ESF hillside k1

木子兔媽媽

My emphasis put first on Christian-centered value and acts (not just a brand but really working out the value of Christ). That's why ICS is so good but I really hoped they are real Christians, or the negative effects will be much worse than going to a non-Christian school.

Then equal emphasis puts on academics and sibling priority.

Through-train is considered only if the schools are good enough to maintain their standards till secondary schools. We are not rich enough to send the kids to overseas.

jolalee

What I concern is the academic, moral values and vision of the teacher staff and students in these schools. Priority in primary school places and sibling priority are also another concern.

木子兔媽媽 發表於 14-6-6 21:24
My emphasis put first on Christian-centered value and acts (not just a brand but really working out  ...

Let me rank each of your options in accordance to your goals:

Christ-centred values & action--
ICS

Academics--
ESF (ICS is not bad but ESF tops it)

Sibling Priority--
ESF, ICS, KCIS (Sorry no idea about this, but all IS sibling priority should be strong except for the few most popular ones such as CDNIS, CIS, SIS etc)

Through-train from KG to high school graduation, keeping the standard in secondary--
ICS (>90% KG students going into ICS primary)
[ESF: KG has no priority to primary anymore, KCIS: primary is good but secondary weak, much like YCIS]

In terms of moral value, all IB schools do emphasize good global values; it's just a matter of how the school carries it out. ESF is okay, more on academics then moral training, but at least it is a down to earth school unlike some Ritzy IS. ICS is a genuine Christian school with caring teachers. I've heard and seen the school cranking out kind & wonderful kids.  

I guess ICS is what you're looking for, but it is a bit far for your chlid. Given you live on HK Island though, did you try SWCK & it's affiliated ICA? I heard only great things about this school and it seem to fit your goals (except ICA is still new and we're not sure how it will do academically in the future, but so far so good).  

木子兔媽媽

Thanks Jolalee. We gave up SWCK already as no priority to ICA and well, it is too happy for my daughter. That's why she is so fortunate... Maybe the interview coming is just to ascertain that ICS is worth going!

jolalee

I guess through-train and academics does rank high in your heart then

(I didn't know previously that SWCK has no priority into ICA. That's sad.)

Seem like ICS is your cup of tea; sometimes it takes other offers to confirm it ;)

木子兔媽媽

You are right indeed in practice. It seems like God is testing my faith this time.

jolalee

回覆 木子兔媽媽 的帖子

One last thing: At this age remember to try to keep the travel time door-to-door to 30 minutes max. Given i've been taking my child to class everyday that's 1/2 hour door-to-door and to a weekly class that's about an hour away from home, i know the difference, and understands why experts does advise a 30 minutes limit. Any travel time more then 30 minutes really wears the children out, and if that's done on a daily basis, it's really not healthy for the kids.

木子兔媽媽

Thanks!

BerniceTang

木子兔媽

Birkin

Our son just got an offer from Hillside for K1 afternoon class but it clashes with his other offer from KCIS  (also afternoon class).  ESF just revised their policy again and all ESF kinder students will now enjoy priority interview at ESF primary schools. KCIS is "through train" all the way up to secondary school.  How should we choose? Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks.

木子兔媽媽

For my case, my girl got Entry Waitlist for hillside (she did badly on the play visit that day), got KCIS am (previously pm) and ICS offer. Of counts you can be a tiger mum to ask KCIS Anita to swap am class with you (I might drop that later!). If you really want to choose one, then see if KCIS guarantee through train to primary or you like ESF primary that matters

jolalee

回覆 木子兔媽媽 的帖子

ESF KG suddenly getting priority to ESF primary interview again probably come as a great surprise to many parents, especially those who may have received the offer in the first place but have declined it due to the lack of priority back then. Were they able to "reinstate" the declined offer? I think it'd be unfair for them if they can't....

FattyDaddy

jolalee 發表於 14-6-28 01:27
Were they able to "reinstate" the declined offer? I think it'd be unfair for them if they can't....

Probably not, but then those who declined would only do that if they had better offers from other places, so they may feel a bit let down but not necessarily unhappy :)

jolalee

回覆 FattyDaddy 的帖子

Hm, that's the question. "Better offer" usually includes through-train.
Any decent through-train schools like the ones mentioned on these posts are a better offer than ESF KG without interview priority. However, ESF KG with primary interview priority  train is possibly a better offer than those same schools. So i still think ESF screws those parents over. Not my problem i feel it is unfair for them!!

Birkin

It seems to me ESF cannot make up their mind whether or not to give priority to ESF kindergarten students (or why they wanted to cancel it in the first place) or how high that priority should be, which is quite unsettling for many existing and prospective ESF kindergarten parents

FattyDaddy

Birkin 發表於 14-6-28 14:01
quite unsettling for many existing and prospective ESF kindergarten parents...

Existing ESF kindergarten parents with children applying for primary school this September are unaffected, they were promised priority right from the beginning and they were supposed to be the last batch to enjoy it.

For prospective parents who have accepted offers and all set to have their children start K1 this August, the latest changes could only be good news. Those who had offers but declined because they got other offers may or may not be unhappy, depending on whether ESF kindergarten plus priority is still considered better than what they have accepted.

One thing for sure, ESF's phone lines will probably be very busy next week.

木子兔媽媽

No. Because the last school day of ESF KG has gone! That's the date I received their email telling me my girl is in Entry Waitlist.

FattyDaddy

木子兔媽媽 發表於 14-6-30 00:08
my girl is in Entry Waitlist ...

So ESF's latest policy change is to your disadvantage, because ESF kindergartens have become attractive again and people who have offers are less likely to decline, which means those on the waiting list have lower chances.

But you already have a firm offer from ICS so no worries. I'm not a religious person, but may be this is God's way of telling you to send your child to a Christian school.

alicebear

原帖由 jolalee 於 14-06-06 發表
Always heard very good comments about Hillside. Met an ESF Hillside teacher once and she was great;  ...

Hi jolalee, i am planning to apply for K1 for my child. do u think hillside campus is relatively difficult to get in when comparing with WKS or TY? Simply because of the difference in intake number or other reasons? Also, are hillside students mostly foreigners like at the Abacus? Thanks for sharing!

jolalee

回覆 alicebear 的帖子

Yes, given ESF primary interview priority is reinstated, it will be impossible again to get into ESF hillside. From what I heard, the foreigner ratio is high.