|
Kowloon Junior School - ESF https://www.kjs.edu.hk/newsletter-16-01-19/ Export date: Tue Apr 16 17:34:52 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Newsletter- 16/01/19 Kowloon Junior School's latest newsletter is available to read now.  Dear Parents, My reflections on the first week have been affirmed after our regular staff meetings: 32 staff opting into optional “Tech Tuesday” professional learning in the first week, our teacher professional learning on Monday this week and then the PTA meeting last night. All indicators point to staff and community passionate about ensuring “Success for Every Child” at KJS! Such passion, enthusiasm and energy will make such a difference to our children. At the PTA last night, I informed the committee of the steps we are taking to ensure the wellbeing of your children. These include close monitoring of air pollution indicators together with an ongoing assessment of the flu virus, at KJS and across ESF, to ensure our children are safe. We are receiving regular updates from ESF and the EDB regarding the flu virus. Both have advised that given the exceptional circumstances face masks are permissible for children who have a cough but no fever. That is, they are well enough to be at school but a mask will reduce the risk of germ spreading. This does not mean children should wear a mask to prevent them from catching germs. Please assist us with this process by only sending your child with a mask if they meet the above criteria. Together, we can make it safely through the flu season in Hong Kong. On Friday before Chinese New Year (1 Feb), we will be sending home a Mid Year Report for all children to provide you with an update regarding your child's progress. This brief report is part of the comprehensive reporting process at KJS. At the PTA meeting, concern was expressed that the annual InCAS and ISA achievement data was not easily accessible for families. These assessments are organised by ESF and provide indications of student achievement utilising standardised tests. We will make sure the InCAS data is provided this week and ISA data within the next week. Thank you for the parents who highlighted this problem. We will also provide explanations on how to read the data and, if needed, we will facilitate parent information sessions. My four days in Bangkok at the Search Associates recruitment fair affirmed the importance of accessing the highest quality candidates when recruiting for KJS and ESF. I was assured the staff we have are very high quality and also delighted to see the significant interest in Hong Kong and especially ESF as a career destination for international educators. This week will conclude with the Agents of Change Year 6 Conference hosted at KJS. This is a wonderful opportunity for ESF Year 6 students (over 900 will join us on Friday) to connect face to face with Hong Kong NGO's responding to the needs of the world in 2019. It will be an exciting day as our students start to contemplate their response to the UN Global Goals and their PYP Exhibition. We have certainly started 2019 in an exciting way as we shoot the AAROW's of Success at KJS! Enjoy the week. Kind regards 亲切的问候, सधन्यवाद Neill O'Reilly Principal Message from the Learning Enhancement TeamDear Parents and Caregivers Please click here for a flyer from SNN:HK (Special Needs Network: Hong Kong) which is an organisation that supports parents of children with special needs. They are holding an event tomorrow to help parents understand the entitlements and services available in the public system for children with special needs, disabilities and complex medical needs. If you have a child with special needs you may find this event very helpful. Warm regards, Carolyn Aukafolau Learning Enhancement Team Leader PTA UpdateClass Representatives Thank you to all the parent representatives who came to our PTA meeting yesterday. We are a big school and the more parents we have at meetings, the better it is for all of us. At our meetings, we get updates from our Principal and SLT team on the school, we discuss PTA events and activities, and we open the floor to hear your voice about any concerns and suggestions you might have. If your class doesn't have a representative, I encourage you to find one. It would be very helpful to have your class represented at meetings. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 19 February 2019 at 5pm in the School Library. School Disco It's next Friday, 25 January at 5pm in the School Hall. Don't forget to get your tickets from the PTA shop. Tickets are $70 each.  Points to note for the disco:
We look forward to seeing you at the event. In case you missed it, here is the order form for tickets. Disco-Night-order-form-2019-1.pdf School Fair  It's fast approaching and we need your help. We cannot host our biggest event of the year without you. Please get involved. It's on Saturday, 16 March 2019. We need Parent donations in cash or kind
Items for our White Elephant Stall and our books' corner
Volunteers
Please volunteer if you can spare 60 minutes on the day. Help spread the word and get involved. We can thrive only if we all work together. Our events are a great way to get to know our school community and they are just as fun when you are helping too. Raffle Tickets In accordance with our raffle license agreement with the HK Government, raffle tickets will be sent home with your child from 28 January 2019. Please look out for these and read the accompanying letter for more details. PTA Accessories School Library Book Bag It is a requirement for all children to purchase the new and more sturdy Library Book Bag, designed in collaboration with Macy Lau, our Librarian and the children, from the PTA shop for $60 before the end of Term Two. Library-Bag-order-form.pdf Alternatively, you can just pop into the PTA shop and purchase one. Sun Hat  After much discussion and mock-up trials and samples, we have created a new sun hat for the children with their house colours. These sun hats will be available for purchase from the PTA shop from next week, 21 January 2019 onwards. Children will be required to purchase the new sun hat which will offer more protection from the sun and will stay on while the they are playing outdoors. Lai See Packets KJS Lai See packets are now available in the PTA shop for $25 per pack. Please do stop by and pick up some.  Thank you. Please approach the PTA office if you can help. Student Success |
