ecole joli bois in Brussels

[Ballet]

I am planning to send my duaghter to ecole Joli BOis this september.
does anybody has any idea about school??

[natation]

Which Ecole Joli-Bois, there are in fact 3 of them?

[natation]

Ok a bit of research suggests you're looking at école primaire Joli-Bois? Well is it your nearest school? I have perhaps a rather biased view that I would not travel out of my way to send my child there, it really depends on where you live, whereas if I lived virtually next door, I'd perhaps consider it. Garderie kids however are completely NOT supervised, I see this myself every Tuesday evening. The school has absolutely no security too, you can walk into it and around it and no-one questions your presence, that also worries me a bit. Anyone wishing to abduct a child, well there are only a few other schools with as bad security. It works the other way too, children can leave the garderie and walk out without anyone knowing. As for education, well that's probably fine. The pluses are the music academy on site, offering dance and music lessons for free, but they are also accessible to children at other schools.

[Ballet]

I am planning to send my duaghter to école primaire Joli-Bois.I am really greatful for your feedback.
We are going to live in etterbeek and I heard good feedback about ecole Jolie bois so I thought to put my duaghter in it.
can you suggest some school that are small in class size and it is multicutural school.
please help

[natation]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
just don't do it, really silly idea. Etterbeek is nowhere near Joli-Bois and it's not even a particularly good school either, compared to others in the vicinity, it would be 7 out of 10th for me in WSP. Go and look at schools in Etterbeek and nearby, but enrolments will have take place already at at least 50% of them!

[natation]

PS nearly all schools in east Brussels are multi-cultural, a few exceptions where the population is very white and Belgian and little movement of pupils who join age 2 1/2 but only a minority of schools like that. If you find a school with small class sizes, DO AVOID. A school with class sizes of 23-25 in primaire is normal, with 20 children, either the school is unpopular or there is a specific reason why the class is so small eg 3 classes feeding into 2 classes above means the 3 classes have to be kept small, eg école communale de Stockel has to do exactly that!

[Ballet]

we have got appointment to visit ecole Claire Joie in Etterbeek.
do you have any idea about it.
we absolutely have no idea as to which school to choose..please help

[Ballet]

we have no idea schools in etterbeek...we only knew clair joie through this site.
we are planning to move to woluwe.........we heard that woluwe has many good schools.

[natation]

Yesterday you were moving to Etterbeek, today you are moving to Woluwe, but which Woluwe, there are 3 of them?

You really really need to look on a map where work is.

You need to do your research into how to get to work from certain areas, choosing an area which is within financial reach of your budget, choosing both size of housing and type. Woluwe-St-Pierre is very expensive to live, houses in Etterbeek can be even more expensive, whereas 2 bed apartment are not so bad, Ixelles even more expensive for large houses!

You need to be certain you are looking for French, as there are Dutch schools too in Brussels. Just outside Brussels it is Dutch, if work is in a Dutch speaking area, it might be worth staying there and not in Brussels.

Tell me first where your work is, what your housing budget is and size and no of bedrooms. Tell me how many people in the family.

Finally I could suggest and area AND schools.

[Ballet]

Thanks for your suggestions..
My husband is working at Zaventem and I commute from brussels to beerse(at the broder of holland).currently my daughter goes to ecole acacia in etterbeek but that is no longer affordable to us.
we are not looking for dutch option as she is alreday in Priamry 3 and she is doing her subjects in French we are looking for French school.
currently we are living in house that is paid by our office but very soon around may-june,we will no longer have this advantage.so we have to manage the house on our own from now on.
we are quite confused at this moment..no idea what to do??
basically we have plan to find the very goos school for my daughter and then to move in the very same area where that school is.
reply you help is needed.

[natation]

Are you staying in Etterbeek? If you are, then take a look at the schools map, contact ALL the schools near where you live, within a radius of perhaps 1.5km.

If you are staying here long term into secondaire, currently if you want a good secondary, you choose where you live and go to primaire very wisely indeed, so that your chosen secondaire and primaire are ideally the 1st or 2nd nearest of type for the most popular schools, as you are allocated a score based on the order of primaire and secondaire from home. For the most popular secondaires, you really do need to be 1st or 2nd nearest to secondaire AND primaire to get into that preferred secondaire. So living in Etterbeek and going to école Joli-Bois would mean your chances of a good secondaire is quite low as Joli-Bois is far from home.

You are rather late at looking for a school place. You ideally should have contacted primaires in September 2012 and asked what the possibilities of a place for September 2013 was. You will now be at the bottom of a waiting list for places at certain schools.

If you wish to send me your exact address by private message, I could help you more. There are some schools more desirable than others in the Etterbeek area, but given you're late with looking for a school place, you may have to take whatever is available. You might have to consider also moving your child NOW and not in September.

[Ballet]

I live near place de jourdan 1040

[natation]

If you're staying at Pl Jourdan, I'd go for Ecole la Farandole, quite a few English speaking children there now and a nice small school, of course also a reflection of the mixed population too. I'd look also at St Stanislas and la Colombe de la Paix. They are really the only schools within easy walking distance. If you're Muslim, then may El-Gazhali, but I think it is perhaps a bit too popular.

[natation]

If you're moving for a school in a better area, I'd make a choice of small school search area and make sure there is likely to be housing in your budget near to school.

Also if you're staying in Etterbeek, AVOID Ecole Sans Souci which is Ixelle postcode, even though it's probably your 2nd nearest communal after la Farandole. Look also at St Boniface in Ixelles, which is probably your 2nd nearest Catholic school after St Stanislas.

[natation]

I noticed on the website of la Farandole that they are now offering group visits to the school, an indication of how popular it is becoming, with enrolments from beginning May 2013. You'll know the school as it's the other side of the street to Acacia. I know 2 very happy American families there.

I'm having a guess your daughter is not completely fluent in French, unless she's been at Acacia for several years. I'd be looking also at French activities, such as Guides. There are loads of groups, but the time to enrol for September is also now. Here is the nearest one to you, St Boniface, the old school of Hergé (Tintin) and also his old Scouts troop which he based some adventures on.
www.unite3381.be/v3_0/index.php

[Ballet]

Natation thanks a lot for your inputs...this was really needed.
yes I have seen ecole Frandole and we are going to visit it on 21st Feb.this is closest school form our place.
My daughter is fluent in French and she can read and write French.
somehow I have positive feeling about ecole Frandole and we dont need to to move to other area also so put all these points toghther,we will try our best for this school.
thanks and if you have more information about this school u can share.

[natation]

Ballet, I'd do the Maths on moving house. If you don't lose at least half your security deposit, you are doing well. You then have the set-up costs at the next home too. Sure you will get schools with more middle class children in them in the more middle class areas of Brussels. But if it is at great financial cost, then I'd stay where you are.

[Ballet]

hi Natation, actually the service apartment we are currently living is paid by the company but form 1st of July we have to manage ourselves and it will be very heavy on our pockets so we are in a fix which area to move to.
since we are already positive about ecole Frandole,we would like to find flat in etterbeek itself not far from school.
you mentioned that there are two American children in school.which grades they are in??

[natation]

Ooh in the case of a serviced apartment, assuming you have not got your name on the contract, you can leave without any penalties, as that would be very good news!

Given where you work, it would in fact make practical sense to move closer to the R0 wouldn't it? It depends on your attachment to Etterbeek and whether you like the thought of being in a more suburban area. You need to know the housing in areas and what you could get for your budget. A 2 beds near me in WSP, not the cheapest of areas, you could get for under ?1000 in fact for 100m2 without too much difficulty, plus many of the apartments in the more suburban areas are modern and if you choose well, energy efficient too!

But first of all, you need a definite school place in an area where you could afford to live. Without doubt, you'll get a more middle class mix of international children in the suburbs, but what would attract me more is that if you're staying for secondary, it's far easier to get school places at the schools out in WSP if you're at a WSP primaire than if you are living in an area like Etterbeek with many secondaires and primaires in a small area. You could be living 500m from a decent primaire and secondaire in Etterbeek and you might not get into that decent secondaire! By contrast, you could live in an area of Zaventem like Sterrebeek and send your child 5km away to the nearest French Community funded primaire (would be Stockel or or Sacré-Coeur de Stockel, they both count as nearest), you'd have more chance of a place at a decent secondaire like Mater Dei or College Don Bosco also 5km away, than if you were 500m away from a decent school near Etterbeek such as Sacré-Coeur de Lindhout!

Depending on where in Zaventem your husband works, I'd go for either Evere (but not if staying for secondaire as no good secondaires up there) or WSL or WSP or Kraainem or Wezembeek-Oppem (for latter Brussels primaires are nearby and preferable if staying for secondaire as the Kraainem and Wezembeek-Oppem primaires are worst place to be for getting secondaire places for reasons too complicated to explain here, many children move from them to Brussels schools to get secondaire places).

I would be doing this research very very quickly, don't wait to see la Farandole, make the decision to move closer out to Zaventem where work is, or stay in Etterbeek.

[natation]

I know of 5 American children in la Farandole, though I don't know which school years they are in, they vary from 4 to 8 years old I think. I wouldn't get too fixated on one school until you know you will stay near that school. I'd say have a plan A and a plan B, getting a couple of school places in 2 areas. It gives you flexibility if you can't find somewhere to live in one area, you have a fall-back area, plus you also have a fall-back school.

[Ballet]

Dear Natation,this is really practical idea to be flexible and try for different schools.we have place in joli-bois but apparrently that is not one of the best schools.
we have also inscribed in Ecole de communale de Stockel and in sacre-ceaur de stockel.In addition to this we are also going to see le verseau in Wavre.

[natation]

Well you seem to have done pretty well! Have you been to see any of the schools you have enrolled your daughter in?

The 2 Stockel schools are very similar in intake, they pretty much reflect the locality with 30+ nationalities in them and a few anglophones in there too, you're likely to find some in every school year. Do you speak any other languages, as you'll find also children speaking over 20 languages at each school. You're extremely lucky to get I assume a P4 place at Ecole Communale de Stockel for September 2014. Joli-Bois also has loads of different nationalities, but as I don't know a single anglophone there in primaire at the moment, I can only assume there are few there. Ecole Communale de Stockel is the biggest school with 23 classes, Ecole du Sacré-Coeur de Stockel has 19 classes, Ecole Communale Primaire Joli-Bois is separated from the maternelle and has 12 classes which are less full than the other 2 schools. I've already stated my bias against Joli-Bois, whilst probably sound educationally, the garderie set-up and security is pants, but if your daughter is musical or likes dance or theatre, she can go from school to free music/dance/theatre without leaving the building. The other 2 schools haven't got free French music academies in them, you have to travel to Joli-Bois or Ecole du Centre for the free academies there. Whichever of the 3 you would choose in that area, I'd just try and live as close as possible, if you are staying for the next 4 years, as it will get you serious extra points for entry into the best 2 secondaires in the area. You can live in Kraainem and Wezembeek-Oppem and send to the 2 Stockel schools and from much of those communes, the Stockel schools are the nearest French Community funded (La Fermette, Diabolo whilst French, are in fact Flemish Community funded and bad news for entry into French secondaire).

I'd try for at least 2 schools in Etterbeek. You can probably only get away with enrolling at one communale school there, I'd probably go for La Farandole, if only because I have those contacts who are very happy there. I'd look particularly at Ecole Ste Anne, if you're not fixed yet by Etterbeek address, as it is far more popular than St Stanislas which nearer to La Farandole. Of course St Michel is the most sought after of Etterbeek primaires, but it is enormous with 4 classes per school year, as big as you'll get in Brussels, the standard and amount of work is a major factor here, children are told here their position in class! I could not stand that, although I know my 11 year old is 1st or 2nd consistently in class, it's only because of her marks, marks at her school are NEVER read out in front of the class, unlike at certain schools.

[natation]

PS le Verseau, it's 25km from Brussels and I personally think it's unwise to consider, simply because of your work place. You'll have to go through the worst daily traffic jam in Belgium, ie the RO east side, at least with the eastern side of WSP, you can take the R22 boul de la Woluwe to Zaventem. You will be spending a huge amount of the time in the car and so will your daughter, time which she could instead be spending relaxing or doing after-school activities. If the motivation is the 4 hours a week of mother tongue English instead of 4 hours a week of Dutch, well for 4.5k per year in fees, that's quite a lot of money, add on the fuel cost, it's probably the same as sending to Acacia in Etterbeek, it would work out at over ?40 an hour for each hour of English. You'd be far better off hiring a private tutor for English for less than ?40 an hour. Your daughter would have a far shorter trip to school. The garderie and school lunches at le Verseau are very expensive, the school day ends later than other schools too, add that onto travelling time.

[Ballet]

Dear Natation,
actually we thought if we get place in Le versaeu, we can move to Wavre...and my husband will travel to zaventem from wavre. you are right about Le verseau that probably we end up paying as much as we pay for ACacia.but we are tempted to have a school where once my daughter is in,we are not bothered about looking for secondary.
In etterbeek we are going to claire joie to inscribe my daughter on 21st feb.
we have not really contacted st anne in etterbeer so far.how are reputation of st anne and claire joie ??
as you had said in your last message that if we put my daughter in schools of WSP,there many good secondary schools in WSP....we are considering this factor.
we have not got place in ECole communale de stockel so far,but we have inscribed my daughter and she is on waithing list.we will come to know about seat after carnival vacation.if we get place here in ECole communale de stockel and sacre secure de stockel,which is your first preference??
regards

[natation]

Ballet
a primaire place no longer gives you priority to the attached secondaire and why should it when more than 50% of children are at primaires not attached to secondaires? (Well this year is the last year of that priority and you also had to be enrolled in 2007 to have benefitted from it) So you must apply separately to secondaires. Having said that, Le Verseau in the last 3 years when they have published the vacancies for secondaires, Le Verseau has not once filled all its secondaire places. The primaire is oversubscribed but the secondaire is undersubscribed. The oversubscribed secondaires in Wavre are Notre Dame de Basse Wavre and Providence.

Wavre to Zaventem is a terrible commute for you. It will also mean more time for your daughter in garderie in primaire and when she is older, more time at home without you. I cannot personally see any attraction in that, I'd only consider Le Verseau if I lived AND worked within a 5km radius, even then the 4.5k fees come with controversy, as the French first language children only pay 1k per year!!! Add on the cost of lunches, garderie, you're likely to pay over 5k more than being at the French primaire down the road from Le Verseau or the primaires in Brussels, all for what? Less time at home, more commuting time, more expense on fuel? I cannot think of an advantage, as you can do private individual English lessons in your own home for less than the fees at Le Verseau where your child will be 22 in a class!

Given a choice between Claire Joie and La Farandole or La Colombe de la Paix or le Paradis des Enfants, that is the 4 communal schools in Etterbeek, I think you'll find most locals will say Claire Joie is the least sought after. I think you'll find you will only be able to enrol at one single communal school in Etterbeek, so if you enrol at Claire Joie, you will not be able to enrol at La Farandole.

Given a choice between Ste Anne and the communal schools in Etterbeek, I think you'll find most locals will say Ste Anne is more sought after and my guess is you will find yourself on a waiting list there and possibly no offer of a place from the waiting list.

Do you actually have a place at any school? You can't enrol/inscribe unless you have a place, you can ask for your name on a waiting list. Have you been to visit any of the schools yet though?

A choice between Ecole Communale de Stockel and Ecole du Sacré-Coeur de Stockel. Both have great reputations, Ecole Communale de Stockel scores 18 on the socio-economic index, Sacré-Coeur de Stockel scores 19, there is little in it other than choices of para-scolaire, facilities like gym and library, garderie facilities (or lack of), size of school, activities of the Parents' Association.

The most sought after secondaires in WSP / WSL / Etterbeek are Mater Dei, College Don Bosco, Sacré-Coeur de Lindhout, Dames de Marie, St Michel and they are all heavily oversubscribed, meaning you need to choose your nearest primaire and make sure your chosen secondaire is also your nearest (under current admissions which have change little in the past 4 years) in order to maximise your chances of a place. If you live in Etterbeek, getting a place at St Michel is very very hard even if it's your 2nd nearest school, so where you live in relation to primaire and secondaire is essential. In WSP, there are less schools and more chance that you'll find somewhere nearer to desired primaire and secondaire. So do NOT choose a primaire school for definite until you've checked that your new housing will be place this school 1st nearest (2nd nearest will probably be ok in WSP) and that your choice secondaire is 1st nearest (again in WSP 2nd nearest will probably be ok). To give you an example of how essential this is, if you stayed where you are now and enrolled at your 1st nearest primaires which are La Farandole or St Stanislas, getting a place at the nearby sought after secondaires of St Boniface, Sacré-Coeur de Lindhout, Dames de Marie or St Michel will be quite slim, you'd get a place at Jean Absil and maybe Charles Janssens. If you moved to WSP(Stockel) and made sure the 2 Stockel schools were your nearest, you'd have a pretty good chance of a place at the 1st and 2nd nearest secondaires in that area which are likely to be College Don Bosco and Mater Dei.

[Ballet]

I have place in joli bois and for Ecoel communale de stockel,we are first on the waiting list.
we are going to sacre ceur de stockel on 19th feb to inscribe my daughter.
just out of curosity ,DAMEs de MArie is only for girls?? I also see they are open for inscription from feb 18th.I am thinking to see also.
what is your opinion??