Infrastructure improvements

Summer holidays come to an end at the ESF next Monday. The nine-week break has been used for renovation and repair works as well as improvements of the infrastructure. Thus, students and teachers can enjoy a new surface on the sport field. Furthermore, the free-flow concept has been introduced at the canteen of the Secondary Cycle by putting in new seating, creating self-service facilities and offering one of the three choices as freshly prepared meal. Children in Pre-Primary and Primary 1 will benefit from newly installed air-conditioning in the South facing classrooms of the Modular Building.

Location

The number of pupils at the school remains stable in comparison to the previous year. However, due to the expected increase in pupils in the coming years, the search for a piece of land, to which the entire ESF could relocate to, continues by the German authorities. Please see a recently published newspaper article for further information. Even though the ECB has no decision making role in the governance of the school, the ECB is in close contact with the different stakeholders such as the ESF management, Parents Association, German Ministry of Education and Research, City of Frankfurt and Land Hesse. Both short and long term infrastructure needs of the ESF are discussed in regular meetings to ensure the required capacity for the school community in future.

High academic level

The ESF results of the 2016 European Baccalaureat exams have become available and continue to express the high level of the ESF educational offer with an average ESF result of 81.37% compared to 82% in 2015 and 79.59% in 2014.

Childminding and afternoon activities

As in the past years, the Parents Association (PA) were able to enrol all registered children in Childminding and still have some spare capacity. In Afternoon Activities  (AA) it was possible to even extend the offers. Please bear in mind that there are no courses in AA in the first week of school and children that are not registered with Childminding will not be supervised. Childminding for Pre-Primary  and Primary 1 children is located in the Modular Building, while Primary 2 until Secondary 2 children takes place in the PA village across the road from the school.

Transport

Transport, however, remains a critical issue. The Parents Association offer five bus lines. The morning school bus lines are almost fully booked, however, the capacity of the smaller buses can still be expanded, if required. In addition, a late afternoon bus has been introduced that will be leaving the school at 17:30 each day. The school bus offer intends to reduce the stress level for families on the daily way to school/work, but traffic volume will still reach peak levels between 8 and 8.30 each morning and in the afternoon when the Primary School ends. The first school day(s) with many newcomers will be particularly demanding. If possible, please consider using public transport. Needless to say, parents can expect the area around the school to be busy and should bear in mind that there may also be children running to greet their friends after the holidays.

If you have more questions, please contact the ESF Parents Association at Office@ESFParents.org

Authors: ESF Parents Association and ECB Staff Integration Team of Div/ESE