Thank you for a fantastic year of Home and Community Languages, and happy last day of term!

Click on this link to read about HLP-ers featured in this month's Dunia issue. Have a great term break ahead!

The Cultural Literacy Programme aims to immerse students in a culture through fun and engaging crafts and games. In Beads and Crafts, students create crafts with beads such as a name badge, bracelet, keychain, and symmetrical and mosaic patterns while exploring Arabic heritage and culture.

Other Cultural Literacy Programmes we have offered include Chinese Chess, Chinese Character Chess (汉字棋), Chinese Mahjong, Fun with Chinese Calligraphy (书法趣事), Traditional Chinese Games (象棋, 圍棋, 跳棋), Traditional Malay, Indian, and Singaporean Games, Origami, Henna Art, and new this season, Batik & Tie-Dye. 

Next year, watch out for Flamenco for Fun - Discovering Spanish Culture Through Dance and Music.

In celebration of International Mother Language Day last week, students in HLP discussed the importance of learning and preserving their home language. Students celebrated in different ways including listening to and singing songs in their home language, reading a book in their home language, learning a tradition, comparing different cultures, and playing a traditional game. Thank you to the marketing team for capturing the photos below!

Thank you to the marketing team for capturing these photos of Japanese HLP. We would also like to spotlight our wonderful HLP-er, Maru, who helps out in the Japanese HLP Kindergarten class.

HLP-ers are Grade 11 and 12 students who assist with the Home Language Programme as mentors to younger students. HLP-ers collaborate closely with the HLP teacher to plan fun and engaging activities, with the opportunity to take the lead in some projects. At the end of every season, HLP-ers plan a cultural project, performance or craft, to be presented to the class. 

This activity focuses on creativity, develops personal growth, and benefits the linguistic diversity of the community. The aim is to foster a sense of community, identity and belonging. Grade 11 and 12 students can sign up as HLP-ers in Seasons 1 and 3. There is a two-season commitment for this activity.

Thank you to the marketing team for capturing these photos of Hindi HLP. Students learned about the significance of rangoli and performed an Indian dance. The Home Language Programme embeds cultural literacy within the lessons so that students develop a sense of identity and connection towards their home language and culture.

We wish all families celebrating a very happy Diwali/Deepavali!

Since the Home Language Programme at the East campus started with 12 languages in 2018, our aim has been to support all the language communities represented in our campus. This season, we are pleased to add Arabic, Cantonese, Russian, and Tamil to the list of HLP languages offered at the East campus. Some of the languages are being reintroduced following sufficient interest, and some are new to the programme.

If you would like your child to join the Home Language Programme and the language is not currently being offered, please fill in the registration form to indicate your interest. Please take note that we require a minimum number of students to open a class.

We look forward to developing and growing Arabic, Cantonese, Russian, and Tamil HLP at the East campus!

We are excited to start Season 1 of the Home Language Programme and other language activities (including the Foreign Language and Culture Programme and Cultural Literacy Programme) this week! The focus during the first week is establishing effective routines and determining the students' linguistic levels and abilities. We look forward to a great season ahead!

Thank you to the Home Language Programme teachers who joined our Professional Learning (PL) Day at Dover campus yesterday. This year, we combined the PL day for East, Dover, and dual campus HLP teachers to foster collaboration and build a supportive multilingual community.

During the meeting, we welcomed new teachers, discussed health and safety on campus, and reviewed child safeguarding measures to ensure a safe environment for all students and staff at UWCSEA. We were fortunate to be joined by Claire O'Farrell who ran a workshop on Classroom Management to guide the teachers in establishing effective classroom management and building a responsive classroom.

The second part of the day focused on designing a comprehensive Curriculum Articulation, exploring different Formative and Summative Assessments, sharing educational online resources to aid student learning, and reviewing Online Learning Platforms (Seesaw and Teamie).

We hope the teachers gained valuable insights during the Professional Learning Day and manage to incorporate their learnings into a more robust Home Language Programme in the year ahead. We are excited to start Season 1 next week!

Chinese board games are excellent for kids of any age. Every game has its own story, whether it’s a long drawn strategic affair or a quick tactical battle. It is fun and educational! Here are a few benefits of board games: 

1. Develop logic and reasoning skills: Playing board games allow kids to think ahead, create "if-then" logical analysis and "what-if" scenarios, which is beneficial for problem-solving, better-thinking ability, and decision making power.

2. Improve concentration: Being able to concentrate is vital for board game players. As little kids continue to practice regularly, they will build patience and develop a better focus.

3. Realize the value of competition: Learning how to lose is as important as learning to win. Kids learn to handle their feelings, overcome stress, and try to develop a can-do-attitude.

Excerpt from https://bilingualkidspot.com/2020/05/18/traditional-chinese-games-toys

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.

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!

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.

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!

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）。

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.

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!

汉语 HLP 第 2 季现已开放报名! 如果您希望您的孩子提高他们的中文读写能力，请报名参加由经验丰富的 UWCSEA 老师教授的每周活动。以便关注每个学生的语言需求，课程将以小组形式进行。请观看此视频以了解有关该课程的更多信息并填写此表格进行报名。

日本語HLP、 シーズン2 の登録が始まりました。経験豊富な講師陣が毎週行うこのアクティビティはきっとお子様の日本語の読み書き能力の向上につながるはずです。レッスンは少人数のグループで行われ、講師は生徒一人一人の言語的なニーズに焦点を当てます。このビデオでプログラムの詳細をご覧になり、このフォームにご記入の上、お申し込みください。

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!

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?

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?"

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!