Message from Lorraine Janet Dean Director HSV International Department and Frans de Jong Director of the Dutch Department

Haagsche Schoolvereeniging

NSL Newsletter

7th September 2011

Message from Lorraine Janet Dean Director HSV International Department and Frans de Jong Director of the Dutch Department This year we sent out a location based letter during the first week of term. I hope that you found it informative. The new school year is now truly underway. The children are immersed in learning in all areas of the curriculum which is great to see. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of our new and returning families and hope that you all had an enjoyable summer break. As we say every year to those families new to The Hague and the HSV please do not be afraid to ask us if you are uncertain or have questions or concerns. Moving country and school can be a daunting experience and one that all of the HSV international community have experienced. If we at school cannot help you, we can usually put you in contact with someone (usually another parent) who can. Please also does not worry if you think your English is not good enough, most of us struggle with Dutch so really we do understand. Changes to Newsletter The International Department has grown tremendously over the last year and there are many exciting things happening in all of our locations. This has resulted in our newsletters getting longer and longer. This year we have decided send all parents the general HSV information and then the local news from their location only. If you are interested in what is happening at the other locations you will be able to find it on the newsletter on the website for each location. Each month you will receive an email with a link and we will post signs up on the classroom saying that it is available. We aim to publish a newsletter during the first week of each month. Playground Equipment This year the Overblijf committee plan to invest in playground equipment for the children. We are also going to raise some more money through participating in the “Jantje Beton” scheme. This is a national scheme in the Netherlands that raises money for play grounds in schools and communities throughout Holland through the sale of raffle tickets. This week we will be sending home some information and hope that you will support the scheme by buying and selling raffle tickets. Further details will follow. Helping out at Lunchtimes If you are interested in helping covers classes during the lunch time please let your Location Leader know. We are often looking for people to help out. A nominal payment is made to those who work in this capacity. Walk to School Day Thursday 15th September is the annual Walk to School Day, Schoolbrengdag in Dutch. Please aim to leave your car at home that day if at all possible or at the very least walk the last part of your journey. Pupils who accomplish this will receive a special HSV badge to mark the event. We will also use this day to raise the children‟s awareness of road safety before the dark mornings and evenings are upon us. International Culture and Leisure in Holland 2011-12 This year the HSV plans to have a stand at this fair intended for ex-pat families. If you attend this event please pop by and say hello. It is on Sunday, September 18th, 11.00-17.00 at the City Hall Atrium on Spui in The Hague. School council This year we are going to set up a school council for pupils at each of our locations. School councils are a way of children having a greater voice and involvement in different aspects of school life. This was piloted with our NA8 children last year and we are now going to extend in so that children from all ages can be involved in different ways. More will follow in your local newsletter.

Healthy snacks Please can we remind you all to provide a healthy snack and lunch. We have a no chocolate policy in school and would also ask that you do not send in crisps and foods high in sugar. Lunches are eaten in the classroom and so need to be foods that can be eaten easily. Please also remember to send in spoons and forks when necessary as we are often short of these in the staffroom. School Guide You have received a copy of our new school guide and annual update. Our pupils are subsidised by the Dutch government and therefore it is expected that parents will abide by the rules and regulations which are explained in the school guide. Rules with regard to the amount of time your child spends in school are extremely important so please may I draw your attention to the sections on „Leave of absence‟ (section 9.3). Leave of absence and lateness are monitored by the authorities and your failure to follow the rules and regulations could lead to you being heavily fined. Another section is that on snacks. As part of our health education curriculum we promote healthy eating and it is school policy that children do not bring chocolate snacks to eat at break or lunchtimes. Such treats should be saved for after school. There are some errors with regards to dates in the annual updates. Please take note of the changes listed below. On page 9 of annual update The study day in February is Wednesday February 15th (not February 8th). There will be no school for children in IDR, ID1, ID2 and ID3). The study day in March is Wednesday 14th March (not 16th). There will be no school for children in IDR, ID1, ID2 and ID3) One page 10 of annual update: Sports Day IDR and ID1 VNS Tuesday 8th May Sports Day IDR and ID1 KSS Thursday 10th May MR The MR would like to welcome all new parents to the school. The MR would also like to wish that the children and the parents a good academic year. This year the MR is going to have three new members: two parents from the Nassaulaan location, one each for ID and NA. As we have more than one volunteer the MR is going to conduct an election in the first week of October and requests all parents to participate in it. Ms. Caroly Harris will be the KSS parent representative. The MR is looking forward to working with the new members. As you are aware HSV has expanded in the last couple of years. In order to know the facilities at each of the locations, the MR will be conducting meetings at each of the locations in turns. It has been decided that there will be a tour of the school prior to the meeting. The Board of HSV has decided to change the admission policy for new pupils in the NA. The requirement of being resident in the postal code-area around the school to enter the NA stream of Nassaulaan is not necessary any longer. Parents who wish their child to attend a Dutch International school may apply for a place, regardless of their postcode. The Board put this decision before the MR meeting of June 20, 201. They explained the reasons and a detailed debate took place. The parent representatives in the MR had many questions. In the process the MR discussed the feelings of the parents of the NA stream regarding internationalisation of the NA stream. The Board and management of HSV see no objection to the change in policy about postcode area because the school wants to offer all features of the current NA curriculum to all parents interested in a Dutch International Primary School. They do not want to limit the offer to the people residing in the post code area only. This way HSV would serve Dutch parents who have resided for some time abroad among others. Management has also assured that the siblings of the current students will be given priority during the admission policy.

Nassaulaan News News from ID NSL We are already in the month of September. How the time has flown by! Routines have become established in classes and we are sure all children are well settled in by now. Parents Information Evening: Thank you for the great turn out at the Parent Information Evening. We trust you found it helpful and informative. Poetry for the ID Silver Jubilee Your child will have brought home a paper from the Executive Director asking for poems from your children about the ID. The chosen poem will be used as lyrics for our ID Silver jubilee song. 19-23 September We will celebrate 110 years HSV and 25 years ID-details to follow. Whole School Head Lice Check At NSL this is organised monthly by the OAC (Parent Activity Committee). If you would like to volunteer please let Kate Clarke or Julie Dahmen know. After the long summer break many children were found to have head lice. Please check your child‟s head, we will have the next check by parents on Wednesday 14th September. NA/ID working together/ Integration ID5 and NA6 worked together on their entry point for their IPC unit on “The Brain”. ID4 and NA5 are working together on their entry point for the topic “Airports”. ID6 visited the Tweede Kamer on Thursday 1st September ID6 participated in the project “Wijk Af, Segbroek” on Friday 2nd September. This is part of the initiative “Haagse Brug” by Gemeente Den Haag. The aim is to have Dutch pupils from Den Haag working together alongside international pupils. ID6 worked alongside the brugklas, pupils 2 years older than them, from Segbroek College. They were given guided tours of the architecture in that area of the Hague Children got to hear about the history of the development of the city. They had guided walks by specialists to see the architecture, designs of the buildings, cultural heritage etc. At the end of the day pupils shared workshops with one another. It was a very educational experience and fitted well with the IPC topic “Host and Home” . Kind regards, Flora Dullea, Location Leader NSL ID

Nassaulaan Nieuws Goede start We zijn het jaar goed gestart. Tijdens een rondje langs de klassen was duidelijk te zien dat de kinderen, maar ook de leerkrachten, weer veel zin hadden in een nieuw schooljaar. De informatieavond van de groepen was zeer druk bezocht. Het is fijn om te zien dat er zoveel interesse in de school en de klas is. Dit jaar gaan we de nieuwsbrieven vullen met nieuws per locatie. De afdelingen van de ID worden zo groot dat een gezamenlijke nieuwsbrief te lang wordt. Voor de geinteresseerden, we publiceren alle brieven natuurlijk op de website. We proberen om elke eerste week van de maand een nieuwsbrief uit te laten gaan. Jantje Beton / Schoolplein Dit jaar gaan we voor het eerst meedoen met de loterij van de stichting “Jantje Beton”. Een stichting die zich inzet om overal in Nederland veilige speelplekken te maken. Met het kopen van de loten steunt u deze stichting. Maar ook de school!!! Van de opbrengst van alle verkochte loten krijgt de school de helft. Dit geld gaan wij ook besteden aan ons schoolplein. Woensdag 07 september start de verkoop. U doet toch ook mee? De overblijfcommissie is ook van plan om te gaan investeren in spelmateriaal. Gezamenlijk gaan we er dan voor zorgen dat onze kinderen nog meer plezier kunnen beleven. Schoolbrengdag Op donderdag 15 september is het Nationale Schoolbrengdag. Doel van deze dag is iedereen nog eens te wijzen op het feit dat er niet altijd gebruik hoeft te worden gemaakt van de auto om de kinderen naar school te brengen. Fietsen, maar nog beter, lopen is in ons geval het beste gezien de ligging van de school. Doet u mee? Breng op deze dag uw kind(eren) als het kan op de fiets of lopend naar school. Alle kinderen die op deze wijze hebben meegedaan ontvangen een speciale HSV Schoolbrengdagbutton. Infoboekje / Schoolgids Dit jaar heeft u de eerste week een informatieboekje ontvangen. Dit boekje bevat informatie die voor dit schooljaar van toepassing is. Elk jaar zullen we het boekje weer opnieuw samenstellen en wellicht uitbreiden om u nog beter te kunnen informeren. Helaas zijn er, ondanks de zorgvuldigheid bij de samenstelling, toch nog enkele foutjes ingeslopen. Op pagina 8 bij de activiteiten zijn de data van de studiedagen niet goed. De juiste data staan op pagina 5 bij het vakantierooster. Voor alle zekerheid: Studiedagen, 16 november, 15 februari, 14 maart en 18 april. Dit zijn woensdagochtenden, de kinderen van de groepen 1 tot en met 4 zijn dan vrij. De schoolgids vindt u op onze website. Jubileum Dit jaar bestaat de basisschool van de Haagsche School Vereeniging 110 jaar. Ook dit jaar vieren dat de Internationale afdeling 25 jaar bestaat. In de week van 19 tot en met 23 september zullen er verschillende activiteiten plaats vinden. U wordt hierover nog geinformeerd. Gezonde snack We willen u herinneren aan het meegeven van een gezonde snack en lunch. Op school hebben we een “geen chocolade beleid”. We vragen u hiermee rekening te houden, speciaal met het meegeven van de kleine snack en bij de verjaardagen. Ook meesters en juffen hebben liever een gezonde tractatie. Overblijf De overblijfcommissie is altijd op zoek naar mensen die kunnen helpen met het overblijven. Heeft u hier interesse in dan kunt u kontakt opnemen met school. U kunt ook een mailtje sturen naar: [email protected]

Leerlingenraad Vorig jaar is groep 8 gestart met het vormen van en leerlingraad. Deze leerlingraad komt bijeen onder leiding van een of twee leerkrachten en kunnen van alles bespreken. Ook kunnen ze voorstellen doen om in en om school zaken te verbeteren. Of ze kunnen feesten organisderen. Vorig jaar heeft de leerlingraad bijvoorbeeld de Valentijnsdisco georganiseerd. Dit jaar willen we de leerlingraad samenstellen met vertegenwoordigers van de groepen NA 5-6-7-8 en ID 4-5-6. In de komende weken zal er in de klassen de nodige aandacht aan worden besteed. MR De MR verwelkomt alle nieuwe ouders van de HSV. De MR wenst alle kinderen en ouders een leuk en leerzaam schooljaar. Dit schooljaar zullen 3 nieuwe ouders deel gaan uitmaken van de MR, waarvan 2 ouders van HSV aan de Nassaulaan, één ouder van de NA (Nederlandse afdeling) en één ouder van de ID (International Department). De MR is er zeer blij mee dat zowel voor de NA als voor de ID zich meerdere kandidaten hebben gemeld. De verkiezingen zullen plaatsvinden in de 1e week van oktober. De MR roept alle ouders op om in die week hun stem uit te brengen. Vanuit KSS is Caroly Harris de nieuwe ouder-vertegenwoordiger in MR. De MR kijkt uit naar de nieuwe samenwerking. Zoals u weet is HSV in de afgelopen jaren flink gegroeid, worden de MR vergaderingen bij toerbeurt om één van de locaties gehouden. Het bestuur van de HSV heeft besloten om bij de instroom van nieuwe leerlingen het vereiste los te laten om woonachtig te zijn in het postcode gebied rond de school. Het management heeft dit besluit in de MR vergadering van 20 juni 2011 toegelicht. De oudervertegenwoordiger van de NA in de MR heeft de nodige vragen gesteld. Daarbij heeft zij de huidige aan de MR gemelde en gevoelde onrust bij ouders genoemd over het “verinternationaliseren” van de Nederlandse Afdeling van HSV. De MR heeft hierover uitvoerig gediscussieerd. Het bestuur van HSV ziet geen bezwaar in het loslaten van het vereiste om woonachtig te zijn in het postcode gebied omdat men graag de voordelen van het NA curriculum wil kunnen aanbieden aan een grotere groep dan alleen de mensen die woonachtig zijn in dit gebied. Zo kan de school meer Nederlandse ouders van dienst zijn die enige tijd in het buitenland hebben doorgebracht en om die reden hun kind(eren) graag bij de Nederlandse afdeling van HSV naar school willen laten gaan. Het management verzekerde dat broertjes en zusjes van de kinderen die al naar school gaan nog steeds voorrang hebben. (De MR heeft over dit onderwerp een adviesrecht en geen instemmingsrecht).