Practical Information

How is the day organized?

You will find your child’s timetable posted on Seesaw during the first week of school by the homeroom teacher.

Preschool to Grade 5

08:00–08:20 arrival
08:20–08:30 transition to class
08:30 classes begin
10:25–10:45 snack and outdoor recess
12:25–13:25 lunch and outdoor recess
15:20–15:30 dismissal

Wednesdays: Please note, dismissal is one hour earlier: 14:20–14:30 Before and After School Care is available from 07:00 and until 18:00 – please see before and after school section.

Arrival

Children need to be at the Lower School between 08:00 and 08:20. The bell will ring and the doors to the front entrance of the school will unlock at 08:20. There will be a ten-minute transition period to class before classes begin promptly at 08:30 with morning meetings. Classrooms are closed until 08:20 unless a pre-arranged appointment has been made. Children will be registered as late if arriving to class after 08:30.

Children have a designated drop-off area if they are arriving by car. The designated area is determined by the grade of the youngest child in the family. There is a teacher on duty at all designated areas between 08:00–08:20 to assist with arrival as needed and guide students to their designed waiting areas until 08:20.

Preschool to Grade 2

Children in Preschool to Grade 2, including their older siblings, need to be dropped off at the front entrance. Preschool to Kindergarten students will walk directly down for supervision at the Early Childhood playground, through the gate at the front entrance. Grade 1 and 2 students will walk directly to the front of the building to wait.

Grades 3 to 5

Children in Grades 3 to 5, including their older siblings, need to be dropped off at the Waedi Woesch. Children will follow the markings and crosswalk to wait directly by the front of the building. 

Buses, carpoolers and walkers

Drivers who are offering carpooling may use the back entrance for arrival along with students that use the door-to-door private bus to school. Children will walk directly up the back steps into the building, walking immediately out to their morning supervision area if it’s before 08:20.

Children taking the “Village Liner”, public transportation or walking must enter the building through the back entrance following the walking path and crossing area, which is monitored by facilities. Children will walk directly up the back steps into the building, walking immediately out to their morning supervision area if they arrive before 08:20.

When dropping your child off, you must stay in your car, drive through following the guided markings and instructions from staff. If you wish to park, please park your car either outside the gate or by the Waedi Woesch. Parking at the Waedi Woesch must be paid for. You may park on ZIS grounds if you display a ZIS sticker, however, parking spaces and allowed parking time is limited.

If you walk your child up to the school, parents must wait in the designated waiting areas until the bell rings at 08:20. Parents are not allowed in classrooms and pod areas without a pre-arranged appointment. All parents must register at the Lower School Office.

Gate closure

The gate is closed each day from 08:20 to 15:00 (14:00 on Wednesdays) for the security of the children. If you intend to be in the school building after 08:20 it is essential to park outside of the gate.

Dismissal

Children have a designated dismissal area if they are arriving by car. The designated area is determined by the grade of the youngest child in the family. There is a teacher on duty at all designated areas between 15:15 – 15:30 to assist with dismissal.

If driving through the pick-up areas, you must stay in you car. All vehicles must have a visible sign in the window which contains the name of each child, their grade level, and teacher’s name. These are provided to new families that pick up at the front entrance.

Preschool to Grade 2

Preschool children who stay half days, can be picked up at 12:30 from the back entrance. Full day Preschool to Grade 1 students, including their older siblings, need to be picked up at the front entrance between 15:20 - 15:30.

Grades 3 to 5

Children in Grades 3 to 5, including their older siblings, need to be picked up at the Waedi Woesch between 15:20 - 15:30.

Buses, carpoolers and walkers

Drivers offering carpooling may use the back entrance for departure, picking up between 15:20 - 15:30. Children traveling on the door-to-door private buses will be escorted to their correct bus. The buses will depart at 15:35.

Children taking the “Village Liner”, public transportation or walking must exit the building through the back entrance, following the walking path and crossing area which is monitored by facilities. Children taking the "Village Liner" will depart to the bus stop at 15:30.

Wednesdays: Please note all dismissals are one hour earlier.

Once your child is safely secured in your car, please proceed with driving to allow other parents to safely collect their children, following the signs and directions from staff.

If you wish to park, please park your car either outside the gate or by the Waedi Woesch. Parking at the Waedi Woesch must be paid for. You may park on ZIS grounds if you display a ZIS sticker, however, parking spaces and allowed parking time is limited.

If you walk up to the school to collect your child, you must wait at the designated parent pick-up area for your child. Do not walk over to the door at the front entrance or class and collect them yourselves.

Families are encouraged to use the school transportation services, carpool or use public transportation to help with traffic congestion as well as environmental impact.

Gate closure

The gate is closed each day from 08:20 to 15:00 (14:00 on Wednesdays) for the security of the children. 

School transportation service

Children may be transported to and from school by buses organized by the school. There is a door-to-door bus service, and a fee is charged by the bus company, which will be invoiced to the parents using the service. There is also the “Village Liner” which operates like a ZIS public bus with a set route. All buses consist of a modern fleet. For more details including available routes and restrictions go to the Community Portal where you will find the ZIS School Bus Service Terms and Conditions or contact the Bus Coordinator, Roland Gaehwiler at bus@zis.ch.

School bus safety rules

• Sit in my seat facing forward with the safety belt firmly secured throughout my entire trip
• Speak in a quiet respectful voice on the bus
• Keep my hands and feet to myself
• Take my litter and belongings with me off the bus
• Keep the atmosphere in the bus, friendly, fun and caring
• Keep water and food in my backpack

What will your child need at school?

The school provides all supplies necessary for academic learning. Parents are asked to supply the following items:

• Indoor shoes (e.g. indoor trainers; no flip flops)
• Outdoor shoes appropriate for PE and recess
• Lunch box, snack box and reusable drink bottle
• Bag/rucksack suitable for carrying books/snack boxes and personal things
• Grade 1 and below: change of clothes to keep at school
• Outdoor Learning kit for Preschool and Kindergarten children: waterproof ZIS trousers and jacket *See note below for further information
• Preschool to Grade 5 all require ZIS PE clothing and sports shoes (Physical Education lessons under Learning)
• In autumn and spring they will also need: raincoat and waterproof shoes
• In winter they will also need: snow pants, snow boots, hat, scarf and waterproof gloves

Please ensure all items are marked with your child’s name and grade level.

The ZIS-Rain Set (jacket and bib-pants, the same size) is compulsory for all EC/KG children. 

The selling/distribution is coordinated by the Coordinator PE-Clothing and Merchandising, Roland Gähwiler 

For new students:

• Try and buy at the “new student orientation day” directly

For late starters & returning students:

• All sizes are on display at the reception in the sample-display-furniture
  Try with your child at drop off/pick up time and purchase directly from the PE-Clothing Coordinator, if he is available.
• Try with your child at any time and order your set via clothing@zis.ch (full name of student required). The PE-Clothing Coordinator will invoice the parents and deliver the set to the home room teacher.

Specials:

• If parents are unable to come to school to try the set with their child (bus riders, other reasons), teachers can check what size other students with the same height are wearing (check set hanging on the hooks)
• Email your order to clothing@zis.ch. The PE-Clothing Coordinator will invoice the parents and deliver the set to the homeroom teacher.

For further information: PE-Clothing Coordinator, Roland Gähwiler, 058 750 25 61, clothing@zis.ch

Absence, late arrival or change in your child’s normal routine

• Please complete the online absence form by 08:30 to report an absence or lateness. If your child travels on the door-to-door bus, use the app to notify as well.
   
• If your child arrives late (after 08:30) they must sign in at the Lower School Office before going to class.
   
• All changes in a child’s routine must be communicated to the Lower School Office by using the Change of Routine form by 12:00. This ensures that a message is received reliably.
   
• No child may leave ZIS during school hours without the permission of a staff member. If a student leaves school during the day, they must be signed out at the Lower School Office before leaving the building.
   
• Any child wishing to be excused from school, except for medical and dental appointments, must obtain prior permission. If the absence is to be of some duration (more than 1–2 days), approval must be sought well in advance from the Lower School Principal.
   
• If a child has 15 absences or 15 late arrivals, a letter will be sent to you to inform you of this. At 20 absences or 20 late arrivals, a further letter will be sent to you and you will be invited to discuss this with the Lower School Principal.
   
• Parents are expected to arrange their vacation trips in accordance with the school calendar. To ensure the integrity of ZIS’ academic purpose, permission may not be granted for early departure or later returns except in family emergencies. It is not possible for us to authorize additional holidays taken outside of the school calendar, therefore these will be marked as unauthorized absences

Address List

The school publishes an electronic School Directory through the Community Portal, which includes parent contact details. You can choose not to have your personal details published within your profile settings. It can be very advantageous to have your details published to enable other parents to make contact with you and to include your child/ren’s details (under “relationships”).

Please ensure that your details are up to date.

All changes of address and phone numbers must be notified via www.zis.ch/update immediately. This is a very important procedure in case of emergency.

Before and After School Care

We offer a before and after school care program, for an additional fee.

The Before School Care program is offered from 07:00 to 08:00. The After School Care program operates between the hours of 15:20 and 18:00, with the exception of Wednesdays when it operates from 14:20 to 18:00. Children can attend on a regular basis or on a daily, casual basis.

For regular days, parents can pre-register online through our Community Portal; for a daily casual change parents can fill out the “Change of Routine form” on that day, in the Community Portal. Before school care registration must be submitted 24 hours in advance.

All children must be supervised at all times by an adult after 15:20 (14:20 on Wednesdays). Should a child be found unsupervised, they will be taken to After School Care and the parent will be charged for this. This also applies to students attending Music Academy lessons or where an Athletics and Activities (ATAC) session starts later than the finishing time of school.

Students may not use the school telephone to make after school arrangements. Permission may be given by a teacher in an emergency.

After School Activities - ATAC/Co-curricular Program

The Lower School runs an extensive after school co-curricular program for children in English and German.

Activities are available in many areas such as the arts and STEM. As part of our activities program we also offer competitive and non-competitive athletics, challenging leadership opportunities, as well as opportunities to represent the school.

Details of the activities are listed in the co-curricular software accessible via PowerSchool/SchoolsBuddy (click on the SchoolsBuddy icon in the left-hand navigation) prior to each of the three designated terms, to allow parents to sign-up on-line. Restrictions apply.

Students may enter individualized (such as private instrumental) activities and private mother-tongue language clubs. For further information, go to the Activities information in the Community Portal. For supervision options see Before and After School Care.

Assemblies

Assemblies take place on designated Friday afternoons during the school year. Assemblies are important in building a school community. They are usually a time for our campus to be together to celebrate and share what is happening in our learning community, welcome and say good-bye to students and staff, and create an awareness of the values we cherish as a school aligned to the ZIS Character Standards.

Animals at School

Animals are not permitted on school grounds (inside of the school gates) unless a prior arrangement has been made with the classroom teacher or the administration.

Birthdays

If you wish to bring something in for your child to celebrate with their class please contact your child’s teacher in advance to make arrangements. Healthy birthday treats are encouraged, such as fruit or muffins. Please ensure that treats are appropriate portion sizes and easy to serve and that student allergies have been taken into account.

Invitations for birthday parties can be sent into school only when they are to either the whole class or all boys/all girls within the class. Otherwise invitations need to be sent by email or post.

Visitors

All visitors, including parents, are asked to report to the Lower School Office upon entering the building. Visitors are required to sign in and wear a visitor’s badge for the duration of their visit. Please hand your badge back and sign out before you leave.

Alumni students, no longer living in Switzerland, may visit the school so that they can reconnect with their former peers. A visit typically happens during non instructional time. Other visiting children may be given a school tour or stay for lunch, but may not stay for instructional time. Arrangements need to be made in advance. To arrange a visit, please contact Assistant Principal Janna Trontvet at jtrontvet@zis.ch.

Health Matters

Insurance

As Swiss law requires parents to carry accident and health insurance for all children, the school does not provide any. Therefore the school assumes parents have fulfilled this obligation and that, in the event of an accident, the costs will be covered. In addition, the school strongly recommends that parents carry an additional personal liability policy for each of their children. Such a policy can be purchased from your insurer at a minimal premium.

Medical records

The school keeps records on each child’s medical history, allergies and emergency contact on PowerSchool. It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that these records are up to date.

Medication in school

If your child needs to take medication during school hours, whether regularly or for a short period of time, parents are required to bring this medication to the school health office with detailed administration instructions. Administration of medication at school form needs to be completed and signed – this can be found on the ZIS portal under Health Services.

Illness

Please notify the school immediately about any infectious disease your child has contracted. Children who need to take antibiotics for an infectious disease must remain at home until they have taken a full 48 hours of antibiotics and feel well, to ensure that they are not contagious. Students must be symptom free for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school after illness. The nurse will share information about an infectious disease with the ZIS community in a confidential manner. This way the school community can be aware of the symptoms to look for.

Head lice

Head lice, which do not carry disease, are most prevalent during the autumn and winter months. Parents are required to inform the school nurses if they find head lice on their children. The nurses will send home a treatment plan, and take measures to prevent a larger outbreak. Students who have been treated at home and return to school for the first time must see the school nurse for a lice check before going to class.

Attendance

If a child is well enough to attend school they will need to attend all classes and be able to go outside at recess. If this is not the case, children should stay at home unless otherwise arranged. For any absence please complete the online absence form which can be found on the community portal.

Emergency Procedures

In the case of a serious emergency, the school will contact emergency support services and assure the safety and well-being of students as first priority. Parents will be notified as soon as possible thereafter. In the event of an illness, accident, or medical emergency, and when the parents cannot be reached by telephone, the school may act in loco parentis until one or both of the parents can be reached. It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that the school has their current contact information as well as the telephone numbers of their non-parent emergency contact and family doctor.

Evacuation and lock down

The school maintains a regular schedule of evacuation drills and lock down practices. At the beginning of each school year and before the first drill, the classroom teachers will review the necessary procedures with the students in an age-appropriate manner.

Emergency school closure

If school is cancelled, the school will put a notice on the homepage of the website (www.zis.ch) by 06:30 in the morning. In the case of a school emergency outside of normal school hours, the ZIS Director, the Lower School Principal or Safeguarding Coordinator act as the communication contact point (see Safeguarding Team below)

Safeguarding team

The school maintains a safeguarding team that is able to respond to any serious emergency faced by the school. Responsibilities for this team are established at the beginning of each school year. In the event of a serious crisis or emergency, the team, led by the ZIS Director, will provide appropriate information to parents as quickly and comprehensively as reasonably possible. This will include giving details on the school’s website.

Library Program and Book Exchange

Each class visits the library at least once per week. These times are planned purposefully, composed of instruction led by the librarian and a time to browse, receive recommendations and check out books to take home.

Students are also able to use the library during designated lunch breaks as well as before and after school to exchange library books. Library books should be returned in a timely manner. For younger readers, books should be returned weekly, on or before the set library day for the class. Any books which are lost are charged at a standard CHF 25 replacement fee.

Parents are welcome and encouraged to use the library and can check out up to 10 items for their children. We also provide a Grab-and-Go system that runs on Monday morning during drop-off. This is predominately for EC parents. The library has a comprehensive online library which you are also welcome to join. Parents are invited to use our other campus libraries also as we have inter library loans available. Please check with your campus librarians for opening hours.

Lost Property

We encourage children to take responsibility for their own property. Please ensure that all property your child brings to school is clearly marked or labelled. All articles found which are clearly marked with your child’s name will be returned to them.

Lost property centers are maintained in the Lost and Found closet close to the Lower School Office. Items are put on display in the front lobby before each main holiday break and if unclaimed will be removed and donated or disposed of.

Beyond the Classroom Trips

ZIS offers mandatory, curricular field trips and residential trips for older students throughout the school year.

Online field trip form

At the start of their time at ZIS, all parents are asked to fill out the online Field Trip Form. This form gives permission for children to attend all trips during a school year while attending the Lower School.

Field trips

Field trips function as an educational element of the curriculum; therefore, all children must attend. If there is a reason why your child cannot attend, you must inform the school in writing of the reasons for your child’s absence in advance. In these cases, your child will need to stay home. The complexity and duration of the field trips will increase in the higher grades.

You will be informed by the grade-level teams of a field trip at least two weeks in advance. The notification will include the necessary information for the trip including departure and arrival times and eating arrangements.

ZIS tuition fees include all costs incurred by ZIS for mandatory, curricular field trips.

Residential trips

Children in grades 3, 4 and 5 go on a residential, overnight trip. Residential trips are considered mandatory, however, should you feel that it is not appropriate for your child to attend, we do not pressurize or force attendance. You are asked to organize a face to face meeting with the counselor. If the decision is made for your child not to attend the residential trip, they will need to stay home and no home learning will be provided.

Residential trip dates will be on the on-line calendar at the beginning of the school year, when possible, allowing you to plan in advance. For residential trips, you will be given trip specific information by the grade-level teams at least two weeks in advance. The notification will include the necessary information for the trip including departure and arrival times, eating arrangements and packing lists.

When your child is on the residential trips, you can expect to receive the following communication on Seesaw:

• A message when the grade arrives at their destination
• One message each day outlining the day’s events
• A link to the folder containing group photos from the trip

ZIS tuition fees include all costs incurred by ZIS for residential, overnight trips.

Curricular-enriching trips

ZIS offers optional curricular-enriching trips throughout the year. Examples of these types of field trips are offsite choir performances, Model United Nations (MUN), Math Quest and sporting events. All costs incurred by ZIS for optional, curriculum enriching trips are invoiced to the participants.

Photos

Formal class and individual photos are taken during the year.

You will be informed of these in advance. Children may be photographed while at school, and these photos may be used in school publications or on the school website. No names are given.

Please contact Rachel Ditchfield at rditchfield@zis.ch and Junlah Madalinski at jmadalinski@zis.ch should you not wish your child’s photo to be used in this way.