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Dear Parents,
I hope you all had a good half-term break and that you received your child's interim report. We apologise these came out a few days late. This letter is to invite you to come to school for our student-teacher-parent conferences (STPC) next week so we can continue to support your child's progress at school and for you to be part of the advice on continually improving their learning.
Continuing the change of format from last year, we have replaced the teacher-parent evenings with a continuous event for all year groups together on the evening of Thursday, 8th November (4.30 - 8.00pm) and all day (8.30am - 4.00pm) on Friday, 9th November when normal classes will be suspended. The event will be held at the Spahn Campus with teachers in all the classrooms. If it is difficult for any parents to arrange childcare for the 9th November, please contact Ms. Nora McCormack to reserve a place in a supervised independent study room in Jubilee.
The purpose of this event is to allow meaningful ten minute conversations between student, parents and teachers about their academic and personal progress and agree some objectives for moving forward this term. Interviews are offered with all subject teachers but it is also advised that parents find time to meet their child's tutor(s). The event is not compulsory for parents, but strongly encouraged for all, especially students who are struggling in some subjects.
The shift from a private, teacher led conference with parents to a triad conference is an approach that worked very well last year. The teacher takes a step back and is more the facilitator while the student takes more of the lead at the event, leading their family through a summary of what they have learned this year, how they learn best and ideas for progressing. Students must attend all interviews (in school uniform for MYP students please) and are advised to bring samples of (or simply refer to) work they are proud of, work they have found more challenging and work that shows progress. The teacher can then agree advice alongside the parent for ways forward.
We are again going to use our online appointment system to ensure waiting times are short and the event runs smoothly. The system link for this can be found at https://www.dwightlondon.org/my-dwight. A handy guide on how to use the new system to make appointments with teachers can be found here. The appointments system goes live on Thursday, 1st November at 01:00 am and closes on Wednesday, 7th November at the same time.
The system also allows you to send optional brief and confidential questions or comments to the teacher in advance of the meeting which can help make the meeting more productive.
Please note that you can also arrange an appointment with the MYP or DP Coordinators (Ms. Mather and Ms. McCaffrey) as well as the Dean of Students (Ms. Veschi) and Head of Personalised Learning (Ms. Sen). The system automatically links your child(ren) with these staff members as well as their subject teachers so please untick them if you do not wish to arrange a meeting. In most cases a meeting with the leadership is not necessary as the focus should be with teachers and tutors.
If you have any trouble making any appointments please contact Deirdre Guerin at the Spahn campus office for any support. She may be able to make adaptations to the electronic system to arrange a more suitable time. It is vital that all families maintain punctuality and respect meeting times to allow our staff to see everyone at the event. If you find certain teachers get booked up or the schedule produced is difficult, please do know you can make appointments on any normal day when our teachers have a free period.
We trust this plan meets with your approval and we look forward to seeing you soon. My office will be open at the event for any spontaneous appointments that should arise and there will be complementary coffees and teas served in the Dwight café if you have gaps between appointments. I hope the event is characterised by a combined home-school approach that helps bring out the best in our young students.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Atkinson
Upper School Principal
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