Tagged with "From the Principal"...

Dear students, parents and staff of Internationella Engelska Skolan Skärholmen,

Mr Samuel West has been Acting Principal to lead IES Skärholmen during the period of a finding a successor to Ms Ohlén. We are very pleased to announce that Dr Margret Benedikz has been appointed as Principal to lead the school from 1 August 2019.

As of the same date, Mr West will join IES Södertälje as Principal.

Dr Benedikz is no stranger to IES, as she was the Principal of the Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet (IEGS) in Södermalm between 2005 - 2013. Most recently she held the position of Director of Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Laroverket (SSHL) since April 2013.

Dr Benedikz holds a PhD in English Literature from Stockholm University.

Please join me in welcoming Dr Benedikz to her new role, as well as thanking Mr West for his valuable contribution to IES Skärholmen. We wish both of them every success.

Kind regards,

Cecilia Marlow

Acting CEO

Happy Holidays students and guardians of IES Skärholmen,

We celebrated Lucia as tradition on the 13th of December. The students were excellent, both as performers and as members of a participating yet respectful audience. We are so proud of how they have developed as we practice being an audience a lot at school. We end the 20th of December, one day before the municipality schools in Stockholm Stad. This is so that teachers who want to go home for the holiday can do that easier. Instead we start the 8th of January and if you need that day off you need to send an email to your mentor.

7th January
The 7th of January is an all staff day at school where we will update our security procedures. The students’ safety is our absolute priority. Teachers will be practicing fire drill, Lock Down procedure and train together with our CAD team in how to deal with tough situations. We will do this together with the security firm that we work with and our local police who also want to take part in the knowledge that we have in the building due to our teachers’ backgrounds from all around the world. A very good collaboration that we think will lead to a safer school, not only for us but for the community in general in the future.

Survey
We had an extra survey during december with a focus on satisfaction and safety. I am pleased to find everyone feels it is calmer in school! We will soon start with our larger, standard quality survey and we hope that you all answer it so that we get as clear a picture as possible on how you feel about our school.

We wish you all happy holidays and see you 2019!
Alexandra Ohlén, Principal IES Skärholmen

Dear students and guardians of IES Skärholmen

I hope you have been reading a lot with your children during the break! We have been preparing the school in different ways. 8C have new chairs that we are testing for the future to see if they work better than the one’s in the other classrooms. In year 4 and 5 the chairs now have silent balls to help the noise levels to go down when students take their chairs out. We have also refurnished the restaurant to make it more spacious and shorten the lunch queues. A lot happens in school when it is closed!

Food
We have had several meetings with the kitchen and we have a solution that I think will work with the guidelines. We have fixed the schedule so that there won’t be that many in at the same time. We let the students sit in their year group now instead of only with their class, we have bought more heating cabinets to make sure the food does not run out (they will arrive w 47) and the kitchen has promised to make food that is more separated so they better fit students with needs. In the exit of the restaurant we have placed a survey for the food so that the students can tell if they want the dish again or not. The result from this is discussed during Monday management meetings and feedback is given to the kitchen and the food council. We now hope that the students will be happier with the food! If you have followed the news, Livsmedelsverket has updated their directives regarding food in school. We are happy to say that we already follow these and that it proves that we are on the right path in creating a sugar free school!

Study day the 12th of November
Monday the 12th of November is a Study Day for the students so the school is closed. The teachers will then look at all the individual students in the year group to see if any of them needs a little push in the right direction. An important day with focus on the individual student.

Teacher Development Conversation the 14th of November
If you have not done this already, go in to SchoolSoft and book a time with one of your child's teachers. This is the result of parent-school collaboration where the parents want the opportunity to meet the subject teacher for a deeper understanding of the children's learning in that subject.

Big competition week 47-50
During week 46 we will launch a big competition for good behavior. More information is to come but I want to promise you that if your child is in the running for winning the competition, you will be told in advance so that you can be a part of how this will be communicated.

As always, you are most welcome to meet me or Mr. West between 7.30 and 8.20 if you have questions or ideas.
Alexandra Ohlén, Principal IES Skärholmen

Dear students and guardians of IES Skärholmen

Time flies when you are having fun and the routines are settling in school. We are grateful that many parents, especially in junior school, came to our parent meeting. We talked about our goal of the year to create more peace and calm in the school. Our survey from the evening showed that parents considered tha 86% of the lesson were peaceful and calm so far! We have also started asking students every week and we get similar results from them. This week, students report that 90% of their lessons are peaceful and calm. The surveys give us important feedback about which subject and year groups where we need to be most focused to get the right work environment.

School Photograph

We are looking into if we can have our school photograph in October. The reason for the delay is the new data law(GDPR) but we are in the process of arranging school photographs whilst maintaining compliance.

Study day on Friday 5th Oktober

On Thursday 4th October all staff in school are taking part in a conference. Ordinary teaching finishes at 15.00 on this day but mother tongue lessons continue as normal, as does Junior Club. The school is also closed on Friday 5th October. During the conference, we will be discussing how we can promote and establish good behaviour in our students, effective teaching routines and how some departments in school can be more service minded. All are area where we are looking to develop in response to feedback from parents and students.

Reading Week 44

Week 44 is a reading week for all students and teachers. Some students in grade 9 will be invited to ‘holiday school’ during this week to support any subjects where there is a risk of not reaching the goal. Those students and parents will receive information individually if they are to be involved. From the Spring term, students from Grade 8 will also be invited to holiday school.

School Yard

The students have been wonderful and have written letters to the council to help hurry along the plans for the expansion of the school yard. This will still take time and as such, we will be making an investment in the small area we have right now, even if it is only for a short term. More information to follow shortly.

PTA

During week 40, I will start calling all those who registered to be part of the PTA. Each member will be contacted three times every semester and the results of which will be published as part of my Monthly Letter. I hope that this proves to be a good start in moving towards a more active partnership where more parents are routinely involved. This will be evaluated over time.

As normal, you are most welcome to meet me or Mr. West between 7.30 and 8.20 if you have questions or ideas.

Alexandra Ohlén, Principal IES Skärholmen

It feels great to be back at school after such hot and nice summer. We have been busy preparing for the school year. We will spend this first week building the foundations for working with equality in school. The standard timetable begins on Monday 20th August.

Renovations and Improvements
We have built a small group room in the grade 4 corridor and blocked an area around the gym hall to make those who wish to shower after PE lessons feel secure in doing so. We have also booked more time in Sätrahallen so that Grade 7 can have PE lessons there instead. This freed more time in our own gym so the other students have more time to get changed and prepare for their lesson. We do not have more information about the proposed expansion to the school yard yet but you will be informed as soon as we do.

Longer open hours for free breakfast
The option of free breakfast will continue this year with longer open hours(now 7.30 - 8.15) to suit the new schedule. Parents are always welcome to both breakfast and lunch when visiting!.

Personal Computers for Grade 8 and 9
Last year we successfully tested personal computers for grade 9. Our insurance provider does not allow for them to be taken from school and now we will try the same thing for grade 8!

Programming is timetabled for half-classes
The curriculum has changed so that programming now constitutes a larger part of education in school. Due to this change, we have qualified mathematics teachers teaching lessons in programming. We hope that this will help to develop our students’ ability to think logically and inspire a greater interest in mathematics.

GDPR/SchoolSoft
Our compliance with GDPR means that some of the functionality of SchoolSoft has changed. Essentially, parents will only be able to access class list and other information about their own child. We had to make this change in order to comply with GDPR.

Results and the school's operational goals
100 % of our student qualified for gymnasiet last year! In order to improve other areas of the school we have aligned our school targets with the Student Council groups:

Theme of the goal                                                        Student influence group

Physical and mental health                                           Food Council

Higher expectations in verbal                                       Equal Rights Group
communication

Consistent teaching and learning                                Academic Ambassadors

Calm and Safe environment                                         Student Council

We look forward to a great year together! Principal Alexandra Ohlén

Det är så roligt att ha er tillbaka till skolan efter denna härliga och varma sommar. Vi har ägnat sommaren åt att förbereda för året som kommer. Denna vecka handlar allt om att bygga trygga och positiva relationer som lägger grunden för vårt likabehandlingsarbete. Schemat börjar som vanligt den 20 Augusti.

Ombyggnationer
Vi har byggt ett grupprum i årskurs 4s korridor samt spärrat av runt gymnastiksalen för att skapa en tryggare miljö för barnen som duschar. Vi har också lagt till tider i Sätrahallen så att årskurs 7 från och med i år kommer att ha sin undervisning där. Så frigjorde vi tid i vår gymnastiksal på skolan och har skapat utrymme för en lugnare känsla i omklädningsrummen. Vi har ännu inte fått någon återkoppling på när de kan komma igång att bygga ut skolgården men lovar att återkomma så fort jag vet mer.

Förlängd öppettid för gratis frukost
Frukosten fortsätter och vi förlänger öppettiderna till 7:30-8:15 för att passa nya schemat. Föräldrar är givetvis välkomna på både frukost och lunch när ni är på besök.

Individuella datorer för åk 8 och 9
Förra året provade vi att ha individuella datorer för alla elever i åk 9 i deras hemklassrum. Av försäkringsskäl kan vi inte låta dem ta med dem hem men de är deras att använda under skoltid i klassrummet. Nu gör vi samma sak för årskurs 8!

Programmering på schemat i halvklass
Läroplanen har förändrats och programmering har fått en större del i undervisningen. Därför inför vi nu Programmering i halvklass med en behörig matematiklärare. Med detta hoppas vi utveckla elevernas logiska tänkande och deras intresse för matematik.

GDPR/SchoolSoft
På grund av den nya dataskyddslagen har en del av funktionerna i SchoolSoft förändrats. Framförallt handlar det om möjligheten att få uppgifter om andra elever och vårdnadshavare på skolan. Detta hör ihop med dataskyddslagen och är tyvärr inget vi kan ändra på i dagsläget.

Resultat och skolans verksamhetsmål
Utifrån vårt fantastiska resultat på 100% elever behöriga till gymnasiet har vi i år lagt ett extra krut på att höja resultatet i fler delar av skolan. För att öka elevernas delaktighet har vi satt ihop skolans mål med elevernas inflytande grupper.

Tema på målen:                                                   Elevgrupp:

Fysisk och mental hälsa                                       Food Council

Höga förväntningar på verbal                             Equal Rights Group
kommunikation                                      

Likvärdigt lärande                                                  Academic Ambassadors

Ordning och Arbetsro                                           Elevrådet

Vi ser fram emot ett härligt läsår tillsammans! Rektor Alexandra Ohlén

It feels great to be back at school after such hot and nice summer. We have been busy preparing for the school year. We will spend this first week building the foundations for working with equality in school. The standard timetable begins on Monday 20th August.

Renovations and Improvements
We have built a small group room in the grade 4 corridor and blocked an area around the gym hall to make those who wish to shower after PE lessons feel secure in doing so. We have also booked more time in Sätrahallen so that Grade 7 can have PE lessons there instead. This freed more time in our own gym so the other students have more time to get changed and prepare for their lesson. We do not have more information about the proposed expansion to the school yard yet but you will be informed as soon as we do.

Longer open hours for free breakfast
The option of free breakfast will continue this year with longer open hours(now 7.30 - 8.15) to suit the new schedule. Parents are always welcome to both breakfast and lunch when visiting!.

Personal Computers for Grade 8 and 9
Last year we successfully tested personal computers for grade 9. Our insurance provider does not allow for them to be taken from school and now we will try the same thing for grade 8!

Programming is timetabled for half-classes
The curriculum has changed so that programming now constitutes a larger part of education in school. Due to this change, we have qualified mathematics teachers teaching lessons in programming. We hope that this will help to develop our students’ ability to think logically and inspire a greater interest in mathematics.

GDPR/SchoolSoft
Our compliance with GDPR means that some of the functionality of SchoolSoft has changed. Essentially, parents will only be able to access class list and other information about their own child. We had to make this change in order to comply with GDPR.

Results and the school's operational goals
100 % of our student qualified for gymnasiet last year! In order to improve other areas of the school we have aligned our school targets with the Student Council groups:

Theme of the goal                                                        Student influence group

Physical and mental health                                           Food Council

Higher expectations in verbal                                       Equal Rights Group
communication

Consistent teaching and learning                                Academic Ambassadors

Calm and Safe environment                                         Student Council

We look forward to a great year together! Principal Alexandra Ohlén

Hej alla elever och vårdnadshavare på IES Skärholmen,
Tack för ett härligt år tillsammans. Det är så roligt att följa elevernas framsteg och se lyckan i ögonen när de lyckas med något de förut trodde att de aldrig skulle kunna. Detta gäller allt ifrån ett svårt tal i matematik till att gå från konstanta varningar till sin första hus poäng för gott uppförande. Vi som jobbar i skolan har verkligen världens bästa jobb!

100% behöriga till Gymnasiet
Vi har gjort det igen! 100% av våra elever som lämnar årskurs 9 i år har behörighet till gymnasiet. Runt om i landet diskuteras det för fullt hur skolan ska vara för att svenska skolan ska bli bättre. I slutändan är skolan en samling av individer som alla förtjänar bästa möjliga förutsättningarna för att lyckas i livet. Det har vi givit dem nu i två år i rad. Stort grattis till våra årskurs 9or och stort tack till alla lärare och mentorer som gjort detta möjligt.

Enkäter
Resultatet av enkäterna som elever, föräldrar och lärare gjordes diskuteras nu i Juni för att vi ska ta in förslagen som givits och utveckla skolan framåt. Tack alla som deltog! Vi vet nu att ni framförallt önskar att vi utvecklar arbetet med hus systemet så att det blir tydligare, ser över maten så att eleverna äter bättre i skolan (vi kommer inte att införa halal mat men kan utveckla alternativen) samt säkerställa att SchoolSoft är bättre uppdaterat.

Blandade klasser
Nu är det dags för den där perioden igen när eleverna försöker övertyga föräldrarna att påverka vilken klass de ska börja i nästa termin. Att blanda klasserna varje år är en viktig del av vårt likabehandlingsarbete. Eleverna får nominera 5 personer som de vill gå i samma klass med och vi garanterar dem 1. De brukar glömma vilka de skrivit upp så vi sparar också lapparna för att säkerställa att det blir rätt. Elevhälsan är också delaktiga i klass blandningen då de ibland har information som inte andra har. Klasserna kommer att komma ut på SchoolSoft den 8 Augusti. Vi har gjort det här några gånger nu och de långsiktiga positiva fördelarna överväger starkt den lite ökade nervositeten i Augusti.

IES Skärholmen först i Sverige att hålla The World Peace Game
Jag är så stolt över att vi på IES Skärholmen är den första skolan i Sverige med medarbetare som är certifierade att hålla the World Peace Game. Spelet lämpar sig särskilt bra för extra begåvade elever och vi tror att det kommer att komma hela skolan till gagn på ett eller annat vis. Första spelet hölls under student choice nu i juni och det var otroligt spännande att följa elevernas utveckling under spelets gång. Vi ser fram emot att spela fler gånger nästa läsår! Om du är intresserad av att lära dig mer, kolla gärna på denna 20 minuters film.  https://www.ted.com/talks/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game

Stort tack för ett härligt läsår!
Vänliga hälsningar
Alexandra Ohlén, rektor

Dear Students and Guardians at IES Skärholmen,
Thank you for a lovely year together. It’s wonderful to follow the students progress and to see the joy in their eyes when they accomplish something they didn’t think they could do before. This means anything from a difficult equation in mathematics to constantly receiving behaviour notices to receiving your first house point for good behaviour. The staff at our school really do have the best job in the world!

100% qualified for Gymnasium
We’ve done it again! 100% of our students leaving year 9 this year are qualified to gymnasium. There are discussions throughout the country how improvements can be made to Swedish schools. In the end, a school is a place of individuals who deserve the best possible opportunities for succeed in life. We have given this to them two years in a row. A big congratulations to our year 9 students and a big thank you to all the teachers and mentors who have made this possible.

Surveys
The results of the surveys that the student, parents and teachers did will be discussed in June for us to take in the suggestions given and develop our school further. Thank you to all those who participated! Now we know that you wish for us to develop the house system for it to be clearer, make sure the food situation improves so the students eat better in school (we will not be including halal but we will look over our options) and also make sure that SchoolSoft is properly updated.

Class mixing
We have reached that time again where the students try to convince their parents to make an effect on which class they will be in next year. Mixing the classes each year is an important part of our equal rights work. The students can nominate five friends they wish to be in the same class as and we guarantee them one. Usually they forget who they’ve chosen so we save the papers to make sure we get it right. The Student Care group is also involved in the class mixing as they may have information no one else has. The classes will be published on SchoolSoft August 8th. We have done this a few times now and the long-term positive benefits consider the slightly increased nervousness in August.

IES Skärholmen, first in Sweden to hold The World Peace Game
I am so proud that IES Skärholmen is the first school in Sweden with staff members who are certified to hold the World Peace Game. The game is more suitable for extra talented students and we believe it will benefit the whole school in one way or another. The first game was held during Student Choice in June and it was very exciting to follow the students development during the game. We look forward to playing it more next year! If you’re interested in learning more, have a look at this 20 minute video.
https://www.ted.com/tlks/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game

A big thank you for a lovely year!
Kind regards,
Alexandra Ohlén, principal

Dear Students and Guardians at IES Skärholmen

We are now finished with Academics at IES Skärholmen. There is no time for illnesses or long weekends, now it’s time to go all in.

Student Choice

The last three days of the term (4th June, 5th June and 7th June) is for Student Choice. The students are to choose what activity they would like to participate in during these three days and we’ve taken their thoughts and opinions from last term into consideration and adjusted it so the students can have Student Choice with several Houses at the same time. We hope this will be a success as it always is!

Sports Days

We have several sports activities happening. A football tournament in year 5, a competition against other IES schools and a track and field competition against other schools. We are convinced that health and academic results are connected and we know that certain students are motivated when competing against each other. Good to know is that you can still get high grades in Physical Education without being the best, the most important thing is to train and do your best.

End of Term Celebration 8th June

We are looking forward to celebrate all the fantastic academic results on 8th June. The end of term celebrations will be at the school and the year 9 Graduation will be in Sätrahallen.

Sincerely

Alexandra Ohlén

Principal at IES Skärholmen

If you have any questions feel free to come by me or Mr West outside the school Meeting and Greeting 7:30-8:20 every morning.