primary MR

By law, every school in the Netherlands is linked with a medezeggenschrapsraad (MR). This is a participation council, where elected representatives of teachers, students and their parents are consulted by the school management over matters concerning the management of the school. As prescribed by law, there are separate MR’s for the Secondary and Primary sections of the school.

The MR holds, according to legislation, two types of rights: the right of advice (adviesrecht) and the right of approval (instemmingrecht).  Matters in which either right can be used are specified. 

The MR’s are regulated by the Wet medezeggenschap op scholen legislation of 1992 and 2007.

Please note that a copy of the MR minutes, once approved, are put under the protected portal. To obtain login details please contact the primary school office.

A Standard MR Agenda Framework

1. Minutes of previous meetings

2. Action list - file was sent with my previous mail 

3. Headteacher’s Report (events, developments, issues)

4. Principals’ Report

5. Specific issues such as financial report, admissions update etc.

6. Items from the Stichting Rijnlands Lyceum

7. Issues from the staff

8. Issues from the parents

9. Any other business

10. Planning next meeting(s)

introducing our primary MR members

Chair – Cornelius Kruijsse

I am Dutch by birth and husband of my German wife Roswitha. We have three children, the two youngest attending the ISH primary and our oldest son, attending the ISH secondary. We have been living in the Netherlands since September 2005.

Our children were born in Germany and Hong Kong and have been attending international primary schools in those countries prior to our arrival in the Netherlands.

In both international schools I have been fortunate to be part of the governing bodies (board of directors and board of governors) as a chosen parent representative.

As a parent, I have an obvious interest in the education of my children but I am also passionate about the development of our school. I would like the school to benefit from my former experiences on governing bodies. I hope that, in my role as Chair of the MR, I can assist the school leadership in continuing to provide high quality education at our school.

ckruijsse@hotmail.com

Secretary – Dirk Dobbelaere

I am Dirk Dobbelaere, father of a child in Primary. Of Belgian nationality, we moved to the Netherlands early 2001 when I started working at the European Patent Office.

Thoroughly enjoying to live and work in a very international community, we really love the International School of The Hague: its truly international character, and the open mindedness towards other cultures, religions and colours this brings, is one of the main assets of the school and should be nourished at all times.

I strongly believe that this young school, with its brand-new site has a beautiful future in front, and I hope to be able to contribute in its development over the years to come. It is our intention indeed to establish a long-term relationship with the ISH, as our son will be able to carry on through ISH primary and secondary.

It is my express wish to be an available contact person for all parents, to whom they can voice their concerns and issues that they feel uncomfortable to address directly to the school staff. Next to that, given my work experience in the ICT domain, I also hope to be able to help advising the school for computer and information technology matters.

dirk.dobbelaere@mac.com

Parent Representative - Maarten Buijs

After having lived in Australia for the last 20 years, Margot and I have returned to Holland in early 2007. We have four children at ISH, three in Primary and one in Secondary School. I work in Rotterdam at West8, a consultancy for landscape architecture and urban design.

For our children the transition to their new school and a different country has been remarkably smooth. We believe this is largely due to the warm and welcoming atmosphere provided at their new school. The caring environment at ISH and the general acceptance and open mindedness towards cultural differences at the school provides for sound grounding of our children to become part of our increasingly international society.

Up to the time we left Australia, our children received regular primary school education. Also there, both Margot and I were active parents involved in the management of the school. I strongly believe that raising and educating children is the shared responsibility of parents and teachers. The school, the social realm where this education is provided, must be one where our children feel comfortable and safe and the teaching staff should to be given optimal facilities and conditions to help us educate our children. In this respect, as parents, we need to accommodate our children’s teachers to do their work well and we need to provide management and staff with feedback about our children’s needs and the school’s achievements. 

I am very pleased to have the chance to be actively involved in this process and I look forward to discussing with other parents, opportunities and avenues to further develop this school-parent partnership.

Teacher Representative – Rob Willis

I am South African by birth. I am married to a Dutch national and have two children. My daughter is presently studying at Delft Technical University and my son will begin a degree in business economics here in the Hague in September 2007.

I received all my teaching training and further study in South Africa. I taught in a number of state and private schools in South Africa before coming to the Netherlands. Since coming to this country I have taught in two International schools and have really enjoyed the experience and the change. The first was Eerde International School (1 year) and the second, the International School of the Hague (3 years, as year 6 teacher).

I was elected onto the MR as a staff representative two years ago. As a member of the MR I hope to be able to contribute towards the further development of the school so that it can provide the best of International Education and an amazing experience for the students that pass through our hands.

Teacher Representative - Kevin Curiston

I was born in a small town in Canada and arrived in The Netherlands in 1998. My wife is a teacher in a Dutch elementary school and we have two delightful daughters, age 5 and 3.

I trained as a teacher in my home province of Ontario and worked in my childhood elementary and secondary schools prior to moving to The Netherlands. My teaching career in this country began at another school within our Stichting, Het Rijnlands Lyceum Oegstgeest. During my 5 years at RLO, I taught History in the IBDP, IBMYP and TTO as well as all subjects in Year 7. With the expansion of ISH Primary to two streams in 2004 I jumped at the opportunity to return to primary education.

For me, ISHP has presented a unique career opportunity; the chance to influence the growth and development of a new school within such a diverse community. Every day presents both new opportunities and challenges. I find this creates an incredibly dynamic environment in which not only our children, but also our staff and school can develop to their full potential!

Teacher Representative – Pascale Hertay

I am a French speaking Belgian. I have lived in Belgium, in the United Arab Emirates and in Egypt before coming in The Netherlands where I have lived for 5 years. I have three children and my oldest one studied her last three secondary years at ISH.

I have taught children from 4 to 18 years old at national Belgian schools, a British oriented international school, an American school and I have worked in ISH primary since its foundation. Through my international experience I have worked as a primary teacher, a class assistant, a substitute teacher, a PE teacher, a French teacher and as head of a French department. I have worked in ISH Primary since its development. I have taught as a Reception and Y1 teacher before implementing and coordinating our MT programme. I am currently working as Curriculum Coordinator and Daily Operations.

On top of my school appointment, I joined the ECIS (European Council of International Schools) EAL and Mother Tongue committee last November and recently I became a member of the brand new International Primary Curriculum research group.

The ISH Primary having reached its full capacity we have now to consolidate our position as a reference for international education. We also have to strenghten our organisation, continue the development of our curriculum thorough the accreditation of our curriculum  and develop a continuity in the education we provide to our children from 4 to 18 years old!

In September 2007 I have been re-elected onto the MR as a staff representative for a second mandate. In this role I hope to support the primary through its second development phase.