Beacon Hill School, Hong Kong

Coordinates: 22°20′32.4″N 114°10′40.4″E / 22.342333°N 114.177889°E / 22.342333; 114.177889 (Beacon Hill School)

Beacon Hill School (Chinese: 畢架山小學) is an international school in Hong Kong, offering primary education. The school is located near Beacon Hill in Kowloon Tong. It was founded in 1967 and is part of the English Schools Foundation. Beacon Hill School is one of the oldest ESF schools in Hong Kong^[1] and one of the founding schools of the English Schools Foundation. With money raised at the International Food Fair, Beacon Hill gets a renovation every summer and new facilities are installed. Classrooms have the view of Lion Rock and Beacon Hill.

New facilities

In 2004, the Music, Drama, Art Rooms of Beacon Hill School were built. Soundproof walls and blackout curtains were added in music practice rooms and drama studios respectively. The school's old art rooms were replaced by Maths and Science rooms however the maths and science room didn't last for long as it replaced in 2009 as there was a shortage of class room. The school library was revamped and every class from Years 1 to 6 in the school is now equipped with an interactive whiteboard, 2 desktop computers and 10 laptops, the desktops in the computer room have been updated from Windows XP to Windows 7 and finally iPads purchased for learning resources in the library. In the summer of 2008, 2 new soft rooms were added, giving more space for PE lessons. The staff room, originally on the 1st floor, was moved to the 7th floor. The 7th floor, originally consisting of flats were removed. Classrooms were also renovated. Beneath each table was a tray where the student stored their items. There was also a place in which a student could place their bag. The school renovated the playground in the summer of 2012 and in 2013 the hall was renovated. The school has started to plan the renovation of the library which is a bit stuffy. In 2014, the library was renovated as planned.

System

The system runs on lower and upper school basis, but in phase assemblies, they are split up in year 1-2, year 3-4 and year 5-6. The playtime is different between both parts.

Clubs

There are clubs run by teachers. for example, the Green Team, MAD (Making a Difference) Club, Chamber Choir, Drama Club, Basketball Club, Rugby Club, Aquathon Club, Running Club etc.

There are also voluntary monitors and the Student Council. Voluntary monitors includes playground monitors, line monitors, class monitors and teacher's personal assistant (P.A)

Food Fair

The Beacon Hill School Food Fair is held towards the end of the school year between March and May. This fair has an international theme and includes food of all kinds including Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Western, Japanese, Indian, etc. Year 5 and Year 6 students also run stalls and games. In addition, the school hall also has a popular bouncy castle. Parent and teacher volunteers serve the food, organise games and provide food as it is an event where money for the school's development and charity is raised. The school's Parent Teacher Association organises the food, contests and stalls. Before the Food Fair, raffle tickets are sold by students.

Uniform

The Beacon Hill uniform consists of a purple shirt with red or pink stripes, purple shorts, trousers or a skort, a red jumper and a purple fleece. The P.E. uniform is a dark blue T-shirt with the words, 'Beacon Hill School' on the back, a dark blue pair of shorts and a dark blue tracksuit for winter. The previous uniform was a pink checkered dress for girls and a white shirt and a pair of grey shorts for boys. The previous PE kit was a white T-shirt and pair of shorts.

Expressive Arts Performances

Each year group is required to produce a performance sometime during the school year. These performances involve public speaking, research, music and visual art and are often loosely based on famous plays and musicals. The subject of the Expressive Arts Performances depends on the Unit of Inquiry (Primary Years Programme) Past shows have included Bugsy Malone, The Toy Box, Seussical, Macbeth, Rats!, Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat and The Journey of Columbus. Typically, Y6s put on a musical performance during the summer term. Here are some from the past seven years:

2009: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

2010: Alice in the Wonderland

2011: The Wizard of Oz

2012: Charlie and the Chocolate factory

2013: HONK! Jr

2014: Rats!

2015: Mulan

2016: Once on This Island Jr

Each Year 6 production is for the Y6 graduation although the Year 6 graduation is not on the same day.

The Year 6 Expressive Art unit is the Exhibition, it is when they have to choose an issue and research about it in groups. They then put their information onto boards and show it to parents, the rest of the school and some secondary school teachers.

Notes and references

External links

• Official website