ISB Essentials
Welcome 4 School’s website 6 PTA 7 Learning English 9 Summer School 10 Working at ISB 11
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Welcome to ISB We know that moving to a new country and/or starting a new school is an exciting time. At ISB we do all that we can to help families feel settled and at home as quickly as possible. We are very experienced in welcoming newcomers; not only in September, but throughout the whole school year. We know that you will have lots of questions to ask about how the school works and what day to day ISB life will be like for you and your family. This booklet is designed to help answer most of those questions, but please remember that if you are unsure about anything at all you just need to ask - we are here to help.
Useful dates for your calendar Term Dates and Holidays [ School Year 2014-2015 ] Autumn term begins Half term holidays School closed Autumn term ends
Monday 1 September 2014 Monday 27 October - Friday 31 October 2014 Monday 1 December 2014 (National Day) Friday 19 December 2014
Spring term begins Half term holidays Spring term ends
Monday 5 January 2015 Monday 23 February - Friday 27 February 2015 Friday 10 April 2015
Summer term begins School closed School closed Summer term ends
Monday 27 April 2015 Friday 1 May 2015 (Labour Day) Monday 1 June (Rusalii) Friday 19 June 2015
Note: Each term ends with a short programme at 12:00
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Welcome to ISB Welcome to the ISB and - in many cases - to Romania . We are really happy that you have made the choice to join us and become part of the ISB community here in Bucharest . We know that for many of you this is a time when you have many things to think about, organize and arrange. Moving to a new country, house or school can be a busy and hectic time. That is why we have done our best to gather together all of the really important things that we think you may want to know about the ISB both before you get here and once you've arrived. Although much of the information here is also available on our website, we know that many still value the convenience of a small booklet to refer to. We really hope that you will be able to find all the information you are looking for. If, however, you are still unsure or have questions that need answering please do not hesitate to call either the admissions department or the school office- we are always happy to help. Primary Office Telephone: 021 306 95 30 Fax: 021 306 95 34 Email: primary.office@isb.ro
School contact and address details Sos Gara Catelu, Nr.1R, Sector 3 032991, Bucharest +40(21) 306 95 30 +40(21) 306 95 34 (fax) info@isb.ro Admissions Ms. Madalina Cioc Admission Officer admissions@isb.ro Accountancy Mrs. Filis Mustafa Accountant accountancy@isb.ro
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How do I get to the school site? Travelling to our school site by car or public transport is straightforward. See the maps to show the location of our campuses. Google maps are available on our website www.isb.ro.
Our school bus service The service is run by an independent company whose standards are monitored by ISB. Buses are equipped with seat belts, surveillance and GPS tracking systems. Early Years and Primary buses have an adult supervisor. The cost of the service depends on the capacity of the bus and the location. In the event of a problem with the service you should in the first instance contact the company representative. If you are unable to resolve the problem you may contact the nominated school liaison officer. If you have more questions regarding routes and fees, please contact Ms.Irina from Transport company at: isb@asiltravel.ro
What to wear at the ISB School uniform is worn by all students from Reception until Year 13. The main School Uniform Shop, located on our campus, stocks all items of uniform excluding footwear. Payment can be made by cash or Credit Card at our Accountancy department.
What if I’m new to the ISB? These sessions are by appointment only. Please telephone the admissions department on 021-306 95 30 to make an appointment. A full list of uniform requirements can be found in the Shop.
View the school calendar Clicking on 'Admissions’ on the 'School Calendar' section on the homepage will take you to a full calendar' view.
Practical information If you are looking for general practical information on the school this is the place to look. It is on the far right column of the Home Page.
Check out the co-curricular activities ISB Primary
Just click on the co-curricular activities tab for a breakdown of the activities we offer
How do I get involved at school? There are many ways for parents - both moms and dads - to get involved with school life. Showing your child (ren) that you have an active interest in their school and getting to know the staff and parents that surround them is an invaluable way of demonstrating how much you value the importance of school life and the ISB Community of which we are all a part. Parents help with, amongst other things: art. computers, cooking, gardening, group reading, stories, special days and trips, if you have a particular skill or area of expertise to share we'd be delighted to hear about it Whether you are interested in volunteering on an ad hoc basis or are keen to join one of the more regular committees, we are happy to welcome you into our school community.
How can I volunteer in my child's school? Our school provides opportunities throughout the year for you to assist with special activities within the classroom; accompany schooltrips; help organize special events; support school productions and so on. The degree to which you get Involved is completely up to you.
What are Parent Teacher Association (PTA)? The PTA is a link between the parents and teachers within the school with the common aim of wanting to create the best possible learning environment for the children which stimulates nurtures and encourages their development both academically, socially and personally. The PTA also wishes to offer parents and teachers an official platform from which to discuss concerns they believe to be of interest to other parents and teachers. One of our principal roles is as a fund-raising body to help put the 'cherry on the cake' for the children at school, hopefully having fun along the way. Every parent with children at the school is a member of the PTA and it is hoped that they will get involved to some degree during the course of their children's attendance at the school whether it be on the committee, coming to our monthly meetings, helping out at events or just attending events to help make them successful. The minutes will also keep you updated on the subjects discussed during these meetings and our announcement board will keep you informed on our latest projects! We have planned many great activities for the school year and we hope this year you will become involved in transforming them from ideas to reality, the same way many of you have helped on past events. By taking part in PTA activities and events, we get an opportunity to meet interesting people from different cultures and learn from each other's experiences. Your enthusiasm and creativity are most welcome.
School Faires These are Key socio events of the school year and enjoyed by over o thousand parents and children. The secret to this team is that many hands make light work! This is a team that is run "by parents for parents and children’ and they are always looking for more volunteers to help out.
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Educare is an online school management system which enables parents to track their child’s progress and attendance at ISB.You may receive email and SMS through Educare. In addition, you may directly log into your Educare account and see your child’s attendance, homework, daily reports (will be sent after 4:30 every school day) and email history.
What is a Daily Report? A Daily Report is a message that can be sent directly to you as a parent relating to things going on with events, special lessons, activities, trips etc. Of course, you are always welcome to contact the School Office or teaching staff personally, but the vast majority of written day to day communication from the school will come to you via Educare. If you are having any problems with accessing Educare you should contact your school office so that we can assist you.
How do I get connected to Educare? You do this by logging in with a user name and password. In order to log in, type educare.lumina.ro on your browser. STEP 1. If it is your first time using Educare, click "Forgot your password?" button at the homepage. STEP 2. Type the email you provided to ISB and click “Reset passoword” button. STEP 3. A password change link was sent to your email account. When you will click on it, you will receive another email with your new password. STEP 4. After you click on the link that was sent to you by email, you will see the message that a new password was sent to you email account. Please check your email and use the password that you received. If you encounter problems accessing your Educare account, please make sure you have deleted the browsing history (not all of it, just the Cache and Cookies).
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What should my child wear? We believe that a uniform encourages a sense of unity and common purpose - a particularly important consideration as we endeavour to welcome children from a wide variety of countries and provide them with a true sense of belonging. Details of the school uniform you will require for your child can be found on the school website. A uniform is worn by students starting from reception. Children in Nursery wear their own clothes. The main School Uniform Shop is located on the 1st floor. Payment can be made by cash. The Uniform Shop is generally open during term time only, but a few extra opening times are planned for new families just before the start of term. Contact the secretary to find out more about this.
Labelling All Items should be clearly labeled with your child's name and class.
Jewellery In general, jewellery should not be worn in school. We do allow children with pierced ears to wear small stud earrings, but request that they are removed or covered over during PE lessons.
Learning English With over 40 nationalities making up our school community our classes are rich with multi-cultural diversity. We celebrate this diversity at the same time as realising that some students will need extra support with their English language when they join us. Many of our pupils already speak enough English to access our curriculum, but for those who cannot we provide support both within the mainstream classroom and in separate specialist classes as necessary. Our staff are extremely experienced in welcoming children and parents from all around the world for whom English is not their mother tongue. We deal with children of all levels, from those who do not speak or understand a word, to those who simply need a little extra support with spelling or grammar. We are very practiced in assessing children coming from different educational backgrounds and systems and being aware of how that can initially impact on their learning in the classroom.
An individual approach We appreciate that moving to a new country can be a difficult time for parents and children alike, and that the challenge of learning a new language can cause extra concerns - we are here to listen to those concerns and to help you and your child settle into school as quickly and smoothly as possible. That process starts from the very first time that you contact the admissions department. We treat all children as individuals and work hard to ensure that we fully understand the specific situation and needs of all our students.
What is the EAL programme used? Learning English as a foreign language is different to learning English in a school where all the lessons are taught in English. Your child has to learn English to communicate (social purposes) and also English for all the different subjects (academic purposes). Students who are new to learning English will begin by learning vocabulary needed to express their everyday needs and for normal school life. This will then be built upon as they progress and gain in knowledge and confidence. The level of support given to EAL beginners will be more intense when they first join ISB and a wide range of resources will be used to support learning – including specialised computer programmes. The children also need to be able to work in their classroom on the same lessons as their classmates. Of course this is not easy when you are at the early stages of understanding and using English. So the class teachers differentiate the lessons to enable all children to take part. This means they may give a different text to be read, or ask children to work on the same learning objective but in a different way, or they may ask a fluent user of English to record another child’s ideas for them. There are many different ways! The EAL teachers also work in classrooms with the class teacher. The EAL teacher will focus on the English language development and the class teacher the subject content. Together they meet the needs of an EAL learner.
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How do we help your child? We use an integrated skills approach focusing on the skills of Listening, Speaking,Reading and Writing using a knowledge of Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation. We help your child in various different ways: by supporting him or her in the classroom helping them to access their lessons; by giving them small group lessons to improve their English; by providing them with the specific language they need to study their other lessons; by giving them homework and by providing them with reading materials for use at home.
How can you help your child? One of the most important ways you can help your child is by reading with them in English. We will provide graded books and resources appropriate to your child’s level to support you with this, but please do not forget the importance of your child’s first language – they should continue to use their mother tongue as well as English.
How will my child communicate at first? Don't worry, most children are very good at using gesture and demonstrating to communicate their most immediate needs! We use a lot of visual resources to support communication and of course technology – such as Google translate. If possible we use adults who can speak your child’s language so they can communicate their needs straight away and also to translate instructions and important information. If your child can read and write in another language, then in the settling in phase, they are encouraged to use this to complete work in the classroom. Using the language they are already literate in helps them to settle in quickly and allows them to work at their level whilst developing English. We also use other children who act as translators or who can help a new child to settle in and feelwelcome.
How long before my child is fluent? This is a very difficult question to answer! What is fluent? Most of the children who come to the Primary Schools are able to communicate with their teachers and friends successfully within one year, but they may be making many errors. We encourage the children to communicate and speak even if they make mistakes. Your child’s progress will depend on their personality, their age, their previous school experience and how quickly they can settle in to their new school.
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Summer School for Young Learners
In June. The ISB organizes an English Language Summer School for non-native English speakers aged from 5 to 16 years old. The Summer School' is located within ISB school premises and the language courses and activities are taught in English by experienced and qualified teachers. It is a great opportunity to learn English together with other international students.
Working at the ISB The ISB is a diverse and vibrant academic environment in which to work. We offer challenging and rewarding careers, where professional development is encouraged and we pride ourselves on looking after our staff as well as our students. We aim to ensure that employment at the ISBs rewording, and fun. There are many positions and ways for you to join our team and all employment opportunities are posted on our website. We recruit for a wide range of positions from student supervisors through to teaching related and managerial positions. To keep informed of opportunities that you may be interested in, visit our website and send us your resume. You will then be informed via email when a vacancy is posted in one of your chosen categories. We also operate a Flexible Working Register (or 'Supply List-), which consists of a group of qualified and experienced people, who we can call upon on an as and when required basis. We may contact you at short notice and therefore being flexible in the hours you are available is a necessity. This register provides support to our staff across all roles and all school sites including the business units.
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Address: Sos. Gara Catelu, Nr. 1R, Sector 3, 032991 Bucharest, Romania Phone: +40(21) 306 95 30 Fax: +40(21) 306 95 34 www.isb.ro www.facebook.com/ISB.Romania twitter.com/isbro