1. What do you mean by 50/50 bilingual immersion?
3e students from preschool through grade two are immersed in two class rooms each day: half of the day in English and half of the day in Chinese. Through this immersion they learn both languages as a first language, as opposed to treating either of the languages as a foreign language to be learned and only dedicating a couple of hours to it each week.
2. What is your relationship
with other educational pedagogies such as Montessori, Multiple
Intelligences and Reggio Emilia?
3e International uses a research-driven, western approach to teaching in both our Chinese and Western classrooms. The curriculum includes best practices in early childhood education and has been written expressly for children in our dual-immersion program. Therefore, while it may include some of the better instructional and theoretical features of such programs as Montessori, Multiple Intelligences, and Reggio Emilia, it does not mimic them. Both child-initiated and teacher-directed activity is included in each classroom as appropriate. We recognize that children have an innate ability and desire to learn, that they are unique and learn in different ways, and that childrenĄ¯s natural curiosity and interests should serve as the basis of teachersĄ¯ planning. These are features that are also characteristic of the pedagogies named above and other developmentally appropriate programs. Because we are developing bilingual learners at 3e, language and literacy are much stronger components of the 3e curriculum than in other programs. In addition, the childĄ¯s social emotional development is viewed as a critical component in establishing an effective learning climate.
3. What are your age groups?
Age groups include Nursery (18 months- under 3 years), Preschool (3-4 years, and 4-5 years), Kindergarten (5-6 years), Grade 1 (6-7 years), and Grade 2 (7-8 years). Our cut-off date is October 1.
4. Where are your
students from?
As an international school we welcome students from all over the world. Currently, we have students from 22 nations and for many of our students Chinese and English are their third and even sometimes fourth language. We are not able to accept students without an international passport or HK/Macau/Taiwan residency. Please see the Admissions tab for more information.
5. What is the class size?
Consistent with longstanding research results, 3e strongly believes that early childhood education is most successful in small classroom settings. We have a commitment to small classroom sizes and we believe this distinguishes us from many other international schools.
The maximum number of students in one class is 16 for Preschool through Grade 2 and 12 for Nursery students.
6. How many teachers are there in each classroom?
Nursery children are supported by three teachers: One English Speaking and Two Chinese Speaking. This provides a high-touch teacher:children ratio of 1:4.
Each day children in Preschool through grade two will spend half their day immersed in an English Classroom with two teachers and half their day in a Chinese class room with two teachers. Again, each class has a low teacher:child ratio of 1:8.
Additionally, children also regularly benefit from instruction from our on-site Resident Artist/Art Instructor, Music Teacher, and PE Teacher.
7. Where are the teachers from? What about their credentials?
Western teachers are native English speakers mainly from the United States with some teachers from the UK. All of our lead teachers have bachelorsĄ¯ degrees and some are working on masters in Early Childhood Education. Many of our Western teachers are graduates of our U.S. based affiliate Michigan State University. Chinese teachers are mostly from Beijing, with most of the Chinese staff having graduated from our China affiliate Beijing Normal University.
8. Does my child need to be toilet trained
to begin school?
It is not necessary and we are happy to be a partner in the process of toilet training your child. Please feel free to discuss your child's progress with his or her teachers. In addition, we are happy to provide additional advice in any way we can.
9. May I visit the school?
Please come visit 3e. A visit is worth a thousand words. The principal leads group tours on Tuesdays at 10:00am. Or, we are happy to schedule a private visit that accommodates your schedule. Our office of admissions is open weekdays between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm. An appointment to ensure that you may have a full tour is recommended. To make an appointment, please call (8610) 6437 3344 ext 100. or click
here.
10. What are the school hours?
Full day Nursery, Preschool, Kindergarten, and Elementary classes begin in the morning at 8:30 am and end at 3:30 pm. Our half day Nursery program begins at 8:30 am and ends at 11:30 am, with the option to stay through lunch and conclude the day at 12:00noon.
11. Do you offer a half day option for the Preschool or Kindergarten program?
We offer a half day program for Nursery. The Preschool and Kindergarten curriculum is designed to allow children ample exposure to two languages and two methods of instruction in two different cultural settings.
