We hope that you all enjoyed the recent Bank Holidays that we have had recently. We are so happy to see that the weather has greatly improved and we are at last seeing some Summer sunshine! It is incredible that June is already with us and the end of this school year is on the horizon. With this in mind we are busy planning our pre-school graduation event and a summer celebration for all of the children. Thank you to everyone for participating in our Art Exhibition that was running in our entrance hall - there were some truly amazing masterpieces on display all created by your children. The funds raised will be going to Theodora Clowns, Children’s Charity.
We will soon be sending out our new school year welcome letters but I would like to give you a bit of heads up. After eleven wonderful years at Tandem, I have decided that the time is now right for me to move on. I will be leaving Tandem at the end of December this year in order to further my studies in counselling and psychotherapy. Monica Mourao, one of our Pre-School teachers, will take the role of team leader in the Zollikon office. You will, I am sure, be very pleased to learn that Monica will remain as the English teacher in our Pre-School. A complete staffing update will be included in the welcome letters.
Please be aware that if you would like to change, reduce or increase your child’s day of attendance as of the first quarter of the school year 2021/2022 (August 2021), we would need to receive a new attendance form by Friday, 11th June 2021.
In August of 2021, I will start my new role as the Head of Early Years and Pre-School for the three Tandem IMS locations in Uetikon am See, Zollikon, and Zurich. I will continue as the Team Leader in Zurich and will also spend time each week in the Uetikon and Zollikon schools. As our Early Years and Pre-School groups have grown, each location has developed a unique individuality with respective strengths. I am excited to bring these qualities together for the benefit of our curriculum and school community. I am looking forward to working closely with Lynn, Monica, and the Zollikon team in this new capacity.
We have finished our Dinosaur unit and are now ready to start our final unit of enquiry - ‘Living Things’. We were so interested in all of the sounds that animals make in different languages, what the different animals like to eat, as well as the living things we found in our own garden and also how animals ‘grow’ (life-cycles). We are so looking forward to doing different activities throughout the coming weeks in order to learn more about our chosen topics. We will also have the opportunity to work outside in our garden and care for a variety of living things - we can’t wait to start!!
The Geckos have been spending time discovering the plants around us in Zollikon. During our final unit we will be focusing on all of the different habitats that live around the area. We are very excited as soon we will be Yellow Pre-Schoolers and every day we are getting ready for this new adventure! We can now raise our hands to ask for something at the lunch table and we have already learned lots of new letters of the alphabet. We are so happy!
We will be looking at space and creating our own planets and solar systems. We are all really excited to be doing experiments in this unit, for example, looking at how volcanoes erupt. We have also started to prepare for being Geckos after the summer holidays!
In our final unit we will be learning about nature, which we will explore by using our five senses. We will continue to look for signs of Spring and Summer and at the weather. Here, our senses of sight and touch will help us to discover these topics. We are continuing to use TinyTalk Sign Language and our signs this month will be based on the outdoors and nature. Please do remember to send in weather appropriate clothing for both indoors and outdoors. We are really looking forward to spending more time outside as the weather improves.
We are informed by the authorities that the new variants/mutations are more contagious, and for this reason, quarantine rules are significantly stricter in these instances. Contact Tracing Teams in such cases must follow up with, not only direct contacts, but also contacts of the direct contacts. It is therefore extremely likely that if a child/family member tests positive for one of these more aggressive mutations, that whole classes will be placed in quarantine at the discretion of the authorities.
Due to this reason, for the health and safety of our entire school community, as well as to avoid significant disruption, we appeal to each and every member of the school community to remain vigilant and to follow all guidelines recommended by the Federal Office of Public Heath (BAG) as well as the measures mentioned below.
All Tandem IMS Parents can only send their children to school if they can commit to the following (as completed in the Health Declaration):
My child and all other persons living in our household have no symptoms of Covid-19: sore throat, persistent cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, fever (37.9 degrees or higher), loss of sense of smell and/or taste or body aches.
Our child has not knowingly been in contact with a person who has Covid-19 symptoms within the last 10 days.
No member of our family, or a person who our family has been in contact with, is planning to take a Covid-19 test or is awaiting a Covid-19 test result (either due to having symptoms or because of having been in contact with a person who has tested Covid-19 positive).
Currently, we are running a 48-hour sickness policy. This means that children who experience one or more of the following conditions: fever, vomiting and/or diarrhoea - can only return to school once they have been 48 hours free of symptoms. Children with a temperature of 37.9 degrees or higher should stay at home (or will be sent home if this develops during the school day).
For all other details regarding our Covid-19 protection concept and sickness policy chart, please click here.
A great way to stay connected with us is via our social media channels. On Instagram and Facebook you get the latest information and see various activities we do. On LinkedIn you find topics regarding education.