Hillside Newsletter 27 February 2018
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 Hillside Calendar and instructions to subscribe.
| 27 February | Lion Dance (rescheduled date) |
| 1 – 2 March | Hillside Book Fair |
| 6 – 7 March | School Photo Days |
| 9 March | Hillside Book Character Parade |
| 17 March | ESF 50th Anniversary Carnival – King George V School |
| 28 March | Last Day of Term |
| 29 March – 13 April | Easter Break |
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents
Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Year of the Dog!
We had an exciting start back to school with a wonderful lion dance performance. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to help us make this happen for the children. Please visit your Class Blogs for more photos from this event.
ESF Biennial Stakeholder Survey
ESF Hillside stakeholders will soon be invited by email to participate in the biennial ESF Stakeholder Survey, which will be open from the 5 to 19 March 2018. Through this survey, we aim to find out about the impressions that parents and staff have formed about the overall education that we provide. The feedback from the survey will help us build on our strengths and inform our future planning.
A parent invite will be emailed to the primary contact parent in your family on the 5 March 2018. [If you have a child at another ESF school you will receive a separate invite by email to participate in that school’s survey].
We would be grateful if you would spare the time to complete the survey. It’s shorter than in past years and takes about 10-15 minutes to complete (though may take a little longer if you wish to add comments in the optional comment boxes). Thanks in advance for your participation in this stakeholder survey.
Hillside Book Fair
As parents and educators, it is important for us to foster a love of reading. With such a focus and reliance on Information Technology in our current world, it is important that we provide ample opportunities for children to connect with books (with words and pictures) rather than just text on a screen. On this note, Hillside will be hosting our annual book fair in partnership with Bookazine on Thursday 1 March and Friday 2 March.
Each class has been allocated a time slot on their given book fair day and about seven children at a time from that class. Accompanied by the Class Teachers and Educational Assistants, the children will come down to the Resource Room on the ground floor (this will be the venue for our Book Fair). They will have the opportunity to browse the books on offer, and if they have money to make a book purchase, the adults in the room will assist the children to do this.
Parents are invited to join your child’s class to assist children with choosing suitable books (please see the schedule below for when classes groups will be taken to the Book Fair). Parents are also very welcome to collect their child from class at a time that is convenient during the school day to purchase books. A wide range of age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction books will be available for purchase. 15% of the total books purchased will be returned to Hillside in the form of book credits, allowing us to obtain more new books for our Hillside library. Please note that it is not compulsory for your child to purchase a book – the choice is up to you.
Please feel free to visit Bookazine site to look at some of the books that might be available at our Book Fair and also to look at the price range for these children’s books. Click HERE for Bookazine link.
Funds raised through the Bookfair will be spent purchasing new titles, along with buying those everyday classic and favourite story books as our Kindergarten is now over 18 years old, many of our well-loved books in our collection really do need to be refreshed and replaced. Last year our book fair enabled us to purchase over $10,000 worth of books from Bookazine for our school library and we are hoping, through your much-appreciated support, that our Hillside book fair this year will be just as successful!!!
Hillside Book Fair – Class Visit Schedule
Thursday 1 March
| AM Session | Class | PM Session |
| 9:00-9:20 | Frog | 12:45-1:05 |
| 9:25-9:45 | Panda | 1:10-1:30 |
| 9:45-10:39 | Open Play | 1:30-2:15 |
| 10:35-10:55 | Dragon | 2:20-2:40 |
| 11:00-11:20 | Tiger | 2:45-3:05 |
Thursday 2 March
| AM Session | Class | PM Session |
| 9:00-9:20 | Dolphin | 12:45-1:05 |
| 9:25-9:45 | Monkey | 1:10-1:30 |
| 9:45-10:39 | Open Play | 1:30-2:15 |
| 10:35-10:55 | Gecko | 2:20-2:40 |
| 11:00-11:20 | Turtle | 2:45-3:05 |
Hillside Book Character Parade – Friday 9 March 2018
As a fun way to conclude our Book Celebration fortnight, we will be having a Book Character Parade. This will take place on Friday 9 March 2018. We would like, if possible, all of the children to come to school on this day dressed as a character from a book/story that they enjoy. Costumes do not need to be elaborate or detailed – just something fun (and safe) for the children to wear (please note all children will need to have suitable footwear on this day as the parade will take place in our outside play area).
Unfortunately, due to space limitations in our outdoor play area, we will not be able to accommodate parents and caregivers at the parade – however, we can be sure of lots of photos being taken and uploaded onto the class blogs!!
School Photo Days
We have scheduled Peter Inglis, a professional photographer, to come on the Tuesday 6 March and Wednesday 7 March 2018. We have worked with Peter in the past and he has been wonderful with the children. Peter has a selection of puppets and tricks along with lots of patience to make the children smile. The children are now developing their confidence and characters; I’m sure there will be lots of fun sessions throughout the day. Peter will be taking photographs of individual children and their class.
**Please note that we will not force children to be photographed against their wishes. Siblings will also get an opportunity to be photographed together. A whole school photograph will also be taken.
When available, you will be able to view the proofs online. More details will follow. There is no obligation to purchase.
Photo Day Schedule
| Tuesday 6 March | Wednesday 7 March |
| Frog | Monkey |
| Panda | Dolphin |
| Dragon | Gecko |
| Tiger | Turtle |
ESF 50th Anniversary Carnival
The ESF 50th Anniversary Carnival is the finale in the series of 50th-anniversary celebrations. Join us to enjoy the student performances, exciting game stalls, sports activities and international cuisines! It is going to be a wonderful family event on a Saturday afternoon!
Details of the Event:
Date: Saturday, 17 March 2018
Program: Student’s performance, game stalls, food and catering, etc
Location: King George V School
Open to: Public (including ESF Students, Parents, Staff, Alumni and friends)
Admission fee: $120 (Adult), $60 (Children)
Please visit the website for full details and to order your tickets now! http://www.esf.edu.hk/event/esf50-carnival/
Kind Regards
Chris
Principal
Class Blogs
Please click on the links below to visit our class blogs on the Hillside Learning Hub for your child’s latest class news and photo gallery. Please contact kinder@hillside.edu.hk if you cannot access the Learning Hub.
| Dolphin | Dragon |
| Frog | Gecko |
| Monkey | TigerAM TigerPM |
| Panda | Turtle |
| Chinese | |
| Parent Volunteer Sign-up | |
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
