BRADBURY NEWSLETTER – 13 AUGUST 2018

Dear Bradbury School Community,

It feels great to be back at school! A very warm welcome to the new academic school year, especially if you have just joined us. You have certainly become a part of a vibrant, caring community where our children are at the heart of all we do.

We welcome some new staff members:

Ms. Pamela Mirabella—1M Teacher
Ms. Caroline Cuddy—1ZC Teacher
Mr. Lewis Askew—2A Teacher
Ms. Sam Nicholls—PT PE Teacher
Ms. Athena Chow—2T Educational Assistant
Ms. Sharon Dsouza—2K Educational Assistant
Ms. Petra Lancelotte—3S Educational Assistant

There have been some structural changes to the way the school is divided. Previously, we had a three phase model of pastoral care. As from this year, in keeping with current thought around what constitutes ‘early years’, it will be a two phase model. So, Mr John Ainsworth will be the Phase Leader for Years 1, 2 and 3. Mr Steve Fennelly will be the Phase Leader for Years 4, 5 and 6.

This year, our new Mission and Vision statements will be implemented. Our curriculum focus is on literacy, led by Ms Therese Gallen. Over the year, this will mean an in-depth look at what we do and how we can improve/modify/affirm our practices. A part of this will be parent information sessions, which we hope you can all attend.

In a big school such as ours, there is always lots to know and find out. Please be reminded that there is a Parent Handbook on our website.

Our annual Welcome School Picnic will be held on the 7th September from 5-7pm. This is a great opportunity for all parents to mix and mingle, to get to know each other, as well as your child’s friends and parents. There will be more information closer to the date, but do please mark this on your calendar.

We will be holding Parent Information Evenings shortly as follows:

• Monday 27 August-Y3/Y4 Parent Information Evening
• Tuesday 28 August-Y1/Y2 Parent Information Evening
• Wednesday 29 August-Y5/6 Parent Information Evening

The idea of these is to give you a brief introduction to your child’s teacher and their class routines. I will present to you an overview of the year in terms of developments and direction for the school.  The Chinese team will also present. Again, please save these dates!

One of the best ways that we can help your child progress is to really know them. In order to help us do this more effectively, over the next few weeks, all teachers will be inviting you to come into school to tell them about your child, so that they can listen, learn and understand more. This is not a parent teacher consultation, but a chance for you to tell us things about your child that you think will be beneficial for us to to know. So, in many ways, it is quite the opposite of a parent teacher consultation session, in that you will be doing the talking and the teacher will be listening!

We have received our report back from the Council of International Schools (CIS) after their accreditation visit in May. This was following a 12 month, in-depth evaluation of  school practices against CIS Standards by all staff. The report will be up on the website shortly, but I did want to highlight a couple of sentences from the report and share these with you:

* The school is exemplified by cohesion and stability, which are not easy attributes in a dynamic international context.

* The evaluators saw a ‘well-oiled machine’ in relation to the day to day management of the school. Faculty and staff are appreciative of this and the freedom it allows to engage with educational vision rather than pragmatic function.

Below is my favourite statement. This is exactly what we aspire to for each and every one of our students:

* Students are at the heart of strategic decision-making. Enthusiasm, student empowerment and collaboration were the characteristics most prevalent in classroom visits. These were vibrant places where inclusion, peer and teacher consultation, teamwork and customised individual scope for engagement were the norm.

I look forward to a wonderful year working alongside you to help our children become the best they can be.

Regards

Sandra Webster
Principal