Glenealy School Newsletter
7th November 2019
Message from Chris
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Well it has been a fabulous week of camps. Year 5 went to Pui O for their three day adventure last week, and had an amazing time.They went surfing, stand up paddle boarding, biking and camping. Developing their collaboration skills, resilience and risk taking. Spending two nights away from home under canvas was very challenging for our children - but they more than met that challenge. The children were a credit to the school and the whole Glenealy community. We were all tired upon our return, but everyone had a fantastic time. Thank you to the staff team for making such a fabulous experience happen for our children.
This Year 5 experience was complemented by the brilliant Year 6 camp this week, also on Lantau. Children took part in archery, climbing, orienteering, fire lighting, collaborative team building games and a whole host of other challenging activities. This was a great opportunity to work and play together in a completely different environment.
Consultation Groups
You will have seen in the letter sent yesterday that we are setting up consultation groups, to help understand parents’ perspectives around the school’s strengths and areas that could be developed. The information gathered in these groups will then be used to help inform our school’s strategic planning for the next 5 years. Based on the information received in the groups, we will also create surveys which will be sent to all parents to gather the wider views of the community. I am aware the link sent out in the letter yesterday to sign up for these groups did not work - many apologies for this. The revised link to sign up for the consultation groups can be found here.
It is worth noting that we are just starting our preparation and build up to Sports Day. Mr. Pattison has started to outline our approach in this Newsletter, and will provide further details about the logistics as we get closer to the day. The children and staff are excited about the day, which will be held on Friday 29th November this year, assuming the weather is good. We look forward to seeing you all there in your house colours!
Closer still, we are also getting excited about the School Fair, which is on Friday 22nd November from 5:00 - 8:30 pm. The posters created by the children look great outside the school, and the PTA committee members are working very hard on preparations for the event. More information can be found in this Newsletter, and do keep an eye out for PTA committee members who may ask for your support in some of the organisation as we get closer to the day. I would like to extend a special thanks to the PTA at this time for all the hard work they are currently putting in behind the scenes - you help make the Glenealy community the fantastic place that it is for all our families.
New Glenealy Team Members
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome and introduce you to three new members of staff who have joined our dynamic team at Glenealy over the last few weeks.They have all settled in extremely well and have built positive relationships with staff and students alike.
We know you will all make them feel part of the Glenealy Community when you see them around the school. To find out more and to put a face to a name please see their short bios below.
Annie Yeung Library EA
Jonna Paag Finance Officer
Denise Leung Individual Needs EA
With an extremely busy November underway, I hope you all have a great remainder of the week and a fabulous weekend beyond.
Best Regards,
Chris
Dates for your Diary
Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th November
Box of Hope collection-in playground before start of school
Friday 22nd November
PTA School Fair 5:00 pm -8:30 pm
Friday 29th November
Sports Day - Kowloon Cricket Club (Jordan)
Monday 2nd December
Tetrapaks Collection
Wednesday 4th December
Influenza vaccine 2nd dose for all students who have opted for this vaccination
Friday 13th December
End of Term 1 - school closes at 12:00 noon
Monday 6th January 2020
School resumes for Term 2
PTA News
GLENEALY SCHOOL FAIR – FRIDAY 22nd NOVEMBER – 5:00 pm TO 8:30 pm
The Glenealy Fair is almost here.
How can I help?
Volunteer – we need help to set-up and run the games and stalls on the night of the Fair. Please sign up using the Google Form here.
Volunteer your teenager – if you have older students at home, we’d love to have them come and help out on our games stalls.
Buy your Glenealy Money – Glenealy Money is the currency of choice for all Games stands, food stands, the Glenealy Bar and the PTA-run stalls of the Fair. Skip the queues and buy your Glenealy Money ahead of the Fair at the Glenealy Money Stand in the playground at drop-off and pick-up the week of the Fair.
Donate – time for a clear-out! The week of the Fair we will be collecting for:
Second Hand Books - please no VCR tapes, CD’s or DVD’s.
Pre-loved Accessories - Gently used, pre-loved handbags, scarves, sunglasses, belts & jewellery
School Uniform – We welcome your donations of gently used school uniform for resale at the fair.
Water or wine - New bottles of wine, champagne, olive oil, juice, cordial, vinegar, Perrier etc.
All donations can be left at the Glenealy Money Sales Stand in the playground the mornings and afternoons the week of the Fair.
What’s on offer at the Fair?
Great food - Our International Food Coordinators are working hard to ensure a range of tasty delights will be on offer to tempt every palate.
Bar – Our Endless Summer themed Bar will be serving soft drinks, wine and beer. It’s the place to be! As in previous years our bar is kindly sponsored by Swire, who donate all of the soft drinks in support of Glenealy School.
Entertainment - The entertainment highlight is, of course, our wonderful students. Every year group will perform for you. A reminder that every student needs to be at school no later than 5.15 pm
Year 1 - 5.30 pm
Year 2 - 5.45 pm
Year 3 - 6.00 pm
Year 4 - 6.15 pm
Year 5 - 6.30 pm
Year 6 - 6.45 pm
Senior Choir - 7:00 pm
Orchestra - 7.15 pm
Silent Auction – Every year our teachers put their thinking caps on and come up with a range of priceless experiences for our students to share. For this year’s catalogue click here.
Games – our kids love the games stalls and this year we’ll be welcoming some exciting new games including:
Soak the Teacher
Giant Twister
Nerf gun target shooting
Glenealy Spa
Remote control car racing
And much much more!
Shopping – We have a great line-up of vendors and stalls this year offering a quality range of products for children and grownups. For high quality, great value kitchenware look no further than the homeware stall. At the new Pre-loved Accessories Stall, you can refresh your look for a fraction of store-bought prices – re-use, recycle, and embrace that ‘Shabby Chic’.
News from the PE Dept
Glenealy School Sports Day 2019
When: Friday 29th November
Timings: Years 3-6 activities will begin at 10:00 am
Years 1-2 activities will begin at 11:00 am
The event will end at 1:30 pm
Where: Kowloon Cricket Club, 10 Cox’s Road, Jordan, Kowloon
Transport: All children will travel by bus from school to the venue
As you will have noticed in the Dates for your Diary section of the Newsletter, Friday 29th November is our annual Sports Day. This day gives our students the opportunity to celebrate their athletic abilities through enjoyable physical activities. They will have the opportunity to complete challenges cooperatively with friends, contributing to their House Team’s score. Each House will be competing across a wide range of athletic and sporting events.
Students will also compete as individuals against their peers, with a strong focus placed on how they measure their own success intrinsically. To encourage this intrinsic value, and keeping in line with our school’s sustainability pledge, there will be no stickers, ribbons or certificates awarded on Sports Day. We believe that this in no way diminishes the competitive element of the day nor detracts from the recognition that students deserve for their efforts. This year there will also be an elite competition at the start of each event for those students who have excelled in the PE lessons in the run up to Sports Day.
The event will have a festival atmosphere and parents are encouraged to join us. A highlight of the event is seeing students and parents dressed creatively in their House colours in support of their team. All children are expected to stay until the end of the event at 1:30 pm. You may take your child home directly after the official closure of the Sports Day but you must let the class teacher know before you leave the venue. A bus will be returning to school for those students who are unable to return home with their parents. More information will be shared closer to the date. We look forward to seeing you there.
PE Lessons at HKFC
We are now into the fourth week of our off-site PE programme. Over the past few weeks, our Year 4, 5, and 6 students have utilised every inch of the hockey pitch at HKFC. We fully explored the use of space as the culmination of our Invasion Games Units through a giant game of capture the flag. In preparation for Sports Day, we were able to keep ourselves and others safe during throwing for distance activities and then were able to stretch our legs getting to full speed through relay running. Sessions will take place at Conduit Road Playground over the next couple of weeks, focusing on sprinting, before we head back to HKFC from mid-November to Mid-February.
Warm regards,
Andy Pattison
Box of Hope
The boxes are scheduled to be picked up from school by the organisers on Wednesday 13th November.
The Box of Hope is an annual charity project aimed at providing useful/educational gifts to underprivileged children in Hong Kong & Asia. Glenealy School has been supporting this charity for some years now, helping to bring a big smile to the children's faces. What you have to do is fill a shoe box with some thoughtful gifts and then wrap it with some colourful or nice paper.
To find our more about Box of Hope and to gain some ideas about what to put in your box you may check out this video: https://youtu.be/BR1VnwTRfHE
If you need more information, please go to the Box Of Hope website here
The Year 6 Events Team. (We can be found in the Year 6 classrooms if you need us!)
Parents as Partners 2019/20
We would like to thank parents for their survey suggestions for our Parents as Partners events this year. We may add to this programme over the year, but wanted to share the initial schedule with parents at this time.
Details of timings, and registration for each workshop, will be announced closer to each event.
Assessment at Glenealy - Building Understanding for Parents
Workshop
Wednesday 12th February 2020
Inquiry at Glenealy
Parent Circle
Wednesday 4th March 2020
Social Emotional Learning at Glenealy-Building Resilience
Workshop
Wednesday 29th April 2020
Understanding the Teaching of Language at Glenealy
Parent Circle
Term 3 - Date To be confirmed
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, you may 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