Glenealy School Newsletter
13th February 2020
Message from Chris
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
I do hope our Glenealy community are well considering the challenging circumstances we face here in Hong Kong. I am sure that I speak for our whole staff team when I say that we are rooting for a return to normal school life as soon as possible. Having said that, our home learning approach continues to pick up pace as we refine and improve our provision as the days progress. It has been wonderful to see how hard our children have been working from home and want to thank you all for your ongoing support. In this Newsletter you will find a link to a survey which will help us to assess how we are doing, along with supporting us in understanding how we may improve our approach further.
Continued Class Suspension to the 16th March 2020
We can confirm that we have been informed by the Hong Kong Government that they have extended the period of in-school class suspension until March 16th. Students should not attend school before that date.
We will continue to use online and home learning during this period to ensure that there is still continuity and progression in learning for every single student. ESF has produced a guide to home learning which sets out our pledges to you – and also contains practical ways in which you can support your child while they are learning from home. You can access it at https://www.esf.edu.hk/learning-from-home-guide/
If you have any questions or queries, please do contact us. The building may be closed, but the school is very much open.
Thank you all for your support. These are challenging times, but we are determined that we still make good on our promise to you, to help your child be the best that they can be.
School Council Message
The Glenealy School Council met on Tuesday this week - virtually. The School Council provide support and challenge and perform an important function in providing governance for Glenealy School. Andy Lowe, School Council Chair, has asked me to convey the following message on behalf of the Council:
Please do pass our thanks, on behalf of the entire School Council, to all staff and teachers at Glenealy. It's clear that everyone is doing an incredible job in an especially challenging set of circumstances. The commitment and sheer effort this involves (and will continue to involve) is noted and appreciated. Members of the Council understand this is an emerging situation and that the school’s responses and approaches are necessarily evolving on a day-to-day basis, with everyone (teachers, parents, and students) learning together. I believe GS is once again demonstrating the power of what can be achieved through collaboration, support and community spirit.
I would like to thank the School Council for their kind words, support and guidance during this challenging time for Hong Kong.
Home Learning Survey - How are we doing? What can we do to improve?
Thank you once again for your relentlessly positive feedback and helpful suggestions this week about our home learning systems in school. It has been great to hear the various stories and pieces of feedback from parents at home. We know this is a difficult time for many of you, and we want to make sure we do all we can to support your child’s progress.
In order for us to further improve our approach, we ask that you complete the survey here (if you have not already done so) to gather specific data on how well we are serving our community. We are constantly seeking to improve and develop our approach and will let you know the results of the survey next week.
Chromebooks and Exercise Books
Thank you to parents who have collected Chromebooks for their families to use during the class suspension. Please email the admin team here if you wish to borrow one, but missed the chance to sign up last week. Many families also picked up new exercise books this week. Again, if you did not do so this week, please get in contact with our admin team who will be happy to support you.
Student Grant Application
We have been informed by ESFC that only original forms will be accepted by the Education Bureau (EDB). For those parents who have yet to submit these forms, they can be mailed to the School Office. As the deadline for submission has been extended to March 6th, there is still time to send in these forms. For those of you who have submitted their completed forms, there is nothing further to be done. All the forms will be sent to ESFC after the deadline for further processing to the EDB. If there is further extension to this deadline, I will let you know.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I wish you all the best for the coming week.
Best Regards,
Chris