Changes at ESF (Tsing Yi)

They've decided that as of 27th October, the kids will be reorganised into new classrooms with new teachers and split into K1 and K2. Why did they decide to do this now and not at the start of the year?

My child has already been informed of the new class and new class teachers! None of whom are from the current class. So it's like school for the first time ALL over again. How do you explain that to a kid? How is a child supposed to cope? First the new school, get used to teachers then... CHANGE! Where's the stability? What a bloody great introduction to school?

And, when parents came for the orientation sign up, the principal made no mention of this. They sold ESF as a combined age group kindie which was a deciding factor for us.

The decision was made based on principal recommendation and Board of Directors urging that change is imminent NOW and not during the next intake! How crazy is that? Principal recommended otherwise - change in the new school year.
 
hmmm, that doesn't sound very well organised. i haven't had word from any of my "parents" yet, but i'm sure it will trickle down eventually.

i wish your little one luck with the changes.
 
That is odd. I didn't realise the TY kindy was run differently from the others. My son was at the Sheung Wan kindy and the kids are split into K1 and K2. But they do have open play sessions, where all the classes get to mix and play together.
 
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It doesn't surprise me at all - that particular ESF KG has gained a real reputation for an almost complete lack of communication with parents. Change there is well overdue - the combination of K1/K2 classes, open plan classrooms, high staff turnover etc etc. What a crazy time of year to make the change!
 
ESF(TY)Mum said:
Anyone irritated by the change that will take place in October?
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My son will just starting today for K2,and i have no idea what's going on,seems like they trying to save time for the teachers.....Sounds crazy not well organized.......
 
My child goes to ESF Tsing Yi and I have to say I am very happy with the changes. The present set up having classes with K1 (youngest 2 1/2 year old) and K2 (oldest approaching 5) means a very different learning ability for the children. How a 2 1/2 year old learns is very different to a 5 year old.

Maybe the timing wasn't perfect but having all the K1 on one floor and K2 on the other will be very benificial for all the children.

As for the comments that the kindy has a lot of problems with communications etc I have seen none of this. We get weekly newsletters, the emails are always responded to and the teachers are contactable through communication book and email.

I am very happy with the kindergarten and I feel the comments are a little unfair.
 
Just an update.

I spoke to the management team at ESF Tsing Yi to sort out some issues and I must say that they have done a fairly decent job - very approachable. Didn't always like their responses but still, at least they are fair to all students and parents and will consider individual needs if there are by merit and a case to case basis.

From experience in another school, this unbiased approach does not exist in all kindergartens. So, all up, although I'm irritated by the timing of the change, they've made an effort to become better organised as the last two weeks has shown.
 
ESF(TY)Mum said:
Just an update.

I spoke to the management team at ESF Tsing Yi to sort out some issues and I must say that they have done a fairly decent job - very approachable. Didn't always like their responses but still, at least they are fair to all students and parents and will consider individual needs if there are by merit and a case to case basis.

From experience in another school, this unbiased approach does not exist in all kindergartens. So, all up, although I'm irritated by the timing of the change, they've made an effort to become better organised as the last two weeks has shown.
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Well, nothing we can do now,it's already in plan.They start visiting their new classes and new teaching team,my son's teaching team will stay the same so i'm happy enough.
 
kiwiinhk - it's only the beginning of October. If you're still completely happy with the communication by June, then that either means you have lower expectations, or they've cleaned up their act.
Something to keep in mind - the teacher rarely writes in the books after the first few weeks: that is left up to the teaching assistants: and they are not allowed to communicate on matters regarding policy or education - just stuff like missing socks and library books.
They failed on several occasions to give us extremely important information about my child - I'm not screwing around, or making it up. If you want more details, feel free to PM me.
 
Happy V - My child is now in the 2nd year there - we are not new parents that have only recently started. Remember the communication book is a two way system - if you have a problem / question then you will get a response that same day if you have written it in the book.
All the parents in my child's class have the teachers ESF email address and also when emailing the higher management I have always had a response within the day. The weekly newsletter updates we receive not only explains what they have done that week but what the children will be doing for the following week. I feel completely in the loop as to what my child is learning.

Everyone has different expectations / experiences of a kindergarten - but I personally can not say anything apart from positive things about the kindergarten.
 
I agree with Kiwiinhkg - it's a two way partnership when it comes to KG education. The more you get in touch with the teachers, the more they will know what you feel, think and expect of the school. I also have a son at the kinder and I find that if you ask precise questions directly related to your child's learning progress or behaviour, rather than random or overall comments about the school in general, you'll get your concerns addressed better which always leads to good and helpful outcome. Bear in mind that parents have a lot of effort to put in as well if you want this partnership to work and foster for the first 2 years of your child's life-long learning journey.
 
The communication notebook and the direct email available to the class teacher are such great tools. When asked a question, the class teacher always responses within the day. And at times, at great length.
 
Well, we would send messages via the communication book that went unanswered for weeks and weeks. We had specific questions that had huge implications for our child's education that simply never got answered. So we moved to a KG where the teachers actually practiced what they preached. Much better.
 
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