How we connect with our families at the beginning of the school year

How could it already be four weeks since we welcomed new families and gave a welcome back to our returning families?  

As students and teachers have gotten to know each other, and settled into their new schedules and routines, we hope that our families have also gotten used to their new ones.  

Being aware that the beginning of the year can be both exciting and stressful for our families, we ensure that all the families can embark on the new academic year without any concerns by setting up multiple opportunities to look through the year ahead and connect with each other.

In the past weeks, we have had Back to School Night, PTA’s New Family Welcome Meeting, Listening Conferences, and Coffee Mornings, to name a few. 

Back to School Night

We were very excited to hold this event in person this year, because we hadn’t done so for a couple of years due to the pandemic. Our teachers in each department/grade level had a chance to introduce themselves and shared information about learning in their classes, such as learning goals and assessment criteria.

As a secondary parent reflected, “LOVED being in person on campus! LOVED the 30 min time to chat with teachers - very valuable,” the break time in the atrium was one of the highlights - the atrium was full of smiles and hugs, and we were happy to see lots of families (re)connecting even better. 

PTA’s New Family Welcome Meeting

Our PTA is very active and passionate. Every year, they organize the New Family Welcome Meeting and share practical information for new families, including tech support, fun social events, and extracurricular activities. It was a great opportunity for the new families to understand the school life better and get to know new friends.

Listening Conference

During Listening Conferences, our elementary school teachers meet individually with families. It's a time dedicated to discussing their students, including asking them about their goals and expectations for their children, as well as providing an opportunity for them to discuss any fears or challenges.

This also gives the families a glimpse of the students’ everyday lives, as the conferences take place in each classroom and the families can feel the atmosphere.

Parent Coffee Morning

Parent Partners, representatives from each grade level, organize a Parent Coffee Morning so that the families from each grade can get even closer. It usually takes place after the morning drop-off time, and the families spend a relaxing time in the morning sunlight.

Chatting in a relatively small group, everybody has a chance to talk, ask questions, and share useful information. 

It’s always exciting for us to see our families happily getting to know and bonding with each other. We are so grateful to our community for making everybody feel welcome and have a sense of belonging.