Parent Teacher Association
VIS PTA welcomes Peter Murphy
The Vienna International School Parent Teacher Association extends a warm welcome to our new director, Mr. Peter Murphy. Mr. Murphy has already been active at our first coffee mornings where he had an opportunity to address and meet with parents. We look forward to a year of fruitful cooperation between parents, teachers and management to support initiatives and projects for the benefit of our students.
Louise van der Geest - Chair of the VIS PTA
Download the November 2009 Newsletter (PDF)
Download the
October 2009 Newsletter (PDF)
Welcome Back Picnic
The weather man was smiling upon the VIS community for our annual Welcome Picnic.
Families enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn and drinks compliments of the PTA for a relaxed, informal afternoon of making new acquaintances and catching up with old friends.
Congratulations are due for the tasty, appetising array of savoury and sweet dishes donated by all our visitors. Thank you to PTA member Marijke van Liemt for organizing the donation of Pago fruit juices which were enjoyed by all. There was plenty of food and refreshments for everyone and our brand new barbeques were roasting until the early evening.
The day’s success was largely due to our team of CAS students coordinated by secondary school counsellor Constance George and Art teacher Helen Johnston. They manned the welcome desk, served Booster Club popcorn, displayed food donations, served coffee and soft drinks, helped with fun games on the sports field and organized arts and craft activities as well as a disco!
There were also many parent and teacher volunteers supervising the activities who contributed to making the day another successful PTA event.
August 2009
Newsletter
As the bell rings for the kick-off of the new school year, I would like to wish a warm welcome and a great start to all our students, teachers and parents on behalf of the PTA. It was wonderful to see so many eager faces at the information mornings for new families last week.
With the assistance of our Student Ambassadors, organized by secondary counsellor Constance George, the new students were guided around school and given information that will be invaluable during this exciting time of adjustment to life as a VIS student.
During the summer break, many new families already made contact with families in our community of a similar national or linguistic background through the “buddy” system introduced by our Parent Coordinater Marijke van Liemt. If you have not yet made contact and would like to be introduced to a buddy family, please get in touch with Marijke on newparent@visstudent.com, and fill out the Buddy Family Form.
Our first coffee mornings will take place next week on Wednesday 2nd September for Primary parents, and Friday 4th September for Secondary parents at 8:30 in the dining room.
At our first regular monthly coffee morning scheduled for 18th September information will be provided about the activities of the PTA. I hope you will be able to attend this social event to meet some key staff members and enjoy refreshments provided by the PTA and Gourmet Catering.
Please mark September 19th on your calendars when our traditional PTA Welcome Picnic will take place. The PTA will provide hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks and we ask families to bring along a sweet or savoury dish. Please return the form to indicate your attendance by next Friday 4th September.
I wish you all the best as we embark on a new school year and look forward to working together on community projects to make VIS the best place possible for our children to be growing up. Louise van der Geest PTA Chair
Louise van der Geest - PTA Chair
Download the PTA Annual Report 2007 - 2008 (PDF)
February 2009 - PTA update
The theme of our PTA coffee morning in January was No Name Calling Week. Parents were treated to a creative presentation by student mentors under the guidance of our secondary school counsellor Constance George. They performed songs, poems and stories to illustrate the various forms of bullying that students may be subjected to and ways of dealing with the situation from a student perspective. A lively discussion followed in which parents enquired as to school policy on bullying and the role of student mentors. Our secondary students displayed maturity and eloquence beyond their years in responding to parents’ questions. The focus was mainly on secondary school, and it was decided that the debate should continue at our February coffee morning centred on primary school with input from school management as to policies for handling these very difficult issues. We invite anyone interested in this subject to join us at our next coffee morning on February 27th.
I am pleased to announce that the PTA is supporting the initiative of some talented staff members in organizing a Gala Concert to celebrate 30 years of VIS. Last week I met with Susan Ali and Chadwick Williams who are professional singers, voice teachers and teachers at our school to plan the concert. It was an exciting meeting with many ideas for what promises to be an unforgettable evening. Please mark your calendars for 19th March and don’t miss out on the fun! In December the PTA donated 3,000 Euros to primary school to enable every class to choose toys to play with during indoor wet weather playtimes. In January the committee offered to purchase prizes for a creative expression contest launched as part of No Name Calling Week. It is very satisfying to see funds that have been raised by PTA supporters being reinvested for the benefit of our children. I wish everyone a happy and relaxing February break and look forward to continuing our work in the second semester to support our students and bring the VIS community closer together.
Louise van der Geest - Chair of the VIS PTA
Welcome to Vienna International School Parent Teacher Association (VISPTA).
If you are a parent/legal guardian of a student at VIS or a member of the teaching faculty, you are automatically a member of VISPTA. Our aim is to promote good communication between parents and teachers and provide volunteer services to support the activities of the school community.
The VISPTA elects an Executive Committee with a maximum membership of 25 parents and teachers who plan and organize fundraising and social events and activities. Our main fundraisers are the summer and winter bazaars, the Sports Booster Club and the PTA Shop. The PTA donates funds to a variety of school activities such as our sports teams and equipment, visiting storytellers and authors and secondary school fashion gala.
Our social events include the welcome picnic, bingo afternoon, holiday door challenge, parent coffee mornings and sports dinner. The PTA enhances communication through the VIS NEWS, the parent grade coordinator/buddy system and the publication of our school telephone directory.
VISPTA makes a valuable and important contribution to the promotion of community spirit within the school with the aim of enriching life of the school.
Louise van der Geest - Chair of the VIS PTA
