TY ESF K1 Play Visit

JDM

Received the invitation letter. It will be Jan 4 afternoon. Based on the description on the letter, the visit is more "serious" than I expected, e.g. children will be organized in groups to "play" for 30 min (each with 1 parent accompanied) and will be observed by experienced teachers.

Offer will be given the next day.

[ 本帖最後由 JDM 於 11-12-5 09:21 編輯 ]

Greentea3901

Dear fattyDaddy, yes agree, many thanks about your explain!

FattyDaddy

chongnicole 發表於 12-2-1 22:13
回復 FattyDaddy 的帖子

Congratulations!!

Thanks, it is only the very first step, a child's education is a matter of decades, still have a very long way to go {:1_1:}

chongnicole

回復 FattyDaddy 的帖子

Congratulations!!

FattyDaddy

Greentea3901 發表於 12-2-1 17:01
I want to know when you apply the ESF TY, the interview arrange is base on the apply date or for wha ...

I don't think the date matters, we applied on 19/Oct, definitely not among the early birds. I went on a parent tour organized by the school in November and he Principal mentioned they received around 500 applications for 180 places this year, I guess they selected may be 200 children out of the 500 for this first round of "play visits".

When I went over earlier this week to accept their offer and pay the deposit, the admin lady told me they had just completed their last play visit (for this round at least), so if you still haven't receive an invitation then your application might have been placed on their waiting list. I guess there will be a next round of play visits because some successful applicants might decline their offers and free up places, you should call the school to verify.

Greentea3901

I want to know when you apply the ESF TY, the interview arrange is base on the apply date or for what?, because I apply at 1/10/11 but cant get a interview.

FattyDaddy

Oh one more curious thing I forgot to mention, they took a picture of each parent-child pair while we were playing. I didn't give it much thought at the time, but now I think they did it for verification purposes, so come August 2012 they can make sure those children joining the school are indeed the same ones they met during the play visit.

FattyDaddy

davidgorman 發表於 12-1-15 10:06
回復 FattyDaddy 的帖子

Very informative, many thanks!

You're welcome.

I hope what I shared here can help to lessen any anxiety which you and other parents might feel during the run-up to the school's "play visit". There won't be any tricky or probing questions, your child won't have to obediently perform amazing feats like a circus monkey, and you won't have to dress up like you're meeting the queen for tea.

So as parents you can't really "prepare" for it like you might for an exam, the only thing one should do perhaps is just be good parents, play more and talk more (in English) with the child in routine daily life, so he/she won't feel weird on the day when you suddenly seem more eager to play and talk than usual.

davidgorman

回復 FattyDaddy 的帖子

Very informative, many thanks!

FattyDaddy

davidgorman 發表於 12-1-13 10:42
Could you kindly share your experience please?

Our family attended the "play visit" at ESF Tsing Yi kindergarten on Wednesday (11/Jan), and we received an offer this morning (Saturday) through the post. I have no idea what their selection criteria were and so can't give any advice on what might be the "right" thing to do, but I can share with others here what went on during the 30 minutes which was how long the event lasted.

They expect 2 people (preferably the parents) to show up with the child, one to accompany the child in the play area, the other to attend a presentation given by the Principal in a separate area. My wife went for the presentation and I went along with my daughter to the play area where various toys were laid out on a few tables and the floor, there were also some books lying around. We were asked to play with our child and while that was going on a few teachers (around 4 or so) observed us and jotted down notes on their writing pads. They did not ask the children to mingle and play together in a big group, so it was essentially pairs of parent-child playing with themselves without interaction with other parent-child pairs. There wasn't much interaction between the teachers and us either, no questions, almost non-existent conversation, just quiet observation. My daughter wasn't in a talkative mood that day and hardly said a word, so I did all the talking and suggested to her what might be fun to do. This went on for about 20 minutes and then it was singing time, we sang nursery rhymes like "The wheels on the bus go round and round" and did body movements along with the songs, and then it was over. By the time we finished fooling around the presentation also ended and the separated family members met up and went home, on our way out we saw the teachers sat together in discussion. Most people wore casual for the event, our family dressed as though we were on a regular trip to the supermarket.

When I received ESF's letter today I thought we were unsuccessful, because the letter was thin and I could feel there was only a single sheet of paper inside, which usually means bad news as an offer would normally be accompanied by other notes and forms and so should be thicker, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was in fact an offer letter, and in it they said the remaining paperwork will be sent later. They wanted to inform parents as soon as possible instead of delaying until all the documentation are prepared, which is very thoughtful of them.

davidgorman

Thank you!

Cytine

I can see some foreigners wearing suit with tie but most of them are in casual wear.

Cytine

I had the play visit this Wed, it is held in a form of group play with toys and books set in the area. Around 10 kids in a group, kids were accompanied by one parent and the teacher observed how you play with the kids. The teacher talked to each kid and asked simple question. Then there was a singing section.
Guess the teachers were observing how you communicate with the kid and their response.
Hope this help.

davidgorman

Congratulations to both of you!!

Could you kindly share your experience please?

Did your child having a play alone first (for a few minutes) and then reading book or singing song in group? Or the other way around?
Was there any parent wearing a suit for the play visit?

Karie

I also get the acceptance letter today.  But, I am worried about the chance of Cat 2 student promote to ESF primary, don't know accept the offer or not.

JDM

We went to the play visit and we just received the acceptance offer letter by mail today.

The presentation is for group of parents. For TY, they are running 25 per group. Parents are free to ask questions after the presentation, but the interaction is not compulsory nor part of the assessment.

davidgorman

JDM, how was the play visit?

According to the letter, both parents are required for the visit. One to be with the child and the other to attend a presentation.

I think the presentation is for group of parents, right? How many parents were in your group? Was there any interaction with each of the parent during the presentation?

JDM

Just relax and take it easy !

[ 本帖最後由 JDM 於 11-12-8 08:51 編輯 ]

Cytine

Hi JDM, it seems you are so confident on the play visit..wish it comes true! Good luck to our child...as my friend's child was put on waiting after the play visit, so I dare not to expect too much....

JDM

原帖由 c200 於 11-12-6 09:40 發表
Result/Offer will be given immediately after the play visit, not the next day.

Is that mean they will tell you the result straight after the play visit? So quick? Not by mail?

Yes, according to people going to the play visit last year. They have the contract/offer ready. I guess the kid will only fail if he/she does something extraordinary.