Hillside News 2 November 2020
Hillside Kindergarten’s latest newsletter is now available to read.
Important Dates
Click HERE for the Full Hillside Calendar and instructions to subscribe.
| 16-19 November | K2 Parent-Teacher Conference (Zoom sign-ups now OPEN) |
| 23-26 November | K1 Parent-Teacher Conference (Zoom sign-ups coming soon) |
| 11 December | Last School Day of Term |
| 14 December – 1 January | Christmas Break |
Head of School’s Message
Dear Parents
Thank you for participating in the Halloween Dress-up Day! It was wonderful to see all the efforts and so many happy faces!
Parent-Teacher Consultations (PTC)
PTCs are coming up, the K2 sign-ups are now open. Please book your Zoom appointment via the ESF App. Your class teacher will send you the Zoom link directly. 
Ways to Support Your Child (Feedback & Reporting)
As we continue to build home-school partnerships at Hillside, we reflected on the parent survey results from the period of distance learning since last February. While many of you are very much in support of the work we have done with Distance Learning providing “agree” and “strongly agree” responses; there is one area that we found as an area of focus – teacher feedback. As a team, we are working on our continuous feedback and documentation provisions and exploring ways to provide regular and relevant feedback for parents to enhance the children’s learning experience.
It is important to note that learning is not locked in one point, one year or a particular age, but is an ongoing continuum, based on the child’s readiness rather than a date.
On this note, I would like to ask parents to refer to the Hillside VLE regularly. You can do this via the ESF App to access your child’s portfolio pieces, where you should find highlights of your child’s work, and showcase your child’s role in their learning. This could also reflect your child’s conceptual understandings, knowledge or skills, as well as ideas for continuing the learning or next steps.
The portfolio pieces will be supplemented by a mid-year and end-of-year summary report on the child as a learner framed through the lens of the PYP learner profile and Approaches to Learning (skills). This may include examples of a child’s learning in the classroom or from live Zoom sessions, as well as suggestions on the next steps to further the child’s learning.
To support your child at home, here are “5 Ways You Could Support Your Child as a PYP Parent” You can also find out more about your child’s recent Unit of Inquiry on the class site via the ESF App under the Home Learning tile.
Health & Safety Updates
We’ve received a reassuring Indoor Environmental Hygiene Quality Index Report with Hillside ranking supreme. The test was conducted after the use of the disinfectant system, and samples were taken from desktops, light switches to toilet doors.
We are committed to the health and safety of our community, and we will continue our efforts to adapt to the rigorous procedures required of everyone to stay safe, and in good health. We are grateful for the recent relaxation of the government’s health and safety restrictions, but we must stay vigilant to ensure that we can continue to “stay open”.
To safeguard everyone, parents are kindly reminded of the following measures:
- As recommended by the Centre of Health Protection (CHP), surgical face masks are required on school premises. Please prepare spare masks as children might easily misplace them.
- Do not send children to school if they have a fever and/or respiratory illness symptoms. (For the normal body temperature range, please refer to the guidelines pertaining to the means for measuring body temperature HERE.)
- Keep sick children at home until symptoms have improved and the fever has subsided. Then, take rest for at least 2 more days before returning to school.
- Cooperate with schools by picking up children not feeling well from school and consulting the doctor immediately.
Please refer to our medical guidelines on our website for more details.
Thank you as always,
Audrey
Head of School
Inspiring Futures
In accordance with our Personal Data Handling Policy, ESF Hillside and English Schools Foundation may place your child’s photos, name, school work, activities and accomplishments in our newsletters or other publications (including but not limited to our websites and social media sites). If you would like to opt-out, please email the school office at kinder@hillside.edu.hk.
