Glenealy School Newsletter
28th November 2019
Message from Chris
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It has been a great week here at Glenealy, with the children really enjoying the variety of curriculum experiences on offer and getting back into their normal school routines.
In particular it was wonderful to hear our Junior Choir singing so beautifully this morning for Years 2 and 3 children and their parents. The Junior Choir children sang a range of Christmas classics along with some other well known songs. I want to thank Ms Sexton and Ms Ede for their hard work in preparing the children for the choir concert. We all felt positively festive by the time the concert was finished - a huge congratulations and thank you to the children and staff involved.
It is also great to see the children so excited about the House Challenge Day tomorrow. As I mentioned last week, we are looking to re-arrange our full Sports Day for parents within the next term and have instead given children the chance to for some healthy House competition across a full programme of games and activities tomorrow. Andy Pattison has worked hard to ensure the children have fun, get involved and feel excited about the events tomorrow. As a reminder - all children are to come to school in their PE uniform in their house colours tomorrow. The children are very excited and I'm sure they will tell you all about the challenges over the weekend.
On Wednesday morning, it was wonderful to see that many of our parents were able to attend the information session given by Kim Ho about supporting children with managing stress and anxiety. Kim spoke about the impact the current disruptions in Hong Kong may have on children and gave some powerful recommendations to our parents, especially around limiting children's exposure to news and videos that may contain disturbing images. She emphasised the importance of self-care and "putting our own oxygen masks on first" so that we are modelling positive well being and so that we have the capacity to support our children and families with their stresses. Our staff team attended similar sessions with Kim and have found them incredibly supportive.
As we approach the Christmas break, we are looking forward to our Christmas Carols on 12th December at 2:00 pm. After the Carols the PTA will be providing some food to purchase - including their Sausage Sizzle. This will be a nice festive experience for the whole community and we look forward to seeing you there.
We hope the coming two weeks of term remain calm across Hong Kong and our families enjoy the run down to the Christmas break. As ever, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at school.
Best Regards,
Chris
Dates for your Diary
Friday 29th November
House Challenge Day - students only
Monday 2nd December
Tetrapaks Collection - Playground 8:00 am - 8:30 am
Wednesday 4th December
Influenza vaccine 2nd dose for all students who have opted for this vaccination
Thursday 5th December
"Robin Hood" performances
Friday 6th December
PTA sale of second hand uniforms - Playground 3:00 pm
Thursday 12th December
Glenealy School Christmas Carols - Playground 2:00 pm
PTA sale of second hand uniforms - Playground 3:00 pm
Friday 13th December
End of Term 1 - school closes at 12:00 noon
Monday 6th January 2020
School resumes for Term 2
PTA News
Christmas Concert Sausage Sizzle
Join us after the Christmas Carol Concert on 12th December at 3:00 pm for hot dogs, popcorn and drinks. Relax and catch up with friends before the Christmas break.
Gently used uniform collection and sales
With the change in the weather we would like to offer families the opportunity to purchase gently used new style school uniforms. Sales of secondhand uniform will be held in the playground on:
Friday 6th December - 3:00 pm
&
Thursday 12th December - 3:00 pm
(after the school Carol Concert)
Uniform Collections
Clear out your cupboards and be more sustainable at the same time!
We will gratefully accept all donations of uniform for resale in the PTA Uniform Hut in the playground. The Uniform Hut will be open every morning at 8.15 a.m. from Monday 25th November until Thursday 12th December. Please ensure that all donations are clean and in good condition for re-sale.
Tetrapaks Collection
The next TETRAPAK collection will be on
Monday 2nd December - On the playground before school
Please scan for more information about the initiative and how to prepare your packaging:
Or click here
To Do:
Save your tetrapaks.
Open, flatten, clean them and leave them to dry.
We have had a message from the recycler that we need to remove the plastic tops and lids from the packaging from now on. Please remove them before you bring your tetrapaks on Monday - thank you.
Bring to school on the morning of Monday 2nd December
News from the P.E. Dept.
Dear Parents,
This is a kind reminder of the arrangements for the House Challenge Day on Friday 29th November.
The event will take place at school and timings will follow a regular school day, 8:30 am to 3:00 pm.
Students should wear their full P.E. Kit.
Students are encouraged to accessorize with their House colours, e.g. face paint, hair ties, hats. etc.
All students will participate in a wide range of physical challenges throughout the day, working cooperatively as part of their House team to earn points across a variety of activities.
This event is for students only. The whole school community will be invited to attend our rescheduled School Sports Day later in the academic year.
Warm regards,
Andy Pattison
News from Music Department
Robin Hood Pantomime
This year's pantomime performance of Robin Hood is scheduled for Thursday December 5th. The performances will take place during the school day and parents of participating students will be sent an invitation to come and enjoy the show.
Piano Teacher
Unfortunately our current piano teacher, Ms. Stella Yeung, will be leaving us at the end of this week. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for sharing her love of piano playing with so many of our students over the years. We wish her all the best with her move overseas.
Currently we are looking for a new teacher and Mr. Benzie will be in touch with Ms. Yeung's current piano students in the new year.
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
ESF Calendar for 2019-20
Read more in the Hall of Fame