22 Nov 2019

Hillside Newsletter 22 November 2019

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.

 13 December  Christmas Family Picnic
 16 Dec – 3 Jan  Christmas Break
 6 January  K1 Admissions 2020/21 – School Closed
 15 January  Theatre Trip (Kids Fest): The Gruffalo
Principal’s Message

Dear Parents

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support in what has been a difficult time. Most staff have been able to come in to school safely, and we hope our Hillside families have been keeping safe and well.

We look forward to receiving the children back into school next week as we anticipate kindergarten classes to resume city-wide on Monday, 25 November. Please continue to check your emails, and we will update you as soon as we receive confirmation from the Education Bureau.

I want to take this time to thank the Hillside staff who have kept the ball rolling by preparing for our children’s return and the continuity of students’ learning during the class suspension.

Our shared highest priority continues to stand firm – the children’s safety, their seamless learning, and a sustained love of learning.

Take care and stay safe.

Kind regards

Audrey
Acting Head of School

POSTPONED Parent Workshop: The Importance of Open Play

‘The Importance of Open Play’ workshop that was scheduled for 26 November will be postponed due to the current unrest.

We plan to reschedule the workshop to take place in Term 2.

SAVE THE DATE: Christmas Family Picnic

Get ready for the year-end family event!  We have been to Repulse Bay this week for a recce and are very excited to share our plans with you!

We cordially invite all parents to join us at our Hillside Christmas Family Picnic on Friday, 13 December at Repulse Bay Beach in front of Club One (Map Link).

The fun starts at 9:00 am with everyone gathered by class (both morning and afternoon classes). We will be starting with a big welcome and a round of Christmas carols to get the festive atmosphere started. After which everyone is free to visit different booths offering games and activities. There will also be a bake sale to fundraise for our Hillside Sustainability Projects.

We will meet all families directly at Repulse Bay beach. Please arrive after 8:45 am to give us time to set up all the games and activities. There will be no classes at the Kindergarten on this day, and please note the school buses will not operate.

Please wear your choice of Christmas colours and bring a picnic mat to relax on. Looking forward to see you all!

Christmas Appeal – Food Angel

We invite everyone to support Hillside’s Christmas Appeal this year.  It has been a Hillside tradition to foster the spirit of giving every Christmas. Not only does this tradition create a connection with our learning community, it also makes the “caring” profile of each learner (young and old) come alive. This year, our charity of choice is Food Angel. We would like to give back to our local community and we strongly support their goal on achieving food sustainability.

Food Angel is a food rescue and assistance program launched in 2011 by Bo Charity Foundation with the mission of “Waste Not, Hunger Not, With Love”. The program rescues edible surplus food from different sectors of the food industry that would otherwise be disposed of as waste. Following strict safety protocols, the rescued food items will then be prepared as nutritious hot meals in their kitchens and be redistributed to serve the underprivileged communities in Hong Kong.

We hope to support the Food Angel program with you by having your child/children bring in dry food items to donate to the underprivileged. Our Christmas appeal will run from Monday 25 November to Friday 6 December 2019.  We encourage the children to personally place the following food items in our collection boxes at reception:

  • Dry food and drinks with intact packaging
  • Oils & seasonings
  • 2 weeks or more before expiry date

For more information, please visit the Food Angel website http://www.foodangel.org.hk.

The Gruffalo – “Kids Fest 2020” – Wednesday 15 January

Tickets to the Gruffalo show are still available, thank you to all parents who have secured their booking early. The entire theatre has been booked for this production of Kids Fest 2020 at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (1 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai). The date for Hillside to attend is on Wednesday, 15 January. We believe this will be a great experience for our children and we are excited to be able to accommodate the whole school to see this popular production!

We will meet all attending families directly at the venue and the show will run for approximately an hour.  There will be no classes at the Kindergarten on that day, and please note the school buses will not operate. The morning families are invited to the 9:45am show, while the afternoon families are invited to the 12:00noon show.

Please send in payment to secure your booking, we will need to confirm final numbers with the production house by the end of November. We get a special school discount price of $450 for TWO tickets.  Payments can be made by cheque, payable to “ESF Educational Services Ltd” or banking transfer: HSBC 511-335-069-001  Account holder name: ESF Educational Services Ltd.

TICKETS ARE CONFIRMED UPON RECEIPT OF PAYMENT (on a first-come-first served-basis), and will be given out onsite, to prevent forgetting them at home or ticket loss. Please place your cheque or deposit/transfer record in a sealed envelope labelled with your child’s name and class, along with the number of tickets you wish to purchase.

Please contact us on 2540 0066 or kinder@hillside.edu.hk for any enquiries.

Learning Blogs

Please click on the links below to visit our year group learning blogs on the Hillside Learning Hub. Please contact kinder@hillside.edu.hk if you cannot access the Learning Hub.

K1 Learning K2 Learning

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