Tashkent International School

 The Transitions Cycle ◦ International and local students  Common Themes  TIS Transitions Umbrella ◦ What we’ve done successfully in the past ◦ Plan for this year

Family Entry Adjust -ment StayingExit

Local Family Entry Adjust -ment Stay- ing

 Excitement aka the “Honeymoon Phase”  Anxiety  Ambivalence  Unresolved loss  Issues become more apparent as students get older

 School expectations ◦ For local families (some international families) – adjustment to a school curriculum totally different both culturally and academically.  Social relationships ◦ Time it takes to develop friendships varies depending on the student. ◦ Culture of play – particularly in Elementary – may look & feel different for some of our students.  Language has a strong correlation with the above

 Fact of life for many of our students, both local and international. ◦ At TIS: reality of staying increases as students get older. ◦ Those who stay experience loss of their friends and teachers who move on.  Common feelings ◦ Starting over again with friendships – school can feel like a revolving door. ◦ Wanting to stay connected with friends who have left

 Reconciliation  Affirmation  Farewell  Think Destination Adapted from Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by Pollock and Van Renken

Think Destination Preparing for the next place. Farewell Saying goodbye. Affirmation Sharing appreciation for the people and places you care about. Reconciliation Resolving unresolved conflicts

 Ongoing successes ◦ Orientation at the beginning of the year. ◦ The role of the elementary/secondary homerooms and advisories: welcoming, ice breakers, morning meetings, team-building/social skills groups, etc. ◦ Principal’s Coffee Mornings for parents. ◦ Student Support Team ◦ Transition from 5 th to 6 th grade, including 5 th grade graduation. ◦ MYP Induction ◦ Celebrations during Elementary assemblies.  Challenges ◦ Admissions ◦ Language ◦ Entry and exit happens throughout the whole year. ◦ Time

 Short-term: ◦ The PYP tree and character education. ◦ SST referrals. ◦ Counselor is working on Welcome Club ◦ Counselor is preparing materials and resources that will be readily available to classroom teachers. ◦ Coffee Mornings for parents (schedule TBD). ◦ Ongoing inventory of TIS Transitions program. ◦ Exit – working with families/admin, Leaver’s Lunch, etc.  Long-term: ◦ School-wide transitions team. ◦ Parent involvement.