kellett tellit autumn 2011

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Kellett Tellit—Autumn 2011

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Meet Mrs. Laufer by Christina Leung & Victoria Perronet-Miller

We would like to thank

Mr. Dawes for letting us

use the ICT room each

week. A big thank you

also to Mrs. Bull for all

her help and patience!

As always any ideas or

suggestions are very

welcome. So please do

contact Karen Pittar on

[email protected]

This paper was put together by Lottie Rosgen, Harriette Edmonds, Pia Winstanley, Victoria

Perronet-Miller, Christina Leung, Anoushka Prentice, Sophie McLean, Jemima Abate, James

Johnson, Julia Murray, Ben Stoneley and Isabella Abelman

Did you hear? Kellett will soon be opening a new school in

Kowloon Bay and the new Head of Campus will be Mrs.

Laufer – if you aren’t sure who she is yet, we met her to

find out all the information for you! First, we wanted to

know why she decided to be a teacher? As a child she

used to spend her holidays helping her Mum, who was the

school librarian, to sort out all the books. She said she had

great fun and this inspired her to be a teacher. She has

taught all around the world, first in Australia, then Canada,

the UK and the USA. Now she is having fun with all of us

here at Kellett.

Mrs. Laufer actually lived in Hong Kong five years ago and

is very excited now she is back, teaching at our school. “ I

like Hong Kong very much” she explained, “Hong Kong has a little bit of everything, I like that

I can go to the beach, explore the city and hike everywhere”. She is having fun getting to

know Kellett and the School a bit more until the new school is built She thinks the children at

Kellett have lots of different qualities and there are so many things we can do – maybe some

of us will be principals too!

Page 1


Autumn 2011

Kellett Tell It

It is almost Christmas time, what will you do

during the holidays—maybe you might go to a

movie? Most of us have watched dozens of

films, what is your favourite? I love Johnny

English Reborn because it shows you can turn

a story about a serious job into a hilarious

comedy.

I like going to movies with my friends because

it’s a great way to relax and have fun, I bet

most of you feel the same way! Well, can you

imagine a life where you never saw a movie,

not on TV or in a cinema? Imagine if you lived

in a place where there was nothing fun to do,

no playgrounds, no computers, no toys ...this

is how many children in refugee camps around

Asia live, but an amazing program called

FilmAid Asia is trying to help and it was set up

and is run by people including Kellett parents!

So you will be wondering, what exactly is Film

Aid? FilmAid is a program where an enormous

van goes to different refugee camps and it has

a huge TV screen on it. When the van gets to

its destination it stops and the people in the

camp come and watch a movie. The type of

movies that the villagers watch are firstly, an

educational movie about different things to

help them live safe lives in the camps and then

they watch a great entertainment movie. It

might be a cartoon or a fun children’s movie

and everyone loves it!

The amazing thing is the information movies

about health and education are actually made

by the refugees themselves. The FilmAid team

help them to learn how to use the cameras

and to act and then to edit the movie. It is

really exciting for the refugees to see

themselves and their neighbours in the films.

I talked to Indya Steains because her Mum is

the Treasurer of FilmAid Asia and her Dad is

the chairman. Together with Oliver and

Sebastian Corso’s Mum they set up this

fantastic charity. I asked Indya why she liked

FilmAid and quickly she replied, 'I like it

because it teaches people how to take care of

themselves and to live a better life.”

You can help out by visiting the FilmAid Asia

website www.filmaid.org/asia and then even

more children can enjoy the movies that we

get to see everyday!

Helping Others this Christmas by Harriette Edmonds


Next time you throw your rubbish away stop

and think how you can reuse it—you could

even make music with it! That is what the

musical extravaganza Stomp does, they create

music from every day things like bins, pans,

pipes and balls.

They call Stomp 2011 fresher, faster, funnier

and we were lucky enough to go and watch the

show at their press conference and even meet

the cast, who were full of energy and so

enthusiastic!

We found out it took them six weeks to learn

all the dance moves to perfect the show, but to

make it even more exciting they added in some

extra steps and it took a couple of months to

get the act just right. Some of the cast played

the drums, some were dancers and some

played instruments like the piano or violin.

STOMP started with buskers and street acts

and they just got their drumsticks and started

banging and hitting the walls and park benches

and bins and that’s what got them going—

amazing! The cast members this year are from

all around the world including the USA,

Australia, Denmark and more and they all

worked together to write music and combine

this with some of the dance moves from

previous shows to make the new show a real

spectacular!

Did they have any trouble learning the

complicated dance moves? They told us they

did have their times falling over, or getting hit

on the head by a rubbish bin or just messing

up, but when it came to show time everything

just fell into place—it was a great show. Minali

who is from California told us “music is like a

heart beat, everyone has music in them and

that is something you should think about if you

want to follow your dreams to be in something

like STOMP.” And obviously the cast loves

what they do, even if it is lots of work, as

some have been in the show for 10 years!

STOMPING Around by Victoria Perronet-Miller & Christina Leung

Page 11


Hello Kellett, good news, it’s almost the

Christmas holidays—hooray! So what are

you going to do with all your spare time?

Well, if you are looking for something

exciting, there are some fun new

adventures to have right here in Hong

Kong.

Do you like Disneyland or perhaps you

prefer Ocean Park? Both are offering new

rides to thrill and entertain you! Last year

Kellett Tell It reported on Ocean Park and

met the CEO Tom Mehrmann— he told us

about the new rides and lands that were

opening at the Park and guess what? Most

will be running in time for the holidays.

Thrill Mountain opens on December 9th, so

get ready! The Mountain will have a

colourful and energetic carnival theme with

five exciting rides. If you like rollercoasters

the Hair Raiser has five loop-de-loops that

you will whiz around at high speed. There

will also be dodgem cars at the Bumper

Blaster, or you can try flying the on the

Whirly Bird. Already opened at the Park is

The Flash, where you swing up and down

on a huge pendulum—be careful you don't

take too many rides or you might feel sick!

If you want to do something a bit quieter

you can also see the recently opened

rainforest area where you can take a gentle

ride on a boat through a rainforest. Be

careful though, you might get wet!

If you want even more excitement then you

can also take a visit to Hong Kong

Disneyland. Just opened in November is

the new Toy Story Land. Go along and you

can meet all the characters including a large

Woody, Rex, the green soldiers, Jessie and

much more! The new land has been really

well decorated and the area even has long

bamboo that acts as huge blades of grass—

you really will think you are in Andy’s back

garden. There are also huge wooden blocks

with the ABCs on them and a giant slinky

dog ride you can take. There are also crazy

rollercoasters like the RC races where you

ride in Andy’s remote control car up and

down a U shaped track, or drop from really

high on the new parachute ride —you can

even join in with a toy soldier boot camp

where you have to do exercises with the

green toy soldiers. If you want to find out

more for yourself then go visit but

remember to be nice to the toys!

Both the Parks also have great Christmas

displays. At Disneyland you can watch a

Christmas parade or walk down a Festive

Mainstreet. At Ocean Park there will be lots

of tinsel and lights too that you can see

from all those thrilling rides. Enjoy!

Holiday Fun in Hong Kong by Ben Stoneley


Did you know that at Kellett Tell It if you

are interested in a topic then you can write

about it? Well, I had something I felt

strongly about and you are going to read

about it in this article. I am finding out

how our student council works and most

importantly why girls are not allowed to

wear shorts at Kellett.

I don’t like wearing skorts because I am a

tomboy. I like to run in the playground

and climb. I don’t wear pink ever and I

would love to wear shorts every day! And I

know there are other girls who feel the

same.

We do have summer dresses but nobody

above year 3 wears them because you

can’t run in them and when you sit down

you have to make sure your skirt is long

enough, or else...

The skorts are designed for winter but

many girls wear them all year and in the

summer we girls are boiling hot.

So I went to the school council to find out if

they could help and I also discovered that

being on the SC is a very serious job. They

meet every two weeks and talk through

any ideas or problems that students have.

They help to organise events like dress

casual days and raise money for charity,

they talk about playground equipment and

how we can use it safely and they even

introduced the friendship benches. I asked

former members Julia Murray and Jemima

Abate what they thought was great about

representing your class on the council.

“Helping the school become a better place ”

said Jemima, and Julia’s tip for being an

active member of the council was: “don’t

be scared to speak out in front of other

children, you have to say what you think.”

After talking with Chairman Taylor Dees

and the rest of the SC about girls and

shorts I went to see Mrs.Laufer and Mr.

Harrington to discuss my views. Mr.

Harrington told me that recently they

reviewed the uniform and agreed to keep it

the way it was because there is a fair

balance between girls who like the skorts

and girls who don’t. Also, the skort is a

compromise as it is a skirt with shorts

hidden underneath!

I still wish I could wear shorts but I will

have to make do with my skort. At least

though I have people at school who I could

take my questions to and they all listened

and tried to help. Being part of the school

council is really a good thing, so why not

give it a go next year—you will enjoy it!

How does your School Council Work? by Lottie Rosgen


Playing with Elephants by Anoushka Prentice

What sports do your parents play? Maybe

they like rugby or tennis or maybe they even

run in marathons or triathalons. My parents

do something a bit unusual—they play polo

but not on horses, on elephants! Have you

ever heard of the game? Do you want to find

out more about it...well read on!

Elephant polo was originally played by the

Maharajas of India. In 1982 it was revived at

Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in the Chitwan

National Park, Nepal and has since been

played regularly in Thailand and occasionally

in India and Sri Lanka. In the first year of

elephant polo in Nepal it was played with a

leather football, but that ended quite soon

because the elephants were always treading

on it and bursting them so now they play

with regular wooden polo balls. However, this

sometimes gets stuck in soft ground when an

elephant treads on it and sometimes it even

gets stuck in elephant dung!

Elephant polo in Nepal is played with four

aside and in Thailand three aside. There can

only be two elephants from the same team in

one half and one elephant in each D—where

you score the goals. The positions are

attacker, midfield and defence. At half time

the teams swap elephants with the opposing

team so that the match is fair (some

elephants are much better at polo than

others!). There is a mahout who sits behind

the elephant’s neck and steers the elephant

while the player sits on the elephants back

and hits the ball. Ladies are able to play with

two hands but men are only able to play with

one hand. This is because the polo sticks can

be as long as 100 inches, depending on the

size of the elephant, so they can be very

heavy.

Sam Prentice (my mum) used to work in

Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge where the world

elephant polo championship is hosted and

this is how she started playing. “I enjoyed

watching the international players and I was

desperate to have a go myself as I loved

elephants so much. Then one day I was

offered to play. It was lots of fun. I have now

been playing elephant polo for over 20 years

and I am captain of the ladies team.“ She is

now said to be the best lady elephant polo

player! Go Mum!


When most people think about Hong Kong

they imagine tall skyscrapers, crowded

shopping malls and maybe markets full of fish

and fresh vegetables. Not many would think

about the wildlife that lives here. You might

be surprised at how many animals live in our

parks and national reserves. There are wild

pigs, monkeys, dragonflies, 230 butterfly

species, frogs, lizards, snakes and one third of

the bird species found in China come from

HK. The sad news is that many of those

species are endangered.

We all know that some animal’s numbers are

decreasing around the world; beautiful

creatures like the Snow Leopard, Giant

Pandas, Narwhales and many other animals.

In Hong Kong there are endangered animals

that need our help too. The Pink Dolphin is

one of our most famous animals but sadly this

friendly sea creature is endangered.

Recently the South China Morning Post

reported two fish species are being

threatened in the New Territories, the HK

Paradise Fish and The Rice Fish. The HK

Paradise Fish is the only fish that breeds by

connecting its eggs to the bubbles and then

stays with the eggs which is rare, most parent

fish will leave the babies to fend for

themselves. The HK Paradise Fish is brown

with a sandy colored stomach, It has 1 long

fin on the top and bottom of its body and two

at the tail.

Luckily there are people in the community

who are trying to help. Goatee Toni is one of

these people. Maybe you have heard of him?

He comes to children’s birthday parties and

brings creatures like snakes and spiders for

you to touch and see. He says his favourite

animal family is reptiles and he has lots of

these that he looks after including snakes and

lizards. “I find endangered species and I

breed them and then return them to the

wild”. Goatee Toni remarked. Wonderful

places like Ocean Park are also trying to help

breed and look after endangered creatures.

We all have to do our part! Next time you are

out walking look around for all the amazing

wildlife in Hong Kong!

Wild Hong Kong by Sophie McLean

Page 9


Kids can often feel strongly about an issue,

but we think we are too young or too small

to make a difference but I have found out

that this isn’t always true! For me net-

trawling in Hong Kong oceans is something

I am concerned about, so I decided to find

out more.

While I was researching I discovered a

great blog written by a girl called Anna

Zhou who is 16 years old and is a student

right here in Hong Kong at HKIS!

Anna is originally from Melbourne and she

started to think about the environment

when she was still in pre school in

Australia. In Australia at that time there

was a horrible drought that lasted for 10

years, water supplies got so low that you

could only take 3 minute showers—

imagine that! And you weren’t allowed to

water your garden or even wash your car.

This made Anna think seriously about the

environment and what she could do to

help.

Now in Hong Kong Anna has her own blog

(www.theramblingsofateenagegirl.wordpre

ss.com) and one of the issues she looks at

is net fishing. I asked her why she chose

this cause? “Trawling is really bad, there

are two nets that are dragged along the

ocean floor, and they destroy everything in

their path.”

Thanks to Anna I have learnt a lot about

trawling – did you know for instance there

are two different types of trawling —

mid-level and deep trawling? Mid-level

takes the fish that live in the mid-water ,

while deep trawling goes to the sea floor

and destroys the bottom of the ocean by

ripping up everything in its path.

To make it worse Anna told me the fish

that are caught in these deadly nets are

mostly prawns and other tiny fish along

with coral and much of the important

ocean ecosystem.

But we can help—Anna is proof—creating

blogs and having a say makes an impact .

The great news is the Government has

banned trawling in local waters from

December 24th, 2012.

And instead we can even get nature to

help us — in Brazil some fishermen use

safe nets and dolphins who help guide fish

into the net.

So what can YOU do? Well start at the

Christmas beach party, simply take some

time to pick up rubbish that has washed

ashore—a gift for the environment!

Over-Fishing the Waters of HK—We Can Help! by Isabella Abelman


Hong Kong has many amazing hikes for

families. Michael Peiper is head of Hiking

Hong Kong and knows most of the local

hikes so I decided to interview him to find

out just where Kellett kids should be

walking over the winter months. What else

did I learn from researching this article?

You need to walk outside, and see that

Hong Kong is not a just a concrete jungle,

it can be a green one too!

JM: What was the scariest hike you’ve

ever been on and why was it the scariest?

MP: The scariest hike I’ve ever been on is

when I hiked on Lantau and there was a

huge thunder storm at the time, with

lightning all around me!

JM: Why do you like hikes?

MP: Many people think of Hong Kong as a

concrete jungle, this is far from the truth. I

love being one with nature, and I love

getting away from the noise—and you can

do all this when you walk the trails. Hiking

also keeps me fit.

JM: Which hike has the best view?

MP: There are many great views that can

be had on the hiking trails of Hong Kong.

One of my favorite views would have to be

from Lantau Peak looking down at Wisdom

Path, the Big Buddha, and so much more.

JM: What is your favorite hike and why?

MP: My favorite hike is Lantau Trail Stage

9. I have many reasons why I like this hike

and one of them is that it’s a quite easy

hike and it’s close to where I live in

Discovery Bay.

JM: What is the purpose of hiking?

MP: To remember that life is about living,

not about working, as many people in

Hong Kong believe. To do something that

you truly enjoy, and to take the time out

to do it. Life and nature is something that

should be treasured.

JM: What do you enjoy most about hiking?

MP: Getting away from the everyday

aspects of Life. Relaxing, being at one with

nature, and helping others to share my

experiences.

So did you find what Michael Peiper had to

say interesting? If you did, why don’t you

go on a hike yourself, or even better, get

your family to join in? Hikes to choose

from in Hong Kong are endless, so why

don’t you get going! I’ve been on quite a

few with my family, and I can tell you that

the trails are really hidden, you feel a

million miles away from the city! Maybe

even check out Michael Peiper’s favourite

or scariest hike.

Hiking Hong Kong’s Hills with Michael Pieper by Julia Murray


Have you seen the Merry Men hunting in Hong

Kong? Or perhaps you have seen Beauty or the

Beast roaming the corridors of Kellett? Yes, this

month you can see the merry men in Robin

Hood the Panto by the HK Players, and next year

you can watch your own Kellett friends perform

in Beauty and the Beast! With fantastic actors

and wonderful music these shows will be a HUGE

hit! If you go along and enjoy the performance

you might even think about trying out yourself,

but how hard is it to audition and how can you

prepare?

Have you ever been in an audition? If you have

never been in an audition chances are you might

freak out because you have no idea how to get

ready. Do not panic we have all the tips you

need, we spoke to some of the students from

last year’s school musical, Seussical Jnr.

In the auditions the cast had to sing Colours of

the Wind from Pocahontas, and then act two

pieces and dance to Miss Charlotte’s expert

choreography. Most of those trying out were

pretty nervous, so you aren’t alone if you feel

scared too! Julia Murray was a bird girl in the

Suessical: “Some tips are to sing what you feel,

and give your best.” Julia answers. “Stand up

straight and don’t fidget, most of all pronounce

your words clearly. In the acting pretend you are

the character and act like the character, make

your soul the character.”

Victoria Perronet Miller was a Who in the musical

last year. “Practice makes perfect! Do not be

nervous, but always try your best and put in lots

of effort.” Miss Charlotte agrees with what Julia

and Victoria say, you need to look the panel in

the eye, keep a smile on your face and most

importantly have fun! Miss Charlotte’s first

performance was in Jack and the Beanstalk

many years ago, but this year she is going to be

involved the Panto by Hong Kong Players. I also

wanted to find out what was Miss Charlotte’s

scariest audition? “It was for Cats, I had to

audition over and over again because they kept

calling me back and calling me back but in the

end my singing wasn’t good, so I didn’t get the

part I really wanted.” Even so, Miss Charlotte

still loves being on stage, so when you audition,

if you don’t get the exact role you had hoped for,

remember that just being part of a show is a real

thrill.

So, is it worth it? Well last year I was Mayzie the

Bird in Seussical Jnr and it was great! And this

year I am lucky enough to be one of the Silly

Girls in Beauty and the Beast. I know I will have

to work hard and learn songs, lines and dance

moves but it’s all going to be worth it – because

there is nothing that is quite as much fun as

being on stage. Good luck to all those who

audition in the future – you will love it!

The Show Must Go On! by Jemima Abate


What do you want for Christmas? by James Johnson

The modern world is a paradise for new

innovators and new inventions. But with so

many out there which is best? I have been

searching for the latest and greatest so you will

know just what to ask Santa for! First, I got

some ideas from students right here at Kellett—

the top three included the new Nintendo 3DS

where you can play your DS in 3D without

wearing 3D glasses. Ben Stoneley has one of

these fantastic gadgets and says: “It really is

3D—images pop out at you while you play and

you can even take 3D photos!”.

There are 3D games to play too, like MarioKart ,

Pokemon and Cooking Mama. If you are looking

for a phone why not try the new HTC

Thunderbolt – it is so much more than a phone,

you can download movies, e-books, games,

music and more in seconds and then watch or

listen with surround sound. It also has a camera

and camcorder and a built in DLNA connection

which means you can beam all your photos and

videos to your flatscreen TV—awesome!

If you are a shark fan then you might like the

AirSwimmers RC, this is an inflatable remote

control flying fish! Think of a helium balloon in

the shape of a shark or clown fish that you can

control! The AirSwimmer's body is made from a

high-quality, nylon material that won’t pop too

easily and will stay blown-up for weeks and can

be refilled over and over again. The fish has a

remote control that is infra-red and you can use

it make the fish swim around the house! It can

swim up and down and even turn around 360

degrees.

I have also found something for all of you at

Kellett who like making music. Have you heard

of the t-shirts where you can play the electric

guitar or the drums or a synthesizer on your

shirt? These amazing t-shirts have a picture of a

drum kit, a synthesizer or an electric guitar on

the front that you can actually play—how does it

work? They have a built in speaker in the shirt—

so it makes real sounds.

If you have an iPad and you want to take notes

then you need the cube Laser Virtual Keyboard.

This small cube, that looks like a silver pencil

sharpener, projects an image of a keyboard onto

any flat surface and you can type—it even makes

clicking sounds when you hit the keys! You can

use it on your laptop or iPhone or iPad

anywhere . So have a techy Merry Christmas!

Page 7


We had some famous visitors to our school

this term - author Isobelle Carmody and

children’s book illustrator, Tina McNaughton.

Most of you will have read Isabelle Carmody’s

books but you might wonder, where did the

story ideas come from? Well she started as a

girl by telling stories to her seven brothers and

sisters. Then she wrote them down, so she

would remember all her long complicated

plots. “I found that I liked writing my stories

down,” she explained “it was as if I was telling

everyone a secret and I really liked that.”

I wanted to find out how she got her ideas for

her books. One of my favourites is Little Fur.

Carmody decided to write it because there had

been a flood in Prague, where she was living,

and the city was covered in water. “I was

walking through the streets with my daughter

Adelaide, she was about six years old, and

she stopped at this basement window where

she could see it was full of dark dirty water,

Adelaide said ‘Mama what lives down there?’

And I could not help myself but to say ‘Trolls!

Tolls live down there’.” And that’s how Little

Fur started! Carmody is now working on a

book about gangs, watch out for it, it

promises to be another wonderful read!

I also met with illustrator Tina McNaughton,

whose niece and nephews Ella, Jamie and

Luke Wernett go to school at Kellett! You will

know her drawings, some of them are the

cute hedgehogs in One Snowy Night and One

Christmas Night. She says she has been

drawing since she was a little girl, “When I

was little I drew every night in bed on a little

chalk board until everything was blue, pink or

yellow, including me!” There was also a wood

near her house and she would go and look at

all the creatures who lived there.

I was interested to find out how she draws

just what the writer wants, “I start off drawing

a few sketches I think the author will like and

then we discuss it and I make their favourite

one more detailed.” She says illustrations are

important because they tell part of the story

and help in a visual way. And what is her

advice if you want to be an illustrator or

writer? “Practice writing and drawing for a

long time!”. Right now she is working on a

program for an Austrian TV show which uses

puppets. So practice your writing and

drawing, they can take you lots of places!

Meeting Authors at Kellett by Pia Winstanley

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kellett tellit autumn 2011

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