Click here for the 2025–26 school calendar and 2026–27 draft calendar.

Dear all,

This week is all about the love of reading! Book Week is upon us, bringing a week of creativity, imagination, and fun. While we look forward to an eventful May, I want to take a moment to reflect on the past two weeks, as so much has happened for our students and the JCSRS community.

I am delighted to congratulate Builders 3 on winning this year's Green Lunch Challenge, a wonderful initiative led by our Student Council. Well done to all the classes who participated in making our lunchtimes more sustainable and to the Student Council for leading another meaningful project. 

Over the past two weeks, our staff have been busy representing JCSRS at various conferences, raising awareness, sharing their expertise, and supporting practice development across Hong Kong. Liezel and May presented at the Autism Community Summit on the pedagogy of play and autism. Belinda and I led a workshop at the Stronger Safeguarding Together 2026 Conference. Karen served as a panel member at the Down Syndrome Symposium. We are so proud of the way our team continues to lead and inspire beyond our school.

The Primary Concert: A New Chapter in JCSRS History

The highlight of the past two weeks, without question, was the ESF Primary Choir and Orchestra Concert – The Sky Is the Limit. For the first time in our school's history, our students took that stage. And to say they rose to the occasion is an understatement. They didn't just perform; they shone. The sky was the limit, and our students proved there are no limits.

None of this would have happened without our incredible staff. They removed the glass ceiling. They believed our students could do this, and because they believed, our students achieved. One parent said to us, "You have given one girl an experience that she will never forget." For parents, watching their children be seen, celebrated, and supported means more than words can capture.

This didn't happen by accident. It started with our shared belief. It was backed by advocacy and support from ESF leadership. I still remember that phone call from Belinda Greer asking if we would be taking part, followed by a message from Ryan Broadersen, Head of Performing Arts, who oversees the concert organisation. And then it was our shared commitment and passion that made it all work.

Thank you for making history for our school, and for making dreams possible.

Warm regards,

Anna

This week is Book Week at JCSRS. The students will spend the week getting to know each other’s favourite books and learning about some staff favourites.

Today we had a visit from Jean Lau, author of The Super Quirks, who read to primary and secondary students. Her books are all about celebrating differences and strengths in neurodivergent students.

On Friday, students are invited to dress up as their favourite book characters.

Last week, we asked our staff members to tell us one of their favourite children’s books. Can you guess whose favourites these are?

Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak	The Call of the Wild Jack London	The Tiger Who Came to Tea Judith Kerr	The Paperbag Princess Robert Munsch
Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers	The Wonky Donkey Craig Smith	Cat and Cat Adventures Susie Yi	Archie Vic Bloom

(Answers at the bottom of the newsletter!)

The PTA would like to invite families to come and enjoy a morning of theatre at JCSRS on Friday, 15 May.

Treasure Chest Theatre will return to JCSRS to perform two shows of their flagship performance, The Trip. Parents are encouraged to come and join us to watch with students and enjoy this unique opportunity for live theatre in a safe and welcoming environment. The PTA is kindly sponsoring this event.

Showtimes

• 10.30 – 11 am: F1, B1, B2 and B3

• 11.45 am – 12.15 pm: E1, LS1, LS2 and V1

Parents are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes before the start time to enjoy coffee and light refreshments.

Due to capacity, we can reserve two tickets per family. Additional tickets may be available at a later date. Please let us know if you would like more, and we can allocate once we know the initial numbers. Please log in to Gateway and complete the eNotice to reserve your place.

The Student Council wants to congratulate Builders 3 on winning this year's Green Lunch Challenge!

Throughout last week, our classes – especially B3 – demonstrated impressive commitment to sustainability by packing lunches in reusable containers and achieving zero food waste. It was inspiring to see students proudly sharing their eco-friendly lunches and engaging in meaningful conversations about making sustainable choices.

A heartfelt thank you to all parents, carers, and students who participated in this Earth Month initiative. Your dedication – from choosing reusable containers to planning waste-free meals – shows that small actions add up to make a big difference.

The Student Council proudly presented Builders 3 with certificates and reusable lunch bags to show their appreciation.

On 22 April 2026, I went to the International College of Hong Kong in Sha Tau Kok with my classmates and my friends for outdoor learning. This experiential learning took place in Sha Tau Kok, where we learned about nature in nature.

We made a bee hotel by putting bamboo and tissue in a long plastic pipe. We put all the bee hotels on the fence that was next to the forest so the bees could come and live in the bee hotel. Our nature leaders said the bees would live in the hotel in two weeks.

Near the forest, there was a garden where my classmates and I saw and smelled different kinds of herbs like curry leaves, basil, lemon grass, and mint leaves. Later, we made a small snack using the herbs and tomatoes from the garden with cheese. It was very refreshing and healthy.

After snacking, we put on our gardening gloves to plant more herbs in the garden next to the bee hotel. We dug many holes in the garden beds and put new herbs from the plant pots.  The nature leaders said they would help us water the plants.

I am excited to see how many bees would live in the bee hotel and also to see how tall the herbs would have grown when we visit again on 5 May.

By Azeen (LS2 student)

On Tuesday, 28 and Wednesday, 29 April 2026, I performed at the primary school music concert called The Sky Is the Limit.

I played the drums to the song Dragon Dance in the JCSRS orchestra. I felt proud because I could follow the tempo of the drumbeats. I want to perform again with my friends.

Anya and I also performed in the ESF choir. We sang "Little White Boat". I sang with all the ESF Primary Choirs. I was shy but I sang very loudly in the end.

By Ally (LS2 student)

The world is rich in diversity, which is reflected in the observances celebrated by its various cultures and populations. We hope that knowledge of the holidays and celebrations for diversity in this calendar can enhance our school's diversity and inclusion efforts.