Dear Oakridge Families,

As we approach the winter break and look forward to a vibrant New Year in 2026, I have been reflecting on the unique strength of our community. In a school community, partnership with parents is one of the strongest forces shaping a child’s success. When we speak about “parent connect,” we often think of it in three meaningful layers: inform, involve, and engage. Each layer strengthens your child’s learning journey and builds a powerful bond between home and school.

The most familiar form of partnership is the one-to-one meeting – parents meeting teachers to understand their child’s progress. This is invaluable, as it gives you clarity and assurance about how your child is growing academically, socially, and emotionally. But this is only one part of the connection.

Equally important are the sessions we conduct to inform you about what lies ahead for your child – curriculum expectations, upcoming transitions, subject pathways, and the skills we aim to build. We understand that professional and personal commitments may sometimes prevent you from attending these sessions live. However, when you can attend these sessions, please do – they truly make a difference. They set shared expectations and help you better understand how and what your child learns at school, enabling you to support them meaningfully at home. When parents and school speak the same language of learning, children flourish.

Another vital aspect of partnership is your voice through the Parent Experience Survey. Your feedback gives us insight into how things look and feel from your perspective. It helps us reflect on whether our communication, teaching practices, and wellbeing structures are creating the impact we intend.

I am deeply thankful to all parents who took the time to fill out the survey. This year, the reflection has been incredibly encouraging: 89% of you feel our teacher and leadership teams are accessible to meet, we saw satisfaction with the quality of teaching staff increase by 20% from last year, 83% of you feel the school successfully looks after overall wellbeing, and 81% of you agree that we provide a stimulating environment.

I am also grateful to all parents who have signed up for one-on-one meetings with me. These conversations offer a window into your thoughts, hopes, and concerns. They strengthen our ability to align our work with what truly matters to our families, helping us continuously grow in this unpredictable and rapidly changing world.

Beyond feedback, many of you also choose to involve yourselves by supporting school initiatives – whether through sponsorships, guest sessions, or offering internship opportunities to our older students. These contributions expand the learning world of our children in powerful ways.

There is a question in our survey that asks whether we are a supportive parent community. While many families do feel supported, this remains an area where we can grow further. Our students are our ambassadors, but so are our families. When we say “it takes a village to raise a child,” the strength of that village is amplified when parents, teachers, and the school work together with shared purpose. When we create a culture where all students are supported, every individual child prospers. Together, we are shaping a learning environment where every child can thrive.

As we step into the second term of 2026, we have a wonderful lineup of events designed to build this spirit. We start with the MYP Personal Project Exhibition and Student-Led Conferences for secondary. Our primary students are all excited about the trips, Grade 5 starts preparation for the PYP Exhibition, and we look forward to seeing many of you at school for the PYP 1 & 2 Performance Showcase and parent meetings for secondary. Our most awaited inter-school events – the Phoenix Cup followed by Code Fest in February are also just around the corner.

We look forward to welcoming you to these events, where your presence truly celebrates our students’ hard work and success.

Wishing you all a happy winter break and a happy 2026.

Kavita Sukhani
Principal
Oakridge International School Bengaluru