10 Feb: Last school day before CNY

11-19 Feb: Chinese New Year Break

9 Mar: Parent Webinar - Sleep Solutions

16-17 Mar: School Photo (TBC)

28 May: ESF Wide Transition Day

Dear Parents

We are thrilled to hear that the Education Bureau (EDB) will be phasing ⅓ of the children back to school after the Lunar New Year! This is definitely a step in a positive direction and some good news as we welcome the Year of the Ox. You would have received a separate app message earlier today with details of our return to school plans.

Lunar New Year Dress Up

In Chinese culture, the Ox is a valued animal, because of its role in agriculture, characteristics such as being hardworking, positive and honest, are attributed to it. These are characteristics that we foster in our children, especially of the strong connections with the PYP learner attributes. As we are celebrating Lunar New Year on Wednesday, the last day before the break, please join the assembly in your special traditional clothes or something red or gold.

ESF Year of the Ox Virtual Art Gallery and E-Card

Thank you to those families who submitted artworks for the ESF Year of the Ox Virtual Art Gallery. Click HERE to view the HIllside gallery. We’ve received many creative and amazing artworks from the families. Each student’s artwork was also put forward to be our ESF Year of the Ox E-Card. ESF CEO Belinda Greer led a judging panel in the tough task of narrowing down the array of entries for a staff vote. One of our very own, Rory Fryer (K2 Gecko Class), was the first runner-up in the final ESF E-Card voting round! A round of applause for Rory!! We hope you will join us in exploring this fantastic online exhibition and experiencing the remarkable creativity of the ESF students. You can click HERE to visit the ESF gallery. You can view and download the e-card from the ESF website. 

Wishing you all a healthy and happy Year of the Ox! Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Kind regards

Audrey
Head of School

Title: Sleep Solutions for Early Years
When: Tuesday 9 March 2021, 1-2pm

Please register in advance for this webinar - [Web Link]

Responding to parent enquiries on sleep routines, particularly around disruptions to sleep patterns due to changes in home situations. We've invited Gemma Fisk, Sleep Consultant to speak with us. Gemma is a mother and a certified Infant Sleep Specialist who has worked with little ones and their families across Hong Kong and the UK. During the sleep workshop, she will discuss with you:

• The benefits of sleep and how much sleep our children really need

• Creating the perfect sleep inducing environment

• Identifying sleep disorders

• Should you sleep train and is it really necessary for every family

Background info:

Gemma is a Mother and Certified Infant Sleep Consultant based in Hong Kong that works with children aged from newborn to 6 years old. She believes firmly in a holistic and gentle approach to help our children to sleep better through plenty of love, comfort and reassurance.

As she was once the sleep-deprived, desperate mother who would've done anything for sleep when her first daughter was waking every hour at night, she has an empathic approach and therefore a strong connection with the families she works with.

After becoming certified as an Infant Sleep Consultant, she has helped hundreds of families across Hong Kong to get their precious sleep back. To continue with her love of helping others, she is now studying Adult Sleep Behavioural Therapy and hopes to use this new qualification to specifically help women suffering from sleep loss during pregnancy as well as postpartum sleep challenges.

Gemma describes helping and supporting families through such a precious moment in their lives is a privilege and a huge passion of hers. She hopes to continue to teach families that sleep doesn't need to be a dreaded battle every night and is the best gift we can give to ourselves as exhausted parents as well as our children.

Please click on the links below to visit our class sites and learning blogs. You can also access these posts on the class site via the ESF App under the "Home Learning" tile.

K1 Class Sites: Dolphin ● Frog ● Panda ● MonkeyAM / Monkey PM

K2 Class Sites: Dragon ● Gecko ● Tiger ● Turtle

K1 Learning Blog ● K2 Learning Blog