Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope you have enjoyed a good week despite the rather turbulent weather. This week our teachers have been using a recent training session to start developing approaches to teaching and learning using Magic School AI. This is part of our drive to ensure KGV students are ‘future ready’ for a world where technology is rapidly developing and changing.

As part of being future ready, those enduring human traits of compassion and taking care of others become ever more important. Our student Inclusion and Equity team have been working alongside school leaders to develop educational practices focusing on the use of appropriate and inclusive language. This will be shared across the staff next week, and we will continue to engage students with how we demonstrate empathy throughout their school life and beyond.

With empathy in mind, it was good to see the Y11 and Y13 students start their exams with a real sense of positivity and determination. We wish them every success over the coming weeks, and our teachers will continue to support them with any final preparations for their exams.

Have a great weekend ahead 

Best regards,

Mark Poulsum

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This week, we were presented with an opportunity to educate some of our Year 7 students on the proper use of social media and the need to think carefully about some of the languages students are choosing to use.  Today, over 40 Year 7 Students worked with our KGV Student Inclusion and Equity group as they presented a lesson on the origin of some of the most common slurs used by some students in everyday language. This was an extremely powerful session, with students leaving feeling confident in interrupting situations where inappropriate language is used. They left prepared with a sentence/ statement they feel comfortable using in a situation where they hear slurs or unacceptable language. Students have committed to taking a positive stance in making sure they are upstanders and they challenge inappropriate language.  More information will be shared with parents in the coming weeks on the effective conversation strategies to have at home with children on understanding the importance of language and the impact language has on other people.

Thank you for being extra vigilant with your child and their phone/  social media use. We need to give them the skills and confidence to know what is right and wrong on social media platforms.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

The Year 7 Team

Congratulations to our Y13 BTEC Business students on their wonderful pitches and presentations to our “dragons” throughout Thursday and Friday. The quality of presentations was superb and a real testament to the high quality performance of all our BTEC students.

Our Y13 IB students commenced their examinations this week and we wish them the very best over the next couple of weeks. A reminder that under a Red Rain warning, your exam will proceed as planned.

Please just be careful and give yourself plenty of time to get to school.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Despite the wet weather challenges this week, our Year 8 & 9 students have managed the disruptions to play time exceptionally well. We commend them for their resilience and positive attitude during this time. 

Year 8 & 9 interactions on social media, such as messages, comments, and shares, are causing issues within our school community. These interactions are happening primarily outside of school time. At KGV, we urge students to think before they interact online. Please encourage your child to consider if their actions are helpful, kind, or potentially hurtful. Let us remember the values of our community: Honesty helps us live authentically, build trust, strengthen relationships, and foster integrity in ourselves and our community - We practise responsible digital citizenship.

Here are some suggested tools and strategies parents can use to monitor social media use in 12 and 13-year-olds:

1. Parental Control Apps: Consider using parental control apps to monitor your child's social media activity, set screen time limits, and block inappropriate content.

2. Privacy Settings Review: Sit down with your child to review and adjust privacy settings on their social media accounts to control who can see their posts and interactions.

3. Regular Check-ins: Have open and honest conversations with your child about their social media use. Regularly check in with them to discuss their online experiences, friends, and any concerns they may have.

4. Follow Their Accounts: Follow your child's social media accounts to stay informed about their online interactions and the content they post or engage with.

5. Establish Tech-Free Zones: Set specific times and areas in the house where electronic devices, including smartphones and tablets, are not allowed to promote offline activities and family time.

6. Educate About Online Safety: Teach your child about the importance of online safety, including not sharing personal information, being cautious about accepting friend requests, and reporting suspicious or inappropriate behaviour.

7. Model Positive Behaviour: Be a role model for responsible social media use by demonstrating respectful online behaviour and engaging in meaningful conversations with your child about digital citizenship.

Using these tools and strategies, you can help your child navigate social media's complexities safely and responsibly.   

MYP Approaches to Learning (ATL) Focus for our Parent Newsletter: Digital Citizenship

ATL skills are closely intertwined with digital citizenship as they provide the foundational abilities for students to navigate the digital world responsibly, critically evaluate digital information, communicate effectively online, and make informed decisions regarding their digital behaviour.

• Digital Communication: Digital citizenship emphasises the importance of responsible and respectful communication in online environments. ATL skills related to communication, such as effective writing, active listening, and clear expression, can be applied to digital communication platforms. Students learn to communicate thoughtfully, constructively, and empathetically, promoting positive online interactions and fostering a sense of digital community.

• Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is foundational to both ATL and digital citizenship. It involves analysing, evaluating, and synthesising information to make informed decisions. In the context of digital citizenship, critical thinking helps students assess online content critically, identify potential risks and ethical concerns, and make responsible choices regarding their digital behaviour. It encourages students to question and think critically about the information they encounter online, promoting digital discernment and minimising the spread of misinformation.

• Self-Management: Self-management skills, such as time management, organisation, and responsible use of technology, are crucial for digital citizenship. Students must develop strategies for effectively managing their digital presence, maintaining a healthy balance between online and offline activities, and being mindful of their digital well-being. Self-management skills enable students to make intentional choices about their digital engagement, ensuring they are responsible and ethical digital citizens.

Parents play a crucial role in promoting digital citizenship and enhancing the impact of the MYP.  Ask your child - What steps are you taking to be a responsible digital citizen? 

Wednesday, 1st May, is a Public Holiday. Enjoy the chance to engage in activities or outings you do not have time for during regular weekdays - please recharge, connect, and enjoy each other's company! 

Thank you for your continued partnership and support in ensuring a positive and respectful school environment. We appreciate your collaboration in reinforcing these important messages with your children.

We had the first GCSE exams today and it was great to see our students showing up with courage, prepared and in some cases a little apprehensive. Seeing them afterwards, they looked relieved and determined to face the rest of their exams.

Please keep an eye out for signs of undue stress and help your child keep a focus on sleep, exercise and healthy eating to support their revision.

For your reference:
Exam timetable
All exam regulations

There was excitement with the thunderstorms today, and students were empathetic to others in the slippery halls and wet areas. Year 10 students are engaging with their tutors in 1:1 conversations where they check on their progress and wellbeing, following up where necessary.

INLINE SKATING

Well done to Chloe Chiu who represented Hong Kong at the 2024 Namwon Korea Open Inline Freestyle Junior Cup in Namwon in Korea. There were athletes from a number of countries competing and Chloe achieved the following results.

Speed Slalom (Junior A Women) - 1st

Classic Slalom (Junior A Women) - 5th

Battle Slalom (Junior A Women) - 5th

Chloe has continued her strong performances in inline skating and has another competition the Chuncheon World Inline Freestyle Cup 2024, in Chuncheon, Korea, on 31 May to 2 June 2024.

We wish Chloe best fo luck for her next competition. We are sure she will represent herself and Hong Kong well!

BADMINTON C GRADE GIRLS

Over the weekend, our badminton C grade girls team competed in the HKSSF finals for division 3. The girls have played some great badminton over the season but finals are always a tough competition.

The team played some outstanding badminton on the finals day and won their semi final comfortably. They then backed up this performance in the final and were crowned champions! A huge well done to the team which consists of Audrey To, Rossie Li, Alexis Wong, Myeisha Shah, Reyna Mehta, and Aashvi Dugar.

4 of these players are year 8 or 7 which means we will have a strong group returning next year as they look to defend their title.

Well done to the team!

The KGV Sports Awards for 2023/24 will be held on Thursday 20th June with a 6pm start in the school hall. This evening provides the opportunity to recognise the performances of our student athletes and KGV teams over the academic year. We are seeking nominations for sportsperson of the year for each year group, team of the year for each grade, and HK representatives (students who have represented a HK team this year). Please complete the google forms below should you wish to nominate yourself or your team.

HK representatives - https://forms.gle/aKq9ypwYvumHmFvV6

Sportsperson of the Year - https://forms.gle/EyLdEZ9YtiwPTAfS6

Sports Team of the Year - https://forms.gle/QiCuyPP8ezmJRNLXA

If you have ordered The Lion KGV Yearbook 23-24, all of the invoices ($150/copy) has been sent to your Parents' App; please make payment by 30 April 2024. 

We will announce at the end of May when the books will be available for pick-up.

If you have payment questions, please email Ms Tai (emily.tai@kgv.edu.hk). For other questions, please email Ms Chan (elaine.chan@kgv.edu.hk).

Thank you for your support!

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

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 truly appreciate your support. Thank you!

Year 13
- IBO Result Service. It is a service provided by IB to send final results directly to the institution(s) students have chosen. Students are briefed about the procedures. Students have until 24 May 2024 to complete the request coordinated by the KGV Exam Office. It is necessary for IB students to sign up to this service so that their final IB results will be delivered directly by IBO to the higher institutions as soon as results are released. This ensures no delay in securing offers.

- Exit presentation for parents on 2 May, 6.00 pm. We presented to students various procedures highlighting important action points in preparation for their post-KGV paths. We believe parents should be informed, too. Please mark your calendar for 6.00 pm on 2 May, Thursday. A Zoom link will be sent to all Year 13 parents by 30 April 2024.

- 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.

Best wishes to our IB students with their upcoming exams, and to our BTEC students in mastering remainder of their coursework.

Year 12
- Google Classrooms. Our HE Team has set up Google Classrooms for Y12 students for communication on higher education issues.

- Y12s’ 1-to-1 meeting with their HE Counsellors. Meetings have resumed since our return from the term break.

- Y12 H.E. presentation series. We have done presentations on H.E. Refresher, Unifrog, Personal Statement, UK Applications, Advanced Unifrog, HK Applications and Oxbridge so far. Other upcoming presentations will cover these topics: Medicine, Dentistry & Vet. (8 May), USA Applications (15 May), USA Personal Essays (22 May), Canada Applications (29 May), Non-mainstream destinations (5 Jun), UCAS Setup (12 Jun), and Summer Action Plan (19 Jun). Students have received the presentation schedule via Google Classroom.

Enrichment/Summer Programmes
- 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.

Hong Kong
4 May & 18 May: HKUST “Unboxing Admissions”
29 Jun: HK IVE Hospitality “Fun Day 2024”

U.K.
30 Apr – 2 May: Russell Group webinars
3 May: U of Bath; Supporting your child’s UCAS application for courses starting in 2025

USA
24 Apr: Johns Hopkins University - Telling Your Story in the U.S. Application Process. Event in Hong Kong

Australia
7 May: Australia University Fair @ St Paul’s College HK

Europe
15 & 29 May: EHL Taster Classes
22 May: Bocconi (Italy) Open Lecture for High School Students – AI Evolution: From Leonardo to ChatGPT

Others:
16 May: St George’s University, School of Medicine “Introduction to Medicine Webinar Series: Clinical Skills

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

29 April - 3 May