General

Dear parents,

Full Day School Returns !!

Kennedy School will return to full day school from Monday 24 May.  This is an exciting development and one I know we have all been looking forward to.   We are currently waiting for confirmation of what the rules and regulations will be in relation to lunchtime expectations and I will write to you early next week when I have more detailed information.

 

No CPD days next Thursday 20 May and Friday 21 May

 Just a reminder that next Thursday and Friday are normal school days at Kennedy.  The original school calendar indicated CPD days, however we decided very early on in the year to cancel the days for this year to maximise our in school time with students.

 

IB 5 Year Evaluation visit

 Kennedy School has this week completed its 5 year IB evaluation visit.  This is a rigorous and thorough evaluation of all aspects of the school conducted by experienced external evaluators.  Ms Yoon-Ah Lee, our Vice Principal and PYP Coordinator has provided a detailed summary of the evaluation findings further on in this newsletter.   However, I am proud to say the overall view was that Kennedy School is a great school supported by a committed staff, amazing students and a great community.  The full report will be made available to us in 6 to 8 weeks.

 

Communications update for Covid-19 cases/quarantine/URTI Scenarios

Please see below that we have now added students to the previous communication protocol.

 I thought it may be helpful to share the following protocols with you which we will follow if these covid/quarantine/URTI scenarios occur again:

1.  All school based decisions in relation to any covid outbreak/quarantine/URTI situations will be guided by the CHP including school closures. The school will not make unilateral decisions.
2.  If a staff member or student has been requested to quarantine due to a covid outbreak/CHP request, we will notify the whole school community whilst respecting the confidentiality of that staff member or student.
3. If the staff member or student is directly connected to a class/or year group we will inform that class or year group directly and name the affected staff member or student only if given permission to do so by the staff member or the student’s family.
4. Any quarantine situations affecting any non-staff member in the Kennedy School community will only be reported through school communications if the school is given permission to do so by that community/family member or on direction by the CHP.
5.  Any school closures are only on direction from the CHP, EDB or ESF Senior management. The school will not make unilateral decisions in these circumstances.

 Please note that all staff members are continuing to have fortnightly Covid-19 tests organised by the ESF.  Staff members who are 14 days clear of their second vaccination are now exempt from this process.

 Enjoy the weekend.

  

Kind regards,

John Brewster

Principal

Diary Dates

19 May Public Holiday - Buddha’s Birthday 

20 May PTA AGM (2.00 pm)

21 May Year 5 Market Day

26 May Year 1 Parent Consultation with Chinese teachers

28 May Dress Casual Day

14 June Public Holiday - Dragonboat Festival

18 June PTA Quiz Night

22 June Immunisations – Year 1 MMR, Year 6 MMR and Hepatitis B

IB Evaluation Report of Kennedy School

This week, two  representatives from the International Baccalaureate Organisation visited Kennedy School remotely to evaluate the implementation of the Primary Years Programme.  The final feedback was nothing short of glowing  about our school and it was a proud moment to hear pages and pages of accolades that were all accurate and well deserved. Most importantly,  the visiting team got a sense of who we are, that we care, respect and support each other. 

Read the IB Report summary HERE.

Student Withdrawal

If your child is leaving at the end of this academic year in June, the student withdrawal notice must be received by the School Admissions Manager, Mrs Anne Adams admissions@kennedy.edu.hk by 31 May 2021.

To assist with class planning, please submit the withdrawal form as soon as possible.  

Student Withdrawal Notice

Bus Routine Reminder

Please remember to email the school 48 hours in advance, if there are any changes to your child's weekly bus routine. Please send the email to bus@kennedy.edu.hk

 It is vital we know who is on the bus each day, so all buses can get everyone home quickly and safely.

Yearbook orders

We are expecting this year’s yearbook to be delivered to school within the next 2 weeks - ie by the end of May 2021.

 

If you'd like a copy, please place your order on the Gateway as soon as possible. Each hardcover book costs $300. Upon arrival, the books will be delivered to your child's classroom.

Toys in School

We are seeing an increasing number of toys sneaking their way into school. These tend to become distractions and can cause a disruption if lost or broken. Please help us by keeping the children's toys at home.

Upper Respiratory Tract Infection - Parent Information

The Centre for Health Protection is asking the community to stay vigilant against the spread of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI). 

The government has seen an increase in outbreaks of URTI within the past few weeks. At Kennedy School, we are slowly starting to see an increase in children absent with symptoms of URTI.CHP are therefore asking that parents check their child’s wellbeing and temperature daily (recorded in ESF app) before sending him/her to school. 

URTI is caused by a virus. Symptoms usually begin quickly, they will appear 1-4 days after having been in contact with the virus and lasts for up to 10 days. Some of the symptoms like fever will normally begin to go away after 2-4 days. A person with URTI is often contagious from 1 day before symptoms start to 5-10 days after. Symptoms often include: Runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, fever, headache and lack of energy. 

URTI mainly spreads by contact with nose or throat discharges or after touching contaminated objects. To help prevent spreading the virus, it is important to wear a face-mask when in public places, perform proper hand-hygiene, cover nose and mouth when coughing/sneezing, maintain good indoor ventilation and staying at home if having respiratory symptoms.

There is no specific treatment for URTI and antibiotics will normally not have any effect on the virus. The infected person should drink plenty of water and take adequate rest, and may receive symptomatic treatment to reduce fever and pain.

Should your child show any symptoms of URTI, please keep your child at home and consult your doctor if need be. 

We ask for parents' help following the school fever policy in order to minimize the spread of viral infections.

Any child with a temperature of 37.5C/99.5F or above needs to stay at home for 48 hours after the temperature has come down to normal without the use of fever reducing medication.

If you have any questions, please contact the nurses at nurse@kennedy.edu.hk

Tetrapak Collection Update

In just 4 weeks, we collected 40 kg of tetrapaks! That is about 1,300 packs saved from the landfill! Well done, everyone! 

We will continue with our Monday morning collections. Don't forget to cut open each pak, wash and dry them, remove the lids before bringing them to school!

 

PTA Update

Dear Kennedy Community,

I would like to thank all of you and all of your children for their enthusiastic participation and incredible fundraising efforts that went into our first spell-a-thon. Thanks to you all we have raised in excess of $180,000 which is to be used for the benefit of all the children at Kennedy.

Also huge thanks to Brooke Holden who spearheaded the whole idea and Vicki Rummun for the mountains of admin that came along with it and of course all the Kennedy teachers  for all of their support. Lastly thanks to Bookwise, Sandy Bay Mini Rugby, Ryze Trampoline Park and Delaney's restaurant, who all donated brilliant prizes. 

 

Save The Date - Event for Parents and Staff on 18 June

We are hoping to have a quiz run for the benefit of the PTA at an outside venue on 18th June. All details to follow soon.

In order to make sure this is a safe event for parents and staff, only people who are fully vaccinated are going to be able to attend the quiz. I hope this will allow staff and parents to feel comfortable attending the event but if anyone has any questions about this, please feel free to contact me.

 

AGM

Finally, a reminder that the PTA AGM will be held next Thursday 20th May at 2pm. This will take place at Kennedy School in the hall and we will also be providing a Zoom link for those who wish to join by Zoom. We hope to see many of you there. 

If anyone is interested in joining the committee please drop an email to myself or Vicki at vrummun@kennedy.edu.hk. We would love to have new faces and voices be represented in the PTA so please get in touch.

 

Hannah Shepherd

PTA Chair

hannah.nealon@gmail.com

General