Dear Parents, As at the beginning of every year, we – the treasurers of the VF-GIBS – ask for your membership fees which you agreed to pay as a part of your membership registration. As you know, these funds support many things that contribute to the extraordinary quality of our school, things which cannot be covered by the official school budget: above all the co-teaching with native speakers, the copying of foreign language materials on the copy machine, the financial support of trips abroad, cultural events, projects and a lot more. Exact figures regarding budget calculations for the previous year and the budget for the current school year can be made available on request. Membership fees will be approximately 350 Euro per child per school year. Our guidelines enable a reduction for families in financial need. If you do not pay the membership fees without providing a reason, your child will not be included in the VF-GIBS support, which will mean that costs for copies, paper and tickets will need to be calculated individually for your child.

• One payment of 350 €  (in November)
• Payment is by direct debit. Please authorize a direct-debit mandate (Einzugsermächtigung) to VF-GIBS (retractable at all times). Please complete the form, scan it and return to kassier.vf@gibs.at. Alternatively, your child can hand the form into the office or give it to the form teacher.
• If you have any queries, please contact kassier.vf@gibs.at

The Board of Trustees for the Support Association of G.I.B.S. established within its charter the readiness to support students during confirmed excursions in foreign countries, in so far as these visits are specifically school related and that the financial aid required by the parents or guardians can be properly demonstrated. “Specifically school related” is to be understood as describing excursions whose direct and foremost concern is language study, the trip being suitable in kind to G.I.B.S. and one in which the participation of all students would enrich the learning experience for the class as a whole. As such, excursions such as sport weeks, ski courses, educational field trips, etc., would not qualify, being offered as well at other high schools and financed by parents or guardians. The goal of this support is to reduce the additional expenditures resulting from those activities that are specifically G.I.B.S. related in order to prevent the development of academic disadvantages resulting from non-participation. The FV (Förderverein/Support Association)  G.I.B.S. membership fees will cover the total financial assistance of all planned excursions, whose maximum amount is determined by the Board of Trustees at the beginning of each school year. The amount of individual assistance granted is thereby dependent upon the number of submitted applications, their particular destinations and respective travel costs. Due to annual budgeting conditions, a subsequent application for increased funding is not possible, as it would cut into already allocated funds. As the individual assistance per student can vary from year to year, the applicant may not request a particular amount of funding. Prerequisites for the granting of financial assistance:

1. The applicant must be a registered member of FV G.I.B.S. whose membership fees (whether normal or pro-rated) are in good standing.
2. To request student assistance for participating in school events during the current school year, an application must be submitted to the Styrian School Board (Bildungsdirektion) with a copy sent to EV (Elternverein/Parents` Association)  G.I.B.S.
3. Note: Recognition of need by the School Board is not necessary because the EV G.I.B.S. has established higher qualifying limits. Nevertheless, the application provides the EV G.I.B.S. with an estimation of the family’s income for its own budgeting calculations. The EV will designate two trusted persons with the evaluation of this data so as to insure the discretion of this process.
4. A letter of application with the enclosed copy of the School Board application (see point 2) as well as a thorough explanation for all apparently unusual expenses is to be delivered to EV G.I.B.S.
5. Note: Unusual expenses are considered valid only when they arise from true emergency situations. House additions or renovations, mortgages, education expenses, etc. will not be considered.
6. Applications submitted prior to the annual deadline, yet subsequent to the actual event, will of course be accepted and reviewed as described above with a grant being issued accordingly. However, applications submitted after the annual deadline can no longer be reviewed.
7. The individual amount of funding will be assessed taking into consideration a) the income of the family with its own particular constellation, b) the estimated budget designated by the EV Board of Trustees and c) the number of and kind of all other planned school excursions.
8. Note: Within the parameters expressed above, the entrusted persons will work out an encompassing assistance concept to be delivered to the EV Board of Trustees for their approval.
9. A legal claim to an allocation of EV funds is not an option.