Dear Parents,
First Day of School: Monday 2nd September
As usual, school will be open from 8am. Please do not arrive before this time as teachers will be busy doing essential preparation.
All children who were with us last year should go straight to their new classrooms after hanging their coats and changing their shoes in the cloakroom. Note that Year 6 and Key Stage 3 students have lockers outside their classroom, so they go straight upstairs. There will be lists in the entrance hall showing where each class and teacher is located.
For our new students, I will be at main reception with other members of staff to help those who are unsure where to go. We will ensure that there are plenty of signposts around to guide you.
There will be welcome back assemblies for Primary school students at 9.00 and for secondary students at 10.30 in the assembly hall.
School timings
All primary and secondary school students should be in school ready to start their lessons by 8.30 am. Children who are not in their classroom by 8.30am will be marked as late and this will appear on their school report. Children who arrive after 8.30 MUST sign into school in the main reception. Students cannot arrive before 8.00 as there is no supervision for them. Children in Early Years must be in their classrooms by 8.45 am.
Early Years (nursery and reception), Year 1 and Year 2 children should be collected from their classroom at 15:00. Those children in nursery who are completing mornings only should be collected at 12.00 from their classroom
All Year 3 and Year 6 children will be taken down to the cloakroom by their teachers at 15.00. Parents should wait in the entrance hall and along the corridors near the cloakrooms for their children
Secondary school finishes at 15.20. Students will then make their way down to the entrance hall. Parents should wait in the entrance hall for their children
At the end of the school day, we have many children who want to play in the playground. As a school we are really happy for this to happen - as long as you supervise your child. No child should go out to the playground at the end of the day without supervision.
End of School – Year 7, 8 and 9 Change of time
There is now a registration period each day in Year 7,8,9 at 8.30am to 8.50am. Due to this, the day finishes 5 minutes later. Therefore, the formal end of the school day at Vlastina is 3.20pm for Senior school students.
School Day
Please note that this year the students will have different break and lunch times:
Key Stage 1 and Year 3 break will be 9.50 - 10.20 and lunch break will be 12.20 - 13.20
Key Stage 2 (Year 4, 5 and 6) break will be 10.20 - 10.50 and lunch break will be 12.50 - 13.50
Key Stage 3 (Year 7, 8 and 9) break will be 10.50 - 11.20 and lunch break will be 13.20 - 14.20
Primary Information afternoon
On Tuesday 3rd September there will be a primary information afternoon for all parents of primary school children to meet their child's class teacher and to find out more about the year ahead, including expectation and requirements of the year. Please see the table below to find the timings of you child's year group presentation.
Primary Information evening
|
15:30 – 16:00 |
16:00 – 16:30 |
|
FSU – FSU Year 2 PBS Year 2 CBZS Year 3 PBS Year 3 CBZS Year 6 PBS Year 6 CBZS Czech Programme Year 1 Czech Programme Year 4 Czech Programme Year 5 |
Year 1 PBS Year 1 CBZS Year 4 PBS Year 4 CBZS Year 5 PBS Year 5 CBZS Czech Programme Year 2 Czech Programme Year 3 Czech Programme Year 6 |
Secondary Information afternoon
On Friday 6th September there will be a Secondary school information afternoon 15.30 - 16.15 in the assembly hall. The Key stage 3 team will in introduce themselves and talk about the expectations and requirements of the year. There will then be an opportunity for parents to talk with specific subject areas should they have any further questions.
Road Cleaning
Please be aware that on 5th September there is road cleaning around Vlastina. On this morning Teaching assistants will be outside the school to support you with a quick drop off of your children.
Absence, late arrival or early leaving
We take school attendance very seriously and we need a reason for any absence.
Should your child be off school for medical reasons or will be late, please inform the school administrator Ms Marketa Stepanova on 226096180 or email her: marketa.stepanova@pbis.cz
If you wish for someone else to collect your child, or you would like your child to meet you outside school, please ensure that you put this in writing in your child’s diary or contact Ms Marketa Stepanova
Should you wish to take your child out of school for any other reason, please contact me directly: paul.kurczij@pbis.cz
School Uniform & PE Kit
All children should have school uniform. All uniform information can be found here: https://pbis.fireflycloud.net/joining-pbis/pbis-school-uniform/uniform-faq
Primary school equipment list
- a reading folder for homework and reading books to be stored in
- a healthy snack to eat during morning break every day. I would like to remind parents of our healthy eating policy and not to include any fizzy drinks, sweets or chocolate. Something small and light, a muesli bar or piece of fruit, is ideal.
- The school will provide children with pens and pencils, however, if your child would like to bring their own pencil case this is not a problem
- a water bottle - Drinking water is always available in school but children must bring a water bottle to drink from. Water bottles can be kept in the classroom and should be sent to school every day.
- sensible outdoor shoes that are easy for the children to fasten
- a hat/sun cream/sun glasses (for sunny days)
Secondary school equipment list
Children in Years 7, 8 and 9 will need:
•Pens (black, red , blue), Pencil, Rubber (eraser)
•Highlighter pen
•Ruler, Protractor
•PE kit
•Pencil case
•Set of coloured pencils (Minimum 4)
•Compass
•Calculator
•Dictionary (Paper copy) Mother tongue – English
•Dictionary (Paper copy) French, Spanish, Czech or German into English (related
to their MFL choice)
Students can bring in their own laptop for school purposes only. The school also has a selection of chrome books that the students can use within lessons.
Czech Programme/Český program
The Czech programme for Primary school students will start on Tuesday 3rd of September at 8:15am, Senior school students in Y7 - Y10 classes will follow their timetables. A letter from Mrs O’Leary with all the details can be found here.
Mobiles, iPads and Electronic Games
Many of the students now have mobile telephones. Students may bring their mobile phone to school if their parents think it is needed. However, mobile phones should be switched off and placed in their school bag as soon as the children enter the building. They cannot be used before school begins or during the school day. Students are not allowed to wear smart watches. If they are brought to school, staff will ask students to take them off and leave them in their bags.
Please note that the school accepts no responsibility for the loss of mobile phones or any other expensive electronic items brought into school.
Extracurricular Activities 2019/20
All clubs and extracurricular activities will begin in the second week of term on Monday 9th September. The MyPBIS club enrolment portal will open to parents at 5pm on Friday 6th September and remain open to parents until Monday 23rd September. Full sign up instructions and a preview of the club options will be sent to all parents during the first week of term.
Extra Time
For those that need to collect their children from school later than the regular school day finish time at 3 p.m., we offer our Extra Time service. Extra Time is open to all primary children from Reception - Year 6 and runs every school day from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (Starting Monday 2nd September.)
The service is managed by dedicated PBIS staff and offers peace of mind that children will be well looked after and entertained in an environment they know well. All children that attend Extra Time receive a complimentary snack, prepared by Lion Catering, and have the option to complete homework, read, participate in a range of fun structured activities, play games and sports or simply relax.
If you would like to find out more about Extra Time or make a booking for your child please click here.
New Breakfast Club
New for 2019/20 we are introducing an early morning breakfast club from 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. which will allow parents to drop off primary school children at school earlier than the 8:30 a.m. start time.
The Breakfast Club will be based in the Vlastina dining room and will be supervised by a member of staff each morning. Children will be able to eat their breakfast from home, or parents can purchase a breakfast from Lion Catering for their child, or children can simply relax before the start of the school day. All breakfast items purchased at school will be deducted directly from the student's account.
No advance registration is required to use this service. If you ever would like your child to attend the Breakfast Club, simply bring your child directly to the dining room in the morning and sign them in with the member of staff on duty.
There will be a 50 Kč charge for using the service that will be automatically deducted from your child's account each time.
Art Week
We will start next week with the launch of art week. The children will learn about the seven elements of art before choosing one to focus on in their class. The children will exhibit their work on Monday 9th September. You are all warmly invited to our art gallery launch assembly 9th September 8.30 in the assembly hall.
KS3 expeditions trips Year 7 - 9
Please ensure you have signed your child up for the trip. The trip is free and there will be no lessons taking place in school this week as all KS3 staff will be out:
Y7 Arrival September 9th 2019, Y7 Departure September 11th 2019
Y8 Arrival September 11th 2019, Y8 Departure September 13th 2019
Y9 Arrival September 16th 2019, Y9 Departure September 19th 2019
PBIS Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
The PTA consists of two parent groups.
· Class Representatives
· Vlastina Friends Association
Class representative meetings are held once each half term. Class representatives gather points for discussion from parents in their classes. These will include questions, concerns or suggestions about the curriculum, extra-curricular activities and school life.
Vlastina Friends support the school in many areas such as organising charity events, social events, bake sales and discos.
These groups are a great way to play an active role in the school and to meet other parents. We will be looking for parents to get involved in these groups and will send out further information soon should you wish to get involved.
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!
Coffee Morning
On Wednesday 4th September we have the first of our parent breakfast mornings. We aim to host an international breakfast morning each month. If you would like to lead a breakfast morning to represent your home country please let me know or pop along to the coffee morning to sign up. We look forward to seeing you there!
Vlastina Welcome back BBQ and picnic
Please note that we will have an informal ‘Welcome Back’ BBQ and picnic on Thursday 5th September from 15.00 – 17.00. There will be food and refreshments provided by lion catering for free, or you can simply bring your own nibbles and picnic blanket along. Hopefully it will be a nice opportunity to welcome back all families, old and new, into the school community.
Facebook groups for parents
Vlastina FriendsMother 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.cz or 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
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 9th September. 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.
Michael Bardsley
Principal
Paul Kurczij
Head of Vlastina Campus
Prague British International School
Address: Vlastina 19 | 161 00 Prague 6 | Czech Republic
Tel: + 420 226 096 200 | Mob: +420 775 695 337´
paul.kurczij@pbis.cz
www.pbis.cz