CIS Junior School Parent Handbook
Welcome To CIS
Dear Parent,
We hope that this information booklet provides you with everything you need to understand the routines and procedures of our busy school. If not, it should guide you to where to find the answers. Look out for letters and newsletters in your email box that will provide you with additional information that you may need.
Most importantly, we have a dedicated and friendly staff who will do all they can do to assist with any queries.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch by emailing juniorschool@cislagos.org
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Julie King hojs@cislagos.org
Who are we?
CIS was founded in 2004 and has just celebrated twenty years of impactful education. Our Junior School is made up of students from two and a half years old, in our Pre-School, to eleven year olds, in our Year 6. The vast majority of our students then transition to our Senior School and their CIS journey continues.
Our Vision To nurture and empower every learner to become a transformative global citizen.
School Motto
Celebrating Excellence
Instilling Independence
Securing Success
Our Aim
To provide a high standard of education in a secure and stimulating environment for our students.
To develop a love for learning, social skills, communication skills and considerations for others.
To ensure the development of every student intellectually, physically, socially, aesthetically, spiritually and emotionally.
Our Values Excellence Nurturing Passion Integrity Respect
Empathy
People You Should Know?
School Principal - Mr. Stewart King
Head of Junior School - Mrs. Julie King
Assistant Head of Junior School - Mrs. Caroline Omotoso
Assistant Head of Junior School - Mrs. Abimbola Dosunmu
Head of EYFS - Mrs Pretta Njoku
Head of Year 1 - Mrs Talabi
Head of Year 2 - Mrs Christiana Praise
Head of Year 3 - Miss Angeles Aiyudu
Head of Year 4 - Mrs Olabisi Usidame
Head of Year 5 - New appointment
Head of Year 6 - Mrs Bukola Johnson
Belonging To A House
Every child in CIS is assigned a house after admission: Acacia, Willow, Sycamore or Jacaranda. Siblings share the same house and they are allocated on admission to ensure that the house numbers remain balanced.
Houses compete against each other in a number of areas: academic, creative and physical. The house uniforms are purchased together with the school uniforms from the school shop.
Sycamore
Jacaranda
Acacia Willow
Our Structure
Pre-School, Nursery and Reception make up our Early Years Foundation Stage. This is known as EYFS and lays the foundations for learning. Students are taught across seven areas of learning.
Year 1 and Year 2 make up our Key Satge 1 classes. Here students move towards being taught the across the subjects from the English National Curriculum, such as English, Maths and Science.
Year 3 and Year 4 are our Lower Key Stage 2 classes. They deepen their skills and subject knowledge across a range of National Curriculum subjects.
Year 5 and 6 form Upper Key Stage 2. They complete the key stage and prepare for the move to Senior School where they begin Key Stage 3.
Essential Documents - Medical Forms
Each year we ask parents to update the medical details that we hold for their children who are taught at CIS. This information is securely held and plays an important part in providing the best possible care for the children. These forms also contain permissions which must be renewed on an annual basis.
To streamline the process:
· Parents who have completed the form in previous years and where there have been no changes to the information previously shared, should only complete the first section and the final renewal of permission sections.
· For parents whose child is joining the school in September or for parents whose children are currently at CIS but medical details have changed since last completing the form please complete all sections of the form. Changes may include, new diagnosis, alterations to medication and treatment, allergies, changes to doctors contact information, updated responses to questions relating to menstruation, surgery or mobility.
I would be most grateful if all medical forms can be completed online no later than August 25th 2024.
The medical form can be found here:
https://forms.gle/eWcjXpAzbuKbLuXz9
Should you have any questions regarding the submission of these forms please do not hesitate to contact the admissions office.
Arrival at School
We call the morning arrival ‘drop off’.
Students can access Junior School from 7am. Prior to this students will be supervised in the Parent Waiting Room.
Students should be dropped off to arrive at class by 7:30AM everyday. Arrivals after this time will be marked as late.
After 7.45AM the child will have to sign in at the Junior School Office.
Students may meet teachers, members of our leadership team, year 6 Prefects or security staff. We encourage the children to start the day positively by wishing everyone they meet a ‘good morning’.
To foster independence students should make their own way to class and carry their own belongings.
Our Foundation Stage parents are invited to park and walk their children to their classroom doors. They are welcome to do this before 7.30AM each day.
The End of Our School Day
Parents, nannies, drivers and designated adults can collect students from their classrooms at the closing times. Anyone collecting a child will need their ID card which is organised via the School Office..
Many families choose to sign their children up for Extra Curricular Activities popularly known as ECAs. The club venues are posted just beyond the Junior School front doors. Children can be collected from club venues but within 10 minutes of the club ending they will be taken to our late pick up points.
The late pick up areas are based in and around our cafeteria area.
Children are not allowed to access the playground after school, even if accompanied by the adults who have collected them.
If you wish another trusted adult to collect your child please email the Junior School Office and copy in the class teacher. The office staff will then provide an Exit Pass to the adult so that the children can be collected.
End of Day Timings
Year 1 & 2 2:00PM 3:00PM
Year 3 & 4 2:00PM 3:00PM
Years 5 & 6 2:00PM 3:00PM
Absence From School
The target attendance for every student is 100%. Attendance will be reflected on school reports and is known to have a direct impact on attainment. However, we do understand there may be times that a child will be unable to attend school for serious reasons, such as illness or bereavement.
If a child is absent for any reason, parents should call or email the School Office. juniorschool@cislagos.org by 7.30 a.m. or call 09038485768 or 08151193988 stating the specific reason for a child’s absence. Parents should also email their child’s class teacher before the start of school.
Requests for any planned absences should be made at least two weeks in advance to the Head of Junior School. Requests will be considered on a case by case basis but please note that absence for travel cannot be authorised. Where possible and planned appointments should be made out with the school day.
Class work will be posted on your child’s Google Classroom but students who are ill are not expected to work at home. We do not currently facilitate online lessons for children who are unable to attend in person.
Meals and Snacks
Each class will have two breaks during the day. This is a short morning break and a long break around lunch time. This will be marked on your child’s timetable.
For short break children should be provided with a healthy fruit snack from home.
For long break they should have a healthy meal. This can be a packed lunch from home or from Year 3 parents can opt to pay termly, in advance, for a lunch from our cafeteria for their child.
At pick up in the afternoon, a range of snacks may be purchased for our students by the trusted adult who has collected them.
Junior School students should not bring cash to school to purchase snacks as there is no facility to do so.
Water Wednesday – We encourage our students to drink water but we ask that on Wednesday they do not bring other drinks and juices.
Extra-Curricular Activities
An extracurricular activity (ECA) is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of the school. Such activities are generally voluntary (as opposed to mandatory), social and often involve others of the same age. Involvement in after school clubs and extracurricular activities is beneficial in a variety of ways. For example, school clubs can offer a place to form relationships and foster learning.
ECAs can be booked through School Cloud, which is a parent portal. Details will be shared with you before it goes live each term.
Payment is then made to our finance department.
Our ECA Coordinator, Miss Esther, who can be reached via the following email: juniorschooleca@cislagos.org
Policies and Procedures
Extra-Curricular Activities
Thus, being involved in activities outside of school increases student’s chances of creating friendships also being academically knowledgeable. Also, extracurricular activities can provide families with a safe environment for their children while they are at work. This gives the parents an opportunity to get all the work time possible and allows the child to participate in educational or athletic activities.
Furthermore, extracurricular activities increases positive self-development, educational advancement benefit regardless of where the activities take place (at school or away from school). The overall findings demonstrate that involvement in activities, whether it be sports, clubs, or school-based programs, have a positive impact on the participant’s life generally.
Safeguarding and Child Protection
We take the safeguarding of our students very seriously at CIS. Should you ever wish to raise a safeguarding concern the following staff are trained to support in this area.
Mrs Julie King, Designated Safeguarding Lead for Junior School hojs@cislagos.org
Mrs Jennifer Ivhurie, Deputy Safeguarding Lead for Early Years – ivhuriej@cislagos.org
Mr Ojo, Deputy Safeguarding Lead for Key Stage 1ajoo@cislagos.org
Mrs Soetan, Deputy Safeguarding Lead for Key Stage 2soetand@cislagos.org
School Visits
Each year group will be given the opportunity to attend a local field trip each academic year. There is no additional cost for these trips. Each trip is risk assessed and security are in attendance.
Teachers will send a letter explaining the details of the trip and a request for you to complete a consent form. The consent form must be returned before the deadline to secure a place on the trip. You may choose not to give consent and your child can attend school as normal but we would encourage you to consider the academic value to the trip.
Each year you will be asked to update your child’s medical form. Without this form we, will not have the necessary information to safely take your child out of school and therefore they will not be able to come along on the visit.
At times we also take part in international trips. If your child is involved in an international visit, you will receive further information and a parent meeting will take place before you need to make a commitment to let you child take part.
School Buses
A school Bus service is available on request to the Junior School Office.
Please note that at present the School bus is only available for those that reside in VGC and its environs. More information will be provided upon request.
Music Lessons
Junior School offers one to one Music lessons through our Dracy Academy.
The availability of these lessons will be shared as part of the ECA programme via the School Cloud.
Lessons can be requested at any time by contacting our ECA Coordinator, Miss Esther, who can be reached via the following email: juniorschooleca@cislagos.org
Personal Property
All students are responsible for any personal property brought into the premises. We ask that all personal items are clearly labelled with the name of the child for easier identification. This includes uniform, lunch boxes, pencil cases and all other equipment. Any missing item found will be taken to the school office or designated lost and found spots within the premises. In Junior School our lost property can be found in baskets under the stairs, nearest to the webbed gate in our quadrangle.
Items of a higher value, such as laptops and musical Instruments will be taken to the Junior School Office for safe keeping.
Celebrating Birthdays
Many families choose to celebrate their child’s birthday in school. Birthdays can be honoured in the following way:
• Students are allowed to come to school in their own clothes for the day. This should be suitable attire for a school day.
• Students can share celebration food with their class but this should be one item and individually packed. This is because food is shared with students at the end of the school day so that parents can decide if their child should be allowed to have it. Due to hygiene and timing staff cannot be expected to, for example, cut cake or hand out pizza in napkins.
• Party packs, or any packed toys or presents, are not allowed by school
• Parents can come in to take pictures with their child upon request to their class teacher
• Teachers are happy to forward on email invitations to parties if everyone in the class is invited. If only some of the class are invited the expectation is that parents will make these arrangements Personally to avoid upsetting the children who are not invited to attend.
• If your child’s birthday falls over a weekend or during a holiday, please contact their class teacher about the most suitable day for them to celebrate in school. This is to avoid too many birthdays in one day and to make sure your child has the chance to feel special.
Homework Guidelines
Homework is set daily at CIS and is intended to consolidate the knowledge and concepts learnt in school. It is also an opportunity for parents to connect with the learning from the classroom.
Homework is shared via the Google Classroom but Year 6 have their homework set via Satchel One to prepare them for Senior School. Homework takes on many forms and may make use of online resources such as Myimaths or Century Tech. Homework is also set weekly by our specialist teachers and should be a reasonable amount in addition to that set by the class teacher. ORB means Oxford Reading Buddy which gives online access to books that support students with their reading journey.
Homework timetables will be shared with parents by the class teacher at the start of the academic year. If you child is having any issues with homework then please share this with the class teacher as this is a collaboration between home and school.
Year Groups Homework Reading Specialists Projects
EYFS
Key Stage 1
Year 1 and 2
Pre-School, Nursery and Reception Reception classes receive a weekly homework pack. 15 minutes reading with family for fun daily Homework may also be set by the specialist teachers periodically. To consolidate learning teachers will share longer term projects with students as relevant.
30 minutes daily 15 minutes of reading which may be a bedtime story or ORB
Lower Key Stage 2
Year 3 and 4 45 minutes daily 20 minutes of reading from ORB
Upper Key Stage 60 minutes 20 minutes of reading from ORB
Communication
Your child’s class teacher will introduce themselves and share their email with you. In the busy life of a school the teachers commit to respond to you within 24 hours. This is your main route of communication for your child.
You can email your child’s class teacher at any time and ask to meet them but they will also invite you to termly Parent Teacher Conferences where you can meet in person or online to discuss your child. Teachers are also happy to talk with parents at the end of the school day but please bear in mind they may be very busy.
Your child will also be provided with a School Planner and this can be used for home and school communication. Notes can be written between a parent and a teacher or vice versa.
You should recieve a bi weekly email from the year team to update you with news and events. The headteacher will also write each week to share any relevant information and let you know a little more about the life of the school.
Each Half Term there is a Junior School newsletter packed full of articles about events and experience that have taken place. We also encourage you to download My School App which holds our policies, key dates and provides you with updates and reminders straight to your phones home screen. Search in your App store and then use the name Children’s International School. If there are any problems with registration, just ask for support at the School Office. The App you are searching for looks like this:
Useful Apps
Many families make use of MySchoolapp to receive information from school, Showmyhomework allows parents from Year 6 upwards to view homework set for each of their children from their phones or desktops and parents’ meetings are now bookable via schoolcloud. Schoolteller has replaced bank transfer for all payment of fees and other associated costs by parents. The breadth of e systems can be daunting, particularly for families new to the school. Therefore, a summary e document is now available for all parents. To view this document please click the link below.
https://issuu.com/cisprincipal/docs/e_systems_guide_2023.pptx?fr=sNDQwMTU2MT U4NTc
The Foundation Stage Supply List
Students need the following supplies to ensure the smooth running of their lessons. Please ensure that, where appropriate, items are clearly labelled with your child’s name to enable items to be returned quickly if they are misplaced.
The following items are to be supplied at the beginning of the school year and may need replenished at other times:
● 2 x boxes of 12 jumbo wax crayons
● 1 x box of 12 jumbo triangular pencil crayons
● 6 x jumbo triangular lead pencils
● 1 x sharpener suitable for jumbo triangular pencils & pencil crayons
● 2 x large white erasers
● 1 x pair of children’s scissors (rounded metal ends)
● 3 x clear folders (one for each term)
● 2 x large glue sticks (6 in total – two for each term)
At the beginning of each Term and to be replenished as required:
● 1 box of tissues
● 1 x pack of baby wipes for toileting and clean up
● 1 x waterproof painting apron (preferably with sleeves)
● 1 x sun hat,
● 1 x emergency change of clothes in sealed named bag
● Separate lunch/snack bag and flask/ water bottle
● A school bag
The Key Stage 1 and 2 Supply List
Category Items When?
Stationery Pencil sharpeners
HB pencils
Erasers
Coloured pencils
Pairs of metal scissors
Ball point black and blue pens (Year 5 &6)
Erasable blue pens (Year 3 &4)
Plastic ruler (30cm & 12inches)
Glue sticks, no liquid glue allowed
Pencil boxes or cases to hold supplies
Plastic presentation wallets (for projects)
Mathematical set: containing protractor pair of compasses (Years 5&6)
Calculator (Year 5 & 6)
Durable plastic wallets/folders for library books/class reading books and homework
At the start of year and replenished as required
The Key Stage 1 and 2 Supply List
Other Equipment
Apron/Art Shirt
Recorder - Year 1&2
Clarinet - Year 3 & 4
Guitar - Year 5 & 6
Water bottle and lunch box
Laptop
Hygiene 1 x box of tissues (3 in total)
As required - pocket tissue, disinfectant wipes & hand sanitisers
At the start of the year
At the start of each term and then as required
Student Laptops
Information Technology and Computing are now essential learning tools for today’s students. All students from Year 1 of Summer Term are required to have a laptop to support their learning.
CIS no longer sells laptops for students. As an IT literate school students from Year 1 up will require their own laptop. These laptops must be compatible with the school system therefore must meet the following requirements.
1. Operating System: Windows 10 or 11 Pro (Professional Edition only)
2. RAM: At least 4GB of memory
3. Storage: At least 500 GB
4. Processor: Intel Core i3 minimum 5. Chromebooks and MacBooks are not supported or allowed.
Minimum System Requirements for Windows Computers
As part of the prerequisite for web filtering, student laptops must be set up and linked to the school's network domain before they may access the school's internet. This will be completed by our IT team, on or before the start of a child’s first term and then as required.
Kindly click on the link below to see the guidelines, terms and conditions of our IT Policy
https://forms.gle/Wqy2A6dKbLQMZtM17
Online Safety
Our students do not have unlimited access to the internet at CIS. We have a filtering system that blocks inappropriate content being viewed in school. When our students leave the school site the filtering and monitoring no longer exists, leaving it up to individual families to set up their own filters.
We recommend that no Junior School student is given unsupervised access to the internet at home and recommend that family filters are in place. We educate the students about online safety throughout the curriculum but they may not always choose to follow this advice.
We also recommend that any games or apps that students have access to are age appropriate to the child. Virtually all social media apps are for 13 plus which means that no Junior School child is old enough to access them. These limits are set by the companies who realise the dangers attached to their products for younger children. Any games should also be age appropriate.
Many parents assume that their child has the maturity to act sensibly and safely online, this may not always be the case. Students may find themselves in situations where they hurt themselves or others online. To support with this, online safety workshops are held for Junior School parents and we recommend that you attend to find about more about keeping your child safe online. We also have laptop free days at CIS to ensure that there is a balance to learning and to help manage screen time.
Use of Apps
Age restrictions for various apps differ and can change over time. The following grid gives the current age for some popular apps, the vast majority are not suitable for Junior School children.. Adhering to these ages helps to protect your child and their classmates.
Uniform
School uniform is an important part of our identity at CIS and has been part of the signature of our school for over 20 years. All students, from Pre-School through to Year 6 are expected to wear the uniform as outlined here. The colour of our polo shirts is pale yellow, with grey shorts or skorts. The PE kit is a t-shirt in the correct house colour with navy blue shorts. Parents support the school by purchasing the official school uniform and by ensuring that students are smartly dressed in their uniform each day. Our expectation is that our students will always wear their uniform correctly and with pride.
Please note that all uniform and kit should be clearly labelled with a child’s name to ensure for a safe return should an item go missing.
Uniform
Parents must ensure that their child(ren) come to school correctly dressed in the specified uniform. School uniform is available at the school for purchase.
The following must be provided by the Parents:
GIRL’S UNIFORM
● Grey Skort
● Yellow polo shirt
● Grey cardigan/pullover (optional)
● House shirt & PE shorts
BOY’S UNIFORM
● Grey Shorts
● Yellow polo shirt
● Grey cardigan/pullover (optional)
● House shirt & PE shorts
Girls’ Uniform
To be purchased from our School Uniform Shop
· Branded polo shirt
· Grey skort, which is a combination of a skirt and a short. Skirt length must not be less Than 2 inches above the knee.
· Cardigan or pullover to be purchased from school
To be sourced from elsewhere
· White socks
· Black shoes
Boys’ Uniform
To be purchased from our School Uniform Shop
· Branded polo shirt
· Grey shorts
· Cardigan or pullover
To be sourced from elsewhere
· White socks
· Black leather shoes
· Black belt
School Shoes
The acceptable shoes to be worn with the school uniform is a pair of black, leather shoes that can be polished. These should have a low heel height. Please note that training shoes and boots are not allowed, this includes black, leather, training shoes.
Bags and Kits
CIS students are encouraged to be independent and bring their equipment to school each day in a school bag that they will carry.
PE
Kit
On days when students have PE they can wear their land based kit to school. Year 5 and 6 students only are expected to then change into their school uniform for the rest of the day.
Land Based PE Kit:
· A t-shirt in the relevant house colour which can be purchased from the Uniform Shop
· Navy blue PE shorts from the Uniform Shop
· Training shoes, suitable for Sport
Bags and Kits
Swim Based PE Kit
● A swimsuit, one piece for girls
● A towel
● Swimming goggles
● A swim bag for equipment
● Slip-on swim shoes
Art
Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 students require a waterproof painting apron, preferably with sleeves to keep their uniform and themselves clean.
Key Stage 2 require a painting apron or shirt to cover their uniform in Art class.
Outdoor Experiences
There are several times a day that a child will be outdoors and they need to be prepared for these experiences.
During drop off and collection they will require wellington boots and overcoats. This is especially important to keep them dry during rainy season. If the children are dressed for the weather it makes the flow of traffic much easier.
At other times the weather may be very hot. Children will not go out to play if there is extreme weather, for example lightning. Most of the time we ask that they are ready to play with sun hats, sunscreen and water bottles.
Girls’ Hair and Jewellery
• Braided hair should not be longer than shoulder length.
• In case of braided hair, the extension must match the natural colour of hair
• Hair should be tied back in a bun or short ponytail if longer than shoulder length
• Hair bands, ribbons, bows or scrunchies should be plain and black
• Beads are not allowed
• Weaves are not allowed
• One pair of small stud earrings only, no hoops for safety reasons.
Girls will remove these and leave the in the school office for safekeeping until the end of the day.
• No nail varnish
• No makeup
Boys’ Hair and Jewellery
For Type 1 and Type 2
• Hair should not be long enough to be tied in a bun or a ponytail
• Hair is not longer than the referenced image referenced below
• Hair is free from patterns, designs or tattoos
For Type 3 and Type 4
• Hair is combed and tidy
• Hair is free from patterns, designs or tattoos
• The clipper used for haircut does not exceed step 4 (13mm / ½”)
Exceptions
All uniform specified above are binding for every CIS Junior Student. In the event where a student has to alter the uniform for religious reasons, the parent or guardian must discuss with the Head of Junior School. Temporary exception can be requested from the prescribed school uniform or any other element of it on special circumstances. This will usually be on medical grounds or other extreme circumstances. The Head of Junior School will have the ultimate decision for granting or refusing such requests.
Sanctions
Every adult in Junior School will address students who are not wearing their school uniform correctly but the Head of Junior School has the authority to give sanctions to students for not wearing correct school uniform. This would usually be after communication with home as we realise that this age group of students are very reliant on the choices of their parents.
Behaviour Expectations
We promote positive behaviour at all times in Junior School. Class teachers work with students at the start of the school year to define the ‘class rules’ and sanctions. Further behaviour expectations and sanctions for Year 1 to Year 6 can be found in the school planner. Our aim is to redirect poor behaviour and support students in making better choices.
There are many opportunities to reward positive contributions and behaviours throughout the school year. Everything from stickers in classrooms, to certificates in assembly, House Points and our end of year Prize Giving all praise students for their effort and behaviour.
If a child makes a choice that falls below our expectations they will be talked to by a member of staff and they may face an age appropriate sanction for this behaviour. If there are repetitions of low level behaviour or something more serious, parents will be informed and invited to meet to talk through the way forward.
Junior School Office
Our Junior School Office are here to support you with general enquiries. If you need to contact the Junior School Office, they can be reached by the following telephone numbers or email.
School Office phone number: +234 9038 485 768 / +234 9062 684 338
School Office email: juniorschool@cislagos.org
It is vital that you keep the School Office fully informed of all changes to your contact details, absences from school or changes to arrangements such as pick up.