Dear Parents
I would like to make you aware of some transition opportunities that your child will be experiencing throughout the final weeks of term in order to prepare them for their transition to EY1. You will already be aware from my communication last week that you are invited to an online EY1 Parent Transition Meeting on Wednesday 9th June at 9:30am. This will be an opportunity for you as parents to learn more about life in EY1 for your child. The link to this meeting will be communicated as a bulletin and via Seesaw a couple of days prior to the event.
In order to support your child, we will also be holding two further opportunities:
Tuesday 15th June: EY1 Stay and Play
Your child will visit one of the four EY1 classrooms for a Stay and Play. Each class will be split into 2 groups and will complete a self representation which will be displayed in their new classroom at the start of the new school year. For this visit your child will be randomly placed in a class and therefore their visit will not necessarily be with their new teacher or in their new classroom. This is simply an opportunity to spend time in our EY1 setting and meet some of the adults they will come into contact with next year. Due to social distancing restrictions, we kindly ask that only 1 adult accompanies your child to this visit. The arrangements for the Stay and Play visit are below:
3:30 – 3:50pm: Airport and Safari
4:00 – 4:20pm: Castle and Garden
Please arrive via the gate closest to the pagoda where we will complete temperature checks and hand sanitising prior to welcoming you into the campus. We advise that you arrive no earlier than 5 minutes prior to your child’s allocated time slot as we will need to ensure adequate cleaning of the classrooms between sessions.
Your child’s class teacher will notify you of which classroom your child will visit and we will place lists outside each classroom door on the afternoon.
Friday 18th June: Moving On Up Morning
On this date your child will visit their new classroom and class teacher (if they are currently in Hong Kong). The children will travel by bus to and from the Early Years campus so there will be no changes to pick up or drop off arrangements on this date. On Thursday 17th June we will communicate your child’s new class teacher to allow you to help prepare your child for their visit the evening before. A reminder that as we are opening 4 EY1 classes next year, all classes will be remaining the same therefore your child’s current class list will not change, only their teacher. During the visit your child will spend time getting to know their new learning environment, teacher and education assistant. If your child’s teacher is new to DBIS and not yet in Hong Kong, we will share information with the children about them including an introductory presentation.
We know that transition can be a challenging and unsettling time for some children therefore these opportunities have been arranged with the intention of alleviating any worries and creating familiarity in preparation for August. Please do encourage your child to speak about the changes that are happening as they come to the end of their year in Reception and reassure them that whilst change can be unsettling, it is also extremely exciting and there is much to look forward to in EY1. It is important to reassure your child that whatever feelings they have about moving to EY1, they are perfectly normal and understandable. Your child will of course remain part of the Early Years phase and therefore they will continue to see many familiar faces including specialist teachers and members of the leadership team. If you have any questions throughout this period, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or a member of the Early Years Leadership Team.
We are excited to be looking ahead to next year with your children and supporting their transition as they move to their next stage in their learning journey.
Best wishes
Hannah Cole
Head of Early Years