We look forward to welcoming existing and new students to Birralee International School on Wednesday,16th August 2023.
We are already enthusiastically planning and preparing for next school year. Below you will find some information to help you and your child prepare for their start at Birralee.
Years 2 - Year 10 will meet up at 08:30 in the park opposite the school, where they will be greeted by their teachers and learning assistants. The Parents' Committee will be in the playground to serve coffee and cake for parents. Since we are a green school, we encourage parents to bring their own mug.
We are excited to welcome our new Year 1 students to our Birralee community. The Year 1 parents and children are welcome to meet in the school playground from 08:30 and will be greeted by the Principal, their teachers and learning assistant at 08:45. The Year 1 parents are invited to have a cup of coffee or tea in the school kitchen once the children have gone to their classroom with their class teacher. Year 1's first day of school will end at 12:30.
Best regards,
Elin J. Hitchman
Principal
Collecting children from school
We kindly ask parents who collect their children straight after school to wait at the school gate. The Year 1 teachers and/or learning assistant will accompany the Year 1 children to the side gate next to the monkey bars at 14:30. The older children will make their own way out of school at 14:30 (Year 2 - Year 7) or 15:00 (Year 8 - Year 10).
Parents who are collecting their children from ASP (14:30-16:30) are welcome to collect their child straight from the playground.
Home - School Communication The school will send out regular information via email and text messages. Other information will be sent out by the teachers via email and Frog; the school's new learning and communication platform. Frog will intially be used for classes in a similar way to SeeSaw. As the year progresses we will build up our use of Frog, for example making homework visible in all year groups.
All parents and students will have their own login details which will allow them to access the platform. Login details for Frog will be sent out in the coming two weeks. The different functions will be made available over the year.
School information and activity calendars can also be found on the school’s website www.birralee.no.
Parent Meetings and Parent Conferences We will be holding two annual Curriculum Meetings for parents. The first one will be in September. This will allow you to meet all the teachers and to hear about the curriculum and our plans for the year. Parents are offered two student-parent-teacher conferences during the year, one in the autumn and one in the spring.
A Reminder about School Lunch and Equipment Your child will need a packed lunch and a drink. Please do not include sweets or fizzy drinks. Please note that students in Years 1 to 8 will remain on the school premises during the school day, whereas our older students will be able to leave the school premises during their breaks. This will be discussed and agreed with the class teacher after the start of the school year.
On the first day your child will need indoor shoes and outdoor clothing suitable for the weather. Students in Years 1 to 5 should also have a spare set of clothes in school. At the end of each week all clothes should be taken home.
Please make sure that all of your child's clothing is labelled.
Healthy School We would like to remind parents that we aim to be a healthy school. We therefore kindly ask parents to not send any sweets or cakes to school, except for special school celebrations such as Halloween and Christmas by arrangement with the class teacher.
Children will be recognised in school on their birthday by their teacher and classmates. However, we kindly ask you to not send in any birthday treats.
School Milk The school provides a milk service for our students. Parents can sign up online for the school year: https://www.skolelyst.no/
After School Programme (ASP) The Birralee After School Programme (ASP) provides care, supervision and activities outside the regular school hours for children from Year 1 to Year 4 in a caring environment. ASP is located in the classrooms on the first floor. In addition, the playground, gym, music room and other rooms are used.
ASP is open from Monday to Friday from 07.30 - 08:30 and from 14:30 - 16.30. ASP is open every school day and during most school holidays.
Parents also have the possibility to buy an ASP Clip Card (10x) for 1.300 NOK. The ASP Clip Card allows children to attend ASP for 10 afternoons on regular school days (14:30-16:30)
Read more about our ASP programme here
After School Clubs Information about our After School Clubs will follow next week.
Mobile phones and Electronic Equipment In case of an emergency, students may ask to use the school telephone. Although students may have a mobile phone in school, they are not permitted to use them on school premises or during school trips unless they are given permission by a member of staff. Students who bring a mobile phone and/or a smart watch into school are encouraged to safely store them in the “Mobile Phone Hotel” or equivalent which are locked during the school day.
We also ask parents not to call their children on their mobile phones during school hours. Messages can be left with the School Office for delivery to your child.
Transportation New Year 1 students who live further away than 2 kilometres can apply for a school bus card. For children in Year 2 and above, the required distance to qualify for a bus card is more than 4 km. Please note that bus cards cannot be used during school holidays or after you have moved house. More information and our application form can be found here.
Join the Birralee Community! Parents and other family members are invited to join the Birralee Community and to like/follow us on the school's Social Media channels. Your support is much appreciated!
Any questions? If you have any questions that have not been answered in this letter, please call or email the School office (admin@birralee.no) and we will do our best to help you.
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