Newsletter- 25/08/23
Kowloon Junior School’s latest newsletter is available to read now.
Dates for Your Diary
2 October Public Holiday
23-30 October Mid Term Break
6-9 November School Photo
15 December Last Day of Term (school ends at 12:00)
8 January First Day of Term 2
Principal’s Message
Dear KJS families,
What a fabulous first full week of school it has been. I mentioned to the teaching staff, in our weekly briefing, how pleasing it’s been to see the students settle so quickly into their new classes with, I have to say, our new Year One pupils leading the way.
We held our first whole school assembly of the term last Friday. It was a perfect opportunity to get everyone together and introduce myself and the other new members of staff.
During the assembly, I spoke about our school community while asking the students what that means to them. We discussed the hugely important role in making our KJS community cohesive, connected, supportive and most importantly, happy.
Mr Fay delved a bit deeper into this by sharing the importance of how respect connects us and our school. Focussing on three aspects; respect for ourselves, respect for others and of course respect for our school environment.
On Wednesday this week, we also welcomed some members of the EDB along with our CEO Belinda Greer to the school. The focus of the visit was in brief, an opportunity to show off our amazing school site and facilities, as well as being able talk in detail about the amazing work that takes place to support all aspects of our student’s learning. It was a huge honour to lead the visit but more importantly pleasing to hear the visitor’s incredibly positive feedback about all aspects of KJS.
Finally, just a brief reminder. I have had a few concerns raised from teachers about students with smartwatches being distracted from their learning. We understand that parents may wish to send their children into school with smart watches but we ask that, after they arrive, they keep them in their school bags till the end of the day.
Have a lovely weekend.
Regards
Mr Gavin MacGregor
Principal
Contact Information Check
In case of emergencies, the school will send messages to all parents via ESF App and SMS. Parents/Guardians are reminded to update your contact information on the Gateway whenever it is necessary. Parents should have already received the login information but if you have any difficulties accessing the website, please contact our IT team directly at ictsupport@kjs.edu.hk.
How to retrieve Gateway password
School Buses and Private Cars
In order to ensure that drop-off and pick-up times are smooth and safe, and to avoid irate neighbours, please be reminded that the area outside the main school gate should be left free for the school buses to park. Please also do not block cars wanting to pass through or any entrances to our campus. There is plenty of room further down the road to drop off or pick up your children. Thank you for your cooperation!
School Bus Arrangements
In case of any important changes to the mode of transport on any particular day, please inform the school office either via the ESF App or email at office@kjs.edu.hk before 12:30pm. It is important to provide sufficient time to deliver messages to your child.
If your child usually takes the school bus but has fixed days as a walker, please discuss this with the class teacher so that appropriate measures are taken to ensure your child is sent to the walkers area on assigned days.
Residential Address Update
If your family has moved or changed residential address or contact details over the summer, please be reminded to update accordingly on Gateway. You are required to upload address proof when making the change, which includes (1) a stamped copy of tenancy or a current government demand for rates bill, and (2) a utility bill or bank statement.
Message from the Student Counsellor
Dear KJS Families,
Welcome back to Term 1 2023! I want to extend my warm greetings to all new students and their families joining our wonderful school. My name is Ian Ong and I am the student counsellor at Kowloon Junior School. I provide individual counselling, group work with students and support for their families. My role includes working collaboratively with teachers, key support staff and parents to ensure high quality of care is maintained throughout the process.
Many of you may have already met me or saw me at the gate greeting students every morning. I joined KJS about three years ago as an Educational Assistant with the Learning Enhancement Team. My role has gradually expanded to help and to guide students as well as supporting teachers in a broader capacity. I am a registered Social Worker in Hong Kong. I have extensive clinical social work/ counselling experience. Prior to returning to Hong Kong seven years ago, I worked at various settings as a clinician such as outpatient, inpatient and school based mental health services in the US. I was also a lecturer at New York University Silver School of Social Work’s postgraduate program.
As we forge ahead, I will be setting up a series of workshops/ talks open to all KJS communities. My goal is to increase awareness in promoting positive emotional wellbeing by providing information on various topics relevant to our children’s social and emotional development. In addition, to have informal social/ coffee hours with parents during after school as part of our school’s community outreach. I want to emphasise that our school based counselling services is not just an add on service but an integral part of the school’s mission to create a more cohesive and integrated approach where all stakeholders play an important role in caring for our young learners. I will be working closely with our Vice Principal and Safety Protection Officer, Mr. Ciarian Fay and LET supervisor, Ms. AJ Berube. In addition to the counselling work with students, I incorporate a multidisciplinary and team based approach to meet the needs of our students and families.
Please stay tuned to upcoming events! I look forward to meeting you soon.
Kindest regards,
Ian Ong
Student Counsellor
Kowloon Junior School
Message from the Nurse
Student Health and Dental Care Services
An enrolment form for Student Health and Dental Care Services was sent home yesterday. For interested parents, please complete and return the form to the school on or before the deadline – Monday 4 September 2023. Please understand that any applications received after the deadline cannot be processed and you will have to wait until the next academic year to enrol again.
For details, please refer to this letter from Nurse Carmen.
Medical Information and Emergency Contact
Parents please be reminded to log into Gateway and update your child(ren)’s medical and ‘Emergency Contact’ information.
If there is no update for your child(ren)’s medical information, please confirm that nothing has changed.
For the ‘Emergency Contact’, this should be the contact details of designated caregivers with a local contact other than yourselves, for example a helper or grandparents. We will always try and contact parents first, but when this is not possible, it is imperative we have another option.
ESF Board of Governors
You should have recently received information from ESF regarding the election of parent members to the ESF Board of Governors.
All parents of ESF primary, secondary and all-through schools are invited to stand for election. If you would like to contribute to the ESF community by joining the ESF Board, please do not miss this opportunity. The letter sent by ESF gives links to more information about the specific role as well as further information on how to nominate yourself.
For any enquiries, please contact Peggy Wan at peggy.wan@esfcentre.edu.hk.
News from the PTA
Hello KJS Community,
We are well underway with the school back to full swing!
Lunch Service Provider
The initial response for the lunch provider service has been very positive, with over 500 students registered so far. Parents who have signed up for the service by 24 August should have received their usernames and passwords from Chartwells by now.
If you had registered and not heard from them, you may call them directly on the NEW Hotline # 9551-6983
Although the deadline to register for the September start has passed, parents may still register for a slightly delayed start date by filling in this Google Form.
Going forwards, there will be an ongoing enrolment process on the same form, Chartwells will inform the families of starting details individually. All details can be found on the KJS school website as well.
Events at KJS
We have a whole series of events lined up for the KJS Community to make it an exciting term.
Please look out for them on the private FB page and on the weekly Newsletters, details will be shared soon.
Thank you to those parents who have signed up and offered to volunteer in various ways, it’s been a great response!
For those who are interested to get involved in their children’s school lives, you may send us a message on Whatsapp on 6211-4154 giving us your name, child’s name, class and details to identify yourselves.
We would love to hear from you, our community strength will grow in numbers!
As always, we would love to connect with you, here is how you may reach us:
PTA Office T: 3765-8709
PTA Email: pta@kjs.edu.hk
PTA Whatsapp: 6211-4154
Have a wonderful weekend!
Best wishes,
The KJS PTA Team
Extra Curricular Activities with KJS Registered Tutors
Interested parents please contact the organisers directly for sign-up.
Y4-6 After School Writing Club
Our After School Writing Club is back! This term, Year 4-6 students can join and have the opportunity to take an afterschool Friday class held weekly in the library from 3:00-4:30pm.
Students in ECP’s creative writing and book publishing workshop will study a particular genre of story. Each week in class, they will write their story which will be published in an anthology with other KJS students.
Students learn to plan, draft, revise, and edit like real authors do, and the final books (published before Christmas break) are sold to support local charities. Please look at the the flyer below for more information. Spaces are limited and are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Chess Club
Baking Class
ESF Explore- Term 1 2023-24
We’ve rebranded! ESF Sports and Language is now ESF Explore.
Our rebranding is not just about changing the name! We have come to understand our constraints, thus, we listened and improved. To celebrate, we are pleased to offer a 10% discount for Hockey, Lacrosse, Netball and Tag Rugby classes in Term 1! Our discount code is valid until August 25th: 2324REBRAND10
Check out our schedule here, and the rest of our term 1 programmes here.
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.
