Newsletter 5/2016-17
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
Important Information for Camp and Medicine
ISA Assessments – Year 4 and Year 6
School Photograph
Girls Netball Team
Yoga Workshop for Parents
Photos / Resources Shared via Google Drive
Information session and tour at Island School for Year 6 Parents
Year 1 – Year 6 Buddies
ESF Sports Clubs – Term 1
PTA News
Principal’s Comments
Next Week at QBS
- Friday the 30th of September – closing date for ESF’s online application system for entry to Year 1 (children born 2012)
- Thursday the 29th of September – Parent teacher consultations from 3.00pm to 6.00pm as per Gateway booking
- Thursday 29th of September and Friday the 30th of September – QBS School Photos
Important information for Year 4 – 6 parents
Please read the key messages below about Year 4 and Year 6 ISA tests next week and the dates for sending into school any medication for camp.
Thank you
We now have four new mosquito machines in the playground thanks to generous donations from parents. Over the next few weeks we will monitor these machines to ensure they are in the best locations around the school.
This week at QBS
Well done to all the students in 3C and 3T for their class assembly this week. Parents, students and staff enjoyed it. The students were creative in the way they shared their knowledge about how systems within the human body work. It was great to see the students enjoying their assembly performance.
This week the initial parent teacher consultations for the school year commenced. We appreciate the time spent with parents and the opportunity to discuss their child. The consultations will continue next Thursday afternoon.
Year 5 had an invitation to visit the ‘Fierce and Fragile’ exhibition by French artist, Robert Dallet. The exhibition celebrates the world’s iconic big cats and the students enjoyed the trip out of school. QBS staff will often seek out opportunities beyond the school gate to enhance student learning.
QBS Sporting Teams
Well done to all students representing QBS in netball and football teams this week. It is good to have so many students keen to play sport and be part of school teams. Thank you to all staff for their continued coaching of our students.
Camp Season
The time for annual residential camps is approaching. Year 6 will begin the QBS camp season at Outward Bound before half term break. The Year 4 and Year 5 students will go to camp after the half term holiday. Camps are an important part of the school calendar and we value the range of experiences they provide to QBS students. Staff spend significant amounts of time planning for the camps so that students have a valuable experience. Thank you to all parents for attending the recent camp information sessions at school. Please liaise with your child’s teacher if you have any questions about the approaching camps.
Uniform
Recently I have noticed some students wearing elaborate jewellery (e.g., necklaces, rings, bracelets) to school. Please do not send your child to school wearing decorative jewellery. This includes wrist bands from theme parks. Items of religious, spiritual or cultural significance are acceptable if worn beneath the school uniform so that they will not snag on objects. Please understand teachers may ask students to remove these items if participating in PE or games.
Please be reminded that all hair accessories must be either blue or black. Click here for uniform guidelines.
Congratulations to Mr Young
It is always nice to share good news with you. Recently Mr Young (5Y class teacher) became a father. Kaia his new daughter arrived safely and she is now learning the joys of being a Crystal Palace FC fan in between sleeps and feeds. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Young from everyone at QBS!
Regards,
Important Information for Camp and Medicine
Dear Year 4, 5 and 6 Parents.
It is almost time for camp and your children must be getting excited.
Some of you have attended our camp talks and all families should have received the relevant emails regarding your child’s camp.
This year, we have changed the process for collecting medicine that your child might need to take on camp. We will be collecting medicine before the actual camp starting date.
Please ensure that Gateway is up to date regarding any medical concerns, allergies or asthma your child may have. It is essential that this is both accurate and the same as any information shared with outside providers, such as Treasure Island Group, or Outward Bound.
We understand that parents may be concerned that their child will develop coughs and colds during the week but we request that you keep the medication supplied to that which is necessary and essential only.
Any medicine given to school must be clearly labelled with the child’s class and their name (English and Chinese if they have both). The Medical Authorisation form (attached here) must be completed in English and be attached to the medicine given. The medicine needs to be given to Nurse Delia in the Medical Room.
The dates for the camps are as following:
- Year 6 Camp is from 3rd to 7th October. Medicine will be collected between Wednesday 28th September to Friday 30th September.
- Year 5 Camp is from 19th to 21st October. Medicine will be collected on Thursday 6th October, Friday 7th October and also Tuesday 18th October.
- Year 4 Camps are from 24th to 26th, and 26th to 28th October. All medicine should be collected between Thursday 20th October and Friday 21st October.
Please contact me should you have any questions. Many thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
Regards,
Nurse Delia
ISA Assessments – Year 4 and Year 6
Dear Parents,
Next week, students in Year 4 and 6 will sit the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA). The assessments will take place during the mornings of Monday the 26th and Tuesday the 27th of September. The ISA assessment has been specially developed to measure skills in mathematical literacy, reading and writing of students in international schools. ISA is based on the internationally endorsed reading and mathematical literacy frameworks of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It is designed and developed in Australia by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).
ESF students have completed these assessments in previous years, and will be undertaking the reading and mathematical components as well as the writing component of the assessment. We will receive the results of the assessment early next term and will pass on information about your child to you in the form of an individual report via the Gateway.
Your child will complete a reading literacy test, a mathematical literacy test and two writing tests, each of which takes between 45 minutes and one hour to administer. The tests include both multiple-choice and open-ended tasks. Students do not ‘prepare’ for the tests, since they are consistent with what students learn on a regular basis through the Primary Years Programme (PYP).
Please do not hesitate to contact me if there are any questions about the testing procedures.
Mr Michael DEWEY
Vice Principal(Yr 4-6)
School Photograph
The school photographer will be at school on Thursday the 29th of September and on Friday the 30th of September. The rota for the photographs can be found here.
Please be reminded that students who have regular PE lessons on these two days are to wear navy blue school uniform.
Sibling photographs can be arranged on Friday the 30th of September between 1.10pm-2.10pm and family photographs between 3:00pm – 5:00pm on the same day at QBS or by appointment at the Technic Photo Studio. The price lists with the contact details of the Studio are attached here. If you are interested in making an appointment for these types of photos, please click here to download the reply slip.
Girls Netball Team
Congratulations to our girls netball team who participated at an inter-school pre-season netball tournament in Aberdeen this week. Thanks to Mr. Leone and Mrs.Trunkfield for coaching the girls. We are looking forward to the next tournament already. Please see the picture of the girls looking very smart in their QBS netball gear.
Yoga Workshop for Parents
Please click here to view a potential opportunity to learn about teaching your children yoga. Please let us know if you enrol.
Photos / Resources Shared via Google Drive
We have had a number of requests from parents to access lesson resources and photos which have been shared with students via Google Drive. We are happy for parents to view them but parents will need to access them via their child’s Qoodle / @quarrybaykids.com account.
Information session and tour at Island School for Year 6 Parents
Mr Chris Binge, Principal of Island School would like to invite Year 6 Parents to join an information session and tour at Island School. This will take place at 11am on Tuesday 27th September. Please click here for more information.
Year 1 – Year 6 Buddies
Buddies are back! Year 1 and Year 6 pupils and teachers have been so excited this week to meet their new buddies in their buddy class. Over the coming year, we will be using our buddy link to introduce and promote the character strengths linked to Positive Education.
Have a look at Year 1’s blog to see what happened in our first meeting here.
In our next session, we will be learning about the character strength of Kindness and the Year 1’s will be visiting the Year 6’s art exhibition.
ESF Sports Clubs – Term 1
A reminder that ESF Services clubs begin next week. If you have not signed up and wish to do so please click the link below.
ESF Services provide a sports program which offer sports classes for children all year round. It is also an excellent opportunity for younger students to begin learning fundamental movement skills from an early age.
Basketball
Football
Multi Sports
Netball
Swimming
Gymnastics
Kung Fu
PTA News
Upcoming PTA Events:
- Friday, 11th November 2016: Pizza Lunch
- Thursday, 17 November 2016: PTA Annual General Meeting
- Friday, 2nd December 2016: Christmas Fayre
- Postponed to Term 2: Junior Chess Star Competition 2016
5th Junior Chess Star Competition 2016
POSTPONED TO TERM 2
Firstly, thank you to all the parents and students for registering for the “5th Chess Star Competition 2016”, and sending in your registration fees.
With great regret, as of the initial deadline date for participant registrations, the number of registered students was below the minimum students required to hold and run the competition.
In light of the above situation, as well as in the best interest of promoting healthy competition within ESF Primary and PIS Schools, our events sub-committee made a decision to postpone the event originally scheduled on 25th September 2016. We are currently working with the organiser to find a suitable alternative date likely to be at the beginning of term 2, being careful to avoid any other local chess competitions.
The QBS PTA Ltd. will keep all registration details and fees for the time being, and will advise you of the re-scheduled date as soon as it is confirmed.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
For further details or clarifications please do not hesitate to contact Mona Diwan on mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk or by phone on 28871004.
DEADLINE DATE – EXTENDED
The deadline date for registrations is extended to 5th December 2016. So if you have not yet registered – please do so now!
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. Please contact us as soon as possible at mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk.
Christmas Winter Fayre 2016
Save the date…
Friday, 2nd December 2016
Mark this date on your calendar! Our biggest festive and fun event of the year is coming up and preparations are underway. Come along with your family and friends to enjoy the festivities……….
Last year’s Christmas Fayre was a huge success and the funds raised were given to school towards the School Renovation Project – which is now complete!
Wanted: Lucky Draw/Tombola Prize Sponsors:
We are looking for donations for the lucky draw/tombola prizes. Examples of prizes donated last year were: Gift hampers, I.T gift vouchers, headphones, wine bottles, brand-new board games, brand-new toys, brand-new stationery, chocolates, brand-new housewares, dining vouchers, and a lot more. Cash donations are also welcome. This will allow the PTA to purchase additional prizes for the stall.
If you would like to sponsor/donate a prize please email your contribution to mona.diwan@qbs.edu.hk, specifying your name, your child’s name, class number and contact number. Please ensure all prizes are NEW and in good condition and all vouchers should be valid till 30 June 2017 or after. All donations sent in must be labelled: “LUCKY DRAW PRIZE”, and sent into the PTA Office to the attention of Mona Diwan – not later than 10th November 2016.
Wanted: Parent Volunteers – for International Food Stalls & Other Areas:
We are pleased to invite parents to run the International Food Stalls and Other 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.
Please click here to register as a Parent Volunteer for the event.
(Our events team will liaise with you and assist you closely to make all the arrangements of supplies for the event.)
Invitation: Commercial Vendors
We are pleased to invite Commercial Vendors for the event.
Please click here for the vendor applications form.
As there are limited spaces available, please send the original form and fee to the PTA office as soon as possible. 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.
PTA School Buses
All students are required to be at the bus stop 5-8 minutes prior the scheduled times to avoid missing the bus. The school bus will NOT wait for any late students. All students who are not collected at the stops by guardians in the afternoon, will be brought back to school by the bus mum, for which extra transportation charges are applicable (as stated in the bus rules). The buses will operate according to the Hong Kong Standard Time which can be matched by the clock on the bus, the TV or Radio.
Change in Daily Travel Schedule: Parents are requested to inform the PTA by email ONLY to pta@qbs.edu.hk for any change in daily travel schedule for their child/ren before 12:00noon. You are also required to inform the school/class teacher separately.
Parent Concerns/Requests Related to Buses
We request parents to refrain from boarding the school buses to discuss bus matters with the bus escorts, especially since the buses are on a tight schedule to ensure students arrive at school on time and avoid delays in the schedule. All school bus concerns/requests are to be addressed to the PTA directly. You may contact our Bus Administrator, Dorothy Ho, on 28871004 or by email at pta@qbs.edu.hk, who will be happy to assist.
PTA SHOP
Out of Stock Items:
The PTA Shop is out of stock of the below items:
- Eco-Friendly Book Bags – Red
We expect the stock of the above to arrive in late October. Notification of arrival will be posted in the coming newsletters. Pre-Orders are most welcome for the bags.
Parakito Mosquito Bands: NEW Design Bands and Refills are available for purchase now!
Parakito Mosquito Sprays: NEW Sprays are available for purchase now! Sprays will only be sold to parents & carers (adults) and are not to be used by students in school.
Winter Uniforms: will be available for purchase from Tuesday, 25th October 2016 onwards. Winter uniform order forms will be available on the PTA section of the website and our office commencing 28th September 2016. You may place your pre-orders. All pre-orders can be collected after 18th October 2016.
Parent Volunteers – Shop: we request for parent volunteers to help during the transition period on Friday, 21st October 2016, and assist with checking stock and stocking up uniforms. If you would like to assist please contact Rathi Nandakumar via email on ptashop@qbs.edu.hk.
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”