Dear Parents and Caregivers,
I hope your children have enjoyed the first week back at school! I certainly enjoyed my first week walking around classes seeing
happy faces and how excited learners are to be back at QSB. It has been wonderful finding out about adventures that families went on over the summer period and getting to know more about new learners that have joined the school. I was thrilled to see how excited everyone is with all the changes that happened at school over the break. The new library and DT room are already a hit amongst learners! I cannot wait to see what goodies come from the cooking room in the weeks to come.
This week was all about learners settling in. On Sunday we welcomed new learners and families. We also hosted a Meet & Greet on Monday for all learners and parents. Homeroom time was extended to provide anopportunity to learners to participate in ‘getting to know you’ activities. This was a great way for learners tofamiliarize themselves with their new environment, meet teachers and begin to form friendships.
Reflecting on a very busy week that seemed to have passed by in a mere few moments, it was fantastic to beback in school, surrounded by such wonderful young people. I am excited to see where this year will take us!
Communication
Each week you will receive a newsletter from your child’s homeroom teacher that will provide you withinformation on what your child has been learning and notices specific to them. You will also receive anewsletter from me every month which will provide schoolwide notices. We also welcome parents andcaregivers to come to the school and meet with teachers and myself – I love meeting with families to hear howtheir children are doing! We ask that you book these meetings in advance through Wendy at reception, sowe know when to make ourselves available.
Parent partnerships
I am a firm believer that education of learners and schools work best when there is a strong partnership between parents, learners, and the wider community. Last year the school introduced our PTA who were extremely active with improvement initiatives. Over the next few weeks, we will form our PTA for this academic year. If this is something you would like to be involved in, please watch out for communication, and sign up!
Activities
Learning is not only about what happens in the classroom. The school endeavors to provide an all-round education where academic pursuits are supported by extracurricular interests. Next week activity forms will go home to parents for learners in Years 1-8 to select activities. There will be activities run by the school and paid activities offered by outside providers. There is a limit to how many learners can join each activity; however, we will aim to ensure that every learner gets access to at least one of their preferences.
Before & After School Care
Parents have requested that learners be on school grounds outside of regular school hours. For safety reasons
the school cannot have learners on the premises without suitable supervision. For families wishing to
drop-off/pick-up learners at alternative times there is the option to join before and after school care program
run by staff. A form has been sent home to parents to fill out. Once the school has provided confirmation of
care a card will be issued to each family to present to access this service. It is important that when children are
dropped early that they are signed in and, when collected they are signed out by an adult who has this card.
Assemblies & Awards
It is important to celebrate the successes of learners. We will continue to issue ‘star of the week’ awards, and these will be done in class starting from next week. The assembly format will remain the same this year to ensure that this time is made a learning opportunity. Assemblies will be led by Learners with each year group having a turn throughout the year. Families of learners who are to receive an award will also be notified before the event. Parents and caregivers from the school are welcome to attend all assemblies, however, this provides families with a more specific date of when their child will take an active role. Year 5 will host the first assembly in October. More details will be provided closer to the date.
School Identification Cards
Thanks to those that have collected their QSB parent ID cards. Our goal is to provide every parent with an ID card. To maximize our security measures, parent/caregiver IDs will become mandatory for all adults who wish to enter the school premises. Soon, those without school issued ID cards will not be able to enter the school without submitting their CPR cards to security from Sunday, October 1st. All new families should have received their cards. If you need a replacement card or an additional card over an above the two the school initially provides these can be requested from our registration office. Each additional card costs 2BHD.
Events
Each year group will host events specific to topics covered in class, however, to help everyone get ahead with costumes and blocking out dates a calendar of events has been included with this newsletter.
Kind regards,
Laura Murray BA, BCA, PGCE, M. Ed.
School Principal