Welcome to UWCSEA East Home and community Languages
HLP - What's new?
Thank you to our Home and Community Languages teachers for attending the Home and Community Languages Beginning of Year Meeting and Professional Learning Day in early September. Besides the yearly refresher on safety, security, and safeguarding, this year's focus was on:
(a) The Seven Norms of Collaborative Work
(b) Positive Behaviour Support
(c) Curriculum Articulation and Online Learning Platforms
(c) Formative and Summative Assessments
We hope the teachers gained valuable insights and manage to apply the principles learned in their teaching this year.
Registration for Season 2 of the Home Language Programme and Language and Culture Programmes is now open and will close on 9 October. Starting this year, the Home Language Programme (HLP) is no longer counted towards students' grade limits for activities - this means that students can sign up for HLP beyond the maximum number of activities allowed in their grade level*. K1 students will be able to join an activity, including HLP, FLCP, and CLP, starting in Season 2. Register on CIMS or fill in this registration form. We look forward to having your child(ren) in a language activity this season!
*Kindergarten students are allowed a maximum of 3 activities over 4 days a week.
And that's a wrap!
Thank you for your participation in a language activity this year. Whether it be the Home Language Programme, Foreign Language and Culture Programme, or a Cultural Literacy activity, we hope you have gained some valuable insights and have found the activities engaging. We look forward to welcoming many of you back next academic year, and we wish all the best to those who are leaving.
Registration for Season 1 will open on 25 August, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, we hope you will have a great summer break ahead!
Connecting with the indian community
Thank you to the Indian Nationality Parents Association representatives for meeting with us today to better understand the Home and Foreign Language Programmes that we offer. We are committed to connecting with the different linguistic communities and promoting linguistic diversity within UWCSEA.
We would like to invite Indian parents to complete this survey to help us better understand the linguistic needs of the community. We really appreciate your feedback.
Chinese PA Coffee morning
Our heartfelt thank you to the Chinese Parents Association at UWCSEA East for inviting us to the coffee morning and Spring festival gathering today. We were able to share about the Home Language Programme, answer parent questions, and mingle with the Chinese-speaking community. Parents were also able to meet some of our Chinese HLP teachers. Thank you for having us!
Chinese HLP Parent Survey
We invite all Chinese-speaking parents to complete this survey for us to better understand the needs and demands of the Chinese-speaking community at UWCSEA East. The survey is anonymous. Please complete a new response for each child. We appreciate your time and your honest feedback.
母語语言项目(HLP)是一个为学生提供的付费项目,以保持或发展学生的母语。这是一项课外活动。目前的费用是每节课38元(消费税以及学费)。
first week of season 2
We are very excited to start Season 2 this week, and to welcome all our new K1 students to HLP! We hope all students will have a great season ahead.
Season 2 will end on 3 February 2023. Look out for Season 3 registration in the first week of January 2023.
Language Activities Season 2
Registration for Language activities will open tomorrow, 7 October, at 12pm. Students can choose from the Home Language Programme (HLP) for native or heritage language speakers, Foreign Language and Culture Programme (FLCP) for students who would like to learn a new language or improve their literacy skills in a language they are studying in school, and the Cultural Literacy Programme (CLP) for students who would like to gain cultural literacy through fun crafts and games.
You can sign up through CIMS or fill in this registration form. Season 2 will start on 8 November. We look forward to having you in a Language activity next season!
Meet ouR hlp-ers
This year, we are very fortunate to have HLP-ers working with the Home and Community Languages team. These Grade 11 and Grade 12 students will be helping in our HLP and FLCP classes, where they will collaborate closely with the teachers, display leadership and creativity, and act as mentors to the students. Please join us in welcoming our HLP-ers!
Happy UWC day!
It was great to see the community dressed up in cultural outfits for UWC Day. In HLP, we discussed multilingualism, multiculturalism, and the theme of peace in conjunction with this year's theme, Peace Begins With Us. How did you commemorate UWC Day today?
The 5 common methods for raising bilingual kids
The five common bilingual parenting strategies for raising bilingual kids, taken from Bilinguitos.com.
1) One Parent, One Language
2) Target Language at Home
3) Time & Place
4) Mixed Language Families
5) Outside Resource Families
Swipe through to read descriptions and examples →
Remember that there is no ONE right way to raise a bilingual child. Families may choose one or several strategies, or a different strategy not listed here.
HLP Teacher Videos
What is the Home Language Programme? What will my child learn in HLP? Who is the teacher? Watch our HLP Teacher Videos to find out more.
Language activities Season 1 and 2
Registrations for Language Activities have opened last Friday and will close this Friday at 12pm. There is a two season commitment for the Home Language Programme (HLP) and Foreign Language and Culture Programme (FLCP). We also have a range of Cultural Literacy Programmes (CLP) including Chinese Chess, Chinese Mahjong, Traditional Games of Singapore, and Origami. Parents can sign up for K2 to G5 students through their parent login on CIMS, and G6-G12 students can sign up through their student logins.
K1 students will be able to join a Language Activity beginning in Season 2.
Season 1 will begin on 12 September. Please email easthomelanguages@uwcsea.edu.sg if you have any questions about our Language Programmes.
hlp Beginning of year meeting and professional learning day
Thank you to the teachers who attended the HLP Beginning of Year Meeting and Professional Learning Day at the East campus yesterday. It was great seeing everyone again!
From Safety and Security to Online Learning Platforms, learning apps, classroom management, and formative and summative assessments, we hope you found the session valuable and informative.
We look forward to a great year ahead!
UWCSEA EAst ORIENTATION EXPO 2022
Come by our booth at the Orientation Expo to learn more about the language programmes at UWCSEA East. We offer the Home Language Programme (HLP) for native or heritage language speakers, the Foreign Language and Culture Programme (FLCP) for students who would like to learn a new language, the Cultural Literacy Programme (CLP) for students to gain cultural literacy through crafts and games, and Community Language Learning (CLL) for parents and staff to learn a new language.
We will be here from today until Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm, at the Kishore Mahbubani Library. We look forward to meeting you!
The benefits of a bilingual brain
What are some of the benefits of a bilingual brain? What is the difference between a compound bilingual, coordinate bilingual, and subordinate bilingual? Watch this TED-Ed video to find out more about this fascinating topic.
Holiday activities programme: language and culture camps
We have a fun and exciting range of Language and Culture camps planned for the first two weeks of August. Some of the our new offerings include Introduction to Malay Dance and Introduction to Malay Drums and Percussions. Some of our popular activities like Arabic Beads and Crafts and Origami are also back, as well as our Cooking with Family sessions. We have activities for all grade levels from K1 to G12 and even parents!
Click on this link to access our full range of camps and activities.
Sign ups open this Friday, 17 June, and closes on 22 June. For more information, please refer to the Activities HAP microsite.
Hindi HLP: Learning about Colours and culture through rangoli
Students in Hindi HLP (Infant and Primary) learned about colours as well as culture through a lesson on rangoli. HLP teachers aim to embed cultural literacy into the lessons in fun and accessible ways. Thank you Jules for the lovely photos!
End of year staff appreciation
We held a small end-of-year staff appreciation for the Home and Community Languages teachers, in celebration of all their hard work and dedication over the year. Thank you for another great year!
Japanese HLP: Sakura
It is the cherry blossom season in Japan. Students thought about what cherry blossoms mean to Japanese people. They also practiced how to write the character "Sakura". After that, they made cherry blossom petals.
HLP Season 4 2022
Sign ups for HLP Season 4 has closed. If you are interested in participating in HLP in Season 4, please email us to check for availability. Season 4 will start on the week of 25 April.
Learning to read in two (or More) languages
Students are excited to receive new reading books in German HLP every week. We encourage students to read in their home language every week and parents to help their child practice reading at home.
One of the common questions parents ask is: When learning to read in two languages, which language should my child learn to read first? It is a dilemma many parents face. This article from GreatSchool.org provides some interesting insights. We reproduce below 4 key takeaways from the article:
Multilingual Week and international mother language day
Students in the Home Languages Programme participated in the Primary School Multilingual Week last week. Students read stories, recited poems, and sang songs in their home language to share with the rest of the school community. Click on the links in the slide below to view the videos.
Today is International Mother Language Day and we look forward to discussing in class this week the question, "Why is it important to learn your home or mother language?"
Cultural Literacy: Chinese mahjong
Yesterday was the last session of Chinese Mahjong in Season 2. We hope the students enjoyed learning about Chinese language and culture through mahjong. We look forward to offering more Cultural Literacy activities for students to immerse themselves in language and culture through games and crafts.
HLP Season 3 2022
We hope you have had a lovely CNY break. This week will be the last week of Season 2. Next week we will start Season 3. Please refer to the HLP Calendar for more information on key dates.
If you missed the registration for HLP Season 3, please email easthomelanguages@uwcsea.edu.sg to check for availability. We look forward to welcoming everyone back this week!
How language shapes the way we think
There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language -- from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian -- that suggest the answer is a resounding yes. "The beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is," Boroditsky says.
"Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000."
Home Language Programme Season 4
Welcome back and we hope you had a lovely term break.
Registrations for Season 4 of the Home Language Programme (HLP) is now open. Current students are automatically rolled-over to the next season. New students can sign up online or fill in this form. Registrations will close next Monday, 19 April.
Allocation emails will be sent on Tuesday, 20 April. Payment is required to confirm a student's placement in an activity.
For any enquiries, please email easthomelanguages@uwcsea.edu.sg. We look forward to having you in Season 4!
April Language Camps
Language Holiday Camps are back during the April Term Break! This will be our third holiday camp, after the success of the June and December Holiday Camps. We thank you for your continued support.
Camps will be from Monday to Thursday over the two weeks. There are two time slots: 9:00am to 10:30am, or 10:30am to 12:00pm. The cost is $180 per student per week.
Log in to the Parent portal to register. Sign ups open today and will close on Wednesday, 12th March. For more information, visit the Holiday Activities Programme website.
December holiday activities
As we approach the December term break, we understand that many families are unable to travel and will remain in Singapore. We are pleased to share that we will be offering 3-day HLP and FLP camps during the December holidays.
Camps will be from Monday to Wednesday over the three weeks. There are two time slots: 8:30am to 10:20am, or 10:30am to 12:20pm. The cost is $185 per student per week.
To register, log in to the CIMS family portal. Sign ups will end this Friday, 11th December.
OLP for Home Language Programme
The Home Languages Programme is moving to Online Learning Platforms in phases. We will be using Seesaw for Primary students and Teamie for Middle and High School students. These OLPs will replace our current Online Learning Journals. You will be able to view photos, videos, classroom activities, announcements, and home engagement on Seesaw, and older students can complete their weekly home engagement on Teamie. This week, we will trial Seesaw for Chinese, German, and Thai HLP first. More languages will move to Seesaw next week.
Some photos and student works from Seesaw
Foreign Language and culture programme (FLCP) and october break
This season, we started the Foreign Language and Culture Programme (FLCP) for beginner students to learn the language and culture of a linguistic group. The FLCP has been a very welcomed addition to our range of programmes offered and students have really enjoyed engaging with a new language and culture. With four languages offered in Season 1 - Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, and Korean - we hope to add more languages to the programme in the future.
Students from different linguistic backgrounds learning Japanese.
Learning to write their names in katakana.
It has been an exciting and productive start to the school year so far and we wish everyone a very restful October break. HLP and FLCP classes will resume on the week of 26th October. See you then!
Home and community languages professional learning day 2020
Yesterday we were pleased to welcome our Home and Community Languages teachers back on campus. After the abrupt end of Season 3, it was truly a pleasure to see everyone again (albeit with safe distancing and masks on). It was also exciting to welcome new teachers who will be joining our growing team.
This has been an uncertain and challenging year, and there will no doubt be other curveballs thrown our way. Nevertheless, the Home and Community Languages team remain committed to improving our programmes and continually adapting to suit the needs of our students. We thank all parents and students for their continued support and encouragement and we are ready for another exciting year.
Language Holiday activities week 2
Photos and videos from Week 2 of the Language Holiday Activities have been uploaded to the website. Please click here to navigate to your child's class. Photos and videos from Weeks 3 and 4 will be up shortly. Thank you for your patience!
Language Holiday activities week 1
Photos and videos from Week 1 of the Language Holiday Activities have been uploaded to the website. Please click here to navigate to your child's class. We hope your child(ren) enjoyed the activity and we look forward to welcoming them to our language programmes in the future!
HLP and FLP holiday programme
We are pleased to share that we have received the go-ahead from the school and CPE for the summer holiday programme and registrations have opened as of 5pm last evening. On top of the Home Language Programme (HLP) offered to native speakers and students who have a home connection to the language, we are also offering a Foreign Language Programme (FLP) for ALL students who would like to learn a language or improve their language skills over the break. To find out more about these activities, please click on this link.
We look forward to welcoming you to the summer holiday language programmes! If you have any enquiries please email easthomelanguages@uwcsea.edu.sg.
An update on hlp
Dear parents and students,
Thank you for your patience and continued support as we tried to navigate through this climate of unknowns. We have now received confirmation that Activities will not resume in the last 3 weeks of the term. While we are disappointed about not being able to conclude the term as intended and bid farewell to the students, we understand the need to prioritise the health and safety of our community and we fully support the school's decision. For refund requests, please email easthomelanguages@uwcsea.edu.sg stating your child's name, class, and HLP language. All previous refund requests are already being processed.
We are currently in the midst of planning an exciting summer programme for HLP. We are still waiting for approval and the go-ahead from the school. Things are continually changing and we will keep you updated as we receive further updates.
No hlp classes until further notice
As UWCSEA has moved to distance learning until 4th May, there will be no HLP classes until further notice. We hope you and your family are staying safe and we hope to see everyone again soon!
No hlp classes next week
Dear parents and students,
We would like to highlight the following message from the school regarding activities, including HLP:
All after-school and lunchtime activities and services are cancelled for the week beginning 6 April. We will review at the end of that week to see if it’s possible for them to resume the following week.
We hope to find out by the end of next week if activities will resume on the week of 13 April. Thank you for your continued patience and support.
Happy chinese new year!
We would like to wish all our Chinese families a happy Lunar New Year. Some students in Chinese HLP learned and performed the song Gong Xi Gong Xi in class this week. Have a great Chinese New Year holiday week ahead!
HLP classes will resume the week of 3rd February 2020.
Happy Holidays!
The end of the year is a time of celebration. Before we leave for the term break, we would like to celebrate some of the learning that was done in the past few weeks. From block printing in Chinese HLP to making dango in Japanese HLP, head over to the Photo Gallery to see students learning their home language through engaging cultural activities.
As always, we encourage parents to work with their child(ren) to continue developing their language skills over the break. Remember to check the Online Learning Journals to view the activities conducted in class as well as the home engagement activities.
We wish all HLP families happy holidays and a very joyful new year. See you in 2020!
hlp Season 2
Season 2 has gone by in a flash, and we are now at the end of week 3. Please take note that we are no longer able to process refunds after the 3rd lesson. You may refer to our Refund Policy for more information.
This season, we are pleased to include Polish in our list of languages offered. We have also been very impressed with all the learning that has gone on in all the HLP classes. Head over to the Photo Gallery to view a fun project that students in Chinese HLP have been working on!
Finally, please remember to keep up with the Online Learning Journals to reinforce the home language. We recommend that parents spend some time with their child(ren) every week working on the Home Engagement together.
Have a wonderful october break!
This week, confirmation and payment emails for Season 2 went out to parents. We will have one more lesson for Season 1 after the term break, and Season 2 will commence on the week of 11 November. Please refer to our HLP Calendar for more information.
We hope that you will have a restful October break and please continue to practice and reinforce your home language over the break. We will see you again in November!
HLP Week 4
Time sure flies! We are now 4 weeks into the Home Languages Programme. We hope that your child has had a pleasant and productive time in the programme so far.
Remember to check the Online Learning Journals weekly for updates and please help your child with the home engagement - they really need your support at home to reinforce and develop their home language.
If you know in advance that your child will be absent from class, we ask that you please email us at easthomelanguages@uwcsea.edu.sg.
Welcome back to another season of HLP!
We had a very busy but productive first week of HLP last week. It was exciting to see the teachers meet and get to know the students, some of whom are new and some returning students. The first week involved introductions, ice-breakers, and assessments to best place the students in the right groups. We are now in the process of consolidating the weekly Online Learning Journals for easier access -- stay tuned for that coming this week!