The APEEE NewsFlash, introduced in October, is still in its pilot phase. We continue to tweak our content structure, layout and timing. We nevertheless received quite positive feedback after our October edition and after seeing how much content has built up over the last two months, we may seriously consider a monthly edition. We would of course be happy to receive any suggestions from you, our parent readers.

Please note, any member of our school community is encouraged to submit content to our newsletter. We would particularly appreciate more news from our primary parents and teachers at both the Uccle and Berkendael sites.

We hope you enjoy!

Kathryn Máthé
APEEE President

LATEST NEWS FROM THE APEEE

2017-2018 Activity Report

The 2017-2018 APEEE Annual Report, which includes the 2018-2019 budget, is out!
Click on the links below to find out about the range of activities carried out by the Parents’ Association over the past school year.

Activity Report 2017-2018_English
Rapport d'Activité 2017-2018_Français

APEEE Board election results

The General Assembly (GA) of the APEEE held in Brussels on 6 December elected five new members of the APEEE Board:

Marek Bobiš, BERK SK
Henning Ehrenstein, BERK DE
Anne-Marie Hammer, UCCLE DA
Sven Matzke, UCCLE DE
Gundars Ostrovskis, BERK LV

The members elected by the language sections on 8 November to sit on the APEEE Administrative Board (CA) were approved by the same GA. The official lists of APEEE Board Members and Education Committee (CE) Members are available on the APEEE website:

Minutes of the General Assembly (FR)

Extraordinary General Assembly on 22 January to approve new statutes

The APEEE Statutes have been revised to formally include representatives from the Berkendael site as well as a SWALS representative in the APEEE Administrative Board.

Yet, the General Assembly of 6 December did not manage to approve the revised Statutes; the quorum of the 358 parents’ representatives (2/3) was not reached (though 155 of the 183 voters were in favour of the proposed amendments). For this reason, an extraordinary General Assembly will be called on 22 January 2019 at 19h00. All parents are invited to attend. Registration is mandatory to access the school before Monday 21 January at midnight.

Please click here to register.
Please consult the proposed revision here and the current Statutes here.

APEEE invites members of the school community to request funds for projects

Do you have an idea for improving life at the school? Do you know of a school-related initiative that needs support? In October of this year, the APEEE Board voted in a new financial procedure which will make it possible for all members of the EEBI school community (parents, teachers, students, management, staff) to apply for funds to support projects at the school. There will be formal school-wide calls in March (or alternatively, in March and October) each year soliciting projects according to defined criteria.

In between these times, school community members are invited to use the “urgent” or “simplified” procedures as appropriate; these requests will be judged using the baseline criteria defined in the new procedure.

Francis Pirotta Creative Arts Prize

Francis Pirotta was in the second year nursery class (English section), a Maltese and Latvian national.

He used to spend countless hours drawing. It was by far his favourite pastime and an opening into his world. It was also his favourite school time activity, to the extent that in his mind it was more important than any other activity or lesson. He passed away suddenly on 24 May 2018. The future is now beyond his reach; this prize commemorates his short but creative life and ensures that his spirit and determination remain alive through the creativity of other children…

At our November meeting, the APEEE Administrative Board agreed to help run and provide funds for an annual Francis Pirotta Creative Arts Prize. The theme of the competition, which will be run in cooperation with our nursery and primary programmes, will be decided each year based on the loves, interests and imagination of Francis. Each prize will be a shared experience and will be awarded to a whole class.

Interested in similar projects? Please see our Community Building Working Group.

LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Pilot Project

During the upcoming project week, a selection of S3 pupils will work with Lego Mindstorms sets to learn about robotics, coding, and environmental issues and to gain insights into the benefits of working on projects in teams. This project is meant as a pilot to make the robotics and coding possibilities provided by Lego Education available for future teaching and projects at the European School. Furthermore, it is an excellent opportunity to prepare the students for more advanced projects in the FabLab. Lego Mindstorms is an excellent way to spark interest and skills in coding and robotics as it gives students the experience of being able to affect the physical world around them...

At our November meeting, the APEEE Board agreed to provide co-funding for the purchase of 16 Lego Mindstorms EV3 sets. These sets will be used as part of a project week pilot project but should also be used by the school in early secondary ICT courses and in special teaching or extra-curricular modules. It was felt that Mindstorms provided a good early introduction to robotics and coding; sets also come with a rich supply of instructional and educational material that will help guide teachers in their use. The APEEE hopes these sets will spark student interest in computing and electronics during their formative years and will complement the more advanced facilities and equipment offered by the FabLab.

LEGO Project background
LEGO Project proposal

Interested in similar projects? Please see our PedGroup’s STEM group.

Educational Support/Gifted Students Network

For two years, the APEEE's Pedagogical Working Group (PedGroup) has included a sub-group on educational support coordinated by Sven Matzke. The subgroup has recently set up two networks of parents dealing with (1) educational support and (2) gifted pupils. The aim of both networks is to provide interested parents with relevant information and to organise dedicated meetings for an exchange of experience.

Parents having an interest in educational support and/or support for gifted pupil can address their questions to info@uccleparents.org. Please indicate clearly your name, email address and the network in which you are interested.

Interested in similar projects? Please see our PedGroup’s Educational Support subgroup.

EEBI Addiction Prevention Policy and Mobile Phone Policy: soliciting parent feedback

The APEEE has solicited feedback from all parents through section and class representatives on the following two positions:

Mobile Phone Policy: The APEEE considers the school's current mobile phone policy to be too narrow in scope and out-of-date and wishes to submit a proposal to the school for an update of the policy. A group of parents have drafted the attached background paper and proposal on behalf of the APEEE, and the APEEE CA has asked for the document to be circulated to parents for consultation. In order to evaluate whether a revision to the policy would be supported by parents and to establish a parent position on the best scope and approach, we would like to solicit feedback. We would be grateful if parents could submit their feedback to class representatives, giving particular consideration to:

the possibility of separate policies for primary and secondary school;
the possibility of differentiated treatment of the lower years of secondary (S1-S3) and upper secondary (S4-S7);
times/locations where mobile phone use should/could be permitted/prohibited.

Prevention Policy Guidelines: The following policy was drafted by the school over the spring of 2018 and presented at the October secondary CE meeting. The purpose of the policy is to introduce coherent disciplinary measures for students in possession of addictive substances on campus and/or for the consumption of such substances on or before entering the campus. The guidelines also contain information on prevention measures.
Ideally, the policy should be a document that teachers, students, the school administration and parents can all agree to, and the whole school community should work together on its enforcement. For this reason, we would be grateful to receive parent feedback, particularly taking into considering the following aspects of the policy:

Scope and structure: Does the structure meet the objectives and contain all relevant sections?
Coverage: Is the coverage of the policy clear? Does the policy specify which populations, physical locations/spaces and times of day or week are covered? Does it take into account the age of legality of certain behaviours or places where certain behaviours may be permitted?
Overall Approach: How does the document approach the issues? Are there potential legal problems or ethical concerns with the approach taken? Are the decision makers and their mandate for each situation clearly spelled out?
Discipline and punishment: Are the punishments for particular behaviours clearly laid out? Are the punishments consequent and proportionate? Are there procedural safeguards in place to ensure students a fair hearing and to protect students’ rights? Is there a clear procedure for complaint or appeal?
Prevention Aspects: Is there a prevention programme in place? Are there means for students or teachers to report concerns to the school administration?

Section representatives have been asked to send out the following two attachments to all class representatives and to coordinate the feedback on both issues from their sections, keeping primary and secondary separate. Each section representative should summarise the opinions of his/her section by 11 January 2019 and submit to APEEE, after which two position papers will be drafted by the Bien Etre Working Group to be discussed, adapted as needed and agreed at APEEE’s CA/board meeting on 22 January. Please contact your class and section representation if you do not receive these requests for feedback.

We have included the opinion of the Student Committee (CdE) on both topics for your interest.

Interested in similar projects? Please see our Well-Being Working Group.

Measures taken to protect the parents’ personal data within the APEEE Services and APEEE

The APEEE Services has started the necessary process to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The decision was taken to use an external data protection officer (DPO).

The APEEE Services is taking care of all necessary procedures for both itself and the APEEE. Parents who benefit from the APEEE Services and who haven’t already done so are kindly requested to log into https://services.uccleparents.org/node/1 and ACCEPT or REFUSE to give their consent for the sharing of data between the School and the APEEE Services. Without this consent, the APEEE Services will not be able to guarantee services to the families concerned.

Interested in similar topics? Please see our Legal Working Group's Data Protection group.

Help wanted: get involved in the APEEE's ART&MUSIC Group

The APEEE Pedagogical Group (PedGroup) is looking for a parent interested in Arts and Arts Education to help lead ART&MUSIC group. The PedGroup treats a range of pedagogical issues at the school and higher levels through dedicated subgroups.

Tasks involved:

coordinate the annual Francis Pirotta Creative Arts Prize on behalf of APEEE
work closely with Student Committee (CdE) on art-related initiatives
provide support to art-based school programmes/projects
help formulate APEEE/INTERPARENTS position on art curriculum questions
help field and evaluate funding applications related to art and art education.

Time: 2-3 hours/week; the group meets 3-4 times each year, but subgroups may meet in between.

The ideal candidate will have experience in art or art education.

LATEST NEWS AT THE SCHOOL AND BEYOND

Music at Uccle - Highlights

S7 music class: report from Cuba trip

Students of the S7 music class (MU4ENA) journeyed to Cuba at the end of October for a weeklong programme. They had two main stops: Havana for five days and Varadero for two days. While there, they were able to gain first-hand experience of Cuba’s amazing culture, history and, of course, its music.

The music learnt in Cuba was performed at the school’s Christmas Concert on 2 December:

Chan chan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAvSrubpTLY&feature=youtu.be
Oye cómo va:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXm8AqqWyW4&feature=youtu.be

The “Cuba Squad” – Astrid, Mia, Kat, Juan, Nicky, Benny and their music teacher Andrea Kovacs – express their gratitude to all those who supported their initiative.

PowerPoint presentation – Report from Cuba

To Armenia and back: exchange project of EEB1 orchestra with Armenian choir and dance group

When the EEB1 Symphony Orchestra went on their traditional orchestra tour on Easter in 2018, the airline crew was surprised by the number of violins in all sizes that the group brought on their journey to Armenia; this was part of the charity project, to take extra instruments, to buy some more in Armenia from money that was collected before and to bring these instruments to different music schools in Guymri and Echmiadzin with the aim to support music education from pupils to pupils! In one of the schools, the EEB1 symphony orchestra played a concert and met with the school choir Guymri Hayurdat. The idea was born to invite this wonderful girls' choir to Brussels.

On the invitation of EEB1, the Armenian choir and in addition a dance group of younger pupils, obtained a visa to come to Belgium at the beginning of November 2018. Hosting families were found, and the group explored Brussels, Brugge and even took a one-day-trip to Paris. The highlight was their concert at the EEB1 on 8 November.

EEB1 symphony orchestra weekend at Hanenbos

The symphony orchestra met for an intensive rehearsal weekend at Hanenbos on 10-11 November. Woodwind and string sections had the opportunity to work their parts intensively for the December 2^nd Christmas Concert and for the new Film-Music Project on the journey to San Remo. The weekend ended with a tutti run-through of the music of the “Lord of the Rings” suite on Sunday.

Christmas Concert

On Sunday 2 December, the School and Césame presented their traditional Christmas concert at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Several groups participated (Césame choir, primary and secondary, chamber orchestra and philharmonic orchestra, Big Band, guitar group and S7 students group) allowing a large number of students to present the results of their work on stage. We warmly thank all the participants for their performance and the spectators for their enthusiastic support. Save the date of 1 December 2019 for the next concert!

Interested in similar topics? Please see our PedGroup's Art&Music group.

STEM at Uccle

11th Annual EEBI Science Festival Results

The EEBI Science Festival is an annual event open to all secondary students. It is a great opportunity for students to try their hand at real experimental science, working closely in a group under the guidance of teachers and mentors. It is also the selection event for the annual European School Science Symposium (ESSS), a competition hosted each year by a different European School, and for the annual Belgian Science Expo. EEBI has a tradition of sending strong teams to these events and has produced quite a few winning projects over the years. This year is no exception.

This year there were 19 projects all together, and a total of 29 students participating. Projects covered a range of topics from physics and astronomy, to ecology and biology and chemistry, to sociology and psychology. Teams included: 6 Polish, 4 Spanish, 3 Italian, 2 English, 2 Hungarian, 1 French and 1 Danish section team. There were: 12 projects from S1-S3 students and 7 projects from S4-S7 students.

Thanks to our enthusiastic teaching staff, more than 900 students visited the presentations on the day, and over 1000 students followed the Science Festival via Live Stream.

The winning projects were:

Seniors

1st prize: EEB1 as a particle system (Aleksander Busz – S6PLa)
2nd prize: Schlieren effect (Zofia Syryczyńska – S5PLa)
3rd prize: Conformative psychology (Alicia Martín Nuñez, Lukas Björkland Pinilla, Gonzalo Cabezón Candilejo – S5ESa)

Juniors

1st prize: High star fasion (Barbara Chylińska – S1PLb)
2nd prize: Hamster v. le minotaur. donc teste de mémoire (Antonina Kubicka – S3PLa)
3rd prize: Ultraviolet light (Raphael Cambas – S1EN)

The medals were designed and 3D printed especially for the event by Stéphane Boulay of the EEBI Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab). Prizes included a drone with camera (1st prize), tickets to the Carantine Escape Room (2nd prize) and power-banks (3rd prize). The projects chosen to represent EEBI at further competitions were selected based on the criteria and profile of each competition. The list is as follows:

ESSS (ESMol, 31 March - 03 April 2019)

Project 1: EEB1 as a particle system (Aleksander Busz – S6PLa)
Project 2: Study of privacy in social media (Marta Lopez Serrano – S4ESb, Alejandra Alcantarilla Sánchez – S4ESa)
Project 3: Hamster v. le minotaur. donc teste de mémoire (Antonina Kubicka – S3PLa)
Project 3+1: Effects of deforestation (Luca Gauci – S1EN)

Belgian Science Expo (Tour & Taxis, 26 April - 28 April 2019)

High star fasion (Barbara Chylińska – S1PLb)
Schlieren effect (Zofia Syryczyńska – S5PLa)
Ultraviolet light (Raphael Cambas – S1EN)
Conformative psychology (Alicia Martín Nuñez, Lukas Björkland Pinilla, Gonzalo Cabezón Candilejo – S5ESa)

The science festival jury panel was composed of seven teachers representing different language sections, one parent-scientist and one former winning student. The panel included: Gema Trives (ES chemistry), Regin Pindstrup (DK biology/chemistry), Michaël Theunissen (FR physics), Giuliano Cattaneo (IT biology/chemistry), Renard Naidoo (EN biology/chemistry/maths), Grazyna Piotrzkowska (PL physics), Berta Nagyné Hermann (HU chemistry/maths), Line Fredslund (DK parent) and Julilla Roboz (HU student).

See also: LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Pilot Project
Interested in similar topics, please see our PedGroup’s STEM subgroup.

SPORTS at Uccle

ESB Octopus obtains 13 medals, including 2 golds, at the long-distance swimming finals

Giulia and Attila with their medals

On the weekend of 24-25 November, swimmers representing the different European Schools of Brussels participated in the long-distance swimming finals of the European Forces Swimming League (EFSL) held in Bruges. They obtained 13 medals, including two gold, at the 400, 800, 1500 meters free style, and 400 meters individual medley races.

Two students of the European School of Uccle were amongst the medalists: Giulia Solaini (one gold, two silvers) and Attila Sallai (two silvers).

These achievements are the results of a qualification process that started in September…and a lot of training.

The competitions are still ongoing, the next objective being the finals of other races that will be held in Eindhoven (the Netherlands) on 2-3 March 2019. Many swimmers of the European Schools have already qualified.

To know more about the ESB Octopus, or even to join the team, please contact us at: team.esb.octopus@gmail.com

Interview with Giulia Solaini

Interested in similar topics? Please see our PedGroup’s Sport group.

Uccle INTERNATIONAL

Team of students to attend United Nations student conference

The United Nations International School (UNIS) has invited a team from EEBI to attend the 43rd annual international UNIS-UN Conference to be held on Thursday, March 7th and Friday, March 8th, 2018 in the United Nations General Assembly, in New York City. UNIS-UN is an organization that seeks to promote intellectual discourse as well as cultural exchange among students through an annual conference relating to a contemporary global issue. This year’s conference topic will be Ripple Effect: The Water Crisis. The conference will examine the role of water in relation to sustainability and geopolitics, and will investigate how growing demands, climate change, and increasing pollution are affecting water security.

After a difficult pre-selection process for which students were asked to submit short papers related to the conference topic, ten students were chosen through a drawing of names. The students who will be going to UNIS-UN 2019 to represent the European School of Brussels I are:

Constantin Flüh
Alexandra Von Koppenfels
Amelie Scicluna
Zina Lippo
Gaëlle Mairlot
Martina Lalova
Vasco Vaz Queiro
Lucas Bonhomme Vazquez
Kolia Erlbacher
Johanna Quinn

Congratulations to them, and to all those who participated, for their effort!

Benchmarking and Assessment of our Students

Update on New Secondary Marking Scale: what should parents expect?

The new secondary marking scale has been rolled out, and there is already “buzz” from parents, teachers and school management in various parts of the system. Yet, the Uccle community has remained relatively quiet on the topic. We feel that it is a good moment to pose the question...what should we, as parents, be expecting from the new marking scale?

At the School Advisory Council (SAC) and School Administrative Board in September, parent representatives raised the questions: what changes are expected from the new marking scale? And how will we measure whether its implementation has been successful? The response from the school administration and central office was essentially “wait and see.” We were reminded that the new marking scale is only a small piece of a much broader change in approach to assessment that promises to be fairer, more harmonised across sections and more transparent, especially for students and parents. (For details see: https://www.eursc.eu/en/European-Schools/studies/marking-scale) This competence-based approach has already been in use in the primary for several years and has been well received by stakeholders.

So then, what should we expect from the competence-based approach?

Measurement of attainment: First and foremost, we should expect to see student achievement measured in terms of the skills and competences attained rather than against a sometimes-arbitrary standard of perfection.
Realignment of results and harmonisation: As the whole approach is changed, we would expect shifts both up and down in the marks given and a general realignment of results—between students, classes and even sections. The form that the redistribution will take—i.e. the “shape of the results curve”—is still unknown and will be the product of further analysis and adjustment by the school and central office.
Transparency and justification: More importantly, parents and students should expect (nay, demand) clearer explanation of and justification for marks given. Teachers should not only demonstrate (across a number of pre-defined skill sets) why they have given a mark but should also provide a clear path for improvement.

Parents are thus encouraged to familiarise themselves with the so-called learning objectives, assessment criteria and attainment descriptors that now accompany every secondary syllabus, and should show up to meetings with teachers well armed with information on the skills, competences and levels of attainment expected for success in the course.

Sample of attainment descriptors (excerpt from S3 Mathematics descriptors)

The syllabuses for every course can be found at: https://www.eursc.eu/en/European-Schools/studies/syllabuses

That being said, there is a concern from all sides that with the lowering of the pass threshold to a 5 rather than a 6, teachers may be tempted to perform a direct “conversion” of old marks to new marks. In this case, the results could go one of two ways: 1) teachers perform a “straight-across conversion” (e.g. from 9 to 9, 8 to 8, and so on) leading to a higher pass rate but little other impact on student assessment, or 2) the teachers do not pass more students but “spread” passing results among more marks—inevitably leading to a decrease in the average. Either of these comes with risks: the first risks the reputation of the Baccalaureate and the second risks the prospects of our children. We can only hope that our teachers will eschew the temptation to “convert”, and we should guard against this tendency in ourselves.

Importantly, over the next year or so all member states need to go through a process of re-evaluating the equivalence tables or algorithms in order to adjust for the new marking scale in time for the Baccalaureate 2021. The equivalence tables/algorithms interpret European Baccalaureate results into national admission criteria, and are used to determine the admission of ES students into national university systems.

Sample equivalence table from UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) in the U.K.

Source: https://qips.ucas.com/qip/europe-european-baccalaureate-eb

The fear is that some member states may not manage this, while others may inadvertently put up barriers to entry. (See: New German state equivalence table for European Baccalaureate.) We would urge parents in each section, and particularly those with children in S5 or S4, to be in contact with their national inspectors to ensure that this process is undertaken properly. If you have any concerns in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact us at: info@uccleparents.org

New German state equivalence table for European Baccalaureate

On 2 December, parents representing German sections across the European school system addressed a letter to the Secretary General of the European Schools, Giancarlo Marcheggiano. In this letter, they called his attention to modifications made in June 2018 by the German government to the equivalence algorithm/table translating European Baccalaureate marks into German marks.

Though these modifications were ostensibly due to the new marking scale, they were carried out before the new marking scale had been implemented and more importantly before the results had been analysed. The new German table risks lowering the value of German marks by 8%, thus making it more difficult for students to get university places. The situation may be seen as a cautionary tale for other sections.

Attachments:

European Baccalaureate results: online data tells us more

How do our kids measure up against those in other schools? Which subjects do we really excel at and which need work? How do results in my section compare with those of other sections at Uccle? Or with my section at other schools in Brussels?

In 2017, the European School Baccalaureate Unit launched an online version of the European Baccalaureate Results. The online version is not unlike the printed version, providing a breakdown of results according to a range of criteria. However, the online version has one key advantage over the printed version; it allows users to filter and cross-filter data in more detail, making possible the comparison between the results by subject in the same section at different schools or those of different sections at the same school.

We encourage parents to look through the online version of the Bacc results and to try out some of the filters offered through the black tab marked “Online”: http://schola-europaea.eu/bacc/report/2018/mobile/index.html (See in particular, data listed under “Literary subjects”, “Scientific subjects”)

**Please note that statistical breakdowns of this sort should always be taken with a grain of salt. It is difficult to know the exact cause of high or low scores in a particular class, cohort, section, school or year group, and scores are often a reflection of several factors.**

Interested in similar topics? Please see our PedGroup’s BAC, Evaluation and Orientation group.

Human Rights Watch report on barriers for children with disabilities at European Schools

The APEEE's Educational Support group would like to share with parents a report on “Barriers for children with disabilities at European Schools” compiled by Human Rights Watch and the European Disability Forum and released on 4 December 2018.

Summary: The 22-page report, “‘Sink or Swim’: Barriers for Children with Disabilities in the European School System,” found that while European Schools are paying increasing attention to inclusion, children with disabilities continue to face problems. They are rejected, pressured into changing schools, or are not provided with appropriate accommodations and support to allow them to learn and thrive in an inclusive environment.

The full report is available in English and French.
Sink or Swim’: Barriers for Children with Disabilities in the European School System
« “Marche ou crève” : Les obstacles rencontrés par les enfants handicapés dans le système des Écoles européennes »

Here you can find the press release in English and French.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/04/eu-students-disabilities-face-barriers-european-schools
https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2018/12/04/ue-les-eleves-handicapes-se-heurtent-des-obstacles-dans-les-ecoles-europeennes

Interested in similar topics? Please see our PedGroup’s Educational Support subgroup.

"Future of the Brussels Schools” and the proposed interim solution to house S6 and S7 students at Arts-Loi

A meeting of the Brussels Steering Group (Groupe de Suivi) was convened on Thursday, 25 October, to follow up on developments that have taken place since the 22 June meeting of the same group on the topic of the "Future of the Brussels Schools". Unfortunately, there were very few concrete developments. The progress is as follows:

Choice and timing of site for fifth school: the Ministry of Defense has worked closely with the Régie des Bâtiments to identify a plot on the former NATO site, which can be granted to the schools as early as mid-2019 to begin construction. All existing buildings will be demolished but no other changes are foreseen to the terrain. The construction will not be finished before September 2024. This proposal has still not been submitted to the Council of Ministers, which should agree on both the placement and the financing of the school. An agreement between the European Schools and Belgian Government has also been prepared by former Minister Jan Jambon based on discussions with Commissioner Oettinger. It will be presented at the same Council of Ministers.
Interim solution to address the overcrowding in Brussels: on the table is a site called the “Trésorerie” located at Avenue Des Arts, 30 / Rue du Commerce, 96; it is a governmental office building currently used by SPF Finance. The site can hold over 1000 students and due to limitations in transport options is foreseen for use by S6-S7 students from several Brussels schools. The use of the building would require an official “change of use” from the Bruxelles-Capitale, but this is not seen as an obstacle as long as the building can eventually be returned to its former use. A feasibility study is currently being undertaken by the Régie des Bâtiments in close cooperation with the Office of the Secretary General (represented on the study by the EEBIII Director) and the Security Unit of the Commission. The detailed technical study will not be shared with stakeholders, but a synthesis will be communicated. The building could be put in the service of the schools by June 2020 for opening in September 2020. The allocation of the site will be decided in the same Council of Ministers meeting treating the fifth school. It still remains unclear which students will be placed in the site and how it will be organised both legally and pedagogically.
Possible permanent gift of the Berkendael site (now in temporary use): The proposal to retain Berkendael as a permanent site will be submitted to the Council of Ministers at the same time as the proposal for the fifth school site. The actual use of Berkendael over the long term has not been discussed in detail.

These several related issues were scheduled to be treated at a meeting of the Belgian Council of Ministers in mid-October, but now it seems that they will only be tabled early in the new year. A new meeting of the Brussels Task Force was envisaged for mid-November, but all is on hold awaiting the agreement of the Belgian Council of Ministers.

In advance of the 23 October meeting, the EEBI, EEBII and EEBIII APEEEs signed a letter to the Belgian Vice Prime-Minister Jan Jambon, asking the Belgian government to address a list of concerns about the proposal and urging that alternative solutions be considered. Parent concerns include environmental, security-related, educational and logistical obstacles. High among these were: a potential shortage of teachers; long commutes for both teachers and students; lack of appropriate and sufficient internal courtyards and non-suitability of external space for students of this age; lack of sports facilities and canteen capacity; serious transport difficulties in daily commuting; and most importantly the removal of students from their well-functioning school environment in critical years of their studies.

These three APEEEs have agreed to seek legal advice to support them through the process. The EEBI APEEE board has approved funds of up to 2000 EUR toward this common legal support—which may total as much as 12000 EUR by the end. The APEEEs have also addressed their concerns orally at the Board of Governors and in writing to the Commission's Union Syndicale. Finally, they have addressed a note to Commissioner Oettinger asking to halt the process until stakeholders have been fully informed and involved in the decision making. Simply put, the proposal seems to have become “too big to fail”; we have been told that there are no other solutions and no back-up plan.

You are invited to consult the related documents for more details on this.

December Board of Governors: short report from INTERPARENTS and a plea from our locally recruited teachers

The December Board of Governors treated many issues that are key to the long-term survival and success of the European Schools. These included:

Recruiting and retention of teachers
Sustainable funding of the schools through a new-model cost sharing agreement with Member States
Impact of Brexit on the schools
Benchmarking of the European Baccalaureate for admission into national university systems
Educational support and inclusiveness
Creation of a fifth school in Brussels
and Accredited Schools and their relation to the system

We include here a short report on the coverage of these issues in the meeting itself:

Report

In the build up to the Board of Governors and with many questions about the funding of the system and the future of secondment, the locally recruited teachers (LRTs) from across the system have come together to address a letter describing their precarious situation in the European Schools to the Commissioner and the Secretary General.

To provide context, this year each school was asked to constitute a list of LRTs who could be replaced by seconded teachers by next year; these lists were presented at the school Administrative Boards. In all schools, but particularly in those with a high number of LRTs (e.g. Berkendael), the list and the process of its creation has turned out to be very painful. Staff who have already had a long history of unequal treatment vis a vis their seconded counterparts, have again the feeling of being singled out. By all appearances, the effects on the mind, spirit and motivation of having your own job posted as "available to be filled" have not been good, and the measure may have put us back years in our efforts to lure and retain a good corps of LRTs. The teachers’ plea is a response to this list and a reflection of the precarious situation in which many of our teachers find themselves.

Excerpt from the Teachers' Plea:

We, the Staff Representatives of the Locally Recruited Teachers (LRT) of the European Schools would like to bring to your attention the impact and consequences at school level of the recent directive to open all possible posts currently filled by Locally Recruited Teachers for potential secondment by the member states. This directive will, in at least one case, mean the potential loss of almost 45 percent of the entire teaching staff at one of the schools (More than 60% in a school if you consider Berkendael as a school). Collectively amongst the schools, the number of lost positions could be considerable and this at a time when the European School System is growing rapidly and seeks to retain and recruit qualified local teachers. It will have long-lasting and irrevocable effects at both school and individual levels throughout the European School system, for both locally recruited and especially those seconded staff wanting to continue as LRT after secondment. It will have an impact on the schools’ ability to retain and recruit qualified locally hired teachers. Perhaps most importantly, it will have a damaging effect on our school communities and on the education we provide.By sending this mail to you and other highly placed colleagues, we hope to communicate the consequences the full, indiscriminate application of this directive will have. The sheer number of posts advertised has a potentially catastrophic impact in two areas:
1. The impact on schools and the education of their children.
2. The impact on the professional, personal and family lives of the high number of teachers concerned.
Currently in schools amongst LRT uncertainty is rife, insecurity is deep, indignation widespread, dismay and disbelief paramount, but our resolution to seek a way forward, unwavering.…

Teachers Plea

EURÊKA

Eurêka calls for volunteers!

Eurêka, the lost and found service, urgently needs additional volunteers, and in particular from the FR, PL and DE sections, which are poorly represented among current volunteers. This would allow Eurêka to continue the Friday noon openings every week. An availability of two hours once a month is enough to help. Please contact the APEEE Secretariat if you have some time to devote.

STUDENT COMMITTEE UPDATE

Data protection and the disco and science festival

The EEBI Science Festival held on 30 November was watched by an estimated 1200 students and teachers thanks to the livestreaming. The projects were of high quality and the new posters made students excited about the event. There were 19 projects, which the Students’ Committee (CdE) hopes to increase for next year.

Apart from the Science Festival recording (from which DVDs will be produced for the parents of the participants), the CdE also wishes to send the S123 disco photos to the parents of the S123 party-goers (they had lots of fun, there was live music by Yung Pelvin and Deliciosos Chicken, a small chicken industry business from our school). This will be done after consultation with the Data Protection Officer.

The CdE thanks the School’s administration for contributing greatly to the success of both events.

National sweater day

The CdE thanks the School’s management for supporting and approving this project held on 10 December. It went well and was executed as planned.

Graffiti wall project

This project would involve the art teachers of the secondary section and would be integrated with the art classes. It is a simple idea; the wall next to the Michelangelo building, where the afternoon buses park, would be allowed to be painted by the students with permission from an art teacher after showing a sketch of what they wish to paint. The wall itself, a grey cement wall, is suitable to be decorated with various art devices, like spray cans or brushes. The proposal is sent. As far as the CDE is aware, the supporting e-mail from the art teachers is still to-be sent. After the required email is sent, the CdE hopes for the approval of the administration and that the Régie des Bâtiments will quickly grant the required permission to launch this art project.

Billiard table project

The CdE have yet to send the project proposal, but they have already contacted "Kickers Belgium", a firm specialised in the delivery, customisation and set-up of billiard and kicker tables. Looking at models, there is an indoors 210cm by 128cm which costs 1900€ and 400€ for delivery/setup, with ten years guarantee (“Tennessee”). Outdoor models are also being considered for their waterproofness. The CdE plans on having a meeting with the School administration to discuss the necessary aspects of the project (i.e. placement of the table, supervision, type of table).

(In the picture: Model Tennessee)

Football field project

The APEEE and the School administration support this project which consists in having a covered football field which would improve the safety and security of students. The following firms have been contacted:

Domosports
Lesuco
Scheerlinck Sport
Derriks Sport
Renovation Accessoires

Domosports have yet to send a quote for a non-infilled type synthetic grass field. Both Lesuco and Domosports wish for an onsite consultation; the CdE requested a follow-up from the administration on permitting this. Further to an injury in a Hungarian class, some parent representatives requested an update on the progress of this dossier and expressed their hope that this project will be accomplished soon.

Technical improvements

The CdE thanks the School administration for delivering on their promise of giving SMS access to students. Students can now use their Office365 accounts to access the system—their grades, term reports, schedule, etc.

The following projects are still in progress (= we talked with the administration about them already):

The students are of the opinion that projecting the absences list on the digital screens inside school would be a quick and easy improvement to make for the school environment.
The students feel that the fact that Office365 mobile applications are blocked on the school Wi-Fi prevents them from digitally learning, and as such we suggested that the responsible individuals investigate the cause of this issue. Furthermore, the students think that providing Wi-Fi passwords to all the students of secondary would also help them in their digital learning.

In addition, the CdE is being told that the SMS and Office365 is not being used to its full potential by teachers. According to a survey, around 70% of students feel that way. We think it is an issue since it could hurt students’ academic performance, and even more so since it discourages the use of the digital tools this school has to offer - this is a point that was discussed at the CE, and it was agreed that there will be improvement on this from both the student and teacher side.

Class representatives and the CDE

The CdE have asked for a list and a meeting of all the class representatives of the school. We did so in order to notify of some proposed changes to the structure of the class representatives' functions – it is our opinion that it would be beneficial to everyone in our school to make them not only report to the Educational Advisors, but to the CDE as well, following the official guidelines from the OSG and CoSup "2005-D-231-en-5 - ELECTION PROCEDURES OF THE PUPILS’ REPRESENTATIVES WITHIN THE EUROPEAN SCHOOL SYSTEM".

APEEE MEETING REPORTS

Reports of recent meetings attended by your parent representatives

28 September, 15 October, 23 October, 11 December: Central Enrolment Authority

The CEA includes: directors and parent representatives from the four schools; staff committee and future parents reps; representatives of the Commission and Belgian government; the Secretary General; and members of the European Schools enrolment unit. The results of last year’s policy were analysed at the 28 September meeting. Over the month of October the CEA worked to produce Enrolment Guidelines to be approved by the Board of Governors and used as the basis for the Enrolment Policy 2019-2020. The guidelines are set in the context of a significant number of children attending the European schools in Brussels, up from approximately 10000 in 2012 to approximately 13000 this year. The number of pupils in the French sections is growing in particular. With all four schools operating at or above capacity, the only Brussels site with space remains Berkendael.

Thus, next year’s policy (like this year’s) envisages a further increase of student numbers at Berkendael. Parent representatives were concerned that Berkendael would not be left with enough spare capacity to accommodate classes already in place as they move up to P5. There were also concerns that the Berkendael infrastructure is not yet prepared for a full capacity of 1000 students, with one building still in need of extensive renovations. Thus several safeguards were put in place to limit the creation of new classes at Berkendael to those opening in the levels below the existing satellite classes. The school can currently accommodate M1-P5 classes for FR, LV and SK—though several of these will not be filled and M1-P4 in DE, M1-P1 in EL, EN and IT, and M1-M2 in ES. Other classes may still be opened up, but it is not expected. Berkendael P5 pupils and their siblings will retain priority transfer rights over new students to a school of their choice. In 2018, every transfer applicant from Berkendael received his/her first choice; this is not likely to continue in the longer term.

The class structure at Uccle will remain largely the same, though there is an increase in PL class groups moving up and a decrease in EN class groups. There are 3 FR classes for most primary levels and 4 FR classes for most secondary levels. Nursery classes have been limited again to one class per section with the exception of the FR section. All primary classes have been given a threshold of 20 students, over which only priority candidates will be let in. This is a mechanism used to control the Uccle population and send new families to Berkendael.

After a review of the pilot voluntary "transfer bourse” that was trialled last year, members of the CEA decided that funds would be better spent elsewhere. They have requested instead that a more sophisticated ICT platform be developed through which the entire enrolment process can be mechanised and streamlined and families better matched with their choices. The project for an updated system is being considered.

The application calendar has again been moved forward with more families being obliged to apply not only in the first phase but also earlier in the second phase. Late applications and non-accepted places have led in recent years to considerable chaos during the opening weeks of school, particularly affecting secondary timetables.

See enrolment guidelines and policy.

4 October: APEEE Board Meeting

Agenda items discussed: proposal for financial procedure to award funding on school projects; proposal for modifications to the APEEE statutes to include Berkendael and SWALS; proposal to increase the proportion of representation from the French section; funding requests for S7 student trip to Cuba and teacher appreciation drinks; preliminary financial results of school fete; data protection update from APEEE Services.

The official minutes are availalbe online.

15 October: Education Council Secondary

Agenda items discussed: follow-up to the EEBI Whole School Inspection; replacement policy; project weeks; drugs prevention and new S4 ecology trip.

The official minutes are not yet available. Please contact your language section representative for an informal report.

16 October: Education Council Nursery/Primary

Agenda items discussed: info about the start of the school year and works carried out during the summer break; monitoring during breaks/waiting time for bus departures; nursery projects and garderie; planned school trips and excursions; class work plans; guidelines for mixing classes; recruitment of assistants/locally recruited teachers; and timing of parent-teacher conferences.

The official minutes are not yet available. Please contact your language section representative for an informal report.

18 October: Meeting with Slovenian SWALS

Two parent representatives for the SI SWALS and the APEEE President met with Director Mr Goggins and Deputy Director Roesen to discuss concerns with the SWALS programme in the secondary cycle. The timetabling of Slovenian L1 classes has been a problem over the last years with splits of classes of students at the same level (sometimes causing a reduction of hours); with kids having to take classes during lunch hours or during Friday afternoons in between bus services; and with kids vertically grouped (often for only part of their classes). In L2, there is often little or no knowledge about the SWALS programme/experience. This coupled with a lack of clarity about bilingual class groups has caused some fear that these students are not getting a quality offer in either their L1 or their L2. Such experiences have demotivated SI students and families, many of whom are beginning to question their future in this system.
The management listened to concerns and agreed: to give a detailed SWALS L1 time table to parents in order for them to better understand the real situation; to provide details on the language policy in L2; and to adequately inform all L2 teachers about the SWALS programme. In a follow-up meeting the Deputy Director provided the APEEE President with details on the L2 programme, which most—though not all—levels should be following. The programme is presented on the school website.

25 October: Groupe de Suivi on the future of the European Schools in Brussels

The meeting was attended by the directors, teacher and parent representatives from the four schools as well as representatives of the Commission, representatives of the Belgian government and Régie des Bâtiments, and the Secretary General. Like the 22 June meeting, the 25 October meeting of the Groupe de Suivi focused on developments reported in the “Brussels Task Force”. The 14 September meeting of the task force treated delays in the provision of the fifth European School in Brussels. This included the proposed opening for the fifth school on the NATO site in 2024, the donation of Berkendael to the European Schools as a permanent site and the proposed creation of a temporary site at Arts-Loi for S6-S7 pupils to be opened in September 2020. The decision on all three proposals is expected to be taken by the Belgian Council of Ministers in the first months of 2019. (See article: “Future of the Brussels Schools” and the proposed interim solution to house S6 and S7 students at Arts-Loi)

12 November: Meeting on Francis Pirotta Creative Arts Prize

The parents of Francis Pirotta, an EN representative and the APEEE President met with the Director Mr Goggins and Deputy Director Ms Cajhen to discuss a proposal to create a creative arts competition for primary students in memory of Francis Pirotta and reflecting his interests, his talents, his dreams. The parties agreed that the competition would be run jointly by the APEEE and the school with the APEEE initiating the annual programme and providing funds for prizes and with the school handling communication to and organisation of classes that chose to take part. The themes and modalities will be set each year and prizes will be given to whole classes. The Pirotta family and the APEEE would also like to contribute an installation for the playground in Francis’s name later this year. (See article: Francis Pirotta Creative Arts Prize)

21 November: Meeting with Berkendael WG

Members of the Berkendael Working Group met with Director Mr Goggins and Deputy Director Mr Longo to discuss three main issues: the school enrolment policy as it affects Berkendael, the school infrastructure and the recruitment of teachers. The director supported and agreed to protect the priority enrolment status of Berkendael pupils transferring schools after P5; siblings will also be welcomed at the same time. He also agreed that new satellite classes should be limited as much as possible, as the site needs rooms to accommodate the current classes as they move up to P5. Two buildings at Berkendael are currently not in use for classes. It was suggested that the building currently housing the OIB nursery school will be fitted out to accommodate classes next year; another empty building at the back of the site which is in need of extensive renovation will remain empty in the short term. Finally, the parties agreed that the recruitment of teachers should be undertaken early, and seconded and locally hired teachers should be shared between both the Uccle and Berkendael sites, if/when the sections exist at both sites.

23 November: Meeting on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)

The coordinator and members of the APEEE PedGroup’s STEM working group and the APEEE President met with Director Mr Goggins, Deputy Director Mr Roesen and teachers Mr Boulay, Mr Theunissen and Ms Csonka. The meeting was intended to cover the FabLab, the Science Festival and extracurricular STEM activities. In the end only FabLab was discussed in depth—in particular, how we might increase the use of the facilities/equipment among students, and in particular among early secondary students. Ideas suggested were: expanded hours for staff; training for teachers; introduction of “mobile" equipment for classroom use, particularly in the primary; and more extensive use of the FabLab in S1-S5 ICT classes. The possibility of having Cesame or other external courses through the FabLab was not ruled out. In connection with the FabLab, we also discussed the Lego Mindstorms Pilot Project. (See article: LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Pilot Project)

26 November: Meeting on Educational Support

The coordinator of the APEEE PedGroup's Educational Support working group and the APEEE Vice President for Pedagogy met with Director Mr Goggins, Deputy Directors Mr Roesen, Ms Cajhen and Mr Longo, the Support Coordinator for nursery/primary Ms Lemberger and the Support Coordinator for secondary Ms Sciberras to discuss various educational support issues, notably 1) follow-up to the recommendations from the evaluation of educational support in the European Schools, 2) EEBI guidelines on educational support, and 3) some specific issues related to the workload of support coordinators, expertise/training of support teachers, scheduling of support hours for ISA pupils in secondary, tripartite agreements and data protection. The school management plans to organize an information evening on educational support for interested parents from Uccle and Berkendael at the beginning of 2019.

A detailed report from the meeting has been circulated to the APEEE Board. Please contact your language section representatives in the Board for a copy of the report.

27 November: Meeting with Austrian Minister of Education

The Director Mr Goggins invited German-speaking parents for a meet&greet event in the school to accompany the school management, the Secretary General (SG) Mr Marcheggiano and student representatives in welcoming the Austrian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research Prof. Dr. Heinz Faßmann. Prof. Faßmann was accompanied by a delegation of representatives from his ministry, the Austrian Permanent Representation with the EU and the Austrian Member at the European Schools Board of Governors, Mr. Ruhs.

During the course of the event the Austrian Minister expressed his views on the future financing of the ES system. He seemed to reject a proposal by the SG to introduce a “correctional coefficient” to increase the financial contributions by Member States. Instead, the minister advocated targeting a new source of income for the system and a group which in his opinion has not contributed—in short, the parents. His idea of a reasonable school fee was something between EUR 300 to 500 per child per month. He felt this would ensure necessary liquidity for the budget of individual schools which is at the discretion of each school director. This idea was supported by Mr Ruhs. The APEEE representative in unison with the SG rejected the proposal as not being in line with the overall salary scheme and concept in the European Institutions. We still remain unclear as to the import of this proposal.

29 November: APEEE Board Meeting

Agenda items discussed: General Assembly preparation (financial report, budget and new statutes); recommendation for consultation on new prevention policy and proposed mobile phone polices; funding for primary arts competition and Lego Mindstorms project; funding renewal for Hungarian drugs programme; information on proposed values-talks project; agreement to cooperate with Brussels APEEEs to hire for lawyer for Arts-Loi temporary site proposal process; and possible developments in secondary CE rules of procedure. Supporting documents were provided.

The official minutes are not yet available. Please contact your language section representatives for an informal report.

4 December: Education Council for Secondary

Agenda items discussed: project week 22-26 October; replacement statistics for the last school year; science festival; SMS access for students/use by teachers; drugs’ prevention; paper and recycling policy; scheduling of classes during B-test periods; P6/P7 open gym classes; update of the Education Council's rules of procedure; online registration for parent-teacher conferences; circulation of course programmes at the start of the school year.

The official minutes are not yet available. Please contact your language section representative for an informal report.

6 December: APEEE Annual General Assembly

Agenda items: Q&A by the director; 2017-2018 financial report approved and 2018-2019 budget approval; administrative discharge given to board; statute modifications voted (lack of quorum); 5 non-affiliated board members elected; 5 new board members appointed by sections approved.

Minutes of the 2018 General Assembly
PowerPoint presentation of 2018 General Assembly

7 December: Meeting on Data Protection

Coordinators of the APEEE Data Protection Task Force and the APEEE President and met with school Director Mr Goggins, Deputy Directors Mr Roesen and Ms Cajhen and the school's DPO to discuss data protection as it affects the relationship between the APEEE, parents and the school. Issues discussed fell into two main categories: 1) protection of parent/pupil data, 2) data transfer between the school and the APEEE.

Several issues were raised related to the schools policy on photographs, both official school photos and trip photos. Given the law and administrative burden of implementing fine-tuned data protection rights, it will be more and more difficult to the school (and the APEEE) to put photographs online, even in a closed or passworded environment. Parents likewise expressed concerns about the collection of personal data on Educational Support students and families using O365. There are still general concerns about O365 and assurances of compliance with GDPR has come quite late. Finally, it was suggested that the school could make more documents and information available to parents if the school website was passworded.

Parents also raised the question of transfer of data between the school and APEEE and APEEE Services. The best solution would be to include the APEEE and APEEE Services as privileged partners in the school’s privacy statement.

11 December: Meeting on working methods in the official bodies of the school

At the invitation of Mr Goggins, the stakeholders of the school community (management team, teachers, administrative staff, pupils and parents) met to discuss how to improve the working methods of the official bodies of the school, notably the Education Councils, the School’s Advisory Council (SAC) and the school’s Administrative Board. Discussed issues included code of conduct during meetings, role of the chairperson, meeting minutes, agenda setting and sequencing. There was consensus on the need to improve the meeting preparations, notably by ensuring that written documentation on decision/discussion points is available well in advance to allow time for prober consultation within the different stakeholder groups. Draft meeting minutes should be circulated within 15 days of a meeting. The issue of confidentiality was also discussed. Mr Goggins committed to clearly indicate when documents are confidential (for reasons of security or data protection); for limited circulation (can be shared with the APEEE Board); or not classified (can be shared with all parents). As a follow-up to the meeting, Mr Goggins plans to propose general guidelines for working methods in the official bodies of the school.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND INITIATIVES

26 January 2019: ADHD Open House

ADHD, ASC & LD Belgium will have an “Open House” on 26 January 2019 from 13.00 to 16.30. The event will foresee free consultations, small group talks, demonstrations with a variety of healthcare professionals to help children or teens with ADHD and/or the autistic spectrum. There will also be a Burn Out specialist who might be helpful for parents.... Members: Free of Charge / Non-Members: 12 EUR. Further information: info@adhd-edu.be

Flyer

Camp Waziyatah - 4-Week Sleep-Away Camp Experience in America (Maine)

Camp Waziyatah is the Highest Rated Camp in Maine and home of the Disney Channel Show “Bug Juice: My Adventures at Camp”. Why? It’s all about the atmosphere. Wazi has a uniquely kind and welcoming environment with no cliques or groups and no worries about fitting in. It’s an absolute BLAST, where kids make memories and best friends that last a lifetime. With more than 30 activities in a stunningly beautiful setting, Wazi has 98 years of know-how in being the perfect Maine camp experience.

Representatives will be in Europe from 16 January to 3 February. Visit Camp Waziyatah’s website or Contact carl@wazi.com for more information and/or to arrange a meeting. You may also contact Luis Escobar Guerrero for references directly from a parent who has already sent their children to the camp.

8-9 February 2019: POLITICO EU Studies Fair

The 20^th edition of POLITICO‘s EU Studies Fair is scheduled for 8-9 February 2019 in Brussels.

This one-stop-shop event allows leading universities to showcase their courses in EU studies, international relations, economics, law, business, management, and public policy, to a selected and highly-engaged international audience, while prospective students receive first-hand information and tailored advice on the programs that interest them.

The event is completely free. Find it here. It will include:

Networking sessions and access to our digital app
A seminar entitled: "Guide to the upcoming EU election"
A seminar on the EPSO test
University Spotlights and much more!

Registration Form

Exchange with Italian students

The School has signed an agreement with the Lycee di Roma (Italy - G. Keplero), focused on strengthening the sense of European citizenship among young people, centred on research regarding the reasons that led each country to enter the EU.

As part of this project (which will last two years) the School is planning, among other things, an exchange programme for the families of students from the two participating schools.

The welcoming of Italian students by the families of our school is scheduled on 2-6 April 2019. Students who want to participate must attend classes 55, 56, or 57 (so between 16 and 18 years old). The host students of our school will have the right, if they wish, to stay in Rome with the families of the Italian students during the week of the project taking place in October 2019. Parents who are available to house Italian students should contact the following teachers via their e-mail addresses:
- Ciro Bene (Philosophy teacher) - BENECI@teacher.eursc.eu
- Bruno Vitiello (teacher of Italian literature) - VITIELBR@teacher.eursc.eu

Families will have to indicate the following on their availability statement:
1) Surname and first name of the student
2) Age and sex of the student
3) Class and linguistic section they are attending

The deadline for doing so is 28 February 2019.

Join the Girl Guiding organisation

Does your daughter speak fluent English and would she like to join the Girl Guiding organisation? (For those not familiar with Girl Guiding, it’s the female equivalent of British scouts.)

The Girl Guiding units are split according to age with the 5-7 year old's going to Rainbows, the 7-10 year old's Brownies, the 10-14 year old's Guides and the 14-18 year old's attending Rangers. The units currently meet in Tervuren, Kraainem, Etterbeek and Waterloo.

They are also looking for adult volunteers to become unit (assistant) leaders, run events, help at camps or sleepovers, do administrative tasks. You name it they can find something to suit you! They offer in-house and online training for prospective volunteers depending on the role.

If you would like more information for your daughter or have a few hours to spare yourself please contact Jane Ellaby at: dc.brusselswaterloo@outlook.com or take a look at the Girlguiding UK website: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/.

RETROSPECTIVE: 2018 SCHOOL FÊTE IN FOCUS

A final evaluation of the 2018 School Fête, held on the Uccle campus on 26 May, shows excellent results in terms of quality of activities and satisfaction of the participants. The Fête involved many meetings, impressive coordination, good contacts with the School and students, a new organisation (sub-coordinators), online orders for tickets and payments by bank card, and high quality supplies. Security was well managed, knowing that at certain times more than 6,500 parents were on site.

Some financial figures: 55,233.14 EUR of income deposited in the bank, just over 34,000 EUR of expenses. The profit after deducting the receipts of the charities amounts to about 23,000 EUR. With this profit the APEEE will organise a call for projects to be carried out with the School’s agreement.

Fête 2018 programme
Selection of photos of the 2018 School Fête

Activities

This year’s Fête could boast almost twice the number of registered initiatives as we had last year, facilitated by an online registration system that allowed stand organisers to enter their own information and technical requirements. With the advice and strong involvement of the CDE, efforts were made to appeal to secondary students, who had been targeted little by previous Fêtes: their presence despite upcoming exams attests to the success of this drive. More emphasis on the arts and interactive activities sought to balance with previous years’ focus on sports and food. An improved distribution of stands and activities around campus aimed both to accommodate the larger numbers of activities and to balance the flow of visitors around the site. As a result, quieter spaces for appreciating Italian drama or relaxing on the grass at a “table de campagne” alternated with the hyper-excitement of bouncy labyrinths and the passion of football tournaments, and many other possibilities between the two extremes. Clusters of activities, such as the Science Hub and the Solidarity Village, succeeded in drawing specialised interest in these areas, although it was noted that fewer Fête visitors seemed to feel like thinking about the role they could play in the world’s challenges than indulging in paella, pizza, Polish sausages and pure play. Linking these varied activities was the “Back to the Future 1958” theme, which inspired the style of many of the stands.

A survey for stand managers and others involved in the organisation, issued just after the Fête, found nearly 60 respondents (of which 70% self-described as stand managers) eager to share their impressions and lessons learned. Three-quarters of respondents felt their stands achieved what they hoped it would, with over 80% claiming to have had fun organising it, and nearly 80% observing that “clients” enjoyed the activity. Most respondents felt that the new tickets system worked well, and the EventBrite registration accommodated nearly everyone who wished to be at the Fête to attend, despite some stress. 80% of respondents felt the Fête met their expectations, while a full 100% of respondents agreed the Fête “was an appropriate celebration of 60 years of the school”. The survey also collected lessons learned that will be useful for organising the school’s future celebrations!

Sport

Our Fête excelled in the area of sport this year. The Fete Committee introduced an extended primary football tournament this year to allow more children to have the opportunity to play full games. The preliminary games took place on weekends in April and culminated in the semi-final and final matches which were played on the day of the Fête. Trophies for the winning teams were given out at the end of the day in an official awards ceremony officiated by the APEEE Sports Coordinator and the School Director, Ms Ruiz Esturla. Secondary football tournaments were also organised, S1-S4 tournaments were coordinated by parents while the S4-S7 tournament was organised by the students themselves. Students also undertook to organise Volleyball and Basketball tournaments so several courtyards of the upper campus were "taken up" with sport. A chess tournament was waged nearby to round out the sporting activities. Luckily several refreshment stands, including gelato, Polish BBQ and smoothies, were set up in the area to cater to the crowds of players and fans. To complement the tournaments, there were also several less competitive family-style events, such as the Badminton family event and several Césame martial arts demonstrations. The 60th Anniversary Fête was one of the most sporting in recent memory. We hope that this is the beginning of a tradition!

Music

During the Fête de l'École at lot of different music performances took place at various places at school and occasions and during the whole time of the fête: at the gala the primary (Pablo) and secondary choirs (Joanna Musko), the symphony orchestra and the chamber orchestras (Arman Simonyan and Agnieszka Zywert) presented a colourful programme. Later on, the stage in front of the chateau could be used for some other performances of classes, in particular the S6 music class of Andrea Kovacs. The setting was ideal for this kind of performances. Not very far away a jazz/rock/funk corner had established itself next to the entrance of the Erasmus building. Various bands played their programmes during the afternoon under the coordination of Jeff Louarn. The bands consisted of teachers, parents and pupils in various combinations (e.g. Spring report, Krach kontrol, Dexters band).

One of the big highlights was the Music Marathon in the salle polyvalente, that was put back into life by Margaret Brennan. During the whole afternoon the stage was open to little groups, solo players and singers. The Music Marathon is planned to become again a regular annual activity at the school.

One other new event on a fete de l' école was the “painting and music” workshop organised at the teachers canteen for kids of all ages by Patricia Staffe (art coordinator in the primary/painting) with the chamber orchestra (Arman Simonyan), singers (Joanna Musko) and soloists (piano Agnieszka Zywert). Hourly sessions were offered to paint alongside life music events (gigs) in the teachers' canteen. Two full sessions were hold with participation of ca. 6 kids to draw on long paper on the floor. The spontaneous nature with the vernissage setting of the cesame exhibition drew the attention of many passers-by, people grabbed some chairs and lingered at the door to listen and enjoy the lively atmosphere.

An overall positive experience:

The chateau stage was enjoyed a lot as being an outside venue. We now see some potential to improve the management of the different performances, for example the jazz/rock groups might have used the gala stage in the afternoon. But this opportunity only arised when certain planned events/performances had been cancelled on short notice. Overall it can be said that it was also a good occasion that important players in the music section at school get to know each other better for future events. Globally the feedback was positive and a wide audience enjoyed that different styles of music was widespread and popped up at different places during the school festivity.

Food

The help of canteen staff was instrumental in order to access to the equipment, order soft drinks, and they staffed as well the stand of French Fries. Next time it would be appreciated if they could provide glasses/dishes/cutlery so as to reduce the waste of plastic.

Solidarity Village

The Solidarity Village was a novelty in the Fête. The main aim was to bring along a handful of social and solidarity organisations, so they could interact with our school community, explain volunteering possibilities, collect funds or simply become better known among families.

The uptake can be considered a success, having hosted 16 organisations from many different sectors and profiles. From the worldwide known Amnesty International or Red Cross to more modest entities such as Goût Sans Frontières or SINGA Belgium, all of them participated with enthusiasm and good will.

The Solidarity Village also hosted the You&Me student movement, the Comité des Elèves, the Handcraft Solidarity Primary Market (ES section), the Equality Gender Tree (ES section) and the LGTBIQ exhibit. There were some promoted directly by students (Defi Belgique Afrique, Zambia Project or Handicraft Market) and others where synergies and cooperation NGO-students was successfully accomplished, like the "Vide Dressing" initiative together with Les Petits Riens.

Despite the overall satisfaction, some participants complained about the lack of affluence in the Plato semicircle, which was somehow away from the main streams going from the upper courtyard to the canteen or the sport halls. Indeed, it was not balanced the massive crowds around the upper courtyards or near the Chateau with the much more quiet situation in the Solidarity Village. To improve this situation in the future it is proposed one of the following alternatives:

reallocate the solidarity village between the Erasme and the Gutenberg
include an attraction for the kids in the middle of the semicircle

In terms of continuing the relationship with participating NGOs, there will be a selection of projects to be funded with the benefits from the Fête. The procedures are currently being discussed in the Community Building working group and will be approved by the CA of the APEEE. Finally, some NGOs have expressed interest in organising specific activities with teachers and students.

Comité des Élèves

The Comité des Elèves (CdE) has been really happy to work with the APEEE and especially the Fête Team. Something that surprised us students a lot in the organisation part was the good vibe in the meetings. We hope the cooperation between students and parents will remain this positive for the preparation of future Fêtes. Thanks to this cooperation the CdE managed 9 stands. The most profitable one was the Hoodie stand, since we sold 840 hoodies. Even if we tried to work efficiently, there was still a too long queue. For further years we will plan more CdE people to be there! We also supervised most of the Bouncy Activities. They were a great success, it seemed like the children loved them. Unfortunately we did not reach our main aim with these activities since they didn’t attract secondary students. But it was still a great success among primary students. Next to this bouncy land, we had the popular Cotton & Candy and Popcorn stand. We sold a total of 650 Candy flosses and a lot of popcorn to kids as much as to parents. Overall the fête was an enjoyable day that brought people together around a big event in our school.

ICYMI - IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Berkendael Newsletter

You are invited to read the December 2018 edition of the Berkendael Newsletter - REMOVED!