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Friends Newsletter 20 January 2012
Dear Friends and Parents,
Last Wednesday we had a wonderful Italian coffee morning with delicious biscuits, cheese, tiramisu but to name a few. Animated discussions, catching up with each other and meeting people, that’s what it is all about. These coffee mornings prove to be a solid base for anyone who wants to get to know other parents and who wants to be involved in school. Every month we have two coffee mornings, first and third Wednesday of the month. Make a note in your diary, the next one will be on February 1st at 8.30AM and will be hosted by our Korean parents.
We have had a first meeting for the organization of the Valentine’s Disco on Wednesday February 22nd. There will be a disco for Primary school in the afternoon, for Senior school the disco will take place in the evening. We are very happy that a few senior school students have volunteered to take care of the music for the disco, so that will be in good hands. Keep your eyes on the newsletters for more information about the disco’s.
This week we have all been asked to send in some food items to help the Salvation Army. I have seen a large variety of food displayed at the tables in the reception area. Thank you all for your generosity, it will help many people who aren’t as fortunate as we are.
Have a wonderful weekend, hopefully with some good snow for snowball fights!
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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Newsletter Friends January 6, 2012
Dear Friends and Parents,
First of all a very Happy New Year to you all. I hope you have had a good break and some wonderful times with friends and family.
And of course a very warm welcome to the parents and children who started at our school this term. Whether you already lived in Prague or have only just arrived, we are happy to have you around and would be glad to help you get your bearings. You can join the Friends Association of PBS, where you can meet people of all kinds of backgrounds and nationalities. Not only your children will need to find new friends, so do you and what better place to begin than at school. The Friends Association helps the school organizing social events like a Christmas Fair, disco’s or sports days. Also we organize coffee mornings (first, second and third Wednesdays of the month) for parents where they can meet others and get updates on the school’s calendar and activities.
If you would like more information, don’t hesitate to contact me at oortmanfamily@me.com or by phone 602 715 825.
Next week Wednesday (January 11) we have our Friends’ meeting, starting at 8.45AM in the parents’ room. This is a more “formal” meeting in which we discuss the activities that will be organized in this first term. I hope to see you there.
Have a good weekend.
Irma Oortman
Oortmanfamily@me.com
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December 16, 2011
Dear Friends and Parents,
Suddenly the first term has come to an end and Christmas holiday is upon us. This last week started with the very well attended Primary Christmas Fair followed by Parent Teacher conferences for Senior School, the Primary School Concert, Class/year parties, a visit to Klokanek Orphanage with the Christmas presents and so much more. I think everybody needs a rest now.
Although I am aware that many people are always involved in all these events, I would like to say a special thanks to the organizing committee of the Christmas Fair as they did an excellent job. Santa’s Grotto was just perfect with a very happy and generous Santa and lovely smiling children. All classes had their own table where to sell their activity, quiz or items. And this year, for the first time, we had a special corner where everyone, children and adults, could sit and chill out a bit over some hot chocolate and home made Christmas cookies. I only saw happy faces, and it doesn’t get much better than that!!!
Whether you are staying in Prague for the holidays or go somewhere else, have a wonderful and relaxing time with your family and friends. Enjoy it to the fullest and make sure you get all the rest you need.
Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.
See you in January.
Irma Oortman
Oortmanfamily@me.com
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December 9, 2011
Dear Friends and Parents,
The countdown has started!
And that is all just this month, because I could go on with Burns Night on January 27th., for which you’ll need to buy tickets as soon a possible. Don’t wait until the week before, as you’ll run the risk of not being able to get any tickets anymore. It is a popular event at a very fair price for an evening full with traditional food, drinks and entertainment.
I hope to see you next week at the Christmas Fair.
Have a nice weekend.
Irma Oortman
December 2nd, 2011
Dear Friends and parents,
Yesterday we had the GREAT CAKE SALE at school. All Primary children were asked to bring in some cakes, which would be sold all day to all students, staff, parents and visitors. You wouldn’t believe how much food was sent to school. The tables with the cakes could be replenished over and over again, and then suddenly at 3PM, before we realised what was happening, almost everything had been sold. A few cakes were left and were given to the actors of the performance of the senior school that evening.
We raised the incredible amount of 17,000 Kc. Yes, you read correctly, seventeen thousand. This money will be used to buy Christmas presents for the children at the Klokánek orphanage, for which all classes at Primary and Senior school will be involved.
Thank you to all parents who have contributed by sending in their cakes and a very special thanks to the parents who were there to help us sell all the delicious food. From the look on their and the children’s faces, we all had fun.
Coffee morning
Our next coffee morning is scheduled for this Wednesday, December 7th at 8.30AM in the parents’ room. This morning will be hosted by our German Friends/parents and I’m sure they will present us some delicious food of this season. Join us if you can.
Christmas Fair
The next big event will be the Christmas Fair for Primary School on Monday December 12 from 1 till 3PM. This traditional event will be held in the main hall and will present each class with its own activity and on top of that a performance by some members of our choir who will be singing well-known Christmas carols.
Parents are very welcome to come along and join in the fun
Furthermore we are delighted to tell you that Father Christmas has asked if he can come back to PBS this year to this Primary School Christmas Fair. Santa will have his very own “grotto” where your child/children can meet him, have their picture taken with him and receive a small gift.
To make the Grotto work as smoothly as possible we will be selling tickets for a specific time slot in advance of the fair. All next week you can buy a ticket from Miss Zdenka in the Primary School Office, which will give your child/children a specific time to be at the entrance to the Grotto to wait to see Father Christmas.
Foundation Stage Unit will be able to visit Father Christmas between 12 noon and 1pm whilst children from Years 2 to 6 will be able to see him from 1pm to 3pm.
Tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis, with limited slots available so if your child would like to see Father Christmas please contact Miss Zdenka so she can make their reservation. The ticket price is 30czk.
Hope to see you soon again.
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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November 25th, 2011
Dear Friends and parents,
We, as Friends of PBS, have had a quiet week at school, but trust me when I say that a lot is going on behind the scenes to prepare for the last few weeks of this term.
First on the agenda is the GREAT CAKE SALE and we are going to ask for your co-operation. On Thursday December 1st from 10AM onwards the cake sale starts for the entire school. All parents are asked to send in some cakes, biscuits, pie or whatever you think is best. All cakes will be sold during the day, at break and lunch time. If anything is left after school, we’ll sell it to the parents who will be there to pick up their children.
Apart from baking and bringing it to school we also need some helping hands during the day. There will be timeslots of one hour. This cake sale usually is hugely popular at school, so please help us out. Let me know (oortmanfamily@me.com) when you can come in for an hour to sell all the delicious food.
Very importantly, the revenues of this cake sale will go to the Christmas presents for the children of Klokánek Orphanage. Each class of both Primary and Senior school will be responsible for buying a present for one child of whom they know the name, age, gender and some hobbies. The presents will be items the children both want ánd need. The presents will be given to the children when some of our students will go to the orphanage to sing Christmas carols for them. So parents, please be generous, both in sending in cakes as in buying them, you’ll be giving the Klokánek children a special Christmas.
And if you want to get in the right mood for this, why not go to the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Stareměsto Naměsti in Prague on Saturday at 5PM. It will be crowded, but absolutely great with the lit tree, lots of Christmas stalls, and some delicious food & wine.
Irma Oortman
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November 18th , 2011
Dear Friends and Parents of PBS,
Another 4 weeks to go and the school will break up again for the Christmas holidays. Preparations for the end of term activities are in full swing such as the Senior School Christmas concert as well as Mikulas in Primary school, both on December 5th, and the Christmas Fayre on Monday December 12th from 1 till 3 pm. For the Christmas Fayre we will need some volunteers to help us out with decorating of the place, and some assistance during the fayre. An extra pair of hands is always welcome.
As our end of (calendar) year fund raiser we have planned a bake sale on December 1st. Closer to the date we’ll contact you again, but perhaps you can already think about a cake or biscuits or some typical Christmas food for this event. Bake Sales are always hugely popular, so the more we have, the nicer it will be.
Next week Wednesday we do not have a coffee morning planned, but we do have a girls’ night out on the roll for Thursday November 24th. We are going to SaSaZu, a well-known Asian restaurant and club for a lovely dinner, followed by disco if you feel like it! If you want to join us on Thursday evening from 8pm onwards, please contact Stephanie Haulet (ptitestef@yahoo.fr) as soon as possible.
Our multi lingual coffee morning this week was very nice, although most of the people did speak English. Please don’t be afraid to join us. We are happy to assist anybody who is not fluent in English. The next one is planned in January.
For those of you who don’t know how they can get fit or who just want some fun activity I can recommend Skipping classes by Adrienn Banhegyi. Adrienn is very skilled and can show you that skipping is more than just jumping with a rope! If you want to know more, you can join her on a trial lesson on Friday November 25th from 2 till 2.50PM at EISP. For more information www.jumpplus.cz or email banhegyi@jumpplus.cz.
Have a nice weekend. Mine will start with some serious Christmas shopping today!
Irma Oortman
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November 11th, 2011
Dear all,
This week was a bit more relaxed than the first week after the half term break.
We had our monthly meeting of the Friends Association on Wednesday, which was, as usual, well attended. Evaluations of the Halloween disco and the Fireworks Night were on the agenda, as were the plans for the next few weeks.
We are also following up on the school lunches and the contact list, which we think is imperative for a good social contact of both children and parents at school.
On Thursday the school organized the Winter Sale. With the expensive season ahead of us, many parents (and children) took this chance to look for some used items, which were all still in good condition. We are also very happy to say that many parents decided to donate lots of things (clothes and toys in particular) to the Klokanek Orphanage and some would give a part of their revenue to a charity of their choice. It was an excellent win-win opportunity: parents can clear away items that are not used anymore, children and parents were able to find good items at a very good price and several charities get some donations, be it monetary or in goods.
For the rest of this term, please make a note of these dates:
- Multi lingual coffee morning on Wednesday November 16 at 8.30AM
- Thursday November 24 at 8PM Girl’s night out of the Friends Association
- Wednesday December 7 coffee morning, hosted by our German parents.
- Monday December 12 Christmas Fayre Primary School
- Wednesday December 14 instead of a coffee morning we’ll organize a Christmas lunch.
Please check your newsletter and mailbox regularly for more information.
If you are not yet on our mailing list and want to be informed of our activities and plans, just send me a short email with your name and contact details.
Have a great weekend
Irma Oortman
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November 4th, 2011
Dear Friends and Parents,
What a wonderful week it has been, packed with fun and entertainment.
We started modestly with our regular coffee morning, this time hosted by our Hungarian parent who offered us typical national little bites. It was a good start of the day and many thanks to Judith Zerenyi for doing all that work on her own.
Then on Wednesday the big Halloween Disco. For the FSU it started early in the afternoon with a party in their classrooms, after which they were the first to see the result of the hard work and creativity of a few volunteers who decorated the main hall. This year we got to use the handy work of all classes of Primary school who made their own Jack-o-Lantern and their pumpkin drawings. And then at 3PM the show was on!!!! Lots of scary, spooky, devilish and even disgusting costumes from the very little ones to the older ones. Almost everybody dressed up and joined in on dancing and games, including 14 friends from Klokanek Orphanage. Thank you to all the mums for organizing, decorating, baking, serving food and giving a helping hand in any way.
On Thursday it was time for one of school’s major events: Fireworks Night. What a great turnout and what a spectacular fireworks. Everybody was chatting, catching up with one another and despite that is was already a bit colder, people were happy to stay outside and perhaps get a bit of warmth from the hot chocolate or the barbecues! This event can only thrive because of the excellent co-operation between school staff, parents and students. A big thank you to everyone who helped organizing this event, who manned the barbecues, made the holes in the buns, baked the cakes, setup the tables, sold the tickets, food & beverages, toys, cakes, selected the music and whatnot. The list of things that needed to be done is endless and we couldn’t have done this without you.
Now we have to start thinking ahead. First this Wednesday, November 9, we have our Friends meeting at the parents’ room at 8.30AM.
On Thursday November 10 from 3 till 4.30 PM school organizes the WinterSale where parents can book a table to sell their old things, be it toys, books, clothes, shoes, car seats, prams, or whatever comes to mind. Items do need to be in good condition. Please contact Paul Baker if you want to book a table.
The Friends Meeting for December 14 will be cancelled, instead we will organize a Christmas lunch. More details will follow later.
And last but not least, we are working on a Girls’ night out and of course the Christmas Fair on December 12. So keep following us on this website and check your mailbox regularly.
If you want to be involved with the Friends Association, please let me know, I’d be happy to give you some more details.
Have a lovely weekend and see you soon.
Irma Oortman
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October 21st, 2011
Dear Parents and Friends,
Today’s Open Day was a splendid way of getting to know our school for new parents and at the same time a lovely way for existing parents to have a look in the class of their children or perhaps a lesson in next year’s class, to see what lies ahead of them. Not often do we get a chance to have this insider’s look at school, so I hope you used this opportunity.
This week Wednesday we have also had our Friends’ meeting. A brief update was given on the major events immediately after half term holiday: Halloween Disco for Primary School (Wednesday November 2nd from 3 till 5pm) and the Fireworks Night for the whole school on Thursday November 3rd (5-7pm). The organizing committee for the Halloween disco still needs some helping hands. Some work can be done at home during the holiday or in the afternoon of the Halloween disco we need some parents (yes, you may dress up!) to help and to bring in some food. Please contact Becs Davies (noodlebecs@googlemail.com) if you want to part of this team.
The Fireworks Night will start at 5 pm with the barbeque, drinks like mulled wine and hot chocolate and some entertainment for the children. The skies will be nicely lit from 6.15pm onwards, so be there on time in order to see this fantastic show of colour and sound. For this evening we need some volunteers to bake some cakes that can be sold. You don’t need to bake plenty, just a cake per person and we should have enough to satisfy the taste buds of the young and the older!
On November 10th we’ll organise a “Winter Sale” for parents, by parents. The idea is to clear out your toy/clothes/book cabinets before the winter and Christmas, sell some of your stuff that you don’t need anymore and perhaps find some items that you would like to buy. More information on how to be involved or to book a table can be found elsewhere on this website.
And that concludes the last week of the first half term. Enjoy your holidays and see you back on October 31st.
Irma Oortman
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October 7th, 2011
Dear Friends,
The Friends Association is mainly there to help the parents, the children, but also the staff to enjoy their life at school and in Prague to the fullest. We help the school organizing events like next month’s Halloween Disco or the Fireworks Night, we have regular informal get-togethers where you can chat with other parents, we do fundraising for our two allocated charities: Sue Ryder Home and Klokanek Orphanage. And those are just a few of the things we do.
Whenever you are new at school or as for many of us new in a country, you’ll need to find a new network of contacts. People you just want to have fun with, people you may need in case of an emergency, parents of your children’s friends or people you want to meet for your favourite sport. The Friends Association is the perfect place to start with your new network. But it only works if you do sign up and give us your contact details. Only then can we invite you to all our events, be it at school or somewhere else.
Signing up with the Friends Association does not necessarily mean that you commit yourself to hours of voluntary work, not at all. You can put in as many or as few hours as you like. Of course we like very active members, in particular as we see how it helps the parents to build up their new life here.
But all parents are welcome to join us so please, do sign up, give us your contact details and join our fun.
Due to clashing events we have decided to change the date of our Friends meeting to Wednesday October 19th. This week, Wednesday October 12th, we then have our second multi-lingual coffee morning, where we ask all participants to wear a sticker with their name and the languages they speak. Feel free to bring a friend and do not hesitate to speak your own language or a language you are trying to learn with any of the other people there. Last month this multi-lingual coffee morning was a big success and many people were still there after the usual ending time.
Please note that this coffee morning will not be at the parents’ room but at another location, yet to be determined.
Have a wonderful weekend and see you soon.
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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September 30th, 2011
Dear Friends,
I can’t believe our luck! Are you enjoying the weather as much as I am? I love those crispy mornings, the colder nights and the sunny days, especially knowing that it is already late September and the weather could have been so much worse. In the country and in parks you’ll see some of the leaves already changing, showing a fantastic and rich palette of autumn colours. A similar exhibition of colours, but also of creativity and ingenuity can be seen at the Art Exhibition in the Primary School, which was opened on Monday. Wherever you look, you’ll see something fascinating, beautiful and carefully crafted, from origami to boomerangs, from paintings to necklaces, and from all over the world. If you have missed the opening, there is still time to have a look around the Primary school at your convenience. You won’t regret it.
Next Wednesday, October 5th, the Friends Association will have a coffee morning at 8.30AM in the parents’ room. This month it will be hosted by parents from Australia and New Zealand. If you want to help or contribute in any way, please let me know. The morning has an informal setting and everybody is welcome to join us.
The preparations for the Primary Halloween Disco (November 2nd) and the Fireworks Night (November 3rd) are underway. Volunteers had much fun at a meeting where they could think of all the horrible, disgusting, scary and creepy items they will use to create the right setting for the Halloween disco. Definitely not for the faint-hearted! Watch this place to stay updated on those major events.
Have a wonderful weekend. I am planning to do something outdoors!
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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23.09.2011
Dear Friends,
It’s been a busy week at school: Primary art week, the Friends’ first multi-lingual coffee morning and the school photographer came in to take pictures of all children. I can’t wait to see the results!
It was absolutely great to see how many parents were involved, the children love it when their parents are around and show such keen interest in school and their work.
Monday morning the Art Exhibition will be opened and we can see the result of this week’s arts activities. If all those impressions are a bit much, come and relax for a while in the parents’ room, where coffee/tea will be served.
On Wednesday we won’t have a coffee morning, as the school will be closed for the St Wenceslas Day, a national holiday, which commemorates the Czech nation's patron saint, Prince Wenceslas.
Today is the official start of Autumn, but who would suspect that considering the weather! Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the last bit of the summer.
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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Dear Friends of PBS,
This week we have had our first Meeting of Friends of PBS. We appreciate it that so many parents and staff were there and gave us their input to our plans for this school year.
At this meeting we talked about our finances, charities, coffee mornings and our main events for this term: Primary art week and exhibition, Halloween Disco and Fireworks night. We still need volunteers for those, so please contact me if you want to help us organising them.
One of the things we want to change is turning one coffee morning per month into a multi lingual coffee morning. Sometimes it is forgotten that not all people are fluent in English. That is why we invite you to come to our coffee morning on September 21st at 8.30AM in the parents’ room.
We’ll ask you to wear a sticker stating the language(s) that you speak and hopefully you will find other people there with whom you can talk in a language of your choice. Please do bring a friend or another parent, to make the start perhaps a bit easier.
At the same time we’ll ask native English speakers to slow down when they talk English, thus enabling other people to understand them better.
Help us to make this successful and come along. Who knows what you will learn!
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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9th September 2011
Dear Friends and Parents of PBS,
Everything seems to be almost normal now. The first few weeks of a school year are busy with everyone, children, staff and parents, trying to find the new routine, but it seems to be settling down now.
The committee of the Friends Association of PBS has met this week to talk about our plans and what we’ll need to get done for school planned activities. We’d like to discuss this with you at our meeting on Wednesday, September 14, at 8.30AM in the parents’ room. Please join us if you can so you’ll know what to expect, especially this first term at school.
Of course we’ll be asking you for your help. All help is much appreciated and it is up to you if you want to help out for a small or a larger project, on a regular basis or ad hoc. But without your help, there is only so much we can do, and it would be a shame if the children would lose out on their joy to participate in school life. And for you as parents, it is a great way to meet people and make friends as well.
Just to give you some ideas of the help we’ll need:
- organization of events like Fireworks night, Halloween disco or the Christmas fair.
- hosting one of our coffee mornings (usually hosted by a nationality, who provides some small bites to eat)
- helping out in the Primary School library, as they need to file all books in a new computer system.
Don’t worry if your English may not be as fluent as you would like. There are plenty of people there who can help you improve your English or who may want to speak your language.
For those who want to be active in a more sporty way, but don’t know (yet) where to go, there is a fitness training at school every Friday from 1.30 till 2.15pm (contact administrator’s office). Or sign up for one of Lucienne Mol’s classes at Domyno: Physical training on Thursdays 9.00-10.15 AM, Spinning/core training on Fridays from 9 till 10 AM. Please contact Lucienne Mol at luusmol@gmail.com or 604 775 779 for more details.
As the weather forecast for this weekend is very good, what better way to spend your Saturday afternoon at the Family Picnic at the Vlastina campus. More information can be found in today's newsletter.
Hopefully I’ll see you on Saturday and/or Wednesday at our meeting. Enjoy your weekend and the tropical sun!
Irma Oortman
oortmanfamily@me.com
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2nd September 2011
Dear Friends of PBS,
A warm welcome to all new and returning parents of PBS.
After all the excitement of the first day, we have had a good start this week with our Newcomers coffee morning. People could just walk in and get to know some of the other parents and teachers and be introduced to the Friends Association. I am glad so many of you used this opportunity.
On Wednesday the Friends organised their first full coffee morning in the parents’ room, with the option to get a guided tour around the school. Especially after all the relocations of offices, classrooms and such it was a good way to get your bearings again. And as so many returned for more coffee and talking after the tour, people obviously had a lot of catching up to do as some parents stayed until it was almost time for lunch!
Some important dates for this month are our first Meeting of Friends, a more official setting where we discuss our plans for this school year and give you an update on our financial status. Please make a note for this meeting for Wednesday September 14 at 8.30 am in the parents’room.
Our next coffee morning will be on Wednesday September 21st at 08.30 hours in the parents’ room. We are still looking for a guest speaker, any suggestions are much appreciated.
And as I am sure it has been mentioned in the school’s newsletter, on September 10th from 12 till 3pm the 20th Anniversary Year of the school will kick off at the Vlastina site with a Family Picnic with lots of entertainment for children and adults. If you want to go, but do not drive, buses will be departing from Kamyk site to take you there. But please let the school know upfront if you want to use this service.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you want more information on our Friends Association and our activities. We’re open to any suggestions and all kinds of help.
For now, enjoy your weekend and we hope to see you soon.
Irma Oortman