Dear Parents and Carers,

We have enjoyed an action packed week at KGV, where there have been a number of exciting events for students. These events range from our elite athletes proudly representing the school at the Hong Kong Athletics competition to the Year 7 Philosophy and Religious Studies Expo where our students shared their knowledge with Year 6 students..

These experiences continue to demonstrate the skills, values and positive learner attributes of all our students in so many different contexts, as well as the dedication and expertise of our staff. 

The excitement continues next week with our LEC students enjoying a residential camp experience from Wednesday to Friday, as well as Inter house Music bringing a joyous and competitive end of the week.

We also have the Challenge Week sign-up coming up, which will create a further buzz of excitement around the students in years 7 to 11. Please look at the Challenge Week website together and discuss their preference.  Encourage your child to have backup choices, activities have limited spaces and they can fill up fast.

Students must visit the sign-up page before sign-up day to upload their passport/home return card and HKID or to indicate they will choose a local activity. Please remind them to do this.

Year 10 students who study a language will do language immersion activities. This arrangement has been in place for many years now and has shown real benefits to the enjoyment of the subject and to exam performance.

Sign up days are:
Y11 Tuesday 5th March at 10.40 am
Y9 & 10 Wednesday 6th March at 10.40 am
Y8 Thursday 7th March at 10.40 am
Y7 Friday 8th March at 10.40 am

Have an enjoyable weekend ahead.

Best regards,

Mark Poulsum

Dear Parents  and Caregivers,

It was wonderful to see all our Year 7 students involved in today's Year 7 PRS Expo!  They had worked hard in groups to produce a stall celebrating their chosen religious festival. KJS  Year 6 students and members of the KGV Community went along to support their work.

Next week, we have a busy week;

• Good luck to the musicians and singers performing in the KGV Interhouse Competition.  I  look forward to  giving you highlights in next week's message
• Challenge Week sign-up for Year 7s is Friday 8th March. Please check the information from Mr Carrell in previous messages to  parents
• Friday is International Women's Day. Tutors will be working with students to raise awareness.  

Thank you for your continued support, particularly around reinforcing our uniform and mobile device expectations. We are also witnessing an improvement in general behaviours and social interactions! 

Have a great weekend.

We held an assembly this week and reminded our Year 12 and 13 students of our “Disconnect to Reconnect” guidelines.

Our senior students are role-models for the rest of our school community and exemplify the behaviours and high standards for our younger students in school. We therefore ask that everyone keeps their mobile phone in their bags during the school day from 7.45am to 3.20pm. Senior students are permitted to use their phones in the Senior School Common area and we ask that you use your phone responsibly in this area.

Our Year 12 BTEC students begin their 2 week internships on Monday and we wish them every success and hope that our students make the most of these wonderful opportunities.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Year 10 students have had a number of assessments this week and have Biology and other assessments next week.

Please make sure your child keeps these assessments in perspective. They are to help them consolidate their knowledge, practise exam technique and find out what areas they have mastered and what areas they still need to work on. The grades are only to provide guidance on how they are progressing.

Challenge Week sign-up is next Wednesday and the majority of Year 10 students will be involved with Language Immersion trips. Please see the Challenge Week website here.

Year 11 Message

On Tuesday evening we published the mock exam summary report. If you haven't accessed this yet, you can find it in the App > Lionel > CCF > Progress Checks. Please use this to discuss academic goals and priorities for the rest of the year and option choices.

Option choices for Year 12 are due on Monday. If you have any questions about appropriate choices for your child, please contact their tutor. Students must enter the choices themselves. Parents will then be sent a message containing a link to approve the choices made.

On Thursday this week Mr Kent ran a revision session for all Year 11 where they reflected on their mock exam performance, set goals and were reminded of effective revision strategies.

Challenge Week sign-up is next Tuesday for Year 11 students. There is a variety of activities available including a range of destinations outside Hong Kong. If you are considering one of the trips outside Hong Kong, please remind your child to upload their passport and HKID to the CW sign-up system before Tuesday. The Challenge Week website with all options is here and students have been sent a link to the sign-up system.

Year 8 Message

It has been a productive week at school, filled with enriching learning experiences and meaningful connections.

A reminder that the Year 8 Options system will close on Sunday at the end of the day. Students should make their preliminary Languages/Global Perspectives choices based on information given to them in lessons. There is no need to make any Arts selections at this point. Choices will be reviewed/confirmed in May when students complete their Arts choices.

KGV Challenge Week sign-up is scheduled for next week:

• Year 8 March 7th (Thu) at 10.40 am.

Please encourage your child to engage with the CW information and have backup choices if their first choice is full. The CW website is here .

We look forward to an exciting week of Inter House Music next week. There will be competitions for Junior Instrumental, Junior Vocal, Senior Instrumental and Vocal, Junior & Senior Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble and a Highlights Concert. Students are encouraged to come and watch the live events in the Hall to support their house and peers. 

MYP Approaches to Learning (ATL) Focus for our Parent Newsletter:  Self-Management Skills  - Putting Things Off

Sometimes, getting started on a task can be the most challenging part, which is why it is so easy to delay doing things. Think about a time when your child has procrastinated. Afterwards, did they wish that they had started it immediately? 

Often, your child will delay starting on tasks because they: 

• Aren't sure how to start 

• pay too much attention to the details 

• don't feel confident in their own ability 

• over prioritised less important tasks.

Please encourage your child to make a list of the main reasons they procrastinate. Put the list up somewhere your child and their team can see it. Identifying when they are procrastinating will help them develop strategies to overcome it.

When studying, if your child feels like putting it off, suggest they:

• Talk positively to themselves: I want to do it, I can do it, I will do it

• Divide their study sessions into smaller chunks, 20 minutes of uninterrupted study followed by a five-minute break. 

• Set short-term goals, so they feel a sense of achievement each time they complete a section of the task.

Warn them to beware of the ‘bouncing effect’, skipping from task to task without finishing any of them. Developing clear completion timelines based on task priority will help them overcome this effect.

When your child develops strategies to beat procrastination, they will feel:

• confident and in control 

• time-rich instead of time-poor 

• and that no task is too hard.

Parent Actions: 

What two things will your child focus on to minimise putting things off?

Have a great weekend!

Year 9 Message

It has been a productive week at school, filled with enriching learning experiences and meaningful connections.

Today was the last day for any student to request a change for Year 9 Options if they missed last Friday’s deadline. After today, requests will be recorded but won’t be looked at until next year’s timetable is complete. If the timetable allows, we will make the changes.  

KGV Challenge Week sign-up is scheduled for next week:

• Year 9 March 6th (Wed) at 10.40 am

Please encourage your child to engage with the CW information and have backup choices if their first choice is full. The CW website is here .

We look forward to an exciting week of Inter House Music next week. There will be competitions for Junior Instrumental, Junior Vocal, Senior Instrumental and Vocal, Junior & Senior Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble and a Highlights Concert. Students are encouraged to come and watch the live events in the Hall to support their house and peers. 

MYP Approaches to Learning (ATL) Focus for our Parent Newsletter: Self-Management Skills  - Putting Things Off

Sometimes, getting started on a task can be the most challenging part, which is why it is so easy to delay doing things. Think about a time when your child has procrastinated. Afterwards, did they wish that they had started it immediately? 

Often, your child will delay starting on tasks because they: 

• Aren't sure how to start 

• pay too much attention to the details 

• don't feel confident in their own ability 

• over prioritised less important tasks.

Please encourage your child to make a list of the main reasons they procrastinate. Put the list up somewhere your child and their team can see it. Identifying when they are procrastinating will help them develop strategies to overcome it.

When studying, if your child feels like putting it off, suggest they:

• Talk positively to themselves: I want to do it, I can do it, I will do it.

• Divide their study sessions into smaller chunks, 20 minutes of uninterrupted study followed by a five-minute break. 

• Set short-term goals, so they feel a sense of achievement each time they complete a section of the task.

Warn them to beware of the ‘bouncing effect’, skipping from task to task without finishing any of them. Developing clear completion timelines based on task priority will help them overcome this effect.

When your child develops strategies to beat procrastination, they will feel:

• confident and in control 

• time-rich instead of time-poor 

• and that no task is too hard.

Parent Actions: 

What two things will your child focus on to minimise putting things off?

Have a great weekend! 

What is Eco Fair?

Eco Fair is an online inter-school case study research project hosted by the ESF Sustainability Alliance. In the competition, students will be investigating a case study and pitch what they think is the most sustainable and economically feasible solution. On the day of the competition, each group will be given 6 minutes to present their proposal via Zoom, followed by a 2-minute session with teachers and past competition winners asking follow-up questions pertaining to the groups' presentation.

Important dates

• 8 March 2024: Sign up form closed.
• 15 March 2024: Case study is released.
• 18 March 2024: Eco Fair competition (via Zoom)
• 10 April 2024: Awards ceremony at King George V school
• Note that each event's details will be sent out closer to the date.

Requirements/Guidelines

• Maximum people per group or team: 4 . You must be in groups, cannot be individual
• Only one person in the team needs to sign up via this Google Form!
• This competition is only open to students from Year 9 to 13
• Each member of the group must be from the same school
• First come first serve basis

Note: The Judges are experienced business and environmental science professors, teachers, and winners (students) from past environment competitions.

Sign-up form here: Google Form

Contact Us: If you have any questions, please feel free to email Yega Chung (Discovery College, Year 11, organiser of event). yegachung@gmail.com

School References

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

The KGV Careers Office coordinates all our student references including exit & summer schools.

For students’ privacy, parents must give KGV their permission to release their child’s reference to a specific list of schools they are applying to. KGV only liaise directly with those schools with parents' permission.

To facilitate a smooth reference process, parents are suggested to contact the Careers Office (careers.office@kgv.edu.hk) with a list of institutions and names of teachers nominated to write references. Please allow at least 4-6 working weeks for teachers to work on school references. School references for higher education applications are done in a separate process.

If students are pursuing gifted and talented programmes outside of KGV, they should contact Mr. Krishin Hotwani directly.

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

Parents Workshop

Dear Parents,

We will be holding an online parent workshop about "how alcohol affects young people."

We will discuss the following issues:

1 What do my children think about alcohol?

2 How to start a conversation with my children about alcohol?

3 Sources for help.

Time & Date: 5.30 PM on 11th March 2024

If you are interested, please fill in the Google form HERE.

Careers & H.E. Guidance

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

Parents’ Support for KGV Careers Fair and Careers Exposure
The Careers Office organises various opportunities for our students to explore careers options. The annual September Careers Fair and various work experiences are some of them. These could not have happened without our wonderful parent’s support. We are hoping to introduce more opportunities for our students.

For parents who would like to collaborate with KGV, please take two minutes to complete this form here. Our team will get in touch with you to discuss further the opportunities that you may bring to community.

We really appreciate your support. Thank you!

Year 13
- Universities have started sending out offers. Students are most welcome to chat with their HE Counsellors any time.
- If students plan to take a gap year or apply to Australia after graduation, we would appreciate it if they can inform their HE Counsellors about their plans so that we can support them when it’s time for them to make their applications.
- In the coming months, we will be doing an exit presentation for students and parents highlighting important action points.

Year 12
- Y12s’ 1-to-1 meeting with their HE Counsellors. The meetings are going on well. Students should have received email with their individual appointments.
- Y12 Parents Presentation –14 March, 18.00, via Zoom. Mark your calendar. More details to follow.
- Google Classrooms. Our HE Team has set up Google Classrooms for Y12 students for communication on higher education issues.
- Year 12 Consolidation Week (11-15 March).  Students will be working with our higher education counsellors during Consolidation Week.

Enrichment/Summer Programmes
- Students may start thinking about their plans for enrichment/summer. Our Careers website has a page that lists known opportunities by region. Check this page for ideas.
- KGV does not take responsibility for the content or quality of external events and courses.
- If students need school references to support their application to enrichment/summer programmes, they should email careers.office@kgv.edu.hk. Our normal lead time for teachers to work on recommendations is 4-6 working weeks.

KGV Careers Calendar
Check our KGV Careers Calendar for known H.E. events. Some highlighted events are:

KGV is not responsible for the quality of any external events. All information is subject to change by event organisers.

Visits @ KGV, SSC1&2, 1.30-2.15pm
6 Mar: Canadian universities mini-fair
7 Mar: Simon Fraser University + University of Galway
19 Mar: Keele University + University of Leeds + UCalgary
20 Mar: HKU @ GLT
21 Mar: BIMM
22 Mar: Washington State U

Events in HK
8 Mar: Global University Fair @ CDNIS

Hong Kong
3 Mar: HKAPA Open Day
Every Tuesday: University of Hong Kong - Online Talks starting 13.00

U.K.
Various Dates in March: University of Essex – Hidden Gems Webinar Series
19-21 Mar: World Class Study in London Subject Webinars

Singapore
2 Mar: National University Singapore Online Open Day

Canada
Various dates: Toronto Metropolitan University International Student Chats Series

Europe
9 Mar: Study @ Hanze UAS Webinar
6 Mar: Fontys UAS Webinar: Study at ICT
22 Mar: Dutch University College Webinar

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

4 - 8 April