3 Oct
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Thank you, Jasmine K, and welcome back, Vivian Tang!
- Supply EAs
- Possible Typhoon/ Poor Weather
- Upcoming PL Opportunities
- ESF Photoshoot
- No KidsFest :(
- PTCs (week 8 and 9)
- ReUniform
- ESF Impact
- Staff Calendar
Morning all, I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend.
Firstly, thank you so much to Jasmine K for being so accommodating in supporting the Tiger team until Vivian Tang's return. However, it is not a goodbye to Jasmine, as she will continue to be a part of the Hillside team in a supply capacity.
And welcome back, Vivian Tang, who just flew back over the weekend.
Supply EAs
We have been trying to expand our supply pool, which has been particularly challenging in the early years. We want people who understand working with young children (it's not just a playground supervisor), but they are hard to come by as most already have full-time jobs! We have invited a few candidates on Wednesday morning to try them out during open play. We will keep you posted on any new appointments.
Possible Typhoon/ Poor Weather
We might expect a typhoon or poor weather towards the end of the week. In case of class suspension due to inclement weather, we will inform parents via the ESF App messaging system as soon as we have confirmation from the Education Bureau. We will also send a WhatsApp Broadcast to inform staff of the situation.
Please refer to our staff handbook's "Weather & Work Arrangements" guidelines.
Please help to secure any outdoor play equipment to ensure safety and minimise possible damage (from high winds and heavy rain).
Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities
- The Power of Play Materials (from Free to Play), 21-23 October, no cost, all online. In this summit, you’ll explore 15 of the most exciting play materials and how you can introduce them to young children without stress, overwhelm, or breaking the bank. This includes paint, paper, sand, blocks, fabric, and more.
- The Power of Play ADE conference (Apple Distinguished Educators), 11 Nov, no cost, hosted by Chinese International School.
- The Science of Teaching with Peps Mccrea, 10 October, 5 - 6:30 on Zoom. We’ll explore what the research tells us about effective teaching and learning, including practical implications for the classroom. We’ll also outline how teachers might engage with and keep up-to-date with research in a meaningful and sustainable way. Please register on Gateway if interested - programme ID: ESFC023130.
ESF Photoshoot
The ESF Communications Team will soon visit all 22 ESF schools to update our photo library following the removal of the mask mandate and particular school renovations.
The photos will be used for internal or external use, such as celebrating accomplishments, professional development materials, visual content for campus materials, or general marketing and communication.
We don't have a confirmed date of when they will be coming, but I suggest removing the children's name badges as they don't always remember to blur out their names in the past. I'll keep you all posted once I have more details.
No KidsFest :(
Unfortunately for us, the performances are all overbooked after the suspension of this event during COVID; we could not secure a school booking for Hillside this year.
PTCs (week 8 and 9)
We have booked Michelle to cover all the K1 PTC days and Jasmine K and Michelle to cover the K2 PTC days. Teachers, could we kindly ask for your input regarding Zoom arrangements for the upcoming PTCs. Since we have space limitations, we’ve decided to utilise the library and resources room for Zoom spaces. Therapy will be relocated to outside the resource room for these two weeks, and we would really appreciate it if library book exchanges could be accommodated in your classrooms. We will do our best to provide 2 extra laptops for book borrowing upstairs.
Please inform CJ/ Karis of your preference to Zoom from home or school, as they can assist with parent phone calls/ issues on the day. Here’s the tentative cover schedule:
ReUniform
16 & 17 October Barbara will kindly run two ReUniform days in the Library to clear some our our winter uniforms.
ESF Impact
ESF is thrilled to share our first publication of the year: the September 2023 edition of ESF Impact. This insightful edition highlights the remarkable work of our educators and presents an exciting roadmap for the year ahead. We have made some changes to the overall design for a more engaging and intuitive reading experience.
Upcoming Dates
Click on the calendar for full display or add events to your own calendar.
Thank you!
