Glenealy School Newsletter
17th August 2016
Message from Brenda
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students
Welcome back everyone!
The following newsletter is quite lengthy given all the information needed for the beginning of the term. Please take the time each week to read the school newsletter, it is emailed to you every Wednesday and copies are archived on our school website.
We had lots of excited children and some very excited parents on Monday! Welcome back to all of our students including our Year One students and our new families who are joining the community. We know you will find the school warm and welcoming and you will feel part of the Glenealy family in no time!
The School Hall
Major interior works have taken place in the school hall over the summer and there is a lot more to come. As most of you will be aware, we are renovating our hall into a multi functional space for PE and Performing Arts. It will be a magnificent space. Given the extent of the works, the project will take until the end of the first term to be completed. Term 2 will see the grand opening. Please note these days in your diary (refer to the ‘dates to diary’ in this newsletter)
Assemblies will be more sporadic this term depending on the weather. We hope to be able to utilise the downstairs area for assembly when weather permits.
Meet the Teacher/Parents Evening and PTA AGM. Tuesday 30 August - 6pm start.
Please keep the evening of Tuesday 30 August free. This will be a time for you to meet your child’s teacher and for the teacher to get to know you too. The teachers will share a learning presentation with you and communicate the areas of focus for the year. Class routines and organisation will also be covered which will make things clearer for you all.
Year 1-6: The Meet the Teacher/Parents session will be held in your child’s classroom from 6.00pm until 7.00pm. If you have more than one child in the school you will need to choose between the sessions or if two of you are able to come you can go to one each. The first 20-30 minutes will be the same in all classes. If you have a child in Year 1, I would make these presentations a priority. Although the evening is for parents only, we are aware that some of you may need to bring your child/ren with you. If this is the case, the library will be open and supervised from 5.50pm-7.05pm. This service is not available for pre-schoolers or babies - sorry!
The PTA AGM will follow the classroom meetings at 7.15pm in the Music room opposite the hall, which we would encourage you to attend. It is always an interesting and enjoyable evening. AGM paperwork and details have been sent out to you by email.
Collecting children after school
Please wait in the green area of the playground when picking up children after school. PE
lessons take place most days in the afternoon and therefore it can make teaching difficult downstairs if people are gathering or talking loudly near the teaching space. We would appreciate your help with this.
New Staff Members
We welcome two new staff to Glenealy this year, both in the Mandarin Department. We are delighted to have both Esther and Marc join our team and know they will be valuable staff members.
Looking forward to a great first term at Glenealy.
Kind regards
Brenda
Dates for the Diary
Thursday August 18th
Instrumental Music Lessons open for registration at 6pm
Friday August 26th
Deadline for Student Health/Dental Service forms to be returned
Monday August 29th
PTA Coffee Morning @ 8.30am in the playground
Tuesday August 30th
- Meet the Teacher evening @ 6pm
- PTA AGM @ 7.15pm in the music room
September 1st - 30th
Year 1 Central Applications
Friday September 2nd
Payment deadline for Vision and Hearing Test - more information to come
September 5th - 16th
Year 6 parents to complete Year 7 transfer on Gateway
Thursday September 8th
Parent Workshop - Social Thinking
Friday September 9th
Year 6 fundraiser, more information to follow
Thursday September 15th
School Photo's
Friday September 16th
Public Holiday - school closed
Thursday September 22nd
Parents Party @ 7pm at Fly
Thursday 29th September
Child/Parent/Teacher Conference (3 way conference)
Thursday 6th October
Child/Parent/Teacher Conference (3 way conference)
October 10th - 14th
Half term break - school closed
Monday October 17th
CPD Day - no school for students
From the Medical Room
Student Health Service and Student Dental Service forms will be sent home with all children on Monday August 22nd. This is an optional service and forms are only required to be returned should you wish for your child to enrol. All children enrolling in this service must return the forms to school (with $20 for Dental Service) by Friday August 26th. Please note this service is provided by the Hong Kong Department for Health and should you have any questions please call 3163 4600 for Health Service enquiries and 2892 2157 for Dental Service enquiries.
Other reminders:
- Please ensure medical and dietary/allergy information on Gateway is up to date
- Keep your child at home if they are unwell and inform the school and school nurse of your child's condition
- Should your child require medication that needs to be kept at school, please bring the medication in to the nurses office with a completed medication authorisation form
Any medical queries, please don't hesitate to contact Nurse Sue (or Nurse Sue!)
Music News
Glenealy is lucky to have a number of qualified instrumental teachers who visit the school each week.
Mon-Fri - Guitar, Drums, Ukulele
Tuesday - Violin
Friday - Piano
Lessons are usually 30 min in duration and take place after school between 3:15pm-5:15pm.
Payment is made directly to the instrumental teacher.
To enroll please fill in the google form that will be available on Gateway tomorrow night, August 18th at 6pm. This form will be sent to parents via an eNotice, please login to Gateway to access your eNotice inbox.
Due to the limited number of available spaces we will be allocating lesson times on a first come first served basis.
If there is an instrument that your child would like to learn that is not listed above please contact me via email and I will do my best to accommodate you.
If your child was learning an instrument at school last year and wishes to continue please contact your instrumental teacher as soon as possible or you may find that your lesson time has been allocated to a new student.
Thanks,
Mr. Benzie
Performing Art Coordinator
Parent Workshop – Social Thinking
Date: Thursday 8 September
Time: 6.30-8.00pm
Venue: ESF Centre, 25/F 1063 King's Road, Quarry Bay
Cost: Free for ESF parents
Find more information about Social Thinking at www.socialthinking.com
Click here for the workshop details and enrolment procedures, which will be first in first served.
Reminders for the New School Year
Packed Lunch
Children are required to bring their snack, lunch and water bottle to school with them each morning. Parents and helpers are not permitted to bring snack/lunch to children during school hours.
Birthday Cakes
Please be reminded that birthday cakes, sweets etc are not permitted to be brought into school on your child's birthday.
To help your child celebrate their birthday, we'd like to let you know about our special Books for Birthdays program!
Here’s how it works...
1. Students can get a brochure from the library, then bring it, together with $100 cash or a cheque (payable to ‘Glenealy School’) to the school library.
2. Students then select a brand new book from our special selection. They'll be the first to borrow it, read it and share it with the class and you before you donating it back to the library.
3. When they've finished reading the book, kindly return it to the library to donate so other students can borrow it in the future!
We’ll put a special birthday dedication inside the book, acknowledging your gift, so everyone can see who donated it and we’ll also feature each student in our Library Newsletter and at end-of-term assemblies!
It’s more lasting than a cupcake sugar rush, and your child will be able to enjoy the book all year long!
Celebrate your child's birthday with a book and help support your school library! Please click here for the brochure.
Playground Supervision and After School Activities
The playground is supervised from 8.15am until 3.15pm. Children should not be at school before this time. Please ensure a responsible adult is at school at 3pm to collect your child and take them home, unless they are partaking in an after school activity. Glenealy School policy regarding after school activities can be found here.
Student Diaries
Your child has been provided with a Glenealy School Diary. Please take a moment to read through the first few pages with them, which provide some very useful information.
The cost of the diary is $75.00. There is no need to send in that payment now, we will add this cost to the first invoice for class events or excursions that your child takes part in.
PTA
PTA Subscriptions
All families will have received an invoice from ESF Centre for PTA Subscriptions for the 2016-17 School Year. This payment is now due. You can leave payments in the PTA Tray in the office or post directly to ESF Centre (details on the invoice). Please assist us by settling your payment promptly.
Welcome Back to School Coffee Morning
On Monday morning, 29th August 2016, new and returning parents are warmly encouraged to join us in the playground to celebrate the new school year. Join us for tea, coffee and a chat straight after drop off.
AGM
A reminder that the Glenealy School Parent Teacher Association Ltd. Annual General Meeting will be held immediately following Meet the Teacher on Tuesday, 30th August 2016. The AGM will commence at 7:15 p.m. in the music room. All parents and caregivers are invited to attend.
Save the Date
Join us for a casual get together on Thursday 22nd September 2016, 7:00-10:00 p.m. Enjoy Happy Hour prices and great company at Fly Bar - G/F, 24-30 Ice House Street, Central - Clubfly.com.hk. Please note this is a parents only event and no tickets are required. Feel free to drop by.
Uniform Shop News
Shop opening times for the new school year will remain as follows:
Mondays: 2:45 - 3:15 p.m.
Thursdays: 8:20 - 8:45 a.m.
We are recruiting for new shop volunteers. If you can commit 45 minutes, once every two weeks and are interested in making a positive contribution to the school community, please contact Erika at pta@glenealy.net
Digital Citizenship
Your child will be bringing home our school’s Digital Citizenship agreements this week.
These are a set of expectations and standards for our students when they use digital devices at school and at home to connect to the internet.
These agreements have been reviewed and discussed with all students in Years 2–6. Year 1 students will bring their agreement papers home next week and complete this program later in the year.
The agreement papers your child will bring home will consist of 2 pages. Parents are asked to read these through carefully with your child, sign one page, and return this to your child’s teacher.
Please keep the other page at home as a reference and reminder of the school expectations regarding online protocols and behaviour.
Students in Y2-Y6 are currently participating in an 8-week Digital Citizenship program.
Our Digital Citizenship program is a series of lessons about staying safe online, protecting personal information, cyberbullying, our digital footprint and more. These lessons will take place in the school library with Mrs. Oliver and the classroom teachers.
Trish Oliver
Information & Digital Literacy Coordinator
Year 6 Transfer Application for Year 7
Parents wishing for their child to transfer from Glenealy School to an ESF secondary school must submit a transfer application for Year 7 via Gateway from September 5th - 16th only.
Applications are processed according to residential address at the time of application; change of residential address following submission of application and prior to entry to Year 7 will not be considered.
All Year 6 students enrolled in an ESF primary school by 1 December 2016 are guaranteed a place in an ESF secondary school on completion of Year 6, with the following provisos:
- A student joining before the end of Year 5 is guaranteed a place at the secondary school of zone according to residential address at the time of application;
- A student joining Year 6 on or after 15 August 2016 is guaranteed an ESF secondary school place but not necessarily at the school of zone (conditions for period of commitment will apply).
- A student residing in Discovery Bay is zoned to Island School unless requesting to follow a sibling currently attending another ESF secondary school.
A student joining Year 6 after 1 December 2016 cannot be guaranteed a secondary school place but will be given high priority on any waiting list.
Important note:
ESF reserves the right to change the present zones to reflect the distribution of transfer applications. Secondary school zones will be confirmed in November 2016. Any changes to existing zones will be posted on ESF and school websites on or before 25 November 2016.
*Deposit payment deadline to secure your child's Y7 place will be 13 December 2016.
Year 1 Central Applications
The central application period for parents to submit an online application for Year 1 2017/18 is September 1st - 30th only.
http://www.esf.edu.hk/application-form
Please ensure all sibling applications for Year 1 are made during this period to secure ESF priority for an interview.
ESF 2016/17 Calendar
Here is the final calendar for 2016/17 including the Glenealy CPD days. Please click here to view the calendar online. We do ask when planning your family holidays that you refer to the holiday periods as indicated on the calendar and try to take your holiday during these times.