Teachers & Staff will offer plasters/Band-Aids to children if the child indicates that they are allowed to have one.

School paramedics will be called in case of other injuries.

In emergencies the ambulance and the parents will be called immediately. For this reason please always update your contact details with the office.

In cases of head injuries – even minor ones - parents will be informed immediately.

If your child had an accident at school, the procedure is -in general- as follows:

• The student will be brought to the fist aid room (first aid equipment/ice pack available).
• The “Schulsanitätsdienst” (student first aiders) will be called if necessary; in severe cases an ambulance will be involved.

If your child needs to see a doctor after his/her accident, please send an email to a.baldauf@schulen.ladadi.de with the name, address and phone number of the doctor you went to. The school needs to submit an official accident report to the Unfallkasse Hessen. This is also applicable for accidents on the way to or from school.

Absences due to illness
Please be sure to contact the school office (06257/970350) by 8:30 a.m. should your child need to stay home due to illness. To ensure a healthy learning environment for all students, faculty and staff, please be sure to keep a child home a minimum of 24 hours after the end of a fever, diarrhoea, or vomiting. Absences due to normal illnesses do not require a written medical excuse. You may either contact the office each morning to report your child’s absence, or simply provide an estimated return date.
If a child is not in school at snack time and there has been no prior communication about absence, the teacher /TA or secretary will call the parent to find out where the child is (using all parent emergency contact details.)
Medical excuses are required in cases of a contagious disease or infection/health condition (i.e., chicken box, scarlet fever, head lice). In such instances, the school office should be notified immediately so that a message stating the exposure to such illnesses can be issued to the families of the affected class, or the entire Primary. A medical release from the doctor must also be submitted upon the child’s return to school in such cases.
No medicines will be given to the children. If a child's health constitution requires medicine the child should stay at home.

Requested absences
Unlike Kindergarten which has voluntary attendance, school attendance is mandatory and regulated by the State of Hessen. Therefore, grounds for an absence must be defined in a request. Should a family need to ask for a leave of absence for the child, a written request must be filed as follows. For your information you can find the guidelines issued by Hessen for acceptable grounds for requesting an absence in the download section ( see “Hinweise zur Beurlaubung von Schülern”) Please be sure to submit a request along with any supporting documentation to the following parties as outlined below:

Absences lasting no longer than three days, not centred around an official school holiday
Class teacher’s responsibility: A written note/ letter to the class teacher stating the dates and reason for the absence should be submitted a few days prior to the planned absence.
Any of the above absences will be noted on your child’s semester/end of year report as “Missed Days” and “Authorised/Unauthorised”.

Absences of less than one day due to appointments/other personal situation
Class teacher’s responsibility: Some appointments cannot be scheduled outside school hours. In these cases, a written note to the class/ subject teacher a day or two before the early dismissal request will suffice. Be sure to mention what time your child will have to leave and who will be picking him/her up from school.
These absences will not be noted as a “Missed Day” on your child’s register.

Extended long weekends or absences tied to an official school holiday
Responsibility of Primary Headteacher in accordance with Schuldorf Director : The request should be submitted no later than four (4) weeks before your planned absence to the SISS Primary Secretary’s office. To avoid any unnecessary complications, it is advised not to book a trip until you have received a written approval for the extended leave. A copy of your request along with the management decision will be kept in your child’s records. The existence of an important reason is to be confirmed upon request by suitable means (i.e. certificates). Booked tickets or other travel arrangements are no reason for a leave of absence.
It is in the parents’/legal guardians’ interest to follow-up with the administration for the status of their request e.g. if notification has not been received after three weeks.
If no written approval from the school administration has been issued, and the absence is taken regardless, then it will be noted in the student’s report as an unauthorized absence.

The Flexible Lower Primary concept is designed to give the child the optimal start tohis/her school life, to have the time necessary to develop academic as well as personaland social skills. The “Hessische Kultusministerium” (Hesse Ministery of Culture)HKM promotes the use of the “Flexible Lower Primary”-concept (Flex).As an International School we have children with different educational and culturalbackgrounds. Moreover, our children learn to read and write in two languages, thus facinggreater challenges than children in national State Schools. To react to the differentindividual needs of each child, differentiation in many ways is necessary.

In Flexible Lower Primary classes children are usually aged between 6 and 8 years; theyare taught together in mixed age classes. As exceptions younger children can be considered.All children have the opportunity to take 1, 2 or 3 years to complete the Curriculumrequired to enter Year 3. During Flexible Lower Primary Years the children willcover objectives of the British National Curriculum in Maths and Literacy for Reception,Years 1, 2 and 3. German follows the Curriculum of the State of Hesse, history,geography and science follow the International Primary Curriculum (IPC).

In some subjects, (Literacy, Maths and German) more homogenous groups are formedto give specific encouragement. In these subjects the children will be grouped by theirage, which is often related to their learning year in school. All groups of the same learningyear follow the same core curriculum; however, methods, materials and extensionsmay vary according to the groups’ needs. In general, grouping will not be considereduntil after the second week to usually be finished by the autumn break. Currently, thefirst groups to be formed are for Literacy, followed by Maths and finally German.

As this is a whole day school, our children have 5 -9 more lessons per week than childrenin German national State schools. Homework is only given in the main subjectswhen the need arises to review what has already been taught. There will not be morethan one piece of homework given per main subject per week. In addition to this, dailypractice of subjects such as reading will be expected. The time required should not exceed20 min per day.Schuldorf Bergstraße / SISS | Community School | Sandstraße | 64342 Seeheim-JugenheimState International School Seeheim-JugenheimKooperative Gesamtschule mit Primarstufe, Internationalem Schulzweig und Gymnasialer Oberstufe | Landkreis Darmstadt-DieburgSandstraße | D-64342 Seeheim-JugenheimFon 0 62 57 - 97 03-50 | Fax 0 62 57 - 97 03-54 | siss@schuldorf.de | www.schuldorf.deSprechzeiten nach Vereinbarung | Anrufe bitte zwischen 08.00-11.00 Uhr

The HKM provides the SISS with a “Diplom-Sozialpädagoge” (Social Pedagogue) tooffer support and advice. Social Pedagogues work closely with the classroom teachers;important decisions are made together.To understand more easily the different roles of these professionals, imagine two overlappingcircles: classroom teachers are more involved with curriculum areas whereasSocial Pedagogues are more involved with the emotional, social and physical developmentof the children. Their input is of equal relevance, each part reinforces the other.

Social Pedagogues and teachers discuss where general or individual support is needed,both within and outside school.

Within the school Social Pedagogues have a variety of roles, which includes supportstrategies regarding the development of the whole child as well as prevention and reductionof problems.The work of Social Pedagogues follows many different approaches. In response to thewide range of issues, depending on urgency and time, priorities will be set by the SocialPedagogue.Areas of Social Pedagogues’ work include:

• Counselling of and support to teaching staff

• Support to pupils through individual, small group, whole-class activities

• Parent conferences and counselling

• Links to local support organizations and internal organisational and administrativetasks.

As we do respect each child’s right to confidentiality we request parents not to ask theSocial Pedagogue questions about the contents of group sessions. When there are concernsabout an individual child, the parents will be informed by the class teacher or theSocial Pedagogue.

If a sequence of one-to-one sessions is advisable, apart from situations that require immediateresponse, parents will receive prior notice.

The cooperation between Social Pedagogue and parents requires trust and openness formaximum benefit to the children concerned.

Where a child needs ongoing support the parents will be referred to external professionalsin the area (see information received on application).

Appointments with the Social Pedagogue can be made through the School Secretary, theclass teacher or directly through the Social Pedagogue’s letterbox in the entrance area.

March 2012