Dear Parents

It has been a difficult few weeks for many schools in Hong Kong, with required closures due to the Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI). Our attendance rates at KGV have been relatively normal, with no significant increase in absence rates that would then require notification to the CHP.

We thank parents for their support in keeping students at home, if they show any of the following URTI signs and symptoms - fever (>37.5 forehead skin temp), nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, cough, headache, muscle aches and generalised malaise. 

We are keen to return to a full day model and have our students at school face to face learning all day. Our KGV Return to School proposal was submitted to the EDB Monday last week, and we have been recently advised that all applications are on hold at the moment. The reason presented for this delay is the increasing numbers of school suspensions due to URTI outbreaks.

We are in daily contact with EDB regarding our Return to School proposal and they have made a commitment to update us as soon as they can. When we get the go ahead, we will immediately advise parents and students and inform all the school bus companies regarding the later daily pick up times. To assist families in this transition, we plan to provide a short notice period of 2 to 3 days, before we change to the full day model.

We are looking forward to seeing our students back full time in the near future.

Kind Regards

Mark Blackshaw

Dear Parents,

This week we would like to start by congratulating one of our amazing Year 7 students. Sofia Liang in Mr Gallie’s tutor group received a recognition this week for her efforts today demonstrating our school values. Sophia stepped up and participated in the Year 7 Inter House table tennis competition, despite having no experience. She demonstrated real courage and resilience and Nightingale House was super proud of her positive attitude. She joined many of the students from Ms Hitching’s tutor group (N4) in the competition. Well done Sofia, we are really proud of you.

We will be meeting Year 7 students in our assembly next week to talk about student leadership opportunities for Year 7 in Term 2. Year 7 students will be encouraged to apply to be members of the Year 7-9 Student Council, who will meet regularly to promote student voice in topics such as our Inclusion and Equity work and to provide feedback on MYP. We will also be looking for Year 7 student leaders to help Mr Wrigley with the transition work we will be doing with our primary schools in Term 2.

As promised, over the coming weeks, Duncan Shiel, our MYP Coordinator will be sharing with us some useful videos to help parents access the MYP curriculum and to support our understanding of the assessment and reporting processes. The hyperlink below takes you to this week’s video. We will then host a Parent Session on 3rd December to answer any questions you may have.

Today’s video - How do I know what my child is studying?

13th November - Understanding MYP assessment

20th November - What reports will I receive?

27th November - Understanding MYP Unit Designs

3rd December - Parent MYP Session

As always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns we may be able to help with.

Have a great weekend.

The Year 7 Team

Carole Beer, Vice Principal - carole.beer@kgv.edu.hk

Quinton Wrigley, Senior Head of Year 7 - quinton.wrigley@kgv.edu.hk

Sean Miller, Head of Year 7 - sean.miller@kgv.edu.hk

Stephanie Cantwell, Head of Year 7 - stephanie.cantwell@kgv.edu.hk

Duncan Shiel, MYP Coordinator - duncan.shiel@kgv.edu.hk

Ellie Hitchings, RTI Coordinator - ellie.hitchings@kgv.edu.hk

Dear Parents,

We will be meeting Year 8 & 9 students in our assembly next week to talk about student leadership opportunities for them in Term 2. Year 8 & 9 students will be encouraged to apply to be members of the Year 7-9 Student Council, who will meet regularly to promote student voice in topics such as our Inclusion and Equity work and to provide feedback on MYP. We will also be looking for Year 8 student leaders to help Mr Wrigley with the transition work we will be doing with our primary schools in Term 2 and for Year 9 students to apply to be House Captains. We are looking forward to seeing what our young leaders can achieve at KGV.

Year 9 Information

Options

A reminder to Year 9 parents that option choices need to be made in LIONEL by Friday 20th November. Next week, KGV staff will be in touch with individual students as necessary to follow up with option choices.

KGV Virtual NGO Fair

The Virtual NGO fair will take place Monday November 23rd during period 5 (14:15 - 15:20)

Students should look through the NGO information provided and make a selection that could be an area they are already passionate about or an area they are curious about and would like to find out more.

· NGO information: LINK

· Student survey: LINK

Please don’t hesitate to contact Dean Beard (dean.beard@kgv.edu.hk) with any questions.

Have a great weekend

The Year 8-9 Team

Carole Beer, Vice Principal - carole.beer@kgv.edu.hk

Duncan Shiel, MYP Coordinator - duncan.shiel@kgv.edu.hk

Ashley Tranter, Senior Head of Year 8-9 - ashley.tranter@kgv.edu.hk

Anna Pinder, Head of Year 9 - anna.pinder@kgv.edu.hk

Tom Clark, Head of Year 8 - thomas.clark@kgv.edu.hk

ELEVATE YOUR STUDY SKILLS

Elevate Education is an education organisation that specialises in showing students how to learn based on 19 years of research. They work with over 3000 schools and 1.2 million students globally each year.

Elevate Study Sensei: The school has invested in this program for our Y12 students. They have been invited to learn how the top students get the top results. Study Sensei will introduce the study hacks and tricks of top students to help improve their marks and make study that little bit easier. We hope this is something that parents can engage with to help with revision at home. Please ask your child for feedback.

Year 13 Mock Examinations will begin on Monday 4th January 2021 and finish on Tuesday 12th January. Full timetable to follow.

Full day attendance. We are waiting to hear back from the EDB regarding our plans to bring all students into school for full days. Until we get confirmation, we must continue with the current arrangements of a 12:45pm finish.

Elevate are providing very valuable parent webinars about study skills, and time management. The next webinar is scheduled for 6.30pm on the 1st of December and the topic is exam preparation. Please click here to sign up

Full day attendance. We are waiting to hear back from the EDB regarding our plans to bring all students into school for full days. Until we get confirmation, we must continue with the current arrangements of a 12:45pm finish.

Option choices for next year must be made in the system before next Friday November 27th. Once choices are submitted, parents will receive an email message asking for confirmation. We will not enter your child's choices into the system until both you and their tutor confirm. If you have any questions or require assistance, please start by contactign their tutor.

Mock exams for Year 11 will be over a two week period beginning Monday January 11th. Students will be provided with a detailed timetable soon and all subject teachers will work with them to ensure they are prepared for revision before the end of the term.

Elevate are providing very valuable parent webinars about study skills, and time management. The next webinar is scheduled for 6.30pm on the 1st of December and the topic is exam preparation. Please click here to sign up

Friday 20 Nov: Year 9 Options Deadline

Monday 23 Nov: Virtual NGO Fair for Year 9 and Year 12

Wed 25 Nov: Parent Talk - Eating Disorders and Body Image

Friday 27 Nov: Year 11 Options Deadline

General Information

KGV Winter Uniform: All students must be in winter uniform. Details of the KGV Winter Uniform can be found here.

Flu season: With the flu season fast approaching, we remind students and their families to take preventative measures. We emphasise the importance of staying home when you are sick or remaining home if you have signs of illness. We also recommend you see a doctor if you have a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia).

Lion Yearbook 2019-2020: Thank you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to distributing the yearbooks to those that have purchased before the end of this academic term.

Techni Photo order forms for students have been distributed by their tutor.

There are 2 ways to make the order:

1. Order online (Instruction printed on the back of the order form)

2. Submit the order form at reception.

Please see the photo below for tutor photo this year as we do not have a group photo session due to social distancing regulation.

We will collect the form from 17 Nov to 27 Nov. Thank you.

Dear parents,

I hope you and your family are keeping strong and healthy during these uncertain times! As we all know, many schools in HK are seeing a higher number of virus infections, including symptoms of the common cold/URTI. In order to keep track of what kind of sickness the students at school have, I’d like to ask for the following favour:

When you email the school about your child’s sick-leave, please specify what symptoms he/she has (runny nose, cough, fever, headache, sore throat, tummy ache etc), AND if they have been seen by a doctor and received a diagnosis of any kind due to the sickness. 

Kind regards 

Ellie Sallander, Health professional

Inter-House Music Competition between the 4 houses.

1. Solo Competition: (Piano, Instrumental and Solo Vocal categories - Years 7-9 & Years 10-13)

2. Ensemble Competition.

Please encourage your son/daughter to get involved - the deadline for signing up is Friday 27th November.

Find out more here - IH Music Student Details 2020-21 

Contact any music teacher for more information. 

Ms Alexandra Carlile (KGV Head of Music) alexandra.carlile@kgv.edu.hk

The KGV Careers Office is sharing a lot of information on higher education via different channels/platforms.

This calendar is full of H.E. events around the world and is updated regularly.

Students can find H.E. news, scholarships, and many H.E. resources on the Career website.
We are also arranging virtual careers sessions where industry professionals sharing their expertise and knowledge. KGV students can view some of the past recordings can be found here. The link is restricted to KGV login only. Look out for announcements on Student Bulletin for upcoming sessions.

KGV Careers Office is lining up webinar information sessions (15min presentation by speaker + 15min Q&A) for our Year 9 to Year 13 students. These webinars aim at helping students to have a more thorough understanding of industries, so that students can have an idea on expectations and subject choices in GCSE, IB, BTEC and universities.
Links and preparation materials will be sent to students approximately one week before info sessions on Google Meet.

Date: 26 November 2020, Thursday
Time: 16:00 – 16:30
Topic: More Than Banking & Finance!
Speaker: Ms. Adriana TAM
Pre-registration Deadline: 16 Nov, 15:00
More information: Registration closed. Students should email elaine.fung@kgv.edu.hk if they are still interested to join.

Date: 8 December 2020, Tuesday
Time: 16:30-17:00
Topic: Technology isn't only for technical people
Speaker: Ms. Rowena CHENG (KGV Class of 1992)
Pre-registration Deadline: 27 Nov, 15:00
More information & registration: Here

PTSA AGM – Monday 23 November 2020 

5:00pm -6:00pm
Guilford Lecture Theatre, KGV School

The KGV PTSA comprises of a committee of parents who work closely with the school to help build community spirit, improve liaison between staff, parent and student bodies and undertake various functions that benefit the community. These include community engagement through social, cultural and fundraising events, educational workshops, a uniform and stationery shop and an exclusive student Identity card amongst others. 

Each year an Annual General Meeting is held to which all members of the King George V community are invited. The KGV PTSA encourages you to attend this meeting as it is an ideal opportunity for you to share your views and discuss matters of common concern to the King George V School community.

For attendance please send us an email at, ptsa@kgv.edu.hk or enquire at 2760 6660

Parent talk – Eating Disorders and Body Image

Wednesday 25 November 2020

6:30pm

Online Webinar

KGV PTSA in collaboration with HeartChat, a Mental Wellbeing social enterprise brings to you an online webinar on ‘Eating Disorders and Body Image’.

Our keynote speakers Gabrielle Tuscher, Eating Disorders specialist and psychologist and Steph Ng, founder of ‘Body Banter’ initiative and avid mental health advocate, will discuss what eating disorders mean, the symptoms, common triggers, causes and the connection with body image. They will share how it develops and common misconceptions parents have. You will learn strategies on how you can detect and support your child through this struggle and when to seek help.

We will have some experience sharing on this topic where they will take you on a journey to and recovery from eating disorders and body image issues. 

We will end with a Q & A open to all. 

For registration please sign up on this link 

https://kgvhk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F2qu_xSoQ1m4NT9d5n8drg

For enquires contact Kiran at ptsa@kgv.edu.hk

Huge congratulations to Chloe Chan, who has now officially signed her letter of intent to the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a golf scholarship!

The next e-newsletter will be published on 27 Nov 2020.

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