Dear Parents / Guardians,
We are looking forward to seeing you all on Monday 2nd September 2019. Students will be welcomed through the main entrance by staff and are required to go directly to the gym for our whole school assembly. Students will sit in year groups and these will be indicated in the gym.
We have a range of administration, activities and induction to get through on Monday, including firming up option choices and timetables. Students need to bring writing equipment to school but will not require anything additional. Can I remind students that school uniform consists of the following:
IGCSE Students
Black/Dark Blue – Trousers/Skirts (no Jeans, jeggings or leggings)
White Polo Shirt – School Logo
Blue Jumper/Hoodie – School Logo
Black Shoes – No patterns, stripes or white soles
IB Students
Smart professional business dress
No jeans, jeggings or leggings
Smart shoes – no trainers
First Day of School – Monday 2nd September
The school will be open from 8 am and all students should be in the gym by 8.30am to meet with their Heads of Year and Tutors.
Please do not arrive on site before 8am.
If you are dropping your child off at school, you are more than welcome to stay for a tea or coffee in the reception area to meet other parents.
Normal school Day Opening Times from Tuesday 3rd September
Students must enter the school via the students’ entrance and not via reception from 8am daily.
Students are expected to be in their tutor rooms from 8.15am as lessons will start promptly at 8.30am.
There will be a breakfast club in the canteen from 7.30am and students can access this via reception.
End of the School Day Procedure
Students will finish at 3.20pm and will exit via the main student exit. Some IB lessons will run until 4.20pm. Clubs will run from 3.30pm until 4.30pm.
U19 Football Trials (Girls/Boys)
As you may be aware our girls and boys U19 football teams are playing in the upcoming Nord Anglia football tournament in Budapest (10th - 13th October). Any student that wants to be considered for selection is invited to attend the trial next Thursday 5th September after school on the Libuš school field.
All pupils that want to be considered are expected to attend. However, if they are unable they should come to speak to the PE staff before the trial date.
If you or your child has any questions about the trip or trial please contact thomas.sturmey@pbis.cz
PBIS Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
The PTA in Kamyk and Libus will consist of two parent groups.
· Class Representative Committee· Kamyk and Libus Friends Association
Kamyk and Libus Friends Association
The Kamyk and Libus Friends Association is a body made up of parents and school staff.
- Committee
- Chairperson
- Student Event Team
- Parent Event Team
- Charity Link Team
- Treasurer
- Coffee morning and cake sale team
- PBIS Staff Representatives Head of Campus and Deputy Heads.
- Student Event Team
- Parent Event Team
- Charity Link Team
- Coffee morning and cake sale team
The Friends are responsible for many events scheduled throughout the year for children and parents and hold formal meetings each month. We are looking for as many parents as possible to join the groups below to help arrange events throughout the school.
If you would like to find out more about parental involvement at PBIS or are interested in Kamyk positions, please contact anthony.peachment@pbis.cz
Facebook groups for parents
Kamyk and Libus FriendsAfter School Activities
These will start the week beginning Monday 9th September. Information will be sent out with the details of available choices and how to sign up in the first few weeks of term.
Libuš Family Welcome BBQ – Wednesday 4th September 3.30pm – 5pm
On Wednesday 4th September we will be holding a welcome barbecue for Libuš families. The idea is for staff, parents and students to start to get to know each other in an informal setting. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Medical Form
Please find attached a Medical Form (in Czech) that we require you to take to a doctor in the Czech Republic to complete. This is necessary in order that your children can take part in all sports, trips and physical activities at school.Unfortunately your child will not be permitted to take part in these activities if you do not submit this form. Please also find an English translation of the form for your information here.
Please return this completed form to your School Administrator at the school office by the beginning of the school year.
Transport Information for the AY 2019/20
Please note that Bus safety rules have been updated and can be found here. School buses are now monitored by external and internal cameras to ensure safety of your children.
Shuttle bus service for Kamýk and Libuš will remain the same. Vinohrady shuttle bus stop will be back at original bus stop at Francouzská. Please see the Vinohrady map here.
Please be aware that After Club bus service for Kamýk and Libuš will start on Monday 9thSeptember. Parents will receive information for club and after club bus registration at the end of first week of school.
Parents of children, who have completed bus application form should have received confirmation yesterday or today. Please contact Soňa Nováková if you have not received it.
School Uniform & PE Kit Reminder
We are delighted to hear that so many of our students have already purchased the new PBIS uniform and PE kit and are ready for the first day of PBIS on Monday 2nd September. If you have not yet purchased the uniform we would ask you to do so as soon as possible through the links on these pages: https://pbis.fireflycloud.net/joining-pbis/pbis-school-uniform/uniform-faq
IB students should be in smart business dress as per the uniform guide.
Sport in the First Week
All students at Libuš will have sport in the first week of term. Whilst sports kits are being distributed, the children can wear any sport kit for their sessions. After the sports kit that you have ordered have been distributed all the children will be expected to wear the correct kit.
Laptops
At Libuš we will have a ‘bring your own laptop’ policy that will be distributed to parents next week. This means that students are expected to have their own laptop in school charged ready for the day ahead. The policy includes an acceptable use contract that students and parents will have to sign.
Important – Absence and Late Arrival
We expect a parent to telephone or email the school on the first day of absence by 8:30 a.m. This is a policy to ensure that all our students are safe.
Please remember that there is a clear connection between regular attendance and achievement. As attendance deteriorates, so do performance, achievement, friendship circles and self-esteem.
All students should be in school ready to start their lessons by 8.30 am. In order to begin their first lesson, or be in the assembly at 8.30 am, they will need to arrive at school at around 8.15 - 8.20am at the latest. Students who are not in their classroom or in the theatre for assembly, by 8.30am will be marked as late and this will appear on their school report. There will also be sanctions for continued lateness.
Students who arrive after 8.30 MUST sign into school in the main reception.
In case of Absence:
- We will contact the guardians of those students who are not at school and no reason has been established for their absence.
- Absence will not be authorised for family holidays or “family reasons”, except under exceptional circumstances.
- Parents must provide the school with a note in advance for absence due to scheduled medical appointments. Failure to do so will result in an unauthorised absence.
- The attendance of students is monitored and parents are contacted in case of any concern.
Mobile Phones and Personal Music Systems
Mobile phones are not allowed during the day. They will have to be kept in lockers all day long. If a student is caught using their telephone during the day, their telephone will be confiscated and kept by the Senior Administrator until the end of the day. After three incidents of students’ using their mobile phones, parents will be requested to meet with Head of School, to discuss means of alleviating the problem. Students are encouraged to go to the Senior Administrator should they wish to make an urgent phone call. Teachers may make an occasional exception to this in lessons when research/educational games requiring phones is needed.
Prohibited Items
1. Chewing gum is banned on the school premises at all times.
2. Alcohol, drugs and non-prescribed medication, weapons, knives, fireworks and other potentially dangerous items.
3. Cigarettes and tobacco products, matches and cigarette lighters.
I am really looking forward to meeting your son/daughter and working with them over the coming academic year. I am sure that I will also get to know many of you over the coming half term. I look forward to meeting you at the welcome BBQ on Wednesday 4th September.
KS3&KS4 expedition trip
Please make sure that you have signed up your child for KS3&KS4 (Year 10&Year 12) expedition trip here: https://pbis.fireflycloud.net/school-trips-2/secondary-school-trips/secondary-school-trips-201920/ks3andks4-school-expedition
Whole School Maximum Music Weekend!
On Saturday October 11th 2019, we will be holding the first ever PBIS music event involving students from all three sites: Libus, Kamyk and Vlastina. All students who belong to choir, band or string group will be rehearsing the same music and coming together on Saturday 11th for a day of joint rehearsals, culminating in a concert for parents from 1700-1800. This is a great opportunity for our young musicians to meet and work together; staff and parents who sing or play an instrument are also welcome to join us! Please put the date in your diary and ensure that your child signs up for choir, orchestra or concert band clubs if they would like to participate. We look forward to a weekend of maximum music making!
Mother Tongue Lessons Programme in the new academic year 2019/2020
Dear Parents of children whose home language is neither English nor Czech,
We would like to offer your children an excellent opportunity to improve their mother tongue as well as to learn important facts about their home country. Mother Tongue Lessons are lessons which are taught in the child’s home language. The lessons focus on the development of speaking & listening, reading and writing, as well as developing the child’s knowledge of his or her country, focusing on themes relevant to the child’s homeland.
When families are away from their home country for an extended period of time, MT languages are easily lost. Children who have a solid foundation in their MT develop stronger literacy abilities in the school language. The research is also very clear about the importance of bilingual children's MT for their overall personal and educational development.
These lessons are intended for students in Year 1 to Year 13 whose home language is neither English nor Czech.
We will soon accomplish the tenth successful year of Mother Tongue Lesson Programme at the Prague British (International) School. In the following academic year 2019/2020, we will be offering the programme again.
The actual language groups offered will depend on the level of interest but it should be a minimum of 4 pupils in each class. Students will be grouped according to their age and language ability.
In the 1st term of the new academic year 2019/2020, the courses will start again in the 2nd week of school, i.e. from Monday 9th to Friday 13th Sep 2019 in Kamyk, Vlastina, as well as in Libuš.
Principally, we would like to encourage all PBIS parents to apply for their children into these popular MTL courses. Thus we would like to encourage children of Russian, Slovak, Spanish and German origin to join the existing groups, and the children of other nationalities to form new groups.
You will find more information about MTL programme at https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/schools/prague/british-international/learning/primary/mother-tongue-lessons.
If you are interested, you will find detailed info and an Application Form for these courses on our VLE (https://pbis.fireflycloud.net/language-lessons/mother-tongue-lessons-programme-).Please complete this form and send it to Dan Škoda (dan.skoda@pbis.cz) or just contact him (tel. 226 096 173 or 603 891 750) by Wednesday 4th Sep 2019 at the latest, so that we can prepare the language programme.
The lessons will start on Monday 9th to Friday 13th Sep 2019
The Parents language lessons in the new academic year will start on Monday 9th to Friday 13th Sep 2019 in Kamyk, Vlastina, as well as in Libuš.
Principally, we would like to encourage all the PBIS parents to take part in these convenient language courses. We expect the Parents language lessons to be again very popular as they were this year.
If you are interested, you will find an Application Form for these courses on our VLE (https://pbis.fireflycloud.net/language-lessons) or just contact Dan Škoda (dan.skoda@pbis.czor tel. 603 891 750). Please complete this form and send it to Dan (dan.skoda@pbis.cz) soon, by Wednesday 4th Sep 2019 at the latest.
The lessons will hopefully be again a convenient way for parents to fit language lessons into the day, either to improve English or Czech skills, or perhaps to learn or just brush up on any other languages.
Dr. Dan Škoda
Head of the International Language Centre
Thank you.
Michael Bardsley
Principal
Jane Cordes
Head of Libuš Campus
Prague British International School
Address: Brunelova 12 | 140 00 Prague 4 | Czech Republic
Tel: + 420 226 096 100
jane.cordes@pbis.cz
www.pbis.cz