Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This gorgeous weather has made our excursions this week to Mui Wo (Year 5) and the four-day camp in Sai Kung (Year 6) truly memorable! We have been so fortunate. The children have loved the experiences in the outdoors! Thank you for the help from parents for the Year 5 trip.

Holidays and Closure

The school will close for Term 1 on Friday 15 December. It will be a half-day that day, ending at 12 noon. Bus students will board the buses from 11:50 am and walkers are to be collected from 11.57 am. There will be no lunch eaten in school that day. The school will resume again on Monday 8 January 2024 at the usual time.

A reminder that EDB has closed all schools after the Seventh District Council Ordinary Election. Therefore Monday, 11 December has been added to the ESF calendar as an additional holiday. Please refer to the ESF calendar here.

Calendar for 2024/25

ESF is going through the final consultation process and we expect to have next year’s calendar to you by the end of this month. Thank you for your patience.

Uniforms
We still have children wearing old sweaters, cardigans and sweatshirts. Our old uniform is now not to be worn to school. You can purchase these new items online at the uniform shop. We will be more strict on this after the holidays so please be prepared by ordering in advance.

Staffing

We will be saying farewell at the end of this term to Anna Mak, our part-time music teacher who is moving abroad with her family. Anna has worked with Kennedy School for 5 years and has taught our younger students to love music and movement. Anna has helped lead our school choirs and is much loved by our students. We wish Anna all the very best in her next adventure.

We have employed Thea Wong a passionate music, dance and drama teacher to take over the role of Expressive Arts for Years 1 and 2.

Cat Lao one of our Year 6 EAs will also be leaving us as she and her family are also moving abroad. Cat has only been with us for a relatively short time but has made a real impact. I know the teachers and students will really miss her efficiency, can-do approach and great teamwork. We wish Cat and her family all the very best.

Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community.

Warm regards,

Brenda
顧仁達

Term 2 Staff Run After School Clubs

Registration for staff-run after school activities for this term will open on Friday 8 December at 8 pm. This is new date/time we are trialling to give more parents the opportunity to sign their child up for a club. 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 (for example. Orchestra and 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 “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

The Lunar New Year Design Competition 

We are searching for student artwork to appear on school displays celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Dragon in February 2024. The artwork should be A3 size and handed to class teachers by 3.00 pm, Wednesday 13 December 2023. For more details, please have a look at the letter shared last week:

Lunar New Year Design Competition information

Christmas Post

Our Christmas postbox will make its annual appearance in front of Reception from Monday 4 December. Please use it to post Christmas cards and letters to students and teachers at school. Our Year 6 elves will conduct daily deliveries to classrooms to spread festive greetings. Please send in only cards and letters. Do not post sweets or any food items.

Christmas Plant Sale

On Thursday 7 December, we will be holding a Christmas plant sale to celebrate the holiday season. Please bring $50 if you would like your child to bring a plant home. The poinsettias will be sold in the playground during the first break at 10.30 am.

Lost Property

The lost property boxes are filling up. These boxes outside Reception will be emptied during the school holidays so please check them for missing items by 15 December 2023.

Match Report - Y4/5 Football Tournament at Kings Park

Well done to our Year 4/5 footballers who took part in the football tournament at Kings Park last Thursday. Our Girls A team finished in 2nd place out of 7 teams in the girls section and played really well throughout the tournament. The Boys A team finished in 3rd place overall with a record of 7 wins, one draw and a defeat. Our Kennedy Boys B team also recorded some great performances and finished a respectable 6th place out of the 10 teams at the event.

Football Friendlies at HKU - 1 December

This week, we are celebrating the final week of sports clubs with friendly football matches against Glenealy School and Kiangsu Chekiang School (KCIS).

Well done to the Year 5s who participated in Tuesday’s games. The next round of games will take place on Friday 1st December when the Year 3/4s will take on the 2 schools on Pitch 4 from 3.00 to 4.15 pm. Parents are welcome to attend and support our students.

AFL Friendly -Tuesday 5 December

Good luck to the selected students who will represent Kennedy School in the AFL friendly match at Australian International School next week. Go Kennedy!

Important - All sports clubs for this term have ended this week. Please take a look at the Term 2 Staff Run After School Sports Clubs information above and speak with your child about the clubs they would like to participate in.

Please be aware that the Department of Health has issued an appeal for heightened vigilance against winter respiratory tract infections. (24 November 2023 CHP Press Release)

We advise parents to monitor children who complain of discomfort before sending them to school. Keeping a sick child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom. To help us prevent widespread infection in the school, please consider:

Keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

• Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough

• Mild sore throat (no fever)

• Headache

• Stomachache

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

• Fever (Fever Policy: Students with a temperature of 37.5°C/99.5°F or greater, should remain away from school until they are fever-free for 48 hours without the benefit of fever-reducing medicines such as Panadol or Ibuprofen)

• Vomiting and Diarrhoea – even 1 episode (Infectious Diseases Policy: Students with vomiting and/or diarrhea should remain away from school until 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting and diarrhea)

• Eye Inflammation

• Suspicious Rash

• Chills, general malaise, or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness, or muscle aches

• Frequent congested (wet) or croupy cough

Please contact me if you have any questions. And let’s work together to make the rest of this school year as healthy as possible.

2023 Kennedy School Festive Fair- What did you think?

We received a handful of responses for the fair - Thank you! If you have thoughts about that wonderful evening and what we can do to make it better, please complete this survey form: Festive Fair Survey

Kennedy School Christmas Merchandise!

We have some Kennedy School merchandise available. Please place your order in the form below:

Merchandise Order Form

Or pop into the PTA office or  Reception to pick these limited edition items:

Yearband Led Dress Up Days

Last week, the school was filled with figures in adorable pyjamas. A huge thank you for the kind donations. Year 4 raised HK$13,332 which they will use for a mindful art activity AND for classroom purchases.

The next Yearband Led Dress up Day will be on Friday 19 January 2024 when Year 3 will be in charge. Stay tuned for more details in the new year.

Launch of ESF Policy Portal

Like every big organisation, ESF has a number of policies and guidelines in place to help ensure that we are working efficiently, effectively and are consistent in how we go about our business. You can now access a page within the ESF App on your mobile phone that allows you to view some of those policies – particularly the ones that are most relevant to you as an ESF parent. To access the policy page, you can also click on this link ESF Policy Documents.

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. Kennedy School Calendar 2023-24