WelcomeLiving Welcome back to the busy BSQ newsletter after a short break. We now start the six-week run into the Christmas break and as always there will be lots happening at BSQ both in the classrooms and in a wide range of connected activities aimed at keeping our links with the wider community alive. Whilst we are not able to have our traditional Bonfire Night celebration together this year, we will still be able to celebrate the incredible range of talent that students at BSQ have. See this opportunity and let’s put together an exciting and memorable feast of singing, dancing, juggling, playing.... We will be starting our Christmas Campaign with the PA to support two foundations with whom we have built up close and positive relationships over the last few years – Hogar para sus Niños and Sinsoluka – here is a communication from the PA and the orphanage. Hogar para sus niños Join us and become part of the care of 40 children and young people who are in our home. Join our economic sponsorship program, Plan Creciendo Juntos, in which you will have the opportunity to change your history of abandonment, mistreatment, neglect, abuse or disability in abandonment. What do you need to do to be a sponsor? 1. Donate $ 10.00 a month or the equivalent of 0.33 cents a day to radically change a life story. 2. Choose the bank debit options (credit card, savings or checking account of the national financial system) or transfer. 3. Complete this internal registration form with your data: Where will my donation go? With your contribution you will support the development of our children at risk, abandonment and disability in abandonment. The money raised is used for food, laboratory tests and legal expenses (to support early adoption). Contact us on WhatsApp without adding us: http://bit.ly/2MOkudx (0992 987 588). The contact person is Tania Armijos. [email protected] (02) 3460-304 / 3460-316 Learn more at: http://bit.ly/2WLYOSx Learning – Expert Practice I was lucky enough recently to attend a conference presentation by Angela Duckworth – most famous for her work and talks on GRIT. In this particular session she made reference to expert and deliberate practice leading towards mastery. Here are the three simple things you should do:
It’s very simple and although this example was from music practice, it can be applied to anything from riding a bike to developing algebra skills. Perhaps the hardest part is focusing entirely – shutting out all distractions and working until you are happy. We can be so easily distracted from our goals but as parents we can certainly help students to build a culture of concentration – particularly by supporting them with feedback when they ask for it. e-learning at BSQ LAHC – Wellbeing Conference With thanks to our Y13 students Martinna, Nico, Tomas, and our SSD team for leading a successful conference about wellbeing as part of the LAHC conference series. What an incredible achievement to design and lead an online conference session for other students and teachers with such confidence and poise. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Patricia Tufiño and Mrs. Alejandra Miranda and the Student Council from Secondary and Mr. Chris Leadbeter and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Patricia Tufiño and Mrs. Alejandra Miranda – Year 13B Tutors Year 13 B students are experiencing challenging times as part of their journey towards the completion of their IB Diploma Programme, for this reason, the last few weeks have been demanding because students must meet deadlines for examination papers, one of them was his extended essays. Moreover, students must continue with the development of regular classes, lessons, homework and everything that concerns completing the contents of each subject. In addition, they must develop complementary activities that allow them to complete the CAS hours, which the BI requires. To do this, students propose projects that are within their reach to fulfill, for example: Spirit Week. The IB Diploma Program develops students with an upright profile, above all with an international mindset, so that students are capable of transforming the society in which they live in. The BSQ´s environment offers them all the opportunities so that they can develop social, self-management, communication, research and thinking skills. This is appreciated in a practical way with the participation of Y13 students in the activities of the Student Council or in the CAS activities. During tutoring periods, at LLS we have covered topics of great interest such as Internet safety to issues of digital resilience, the attitude and good disposition of the students even allows personal ideas to be exposed without any reservation and with a high degree respect, a situation that as tutors pleases us immensely. We are also looking for all the strategies to support them and help them organize themselves, and in this way guarantee the success and fulfillment of all the challenges that they have to face in this last school year. Secondary Student Council BSQ from Our Bedrooms: How Has Online Learning Impacted Our Community? The Covid-19 pandemic plunged into our lives unexpectedly, bringing with it irreversible consequences and modifying almost every aspect of existence. Among these is education - the most substantial part of every student’s life and the mission of every teacher - both learning and teaching experiences have been completely transformed as well as our renowned warm and close-knit BSQ community. In the midst of the new school year, there has been no opportunity to take a step back and listen to ourselves, steadily slowing down for a few moments, we now have the opportunity to fully realise the sudden changes undergone and reflect on how to best adapt to our new reality. Perhaps the most apparent difference in the online classroom is the lack of physical and visual stimulations from our peers and teachers - after all, communication is only 7% verbal. Professor of psychology Albert Mehrabian conducted studies that showed how body language and tone of voice make up the remaining 93% into what constitutes most of our day-to-day interactions. Having this sense of communication completely stripped from our lives sends us into an unmotivational and isolation spiral, in which we lack the human contact so essential for personhood. Sense of perception is the most common way we acquire knowledge - looking, smelling, touching, feeling… and according to TOK teacher Mrs Madden, this is the most overwhelming lack of online school. As a way to counteract this, students could contribute by turning on cameras in every class, even without being prompted to. This way teachers will not be talking into a seemingly empty void and we can attempt to replicate in the slightest the warmth of in-person interactions. However, as are many school occurrences, turning a microphone or camera on could be a very daunting aspect for many; Year 7 student Nina Sherwood has coined it one of her biggest worries of online school. As a way to break down the cold barrier of a screen, it is essential for teachers to create a positive atmosphere in the canvas conference - just as much as they would in person - encouraging and inspiring students to turn on cameras and microphones might just be the confidence boost they need to actually do it. Furthermore, with new teachers and new students joining, our community has expanded and it is crucial for those newcomers to fully integrate into BSQ and the only way of truly doing so is by recognizing each other’s faces through a screen, and doing so until the day where we might be able to see our new friends in person. A remote classroom undoubtedly takes a toll on human interaction, however, just as important is the quality of education being transmitted. Both online teaching and learning prove to be extremely challenging - internet problems, lack of clarity and lack of concentration are all issues being faced by students from Year 7 all the way to Year 13. Tomás Rodriguez and Martin Castañeda, two Year 13 students, have both revealed their worries in terms of final IB examinations; fears that their futures might be jeopardized by circumstances out of their control are completely valid, and present in all of our minds. To fully optimize our online learning, teachers have expressed their willingness to accept emails until our understanding becomes concrete. Organizing a useful online notebook is also crucial for minimizing loss of material and lack of consistency - in a similar way, teachers sending out the material before a class could be just as helpful. Allowing the students to have access to the content in advance proves to be extremely helpful in both the organization and the effective learning of the students, improving the clarity of classes and inviting students to engage more even outside of conference calls. Though unnatural and foreign, this intense shared experience has evoked massive amounts of adaptation and compromise in all aspects of education. As a community, BSQ ploughs through, learning each day more and more about how to accept the changes we have been forced to face. In hopes that we will soon be able to look into each other’s eyes once again, we continue to develop our online experience, enhancing our communication through the screen and having unwavering faith in each other and our unalterable circumstances. By: Sofia F., Martinna R. and Aahna B. Mr. Christopher Leadbeter – Year 3A Teacher Last term in 3A we were learning all the United Kingdom. Our topic lessons included learning about the four different countries that make up the UK, creating a weather forecast, finding out about the most popular dishes that people eat there and thinking about the many reasons that people move to the UK. In Literacy we learned about the bizarre and dangerous event of Cheese Rolling which happens on Cooper’s Hill Gloucester. The children wrote excellent and entertaining newspaper articles about this unbelievable race. In Art we learned how to draw portraits understanding proportions in the human face, which is linked to our Science lessons. We also looked at patterns, contrast and Zentangle Art. The children produced some impressive pieces in these lessons. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, This is an exciting week as we are fast approaching our first Parent-Teacher conferences of the year through Canvas. We look forward to this 1:1 time with each parent, please remember to confirm the time with your lead teacher. As part of our aim to be a culturally welcoming community, we are excited to celebrate Diwali with the students during the course of this week. Diwali is an Indian festival of lights, usually lasting for 5 days. We have a lot of great sessions planned linked directly to this celebration. Another exciting news for the Reception parents is that we now have an individual platform on RAZ-kids for both classes. You will receive information from your lead teacher soon, this will include password and username information for your child’s personal account. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] Have a great week, Ms. Coronel Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Welcome back to Term 2 here at The British School Quito and about six weeks of exciting learning opportunities for all of our students in the lead up to the Christmas break. This term has several events for your diary, starting with the Open Choir event organised by Mr Matt Kidd on Wednesday 11th November. This event is then followed by our first Parent Teacher Conferences all day on Thursday 12th November. This is a formal opportunity for you to speak with your child’s teachers and discuss their progress, attainment and areas for development. Please do be punctual for these meetings as our teachers have a full timetable planned for that day. If you are unable to attend for any reason, please let them know and we will rearrange for another day or time. Although there are no conference sessions of this day for your child, your child will have learning they can access on their Canvas Blog and can also focus on reviewing their learning so far. The following week the main focus of the Parent Meetings on Thursday 19th November will be to share with you the details of the planned RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) sessions that will start the week beginning Monday 23rd November. These sessions are all specifically targeted at each year group and are age and developmentally appropriate, with you as parents attending these sessions alongside your child. You have the option to withdraw your child from these sessions if you feel it appropriate, once you have discussed the content of these sessions with your child’s class teachers and the Student Support Department. More details about these sessions will be shared with you later this week. Looking forward, we celebrate the foundation of Quito on Monday 7th December before a series of activities and events to celebrate the Christmas period, finishing the term on Thursday 17th December. We then return to school on Monday 4th January for Term 3. Please do keep checking your child’s Canvas pages for more information about their learning and also this Newsletter for important information and dates for this term. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update Winners and more winners Well I for one had a wonderful break and I hope that whatever you did or wherever you were, the holiday celebrations were fun and if you were involved with some sort of Halloween antics, the sugar levels are now starting to come down. It is always nice to come back to a part-week as we all edge back into the business of school gradually. It was good to see the involvement in Spirit Week and there are some wonderful pictures out there of activities and costumes. Our extremely committed students in Year 12 did a marvellous job of organizing the event and even with the challenges of the online approach, money was raised for the charity. Well done to Lyla in Year 7 who not only made lots of dog treats but also delivered them to the rescue centre. I am sure that it was a great team effort in the Maddens household with her younger sister Indie and mum no doubt part of the production line. Well done to Lyla again for winning the cooking challenge. Also, to the finalists in the Halloween Gaming competition; in 1st Place Anna Paula G in year 13 and Antonella S in year 11, in 2nd place was Victoria B in year 9, and in 3rd place was Isabella A in year 9. Winners of the Kahoot quiz were Lautaro in year 13, Felipe R in year 11 and Mateo M in year 9. Well done to year 8 for their victory in the photo collage competition. Finally, congratulations to everyone who participated and contributed to the efforts in raising $250 for the Refugio Los Amigos De Isabella. I am sure that this will be gratefully received and the money will go a long way. Thanks also to Ms Montenegro for giving the expert guidance to the students in organizing their event. Congratulations also to José P who is doing marvellous things in Tennis. Jose as a member of the Tennis Association of Pichincha participated in the G2 National Tennis Tournament last week where he was placed as Vice Champion of this tournament. Jose is clearly a young talent developing for the future of Ecuadorian Tennis – well done! On the subject of exams and specifically Mocks for year 13, we have made the decision to move them from 24th November to the New Year. This is for a number of reasons. We feel that students will be better placed to respond well to these important exams after they have had more time for syllabus coverage and the opportunity to revise and prepare with more focus over the Christmas Holiday. We want to give the opportunity for targeted revision supported by resources in this time away from school. They will sit formal Mock exams at the same time that Year 11 sit theirs in their IGCSE subjects. The outcomes of these exams will give us very clear validated data to help us with considering their positions as they progress toward their targets. Year 10 and 12 will also sit exams but these will be tailored to reflect the content covered. They will be smaller assessments than those seen in the normal Mocks, but styled with similar questions. We have decided that years 7, 8 and 9 will not sit Quimestre 1 exams as the Ministry of Education has authorised teacher assessed grades. This is an opportunity to reduce the load on student and staff during these difficult times. All students will however sit Quimestre 2 exams in the summer as normal. Do look out for further information and guidance on this as we approach the time. Finally, can I ask that if you are a parent of a student in year 11 and 13, please support us by helping your son or daughter to meet targets and deadlines. There are a number of critical things that need doing right now such as individual assessments, extended essays, university applications and the basics of keeping up with general classwork. Staff are putting pressure on students at the moment and this is much needed as deadlines are fast approaching. Let us also consider the demands of Mock exams on top of this, and I am sure you can all imagine the pressure that is building. Gentle encouragement and a supportive arm around the shoulder will go a long way. “The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure. If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about educating an original thinker.
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