Noticeboard 25 February 2009

Dear Parents,
Although we are working hard to bring you a new website for the Parents’ Association that will keep you up to-date with all that is going on in the Parents’Association and school, it is not yet ready and we are grateful for your patience. As the current School website is experiencing technical difficulties we are emailing you directly with a summary of all that is going on at the moment.
The Website and Newsletter
The PA has decided that we urgently need a new website that can offer accurate and up-to-date information. The PA committee are currently negotiating with web designers and have already established exactly the services and information that we as parents require from a first class website. We plan that the PA website should be completed and on-line in time for the start of the new school year but before then you will be able to access it as we are working on it. We are sorry if this seems a long time but in the meanwhile we will try to keep you in touch with all that is going on by email.
Eurosport
As you know Eurosport is taking place in March from the 19th to 21st. This event is very important to ESK as all the other European schools are attending and this is going to be a major event in the school calendar. Did you know that the very first Eurosport was organised by this school and we are happy to be part of this great tradition. The PA is fully supporting Eurosport and we are sponsoring an initiative by the pupils to do a “real-time reporting” of the games on the internet so that everyone in all the Europeans schools can follow the progress of their teams. Every school will be sending its own reporter and Students from ESK will be coordinating the reporting activities.
One very important notice – We still need host families. There are over 400 students and teachers attending in March and this event it is a great opportunity for cultural exchange. We urge all parents to consider again hosting one or two students from the evening of the 18th March to 21st March as the school is still looking for 100 or more beds. Details about hosting can be obtained from Herr Theo Heunen (heunent@eskar.org).
The finals are taking place on Saturday 21st March on the school campus and everyone is invited to come and support our school teams. A celebration of Eurosport is planned for the end of the games and details will be forwarded as soon as they are confirmed.
All the sport teachers of the school are doing a fantastic job and we are sure that the games will be a great success. Herr Theo Heunen (heunent@eskar.org) is coordinating the host families and Herr Matteo Guerra (guerram@eskar.org) is responsible for the whole organisation of Eurosport. Please contact them directly if you can host visiting students or if you have further questions about the event.

Canteen
As some of you may already know the school is looking for new caterers for the school canteen. Several catering firms have already been asked to do a trial week at the school, but so far the quality of the food and the service has not been good and other catering firms have been asked to tender for the contract. The Canteen Committee knows how important it is to offer freshly prepared, well-balanced meals for our children in the canteen at midday and they are working to ensure that the meals are of a high quality at the best possible price.

Security
The PA welcomes the security measures that have been put in place at the school and is pleased to see that it is running smoothly and we are now looking forward to the completion of the new security office at the main gate. The contract with the current security firm runs out shortly and the school have invited tenders for the new contract. The PA has been very happy with the service from the friendly security men at the front gate and hope that they will be able to continue working here at the school.

INTERPARENTS
The umbrella organisation of all the PAs in the European schools is called INTERPARENTS (www.interparents.eu) . Representatives from each school meet regularly throughout the year and discuss issues that affect all schools. Minutes of meetings and reports of other individual topics are published on their website and we encourage all parents to visit the website to follow their progress.
New Members
Can we remind all parents that they can become members of the PA at any time. However, if anyone is interested in becoming involved with the PA or would like to propose new topics or activities for the PA to do, please do not hesitate to contact us as we welcome all your suggestions. Mrs Cindy Van Velzen is president and her email address is cvanvelzen@arcor.de .

Dates to remember
February 9th Parents’ evening class 5 (GS)
February 16th Parents’ evening classes 5 and 6 OS
February 17th Parents’ evening classes 3 and 4 OS
February 18th Parents’ evening classes 1 and 2 OS
February 23rd - 27th Fasching holiday (half term)
March 2nd back to school
March 15th – 18th European Schools Scientific Symposium (www.esbergen.org/ESSS/esss_index.htm)
March 19th – 21st Eurosport
March 27th – 29th school ski trip (OS)
April 2nd Education Committee meeting (OS)
April 3rd last school day before the Easter holiday
April 20th back to school
April 25th School Open Day
June 21st School fete

Your Parents’ Association, February 2009