Hampton Primary School News 2016

We are celebrating an excellent set of CPE results from our pupils in Quatre-Bornes and Curepipe campuses. We have maintained our outstanding 100% pass rate once again. These achievements are particularly impressive given this will be the last year of CPE exams.

The CPE exams has been part of fabric of the Mauritian education system for so long. During that time, we are so proud we have continuously helped pupils of all educational backgrounds reach their potential and gain admission to the best colleges the island has to offer.

We congratulate our year 6 pupils and wish them all the best for their next stage in their education.

Diwali, the "festival of lights," is perhaps one of the most well-known of the Indian festivals and is a national holiday here in Mauritius. In honor of this beautiful holiday, our wonderful pupils in all departments took part in a Diwali-themed week. They made a variety of imaginative cards and lanterns. As part of their drama and music class, pupils in our pre-primary and primary school, performed a variety of short dramatic sketches and dances to entertain and celebrate with their parents and friends.

It was a very enjoyable week that we're sure will create lasting memories for our pupils. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our parents and teachers and wish everyone connected with Hampton School a Happy Diwali.

Diwali and Halloween are quickly approaching. As such, we felt it was the perfect time to speak with our Pre-Primary and Primary pupils about fire safety. To lead the discussion, we invited the local fire brigade to visit the school.

Many families celebrate these holidays and both events include fireworks and bonfires in the festivities. To ensure everyone has a fun and safe celebration, it is important for our pupils to be aware of what can cause unintentional fires and how to prevent injuries.

Here are just a few fire safety tips which our pupils were taught when attending fire-related activities and celebrations:

• Make sure there is adult supervision.
• Stand far away from the fire and fireworks.
• Wear gloves when handling sparklers and only light one sparkler at a time.
• Keep buckets of water and blankets ready in case of an unplanned fire.
• Wear thick cotton clothing and avoid long or loose clothes.

The discussion proved to be both informative and enjoyable. Judging by the smiles our pupils had wonderful time learning about fire safety. As we would expect for Hampton School pupils, they asked insightful and quality questions, showing that they fully understood the information shared by the fire brigade.

We would like to thank our local fire services for taking the time to talk with our pupils about this important topic.

We are currently exploring different forms of dance as part of our Primary school curriculum. Last week, our pupils attended a Bharatanatyam dance workshop. Bharatanatyam is a form of traditional dance native to southern India. While this style of dance began centuries ago, Bharatanatyam remains one of the most celebrated and respected dance forms today.

Handed down for generations, Bharatanatyam tells a story. The dance begins with a routine named namaskaram. Our pupils learned this routine along with other traditional moves. During the opening, dancers bang on the floor to offer prayers and to tell Mother Earth they will be dancing on her. Dancers then use hand gestures (mudras) to tell the story of the dance. Eye movements (drishti bhedas) and facial expressions (natya vardhini) convey meaning and capture the attention of the audience.

Teaching world dances like Bharatanatyam allows our pupils to express themselves through movement while learning about different cultures and traditions. Dance is proven to have many benefits for pupils of all ages. Additionally, learning about world dance provides pupils valuable history lessons while having fun.

We would like to thank Miss Priya for visiting our wonderful school and providing the Bharatanatyam dance workshop. Our pupils learned a lot and had a great time dancing and practicing.

Last month our pupils welcomed their pen pals from Reunion Island to the school! It was a special and beneficial time for both sets of pupils. It gave Hampton pupils an opportunity to practice speaking French and our Reunion friends were able to work on their English.

Language exchange programs such as this one are an excellent learning tool. They allow pupils to develop their foreign language skills outside of their class.

Both sets of pupils had a lot of fun both in and out of the classroom the highlight was when they played and had lunch together at the beach. What a wonderful memory for our pupils to carry with them into adulthood!

Eid, is a Muslim holiday which marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. It is a national holiday in Mauritius and celebrated worldwide. Therefore, it is crucial for our pupils to understand the importance and significance of Eid. A special assembly was arranged for them. It gave an overview of what happens during the month of Ramadan and how Eid is celebrated. Our pupils were taught how the goal of fasting is intended to bring one closer to God and helps a person acknowledge those less fortunate. At the end there was an opportunity for them to ask questions which they took advantage of.

At Hampton Primary School we work tirelessly to inform our pupils and broaden their horizons. We will continue our long standing tradition of enriching their lives with informative programs like this one.

It was an afternoon full of music, dance, and drama at the Serge Constantin Theatre for our annual Music Day Show. Judging by the enthusiastic applause, our pupils performed tremendously well. It was obvious by the huge smiles on the faces of the parents and guests in the audience that they enjoyed the show. Music plays such an important part of our curriculum at Hampton and the level of effort and participation in our event is proof of this.

World Music Day started in 1982 as Fête de la Musique in France. This daylong musical celebration was centered around the summer solstice. Its founder, Maurice Fleuret, hoped to bring musicians out into the streets to make music accessible to all. Today, World Music Day is celebrated in 120 different countries. At Hampton, we can't think of a better way to honor this day than by putting on the show we performed.

We take this opportunity to thank our guests of honor, parents and staff for their support and we would like to congratulate our amazing pupils for making Music Day 2016 so special.

In June we celebrated World Environment Day. As a private school, we feel it's crucial that our pupils learn the need for protecting the environment from a young age. The hope is it will help them form good habits which in turn will make them better citizens.

Our pupils completed a range of practical activities which included identifying plants around the school and gardening. The process taught them how fresh oxygen comes from plants and trees and how it is our responsibility to protect our forests. Pupils in our Pre-Primary and Primary department were also shown how to reuse and recycle items, rather than throwing them away.

This fun learning week concluded with a talk delivered by the Ministry of Agriculture. We would like to thank them and everyone else involved for making World Environment Day at Hampton special.

Our Pre-Primary pupils celebrated Fete Du Pains (Bread Festival) recently. This event began in France in 1996 and it celebrates the traditions of artisanal bakers. The goal of the festival is to generate appreciation for the effort that bakers put into their bread.

Our pupils loved dressing up as little bakers and got to visit a real bakery. They were able to witness how ingredients like flour, yeast, and water combine to make the delicious bread they love. It was very exciting for them to see the giant mixers and ovens used by a large bakery. In addition they were briefly told about kitchen safety and the teamwork that is involved in baking yummy bread for a huge number of customers.

It was an exciting day for our young pupils as well as a wonderful learning opportunity for them which we're sure they will remember for a long time.

World Bird Migratory Day is a two day event every year in May. It highlights the ecological need to protect migratory birds and their diverse habitats. As a private school in Mauritius we want our pupils to have a broad education with a global outlook which is why we arranged a special learning event around this day.

Bird migration plays a vital role in biodiversity for all ecosystems throughout the world. Simply, birds serve key functions in helping to keep natural environments healthy and robust.

We were honoured to welcome a representative from Casela Bird Park to talk to our pupils on this subject. It was a wonderful presentation which really brought to life the miracle of bird migration and the importance of all birds in our world. They were thrilled to hear the amazing facts and asked some great questions at the end. We are sure their view of birds will never be the same again after these new insights.

We take this opportunity to thank the Casela Bird Park team

We are delighted to announce that pupils who took part in the Alliance Francais exams have all passed with excellent grades. We are particularly pleased that two of our pupils have been awarded prizes. As an English medium school, it always fills us with great pride when our pupils perform so well in another language. Congratulations to everyone involved.

At Hampton School, we all look forward to the coming of the Easter as it brings so much enjoyment and creativity into the classroom. Of course, Easter is special occasion for religious reasons. With this in mind, we arranged for a special guest to give a talk about the importance of Easter. Our pupils listened intently and asked some great questions at the end. It was a gratifying visit for all and our teachers agreed it was reassuring to see our pupils appreciate the serious side of Easter.

Easter is a fantastic time for our pupils' creative power to flourish. Throughout the week our Day care, Pre-Primary and Primary pupils made Easter bunnies and baskets as part of their Arts and Craft class. Easter Cards were also made and exchanged with bright smiles.

It was a fun and enlightening week for our pupils and we're sure they will remember it for a long time to come.

Independence Day is a time to celebrate our hopes for the future and remember our past. At Hampton Primary School our celebrations included a variety of songs and drama skits performed by our gifted pupils. It was marvellous to see them act with such confidence. What a talented group!

We would like to thank our guests of honour for making the time to join us at our Quatre-Bornes and Curepipe branch respectively and reading the inspiring words of our Prime Minster.

Judging by the beaming smiles of the parents' in attendance, we're sure they enjoyed the day immensely and feel very privilege to live on such a beautiful island.

The pupils of Hampton were recently treated to an absolutely fascinating talk about the vital role that tourism plays to the people of Mauritius. The talk was delivered by the Mauritian Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA), who captivated our young audience with their stories and educational words of wisdom.

The main drive of the presentation was the emphasis on how tourism has transformed Mauritius over the last 30 years from a low income economy, heavily dependent on agriculture, to a more diverse, middle income economy. A vast majority of this transformation owes to tourism. To illustrate this in numerical terms, in 1970 Mauritius had about 18,000 visitors. By 2004 this was up to around 720,000 and last year, Mauritius was visited by around 2 million tourists. The vast number of new jobs that this has created was explained to the pupils. The children were shown the myriad avenues through which this has changed people's lives for the better and told that as the next generation they could directly contribute to the continued success of Mauritius as a tourist destination.

Our pupils were handed guide books and maps of Mauritius and they were all smiles as they learned more about the vibrant culture and beautiful nature of our island.

We can chalk this excellent talk up as another success for Hampton. As a private primary school we are dedicated to organising a wide range of talks and presentations which give our pupils an insight into the world at large.

We would like to thank the friendly folks at TPA for coming to Hampton, for their generous gifts, for putting a smile on our pupils faces and planting an inquisitive seed in their minds.

At Hampton Primary School, we consider cultural awareness to be an important part of our curriculum. To this end, we arranged a talk for our pupils about the festival of Thaipoosam Cavadee which is a national holiday in Mauritius.

The talk, delivered by a representative of the Mauritius Tamil Temple Federation, touched on the history, traditions and the importance of Cavadee to the Tamil community.

We believe teaching our pupils to be aware of different customs will enhance their understanding of diversity.

On behalf of everyone at Hampton, we would like to thank the MTTF for an informative presentation.