Hillside Newsletter 28 September 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
Click HERE for the Full Hillside Calendar and instructions to subscribe.
| 1-30 September
(THIS SUNDAY!) |
Application period for the 2019-20 Year 1 Admissions (current K2s)
Application period for the 2019-20 K1 Admissions (2016 births) |
| 1 October | School Closed – Public Holiday |
| 9-12 October | K2 Parent-Teacher Conferences |
| 15-19 October | Mid-Term Break |
| 23-26 October | K1 Parent-Teacher Conferences |
| 5-7 November | IB PYP Evaluation Visit |
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents
On Wednesday this week, the staff at Hillside hosted an appreciation morning tea to formally thank our wonderful site staff for their dedication and commitment to Hillside. After only a few hours, the cleaning team had Hillside back in tip-top shape after that horrible typhoon – ensuring we were ready to accept students as soon as the EDB lifted the suspension of schools and kindergartens.
Parent-Teachers Consultations
Parent-Teachers Consultations (PTC) are coming up, you will need to login to your Gateway account to book your appointment. The online sign-up will be available from now onwards and will close on the Friday prior to your week of PTCs. Please follow the instructions HERE on how to make a booking.
Please note classes will continue as per normal throughout the PTC weeks. The appointments are about 10-15 minutes long for each child. Please appreciate that these are the dates when we have arranged cover for teachers and we would like to keep to them as much as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on 2540-0066.
| K1 | Dolphins | Frogs | Monkeys | Pandas |
| Date | 23 Oct
24 Oct |
23 Oct
24 Oct |
25 Oct
26 Oct |
25 Oct
26 Oct |
| K2 | Dragons | Geckos | Tiger | Turtles |
| Date | 9 Oct
10 Oct |
11 Oct
12 Oct |
9 Oct
10 Oct |
11 Oct
12 Oct |
Upcoming Hillside IB PYP Evaluation
As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, it is a requirement that each school undertakes a formal yearlong evaluation process – addressing all aspects of the PYP program. During this period of evaluation (which takes place once every five years), evidence will be sought from both internal and external stakeholders to verify that the school is meeting all the requirements of the programme. The emphasis of our IB Evaluation process will come from the school’s self-study process, the school’s IB PYP action plan, as well as the school’s commitment to follow the IB Standards and Practices for the Primary Years Program (PYP). The final stage of this process will involve a team of educators representing the IBO visiting Hillside to conduct an in-depth, three-day school-based, evaluation visit.
Since the start of last academic year, we have been working closely with our staff reviewing the IB Standards and Practices and worked on our ‘IB Self-Study’. Both staff and parent were surveyed through different forums and their input and support play an integral part of this process, and we will continue to keep parents informed throughout this process.
If you wish to learn more about the work we have done last year, please click HERE to access our self-study documentation. If you have any questions about the IB Authorisation, please contact Hillside’s IB PYP coordinator audrey.tang@hillside.edu.hk
ESF Year 1 Admissions for the 2019-20 academic year (K2 only)
A kind reminder to all K2 parents, the deadline for ESF Year 1 application period is THIS SUNDAY, 30th September! Year 1 application period is from 1st – 30th September 2018. An auto-acknowledgement email containing your application reference number will be sent upon online submission at http://www.esf.edu.hk/application-form
Don’t forget to send all supporting documents requested to ESF Centre by 7 October 2018. Please CLICK HERE to access the Y1 Admissions Talk Presentation.
Please note you will be required to submit a “copy of one of your child’s kindergarten reports.” If you didn’t save it last year, you can still login to Gateway to print or save it as a PDF under the ARR section.
ESF K1 Admissions for the 2019-20 academic year (for children born in 2016)
The deadline for ESF K1 application period for the 2019-2020 academic year is is THIS SUNDAY, 30th September! K1 applications are from 1st – 30th September 2018. To apply you will need to complete the online application via the ESF Kindergarten website. As a place at Hillside is in such high demand, please make sure you APPLY ON-TIME. Late applications are always processed after the on-time applications – and this is also the case for late sibling applications. Please also remind your friends (who may be seeking a K1 place for their child in the 2019/20 academic year) about this important application process.
On this note, we will be conducting our play visit/interviews for our 2019/2020 K1 intake on the 25 January 2019. Please note that this will be a school closure day for current Hillside students. The reason for having a school closure day is to enable us to conduct the majority of our K1 play visits / interviews on one day, rather than spreading them over a three-week period as this causes major disruptions to regular classroom programs (as teachers need to be constantly released from teaching duties to conduct the play visits/interviews).
Health Reminder
In light of the flu season, please be reminded to be vigilant and to take your child’s temperature every day before sending them off to school. We have a ZERO TOLERANCE towards illness at Hillside, and we will send children home if they come to school with a fever, runny nose or a productive cough, to protect both the ill child and the rest of the student and staff population at Hillside.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health reminds members of the public, as well as the staff of institutions and schools, to maintain good personal and environmental hygiene as a preventative measure against influenza and other illnesses.
Below are the guidelines from the DH CHP (Department of Health – Centre for Health Protection)
2.3.3 Reference range for temperature screening If oral thermometer is used, temperature not higher than 37.5° (99.5°) is considered normal. If ear or rectal thermometer is used, the measured temperature will be 0.5°-0.9°) higher than that of an oral thermometer. As such, ear or rectal temperature not higher than 38° (100.4°) is considered normal. June 2014 Edition 9Guidelines on Prevention of Communicable Diseases in Schools / Kindergartens / Kindergartens-cum-Child Care Centres / Child Care Centres
2.3.4 Body temperature varies with age, time of day and level of physical activity. For screening purpose, temperature above the reference range quoted below will be considered as significant and one should consult a doctor for suspected fever. Measuring method Celsius scale (°C) Fahrenheit scale (°F)
Annex: Upper limit of normal body temperature by different measuring method.
| Measuring method | Celsius scale (°C) | Fahrenheit scale (°F) |
| Oral | 37.5 | 99.5 |
| Tympanic | 38 | 100.4 |
| Rectal | 38 | 100.4 |
| Armpit | 37.3 | 99.1 |
Have a wonderful long weekend!
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 | |
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
