Dear Parents,

Two updates in one month?  Well, since the last update we have attended twelve meetings with a lot of different stakeholders!

• There will be no Extra-Curricular Activities for the remainder of this school year.  With the amount of restrictions in place covering schools at the moment we can’t make it work.  We will keep you updated about the 2021-22 school year.

• This week we attended an extra-ordinary meeting of the School Advisory Council (SAC) which was chaired by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s (OCW) new project leader who is keen to keep parents as informed as possible.
  • There will be a period of time during which the SAC members may submit “considerations” (about the two sites) to the OCW, prior to the OCW deciding upon which location they will submit to the European School’s Board of Governors by December 2021 at the latest.  During that “consideration period” we plan to offer to all school families the chance to take part in an online survey which should give a more clear indication of how parents feel about the two different locations: this will likely take place in mid April, in line with the OCW’s current time frame for this project.

• While trucks continue to roll past the school gates at peak times, members of the PA are half way through the 4 online meetings that Bergen Gemeente is holding about the future of the area around the school. They assure us that safety is a top concern.
  • Bergen Gemeente had previously confirmed that a pedestrian crossing has been approved and would be installed on Churchilllaan: last week they stated that the police had advised them against it (“De politie heeft negatief geadviseerd over de aanleg van het zebrapad”) and so, therefore, there will be no crossing.
  • The PA would like to speak with the police team that made this decision to clarify the reality of Churchilllaan during peak times and, further, to find out what additional safety measures may be applicable

• We will continue to shout loudly that, for us, the three main topics for consideration are safety, safety and safety.

That’s the most crucial stuff covered for now, the rest can wait until the March update.  Oh and to the Secondary school families: we hope the next few weeks of being partly back in school will go well for you.

Take care,

ESB Parents’ Association

If you have any questions that you would like for PA to communicate on your behalf, please send them to us. [