Glenealy School Newsletter
15th August 2018
Message from Brenda
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students
There were a lot of excited faces yesterday as we welcomed everyone back to school. The staff have been busily preparing and we were excited to have the children back too! A big warm welcome to our new families and staff who have joined the school. We look forward to getting to know you all and seeing you integrate into the Glenealy School family.
Congratulations to Lucy Hui, our year 4 teacher, who was married over the summer. Lucy will now be referred to as Lucy Walters (4W)
Save the Date - Meet you child’s teacher (note different format for this year)
There will be an opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher on the evening of Thursday 23rd August. This is an adults only evening. The format will be slightly different this year and will involve two parts and different time frames. If you have a number of children, you will have to decide which presentations you will attend. Please see the chart below.
Welcome to new Teaching Staff
This year we welcome
Andy Pattison - Full time PE Teacher
Dani Jakeway - Part time Individual Needs Teacher (3 days per week)
Gillian Mee - (internal supply teacher - 2 days per week)
Heather Darling - (Technology Coach - 1 day per week)
Oleander Wong - (Mandarin Support Teacher - 1 day per week)
Welcome to new Support Staff
Sarah Grace and Sasha Haldane - Education Assistant (EA) job share in 2M
Angela Walker - EA job share with Aileen Tam in 4W (Angela will begin in 2 weeks time)
Khadija Ho - EA in 4L
Shivani Datwani - EA working with the Individual Needs team
To find out what’s happening - Please read the School Newsletter!
You can do this by downloading the Glenealy School App to make it easier to retrieve each week!
A school Newsletter like this is emailed to you every Wednesday. It will have all the information you need and will also give you the ‘heads-up’ for any dates coming up that are important for you to add to your diary. We regularly receive calls or hear of Whatsapp groups questioning dates times, events etc that have all been communicated in the Newsletter. I urge you to make a point of reading this Newsletter each week to ensure you are fully up to date with everything that is happening in the school. There is a lot going on! Thanks
Keep up to date by using our Glenealy School App. This is a great way to have all the key information like newsletters, dates, calendars and contacts at your fingertips. It’s a simple and easy app to use. To download please find information here:
Glenealy School App on Android Play Store - Then select Glenealy School from the search box
Glenealy School App on Apple Store
Open Door Policy
All staff at Glenealy pride ourselves on our open and transparent communication. If you have a concern, worry or a question please contact your child’s teacher and they will be happy to help you. The senior management team is always in the playground before and after school too. Email contacts are available in the school diary which your child may have received already and they can also be found on the Glenealy School App.
Do you have the Glenealy School telephone number in your contacts?
We recommend that all parents and helpers add the school number to their contacts list so if we do call, it will show up as a recognised number.
Kindest regards
Brenda
As apps, YouTube 'stars' and online games come into children's lives and become the latest craze, it can be difficult to know which are appropriate and safe for them to use. Common Sense Media https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ is an independent non-profit organisation which reviews games, apps and other media to help parents make informed decisions for their family.
Dates for your Diary
Thursday 23rd August
Meet the Teachers evening - adults only 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Tuesday 28th August
PTA Welcome Coffee Morning for parents 8:30 am
Thursday 6th September
PTA Family Bingo Night 5:00 pm -7:00 pm
Thursday 13th September
Island School Re-Development Update for parents 6:00 pm -7:15 pm (More details to follow)
Monday 24th September
CPD Day - No students in school
Tuesday 25th September
Public Holiday- The day following Mid Autumn Festival
Thursday 27th September
PTA AGM (More details to follow)
Monday 1st October
Public Holiday- National Day
Tuesday 2nd October
Happy Valley Sports Programme (Y4 - Y6) Starts this week
Tuesday 9th October (pm) and Thursday 11th October (pm)
Three Way Student Conferences
Monday 15th October
Mid Term holiday
Monday 22nd October
School resumes
PTA News
Welcome Coffee Morning
The PTA are hosting a Welcome Back to School Coffee Morning on Tuesday morning, 28th August. New and returning parents are warmly encouraged to join us in the playground to celebrate the new school year. Join us for tea, coffee and a chat straight after drop off at 8:30 am
Family Bingo Night
Family Bingo night is coming! The PTA will host a Family Bingo Night in The Centre on Thursday, 6th September from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Ticket information will be in next week’s Newsletter – watch this space for details.
Looking to get involved? Opportunities in the new school year
One of the things that makes Glenealy such a special school is its sense of community. There are many ways in which you can contribute. Why not become a Class Parent next term, join the PTA or help at one of the many events and fundraisers held over the course of the year? We welcome all new ideas and thoughts. Please contact Becky at pta@glenealy.net if you are interested in hearing more.
Join the PTA
Bring your skills, ideas and enthusiasm to the heart of our school community. This highly rewarding role offers the opportunity for you to provide your input and help organise some fantastic events.
Become a Class Representative/Parent
This is a great opportunity to be the central contact point between the PTA and your child’s class. Class Parents volunteer for their role and have a fun job to do. In addition to communicating important information between the PTA and the class, Class Parents get to organize meet-ups for the parents/caregivers of all students in their class. You will work as a team of 2 per class.
PTA Subscriptions
Thank you to all families who have paid their PTA Subscriptions for the 2018-19 school year. If you have not yet done so, please forward your payment as soon as possible. Your family will have received an invoice from ESF Centre for PTA Subscriptions. Payments can be left in the PTA tray in the office or posted directly to ESF Centre (details on the invoice). The PTA thanks you for your support.
School Uniform
The school uniform ordering web site (www.schooluniform.hk) is taking orders for uniform for the new school year. Please note that there is a new sizing scale – check the web site for measurements. If you wish to arrange a fitting session of uniform in the new sizing, please contact Becky via email to pta@glenealy.net.
Old School Uniform
Donations of old uniform for re-use and recycling can be dropped off at the PTA Uniform Shop on Friday 17th August at 8.15 am.
If you have any questions or need more information about any aspect of school uniform please email Becky at pta@glenealy.net.
Instrumental Lessons
Glenealy is lucky to have a number of instrumental teachers who visit the school on a weekly basis. Individual lessons cost between $200 and $350 per half an hour. Lessons are offered in Piano, Violin, Guitar, Drums, Flute and Ukulele. (Year 1 and 2 students can enrol in Violin and Piano only).
If you are interested in enrolling your child in private instrumental lessons we will be sending everyone the eNotice at 6:00 pm on Friday August 17th. Places are allocated by the date and time of application and generally fill up quickly.
Please direct any questions to Mr. Benzie.
Important Reminder
Has your child's visa status changed?
As a reminder, all children attending an ESF school need the appropriate and valid visa status to do so. Please inform the school if your child's visa status changes. For more information refer to the Immigration section on the ESF website.
Useful School Forms
Medical Authorisation Form - required should your child need to take medication whilst at school, on a school trip or camp
ESF/Glenealy Calendar for 2018/19
Please refer closely to this calendar for any important events, (e.g . booking your holidays) for the next academic year.
Extra Curricular Activities, Term 1 2018-19
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