Update from the Principal - June 3rd | June 2022 | British International School of Ljubljana

Dear Parents,

Thank you to all parents for attending the Coffee with the Principal this morning, I have included the points that we discussed below:

Building Updates

Performance Theatre - New stage, curtain, 40 new chairs have arrived; Stage lights ordered.
Robotics Room - Raspberry Pi programmable computers have been ordered, due for delivery on Monday 6th June.
Library - UK National Literacy Trust Membership for all students in the school.
Book Delivery - textbooks and notebooks already delivered for 2022/23.
New Wifi - on floors 4, 2, 0 and -1 are ready for use.
Sixth Form Area - 20 new chairs and 20 new double tables delivered and set up in Rooms 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Bear Footprints/safe walkway into school - completed by our Student Council.
Other - Air-con units all checked, top floor painted, EY storage installed for outdoor student gardening tools.

School Updates

PE Block - BISL Olympics with daily point totals shared with students and weekly total on Facebook and in the newsletter, lots going on with the House Points Competition - scores changing each day! Last Block we celebrated Science, take a look at our Science roundup if you haven't already.
PTE PTM - Completed in the next week, analysis by teachers and results announced before Friday 10th June.
IGCSE and A Level Exams - Have been going smoothly, the last exam is on Friday 10th June.
School Accreditation from Slovene Ministry - updated and arrived. Next inspection for BSO 2024/25, COBIS 2026/27 etc.
Donation Drives - Bake sales, Clothing collection, Food drives, Sporting events, BISL Community and Sixth Form donations, BISL Choir and British House fundraising, Slovenska filantropija (New donation drive details below).
MEPI - New tents (4 in total), sleeping bags provided, stove and gas canisters for volunteers.
Summer Camp - over 90 students signed up for the Summer Camp starting Monday 4th July.
Summer Safety - Series by our School Nurse, Mrs Rismondo - Stay Hydrated, Sun Protection and Tick prevention.

With new deliveries arriving each week, we have updated the Sixth Form area in the new building and also included a gallery of pictures below that were shared out on our social media Facebook and Instagram pages yesterday (Thursday 2nd June).

We have grown as a school considerably over this year and continue to do so as we head into the summer. For the start of the 2022/23 academic year, we will be even bigger! Thank you to all parents and families for supporting the growth and success of the school. We could not do this without you.

Thank you to all staff for supporting students with the Adventure Day trips this week in Years 7 and 8, the photos look great and we know you had a wonderful time. Also, Year 5 out to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. In school, we have had a Year 6 transition evening for Parents, a Year 6 Transition Day and an EAL presentation for parents. Our students in lessons have been preparing for the PTE and PTM assessments, most have now completed these and the IGCSE and A Level examination are running for a final week before coming to a close. Thank you to all staff involved.

Following on from our promotion of safe driving and road safety, we are looking into possibly having some help in the mornings for children to cross the road safely. This was an excellent idea raised in the Coffee Morning to introduce a form of a crossing guard/lollipop man/lady. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know. This is also something we can start with for the next academic year.

As mentioned in the Coffee with the Principal this morning, we are looking forward to 15 further events over the coming weeks to really finish with many exciting and busy opportunities for our students, from the Sports Days to the Wizard of Oz! It is going to be quite a finish to Block 7.

I have also included some useful dates for Block 1, Term 1 for you to note with the Orientation Day (Friday 19th August) and the first Coffee with the new Principal - Mr Matthew Cox (Friday 2nd September). These are included below for you to save the date.

We've also included information in the newsletters for many more activities and celebrations for you to be involved in, a new donation drive, Pride:Diplomats for Equality, Summer Camp and much more!

Next week, we finish all assessments and exams on site, our reporting window will commence and the progress of our students will be shared soon after this. Well done to all students rehearsing for the Wizard of Oz, taking part in MEPI and the fundraising events! A great balance between fun events for students, working together and academic successes.

Finally, we held our first Year 13 Graduation in the new building last week. It was an amazing event and I have included all of the links below for the gallery of our incredible students! Well done to each and every single one involved, we wish you all the very best in the future and you are welcome to come back to BISL as you are always a part of our community!

Have a lovely weekend,

Paul Walton

Principal

Year 13 Graduation - Class of 2022 - photo gallery

For the final Teacher Feature of the academic year, enjoy this delightful interview with Year 2B's Class Teacher, Mrs Fordham!

Read Mrs Fordham's Teacher Feature here

Summer Safety - Tick Prevention Summer Safety - Sun Protection Summer Safety - Stay Hydrated

Following on from the many fundraising projects by our community in these last few months, from bake sales, clothing and food drives, to sporting events and donations, you can now join our efforts to support Slovenska filantropija in the final three weeks of the academic year and beyond. They are currently accepting donations for various essential items including hygiene products, canned and dried goods, cleaning products, and essential foods, which can be dropped off directly at Cesta Dolomitskega odreda 11 between 9am-6pm on weekdays.

More information here

We continue to develop our new building with every delivery! From the new curtains in the Performance Theatre, to classroom equipment arriving, the spaces are looking fantastic.

We look forward to seeing all of our returning and incoming families at Orientation Day on Friday August 19 ahead of the start of the academic year!

More information will be shared ahead of time over the summer.

The first Coffee with the Principal will take place on Friday 2 September, from 8am in the Assembly Hall with Mr Matthew Cox, sharing updates on upcoming school news and events.

Summer uniform is now in full effect with the warm weather and you are welcome to place an order online through our supplier, Trutex. Click on the link below for details.

BISL School Uniform

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

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.