Dear Students, Parents and Staff
Another year for the school has flashed by, our fourth in fact, and there are so many things to look back on and be proud of the 2018/19 School year.
As a school we have grown quickly, from 202 students in 2015 to 515 students this year, we will grow with one more class overall in the 2019/20 school year, and I feel extremely confident and excited what lies ahead for next year too.
In a situation of teacher shortages across Sweden, I feel very privileged and proud to work with the best here at IES Umeå. Teachers striving to give the best education to our students, and going above and beyond, really embracing the IES ethos.
We have been working a lot in the Spring Term in preparation for the 2019/20 school year, looking at strengthening our routines and structure to ensure we are the best school, not only here in Umeå, but in the whole of Sweden, that is our goal. In August, we will mainly welcome new students in Year 3 and Year 4, and a few students in other year groups too. We are looking forward to welcoming you all to the IES Umeå family.
It's always a strange time of year, both happy and sad, as we prepare to say goodbye to our Year 9s on Wednesday June 12th at Idun (Folkets Hus) from 17:15 to 18:30. We wish our Year 9s lots of success in their next steps in life, and we will remember the contribution you have all made to our school, we will miss you.
Similar to last year, space is limited at Idun, so we request that Years 3-8 parents only come if absolutely necessary, or if you've never seen our graduation, you are warmly invited. I know that this doesn't sound nice, but it is a question of space, and the last two years has seen parents having to stand at the back, and this is not always so nice for over an hour. Students of Year 9 will all receive 2 VIP (Very Important Parent) tickets for seating near to the stage, so that they can take photos of their child when they receive their Diplomas and stand on stage for the passing of the knowledge.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone, students, staff and parents a very happy and safe Summer holiday, and we look forward to meeting everyone on Friday August 16th 2019 for our first day of school at the following times:
Year 3: 08:15 (until 13:30)
Year 4: 08:15 (until 13:15)
Year 5 & Year 6: 09:30 (until 13:00)
Years 7, 8 & 9: 10:15 (until 12:30)
Lunch will be served this first day for everyone.
One other important thing to note, is that school will begin at 08:15 everyday next year for most students. We have mapped the students arrival times, particularly those travelling from Robertsfors and beyond, and there doesn't seem to be any problems with this slightly earlier start time, it also enables us to finish earlier too, where we can. There will be slightly staggered starting times for some classes, and as always, over the summer we will send home, via Parents emails, which class the students are in, and a copy of their preliminary schedules.
Thank you once again to everyone for fantastic school year.
