Please click to download the 2024/25 Hillside Calendar. You can also access the school calendar via the ESF App.

22 November: Parent Webinar - All you want to know about Speech Development

27 November: Parent Webinar - Play & Challenging Emotions

29 November: K1 Shared Learning Day (Details Below)

11 December: Hillside Family Event, Last Day of Term for Children (Save-the-Date)

12 December: ESF K1 Admissions 2025/26 (No School)

6 January: First Day of Term 2

Dear Hillside Families

I hope you are keeping warm as we enter the cooler months. We thank you for your cooperation and support in staying vigilant and keeping our community safe. We have a few health and safety reminders for this issue of the parent newsletter.

On occasions, some children have been attending school while feeling under the weather, exhibiting symptoms such as a bad chesty cough, a runny nose, or even a low-grade fever. We appreciate those who have taken steps to protect others by wearing face masks. However, our children are too young to self-manage their masks appropriately or effectively, which can increase the risk of spreading illness to others, including teachers and classmates. In addition, it hinders speech development as young learners struggle to imitate mouth movements and sounds when pronouncing words if they wear masks. Please continue to keep unwell children at home to rest and recover. This approach allows us to prioritise their health and prevent the spread of illnesses to teachers and classmates.

In addition to these preventive measures, we strongly encourage everyone in our school community to consider vaccination a crucial step in protecting ourselves and others against infectious diseases. Vaccinations have proven effective in preventing and reducing the severity of illnesses. We encourage families to consult with their medical providers and get vaccinated to strengthen our collective defence against pneumonia and other contagious diseases.

Warm regards
Audrey

In continuing to build on our understanding of children's play, this webinar will explore strategies and tools for developing your child's social communication skills and how to support challenging emotions that may arise during play.

Title: Play & Challenging Emotions

Speaker: Brenda Yuen, Hillside PYP Coordinator 

Date: Wednesday 27 November

Time: 1pm (Online)

Zoom link: [Web Link]

We are delighted to invite parents to join our first Shared Learning Day, which will be held on 29 Nov at Hillside for all classes. This will be an opportunity for you to join in your child’s learning as part of their current unit Sharing the Planet. Please take note of the following details:

• It is not a normal full-session school day. Families are invited for a 45-minute session. Please look out for a separate app message to sign up now. 

• We invite up to 2 grown-ups (parents and caregivers welcome) to accompany their child to the shared learning day.

• Non-uniform/casual dress: Children are welcome to wear their own clothes to school, but no costumes or character dress-ups, please.

• Please be reminded that we are unable to provide parking.

• There will be no bus service on that day, we ask for your understanding and assistance on this exceptional occasion.

We look forward to the children sharing their learning with you on this special day!

As the children grow more confident, we are opening additional areas for them to explore, including the playground track area, which features a slightly coarser surface. As with any play area, there is a possibility of children tripping or falling. In such incidents, the coarser surface may lead to minor scrapes or abrasions if a child's skin comes into contact with it. We understand this may concern you as parents, and we assure you that we are taking proactive measures to minimise the risk of injuries.

We recognise that many children can bounce back quickly from falls and may not always show visible signs of minor grazes or abrasions under their pants or skorts. Please remind them to seek help as an added safety measure. Our staff will closely monitor the playground during outdoor play to ensure the children's safety and provide knee guards for specific activities. We remain vigilant in identifying any potential hazards and will take immediate action to address them. Should your child experience any minor injuries, our first-aid-trained staff will be available to provide immediate care. 

We value the safety and wellbeing of our children above all else, and we appreciate your understanding during this transitional period until the children are more capable of manoeuvring around safely.

As we welcome the cooler weather, we also enter flu season. "Recent statistics from the past flu season in Hong Kong revealed 32 paediatric cases of influenza-associated severe complications, with six fatalities reported. Nearly half of these cases developed severe chest infections. Notably, the majority (74%) of these cases had not received the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine (SIV) in the previous season." (ref-https://www.info.gov.hk/) 

The Government will provide a subsidy per vaccination dose. Over half of the enrolled  Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS) doctors will not impose additional charges beyond the Government's subsidy. For an overview of eligibility and vaccination venues, please visit: [Web Link] 

Please note Hillside will not be participating in the school outreach programme for vaccinations due to the age of our children. Many of our little ones are still building positive relationships and may feel anxious about medical procedures. We believe it is in their best interest to avoid any added stress associated with receiving injections at school. We encourage parents to consider arranging vaccinations through their family doctors to ensure a comfortable experience for their children.

"The HK Government Education Bureau (EDB) places great importance on the wellbeing of children, firmly believing that every child should be protected against harm and abuse. Primary Schools must report student non-attendance after the seventh day of a student's continuous absence." (ref: HK EDB)

For kindergartens, we must report student absences extending to seven consecutive school days without valid reasons or under doubtful circumstances. Therefore, we kindly ask you to inform us promptly regarding any absences.

Parent Handbook 
Inclement Weather Arrangements
NEW School Uniform
Pre-loved Uniform Swap
Please contact kinder@hillside.edu.hk for any general enquiries.