PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES - FALL 2018

Dear BFS Families,

It is finally feeling like fall and Parent Teacher Conferences are almost upon us.  At BFS, we look at these conferences as a way of building a partnership between teachers and parents/caregivers. This connection is crucial for creating the best learning and growing experience for the children. We consider home and school the main nexuses for learning, growth and expressions for children. In order to facilitate this sense of trust between stakeholders, children need to know that the people who love and care for them at both places communicate and have a shared understanding and language. Parent Teacher Conferences are a great opportunity to do just that.

As your classroom teachers are sharing observations and thoughts about your child, you can think about the knowledge base you have of your child, and ways in which sharing information can further teachers' understanding of your child.

In the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education, the network of communication between the children, parents, and teachers is the foundation upon which exploration and the joy of learning is built, and one of the inspirations at Brooklyn Free Space. These 3 protagonists of the school community work together to create a spirit of collaboration. We work to specifically build a connection between teachers and parents/caregivers through regular communication, whether by person, phone or email, and through our classroom community forums and parent teacher conferences.

We hope you, as parents and caregivers, see your conference not just as a way to obtain information about your child, but also to share information. Your child's experience at BFS is built on the foundation of this shared knowledge. Although parents and teachers may not always understand each other's point of view, and may even have different ideas about their child's strengths, interests and needs, they always have in common a genuine concern for the well-being of the child.

Parent Teacher Conferences: The Guiding Principles

The commonly understood purpose of the parent/teacher conference at most schools is to have a discussion of a child's development, abilities, and the identification of future goals. While these aspects will be present in the conferences at BFS as well, we are also establishing a working partnership between teachers and parents.

The Parent Teacher Conference is an opportunity for everyone to better understand a child through their relationships- to the classroom environment, teachers, peers, materials, family members and home routines. As teachers prepare for the conferences, they will look at the whole child through these relationships using the anecdotal notes, photographs, samples work and videos they have made over the last few months of observations of your child at play. They will then confer with their classroom teaching team to talk about what they feel is important to share with families.

• Relationships with family members and family friends
• Ways your child likes to be comforted
• Household routines
• Your child’s play choices at home
• Discipline techniques that work and don't work
• How the child "used to be" as well as how the child is now

Your teacher will share what they know and see, which might encompass:

• Favorite play and learning materials
• What challenges your child encounters
• How your child interacts with peers and navigates friendships
• Your child's relationships to teachers
• How your child moves within classroom environment
• How your child tells others what he or she is feeling
• What your child talks about during the day
• Areas where your child is self-sufficient, and areas that they might need more adult support

Conferences will last approximately 15 minutes.  While we are conscious of maintaining timely visits, please be aware that there may be some flexibility of a few minutes on either side.  That said, if you believe you may need more than the allotted, please let your classroom teachers know in advance. Please try to be on time, as late arrivals may have to be rescheduled.

Schedule of Conferences:

Previous Letters

• September 2018 - Welcome to the New School Year
• July 2018 - A View into Summer and Beyond
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