Newsletter 24/2015-2016
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 2016
QBS Exhibition – Student Action
Parents as Partners
Virtual Learning Environments – A New Qoodle
Hong Kong Inter-School Championships 2016
PTA News
Principal’s Comments
Important dates for your attention:
- Book Week at QBS – 7th to 11th of March (please see this newsletter for details)
Good luck Mr Jamie Atkinson – Twenty20 World Cup, India 2016
It is a very exciting time for Mr Jamie Atkinson. He is the wicket-keeper in the Hong Kong Cricket Team and will play in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. During assembly this week, Mr Atkinson spoke to the students about the World Cup, the hard work he puts into cricket and how much he looks forward to representing Hong Kong at such a well-known international sporting event. Not so many years ago Mr Atkinson attended QBS and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have an ex student teaching PE with us this year. Good luck Mr Atkinson from everyone at QBS. I’ll be watching the team’s progress at the cricket and feel proud to have Mr Atkinson working with students in our community.
Parent Representative on QBS School Council
I am pleased to inform you that Mr Rory Macfarlane (3G parent) will join the QBS School Council as a parent representative. The QBS School Council provides important governance and members look forward to welcoming Mr Macfarlane. Please click here to read a message from Mr Macfarlane.
QBS 2016/2017 Calendar
Please click here to view the QBS 2016/2017 school calendar. Please note that the public holidays on this calendar are yet to be officially gazetted by the Government. Public holidays are usually confirmed in April each year. Please consider term time dates when booking holiday arrangements for your child. We discourage unnecessary absences from school because it disrupts learning routines and may hinder progress.
ESF Stakeholder Survey (14th – 24th of March 2016)
In the near future all QBS parents will be invited to participate in the ESF Stakeholder Survey. The information about this survey will come to parents from ESF via email. I would encourage parents to complete this survey so that QBS can continue to strive to be the best it can be for your child.
Further Teaching Staff Update for 2016/2017
I am pleased to advise you that Mr Rick Leone, a long-servicing and respected QBS teacher, will teach PSPE and SEN next academic year. Mr Leone will join with Mr Schroder and Ms Gorman to teach these highly specialised and valued areas at QBS. Mr Leone has a message for the QBS community about his new teaching role. Please click here to read it.
Both Mrs Jacob (4J) and Mrs Guest (3G) will be on sabbatical leave next year. During their absence we will welcome Mr James Whyman and Mrs Alfreda Tolliday-Wright to the teaching staff at QBS. Mr Whyman and Mrs Tolliday-Wright know QBS and we are looking forward to their professional contributions. Please click here to read a message from Mr Whyman and Mrs Tolliday-Wright.
Mrs Angela Smith will return to teach at QBS next academic year following extended leave. Currently, Mrs Smith continues her one year career break and is enjoying quality time with her two young boys.
I am sorry to say that Mr Steve Atkinson (5A), Mr Jamie Atkinson (PE) and Mr Matt Glencross (SEN) will be leaving QBS at the end of this academic year. These wonderful gentlemen have joined the teaching staff this year and done a fabulous job with our students.
After a very long and successful career at KJS, QBS has been fortunate to have Mr Steve Atkinson (5A), a highly regarded teacher in ESF, bring his professional experience, enthusiasm and creativity to the lives of our students. Mr Steve Atkinson continues to be a wonderful teacher and we will be sorry to say goodbye to him later this year. His ability to sing (all manner of songs) on demand and bring a smile to colleagues’ faces will be a memory I’ll treasure, along with his genuine interest and knowledge of the students in his care.
Mr Jamie Atkinson (PE) and Mr Matt Glencross (SEN) will leave QBS at the end of the year to continue their careers in other school contexts. Mr Atkinson and Mr Glencross are in the early stages of their careers and have consistently demonstrated themselves as highly-child centred teachers with real talent for engaging students through active, interesting and fun lessons. I have tremendous respect for both Mr Atkinson and Mr Glencross and their quiet achievements with students on a daily basis. I believe these teachers will go far in their specialist teaching areas.
Regards,
QBS Book Week 2016
March 7th -11th
QBS Book Week is rapidly approaching and the children have got lots to look forward to.
Book Fair
Pollux Books will be coming in on Wednesday 9th March for a book fair. The children will have an opportunity to go and visit the fair, with their class, to buy a book. The cost of the books range from $40-$100. If you would like your child to buy something, please send them with no more than $100. The money should be in an envelope with your child’s name on and be stored in a safe place. Pollux will finish the fair at 3:45, so if you would like to come and browse yourself, please feel free to do this after school.
Visiting Authors
Each year group will have a visit with an author. Most of these will be via Skype in our Learning Centre. The children have been sharing a range of books created by their author so they are inspired and prepared with some questions.
Book Character Dress Up
On Friday 11th March the children are asked to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. There will be a special assembly on that day to celebrate the week.
Competitions
There will be plenty of fun competitions over the week. One of these will be the Extreme Reading competition. Your child can enter by sending in a picture of themselves reading in an extreme (but safe) situation. Please ensure that they include their name and class with the entry and send it to this email address: bookweek@quarrybaykids.com
QBS Exhibition – Student Action
Parents as Partners
Mother Tongue Story Time
We are very excited about beginning our story sessions this week! Each Thursday, a parent will come to QBS and read a story in their Mother Tongue to our youngest students. The Y1 and 2 students can come along to the Learning Centre at lunch time and listen to a familiar story. Each week, we will have a story in a different language. We want the students to understand how much we value their first languages and do that, with the help of our wonderful parents.
Our Children’s Health and Wellness Presentation
Getting our children (and ourselves) to eat better and be healthy and happy can be stressful and overwhelming! We are constantly being bombarded by information (a lot of which comes with confusing, mixed messages). It doesn’t have to be that hard – come along and listen to a balanced, simple approach toward living better – one that you create around a lifestyle that suits your family. This will be perfect for parents, but also helpers or other family caregivers, as we are all the gatekeepers to our children’s health and wellness!
Monday 14th March from 11:00 to 12:00
Click here to register a place at this free presentation
Virtual Learning Environments – A New Qoodle
All ESF schools will be upgrading their Virtual Learning Environments in the coming year which should make them easier to use on mobile devices and easier to upgrade. A new Qoodle will come online early in the new school year. We are taking this opportunity to review how we use it and the structure and looks of our platform. We would like to freshen up the banners and graphics on the site and would welcome support from our community in this task. We are looking for an individual or company with graphic design skills who would be prepared to volunteer to assist us with this task. The project might also suit a university student wanting to build up a portfolio or use this as part of course work.
If you are able to help please contact keith.purton@qbs.edu.hk
Hong Kong Inter-School Championships 2016
On Sunday February 21st four teams of QBS chess players took part in a day of chess at the HKJCC Hong Kong Inter-School Championships 2016. The students played hard and enjoyed meeting new friends from other schools. Joshua Lim won 2nd place and Eric Tsang won 6th place on board 3.
PTA News
Upcoming Events – Term 2 & 3
Term 2 will feature a host of exciting events, as below, so please mark your diaries accordingly:
- Paddyfield’s Bookclub: February / March 2016
- Popcorn Sale: 23rd March 2016
- QBS “THEMED DISCO”: 21st April 2016
Details of all the above events will be given in upcoming newsletters.
School Buses
Term 3 – School Bus Fees
All Term 3 school bus fees (i.e. cheques in advance) will be banked on 1st March 2016. We request all parents and carers to ensure sufficient funds in your accounts to prevent cheques being returned. [Each returned cheque is applicable to a $100 admin surcharge]
Feedback or Suggestions
If you have any feedback or suggestions you would like to give on our event or services provided, please email directly to: ptasuggestions@qbs.edu.hk. Your email will directly be received by our Chairman who will reply 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”.