Hillside Newsletter 17 August 2018
Hillside Kindergarten’s latest newsletter is available to read now. Find out the latest news from around the school and upcoming events.
Important Dates
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| 1-30 September | Application period for the 2019-20 Year 1 Admissions (current K2s)
Application period for the 2019-20 K1 Admissions (2016 births) |
| 3 September | K2 Meet and Greet |
| 6 September | Parent Info Session: An Introduction to the Primary Years Programme (PYP) |
| 24 September | School Closed – Hillside Staff Professional Development Day |
| 25 September | School Closed – Public Holiday |
| 1 October | School Closed – Public Holiday |
| 15-19 October | Mid-Term Break |
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents
Firstly, a very warm welcome to all our new children and families and welcome back to those children and families who are rejoining us at ESF Hillside International Kindergarten I hope everybody had a wonderful summer and are ready for what will be another exciting and busy year at Hillside.
We have been very pleased with the first few days of the new school year. Everything has run according to plan and it has been a delight to watch both K1 and K2 children enjoying their first couple of days, meeting their new teachers / educational assistants and making new friends. I have really enjoyed meeting many of the K1 parents that are new to Hillside.
New Staff and New Roles at Hillside
Laura Bousfield has commenced in the newly funded /created Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) role at Hillside. Laura has extensive experience in supporting children of kindergarten age, particularly those that may present with Individual needs. She also holds SEN qualifications at the Master level. Laura will continue to work part-time in this newly established SENCo role at Hillside.
Amy Lau (some of you will know from Dolphin class) has taken over Laura’s afternoon Tiger class and commenced a job-share arrangement in this new academic year.
Aylish Franklin, who taught Year 1 at ESF Bradbury School for a number of years before relocating back to the UK to start a family. Aylish is thrilled to be back living and working in Hong Kong. She is the teacher of K2 Gecko class.
Sara Burton, who previously worked as a kindergarten teacher at a well-established and respected HK International kindergarten, is very happy to join the Hillside team. She is the teacher of K1 Dolphin class.
Amy, Aylish and Sara are all fully qualified and experienced Early Years practitioners, and they bring with them a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills to the Hillside team. We also welcome three new Educational Assistants joining our team this year. Dan Chan (K2 Dragon) and Vivian Tang (K1 Frog) both have teacher training qualifications with a specialty in Early Years Education. Samantha Worley (K1 Monkey) is an ESF Alumni and very familiar with the ESF system.
At Hillside, we believe in a strong home-school partnership where the child comes first. We will always discuss concerns with parents and we believe early intervention is the best way to support a child.
We are starting a new partnership with SPOT HK: Children’s Interdisciplinary Therapy Centre. SPOT is a well established Therapy Centre in Hong Kong and offers a holistic approach to support the children and families’ needs. For more information on SPOT, please visit their website http://www.spot.com.hk
SPOT will have therapists available to come to Hillside and work with any Hillside children with Speech and Language developmental needs.
We are thrilled to have been able to secure the above new staff to be part of our Hillside team and I know you will make them all feel very welcome.
Meet the K2 Teacher – afternoon of Monday 3 September
We cordially invite those K2 parents who would like to meet their child’s teacher to come along to Hillside on Monday, 3 September to say hello and see their child’s classroom from 4.00-5.00pm.
Please note: This “meet and greet” session is intended to serve as an informal opportunity for parents to meet your child’s new teacher and see their new classroom. It is not intended to be a time to discuss your child’s progress formally. You are not required make an appointment.
Hillside Parent Information Sessions (for parents new to Hillside Kindergarten)
Over the next two weeks at Hillside we will be offering run some short (approximately one hour) information sessions for parents new to Hillside Kindergarten. On Thursday, 30 August, (9:00 -10:00am or 12.45 – 1.45pm), we will be talking about Home-School Partnership. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions, hear some general information about communication, school procedures and policies and to meet other parents. We will also talk about how we run our parent volunteer/participation program, so if you are interested in taking part in our parent volunteer program please come along.
On Thursday, 6 September, (9:00 – 10:00am or 12.45 – 1.45pm), we will be talking about the Primary Years Program (PYP). This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the curriculum and our PYP Program of Inquiry.
To attend one or both sessions, please call the Hillside office to reserve your place, but note that once a session reaches “capacity”, you may be asked if you can come on another day. The slides for both presentations will be uploaded to the Hillside website for parents that are unable to attend these sessions.
REMINDER: Year 1 ESF primary admissions (for the 2019/20 academic year) information session for parents that have a child currently in K2 this academic year.
We will facilitate an information session for kindergarten parents to explain the ESF Year 1 Application and Admissions Process. This will take place at ESF Centre (25/F Fortis Centre, 1063 King’s Road, Quarry Bay) on Wednesday, 29 August commencing at 6pm. Please note this is for K2 parents only, and reservation is not required.
The ESF application lodging period takes place between the 1st and 30th September each year. For further information on the current process, you can visit the ESF website. http://www.esf.edu.hk/our-schools
Changes to your child’s school pick up arrangements
Please remember if a change needs to be facilitated to your child’s going home routines such as being collected as a walker instead of going on the bus home please do write a note in your child’s diary or call us on 2540-0066 (NOT EMAIL) to inform us of this arrangement. Please also inform the bus company to ensure the bus mother of your child’s bus will be informed.
If your child is enrolled with the bus company, we will assume your children will be riding the school bus everyday UNLESS you inform us otherwise. It is very important for you to inform us as soon as possible, for any changes to normal going home routines.
On this note, please be reminded to always have your pick-up cards with you when you collect your child at school or off the school bus for safety reasons.
Electronic bus identification cards
Commencing this academic year, all bus children have been provided with an electronic identification card. This card is used when the children both board and depart off the school bus. This is a great tool to enhance the overall safety and security for the Hillside children that currently use the bus service. It is imperative that the children always have the identification card attached to the side pocket of the school bag – as this will allow for ease of access when the bus escort scans the identity card. Please ensure that you have attached the card issued for this academic year as last year’s bus identity card will not work.
Kind Regards
Chris
Principal
Inspiring Futures
Data Privacy The information we collect from you is in accordance with the ESF Personal Data Handling Policy and its related Personal Information Collection Statements (“PICS”). Our PICS statement is available online. http://www.esf.edu.hk/privacy
