Dear Parents,
After the Fall Break, we will be holding Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs) on October 17 & 18 for you to meet your child’s teacher and to talk about how they are doing in school. If you have not yet booked an appointment, please go to the sign-up on the ICS Portal. We are also issuing Progress Reports which will be emailed to you on Thursday October 16. These Progress Reports are written based on observations of your child's development and progress in school up to the end of September 2025. All children are unique and develop at different rates. These Progress Reports are to help you as a parent understand your child's strengths and how your child is progressing against expectations. These expectations are listed on the Progress Reports and are based on our Early Childhood standards and the level of progress expected by October.
We report on your child’s
Social and Emotional Development
Language
Pre-Math Skills
Motor Skills
Bible
Chinese Language
Within each area, we report of different criteria which are listed on the Progress Report. For R1 parents this will help you understand how well your child is settling into school. For R2 parents, this will help you understand how your child has progressed since R1.
We report on whether your child is
"ME" - Meeting Developmental Expectations
Your child is consistently meeting the expectations in a given area across all of the criteria listed.
"AE" - Approaching Developmental Expectations
Your child may meet some of the criteria but does not meet all criteria yet.
Your child may meet the criteria sometimes, but is not consistent in school yet.
We say "yet" because we expect your child to progress in this area and be able to meet the criteria.
"NE" - Not Yet Exhibiting Developmental Expectations
Your child may not yet have reached this developmental expectation or we may not have observed this expectation at school.
Your teachers will write an additional comment to explain which areas your child is still progressing in.
Please note that the criteria for these reports is based on the expected development of the children by October. The expectations will increase for the end of the school year. So it is important to review where your child is meeting expectations and how to help them if they are still approaching expectations. For language, it is important that your child has an opportunity to listen to and speak English outside of school to help ensure your child’s vocabulary and fluency increase. Please read to your child, this is a great way to build language and also develop a close bond with your child. Encourage your child to share their thoughts and ideas and guide them to express their feelings, and to communicate with others (both with children of their own age and with adults).
Please continue to read the communications and newsletters from your teacher (via Seesaw or ICS email), these will guide you in know what your child is learning about in school so you can reinforce at home. Your support is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions please talk with your teacher, I will also be available if you would like to talk with me.
I hope you enjoy a relaxing Fall Break, and I look forward to seeing everyone at the PTCs.
Blessings
Gillian Wu
Kindergarten Assistant Principal
Oct 6 to 10 - Fall Break (No School)
Oct 17 & 18 - Parent Teacher Conferences (No school for students)
Oct 28 - Influenza Vaccinations
Oct 29 - Public Holiday
Nov 24 & 25 - Regular School for KG
Nov 26 - 28 - No School for KG
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.
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.
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!
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