Welcome Family Program
The Welcome Family Program connects families new to BIS and Bonn to current families with a similar cultural background and/or children of the same age. Volunteer families act as welcoming contacts who offer support and guidance.
When new families are registered at the school, they will be contacted by the coordinators of the program to see if they are interested in this service. If so, they will be contacted by a volunteer family who can help them during their transition to a new school and new home.
Parent Volunteers
The "Parent Volunteers e.V." is an active part of our BIS community supporting and enhancing the BIS Student and Community Life Program through our voluntary work and monetary resources. It exists as a separate and non-profit entity within the BIS community and supports both the Primary and Secondary Schools. All parents can join the PV (and are encouraged to do so!). An Executive Committee, composed of 6-7 members, is elected annually by the membership.
The goals of our PV are to
- develop a closely knit BIS Community
- provide voluntary and financial support to the school through our events
- support the newcomers
PV Activities
The Parent Volunteers host a variety of activities throughout the school year. These include:
- events and services aiding and welcoming new families to Bonn, including a Welcome BBQ held in September
- movie nights for students in both the Primary and Secondary Schools
- school dances for the Secondary School
- St. Martin's celebrations
- International Day, the school's largest annual celebration and a tribute to the diversity of our community
- Talent Night
- a cocktail party at which parents can meet and mingle with one another
- staff appreciation days
- end-of-the-year yard sale
The PV further serves the BIS community by organizing homeroom parents for each class, coordinating Welcome Family Program which puts families new to Bonn in touch with families from their country of origin, and providing a listing of qualified babysitters and the languages they speak. For further information on all these activities please email the Parent Volunteers at pv(at)bonn-is.de
PV Donations to BIS in 2010
At the Parent Volunteers Annual General Meeting in May 2010, the PV allocated 7,000 Euros to to fulfill the following teacher requests:
Primary School
- flip camera for each grade level
- Elmo Visualizers
Secondary School
- track ball mice for Smart Board use
- sound system equipment
- video cassette recorder/DVD recorder to transfer educational videos to DVD format
- protective sports equipment for softball/baseball
- First Lego League Team start up support
Many thanks to the PV for their support and to the parents who have given generously and supportively to the Parent Volunteer activities raising these funds.