Update from the Principal - Feb 5 2021 | February 2021 | British International School of Ljubljana

Dear Parents,

As we head to the block break, I look back on a very busy block where everyone in the community had to be flexible, patient and supportive due to ongoing updates and changes of guidance. I am so very proud of the way in which everyone has remained calm, positive and enabled the children to feel the least amount of disruption towards their learning as possible. Thank you.

During the block break, I will continue to check the guidance daily, meet with the leadership team and will send out an update to all families before we return back on Monday 15th February.

We hope the students can return safely back to the building soon and look forward to some good news asap. We continue to follow our hygiene, health and safety and COVID guidance.

Please check our BISL reopening procedures for any FAQs that you may have about the transition back into school. All teachers will be required to wear masks in the classroom.

At BISL, we are following the guidance to test all teachers (showing a negative test) before they teach on site and will continue to do so on a regular weekly basis or until guidance changes. Smaller classes have been arranged to make the lessons and learning as safe as possible.

Thank you to all parents who attended the coffee morning today, I have included all of the areas and updates I discussed below for you, in case you weren't able to attend.

Finally, I really appreciate all of the positive comments, emails and feedback about our teachers, I continue to pass this on and thank them personally. It has been a tough few weeks and these simple messages make a huge difference. Thank you.

Mr Batson and Ms Andronikos have completed the second round of IGCSE and A Level information evenings. More information will follow regarding subjects, blocks and choices in due course.

We have seen some excellent mock exam results in Years 11 - 13. Staff and departments are working through strategies to help support students in areas they did not perform well in and are helping them plan ahead.

With only 80 days until the first exam in the summer, many of our students, are working on exam preparation and revision for their summer exams. The format of these are yet to be determined by the exam board. At BISL, we are planning for several scenarios to ensure that our students get the opportunity to attain the grades that they deserve. We are very proud of the continuing successes by our students and their academic outcomes.

BISL Exam Revision

Last week we celebrated again at BISL with two of our recent graduates returning to BISL to collect their original CAIE A Level certificates. Both girls achieved straight A*-A in all their subjects. Ajda already has some exams coming up this semester at University of Ljubljana, while Lara is on her way back to King's College in the UK having spent the holidays with her family here in Slovenia.

This continues are excellent trend of our students reaching the best university destinations and achieving outstanding examination results. We look forward to more of the same with our current cohorts in IGCSE and A Level classes.

I was joined yesterday by Mrs Železinger, Ms Andronikos and Mr Andrej for a walk around inside the new building. We are delighted with the new opportunities these facilities will bring our students, including: 10 very spacious classrooms, lots of natural light through floor to ceiling glass windows, large assembly hall, beautiful bridge to connect our two buildings, technology suite ( for Robotics, programming etc), and a new library and learning resource centre. The new Performance Theatre, with 6 practice rooms, below the ground floor, has blown us away and is all finished. We have submitted 3 further proposals, including a student radio system throughout the building, exterior lights for the trees and woodland area, as well as extra parking. We look forward to sharing some new photos of the building's interior with you soon.

We have thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the Languages this Block, and look forward to focusing on English in Block 5, with various competitions, activities, celebrations and events to be confirmed once we return from block break.

Thank you to all of you for completing our annual Parent Survey. The results will be available from February 15th and I will share a summary, highlights and an action plan as usual, based on your feedback.

Here are the results from our last two Parent Surveys, published on our website, which include green coloured links to the action plan documents:

2018/19 Parent Survey
2019/20 Parent Survey

There have been some concerns raised regarding the service from our uniform provider as a result of changes due to Brexit. Many school around the world are affected by this, as many use the UK for sourcing their uniform. Many providers and schools have raised prices higher and have a longer compulsory list of items to purchase for students. At BISL, you are required to purchase only the essentials.

We all buy school apparel items through the same provider as staff, and the school purchases items exactly the same way as parents do. We use ISU as it is a supplier of some of the best international schools, offering high-quality, greater variety, reliability and a faster home delivery service.

We are very proud of our uniform here at BISL and are working closely together with ISU on this, looking at options going forward, as well as new delivery timescales, and will give all families updates when we have them.

One of the questions that came up during the Coffee Morning today was access to library books for students on distance learning. An excellent point.

Students / families should contact the class teachers in Years 5 and 6 to arrange a time slot for the following whilst continuing to learn from home:

To collect new exercise books and hand in any exercise books that are full.
To collect any specific or recommended reading books from the library that the teachers have selected.

This will be included in the weekly email from the Year 5 and 6 teachers.

Monday 8th - Friday 12th February - Block Break

Monday 15th February - Block 5 Begins

Tuesday 16th February- Pust Celebration

Thursday 4th March - World Book Day

Monday 8th March - International Women's Day

Friday 5th March - Coffee with the Principal

Friday 12th March - Reports Issued

Monday 15th - Friday 19th March - Parents Evening Week

Monday 22nd March - World Water Day

We are eagerly waiting for changes in the guidance, expected soon, to allow the rest of our students to return safely to the building. No such announcement has been made so far. The staff and Leadership team will be working each day to make sure we plan ahead and are ready for a return. You can expect an update from me towards the end of the block break next week regarding our first week back.

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.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and a safe and restful Block Break.

Kind regards,

Paul Walton

Principal