Update from the Principal - Sept 24 2021 | September 2021 | British International School of Ljubljana

Dear Parents,

It is very important to me to say thank you to all students, staff and parents for such a great start to the academic year.

Approaching the first day of the term, we all hoped for lessons as normal and that students could see one another back in the building. As the cases increased, the main thing on our minds was to just have everyone in the building and no online learning to start the year. At the end of this week, I briefly sit down for a second and reflect upon having had lessons in the building, seeing the students interact together, after-school activities having a new programme to follow and a succession of trips for our students to enjoy.

The icing on the cake has been to finish the week with students enjoying a dress down day representing House colours, the sun shining outside and the prospect of a week off to recharge and relax before we proceed to Block 2.

I am very grateful for this start and that we have had an excellent 5 weeks of students learning together.

Yesterday, I visited the new building to watch the Story Time event and it was a huge success. Thank you to Miss Gillespie for leading this great story session and also to Ms Kukovica who helped out with all the students in the arts and crafts activity that followed. The feedback was great and I look forward to the next time families can join us for these events.

Thank you to all parents who have signed up to volunteer to help decorate the school during this upcoming block for Halloween, the plan is to start from the week beginning Monday 4th October. We've had about 10 volunteers and this is very much appreciated. After Halloween and the next block break in November, we will start decorating the school for Christmas, again thank you to parents who have already signed up to offer time to help with this. Having a school decorated for these holidays creates a fantastic atmosphere in the building and adds excitement, wonder and magic to these annual celebrations.

We have more building projects to complete over the block break and I will take the parents who attend the Coffee with the Principal (Friday 8th October) around the building to show the updates and developments we have made.

We also look forward to Teacher Appreciation Day on Friday 8th October, a chance to celebrate the efforts, time and dedication by our amazing staff.

I have included the usual updates but please have a look at the student articles in the links below, they are of the highest quality and I am extremely proud to showcase the work by our students.

Have a lovely weekend and a relaxing block break,

Paul Walton

Principal

Our first Story Time at BISL session this week, for children aged 3-6, has been very successful, so much so, that we have put on two further sessions due to popular demand! We are delighted with the interest in these sessions from our wider community, and look forward to welcoming more families in the coming weeks and months.

If you haven't already done so, you can find out more about our Story Time events and register for sessions here.

We're also delighted to have our Story Time sessions featured on Total Slovenia News earlier this week, as well as the popular local Kam Z Mulcem portal!

Thank you once again to all the parents who have already volunteered to help with decorations around the school for Halloween and Christmas. In case you'd like to volunteer, please complete this quick form to let us know you're interested, and we'll connect you with the other parents who are involved.

You may have already seen these fantastic pieces produced by our students, which we are proud to showcase on our website.

The first is an article from one of our Year 13 students, on the impact of the digital world on language, while the second is a student's perspective on school life at BISL.

We look forward to showcasing more student work online in the weeks to come.

Enjoy!

Student Voice: The effect of the digital world on our language

Student Voice: A Student's perspective

Our school is open, lessons run as normal and our After School Provision will is in full swing, with a range of clubs on offer for BISL students.

There is no change regarding masks, cough/hand hygiene and the delivery of lunches to classrooms from last week.

Further guidance regarding vaccinations or testing will be confirmed once national guidance for schools is released.

I have included the guidance for masks below:

We return for Block 2 on Monday 4th October.

Events will be held in school. This will be reviewed each week in line with guidance.

Parents will need to wear masks, follow the safety guidance and sign a declaration form at the event.

Coffee with the Principal - Friday October 8
Teacher Appreciation Day - Friday October 8

All of our upcoming events, and more details, are listed on the school website here.

All urgent updates continue to be sent via email.

Please monitor your emails for future updates as this continues to be the best way to send out clear and consistent communication to all parents. Check that you are receiving emails, have enough space in your email folder, that they do not go to your 'junk' folder and if you are unsure, please contact reception@britishschool.si to check your contact email and phone number on record.

If you change any contact details, please inform the school immediately.