Students arrive at school by 08:20 in the morning, the majority coming on the school busses. Students currently leave at 16:10.
In general, the primary, middle and high schools have 9 teaching periods per day, making 45 periods per week of 40 minutes per learning period. Between periods breaks are generally 10 minutes, with some variation. Lunch is generally around 45 minutes, run in several shifts with Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 eating slightly later than the younger children. In the mornings and afternoons primary and middle school children are provided with a snack (fruit, juice, cake, etc.) during one of the breaks. In the primary and middle schools all children are registered to school lunches – and there is no ‘tuck’ shop selling snacks as children do not bring money to school except with express permission for book sales and charitable events.
In the high school the school day is roughly 8/9 periods, between 40 and 45 periods weekly, with the weekly total varying according to the programme chosen. The total number of weekly hours for the IB Diploma Programme, for example, changes according to grade level (11 and 12). The high school operates differently for meals – children can chose to eat a provided school meal, or buy sandwiches or snacks from the school cafeteria, or order in from caterers outside the school.
Planning
The schools pride themselves on being well organised.
Each department has a development plan which is drawn up in conjunction with members of the department and then discussed with school senior administrators. Individual department plans feed into the whole school development plan which is then ratified by the Board.
The schools have a detailed operational plan which is made available to all staff through a printed planner, newly printed and distributed to them at the beginning of each academic year.
Through the school web pages, one for each school, parents are informed about the yearly plan, with key dates indicated. The operational plan also appears on the web site, as do the monthly menus for the lunch hall so that parents can see their children’s daily diet.
There is a separate weekly bulletin for each of the three schools (primary, middle and high) which is on-line and sent to all parents’ email addresses and mobile devices once a week. Besides chronicling the life of the school, the bulletins remind parents and students of important dates and deadlines.
Extra-Curricular Activities
At all levels in the schools there are extra-curricular activities in the form of clubs, such as the Model United Nations (MUN) in the high school and Junior Model United Nations (JMUN) in the middle school, who attend an array of local, national and international conferences every year. The schools have a range of clubs such as a Turkish press club, a theatre group, scientific clubs, many sports teams including basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, and cultural and modern dance clubs, etc. The schools operate an afterschool and weekend programme to introduce students who sign up to a range of extra-curricular activities such as chess, yoga, ceramics, music, English drama, etc.
Parent Meetings
The schools have regular parent meetings in each semester, which take place either at the weekend or in the evenings after classes, depending on the school.
In addition, teachers in both schools have a set time every week in their programme when parents are able to come and visit, subject to booking in advance.
Parents also have their own organisation, Okul Aile Birligi (Parent-Teacher Association), with elected representatives meeting regularly with the school administration in each of the schools, for example, every two weeks during term time in the primary and middle schools. They help the schools in many ways by providing resources, discussing issues related to education, organising meetings and seminars for parents, collecting money for social projects, and so on. They also are members of the committee which oversees school transport and contributes to the drawing up of the contract with external transport companies. They likewise have a role in the selection of the school uniform and uniform providers.
