Glenealy School Newsletter
8th October 2020
Message from Chris
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It has been very satisfying to see the children settling back into on site schooling so very confidently. There has been lots of great learning going on, and we are pleased the children are also following this up in the afternoons at home.
I would like to thank parents for all their support over the last few weeks during this transition back to site. Parents have shown enormous positivity to our teaching team for which I would like to thank you. It really has been a pleasure to see our parents again during the pick up and drop off times. As a school, our strong sense of community is our strength and this has been evident as we have been able to connect and reconnect each day on site. The class teachers are available on the playground at pick up times if you need to ask a question and are always happy to help, as are our leadership and administrative teams.
Whilst we are very happy with the way the transition has succeeded in returning to the site, I would like to take this opportunity to reassure parents that we will continue to liaise with the EDB and our ESF colleagues over the coming days and weeks to respond to any changes that might occur to the current EDB guidelines that would allow us to extend the day on site further. There is no news at this point, but we stand ready to respond to any changes to the EDB and CHP guidelines as they occur.
In this Newsletter, we have included information about the fee subsidy, a message from the Green Team, the PTA AGM and parking issues. If you have any questions about any of the items below, please let us know.
Temperature Checks and Masks
Thank you to parents for using the ESF App to add your child’s temperature each morning - it is an EDB requirement for children to attend school. The system is working well and I want to thank you all again for your support with this. Please remember to download the App on multiple family members’ devices so you can keep track of school information.
Please also remember to send children to school with a spare mask in their bag. Accidents happen, masks get dropped (or wet!) and it’s sometimes more comfortable for children to change their mask after running around at break time.
ESF Fee Subsidy
Parents who opted into the 45% grant scheme via the ESF App on or before the 29th September 2020 are now qualified to benefit from it. Students who enrolled with us after the 29th September 2020, or who did not register in time, are not eligible to receive this grant.
The 45 % grant will be shown in the statement issued at the end of October 2020 and will be applied to offset against the tuition fees for November 2020 or to any outstanding fees on accounts payable to ESF schools / PIS / kindergartens.
Parking outside the School
We would like to remind parents to be considerate when parking outside the school when dropping off or picking up students so as not to cause obstruction to other traffic on the narrow road. Not only can this cause a traffic backlog but more importantly, it poses a serious safety issue for children and adults using the footpath. Please also convey this to anyone who does this duty on your behalf. The safety of our children and families at drop off and pick up times is our priority, and we would like to thank you for your support in making this time as safe as possible.
PTA AGM Reminder
The PTA AGM is an important event for parents which shares the important work the PTA does for the Glenealy Community. Due to the current social distancing restrictions on site, this event will be somewhat different to previous years. We will be holding a socially distanced event on site in The Centre - details will have been sent to you from the Glenealy PTA directly. Parents are welcome to join us for this event which will take place on Thursday 15th October from 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm. More details can be found in the PTA section of this Newsletter.
I hope you all have a good end to your week and a great weekend to follow.
Best regards,
Chris
Dates for your Diary
Thursday 15th October
PTA AGM 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm The Centre at Glenealy School
Monday 19th - Friday 23rd October
Mid -term break
Monday 26th October- Public Holiday
The day following Chung Yeung Festival
Message from The Green Team
This October we are supporting local environmental charity Redress in their environmental awareness campaign ‘Get Redressed Month’. Through education, Redress’s goal is to help reduce textile waste, address overconsumption and educate students about the environmental impact of the fashion industry. See their website at https://www.redress.com.hk/
Action for Glenealy Students to take:
REDRESSED (NON-UNIFORM) DAY
Glenealy School Redressed Day is on Friday 16th October 2020
On this day, please wear clothing that is not new. By choosing to wear what we have rather than buying new clothes, we can save precious natural resources like land and water, reduce carbon emissions, and help stop fashion waste from ending up in our overflowing landfills. Let’s use Redressed Day to raise awareness of having healthy attitudes towards our consumption of clothing and celebrate alternatives to buying new clothes, such as swapping, borrowing or buying secondhand.
Some ideas for what to wear:
Revive - Clothes purchased secondhand
Repair - Clothes that have been fixed e.g. patch, altered, new buttons
Restyle- Clothes that have been borrowed or swapped with a friend/family member
Rewear - The oldest item in their wardrobe or your favourite piece of clothing that you have worn again and again
Receive - Hand-me-downs from friends or family members
Repurpose - Homemade or upcycled clothes
Recycle - Items made from recycled yarns/plastic
REDRESS CLOTHING DRIVE
Redress has organised a clothing drive. They will be collecting unwanted clothes. Once the clothes have been collected, they are sorted by Redress who will then focus on getting these unworn and unwanted clothes back into use by people who want or need them (donated to charities such as Impact UK, Oxfam, Po Leung Kok). Last year during the clothing drive, Glenealy School collectively saved 208.2kg of clothing from our Hong Kong landfills.
Where are the collection boxes?
We will not be collecting clothes on site this year but there will be collection boxes placed around public locations in Hong Kong in October. See locations here or visit this website: https://www.redress.com.hk/clothing-collection/2020
What clothing can be collected?
Any type of clothing and fashion accessories for men, women and children.
Please make sure that you wash any clothing first!
No shoes
Also remember that the PTA will be collecting gently used Glenealy School uniforms throughout October in The Hub. More details about this can be found below in the PTA section.
PTA News
PTA Annual General Meeting
We would like to extend a warm invitation to all parents and teachers to attend the Glenealy School PTA Annual General Meeting. Details as follows:
Start Time: Doors open at 3.15pm, wrap up by 4.15pm
Date: Thursday, 15th October 2020
Place: The Centre, Glenealy School
The formalities will be kept to a minimum as we review the past year and thank you our amazing community for all your support. This year we will not be able to offer the hospitality that we normally organise due to the current social distancing rules. Nevertheless, the AGM is an important event which we are fortunate to be able to hold on the school site.
Please note that this is a parent/teacher only event. For further details regarding the Agenda and Audited Accounts please refer to the notice via the Glenealy App.
Uniform
The PTA will be holding a gently used uniform sale on the mornings of Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th October. In line with social distancing requirements regarding group gatherings, we ask that interested families complete this form. You will be contacted and informed of your allocated shopping time. You will not be able to purchase uniform without registering online first. It is important that you only attend during your allocated time.
We will also be taking donations of washed, gently used uniform in good condition at The Hub on Friday 9th, Monday 12th, Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th October at morning drop off.
Book Week Art Exhibition
We are delighted to announce the all-new Book Week Art Exhibition. During the half term break, we are inviting all Glenealy students to submit an art piece inspired by their favourite book. You can use any medium of art such as paintings, sculptures, dioramas, Lego creations, sketches or a collage. Once completed, a high quality resolution photograph should be emailed to pta@glenealy.net including the students name and class. The artwork will be uploaded to a fantastic virtual gallery, which will be shared within the Glenealy community for all to admire and enjoy. We can't wait to see the children’s creations.
Class Representatives
We are looking for additional parent volunteers for the very important role of Class Representatives for Years 2-6. The role of Class Representative helps to create an additional communication channel between school, the PTA and parents and to develop a nurturing and supportive school community. The role has been updated and we hope the new levels of involvement will appeal to parents wanting to have increased participation in shaping the school community. A more detailed description of the Class Representative role can be found here.
There are a maximum of two Representatives per class and 4 per year. Please complete the form here if you are interested in becoming a 2020/21 Class Representative for your class.