Year 10 Newsletter 1

August 31, 2007

                                                                                                      

From our Director, Mr. Fred Runkel:

 

It gives me great pleasure to welcome both new and returning families to this, our tenth school year. We opened the school year with the largest number of students ever, 309, from 36 nations, on our two campuses.  .  Our enrolment shows a 24% increase from last school year.  We open this year with 36 students in the Kindergarten, 136 students in the Elementary School, 92 students in the Middle School, and 45 students in the High School.

 

Our Convent Campus now houses our Middle School, Grades 5 - 8 and our High School, Grades 9 - 11.  Our Middle School Principal is Mr. Peter Thorpe, and Dr. Liam Browne is our High School Principal.  Both sections are supported by a team of teachers who will also have teaching duties throughout the school.  Classes in the Middle and High School sections will again be taught on a departmentalized basis.

 

With three classes in the High School, the students will be guided by Mr. Browne as the homeroom teacher in Grade 11, and Mr. Peter Nagler as the homeroom teacher in Grade Ten and Mrs. Martina Thomas as the homeroom teacher in Grade Nine. 

 

Our Middle School continues to grow. The homeroom teachers at the Middle School will be Mrs. Alice Astorino, along with Mr. Peter Thorpe as a co-homeroom teacher (Grade 5AT), Ms. Jeanne Bouvier (Grade 5b), Mr. Matt Althoff (Grade 6), Mr. Franco Manna (Grade 7m), Mr. Andreas Sayer (Grade 7s) and Mr. Bryan Landmann (Grade 8).  Mrs. Astorino and Ms. Bouvier are both new and come to us from the USA and Mr. Sayer is German but is coming to us from England.

 

The Dassler Villa houses our Kindergarten and Grades 1 though 4. The homeroom teachers in the Elementary School are: Miss Tara Allen (Grade 1a) and Miss Darcy Dufresne (Grade 1d), Ms. Maureen Wells (Grade 2w) and Mrs. Celia Andrews (Grade 2a), Mr. Darryn Thomas (Grade 3t) and Mrs. Liz Galloway (Grade 3g), and Mr. Glenn Lawler (Grade 4gl) and Mrs. Kathy Larsen (Grade 4kl).  Mrs. Andrews is new to the FIS and comes to us from Australia, Mrs. Galloway is American but coming from Munich and Mrs. Larsen joins us from the USA.  Mr. Lawler is again responsible for this division of the FIS as our Elementary School Principal.

 

Our Kindergarten program has two groups again this year.  The Blue Group is being taught by Mrs. Jane Jäger, who has returned this year from her maternity leave, and the Red group is being taught again by Miss Angela Wild.  Miss Tanja Rathgeb will be doing specialized teaching and assisting in both Kindergarten classes. 

 

We are also pleased to have a number of returning faces in and around the school, without whom the school could not function. At the Dassler Villa is Lisha Scharf who is returning as our Lunch Assistant and Mrs. Anni Langer who lives next door and serves the FIS as Hausmeister.

 

At the Convent Campus, we are pleased to welcome back Mrs. Susanne Berger, who will be our Lunch Assistant, and Mr. Roland Schorn, who will be our Hausmeister and will help to take care of the building and grounds.

 

Our administrative team is headed by Ms Petra Niemczyk as the Head of Administration.  Ms Niemczyk will focus her attention this year on the new building project.  We are also happy to welcome back our Administrative Assistants, Mrs. Susanne Potrykus at the Dassler Villa and Mrs Bettina Weigel at the Convent Campus, Mr. Holger Hilbig and Mrs. Beatrice Müller in our Finance Department and Ms. Carrie Quinn-Thorpe as Admissions Officer. 

 

We also would like to welcome the many returning specialist teachers on our staff who provide quality education in many areas of our program as well as the remaining new teachers who have joined our team.  The whole FIS Team is privileged to be entrusted with the care and education of your children.

 

From our Head of Administration, Ms Petra Niemczyk:

 

Welcome back and welcome to the 10th year of operation of the Franconian International School. It will be a special year in particular with the tremendous growth of our school and the progress of our new school building in Röthelheimpark in Erlangen. The new FIS will host all the different sections of the FIS and in addition to the classrooms, will have an auditorium, a cafeteria, a gym, a school-wide library, laboratories for Science, Art and Information Technology and various outdoor facilities, including a sports field.

 

On August 23, we celebrated the “Richtfest”. This is a German tradition to organize a celebration for the workers on the construction site when the shell of the building is finished. The site foreman holds a speech with good wishes for everybody involved in the project and drinks a glass of wine to the audience before he drops it from the roof. A crane pulls up the decorated “Richtkranz” (wreath) and afterwards people celebrate the progress of the project with typical food and beverages.

 

Over the next months more and more companies will show up on the site adding to the development of the construction. We will “close” the building before the winter and are on schedule towards moving in during the summer of 2008!

 

For more information please feel free to contact me under niemczyk@the-fis.de or visit the building website at www.fis-erlangen.de.

 

Thank you to FIS Board Member Clemens Bloss:  The FIS students and teachers would like to thank Clemens Bloss and the Quelle Versicherung AG for their kind donation of 1000 euros to the school.  The moneys which were donated will either be earmarked for the library, or for buying much needed equipment in other areas of the school. 

 

***Information per email***:  FIS Families, please be aware that in order to be environmentally friendly, in future all newsletters and much of the school related information will be sent via email only (i.e. lunch menus, notifications, etc)   As such, it is imperative that you please provide the school with an email address to which you wish this information be sent.  Please complete and return the form below or email Mrs. Wiegel (wiegel@the-fis.de) with your preferred email address by no later than next Thursday, September 6th so that she can update our distribution list. 

 

 

 

 


   

Family Name (please print):____________________________________________________

 

 

Our preferred e-mail address(es) for FIS information: ____________________________________

 

 

 

New Lunch Prices:  Please note that the price of the hot lunch has increased slightly from last school year.  In the Middle/High School, the portions have also been increased and as such cost more than in the Elementary School.  The new hot lunch prices for the 2007-2008 school year are 3,10 € at the DV and 3, 40€ (portions will be bigger) at the Convent Campus.  The salad option at the Convent Campus now costs 1,10 €.

 

Middle School Field Trips:  The MS field trips will take place in September thereby allowing many of the bonds and team building skills that the students develop to grow throughout the remainder of the year.  Therefore, all Middle School classes (Grades 5 to 8) will be away on a field trip from Monday, September 24th through Friday, September 28th. 

 

The activities planned are as follows:

  • Grade 5 will be going to Hintersee, Germany to take part in an outdoor education trip that involves hiking, rock climbing, rappelling and visiting the salt mines in Berchtesgaden.
  • Grade 6 will be attending Space Camp in Transinne, Belgium where they will perform a simulated space shuttle launch, build and launch a rocket and train on some of the equipment that the astronauts use.
  • Grade 7 will also be going to Hintersee, but they will hike up to the “Blaueishütte” where they will be staying for the week.  Here they will also do some hiking, rock climbing and rappelling.
  • Grade 8 will be flying to Spain, where they will take part in the first part of the Spanish exchange program.  The students will be staying with families from our partner school in Spain and they will practice speaking Spanish in a native Spanish environment.  Later in the school year, the students from Spain will come and stay with our Grade 8 families.

 

More detailed information about each of these trips will be sent home next week by the teachers involved.

 

If your child will be absent from school: Please inform the respective school office first thing in the morning.  If your child rides the FIS bus service you must also contact the bus company directly at 09193-3366 to inform them that your child does not require pick up on that day. 

 

MS/HS Morning Drop Off:  Parents of Middle and High School students, when dropping your children off in the morning, please only pull into the bus area in front of the school going in the correct direction of the flow of traffic (ie. facing uphill). Driving around the traffic circle will only take a few seconds longer and this will ensure the safety everyone on Zum Flughafen.  We also ask that all MS/HS parents pull up into the bus bay when dropping off their students, and then leave promptly thereafter.  Parents who need to come into the Convent Campus building should park further up the street in the legal parking areas.  With the traffic light and crosswalk just down the street from the Convent Campus, students who are dropped opposite the Convent, should walk down and make use of it.

In the afternoon the bus bay is reserved for our Zwingel Taxis.  MS/HS Parents may give their students the chance to walk to a prearranged meeting point by signing our “FIS Walk Home Alone Form”.  Alternatively, parents may park in a legal parking area close to the school and walk to the Convent Campus to pick up their students.

Parking at the Dassler Villa: Parking around the Dassler Villa has been a problem for us during the past school years and has at times caused strained relations with our neighbours. Please note that blocking the sidewalk is not acceptable and that the neighbour’s driveways are not open to the public for turning or parking purposes. The field located across from the school is also not a public parking area.  We ask parents to park only in legal parking areas, even if they are a bit farther away from the school, and then walk to the FIS.

 

Dismissal Information:  Please be sure to inform the school office if your child is being picked up by anyone other than the person who normally picks them up.  Students in the MS/HS require written permission to leave the campus on their own at the end of the school day.  If you require a copy of this form please contact the CC office.  Students who ride the bus must inform the office, in writing, if they are not riding the bus at the end of the day for any reason.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter as this ensures that our end of day dismissal runs safely and smoothly.

 

Information Update:  Please notify the school immediately if you have moved, change your home, work or handy number, etc.  Please also ensure that your Emergency Contact information is up to date.  This information is vital for us to have on file.  If you are unsure if your current information is valid, please contact Mrs. Potrykus at the Dassler Villa (09132/797910) or Mrs. Wiegel at the Convent Campus (09132/730230).

 

Reminders: A reminder to all parents that school in Grades 1-4 starts at 08:45 and that Middle/High School classes start at 8:35 am. Students who do not ride the bus should generally arrive in their school building 5 - 15 minutes early in order to have time to organize themselves prior to the school day.  Students should be bringing drinks for their school day. These are for both snack and lunch times, and should be brought in non-glass containers.

 

Parent Info Night at the Elementary School: 

 

We will be having our Parent Info Night on Monday, 10th September for parents of children in all classes from Kindergarten to Grade 4. The Info Night gives you the opportunity to meet your child’s teachers as well as give all of the teachers the opportunity to present their program and expectations for the school year. The Parent Info Night will be held at the Dassler Villa beginning at 7pm and should be finished by 9:00 pm. If it is possible, please leave your children at home.  If not, the PTO, at a cost of 2 € per child, will provide baby-sitting, as the presentations are designed primarily for parents. The PTO will also provide refreshments. The evening is scheduled as follows:

 

·        7:00 – Opening remarks by Mr. Runkel and Mr. Lawler

·        7:15-7:35 - Information presentations on German, Music, Sports and Ethics classes – in the entrance hall

a.      German – 5 min. 

b.      Music – 5 min.

c.      PE – 5 min.

d.      Ethics and Counseling – 5 min.

·        7:35 – 8:00 – Coffee Break – coffee and refreshments supplied by the PTO.

·        8:00 – 8:25 – Classroom presentations Session 1 – in classrooms of Kindergarten and Grades 1-4;

·        8:25 – 8:30 – Session 1 is concluded and parents may now move to the next classroom for Session 2

·        8:30 – 8:55 – Classroom presentations Session 2 – for parents with more than one child in our elementary school this gives the opportunity for you to visit the classroom of your second child – in classrooms of Kindergarten and Grades 1-4

·        8:55 – Session 2 is concluded

·        9:15 – Building closed

 

Parent Info Nights at the Convent Campus:  The Parent Info Night for the High School is scheduled for Thursday, September 13 at 7:00pm and for the Middle School on Monday, September 17.  Further information for these evenings will follow in next week’s newsletter.

 

Sign In & Out:  Parents, please remember that any time you enter either of the school buildings, it is mandatory that you sign in and wear a visitors tag when you are in the building. Please also remember to sign out when you leave.  Parents, please also sign in and out any non-FIS children you may have with you.  This ensures that we are always aware of exactly who is in the building.  In the event we need to evacuate the school, the fire marshals will use this list to ensure that no one is left in the building. 

 

After School Activity Program: Our popular After School Activity Program will begin on October 1st.  The courses will run for ten weeks until Wednesday December 19. and therefore end prior to the Christmas holidays. A list of offerings will be sent home with the students within the next couple of weeks.  The courses will be open to all students from K(5) upwards.  Kindergarten (5 yr olds) and Grades One and Two are limited to one day per week.  Students in Grades Three and Four may sign up for a second course on a space available basis.  Middle and High School students may take more than one course if there is room.  Any parents who would like to volunteer to run a course should contact Mr. Runkel at the FIS at 09132/797910.

 

Tutors Needed / Tutors Available:  Do you know someone who is a tutor, or who is interested in tutoring middle and high school students?  We would like to expand our list of available tutors in all subject areas.  If you know someone who might be interested, or, if you are looking for a tutor for your child, please contact Mrs. Ang at ang@the-fis.de.

 

Girl Scout Leaders and assistants required! Are you interested in learning new skills, having a lot of fun and helping girls to grow strong? If you would like to know more then please contact Sarah Sharpe, Tel. 09135 722267 or e-mail sharpe_de@hotmail.com 

 

Piano for sale:  Beautiful black lacquered upright Kawai, made in 1996. Excellent condition; will not fit in new flat. €2200 or best offer. Julian 01511 7628 704

 

TV receiver for sale: SkyPlus Digibox TV Receiver (new 399 €) complete with satellite dish and cable. (Connection/subscription is made via www.astrosat.info). Price:140€, please contact Jenny Dennett: 0160-3727891 or email: dennettjennifer@yahoo.com.au.

 

FIS School Newsletter The FIS newsletter is published on a weekly basis, and is emailed home each Friday. The newsletter contains items of information relating to school operations, PTO News, for-sale items placed by members of our community, and much more. Contributions to the newsletter can be emailed to the school.  The editor reserves the right to… edit…

 

Newsletter on web page:  Our newsletter, and other important school information, can also be found on the school’s web page.  Newsletters are usually placed on the web site (http://fis.ecis.org) a day or two after publication and will remain there until the end of the school year.