Abacus Newsletter 18th September 2017

Abacus Kindergarten’s latest newsletter available to read now. Find out the latest news from around the school and upcoming events.

• Coming Week
• Important Dates
• Term 1 Parent Conferences
• Beach Trips
• The Mud Kitchen
• Anne van Dam Consultation Visit
• School Fair
• Speech and Language Screenings
• ESF K1 and Year 1 Admissions
• The Gruffalo Theatre Show
• Links
• Class Pages

Coming Week Dates

Important Dates

Monday 2nd – Friday 6th October – Half Term
Friday 13th October – K1 Beach Trip
Friday 20th October – School Closed – Staff Training
Friday 24th November – School Closed – Staff Training
Saturday 2nd December – School Fair – Please note Change of Date
Wednesday 13th December – Christmas Party
Thursday 14th December – Carol Concert
Friday 15th December – School Closed – Christmas Holidays
Our school calendar can be found here

Parent Consultations

Our term 1 parent consultations will be held next week. This is a chance for you to meet with your child’s class teacher for 10 minutes to find out how they are settling in to their new class and what their next steps in learning are. It is also an opportunity for both you and the teacher to share any achievements or concerns you may have. You will need to logon to the Gateway system, the link is here. Then click on the Communication tab and choose parent consultation from the drop down menu. You will then be given options to choose from the available times. If the square is greyed out it is because it has already been reserved by another parent or blocked.

Beach Trips

The K2 children will be going on their first trip next week to Clearwater Bay beach next Friday 29th September. The purpose of this visit is to socialise with other families and learn more about our local environment and each other. Parents or helpers are invited and the teachers will arrange a range of activities for the children to do. Please look out for more information and a permissions slip to complete on the Gateway system. The K1 children will also have a beach trip on the 13th October, so please mark this date in your diaries.

The Mud Kitchen

Over the last couple of weeks the staff from HK Forest Adventures have been working both on and off site to create our new mud kitchen .  They have done a wonderful job, creating four distinct learning zones in which our children can experiment and explore with many natural materials, including lots of water!

Anne van Dam Consultation Visit

We were lucky enough to have a whole school training day with Anne van Dam on Saturday. Anne is an experienced Early Years educator and is currently working as Assistant Principal in the Netherlands. She has recently been collaborating and consulting for the IB, working with them on the review of the PYP Program. Anne is also working in school today with teachers. She is looking at how observations can be used to plan next steps in learning.

School Fair

Abacus school fair date has been changed due to a clash with our CPD day the day before and a dance performance we know many of our parents will be attending. The new date is December 2nd. The next meeting will be held next Tuesday 26th at 8.45 am.

Speech and Language Screenings

We will be offering speech and language screenings at Abacus on the 19th and 20th of September. The cost is $300 for a screening. This can be a useful opportunity to pick up any speech and language development issues and also support Year 1 Primary applications. If you are interested please read the attached letter to apply.

ESF K1 and Year 1 Admissions

ESF Kindergarten applications will be open during the month of September this year in addition to ESF Year 1 admissions. Unfortunately the EDB were unable to approve the RC and DC application fees in time for admissions, therefore the one form has been postponed until next year. As I understand it ESF Kindergarten children will still be placed before any other children though.
It would be helpful to us if you could complete the following form for us so that we can pass on your preference for school and a back up in case your chosen school is full.
Year 1 Application Data Form
Please find the powerpoint from the admissions evening here.

The Gruffalo Theatre Show

As part of our K1 How We Express ourselves unit and to prepare children for our K2 Story Telling unit the whole school will be going to watch The Gruffalo. The performance is at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on Friday 12th January at 12pm. Have a look here for more information http://www.kidsfest.com.hk/shows/2018/show1.asp. We need to book our tickets now and we receive a special discounted price for school tickets of $215 per person. We would like to invite you and your child to come along. Please note there will be no school on this day if you choose not to attend the show. Sign up on this form here for the trip please and then send a cheque to school made out to ESF Educational Services Ltd for the appropriate amount. Or you can do a direct transfer to HSBC Account No:(004) 511 335 069 001 and email the office the screenshot of the transfer. Children will need to be accompanied, therefore parents and siblings are welcome but each will need a ticket. If you are unable to attend your helper could bring your child or you can also arrange for a friend to accompany your child as well as their own child.

Links

(All links open in a new tab/window)

Moodle – Your child’s portfolio and reports, class news, school news and photos.
Gateway – Change personal details, sign up for events and book parent consultations on Gateway.
The School Calendar – All important dates can be found here for this year.

Class Pages

K1 English Class
Liv Kotyck, Anita Jims and Michelle Chan
K1 Bilingual Class
Olivia Kane, Susanne Liu and Sue Tyson
K2 English Class
Fiona Hall, Bridgette Walker and Jackie Henderson
K2 Bilingual Class
Danielle Evans, Allison Fung and Laura Hamilton/Julie Rose