Scenario Response 1

Workshop: New Families from Other Countries Potluck Get-Together

 

Purpose: To create a viable partnership between the classroom teacher responsible for educating new students from other countries AND the parents of those new students from other countries.

 

The objectives of the partnership are as follows:

1. Communicate weekly through a Classroom Newsletter to the parents about what is going on in the classroom and what the homework is for the week.

2. As part of the Newsletter, acknowledge what activities and lessons reflect the culture of the  home countries of their children AND encourage parents to submit ideas, comments, and observations about those activities; and also encourage parents to submit ideas for activities that reflect their home culture and would thus motivate their children to engage more effectively in the classroom/learning activity.

 

The objectives of the workshop are to:

1. Get to know a little bit about the different cultures of the new student families

2. Share food from the different cultures of the new student families; have music playing in the background from the different cultures of the new families (with the volume loud enough to recognize, but low enough to facilitate conversation as new family guests share food and participate in the Where Are Your From Scavenger Hunt Game.

3. Share information about the teacher (s) and classroom expectations via short introductions by each teacher. 

4. Help parents who need assistance in filling out either the surveys, the comment cards, or both.

 

Agenda:

6:00 - 6:20

1. Parents/new families are greeted at the workshop entrance and pick up their workshop packet. (The packet includes their table number,  their scavenger hunt card, a parent survey, the first Classroom Newsletter, and a Workshop comments card.  

2. Parents/new families find their tables and those that brought food for the Potluck place their food items on the Potluck table 

 

6:20 - 6:40

3. While Parents/families are eating, they are also asked to participate in the Scavenger Hunt game.

 

6:40 - 7:00

4. Before dessert, teacher introductions take place. Also, the first newsletter is explored, examined, read. etc.

5. Parents asked to participate in a short brainstorming session about what their expectations are for their children and what role they see as parents in the collaboration between teacher, classroom, student and family. 

 

7:00 - ??

6. Back to the Potluck tables for dessert

During dessert and until close of the workshop, teachers are available to help parents fill out the surveys and/or the comment cards. Conversations with parents to last as long as parents wish up till 7:30.