

Monday, 27^th                Personal Project Info session for parents 3:45pm Library

Monday, 27^th                Manga High online Maths competition starts (Y7-11)

Wednesday, 29^th          School closed for Labour Day holiday

May

Saturday, 2^nd                 No Saturday Sports

Monday, 4^th                   School reopens

Monday, 4^th to Friday, 8^th Year 10-12 Exams

Friday, 8^th                       Admission Panel considers applications for student places for 2015-2016