I would love to talk more about this with you!!! I did a presentation at one of the Int'l School conferences dealing with this question (one of my favorite topics). I didn't have all the answers, I just broke the group into 5 groups: elementary school newcomers, elementary school leavers, middle school transition, HS newcomers & HS leavers. I had all groups brainstorm for what they did in their previous/current schools OR new ideas they just came up with as to how admin, homeroom teachers, subject teachers & the counselors could help.

I know this is VERY long, but I hope no one minds me copying all the great feedback here: :)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWCOMERS

• New student family picnic/luncheon
• Class checklist - students compile a checklist with the teacher which must be completed before the student arrives (books, desk, name tag, coat hook, etc.) & help to get every thing ready.
• Students create welcome cards to be given to newbie on day 1
• Buddy assigned in class (volunteer OR each student has a turn...)
• Adult buddy - introduce the student to an adult at the school who can speak the same language (if possible)
• Tour/orientation of school
• Intro to counselor - pull out time within the first week of school with perhaps an intro before even starting
• Monitoring by school community - teachers as well as adults on playground duty to watch new student for signs of assimilation or withdrawal
• Allow parents opportunity to spend time at school with child until settled (use with caution!)
• Link on website with tips, information about city/country, etc.
• Work as a team - intro new student to all year level teachers to offer extra support
• e-Newsletter
• A list of possible tutors to help students catch up outside of school

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEAVERS

• Class memory book - special moments, photos from classmates
• School t-shirt (or other) signed by peers/school mates
• Class appreciation - students tell the leaver what they will remember or appreciate about him/her
• Counselor - special time with counselor to talk about fears, feelings, etc.
• On-going communication - send an email or letter from classmates or teacher.
• Send the leaver the e-newsletter for 6 months post move to keep him/her up on the community
• Class farewell party
• Gong Show (formal leaving - Ask the following Questions)
o Where are you going?
o What are you going to miss?
o What are you looking forward to?

MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITIONS

• Orientation
• New kid camp & off campus grade level fun days with new kids interspersed
• Buddy
• Lunch with the principal of Secondary School
• Academic transfer of records
• Leaving with DIGNITY
• Emotionality: taking of memories (photos, yearbooks, for child & family)
• Organisation skills (schedules, property, agendas...)

HIGH SCHOOL NEWCOMERS

• Ambassadors - Volunteer buddies
• Association with peer counselors
• New Student Luncheon - A luncheon for new students to meet other newbies. A chance for them to make friends with others who are new in a less stressful environment.


HIGH SCHOOL LEAVERS

Graduates
? Chapel Service "Crying Chapel" - farewell party with lots of boxes of tissues on hand!
? Graduation Yearbook
? Power Point featuring every student & their choice of photos, messages, etc. shown at assembly & set to music
? Alumni association
? Compulsory 6 week programme in final quarter: "50 Ways to Leave your Mother" (based on song)
• Laundry
• Dorm room survival (what you need, what you don't)
• Financial planning (credit cards, etc.)
• Cultural differences (home country & university country)
• Leaving family & friends

Non-Graduates
• Timeline for leaving to help transition
• Acknowledge departures in assemblies
• Students asked to write to counselor in first semester about new school/university. Could allow for reflection as well as information to be given.
• Memorial service at school for friends of students with sudden/unexpected departures to help grieve.
• Transitions for parents & teachers?
• Presentation for graduates & parents
• Staff - Farewell function - gift giving, speeches, memory books, "leavers' CD" (CD with a song chosen for each member of staff leaving - depends on # of staff leaving)
• Parents - Parenting classes to help cope with children leaving the nest & prepare their kids for the move


FRUSTRATIONS
• Students/parents not notifying school of their leaving. (School newsletter asking parents to inform school at times of year known to be leaving times (ex. Korean school year...)
• Admin not informing homeroom teachers until last minute
• Incomplete records
• Parents hiding information
• Cross-cultural taboos
• Parents haven't talked the move through with their children
• Parents ignoring child's grief
• Finding psychologists, psychologists, family therapists
• Absentee dads
• Dysfunctional marriages
• Social norms (physical/psychological abuse)

THINGS TO CONSIDER
• The age of the student
• The number of transient students at the school/community
• The degree of nomadism of the children (1st move? 5th one?...)
• Mid-Year Entry is more difficult
• Early identification of learning issues & concerns for support
• Short-term transitions vs students who have been around a long time
• Brand new students vs. students already in the system (ie moving campus or curriculum)
• Students new to the country vs those just new to the school
• Changes in culture of school & classroom as well as country
• Continuity in studies (math, ESOL)
• Portfolios (samples of student's work)
• Dependency on housekeepers
• Difference of drinking age & "drinking culture" to home
• The suddenness of the move (possibly due to the situation of the country - political or otherwise)

Hope this helps! :) I'm at Beijing BISS Int'l School & have a friend moving to Tanzania for an IS job. I'd love to intro the 2 of you... She lives in Burma right now!

Here are book suggestions for children of all ages including pre-school children, activities and guides, and how to help them with transition.


You'll find discussion topics and practical activities the child can do with a parent or teacher.

http://www.tckid.com/group/helpful-books-to-rai...

you can't force the new kids to fit in, it kinda just happens on their own.
but tours and and explanation of whats happening there and then in the school and afterschool activities are always helpfull.

:)

I can't think of any 'resources' now but I'm sure Brice will get back to you when he comes back.

Some things that can help kids is letting them now what's 'in' in that particular place so that they can start getting into things.

1. What's everyone wearing? Clothes? Shoes?
2. What hairstyles are in?
3. What music is in?
4. What sports are important at that school?
5. Who are the popular people in that school and for what reasons?
6. blablah

*Giving them a briefing on what's going on in the school and town probably will be appreciated.

This isn't so that you can force the new kids to become like this but if you could let them know in a straight forward manner it would make it easier for them to make adjustments if they wanted to!

Kids are more fashion conscious than adults. My friend took his 5 year old daughter out to buy some Hello Kitty outfits that were absolutely essential for her new school year in Laguna Beach at some point... If you've moved from elsewhere, their parents aren't going to be much help either so it would be great if teachers could help out just a little bit in this department!

It's been awhile since I was a student and all the things I listed seem very trivial to me now, but I think they used to be important (for many kids anyway).