Click to download the 2022-23 or the provisional 2023-24 Hillside Calendar. You can also access the school calendar via the ESF App.

22, 23 March: K1 Discover Dome Incursion

28 March: Parent Webinar: Parenting using Emotional Coaching

31 March: Staff Meeting Day (School Closed)

3-14 April: Spring Break (School Closed)

17 April: Term 3 Commences

17-21 April:  K2 Tai Tam Trip Rescheduled (Children only)

25 April: Photo Day Rerun

9 May: Parent Webinar - Why Sleep Matters

2 June: ESF-wide Transition Day

12-15 June: Save-the-date for K2 Celebration of Learning

Dear Hillside Families

We have been collaborating with our feeder schools and working with our primary colleagues. For example, we have started sharing student notes and collaboration meetings between year-group teachers to plan for the next phase. You might have heard your child talking about teachers from primary schools over the past few weeks. 

Prior to 2020, Term 2 will often be a time of anxiety for children, parents, and teachers, as this is when the majority of our children are going through the ESF Y1 Admissions interview process. We are incredibly pleased that ESF is now a through-train school, and ESF kindergarten children can transition to an ESF primary school without having to go through a formal interview. Instead, professional dialogues and collaboration will involve the child's kindergarten and primary school teachers. As part of this process, our primary colleagues will visit the kindergarten during Term 2 and Term 3 to get to know the children better and work with our teachers. 

Similarly, we will create opportunities for our K2 teachers to get to know the K1 children and prepare them to transition to K2. Our K1 and K2 teachers will have more opportunities to cross-collaborate, and we will work on new class groupings in Term 3. 

Warm regards
Audrey

K1s

K1 Open Day and storyteller slots for Term 3 are now open for sign-up. Please look for a separate app message that includes a sign-up sheet for your class. We are excited to invite parents that haven't had a chance to come in last term! 

K2s

We will be inviting parents in for another round of K2 Open Play volunteering in May-June. We will send out sign-up sheets closer to the time. In the meantime, storyteller slots are still available in Term 3 for sign-up. 

With this, we will revisit the beach clean-up down the line and let you know if we have new dates.

As mentioned above, we always look for opportunities to cross-collaborate between year groups. With Bradbury next door, we are lucky to access many of their resources. 

Some upcoming connections include our K2s visiting their rooftop garden as part of their Sharing the Planet inquiry. In addition, the K1s are looking forward to having student musicians from Bradbury come in to perform as a provocation for the next unit of inquiry. Please look out for further updates as we make plans to enhance the children's experience and transition to primary school.

Using the outdoors as a classroom provides many teachable moments connected to current learning. However, with all the benefits, there are also added considerations, such as inclement weather. Your child's safety is our top priority, so with unstable weather, showers and thunderstorms in the forecast this week, we have decided to postpone the Tai Tam excursion until after Easter.

With this, we will revisit the beach clean-up down the line and let you know if we have new dates.

The school photo sessions went well last week. However, we did have a few children who were not ready or a bit shy on the day, so we've invited Peter Inglis to return on Tuesday, 25 April, for a rerun day. 

Any child who was away or not ready last week will have another opportunity to have their school portrait retaken. 

Feel free to reach out to us on kinder@hillside.edu.hk if you have any questions.

To better understand your child's emotions and improve your child's emotional regulation, please join this upcoming parent workshop.

Title: Parenting using Emotional Coaching (如何運用 "情緒教練" 育兒方法)

Audience: Parents of 2 to 5-year-old children

Speaker: Dr. Helen Ko, Registered Clinical Psychologist (and an ESF parent)

Organised by: Childpsy Assessment & Learning

Language: English (Powerpoint in Chinese and English)

Date: 28 Mar 2023 (Tue)

Time: 1:30-2:30pm (Online)

To Register: WhatsApp: [Web Link]