Students arrive at school by 08:20 in the morning, the majority coming on the school busses. Students currently leave at 15:50.
In general, the primary and middle schools have 8 teaching periods per day, making 40 periods per week of 40 minutes per learning period. Between periods there are 10 minute breaks. Lunch is generally 45 minutes, run in several shifts with Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 eating slightly later than the younger children. In the morning and afternoon children are provided with a snack (fruit, juice, cake, etc.) during one of the breaks.
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).
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 school webpages 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 weekly bulletin for the primary and middle schools which is on-line and sent to all parents’ email addresses once a week. High school students prepare, write and edit a monthly newspaper in both Turkish and English. Besides chronicling the life of the school, the bulletin and newspaper also remind parents and students of important dates and deadlines.
Extra-Curricular Activities
At all levels in the school 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. Also the school has a Turkish press club, a theatre group, scientific clubs, many sports teams including basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, and cultural and modern dance clubs, etc. For the first time in the 2014-15 academic year the school has created an afterschool program in the primary school 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. In the primary school the first and second meetings take place on a Saturday.
In the high school the parent meetings are planned for during the school day, starting around 13:00 and last until 17:30, on two occasions per semester, with each level being invited on a separate day.
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, for example, every two weeks during term time in school. They help the school 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 have key responsibilities such as the organization of school transport and negotiating the contract with external transport companies, and are involved in the selection of the school uniform and uniform providers.
