Newsletter- 17/05/24
Kowloon Junior School's latest newsletter is available to read now.
Dates for Your Diary
24 May Y6 PYP Exhibition
31 May New Y1 Transition Day (home learning for current Y1 students)
10 June Tuen Ng Festival
13th June ESF Evening of Dance
28 June Last Day of Term 3 (school ends at 12:00)
Team Events
Please see below for the following team events that some of our students will be taking part in this term. As always those involved will be notified nearer the time.
23 May Kowloon Schools Aquathlon
1 June HKPSSA Aquathlon Festival
3 June HKPSSA Cricket Festival
Principal's Message
Dear KJS Families,
I hope everyone enjoyed the public holiday on Wednesday for Buddha's Birthday and made the most of the fabulous weather with your loved ones.
This week at KJS has been bustling with activities. A big thank you to the PTA for organizing the wonderful 'Caregivers Appreciation' event in the Hall yesterday morning. With over 100 helpers, relatives, and family members in attendance, it was a heartwarming gathering to recognize and appreciate the significant impact they all have on our school community.
A huge round of applause to our 'Battle of the Books' team for emerging victorious in the finals earlier this week! It was a closely contested competition hosted here at KJS. The last time we reached the finals was 5 years ago, and the last time we hosted and won was an impressive 12 years ago. The team were up against Maryknoll Convent School, Sha Tin Junior, and Quarry Bay School. A fantastic achievement by all our students. A huge thanks to Ms Lau and the other KJS staff members for supporting this event.
Yesterday, all Year 5 students showed extraordinary effort during their ‘Jump Rope for Heart' event. On a warm morning at the lower playground, they skipped continuously for 1 hour, showcasing tremendous dedication and teamwork. A fantastic effort by all the students who participated!
A gentle reminder to our Year 6 parents that the PYP Exhibition will be taking place next Friday afternoon. This event will be a fantastic celebration of all the hard work and dedication that our students have put in.
Have an enjoyable weekend.
Mr Gavin MacGregor
Principal
Student Council
KJS Student Council Applications are now Open!
Dear KJS Community,
The time has come again for us to start the process of recruiting for our 2024-2025 KJS Student Council!
If your child is entering Years 4, 5 or 6 for the 2024-2025 academic year and is interested in this student leadership opportunity, they can read the attached slideshow 1for more information about how to apply. The closing date for applications will be Friday, 7th June at 3pm.
Please contact me directly at leah.bailey@kjs.edu.hk if you have any questions about the process.
Kind regards,
Mrs. Bailey
Clothing Donation
Dear KJS Parents,
We would love to tell you all about a charity that has recently visited our school called ‘Redress'. This charity's mission is to collect unwanted clothing throughout Hong Kong and give that clothing to people in need.
Redress gave us some boxes to collect donations, and we would really love it if you could take a look at home for any unwanted clothing that you would like to donate to this wonderful cause.
The collection date starts on Monday,13th May to Friday, 24th May and we would be happy to receive your donations in the boxes outside of our School Office.
You can donate clothing in all shapes and sizes that is in new or good condition.
Please support us in taking small action that can lead to big change!
Warm regards,
Purvi, KJ & Mishka (Members of the KJS Student Council)
A recording of our Redress Assembly can be viewed here.
KJS Times
The KJS Times is Recruiting!
BREAKING NEWS! The KJS Times is recruiting for the 2024-2025 News Team!
If your child is entering Years 4, 5 or 6 for the 2024-2025 academic year and is interested in the opportunity to be part of our school newspaper, they can read the attached slideshow for more information.
The closing date for applications will be Friday, 7th June at 3pm.
Please contact us directly at kjstimes@kjs.hk if you have any questions.
Share Your Child's Hobbies with Us
Does your child have a unique hobby? Have they been exploring new activities during the weekends? Well, we're highlighting students at KJS who have been doing just that.
This is an opportunity for your child to be featured in the KJS Times Hobbies Padlet! Simply click on this link, upload a photo of your child participating in their chosen hobby and add a caption that gives some more details.
Kindly be aware that all readers of the KJS Times will have access to your child's post. Please assist your children in uploading their photos to the Padlet if they need help.
We look forward to inspiring our whole school community to try new experiences!
Library News
Dear KJS Families,
We hope you've been well and we appreciate your patience over the last month while we were working with our library monitors and training our Year 5 & 6 Battle of the Books Students for the competitions. Here are some happy updates for you.
Book Week Readathon
Thank you for KJS Communities' generous support of our initiative to raise money for underprivileged children to gain access to books. This year, our library monitors chose Bring Me A Book. We're happy to report that together, we raised over $22,000!
Students who participated in the Readathon and who returned booklets to the library will be issued a Certificate of Participation. These will be handed out in your child's library session.
Here is a sample:
Book Week Bookmark Contest
During Book Week, one of our most popular events was the Bookmark contest. We received over 200 entries from Years 1-6. It required some time to sort through bookmarks to select finalists which is now prominently displayed here.
Winning bookmarks will be printed and shared during library class. After voting from our library monitors, we are happy to announce the winners of the Bookmark contests:
 
Battle of the Books (BOB) - Winners!
After months of reading 20 books, hard work and practice, our KJS BOB Team has won the finals! Here is a recap of their road to success:
It has been a long journey for our KJS BOB students comprised of Year 5 & 6 students. Many started reading the 20 BOB books since last summer. In Term 1, all Year 5 & 6 students were encouraged to be part of our BOB Club. BOB books were available for them to read in the library. Interested students were encouraged to apply at the end of Term 1.
120 students applied and after interviews, 30 students from Years 5 & 6 were selected to join our weekly BOB club.
We did not lose momentum after the semi-final win and continued our journey practicing daily in the hall.
On May 14th, KJS hosted its first final in 12 years. This time, our KJS BOB students battled fiercely against students from Maryknoll, SJS and QBS. After 12 rounds, KJS students came out victorious! It's our first win in 12 years.
Look at our page to see some snapshots of the event and how your child can participate next year if they are in Year 5 or 6. Click here.
Kind regards,
KJS Library Team
Message from School Nurse
As some of you may notice that there are several severe paediatric influenza and respiratory tract infections announced by the Centre for Health Protection recently, we need your help to maintain our school a safe and healthy environment! We would like to ask parents to check your child's body temperature and any symptoms before coming to school.
Please keep children home from school for the following symptoms and remain out until the symptoms have stopped for 48 hours (without the use of medicine):
■ Temperature of 37.5 °C or higher
■ Diarrhoea or Vomiting
■ Suspicious undiagnosed rash and/or itch
■ Frequent, congested cough
■ Yellow or green drainage from nose and/or eyes
It may indicate your child may be carrying something contagious.
For more information, please refer to the CHP website: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/media/116/index.html.
We have also noticed an uptick in mosquitoes after the recent heavy rainstorms. Please kindly note that the school has been taking maximum precaution and adopting additional preventive measures to ensure the health and safety of our students:
- Increased inspection on site to get rid of stagnant water to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes including saucers underneath potted plants, roof top etc;
- Changing water in vases and tanks regularly;
- Keeping drains from clogging to prevent accumulation of water;
- Pest control being done every week (*increased dosage is being applied especially in mosquito-prone areas with sand granular insecticide into gully traps and roof gutters)
Students are advised to protect themselves from mosquito bites by taking the following measures –
- Applying effective mosquito repellent containing DEET to exposed body parts and clothing;
- Students may also consider wearing long sleeved uniform
We always encourage our students to embrace nature, thus the risk of getting mosquito bites cannot be entirely eliminated given the location of our school and the green campus environment we are in. Rest assured that we are doing the best we can to keep the school premises as mosquito free as possible.
Thank you for helping us to build a healthier and safer environment in our school.
ESF Art Exhibition
Well done to all the students who submitted their artwork for the ESF Art Exhibition. Shortlisted students would have received an email. For other participants, please come to the G/F office to collect your artwork.
News from the PTA
Hello KJS Community!
Yesterday we hosted the Caregivers Appreciation day and it was a huge success. Everyone had a good time, the food was varied from Chinese dim sums to sausages, eggs, pastries, cookies, fruit and cheese. And of course, beverages. The guests enjoyed the spread and the fun which included games, table prizes, a Zumba dance workout, a Photo Booth with dress up accessories and take home gifts.
The guests also enjoyed a very interesting and impactful talk from Ms Gillian Hadley, the head of sustainability here at KJS.
The main page of her slideshow speaks for itself and we urge families to start practising the simple yet effective steps that she has outlined here:
Also shared with the Caregivers yesterday was the digital cookbook that has been created by the students of Ms Rosie Tobin's class, 4RT.
You may scan the QR code below to view this wonderful collection of eco and child friendly nutritious recipes.
Jump for Heart Skipathon - Thursday 16 May 2024
The KJS PTA is also proud to have sponsored the coaches from the Rope Skipping Association China Ltd, who came to the school ahead of the “Jump for Heart” event that the Year 5 students undertook yesterday. The coaches gave the students valuable information and guidance on how to jump rope and inspired them ahead of the event.
In challenging hot weather, all the Year 5 students skipped for a continuous hour to raise money for the Hong Kong College of Cardiology.
The Hong Kong College of Cardiology is a charitable organisation founded in 1992 and works towards keeping the highest standard of cardiovascular practice and working towards the improvement of heart health amongst the people of Hong Kong.
A big thank you to Gillian Hadley and Ian Riddell for raising the awareness of heart health in our student body.
Lonnie Bedwell Visits KJS 29 May 2024
KJS PTA is very proud to sponsor Lonnie Bedwell's talk at KJS on 29 May to some of our students.
Lonnie Bedwell is the first totally blind climber to summit Mt Everest. He is also a motivational speaker, author, extreme adventure athlete and ex US navy veteran.
Lonnie made a connection with a KJS parent last year at the Mt Everest base camp and addressed some of our students via Zoom in June 2023. So inspiring was he that we have decided to bring him to Hong Kong from America to talk to schools and corporations during his stay here. Lonnie will be talking to our Y3-6 students on Wednesday 29 May and it would be so good for the children to have a little knowledge about him before the talk. If you get a chance, please sit and read all about him on his website, Lonnie Bedwell .
During his visit to Hong Kong, Lonnie will also be sharing his message to students of other ESF schools and will be the guest of honour at a fundraising Gala Dinner on June 1st. Having him speak at KJS is a wonderful opportunity for our community.
Drake the Dragon Day - Friday 1 June 2024
Drake the Dragon is marching closer to KJS!
Drake will be landing into school on June 7, and we will celebrate his arrival all day.
Students will be encouraged to come to school in casual clothes in Drake colours (red, yellow or gold). The Student Council, who have written original content stories, will be visiting various classes and giving author readings.
They will also be doing readings in the library. And there will be a few more surprises…
Drake will be available for purchase through an online order and payment form. We will be sharing the form by the end of May for those families who wish to buy them. Pick up will be in person from the PTA Office every weekday morning from 8:30am - 9:30am upon presentation of a completed order confirmation.
As always, we welcome parental involvement in our projects, feel free to contact us:
PTA Office T: 3765-8709
PTA Email: pta@kjs.edu.hk
PTA Whatsapp: 6211-4154
Have a good weekend ahead and enjoy the beautiful sunshine!
The KJS PTA Team.
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.
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