27 April 2018

Jockey Club Sarah Roe School’s latest newsletter is available to read now. Find out the latest news around the school and upcoming events.

  Principal’s Message

 Art Exhibition

 Showcase – Emerald Class

 Curriculum

 Dates for your diary

 Book Week

 Every Mile Matters: A Race to Support Hong Kong’s Special Needs Children

Principal’s Message

Our Art Exhibition in partnership with the Nesbitt Centre was an excellent way to start term three. We are so proud of the work the students produce and I know from being in the classroom and talking to staff that each work is highly individual with students making choices and decisions about what to create and enabling them to express their interests and strengths.

The opening night was really special and the support of our PTA was outstanding. It was an honour to have Belinda Greer the CEO of ESF and David Nesbitt, Board member of the Nesbitt Centre open the show. We all enjoyed the music of the KGV students. You can see the prize winners later in this newsletter.

Of course these events involve many people in the school community but a special mention must go to Sally Fryer our Art Coordinator who was strongly supported by Jenny and Rita. This was the first time we have exhibited with young people from the Nesbitt Centre and we would certainly like to continue to work together in the future.

Many of our students joined their peers from local schools for a Special Olympics day at Kowloon Park. All games and activities were adapted so everyone could be included. For our school this was well organised and led by our PE assistant Martin.

This term we are fortunate to have both climbing at Verm City and dance at school to keep us healthy and active.

 

Jenny has been working with the Native English Speaking (NET) teachers who teach in local schools and we are partnering with them to share leading practices for including students with additional needs. On Thursday Cheryl, Kelly and I visited Lau Pun Cheung School to further discussions on our work together.

Enjoying books, reading and sharing stories is important for all of us. Book week is soon approaching and we are excited about all the activities on offer. You can see more details about the program later in this newsletter.

This term our unit of work ‘We are the World’ focuses on the environment and the our role in keeping our planet clean and safe for the future. On Wednesday a number of students participated in an excursion to the Hong Kong Wetlands with many other primary students to explore and learn about plants and animals in our area. Our curriculum coordinator Karen Carmody has more information about our curriculum later in this newsletter. Thanks Jackie for all the planning.

Art Exhibition

Primary Art Winners:

Secondary Art Winners:

Winners of Each Class:

 

Student Vote Winner:

Showcase – Emerald Class

All of our students have individual learning needs and the key priorities for our class is to engage in learning experiences that are meaningful, functional and focus on communication. This month, we have been spending some time in the community for a shopping and restaurant experience.  We use a variety of communication tools and AAC devices that are most appropriate to the specific student’s learning needs and abilities. Using Proloquo2go on the iPad, students have their shopping list of what they are to find in the supermarket.  They take their items to the register and use their communication device to engage with the cashier. After the shopping, they go to a restaurant to have a drink with their classmate. Just like the supermarket, this is done using their device to communicate with the server what they would like to order.  With the ingredients they purchased, students have made a variety of delicious treats which they take around the school to hand out to those that crave a little snack in the day.

This experience has been a perfect opportunity for us to be a part of our wider community, experiencing and participating in everyday activities.  It has also been wonderful to see the patience and openness of the community to engage with our students and learn about who our students are and what they can do.

Curriculum

The Easter break signalled the end of our Signs, Symbols and Signals unit. Throughout the term, classes looked at how, where and why we use signs, symbols and signals to communicate and to access the world. Students explored the shapes and colours of signs in their environment, looked at how different colours signify meaning and compared signs that have the same and different meanings. We explored communication through alternative and augmentative communication systems and sign language. Some students learned about Makaton sign language and signed a song for the school in assembly and others made signs for the school. The theme of this unit was incorporated into the art exhibition to enrich student learning. Please log in to the VLE to access student portfolios which contain uploaded evidence of learning for this unit and our previous unit ‘Knowing me, knowing you’.

In Term 2 students also completed another section from the ASDAN module ‘Using ICT’. Each class arranged a trip to look at the types of ICT that we can use in the community. Classes visited malls, the airport and markets to name a few.

We are all very much looking forward to our final unit of the year, We are The World. This is a unit about living things and the environment. Teachers and therapists have collaborated to design wonderful, hands-on learning engagements about living things and ways in which we can contribute to a better world. We have a visit from Dr Dog and the Mobile Zoo arranged and will hopefully have a chance to get out to visit some local habitats. There will be a strong focus on recycling and we urge parents to send in bottle lids for an art piece that students will create for our corridor (please see the poster attached at the end of the newsletter).

Unit name We are The World

Central idea What we do impacts the environment and living things

Learning Intentions

Students will:

• Explore living things
• Investigate life cycles
• Make choices that have a positive impact on the environment
• Contribute to a sustainable community

We will also continue with the final section of our ASDAN module which will see students using ICT for a special event.

Karen Carmody

Lead Teacher – Curriculum

Student Awards

Dates for your diary

Monday 30th April – CPD for staff NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Tuesday 1 May – Public holiday

JCSRS and Nesbitt Centre Art Exhibition – 26 – 29 April

Book week – 7-11 May Dress up day is Friday 11th May

Book Week

Every Mile Matters: A Race to Support Hong Kong’s Special Needs Children