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Dear all,

I hope this week's newsletter finds you well. We had a busy and productive two weeks at JCSRS, filled with meaningful collaboration, celebration, and important initiatives.

First, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the families who attended the Parent Teacher Therapist Consultations (PTTC) last week. We were delighted to see such strong engagement, with close to 90% of families participating in the meetings, and we are grateful for your continued partnership.

Last week, I attended the ESF Stronger Safeguarding Together event with our Vice Principal, Belinda, in our roles as Child Protection Officers. The event brought together over 150 participants from ESF schools, charities, the Hong Kong Police, and other schools to share expertise and strengthen our commitment to student safety, particularly in the digital world. Safeguarding is a shared responsibility, and we remain dedicated to ensuring a safe environment for all our students.

We also celebrated a highly successful Book Week! This year's theme, Read the World, brought our school community together through the magic of books and storytelling. A huge thank you to Karen, our Curriculum Leader, for leading this wonderful initiative. We are also incredibly grateful to the Kowloon Junior School Student Council and all the staff and guest book readers who shared their favourite books with our students and KGV students for their special performance. These interactions fostered a love of reading and strengthened connections within our wider ESF community.

A quick reminder that the ESF Annual Stakeholders Survey is still open and will remain so until 21st March. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey - your feedback is invaluable in helping us understand what we're doing well and where we can further enhance the educational experience for our students.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a Happy International Women's Day! Let's celebrate the achievements and contributions of women around the world and reaffirm our commitment to equality and empowerment. Together, we can continue to inspire and support one another in all that we do.

Warm regards,

Anna

Our book week this year celebrated stories from around the world. We featured five books that represented some of the cultures of our school community with exciting daily readings in the library. These books celebrated Korea, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia and China, recognising that bringing our cultures together makes us amazing and unique!

On Friday, we celebrated the end of Book Week by dressing up as book characters and coming together for a special assembly hosted by Pearl Class. Four KGV BTEC students performed an energetic rendition of 'The Snail and the Whale' for us.

Through learning about and sharing our cultures, students are working on their Global Competencies of Communication and Citizenship.

Throughout the week, we had parent guest readers in some classes. We want to extend an extra-special thank you to our extra-special aunty, Sheila, who was featured as a guest reader on Wednesday reading 'My Extra-Special Aunty'. Sheila came to read a story about the important role that migrant domestic workers play in the lives of children in Hong Kong. We deeply appreciate all the Aunties (and Uncles) who support our students. They are an incredibly important part of the JCSRS community. 

Sales of the book 'My Extra-Special Aunty' also go towards an NGO supporting migrant domestic workers, and it is available in bookshops around Hong Kong.

On 7th March, some of our graduating students and their parents visited the Shine Skills Centre Open Day in Pokfulam. A centre tour was organised with their staff to learn about the various programs and facilities they offer.

Beverages, snacks, and handmade crafts were prepared by their students, who showcased their skills and learning from the courses. We were impressed by their presentation skills and their capabilities. Our students and parents got a glimpse of what learning at the centre is like.

Shine Skills Centre, one of the 14 member institutions of the Vocational Training Council, provides specific and comprehensive vocational assessments and offers various training programmes in full-time and part-time modes for people aged 15 or above with special educational needs.

We are currently looking for parent representatives to take on office bearer roles and support us in establishing our PTA as an association to operate as a charity in Hong Kong. If you are interested in getting involved, just drop us an email at jcsrs.pta@jcsrs.edu.hk for more details.

The world is rich with 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.