FISO Upper School Information

Start of School

Thursday, 14 August - 8:32–15:10

Grades 6–12 - First day 

The First Day of School for Upper School Students

After arrival at school, students should go immediately to their advisory/homeroom indicated on the lists posted on bulletin boards in the hallways. Advisory/homeroom teachers will give students their schedules and instructions for the rest of the day.

Placement Testing for New Students

New students who have not yet completed necessary placement tests, will do so during their New Student Orientation day, either 07 or 08 August (please see below.) 

Students in need of English Language Acquisition (ELA) testing will be contacted by the Counseling Administrative Assistant, Patricia Striano. This is for students who do not have English as one of their home languages and/or have not completed at least five (5) years of schooling with English as the primary language of instruction.  ELA tests will take place the week beginning 4 August.  

• All students in Grades 8-12 will be tested in Mathematics.

• All students in grades 6-12 who are not beginners in the German language will be tested.  

• In addition, students will be tested if they wish to take French and/or Spanish and are not beginners in these languages.

Please note that the information regarding testing above is not for FISW transfers or Grade 5 students moving into Grade 6 in Upper School.  

Please call the Counseling Office on 06171 2024-369 if you have any questions. 

All New Students in Grades 6 –12

All new students entering Grades 6–12 will receive a Welcome Pack with information about course selection and contact to their Upper School counselor. If you have more questions, please call or email Patricia Striano at 06171 2024-369 patricia_striano@fis.edu. Alternatively, you may contact the respective counselor to schedule an appointment and/or online call.

New Student and Parent Orientation*

The orientation is an opportunity for new families and students to get to know the FIS campus and our community better. Parents and students will start the morning together in the Auditorium to meet with principals, counselors, and year heads to learn more about school-to-home communication and general school procedures. After the initial presentation, parents will remain in the Auditorium while new students meet with counselors and year heads to learn more about the school and to participate in fun activities. Placement testing will take place (if necessary) in the afternoons. Upon arrival, students will receive an individualized testing schedule. A more in-depth overview of the curriculum will be provided later in the school year at divisional parent forums. 

*Please note that this orientation is not for parents and students who attended FISO in Grade 5 or are transferring from FISW to FISO.

New Student and Parent Orientation

Grades 6 - 8   Thursday, 07 August 

• Parent & Student Coffee & Tea Reception from 8:30–9:00, FIS Auditorium Foyer

• Parents 9:00–11:00, Parents will meet with administration, counselors, and year heads who will share information relevant to the different Grade levels

• Students 9:30–14:30, Grade-level activities throughout the day with counselors, year heads and student helpers (lunch will be provided)

• Students 14:30–16:00, Placement testing (if required)

Grades 9 - 12   Friday, 08 August

• Parent & Student Coffee & Tea Reception 8:30–9:00, FIS Auditorium Foyer 

• Parents 9:00–11:00, Parents will meet with administration, counselors, and year heads who will share information relevant to the different Grade levels

• Students 9:30–14:30, Grade-level activities throughout the day with counselors, year heads and student helpers (lunch will be provided)

• Students 14:30–16:00, Placement testing (if required)

Arrival time 08:15 – 08:20

School begins 08:32

School ends 15:10

Bus departure 15:17

Parent pick-up 15:20

Homeroom/Advisory Lists

Homeroom/Advisory lists for Grades 6–12 students will be displayed in the Upper School Foyer on the first day of school.

ID Cards

New students will be taken to the TechDeck to have their photo taken and ID cards made.

School Bus Transportation

If your child(ren) will be using school transportation, a bus schedule will be sent to you in August to determine the bus stop nearest you, as well as the morning departure and afternoon return times. Please refer to the School Bus - Arranging Transport, which will provide you with more information about our  Flexible Bus Ticket and Late Bus services, which are available for all grades.

Parents bringing their children to the school: please follow the Traffic and Parking Procedure. If you have any questions, please contact the transportation office at transportation@fis.edu, or telephone: 06171 2024-466.

Food Services

Details of the school lunch prices can be found on the Lunch Services page on the FIS website.

For new families: The Food Services page detailing the cashless payment system and how to register can also be found here on the FIS website.

School Supplies for US Students

The FIS Campus Shop is located just inside the Upper School entrance to the right. All frequently required school supplies can be purchased here.

Opening Hours

Daily from 10:15 - 13:15

During the first meeting time of all classes, teachers will inform students of supplies required for each class. These may be purchased from the FIS Campus Shop or from local stationery shops.

Calculator Purchase

To facilitate the teaching of mathematics at FIS, we require that every student in Grades 8–12 has a calculator. In Grades 6 and 7, students use a simple 4-function calculator (teachers have class sets). In Grade 8, they use a scientific calculator, and in Grades 9–12 they use a graphic display calculator. In an attempt to standardize the teaching of calculators (since there are many different calculators and ways to operate them), we recommend that every Grade 9 student and every new student to the school in Grades 10–12 purchase the Casio FX CG50 graphic display calculator.

The scientific calculator Rebell SC2080S (Grades 6–8) costs €20, and the Casio FX CG50 (Grades 9–12) is sold for €115 at the campus shop. You can also pre-purchase the recommended calculator via a bank transfer at least one week before the beginning of school, and your child can collect their calculator at the campus shop on the first day of school. Late payments will need to be cleared first by school accounting before pickup is possible.

Please transfer the payment to:

Frankfurt International School

DE42 5008 0000 0709 9642 00

SWIFT/BIC:  DRESDEFFXXX

Please ensure the following is clearly written in the Purpose/Reference section of the transfer:

• full name of the student(s) and 

• G6–8 calculator or G9–12 calculator

• How many

1 to 1 Learning Program

Our 1-1 Learning Program is an integral part of your child’s education at Frankfurt International School. All students entering Grades 5–9 will need to bring an Apple MacBook laptop with OS Ventura or more recent OS with them on the first day of school. There are no specific requirements for the MacBook; we support all MacBook models and keyboard layouts. FIS has no specifications for the configuration of your laptop, but here are our guidelines to help you choose the right laptop for you:

• For Grades 5-9 (inclusive) students must have a MacBook as their laptop

• For Grades 10+ students have the option to either use a MacBook or a Windows laptop

A few notes regarding how students use their devices during school:

• Most schoolwork will be cloud-based (GSuite, Canvas, etc.)

• Most makes of laptop will provide a 12-month warranty which will cover any 'known issues', operating system issues, and some offer some help with hardware. Warranties do not cover drops, liquid spills, cracked screens, etc. Consider taking an extended warranty but check to see what this will cover.

• Apple offers AppleCare+ as an optional extra purchase to cover accidental damages

When choosing a MacBook:

• The Mac you choose must support all the security updates for the academic year. This means that for the academic year 25/26 it must support a minimum version of macOS Sonoma (macOS 15) or newer.

• A list of compatible devices can be found in this Apple article. Please note that recently released devices may not appear on the list but are still valid to purchase.

• For most students, the base model MacBook Air would be able to support their learning for multiple years.

• If Design Technology is a chosen subject, it is recommended that the device has at least 16GB of Unified Memory

When choosing a Windows device (Grade 10+):

• The laptop you choose must support Windows 11 to support security updates for the academic year 25/26

• A minimum of 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage

• If Design Technology is a chosen subject, consider getting a more powerful machine with a better processor.

Some optional accessories you may want to consider include:

• Headphones

• Protective carrying sleeve

• A silicone keyboard cover adds an extra security layer to guard against accidental liquid spills.

• External SSD for backup and archiving

• Port adapter (USBC to VGA, USBC to HDMi, etc.) – Depending on your model, you might need to hook it up to a projector or an interactive whiteboard to present.

FIS has a relationship with a local vendor, ergo sum Mainz, should you wish to take advantage of their competitive pricing.

If you need help making the right choice for your child, please contact support@fis.edu for further details and questions.

Here are the links to the Upper School handbooks:

Grades 9-12

Grades 6-8

US Principal (Grades 9–12)

John Switzer 06171 2024-368

US Assistant Principal (Grades 9 –12)

Ashley Van Der Meer 06171 2024-332

US Administrative Assistant (Grades 9 –12)

Peter Blaquière 06171 2024-462

Attendance/US Year Heads Assistant

Nicolette van Appeldoorn-de Jong 06171 2024-463

US Grades 9 –12 / Counseling 

Fax No. 06171 2024-411

US Counselor, Grades 9 –10

Zina Sawabini 06171 2024-367

US Counselor, Grades 11–12

Jessica Angelidis 06171 2024-372

Anna Boyd 06171 2024-370

Christopher Wilcox 06171 2024-371

US Counselor, Korean Community Liaison

JiYoung Yoo (Mon & Wed only) 06171 2024-425

US Counselors’ Administrative Assistant

Patricia Striano 06171 2024-369

US Librarian

Manatsu McCluskey 06171 2024-302

IBDP Coordinator

Julie Conley 06171 2024-430

Administrative Assistant US & IB Office

Petra Bennett 06171 2024 303

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

MS Principal (Grades 6–8)

Gioia Morasch 06171 2024-295

MS Assoc.Principal/Dean of Students

Andrew Chaplin 06171 2024-405

MS Administrative Assistant (Grades 6–8)

Isla Robertson 06171 2024-294

Sylvie Hawlitzky 06171 2024-446

MS Counselor, Grades 6–8 (L-Z)

Charlene Aspinwall 06171 2024-372

MS Counselor, Grades 6–8 (A-K)

Stephen Bogli 06171 2024-373

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nurses

Karen McEwan 06171 2024-242

Colleen Beck (Mon-Tues)

Esther van der Dejil

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Director of  IT Innovation

Ashley Bryant 06171 2024-283

Storytelling & Media Coordinator

Ilia Katulin 06171 2024-165

Media / Library Assistant

Alex Westcott 06171 2024-160

Director of IT Operations

Jeroen Callens 06171 2024-282

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Athletic Director

William Moncrief 06171 2024-406

Athletic Department Administrative Assistant

Samantha Case 06171 2024-407

Athletic Department Fax No. 06171 2024-403

Activities Director

Martha Boston-Majetić 06171 2024-497

Activities Department Administrative Assistant

Amanda Urbach 06171 2024-819

Newcomers to FIS – Important for our Database!

Please contact reception at info@fis.edu to confirm your personal data (address, phone numbers).