ESF Year 1 interview

M

mommyboy

Registered User
Hi there,

My little boy is going to have an ESF Year 1 interview in this coming January. Does anyone knows what sorts of questions will be asked? The letter (ESF interview invitation) says that it is going to be an informal 'play' situation. However, I would like to know if there is any one to one interview and what questions are normally asked. Many Thanks.
 
I don't know if all the ESF schools are the same, however our interview last year focused on comprehension and use of the english language. Our interview had about 10 kids. We as parents waited in the school lobby while the kids were taken to a classroom with several teachers.
They do talk to the kids one on one, but while sitting in a small group of their peers/friends, so our daughter was never 'alone'. My daughter was asked to draw her family and asked questions about the drawing. They also had cards with animals (like horses) they had to name in a game situation. They were read a story as a group and asked questions. That kind of thing. My daughter had a lot of fun and actually didn't want to leave the school when we had finished.
I stressed a lot over the interview, but at the end of the day, if your child is a native english speaker, I don't think they will have any problems.
Good luck!
 
That sounds very similar to what we have experienced last year. Also, the lower school principal visited our preschool so they had a chance to see the kids in their own environment prior to the interview. It's really about English and basic social skills.
 
Thanks a lot for sharing. I am not really worried about his english, although neither his daddy nor myself is native english speaker. However, my boy is a very quiet person(rather shy I must say) when it comes to meet new faces(which I truely believe it's normal). It took him more than 2 months to start to speak with his K1 classmates and he rarely answered the teachers at the beginning. But now, he is fine in kindy.
I totally understand that I can't do much about it as this is his personallity. Can anyone suggest how I can prepare or what I should say to encourage my boy to coperate with this interview? Millions Thanks.
 
Hi mommyboy,
I'm in exactly the same situation as you. My DD is also having an interview with ESF in coming Jan. and what makes me worry is not only she's shy, she'd cry out loud if we leave her and let her be taken away from us and into a separate room...I cannot imagine what the teacher might think if she starts throwing in a temper on the spot and clutching onto my clothes with tears streaming down her face..

Anyway, I'm trying to prepare her a bit by telling her if she doesn't 'behave' during the interview, she'd have no school to attend(I know, bad stratedy, however I don't know what else I can do to help her get the idea):redface:
 
The Y1 interviews are conducted in groups, with kids from the same kindergarten and class. So your child should recognize a few familiar faces. If you know of any other kids being interviewed with her, would suggest organizing a few playdates beforehand.

Good luck!
 
I shared your concerns since my oldest was very slow to warm up. Check with your current preschool whether ESF will visit them, because that is what happened in our case. The zone school's lower school principal came, observed the kids, spoke to the teachers and the children (in a group setting) so even if they do act up in a new environment, they'll have something to compare. Next to that, I think they've seen it all. My child is actually better without me being there, and although she acted really weird after the interview it turned out an hour later that she did participate quite well.
 
As Rani said they should already know some of the children in the group.

My son is now in Year 1 and in his interview there were around 10 children. At least 8 were from his class.

They divided them into 2 groups of 5. One group stayed in the classroom and drew pictures. During this time the teacher came around and chatted to them about what they had drawn.

After this they went out into the playground onto the climbing frames and another teacher observed how they played and interacted with each other.

It was very, very easy and laid back. I wound myself up so much about it last January but wish I hadn't.

Good Luck!
 
Thank you. Good to hear that my boy would at least see some familiar faces. I've actually started talking about the interview with him, telling him what will he be doing on that day. My sweetie has promised to cooperate and be nice! Just cross my fingers!
 
Dear all,

May I know which ESF primary will your kid attend the interview? Also, is your kid studying in ESF kinder currently? and which category is your kid?
Thanks.
 
Thank you indeed for all your kind words. I feel so much better already. And good for you mommyboy that your sweetie is going to 'cooperate'. I've been trying to explain to my DD what's gonna happen in the interview and she keeps saying: I don't want to go to another school! And when I said Mommy and Daddy will go with you, she asked 'will you leave me there?'. I said no, but the teacher will take you to another room so you and other kids can play together, and just for a little while; she immediately started crying: No, I don't want to play with other children!

So, it seems I still have a lot of work to do:flower:
 
hi we applied for year 1 into esf school for my daughter.but we will be out of station during the interview dates....will the school conduct interview again to those who are not in town during the said interview date???
 
I would call them and discuss. Applications are up 14% again and many of the applications have priority (sibling / ESF Kindy), so I wouldn't want to miss out.
 
I would try to socialize your child in situations similar. See if you can have a playmate with three new people or something and let the children play together or have someone lead them in drawing pictures. Get them somewhat used to going into a new environment and following some basic instructions.
 
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