 Thanks and farewells to Board members
The three-year term of office for Board members is coming to an end and as a result a number of people will be leaving us:
Kevin Taylor, Vice-chairman
Samuel Poon, Treasurer
Nicola Clark, parent member
Neil Drave, parent member
Elaine Leung, parent member
Nick Bilcliffe, Russell Williams and Perry Tunesi left the Board over the summer. We thank them for the contribution which they have made to ESF as Board members. Samuel Poon has served ESF as Treasurer since 2004 and we owe him a particular debt of gratitude for his wise advice and guidance.
Review of the Subvention
Work has continued on the review of the subvention over the summer and the early part of the autumn term, but no firm proposals have yet emerged. We hope that over the next few weeks we shall gain a clear understanding of the government’s stance in advance of the proposed report to the LegCo Education Panel in December. The support of stakeholders, particularly parents, continues to be really important. Please help to keep ESF’s profile high in the media and by writing to LegCo members and EDB officials.
ESF Therapy Centre Open Day - 31 October
 The newly established ESF Therapy Centre has been offering consultations for schools since April. The official opening took place on 28 September. The planned Open Day on 29 September was cancelled because the Tropical Cyclone Number 8 was in force; It is rescheduled to 31 October 2011. Parents and staff can have a tour of the Centre and gather some first-hand information about the services it provides.
Address: 1/F 2A Tin Kwong Road, Homantin, Kowloon
Date: 31 October (Monday)
Time: 11:00am – 2:00pm
4:00pm – 7:00pm
Tel: 3572 8500
Tournament of Minds
We would like to wish a team of students and their supporters of all the best for the Tournament Of Minds Australiasian Final in Hobart, Australia on 15 October. Twenty one members of the Sha Tin Junior School community will be traveling to Australia including seven student team members, two teachers and 11 parents and siblings.
The students will be competing against school teams from the Asia Pacific region following their success in the Hong Kong tournament last year.
Tournament of Minds is a problem solving programme for teams of students .The students are required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges from one of the following disciplines:
Students from Sha Tin College and Sha Tin Junior School will compete in the Maths Engineering section of the competition which they have been preparing for the competition since the beginning of the year. The team members are Ryan Lee, Melody Leung and Sherman Wong from Year 6, and Devan Phillipson, Andrew Wei, Enpei Zhang and Ryan Leung from Year 7 (now Sha Tin College students).
ESF Football Tournament
 There was action aplenty at the ESF Football Tournament on 7 and 8 October with keenly fought competitions at each level. With representation from all ESF schools, the eventual winners were:
B Grade Boys - West Island School
C Grade Boys - King George V School
D Grade Boys - West Island School
Senior Girls - Renaissance College
Primary Boys - Quarry Bay School
Primary Girls - German Swiss International School
Special mention must be given to West Island School and their B and D Grade teams, both of whom won their competitions, with the D Grade being the stand out team in the whole tournament.
 The tournament was organised by ESF Educational Services Limited (ESL). As well as representing their schools, some players also train with ESL’s Football Development Squads and play in the ESL Lions Football Academy where matches are organised against other clubs and schools. Players born between the years of 1998 and 2006 are welcome to try out for the Development Squads and may be selected for the Academy. If you are interested in the Development Squad or Academy, please contact Jim Hackett, Head Coach, Football on 27603934 or by email jim.hackett@esf.org.hk.
We would like thank WellnessPlus for sponsoring bottled water for this year’s tournament.
Click here for more photos of the day.
ESF Anthology - Mirrors with Memories
 Mirrors with Memories is a collection of creative writing and artworks from students of ESF secondary schools. This 100-page book with close to 40 pieces of creative writing allows readers to gain an insight of the ESF values and the ways in which our students give expression to them.
To celebrate the creativity and achievements of the students, a book launch ceremony will be held at 6pm at ESF Centre on 31 October. Students who have contributed articles and artworks will attend with their teachers. Mirrors with Memories will be available in selected bookstores in early November. The retail price is $180. All proceeds (after deduction of production cost) will go to Bring Me A Book, a charity that promotes family literacy by providing easy access to the best children’s books.
Place your order here before 14 November 2011 to enjoy free delivery to your doorstep.
Admissions update
The central admission period for Year 1 and Year 7 (for entry in August 2012) ended on 30 September. Compared with September 2010, Year 1 application numbers at Discovery College and ESF primary schools have risen by over 14%, and by over 23% at Renaissance College. Altogether, well over 3300 applications have been received for the 1302 places that will be available The first round of Year 1 interviews will be conducted in January 2012 with invitations to interview being issued in late November.
After the sharp increase in Year 7 application numbers recorded last year which reflected the increased birth rate in 2000 (being both millennium year and Year of the Dragon) numbers have returned to more usual levels. As was the case last year, Renaissance College did not take part in the central admission process as the College will fill available places with its own Year 6 students. Discovery College received 49 applications for 30 places and ESF secondary schools received 314 applications for the 90 or so places that will be available.
Year 7 assessments for external applicants will take place at two primary school venues on Saturday 29 October and results will be announced in early December.
The admission period for ESF International Kindergartens have started last week and will end on 31 October 2011. Applications can be submitted online at www.esf.org.hk. An application fee of HK$300 applies to all applications.
ESF Continous Professional Development Day
Kindergartens
The four ESF International Kindergartens are candidate schools for the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). The kindergartens have begun an extensive programme of preparation for PYP starting last academic year. At the start of this term, Rebecca Clements, ESF's Learning and Teaching Adviser delivered a CPD session on The Concept Curriculum to help support teachers to transition from “topics” and towards concepts as the basis for teaching. This was followed on 3 and 4 October with a workshop at each kindergarten delivered by an IB trainer, “Making PYP Happen”, a compulsory requirement in the authorisation process.
Primary
“Creative Connections” was the title of this year’s Primary Professional Development day for approximately 750 primary teachers and educational assistants. The day, held at Renaissance College, centered on the importance of the Arts in the curriculum and our communities. The main part of the day was taken up with staff attending workshops. Out of the 50 available workshops,11 were provided by individuals and organisations from the Hong Kong arts community.
Secondary
Four of the very large secondary curriculum areas - Science, Maths, English and Design and Technology had complex CPD days involving a variety of modules ranging from new areas of learning to specific skills needed in the classroom.
Highlights were the Chinese poet Professor Bao Dei who spoke at both the English and the Chinese curriculum group bringing his poetry to life for teachers who teach it as part of the IB Diploma programme. The wide range of features at the Science event included Ed Walsh from the UK and the Discovery Dome from the HK Planetarium.
ESF Educational Services update
Language Programme
ESL’s English and Spanish language classes are offered through four ten-week programmes in a year. The November programme starts on 17 November and enrolment is open now. There are English classes for children from 18 months to secondary age at a wide number of ESF school locations across Hong Kong. Spanish classes are also offered. To find out more visit www.esf.org.hk
Mid-Term Sports Camps and Tennis Clinics
Keep your children active and entertained during the mid term break at one of ESL’s Sports Camps or Tennis Clinics. There are camps for children aged 3-4, 5-6 and 7-10, all of which feature a range of sports activities, including a daily swimming lesson. Tennis Clinics offer children an opportunity to develop their tennis skills in an age and ability appropriate environment. They can join for individual sessions or a four-day course. Sports Camps will take place at South Island School and Sha Tin College 17-21 October. Tennis Clinics will be held at South Island School and King George V School. To find out more please visit www.esf.org.hk
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