Life at School

Each grade is divided into classes of around 30 students, typically there exists an “A Class” and a “B Class” at the high school level. Within these high school classes, the students are broken into smaller groups of around 15 for English and studies in their non-native language.

The classes stay together for their 5 years of studying and move throughout the day as a whole group. Each class has a specific classroom where teachers go to them for lessons. Occasionally, another room may be used, but the students will travel as a group. Classmates tend to create strong bonds with one another and develop a unique identity as they are with the same group for the duration of their studies.

Every class has a Slovak class teacher, who is responsible for the discipline and administrative work of the students. They are your main contact if you have any issues in your class and they are also the ones that deal most directly with parents. Except for bi-semester parent/teacher meetings you will typically not interact with parents.

While our school does not have many disciplinary issues, if one should arise, you should first speak with the class teacher to inform them of the situation. If necessary, you can make an electronic note to parents on our online school portal, EDU Page.

Students at LAMS come from varying economic backgrounds and social contexts. While our school does charge tuition to cover the costs of providing quality education, we also give away many scholarships to ensure that everyone is able to attend our institution regardless of financial background.

Our school’s bilingual program centers around the CLIL method, where students begin immersion in the English language at our earliest grades in the pre-school. Given the variety of classes and grades, English classes are structured in a variety of forms.

At the elementary and middle school, Native English teachers will always teach alongside a Slovak teacher who will help in translating or assisting. At the beginning of the year, our foreign teachers will meet with their various co-teachers to determine the best way to plan and implement the curriculum. At times, the Native English teacher might teach the lesson in it’s entirety, with the Slovak teacher present to assist or they might find it most beneficial to divide the teaching for students to obtain the knowledge in both Slovak and English.

At the high school level, Native English teachers are typically alone in classroom, however they often co-teach a class with Slovak teachers by rotating days or assigned students. Native English teachers can teach English specific classes, such as writing or reading, or they may teach a specialized subject in English, such as science in English.

Each day will vary depending on your teaching schedule, some days you might have a shorter schedule, other days it will be longer. The flexibility during the day is something that our Native English teachers appreciate, as they live on campus and can go home or run errands between classes if needed. There is also time for planning and grading throughout the day, as we do not require teachers to keep office hours.

If you teach during the 1st period you will be responsible for a daily devotion done with students every day when there is not “all school devotions” or chapel. Other duties may include extra curricular programs, hall monitor duties, or supervising special events or trips, such as our annual ski trip or wilderness camp outing.

You will have a temporary schedule at the beginning of year, which you should be prepared to have adjusted for at least the first 3 weeks. You can check our school portal, EDU Page, for updates and changes.

Our school currently uses a portal called EDU Page which has all the logistic, administrative, and scheduling information for teachers. Each teacher will have their own login where they can enter grades, view their class schedule, and enter information into the “class book” after each class, allowing teachers to easily enter tardies, absences, and behavioral comments.

Teachers should check EDU Page throughout the day to see if they are substituting. In the Slovak system, all teachers serve as substitutes when other teachers are absent. Your substitution tasks will vary based on teacher availability and your own schedule. However, it is best to check throughout the day to see if you are substituting.

The school portal will also tell you whether a class has been changed or moved, as each class can be viewed including the class list, time, and location.

Discipline should be dealt with within the classroom. For major issues please discuss with the classroom teachers, who can offer further advice. Each quarter, at the meeting with all teachers, students that are having disciplinary issues will be discussed.

Compared to many places, teachers in Slovakia are given many breaks from school including a week for Spring Break and Easter, with 2 weeks off at Christmas. There are also several long weekends spread throughout the school year. The school year lasts from September 1st-June 30th.

Many of our American teachers have taken advantage of these breaks to travel throughout Europe. Several budget airlines have hubs within a 3 hour radius of Martin, making travel easy and affordable. Slovakia itself is also a beautiful country with Martin situated in the valley of 2 mountain ranges. During days off, the teachers sometimes organize optional staff hiking trips to explore the local mountains together.

Curriculum varies in the subject being taught, particularly if a teacher is teaching a subject besides English. Our school is very open to creativity and innovation, while also giving assistance when needed. With the majority of our teachers being Slovak, Americans will typically have various other teachers who can be of help.

Grades should be entered into our school portal, EDU Page, as assessments are completed. This allows for both students and parents to keep up with grades, which causes less surprises at the end of the semester and allows for a more consistent communication on grades. Final grades can be entered into the portal as well.

The percents are translated into a number scale of 1-5, with 1 being the highest grade. The percents that represent the various numbers will be different depending on whether it is an English class or a subject class. The number system of your specific classes will be made clear to you during teacher training before the school year begins.

As part of your coming to Martin, we will find you housing, typically on-campus. We have several apartments on campus which allows for you to have no commute time and have the option of going home between classes.

Our school is located in the city center of Martin with a grocery store, drug store, and bank literally right across the street. We also have a shopping center and several restaurants within a 5 minute walking range throughout the city center. If you would like to travel, our school is located about 10 minutes walking from the main train and bus station.

There are also several buses that regularly run to local villages and other parts of Martin, these can be used cheaply and quite easily. Often they are helpful for hiking day trips or shopping at one of our shopping centers outside of downtown.