Update from the Principal - February 18th 2022 | February 2022 | British International School of Ljubljana

Last updated: 19.02.2022

Dear Parents,

Please see the updates regarding COVID measures below - students will no longer need to self-test at schools from Monday, but face masks remain obligatory under the same conditions as so far. The government has also made the decision to abolish quarantine requirements.

We have started a new block with a new theme - English - and are very excited to see the activities, competitions and projects ahead for our students to enjoy! This week we also celebrated Safer Internet Day across the school - look out for details on this in the Primary and Secondary Newsletters this weekend.

Below I have included a link to the Block 4 Languages block round up. This was a fantastic celebration of languages across our first block of the Spring term with so many wonderful opportunities for our students to have fun, learn and work with one another. Thank you to all of the staff involved, especially our Head of Languages Ms Kotnik!

A date to note please is Friday 4th March, as this will be the first chance to speak to our new incoming Principal, Mr Matthew Cox. The format is planned for an online coffee morning and the link is included below. Mr Cox will also be speaking to our Student Council on Monday 28th February.

I would also like to thank parents for driving more carefully now during the morning drop off and afternoon pick up. We still need to continue working hard to ensure that all families are safe as we arrive at school. Thank you for supporting our Road Safety campaign, we've seen a range of wonderful articles from students, more awareness of driving slowly and an improved entry and exit of the car park.

Due to the current covid guidance, we have moved our Parent Appreciation Day to the first Friday of next term, Friday 8th April. This should enable a face to face gathering and a better opportunity for us to celebrate our fantastic parents and share the personal appreciation messages from our students.

Our uniform shop is now live, we have been eagerly awaiting this and it is fantastic news. More information about this can be found below.

Lastly, thank you to all parents for completing the Parent Survey, I will collate the results during the next week and share as normal the findings with you. I will also extract all positive comments for teachers and share these with the staff. Thank you again for taking your time to complete this. As a school, we always want to improve and this survey is one of the great tools to enable us to do that.

Have a great weekend!

Paul Walton

Principal

During next month's online Coffee Morning, on Friday March 4 at 9am via Zoom, our parents will have the wonderful opportunity to hear from our incoming Principal, Mr Matthew Cox, who will be joining us on Zoom for a chat over coffee.

Save the link below in your calendars to join us!

Join Coffee Morning

Take a look at this wonderful round up of all the fun sporting activities our Secondary students participated in during their recent trips to beautiful Vogel. And the weather was perfect for our Winter Adventure Days, our students certainly had a fantastic time.

Winter Adventure Days Round Up

If you haven't had a chance to read through our recent article recounting the variety of activities from our Languages block, I definitely encourage you to do so!

Languages Block Round Up

Once again, please note that the date for Parent Appreciation Day has been moved to Friday April 8, to allow us to be able to host you all for a lovely breakfast together in the woodland area and celebrate our wonderful parents here at BISL.

In an effort to provide sustainable and high-quality school uniform, we have partnered with Trutex as our School Uniform provider, with warehouses within the EU to make your uniform shopping experience all the more convenient. For uniform requirements and to start shopping, please click on the link below.

BISL - Trutex School Uniform

For some weekend entertainment for the little ones, if you haven't listened to our Stories with Early Years series on our YouTube channel, I encourage you to browse through our playlist of stories read by our fantastic teachers here at BISL.

Stories with Early Years Playlist

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 until further notice. 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 or have tested positive 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. Cancellations can be made with 24 hours' notice.

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

Students and 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. Can students wear fabric masks?

No. Surgical or FFP2 masks are required as recommended by the NIJZ.

11. Will the school provide surgical masks to students?

Limited replacements are available should theirs break during the day, however, all students are required to supply their own masks. Parents are asked to ensure their child has a mask prior to being dropped off.

12. Are teachers vaccinated or getting regularly tested?

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

13. How long is the isolation period for positive students?

The isolation period is reduced to 7 days from Monday January 24, according to new government guidance, provided the person does not have fever or any other Covid symptoms 24 hours before the end of self-isolation and tests negative on the seventh day at an approved testing provider. If the rapid antigen test is positive on the seventh day, the person keeps self-isolating and does another test the following day until the tenth day, when self-isolation ends in line with the regime so far.

Masks - No Fabric masks please. Only Surgical or FFP2 masks are allowed as mentioned by the new government decree.
Canvas - will be used as the online learning environment for all students Year 2 and above. For EY and Year 1, the classroom teachers will email out if students transition to online learning.

Please be as safe as possible as we navigate through the current COVID situation and I thank all parents, teachers and students in advance for following guidance both in the school and in our wider communities.

We are following the general rules and guidance by the Ministry, WHO and NIJZ regarding distancing and hygiene, as well as the use surgical or FFP2 (ages 6+) masks. Please ensure that your child arrives to school wearing such an appropriate mask.
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 it is '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, as recommended by the NIJZ.
Over 95% of our staff are now fully vaccinated, or have recovered within the last 6 months.
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.
We also want to be as safe as possible and ensure that the privacy of families is respected during this tough time.

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.)
Drop off team continue to wear masks at all times
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)
All teachers are required to wear masks in key areas
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.