Monday, February 20, 2017

Welcoming new families to school and the community

Welcoming new families to school and the community

Welcoming new families into the school community is such an important thing.
I have done this many time in different countries and school and also been welcomed by schools with my own children.  From both sides I know the importance of having a warm and open welcoming. Providing families with information that will help them integrate smoothly into the community.
I have experiences families with different religions, languages and educational backgrounds. I have children at my school that are immigrant children that come to Holland to escape their war ridden country.
For my story I will choose Zimbabwe in Africa. In order to get ready and welcome the child and their family I look at the records provided and try to get as much information I can regarding the families languages, religion and educational experiences.  I will try to make contact with the family before their arrival and welcome them to their new environment. I will ask the family to bring photos of their family and their country. As much background I can gather will help me to properly welcome the family. I will research Zimbabwe and the local language so that I can use a few words to make them feel at home. Knowing a bit about the reasons for moving to the new country and school is helpful for a teacher to prepare for a new family’s arrival.  I will see if I have anyone in the community that comes from Zimbabwe or a neighboring country that would be able to help welcome them.  I will make contact with the parent teacher committee so they too can welcome the family and introduce them to other families. It is important that my colleagues and other children know that the family will arrive and that they know the child’s name and do their best to welcome them.
I always like to have the children’s name visible where they can hang their coat and bag and somewhere in the classroom too. In this way they feel valued and have a place in this new environment. I will make sure to have some pictures of Zimbabwe in the classroom so the child has something familiar to connect with. It is essential to include the whole family in the integration of the school and the host country and culture. If a family feel comfortable and settled a child has a higher chance of success at school, Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010).

 


References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

2 comments:

  1. Hello Amanda,

    I always found it interesting to read your posts due to the vast experience you have in working with children. Getting information about the family is important and contacting them before they arrive is also worth replicating.
    Before we arrived in Brunei for our assignment we provided my kids new school with our information and filled out some questionnaires too. But we did not get this great treatment from the kids school teacher, which I think was very important, especially in an international school like theirs. My kids struggled a little bit to settle in. However in their classroom there is was a visible representation of a multicultural setting. They had their country flags against their picture and a short description of themselves as well as their hobbies. Family pictures also feature in their corners and their school work usually give them an opportunity to portray their culture.

    You really made the children feel welcome and settle in fast with your approach.

    Thanks,
    Blessing

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  2. Hello Amanda, I like how you mention learning a few words in Zimbabwe. Language is such an important aspect of culture. This will help the children and family feel welcomed and more comfortable. It will also help the teacher to understand what a child is trying to communicate. This can be especially useful when involving basic needs such as hunger or going to the restroom.

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