Update from the Principal - Oct 7 2021 | October 2021 | British International School of Ljubljana

Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed your block break and welcome to Block 2, where we will be celebrating Humanities as our theme across the school this month.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! Today we take the opportunity to celebrate the work of our wonderful teachers, their effort and dedication to ensuring that all students have wonderful learning experiences and exciting lessons at school. Thank you to all teachers.

I wanted to thank parents for your help with our Teacher Appreciation Day, your support with the after school clubs, the positive emails we have received and those who have volunteered to help with decorations around the school. As you can see from the pictures below, it looks amazing! I really appreciate this and it is a wonderful way to bring the community together, celebrate Halloween and create a great atmosphere around the school for the students to enjoy.

Some of the bats and skeletons 'surprised' me yesterday when I arrived, thank you to the parents for positioning them around the school, it looks fantastic!

For Remembrance Day, we will have a ceremony and an opportunity to share our respect planned for Friday 5th November. Poppies are available for students, staff and parents at reception from Monday 11th October.

During the next block break, from Monday 8th - Wednesday 10th November, we have arranged extra days for IGCSE/A Level students, more details will be sent out to students as this is a great opportunity for:

Extra 1 to 1 help from subject teachers
Booster sessions on Topics
To sit past papers (and to have them marked by staff)
Revision and support

More information will be sent out regarding this in the next week from our Secondary team. With 65% of grades at IGCSE A/A* and 75% of grades at A Level A/A*, we look to continue our exceptional examination success over the past 3 years.

From the week beginning Monday 4th October, we have welcomed Mr Fordham (Head of English) and Mrs Fordham (Assistant Teacher) to join our community. They join us from the UK.

Also, today, we welcomed Mr. Stanic (Physics) to join us as a specialist qualified teacher in the Secondary School.

On Monday 11th October, we will welcome Ms Strmčnik (Biology) to join us as a specialist qualified teacher in the Secondary School.

If students need further support to catch up, complete work or extra lessons, these are going to be planned and arranged at a convenient time for students from extra work set, after school, block break etc.

Today is also Coffee Morning day and my updates are included below.

Have a fantastic weekend,

Paul Walton

Principal

Here is what I covered this morning:

Thank you - to all parents for your help during the first block, we’ve had lessons onsite, a range of after school activities, trips and events, it has been a great start to the academic year. Your involvement with decorations, support with after school clubs, and all the positive emails is very much appreciated.

Block theme - In Block 2 we're celebrating ‘Humanities’ through various competitions, celebration and events. Lots for students to get involved in, have fun and learn about in relation to Humanities.

After School Clubs - please read the new pick up procedures from 3.40pm, emailed from your class teacher (use the blue zone, students to exit through Assembly Hall to improve the flow of traffic and safety).

IGCSE/A Level booster sessions - Arranged by Mr. Batson, Monday 8th-Wednesday 10th November. Great opportunity for:

Extra 1 to 1 help from subject teachers
Booster sessions on Topics
To sit past papers (and to have them marked by staff)
Revision and support

Pick up procedures from 3.40pm - as emailed by class teachers, to ensure traffic is as safe as possible.

New Building - New chairs arrived for the library, technology suite and one classroom on the top floor.

Library lessons - 12 library lessons now taking place over in the new building per week.

Music lessons - Secondary music lessons now scheduled in the Performance Theatre (I observed Year 8 earlier this week, and it was a brilliant session).

New School Canteen - Year 2 and 3 have been using the canteen as a test on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th October.

Adventure Trips - All secondary students have been out on trips in the first block, it is wonderful bonding opportunity for them.

New Staff - A warm welcome to Mr Fordham (Head of English) and Mrs Fordham (Assistant Teacher).

Weekly Updates - A reminder that all main messages and changes are included in the weekly Update from the Principal. Published at the end of each week, shared on social media, emailed to parents via the newsletter and available on the Website.

Story Time - Join us for one or more of our upcoming Story Time sessions, for children aged 3-6 in the new library, followed by a hands-on story-themed activity! Details here.

Please note that the pick-up arrangements have been revised in order to maximise safety.

We ask that students are picked up by their parents/guardians from the drop-off area (blue square) at the end of their activity at 15:40 (or 16:00) not from the Reception area. Please follow the normal pick up procedures:

if arriving by car, please wait in your car.
if arriving by foot, please wait outside near the drop-off/pick-up area.
if parking, please use the public car park.

If you have children aged 3-6 and are looking to make new friends in a fun international setting, if they love stories and are interested in learning English, join our Story Time sessions!

Available sessions include:

Thursday, October 21 | 15:00 - 16:30
Thursday, November 4 | 9:00 - 10:30
Thursday, November 25 | 15:00 - 16:30
Thursday, December 9 | 15:00 - 16:30

Registration is required. More details here.

Thank you to all the parents who gave up their time to volunteer, organise and come into school to put up some fantastic Halloween decorations around our corridors! It looks amazing, our students and staff love it, and we're very much looking forward to our Halloween Celebrations on Friday October 29th, which will be a Halloween themed dress down day.

We have arranged extra days for IGCSE/A Level students to come in for booster sessions, more details will be sent out to students as this is a great opportunity for:

Extra 1 to 1 help from subject teachers
Booster sessions on Topics
To sit past papers (and to have them marked by staff)
Revision and support

More information will be sent out regarding this in the next week from our Secondary team. Additional booster sessions and extra classes will be available in Term 2 as normal, as we plan ahead for the exams in Summer 2022.

Our school is open, lessons run as normal and our After School Provision 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:

This month we have the following events coming up:

Tuesday, October 12 - Virtual Open Day for prospective families
Thursday, October 14 - Meet the Form Tutor for Secondary
Tuesday, October 19 - Virtual Open Day in Slovene for prospective families
Wednesday, October 20 - University Guidance evening
Thursday, October 21 - Story Time at BISL
October 27 - Open Day at BISL for prospective families
October 29 - Halloween Celebrations - dress down day

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.