Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

I enjoy limericks enormously; the potential for lunacy within a tightly defined format is a challenge and a delight. I was looking at a poem suitable for Thanksgiving but found the following instead. To make a tenuous link, I am thankful because it reminds me of a fabulous trip to Martha's Vineyard when I was 17, my Grandfather who had a weakness for dreadful puns and, most importantly, that I am neither Nan or her father! Without further ado... There Once was a Man from Nantucket - Anonymous There once was a man from Nantucket, Who kept all his cash in a bucket, But his daughter, named Nan, Ran away with a man, And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

The Kapuso Foundation does incredible on the ground work in the Philippines and have been highly praised by people we have met in Hong Kong who are from Leyte. They are embarking on a massive fundraising appeal in the wake of Super Hurricane Yolanda. Kapuso Foundation's Operation Bayanihan | GMANetwork.com - Foundation - Multimedia

Aston Martin Owners Club Hong Kong Centenary Celebrations - LifestyleAsia Hong Kong

The closer we get to Remembrance Day, the more I reflect on the sacrifice made by so many people to guard our freedoms. The following is a glorious poem describing the exhilaration of flying. Unmentioned is the incredible danger these young pilots placed them in. Their bravery is summed up in Churchill's epigram following the Battle of Britain: "never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" High Flight  Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth  And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;  Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth  of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things  You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung  High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,  I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung  My eager craft through footless halls of air....  Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue  I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.  Where never lark, or even eagle flew —  An

Brandon Learning Centre specialises in speech and the HKSMSA speech festival is one of the high points of our year. When preparing a poem for a speech festival, it is tempting to skip the first step which is to understanding the meaning of every word. Poets choose their words carefully and it is impossible to convey the real meaning of your verses without understanding them! For some of our students, this might mean sitting down with a dictionary and then discussing possible meanings with others. One idea is to ask your child to retell the story of the poem to you. If they can't do this, you might want to discuss the piece together. Once you have understanding, you can add expression and convey the meaning of the poet's words to your appreciative audience!  

This time of year is bittersweet as our students leave us for their new UK schools. This year, we have students going to Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster, Downe House, Wycombe Abbey, Oundle, King's Canterbury, Dragon, Tonbridge, St Mary's Calne, Charterhouse, Rugby and many other schools. A few things for our students to think about: 1: New school, new start. You may not have played as big a role as you could in your previous school. Now is the time to join in. 2: Ask questions. It is by asking questions that you can extend your knowledge of a subject or clear up areas of confusion. The more you ask, the more you learn. 3: Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are multiple sources of assistance in your new schools: senior students (mentors/"big sisters") prefects, teachers, your house tutor and your house mistress/master. Don't suffer in silence. 4: Have fun, try everything (even the cabbage!) Good luck, everyone at Brandon is very proud of y

We are all safe at home as the typhoon batters Hong Kong. Instead of spending the day square-eyed in front on the television or immersed in computer games, how about creating some family memories? Ideas... Bake! Scones, biscuits, nothing too complicated. The scent of baking filling the house easily compensates for the greyness outside. Create a scrap book of family pictures, memories and in-jokes. Something to look back on or use as black-mail when boy/girl friends meet the parents. Create a family magazine for Grandparents. Write up news, add holiday pictures, recipes or plans for the new term. Play a board game (avoid Monopoly, the source of explosive arguments in houses across the nation!) Give younger children magazines and blunt scissors. Ask them to cut out animal pictures and stick them all together to make a zoo, fashion pictures to create a show or just anything that catches their eye. Create a family quiz. Everyone makes up 20 questions which can be general kno