Dear Parents,
I would like to continue to update you each week and these will be sent out directly every Friday, as we continue to work together during this challenging time. For links to the previous 3 articles, please click below as they might answer some of your questions and also show the process that we have followed through this transition of learning. Timetables and schedules will continue to be sent out by the Heads of School.
- Friday 13th March – Frequently Asked Questions
- Monday 30th March – The Block Break Plan for the 2 Week Evaluation and Key Communication from the School
- Friday 10th April - The Five Improvement Areas created during the block break after the first two weeks of Online Learning.
- Friday 17th April – The FAQs, current processes and the looking ahead for our school.
Current processes
Online Learning
Our Learning Management System(LMS) is CANVAS. Having one common LMS is important to the school and is integral to our School Development Plan. This will make it easier for students in the long-term having familiarity with one area to use and will make learning online more accessible. This has already started in Primary and some areas of Secondary. In our School Development Plan this was scheduled to be completed in June 2020. This has now been accelerated due to the pandemic and we will schedule a seamless transition over the coming weeks during block 6 to facilitate this. We are delighted to announce plans to introduce CANVAS into Year 1 and 2 for parents to access student work as suggested.
E- Safety at BISL
We have shared our Online Learning Policy and also our E-Safety at BISL page. We also commit to not publishing images of students without permission or videos to assess publicly. If you would like to opt out of sharing images/videos, please contact our admissions team: admissions@britishschool.si
Looking Ahead
Monitoring Health Advice
We are continuing to monitor the situation daily, checking areas of guidance and how this is changing over our period of time during Online Learning. Health Guidance, Advice and Support from British and Slovenian authorities as well as the World Health Organisation are regularly referenced to make sure that we stay up to speed with any developments.
School Site
The access is currently suspended for students to the site. We have plans in place to make sure that the school is maintained, clean and safe over this time. Regular checks are taken to make sure that we are as ready as can be before students are allowed back on site.
Reopening
We will only reopen the school when we receive official government authorisation. We will consider the guidance when restrictions are lifted, carefully follow the advice from the government, authorities and our School Board. All parents will be communicated at the same time, via email. We all miss the face to face interactions with students and our priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of our community.
Communication
Please continue to check email as the primary method to contact all parents. A lot of information is sent out and this is the main channel of communication to make sure that all members of the community are informed at the same time. A gentle reminder to check your inbox, spam folders and space on your devices to make sure that you receive all communications. If you change your email address, please contact admissions@britishschool.si
Further updates
During these difficult times, the staff have been encouraged and uplifted by messages of goodwill and support received from parents, students and the wider community. It is a pleasure to read these and I deeply appreciate all feedback to the staff and students to acknowledge how they have approached this unique situation.
Student Progress, Exams and Teacher Conferences
During this time, students will not be penalised for a lack of progress due to resources, access or working from home. We ask that all students are engaged in online learning, attend classes, complete work to the best of their ability and communicate with teachers if they require any feedback. This applies to parents who have any questions about the teaching, tasks covered in class or content covered. Emailing to the teacher in the first instance is the best way to discuss and reassure during this time. Whilst we continue the transition to CANVAS as a consistent Learning Management System, we encourage all teachers to continue to use their own personal style, creativity and energy in the lessons to give as much variety as possible for the students.
Additionally, Cambridge exam information for Secondary school students has been emailed out by Mr. Batson. jason.batson@britishschool.si For all Primary and Secondary students to receive feedback on their progress in lessons, this can be discussed with parents and teachers at the upcoming Virtual Parent/Teacher (student) Interviews in Week 4. Heads of School have emailed out information regarding how to sign up for these.
After School Activities/Music Lessons
For information/questions about after school activities/music lessons, please contact petra.skofic-damjan@britishschool.si and cc accounts@britishschool.si.
Financial Payments
If any parents have any questions or require advice/support with financial payments for school fees, please contact the school immediately, at accounts@britishschool.si.
Feedback
Thank you for this feedback and please keep these kind words coming. We will continue to celebrate and share the work produced by students and share this with you through our social media channels, website and emails.
We hope that out of this pandemic, we emerge stronger, valuing the interactions with others and believing in our values to bring about a greater emphasis on care, understanding and compassion.
Thank you for your support during this challenging time and I hope you have a good weekend. I have included a video below with some messages and thanks for you to view during this time.
Stay safe and take care.
Kind regards,
Paul Walton
Principal
