Hillside News 28 September 2020
Hillside Kindergarten’s latest newsletter is now available to read.
Important Dates
Click HERE for the Full Hillside Calendar and instructions to subscribe.
| 29 September | K2 Classes Resume to Normal 3-hours K1 2-hour Sessions: 9:15-11:15 / 13:30-15:30 |
| 30 September | Deadline for K1, Y1 ESF Central Applications |
| 5 October | K1 Classes Resume to Normal 3-hours |
| 19-23 October | Term Break |
Head of School’s Message
Dear Parents
It has been wonderful to see all the children over the past week, and we’re super proud of how they’ve settled in. I even walked into a K1 group with no parents around! Having connected via zoom prior to coming in-person has certainly helped ease this transition for many. I have not had so many K1 children know my name already on the first days of school in my past experience!
What an unprecedented start to the school year, and one with so much to learn from. We are incredibly grateful for all of your support as we continue to refine and improve our distance learning systems. We appreciate it has only been a short few weeks, but we are very keen to hear your voice about Distance Learning from this initial period. Our plan was to build-up our capacity as the children adjust to this new model of learning; therefore, please spare a few minutes to give us some feedback. If there are things that we did well, we want to be able to celebrate them and, perhaps, retain elements of them in the future. If there are things that worked less well, we want to know about them so that we can make improvements.
Click here for the Parent Survey.
As we come to the end of this phase of distance learning, we want to take the opportunity to thank our parents for partnering with us during this critical time. There is nothing as effective in engaging the wider community to work together, especially during such tough times. Please accept our gratitude for your continued and sustained support in helping our children access the zoom sessions, slide content, and responding to our material.
Health & Safety
The health and safety of our community is of paramount importance and we are constantly exploring options to improve our provision. In addition to all the regular disinfections we are undertaking; we are currently exploring provisions that offer continuous sanitisation and disinfection that inhibits the growth of bacteria keeping our indoor environment hygiene quality in top shape at all times. In partnership with Bradbury School, we are scheduling regular antimicrobial fogging to take place on both campuses.
On this note, please be reminded of the following:
- As recommended by the Centre of Health Protection (CHP), surgical face masks are required at all times on school premises. Please prepare spare masks as children might easily misplace them.
- Snacktime will be optional, mainly for those children who travel long distances to and from kindergarten. If you feel snacking is not necessary for your child, then there is no need to pack a snack. Please ensure your child has a proper breakfast or lunch before coming to school. There is a designated snack area, with dividers set up, on each floor, under the supervision and assistance of school staff. Please also be reminded we’re a nut-free school.
- The borrowing of library books to take home will be suspended, as we cannot control the environment once off-site. However, children may still access our new library and read books on-site.
Parent Handbook
As we resume to a new normal, I would like to re-share our Parent Handbook. Please refer to the relevant sections for more details on the following points:
- Page 8: Ensure to inform us and the bus company of any changes to going home arrangements (e.g. you child is NOT travelling on the bus, or your child is going with a classmate for a playdate…etc);
- Page 13: Take note of our outdoor play protection guidelines. We are fortunate to have an outdoor area, but that also means we’re susceptible to mosquitoes and other insects.
- Page 18: In light of the current health and safety measures that are in place at Hillside, classes will not be holding birthday parties (until further notice).
- Page 19: Photography – Due to confidentiality and privacy, staff have a responsibility to protect the privacy of children, families and their work colleagues. Any photographs and videos taken by parents (or other family members) within the kindergarten should be of your child only and not of other children or staff members. These photographs or videos should be for private or personal use, and not shared in any public forum or social media: i.e. Facebook, chat groups…etc
- Page 21: With the unpredictable weather these past few weeks, please take note of our inclement weather arrangements. This information is also available on our website.
Primary School Information
For those family interested, Bradbury School has kindly shared a virtual school tour and a Day in the Life of a Year 1 with us. Should you wish to find out more about Bradbury School, please kindly email to admissions@bradbury.edu.hk.
Thank you and kind regards
Audrey
Head of School
Inspiring Futures
In accordance with our Personal Data Handling Policy, ESF Hillside and English Schools Foundation may place your child’s photos, name, school work, activities and accomplishments in our newsletters or other publications (including but not limited to our websites and social media sites). If you would like to opt-out, please email the school office at kinder@hillside.edu.hk.
