Parent Feedback

Parent questions from ‘Parents New to PYP Session and New Admissions’

Where are the unit links for Grade levels?
Please ask your child’s homeroom teacher for any links you feel you are missing; they will be able to point you in the right direction.

How are the subjects like Mathematics interwoven in these units of inquiry, that predominantly feel more open ended?
The IB tell us that wherever possible Mathematics should be taught through relevant and realistic units of inquiry that are directly taken from the schools Programme of Inquiry (POI).  Sometimes, students need a series of strategies for learning mathematical skills in order to progress in their mathematical understanding rather than struggling to proceed, and these are taught directly.

Assessment
Assessment is part of our Action Plan for this Academic year.  During the course of the year, we will share with the learning community many different aspects of assessment such as:
How we can assess without grades 
Different ways of assessing 
Our Assessment Policy

Schedule
The reason behind the 8 day cycle is quite simply to avoid students missing the same subjects, should there be school holidays. 

Curriculum
With regards to curriculum, rigour and content knowledge and learning outcomes for specific subject, we will share these at our next PYP Parent Meeting. Through Seesaw, please get a glimpse into the curriculum. Also, unit letters at the beginning of each unit will share learning outcomes for each subject in the unit, including single subjects. Furthermore, parent workshops will take place throughout the year. For example, there will also be a maths workshop nearing the end of Semester 1. Curriculum presentations will also be posted on the blog, if you are unable to attend the meetings.

Differentiation
Differentiation is a vast concept to explore.  Parents should be able to ask teachers how learning engagements are differentiated for their child and what does learning look like for your child.

The Role of Parents 
Parents asked about their roles, and in particular, their role in the learning process.  We do post a variety of articles, tips, hints and advice on our blogs and we will do so on a weekly basis. Every parent has their own approach to parenting; we can merely provide some tools for parents who wish to think differently about their role as a parent.
We have room parents in Early Years and the PTA for Primary. Please reach out to these groups of people to see how you can help. We have also recently shared a ‘parent database’ so please add your area of expertise for us to contact you.  If you ever want to know how you can help with a unit, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.   
At the beginning of every unit, you will be shared a slide of resources you can use for discussion at home. 
Parents - please if you have any questions about your child’s understanding, knowledge, skills please make time with the homeroom teacher; don’t just leave it until conference time.

iPads
We have already run a boot-camp for parents on how we use the iPads in education for Grade 5.  We will provide more digital webinars for parents to show exactly what this means for our Primary learners.  We also have a session planned for our Early Years learners.

Single Subjects
Some parents asked about the role of sports (PSPE) and Music.  We have recently posted on the blog an overview as to what we do with these subjects.  If you wish to have a one-to-one parent conversation with a single subject teacher, they are available by appointment only and their email addresses can be found on the school blog.

Thank you,
If you have any other questions please forward them to your child's homeroom teacher.

​Miss Lisa