15 Sep 2017

Newsletter 5/2017-18

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
 ISA Assessments – Year 4 and Year 6 – next week
 QBS Clubs information
 After School Clubs Supervision – Important Safety Message
 Government Vaccination
 Netball Team
 QBS ‘THE VOICE’
 Important Learning Technologies Notices
 SIS Open Day Survey
   PTA News

Principal’s Comments

Key dates for Term 1

Please click here

Key dates for next week:

  • Key dates for next week:
    • Monday the 18th of September – QBS Clubs to start
    • Monday and Tuesday the 18th and 19th of September – School Photograph
    • Tuesday the 19th of September – Parent Teacher Consultations
    • Tuesday and Wednesday the 19th and 20th of September – Year 4 & 6 ISA

The week ended very positively at QBS and I enjoyed the 3K and 3S assembly today along with parents. It was all about the systems in the human body and was lots of fun. I am pleased to see QBS children grow in confidence through performance.

This week the netball team went out for a series of friendly matches and played very well. Mr Leone and Ms Trunkfield reported that the girls played some great netball and with a positive attitude.

It is also pleasing to see how well our Year 1s are settling into life at QBS. They are enthusiastic and confident around school each day. They continue to impress us with their growing independence.

There were some excited cheers around QBS this afternoon when Miss Hill announced the class groups for the QBS ‘The Voice’ assembly next week. This singing performance has generated a great deal of happiness and fun for the children.

Thank you to all parents for attending the parent teacher consultations on Tuesday. It is hoped you found the session with your child’s teacher valuable and an opportunity to share hopes for the year ahead. We look forward to welcoming parents back next Tuesday for these consultations.

Next Thursday and Friday I will attend the ESF Senior Leadership Conference with Michael Dewey, Sue Yee, Katie Trethewy and Sarah Gorman. The school’s leadership team will be out of school on Thursday and Friday. During our absence, lead teachers will be Acting Principal. Please do not hesitate to contact Jody Ho in Reception should you have any concerns about your child or school on these days and you will be connected with the designated Acting Principal.

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ISA Assessments – Year 4 and Year 6 – next week

Assessment is an important part of our teaching and learning cycle at QBS. We assess where children are in their learning so we can best support and extend them. Some significant aspects of assessment are teacher judgement and knowledge, and both standardised and non-standardised assessments.

Students in Years 4 and 6 will next week be sitting the ISA tests (International Schools’ Assessment). These are paper based tests that are completed by Year 4 and Year 6 students across ESF primary schools.

There are four tests in all: mathematical literacy, reading, and two writing tasks. The students will complete these over the course of the morning on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th September.

The results of the tests will be made available for parents via the Gateway once they have been returned to QBS. In previous years, we have been able to publish the results shortly after the Winter holiday break.

QBS Clubs information

Dates for Term 1 Clubs:

  • ESF/ Private Clubs Sept 11 – Dec 8
  • QBS Academic Clubs Sept 18 – Nov 17
  • QBS Sports Clubs Sept 18 – Nov 24

On Tuesday 19th of September there will be no QBS clubs due to Parent Teacher consultations. The only club that will continue is QBS Rugby on the school playground

After School Clubs Supervision – Important Safety Message

There is no playground supervision of children by staff after school finishes.

Students waiting for clubs must have an adult with them, both before the club starts and until it finishes. These students need to be actively supervised by the adult (parent, grandparent, driver or helper).

The adult who is supervising the child must be in the quiet area at the front of the school, and must know the child’s whereabouts at all times.

Students cannot play football, downball or use school sports equipment after school.

If your child does not participate in any after school activity, they are to go home immediately after the end of the school day. Only children in clubs should remain after school and this is going to be monitored in the future. Parents will be contacted if unsupervised children are left at school or supervision is not adequate.

Note: Only students in Year 5 and Year 6 who would normally return home on their own may wait for their club without an adult. They should wait sensibly at the front of school or where their club leader is based.

This is for the safety and well being of your children. Thank you for your support.

Government Vaccination

The Government Immunisation team will be coming to Quarry Bay School on the 11th of October 2017.

The Year 1 students will receive their Mumps, Measles, Rubella Vaccine (MMR). Forms have been sent home today. If you would like your child to have the vaccine at school please return the completed form along with the child’s original immunisation records by 25th of September 2017 to Nurse Delia.

Please note that no late forms will be accepted so be prompt in returning forms to avoid disappointment.

Regards,

Nurse Delia

Netball Team

This week our Netball team competed in their first inter-schools tournament at Aberdeen. This tournament was a warm-up in preparation for the season ahead. Our coaches, Mr. Leone and Mrs. Trunkfield were very pleased with the girls who showed excellent skills on the court, enthusiasm and teamwork in a very successful day. We look forward to an exciting season ahead.

QBS ‘THE VOICE’

Congratulations to all the children who have been chosen to sing as either a soloist or in a small group in the QBS ‘The Voice’ assembly on Friday 22nd September.

Please click here to find out the names of the children who will be singing.

Important Learning Technologies Notices

Dear Parents,

QBS Responsible Internet Use Agreement (Y2-Y6 Parents)

Students are given regular advice about the safe and responsible use of the Internet at school. We are also strengthening our Digital Citizenship Curriculum this year. In order to reinforce our expectations of students and to give parents a framework for discussing Internet use with their children, we are asking all students in Y2 – Y6 to acknowledge the terms in our Student Internet Use Agreement and for it to be witnessed by their parents. We would be grateful if you would review this agreement with your child at the link sent via email sent on 31st August 2017 and ask him/her to submit the online form to acknowledge acceptance. If you haven’t done so already, please complete it as soon as possible.

Student Owned Earbuds / Earphones (all Parents)

Our classrooms are now very well resourced with both Chromebook computers and IPads. As a result, we would like all children to bring in their own set of earphones / earbuds for use in school. This is for both practical and hygiene reasons and has already been introduced by many schools.

The earbuds do not need to be expensive or high quality and are widely available costing between HKD 25 and HKD 70.

  • We recommend choosing a style with a softer rubber or foam bud rather than a solid bud for your child’s comfort.
  • The jack which connects to the device must be 3.5mm type.
  • The buds must be contained in a plastic case or small ziplock bag labelled with your child’s name and class in permanent marker.

Yours sincerely

Keith Purton

Lead Teacher of Learning Technologies

SIS Open Day Survey

Dear Parents,

Thank you for attending the SIS Open Day on Tuesday 12th September 2017. To ensure we are providing you with sufficient information, we would like your feedback. Please take a few minutes to complete the Open Day Survey.

Thank you.

South Island School

PTA News

UPCOMING EVENTS

THURSDAY, 28TH SEPTEMBER 2017 : MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL LANTERN WALK (Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm)

This is a school organised event which the PTA is supporting by organising the Food & Drinks Counter for the evening with the support of all our parents.

Parent Volunteers

We are requesting for parent volunteers for the event.  ​If you are interested to help out please reply by email to nicola.a.perkins@gmail.com or complete the online form below.

  • Online Registration: Please click here to register as a parent volunteer.
  • Registration via email: If you are registering via email to me, then please include the following information in your reply:
    • Student Name
    • Student Class No.
    • Your Name
    • Your mobile no
    • Your email address

The options for volunteering are:

  • either cooking any of the items listed on the online registration form;
  • volunteering to help at the food stall; or

[The time of the event is : 6:30pm – 8:00pm, you do not need to volunteer for the duration, a rota will be put together to accommodate everyone.]

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you soon and seeing you on 28th September at the Lantern Walk.

FRIDAY, 1ST DECEMBER 2017 : “CHRISTMAS FAYRE”

Our biggest, festive and fun event of the year is coming up soon and preparations are underway.

Commercial Vendors

We are pleased to invite Commercial Vendors for the event. We will have limited spaces available, so if you would like to participate as a vendor, please contact us via email as soon as possible and we will forward your interest to the vendor coordinator. All vendor spaces are available on first come first serve basis. For further queries please do not hesitate to contact Mona Diwan (PTA Coordinator) on mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk.

International Food Stalls

We are pleased to invite parents and carers to run the INTERNATIONAL FOOD STALLS at the event. As in the past, we encourage parents to group together and run their food stalls, selling food specialities from their countries. This year we hope to have the following stalls:

  • Korean
  • Japanese
  • Indian
  • Chinese
  • Malaysian
  • Filipino
  • Italian
  • European

[If your country is not mentioned above, and you would like to run the stall – please let us know as soon as possible and we will add you in.]

Please contact us on mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk asap with your contact information (your mobile number, your child’s class number, and your child’s name), with a list of items on your menu which you will be serving at the fayre. We will liaise with you and assist you closely to make all the arrangements of supplies for the event.


SCHOOL BUSES

18th September 2017 – After School Activities (QBS Clubs):

All QBS Clubs will commence on 18th September 2017 and parents are requested to notify PTA on pta@qbs.edu.hk of the following information: Student’s full name; class number; bus number; name of activity and the day your child will be a walker.


PTA SHOP

  • Shop Hours: The PTA Shop will not be operating normal shop hours due to staffing issues.
    Parents and Students are requested to drop off your orders in the drop box with the payment. You will be contacted to collect your orders as soon as they are ready.
  • Shop Closure: The PTA Shop will be closed from 25th September – 29th September 2017 for stock check and transition to Winter Stock.
  • WINTER UNIFORM – PURCHASE
    Will be available for purchase from 10th October onwards. You may contact us to obtain order forms or download them from the PTA Section of the website, to place your pre-orders. All pre-orders can be collected after 16th October 2017.
  • WINTER UNIFORM – EFFECTIVE
    November will be transition month for uniforms. Students can opt to either wear Summer or Winter uniforms. A combination or mixture of both is NOT allowed.
    With effect from 1st December, all students are required to wear Winter Uniform Only.

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”