Newsletter 1/2016-17
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 Electronic Communication
Expressive Arts News
Lantern Making Competition 2016
KCC Junior Football Program
KGV Year 6 Parent Information and Middle School Curriculum Evening
ESF Activities
PTA News
Principal’s Comments
Welcome back to the new school year. It has been lovely to see all the students this week after the long summer break. They are happy, taller and full of holiday stories. It has been a rather wet start to the year and this does not seem to have dampened the enthusiasm of students or staff at QBS. We do hope for some sunshine next week so that the students might venture outdoors to enjoy their play breaks. Even though the rain has been constant this week, the students have settled very well and quickly started to adjust to daily learning routines. The community has also welcomed new students, families and staff. I am looking forward to the year ahead with your child. Please do not hesitate to contact me about any matters related to your child’s life at QBS.
Welcome Back to QBS Evening
Please click here to read more about next Thursday’s event for parents. It is hoped all parents will be able to join into this event.
Key Term 1 Dates at QBS
Please click here to read a summary of all key dates at QBS in Term 1. You are encouraged to print a copy and keep it somewhere visible at home (e.g., on the refrigerator).
Reminder – Bad Weather Procedures
As experienced this week, it is the wet season in Hong Kong. Please monitor the radio, television and HK Observatory in the event of bad weather before the start of the school day. Every effort is made to communicate promptly with parents in the event of a school closure (e.g., T8, black or red rain signal). However, parents are encouraged to be vigilant at home and monitor for updates from the relevant government agencies when bad weather occurs before the start of school. Please click here to read bad weather procedures.
Gateway – Change Requests
There has been a delay in processing change requests from parents in Gateway. Currently we are short-staffed in the Office Team. We are currently recruiting to fill a vacancy in the Office Team. Apologies for any inconvenience caused to those parents making change requests in Gateway in recent weeks.
Class Assemblies
Please click here to read the dates of all class assemblies for the academic year.
Year 4 Camp
We can confirm the dates Year 4 class groups will attend camp this term. You will find the dates immediately below:
- 4S/4W – Monday 24th – Wednesday 26th October
- 4V/4Y – Wednesday 26th – Friday 28th October
Regards,
QBS Electronic Communication
All parents are encouraged to be familiar with both the Gateway and Qoodle. This academic year all important information for parents will be made available via newsletters, email or via Gateway. The new Qoodle is now a ‘student friendly’ zone and its purpose and contents are for students. Parents will need to be familiar with the Home Learning area on Qoodle. It is hoped the ‘QBS Electronic Communication’ summary will help parents to understand how electronic communications work at QBS.
QBS Electronic Communications – Beginning of Year Notices and Procedures
At QBS we have a number of online systems to support administration, communication and teaching and learning. A brief outline of these systems is provided below and a useful overview is provided here.
Please take time over the next week to ensure you and your child(ren) can access these systems and inform us of any problems you encounter so we can help.
1. Gateway (for parents only)
The ESF Gateway is our online communication portal for parents. The interface for parents was updated recently and a guide is provided here.
All new parents will have received an email with a brief Gateway introduction and their family login details. Please use the details to activate your account. Please see here for help. Please contact ken.lee@qbs.edu.hk if you have any problems.
If you are already have a child at QBS but have another child starting this school year, you will need to activate your other children in the same Gateway account.
Submitting demographic information changes and medical information changes
It is very important that parent/student information is kept up to date. If any of your information changes (i.e., home address, work email, mobile, child’s medical etc) please login to Gateway, click your child’s picture, select Student Demographics or Medical Information and select “submit change”. The changes will be reflected in your account within the next 2 working days.
All parents need to update their child’s medical information where applicable. This needs to be completed as soon as possible for our school to be aware of any medical issues with your child. If this important information is not updated, your child will not be able to attend any future school trips/camps. For any further queries about the medical information on Gateway please contact Nurse Delia.
Teacher contact details
All staff are searchable from your ‘Home’ page after login. Emails contacts are available only.
QBS clubs and extracurricular activities
QBS run clubs (i.e., staff clubs) will start on 19th September. Gateway registration for QBS clubs will be from 12pm on Monday 29th August. Please see here for details on how to register.
Non QBS Clubs and extracurricular activities will start on 5th September. Interested parents should contact the organisers directly to enrol.
2. Qoodle (for students)
Qoodle is our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has recently been updated and is a centralised online space where students can access resources to support their learning both at school and at home. The Home Learning course for each year group will also be a single point where students access their home learning for the week.
Y1 – Y3 Usernames and passwords will be on a sticker in your child’s diary.
Y4 – Y6 (New students only) will have been given their username and passwords already.
All children need to be able to login to Qoodle by themselves (we expect this to take time for the youngest students) so please practise with them at home. It is best not to allow your home computer to remember the password as children will not get the practice they need.
We suggest that the password for Y1-Y3 is not changed as teachers will no longer have a record.
Online learning resources
We have a number of paid for subscriptions to good quality learning resources which can be also used at home. These can be accessed via Qoodle > Learning Technologies > Online Learning Resources
Gmail (for students)
We use Google Apps from Y2 – Y6 (Year 2 are introduced to it later in the school year). This provides email (Gmail), Google Docs/Drive and other tools. There is no login required for Gmail, students simply click on the Gmail link on the Qoodle homepage.
While parents are encouraged to monitor their child’s email by logging in using their child’s login details from time to time, student email should not be used by parents to communicate with teachers or other school staff, please use your guardian QBS registered email for this.
Home computers and Google Chrome accounts (students and parents)
Students from Year 1 – Year 6 have Chromebooks in their classrooms. They now sign into their school Google Chrome account to access web apps as well as to access their bookmarks on different computers including school Windows computers and Chromebooks. When students sign in to their school Google Chrome account at home, it can also sync browsing history and bookmarks between home and school devices. We would suggest that in order to protect the privacy of members of your household who use the same computer, parents set up a separate user account for all members of their family at the Operating System level on both Windows and Mac OS. Students who have accidentally synchronised additional material which they do not want should see Mr Purton or one of our technicians who will reset their account.
3. SMS
QBS uses SMS messages to notify parents of cancelled clubs or urgent notices such as inclement weather. Please keep your Hong Kong mobile phone number up to date via the Gateway > Student Demographics > Family Information
Rainstorm warnings, in particular, can be posted quite suddenly so it is important that parents monitor government weather announcements before the start of the school day. Whilst we endeavour to communicate with parents about bad weather announcements from HK Govt (e.g., HK Observatory & EDB), this is a parental responsibility also. The ESF inclement weather procedures can be viewed here
4. Email
Teachers are happy to receive communication from parents via email as well as the school diary. However, please be aware that class teachers may not have an opportunity to check their email during teaching time. Please send urgent messages before 8am.
5. Absence information
If your child is going to be absent from school please let us know as soon as possible. Please email your child’s class teacher and the school office, office@qbs.edu.hk. Please let us know the reason for absence (sickness, vacation etc) and when your child is expected to be back at school. Mina Dunstan (Principal) should be informed of any possible non sickness absences from school.
6. Changes to going home arrangements
Your child’s teacher should always be informed via the diary or email. It is crucial that you inform the PTA by email pta@qbs.edu.hk before 12:00 noon if your child is not going home on their regular PTA bus.
Expressive Arts News
QBS Dance Off 2016
Once again the QBS year starts off with our exciting dance competition! Children who wish to dance on their own or in a group need to registration via this google form. Please note registration closes on Thursday 25th August.
An exciting new addition for the dance competition this year, is the class dance off. Every class within a year group will be creating a dance and competing for a spot in the dance whole school assembly. The main aim of the competition is to get lots of children dancing and having fun! For all the information regarding this year’s dance off, please click here. This document is also available for the children to view via qoodle.
Music teachers
If your child is interested in starting to learn to play an instrument and you would like to start lessons; QBS has compiled a list of recommended music instrument teachers. A list of music teachers will be available in the document section of gateway in the near future. If you have a recommendation to make please click here
A chance to work with Cirque du Soleil artists
Miss Hill
ceri.hill@qbs.edu.hk
Lantern Making Competition 2016
KCC Junior Football Program
Here is an opportunity to get your children involved in Junior Football. We have had a number of Q.B.S students who have thoroughly enjoyed the K.C.C Junior football, a few of whom are now representing Hong Kong.
KGV Year 6 Parent Information and Middle School Curriculum Evening
Prospective parents are invited to attend the KGV Year 6 Parent Information and Middle School Curriculum Evening, 5-6pm on the 7th of September. It will be held in the Hall at KGV School.
Please note there is no visitor parking on the school site. For any enquiries, please contact sarah.jones@kgv.edu.hk
ESF Activities
ESF Sports
29th August – 13 December 2016
Our enthusiastic approach combined with expert coaches with a passion for sport, enables every student to develop a broad spectrum of acquisition skills to increase their self-confidence in a range of activities, both individual and within a group or team dynamic. This year, we are introducing our new Multi Sports programme, which is a development programme for ages 2-5 in building skills and abilities to better position themselves in entering a specialist sport(s). We are also introducing many new locations for Football and Gymnastics. Enrol online www.esf.org.hk
ESF Language & Learning
6th September – 12th November 2016
ESF Language & Learning is the premier provider of extracurricular English language and enrichment education in Hong Kong. Our nurturing, friendly approach enables students to flourish as they develop their skills and interests. Suitable for all pre-school and school age students, our small group courses are run by our friendly, qualified, English speaking teachers. Enrol online www.esf.org.hk.
PTA News
Dear Students, Parents and QBS Staff,
On behalf of the QBS PTA Ltd Chairman, Committee Members and staff we would like to welcome all of you to a new academic year.
We look forward to receiving your continued support and trust.
This year we look forward to a host of exciting events, as well as continue to offer you with high level of service by our PTA shop and school bus service.
So please do not miss the upcoming weekly newsletters. Keep updated on our status.
Upcoming PTA Events:
5th Junior Chess Star Competition 2016
[Please find the information below to facilitate online registration.]
We are pleased to announce that Quarry Bay School PTA LTD will be hosting the 5th Junior Chess Star Invitational Competition 2016, sponsored by Quarry Bay School, on Sunday, 25th September 2016. We invite all students studying in ESF & PIS primary schools, for the academic year 2016-17, to join the event.
See here for more information on the Poster. Please click here for online registration.
Parent Volunteers – Chess Competition
We welcome parent volunteers who would like to help with the event to contact us as soon as possible at mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk.
PTA School Buses
The PTA offers a standard bus service with nominated stops. With nearly 83% of our students travelling on the school bus daily, it is difficult for us to offer a door to door service. We therefore request parents and families to select a nominated stop closest to your residence to avoid later changes in bus routes and or stops, especially since most of our bus routes are completely full. If you would like assistance to decide your bus routes, please contact Dorothy Ho on pta@qbs.edu.hk.
School Bus Schedule in the upcoming weeks is as below:
- Thursday, 15th September 2016: CPD – No School for Students (No School Bus)
- Friday, 16th September 2016: Public Holiday (No School Bus)
- Thursday, 22nd September 2016: Parent-Teacher Consultation – School Closes at 12:00noon
[Bus Schedule for Early School Closure will be posted in next week’s newsletter].
PTA Shop
The PTA Shop is out of stock of the below items:
- Eco-Friendly School Bags – we expect the stock of the above to arrive in first week of September. Notification of arrival will be posted in the coming newsletters. Pre-Orders are most welcome for the bags.
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”