28 April

  • For this Week
  • Internal Impact Walks
  • Other Updates
  • Upcoming Music PD
  • Rainstorm Protocol
  • Staff Calendar

Morning everyone!


For this Week

Monday: Chinese Puppetry

Wednesday: EA Recruitment, candidates will visit the floor

Thursday: Public Holiday

Friday: PL Day (8:30am-3pm)


As we dive into a busy term ahead, I wanted to share a list of key upcoming events, so you know what to expect:

  • Fire Drill: Required every 6 months, next on 7 May

  • Primary Schools K2-Y1 transition visits

  • Some of you signed up for CPD (week 4)

  • K1/K2 Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs)

  • K2 final IEP meetings

  • Report Deadlines

  • K1 to K2 Swap Day

  • K1 to K2 Teacher Handover

  • K1 to K2 Enhanced Transition Meetings

  • K1/K2 Celebration of Learning

  • Water Fun Day/Party Day


Internal Impact Walks
I appreciate that we have a busy timeline in Term 3, so I’ve adjusted the model to require less time for this round. I believe these walks will provide valuable insights and help us align our practices with our goals. We will begin with class teachers, but if any EAs are interested in participating, please let me know, and we’ll do our best to accommodate.

When: 6-8 May (week 3), 1 hour during your non-contact time. We will arrange a separate cover time for those teachers who have non-contact on Monday (due to the public holiday).

Focus:

  • Observe, reflect, and discuss practices that support children's development and transitions between year groups.

  • Concentrate on the ATL skills: communication, social, self-management, research, and thinking skills through the lens of transition.

We will utilise a "See, Think, Wonder" protocol to help guide our observations. More details can be found in the document Internal Hillside Impact Walks.


Post-Walk Reflection:
We will organise a debrief session after the walks, where colleagues can share their observations and insights. We hope these observations can inform our practices, particularly focusing on enhancing transitions and vertical alignment.


Other Updates

  • The Learning Management System (LMS) selection process has been completed. After an extensive tender evaluation, two vendors have been selected to provide a unified, connected system across all ESF schools: Toddle and Sentral. We are one of the five schools piloting the new systems in August 2025. More details to follow.

  • Please note that ESF Explore Playgroup and Little Explorers will continue on Saturdays. There may also be a playgroup on Mondays after school if they have enough enrolments. 

  • Lastly, please take a moment to read the recent HR newsletter to apply for and benefit from the Rent Reimbursement scheme.


Upcoming Music PD

Workshop: Leading Early Childhood Practitioners Towards Musical Creativity

3 June Tues, 4:30-6pm, in-person at ESFC, sign up on Gateway.

This face-to-face session will feature ECE researchers Dr. Yan-Lam Ho and Dr. Alfredo Bautista (The Education University of Hong Kong) and offers an exciting opportunity to explore innovative methods in early childhood music education, inspired by the groundbreaking work of Professor Kate Williams. 

For workshop abstract and biography of the presenters, click here.


Reference: Ho, Y. L., Bautista, A., & Lee, K. (2024). Musical activities in Hong Kong kindergartens: The role of teaching experience. Australian Journal of Music Education, 56(2), 6–20. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.T2024121800016091462126919

Rainstorm Protocol

It’s rainstorms and typhoon season again. I want to remind you of our weather policy. I've attached the pages from our staff and parent handbook for quick reference.


Typhoons are fairly straightforward, as there is often a pre-warning, but rainstorms are more unpredictable. 

In the event of a red or black rainstorm during the session:

  • All children will remain in class under the care of staff until the end of the session or when conditions improve. 

  • Parents (or designated adults, with parental permission) can choose to collect their child at Hillside if they wish. 

  • As per ESF policy, buses will only operate when the signal has been lowered to the Amber Rain warning. If the Red Rain signal is still in force by home time, the buses will not operate, and all parents will need to arrange to collect their children from Hillside.

  • SLT will send out App messages to keep parents informed of the latest information.

Protocols:

  • Teachers and EAs remain in class with the children.

  • If any parents/ carers arrive, our floaters and admin team will act as ushers to collect the relevant child down to the foyer. 

  • The admin team will print class lists and keep a list of the children whose parents have collected them. If parents call to say they are on their way, mark the child with a “W” as a walker.

  • Admin team keep track of buses and bus mothers status as usual to ensure they arrive on time to standby.

  • We can be flexible depending on the situation and combine groups of children as the numbers drop. 

  • We will have biscuits available in case the wait gets too long for the remaining children.

Upcoming Dates
Please check our internal calendar below. We might forget to remind everyone of odd dates. We will continue to add events as soon as they're confirmed. Here's the full 2024/25 Calendar and DRAFT 2025/26 Calendar.

Thank you!