Glenealy School Newsletter
14th January 2021
Message from Chris
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
I hope our community is doing well as we reflect on our second week of the new year. It has been a busy week, as we have enjoyed welcoming Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 back onto the school site. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Years 5 and 6 tomorrow and on Monday next week.
It was joyous to see the children so excited to come to school over the past few days, albeit for a limited amount of time. The children have continued to work very hard in their home learning, and our teachers are currently busy preparing the children’s mid-year reports which will be sent to parents before Chinese New Year.
Return to Site - Temperature Checks, Health Declarations and Schedules
Thank you to all parents of Years 1-4 children who have completed the required Travel and Health Declaration for attending school. Please can parents of Years 5 and 6 make sure the Travel and Health Declaration form is completed before you send your children to school.
Please also ensure your child’s temperature is taken before you leave home each morning they attend school via the ESF App.
Following positive feedback, we have added all of the information you need, including the on site schedule, to our ‘Return to School Site January 2021’ website.
EDB Guidance on School Site Opening
A number of parents have asked us about whether we can keep children on the school site for the whole day, instead of the current half day model which will run until CNY. Parents have noted that some non-ESF international schools may have been doing this. After enquiring with EDB they have informed us that children are only allowed on site for a morning session in Primary schools and this will be strictly adhered to. The EDB has been phoning schools to ensure that the exact number of children on site at any time does not exceed 1/6 of the total number of children enrolled at school each day. They have further informed us that any inconsistencies in other schools in the application of this rule will be addressed in due course. Like parents, we are keen to get children back on site more frequently as soon as possible, but we must follow EDB directives regarding this process. I remain in contact with the EDB and will endeavour to keep parents informed should the message around returning to school change.
Staff Updates
We are pleased to announce that we have two new Educational Assistants who will be working with us. I am sure you will join me in offering them a warm welcome to the school.
Lily Barguss-Smith, joins our Individual Needs Team as an EA.
Lily is originally from London but grew up here in Hong Kong and is actually an ESF alumni!
In her spare time, Lily's favourite hobby is hiking and exploring all the different parts of Hong Kong. We are really excited to have Lily working here at Glenealy School and hope she gets to meet everyone in time.
Lakshmi Samaga, joins 2L as an EA
Lakshmi has done her Masters in Commerce and has a Diploma in Child Psychology and Learning Disability Management. In her free time Lakshmi practices and teaches sketching, painting, quilling and crocheting. Currently Lakshmi is also pursuing her Professional Diploma in Fine Arts.
We welcome Lakshmi to the Year 2 Team and are sure she will settle in quickly with the parents and students.
Belle Yu- Maternity Leave
We would also like to wish Belle Yu, teacher of Mandarin, all the very best as she will be leaving on maternity leave on 1st February. In Belle’s absence she will be covered by a familiar teacher to the school - Juntao Cai, a teacher who worked with us a few years ago and will rejoin us to teach Belle’s Mandarin classes.
Reminder about Wellbeing Session for Glenealy Parents
Thanks to the generosity of our fantastic PTA, we will be hosting a wellbeing Zoom session with the acclaimed author of ‘Contextual Wellbeing’, Dr Helen Street, on Wednesday 20th January 2021 at 6:00 pm. Dr Helen Street is an Honorary Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Western Australia. She’s also the Chair of Positive Schools and a proud mother of three girls. ESF has been running a series of informative and supportive webinars with her over the last few weeks, which some of you may have already signed up for via the ESF App.
The session we will be offering at Glenealy will provide guidance to parents and caregivers about how to support children’s wellbeing, which is particularly important during the exceptional times we are all living through.
We are now able to open up spaces to more than one parent from any individual family, if you wish to sign up. To express your interest in booking a place to join the session please fill in this Google Form.
I wish our whole community a positive end to the week and a great weekend beyond.
Best regards,
Chris
Dates for your Diary
Wednesday 20th January 2021 6:00 pm.
Wellbeing Session for Parents - Webinar with Dr. Helen Street
Thursday 11th- Sunday 21st February 2021
School closed for Lunar New Year Holidays