Newsletter- 06/12/24
Kowloon Junior School’s latest newsletter is available to read now.
Dates for Your Diary
10 December Y1 & Y2 Athletics Day (9:30am- 12:30pm*)
11 December Y3 & Y4 Athletics Day (Y3 9:30-11am, Y4 12-2pm*)
12 December Y5 & Y6 Athletics Day (Y5 9:30-11am, Y6 12-2pm*)
13 December Last Day of Term (school ends at 12:00)
6 January First Day of Term 2
*times are approximate
Principal’s Message
Dear KJS families,
We hope this newsletter finds you and your families well.
Firstly, I would like to extend my thanks to our incredible PTA and all the dedicated volunteers who made last Friday’s Winter Fair an overwhelming success. Your efforts and enthusiasm brought our school community together for an evening of fun, laughter, and holiday cheer.
This week, our Year 6 students have been enjoying an incredible time at camp! The weather, delicious food, and the camp environment have all contributed to a memorable experience. We look forward to hearing more from them when they arrive back later today.
A big congratulations to our Year 5 and Girls’ football teams, who participated in the Hong Kong football tournament on Wednesday in TKO. They played exceptionally well and represented our school with great pride and sportsmanship.
As we near the end of the term, it is always important to reflect on the fantastic experiences and learning opportunities our students have had both in and outside of the classroom. I’m excited as we look ahead to many more and see what 2025 brings!
Have a lovely weekend.
Mr Gavin MacGregor
Principal
ECA Next Week (Last Week before Term Break)
Please note that there will be no after-school activities next week, except the following:
– Theatre Club
– Table Top Role-Playing Club
– Chinese Dance Club
– Faust
– ESF Explore classes
The lessons of the 5 clubs listed above will go ahead next week.
ESF Christmas Card Winner
We had some amazing pieces of artwork put forward by our KJS students for the ESF christmas card competition and after much deliberation a winner has been announced.
The joy of the festive season was the inspiration for ESF Sha Tin Junior School student Colette Lee, who created the wonderful design of this year’s ESF Christmas card.
Her painting was selected by ESF Chief Executive Officer Belinda Greer as part of our annual ESF-wide art challenge and shows a festively decorated home, which Colette says is “a warm and welcoming place, just like our school.”
“Her artwork beautifully embodies the spirit of Christmas and reflects the sense of belonging which is at the heart of our ESF community,” says Belinda. “Congratulations to Colette and to all our talented students who participated in this year’s art challenge.”
We hope you’ll enjoy spreading some festive cheer with this heart-warming e-card, which can be downloaded from our ESF website.
ESF Lunar New Year Card
(Submission Deadline: 9 January at 8am to Office Email)
Here is another chance. ESF is also searching for a piece of student artwork to appear on this year’s ESF Lunar New Year card. All students are welcome to submit one piece of artwork for the chance to be featured on the card.
FORMAT & THEME:
- The theme of the art can reflect each student’s unique interpretation of the holiday season.
- Please submit JPG or PNG– not HEIC. NO hardcopy is accepted.
- Please name the title of your file with your child’s full name and class
- Please send the file to the KJS office via email at office@kjs.edu.hk before 8am on 9 January 2024 (Thursday). No late submission and no hardcopy will be accepted.
- The ESF logo and a festive greeting message will be embedded, so artwork without words is preferred
- The art piece must be the student’s original work without infringing any intellectual property rights.
- Parent permission and consent should be granted for the child’s name, photo, and artwork to be posted on social media.
Library News
We are thrilled to share that our initiative to make Posties available to students in Years 3-6 across classrooms, the Office, LET, and the Library has achieved its first success! Elvis Xie from 5JO has had his article published in Posties in the SCMP. This remarkable accomplishment is featured in Issue 624 of the October 14th, 2024 edition, marking the first publication by a KJS student!
To celebrate this achievement, we interviewed Elvis to gain insight into how he discovered this opportunity and his feelings about his article being published.
“I was really surprised to hear that I won! I learned about the opportunity through my parents. They heard about it from my classmate Elle’s mom, who is the PTA Parent Chat representative and Chairperson. She shared the link with parents in the chat, and I decided to give it a try.
It took me three weeks to write the article, and I submitted it through the Google Form link. I was really surprised to find out that it got published! It feels amazing to have something in the newspaper that everyone can see, and I feel really proud of myself. I encourage others to try it too! It doesn’t have to be something complex; it can be about something they’re familiar with.
I’m planning to try again. Next time, I hope to become a better writer by using more exciting words to make my writing more engaging.”
Thank you, Elvis, for making us proud! We encourage everyone to submit their writing to Posties using the Google Form Link. There is no age limit, and topics vary from week to week (just check the form). This week, they are seeking book, film, or game recommendations between 150-300 words.
Here is a look at Elvis’ article (PDF link here):
A note from Posties: Please allow students to submit their original writing with minimal edits from an adult. We hold our newspaper to high standards for accuracy and must verify that we are correctly representing the voices of our young writers. We often make our own edits for grammar and length, but please leave that to our editorial team.
We look forward to seeing more publications from our students.
KJS Library Team
Collection of Lost Book Replacement Fees
Throughout the year, we issue invoices to parents for school-based fees, e.g. camp fees, dental care service fees, etc, via the ESF Payment System. For students who have lost library books or home reading books, their parents will receive invoices for the replacement fees after receiving notifications from our Library Team. The School Council has endorsed the arrangement below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school at finance@kjs.edu.hk.
Athletics Day
Next week is Athletics week! We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for what is sure to be a great day and a great festive way to end the school term. The children have been training and preparing hard in their PE lessons and are excited to showcase their skills.
Please see below the key information you’ll need to know for the day;
The Athletics Days will be held on the Perth Street Sports Ground and can be accessed via Shek Ku Street. (see map below)
- Parents should meet directly at the venue.
- Children should come to school wearing their P.E. kit and school hat.
*while we realise it is cooler earlier in the mornings it heats up quickly. Please ensure your child is dressed in PE kit suitable for hot weather.
- Water bottles (named) and an easy to eat snack should be brought as usual.
- Arrangements for an early lunch have been made for Y4 and Y6 students.
We look forward to seeing you there.
News from the PTA
Lonnie Bedwell and KJS Drake the Dragon have reached Antarctica!!
Friend of KJS Lonnie Bedwell summits peak of Antarctica
Lonnie Bedwell, who presented to KJS in May 2024, successfully reached the highest point of Antarctica, the summit of Mount Vinson. The KJS community was an honored participant in this exciting accomplishment. As the photo below shows how high our very own Drake the Dragon has reached!
KJS students can continue to follow Drake’s adventure next to the South Pole:
KJS students will be able to follow along!
– A real-time satellite GPS will relay Lonnie’s location to his website: https://www.sightlesssummits.com/ just click on the top banner to “Follow the Antarctica Expedition”.
– A screen at the main office window will also display his location website, along with some Antarctica info.
City’super and LOG-ON discounts
The KJS PTA is extremely excited to share with you, in collaboration with City’super and LOG-ON, 4 days of special discounts to help with your Christmas shopping needs!!
This offer is exclusive to the families and staff of KJS and is available from Monday 9 December to Thursday 12 December at their Harbour City and Airside stores. Online shopping will not be included in this offer.
KJS PTA is proud and delighted to arrange this for our school community, so hurry and get all your holiday food, drinks and gifts with the discounts.
Simply show this original App message at check out OR your KJS staff card to access the discounts. It is important to note that check out must be done at counters manned by check out staff as self checkout will not be applicable to the discounts. Further terms and conditions apply, please see the details on the poster.
Enjoy your shopping!
KJS PTA 2024 Winter Festival
The event was a huge success with over 1200 guests enjoying themselves, and made possible by the dedicated parent and staff volunteers. Of course, the dedicated Committee members who gave so much of their time in planning must be thanked.
There was a great atmosphere, music, delicious food and snow! What a wonderful way to start the festive season!
There are a small number of items that were left behind at the event, including a child’s black colour top, Octopus card and wrist watch. If they belong to you, please contact the PTA Office for more information to collect them.
Donation to SENsational Foundation
A total of $4,137.20 was donated to SENsational Foundation from funds collected at KJS on Wacky Wednesday. Past and present members of the PTA Committee met at the PTA Office on Tuesday 4 December to hand over the cheque to the Founder and CEO of the Foundation, Mrs Faride Shroff, along with some of her team, who work towards supporting young adults with special employment needs.
FeedHK
FeedHK are collecting non-perishable vegetarian items which go to support underprivileged families in need of nourishment. Collection boxes have been set up outside the PTA Office and will remain there till 12 December..
Some examples of items to donate:
- Vegetarian(no meat/no seafood)
- Pasta, noodles, canned goods (beans, soups, corn, broth, vegetables, fruit)
- Packaged cookies, biscuits, rice, or oil
- For safety reasons, please DO NOT send in any items in glass jars or bottles, they are dangerous.
We appreciate all and any help
Enjoy the weekend and beautiful weather everyone, only one more week till the holidays!
Best wishes,
The KJS PTA Team.
Tel: 3765-8709 | Email: pta@kjs.edu.hk | Whatsapp: 6211-4154 | Website: www.kjspta.com
Extra Curricular Activities with KJS Registered Tutors
Interested parents please contact the organizer directly for sign-up.
Baking Class
Student Success
Thank you for sharing your child’s achievements with us over the past year.
While individual achievements are undoubtedly significant and provide a source of pride for both the student and their family, sharing every student’s accomplishments on our social media channels is no longer feasible. Our intention is to create an inclusive environment where all students, regardless of their individual accomplishments, feel valued and celebrated.
That being said, we encourage you to share your child’s achievements with their teacher and peers, as well as within your personal social media networks. This way, your child’s accomplishments can be recognized and celebrated by those who know them best.
We appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to navigate the post-pandemic educational landscape. Our school community’s strength lies in our collective efforts to celebrate the diverse talents, achievements, and experiences of all our students.
Disclaimer
- Kowloon Junior School, English Schools Foundation and its affiliates shall take no responsibility for any activities, events, and services that are organised by other organisations or individuals and are mentioned in our newsletters.
- Our newsletters may contain direct marketing materials that are related to students’ daily school activities and the KJS community. Parents who choose not to receive such materials should use their own discretion.
- In accordance with our Personal Data Handling Policy, Kowloon Junior School and English Schools Foundation may place your child’s photos, name, school work, activities and accomplishments in our newsletters or other publications (including but not limited to our websites and social media sites). If you would like to opt out, please email the school office at office@kjs.edu.hk.
