Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Thank you for your participation and positive support during the parent consultations. The teachers were thrilled to have had such great conversations with all of you. Our next steps include inviting you to open days where you can observe the children's learning and get a feel for the school.

Welcome to Jodie Miller who has taken over 3W during Ms Woodall's maternity leave. Jodie has settled well in her first week and is enjoying school already.

After-School Activities. Shuttle Bus Service - Trial
We have been working with transport authorities to address the issue of overcrowding during peak times. They have assured us that more buses will be provided. Additionally, Steven, our bus coordinator, has been collaborating with our bus provider to set up a trial shuttle bus service. Please note that this may not be suitable for all children due to varying times.

However, we would like to evaluate the effectiveness of the trial before committing to do this longer term.

To register for the Tuesday shuttle bus, click here.
To register for the Thursday shuttle bus, click here.

Road Safety

For the safety of the children and families, please use the road crossing lollipop service provided by the school in the morning and at the end of the school day. We have noticed that some children are meeting their parents and carers at the bus stop instead of being collected from school at the end of the school day or after their extra curricular activities. For the safety of the children, please ensure that the children are collected from the school playground by an adult if you are picking up the children from school. It is dangerous for the children to cross the road on their own without adult supervision.

Learning more about each other - how can we explore this together?
We are committed to promoting and embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion at Kennedy School. As part of this effort, the staff has been working with the children to explore their identities and what makes them unique. We encourage all children and families to participate in this process, as it allows for a more open-minded learning environment where knowledge, values, and experiences can be shared.

If your child or family would like to share something during our assemblies, please contact one of the VPs or myself. With Diwali approaching, this could be a wonderful opportunity for children to share a practised item or to share how your family celebrates this occasion. We will include these Diwali items in our assemblies during the week of November 12th. The same applies to other occasions. Please just reach out to us.

Years 1 and 2 classes are also interested in learning about other families through stories, related crafts or hands-on experiences. If you have something you would like to share, please inform your child's teacher.

New Kennedy School Promotional Video
Last term, ESF helped create a promotional video as part of our marketing strategy. It is now available on our website under the ‘About Us’ section. We would like to extend our thanks to all the staff, parents, and students who were involved. Please click the link here to view the video.

School Uniforms

We have noticed an increasing number of children wearing random sweatshirts, cardigans, or multi-coloured jackets to school. Please order your winter garments online from the school uniform shop to ensure preparedness for the seasonal change. Click on this link to place your order.

Warm regards,
Brenda
顧仁達

PTA AGM

Thank you to all parents and staff who dedicated their time to attend the PTA AGM on Tuesday 10th October. The meeting is an important milestone in the PTA Calendar - where we review the past months, the audited financial statements, and the collaboration between the PTA and school. The PTA Committee for the year ahead was formed.

We extend our appreciation to parent representative, Carlo Singson, who stood down from the committee and for all the energy and hard work he has given to the PTA. We welcome parent representative, Julia To, and very much look forward to her input in the coming months.

PTA Fees

In accordance with ESF ordinance, every family is automatically a member of the Parent Teacher Association and must pay an annual PTA fee.

At the AGM this week, it was announced that Kennedy School PTA Fees are being reduced to $200 per family with immediate effect. You will be invoiced through the ePayment system on Friday 13th October.

Zebratasty Hot Lunches - November Menu Now Available

The November 2023 hot lunch menu is available to order at the standard price of $46 for a small and $48 for a regular box. This price is available for November meals until end of day 24th October. Orders for lunches in November placed on 25th October or later will incur an $8 surcharge per meal.

Details of how to order, FAQs and the latest menu can be found on the Kennedy School Website under “Life at Kennedy”.

Hot Lunch Details

** With school camps and sports team events taking place, please ensure you do not order lunch for your child if they are known to be out of school - Zebratasty can process cancellations with 5 days notice.**

Kennedy School PTA Greeting Card Competition RETURNS!

As announced last week, please see the link below for the competition rules and guidelines.

Card Competition

Deadline is Tuesday 31st October.

Hint: Make a start now - but this could be a perfect family activity to complete over the Half Term break!

Kennedy School Festive Fair - Friday 17th November 6:00 - 8:30 pm

Final call for vendor registration for this whole community event. Full details as previously shared in the link below.

(Deadline to submit vendor registration is October 17th. Registrations will be reviewed and vendors contacted thereafter if they can be accommodated.)

Festive Fair Newsletter Announcement

Reminders:

Quiz Night - TOMORROW !

Registrations are now CLOSED. We have 17 teams competing for the coveted title of “Kennedy School PTA Quiz Night Champions 2023.” Who will be crowned Quiz Champions 2023? Can “PTSD” win for a second year running? Who will take home a wooden spoon? How tricky will the questions be? Who will have the best Quiz Team name? Answers to all these questions and more in next week's newsletter. Stay tuned.

We thank those who have sponsored prizes for the winning team and lucky prize draw and will share full details next week.

May the best team win !

Webinar: The Primary Years Programme: An Overview

Wednesday 1 November 2023, 5.00 to 6.00 pm 

On November 1st, we will be hosting a webinar ‘The Primary Years Programme: an Overview.’ This webinar is designed for all parents who are interested in knowing more about the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP). It will include the different elements of the PYP programme; approaches to teaching and learning in the curriculum and how you can support your child in their primary years journey and beyond.

To help us prepare for the workshop, please register your interest here.

The joining link for the webinar will be sent out after the mid-term break.

At the Year 1 and 2 Assembly today, the children learned about the ongoing Rugby World Cup and about the game of rugby. Many thanks to the coaches from Rugbytots for the introduction.

Kennedy Football Friendly

It was great to see our Year 5 and Year 6 students take part in a friendly football match against ESF Glenealy School and Kellett School yesterday (11 October). The matches were played in a supportive, friendly atmosphere with some fantastic football skills on show. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to encourage the students.

Go Kennedy Girls Football

This Saturday 14 October, our girls football team will be in action at ESF Peak School at the Island Football festival. Good luck to Mr Bogaerde and the girls this weekend!

We are looking forward to welcoming all Year 6 parents to the Year 6 Swim Gala at HKU Stanley Ho Swimming Pool on Friday 20th October. Races will take place from 9.00 am to 12.15 pm approximately.

All Year 6 students will participate in the gala which will be an exciting morning of swimming participation, competition and house rivalry. It will conclude this term's Swimming Block and is a celebration of the Kennedy students’ swimming ability.

There will be swim events where students are selected following a review of their progress this term as recommended by the Aquakids swim coaches. The list has now been shared with the students. Please help your child remember what races they are in and note that there will be no further changes to the events.

Students should come to school in their PE kit with their regular swimming suit underneath. They should take a small snack, water bottle and towel with them to HKU. Sunscreen should be applied before school. Long hair must be tied up under a swim cap. As the students are swimming to score points for their House, we are encouraging them to wear swim caps in their House colours.

Parents who signed up to help with the Gala should meet at the swimming pool at 8.20 am. HKU requires all students and adults at the poolside to remove their shoes and left on the walkway ramp leading up to the pool.

After the Gala, students will return to school to change and continue with the rest of their day.

Kennedy School is delighted to be taking part in the Box of Hope programme again this year. Last year, our incredibly kind community collected over 1100 boxes that went to needy families here in Hong Kong and in South East Asia.

The box stickers will go home this week. If you plan to make more than one box and need additional stickers, you can print this scanned version out for use.

The Environmental Ambassadors worked hard to present these slides to the Year 3 to 6 assemblies which explains how the programme work. They will also visit Year 1 and 2s to show them what a Box of Hope looks like up close. The deadline for the boxes to be returned to school is Thursday 2 November.

Thank you in advance for supporting this terrific charity.

Mr Tremmel and the Environmental Ambassadors

Children from Year 3 and Year 6 have the opportunity to go across to Stanley Ho Sports Centre during their lunch time from Tuesday 31 October 2023. They will take their lunch (picnic style) to the HKU fields with a Senior Leadership Team member over one lunchtime each week and have their lunch play there. This has proved to be hugely popular with the children.

The schedule of classes going to the sports centre for lunch play is as follows :

Time : 12.30 to 1.20 pm (from 31 October onwards)

To enable us to supervise the children we need some parent volunteers who are willing to come across with us one or more days a week. The time commitment is 12.30 pm to 1.20 pm each day. If we get 4 or 5 mums/dads who can commit to a day or a few days each week that would be fabulous.

If you are keen to help as a parent volunteer, please complete the google form here and we will get in touch with you. All parent volunteers are required to complete the Child Protection declaration in the Gateway in advance prior to the supervision. Please click here for information on how to submit the Child Protection declaration.

We look forward to hearing from parents who are able to help. For your information, Year 4 and 5 students will have the opportunity to do this in Term 2.

1. Chinese Learning Links

   1. Year 1 Weekly Learning Notice

   2. Year 2 Weekly Learning Notice

   3. Year 3 Weekly Learning Notice

   4. Year 4 Weekly Learning Notice

   5. Year 5 Weekly Learning Notice

   6. Year 6 Weekly Learning Notice

2. School Uniform Guide

3. School Uniform Shop

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

5. Updated Kennedy School Calendar 2023-24