Principal's message

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are all well and have enjoyed a positive start to the Year of the Rabbit. Our staff are looking forward to celebrating the New Year with a staff dinner, which is always a social highlight.

We are launching an exciting new programme to support students who wish to develop their swimming abilities. The KGV Sea Lions Swim Club aligns with our vision to create a ‘school for one’ where every student can engage in programmes that support their abilities, interests and passions. The cost of swim training can be a barrier to participation. For this reason, we are very excited to announce the launch of our KGV Sea Lions Swim Club for the exclusive benefit of KGV Students to develop swimming proficiency, fitness, and performance. The pilot programme costs only $500 per whole of term three and is free for students enrolling in our “Learn to Swim” programme. We are teaming up with accredited ESL swimming coaches to deliver the programme. All parents were emailed a brochure earlier today with further information and a registration link to attend an online information session at 6 pm on Wednesday, 15th February.

This a reminder that parents listed as the first contact option on Lionel will have received an email from KGV regarding the stakeholder survey. Your feedback allows us to think deeply about how we can do even more for our students and community. At KGV, this is always about striving to fulfil our ‘Be Your Own Remarkable’ mission and personalising learning for every student. The survey is relatively short; it should only take a few minutes. You can access it using the link provided in the email between now and February 12th. The email was sent on Wednesday, 1st February, with the subject line “2023 ESF Stakeholder Survey”.

Please also see attached the draft 2023-2024 ESF calendar. This may assist families in looking ahead, especially if planning holidays or work-related trips out of Hong Kong.

Under the new EDB guidelines, parents no longer need to show a negative RAT to attend school. We will continue to scan temperatures and ask people not to attend if feeling unwell and stay away until symptoms subside. All students must continue daily RAT testing and record on the ESF App until at least 28 February 2023. We hope the EDB relax this requirement, and further advice will be issued if this occurs.

Have a good weekend.

Mark Blackshaw

Principal, KGV School

Dear Parents and  Caregivers,

Year 7 students did a marvellous job promoting a range of religious festivals and traditions in our annual PRS Expo this week. We invited KJS Year 6 students to the event and our students were excellent KGV ambassadors.  Well done to our Year  7 students.  

This half term has plenty of opportunities for  Year 7 students to participate in our KGV House Competition. There are over 20  activities planned, from the Evening of Music and Dance to Inter-House  Chess.  There is something for everyone. Please speak  to your child to see how they can get involved.

Next Wednesday (8 February), our  Head of Music,  Ms  Alex  Carlile, will host an online information session for Year 7 students interested in joining our KGV Music Academy. For more information, please see the item in this newsletter.

Have  a great weekend.

The Year 7 Team.

Year 8 Message

The Year 8 students have positively returned to school this week. They have actively engaged in their learning and CAS activities. 

We continue to focus on the culture of KGV with a particular spotlight on our value of ‘Empathy', presenting what empathy is, why it’s important and how we can develop it at KGV. Mr Tranter has Challenged Year 8 & 9 students to share examples of empathy around KGV with their tutor so we can celebrate these at our next assembly. 

KGV School promotes excellent punctuality records across all years to ensure that students and staff have the maximum possible time to enable effective teaching and learning to be carried out. A reminder that every student needs to swipe in when they arrive at school. Students who swipe into school after 8.10 am are considered late. Three weeks into Term 2, some Year 8 & 9 students are accumulating a number of 'unexplained lates' to school. Please see our KGV Punctuality Guidelines for more information and our tiered response. 

Attending school should be prioritised. Where this is not possible, we urge you to work with the school to inform us in a timely manner of absences. Parents should use the ESF App to report any absences due to sickness. When parents know of a prolonged absence, they should contact the child’s Head of Year to arrange a time to discuss this leave and its implications. We will then require parents and students to complete the necessary documentation. 

Reporting absences through the ESF App (ESF App Introduction):  Login ESF APP -> Under your child’s name “Absence” button -> Email for absence/lates/early leave

Planned Absence Form.pdf

Have a great weekend.

Next Wednesday, Y10 students will spend the first 3 periods with the Year 10/11 team as we teach, discuss and engage with study and revision skills. During the morning we will explicitly teach students about procrastination, sleep, note-taking, active revision and a range of study skills. We hope this will help students to work more efficiently and to make more informed choices about how they spend their revision time.

In PSHE, Year 10 students will participate in weekly Relationships and Sexualities Education (RSE) lessons as part of their PSHE lessons in term two. The lessons will cover topics such as building strong and empathetic relationships, safety in relationships, consent, contraceptives, STIs, digital safety and intimacy. The students will learn about healthy relationships, the human body, sexual behaviour, and the reproductive cycle, as well as how to evaluate behaviours in digital relationships.

Relevant resources and signposts for support are available on the PSHE website

The Year 9 students have positively returned to school this week. They have fully engaged in their learning and CAS activities. 

On Wednesday, the 1st of February, the Year 9 students officially started working on their Community Project. Please see more information in the newsletter item from Mr Beard. 

The Year 9 Subject Options system will re-open between January 30th and February 20th.  Students do not have to do anything if they are happy with their original choices. If they want to change one or more subjects, they must log into Lionel and make the changes where required.

As part of the option choice process, there is a Careers Fair for Year 9 students on Wednesday, 15th February, during Period 5.    

KGV School promotes excellent punctuality records across all years to ensure that students and staff have the maximum possible time to enable effective teaching and learning to be carried out. A reminder that every student needs to swipe in when they arrive at school. Students who swipe into school after 8.10 am are considered late. Three weeks into Term 2, some Year 9 students are accumulating many 'unexplained lates' to school. Please see our KGV Punctuality Guidelines for more information and our tiered response. 

Attending school should be prioritised. Where this is not possible, we urge you to work with the school to inform us in a timely manner of absences. Parents should use the ESF App to report any absences due to sickness. When parents know of a prolonged absence, they should contact the child’s Head of Year to arrange a time to discuss this leave and its implications. We will then require parents and students to complete the necessary documentation. 

Reporting absences through the ESF App (ESF App Introduction): Login ESF APP -> Under your child’s name “Absence” button -> Email for absence/lates/early leave

Planned Absence Form.pdf

Have a great weekend.

Year 11 Message

Year 11 students have completed half their mock exam period. Please check in with your child to make sure they understand that two weeks of exams is hard and that they are doing well just to get through it.

Please also check that they are keeping the exams in perspective and understand they are practice exams, students are not expected to know everything yet and that they will generate helpful feedback. If you notice that your child is feeling anxious, please encourage them to talk to you or another trusted adult.

I've been impressed at the positive attitude, punctuality and peer support offered by students as they help each other out with revision.

Exams continue with English (Word Lit) and Chemistry on Monday. The full exam timetable is here.

Later this term, Year 11 students will participate in RSE lessons which cover a range of topics including gender identities and LGBTQ+ inclusion, relationships, marriage, parenting, fertility and pregnancy choices. Relevant resources and signposts for support are available on the PSHE website

Year 12 Message

Our Year 12 students have come back after CNY with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Our Student Leaders have started to engage with a variety of issues pertaining to improvements in the quality of the learning experience for all of our students.

A reminder for students to sign up for the ESF University Fair. Please see our Careers bulletin below.

9 Feb, 17.00-19.00: Asia/Australia/New Zealand
16 Feb, 19.00-21.30: North America

Wishing you a great weekend.

Year 13 Message

Our Year 13 students have come back after CNY with renewed energy and enthusiasm. We wish all of our Year 13 students well as they enter this important period post Mock exams.

Our students can now garner important feedback from their subject teachers that will help them in the coming weeks as they prepare for their final examinations or final units of work in the case of our BTEC students.

Wishing you a great weekend.

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 personalised, small group session on a Friday to chat with the Principal, Mark Blackshaw, on various topics or areas you would like to discuss.

Our upcoming session will be on Friday, 17 February 2023. 10.30-11.15 am.

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 a session this term, please sign up on this form.

For enquiries, please contact Kiran Budhrani, kiran.budhrani@kgv.edu.hk

Wednesday 8 February 2023 at 6.30pm

The Music Academy at KGV is a specialist Arts subject pathway open to students from Year 8 and above which offers extension opportunities for our gifted and talented musicians, with a holistic programme that will allow them to reach their full potential. 

To find out more about applying for the Music Academy please join the online Google-Meet next Wednesday 8 February, 6.30pm - https://meet.google.com/eth-vcyw-xkf   

Feel free to contact Ms Alexandra Carlile (alexandra.carlile@kgv.edu.hk) for more information.

Interested students may join the Music Academy Auditions Google-Classroom HERE Invite Code zkg3koh

Link to the presentation HERE

PANACHE XII is back for its 12th year! Panache XII is our annual charity fashion show hosted at the King George V School of Hong Kong. Our main goal is to generate money for Habitat for Humanity, Orbis, Plastic Free Seas, and Hong Kong Wildlife Health Foundation, KGV’s four charities.

The show will be held on February 18th, 2023, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the KGV hall. This year, our very own KGV students will be modelling for sponsors like Levi's, Womany Dress, MODE TUXEDO, and more! Please use the link in our bio or below to order your tickets if you are interested in attending this incredible night!

Ticket Link: https://forms.gle/EcaZxWF7kgL7bmxKA

The ESF School Calendar 2023-2024 (DRAFT) can be found HERE

Careers & H.E. Guidance

Our email address: careers.office@kgv.edu.hk.

KGV Careers Website is another platform where we share information and resources on higher education, scholarship, external events, enrichment programmes and many more.

ESF University Fair 2023 (virtual) – IMPORTANT!!

The first session of the ESF University Fair 2023 (Europe, incl. UK) went really well last night. Two more upcoming in the next two weeks:

9 Feb: ESF University Fair: Asia/Australia/New Zealand, incl. HK
16 Feb: ESF University Fair: North America

The Fair is open to all in the ESF community, with Y12 students expected to attend at least one of the sessions. Details on registration procedures were emailed to all Y10-Y12 parents before the Lunar New Year break. Students in Y10-Y12 students were briefed about registration procedures and preparation for the Fair. To ensure proper access to the Fair, students & parents should to register as soon as they can. Successful registration will receive an email from Airmeet providing a unique link to access to the Fair. Any technical support should be directed to help@unifrog.org.

HE Resources via Google Classroom for Y12 & Y13. All resources for higher education applications are available via Google Classroom, including internal deadlines. Students should look out for announcements & reminders. Y13s should ensure they are keeping their paces with applications.

Student official full names are used on school transcripts. We would like to ask parents to check that their children’s official full name in the school record matches that on their identity documents. This is especially so when students are known in school by their preferred names which may not be their official names. Unmatched names may cause difficulties with university offers.

Year 13

• Close communication with HE Counsellors. Apart from keeping to internal deadlines, students should work closely with their HE Counsellors and keep informed of their HE applications. Any missed communication may result is a delay in providing necessary support for applications, which may result in missed offers.
• Application Status & Offers. Applicants are starting to receive offer decisions. Students should have regular communications with their HE Counsellors on their application status.

Year 12

• 1-1 session with HE Counsellors. Students should have received an email with their individual appointment details and preparation before the session. There is a questionnaire for students to complete before they attend their appointment. It is important that they attend the session to discuss their post-KGV intentions.
• BTEC Internship (W1: 20-24 March; W2: 27-31 March). Correspondence on the Y12 BTEC internship went out to our BTEC students and their parents before term break. Students were briefed on 13 Jan with their placement details. Deadline for submitting application letter and CV is on 6 Feb. More sessions are planned for students to prepare them for the placements.
• Year 12 Parent information session is scheduled on Wednesday, 15 Feb, 18:00. An email will go out next week to parents to sign up for the Zoom meeting.

KGV School References

The KGV Careers Office is coordinating all references for students. KGV School has a closed reference policy. School references are treated with the strictest confidentiality and are sent only to the institution that makes a request. Students and their families do not get to see their school reference.

• Reference for Y13s’ higher education application: All current Y13 students have a school reference in place as one of the support school documents. There is no need for students to make a request. Students should work closely with their H.E. Counsellor for their applications.
• References for non-higher education purposes, including potential exit, summer school, scholarship, etc.: Parents should inform the Careers Office by email, providing purpose and contact for sending the reference. The normal lead time for teachers to work on school references is 4-6 working weeks.

University Events on the KGV Careers Calendar

Highlight of upcoming events:

University visit @ KGV, during lunch time at Senior Student Common Room

1 Mar: Leeds
2 Mar: EU Business School
15 Mar: Bath
20 Mar: Leeds Beckett
22 Mar: Nottingham, York, Cardiff, Leicester & Durham

U.K.
Feb 2023 (various dates): Cambridge: Foundation Year Applicant Support Programme
Feb 2023 (various dates): Think Cambridge 2023 Webinar series continues

Europe
Feb 2023 (various dates): Carl Benz School of Engineering webinars

Japan
15 Feb: APU Japan – Hong Kong Student & Alumni Sharing

KGV Careers Team

On Wednesday the 1st of February, the Year 9 students officially started working on their Community Project. This is a Service Learning project for the MYP where students work in small groups to develop an awareness of needs in various communities leading to them taking meaningful and appropriate action. 

The Ideation day was kicked off with students engaging in an NGO Seminar with a number of KGV partners. They were tasked with understanding what they do and why their organisation is necessary. A huge thank you to the following NGOs for giving up their time to inspire our students. Social Career, Chatteris, Feeding HK, A Plastic Ocean Foundation, Box Of Hope, Changing Youth Life Foundation, Teen's Key Hong Kong, Plastic Free Seas, Redress, KELY Support Group, The Justice Centre and Sai Kung Stray Friends. 

To see what students at KGV are doing and what they have achieved before, please see the links below:

• Student Handbook
• ACTION Highlights 2021
• ACTION Highlights 2022

Finally, we appreciate that the parent community at KGV has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in a diverse set of fields. Once students have started their project we would really like to be able to offer students access to mentors who could help guide them through this process. Past themes of student projects have fallen in the following categories; Animal Welfare, Environmental, Medical/Disease and Social Welfare. Parent involvement could be advising the groups through email or holding small meetings at one of the breakaway follow up days. If you are willing to volunteer yourself for this, then please could you contact me directly. 

Dean Beard

CAS, Service Learning and Activities Coordinator

Congratulations to Marc and Tal.

Two Year 9 students wrote a community project proposal for an NGO during KGV’s Challenge Week and won the “Young Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition 2022-2023”. Marc & Tal received Seed funds to realise their project ideas. They will be working with different external parties and a mentor from HKU to guide them through the stages of implementation this year.

This community project will allow them to develop essential entrepreneurship skills, understand and serve the needs of others, address issues in innovative ways, and build resilience to overcome challenges that will appear on their journey.

We are proud of  Marc and Tal for participating in the competition and being recognised.

They will also share their experience with students from other secondary schools. 

Well done!

Charissa Y7 was ranked 4th in the floor events and 1st in the ALL-ROUND category. She was awarded an overall Champion position.

Tuesday, 14 February 2023
6.30- 8.00 pm
online

This interactive seminar provides parents with knowledge on the risks of different substances more commonly used by youth in Hong Kong, particularly, drugs such as cannabis and cocaine, vaping, and alcohol. Speakers have been invited to share and discuss techniques on how to have candid conversations with youth on these issues. Ultimately, the session aims to create empathy among participants to understand the decision-making process among youths. The session will also explore some harm reduction tips for parents to know how to reduce the risks for their children. By the end of the session, parents will be empowered to act as positive role models and trusted adults that youth can reach out to.

Please register here if you wish to attend.

The KGV canteen and food venue menu for next week, 6 to 10 February 2023, is available here.