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What Makes a Great Teacher – part 1

Gregor Prajs
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What Makes a Great Teacher – part 1

Numerous studies have shown that great teachers are significant in children’s lives and that they have an essential role in determining the quality of their childhood and their lives. They have one of the most complicated jobs today – providing quality education with a broad knowledge of different matters, knowing classroom management techniques as well as being caring, enthusiastic and passionate at the same time. A great teacher’s job is not just a job; it’s a calling that will make you want to give everything you’ve got. But what does that mean, and what are the characteristics of a great teacher?

A great teacher will create a positive and warm environment

The classroom is a small community with different rules and jobs for everyone, and every child should be aware of how important he/she is to this community. Everyone should be allowed to make mistakes and to learn from it, and every child should be celebrated for their achievements. Every student should be respected, and students should respect their teacher.

A great teacher is organized and well prepared

Teachers should come early to their classrooms and be the last to leave. A good organization that leaves nothing to chance makes a great teacher. They have classes well organized, and everyone knows where everything is. Supplies are ready to help students with anything they need at any given moment – they might forget something such as a pencil, there should be a spare one, you’re learning about multiplication, and there should be posters with the rules on the walls.

A great teacher has high expectations for every student

A great teacher will have high hopes for every student without pressuring them. Every child has their own learning pace, and a great teacher understands that. Teachers shouldn’t get frustrated and give up on underachievers. They should keep in mind that not everyone is good at everything. Otherwise, all teachers would be great, and there wouldn’t be any mediocre ones out there.

A great teacher will collaborate with colleagues

It takes a village, right? There’s nothing wrong with asking for help if the help is needed, and every school has so many experts in different areas. A great teacher will use that fact and even include them in a class for some lectures. That kind of small change can impact the classroom’s tempo and atmosphere.

There are many different things that a teacher can do to improve, and these are just some of them. The important thing is not to give up. Teachers need learning too.

How To Reduce School Zone Traffic Congestion

Gregor Prajs
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How To Reduce School Zone Traffic Congestion

The definition of school-related traffic congestion is as the overcrowding and blocking off streets on or near school property that is typically associated with car transportation of children to and from school.

School traffic congestion

Congestion around schools often creates speeding, reckless driving, and traffic violation in the broader vicinity, as frustrated parents and commuters try to make up for lost time associated with the congestion.

  • stressed driver3
  • stressed driver2
  • stressed driver4
  • stressed driver1

Education on alternative means of transport

One of the best ways to ease traffic is to reduce the number of vehicles that converge at school during the opening and closing times. Parents state traffic hazards, time constraints, distance, and stormy weather as reasons for transporting their children to school.

Parents have to be educated about the alternate modes of transport their child can use. They should be aware of the role they have in reducing congestion and increasing student safety.

We should present the benefits of walking or cycling to school with parents and students. Health and environmental impact should also be incorporated into the curriculum. Students should understand the concept and be encouraged to walk.

  • As an example, the school can reward them with a point system. The school can reward them with a point system. Students can join walking school bus programs where an adult escorts a group of children along a pre-determined route to school. Children living within walking distance of the school can avail of this method, which keeps pedestrian safety in mind.

Getting more students walking and biking to school isn’t just about nostalgia for the days when students walked 15 kilometres uphill to school — both ways. It could have widespread benefits for students and for communities.

One bus can replace up to 38 cars

1 bus can replace 30 cars picture

The school bus is the best option for students who live further away from school. Studies show that an approximate number of 38 vehicles are required to transport an average busload of 45 children. Excellent school bus services, as already exists in Luxembourg 2 school, can reduce traffic congestion at school access points as well as on the roads.

ATSEEE joins APEEEL2 request

Letter sent to school director regarding the traffic problem in Mamer school:

Dear Directors,

ATSEEE supports and enters this request for urgent changes in access to the school. I would also like to point out that:

  • Just this week, ATSEEE had to advance departure times for many buses because of late arrivals. As a result, we receive a lot of complaints from parents why children have to get up early and experience longer travel times because cars are preventing access for buses. They also informed us that because of that they might soon prefer to drive children to the school by themselves, which would increase the number of cars even further and slows down buses even more.  We are in a downward spiral, and unless there is a quick cut, nobody will use buses anymore.
  • Longer travel times and more traffic means buses will get more expensive, and ATSEEE will have to increase prices, which would directly affect all Institutions.

ATSEEE and I personally would be happy to help in finding the most appropriate solution.

Thank you and kind regards,

Gregor Prajs

ATSEEE President

Traffic collapse in Mamer school

Gregor Prajs
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Traffic collapse in Mamer school

The traffic situation in European school Luxembourg 2 is deteriorating rapidly. More and more cars are driving there and school buses are blocked and late because of that.

traffic jam

Solution has to be found urgently. That is why APEEEL2 sent an email to the directors of Mamer school.

Dear Directors,

We draw your attention to the fact this year, we noticed a deterioration in the school bus arrival time in the morning. In the attached document, you can easily compare arrival times of buses this year and arrival times of buses last year at the same period in the year 

These past weeks, more than 50% of the school buses arrived late in the morning. I won’t explain here the consequences for the school, you know them better than us. The problem is known, buses are blocked in the traffic around the school.

arrival of buses in Mamer
Bus arrivals 2018-2019
Arrivals of the buses school year 2018-2019

To avoid being late for the first lesson, many pupils request their parents to drive them to school instead of coming by bus which only makes things worse. This is a vicious circle.

We all know there is a project in the pipeline from MDDI to improve the situation but we confirm that in APEEEL2, all our emails and requests sent to MDDI to get more information or to be involved in the project remain to be answered. Every year, we are complaining, every year MDDI gave us very little information and details to reassure us they are working on our project but every year, nothing changed except that the situation on-site is getting worse.

Should we keep silent as we did for the past 5 years until the MDDI will one day give us concrete information about this project?

When we noticed this huge delays, APEEEL2 and ATSEEE took some measures to start some bus time scheduling a bit earlier when this is feasible but we don’t consider fair to punish pupils who are coming by bus by asking them to wake up earlier because pupils coming by car prevent them from being on time. We would like to continue our work with the school and teachers to promote the use of public transport (especially in the sustainability context) with pupils but how can we do this if pupils arrived late at school when they are coming by bus?

There was a debate at our last APEEEL2 management committee about the possibility to block parents’ cars from coming to school between 8:15 and 8:45. Parents who would like to come by car should then arrive at the school before 8:15. We consider this discussion should be done also with the school and we request to have a point about school access on the agenda of the next School Advisory Council in November.

We would also appreciate a full collaboration and full support on this question from the school management in the discussions with MDDI, we consider APEEEL2 and the school management should join their efforts on this topic like it used to be in the past: for example, copy systematically APEEEL2 in received and sent emails to MDDI, keep APEEEL2 informed in advance of topics added by the school on CALUX agenda meeting where APEEEL2 is not allowed to attend.

Many thanks for your consideration,

Kind regards

11 cases of measles in Mamer school

Gregor Prajs
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11 cases of measles in Mamer school

School administration reported 11 cases of measles by today. Unfortunately, they still don’t understand that this information should reach the parents as soon as possible. Instead, they are sending out useless communication with no substance like the one from Maria KALFOPOULOU on Friday.

The measles virus is one of the most infectious diseases known to man. A person with measles can cough in a room and leave, and hours later, if you’re not vaccinated, you could catch the virus from the droplets in the air the infected person left behind.

According to statistics in an unvaccinated population, one person with measles can infect 12 to 18 others.

Disease typically strikes children. After an incubation period of 10 to 12 days, measles comes on like a fever, cough, stuffy nose, and bloodshot and watery eyes. Loss of appetite and malaise are common too. Several days after these initial symptoms, an uncomfortable spotty rash begins to spread all over the body, starting on the face and neck and moving downward. The rash usually lasts for three to five days and then fades away.

In uncomplicated cases, people who get measles start to recover as soon as the rash appears and feel back to normal in about two to three weeks.
But up to 40 per cent of patients have complications from the virus.

But up to 40 per cent of patients have complications from the virus. These usually occur in the very young (children under five). It also occurs in adults over 20, and in anybody else who is immunocompromised. Children under 5 have the highest probability of death.

Health Department in Luxembourg, is expecting around 20 cases of measles in our school.

Stay safe.

Will Giancarlo Marcheggiano destroy European schools in Luxembourg?

Gregor Prajs
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Will Giancarlo Marcheggiano destroy European schools in Luxembourg?

Secretary-general of European school Giancarlo Marcheggiano doesn’t recognise the danger both European schools in Luxembourg are facing.

The Parents’ Associations of the European Schools Luxembourg I and II have been alerting the Office of the Secretary-General for the past 5 years about the critical staffing situation in our schools. This situation arises due to the rapid expansion of Accredited Schools and other schools offering English, French, and German sections within the confined area of Luxembourg.

The continuous growth in the number of schools has put immense strain on the available teaching staff, leading to an insufficient teacher-to-student ratio. Despite the repeated efforts of the Parents’ Associations, no significant action has been taken to address this issue. As a result, students are facing overcrowded classrooms and limited access to quality education. It is imperative that immediate measures are taken to allocate more resources and hire additional qualified teachers to ensure the optimal learning environment for all students in Luxembourg’s European Schools.

Sign the petition

Luxembourg is the European country with the highest teacher salaries and standard of living. These factors pose two main problems for Lux1 and Lux2:
It is becoming/has become increasingly difficult for the two schools to attract and retain locally recruited teachers given that the salary and contractual conditions are less favourable when compared to those in other schools in Luxembourg.

It has become increasingly difficult to attract seconded teachers (for example from countries such as Denmark and Germany) given that the difference between the salary in the home country and that in Luxembourg is not at a level which allows for a decent living in Luxembourg.

In December 2017, the Parents Associations had a meeting with the European Commissioner responsible for budget and human resources, Commissioner Oettinger. The problems mentioned above were discussed during this meeting. A summit on the matter was held in 2018 on the initiative of Commissioner Oettinger and a working group to delve further into the matter was created as a result. APEEEL1 and APEEEL2, together with the directors of Lux1 and Lux2, put together a detailed report on the critical staffing situation at the two European Schools in Luxembourg. A set of proposals aimed at making the European Schools more attractive to teachers was presented to the Board of Governors in December 2018.

As a result of intense discussions, the working group was asked to prepare a set of concrete proposals ahead of the April 2019 Board of Governors meeting.
Both Parents’ Associations, APEEEL1 and APEEEL2, support the concrete proposals made by the working group in full. These proposals, however, have a considerable financial impact and a real risk exists that they will be partially or totally rejected.
It is with a view to do all that is within our power that we are asking all the parents of our two schools to sign this petition in support of the proposals which will be up for discussion and approval at the Board of Governors meeting taking place on 9-12 April.

The proposals are the following:

  • To put in place an “additional special allowance” of a fixed amount for seconded teachers
  • To modify the regulations for seconded staff to allow prolongation of the maximum duration of their contract by 3 years (rather than 1 year as is currently the case) in exceptional cases
  • To align the salary of locally recruited staff to the current salary in place for staff in the national public schools
  • To allow schools the possibility of offering indefinite contracts from the start (with a probation period of 1 year)
  • To create a number of “protected” posts which will not be published for secondment for functions which require English native speakers
  • To create « ‘middle management functions » open to locally recruited teachers

We are convinced that these measures will be beneficial for the two schools and would like to give our directors the support needed to retain qualified and experienced teachers at Lux1 and Lux2, whilst also ensuring they have the means to recruit new teachers as necessary. Many teachers have already left our system and adopting measures to stop this trend is a now or never affair!

If you are willing to support this petition, please add your signature before April 4! We depend on the support of you ALL!

Sign the petition

Please note that link to the petion is disabled since petition is closed.

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