Primary News - June 7 2021

With many highlights throughout this week, we end the week with our Student Appreciation Day. All students received a special message from teachers and the PTA sweetened the day with a variety of delicious ice creams. Thank you to all the parents involved.

Class photos were organised in the wonderful woodland area and students will receive a copy to take home at the end of the school year.

The Parent-Teacher interviews are now open for booking meetings with the Early Years and Primary Class Teachers, EAL and Slovene Advanced teachers. Please refer to the email sent out with a guide on how to book a slot. The interviews are a great opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and celebrate their achievements this year, as well as, discuss targets for the future. School reports will be issued on 24th June.

Please see the Update from the Principal for the latest changes to the health and safety guidance, which were implemented this week.

There are various events coming up, which you can read about in the sections below. We would also like to highlight the opportunity for new families with children aged 2-5 to come and visit BISL for the Early Years Play Day next Thursday 10th June from 15:00-16:00.

Please note that Thursday 24th June is the last day of school and half-day. There is no school lunch on the day and pick up starts at 12:00.Please ensure that any school books are returned by Friday 18th June.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Regards,

Katarina Železinger

Head of Primary

Early Years

In Early Years, we have been learning all about Houses and Homes and we have looked at types of buildings.

We looked at types of materials and visited the new building to look at a building site in process!

Ms Rosa

Year 2

Year 2 has had another amazing week learning all about our world with our topic 'let's go'. Students have identified the different types of transport and have now started looking at different locations we could go on holiday to.

We look forward to sharing all of our holiday ideas with you soon. In Maths, students have started using money to 'purchase' different items. We have explored all the different coins that we use and how to add them together. We look forward to learning more about our currency in this block.

Ms Harris & Ms Miller

Year 3

This week in Year 3 we had a lovely surprise for the students as one of the class parents Mrs Duda-Kawecka so kindly came in to talk to the students about fashion in diplomacy. In what was a very interesting presentation, all of the fashion rules and regulations, historical changes to official attire were outlined, all to the student's amazement and wonder. A big thank you to Mrs Duda-Kawecka for so generously giving her time to come in and talk to the students, as I am sure it is a lesson that will stick with them for a long time to come and give a whole new meaning to the phrase, 'dress to impress'.

In other news, the students began to design their own outfits for their 'street-fashion' range which is due for release in the coming weeks at the Year 3 outlet stores near you! The students printed their own designs using fabric paint and stencils for some eye-catching results.

Mr Mulcahy

Year 4

This week, Year 4 students have been doing some forensic science as part of our Investigators unit (and also doing some artwork on the side), an area this group is very enthusiastic about.

The focus was on block printing, inspired by a group of Japanese artists who used woodblocks to print multiple layers on paper. We didn't get to that level, but we tried using polystyrene blocks with some good results.

Mr Bishop

Year 5A

This week the year 5 students showed excellent maturity in our biology unit learning about the different changes that happen in the body. I was incredibly proud of the students.

Mr Walker

Year 5B

Year 5 Sex and Relationship Education

As part of the latest Topic learning in Year 5, our students had the opportunity to take care of a real egg (not cooked!) for the day.

The students were asked to look after the egg as if it were a baby; making sure to keep it warm, protected, safe, engaged, and loved. The aim was for the children to realise that it takes a lot of work, time, responsibility, and sometimes stress to look after a baby, as well as of course a lot of rewards. Within minutes the students grew attached - making a bed, blanket, pillow and clothing for 'their baby' as well as some 'gentle play' with spinning and light jumping in the air, and taking it out to play at break and lunch times.

Unfortunately, there was a crash into the Year 5B student holding the egg and the egg met a sad end. We took this opportunity to talk about bereavement and the loss of loved ones.

Mrs Charlesworth

Year 6

This week, the Year 6 students have enjoyed listening to each other’s texts they have completed for their end of unit writeup. The students found the task challenging because they had to continue writing a new scene for a play we read in class. On top of that, they were instructed to only use one setting for the action and add stage directions.

The write-up was made even more complex because the students had to build a new character that represents the emotion of guilt, include a buildup and a resolution and sustain tension through their new scene. Although students were put out of their comfort zone, in terms of writing, the outcome was brilliant and there was a feeling of pride and accomplishment felt in Year 6 during our reading session.

Here is a couple of examples from the students' final writing pieces:

"A darken room with a lonely child laying on her bed, while a dark spirit surrounds the room. It is obviously a child's room with toys scattered and shelfs full of clutter." by Simon

"Oh, oh you've been caught! (Licks his lips.) You have nowhere to go with your dirty secret. (He snickers with delight.) All you can do now (Whispers in her ear.) is to lie, lie." by Denis

"...in her room panting, the elephant follows Getta, twice his original size now.

Elephant: Let your tears out, like a big black cloud ready to rain.

Getta: Go away! Leave me alone!

Elephant: Cry out your guilt. Cry out your troubles." by Shaun W.

Mr Kokalj

PE News

In primary PE, students continued to refine their tactics with End Zone and Barrier games. This week we played a modified version of dodgeball where students could also connect a pass from their zone to teammates previously tagged out by the ball. This option adds a complex problem-solving and team strategy element to this fun and dynamic physical activity. Our students also played Capture the flag down on the sand, adding extra fitness, balance, and core strength engagement.

The PE department would like to continue to invite students and their family members to participate in our walk around the world challenge. All you need to do is count your daily steps, add them up, and enter them HERE, into our walk around the world google form. We are now working our way through Canada.

Next week we will announce our winner of the Minecraft PE hall designs. There have been many outstanding submissions, and we thank all students who participated. The PE department also looks forward to our students' exceptional cooking creations in our week three PE block competition.

Additionally, we ask you to remember to mark your calendars and sign up for Saturday, June 12th, and Saturday, June 19th, both Physical Education theme enrichment days.

PE Department

Slovene News

Our students in Years 5 and 6 have been learning about clothes and their colours recently. This week they have focused on their styles and answered the main question: Kakšen je tvoj stil?

They finished by presenting their favourite styles on the slides to all classes. It was pretty interesting to realise that students have lots in common.

Zelo dobro!

Ms Košec

Slovene Advanced

Year 5 and 6 at Slovene Advanced lessons have been focused on reading comprehension this week. Students have read a passage from the fairy tale The Little Mermaid written by the famous storyteller H. C. Andersen. After watching the cartoon in Slovene, we read an excerpt out loud and answered some questions. The students showed great progress and I believe they will proceed in this way in the future.

Ms Drofenik

Staff Update

Mr. Damjan will leave the British International School of Ljubljana at the end of this academic year. We would like to thank him for his years of service at BISL. His work with students across the whole school is appreciated, teaching students vital PE skills. We wish him all the best for the future.

We are pleased to announce that Ms Fairchild will take on the role of Head of PE from August 2021. We look forward to her continued work taking on this new role.

EAL Topic Packs

At the beginning of this week, our EAL students were delighted to receive their EAL Topic Packs for this block.

resources compiled by the EAL department to help our EAL students easily access the Topic curriculum.

Mr Siter

My Little Planet

After 5 days of the eco challenge created by Ma Petite Planete, joined by C4C, there is a full-on competition between the two teams, with Team Greta Thunberg winning at the time of writing by 34 points. So far some challenges completed by the competitors include:

• The right time for the laundry (at night with a full load on 30 degrees or less)
• Reusable hygiene products OR solid soap
• Buy seasonal and local fruits and vegetables
• Vegeta week - Level 3 (Be vegetarian for 3 weeks and INCLUDE one week of being vegan)

Working towards:

• Carpool
• Save me Please (eat an ugly/imperfect fruit or vegetable)

Take a look at some of the photos to see how much fun we have had saving our planet.

C4C Team

MEPI News

This week our MEPI participants have been planning their longest hike yet, in preparation for the final practice before the qualifying Adventurous Journey (AJ). This time they need to prove that they can achieve their goal completely independently. This also includes planning. For this practice, the participants were given a map with coordinates for the start and finish point, and a couple of checkpoints in between. Their first job was to plot a route between these points, taking care to stay off-road as much as possible.

All of the information from the map then needed to be transferred to a route card. The route is certainly long enough to replicate half of that required for the 2-day Bronze AJ, and with a height gain and descent of 500 metres, our students will be challenged! The plan will be put to the test in a couple of weekends’ time. Staff will be in the vicinity, but our students will have to navigate for themselves, employing all of the skills acquired through their MEPI training.

Mr Irving, MEPI Coordinator

Uniform Delivery Update

As we continue to work with our uniform supplier to ensure a seamless and cost-effective delivery of your orders, we are delighted to share with you some updates on your delivery options at the checkout:

Courier £16.00

Your order will be delivered to the address of your choice – you will have to provide ID information to the courier/customs authorities to clear the goods, but no additional charges will need to be paid.

BISL Delivery £7.80 (for orders up to £100)

Your order of up to £100 will be dispatched to the school’s address and no further charges will need to be paid. We will contact you once your package has arrived, you can either pick it up from reception, or we can send it home with your child.

To place an order, click here.

Teacher Appreciation Breakfast

We will be celebrating our fantastic teachers on Friday June 11 with the help of our students, parents and the PTA.

Parent Appreciation Day

We will be celebrating our amazing parents on Friday June 18 together with our students and teachers.

Summer School

With the summer holidays just around the corner, find out how your child can join this two-week summer adventure with the British International School of Ljubljana - details here.

To make up for some of the lost face-to-face interactions with friends due to the period of remote learning, we are happy to be able to offer 5 Days of Free Summer School for BISL students in the first week of the summer, starting Monday 5th July.

Enrichment Days

It is your final chance to register for our Enrichment Days, taking place on consecutive Saturdays, 12th and 19th June! Please complete the sign-up form here.

These will include a range of supervised activities for our students to have further opportunities to enjoy learning and having fun together.

Teacher Feature Series

year, we bring you a splendid interview with Ms Karla, our wonderful Assistant Teacher in Early Years.

Read Ms Karla’s Teacher Feature here.

Uniform Donations Welcome

As we approach the end of the school year, we welcome any donations of gently used school uniform.

We will then hold a Second Hand Uniform Sale during Orientation Day on August 20.

You are welcome to drop off your donations in the designated box by reception between now and the last day of school.

PTA Committee

Dear Parents,

This has been another busy week finishing with our wonderful Student Appreciation Day. This will be an event today to celebrate the fantastic students we have in our community, to show our gratitude for how they interact, behave and learn each day. It is a moment to pause, reflect and value all of our incredible learners at BISL and appreciate how they make this a very special place to work for all of us. Thank you to the PTA and parents for your support with this event, it is wonderful to see the amount of heartfelt comments from staff shared with students and this is a very important event for us. Happy Student Appreciation Day!

Following on from the changes in guidance from the government regarding Covid, we have been monitoring our community and have made further announcements, which are detailed in my Update. These are another staggered step back to normality and we hope it keeps heading this direction. We look forward to a number of events over the next 3 weeks and have already started to plan activities and had our first external trips of the year. Teachers can now plan and organise local trips with year groups and we hope this opportunity continues throughout this block and into the next academic year. We have had successful trips completed, risk assessments and safety guidance followed and are now ready to take the next step. We place safety as a priority, continue to respect the guidelines and our thoughts are always with the families who are affected by Covid in our community.

At the end of next week, the class teachers of the year groups for the next academic year will write to all parents to introduce themselves, share key dates and information with the classes that are confirmed for next year. Immediately after this, we will send out the staff profiles of the new teachers joining BISL for the upcoming academic year 2021/2022. These profiles give an insight into the new teachers, a photo, bio and basic information to introduce you to them before they arrive in Ljubljana, these have been sent out for the last 2 years and we will continue to follow this format. A very exciting time!

Also at the end of next week (Friday 11th June) is our Teacher Appreciation Breakfast. A fantastic opportunity for us all to say a huge thank you to all teachers at school. Our Parent Appreciation Day is the following Friday (18th June) and this completes our celebration days for the community and gives us an opportunity to recognise as many individuals as possible.

I also want to thank parents for encouraging your children to sign up for our BISL Enrichment Days and the Summer School, these have both surpassed the numbers from previous years and we look forward to these excellent opportunities for students to have fun, learn and interact with one another.

At school, we have made further improvements to the Early Years side entrance, adding five new flower planters, trellis and areas to plant flowers. This will create a wonderful 'green' entrance into the school for our Early Years families and should be finished in the next week.

Finally, a reminder that our last day of term is Thursday 24th June and as always this will be a 12.00pm pick up for all students. Further information will be provided in the newsletters and emails from the Heads of School. As an international school, this is a time to say thank you, celebrate and share fond memories of students learning together and wishing the families departing to pastures new all the very best, and to remind everyone that they are always a part of our community, to stay in touch and welcome back to our school in the future at any time. The friendships our students have made and will keep via social media etc. give them a huge supportive, caring and exciting network of friends across the world.

Please read my Update from the Principal for more details.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards,

Paul Walton

Principal