12 June 2020
Jockey Club Sarah Roe School’s latest newsletter is available to read now. Find out the latest news around the school and upcoming events.
Principal’s Message
Dates for your Diary
Holiday Programs
Principal’s Message
As we approach the end of the school year we are finalising reports and IEP evaluations that will soon we shared with you. This year, we would like to encourage parents to access the JCSRS Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform – ‘Sarah’ on the ESF App for your child’s learning portfolio, IEP and reports. The Annual Review form is also available on ‘Sarah’ for you to fill in. Please see the user guides attached for your reference.
IEP and Annual Review Form – for parents
In addition, on Wednesday I sent you an email with the link to the ESF survey. Here is the link if you missed the message and thank you again for your feedback
Today you will also receive an email about the class and teacher your child will be with next school year. As the letter says, our focus is always on what is in the best interest of our students and this decision is made following deep discussions with all teachers and therapists. Next year we will have at least six new students and families join our wonderful community. Sadly this also means we will say farewell to some. The ceremony for our four graduating students and two of our leavers will be on the 19th June (no school/home learning for students on Friday 19th) and we will share this celebration with you in the last newsletter of the school year.
I hope that many of you will take advantage of the fantastic holiday programs that are running in our school hall – football, sport and dance. See attachments below for more information.
At this time of year we also say a sad farewell to some of our staff.
Our IT technician Eric Liu left us this week to further his career. Eric’s contributions have been greatly valued by us all.
Nick Langford (EA in Sapphire class) will return to the UK with his family and Ruby Lau will take up her first teaching position in special education – congratulations Ruby. We thank you both and we will miss you here at JCSRS
Michael Fung (Physiotherapy EA) leaves us after 10 years of dedication to the health and well being of our students. His expertise and work with students across the school will also be greatly missed.
Mabel Yung (member of our support staff team) will retire after 28 years at JCSRS. Yes, 28 years of hard work and service to students, staff and our school. She has greeted me most mornings with a hot coffee and her smile helps me start my day on a positive note. We wish Mabel all the very best in her new adventures.
Daphne Ip, our senior OT for the past 13 years will also move on to new opportunities and adventures. Daphne is highly respected by all members of our school community. She brings a great deal of experience and skill to her role and is always professional in her approach to her work. Daphne has worked with students across the school and she has warm and positive relationships with them all. She has also been a strong team player sharing her expertise with staff and families. We are very sad to see Daphne leave and we will miss her. Of course we wish her the very best.
Of course I am also on the list of people saying goodbye this year. There are not enough words to describe my deep gratitude to all the amazing people that make up this school community. I love working in education because the students continue to inspire and challenge my thinking. Over the 6 years here we have seen many young men and women graduate to enjoy the world beyond school. We have also been proud that some have moved into a mainstream settings or taken other pathways. It’s been a joy to share their education journey in partnership with families who have (especially this year) shown patience, love and commitment over and beyond what might be expected – thank you.
The staff here are the best I have ever worked with – they work tirelessly every day with a sharp focus on what is most important – the education, health and well being of our students. They are all learners themselves and continue to stay on top of their game (this time of distance learning is a perfect example of that) being flexible, acquiring new skills and staying positive. I can’t speak highly enough of them all. I want to say a special thank you to Belinda McLaughlin who is an outstanding vice principal and to our excellent leadership team – Karen Carmody, Kelly Thorp and Carol Li. I know they will continue to support Anna when she arrives in early August.
To our School Council and our PTA I say thank you for the many (many) hours of your own time that you have devoted to supporting us. Our community is the wonderful place it is because of you and I share my heartfelt thanks.
I am looking forward to being closer to my family in Australia including my mum who turns 90 this year. I have loved Hong Kong. What a vibrant and ever changing city. My hope is that this wonderful city and the community stay strong and positive in times of change. I will miss JCSRS, ESF and Hong Kong. Thank you for the best years of my career and a time that has also been personally enriching and fulfilling.
I welcome Anna Smakowska as the new principal and look forward to watching JCSRS continue to go from strength to strength.
Fond farewell
Karin
Dates for Your Diary
Parent meetings via zoom (reports, IEPs and Annual Review) – Week beginning 15 June
Graduation (home learning for all other students) – Friday 19 June
Last day of 2019-20 school year – Wednesday 24 June
First day back for students 2020-21 school year – Wednesday 12 August
Holiday Programs
