Here at BASIS International School Nanjing, we are delighted that we have begun the school year with all of our students on campus. The first week of school was full of excitement as the students met new teachers, friends, and navigated their way to their new classrooms. We loved hearing their laughter and seeing the joy in their faces.
Even though we have been able to welcome our students back on campus, we are not yet able to have our parents on campus. It is an important part of our philosophy that parents get to know their children’s teachers, so we can build a community of learning. BASIS International School Nanjing has implemented the Seesaw platform for informal communication this year. Seesaw will help parents see what is happening in their children’s classrooms, and will facilitate parents being able to get to know the teachers and what their students should expect from their teachers.
Pre-Kindergarten parents were greeted with this colorful presentation.
Engineering class looks exciting in this contribution!
Before the students’ first day, all early years and primary subject expert teachers, learning expert teachers, and teaching fellows shared a greeting on Seesaw to the families. Staff shared a little about themselves and gave parents a brief description of what their students will learn in their classes.
Primary teachers share about themselves and their classes.
Typically in the first week of school, BASIS International School Nanjing holds a Meet the Teachers night. The goal of this event is for parents to meet the teachers, see the school, and to understand what their children will learn throughout the year. We wanted to find a way to bring Meet the Teachers night to our parents, even from a distance. Utilizing Seesaw, each of our early years and primary staff prepared a bilingual video and uploaded it to Seesaw the afternoon of our scheduled Meet the Teachers night.
Director of Early Years and Primary School Lynne Morrin shares her philosophy with parents in her video.
As Director of Early Years and Primary, I opened each grade level with a message. My focus was on building a community of learning including teachers, students, and parents. The videos from all other staff then followed this idea.
Kindergarten teachers welcome parents and students to a new school year.
Parents were pleased to have this event brought virtually to them. We are fortunate to have a very supportive and engaged parent community, and this initiative has helped open communication between home and school in a positive way that will benefit the whole learning community throughout the new school year.
Lynne Morrin
Director of Early Years and Primary School
Director of Academic Programs
BASIS International School Nanjing
Read more about another unique Early Years and Primary School initiative at BASIS International School Nanjing here.
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