Section III. How Are The School Day And The School Year Organised?

A. How Is The School Organised To Offer The Ib Programmes?

School Divisions

Pechersk School International, Kyiv is organised into 4 sections as follows:

Early Childhood: EC3 and EC4 (Ages 3 - 5)

Primary Years: Kindergarten – Grade 5 (Ages 5 -1 1)

Middle Years: Grade 6 – 10 (Ages 11 - 16)

Diploma Programme: Grades 11 and 12 (Ages 16 - 19)

Class Size

The preferred maximum class size for EC3 is 18 students; for EC4 and KG it is 18 students. For reasons of safety and control and to assist these young learners, when these classes have eight or more students, a teaching assistant (TA) is employed to work with the qualified classroom teacher. In Grades 1 and 2, a TA is employed once the class accepts its tenth student.

The preferred maximum class size for Grades 1 through 12 is 20 students. However, if and when needed, and with permission of the Board of Governors, classes can consist of up to 22 students in these grade levels.

B. How Is The School Day Organised?

The Daily Schedule

The Primary and Secondary School schedules are very similar, running on a 6-Day Rotation. You will note that the Primary School contains a morning recess, while the Secondary School provides brief breaks between double blocks of time. Both programmes begin at 8:15 and end at approximately 15:15 in the Primary School and 15:20 in the Secondary School.

The School runs on a six-day schedule. This means that Week 1 begins with Days A - E. Week 2 begins with Day F, followed by Days A - D. Week 3 begins with Days E and F and then Days A - C.

Primary Morning Primary Afternoon

Secondary School Schedule

Overview of the 6-Day Schedule

• There are four instructional blocks that are 80-minutes in length.

• MYP Language & Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals & Societies, Science, Maths and PHE lessons will meet 3 of 6 days in the schedule, and Arts and Design lessons will meet 2 of 6 days.

• All DP courses will generally meet 3 of 6 days; however, there are exceptions depending upon the nature of the course and its requirements.

• Advisory will be daily for 20 minutes between blocks 1 and 2 for all Secondary students.

• The lunch period will be one hour in length; MS students will access the cafeteria between 11:25 - 11:55 and HS students between 11:55 - 12:25.

• Incorporated in the lunch period will be a period called Flex Time. This will be a 30-minute period where students can join clubs, get extra support from their teachers, engage in recreational activities, or find a quiet place to read. Flex Time can also be used for extra DP HL time when students are engaged in a topic that needs an extended time.

• HS students will have study blocks in their schedules. Students in Grades 9 - 10 will have one study block in a 6-day cycle and DP students will have four.

Extra-Curricular Activities (ECAs)

Well planned extracurricular activities have great educational value in broadening outlook, deepening social relationships, providing practical experience in various fields, and offering opportunities to pursue areas of particular talent and interest more intensively. They also provide a means outside the curriculum for students to gain the satisfaction of superior performance, while fostering school spirit and morale, and adding to the pleasure of the educational experience.

Therefore, the School offers extracurricular activities (ECAs) for students. The scope and variety of these activities may vary from year to year. Continuity is encouraged in the major areas of extracurricular activity (e.g. student publications, dramatics, athletics, and the arts).

Our Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA) programme includes a scheduled period after school for children in kindergarten and older, beginning at 15:20 each day. Activities may run for thirty to ninety minutes depending on the activity and the age of the student. The School also offers a Saturday programme as part of our ECA offerings.

Inter-school sports events are actively encouraged, with both local schools and other international schools abroad.

As an extension of the curriculum at all grade levels, students are also encouraged to become involved in community service activities. The School develops links with local community organisations that can facilitate this involvement.

Parents are welcomed and encouraged to join in activities that support the educational and extracurricular goals of PSI and to share ideas that have been successful in any of their previous schools  All instruction must be in English. Any parent who has special skills to offer and is willing to organise an after-school activity can contact the ECA Coordinator ( eca@psi.kiev.ua ).

All activities are included in school fees, including those that are run by outside providers.

Students who are absent from school for any reason may not attend their ECAs on that day. Students who consistently skip an activity for which they have signed up may be dropped to make a place for another child who has been waitlisted. Students who choose to go home instead of attending their ECA need to complete a check out form just as they do when leaving school early for any other reason.

All up-to-date information on ECAs can be found on the PSI website. You can also log into the MyPSI Portal and go to the tab for After School and Saturday Activities.

ECA Cancellations

If any activities are cancelled on a daily basis due to poor weather conditions, a city-wide emergency, or other unpredicted issues, parents are informed by email and our emergency SMS system.

There are specific times when we do not run our ECA programmes due to public holidays or school-wide events. These are planned ahead and are part of the published dates for each season. ECAs are cancelled at the following times:

• When there is a major event in the gym or auditorium requiring additional setup or cleaning;

• When Primary or Secondary classes are cancelled, both divisions cancel ECAs to accommodate buses and pickup arrangements;

• When there is an official public holiday on any weekday, as shown on the PSI calendar;

• The day before we break for official school holidays in October, December, February and April / May.

Please note:

• ECAs are not cancelled on the Friday before a long holiday weekend (i.e., a Monday public holiday).

• When ECAs are cancelled, special arrangements (including use of the school bus) are made for city-wide sports events to continue. These are communicated separately to the families involved.

Super Saturday Sports Cancellations

Saturday activities are cancelled:

• When there is a major event in the gym or auditorium on Friday or Saturday requiring additional setup or cleaning

• When there is an official public holiday on a Saturday (as indicated on the PSI calendar)

• When there is a long weekend (i.e., a public holiday on Friday or Monday)

• On a Saturday when we break for official school holidays in October, December, February and April / May, and during those holiday periods

NOTE: Super Saturday Sports are not cancelled when we have a pupil free day on a Friday.

C. How Do I Find Out What’s Happening Throughout The Year?

One Page School Calendar

The School publishes a one-page calendar each spring that includes all holiday breaks. It’s available on the PSI website and the last page of this document.

School Events Calendar

A PSI Events Calendar provides information about school-wide events. It is updated regularly on the PSI website.

Dates and details of events for approval must be presented to the appropriate principal as early as possible ahead of the event to be added to the calendar. No additions or alterations may be made to the calendar without prior consultation and administrative approval.

PSI students enjoy some watery fun during the annual summer picnic sponsored by the PTA.

D. How Important Is Daily Attendance?

Daily attendance and punctuality are critically important to academic and personal success at PSI.

Board Attendance Policy

Regular school attendance is mandatory and essential to student learning and development. Details of the PSI attendance protocols are available in the PSI Parent and Student Handbook. Failure to adhere to the attendance protocols may result in further consequences as outlined in the School’s attendance protocols, outlined below.

Ukrainian Law Regarding Attendance

This is the summary of legislation from the Cabinet of Ministers 13 September, 2017 N684, Point 13:

Parents or guardians must provide a medical certificate of health or written explanation for every absence.

Schools must provide the names of children who miss 10 working days in a row for unknown or invalid reasons to the National Police and the Service for Children as part of the school’s responsibility to protect the rights of all children to receive an education.

Why We Value Attendance

Research clearly states that students who attend school regularly are much more likely to succeed academically ( greatschools.org ). Daily attendance also supports students’ social and emotional growth, helps them build relationships with peers, and increases their self confidence.

As an IB World School using an inquiry-based model, students cannot learn what they need simply by completing homework or making up tests. They need to participate in the discussions and activities that are part of learning at PSI.

Finally, daily attendance is an important part of each child’s ‘citizenship’ in the PSI community. They attend school not just to learn from other children, but so that other children can learn from them.

Attendance Protocols

Please note that protocols apply to both Primary and Secondary unless otherwise noted.

Parent and School Responsibilities

Tardy Protocols

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR LATE WORK (Secondary)

E. How Does The School Assign Homework?

Meaningful, regularly assigned homework is used for varying purposes depending upon grade level. The school views homework as an important link between home and school. It is assigned to make the student increasingly responsible for scheduling and completing their work independently. Homework can also help students reinforce what they learn in class, master their skills, and develop individual interests. Homework should never be ‘busy work,’ but should be a learning activity that increases in complexity as the student progresses from grade to grade. Homework is not used as a form of punishment.

As a general rule, teachers assign homework on a ‘10 minutes X grade level’ approach. This means that a fifth grader could expect about 50 minutes of homeroom a night, with a ninth grader averaging about 90 minutes nightly. It is important to note that second-language English speakers may take longer to complete assignments, and that the time is not always evenly spaced, so that students may have more homework some weeks than other weeks. IB Diploma students should expect 2 - 3 hours of work to be completed outside the school day.

F. How Does The School Manage Field Trips And Other Off-campus Activities?

PSI authorises and encourages educational visits as part of student learning. The School considers relevant and related educational excursions to be of vital importance to the enrichment of the instructional programme. This includes field trips in the city, visits to special events or performances, and the Secondary School’s annual Week without Walls. Classroom teachers organise these excursions as a regular part of the curriculum. See page 60 for more information about how the School maintains safety and security on these trips.