Newsletter 24/2016-17
Quarry Bay School’s latest newsletter is available to read now. Find out the latest news around the school and upcoming events.
Principal’s Comments
QBS Book Week 2017
Year 6 Exhibition
Year 3 and 4 Athletic Events
QBS Basketball Tournament
QBS Hockey
The Race 2017
Job Vacancy – Bus Escorts / Bus Mothers
Australian Rules Football
ESF Sports and Language Spring Camps
PTA News
Principal’s Comments
Key dates for Term 2
Please click here
Key dates for next week
- Wednesday the 22nd of March – Year 3 Art Jam
- Wednesday the 22nd of March – Year 1 Familiarisation Evening (for the new Year 1 parents)
- Friday the 24th of March – Portfolios home for weekend
- Friday the 24th of March – Private and ESF Ed Services Clubs (Term 2) end
- Friday the 24th of March – Dress Sporty Day (to support the Year 6 students and the QBS Exhibition)
Book Week
It has been a fun week at QBS. Students have enjoyed the range of Book Week activities. The Throne of Books has been a popular place with students and teachers this week. The visits by authors Chris White and David Schwartz were successful and students enjoyed workshops with these talented gentlemen. Special thanks to Ms Trunkfield and the Book Week team for arranging a memorable week for students.
ESF Primary Choral Concert
I will attend the ESF Primary Choral Concert on Friday evening with my family. I am looking forward to seeing QBS students and their peers from across the ESF schools singing together. The students were set some very challenging songs and have worked really hard to master them. I hope they enjoy performing in a large stadium.
Parent Teacher Consultations
Thank you to all parents for attending the recent parent teacher consultations. Please remember that at QBS we welcome your contact should you have any concerns about school life or your child’s learning progress.
Pastoral
At QBS behaviour expectations are high. These expectations are reinforced by staff daily and sanctions for inappropriate behaviour are implemented when necessary. At QBS there is no tolerance of verbal put downs (eg teasing, name calling) as these experiences for a child can be harmful to self-esteem and confidence. Students are encouraged not to be a bystander to such things and to ‘call it out’ by speaking up and inform staff when they observe any put downs at QBS. Please also be reminded that we have an ‘open door’ policy at QBS and hope that all parents would be quick to inform us of any issues as they arise. Do not hesitate to contact a member of staff if you have any concerns about such behaviour.
Regards,
QBS Book Week 2017
QBS has had a fantastic week celebrating stories and poems from around the world. There have been all kinds of exciting activities run by teachers. We had wonderful author visits and also stories, read by parents and teachers, on the Throne of Books.
The week started with the children dressing up as their favourite book character. Have a look from here at this Animoto of some of the students and teachers dressed up. The effort was outstanding by everyone.
On Wednesday the Year 1, 2 and 3 children spent some time with Chris White, a poet and illustrator from England. He entertained the children and teachers with his drawings and poems and the children got to create their own poems with illustrations.
On Thursday, the Y4, 5 and 6 children had their mathematical and scientific minds challenged by David Schwartz. He worked with every year group and challenged their thinking around big numbers and the wonders of science.
The Throne of Books has been a hub of reading over the week. Parents have engaged the children with their mother tongue stories and teachers have read in their break and lunchtimes to varied audiences.
The Mannequin Challenge in the Learning Centre was hugely popular on Wednesday. Please see Qoodle for the finished movie. There were nearly 200 children ‘frozen’ in library style poses, even Chris White joined in!
Thank you QBS for an amazing week celebrating our passion for books and the importance of reading.
Year 6 QBS Exhibition
Click on the image and learn more from our Year 6 students.
Year 3 and 4 Athletic Events
We are looking forward to hosting our middle school athletics event at QBS in a few weeks time. The events will take place at Quarry Bay School between 9:00 am – 12:15 pm.
- Year 3 – Tuesday 28th March
- Year 4 – Tuesday 21st March
QBS Basketball Tournament
The QBS Basketball Team competed at the RCHK inter-schools tournament. They had a great day and were excellent representatives for our school.
If your children are interested in playing basketball please get in touch with ESF Tigers basketball club who host lessons at QBS for various ages all year round.
QBS Hockey
On the 6th of March, Quarry Bay School competed in a Hockey Tournament at HKFC. Quarry Bay sent quite a new team, with many only picking up a stick for the first time in January. However, you would never have guessed it, as they played brilliantly and had many admirers from other teams. QBS won one game and drew another out of their 5 games. This was very exciting as it was Quarry Bay’s first hockey win ever!! Everyone had a good day and the team was a credit to QBS in the way they played and acted on and off the pitch.
The Race 2017
Last Saturday QBS had 40 students participating in an event simply known as “The Race”, an endurance run around Discovery Bay. In the lead up to the event the group had been attending lunch time practice runs with many of the athletes taking action by practising at home.
We were very proud of all our runners, who showed grit and determination to push them to the limit until the finish line.
We were also really pleased at the final awards ceremony that 3 of our runners had placed in the top 3 in their age category.
Hamish – Under 9 Boys (3rd Place)
Lizzie – Under 9 Girls (3rd Place)
James – Under 11 Boys (2nd Place)
We look forward to presenting certificates to all our runners in next week’s sports assembly.
Job Vacancy – Bus Escorts / Bus Mothers
We are urgently looking for Bus Escorts/Bus Mothers to take care of our student bus riders, and ensure safe and sensible travel, to and from school daily. The job entails approximately one hour in the mornings and one hour in the afternoons. Applications for full day (i.e., morning and afternoon), or either morning or afternoon shifts are welcome. Please click here to learn more.
Australian Rules Football
HK Auskick provides the introductory Australian Rules Football program in HK for boys and girls from 4 to 14 years old, catering to all skill levels and highly compatible with any football background or passion. In conjunction, Hong Kong Junior AFL provides further training, development and the opportunity to play games in age groups from U8 to U15.
The programmes make learning to play the team game of Aussie Rules fun, safe and easy for kids. Through weekly coaching sessions the players will learn the skills of the game in an exciting, social and safe environment. It also provides a great opportunity for parents to interact with their kids during the activities and make new friends across Hong Kong around the greatest game on earth.
The 2017 season in Hong Kong commences on the weekend of 29/30 April and runs until early September, making it a perfect off-season fit with other football codes. A modified program is conducted across most of July to cater for summer holidays. Sessions are hosted by five clubs based in four main locations across Hong Kong: Kowloon (and Sai Kung), Lantau Island (DB), Sandy Bay (Pok Fu Lam) and Happy Valley.
In 2017 our players of all ages will also have the opportunity to participate in a touring party that will travel to Shanghai on the weekend of the inaugural AFL main season game on 14 May between Port Adelaide and Gold Coast. Players will have the opportunity to participate in football events on against other travelling clubs and on the ground of the main game. We are also in the final stages of confirming our participation in an AFL game in Melbourne during the HK summer holidays so stay tuned for details.
Details of the HK Auskick 2017 season, including registrations, are available on our website: http://auskickhk.com and you can keep up to date with our activities by liking us at http://facebook.com/auskickhk . Complete your Early Registration by 23rd of March 2017 to ensure your kit is available prior to kit collection for the first session weekend.
Our program is run entirely by volunteers, and the success of our program and at each of our locations is on us all. If parents have the time or skills to contribute then please let your club know during the registration process or email us at hk.auskick@gmail.com
ESF Sports and Language Spring Camps
PTA News
Upcoming PTA Events
Term 2
- Readathon: 27th February – 20th March, 2017
Term 3
- Spring Disco (Years 1-4): To be confirmed
- Movie Afternoon (Years 5-6): To be confirmed
- New Year 1 Student – Induction Day: 2nd June, 2017
ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR EVENT-LEADERS:
The PTA is looking-out for parents who would be interested to be event leaders for any of the above events, with assistance and guidance from PTA Committee and Staff.
If Yes, please contact us immediately on mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk. We will be happy to furnish you with all related details.
“Readathon 2017” – a Reading Marathon!
We are nearing the end of Week 3 of the Readathon. We hope that all QBS students have completed their reading now and have handed the forms to the teacher for sign-off!
Students should have received the signed forms from their teachers on Monday, 13th March or Tuesday, 14th March. Then it is time to collect all your sponsorships and ask parents to issue 1 cheque for the total amount.
The final deadline date for submission of all documents and cheque is: Monday 20th March 2017.
All cheques are to be payable to: “QBS PTA LTD”.
Please ensure your child’s name, class number and contact number is written at the back of the cheque. No cash please.
We look forward to declaring the winners of this year’s Readathon in the below categories…………
The “Readathon” Awards are:
- Top 3 Students – Lower School
- Top 3 Students – Upper School
- Top Class with Highest Consolidated Reading Time – Per Year Group
- Will receive: a) Pizza lunch for class students, teacher and EA; & b) $1000 Paddyfield gift voucher to order new classroom readers.
LOTS OF PRIZES/AWARDS TO BE WON!
PTA Shop
Summer Uniform Available
- Summer uniform will be available for purchase commencing 28th March 2017.
- Updated order forms will be posted onto the website next week.
- Pre-Orders are welcome (all pre-orders can be collected after 28th March 2017).
School Buses
End of Term – Early school closure : Friday, 31st March 2017
- School will close at 12:00 noon due to end of Term 2.
- School Bus Schedule for Early School Closure – click here.
- Change in Travel: all notification of change in travel of your child on this day is to be emailed to pta@qbs.edu.hk not later than 10:00am on 31st March 2017.
Change of bus travel arrangement:
We still have many parents who do not inform the PTA if their child/ren have a change in afternoon travel arrangements on the buses. The above results in a delay in departure of the buses from school, while the PTA and Leadership Team look for the missing students.
We therefore request your cooperation to notify us before 12:30pm of the day for change in travel arrangement of your child. This procedure is imperative and in the best interest and safety of your child. (Parents are requested to inform PTA via email at pta@qbs.edu.hk as well as copying the message to the Class Teacher/School before 12:30pm.)
Feedback or Suggestions
If you have any feedback, or suggestions you would like to make for our events or services provided, please email them directly to: ptasuggestions@qbs.edu.hk. Your email will be received directly by our Chairman, who will reply to you at the earliest available moment.
HELP US – IN OUR DRIVE FOR A GREENER ENVIRONMENT
We request all parents to support a greener environment by BYOB “bring your own bag” when you come to purchase items from the shop.
[With immediate effect the PTA Shop will no longer provide any shopping bags].
Please contact us on 2566 4242 (ask to transfer to PTA), or 2887 1004 for further queries, or by email to pta@qbs.edu.hk, during operation hours.
“Click here for PTA Office and Shop Operation”