With four more weeks to go, we are now looking forward to our students returning to the campus on the 1st of November for year 1 to year 3 and the 8th of November for years 4 to 6. We all know that much of this year’s learning has been online and, although we would have wished for it to be possible earlier than this, we are still all excited to see as many children as possible back in school soon. At least our children will be able to enjoy the final weeks of the year with their friends and teachers.

As it stands, the SOP speaks of a 50% rotation. We are in ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Education to work out how we can arrange it in such a way that our students’ learning, well-being and safety can be maximised over those last few weeks. We will keep you updated and aim to give you as much notice as we can. As always, we will adhere closely to the SOP’s, putting all necessary precautions into place and ensuring maximum safety for all members of our community so everybody can return to school safely.

In any scenario, we will always make sure that all students can proceed in their learning. For those children who cannot physically be in school and for those who opt to not yet come to school, online learning with Zoom video lessons will still be provided. Following on that, may I request our dear parents to please do find some time to fill in Mr. Stefano’s short survey to indicate whether your child will be returning to school.

The other bit of exciting news is that Fieldwork Education London has confirmed that they will virtually, via Zoom, visit our school four times in November for a pre-accreditation of our IEYC (International Early Years Curriculum) and our IPC (International Primary Curriculum) programme. This is an external and independent verification of the quality that we offer through those curricula. The dates for the IPC are Tuesday, the 9th of November and Wednesday the 17th of November. The dates for the IEYC are Wednesday, the 10th of November and Tuesday, the 16th of November.
This process is called the ‘IEYC/IPC Recognition’ benchmark. It acknowledges that we are serious when it comes to improving learning through the IEYC/IPC and that we have the structures and systems in place that can be expected from a respected international school. These visits by Fieldwork will lead to our school being accredited with the title of ‘IEYC/IPC Recognised school’. It will be a prelude to our IEYC/IPC accreditation which is planned for next year, 2022.

For us, this 2-year process to accreditation serves several purposes. The main one will always be that we receive feedback and support that helps us bring our learning and teaching in the school to the next level. This benefits all in our learning community. It also serves as a confirmation that the implementation of the IEYC/IPC stands out from other schools that are working with those curricula. It also can be seen as a celebration of just how far our teachers and learners have come since we started with the IPC and IEYC in 2018.

The Recognition visits will, amongst other activities, include lesson observations, interviews with teachers and leaders and conversations with children and parents. If any parents would like to share their thoughts on how we help our children learn with the IEYC/IPC here at TISPC, please do let me know as we are looking for some volunteers to speak to our virtual visitors from London.

Looking forward to an enjoyable last period of our year, keep safe, keep sane!