January 23, 2026
January 23, 2026
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Dear Parents
I think we all agree the health of our children is very important. Parents know that a balanced diet and a good night’s sleep is important for a child’s growth and development. However, we all know that children don’t always agree with their parents (or teachers) on what to eat or when to sleep.
Another aspect that is important is your child’s emotional health – do they feel safe and secure? It is not just do they know what they can and cannot do, but do they feel safe and secure?
We have noticed recently, some children’s behavior has been affected because their sense of security has been affected by change – a domestic help is on home leave, their teacher was sick and not in school, other changes at home such as moving house, parents changing working hours, parents being away on business trips or there is a new baby brother or sister. Often what seems to be a small change for an adult may be big to a young child. As adults we are better able to regulate our thoughts, feelings and emotions when things happen. For Kindergarten age children their executive functioning skills are still developing. Their impulse control is not as developed as an older child, they may not yet have the flexibility to adapt. If your child is also feeling tired from not enough sleep or a very busy schedule, then an emotional tantrum is even more likely. Children find it harder to regulate their emotions or behavior.
These are all normal parts of life but helping a child to understand and regulate their emotions will help them adapt and better cope as you guide them through change.
Validate and listen to their feelings – sometimes young children cannot name the emotion they are feeling. So we can say “I see you are feeling sad / angry / …. and that is OK. “ A big part of a child’s wellbeing is understanding their feelings. A child will be more calm if they know Mom, Dad or their teacher understand them. Often teachers will ask “Has anything changed?” when they speak to you about your child’s recent behavior.
Read books – reading a story about emotions and feelings can help a child understand their feelings.
Kindergarten recently purchased some picture books about emotions and have added them into the Free Choice section of our library. If you have a particular situation you would like a story about, please let me, your teacher or Ms. Pang know and we may have a book we can lend you to read at home.
Create Consistent Expectations – Children do better when things are consistent. They know how to behave in each situation, but when something else changes, there is no routine or rules, then a young child may not know how to behave. In their frustration then may cry or have a tantrum. Giving advance notice “in 2 minutes…”, “Tomorrow, …”.
To help us, if something is happening at home, please let your homeroom teacher know. We will keep your family situation confidential. Your teacher, myself or Ms. Pang (our school counselor) are all here to help and give advice. Between us we have many years of teaching and understanding of young children’s development.
Blessings,
Gillian Wu
Kindergarten Assistant Principal
Important Dates for Jan & Feb 2026
Jan 30 (Fri) & Feb 2 (Mon) - Professional Development days (No School)
Feb 16 to 20 (Mon - Fri) - Chinese New Year Break (No School)
Feb 21 (Sat) - Classes Resume
Feb 28 (Sat) - Family Fun Day
If a different adult is coming to pick up your child from school, please notify the Kindergarten Office giving us their full name, Hong Kong Identity card number and their telephone number.
All people coming to pick up your child must:
Be on the authorized list on PowerSchool i.e. a parent has given us permission to release their child to that person.
Bring the purple pick-up card (original card, photographs will not be accepted).
In absence of the pick-up card, for persons we do not recognize we will either - check their Hong Kong Identity Card or call the phone number you have given us.
If we are unsure of the identity of the person picking up your child, we will check their identity.
If the person is not listed on PowerSchool, and you have not informed us, we will call parents to confirm.
If your child usually takes the bus home and changes to being picked up from school, please notify us. Please ensure that the person coming to school is on our authorized list. If in doubt, please give us their name
If you change or employ a new Domestic Helper, please remove your previous helper or add a new helper to the pick-up contacts on PowerSchool.
Parents, be empowered and equipped with the knowledge and resources you need to support your child's growth and success. This page provides resources, and we hope to help parents navigate the challenges of parenting and support your child's overall well-being. Make sure to check out our parent page HERE!
If your child is sick, please keep your child at home to rest and recover and notify the school by completing the relevant e-collect form on PowerSchool of:
Your child’s absence / number of days your child is likely to be off school
Your child’s body temperature (please state actual temperature, not just “has a fever”)
Once recovering from a fever (38C or above), please let us know the day and time your child’s fever subsided without medication. If you do not specify a time, we will use the time from your email. We can then specify how soon your child may return to school (48 hours after fever subsided).
Your child’s symptoms (not just “unwell”).
If your child has Chickenpox, Hand Foot and Mouth or other notifiable disease - please send in a doctor’s note confirming diagnosis. We also require a doctor’s note stating that your child is fit to return to school.
Red Eyes—conjunctivitis can be very infectious. If your child has red eyes, please give us a doctor’s note stating that your child is not infectious before they can come to school.
Department of Health requirements state that if a child has a fever (38C or above), or repeated diarrhea they need to stay home for at least 48 hours after the symptoms have subsided (without medication).
Even though your child’s fever may have gone, a child may still have a runny nose or bad cough and are not fit to return to school. Please keep them at home to rest.
Please do not send your child to school if they are still taking medication following an illness. The medicine may make your child sleepy and they still need time to recover and rest at home.
If your child has recovered but still has a mild cough (not chesty or coughing up phlegm), they may return to school but should wear a face mask.
International Christian School – Kindergarten
852-3156-1234 | kindergarten@ics.edu.hk | G/F, Kam Ho House (Block H), Kam Fung Court, Ma On Shan, N.T., Hong Kong
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