Hillside News 30 November 2020
Hillside Kindergarten’s latest newsletter is now available to read.
Upcoming Dates for Your Diary
Click HERE for the Full Hillside Calendar and instructions to subscribe.
| 3 December | Parent Webinar: More Playtime, Less Screen Time. |
| 11 December | Last School Day of Term |
| 14 December – 1 January | Christmas Break |
| 4 January | First Day of Term 2 |
| 12-13 January | School Photos |
| 20 January | Parent Webinar: I Can – I Will: Flourishing Life Skills for Children and Parents |
Head of School’s Message
Dear Parent
With the increasing Covid cases and not just a runny nose, we have now shifted gears to plan for longer-term distance learning. [We’ve received the disappointing news on class suspension (until after Christmas) after I wrote this newsletter. We hope our community stays strong and healthy through this 4th wave. We will keep parents informed as soon as we receive any further updates from the government or ESF Centre].
The teachers have been working very hard to re-establish distance learning routines, building on our past experience and your feedback (summarised here and here) from the past few months. Please bear with us as we manage the balance of online and offline learning.
On this note, we want to do a quick pulse check to gauge your thoughts on distance learning provisions. We have separated the survey for K1s and K2s as the needs of the children might be different. We hope you will be able to spare a moment to share your thoughts with us.
We have been inquiring into the impact of distance learning on early childhood education and development. We also reached out to our primary colleagues for feedback on their expectations and also how the last K2 cohort settled into Y1. Please take a few minutes to watch this video on our findings.
In summary, the main theme comes back to social connection; hence, we are currently reviewing our provision to provide social opportunities (e.g. snack time together on Zoom or a social session to play together). These sessions might not be formal or instructional, but they are intended to encourage language, social exchange, and turn-taking…etc.
There is too much content to include in the above short video, for those interested, please refer to this resource list for more information.
- How to Support Children (and Yourself) During the COVID Outbreak, Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard University
- The full version of the QBS-Hillside Connection Video
- Readiness for Y1, Parent Info by Glenealy School
- Keeping Classroom Connections Alive, Jill Anderson, Harvard GSE
- Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Wellbeing During COVID, Child Trends
- Teaching Young Children Remotely, Educational Leadership
- Parent webinar: “More Playtime, Less Screen Time.” with Leith Stewart, Clinical Director of Young Folk Therapy (3 December)
- Parent Webinar: “I Can – I Will: Flourishing Life Skills for Children and Parents” with Dr Mark Gandolfi, renowned Clinical Psychologist (20 January)
We’ve also prepared this list of Sanity saviours and this slide deck on “Managing Well-being During Challenging Times” to support the important grown-ups in our children’s lives.You might have noticed some adjustments to this week’s schedule, and we will continue to evolve as the situation develops. Once again, we thank you for your unwavering support and patience.
Stay well and stay healthy!
Warm 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.
