I would first like to commend the Year 11 and 13 students for the way they are approaching their exams. Each day so far, they have presented at school with a determination to do their best. We all appreciate what a challenging time it has been for all our students, and the resilience and commitment that is being displayed is a credit to all our students. Thank you to our parents and carers for your support for ‘your child, our student’. 

The before school extra-curricular programme is growing in popularity, with over 450 students participating across the week. We appreciate our staff getting to school early and offering the activities. Thank you also to parents for helping our students get organised and arrive at school early on these days. We responded to parent suggestions regarding early morning drop off arrangements and we can confirm that:

• The front gate is open for student pedestrian access from 6:45 a.m.

• The back gate is open for student pedestrian access from 7:00 a.m.

• School gates open as normal for vehicle access and student drop off from 7:30 a.m. 

Thank you also to the parents that attended our regular ‘Friday Feedback’ online session this morning. Talking directly to our parents is a great way to gather ideas and understand life from our parents perspective. As partners in maximising learning and wellbeing of our young people, meeting to converse, connect and consider perspectives, is a great way to start a Friday!

Speaking of feedback, if you have not already done so, please complete the KGV parent survey. This survey is being conducted across every ESF school at this time, and your feedback is vital in informing our continuous school improvement process. As a school we see high value in feedback as a means to keep doing the things that are working well and to improve aspects that could make our school even better for the students that we serve. This online questionnaire should take about 10 minutes, please click on the link here.

Traditionally, KGV finishes early on a Monday. This has not been happening recently, because of all the timetable changes. From this Monday (10 May), Period 4 will end as usual at 1:00 p:m and for Period 5 work will be set by your child’s teacher in the online learning system. There will be clear instructions for what work needs to be completed. Teachers will not be meeting students live online, but will check in later with students regarding completion of the set work. We will also be using this time on Monday afternoon for special online assemblies and programmes regarding subject pathway information, study skills, wellbeing talks and activities to promote individual and school identity. 

Finally, there has been some updated information from the CHP regarding Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI) and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI). Importantly, there is has been no change in our absence rate at KGV, but we would like to remind our parents to please:

• Check student temperatures each morning and record these in the ESF App

• Keep students at home and seek medical advice if they display URTI/ ILI symptoms such as fever of >37.5 forehead skin temp, nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, cough, headache, muscle aches, and generalised malaise.

We are also constantly reminding our students regarding social distancing and other safety measures.  We appreciate the ongoing support for our parents in reinforcing our reminders to students with regards to awareness of social distancing, wearing a mask and bringing a spare each day, and regular hand washing. Our attention to these behaviours promotes health and safety for all in our school and community.

Kind Regards

Mark Blackshaw

Our Year 12 IB students have received their Term 3 assessment schedule this week.

The schedule for those assessments to be held in the Hall, week beginning Monday 7 June is below.

Term 3 Assessments w/b 7 June

Students are reminded to consult with their subject teachers (or any of the Year 12 team) if they have any further queries regarding these assessments.

Wishing you a great weekend.

As Mr Blackshaw has mentioned above, we have been hugely impressed with how our Year 13 students have coped with the pressures of the last week.

Together, we have managed to solve some complex issues, including lost pencil cases and calculators!

We encourage all of our Year 13 students to continue to reach out to our Year 13 team if you have any concerns or queries over the coming days and weeks.

Wishing you a great weekend.

As mentioned in the Principal's message, please note that for the rest of this term, Monday Period 5 will be set learning that students can start independently and will be checked by their teachers.

Year 10 students are meeting with their tutors for 1:1 discussions regarding their progress and engagement with school. We are proud of the way they are working through this challenging time.

In case you missed part 2 of the Elevate presentation on supporting your child with exam prep, the link to a recording of the session is here.

This week has seen Chemistry, Geography and English exams. Students have been here on time and well prepared. There is always much excitement as they exit the exam venues knowing that one more hurdle is passed. Next week sees ICT, First language Chinese, Korean, Physics, World Lit and Computer Science.

Please keep an eye on anxiety levels and ensure your child is getting enough sleep and exercise while they are preparing for exams. Please get in touch if you have concerns or would like someone from KGV to make contact with your child.

We are very close to publishing the arrangements for Year 11 post-exam activities. We hope to have these to you early next week.

A reminder that information about the teacher assessed grade process for non-examined subjects is available here. 

Dear Parents

The weeks are certainly flying by with four weeks now completed of Term 3!

Our Year 7 Student Council members and our Year 7 Transition Leaders will be coming home with MYP planners to show you. These are draft versions of a planner we hope to use with students next academic year. These Year 7 Leaders are currently providing us with feedback on what they find useful in the planners. If you are a parent of one of the students involved in the trial, please have a look at the planners and let us know your feedback too.

In Physical and Health Education (PHE) lessons over the coming weeks the students will be looking at the following topics;

Year 7 – Two units over this term about Growing and Changing and Conflict Resolution

Year 8 – One unit over this term about Identifying and forming healthy relationships both in school and outside of school

Year 9 – One unit over this term called “Crossing the line” where we will be digging into topics such as Cyberbullying, Sharing Appropriate Images Online, Peer Pressure and Self Esteem/Creating a positive identity online. 

Please spend some time discussing these topics with your child and let us know if you have any questions.

Next week we complete the next switch of our original Period 5 lessons, with our original Period 1 lessons. Lionel will be updated on Saturday to reflect these changes. Please make sure your son/ daughter checks their timetable and is ready for Monday.

Traditionally KGV finishes early on a Monday. We have not done this recently because of all the timetable changes. From this Monday (10 May), we are returning to an earlier finish. Period 4 will end as usual at 1:00 p.m. and for Period 5 work will be set by your child’s teacher in the online learning system. There will be clear instructions for what work needs to be completed. Teachers will not be meeting students live online, but will check later that you have completed the work set.

Have a great weekend.
 

The Year 7 Team

Dear Parents

The weeks are certainly flying by with four weeks now completed of Term 3!

In Physical and Health Education (PHE) lessons over the coming weeks the students will be looking at the following topics;

Year 7 – Two units over this term about Growing and Changing and Conflict Resolution

Year 8 – One unit over this term about Identifying and Forming Healthy Relationships both in school and outside of school

Year 9 – One unit over this term called “Crossing the line” where we will be digging into topics such as Cyberbullying, Sharing Appropriate Images Online, Peer Pressure and Self Esteem/Creating a positive identity online. 

Please spend some time discussing these topics with your child and let us know if you have any questions.

Next week we complete the next switch of our original Period 5 lessons, with our original Period 1 lessons. Lionel will be updated on Saturday to reflect these changes. Please make sure your son/ daughter checks their timetable and is ready for Monday.

Traditionally KGV finishes early on a Monday. We have not done this recently because of all the timetable changes. From this Monday (10 May), we are returning to an earlier finish. Period 4 will end as usual at 1:00 p.m. and for Period 5 work will be set by your child’s teacher in the online learning system. There will be clear instructions for what work needs to be completed. Teachers will not be meeting students live online, but will check later that you have completed the work set.

Have a great weekend.
 

The Year 8 Team.

Dear Parents

The weeks are certainly flying by with four weeks now completed of Term 3!

Students should be engaging with their ACTION phase of the Community Project during the month of May. If students would like to promote their campaign, then look out for the boards around school. Mr Beard would also like to see what is happening with groups - upload a photo to the Community Project Google Classroom so we can celebrate their work.

In Physical and Health Education (PHE) lessons over the coming weeks the students will be looking at the following topics;

Year 7 – Two units over this term about Growing and Changing and Conflict Resolution

Year 8 – One unit over this term about Identifying and Forming Healthy Relationships both in school and outside of school

Year 9 – One unit over this term called “Crossing the line” where we will be digging into topics such as Cyberbullying, Sharing Appropriate Images Online, Peer Pressure and Self Esteem/Creating a positive identity online. 

Please spend some time discussing these topics with your child and let us know if you have any questions.

Next week we complete the next switch of our original Period 5 lessons, with our original Period 1 lessons. Lionel will be updated on Saturday to reflect these changes. Please make sure your son/ daughter checks their timetable and is ready for Monday.

Traditionally KGV finishes early on a Monday. We have not done this recently because of all the timetable changes. From this Monday (10 May), we are returning to an earlier finish. Period 4 will end as usual at 1:00 p.m. and for Period 5 work will be set by your child’s teacher in the online learning system. There will be clear instructions for what work needs to be completed. Teachers will not be meeting students live online, but will check later that you have completed the work set.

Have a great weekend.

The Year 9 Team

Monday 10 May: Period 5 and Period 1 swap (live on Lionel)

Monday 24 May: Graduation Ceremony Crozier 4:00 - 5:00pm 

Tuesday 25 May: Graduation Ceremony  Nightingale 4:00 - 5:00pm 

Wednesday 26 May: Graduation Ceremony Rowell  4:00 - 5:00pm 

Thursday 27 May: Graduation Ceremony Upsdell 4:00 - 5:00pm

Year 13

• Best wishes to our IB students who are in the second week of their exams, and to our BTEC students with their coursework completion!
• Our Y13 students’ exit plans presentation is available here on LIONeL. Students, please do share with your parents.

Year 12

• Year 12 1-to-1 meeting with their H.E. Counsellor. There are still a small number of students who are yet to meet with their H.E. Counsellor. We strongly recommend you to rearrange a meeting at the soonest. This is a very good opportunity to start conversations about your post-KGV options.
• H.E. presentations to Y12s continues. Presentations start right after school (3:30pm) on selected dates. Coming up: 12 May (HK Applications), 20 May (USA Applications), 26 May (USA Personal Essay).
• University online events. There are a number of online talks, virtual open days and webinars by universities around the world. Please check the Careers calendar for more details.

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

• Our Career website is full of H.E. news & resources, scholarships, events, summer/enrichment programmes and many others. New items added this week include: summer/enrichment programmes around the world, scholarship offers and volunteer opportunities.
• This calendar, regularly updated, lists H.E. events and taster lectures offered by universities around the world.
• A number of Summer & Enrichment Programmes are listed for students to research for programmes of interests.
• Virtual internships & work experience, too!
• Do check out the scholarship opportunities listed on the Careers website.
• We also share other H.E. news and information on our Facebook page. You can find us here.

From KGV Careers & H.E. Team

Upcoming free parent webinars!

Parents of KGV have exclusive access to Elevate Education’s Parent Webinar Series: Empowering Parents During Exam Period in 2021.

 Topics Covered:

 -          Exam Prep Pt.1 (20 April): Developing a pre-exam roadmap with your child to maximise their chances of success and keep overwhelm at bay. 

Exam Prep Pt.1 REPLAY (Limited time only) 

-          Exam Prep Pt.1 (4 May): Optimising your child's final week of exam preparation, focusing on high value tasks, plus tips on how to maximise exam-room performance.

Exam Prep Pt.2 REPLAY (Limited time only) 

-          Stress and Wellbeing (18 May): Understanding your child’s stress triggers, symptoms, and a tool-kit for stabilising during tough periods.

-          Managing Technology (8 June): Understanding the impact of technology on your child’s habits and how to develop techniques for responsible use.

 Register here: https://get.elevatecoaching.info/sg/register

 Webinar Format:  The webinar will run online from 6.30pm – 7.30pm 

• Coaching Conversation Matters (11 May) - A live webinar where you can discover how to expand your own capabilities using SoundWave. Learn how to engage, connect and lead through great conversations using SoundWave's unique and individualised diagnostic tools and build engaged, effective and committed performers.

Register here - https://bit.ly/3sF1n8Q

Today we held a parent feedback session where we discussed a range of topics with attending parents.  We were pleased to hear several positive comments, addressed questions asked and took back feedback for further consideration. Here is a summary of what was discussed.

Our recent offering of morning co-curricular activities have been very well received and attended. Students are thrilled to be able to take part in activities and this has been even more pleasing for our staff. 

It seems likely that the current half day model will continue until the end of this term. This week lesson 5 will be swapped with lesson 1 and this will be reflected in the timetable which can be viewed via the app.  

Questions were raised about the recent Tung Chung Caribbean Coast building quarantine which impacted several of our students and staff. All students and staff have followed CHP testing and quarantine requirements.  

Challenge week for the next academic year is in the planning stages.  We are looking to offer a variety of local activities.  Currently no overseas trips are being planned due to travel risks. 

There was a  discussion regarding Year 7 and access to textbooks and online learning. We also discussed teacher feedback and information in Lionel. A staff member is booked to provide follow up details and feedback to the parent.

Wednesday 12 May 2021
6:30 - 7:30pm
Online talk

Sex is everywhere, on billboards, in adverts, in social media. All our kids see is sexually suggestive images they have limited ability to understand and process positively. And yet talking about sex with your own child - is still incredibly awkward and often is literally ignored out of shame or lack of ways of expressing our own lack of knowledge.

 Valentina Tudose, a sex and relationship expert will discuss the framework and language we can use to talk about this topic with our children. 

She will discuss:

• What role does sex play in healthy relationships 

• When is the right time to speak to children and teens about sex and what is the age-appropriate language 

• What do teens need to know about Consent and Boundaries 

• How to handle the discovery your teen has been sexting and how to make it a learning opportunity and keep them safe

• What are teens actually doing to explore their sexuality in the modern world 

• What do children make of porn

There will be a Q & A at the end.

 Registration linkhttps://forms.gle/3oo7qr5E8eHiBY8m8

Enquires contact Kiran, ptsa@kgv.edu.hk

Hong Kong Budding Poets(English) Award 2020/21

Theme of the Year is ‘Positive Values and Attitudes’. Kasper and Crystal were awarded Honorable Mention prize in outstanding student poet.

The Hong Kong Budding Poets (English) Award 2020/21 (HKBPA) is a territory-wide writing competition for all primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong, which is organized by The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) and supported to the Education Bureau (EDB). HKBPA serves as a platform for students to express creativity through writing poetry in English, aiming to provide schools with a channel to identify gifted learners in English for extended training in creative writing.

Well done!

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