August - September 2015

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84 Aug-Sep15
LIFE&FAMILY
Getting Ready
Time to Learn
Since the first campus launched in 1965, Victoria
Kindergar tens has been at the forefront of
educational practice, and their literacy project is
a great example of how they’re combining the IB
curriculumwith the some of the world’s best teaching.
Tutor Time International Nursery and
Kindergarten caters for children from six
months to six years of age, in six locations
around the city. We spoke to the Guati
family to find out why they think it’s “the best
preschool in Hong Kong”.
With eight schools and one playgroup, Victoria has kindergartens
and nurseries all over Hong Kong. Each one is authorised (or is
a candidate) to offer the IB curriculum, and the group’s trilingual
programme prepares students for either international or local
schools.
This year, Victoria’s Causeway Bay and Harbour Heights
campuses implemented a new Reading and Writing Project, with
the aim of raising literacy levels across the schools. Developed
by the Teachers College of Columbia University in New York,
the programme works hand in hand with PYP (Primary Years
Programme).
The project allows students to choose books related to their
units of inquiry, and also to choose what they want to write about.
Victoria students start the programme in K2, just as they are
beginning the steps towards learning to read and write. Director
of English, Genevieve Best, says, “We balance our instruction
to give students’ varied experiences that develop varied skills.
The Reading and Writing Project is comprehensive but student
directed.” By helping students to understand what readers and
writers do, through a wide variety of texts, the aim is that they will
grow to be avid readers, writers and inquirers.
The project is being trialled in schools around the world, and
Victoria was chosen to take part in it in 2014. Teachers and
principals attended workshops at Columbia University to prepare
for the project, and it has alreadymade an impact within the school.
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to Read and Write
We are a Finnish/Italian family with two sons. Our
oldest, Filippo, is seven, and goes to HKIS. Our
youngest, Nicolas, is just over two, and started at Tutor
Time playgroup in October 2014.
We chose Tutor Time based on very strong
recommendations from our friends. Additionally, the
strong Mandarin focus was attractive to us. We have
been very impressed by the quality of both the English
and Mandarin teachers – the fact that they are actually
native speakers in their respective languages (which
is not always the case in Hong Kong) makes a big
difference.
We are seeing how quickly our two-year-old son
has developed in terms of his speaking, recognising
colours and objects, and learning numbers. Also
his social skills have improved dramatically since
attending Tutor Time.
Nicolas loves Tutor Time, thanks mostly to the
amazing teachers. They are very motivated, creative
and energetic. The tools, toys and environment are
absolutely wonderful, too. In our opinion, Tutor Time
is the best preschool in Hong Kong: it is run very
professionally yet with a lot of warmth and empathy,
making it the most wonderful learning environment
for any child.
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