Dear K2 Parents, 

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our K2 Christmas Sing-alongs, and then visit to Tsing Yi Park for shared learning. 

Children should come to school as normal in their uniform, and then parents will be invited in shortly before the concert starts. Please remember that our performance will be in the garden.

Here are reminders of the days and timings:

Tuesday 3rd December 9am / 1.30pm Pandas

Wednesday 4th December  9am / 1.30pm Giraffes

Thursday 5th December 9am / 1.30pm Elephants

Friday 6th December 9am / 1.30pm Tigers

Children will then go on their shared learning walk with you to Tsing Yi Park. 

Kind regards, 

Suzannah

Dear K1 Families, 

Christmas Sing-along

We are looking forward to welcoming you to school for our Christmas sing-alongs this week. The sing-alongs will be held in our garden area, and due to limited space, we request only 2 guests maximum per child. The Sing-alongs will last approx 20 minutes and there will be some time afterwards for photos in the garden. 

Children should come to school at normal time in uniform, and parents will be invited in shortly before the sing-along starts. Children can go home with families directly afterwards if that is preferred. 

Tuesday 3rd December Butterfly Class 10am and 2.30pm

Wednesday 4th December Ladybird Class 10am and 2.30pm

Thursday 5th December Caterpillar Class 10am and 2.30pm

Friday 6th December  Bumblebee Class 10am and 2.30pm

Kind regards, 

Suzannah

Dear Parents, 

It has been a joy to welcome everyone back after the break and to see the children engaging again in their playful learning at school. We have all enjoyed reconnecting with each other.  Our parent/teacher meetings have begun, and I hope these conversations will support your insight into how your child has settled into their class.  Thank you to all parents who joined zoom chats with Alli, and those who contributed to our education technology survey. We will be using the data to inform our planning moving forward. 

In September, we welcomed a new senior admin, Dorothy Ko, to TYK after Kit Lau left to join his family in the UK. Dorothy has already been a greatly supportive addition to our school community. At the end of this month, we will say goodbye to Lyric (Giraffe Class Teacher), who has been with us for a year. Tilly will return to her role when her maternity leave ends on 1st November. At the end of term MJ (K1 EA) will leave for maternity. We thank both MJ and Lyric for their commitment to supporting children's learning and well-being at TYK.

Before the break, the TYK Leadership Team were fortunate enough to be part of the ESF Senior Leadership Conference. The conference brought leaders from across the Foundation to engage in deeper discussions about our role in supporting learners to achieve the ESF vision of being the best they can be.

As we start the second half of Term 1 I am sharing some information and upcoming dates for both K1 and K2. 

Dress Up Day and Diwali (31st October)
This year our annual Dress Up Day (31st October)  will coincide with the Diwali festival. Children can come to school in a costume or special dress of their choice on that day. We will also be recognising the importance of the festival of Diwali in our school community. 

As part of our dress-up day, we encourage parents to consider donating to the Hong Kong Make-A-Wish Foundation. You can find out more about the charity, and the work that it does Here.

Box of Hope
ESF TYK families have always been generous in supporting this community action as it provides a wonderful opportunity for your child to connect with how they can impact the joy of another. Thank you in advance to all of those who will be sending in a Box Of Hope. Please remember to send in your boxes between Monday 28 October and Friday 8 November 2024

Christmas Sing-along
We will again host our Christmas Sing-along in the TYK garden in December. Two guests per child are warmly invited to attend. Please see the dates/times below with more details to follow. 

EDB Student Grant
Parents are reminded that the deadline for EDB School Grant for 24/25 paper submissions is 13 November 2024. If you missed the deadline to apply through the iAM Smart app please remember to submit a paper copy.

Curriculum Enhancements
Both K1 and K2 will be supporting Shared Learning Day experiences for parents this term. K1 will be taking part in their transport trips with families, and K2 will be visiting Tsing Yi park with families. These  Shared Learning Day experiences will help parents connect with, and celebrate learning in the Transport (K1) and Living Things (K2) Units of Inquiry. Alli will share details about both trips with families, and will ensure you are kept fully informed. K2 children will also be joining sessions with Jurassic Garage in school this term. 

We look forward to forward to engaging and celebrating with you during the coming weeks. Please feel free to reach out to myself, or the team, if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards, 

Suzannah

Key Dates

• 28th October-9th November  Drop off for Box of Hope

• 31st October   Festival of Diwali and TYK Annual Dress-Up day

• 13th November Deadline for EDB Grant paper form

• 5th November Transport Shared Learning trip K1 Caterpillars and Bumblebees

• 6th November Transport Shared Learning trip K1 Ladybirds and Butterflies

• 3rd December Christmas Sing-along Pandas (9am/1.30pm) followed by Shared Learning trip to TY park

• 3rd December Christmas Sing-along Butterfly class (10am/2.30pm)

• 4th December Christmas Sing-along Giraffes (9am/1.30pm) followed by Shared Learning trip to TY park

• 4th December Christmas Sing-along Ladybirds  (10am/ 2.30pm)

• 5th December Christmas Sing-along Elephants (9am/1.30pm) followed by Shared Learning Trip to TY park

• 5th December Christmas Sing-along Caterpillars (10am/2.30pm)

• 6th December Christmas Sing-along  Tigers (9am/1.30pm) followed by Shared Learning Trip to TY park

• 6th December Christmas Sing-along Bumblebees (10am/2.30pm)

• 11th December Last School Day of Term 1 for children

• 6th January First School Day of Term 2

Dear Parents,

EDB will extend the use of e-submission of applications to all types of schools, including English Schools Foundation (ESF) schools, private independent schools and kindergartens starting from the 2024-25 school year.  For details on this year’s grant, please refer to the EDB webpage at: https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/student-parents/support-subsidies/student-grant/index.html

Parents are encouraged to use the e-submission platform to submit the 2024-25 student grant application for students studying in the same school in the previous school year.

To submit applications electronically, parents must have a user account of “iAM Smart+” with digital signing function.  Parents are strongly encouraged to register for “iAM Smart+” in advance.

How to register for “iAM Smart+” account:

1. Register in-person at any time at the district “iAM Smart” self-registration kiosks or registration service counters with around 170 locations, including Post Offices in various districts.

• Detailed locations and opening hours of “iAM Smart” self-registration kiosks or registration service counters
• “iAM Smart” registration methods and required items for smooth registration
• Online video on register "iAM Smart+" at self-registration kiosks

2. Book a session for on-site registration at designated schools

• Booking link for “iAM Smart+” registration events in schools

Updated information regarding the 2024-25 grant application procedures will be released in September 2024.

Please note that for students who are newly admitted in 2024-25 or had previously attended another school in 2023-24, parents will be asked to download and fill in Form A, and submit the form to the school for verification during the application period. Under any circumstances, only one application, either in electronic form (e-form) or paper form, can be submitted for each eligible student.

Kind regards,

ESF International Kindergarten, Tsing Yi