Glenealy School Newsletter
18th October 2017
Message from Brenda
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students
Happy Diwali! If your child would like to wear Indian inspired clothing tomorrow they are welcome to do so.
The New School Uniform
The parents who attended the PTA AGM and fashion show gave outstanding feedback about our new uniform style and design. The children also saw the fashion show last Friday at assembly and loved the new items. Many factors were taken into account when working with the designer on this project including; suitable materials, colours, designs, climate factors and unisex options. When considering the girls skort (skirt/short option), this was designed specifically to give girls privacy at play. This is an important feature of the styles we have designed for girls. Having been to a recent Child Protection conference this was obviously considered to be very important.
Reminders about wearing new and old school uniform
Now that we have new uniform items available to purchase we require that:
● All parts of clothing are correct Glenealy uniform
● Black school shoes need to be worn with white ankle socks (No trainers please unless PE day)
● Hair accessories in navy blue or white
● No fingernail polish or jewellery (unless religious items - earrings should be stud type)
We will be monitoring this closely from now on to ensure uniformity.
When does each year group need to change to the new uniform?
Please refer to the list below. Unless your child is in Year 1 you don’t have to do a total switch to the new uniform before these deadlines below. You can buy certain pieces as your child’s uniform gets too small or if it is looking a little tired! It is fine to wear a bit of the old with the new for a while. Please refer to the PTA section of this newsletter for fitting, return and exchange procedures.
PTA AGM
What a successful evening this was! Many thanks to our PTA Chair, Christine Meaney for her leadership on the evening and to Jane Walker for the lovely decoration and delicious food and beverage provided.
Book week Our annual Book Week Character Parade will take place in the playground on Friday 27 October at 8.30am. Parents and caregivers are welcome. Start getting creative about costumes!
Well done! We raised $7851 for the Hong Kong Community Chest last Friday with our dress casual day, thank you.
Evacuation and Lockdown drills
Yesterday the whole school practised our fire evacuation drill and we were very pleased with how the students and staff responded quickly to the alarm signal. We were able to evacuate the school grounds to our assembly point in 10 minutes. Whilst we had a few aspects we could improve upon the procedures worked well and ensured safety for all.
Lockdown procedures are compulsory for all schools and are put in place to deal with the possibility of an event that poses an imminent threat to students and staff. The type of threat may be of a varied nature and could include a hostile person or a dangerous incident. A lockdown is intended to minimise the risk to occupants of the school by limiting access to the rooms in the building. The lockdown will primarily involve the sheltering of students, teachers, staff and visitors in secured rooms. We will be practicing this with all members of the school in the coming weeks to ensure they are aware of the procedures.
The children will know the procedure is called lockdown and we will explain to them that the reason we do this is that sometimes we may need to ensure they are safe just in case there is something dangerous in the school. Examples could include a dangerous dog or smoke, gas pollution in the local area or when someone in the school is sick and we need clear access for an ambulance etc. We will not use examples of hostile people or intruders with the children as this is likely to scare them and I suggest that you don’t either. Thanks.
Here’s the reading for this week which reinforces our learning and well-being philosophies and gives parents insight as to what you can do at home to reinforce these same things. Positioning Kids & Teens to Thrive: 11 Practical, Powerful Ways to Build a Growth Mindset
Regards
Brenda
Dates for the Diary
Friday 20th October
- ESF CPD Day - school closed
- Techniphoto school photo online order deadline
Sunday 22nd October
ESF 50th Anniversary Marathon - carnival day (see below)
Friday 27th October
Book Character Parade @ 8.30am in the playground
Monday 30th October
Year 5 camp meeting for parents @ 8.15am
6th - 10th November
Box of Hope drop off at school - http://boxofhope.org/home/main/en/
Friday 10th November
PTA Fair @ 5pm Glenealy School
22nd - 24th November
Year 5 camp
Friday 24th November
Year 3 fundraiser @ 3pm
Friday 1st December
Glenealy sports day @ KCC
*Friday 8th December, Sports Day wet weather back up date
Thursday 14th December
GGT - Glenealys Got Talent show
Friday 15th December
End of term, school finishes at 12pm
ESF Marathon Day October 22nd - kit collection
School Photos
PTA
PTA AGM & Fashion Launch – Thank you!
Thank you to all our parents and teachers who came along to the PTA AGM and New Uniform Fashion Launch last Thursday night. Our student models did a fantastic job sporting the new look, thanks to the coordination and choreography of the show by Lucy Hui and Sharon Matthews. Thanks also to the members of the PTA Committee, led by Jane Walker who coordinated the catering and decorations and made the night a really festive occasion.
This year’s AGM was an important one and we are grateful that so many parents attended to show their support. We are happy to advise that parent and teacher members voted that there would be no increase in PTA Subscriptions for the school year 2018-19. Members also voted in favour of a motion for the PTA Committee to commence proceedings to wind up the Glenealy School Parent Teacher Assocation Limited (a Limited Company) and transfer assets and operations to the Glenealy School Parent Teacher Association (a Society or Association). We believe that this change is more in line with the aims and activities of the PTA and will result in reduced operating costs and less of an administrative burden on members. Information about this was sent out prior to the AGM. If you would like to know more about the background and rationale for this change please contact Christine Meaney by email to pta@glenealy.net.
Our AGM also welcomed the new PTA Committee for the 2017-18 School Year. Thank you to all our PTA Committee members, both returning and new – for all you have done and are about to do!
Parent Members:
Gina Agresti
Sumita Barnes
Sylvie Kirton
Jane Madden
Bart Piestrzynski
Aisling Quinn
Michelle Shepherd
Trinnie So
Rebecca Steel
Lisa Wang
Executive Committee
Chair: Christine Meaney
Vice Chair: Fatema Jangbarwala
Honorary Treasurer: Jane Walker
Honorary Secretary: Nisha Israni
Teacher Representatives
Indi Kalsi
Phil Sangster
Ex-officio Principal Member
Brenda Cook
New School Uniform – Fitting, Ordering, Returns and Exchanges
Fitting - Fit is really important for the new uniform as the sizes do not correspond to our old uniform. If you haven’t already fitted your child and want to order new uniform, please come along to The Centre tomorrow (Thursday, 19th) from 8.15 -10.00 a.m. Once you have fitted your child and are sure of the sizing, you can place the order online here. Delivery to your home will be within 3 business days.
Returns and Exchanges - Please note that the PTA is not holding stock of the new uniform. To assist parents during this initial ordering period, returns and exchanges can be arranged via email to Erika at pta@glenealy.net stating what you currently have and what you need to change to (e.g. currently have 2 x Boys Shorts Size 6, need to change to Size 7). We will then order the replacement garment/s and contact you when it is available. Please note: change of size returns must be unwashed, unworn and not marked in any way. Please return in the original packaging if possible. If you experience problems with wear or performance of any item, please email to let us know the problem so that we can arrange a replacement where appropriate.
Feedback - The new uniform is a work in progress and we are looking forward to feedback from parents and caregivers. If you have any constructive comments on the uniform please email us at pta@glenealy.net with “Uniform Feedback” in the subject line – we welcome your views!
Glenealy School Fair – Friday, 10 November
Save the date as our Glenealy School Fair is coming up on Friday, 10 November. All our children have begun work on their performances and we are looking forward to a great community event. More details in next week’s newsletter – watch this space!
ESF 50th Anniversary Carnival and Marathon
Date: Sunday, 22 October 2017
Time: Starting from 8:00am
Venue: Lung Wo Road, Central
Distance: 1Km, 3Km, 6Km and 10Km
Open to: Students and families, teachers, support staff and their families and friends
Registration fee: Individual $180 / Family Run $300 or $400
Online registration: http://marathon.esf.edu.hk
Useful School Forms
Medical Authorisation Form - required should your child need to take medication whilst at school, on a school trip or camp
Extra Curricular Activities, Term 1
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