ESF Acceptance Letter
- Thread starter spockey
- Start date
MamaShirley
Registered User
Yeah, I just got my baby's from ESF-Sheung Wan today for the K1 class next year. And she also got accepted at Victoria Kindergarten, now I am really torn between the 2 schools and don't know which one to choose! In terms of teaching quality, teaching style, and facilities etc. which kindergarten is better? Pls let me know!
It depends on what your needs are in the long run and your child's personality. I don't know what Victoria is like and can only gather that it is popular with mums who want their children to become effective bilinguals (but there is a debate there).
We chose ESF (in comparison to two other international school options) because
(1) of their IB programme in primary school. Didn't want to miss out the opportunity on not getting into an ESF school. The other IB schools were more expensive and when you compare the staff student ratio (not particularly interested in small class sizes because we don't think our son needs to be in a small class size), number of ESL students, facilities, it made very little difference.
(2) in terms of funding, ESF is well funded so I'm presuming in terms of infrastructure, we had more faith in ESF (despite not having an indoor swimming pool/tennis courts/ etc. - not an important criteria when you live in an apartment complex that has one!) - I'm more concerned about ICT and classroom facilities.
(3) hires only trained teachers. I've seen ads for other schools that don't require QKT or they say they do and end up hiring a Causasion (sometimes for the "Anglo looking" factor and not even from an English speaking country) - I don't care if my son's teacher is black, brown or blue, I only care that he is in the hands of a qualified and capable educator.
(4) ESF offers lots of extra-curricular programmes.
(5) For the 24 kids in a class, there is a main teacher and two teaching assistants (not counting parent volunteers) - Most schools have 24 kids with one teaching assistant. Teacher turnover is not a problem. Good balance of experienced and beginner teachers.
(6) There is a local feel to ESF that we like which balances out the international needs well.
(7) Good mix of students.
(8) Apart from the complaint that "there is just too many ESL kids at ESF", we have not heard anything particularly bad about ESF. In the words of Marty the zebra (from Madagascar) to the penguins, "I spreaken English" i.e. English is not an ESL for us so it's immaterial. :haha:ESF has a strict English policy. I have a colleague who is a product of a popular international school that cannot construct a good English sentence as he says that although these schools claim to be an "international school", Cantonese is still a dominant language of communication as it was just easier. All my friends who attended ESF are not ESL speakers for sure.
We chose ESF (in comparison to two other international school options) because
(1) of their IB programme in primary school. Didn't want to miss out the opportunity on not getting into an ESF school. The other IB schools were more expensive and when you compare the staff student ratio (not particularly interested in small class sizes because we don't think our son needs to be in a small class size), number of ESL students, facilities, it made very little difference.
(2) in terms of funding, ESF is well funded so I'm presuming in terms of infrastructure, we had more faith in ESF (despite not having an indoor swimming pool/tennis courts/ etc. - not an important criteria when you live in an apartment complex that has one!) - I'm more concerned about ICT and classroom facilities.
(3) hires only trained teachers. I've seen ads for other schools that don't require QKT or they say they do and end up hiring a Causasion (sometimes for the "Anglo looking" factor and not even from an English speaking country) - I don't care if my son's teacher is black, brown or blue, I only care that he is in the hands of a qualified and capable educator.
(4) ESF offers lots of extra-curricular programmes.
(5) For the 24 kids in a class, there is a main teacher and two teaching assistants (not counting parent volunteers) - Most schools have 24 kids with one teaching assistant. Teacher turnover is not a problem. Good balance of experienced and beginner teachers.
(6) There is a local feel to ESF that we like which balances out the international needs well.
(7) Good mix of students.
(8) Apart from the complaint that "there is just too many ESL kids at ESF", we have not heard anything particularly bad about ESF. In the words of Marty the zebra (from Madagascar) to the penguins, "I spreaken English" i.e. English is not an ESL for us so it's immaterial. :haha:ESF has a strict English policy. I have a colleague who is a product of a popular international school that cannot construct a good English sentence as he says that although these schools claim to be an "international school", Cantonese is still a dominant language of communication as it was just easier. All my friends who attended ESF are not ESL speakers for sure.
MamaShirley
Registered User
Hi, Spockey,
Tx for much for your input. In response to your arguments:
1. I have to say, I don't worry so much about my child speaks proper English. Though I was born in China, my husband and I had been living in the US since high school/college, so we both and the nanny, all speak English at home. Also of all the TV we watch, all English-speaking channels as well. So on the contrary to every other parents' concern here in HK, I want to emphasize that my child can have a good start in Chinese/Putonghua.
2. About the primaries. Do you know that Victoria actually just had a new primary built in 2007 at Aberdeen, and it also has the IB program...?
3. In terms of the quality of teaching staff, is it really Victoria's not as good as ESF? Of all the locals, I think Victoria is probably the best, so I would imagine that they can "afford" to hire really qualified teachers and TAs...
4. Now about the quality of the student pool. My argument is that during admission, at least Victoria does interview, which ESF doesn't. So wouldn't you say that the student pool might be a bit better then that of ESF?
5. Finally there is also the practical part to consider: we live in San Wan Ho district, and I called the bus service and was told that it was about 45 min from my place to the ESF-Sheung Wan school, while we can walk to Victoria's Lower Kornhill campus. Don't you think it's too much for a 3-yr old to commute 45 min each way everyday to school?
Finally, do you know what are the good primaries in HK? Is there a book/website where I can see the ranking of primaries?
Okay, that's all! Tx for much for your time!
Tx for much for your input. In response to your arguments:
1. I have to say, I don't worry so much about my child speaks proper English. Though I was born in China, my husband and I had been living in the US since high school/college, so we both and the nanny, all speak English at home. Also of all the TV we watch, all English-speaking channels as well. So on the contrary to every other parents' concern here in HK, I want to emphasize that my child can have a good start in Chinese/Putonghua.
2. About the primaries. Do you know that Victoria actually just had a new primary built in 2007 at Aberdeen, and it also has the IB program...?
3. In terms of the quality of teaching staff, is it really Victoria's not as good as ESF? Of all the locals, I think Victoria is probably the best, so I would imagine that they can "afford" to hire really qualified teachers and TAs...
4. Now about the quality of the student pool. My argument is that during admission, at least Victoria does interview, which ESF doesn't. So wouldn't you say that the student pool might be a bit better then that of ESF?
5. Finally there is also the practical part to consider: we live in San Wan Ho district, and I called the bus service and was told that it was about 45 min from my place to the ESF-Sheung Wan school, while we can walk to Victoria's Lower Kornhill campus. Don't you think it's too much for a 3-yr old to commute 45 min each way everyday to school?
Finally, do you know what are the good primaries in HK? Is there a book/website where I can see the ranking of primaries?
Okay, that's all! Tx for much for your time!
Neha
Banned
u can still receive letters but if u dont receive it now, what happens accordingly to the flyer they sent us. We are having a tour of the school on 21st Jan and then within 3-5 days we must inform the school whether we accept their offer or not. Once they have everybodys reply then they will start sending the 2nd round of offers