Update from the Principal - Oct 28 2021 | October 2021 | British International School of Ljubljana

Dear Parents,

Happy Halloween from everyone at BISL!

We look forward to more Halloween activities today, staff and students dressed up, enjoying the occasion and celebrating. Pictures of the students will be shared out in Newsletters, Social Media and through the website. Thank you once again to the parents who came in to decorate the school and do activities with the children, this has made a very positive impact on the students and made the whole school feel 'spooky' with a great atmosphere.

It has been a very busy week with events as we head towards the end of the block next week.

On Wednesday, we had our School Open Day, with over 40 visitors to the school, popping in from 8.30am to 11.00am to see teachers, lessons and to get a feel for the school as students are in class and learning. Thank you to everyone who attended, it is always wonderful to invite parents in to see what our students are doing, how they are learning and the great job our teachers do every single day. In school, we have a huge amount of student work displayed and celebrated around every corridor and this is another great opportunity to signpost the amazing work from all of our students.

This week we have had great news regarding the delivery of a new school stage. This will be a 7-metre stage for the Performance Theatre and is a very welcome addition to our school to create an area for our students to sing, dance and perform in front of parents and students. This will be fully assembled and painted during the next week.

I have also included a detailed update regarding COVID guidelines, routines at school and FAQs below as we continue to navigate through the high amount of positive cases confirmed in Slovenia. At school we are taking every precaution to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible.

As we finish this week, I am very happy to share with you photographs of lessons (see below) from the new building on the top floor with our Sixth Form students and Mr. Batson as we transition the Year 12 and 13 students into the top floor. The rooms are over 70m2, fully equipped and the views over Ljubljana add to a very special learning environment. We continue to have Library lessons for all students, Computer Science lessons in the Technology Suite and Music & Performing Arts in the Performance Theatre.

The next Coffee with the Principal will take place on Friday December 3rd, I look forward to connecting with many of you then, to give you another opportunity to hear about school updates, news, and upcoming initiatives and events.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Paul Walton

Principal

Thank you all for joining us on Wednesday at our Open Day, it was wonderful to see you and we hope you enjoyed the opportunity to pop into lessons, meet our students and catch up with our teachers. And a special thanks to our Sixth Formers who prepared some delicious freshly baked croissants for our visitors!

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 Year 13 Mathematicians had their first lesson in the new building and will now have regular lessons in one of our new classrooms! With such spacious, brightly-lit rooms, two huge white boards and a beautiful view, this new classroom on the top floor creates an ideal learning environment for such an advanced level of Mathematics.

Our stage has arrived at school this week! We're very excited for it to be assembled in our new Performance Theatre over the block break, ready for some exciting productions during the academic year.

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, and feel free to share with friends too!

Available sessions include:

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

Registration is required as places are limited.

More details here.

BISL Health & Safety Guidelines

We are following the general rules and guidance by the Ministry, WHO and NIJZ regarding the use of masks, distancing and hygiene.
As a school, we have a direct contact with the ministry and receive specific instructions, following any changes in our situation, solely for our school community. These obviously, may differ from the general worldwide or regional guidance (shared by social media or aired by the news) depending on the cases in our immediate community.
A part of this guidance is to stay away from school if you show any symptoms and consult your doctor accordingly. As we enter the 'flu season', many of our staff, students and parents will have flu symptoms, and we ask everyone to stay away until you are tested if you show any signs.
If you are tested positive, stay home, and isolate accordingly, following further guidance from your doctor.
Students and staff continue to get tested prior to returning to school to be sure.
Over 95% of our staff are now fully vaccinated, or have recovered / still immune.
We also ask the community to stay away from friends and family who have tested positive or those that have symptoms and are awaiting a test.
If any staff or students are tested positive after contact at school, the whole class will transition to online learning.
We also want to be as safe as possible and ensure that the privacy of families is respected during this tough time.

BISL Daily Routines

Ongoing daily clean
Classrooms are well ventilated and classroom doors remain open
Key areas are cleaned multiple times a day (reception, classrooms, bathrooms, bannisters, door handles, etc.)
Drop off team continue to wear masks at all times
Declaration Form submitted by all students
Declaration Form signed by all key visitors
Extra resources for hygiene (sprays, wipes, gels, hand sanitisers, masks etc.)
Temperature checks when required
School Nurse available (full time)
All teachers will be required to wear masks in key areas
Coronavirus Prevention guidance posters displayed around school
Smaller classes where necessary
Lunches and snacks will be served in the new canteen following the guidance from NIJZ
Staff and parent meetings and events to be held online
Coffee with the Principal online
Daily Review of all procedures by the Leadership Team

BISL FAQs

1. Have the pick-up and drop-off procedures changed?

No, pick-up and drop-off procedures continue as usual.

2. Can parents come into the building?

All parent meetings must be conducted online from Block 2 Week 5. For the few key organised events, parents will enter and exit from the building via the Assembly Hall and sign the COVID Declaration Form upon entry. Further details will be shared by the event coordinating teacher.

3. Will students go outside for break?

Students will continue to be encouraged and taken outside as usual every break time.

4. Should students bring in water bottles?

Yes, water bottles filled with water should be brought from home.

5. Will classrooms be ventilated?

Yes, classrooms continue to be ventilated regularly, and classroom doors remain open at all times.

6. Will there be hand sanitisers in every classroom?

Yes. Hand sanitisers are also available at the entrance and in common areas across the school.

7. Will online lessons be conducted during the day for students who choose not to attend school currently?

When the provision for students is at school, our teachers follow the usual timetables and teach the students in school. They will continue to upload work onto Canvas for students who are absent from school at the end of the day. If a Year group has transitioned to online learning, their lessons will continue online until that Year group returns. Once the Year group has returned to the school, the teacher will teach during the day and assist those absent by continuing to upload some resources from the school day.

8. Will school lunches continue to be available?

Yes, lunches will be served as usual in the canteen. Please order online as per usual.

9. Do all teachers have to wear masks in the classroom?

Teachers are required to wear masks as per the guidance below. We are in direct communication with the Ministry of Education and Health regarding updates on safety guidance.

10. Are teachers vaccinated or getting regularly tested?

Over 95% of our staff are now fully vaccinated or have recovered / still immune. Ongoing regular testing will continue for the remaining staff.

11. What happens if there is a positive case confirmed?

If there is a positive case confirmed in school:

The affected class will be sent home and transition to online learning for the quarantine period.
The Class Teacher / Form tutor will be sent home as well.
Parents of that year group will be informed immediately.
Guidance will be followed regarding health & safety, hygiene and the return of students to school.

We continue to ensure that the privacy of those affected is respected during this tough time.

This month we have the following events coming up during the Block:

Monday, November 1 - Public Holiday - School Closed
Wednesday, November 3 - Founder's Day
Thursday, November 4 - Story Time at BISL
Friday, November 5 - Remembrance Day Commemoration
Friday, November 5 - Block 2 Ends

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.