The British School Warsaw PTA Information booklet for new and returning families 2018 – 2019 Welcome to The British School Warsaw’s Parent Teacher Association. Every parent of an enrolled student is automatically a member. We collaborate with staff, families, and the Warsaw community to enrich the educational experience for all. The PTA organises school events, fundraisers, and activities for students and their families. Highlights include the Back to School Picnic, Santa’s Grotto in the Christmas Fair, Quiz Night, and Sports Day. We also coordinate film nights, class discos, coffee mornings, and charity drives throughout the school year. For further information on upcoming meetings, events, and volunteer opportunities, like us on Facebook and join one of our closed parent communities. These are great places to have your questions answered by other TBS parents and to discuss current happenings. We look forward to welcoming you! Email us – [email protected] Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tbswarsawpta/ Some Dates for your Diary Friday 7th September – Back to School Fete – 3-6pm, Limanowskiego Thursday 13th September – PTA welcome coffee morning, Limanowskiego Thursday 20th September – Secondary Parents in Partnership – coffee morning and presentation 15th to 19th October – International Week December 2018 – Christmas Giving Tree Charitable Action 14th December 2018 – Christmas Fair February 2019 – Staff and parent quiz night March 2019 – Parents Book Evening March 2019 – PTA Book Sale And many more …….. Second Hand Uniform Shop The PTA second hand uniform shop is located in the basement at Limanowskiego. We sell school uniform that has been donated due to children out-growing it, or when pupils leave the school. We are open: Every Monday – 7.55am to 8.15am The last Tuesday of every month 2.45 to 3.15pm We understand how stressful moving to new city can be and how overwhelming it can feel trying to complete seemingly simple tasks and errands. The aim of this guide is to provide you with useful and practical information to make your life easier. It also contains details of several other websites, Facebook groups and organisations with the same purpose. We hope that you find it informative and helpful. INDEX 1. EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS 2. MEDICAL SERVICES 3. TRANSPORTATION 4. SHOPPING 5. EATING OUT 6. EATING IN 7. ACTIVITIES WITH KIDS 8. BABYSITTING 9. BANKING 10. ORGANISATIONS AND GROUPS TO JOIN 11. POLISH HOLIDAYS 12. OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES AND GUIDES 1. EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS Police – 997 Fire – 998 Straz Miejska (Municipal Police) - 986 Mobile phone emergency telephone number – 112 Ambulance Poland’s national ambulance – 999 Medicover Hospital emergency hotline – 500 900 999 Falck Medyczna - 1-9675 or 22 535 91 51. Direct line to Warsaw dispatchers (English dispatchers). Falck has over 200 fully equipped ambulances operating in major metropolitan areas throughout Poland. You do not have to be a member to call for ambulance. LUX MED (English dispatchers), 22 430 30 30. Lux Med Medical Centre has ambulances available 24 hours a day. You do not have to be a member to call for ambulance. For more information call their info line at: 22 458 7000 2. MEDICAL SERVICES PHARMACIES You can recognize a Pharmacy, or ‘Apteka’ by its green cross. You may find that some products you can buy over the counter at home may require a prescription and vice versa. Even some products that do not require a prescription must be asked for at the counter. DENTISTS Popular dentists include Astermed (Sw. Bonifacego 92) and Villa Nova (Marconich 3) DOCTOR’S SURGERIES Healthcare International - Chorągwi Pancernej 50. T: 22 858 01 01, 604 774 744, emergency: 606 336 677. English speaking family practice offering comprehensive medical care, prevention programs, prenatal and neonatal care, house calls. Wilanow Family Practice- 37/90 ul. Kosiarzy, T: 22-642-7404 Wilanowfamilypractice.pL 3. TRANSPORTATION TAXIS Taxis in Warsaw are plentiful and reasonably priced. Here are a few of the main providers. Eco Car 123 456 789 iTaxi 737 737 737 Sawa Taxi 226 444 444 Ele Taxi 228 111 111 UBER also operates in Warsaw. PUBLIC TRANSPORT Public transport in Warsaw is very good and reasonably priced. An extensive network of trams and buses operates throughout the city and there are two Metro lines, M1 and M2. M1 runs North to South from Mlociny, through the city centre to Kabaty. M2 runs from East to West from Dworzec Wilenski, through the city centre, to Rondo Daszynskiego. The best way to plan your journey on public transport is by using Jakdojade. You can access the web page www.jakdojade.pl or there is the option of downloading an app. Select your city and your language and then you can plan your trip by entering your destination address as well as optional information about the time of your journey, preferred mode of transport etc. TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF WARSAW Trains Information on train timetables and routes can be found at www.pkp.pl Coaches Polski Bus/Flix Bus is a popular coach company travelling to a wide range of destinations. www.flixbus.pl 4. SHOPPING Supermarkets Warsaw has a large selection of supermarkets. Stores range from large hypermarkets though to small express shops. The main large supermarket chains are; Carrefour – Branches in Sadyba Best Mall, Galeria Mokotow, Arkadia and Zlote Tarasy Biedronka – Branches of Biedronka can be found all over the city. There is a large store on Ul. Syta 87. Other branches can be found at Ul. Sobieskiego 18, Aleja Rzeczypospolitej 23a and Dolna 3, to name but a few locations. Auchan – A large Auchan can be found at Pulawska 427. In the same building is a kids soft play called Sala Zabaw Lider. Piotr I Pawel – Branches include one in the basement of the Royal Wilanow complex, Al. Wilanowska 89 and in Blue City shopping mall. L’Eclerc – Ciszewskiego 15 Tesco - Aleja Komisji Edukacji Narodowej 14 There are also a number of smaller convenience store chains such as Aldi, Lidl, Zabka, Freshmarket, Lewiatan and Spolem. A number of supermarkets offer an online shopping and delivery service. The main ones that have and English web site are Tesco, Auchan and Frisco. https://ezakupy.tesco.pl/groceries/en-GB/ https://www.auchandirect.pl/auchan-warszawa/en https://www.frisco.pl Shopping Malls Warsaw has several large shopping malls, where you will find a wide variety of shops all under one roof. The main malls are listed below. Arkadia – Al. Jana Pawla II 82 - A very large mall with several large stores including a Carrefour supermarket. In addition to a wide range of shops, it has a multiplex cinema, a large food hall and an excellent kids play centre, Fikolki, where you can leave your children (age 6 and above) while you shop. https://www.arkadia.com.pl/en Blue City – Al. Jerozolimskie 179 – A wide range of shops including Toys R Us. Blue City also has a large childrens play area, and a number of children’s party venues. https://en.bluecity.pl/ Centrum Janki – Ul. Mszczonowska 104/122 – A retail complex where you can find IKEA, Castorama and a number of other large stores as well as smaller shops within the centre itself. http://chjanki.pl/en/ Galeria Mokotow – Ul.Woloska 12 – A large shopping mall with shops selling a wide range of things from designer labels to electrical goods. There is a large food court, a cinema and a kids play area. https://www.galeriamokotow.pl/ Klif – Ul. Okopowa 58/72 – A mall consisting of mainly designer clothing shops. http://klif.pl/en/ Sadyba Best Mall – Ul Powsinska 31 – Sadyba mall is a two minute walk from The British School. There are a number of shops selling a wide range of items. There is also a small food court and an IMAX cinema. https://www.sadyba.pl/ Zlote Tarasy – Ul. Zlote 59 – Next to the central train station. There are many shops selling a wide range of items. There is also a cinema, a gym, and a large selection of restaurants. http://zlotetarasy.pl/en Other smaller malls include Mysia 3 - https://mysia3.pl/en/o-nas/ Panorama - http://www.galeria-panorama.pl/ Promenada - http://www.warszawa.promenada.com/en/ Plac Unii - http://placunii.pl/en/ Vitkac - https://www.vitkac.com/pl 5. EATING AND DRINKING Warsaw has a vibrant and varied restaurant and bar scene. There are far too many fantastic places for us to recommend them all here. Instead, we encourage you to use the following websites where you will find details of restaurants, cafes and bars throughout the city. http://www.warsawinsider.pl/ https://www.inyourpocket.com/warsaw https://www.likealocalguide.com/warsaw https://www.zomato.com/warszawa 6. EATING IN The two main take-away delivery companies that operate in Warsaw are Room Service and UBEReats. You can order a variety of cuisines from many restaurants within Warsaw and have the food delivered to your door for a location dependent delivery charge. https://roomservice.pl/en/ https://www.ubereats.com/en-PL/stores/ 7. ACTIVITIES WITH KIDS There are plenty of activities available in Warsaw to keep your children happy in summer and winter. Favourites include the wide range of outdoor spaces and parks, indoor trampoline centres, soft play centres and child friendly museums. A great place to start is the web site kids in the city http://kidsinthecity.pl where you can find details of things happening in and around Warsaw including locations of several parks and gardens and museums. To find soft play centres simply enter ‘sala zabaw’ into google maps and take your pick. Popular ones near The British School include Funpark Digiloo and Fikolki. Wodny Park is a great swimming pool complex with a 50m training pool, a baby pool, two slides, a small outdoor area and two crazy rivers.