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Calendar of events

Every school year, the school organises activities for theme week, well-being day, sports day , important international and European days such as Children's Rights Day, Europe Day and European Languages Day, etc.

As an international school with children from many different backgrounds, the school also celebrates a range of different cultural and religious days, such as Diwali, Christmas, Fastelavn and Halloween. The celebration of these cultural and religious days is a good opportunity for the children to share their traditions and to foster cultural understanding.

School activities are entered in the calendar on Aula. The class teachers also send out information to the parents and students in advance of important activities and events.

Calendar of events

School activities are entered in the calendar on Aula. The class teachers also send out information to the parents and students in advance of important activities and events.

Canteen

The school’s canteen is located on the ground floor. See further information under Lunch and Culinary School. (see below).

CAPEEA

Coordination des Associations de Parents des Ecoles Européennes Agréées (Coordination of Accredited European Schools Parents Associations) is the umbrella association for the Parent Associations of the Accredited European Schools (AES).

Career guidance

See Study guidance and student counselling.

Caretaker

See Technical staff.

Change of contact information

It's very important that parents, staff and students keep their contact information up to date on Aula so the school can reach emergency contacts if required.

To update your contact information in Aula, please follow these simple steps:

Click on the initials in the top navigation bar
Select contact information
Click the pencil to edit
Save the changes

Children's Rights Day

The school celebrates Childrens' Rights Day every year on 20th November to bring attention to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The school is currently in the process of becoming a Unicef Rettighedsskole (Rights School), where teachers, students and the whole school community learn about children's rights and put them into practice.

See more information under Rights School.

Choir

Choir was planned to start up in 2020/21, but was cancelled due to COVID. We plan to start up choir in each department from September 2021. The choir is a voluntary extra-curricular activity offered by the school.

Christmas Craft Day

Each year, at the end of November or the beginning of December, the teachers organise a Christmas Craft Day, where all the students create festive decorations and decorate the classes and hallways in advance of the holiday season.

Christmas party/concert with the parents

Each year, the school invites the parents to an afternoon Christmas Party. The event traditionally includes a Lucia parade and a concert performed by the students.

Details are posted on the school calendar and notice board on Aula.

Class names

Class names generally consist of a letter followed by a number, then two letters (except Nursery classes, which just start with the number 0).

The letter at the beginning of the class name indicates the educational cycle:

P for Primary School.
S for Secondary School.

The number indicates the year level.

There is one year of Nursery class, also known as grade 0
There are five Primary grade levels - P1-P5
There are seven Secondary grade levels - S1-S7.

The two letters at the end of the class name indicate the language section:

EN for English language section
DA for Danish language section (where there is more than one Danish class, one is called DA and the other is called DB)
FR for French language section

> List of classes in the 2020/21 school year

> Comparison with other school systems

Class lists

Class lists can be found on Aula. Parents and students can only access information for their own class. In the Aula settings, parents can decide how much information the other parents are allowed to see.

Class meetings

Also known as Parents meetings.

Classrooms

In Primary, each class has its own classroom in the Primary wing of the school building. The doors to the classrooms open at 8 a.m. every day and are locked at the end of each lesson.

In Secondary, the students attend classes in the Secondary wing of the school building.The secondary students don’t have a classroom as such. Students in Secondary can visit 3-4 different classrooms in a day as they go to different language rooms, science labs, etc. and are often mixed with students from the other language sections.

Class teachers

In Primary, each of the classes have a class teacher. The class teacher has the special task of following the students in a class especially close and coordinating the educational and social considerations in relation to the individual student and the class as a whole. As a general rules, class teachers can stay with the same class for up to two years.

In Secondary, the students are a part of a class but not in the same sense as in Primary as they have many lessons in different classrooms with different teachers depending on their language and subject choices. However, each class, still has a teacher who is designated "classroom teacher" and is responsible for the overall coordination of the educational and social well-being in the class.

Cleaning

The school is cleaned every day by the school's cleaning staff, but keeping the school tidy and in good condition is a shared responsibilty. Anyone who uses the school's facilities has an obligation to tidy up after themselves.

See more information under Damage to school property.

Clothing

There is no specific dress code or uniform at the European School Copenhagen. However, the clothing should be appropriate for the weather and should adhere to our values, e.g. not include offensive/inappropriate language. For safety reasons, the students should not wear shoes that pose a falling risk e.g. flip flops, sandals or platforms.

We recommend that clothing is labeled with your child’s name to prevent loss.

Students in N-P3 should keep a pair of indoor, non-slip shoes at school that are easy to put on and take off. Preferably hard sole shoes in case of fire alarm in wet/cold weather.

Students in Nursery class should always have an extra set of clothing at school in case their clothes get wet.

More information about clothing for PE can be found under Physical Education.

Code of conduct

Click here to read the school's Code of Conduct policy.

Coffee mornings

The Nursery and Primary classes hold coffee mornings 3-4 times a year. The date is notified by the class teacher in advance. This is an informal opportunity to visit the classroom, see the class work, speak to other parents, and enjoy some coffee and treats!

Contact parents organize coffee, tea, cakes, and some healthy snacks in collaboration with the other parents in the class.

A coffee morning can last for 30 – 60 minutes. The content of the coffee morning will be different from class to class and from time to time. Sometimes it is suitable for the class to present their classroom or a piece of work. Students can also put on a show, share their portfolios, or talk through some photos from school events. Sometimes it is just a nice opportunity for parents to socialize and network.

There may be an opportunity for parents to visit the L2 classroom for 5-10 minutes to see the L2 learning environments. This will, of course, need to be organized beforehand.

A coffee morning is not a forum for parents to discuss individual issues or common class issues with the teacher. These issues will be discussed during parents’ meetings and parents/teachers conferences.

Communications

All members of the school community are expected to communicate in accordance with the school's values. In consultation with the staff and the Parents Councils, the Board of the European School Copenhagen has adopted a common communications policy.

Below, are some examples of the many different types of communications (verbal and written) that the school utilises to keep parents and students informed of the many events and activities at the school.

Complaints

In the event of concerns or complaints, always raise them with the relevant person first – be it a parent or staff member or the school's management. If the issue persists after this initial dialogue, please contact the school's management - see Contacting the school.

Computer loan

In June 2020, the Board of the European School Copenhagen approved a new digital education strategy for Secondary 1-4. The aim of the strategy is to support digital learning in the subjects and to develop the students' ICT /digital capabilities. A central part of the digital education strategy is that the school will loan all S1-S4 students a computer/laptop for schoolwork - in school and at home.

See here for more information about computer loan in Lower Secondary

In Primary, computers may be loaned to students with special educational needs by agreement with the class teacher and the school's management.

Confirmation preparation

In Denmark, many children decide to confirm their belief in the Protestant faith in the Church of Denmark (Folkekirken) when they are 13-14 years old. The confirmation ceremony usually takes place on a Sunday or a Public Holiday during April or May, but before the ceremony the children must attend between 48-56 hours of “confirmation preparation” classes.

The European School Copenhagen is a non-confessional school and it is therefore up to the parents to organise their child's confirmation preparation classes with the priest/Church of their choice. The school supports the idea that parents organise the confirmation preparation as a group, and many of the local churches offer confirmation preparation classes after school.

The school does not allow absence due to confirmation preparation classes.

You can read more about the Danish confirmation traditions here.

Contacting the school

You can write directly to the school's staff and management via Aula.

Please note that contact between parents and Primary students must go through the school's administration or staff in the After School Care as we have a "no phones" policy during the school day in Primary and the After School Care.

If you need to speak with someone, in person or on the phone, please see the contact information below.

School Administration:

The school's administration is located on the 1st floor (see signs for Reception).

Opening hours: 8:00-14:30 Mon-Thu, 8:00-14:00 Fri

Email: admin.escph@kk.dk

Phone: + 45 3614 0190 (hours: 8:00-14:00 Mon-Fri)

After School Care:

The After School Care is located on the ground floor (see signs for After School Care).

Phone: +45 24913687 (hours: 14:00-17:00)

School Management:

Deputy Director - Julie Thom: +45 51 18 25 56

Head of Primary - Helle Degn: +45 4015 6195

Head of After School Care - Helena Zinduna Madsen: +45 2341 6207

Deputy Head of Secondary - Madelaine Kirk: +45 4024 3528

Deputy Head of Upper Secondary - Hans Bolvinkel: +45 2179 4930

Contact parents

In Denmark, it is tradition to have “contact parents” in all school classes. Contact parents are important both for the well-being in the classes and ensuring cooperation across the classes and communication with the school.

Each class elects four contact parents. The contact parents are elected at the first parents meeting of the school year. One of the elected contact parents must also be elected to represent the class in the Parents Council (Council Parent) and another must be elected deputy (Deputy Council Parent). See more information under Parents Council.

Below you can read about the tasks involved in being a contact parent.

Social role

Many parents choose to be a contact parent to strengthen the well-being and sense of community in the class as well as the communication with parents.

At the European School Copenhagen, we strongly encourage the organisation of activities in the classes. The school has therefore prioritised time for social activities in the classes before bigger school events. The class teacher will contact the contact parents in due time so they can inform the other parents in the class and decide how to proceed.

Each of the class teachers have been assigned four hours per school year to participate in class events arranged by the contact parents in cooperation with other parents.

Please note that contact parents are not responsible for class events, cleaning etc., on their own. The contact parents help organise the events and all parents should contribute and help out with different tasks.

Formal role

Contact parents are the link between parents and teachers and the class and the school.

One of the contact parents must be represented in the Parent Council along with parents representatives from the other classes and the school management. There are 3-4 meetings in the Parents Council each year. There is a Parents Council for Primary and one for Secondary.

Before each Parent Council meeting, the contact parent represented in the Parents Council are invited to contribute to the agenda with items that the class would like discussed. Please note, that the issues must be of a general interest and represent the view of several parents in the class.

Contact parents are expected to share the agenda and the minutes from each Parents Council with the other parents in the class so they are informed about the matters discussed.

If there are issues in a class that can’t be resolved through the normal channels (communication with individual teachers, class teacher, etc.), the contact parents can be involved and work together with the school’s management to find a solution.

The contact parents can contact the school if the class wishes to use school facilities for an extra parents meeting during school hours.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the class teacher or management if you have any questions regarding the role of contact parent.

Council Parents (Members of the Parents Council)

Please see information about Parents Councils.

CPR number

All residents in Denmark need to have a CPR number. You need a CPR number to open a bank account, access your health insurance, borrow books from the library, pay tax, receive a salary and so on. You can find further infomration in English on the website of the Municipality of Copenhagen or you can contact the international citizen service at International House Copenhagen.

Unfortunately the school can't help obtain CPR numbers.

Culinary school

The European School Copenhagen is one of the City of Copenhagen’s “Madskoler” (culinary schools). This means that the school has its own on-site production kitchen and staff, who prepare lunch for the students every day.

The culinary schools in the City of Copenhagen place great emphasis on sustainability and animal welfare, and the ingredients are therefore 90-100% organic. Each week there is meat, fish, and vegetarian options on the menu, and the kitchen also caters to students with dietary restrictions.

Cooking and knowledge about food, nutrition, and health is a central and integral part of daily life at the school and also an integral part of the schools’ external profile. As the name suggests, there is also an educational element as students from 4th-6th grade participate in the food preparation on a rotation basis, thus learning how to make healthy, varied, and organic food.

For more information about the school lunch and how you order food through offered by the Culinary School, see Lunch. More information is also available on the website of the Culinary School at the European School Copenhagen.

Curriculum

As an Accredited European School, the European School Copenhagen follows the curriculum and syllabuses of the European Schools. See link below.

> Syllabus and organisation of studies in the European Schools

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