Newsletter- 24/10/16
Kowloon Junior School’s latest newsletter is available to read now.
A MESSAGE FROM ED WICKINS
PARENT TEACHER CONSULTATIONS
CLASS REPS
STAFFING UPDATE
PTA QUIZ NIGHT
DRESS CASUAL DAY
OUTSTANDING PTA MEMBERSHIP FEES
ANNIE JR REMINDER
ESF LANGUAGE AND SPORTS PROGRAMMES
STUDENT ACTION AND ACHIEVEMENT
IMPORTANT DATES
Dear All,
I hope you had a wonderful half term holiday and that you survived the dreadful weather last week without getting too soggy! Outstanding school photographs will be rescheduled – I will let you know the new dates as soon as they are confirmed. The newsletter today is full of student achievement – a great chance to recognise some of the incredible things your children get up to beyond school hours. Please do let us know if your child has taken action – it is a key part of the Primary Years Programme and yet we are often the last to know if it happens!
I really hope to be seeing lots of you at the Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds workshop tomorrow morning at 8.45am. We already have a healthy (!) sign up but there is room for more people should you wish to come along. It is certainly heartening to see how many of you are taking an active interest in this crucial aspect of your child’s life which impacts not only on their current and future physical health but also on their general wellbeing and ability to learn successfully.
Wishing you all well and for those who are celebrating Diwali at the end of the week, a wonderful time with your friends and families. All children are invited to wear colourful or cultural clothing as part of Friday’s celebrations.
Warmest regards,
Karen Thomas
Head of School
MESSAGE FROM ED WICKINS
Dear Parents,
I write to inform you that I will be leaving my post with ESF at the end of this academic year. There are three very good reasons why 2017 is the right time for me to move on.
- I very much hope the KLC is confirmed by the ESF Board on November 28th. If it is, ESF will need a school leader to drive it forward over the next few years and I think that should be someone with a new vision and fresh eyes. I will be 59 next year and could not give the role the longevity it deserves. By resigning now, the ESF Board can detach my name from their deliberations about the KLC.
- I have now been in charge of different schools for 21+ years and in KGV since 2004. I hope my reputation is of someone who is positive about the responsibilities of being a Principal and I would like to move on whilst still ‘at the top of my game’.
- We love our house in France and there is much to do there. We feel the time is now right to be in Europe so we can better indulge our family and develop new interests. We are looking forward to a long awaited ‘gap year’.
It has been an enormous privilege and pleasure to lead KGV and more recently the KLC. We have achieved some extraordinary successes together and I am most grateful for your support and encouragement in all the endeavours. It will be a wrench to leave but I know it is the correct decision.
Best wishes
Ed Wickins
PARENT TEACHER CONSULTATIONS
Our parent teacher consultations will be held on 1st and the 10th November between 3pm and 6.30pm. In addition Y1 and Y5 parents will be able to sign up for appointments with single subject teachers should they wish to do so – with the exception of Mrs. Siu’s Mandarin classes. As Mrs. Siu is only just back from maternity leave she will hold her consultations for Y1 and Y5 parents later in the year. Please note that there are a limited number of single subject teacher appointments.
Registration for all consultations will be on Gateway from 9am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. If you are unable to meet with your child’s class teacher on these days please let them know and they will try and reschedule before or after school at a mutually agreeable time.
CLASS REPS
This week I met with all the class reps who will be liaising with school and with the PTA to ensure that key messages are shared effectively and to help to bring people together. Class reps, just like the PTA committee, give their time in order to help to make the school even better for our children. They will contact you with important information, ask for help for school events and point in you in the right direction if you have any queries about school. In a school the size of KJS we have to work harder to bring people together and to nurture the feeling of a small community school. May I thank the following parents for volunteering their time:
STAFFING UPDATE
While very happy to welcome back Mrs. Siu following her maternity leave we are sad to be losing Miss Kaye from KJS at Christmas this year. Miss Kaye will be leaving Hong Kong after 2.5 years with us. We thank her for all her hard work both in class and to develop Literacy across the school. Replacing Ms. Kaye will be Mrs. Narrainen. Mrs. N. is already part of the KJS team, having taught our Y5 curriculum last year.
PTA QUIZ NIGHT
PTA Quiz Night is nearly upon us – just a couple of weeks before November 4th which I am sure is bound to be a fun filled evening for all the family. There are very few tickets left – contact the PTA now if you are hoping to attend to avoid disappointment!
DRESS CASUAL DAY
A huge thank you to all the families who participated in our Dress Casual Day before the holiday. We were able to raise HK$16,269 – an incredible amount! Thanks to HK Community Chest your money will make a difference to people less fortunate than ourselves across the territory.
OUTSTANDING PTA MEMBERSHIP FEES
I note that there are quite a few families who have not yet paid their PTA membership fees this year despite a second reminder from the ESF Finance Department. In order to avoid time spent contacting individuals could I please ask you to make sure your subscription is up to date by the end of this week. If you are unsure please contact the PTA office directly.
ANNIE JR REMINDER
There will be a full cast rehearsal – Saturday 5th November starting at 9.30 am. (If your child is in the choir they are not needed at this rehearsal). We wish to thank you all for your support and respectfully remind you that in agreeing to be in Annie Jr. you agreed to your child attending this all day rehearsal.
If your child is in Annie Jr. either main cast, extra dancers, technical crew and choir, you should have received a letter to order your tickets. We are limited to seating numbers and so please ensure that you get your order placed before any remaining tickets are offered to the rest of the school from 1st November. Once we reach our seating capacity we will not be able to offer any extra tickets. If your child did not bring their letter home please ask them to go to main office to collect one.
ESF LANGUAGE AND SPORTS PROGRAMMES
Please see information concerning ESF Language and Sports Classes here
T2 Winter Camp
T2 Eng
STUDENT ACTION and ACHIEVEMENT
In the holidays it was Mental Health Awareness Day. Indira and Shahan helped distribute free green ribbons on the streets of Central to helped raise awareness. They shared statistics to all passers by about the struggle that people with mental health suffer from. Approximately 18% of the population suffers from mental health issues but only 2% seek treatment due to feeling judged or inadequate. Thank you so much for giving your time for such an important cause.
Yusuke has received a gold medal in the Gold Coast Cup Soccer U10 Tournament! He played as a member of HK Lions who went unbeaten in all five games winning the tournament. Excellent play Yusuke!
Thank you to Leonard and Claire who joined the ESF volunteer team to clean-up Gemini Beach in the holidays. I am so pleased you were able to help out.
Gemma also spent a productive mid term break in Hong Kong!
Despite having no previous experience in football, Gemma decided to join a 4 day ESF football clinic to get a taste of it. To her surprise, she was the only girl who had enrolled. Being the open-minded person she is, she tried her best and learned some newfound respect for herself (“I can run under the hot sun and be all sweaty, but not quite as fast as the boys”); and was also respected as an equal among her peers, where she saved goals as goalie, ran up and down the field assisting goals as defender and striker. When asked what she learned from the camp, she said, “Anybody (girl or boy) can do anything!” Quite so Gemma – what a fabulous bit of learning for us all. Gemma also volunteered to be a part of the beach cleanup team at one of the most polluted beaches on the list. She took her little sister Ella along to help and educated her on the importance of keeping our earth clean and safe.
Jessica achieved a personal best over the holiday break when competing in the 2016 Spotlight Recreational Club Swimming Competition. Overall Jessica won 5 silver medals in the 9-10 years old category: 50m butterfly, 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle AND 100m individual medley. Goodness me Jessica – that makes me feel tired just typing it all out! You have shown excellent commitment to your sport.
Aidan also joined in with the beach clean up. He found there was so much rubbish, not just on the beach but also in the gaps between large rocks and on the hillsides. He found out that rubbish like bottles and plastic floats on water and the waves wash them to shore. The team ended up filling up bags and bags of rubbish. Aidan was surprised there was so much of it and has now learned not to throw things that then harm our planet.
Aidan, thank you so much for giving your time.
Grace (Y2) and Adrian (Y4) were selected to be one of 12 children to represent HK in the Kaiming Cup GO Tournament held in Zuhai at the end of September. There were 120 children from Zuhai, Macau and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong team were group champions and Grace got 4th place among the girls! When I received this information from Helen, Grace and Adrian’s Mum, I had to look up what a GO Tournament was – it looks like a really good game. I wonder if anyone would like to play in school whether we should set up a club?
Terry Fox Run Hong Kong (TFRHK) is now calling for registrations
The Terry Fox Run Hong Kong is an annual charity event inspired by a courageous, young Canadian activist and hero. This is a volunteer-organised event with 100% of funds raised donated to Hong Kong based cancer research projects.
TFRHK has proudly contributed HKD 700,000 to Chinese University of Hong Kong Oncology Research Department in support of a new biomarker-driven approach for the clinical trial of the most common type of liver cancer, Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
In addition to promoting cancer awareness and raising research funds, the event allows families and friends of cancer victims to show their support by taking part in the Marathon of Hope. In 2015, over 1,000 runners and walkers participated.
The Terry Fox Run is a 3km, 5km or 10km, non-competitive, family-oriented run or walk. With no enrolment fee for participation or minimum donation required, TFRHK welcomes everyone from running enthusiasts to families with kids to school groups and corporate teams – to join.
Event Details:
Date: 5 November 2016 (Saturday)
Time: 10am to 2pm
Venue: Renaissance College, Hong Kong, Ma On Shan
Please look us up on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HKTerryFoxRun/
and register at http://www.terryfox.org/InternationalRun/Hong_kong.html
Important Dates
Tuesday 25th October Parent Workshop – Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds (8:45am)
Friday 28th October Diwali Assembly 9am
Tuesday 1st November Parent Teacher conferences 3 – 6.30pm
including meetings with Mandarin, PE and Music for Y1 and Y5 parents
Tuesday 1st November Y6 Immunisations
Friday 4th November PTA Quiz Night for all the family
Thursday 10th November Parent Teacher conferences 3 – 6.30pm
including meetings with Mandarin, PE and Music for Y1 and Y5 parents
Thursday 17th November KJS Musical
Friday 18th November KJS Musical
21st – 23rd November Y4 Camp
22nd – 25th November Y5 Camp
28th Nov – 2nd Dec Y6 Camp
Friday 9th December: School Disco for all the family
Tuesday 13th December Term ends at midday
Parents will be informed of any date changes in the school newsletter.
