Dear Parents and Guardians,

We had a really positive first week back, and we look forward to welcoming students back to full day schooling on Monday. This is a real positive step forward, and we hope to sustain this for the rest of the school year. We will continue our focus on doing all we can to ensure the health and safety of all our students and staff.

Some organisational points for next week:

• The timings next week are Monday (8.15am to 2.05pm) and Tuesday to Friday (8.15am to 3.20pm)

• The school bus providers have been informed of the new times

• Year 7 and 8 students are not yet at 90% vaccination levels and they will need to bring a hand held snack to eat during tutor time, and food for lunch time. They will be required to eat lunch in designated eating areas.

• Year 9, 10 and 12 have greater flexibility in terms of where students eat, and they also need to bring a snack for morning tea and their own lunch.

• At this stage, the school canteen will not be opened to serve food. We are working with Sodexo to open a number of food outlets in the week beginning Monday 2nd May.

• Year 11 and 13 begin exam leave from Monday. Please note that teachers are online for every timetabled lesson up until the day of each subject exam, to provide exam tutorial support for our students

• On the days students have PE and/or Drama lessons, students do not need to change into full school uniform. They can wear the PE/Drama kit to and from school and in all lessons. 

The return to full day schooling makes the completion of the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) each morning even more important. With regards to the RAT:

• We needed to chase up to 30 students each day regarding not registering RAT on the ESF App. This is taking students out of class and away from valuable learning time, whilst we contact parents. Please assist us by ensuring your child completes the RAT and records this on ESF App each morning, before they come to school

• Yesterday, students were provided with two boxes of five RAT kits for the next two weeks. We will hand out three more boxes (15 kits) to students on Thursday 5 or Friday 6 May, which will be enough for all students until the end of May

• Year 13 students will receive their RAT kits on the day of their first exam

We would like to wish our Year 11 and 13 students all the best as they enter into the (I)GCSE and IB Diploma exams. It has been great to engage with parents of Year 11 and 13 students at our Parent Exam Information sessions this week. We know our students have been working hard and are well prepared for this challenge. We also commend our students and families in the way they have worked through all the challenges over the past few years. The support from all is very much appreciated.

Thank you also to the over 150 parents who attended the Year 8 & 9 Senior School Curriculum Pathways information talk last night. It was an initial opportunity to explain the BTEC Diploma and IB Diploma Pathways to parents a couple of years ahead of needing to make some significant choices. We will hold more of these events this year.

A reminder that parents of Year 10 and Year 12 students will receive a message via the ESF App this evening, with a link to their child’s Summative Report. This report communicates the current attainment grade for each subject, and an outline of what students have been learning.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Again, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Have a good weekend.

Kind Regards

Dear Year 11 parents,
Last night we ran a parent meeting where we reiterated arrangements for exams this year and answered questions. You can access the presentation here:

Key resources are the exam timetable and the exam rules and regulations. These have been shared with students. Note that the exam timetable is a live document and should be refreshed before you view it.

Year 11 students are on study leave now. Their teachers are available online during every timetabled period.
Some will need come in for practical assessments next week. These are: 

• Art - Wed & Thur. 8.15 am - 3.20 pm in AS4 and AS5
• Chinese Foreign Lang orals - check with your teacher
• DT Food - Mon/Wed/Thu period 4 & 5
• DT - Thursday P1&2
• Drama have some Period 1 practical tasks
• Music

Students may choose to study in the LRC at school and from Monday, students will come in for exams. Any time students come to school they must have completed a RAT and updated the ESF app before leaving home. They need to bring their own snacks/food, wear uniform and bring their exam pass.

Students will not be allowed on-site without first completing a RAT. If we can't see a negative RAT recorded in the ESF App, students will not be allowed on site. Please ensure this is done before they leave home. It is an important step to keep our students as safe as possible.

If your child is ill on the day of an exam, please contact the exams office here: exam@kgv.edu.hk
We will work with you to ensure your child is supported.

For reference, the CHP tell us that close contacts are in general defined as household members of confirmed cases.
At this stage, with health and safety measures in place (e.g., social distancing), staff and students with previous contact with infected persons in a school, will not be regarded as close contacts.
These CHP arrangements are planned to be reviewed by the Government in the latter part of May this year.

Please help your child over the next few weeks to eat well, sleep and get exercise as well as prepare thoroughly. 

If you have any questions or concerns as the external exams commence, please get in touch.

Dear Year 10 parents,
It has been wonderful to see all of our Year 10 students back at school this week. An important part of helping them transition back to school is following routines and we have been trying to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

The term 2 summary report is available in Lionel now. In the App, tap [Lionel 2 VLE], then the CCF icon and the summary is under the Progress Checks heading.

Thank you for conducting RATs each morning and updating the app.

From Monday we will be back for 5 periods, including lunch break, so please remember to pack a lunch as well as a snack and drink.

Thanks to all our Year 13 students and parents who attended our Exam Information Webinar this week.

A reminder that all students must first complete a RAT before coming onto the school campus. 

We wish our IB students the best of luck with their final revision and exam preparation over the coming days.

Year 12 Message

It has been great to have our Year 12 students back on-site.

In an attempt to make the most of our return to face-to-face learning, all Year 12 IB students have been informed today of upcoming Core days to help them with their TOK, CAS and EE.

Core Day 1  Tuesday, 3 May  TOK & CAS

Core Day 2  Tuesday, 10 May  EE

All Year 12 BTEC lessons will continue as normal during these days.

The Year 12 Term 2 Summary Report is available in Lionel now. In the App, tap [Lionel 2 VLE], then the CCF icon and the summary are under the Progress Checks heading.

Our Senior Head of Year 12 & 13 Mr. Pritchard has posted the below letter for Year 12 parents regarding early leave and late arrival. 

Letter to Year 12 Parents

Wishing you a great weekend.

Dear Parents and Caregivers

It has been so lovely to see our Year 7 students again this week. The KGV campus has been alive this week with laughter, chatter and volleyball plenty! It has been wonderful to see our students enjoying each other’s company and starting to build connections again after such a long period of online learning.

Thank you to you all for your efforts with the RAT completions and uploading to the ESF App. We appreciate this is an extra requirement in the morning, but it continues to help keep our communities safe. Thank you for continuing to upload your RAT details before 8.10 am each morning. Your child was issued with 10 RAT kits yesterday for you to use in the next two weeks.

Next week we will return to full days at KGV school. In line with CHP/EDB and ESF regulations, our Year 7 students will need to continue to eat their morning snacks in tutor time and to use designated eating areas at lunchtime. We will be using the GLT, Hall, Canteen and Piazza as our main eating spaces. Students will be continuously reminded to follow the necessary health and safety procedures.

Advanced notice for the week beginning 3 May (2 May is a Public Holiday). During this week, our staff will work with students to help them submit their option choices for Year 8, on LIONEL. Students will be asked to drop one of their 4 creative arts options. This means they need to decide between Drama, Media, Music and Visual Arts. Students will speak to their teachers during the week and make their decisions in tutor time on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th May. Please speak to your child before they submit their choices, to ensure you are aware of their decisions. 

Have a great weekend….please remember to send your child with a packed lunch on Monday!

The Year 7 Team

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

It has been so lovely to see our Year 9 students again this week. The KGV campus has been alive this week with laughter, chatter and volleyball plenty! It has been wonderful to see our students enjoying each other’s company and starting to build connections again after such a long period of online learning.

It was also so wonderful to speak to so many of our Year 8 & 9 parents yesterday evening, as we started to talk about KGV Senior Pathway possibilities. As promised, here is the slide deck we used during the presentation. Please do reach out to your tutor or Head of Year if you have any further questions. We will continue to share information with you on future pathways over the coming week.

Thank you to you all for your efforts this week with the RAT completions and uploading to the ESF App. We appreciate this is an extra requirement in the morning, but it continues to help keep our communities safe. Thank you for continuing to upload your RAT details before 8.10am each morning. Your child was issued with 10 RATs yesterday for you to use in the next two weeks.

Next week we will return to full days at KGV school. Students will now complete all 5 lessons at KGV. On Tuesday, this will involve them working with the Community Project Team from Periods 1 - 4. Students and their groups will have been assigned a room to work together in for the entire morning. During this time, students will be finalising their plans for taking ACTION and beginning to look ahead at the assessment stage of the project. Following this day, students will have their final checkpoint meeting with their supervisor where their plans can be approved. I look forward to seeing the diverse ideas of taking action that will take place in May.
 

Have a great weekend….. please remember to send your child with a packed lunch on Monday!

The Year 9 Team

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

It has been so lovely to see our Year 8 students again this week. The KGV campus has been alive this week with laughter, chatter and volleyball plenty! It has been wonderful to see our students enjoying each other’s company and starting to build connections again after such a long period of online learning.

It was also so wonderful to speak to so many of our Year 8 & 9 parents yesterday evening, as we started to talk about KGV Senior Pathway possibilities. As promised, here is the slide deck we used during the presentation. Please do reach out to your tutor or Head of Year if you have any further questions. We will continue to share information with you on future pathways over the coming week.

Thank you to you all for your efforts this week with the RAT completions and uploading to the ESF App. We appreciate this is an extra requirement in the morning, but it continues to help keep our communities safe. Thank you for continuing to upload your RAT details before 8.10 am each morning. Your child was issued with 10 RATs yesterday for you to use in the next two weeks.

Next week we will return to full days at KGV school. In line with CHP/EDB and ESF regulations, our Year 8 students will need to continue to eat their morning snacks during tutor time and to use designated eating areas at lunchtime. We will be using the GLT, Hall, Canteen and piazza as our main eating spaces. Students will be continuously reminded to follow the necessary health and safety procedures.

Advanced notice for the week beginning 3 May (2 May is a Public Holiday). During this week, our staff will work with students to help them submit their Year 8 option choices on LIONEL. Students have already submitted their initial choices for Year 9, with regards to Language and Creative Arts. Students will work with their teachers over the course of the week and then confirm their choices in LIONEL on Thursday 5th May and Friday 6th May, This involves them indicating their Language Choice for Year 9 (or whether they will opt for Global Perspectives instead) and then for them to drop one of their 3 current arts options. They will need to start Year 9 studying one creative art (media or visual arts) and one performance art (drama or music). More details to follow next week.

Have a great weekend…….please remember to send your child with a packed lunch on Monday!

The Year 8 Team

External Extension Opportunities

At KGV we encourage students to take part in a range of extension activities both in school and outside of school.  Throughout the year, each subject department may organise events and/or nominate students to take part in internal and external events and competitions.  We also support students who want to join external extension courses for secondary school students run by universities and other organisations.  These are great opportunities for students to extend themselves within their areas of interest and strength.  They also provide students with the opportunity to connect with other students from around Hong Kong who share a similar interest, and gives students insights into possible future university courses and career pathways.

The list below has the names and websites of extension programmes that some of our students have taken part in.  Each provider offers a wide range of courses targeting different ages and topic areas.  These courses may take place in person and/or online, and may start at various times throughout the year.  Each provider also has different entry requirements and application procedures, such as minimum scores on standardised tests, open applications, school recommendations, or school nominations.  Each provider may also charge a fee for their courses, and/or offer scholarships.  The list also includes the dates of application deadlines and information events that are coming up soon.

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Program for the Gifted & Talented

https://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/pgt/

(Application deadline for summer programmes: May 10th)

City University of Hong Kong

Talents, Aspiration & Excellence

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/nurturetalent/

Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education

https://www.hkage.org.hk/en/

(Applications opened: April 14th)

Hong Kong Baptist University

Center for Child Development

https://ccd.hkbu.edu.hk/en

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Center for the Development of the Gifted and Talented

https://cdgt.hkust.edu.hk/eng/

Johns Hopkins University

Center for Talented Youth

https://cty.jhu.edu/

(Parent/student information webinars from April 23rd to May 25th: https://centerfortalentedyouth.formstack.com/forms/cty_virtual_information_sessions_2022_multilingual)

University of Hong Kong

Academy for the Talented

https://talented.hku.hk/

We encourage KGV students who may be interested in external extension courses to review these websites, and to pay attention to the application procedures and deadlines.  If students are able to apply directly, they should do so.  If students require a reference/recommendation/nomination from the school, they should contact Miss Ellie Hitchings if they are in Year 7-9 or Mr. Krishin Hotwani if they are in Year 10-13.  Please be aware that it can take two weeks to prepare the reference, so please request this early enough before the application deadline.

Please note that KGV does not have a formal partnership with any of these organisations, and does not directly benefit from any student participation or fees paid to the organisation.  Student participation in these courses is entirely voluntary.

Miss Ellie Hitchings, RTI Coordinator for Years 7-9, ellie.hitchings@kgv.edu.hk

Mr. Krishin Hotwani, RTI Coordinator for Years 10-13, krishin.hotwani@kgv.edu.hk

Parents will be able to access an audio recording of the weekly newsletter in Mandarin, Korean and Hindi. These audio recordings will be available to parents by the Monday following the issuing of the newsletter. Please click here to access where the recordings will be stored. This is a new initiative and we are very much in a trial stage. If you have any feedback on how we could improve, or indeed could offer a translation service for us in another language, please email me at carole.beer@kgv.edu.hk.

Thursday, 5 May 2022
6:30-7:30pm
Online

"While we waste our time hesitating and postponing, life is slipping away." - Seneca

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks. Does your teen:

-  Struggle to get up
-  Find it hard to make good decisions
-  Delay until the last minute

If teens can overcome this, they will be able to accomplish more and in doing so, better utilise the potential that life has to offer.

Join us for a talk by Jack Chappell, KGV PSHE lead, who will deliver this workshop on procrastination; discussing what it is, how it affects young people, and strategies to support teens beat it for improved productivity and wellbeing. 

There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the talk.

Now for your first test: Don't procrastinate and please sign up now.

To attend please register here.

For enquiries contact Engagement Manager Kiran,  kiran.budhrani@kgv.edu.hk

Key Dates

Fri 22 April Year 11 on study leave 

Fri 22 April Year 10 and 12 Term 2 summaries issued to parents

Tue 26 April Community Project Year 9

Friday, 6 May 2022, 10:30am

We are committed to supporting our parents through their journey at KGV, therefore have created several opportunities for you to engage with the school.  ‘Feedback Friday‘ is one such opportunity for you to engage in a personalized, small group session on a Friday morning, to chat with the Principal, Mark Blackshaw on various topics or areas you would like to discuss.

Sessions will run online from 10:30am to 11:15am, and are limited to 15 parents.

Our upcoming session will be on Friday, 6 May 2022.

Once you sign up for a session/s, a link will be sent to you closer to the time of the meeting.

If you would like to attend this or other sessions this term, please sign up on this form.

School reference (non-higher education purposes) (Link to policy on Lionel)

The Careers Office coordinates all KGV student references including exit & summer schools. All requests should be directed to careers.office@kgv.edu.hk. Please allow at least 4-6 work weeks for teachers to work on school references. School references for higher education applications are done in a separate process.

Y13 Higher Education applications
Communication between students & their H.E. Counsellors is key. This is especially so when application deadlines for many institutions are fast approaching. Submitting an application without informing the H.E. Counsellor in advance may result in missed relevant documents to support applications. Students are reminded that they MUST inform their H.E. Counsellors of applications they are making, to ensure that supporting documents are sent in time.

Our best wishes to our IB students for their exams and BTEC students for completing of their coursework.

Y13 Parents Information Evening, 18:00 on 12 May. Mark your calendar. In this session, we will take parents through on supporting our Y13s with their offers and applications post-exams. The session is going to be on Zoom. Please make sure you sign in with your Zoom account. Details for signing up will be available closer to the date.

Y12 1-1 H.E. meeting
The Y12 1-1 meeting with HE Counsellors should have completed by the end of Term 2.  Anyone who has missed their missing should contact their respective HE Counsellor immediately to reschedule the appointment.  The meeting is an opportunity for students to discuss their post-KGV plans and intentions.

Our Y12 HE presentation series will resume next week at lunch break with Medicine, Dentistry & Vet. Meds. on 27 Apr & Oxbridge on 28 Apr.  Updated presentation schedule and meeting link were emailed to all Y12s. 

Careers Website is full of information on summer/enrichment programmes, scholarships, careers & higher education resources, etc. Check this link for more.

External Events
Our Careers Calendar lists many university events. Refer to the Calendar for event details and registration links. Some upcoming events:

General
- 17 May: Unifrog University Fair

U.K.
- 23 Apr: St John’s College, University of Cambridge Webinar
- 27 & 28 Apr: Meet the Russell Group, UK
- 28 Apr: Oxford Student (only) Webinar: Managing Finances
- Various dates: Cambridge Subject Mastecalsses
- 29 Apr: The Medic Portal Webinar: Introduction to UCAT (2023 entry)
- 4 May: Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam & St Anne’s Women in STEM Programme 2022
- 10 May: King’s Undergraduate Personal Statement Writing Workshop
- 13 May: The Medic Portal Webinar: How to plan your UCAT prep
- 19 May: Oxford Webinar: International Parent/Guardian/Carer Session

Europe
- 26 &27 Apr: Dutch Research University Consortium Info Webinar
- Various dates: Jacob University Taster Lecture Series
-  27 Apr: Bocconi University Open Class for high school students: Finance Sustainability
- 11 & 12 May: European University Consortium Virtual Fair 2022: Study in Europe in English

U.S.A.
- 7 May: The Northeast Public Schools: Preparing your to apply
- 25 May: EducationUSA: Pre-departure Orientation

Canada
- 10 May: Ryerson University webinar: Student permits made easy (Outside Canada)

KGV Careers Team

Alumna, Nicola Sun from the Class of 2017 has shared a poem she had written recently for Autism Acceptance month this year. The poem is called 'Unique Differences'. The poem portrays a message that autism is not a disability, but rather a different ability and there is nothing wrong with being different and unique, as uniqueness is a good thing.

Uniqueness

I may perceive things slowly,

But that does not mean I cannot do stuff,

I also think things differently,

Which makes me feel chuffed.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses,

Along with different interests and talents,

But having differences creates uniqueness,

And uniqueness makes the world more balanced.

Do not feel a need to change yourself,

Just so you can impress someone else,

Be proud and have acceptance of oneself,

Like we would, for everyone else.

If we accept ourselves for who we are,

We can appreciate our individuality and be optimistic,

Individuality helps us shine like stars,

So it is best to be yourself and authentic.

There is nothing wrong in being different,

As that is how it makes you special,

Being different is magnificent,

This is very beneficial.

To begin with, autism is not a disability,

It is an intelligent trait and technique,

View it as a different ability,

Which is why autism is unique!

By Nichola Sun