Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We are delighted to share that our Year 1 students had a fantastic first day at school, spending the entire day together as a class of 30! Well done Year 1!

New Staff
Our new staff members have seamlessly integrated into the Kennedy team and community. You can learn more about them by clicking here.

Meet the Year Group Session
We will be hosting Meet the Year Group sessions next Thursday 31 August, and you will receive a Zoom link through the ESF APP next Tuesday. To ensure smooth communication with a large number of participants, we kindly request that you keep your microphone on mute during the session.

The presentations will be shared via the APP the day after the meeting, along with a recorded version. If you are unable to attend the live session, we strongly encourage you to listen to the recording at your convenience.

Timings for the Zoom meetings on Thursday 31 August:

• Years 2 and 5 parent/caregiver session: 5:00 to 5:45 pm

• Years 3, 4, and 6 parent/caregiver session: 5:45 to 6:30 pm

Year 1 teachers have personally reached out to Year 1 parents to schedule a separate meeting time.

Staff Run After School Activities

We have an exciting lineup of staff run after school activities for Term 1, which will be available for sign-up starting tomorrow Friday, 25 August at 12 noon. To register your child, please follow the instructions provided below. In order to give all children an opportunity to participate, we kindly request that you prioritise a maximum of three clubs per term for your child - please chat with them to find out their favourites. Please note that school buses will not be available to support after school clubs.

ESF has reinstated the Primary ESF Choral Concert for Years 5 and 6, initially, we had thought this was for year 4 also. This event will take place every two years, which will allow Year 4 students to participate when they reach Year 6. Additionally, all children now have weekly year-group singing sessions in their timetable, providing an inclusive opportunity for everyone to be part of a choir.

We greatly appreciate your ongoing support and cooperation. We look forward to connecting with you soon.

Warm regards,
Brenda
顧仁達

PE

Welcome back to a new year of sports at Kennedy School! In Term 1, students will enjoy Swimming and Games lessons in addition to their regular PE Programme. To ensure the safety of all students, please remember to remove all jewellery and tie back long hair before each lesson. If your child wears religious threads or jewellery, kindly cover them with a sweatband. Stud earrings are allowed, but hooped earrings should not be worn to school.

For PE/Games days, it is recommended that regular watches be left at home as the school cannot be responsible for their safekeeping. However, students in Years 5 and 6 may wear fitness trackers or smart watches under a sweatband.

After School Sports Clubs

Staff run sports clubs will be available this term for students in Year 2 to 6. You can sign up your child for these clubs on Gateway from Friday 25 Aug at 12 noon.

Swimming

Here are some important details about our swimming programme:

• The Autumn Term swimming program will start the week beginning September 4th.

• Swimming lessons in Term 1 are for children in Years 2-6. Year 1 students will have swimming lessons in Term 3.

• Year 2 students will have two swimming lessons a week in Term 1, totaling 12 lessons. Students in Years 3 to 6 will have 6 lessons.

• In case of inclement weather, younger students will learn water safety, while older students will learn practical water safety techniques.

• We recommend that your child brings his/her swimming kit on every swimming day, regardless of the weather.

To be prepared for swimming, each child will need:

Essential Items for Swimming Lessons

On swimming days, students may wear their PE kit to school to save time changing.

Please refer to the visual swimming schedule attached for further details.

Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to a fantastic year of sports at Kennedy School!

Term 1 Swim Schedule

Term 1 Staff Run After School Clubs

Registration for staff-run after school activities for this term will open on Friday 25 August at 12 Noon. All registration will take place on Gateway. Please see the following important notes before registering:

Registration for a club is complete when payment is made on the epayment system.

● Please note that activities and fees are for one term only. You must register every term for an activity. Some activities are offered in both Term 1 & Term 2 (e.g. Battle of the Books) and you must register your child for activities each term, unless it is specified otherwise.

● Please note we are unable to accommodate any late registrations or extend club sizes. Please be sure to register promptly for any clubs for your child(ren).

● Some clubs are “By trial”. For trials, please sign-up via the Google Form link provided in the activity description. If you are interested in those activities or if you have any questions about registration, please contact the teacher in charge.

● Some clubs are “Invitation only”. If you are interested in those activities or if you have any questions about registration for those activities, please contact the teacher in charge.

● Please note the start and end dates of the activity and the equipment needed. No reminders will be sent about these.

● There is no school bus service for after school activities.

For guidance on how to register for activities using Gateway, please review this document, or click on the Help button on Gateway.

Guidance for Parent Sign Up of Activities

School Council Vacancy

Please click on the links below for more details of the vacancy for 1 parent member on the Kennedy School Council. Joining the School Council is a fantastic opportunity to gain insights into how our school operates and to work alongside Community, PTA and Parent reps, ESF directors, SLT, and staff reps to be part of decision-making that benefits our students at Kennedy School. Here is the link to the website. Please reach out to Brenda if you'd like any further information.

Letter from the Principal

Nomination Form

Personal Statement

The last date for the receipt of nomination forms and the optional personal statements is 29 August 2023, 4.00 pm. Thank you.

Letter from the PTA Chair

A warm welcome back on behalf of the PTA to all our Kennedy School families. Last week we had the pleasure of hosting 2 welcome coffee mornings for all our new parents. It was wonderful to see all the smiling faces of our new families. I had a wonderful time meeting many of you and we hope you were able to meet other parents and to connect as well.

The main goal of our PTA is to foster a strong sense of community for all our families within the school and surrounding community. We have many fun events planned for the first term - year-led theme dress up days, our annual legendary PTA Quiz night, coffee mornings and a Festive Fair in November! Please have a look at the PTA section of the Kennedy School website where you can get more information about what we do and who we are! See you all soon again and hope you all have a wonderful start to the school year.

Natasha Petit-O’Connor

PTA Chair

Second Hand Uniforms

Thank you for all of the old style second hand uniforms that have been sent in so far. We will accept the old style uniform for “downcycling” for one more week only. The deadline is 31 August 2023.

From 1st September, we will only accept second hand donations of the current uniform style, in good condition, which will then be available for re-sale to other students.

At this time, we have a very limited second hand uniform supply for the current Kennedy School uniform. We request a donation to the PTA of $20 per garment purchased.

Please contact the PTA to find out if the item you may be looking for is available.

Class Parents

A huge thank you to parents across the school who have come forward as class parents for 2023/24 so far. We are still seeking class parents for the following classes:

Year 1: 1C, 1F, 1K

Year 2: 2R

Year 3: 3F, 3H

Year 4: 4D, 4R, 4W

Year 5: 5H, 5M

Year 6: 6B, 6C

The Class Parent is a central contact point for parents throughout the year - and for the teacher and PTA to communicate with our community and seek parent helpers.

If you are keen, or would like to know more about what the role entails, please contact Fiona at pta@kennedy.edu.hk.

School Lunch

We launched the school lunch service run by Zebratasty last Friday via a message on the ESF App and are pleased to see many families have signed up.

Please be reminded, if you intend for your child to enrol for lunch in the month of September, to do so by the end of day today, Thursday 24th August. Orders after this date for September will incur a $8 surcharge per meal.

The links to the details is below for your reference.

App Message Recap

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Recap

** If you have enrolled, please remember three very important things**

1. Please send a snack for breaktime, a water bottle and cutlery with your child

2. If you have only enrolled for occasional days, please make sure your child has lunch sent with them for the remaining days.

3. Please talk to your child about the importance of tidying up and placing the lunch box back in the main class box outside the classroom at the end of lunch.

Yearband Led Dress Up Day - Friday 15th September

It is a whole school dress up day on Friday 15th September and Year 6 are in charge!

They have decided that the theme is for the whole school to come wearing PINK!

Pink represents compassion, kindness, empathy and understanding - which as everyone settles into their new routines at school is a wonderful focus.

Students and staff can come wearing clothing or accessories with any shade of pink - from a whole outfit to a T-shirt, a pair of socks….and anything in between.

On the day, please send your child with a suggested minimum donation of $20 which will be collected as students arrive at school. Year 6 will use the donations to organise a year group activity.

(Younger year groups will decide the whole school theme throughout the year and also benefit from this fund raising initiative throughout the year, please help Year 6 on this occasion!)

PTA Office Opening

The PTA remains open by appointment only until further notice.

Please email Fiona at pta@kennedy.edu.hk if you would like to try an item on, or if you wish to enquire about our very limited supply of second hand uniform available.

1. School Uniform Guide

2. School Uniform Shop

3. Here are the Inclement Weather Procedures which is also located on the school website.

4. Final ESF School Calendar 2023-34