A warm welcome to the 2023/2024 school year to all of our families, new and returning! The beginning of every school year is exciting for everyone as students, teachers and parents look forward to the year ahead. The PYP Team has been hard at work over the past two weeks preparing for the arrival of our students and for another year of learning and joy.
We have an exciting school year planned for our PYP community of students, families and educators. We are looking forward to collaborating with you as we share the responsibility of educating your children. We also look forward to hosting you for the many special community events we have planned throughout the upcoming year.
We thank you in advance for your active participation in your child’s education and our PYP Community. Active participation includes many forms:
- viewing your child’s portfolio entries on Toddle and providing feedback to them about their learning and progress
- attending school events (see below for the dates for the STEAM Event, Winter Spettacolo, Spring Arts Festival and Student Led Conferences)
- attending parent workshops
- participating in PYP and whole school action initiatives aimed at creating a better and more peaceful world
- actively communicating with your child’s teachers, including arranging Parent/Teacher meetings when desired.
We know you will stay informed by reading the School Office Notice each week. Doing so will allow you to know what is happening in our school so you can actively participate in your child’s education. Our aim is to focus our energy on your child’s learning and school improvement rather than constantly communicating reminders. We kindly ask you to review the 23/24 school calendar and note the holidays and school closure dates to ensure your child is present for learning when school is in session. H-ello App, as always, will provide you with a live up to date calendar of events taking place throughout the school year. Be sure you check this calendar regularly so you can take part in everything we have planned.
This year we will continue to use Toddle and H-ello to communicate with you. Toddle is used for attendance and to share evidence of your child’s learning. We will also continue to use H-ello for the School Office Notice as well as many other features. Please read this document which contains the instructions for downloading Toddle (academic and attendance) but please note that you will be able to access Toddle from September 4th onward. Instructions to access H-ello App (communications school-families + many features) will be sent to you next week.
I’m excited to introduce the 23/24 PYP Team to all of you. We are fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated group of educators working together to provide a stimulating and challenging educational experience for your children. Over the summer we had one further staff change. Gianluca Fantin has decided to accept a teaching position in another school much closer to his home. We will miss Gianluca but we are happy for him as he moves into the next phase of his personal and professional life. Replacing Gianluca as the PYP Physical Education (PE) teacher is Erik Román, who joins us from Switzerland where he has been working most recently. Another new member of the PYP Team is Monica Pigozzo who has joined the PYP School Office Team. Over the coming weeks Monica will take on full responsibility for the PYP Reception desk as Ms Antonella Conte transitions into a new role on the DP School Office Team. We will greatly miss our Antonella and we are grateful she will remain with the organization and be located only a brisk 10 minute walk away. Thank you for helping Mr Erik and Ms Monica feel welcome. You can learn more about each of the PYP Team members here.
This year we will hold Class Meetings immediately so you can get to know your child’s teachers and better understand the learning your child will undertake throughout this academic year. All class meetings will be held in person in the PYP Outlook as per the schedule below. You can also join the meetings virtually through this link.
Parent/Teacher Conversations
We know it is important for you to speak with your child’s teachers throughout the school year. During the upcoming Class Meetings, all of our teachers will share their office hours and appointment booking links with you so you can arrange meeting times with them throughout the year. Their office hours will continue throughout the school year so please ensure you make arrangements to speak with teachers when you feel it is necessary. Teachers will also reach out to you directly to arrange meetings if there are aspects of your child’s learning they want to discuss with you.
We remind you that our students should not bring items from home to school (aside from the learning materials on the equipment lists we communicated over the summer). Students should leave all toys, games, snacks, etc. at home in order to keep focused on their learning. PYP students are not allowed to bring mobile phones to school. Please contact me directly if you feel your child needs a mobile phone for safety reasons before and after school only. In these rare instances, we will arrange to hold the phone for your child during the school day.
Lastly, we will share the class lists with you on Monday, September 4th. We have 45 new students joining the PYP section this year. Careful attention and a great deal of time has been dedicated to creating new and balanced class groups throughout the elementary school. As our learners settle into their new class groups with new (to them!) teachers, they will forge new friendships, explore diverse perspectives and deepen their knowledge of self and respect for others.
We can’t wait to see everyone together again on Tuesday, September 5th, our first day of school.
Enjoy the last few days of summer!
Best regards, Jane Andrews
Upcoming Dates
September 4 (Monday) Honey Bees Class Meeting/New Student Day (no virtual meeting access for Honey Bee parents)
September 5 (Tuesday) – First Day of School
September 6 (Wednesday – 14:00) Reception Rockets Class Meeting
September 7 (Thursday – 9:00) Year 5 Class Meeting
September 7 (Thursday – 14:00) Busy Bees Class Meeting
September 8 (Friday – 9:00) Year 4 Class Meeting
September 8 (Friday – 14:00) Year 1 Class Meeting
September 11 (Monday – 9:00) Year 3 Class Meeting
September 11 (Monday – 14:00) Year 2 Class Meeting
September 11 (Monday) – First day for ALL PYP after school activities (sports, teacher clubs, arts&culture and supervision)
September 12-15 – Year 5 Residential Educational Visit – Lake Garda (BS)
September 14 (Thursday) – Y1 Educational visit Grape Harvest – Marteggia (VE) (details will be sent to Year 1 parents soon!)
September 26 (Tuesday: 9:00-10:30) Workshop: An Introduction to the PYP for new parents
Save the date for these special events for parents and students. Further details will be shared in the near future
October 23 (Monday: 14:45-17:00) – PYP STEAM event
December 13 (Wednesday: 9:30) – Early Years Winter Spettacolo
December 15 (Friday: 13:45-15:00) – Elementary Winter Spettacolo
March 28 (Thursday) – PYP Student Led Conferences
May 17 (Friday) – PYP Spring Arts Festival