Ljubljana, Slovenia Report of what it's like to live there - 03/05/11
Personal Experiences from Ljubljana, Slovenia
School Name:
QSI Ljubljana, Slovenia
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Parent
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
10th grade
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2009 - 2011
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
Government
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
A
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
A
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
Friendly, warm and caring.
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
A
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
A+
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
A
5. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
B
6. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
A
7. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
A
8. Administration-parent communication:
a+
9. Teacher-student communication:
A+
10. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
No.
11. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
Yes, our son has an IEP, he had tutoring in school last year as well as at home that we obtained privately.This year he has tutoring at home, occasionally, but mostly the school is fulfilling his needs and he he keeping up very nicely.
12. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
The school goes above and beyond what is required of them to meet my son's needs.
13. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
Don't know.
14. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
Yes, music, art, PE and language classes.
15. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
None
16. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
Occasionally.The older kids go on an overnight ski trip once a year to a nearby ski resort (€110 including equipment rental. In 2009 the older kids went to Zagreb for two nights to participate in a Knowledge Bowl.They were housed with other families but they had to pay for their train tickets (€30 -ish) and have some spending money.
17. What activities do you feel are missing?
None, the school really works with the students to offer the activities that the students would like.
18. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
Yes, after school every other Tuesday the older kids have flag football and on the alternating Tuesdays they have Drama. On Thursdays our son plays badminton.There are other activities for all ages.The school bus leaves the school late on activity days so that students that participate can still ride the bus.
19. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
Yes.
20. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
No problems.The school is small but they overcome that by offering lots of social interaction with after school activities that are open to non QSI kids.Sometime kids in the homeschool community join the older kids for activities.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
A+
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
A
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
A
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
A
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
A
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
A
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Yes.
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
B They don't have drama during school but do offer it as an after school activity. However, since it is a small school it is not a very big drama program.There aren't any home ec or wood shop type classes, but I don't even know if American schools still offer that.
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
Yes and they do.
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
No.
11. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
Yes, Monday through Thursday.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
Yes.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
Not at all.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
Individual attention that the children receive.
2. Greatest challenge?
The high school had 6 students last year and 4 this year. It just depends on who's posted here.For some kids that may be a problem. I am happy with this as it made it possible for our son to concentrate on getting his grade up and offered lots of interaction with teachers.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
Yes I would, our son was treated very well and all of his teachers worked very hard to help him with any problems he had.
