Dear parents,
One month into the school year, and I am happy to see that our children are for the most part still able to attend school in person. The past weeks have been extremely busy, and I wanted to give a brief update about the various topics on which the APEEE has been working in addition to running our services. For the latest updates and information about our services, plans and operational costs, please see our website: www.bru4.eu
- Covid-19 Task Force
An informal Covid-19 Task Force has been set up, including representatives from the APEEE (President, VP Pedagogy and some Section Representatives), EEB4 school management and the Infirmary. This group will meet once a week in order to keep lines of communication open between the APEEE and the school, optimize policies for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, and ensure pedagogical continuity for students who have to stay at home.
If you have a specific, urgent query about Covid-19 (for example in case of a confirmed positive test), please contact the school’s dedicated email address: LAE-COVID19-NOTIFICATION@EURSC.EU
Confirmed positive cases of pupils who use APEEE services should be reported to covid19@bru4.eu
Both the school and the APEEE have dedicated webpages with detailed explanations : School / APEEE.
If you have more general questions, please get in touch with your Section Representative or an APEEE Board member >
- School Administrative Board
The EEB4 School Administrative Board took place on Sept 29. At it, the following documents of interest were presented:
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- Multi-Annual School Plan > (coming soon)
- Local Policy for Educational Support – Guidelines >
- Anti-bullying Policy > (working draft)
The Secretary General of the European Schools congratulated the school management on the quality and ambition of these documents. Now, of course, it’s time to do the hard work of implementing these plans and goals in the months and years to come.
At the beginning of the year, APEEE Board member Dana Puia Morel hosted two workshops with all the educators of EEB4. The goal was to design actions for the 5 priorities of the Multi-Annual School Plan, respectively: teaching and learning quality, continuous teacher development, enhancing digital education, strengthening school identity and reinforcing the European dimension of education. The methodology used was participatory leadership and some creative and inspiring ideas for action emerged. Now these ideas have to be put in practice in the school community, so we are inviting parents to have a look at the Multi-Annual School Plan (link above) and let us know at dapmorel@gmail.com if, where and how you would like to get involved.
Another important topic at the Admin Board was the critical lack of space at EEB4. Our student population has grown to over 3100 students, and this is felt primarily in the common areas: sports infrastructure, canteen/lunchroom, exam space, room for events/large meetings. Hallways and staircases are also affected. The APEEE will write a letter in support of the school’s appeals to the Régie des Bâtiments, the Belgian authority responsible for the provision and management of European Schools.
The Régie des Bâtiments has stated in the most recent Steering Committee that the temporary site for the 5th European School of Brussels will be delivered in August 2021. The APEEE and School Management are in continuous contact, trying to find the best possible solutions to our overfull school. Unfortunately, it does not look like this problem of overcrowding in our school is going to disappear anytime soon.
We also stressed the importance of maintaining Pedagogical Continuity in the event that individual pupils, classes or teachers must go into quarantine. We also pointed out that special focus should be given to the Bac cycle (S6/S7) and all efforts made to ensure that there are contingency plans in place for the European Baccalaureate.
- InterParents
InterParents (IP) is the umbrella association for the Parent Associations of the European Schools and serves as the ‘voice of parents’ on all aspects of governance of the European School system. IP is also the officially recognized representative of parents of all pupils in the European Schools in the Board of Governors/Conseil of the European Schools; in its subsidiary committees, and in its preparatory working groups. In this last capacity, InterParents has submitted a number of papers going to the Joint Teaching Committee on 8-9 October. The topics include:
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- New Marking Scheme. Equivalence tables
- Proposal to extend the definition of ‘vulnerable’ pupils of the European Schools in relation to COVID19
- Distance learning for absent children
- Creation of Electronic Books to support the syllabuses of the European Schools
For questions about these topics or other InterParents issues and activities, please feel free to contact our school’s two IP representatives: Stephanie Buus (stephaniebuus@hotmail.com) and Kristin Dijkstra (Kristin.dijkstra@gmail.com)
- Parent information meeting
Over the next week, Section Representatives will organize language section meetings during which the Section Representatives can be (s)elected or confirmed for this school year.
The deadline for submitting the Section Representatives is Oct 21.
On October 22, the APEEE will host a virtual meeting at which Section Representatives will be introduced and parents will have an opportunity to ask questions. The school Directors are also invited to participate in a Question & Answer session. A separate communication will be sent, with a registration link for parents who would like to participate. You will be invited to submit questions beforehand, in order to better structure the meeting.
Best regards,
Kristin Dijkstra, President of the APEEE of Brussels IV