-
The Vocabulary Book It can be frustrating for students who want
toexpress themselves, but are not able to find theright English
words. Having a rich selection ofvocabulary to use in the classroom
as well as
indailyconversationisthecornerstonefundamentaltobecomingafluentEnglishspeaker.
Building a diverse, dynamic and extensive range
ofvocabularyshouldbeagoalthatallKTSstudentsshouldreachfor.Thisisthereasonwhyin2011–2012wehaveintroducedtheKTSVocabularyBooks.
With the aid of the Vocabulary Books, KTS studentshave been able to
broaden their vocabulary as well ascollect some ‘Vocabulary
Building Certificates’
throughdiligentlywritingdownwordsandphrasesduringtheirEnglishandOrallessons,aswellasbygettinghighmarksin
their vocabulary quizzes. Accumulation of
thesecertificateswillresultinthembeingexchangedforschoolcoupons.Asyoucansee,hardworkreallydoespayoff!
you’ll be rewarded lavishly!“ Be a busy vocabulary bee” –
2011-2012 Issue No. 8
THE VISION
Outstanding Newsletter). This year, students have been taking
part in different activities which can widen their horizons.
Students can expand their knowledge through reading about places,
and develop their interpersonal skills through having outdoor
visits.
Kowloon Tong School(Primary Section)
Welcome to our eighth issue of Kowloon Tong School’s Newsletter
– The Vision (Vivid Inspirational Stimulating Intelligent
Brian Cheung 3C
Emily Chan 5C
-
Janis Kwong 4B Result: ChampionPoem: ‘I Can See You Now’
Q. What is your ‘secret to success’ and what advice would you
give to students who are participating in the Speech Festival next
academic year?
Listencarefullytotheteacherwhoistrainingyou.Also,practisingathome
isvery importantbecause we can use the advice the teacher
hasgivenusandreadthepoembetterthenextday.Lastly,studentsmustremembertolooksadif
itisasadpoemandtosmilealotif it
isahappypoem.Itisimportanttoshowourunderstandingofthepoem.
VersespeakingandcompetingintheHongKongSpeechFestivalissomethingstudentslookforwardto
immensely every autumn. From September
toDecember,KTSisbuzzingwithstudentspractisingandrecitingtheirversesateveryopportunity.
KTSstudentshavearealgiftformakingwords‘comealive’andconveyingthespecialmeaningofeachpoem.Teachersdiligently
train thestudentsin verse speaking techniques such as showing
asenseofrhythmwhichisnaturalandfree-flowing,stressingthecorrectsyllablesandsentences,havinganappropriatetoneforthepoem,andsharingthemoodofthepoem.
Afterpractisingforhoursandhoursatschoolandathome, students continue
tobecomemoreandmoreconfident,andareabletodisplaythatgreatsenseofperformancewhichiseversoimportantinverse
speaking.Whata special timeautumn
isatKTSasweallsharethejoyofversespeaking!
Overcome your fears, Listen to the cheers!
Everyone can be a poet, You just didn’t know it!
Techniques about Verse Speaking
Q1. How did you prepare for the Speech
Festival?IpractisedalotwithMissChow.Wepractised at least three
times a week,
and sometimes we practised many times during
theday.Mr.Sellersalsogavesomegreatadviceasheissoexperiencedinthiscompetition.Ofcourse,practisingathomewasabigpartofthepreparationaswell.Q2.
What techniques, in your opinion, are most
important when learning verse speaking?
Whenlearningversespeaking,wemustbecomeacharacterinthepoem.Wemustreallyunderstandthepoem.
Stressing the right syllables is very importanttoo.
Ryan Kwok 5DResult: ChampionPoem: ‘I’m the One Who Rules
the School’
2A HoKyle Champion2B LamSumYing Champion3A WongKwunHo Champion4B
KwongYanLam Champion5A ChuiWaiYuenIvan Champion5D KwokTszHim
Champion6A ChanManKit ChampionP.1-3Boys ChoralSpeaking Champion1C
YauChunHei 1strunner-up1D WongYatMing 1strunner-up1D LauSzeTung
1strunner-up2A MakTinSumGabriel 1strunner-up3C YikYuChin
1strunner-up5A WongHoiLam 1strunner-up5A ChanChunYin 1strunner-up5C
HoWingInVivian 1strunner-up6A IpChingLam 1strunner-up6B ShumLuoYi
1strunner-up1A ChanWingYing 2ndrunner-up1A CheungYanKiu
2ndrunner-up1D LiuSiuYung 2ndrunner-up2B KwongSeeChing
2ndrunner-up2C ChengMatthewYanNok 2ndrunner-up2D WangHingLingYana
2ndrunner-up3B MakPuiYu 2ndrunner-up4B ToKaChunMagnus
2ndrunner-up5A ChunOnChing 2ndrunner-up6E KwokYatHei 2ndrunner-up4A
SoPakYui 2ndrunner-up
Results of 63rd Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival:
-
Lachlan Ian Fraser 6F
In KTS, I’ve been lucky
tolearnalotofthingsand
meetlotsoffriends.Iwant
tothanktheHeadmistress,
the Vice Headmistress and
all the teachers for all the
help theyhavegivenusduringour si
x
yearsinKowloonTongSchool.
One of my best times at KTS wa
s
winning the inter-school footba
ll
competitionwithmyteam-mateswhich
made everyone very happy. But mo
st
ofall,Iamhappytohavemetsoman
y
friends, and will always remember th
e
happy times thatwe had together a
t
KTS.
Thank you KTS, we may be leavin
g
you,butwewillneverforgetyou.
Goodbye Message to KTSChris Li 6D
AftersixyearsinKTS,Iamgraduatingfromprimaryschoolandabouttoembarkonthenext
journey. Remembering my life in KTS,I am so thankful to the
Headmistress, ViceHeadmistress, teachers and my classmates.The
Headmistress provided resources for usto satisfy our curiosity.
Teachers helped usgrow, from childish to mature, from callowto
seasoned; and classmates supportedme whenever I faced difficulties.
Going tosecondary school, I feel both nervous andexcited, but I
know that KTS has given methe courage to face the
ever-changingworld.
Goodbye,KTS.Thesadnesswillhelpustobetterappreciatethehappytimeswehavespenttogether.
Elliar Cheung 3C
In the English Poetry
Recitationclass,MrsD’souza
teaches us how to recite
poetry with good facial
and vocal expression. We
learnt how to make our recitations
interesting for the audience by varying the
pace,volumeandpitch inourvoices.Some
poemsrequiretheuseofdifferentvoicesfor
differentcharacters,andwehadalotoffun
practisingthis.
Mrs.D’souzaheldaPoets’Caféwhichwas
excitingbecausetheclassroomwassetupin
a café style with colourfultable cloths and
flowersonthetables.Wealsohadsomenice
food and juice. Each student had to recite
a poem and I recited a poem called “The
Crocodile’sToothache”,sinceIthoughtitwas
aninterestingpoem.IreallyliketheEnglish
PoetryRecitationclass!
Yana Wong 2D
IliketobeintheEnglishPoetryRecitation class because in thisclass
the teacher is Mrs.
D’souza.Sheiskindandalwaystalkstous.Ithinkthisclassisinterestinganditisahappyclass.Inthelastlessonofthefirst
term, we had aPoet’s Café. In thecafé, each studentstood in front
oftheclassandreadapoem that we hadlearnt. In this class,we learnt
differentthings like facialexpressions, voicecontrol and how
topronounce wordscorrectly. It is a
funclass.Iwanttobeinthisclassforever!
Poetry Recitation Class
-
Oneofourschool’smissionsistoletstudentstakepartinvariousfieldtrips.Thus,studentscanacquireadeeperunderstandingofdifferentculturesandbroadentheirhorizons.
Foronesuchtrip,ourstudentsvisitedtwoschools
inSingaporewheretheyattendedsomeoftheirclassesandexperienceddifferentteachingandlearningstyles.OurstudentshadopportunitiestotalkaboutKTSandHongKongastheysharedinformationaboutthedifferentcultureswiththehoststudents.ThebonuswastheyconversedinEnglish!Theyalsodidabitofsightseeingtoaddtotheexcitement.Allthisprovidesagreateducationalexperiencewhilepreparingourstudentsfortheoutsideworld.ThistripisorganizedeveryyearforourP.5–P.6students.ReadontoseewhatourstudentshavetosayabouttheirtriptoSingapore.
HennaCindy Sung 5A
I went on a trip to Singapore with my teachers andschoolmates on
7th February, 2012. I felt very
happyandexcitedtohavetheopportunitytogo. On the second day of the
trip, all of us visitedEdgefield Primary School. My buddy from
thatschool drew a henna design for me! First, my buddy
usedapentodrawabeautifuldesignonmyhand.Ifeltscaredthatthepenwouldmakemedirty!Thenonehourlater,mybuddytoldmeIhadtowashmyhand.Theflowerwhichmybuddydrewdidn’tdisappearandIsawanorangefloweronmyhand!Ifeltsurprised!Itlookedbeautifulandthedesignstayedonmyhandforaweek!Ifelthonouredaftermybuddydrewthishennadesignforme.Thiswasoneofthemostunforgettabledaysofmylife!
Street DancingNatalie Cheung 6A
Haveyoueverheardofstreetdancing?Howabouttryingit?
OntheseconddayofourtriptoSingapore,wevisitedEdgefieldPrimarySchoolandtriedthis
popular dance in the school hall!
Wewereallveryintriguedbythisdifferent,but
stimulatingdance.Buthowdidstreetdancingoriginate? Street dancing
is a part of hip-hop culture, which
isaculturedevelopedbyAmericanblack teenagers. Itcanbedivided into
twocategories:breakdanceandhip-hopdance.Breakdanceusuallyinvolvesmovesthataresimilartogymnasticmovessuchassupportingyourselfwithyourhandsandspinningontheground,soit’squitechallengingandmaynotbesuitableforeveryone.Butthemoresimplifiedversion,hip-hopdancemaysuityou.Ithasmanyvariationswithuniquecharacteristics.Notableonesaretherobotdance–wheredancershavetomovetheirlimbsinaroboticmannerwithlocking,involvinglotsofarmmovements.Streetdancingisnowusuallypractisedindancestudios,andsomeschoolslikeEdgefieldPrimarySchoolevenusestreetdancingaspartofthesyllabusoftheirP.E.lessons!Streetdancingissurelyagreatactivityforrecreation.Ifyouareinterested,youcanevenparticipateinsomestreetdancinglessonsincommunitycentres!
School Trip to Singapore
-
General Information
TheU.K.isaunitybetweenfourdifferentcountries:England,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIreland.ItislocatedinthenorthernhemisphereandisjusttotheleftofmainlandEurope.Englandisthebiggestofthefourcountriesand
isprobably themost recognizableof the four,around
theworld.Notonlyisitfamousforitshistoryandculture,butitisalsothehomeoftwofamousKTSteachers–Mr.SellersandMr.Mannering!With4countriesand63millionpeople,theUnitedKingdomisaveryimportantpartofbothEuropeandtheWorld.The
Flag TheU.K.flag (theUnion Jack) isvery
recognizable,butmanypeopledon’tknowthatitismadeupoftheSt.George’sFlag(England),St.Andrew’sFlag(Scotland),andtheSt.Patrick’sFlag(N.Ireland).
The Currency The U.K. uses a currency called pound sterling, or
more
commonly‘pound’.Thereareeightdifferentcoinvalues,andfourdifferentbanknotevalues(thebiggestonebeing50pounds–whichisabout600HongKongdollars).
Did you know that each coin and banknote from the Bank
ofEnglandmusthavetheQueen’sheadonit?
Some Customs The United Kingdom has a lot ofcustoms and a lot of
famous traditionsandpeople.
WeknowthatShakespearewasfromEngland,asweretheBeatlesand,ofcourse,CharlesDickens.But,didyouknowthatJ.K.RowlingisfromScotlandandRoaldDahlwasfromWales?
FoodisabigpartoftheU.K.traditionandvaries,dependingonwhichcountryyouarein.InEngland,fishandchipsorbangersandmash(sausagesandmashedpotato)havebeenafavouritefoodforhundredsofyears.InScotlandtheyhaveaslightlydifferenttraditionaldishcalledHaggis.Thisismadefromlamb’slung,liverandheartwhichisservedintheliningofasheep’sstomach!Interesting
fact:
DidyouknowmostfishandchipshopsinEnglandserveChinesetakeaway?If
youwanttospeakCantoneseinEngland–gotoafishandchipshop,youmightbeservedbyHongKongpeople!
Tourist Spots
TherearelotsoffamousplacesintheU.K.BuckinghamPalaceiswheretheQueenlivesmostofthetime,butsheactuallyhas3otherhomes,includingWindsorCastlewhichisaround900yearsold.
The famous Hogwart’s Express leaves from King’s Cross
inLondon(butplatform9¾doesn’treallyexist).Oneofthemostfamous places
in the U.K. would have to be Stonehenge.
Builtaround5000yearsagoandstill standingtoday, it
isbelievedtohavebeenaburialground,butnobodyiscertain.Howdidpeoplecarrythestonesthere?Didaliensbuildit?It’soneoftheworld’sgreatmysteries!
The United Kingdom
Laverbread Haggis
Buckingham Palace
-
English Learning Tips
StudyingEnglishismuchlikestudyinganyothersubject;sometimesitcanbealittletedious.Agreatway
to ‘spice itup’ is to include funactivities tohelpyou learnwithout
realizing it.
Simplyreadingafewjokescanreallyhelpyourlevelofunderstanding.Learninginterestingexpressionsoridiomsalsohelpstoputyourbrainintogear–“how?”youmayask.Well,anidiomisafigureofspeechthatdoesn’thaveanobviousmeaning,sobylearningthemwestarttolearnaroundEnglishwords,andnotjustdirectlywhattheymean.
Great techniques to improve your English can be really simple yet
make a really big
difference.Thebestpossiblethingyoucandoispractiseeachandeveryday.Whetherit’sreading,speakingorwriting,doalittleeveryday,andyouwillseeyourabilityrisequickly.Motivationisveryimportanttoo,thinkoffunEnglishthingstodo—watchingamovieinEnglish,singingEnglishsongs,orjustspeakingtoyourfriendsinEnglish–allofthishelpsalot!Don’tbeafraidtospeakEnglish!Makingmistakesispartofthelearningprocess,andmakingmistakesnowjustmeansyouwon’tmakethemlateron.
Onthispagewehavesomecommon idioms toaidyourEnglish
learning.Remember,youcanneverhavetoomuchfunwhenstudying.
English Fun Page
Idioms – Common idioms matching exercise
Figureout () a. Somethingthatiscommonoreasytoget.Tohaveablast ()
b. Recoverfromanillnessorbadnews.Monkeysee,monkeydo () c.
Notrememberanythingallofasudden.Can’tstand () d.
Tobecomeunsureaboutabigdecision.Adimeadozen () e.
Todislikesomethingverymuch.Goblank () f.
Tocopysomethingsomebodydoesandnotunderstand why.
Getover () g.
Tounderstandafterthinkingaboutit.Havesecondthoughts ()
h.Tohaveafantastictime.Pieceofcake () i.
Somethingthatcanbeachievedeasily.
1.2.3.4.5.6.
7.8.9.
ANSWER:1–g2–h3–f4–e5–a6–c7–b8–d9–i
We cannot finish talking aboutthe U.K. without mentioning
allthesportinghistorythere.Football,rugby and cricket were all
inventedinEngland.TheyarethemainsportsintheU.K.Thereisalonghistoryofsporting
success, and this year thesummer Olympics will be held inLondon,
England. Let’s see if
theycanmatchtheoutstandingOlympicGamesheldinBeijingfouryearsago.
So,witharichhistory,lotsoffamousplaces,funthingstodoandsportstoplay,theUKwouldbeaperfectplacetovisitforanybodywantingtoimprovetheirEnglish,orjusttakeashortvacationandimmersethemselvesinthiscountry’srichanddiverseculture.
Hogwart’s Express Stonehenge
Consultants: HeadmistressMsYeungMeeKuen
ViceHeadmistressMissLeungYeeWahCommittee members:
MissCheSoYin,MsTongKaWai,MsWongSauWai,
MrSellers,MrsD’souza,MrTuominen,MrMannering
Address: NKIL2721CumberlandRoad, KowloonTongTel:
23363802Website: www.ktsps.edu.hk