Panda Class Blog 5th February 2025

 

Dear Panda Families, 

Happy Lunar New Year of the Snake! We wish you and your families a healthy and happy year ahead!

I look forward to seeing many of you next week for our Parent Teacher Conferences. If you would like to make an appointment to meet with me on Zoom, please contact the admin team directly before Friday 7th February:

              Admin phone number: 2540 0066        Admin email address: kinder@hillside.edu.hk 

It's brilliant to have the children back at school and hear about their adventures over the past week. We are getting back into the swing of our daily routine, and the Pandas have been exploring our learning engagements both indoors and outdoors during open play.  

We are now starting our new Unit of Inquiry 'How The World Works.'  Our central idea and area of focus involves actively constructing new understandings of our world through observation and investigation. 

We are so excited to adopt the role of 'little scientists' and explore the world around us through construction, scientific experiments, colour mixing, measurement, planning and design! 

In circle time yesterday, we looked at weighing scales and learnt the terms 'heavy' and 'light'. The children were very good at hypothesizing which items might be heavy or light, and if you have any scales at home please do use them with your child for weighing cooking ingredients or their toys for fun! That way, your child can see how we use scales in a practical everyday sense as well as at school. 

We're going to be delving into measurement by measuring our heights over the coming weeks, as well as learning about the water cycle through engaging experiments and much much more! 

Some dates for your diaries (Incursions, Sports Day, Excursions):

Tuesday 11th February: Rise Wise Dogs incursion - we will have a short presentation during the AM & PM sessions with Rise Wise and their dogs. The children will have a chance to learn how to take care of dogs, groom them and approach them. We will be letting the children know about this exciting opportunity soon. If your child is allergic, scared or worried about dogs,  please email me directly.

Tuesday 18th February: Curiosity Kids Incursion - During our arrival play, Curiosity Kids Lab Team will be visiting us! The children will have the great opportunity to mix colours together using scientific equipment such as beakers, pipettes and create their own experiments guided by the team.

Friday 21st February: Sports Fun Day:

Email from Hillside sent on 23rd January 2025:

Dear Hillside Families

We cordially invite all parents to join us at our Sports Fun Day on Friday, 21 February, at the Indian Recreation Club (63 Caroline Hill Road, So Kon Po, Causeway Bay - across from the HK Stadium). 

The weather should be nice and cool as we engage in fun activities and games designed to encourage the children's participation in physical activities - e.g. egg & spoon races, obstacle courses, three-legged race, What’s the time Mr. Wolf? We hope our parents will join in the fun, so bring along your team spirit!

Sports Fun Day Class T-Shirts

We would like the children to wear a coloured T-shirt to add to the atmosphere on the day. Please have your child wear a (predominantly) plain, coloured t-shirt to the event per the list below. The T-shirts do not have to be identical!

K1 Classes
Dolphin - PINK
Frog - GREEN
Panda - WHITE
Monkey - PURPLE

K2 Classes
Dragon - RED
Gecko - YELLOW
Tiger - ORANGE
Turtle - BLUE

The logistics:

• We will meet all families directly at the Indian Recreational Club. 

• Due to space constraints, we would ask to limit to 2 adults per child, please.

• 9:15-11:00am (morning classes) and 1:00-2:45pm (afternoon classes)

• The session will begin with a welcome and a warm-up.

• The children will (in class groups) rotate through a series of activities, including a rest/ water station to rest those little bodies. Parents can also take their child for a break whenever they feel their child may need one.

• Hong Kong Stadium provides 41 parking spaces ($7/30mins), which are open for public use on non-event days. There are also public parking meters outside the IRC.

What to bring:

• Wear comfy clothing in your class colour

• Comfy shoes - no high heels on the grounds, please

• Water 

• Mossy spray

• Sunscreen 

• Sunhat

• Please note that we are not permitted to bring external food into the Club.

Please complete the trip eNotice to confirm your attendance. You can access the Gateway eNotice via the ESF App and see a "new eNotice to fill in now."

Save the Date: K1 Excursion to Pamela Peck Discovery Space in March

The K1 children will be visiting the Pamela Peck Discovery Space on an educational excursion. 

10 Mar (Monday) - Dolphin & Frog class

13 Mar (Thursday) - Monkey & Panda class

The trip is designed to support the learning goals of multiple Units of Inquiry this year, broadening their opportunities for various play and interactions with new materials and spaces. The excursion will also support their upcoming unit on 'How the World Works' as there are many different play areas at Pamela Peck to encourage children to experiment and explore.

We kindly request that one parent or caregiver accompany each child. Your presence will offer unique perspectives that align with your child's interests, making learning more meaningful and engaging. By helping to connect their learning to their personal experiences, you can support your child in deepening their understanding.

We will share more details about the trip, including logistics and consent forms, after the Lunar New Year break. We look forward to this exciting learning opportunity!

Lastly, here are our class photo albums for you to view:

                                            Panda Class AM & Panda Class PM

And our Spotify Album is Here. 

Best regards,

The Panda Team

🐼