Forest International School is a place where children are happy to learn. We are a truly international school, and this is reflected in our students and teaching body. We offer small classes, personalised education and a close partnership with parents. We embrace diversity and aim to foster understanding between people of different cultural backgrounds.

Our school's programmes of study and activities promote the cognitive, aesthetic, physical, social and emotional growth of each child. This helps the child to realise his or her greatest potential, and be challenged within an academically rigourous and stimulating environment. Children are encouraged to develop a strong sense of identity, self-esteem and independence.

WELCOME TO OUR SCHOOLIndependent Learning

INTEGRITY

Physical exercise

and well-being

KNOWLEDGE

TOLERANCE

RESILIENCE

Mariane Wyler

Principal

Julie Müller

Deputy Principal

While we encourage you to explore our programmes in this brochure, there is nothing more telling than seeing Forest International School in action. We would therefore like to invite you to experience our community firsthand - meet our students and teachers, and observe our dedication to fostering excellence in our students.  Come and see for yourselves what makes us so special!

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What Forest International School has to offer :

Small class sizes with a warm and caring atmosphere. A multi-cultural community embracing the diverse backgrounds and

experiences of children and adults, developing global awareness. A well-rounded programme addressing the intellectual, social, emotional

and physical development of each child. A child-centred curriculum that builds on a child's natural interests and

offers students choice. Support for pupils with English as an additional language, Special

Educational Needs. l A school-wide Standards and Benchmark framework which clarifies the

skills and understanding of the children to be life-long learners. Annually revised school goals to continuously improve our programmes.

Our Belief: Every child is a unique individual who has an innate desire to do his or her very best. Children must be valued, listened to, respected, loved and cared for.

THE FOUNDATION YEARS

These educational years include the Nursery and Pre-School classes. Our first priority is to provide your children with a warm and nurturing atmosphere in which they can learn. We encourage children to express their imagination and creativity with enquiring minds, in listening to music, playing instruments, role play, acting out stories, dancing and moving to music, responding to their senses, painting, drawing and other craft activities. Here we aim to stimulate their curiosity, build self-esteem and confidence, teaching them independence and the respect for others.

Continuous and ongoing observational assessments enable us to ensure all children progress at their own rate, and carefully planned activities appropriately facilitate their development and support their learning. Parental involvement at this early stage in a child’s school experience is extremely important, therefore we welcome parents into school and keep them well informed about their child’s progress and well-being.

CARE

LEARNING

PLAY

NURSERY from 2 years

The Nursery day is lively and exciting with a focus on learning through play-based activities. The class offers a stress-free environment in which children have the opportunity to be pro-active in their own learning, meaning that trial and error plays an important role. The teachers promote learning by creating a happy and secure climate of discovery for the children. Through a mixture of play, exploration and quiet time, the child begins to develop independence, self-confidence and a basis for co-operation and sharing. At this age the children learn by : doing, observing and playing.

PRE-SCHOOL

Our Pre-School programme is designed to provide stimulating, challenging and hands-on learning experiences. Children are involved in a variety of multo-sensory activities, which give them the opportunity to broaden their imagination and encourage creativity.We develop our learning themes with the support of the Early Years IPC Programme, for exploration and understanding of the world around us, as well as story reading, rhymes, songs and games. Pre-reading and pre-writing skills are introduced through the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. The Pre-school class builds the necessary skills for moving to the Primary level.

PRIMARY (Grades 1 to 5)

Due to a very favourable child-teacher ratio, our staff is able to build up a close relationship with children and identify specific individual needs. We recognise that learning is a social activity and teachers employ a wide range of teaching techniques and strategies in order to provide for the various learning styles among the class members. Teachers encourage learning from others by grouping and pairing children for appropriate activities.

OUR CURRICULUMFIS offers a unique combination of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and the English National Curriculum (ENC), which provide a proven innovative framework for learning and social development. We encourage flair, imagination and creativity in all our pupils.

The English National CurriculumThe School provides a high quality British education following the English National Curriculum. From the pre-school class, we use the ENC for maths and literacy. We aim to provide an educational experience that compares with the best schools in Britain.

THE FORMATIVE YEARS

LANGUAGESLanguages are one of our key strengths at Forest International School, and our optional language programmes are designed to help all students achieve their full potential in their languages of choice. Classes are taught for 50 minutes each day, by native specialist teachers in small mixed ability groups. We offer:• English as a Second Language classes• French as a foreign language • Intensive French or Dutch classes following the French and Dutch National Curricula, and hence allowing children to join a school of their choice either in France or back home in Holland after their stay at our school.

Learning needs to be active, in the sense that children must engage with their own learning, which is why we have chosen the IPC for all subjects other than maths and literacy (history, geography, etc.).

The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is an internationally recognised curriculum used in over 800 schools in 58 countries. Children in IPC schools are active participants in their education and citizens of the world, they understand and appreciate other cultures, are encouraged to question and discover, as well as to develop personal skills such as adaptability, thoughtfulness and respect. They learn how to learn, problem-solve and think critically.

Rather than separating learning into specific subjects, the IPC integrates learning into units based around a central theme. Each unit is designed to foster: Multiple Intelligences, working independently and in groups, different learning styles, positive emotions and making connections between subjects, themes and ideas.

The International Primary Curriculum

(cross-disciplinary curriculum which connects individual academic disciplines)

Don’t teach me what to think,

teach me HOW to think.

The teachers set up active classrooms where the children’s engagement is crucial. Many of the activities are problem-solving based, which requires team work as well as personal responsibility. The students are encouraged to explore, investigate and share their knowledge and understanding.

Each unit of study includes rigourous academic work, opportunities for creativity and outlets for fun.

Through these units we encourage the students to follow their passions, and promote a diversity of talents - in academic fields, in the arts and sports.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION (P.E.)All classes have P.E. lessons twice a week. As much as possible, these are held outside, either on the sports field or in the forest. From April to November the children have swimming lessons in our indoor pool. We also host an annual sports day for all children to which parents are invited, as well as after school activities.

FIELD TRIPS AND VISITSOur students are taken on outings and class camps in conjunction with specific projects. We also encourage visitors, such as parents or external professionals, to the school to give talks and complement our class studies.

PARENT INVOLVEMENTOur close partnership with parents is a vital part of the school’s success. Parents are encouraged to take a full part in their child’s education, they are informed of their child’s progress through ongoing communication, extensive reports twice a year and Parent/Teacher meetings. Once a year on a Sunday, we organise a “Dad’s Day”, where portfolios are shared through a student-led presentation.

THE PARENT ASSOCIATION

One of the strengths of Forest International School is the parent body which contributes to welcoming new families, helping them settle into our community, and arranging coffee mornings or lunches so that parents can get to know each other. They also assist in the organisation of special events, such as the end of term parties, the school fair etc.

ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING With our small student to teacher ratio, our teachers work with the children on an individual basis for a significant amount of time. This allows teachers to readily understand and assess each student as an individual learner, with his distinct abilities and talents.

The children also keep a learning portfolio where they store and present their work.

One of our core responsibilities is to ensure that our students can transit onto their school of choice after they complete their education at Forest International School. Our academic excellency has allowed all our transferring students have so far been placed in their subsequent school of choice.

SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

At FIS we have a learning specialist who offers a learning support programme to help and support chi ldren with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, AD/HD, Asperger syndrome and those unhappy at school or underachieving.

This programme includes:✤ Reading / writing remediation✤ Auditory skills and listening training✤ Movement therapy✤ Speech and language support✤ Sensory stimulation integration✤ Counselling

OUR STAFF

All our staff are friendly, approachable and have a positive attitude. They treat all children as individuals, giving them praise and reassurance, encouraging them to try new activities and be adventurous. Our teachers are responsive to the variety of learning styles found amongst our students.Since they are critical contributors to excellence in education, we have based our selection criteria on key factors, such as hiring professionals who are caring, dedicated to nurturing confidence in each of our children. We expect them to be role models for our school’s mission and learning philosophy. We support our staff in building and further developing their capabilities as teaching professionals.

“ Tell me and I will forget show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand ”

THE LIBRARYFIS has its own library with a rich selection of fiction and non-fiction books in English, Dutch and French. All children have weekly visits to the library where they have the chance to choose books to read at home, and develop essential research skills.

TECHNOLOGYAll classrooms (except Nursery) have interactive white-boards which are used daily. The primary classes have computers for the children to work on individually.

UNIFORMSThe children all wear the official school uniform of green, gold and grey. We believe that it gives a sense of unity and belonging to the school. All uniforms can be purchased at the school.

FOODChildren are provided with nutritious mid-morning and afternoon snacks, along with a healthy and balanced organic hot lunch.

BUS SERVICEFIS provides a door to door bus service.

SCHOOL HOURSNursery and Pre-school: 09.15 to 16.15Primary: 09.00 to 16.00Nursery and Pre-school children may attend part-time.

Forest International School28 chemin Tour du Mur d’Echelle78750 Mareil-Marly+33 (0)1 39 16 87 35www.forest-international-school.com

Forest International SchoolNURSERY - PRE-SCHOOL - PRIMARY

Tel: +33 (0)1 39 16 87 35 www.forest-international-school.com