Dear Parents,

We sincerely apologise for the delay publication of this issue. We have changed the format of this newsletter to html for better and easier access as many parents encountered difficulties opening the previous pdf version. The pdf format also created some problem such as distortion of words and took a long time to open up due to the many pictures that we have on each page. With the new format, you can access the newsletter via our school’s website at your convenience as we will link the newsletters to the website for at least a year. With the new format, it is possible to include more pictures which I am sure you will prefer. We are also in the process of changing all past issues to the html format but we need more time. Please let us have your feedback on the new version of our newsletter.

I hope you have visited the school’s website and will continue to do so because we will be constantly updating the site, uploading new circulars (under “Circulars”), consent forms (under “2009 Calendar/Events”), newsletters and events reports (under “2009 Calendar /Events – Past Events”).

We also take this opportunity to remind parents that we periodically upload pictures and videos of children during excursions and events on our school’s Facebook page. To date, we have uploaded 20 albums since October 2008 and 4 videos of the 2009 Chinese New Year performances. Every child present at the events and excursions will have at least one picture (usually more than one) in each album and that should be a good enough reason for you to visit our page to access and download your child’s picture. We ensured that all pictures are tagged and if you had registered your child as the Facebook user, a message will be generated to your child’s email address with the relevant pictures highlighted. You will have to go through the pictures or the tag message of the pictures if you are the registered user. If you have not registered as a user, you can sign up at www.Facebook.com and look us up by typing “Halifax Montessori” under Find Friends. Alternatively, we can send you a friend invitation – drop us an email or call us if you want us to send you an invitation.

We want to thank parents who have completed and returned the Parents’ Evaluation Form. We have compiled the survey and will be publishing the results soon. We appreciate your feedback and comments and are working on implementing some of your suggestions. A big thank you for all parents who distributed our Open House Invitation to your friends and also for attending the Parents’ Seminar and Health Talk during the Open House. The event would not have been a success without your participation. Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to Dr. Lim Kwang Hsien, parent of one of our student and a Paediatrician at Kinder Clinic, Mt. Alvernia Hospital, who took time off to speak about “Early Childhood Infections” at the Open House.

Yours sincerely,
Yeo Hwee Fung
Director

Paediatrician's Message
At our school’s Open House on 18th April, 2009, Dr. Lim Kwang Hsien, a Paediatrician at Kinder Clinic, Mt. Alvernia Hospital presented a Health Talk on “Early Childhood Infections”. It was a very comprehensive and informative session and Dr. Lim highlighted the symptoms, effects and prevention for the various common early childhood infections.

The infectious diseases presented by Dr. Lim (from head to toe, in terms of infected areas):

Meningitis / Encephaliti
Conjunctivitis
Otitis Media / Exterma
Upper Respiratory Track Infection
Tonsillitis
Bronchiolitis
Pneumonia
Gastroenteritis
Urinary Tract Infection
Septic Arthiritis
Cellulitis
Chicken Pox
Measles
Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease
Dengue Fever
Roseola (Exanthem Subitum)

For details of the symptoms and prevention of these diseases, please refer the following
MOH’s table and AAP website.