Parent Update - 30th September 2014

Dear Parents,

Thank you all for your patience as we, like other schools in Hong Kong, have tried to navigate around the road closures on Hong Kong Island. Thankfully, we have been able to change routes quickly and all children have got safely to and from school.

Before you all head into our extended National Day holiday, I wanted to share some reminders for up-coming events and update you on some new developments.

BUS ROUTES

Today we received the revised afternoon drop-off times from our bus company (please see attached). We do appreciate that the delays have been frustrating and we would like to thank all the parents that have been giving us early notice when their plans for pick-up and drop-offs change. We have also been able to make some changes to the buses, including splitting two of our larger bus routes into two smaller routes. We have emailed the parents separately that are impacted by this: Routes G, L and M. We’ve also been able to update some of the stops based on some suggestions from parents. We’re sorry that we can’t take on board all route changes, but we do consider every parent suggestion seriously.

PARENT WELCOME EVENINGS

We are all looking forward to next week when we’ll be emailing our first ‘Settling in Reports’ and welcoming NAIS our parents to our ‘Parent Welcome Evenings’. I wanted to give you a reminder of the timings and run-down for the evenings:

-          Date: 8 October for Year 1 and 3 and 9 October for Years 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7

-          Theme: ‘A Picture of Me’ – All the students have been working hard – and with pride – on a range of projects to share with you.

-          Time: 6.00pm to 8.00pm (please note that for the Year 1s and 2s, their performances will start at 7pm, so that parents can take sleepy young ones home a little earlier)

-          Please note that children will go home as usual after school, and should then come back with their uniforms on at 6.00pm

-          Refreshments: We have drinks and nibbles for adults and children

-          Parking: Please remember that we do not have parking in the school, but we have three car parks nearby. Please click here to see transport options (public transport and public car parks).

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Just as our after school buses are starting to settle into a routine, we are going to be adding six more post-activity late buses (departing at 4.15 to 4.30pm)! We’ve had an amazing response to the Clubs that we are offering, but this does mean that there is a lot of work in organising children onto either early or late buses. As such, the Senior Leadership Team has taken the decision to postpone the start of ECAs until after the Mid-Term Break (starting Tuesday 28 October). This will give us time to share the details of your children’s clubs with you – and to ensure that we have clear lists that show which bus every child is on, every day. The ECAs will then run through into the Spring Term, finishing on Thursday 19 March.

In the meantime, I wanted to give you an update of the Late Bus routes that we are planning. Please do let us know if, based on these routes, you no longer wish to take the late bus and would rather pick-up.

CLASS BLOGS

We have been delighted with how many of you have been regularly checking the Class Blogs. These are such a lovely way to get a daily dose of what is happening in your child’s classroom. If you’ve not received the link to your Class Blog, please let me or your Class Teacher know.

SCHOOL LUNCHES – POST MID-TERM BREAK

Our school kitchen is almost finished and we’ll be offering a wider choice of hot and cold lunches, as well as pastries and fruit, after the Mid-Term Break. The younger children will need to order one-month in advance (Year 1 to 3), while the older children (Year 4 to 7) will be able to select and pay for their choices on a day by day basis. Please remember to send your children with an Octopus card. I will be sharing the new menus with you next week.

Speaking of Octopus Cards, the MTR has promised us our NAIS Student Octopus card printer by mid-October and we will then start to print more than 500 student and teacher cards that can be used inside and outside school. These cards will link into our school security, cafeteria and library systems.

Finally, it remains for me to wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing National Day celebration with your friends and families. We look forward to the children sharing all their experiences with us next Monday. Needless to say, if the student demonstrations extend into next week, then we will be updating you by email and via our website and Facebook on our plans to keep your children safe and secure.