At the beginning of the new school year, and periodically throughout, American School of The Hague (ASH) welcomes new students, families and teachers into its international community. At the same time, the current community “refreshes” for the new school year and students are faced with different classes, making new friends, learning new routines, which can be a lot of change to adapt too.
This can leave new ASH members feeling disoriented and lonely, experiencing grieving for those they left behind, or facing cross cultural confusion, misunderstandings or conflicts within their new learning situations and living environments.
To help ease the transition process, A Safe Harbour was established at ASH many years ago and is still considered one of the best Transitions Programs in the international school community. A Safe Harbour isn’t just one program or one person, it is an umbrella of individuals, activities, programs and committees that work hand in hand to help each of the community members with all of the aspects of arriving, orientating, integrating and departing.
It is a network of teachers, students and parents working together to provide a comprehensive approach, to address the challenges and opportunities that arise with moving among cultures. Due to these collaborative efforts, A Safe Harbour committees work together “to help students, parents, and staff cope with the challenges, and maximize the opportunities, inherent in the experience of international relocation and cross-cultural mobility”.
Throughout the school year, A Safe Harbour helps families, staff, and students transition to the School and to their new lives in The Netherlands:
Expat Life Experience – addressing the various transitional phases that individuals pass through and identifying challenges faced as expats, Third Culture Kids and Global Nomads.
Student Ambassadors – selecting and training of 60 students, Grades 9 – 12, who help run New Student Orientation in August and any intakes during the school year, as well as communicating with new students prior to their arrival. Student Ambassadors hold weekly meetings throughout the year to plan for, and train, students for Orientation Week in August.
Regular Parent Welcome Coffees – held by the PTO and their various committees to give new parents an opportunity to expand their social network within the school and feel more at home in The Netherlands. The various committees within the ASH PTO help families’ transition, be it through practical information on living in the host country to getting settled with the dynamics of the School.
Staff Ambassadors – helping new staff transition to ASH, checking-in with new hires throughout the school year to make sure they are settling in well.
The key to a good arrival is a good departure, no matter where you go in the world, which is why A Safe Harbour initiatives also support students, parents and staff when departing from the American School of The Hague community.
The joint efforts of parents, staff and students are what make the ASH community flourish. A Safe Harbour – bridging cultures, bridging lives.
