7.1. MEDICAL

ISB considers the health and safety of its students and faculty of vital importance. The school has a full-time, fully accredited School Physician on staff, as well as a number of staff members who have been trained in basic first aid and CPR.  

The duties of the School Physician include providing immediate care for students who fall ill or are injured at school. In more serious emergency conditions, the School Physician contacts parents/guardians via phone, guides them, and performs the emergency first aid which is in the best interest of the student’s health. The School Physician also communicates regularly with the entire school community about health issues through letters in the Dragon Dispatch and via e/mail sent from the Health Office on a needs basis.

Screenings for hearing, scoliosis, and vision, as well as head lice, when required (usually during the winter period), are conducted at the school health office. After any screening has been conducted, the School Physician informs parents of that grade level about any recommendations that can be followed up and taken care of.

The School Physician also liaises regularly with health care professionals throughout Belgrade regarding issues of local concern and sends relevant information to the ISB community. The School Physician is the Emergency Response Team coordinator and, in conjunction with the administration, makes recommendations concerning injury prevention. The School Physician is included as a resource person in the International Baccalaureate PYP and MYP Programs through Health education of our students, staff, and parents.

Additional Health Office Information

• The school does not normally take the responsibility for administering medicine to children, and it should not be brought into school. In exceptional circumstances, the School Physician may take charge of this. Written agreement from a parent and clear instructions on its use from a doctor are required.

• If a child’s condition has been disrupted by symptoms of illness and the child needs to go home, parents will be contacted. If, in an emergency, we cannot contact anyone at home or the emergency contact person, the child will be taken directly to the nearest appropriate hospital accompanied by the school staff.

• A child recovering from illness should return to school as advised by a child’s doctor and well enough to participate in a full school day, including recess and P.E. lessons per doctor’s recommendation.

• ISB COVID protocols

• Families may access and review ISB's Health Manual for Parents in the Parental Portal

• Health Office working hours: 7:45 am – 3:45 pm or 4:15 pm during ASA

• Contact Numbers: 011/206-9913, 062/8056-108; e-mail: lbalos@isb.rs

7.3. COUNSELING

At the International School of Belgrade, the school counseling team aims to support students' well-being and socio-emotional and multicultural competencies in a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment. As members of the Student Support Services Team, the counselors promote collaborative partnerships between ISB families, teachers, and the overall community to respond to each student’s needs.

In order to support students to succeed in achieving their own personal goals and to prepare them to solve problems as they come along, the counseling team offers a variety of services, including individual and group counseling, parent and teacher consultations, as well as whole classroom information sessions and workshops when appropriate. Although the nature of the counseling sessions is confidential, all ongoing counseling services are communicated to the parents to ensure partnership in supporting ISB learners. The counseling team also offers a series of parent coffee mornings each year to connect with families on a variety of relevant topics. 

As part of their regular support of the whole ISB community, school counselors schedule a variety of routine check-ins with different students to discuss general topics related to their well-being. When ongoing school counseling services are required beyond a check-in, these are communicated to parents to ensure partnership in supporting ISB learners. The nature of the individual school counseling sessions is confidential.

The school counselors’ main goals are:

• Honoring the strengths of each student and creating an environment where students can share and explore their interests, cultural values, and emotions.

• Promoting problem-solving skills and resiliency for students to become active agents of their own lives. 

• Working with the wider ISB community, creating bridges of communication that ultimately benefit students.

• Collaborating in the identification, referral, and support of students who require specialized services to ensure their social-emotional well-being and academic growth.

The lower school counselor supports students and their families in enhancing their social-emotional development and learning. Students at ISB are continuously encouraged to look through the Primary Years Program (PYP) lens of inquiry to help them discover how their decisions impact their own well-being, the people they know, and their environment. Collaboration with families and teachers is at the heart of support provided to the ISB learners.

Through a team-based approach, the middle school counseling program supports the objectives of the Middle Years Program (MYP) by helping students become respectful and enthusiastic lifelong learners and promoting students’ decision-making skills toward success. The counselor also helps students navigate the complexities of the early teenage years by focusing on students’ self-awareness and self-regulation skills, as well as embracing mistakes as an inherent part of their growth journey. 

At the high school level, the counselor assumes two responsibilities: social-emotional support and university counseling with the goal of supporting students in becoming self-reflective, academically successful, healthy, and responsible young adults. To ensure quality support, the counselor regularly meets with teachers to keep track of students’ academic, social, and emotional progress. The counselor also pushes into homerooms on a regular basis to deliver important information that is relevant to each grade level. 

The high school counselor is an invaluable component of ISB, a college-preparatory school with an emphasis on academic excellence through the IB Diploma Program. The university counseling trajectory begins for our students in Grade 9 and follows a strategic continuum, gaining depth and scope through Grades 10 and 11. The program culminates in the university application process during Grade 12. The process is facilitated by the counselor, whose responsibilities include, but are not limited to, encouraging students to self-reflect, teaching students how to research, and finally, supporting students throughout the university application process.

As an inclusive school, ISB cherishes every individual and prides itself on understanding that each student and their trajectory is different. Therefore, we make sure to inform students and parents of a vast array of post-secondary options. The journey is different for everyone, and ISB strives to ensure that every student is supported on their pathway to the future.

7.4. EAL

ISB embraces the IB concept of an international education that promotes intercultural understanding and “the ability to communicate in a variety of modes in more than one language.” The rich development of language and literacy for all learners is an essential element of all three IB programs at ISB.

ISB recognizes that language acquisition and development play a crucial role in each student’s personal development. In addition to promoting cognitive growth, language is an important factor in sustaining a student's cultural identity and intercultural understanding. English is the language of instruction at ISB and, therefore, has priority in the school's language program.

In order to enable all students in the school to access the curriculum in a manner that allows them to benefit fully from their education and to reach their full potential, ISB provides a comprehensive English as an Additional Language (EAL) program. Learning a second language is a developmental process that occurs over a number of years. Developing basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) can take up to two years, while the more demanding cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP), the level of English language competence required to have adequate access to the mainstream curriculum, can take up to seven years to fully develop. For this reason, ISB considers EAL to be a long-term commitment.