Newsletter- 06/09/24
Kowloon Junior School’s latest newsletter is available to read now.
Dates for Your Diary
11-12 September You Tell Us Parent/Teacher Meetings
18 September Public Holiday
1 October Public Holiday
7-11 October Mid Term Break
29 November CPD Day
13 December Last Day of Term (school ends at 12:00)
6 January First Day of Term 2
Principal’s Message
Dear KJS Families,
We hope this newsletter finds you well and in good spirits despite the weather!
First and foremost, we would like to thank the entire KJS community for their flexibility regarding the school closure today due to inclement weather. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
It was positive to see that our Year 6 students were still able to attend their educational visit to the Heritage Museum yesterday. These experiences are invaluable for our learners.
We were excited that a large number of our Extracurricular Activities (ECAs) began this week. This year, we have adopted a slightly different approach: instead of a first-come, first-served sign-up, we will now collate names and use a randomizer to select students. We hope this ensures a more fair process.
Our sports ECAs operate a bit differently, as we aim to offer a place to every child. This may mean being moved to another ECA later in the term. We experienced some technical issues with this new approach, and we sincerely thank you for your patience. We are confident that when the next sign-up window opens later this term, we will not encounter the same issues.
On Monday, we welcomed the education leadership team from ESF, where we had the opportunity to share our school strategy and the areas we are currently working on. One key aspect of this is our plan to develop a new shared vision for relationships, behavior, and well-being.
We aim to involve all stakeholders in this process, so please look out for further information regarding this in the coming weeks.
As the weather improves, I would like to wish you all a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Mr Gavin MacGregor
Principal
Parent Volunteers 2024-2025
Our annual recruitment of parent volunteers is underway. Parents who are interested in volunteering in classroom activities, field trips, library or other school events, please log in to the Gateway, sign the eNotice called “KJS Parent Volunteer 2024-2025” and submit your reply slip to us on or before Monday 16 September 2024. The personal data collected through this eNotice will be shared with our teachers / staff members who may need your help.
76th Speech Festival (2024)
(Enrolment Deadline: 12 September at 11pm)
Online entry forms for the 76th Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival (2024) are available. Parents who wish their children to participate in the Speech Festival, they must submit their application forms online on the HKSMSA website AND pay the enrolment fee via ESF app on/before Thursday, 12th September at 11pm.
For details, please refer to the eNotice called “76th Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival (2024)” on Gateway.
Please be reminded that the enrolment would only be successful if parents complete both actions before deadline (Thursday, 12th September at 23:00). Late applications will not be processed.
You Tell Us Parent/Teacher Meetings
To ensure these meetings run as smoothly as possible, please take time to read through all of the details in this document.
Overall logistics:
- Date – Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th September (*1EM see note below)
- Time – 15:00 – 18:00
- Venue – ZOOM (** see note below)
- Duration – 10 minutes per meeting
- The Chinese team will also be meeting Year 2 on these dates
- Sign up via gateway (*** see notes below)
* 1EM (Elizabeth Montoya) will be doing her meetings on Tuesday the 10th and Wednesday the 11th. Sign-up dates and times remain the same.
** You will receive a Zoom link from your child’s classroom teacher. Please ensure you join the Zoom meeting with your child’s name, not your name.
*** This information will help you sign up via Gateway
- Sibling priority and Year 2 (Classroom and Chinese) will be available from 27 August at 4 pm
- Y1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 – will be available from 28 August at 4 pm
Our You Tell Us Meetings are designed to provide parents with an opportunity early in the academic year to share relevant information with the teacher about their child. Academic progress will be discussed later this term at the three-way learning conference and will not be a feature of this meeting.
What will this meeting be about?
Student well-being is crucial for engagement, motivation, and effective learning. Research consistently shows that a child’s diet, exercise, sleep, and technology habits significantly impact their academic success and overall health.
This year, we are seeking information about your child’s current habits in these areas at home. Understanding these routines helps us identify and address behaviors in school that may be linked to challenges in these aspects of their life.
Please take time to consider the following questions prior to the meeting:
- How do you feel your child is settling into the new school year?
- Describe your child’s current sleep routine, including how much sleep they get each night.
- Tell us about your child’s diet
- Tell us roughly, how much daily exercise does your child get and what activities they like to do outside of school
- Describe your child’s habits and your expectations linked with technology use.
- What are their strengths and interests in and out of school?
- Is there any other information you would like us to know about your child that will help him/her experience the greatest success this academic year?
If you have any questions please get in touch with one of the SLT directly.
News from the PTA
Hello KJS Community,
We hope everyone is safe and dry after Typhoon Yagi and made the most of the home day.
Luckily, technology enables us to still be productive and learn and work from home, so here is the news for this week from the PTA.
Class Representatives
We are finalising the list and those who have been selected will be invited to a Coffee Morning at school on Friday 13 September at 8:45 am to meet with some of the PTA Committee Members and each other.
We will be sharing more information and guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of being a Class Rep. as well as sharing a slideshow with details. Please look out for communication around that day if you had applied to be a Class Rep.
We had a very positive response in some classes with several volunteers for one class, so, in consultation with the class teachers, we have selected one representative per class.
Don’t worry if you were not chosen for this role, there are many more opportunities to get involved in the school.
Upcoming PTA Events
Dates are being confirmed and details are being finalised for this term’s upcoming events, and we have lots to celebrate.
We will be sharing them with you once we have more information confirmed.
Lance G. King – ATL (Approaches to Learning) Workshop
For those parents who had elected to join this workshop, we are sure you would have taken away a lot of very useful information and tips.
ESF Centre has kindly shared the recorded session for those families who were unable to join last week.
Please see the attached message from ESFC below:
Dear ESF Parents and Families,
Thank you so much for your response to Lance King’s recent visit. It was wonderful to see such engagement and Lance was thrilled to meet you all, both in-person and online!
Please find follow up materials below.
Seminar Resources
- A summary of the topics and recommendations covered in the talk
- The recording of the talk
- Lance’s handout for parents
Feedback
We would like to invite you to spend a few minutes sharing your feedback on this event here:
Discounted book purchase
Finally, as Lance mentioned, you are now able to purchase his books at a discounted rate via the Singapore International School HK Bookstore. Parents can contact Elly Lai to buy the books through email or WhatsApp.
Email address: saphk@biznetvigator.com
WhatsApp: +852 5315 1311
Thank you again for your engagement and we look forward to hearing your feedback!
As always, we welcome parental involvement at KJS, feel free to reach out to Rekha Mahbuabni, our PTA Administrator. We wish you all a good weekend!
Best wishes,
The KJS PTA Team
PTA Office T: 3765-8709
PTA Email: pta@kjs.edu.hk
PTA Whatsapp: 6211-4154
Website: www.ptakjs.com
Extra Curricular Activities with KJS Registered Tutors
Interested parents please contact the organisers directly for sign-up.
Drama Club
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.
