Transitioning to TIS

Below you will see reflections and tips from parents about their transition to TIS.

• New families are invited to various events over the summer. Attend as many as you can.
• Bookmark the web site with resources for current parents: intlschool.org/parents.
• Read the Parent Handbook – a new version will be mailed to you in the summer and is also on-line at intlschool.org/parents under “Daily Life”.
• No such thing as a stupid question. The receptionist in your child’s building has lots of answers. You are also welcome to contact any administrative staff member any time about anything: intlschool.org/contact/
• Read In The Know regularly, the weekly parent e-bulletin that starts in July and continues throughout the year. It will be e-mailed to you on Mondays and is always available (with all old articles) at intlschool.org/itk.

Here is what new TIS parents say helped their transition into the school (we couldn’t make this stuff up!):

“The summer picnics for new families were especially helpful in making us feel welcomed into the new community.  We also really appreciated the meet and greet day, the day before the start of school.  That was such a great idea to get the children comfortable in the new classroom.”

“The friendliness/helpfulness of the “receptionists” (I think they are more than receptionists) was VERY meaningful and valuable.”

“The gatherings before school started and the meetings prior to school opening were very good in bringing us from ‘summer’ to thinking of school.”

“Going to daycare for 3 days a week in the year leading up to pre-k helped a lot.”

“Summer new family picnic – out child met two boys going into his same grade/track and one was even in his class which really really helped the first few days.”

“I signed up to be a room parent and attending the room parent orientation was extremely helpful. They gave us a lot of great ideas and I appreciate how accessible the PTO members are to answer any questions parents may have.”

“. . . visiting the classroom before school started and having the chance to participate in one of the summer school sessions!  This was a huge help in making the transition smooth for our son.”

“We think having the pre-k (3-year-olds) in a separate building is helpful.  Also, in preparation for TIS, we had our daughter attend 2 day per week (2 hours per day) nursery school which helped with her transition to full days 5x per week at TIS.”

“We loved loved loved the new family meet and greets!”

“The amount of communication from the school with us via mailings and email was especially impressive.  It made us feel like a part of the school months before Carmen’s first day.  Carmen loved wearing her t-shirt and it made her feel special.”

“The park play dates were brilliant it made our first encounter much easier.”

“Getting the names of children in our area to have play-dates before school started was helpful.”

“Enjoyed the pre-school year informal events. Gave sense of community and perspective. Teacher in classroom was awesome for child’s transition. E-mail updates provided a lot of helpful info.”

“It is obvious that the teachers have done this before.  They are good at dealing with first time preschoolers.”

“We enrolled our son in camp first and that made the transition to school a lot easier because of his separation anxiety. All of the teachers have been amazing and above average in every way. We feel like our child is part of a community and he is very happy there. The picnics were nice as well for all of us. It was good to see familiar faces on day one.”

“Our transition was difficult, but the playdate in the park in August helped immensely.  We met two families there who, although not in the same classroom, helped my child look forward to starting school and seeing those two students.  That is a great idea, and I will be happy to be at the playdate next year to facilitate that process for new folks.”

“The teachers are so nurturing and organized.  They provided direction to the classroom right away and really helped ease families into the transition. When I’ve volunteered I see how the children are thriving.  All my interactions with the TIS staff have been very positive making us feel very welcomed.”