Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope you had a fantastic Lunar New Year break! It was a great time to enjoy the lovely HK weather and food, catch up with family and friends or perhaps a well-deserved trip away. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Year of the Horse ahead. Many thanks for your donations to the CNY Carnival. We raised $6064.00

It’s Stakeholder Survey Time!

Our school development is never complete! This year’s survey is your chance to tell us what’s working and where we can continue to improve. Please contribute as your voice matters. Details as follows:

Time: Approx. 5 minutes

Closing Date: Friday 13 March

Important things to note:

• We have switched the survey provider to SurveyMonkey.

• Like last year, we have sent the survey to both Parents/guardians listed on Gateway.

• Like last year, depending on the parent's email provider, the email with the survey link may land in your Spam folder. This is a known issue that is outside of our control. Parents should look for an email titled "2026 ESF Stakeholder Survey". It was sent yesterday(25 February 2026)

Interschool Professional Learning Visits

On Tuesday, we welcomed senior leaders and teachers from Shatin Junior School to Kennedy School. These visits are a great way for teachers to learn from one another and ensure we are providing the best possible environment for our students.

During their time in our classrooms, the focus was on three key areas:

• Knowing the "Why": Ensuring every student understands exactly what they are learning and why it matters, so they feel motivated and on track.

• Learning Your Way: Giving students different ways to show what they know. This lets their individual strengths shine.

• The Right Support for Every Child: Using flexible tools and "open-ended" tasks. This ensures that if a student is stuck, they have the help they need to move forward, and if they are advanced in this area, they are pushed to think even deeper.

These ESF ‘Impact Walks’ allow practitioners to gather evidence and insights into classroom practice. Our teachers and leaders then reflect on these findings to drive continuous improvement. Following our hosting session, Kennedy School staff reciprocated the cycle with a visit to SJS today.

Performance by ISF Band and Orchestra

We welcomed 45 students from the Independent Schools Foundation (ISF) in Cyberport who took us on a fabulous musical journey this morning. They played to appreciative audiences and we were blown away by their musical prowess. We hope many students were inspired to learn to play like them!

Behaviour Management Coffee Morning for Helpers

On Thursday 12 March (8.30 to 9.30 am), Steff Ho, an educational psychologist from the ESF Centre, will deliver a collaborative and engaging session for domestic helpers on the topic of behaviour management. The session will provide practical strategies and insights to support positive behaviour in children, with a focus on building understanding and confidence among those in caregiving roles. If this is of interest, please sign up HERE.

Farewell to Heenu Nagrani - EA 2D

Sadly we are saying goodbye to Heenu on Friday as she is relocating outside of Hong Kong.  Heenu is a much-loved EA in 2D working alongside Mrs Douglas.  Heenu’s experience, care, kindness and impeccable organisation were some of her many wonderful traits.  We wish her well.

We welcome Mrs Cheryl Athaide who is completing induction with Heenu this week and will start full time in 2D next week.

Kind regards,
Brenda
顧仁達

For the next two issues, we will take a little detour to discuss Kennedy’s IB evaluation process.

ESF schools are part of the IB (International Baccalaureate). The IB organisation currently supports over 6000 international schools worldwide. It provides up-to-date research, a framework and accountability. To maintain accreditation, all schools must engage in a 5 year cycle of ongoing reflection and improvement.

Learn more about it HERE.

All past copies of the PYP in action newsletters can be found HERE.

Kennedy School is very proud to present a fabulous momento of the experiences and memories our children have had this academic year. The Kennedy School Yearbook is packed full of children’s work, entertaining photographs, pictures of school-wide events and students’ amazing achievements. Every child is featured in the book as a celebration of school life at Kennedy School. Each hardcover Yearbook can be purchased for $305.

You can preorder your copy/ies now by logging into Gateway and completing the eNotice there. Sales will close on Monday 27 April 2026, after which, the books will be printed according to the orders placed. While this gives everyone plenty of time to place their order, it also means that no books can be purchased after that date.

When the books are ready, they will be delivered to the students' classrooms in the latter half of June 2026.

If you have any questions or are unsure of what to do, please contact the school office at office@kennedy.edu.hk or call 25795600.

Hockey updates

On Tuesday, we welcomed ESF Glenealy School for a friendly Hockey fixture as part of our regular training sessions. This was a great experience for all of our players as they got to play a friendly match in a competitive spirit against another school. Thank you to Mrs Harris and coach Saatchi for your help with giving everyone in the club a chance to play. This will put us on the right path to our next Hockey tournament in March when we take the team to the HKPSSA Hockey Championships.

Running News

On Saturday 14 March, we will take 5 boys and 5 girls (from each age category from under 8 through to under 11) to Discovery College for the HKPSSA Cross Country Championships. We currently have some spaces for this event. Priority will go to our Wednesday morning running club members but if your child is confident to run, and you would like your child to be considered, please contact me via email for further information at pcrompton@kennedy.edu.hk.

Congratulations to all our Kennedy sports stars!

Bethany Rachelle Luing (1K) was interviewed by local media about her horse riding journey. She passed the Pony Club Australia Level E exam last December. Bethany is also working on her skiing and snowboarding parallel skiing. Go Bethany!

Hadrian Cheung (3T) recently participated in the Bangkok International Rugby 10's tournament with the HKFC U8 team, held on 14 & 15 February. He played 6 games over the two hot mornings, and the team finished as Cup 1st runner up among 8 teams! It was a wonderful experience for Hadrian, both in terms of skill development and the joy of being part of such a spirited competition.

Nanako Kikutake (5M) recently participated in the Chinese New Year Football Cup as a member of the Hong Kong Island girls team A, and they won the first runner up!

It’s a joy to be back and getting organized for our upcoming community events - Quiz night, coffee morning, staff appreciations and more. The PTA committee wishes everyone a heartfelt Kung Hei Fat Choi! May the Year of the Horse bring renewed strength and unity to our wonderful community.

On 6 February, Kennedy School ended its Chinese New Year celebrations with a vibrant Lion Dance, a cherished PTA sponsored tradition bringing joy, luck, and prosperity to our community. The colourful performance was a lively finale to a week of cultural activities enjoyed by students and staff alike.

QUIZ NIGHT TICKETS SALES AND SIGN UP

LAST CALL, Get your Tickets now! We are looking for 8 more teams to fill our annual PTA Quiz Night on Friday, 6 March. Non-Kennedy friends and alumni families are more than welcome to join too! Tickets are just $350 per person and includes delicious Mexican food, refreshing non-alcoholic drinks, and fantastic entertainment. Teams are made up of 6 people — but don’t worry if you’re joining solo or in a pair, we’ll find a team for you! Don’t miss out on your chance to join one of the most beloved events of the year!

Sign up LINK

Dress Up Day- Year 3- Friday,13 March

On Friday, 13 March, our whole school will come together to celebrate Rainbow Day, proudly led by Year 3! Each year group will dress in a different colour to create a vibrant rainbow across our school:

• Year 1: Purple

• Year 2: Blue

• Year 3: Green

• Year 4: Yellow

• Year 5: Orange

• Year 6: Red

This joyful celebration will not only brighten our halls but also support a unique experience for Year 3. A $20 donation would be greatly appreciated to help raise funds. Let’s make Rainbow Day a colorful success together!

Community school projects by the PTA

Community projects are still developing on the East Wing roof! We’re creating a yarn crochet flower wall and a positive word wall. Donations of already‑made yarn flowers, pipe cleaner flowers and any Scrabble or Bananagram letter pieces would be greatly appreciated. Let’s fill that wall with colour, creativity, and community spirit! For more info or to donate email pta@kennedy.edu.hk

Don’t forget our Upcycle Project If you are spring cleaning and have any items you think would benefit school or curriculum learning for any year group, please contact gadams@kennedy.edu.hk to discuss possibilities.

Uniform Donation Request

We kindly ask families to donate any unused uniforms in good condition, to the PTA Space. Many parents are looking for pre-loved uniforms for their children, and your contribution will make a big difference.

Donations can be dropped off at the PTA Space. If the Space is closed, please leave them at the Reception. Thank you for supporting our school community!

PTA Space Opening Hours: Monday, Wed - Thursday 8:15 am- 3:30 pm; Friday 8:00 am- 11:30 am (Tuesday closed, see reception for urgent matters.)

1. Bus Service Overview & FAQs

2. Birthday Book ordering

3. Chinese Weekly Learning:

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

4. eLibrary platform (For Years 4,5,6)

• Login: Your child’s school email address

• Password: KSbooks1

5. Gateway Log-in

6. Hot Lunch Service & Hot Lunch Order Portal - Please order by the 24th

7. Inclement Weather Procedures

8. Kennedy Today Newspaper

9. Medical Updates

10. Parent Information Workshops 2025/26

11. Parent Brochure on Safeguarding and Child Protection at ESF

12. PYP In Action UPDATED

13. Seesaw Log-in

14. School Calendar 2025/26

15. School Calendar 2026/27 (Draft)

16. School Uniform Guide & School Uniform Shop

17. Snapshot of Learning Websites

Year 1, Year 2 (unit 1, unit 2), Year 3

Year 4, Year 5, Year 6