Newsletter February 2010
Dear Parents / Guardians,
We would like to wish you a prosperous and healthy year of the Tiger. Now that winter's gone, the beginning of spring brings excitement, a sense of new life and fresh start. Flowers bloom and trees get buds receiving the nature's substance to grow strong and healthy. It reminds me of Tivoli children as they started like a small shoot and with the teachers' cultivation, they absorb all the love and care (the nutrient) they need to help them grow strong and healthy. As time goes by without noticing, the 2009-2010 school year has already come half way through. I believe that parents have been very pleased to see their children's school life and improvement in various aspect of learning, including self help skills. As early childhood educators, we feel the same as nothing is better than seeing your child develop and make progress. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuous support, trust and maintaining the home-school partnership.
Experience is an integral part of learning
Experience is a process one has to undergo on the journey of learning and growing, just like the way we promote our educational belief 'to allow children to learn through hands on experiences and to progress from experience'. We adults have many different ways to solve problems when encountered and that's because we have accumulated a lot of experiences. It applies the same to the children with learning as they build up their experiences. Following are stories to share with you...
Story One...
One day, a mother took her child to the park's sand pit to play. The child found a soda bottle in the sand and then started to put sand into the bottle. The child could only pinch a very small amount of sand into the bottle at a time. The mother at this time came up to the child and tore a piece of her magazine paper and made into a funnel. She inserted the funnel into the mouth of the bottle and then scooped up handful of sand and poured into the bottle through the funnel and in no time the bottle was filled up. The mother told the child that he was stupid and the way he put the sand into the bottle would take him forever....
Story Two...
The second story is quite similar with the first one except the method the mother used was different from the previous one.
When the mother saw the child trying to put sand into the bottle a bit at a time, she observed patiently. Later, she noticed that her child realized that this was not the best way and then moved away from the sand pit and started looking for other objects to scoop the sand. At this moment, the mother smiled as she knows what her child was thinking. The child found a twig and used it as a spoon, but failed. The child did not give up and came up with many different ideas, but still failed. At this time, the mother came over and gave him some hints. At last he used his own way to filled up the bottle. He found a leaf and used it to transfer sand into the bottle. Later, he rolled up one leaf as a funnel and then used another one to scoop up the sand and put it through the funnel and finally, he filled up the whole bottle with sand. He was very proud with a sense of achievement; he ran to his mother and said 'I did it!'
According to the above two examples, we can see the importance of the learning process in a child. Being parents, of course we love our children and by nature would contribute to them unlimitedly. However, besides teaching them and helping them, children also need time and space to allow them to experience their learning. From the above stories, which parent are you? Just like the two circles on our school logo, circles have infinite transformation. It is important that we see things from children's perspectives and provide them vast amount of time and space for creations and imaginations. Let's work together to provide our children the best learning environment and experiences.
Special thanks to parents for your support with Tivoli's new image!
Thank you for your support for the new school logo and other changes made from the new school logo. Our school has envisions and embraces the move with times and innovation that allow us to create a good development for children and prepare to face the future challenges. In the globalization trend, the world is changing every split second; our education system and equipment needs to align with international practices. Therefore, during the 10th anniversary celebration, we have created a new image of Tivoli that incorporates with the international trend. It is aimed at allowing Tivoli children to learn through the significance of 'Child Centred Approach'. We would like to thank both the former and current parents for your support for the new uniform as we work together hand-in-hand for a new Tivoli image. The new uniform and the new school logo are just a part of the school's development; we hope that with our ceaseless hard work, parents will appreciate and acknowledge Tivoli's enthusiasm and devotion towards early childhood education and our firm perseverance toward the development of the school.
A good education programme takes time to develop
Tivoli started with about 13 students and with your continuous support and trust, Tivoli has established well. The third branch 'Tivoli International Playschool' in Tsing Yi Garden is opening soon. We will continue to persist in our educational beliefs to provide children with a stimulating learning environment to facilitate their needs and development. As per a Chinese proverb: Guanzi - "When planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train and educate people." (http://www.amadaproject.info/) There's nothing more rewarding than cultivating and educating our new generation. We strongly belief that each person possesses his/her own very special talent and our mission is to help them discover their potentials and explore to learn more. It is also important to help them set a solid foundation and enjoy the remarkable learning process.
The new branch is mainly to cater the needs of the development of the international section. If you have any friends or relatives with children who are already 2, they may apply for the playgroup class in March 2010. Regarding the enrolment for the August 2010-2011 school year, it depends on the availability of school place in August.
Christmas Fund-raising and Family Disco
We would like to express our greatest gratitude for your active participation for the Christmas Fund-raising and Family Disco held last December 19, 2009. There were three sessions of shows that day and every single one of them was splendid and remarkable. The disco dance part was the high point of the day that all the teachers, students and parents danced on the stage and off the stage. The day ended with laughter and positive remarks. We raised the total of HK$40,460.00 this year.
This year, we did not deduct any administrative expenses. The full amount was donated to the China Star Light Charity Fund Association for the children in China who have heart problems and need surgery. Once again, we would like to thank you for your generous donations and for remembering those in need on this festive time of the year. Your love, care and warm wishes have been sent to the children.
Tivoli Activities|
Time and date |
Activity and Place |
Content |
Remarks |
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Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. |
Family Field trip to Kam Tin Country Club |
To enjoy the nature and a weekend full of fun activities and events with family. |
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March 2 to 12, 2010
|
Dragon Passion Ambassador Contest Place: Tivoli Kindergarten & Tivoli Nursery |
In own school
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April 16 to June 25, 2010 (Fridays)
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m |
Tivoli Parent Choir
Place: Tivoli Nursery |
A form of home-school partnership to elevate one's singing technique. For those parents who enjoys music |
No classes on April 30 and June 18 available seats: 40 persons |
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
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Kiddies and Family Olympics Place: Tsing Yi Sports Ground |
Various sports activities for both parents and children
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Finally, on behalf of all the teachers and staff of Tivoli, I would like to wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Year of the Tiger!
Yours truly,
Carmen Chan Ka Mun, JPChief Principal