Hillside Newsletter 12th May 2017
Hillside Kindergarten’s latest newsletter available to read now. Find out the latest news from around the school and upcoming events.
Important Dates
Click HERE for the Full School Calendar in PDF.
Click HERE to subscribe to our Google Calendar which includes reminders and alerts.
| 9 – 12 May | K1 Parent Teacher Conferences |
| 16 – 19 May | K2 Parent Teacher Conferences |
| 29 May | School Closure – Professional Development Day |
| Week of 12 June | K2 Graduation Ceremony |
| 29 June | Last Day of School Year |
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents
This week we are pleased to welcome our K1 parents into Hillside for our Term (3) Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTC’s). K2 PTC’s will be held next week. Sound communication and on-going honest dialogue between school and home enables productive partnerships to be made with parents, partnerships which ultimately benefit the child. The PTC’s are a time for teachers to share the many aspects of learning that your child has been involved in during this academic year. It is also the ideal time for parents to ask questions about their child’s progress and find out how they can further best support their child.
The importance of Play-based inquiry learning in the Early Years (ages 3-8)
It is now widely recognised around the world that the ‘Early Years’ (ages 3-8) is an extremely important period in a child’s life. A quality Early Years Education will set children up for success in later life. One of my own personal goals here at Hillside is for every child to have the opportunity to be the best that they can be. I also want every child to experience high-quality learning engagements, which in turn help children to develop very positive attitudes towards school and learning. I want the children of Hillside to view the process of learning as something that is enjoyable, in addition to developing the attitudes and attributes to truly become ‘Life-long learners’ in an ever-changing world.
Underpinning our philosophy at Hillside International Kindergarten (and also that of the International Baccalaureate (IB) – PYP program) is the strong belief that children ‘Learn by doing’. A rich and rigorous play-based program enables authentic inquiry learning to take place. Below I have included a brief summary of the ‘Power of Play’. If you do have further questions or wish to seek clarification, please do feel free to ask your child’s teacher during your upcoming Parent-Teacher conference.
The ‘Power of PLAY’ summary – Links between learning, teaching and play
Play provides the most natural and meaningful means by which children can construct knowledge and understandings, practice skills, immerse themselves naturally in a broad range of literacy and numeracy and engage in productive and intrinsically motivated learning environments. The children’s interests provide great ‘leaping off’ points for teachers who can use these interests to introduce skills and understandings.
Summary
- Within play, there are subsets or different types of play and learning that are occurring.
- Play is the most effective means for providing rich, diverse thinking and oral language, social skills, and problem-solving
- Children’s play reflects different levels of maturity.
- Play as a pedagogy must be planned for, directed by and facilitated by the teacher.
- Play is viewed as part of the learning process rather than an add-on program.
- Play has been researched for many decades in relation to the significance it holds in children’s lives including for social, emotional, psychological and intellectual development and learning.
- Play is a natural way of children exploring their environment and learning about themselves and their world.
- Many skills are acquired through children’s active exploration and investigation of their world.
ESF Hillside International Kindergarten is committed to delivering play-based, child-centered, inquiry driven teaching and learning programs. The following quote is a good reminder of the importance of delivering a rich play-based program for each and every child (and is one of my personal favourite quotes).
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers
Hillside K2 Leavers’ Ceremony – SAVE THE DATE!!!
One of the highlights of Term 3 is always our K2 Leavers Ceremony. The date set for your child’s K2 class Leavers Ceremony can be found below. Further details regarding this event will follow closer to the date.
K2 Leaving Celebration arrangements
(Monday 12th – Thursday 15th June 2017)
4.00-5.00pm
| Mon. 12th June | Tues. 13th June | Wed. 14th June | Thurs. 15th June |
| Tiger AM | Tiger PM | Dragon AM | Dragon PM |
| Turtle AM | Turtle PM | Gecko AM | Gecko PM |
K1 Leavers – Withdrawal notice due
If your child is currently in K1 and you have decided that your child will not be continuing at Hillside for K2, it would be appreciated if you could let us know as soon as possible to assist us with our planning. Please submit a completed Withdrawal Notice Form (available HERE) to the kindergarten at least two months prior to your child’s last day of school. The deadline is 14 June 2017. The debenture will not be redeemed without the two-month advance notice of withdrawal. It is the parents’ responsibility to confirm with individual kindergartens the receipt of the Withdrawal Notice Form.
If you do have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our Admissions Manager, Jasmine Lau, by phone or by email admissions@hs.esf.org.hk for assistance.
For K2 students who are graduating by the end of June, there is no need to submit the withdrawal notice and the debenture certificate.
Summer Holiday Programmes offered at Hillside Kindergarten
This year ESF Educational Services Limited (ESL) will be offering a number of summer programs at Hillside Kindergarten, and many of the courses offered at Hillside during the summer break will be staffed by familiar Hillside Educational Assistants and Teachers.
Come and join us for a fun-filled summer at Hillside! We’re running lots of great camps over the summer – your child can try out sports, drama, or have fun improving their Mandarin, or even learning Spanish. We’ve also got camps for younger ones – any new to Hillside can get to know the school and teachers with our Ready for Kindergarten Camp, and for younger ones, our Playgroup Camp is the ideal way to spend hot summer mornings! Please visit http://www.esf.org.hk or attached files for more details
Regards Chris,
Principal
K1 News
Please visit our class blogs on the Hillside Learning Hub for your child’s latest class news and photo gallery. Please contact kinder@hs.esf.org.hk if you cannot access the Learning Hub.
K2 News
Please visit our class blogs on the Hillside Learning Hub for your child’s latest class news and photo gallery. Please contact kinder@hs.esf.org.hk if you cannot access the Learning Hub.
