Infant Handbook 2022-2023

Tanglin Trust School Infant 2022-2023ParentSchoolHandbook

Infant School Daily Routine 14 Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures 15 School Buses 15

Communication with Parents 16 Parent Teacher Conferences 17

What Should Children Bring to School? 12

Changes to Going Home Arrangements 16

Open Morning Sessions 17

Outdoor Education 18

What Should Children Not Bring to School? 12 Snack and Lunch 13 Lost and Found 13

Absence from School 9 Uniform 10

Reporting: Nursery 17

Friends of Tanglin 22 ParentWise 23 Health Centre 23 Library 23

Reporting: Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 17

CONTENTSWelcomefromtheHeadofInfant School 6

Parent Volunteers 22

Co-Curriculum 20

Birthdays 22

Infant School Leadership Team (ISLT) 9

Safeguarding 24

Once your child has started at Tanglin, your class teacher will send home a bookmark which will explain which reading or library books your child will come home with and which days they need to be returned. This will also include information about PE lessons, so you will know which days to send your child with the appropriate kit.

Our children are exposed to an abundance of amazing opportunities at Tanglin. In order for you to keep up to date with all of the important announcements and messages, please read our newsletter In Touch which is sent out each Friday via email. Reading the Infant School section will ensure you do not miss any important upcoming activities or events.

I hope you enjoy being part of the Infant School and I look forward to seeing you around the school.

Welcome from the Head of Infant School

Dear Parents,

I am delighted to welcome you to the Infant School and I hope that you and your family settle in as quickly as possible. As a Senior parent myself, I am conscious of how overwhelming it can be for both children and parents when starting a new school. I hope this guide will help answer some of your questions.

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You may hear us refer to Milestone 1, which refers to Nursery, Reception and Year 1; and Milestone 2, which refers to Year 2.

Paula Craigie Head of Infant School

or

Miss Sonya Stevens Head of Reception sonya.stevens@tts.edu.sg

Deputy Headteacher (Academic) jo.osman@tts.edu.sg

Mr Jon Pavey

Miss Jo Eccles Head of Learning Support jo.eccles@tts.edu.sg

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If

Mrs Victoria Thomas Head of Nursery victoria.thomas@tts.edu.sg

Infant School Office: +65 6778 5577 email infant.school@tts.edu.sg. your child is absent due to illness, please email your child’s class teacher before 7.45am or the Infant School office if after 7.45am.

InfantfromTeamLeadershipSchool(ISLT)AbsenceSchool

Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral) jon.pavey@tts.edu.sg

Mrs Jo Osman

You can email any member of staff by using the following email structure: firstname.surname@tts.edu.sg

Mr Fraser Brill Head of Year 2 fraser@brill@tts.edu.sg

Ms Paula Craigie Head of Infant School paula.craigie@tts.edu.sg

Mrs Rebecca Whelan Head of Year 1 rebecca.whelan@tts.edu.sg

• Cotton seersucker shirt in Tanglin plaid design, worn outside shorts

• Black or dark blue leather shoes (not trainers or sports shoes)

All of the following items (apart from shoes) are available to buy in the School Shop:

• White socks

• House T-shirt

All Infant children wear a uniform which can be purchased from the School Shop, on Level 3 of the Nixon Building. All uniform items should be clearly labelled with your child’s full name.

Boys’ Uniform

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• Cotton seersucker dress or skort in Tanglin plaid design

• White socks

• Simple hair accessories, ribbons or clips in black, blue, red, green or Tanglin plaid (available from the School Shop).

Girls’ Uniform

Jewellery (other than for religious significance or a simple analogue watch), nail polish and temporary tattoos should not be worn.

• House T-shirt

• Black or dark blue leather shoes (not trainers or sports shoes).

• Dark blue knee-length shorts

Uniform

NEW PARENT HANDBOOK 11 PE • Red cotton Tanglin PE T-shirt, worn outside shorts • Blue cotton shorts • Trainers (white or coloured, but must not have flashing lights). Swimming One or two piece (top and shorts) SunSmart swimsuit (not compulsory for Nursery).

What ChildrenShouldBringtoSchool?WhatShouldChildrenNotBringtoSchool?

• Red brimmed school hat, and reading folder to protect books.

• Nursery children should also bring in spare underwear, in a Ziploc or similar bag (with their name on), in case it gets wet at school.

• Jewellery (other than for religious significance) or a simple analogue watch. Nail polish and temporary tattoos should not be worn.

• Handphones, AirTags, or any form of pocket computer or electronic gadget.

• Toys, including electronic games and pets.

• Items of value.

*Please note that Tanglin has a no nuts and no sesame seeds policy.

Please apply mosquito repellent and sunscreen to your child before school.

• Lunch and healthy morning snack in lunch box/bag which is clearly labelled with the child’s name.

• Official Tanglin backpack, with one small keychain (if desired).

Children are not required to bring water bottles to school as water is provided in individual cups in the classroom. However, children are permitted to bring in an empty, named water bottle if preferred.

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Parents of Year 1 and 2 children can opt for their child to buy a school snack and packed lunch. These should be ordered and purchased in advance via the online Parent Portal, at http://myportal.tts.edu.sg.

Snack

If your child has any food allergies, please advise your child’s class teacher and the Infant Health Centre at the beginning of term.

Please note that Tanglin is a no-nuts zone. We urge everyone to ensure that no nuts, nut products, or products containing sesame are brought in from home.

Please ensure that all items your child brings into school are clearly labelled with your child’s name so that lost property can be returned. Any unnamed items will be taken to the Lost Property Office, located on Level 1 of the Senior Faculties building, opposite Car Drop Off 2.

Infant children should bring a snack for mid-morning and a packed lunch. Meals/snacks are not provided by the school.

LostLunchandandFound

We encourage parents to send their child to school with a healthy snack and lunch, and we do not encourage sweets, chocolate or sugary items as snacks. Instead, parents should consider fruit, cheese, crackers, raisins, yoghurt or sandwiches. Foods which could be considered as a choking hazard when whole, such as cherry tomatoes or grapes, should be cut into smaller pieces.

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From 7.30am Children proceed directly to classrooms

Nursery

From 8.45am Children may proceed directly to classrooms on arrival 9-10.30am9am Day begins with registration

School hours for children are from 9.00am until 1.50pm, although Nursery children have the option to finish at midday. The children can stop for snack between 9.00-10.30am. Each Nursery classroom has adjoining toilet facilities and children are encouraged to use these as and when they need to. All Nursery children must be toilet-trained before they join Tanglin.

1.50pm Teachers lead children to 1.50pm buses. Children going home by car should be collected from their classrooms at 1.40pm where a TLA is supervising

Children arriving before 7.30am should wait with an adult until the doors to the Infant School open at 7.27am 7.55am Day begins with registration 8am Lessons begin 9.30am Reception and Year 1 Snack time Year 2 Outdoor play 9.45 / 9.50am 10.05am– Reception and Year 1 Outdoor play

Infant School Daily Routine

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9.45am Year 2

Return to class and commence snack 10.10am Lessons resume 12.10pm Reception, Year 1 and Year 2: Lunch and outdoor play 12.45pm End of lunch time 12.50pm Lessons resume 1.50pm Teachers lead children to buses. Deputy Headteachers and TLAs lead children to Gate C Drop Off 1 and supervise pick-up.

Reception – Year 2

If children arrive after 7.55am, they must go to the Infant Office to be registered. Attendance and punctuality are shared in children's reports.

School hours for children are from 7.55am until 1.50pm - with a mid-morning break between 9.30am and 10.10am, and a lunch break between 12.10pm and 12.50pm.

Children are able to stop to eat a snack 12.00pm Children going home for lunch can be collected from their classrooms where a Teaching and Learning Assistant is supervising 12-1.50pm Lunch and playtime

KAL Transport Office is located on the ground floor of the Infant School.

A list of bus routes can be found on the Tanglin Trust School website (tts.edu.sg) under School Life/School Services/Transport/Bus Information.

Email: transportservices@tts.edu.sg

Tel: +65 6776 7371 (no messages please)

Tanglin Transport Services Manager Laura Moran

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Drop Off and Pick ProceduresUp SchoolBuses

The school bus service is provided by KAL Transport and they should be contacted directly to arrange your child’s bus transport.

Every school bus has a "bus aunty" who ensures the safety and wellbeing of children on the bus during their journey to and from school. Bad language and any misbehaviour will be reported to the school.

Parents collecting their Nursery child at midday should wait by the benches outside the Early Years playground for a teacher to bring the children outside. Nursery children who stay for a full day may be collected from their classroom at 1.40pm.

Children who arrive by car are greeted by a Deputy Headteacher. Children who arrive by bus are met off the bus by the Head of School and a Deputy NurseryHeadteacher.children are greeted by the TLAs and escorted to their classrooms in small groups.

Transport Service Provider (KAL Transport Pte Ltd)

Open Monday to Friday, 6.45am - 5pm

Parents collecting Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 children should wait in the Infant Walkway outside of the Early Years playground around the benches nearest to the staircase towards Gate C.

Email: KALtransport@tts.edu.sg

Tel: +65 6770 3503

Nursery children can be dropped off at class from 8.45am. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 may be dropped off from 7.30am.

Every family is emailed with a username and password for the Parent Portal once they have joined the school. A one-stop shop for all information regarding Tanglin, it features "Quick links" to the school calendar, contact directory, and other relevant sections. Training sessions for the portal are run by the Marketing and Communications Team at the beginning of each term.

In Touch

Your child(ren)’s going home arrangements should be updated on the Going Home Arrangements page on the Parent Portal. Going home arrangements should be updated here no matter how your child goes home (by parent/ helper pick up or by bus) or even if your child has the same arrangement every day so class teachers can confirm the information on the system. Please note that any changes to going home arrangements must be done online before 9.30am on the day of the change. If you do need to make a last minute/unplanned change to your child’s going home arrangements, please contact the Infant Office on 6778 5577 before 1pm. If you have any queries regarding bus arrangements, please do contact Laura Moran, Transport Services Manager at transportservices@tts.edu.sg

Parents should check In Touch each week for announcements regarding their child's year group.

The Voice

This biannual magazine celebrates Tanglin and is published in Term 1 and Term 3. Free to read, it is available from magazine stands around the campus and online.

This e-Newsletter is "everything you need to know about your child’s school" and is sent out every Friday. In Touch includes a key message from the CEO, Heads of School or other staff members, as well as links to in-depth information about each school and year group. This newsletter covers important dates, whole-school announcements, and community news and events.

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Changes to Going CommunicationArrangementsHome with Parents

Once each term, parents will be invited into their child's classroom to see their child's learning journey (Year 1 do not have an Open Session in Term 2 due to their concert performance). This is an opportunity for parents to participate in an activity with their child and spend time in the classroom.

Reception,OpenConferencesMorningSessionsReporting:NurseryReporting:Year1andYear2

These termly meetings offer you the opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher on an individual basis, and to review your child’s learning and next steps. In Terms 2 and 3, they follow the reports, so that you can discuss these with the teacher. We appreciate that in Nursery, parents need a little more support to settle their children into school and so their appointments are slightly longer in Term 1 and 2.

Parent Teacher

You can access your child’s learning portfolio through the Seesaw app. Teachers use this platform to record their key learning achievements, giving you an insight into their progress along the Infant School journey. In addition, you will receive a summative report at the end of the year.

In Reception, you can access your child's learning portfolio through the Seesaw app. In Year 1 and Year 2, your child will use the Seesaw app to record their own learning when appropriate. Their teachers will approve each post, and sometimes write or record audio feedback to move their learning forwards. As a parent, you can also respond to your child’s learning within the app. Around the middle of the school year, you will be updated on your child’s progress and next steps, as well as their attitudes to learning. At the end of the year, you will receive a summative report that details their attainment measured against age-related expectations, using the terminology Beginning, Developing, Advancing or Mastering.

Now that the restrictions on group activities and school trips have eased in Singapore, we are looking forward to planning a carefully selected range of school trips for all year groups in the 2022/23 academic year.

Heads of Year will inform parents of any upcoming trips through the usual channels such as our weekly In Touch newsletter and on the Parent Portal calendar. The Heads of Year will work closely with the Outdoor Education department to inform parents of trip details and what the children need to bring on the day. The wellbeing and safety of the children is always our number one priority, and every trip is carefully planned with an emphasis on effective risk

EducationOutdoor

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Due to the pandemic situation during the 2021/22 academic year, unfortunately we were unable to take Infant School children off-site for our usual schedule of outdoor activities and school trips. However, we were able to provide every Infant School class with opportunities for outdoor play and time in nature at our very own ‘Forest School’ - an inspired outdoor learning site on our own campus - throughout the year. The children enjoyed exciting activities such as ‘potion making’ with natural colours and dyes, outdoor treasure hunt, nature sketching and planting seeds. On Friday mornings, our Nursery children enjoy a series of longer Forest School sessions on campus with our dedicated Forest School Level 3 Leader Mrs Vanessa McCormack. We have learned a lot and we are committed to further developing our provision of Forest School and Outdoor Learning for all children at Tanglin.

Theremanagement.isagreat deal of evidence to support the idea that time spent in nature and outdoor education activities helps every child to develop a sense of self and grow their resilience and independence.

The Co-Curricular Programme offers a wide range of opportunities for Tanglin Activitieschildren.areavailable

for children from Reception to Year 2, with Nursery children joining the programme from Term 2 onwards. Activities are led by both Tanglin teachers and external providers onsite at Tanglin Trust School.

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Sign-up for activities is not on a first come, first serve basis and places are allocated via random ballot for any activities that are oversubscribed.

Parents are notified when the programme is open for registration via In Touch, the weekly newsletter. Registration takes place via SOCS, Tanglin’s online activities platform, which can be accessed via the home page of the Parent Portal.

Further details regarding the Programme can be found on the Parent Portal under the Co-Curriculum section.

Co-Curriculum

There are many opportunities for parents to help within the classroom and your child's teacher or class representative will inform you of these at the beginning of each term. Parents helping on-site are asked to exchange their Community ID for a Visitor's access card at the security guard house located at either Gate B or Gate C.

VolunteersParent FriendsTanglinof

Birthdays

Children can bring in cut fruit, small cupcakes or iced biscuits to share with their friends on their birthday. You can also order freshly baked cupcakes and bakery items from our on-site caterer via the order form on the parent portal. Teachers/TLAs are happy to distribute party invitations if every child in the class is invited.

Friends of Tanglin brings the Tanglin community together by facilitating the opportunity to socialise, network, volunteer and support the school. Friends of Tanglin welcomes new families and supports our class representatives, who act as a liaison between Class Teacher and Parents. Community events such as Welcome Drinks, Quiz Nights, Movie Night and the Christmas Fair are organised through-out the year. There are regular opportunities for parents to contribute to the school so please do keep your eye on In Touch for upcoming volunteering activities or reach out directly to our team at FriendsofTanglin@tts.edu.sg to get involved!

The Nursing Team will highlight any contagious illnesses circulating via email or through the weekly newsletter, In Touch. Please feel free to pop into the Health centre if you have any health-related queries regarding your child.

Our experienced Nursing Team who are part of Coordinated Wellbeing Services, are in the Infant Health Centre from 7.30-2.30pm to care for any children who may have sustained an injury or become unwell whilst in school. Our registered nurses work closely with the teaching and infant support staff when they accompany children to the health centre.

The Infant Library is on the second floor of the Infant School and is open from 7.30am till 4.30pm, Monday to Thursday, and on Friday until 3.30pm. Children are able to change their books before school each morning and Year 2 children are welcome to visit the Library in their morning break playtime from Monday to Thursday. Parents and helpers are welcome to come along with their children between 1.50pm and 3pm to share stories, help with home learning or to borrow new books.

Tanglin's ParentWise Programme was established to enable our community to connect with the school and provide a toolkit for Tanglin parents and carers to gain knowledge, increase confidence and seek assurance. ParentWise courses, information sessions and workshops cover four main themes: Educational and Curriculum Support, Parent and Student Wellbeing, Hot Button Topics and Inspirational Speakers. Sign up to ParentWise events is via the Parent Portal.

LibraryCentreHealth

ParentWise

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If a child is not feeling well enough to continue with the school day or has symptoms of a contagious illness, it will be necessary for them to go home to rest and recuperate. Parents are contacted to collect their child as promptly as possible. If your child is unwell at home with a fever of 37.5 °C or above, and/or any respiratory symptoms or symptoms of a contagious illness, please do not send them to school until they are symptom free for 2 days without the use of medication. If your child is off school with diarrhoea or vomiting, please also ensure they have been clear of symptoms for 2 days before coming back to school. This will ensure they are not contagious to others as well as giving their immune system time to fully recover.

Safeguarding involves keeping children safe from harm and promoting their wellbeing. Safeguarding is a priority in Tanglin - it is everyone’s job to ensure that children are safe. We welcome parents on-site as part of our community and request your support by adhering to the safeguarding rules we have in place such as; always wearing your lanyard, ensuring children arriving late are signed in at the office, and avoiding taking photos or videos of any children other than your own. If you have any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child, you can speak to any of our Designated Safeguarding Leads (any member of staff can direct you). We thank you for supporting our efforts to keep our students safe, and invite you to look out for safeguarding updates and information through our various channels.

Safeguarding

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Rebecca George SeniorRebecca.George@tts.edu.sgSchool(UpperSchool)

Pete.O’Brien@tts.edu.sg Junior School

Andy Andy.Goodliffe@tts.edu.sgGoodliffeSeniorSchool(SixthForm)

Richard SeniorRichard.Sellers@tts.edu.sgSellersSchool(WholeSchool)

SafeguardingLeads

Benjamin Benjamin.Walker@tts.edu.sgWalker Junior School

Paula Craigie Paula.Craigie@tts.edu.sg Infant School

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Jon Pavey Jon.Pavey@tts.edu.sg Infant School

Clare Clare.Lancaster@tts.edu.sgLancaster Whole School