Glenealy School Newsletter
14th September 2016
Message from Brenda
Dear Parents and Caregivers
With the Mid-Autumn festival celebrations over this weekend, we all look forward to glitzy lanterns, fiery dragons a full moon and more. Enjoy!
A few urgent reminders:
School Uniforms
Please order your child’s winter uniform as the deadline for submission of Order Forms is tomorrow, Thursday, 15th September 2016. This process is different to the past where uniforms have been readily available in the shop. This will not be the case this year. If you do not place an order, by tomorrow we cannot guarantee that winter stock will be available when you need it. Please refer to the PTA section for the order form.
3 Way conferences
If you haven’t booked your time to meet the teacher please click here for more details.
Dengue Fever Update
Parents, ESF and local authorities have alerted us to recent Dengue Fever cases in the Mid levels. Our prevention programmes continue at school and we have sought advice. The local authority has sprayed the perimeter of the school and will continue to do so. As part of ESF training and safety measures, schools have been upskilled on mosquito habits, preventative measures and general good housekeeping of the school site to avoid any breeding patterns. We recently had an independent contractor at the school to inspect the premises. The feedback was that he felt the school had very good measures in place to protect infection. They will feed back to ESF if there is anything else that we can be doing differently to ensure everyone’s safety and we will follow through with these suggestions.
Kind regards
BrendaDates for the Diary
September 1st - 30th
Year 1 Central Application period
Thursday September 15th
- School Photos
- PTA winter uniform order deadline
Friday September 16th
- Year 6 parents to complete Year 7 transfer on Gateway - deadline
- Public Holiday - school closed
Wednesday September 21st
Parent Consultation Booking closes on Gateway at 8pm
Thursday September 22nd
Parent's Party @ 7pm at Fly - no tickets required
Friday September 23rd
Year 5 camp information morning @ 8.15am 5L
Tuesday September 27th
Year 6 camp information morning @ 8.15am 6S
Thursday September 29th
Child/Parent/Teacher Conference (3 way conference) 3.15 - 6.45pm
Thursday October 6th
Child/Parent/Teacher Conference (3 way conference) 3.15 - 6.45pm
October 10th - 14th
Half term break - school closed
Monday October 17th
CPD Day - no school for students
October 24th - 28th
Book Week
Thursday October 27th
Character dress up parade @ 8.30am
Friday October 28th
Year 5 Fundraiser
November 2nd - 4th
Year 5 overnight camp
Friday November 11th
PTA International Bazaar
November 14th - 15th
Year 6 overnight camp
Friday January 20th 2017
Year 3 Fundraiser
Friday March 24th 2017
Year 2 Fundraiser
Friday May 19th 2017
Year 1 Fundraiser
Friday June 9th 2017
Year 4 Fundraiser
Glenealy Top Tech Tip
Apps for kids – The App Store has over 80,000 apps designed for the iPad that are labeled as educational, but little research has demonstrated their actual quality. Look to organisations like Common Sense Media for reviews about age-appropriate apps and games to guide you in making the best choices for your child.
Year 6 Transfer Application for Year 7 - closes September 16th
Year 6 students intending to secure a Year 7 place at an ESF secondary school must complete the request on Gateway by Friday September 16th. A Year 7 school place after this date cannot be guaranteed.
Please click here for further information.
Year 1 & Year 6 Immunisation
Immunisation forms will be sent out on Monday 19th September and must be returned by Friday 23rd.
All forms must be returned whether or not your child will be immunised.
- If you consent for immunisation - return the form with original immunisation records
- If you do not consent to immunisation a copy of your child's immunisation record is acceptable.
If you are unable to submit immunisation records please be sure to tick the relevant box.
All forms and immunisation records should be passed directly to the nurses office.
Year 5 and Year 6 Camp Meetings
Year 5 students will be staying at Treasure Island, Lantau from November 2nd - 4th. Please come along to the information morning in 5L's classroom on Friday September 23rd at 8.15am.
Year 6 students will be staying at YWCA, Lantau from November 14th - 15th. Please come along to the information morning in 6S's classroom on Tuesday September 27th at 8.15am.
Both information mornings will include a slide show of the previous year's camp and a presentation about this year.
PTA
Congratulations to Year 6 on a successful fundraiser. Parents and students held a wonderful bake sale and raised $11,657!
Parents’ Drinks at FLY Bar
Join us for a casual get together on Thursday 22nd September, 7:00-10:00 p.m. Enjoy Happy Hour prices and great company at FLY Bar - G/F, 24-30 Ice House Street, Central Clubfly.com.hk To view the flyer for this event click here. This is a parents only event and no tickets are required.
Winter Uniform Orders
All parents are advised that the deadline for submission of Order Forms for Winter Uniform is tomorrow, Thursday 15th September 2016. Orders can be placed using the Order Form (click here).
If you do not place an order, we cannot guarantee that stock will be available when you need it. To check sizing, go to the PTA shop and try the samples. Hand in your Order Form with full cheque payment to the PTA Uniform Shop by Thursday, 15th September 2016. Any queries, please email Erika, our PTA Coordinator (pta@glenealy.net).
Uniform Shop Closure – Monday 19th September
The PTA Uniform Shop will be closed on Monday, 19th September for stock count. It will reopen on Thursday, 22nd September 8:20 - 8:45 a.m.
PTA Subscriptions
Thank you to those families who have already settled their PTA Subscriptions for 2016-17. If you have not yet paid, you will have received a reminder invoice from ESF Centre. Please make payment at your earliest convenience. You can leave your cheque in the PTA tray in the office, or post it direct to ESF Centre. If you have any queries, please contact Erika at pta@glenealy.net.
Island School Redevelopment Update
At the start of the academic year 2016-17 it is timely to reflect on the current state of play with regard to the redevelopment of the Island School campus. We are pleased to report that both the detailed designs of the temporary school buildings and the new school itself are coming on very well and are near completion. All the preliminary drawing submissions have been approved by the relevant government departments and we are well on the way to achieving Gold Beam+ status for the new designs commitment to sustainability.
We have benefited hugely from being able to work so closely with TCA architects. They have been so committed to listening to our needs, wants and ideas. Having said all this we are no nearer receiving a final confirmation that the project can go ahead starting June 2017 and therefore cannot be 100% sure that we will be relocating for August of the same year. We are hoping that the redevelopment project, and the government funding towards the project, will be ratified by the end of this month. As soon as we have had this confirmation, we are confident that we are on track to plan a very successful approach to temporarily relocating next year.
An invitation
As we embark on what is hopefully our final year in this building prior to decant, it is vitally important that we A, plan supportive, safe and efficient strategies for student travel to and from the temporary school sites. And B, that we become more strategic and anticipatory in our planning for sustaining our school ethos and community cohesion throughout the decant period. On top of that we need to be mindful that a sensitively planned community engagement programme is essential if we are to integrate with the Tai Wai communities and develop a reciprocally beneficial relationship with the people in the areas around the temporary school sites.
We already have a small group of primary parents that wish to work with us as we contemplate the concrete details of a transport plan, but we need more prospective parents to get involved. We need to hear your views and work together with you to ensure the complete success of the temporary relocation arrangements. Please email me on gareth.stevens@online.island.edu.hk if you wish to be involved. Also if you wish to accompany us on a visit to one of the school sites on 21 Sep 2016 please let me know. The campus we will be visiting is for Years 7,8,12 and 13
Year 1 Central Applications - open now until September 30th 2016
The central application period for parents to submit an online application for Year 1 2017/18 is September 1st - 30th only.
http://www.esf.edu.hk/application-form
Please ensure all sibling applications for Year 1 are made during this period to secure ESF priority for an interview.
ESF 2016/17 Calendar
Please click here to view the calendar online. We do ask when planning your family holidays that you refer to the holiday periods as indicated on the calendar and try to take your holiday during these times.