Dear Students,

_{Summer Vacation is synonymous with fun and frolic, going for picnics, playing for long hours, exploring new places and much more……But, dear students, there is a lot more you can do to make your vacation more interesting and meaningful.}

While you and the family are enjoying the much needed quality time, mornings with no alarm clocks, and maybe even some nights with not set bedtime, I want to encourage you to keep some semblance of academics alive in the fun.

■Set a purpose for reading during the summer. Read a new genre, a different magazine, the local newspaper, and of course your summer reading book.

■ On your vacations, make time to read about the history of the places your are visiting.  Try comparing and contrasting the history to that of the community in which you live. 

■ Talk about the engineering and innovative thinking required to create the many things you get to explore at your summer destinations (amusement parks, swimming pools, airports, train stations, etc.)

■ Involve yourself in planning and reflection. 

■ Be kind! Volunteer wherever you can. Help with a community clean up project, visit an animal shelter, or play with a younger sibling,  neighbor or cousin.

■Create photo presentations using PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi, Keynote, etc.

■ Try of keep a journal to memorialize your summer and prep them for the infamous back to school writing prompt 'What did you do this summer?'.

■ Prep Book of 'Spectrum Grade 8 Science' could be a great choice to prepare yourself for upcoming new year.

We have planned a lot of great activities for you here at Shenzhen Hualang School. And, we look forward to see you in our amazing campus soon.

When you return for the new academic year, it's worth to remember that Beginning makes a lot of difference… so always keep your beginning focused, optimistic and full of dedication… Another fresh year at school is a chance to begin your life fresh, with new goals and new challenges… Best of luck to you and I am sure you will make proud and happy!!!

Wishing you and yours a summer of learning, growing, fun and memorable.

From Science Teacher,

Kamal

Welcome to Hualang. Congratulations on your next exciting chapter of the new school adventure! I am Mr. Wu and I will be your Mathematics teacher. The good news is you are well prepared for Math as what you’d learned before have prepared you well I am sure. Math is the same whether in Shenzhen, London, New York or Jupiter. Math is like science, it's universal.

My philosophy on Math is to learn is to do math. The formula for math success is to do three things: Practice, Practice, and Practice. There's no two ways about it. To do well in Math, you have to roll your sleeves up and do the practice and exercises.

■ Tips for Maths Problem Solving:

1.Practice, Practice & More Practice. Do all of the homework. 

2.Try not to miss classes. Catch up, get notes and handouts from classmates.

3.Review Errors. Analyze and understand every mistake. Get help fast.

4.Ask questions you don't understand

5.Ketch, create tables if helps.

6.Find a friend to be your study partner.

7.Master the key concepts. Do not try to memorise the processes.

8.Understand what the calculator is doing. It's not enough to know how to use the calculator; students need to know what the answer means.

9.Create a mathematical dictionary.

10. Apply maths to real world problems.

11. Study past tests.

■ These website resources you may use:

https://quizlet.com/136930281/math-terms-flash-cards/

https://www.mrelementary.com/vocabulary-lists/math-vocabulary/

https://quizlet.com/231236/7th-8th-grade-taks-math-vocabulary-flash-cards/

https://www.basic-math-explained.com/math-terms.html

https://www.desmos.com/calculator

www.mathsisfun.com

Can't You Read?! 

You must heard this some point in you in your life. Of course you can! Ah, but to read in English is open to another dimension, like A Wrinkle in Time(by Madeleine L'Engle). Some say reading is window to the soul. Reading is having adventures without leaving your room.

Reading = success!

It's a formula that looks more like math than English. It's life. It's business. Don't take my word for it. Warren Buffett, the world's richest person no so long ago, says to succeed, you have to read 500 pages a day. You want to pass the IELTS, TOEFL? Read! Cramming for vocabulary doesn't work. You won't retain the words. It lasts a month or so. Read and you will remember the words much longer and understand better.

We read for information and understanding. The best is reading for pleasure. For that reason, read for joy. Read magazines. Read comics. Read WeChat moments of friends. Read about your favourite musical group, movie star that you like. Read! Read! Read! 

I started reading with comics like Spider-Man, X-Men, Mad Magazine. As Asians overseas, we didn't have comics like American Born Chinese (by Gene Luen Yang). Learn about other interesting cultures in drawn picture form with Persepolis. Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman is popular. Doesn't matter if it's comics/graphic novels, reading gives you pleasure is the main thing.

You probably would like reading about people around your age like the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Ready Player One, The Twilight Series, The Fault is in Our Stars. Yes, those are all made into movies. When I was growing up I started with the classics. Other also made into movies include The Wizard of the Oz, Charlotte's Web, anything by Roald Dahl likeCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda. I remember the books I had to read, liked, for school were The Outsiders, The Lord of the Flies. You can watch Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Romeo and Juliet when he was younger. 

Our school other Shakespeare plays are The Tempest, Merchant Of Venice. You hear a lot of quotes from them such as:

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? …”

“A rose by any other name smell as sweet.”

“These violent delights have violent ends.”

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”

Young ladies would perhaps like Little Women or Anne of Green Gables. I read Anne Frank's Diaryof a Young Girl in Grade 8 and it was quite affecting.

The Catcher in the Rye is a wonderful book no matter what happens to John Lennon of the Beatles can't ruin it for me. Don't be a Book Thief (by Marcus Zusak), borrow it from the library or the school. Share it with a friend. Perhaps you'd like funny books like Tom Sawyer or Adventures of Huckleberry Fin by Mark Twain or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (funny and short book). Read Mad Magazine again. They are quite wonderfully current and subversive. My all-time favourite must be Animal Farm by George Orwell It's short too, with simple language but deep meaning. You will love The Princess Bride, which happens to made into a great movie as well. You want action? Adventure? Look no further than Lord of the Rings, The Call of the Wild, and as adventures go, of course, Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. When you read, the fun never ends. It's limited only to your imagination. 

Read. Enjoy!

From Math Teacher,

Chuck Wu