Dear Parents and Caregivers,
A warm and happy welcome back to the start of school! I hope you had an enjoyable summer, and your children are excited to start the new academic year. Welcome back to all our returning families and a special welcome to all those families joining QSB for the first time. The Quest team and I are now all back getting everything ready for the first days of school. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new families in the weeks to come. I wanted to bring to your attention several items as we get closer to the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
The First Day for New Learners
School starts on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, for all new learners. This will not be a formal day of learning and instead be an opportunity for children and their family to come into school to meet teachers and familiarize themselves with the school environment. We welcome parents to come into classes with their children at the mentioned times below. We have staggered the times so that should you have children in different classes you are able to attend multiple sessions.
Your child does not need to wear school uniform. We do ask that you bring a drink bottle and snack for the day.
For our new families when you arrive at school go straight to reception and we will have teachers and staff waiting to direct you to classes.
Nursery
As this will be the first time at school for many of our learners, we want to help make the transition to Quest as smooth as possible. This is why we have introduced ‘stay and play’ sessions for Nursery Learners. Each session will enable parents and caregivers to spend time with their child at drop-off to settle them in and increase the amount of time children are at school without a familiar adult progressively throughout the first week. ‘Stay and Play’ sessions will be explained in more detail by the classroom teachers on Sunday, September 3rd and a separate email will be sent by the Nursery classroom teachers Ms. Gracie and Ms. Gemma.
Stay and Play sessions on Sunday, September 3rd are at 8am-10am and 10.15am – 12.15pm. All Nursery families can select one slot for the first day of school where they stay and play with their child for the first hour of the session and leave for the second hour. To book your preferred session, please email the EYFS & Yr 1 Key Stage Lead on sanel.marshall@questschoolbh.com
Please pack a water bottle and a small snack for your child to bring with them for their stay and play session.
Reception
As this will be the first time at school for many of our Reception learners, we want to help make the transition to Quest as smooth as possible. This is why we have introduced a ‘stay and play’ session for the first day of school. Reception families that are new to Quest School are invited to come to the school from 8am-10am on Sunday, September 3rd. Parents and caregivers will be able to stay for the first hour of the session and leave for the second hour.
Please pack a water bottle and a small snack for your child to bring with them for their stay and play session.
Years 1 & 2
New families and their children are invited to come into the school on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, between 9.30am – 11.30am. Parents and caregivers will be able to stay in classes from 9.30-10.00am and will be asked to collect their child at 11.30am.
Please pack a water bottle and a small snack for your child to bring with them for their stay and play session.
Years 3 & 4
New families and their children are invited to come into the school on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, between 10.00am – 12.00pm. Parents and caregivers will be able to stay in classes from 10.00am – 10.30am and will be asked to collect their child at 12.00pm.
Please pack a water bottle and a small snack for your child to bring with them for the day.
Years 5, 6, 7 & 8
For all new learners, we will hold our orientation session on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, between 11.00am and 1.00pm. For our new families when you arrive at school go straight to reception and we will have teachers and staff waiting to direct your child to their classroom. A parent does not need to attend this session and instead can join the meet the teacher session on Monday, September 4th.
Please pack a water bottle and a small snack for your child to bring with them for the day.
The First Day for Returning Learners
Term 1 begins for all learners on Monday, September 4th, 2023. All families are invited to attend a ‘Meet the Teacher’ session with their children. To ease congestion of traffic we have staggered start times for the first day and when these sessions will take place. If a parent or caregiver cannot attend their allocated session to meet teachers all children will be able to go to classes from 8.00am. Gates to the school will be open from 7.40am with staff on duty to help direct learners to their classrooms. Parents are welcome to accompany their children to their classrooms on the first day for meet and greet sessions taking place and collect their children at the times below –
- Nursery – 8.00am to 9.00am stay and play and finish at 12.15pm
- Reception – 8.00am to 8.30am meet the teacher and finish time is 1.15pm
- Years 1 & 2 – 8.30am to 9.00am meet the teacher and finish time is 2.15pm
- Years 3 & 4 – 9.00am to 9.30am meet the teacher and finish time is 2.15pm
- Years 5 & 6 – 9.30am to 10.00am meet the teacher and finish time is 2.15pm
- Years 7 & 8 – 9.30am to 10.00am meet the teacher and finish time is 3.00pm
Morning School Timing Change and Before School Care
After receiving parent feedback, the school will now open its gates to children from 7.40am with teachers being available in classes from 8.00am. The school will still operate a before school care service from 7.00am to 7.40am. Please note this service will not be available until the second week of Term 1. Sign up sheets will go out next week.
Years 7 & 8 School Timing Change
To accommodate parent requests for more Physical Education lessons and to ensure we are covering the curriculum for middle school throughout the year the school day will now finish at 3.00pm for all learners in Years 7 and 8. Additional lessons will take place from 2.15-3.00pm on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. On Tuesday the school will still run after-school activities which Years 7 and 8 can opt in for. If your child is not participating in an after-school activity, they can go home at 2.15pm on a Tuesday only.
Uniforms
Uniforms can be purchased from both the House of Uniforms and Zaks. After feedback from families and the PTA the school will phase out items of the uniform once a preference has been identified by parents. For 2023 learners can wear uniform items from either supplier. We have checked with the House of Uniforms, and they have informed us almost all uniform items are well stocked with lots of sizes except for the PE uniform and items for Years 7 and 8. These will be available from mid-September.
School Canteen
After receiving feedback from parents and learners the school this year has changed suppliers to run the school canteen. Eastern Bakery will run the canteen service starting from Tuesday, September 6th. Eastern Bakery will offer a cashless service whereby families can top up cards to be used at the canteen. This service will take a few weeks to establish so ask if your child wants to access this service before cards are introduced to send them with small change. The canteen will be open for Years 2-8 from Sunday through to Thursday. Nursery to Year 1 learners will be able to go with their homeroom teacher on a Thursday only.
Furniture and Improvement Projects
It will be exciting for learners when they return to see all the projects that have been completed over the summer. Our library, DT lab and classroom projects are now complete. Unfortunately, there is a delay on our shipment of new furniture. The supplier has informed us that the furniture will arrive now for the second week of September. This means that classes have a mix of old and new furniture until our shipment gets here.
Finally, please note that all learners and families will be fully briefed on the start of term arrangements on their first day back in their meet the teacher sessions.
Kind regards,
Laura Murray BA, BCA, PGCE, M. Ed. School Principal