ESF Tsing Yi vs ESF Hillside- Opinions please

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pinklotus

New member
hi parents

any of you have experiences with either of these 2 ESF kindergardens?

I have conflicting reports/opinions of the TsingYi branch namely - that it is very small and cramp, teachers and principal are not as motivated, kids have to take turns to the playground depending if their name cards are called up, kids are left alone quite a fair bit as the ratio teacher to students are not in our favour..... etc etc.Even my current prenursery is advising me to think carefully before enroling her in tsing yi campus!

we live in kowloon side and am contemplating of enrolling our 2 yo next year to either Tsing Yi or Hillside. It will be a big move for us if we decide and if we do get accepted to the Hillside campus as we will physically uproot ourselves out from kowloon to live in Hk island.

i just want a school environment for my child where she will be stimulated, challenged as opposed to being told to be obedient, do what is told, unable to explore, that she is kept interested, kind teachers whom really care of the children.. or am i being unrealistic?

international schools may be out for us as the cost could be beyond our financial capability,,, i would imagine that ESF will provide a more middle ground approach.

Do please share your thots and opinions with me . its such mind boggling time for me.

Appreciate it
 
Why not visit both kindergartens and see what you think? Hillside is well run and the teachers are caring. But you will get the best 'feel' for the school by going there and meeting the teachers.
 
I would agree with everything you have heard about ESF Tsing Yi. It is not only cramped but really noisy - it's a very real downside of their open plan classrooms.

I don't know what the physical set up is at Hillside (this is the campus where the ESF headquarters used ot be on Stubbs Road?) - but I have seen the inside of that building, and I imagine that the classroom set up is more 'traditional'.
 
Just my two cents:

I love what ESF Tsing Yi has done for our child (so far).

The current principal has been accommodating to our needs and so have the teachers. There has always been an open and honest communication with the school and home.

When I gave birth recently, my child's teachers obviously went out of their way to encourage my child and help him cope with having another sibling at home. The positive reinforcement has helped our child cope with having a new sibling! My husband and I have been thoroughly impressed at how they've helped him transitioned into an elder sibling! The home-school collaboration has been consistent from K1.

The lack of space has taught our child to take turns, be polite and deal with the limitations of his classroom with patience. If/When there is a conflict with space, toys, the children (definitely ours) is able to rationalise in a way that adults do. I don't think taking turns to play at the playground is such a bad thing. Especially since we are bringing him up in such a privileged lifestyle. We have seen his school behaviour transfer to his other social situations positively compared to other kids who don't have to compete for resources.

We have seen our child blossom under the care of the ESF Tsing Yi group of teachers/TAs. I can't say that all teachers/TAs are equal. We were definitely happy with his K1 teacher and his K2 teacher.
 
hi all !

thanks for all the inputs! i actually called ESF tsing yi for a school tour and the next available date is on Dec 10!!! hahaha.. i guess i am just a " wee bit late"...i was hoping to see the school before Oct sets in but i guess i dont have a choice right now. Hoping to do the Hillside visit this coming monday.. we really need to decide which school to go for before 31 Oct as the application closes then.

I guess there are always 2 ways or more looking at things. I like the idea that the kids are taught to share, wait , take turns as explained by Quasimother due to the lack of space or facilities in Tsing yi.. But i can also understand that an environment which is more " pleasing" and " spacious" will have its advantages with 20 kids pounding at each other.

Hopefully - the school tour will give me a better indication of which school to decide.
 
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