Welcome Welcome back to school after the short break and I hope you all enjoyed the special celebration that is Fiestas de Quito. It is now only a few short learning days until the Christmas break and there are lots of exciting activities planned as usual with some changes to timings of sessions and events – keep an eye on emails and newsletters. The Christmas campaign for Hogar para sus Niños is going really well and students are getting involved in a wide range of activities designed to challenge themselves to support others. This month we celebrate our academic successes with pages in Ekos and Links magazines and I want to share those with you here so you can all see both the great work our staff and students do here to champion great learning and excellent results. Amazing outcomes do not happen by magic; they are the result of dedication and commitment, hard work and determination. I could not be prouder of the powerful learning relationships that are cultivated and nurtured at BSQ. Students do better at Orbital Schools In the 2020 IGCSE exams, students at Orbital schools, on average, achieved 1 or 2 grades higher than expected. This is a measure of the value added by both the high quality teaching and learning environment at Orbital schools where every student is encouraged and challenged to exceed expectations. Before they start their exam courses, our students take a Cognitive Ability Test (CAT4), which provides an indicator of their likely exam grade they will receive in 2 years’ time. Our students and teachers then work hard together to achieve or exceed the level indicated by the test to enable each student to fulfil their potential. In spite of the major challenges of the pandemic, Orbital schools’ IGCSE results were better than the general assessment population: · 91% were graded A*-C (9-4), whereas the UK was 79% · 44% were at A*/A (9-7), whereas the UK was 28% But a true indicator of our focus, on both personalised learning and individual student progress, lies in the value added experience that Orbital schools and staff provide to their students compared to the average. In 2020: · 71% of exam results were above the grade indicated by the CAT4 Test · 53% were two grades or more above the CAT4 Test indicator · Overall results were, on average, 1.4 grades higher than indicated by the CAT4 tests Year-on-year, a larger proportion of Orbital students have made greater progress than would be normally expected. This is why we are proud to say that Students do better at Orbital schools. Back to School. Having submitted our proposal to the authorities for our re-opening plan, we are now waiting for the inspection visit that will give us the go-ahead. The campus and classrooms are ready to be used again and we are all looking forward to seeing the children. More news will be shared with you all when we have it. Primary Webinar The best of British education for your child - just a click away! The British School Quito invites potential families to join us for an interactive webinar about our broad and balanced curriculum for Primary students. Discover how our academic provision helps your child to develop independence, life-long learning skills, critical thinking and questioning. This session is reserved for families with children aged 5-11 who are not yet enrolled at BSQ. e-learning at BSQ Christmas Projects Dear The Whole BSQ Community, This Christmas BSQ is running exciting sponsored challenges to raise money for the incredible charity – Hogar Para Sus Niños. Both Secondary and Primary are running sponsored challenges to raise money. Please visit our website for all the information about the challenges as well as the donation information. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Sally Madden, Mr. Bradley Edwards, Ms. Sara Avent and Student Council from Secondary and Mr. Tim Graves and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Sally Madden and Mr. Bradley Edwards – Year 8 Tutors The year 2020 will soon be coming to an end and who knows what 2021 has in store for us. One thing is certain, we will all enter the year with more resilience and ready for the next challenge, whatever that might be. Year 8 are no strangers to new challenges and last week they reflected on their experience of online learning and I would like to share some of their comments with you: “Some of my favourite activities in online learning are the kahoots and talking about subjects that I think are very important like BLM, LGBTQ+, politics (kinda) and more.” Maya “One thing I love about online learning is that we can still see each other although we are far away.” Valeria “Things I like about being online learning are the breakout rooms and kahoots because it is a fun way to learn and check context. I also like that we can access anything on google to check or if you’re not sure.” Dom “I enjoy kahoot because you can challenge your knowledge in a limited amount of time.” Elias “I like how I can finish my work in the lesson instead of outside it.” David In Friday’s assembly Miss Todd also asked us to reflect on our learning journey this year with three very important questions: 1. What have you learnt about yourself? 2. What do you now appreciate after this year? 3. What opportunities are you going to seize? I think these questions are important to all of us as we reflect on the year. As we get closer to the holidays Year 8 have been showing me their Christmas decorations and I have to say that there are some impressive looking Christmas trees! I always get excited about Christmas and I can see that Year 8 share this excitement with me. I see it as time for reflecting on how fortunate we all are and think about all the children in Ecuador and around the world who are less fortunate than us. Here are some reasons why the Year 8 students are looking forward to Christmas: “I'm really looking forward to Christmas because I get to have fun with my family, un-box presents and eat lots of good food. Just the thrill of it being Christmas is also nice.” Maya “I'm looking forward to Christmas because I get free time and presents, I can play with my friends on the holidays.” David “Meeting with my family and opening my presents.” Andrés “I'm looking forward to Christmas because of the holiday and I get a present which is always great, also because I can spend more time with my family.” Ivan Happy Christmas to everyone from Year 8 Ms. Sara Avent – Secondary Science Teacher Balancing Chemical Equations In year 8 science this week we are learning and practicing balancing chemical equations. This is a very challenging topic, but the students have been practicing hard and learning from their mistakes. Secondary Student Council The pandemic and all its challenges have impacted us all, and online learning can be really hard. There are always distractions — a tab to open, a game to play, or pets to take care of. School at home can be stressful. We could all use some brightening up in our lives right now… so here it is. The staff spent time with PA representatives on the BSQ campus last week looking at the protocols for a safe return. As a result, we’re ready to confirm that preparations are being made to go back to school sometime after the Christmas break. Quarantine has had an impact on students; sometimes, there are internet errors, sometimes the mic isn’t working. As Nicole, a Y7 student says, you miss your friends a lot and can’t form bonds with the new teachers that well. It’s also harder for the new students. Coming to a strange, new school in the middle of a pandemic can be exhausting. Of course, precautions will be taken — 25 new handwashing stands, more sanitiser, etc. There are many things to look forward to upon our return to school. Naturally, one of them is seeing our friends again after a long time. As well as that, there are a number of new teachers that you can finally meet in person. As for the new students, they can see the beautiful campus in person. Going back to school can mark the beginning of a great year ahead. We want to start 2021 on a good note, and we hope that you can join us! Aahna Y7, Student Council Mr. Tim Graves – Year 3B Teacher In 3B the children have been really excited and enthusiastic to learn about earthquakes and volcanos in Topic and ICT. We even had an expert on earthquakes give a special presentation on Wednesday this week. In Literacy, we have been reading excerpts from Escape from Pompeii by Christina Bali and the children have really enjoyed Hot Seating characters from the story! In addition, we worked on developing our own metaphors and similes, revised past tense verbs and created word banks. All this work has helped to prepare the children to write their first draft (Hot Write) of a recount, chronicling the day that Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii erupted. Considering that this is a first draft, I think the children should be very proud of the ideas they have generated and the quality of their writing. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of Early Years Dear parents, Happy Fiestas de Quito! The children have enjoyed learning about this city’s history, why this festivity is celebrated every year and why it is adorned with red and blue. For the next two weeks, we invite you to participate in the BSQ Christmas sponsorship challenge. All you need to do is enrol, choose the challenge your child will like to take on, and invite sponsors to donate. We also extend the invitation to Feria Internacional de Libros Quito 2020 that will run virtually from the 9th to the 13th of December. More details on this can be found on Tapestry. Kind regards. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update I hope you and your family all enjoyed the long weekend - with eight days of school left before the Christmas break, there is lots to do at school, not least the Christmas Sponsorship challenge with the older students and Christmas related activities for many of us. We finish at 12pm on Thursday 17th December, with Term 3 starting at 8am on Monday 4th January. Usually at this special time of year, we connect with friends and family and think about those less fortunate than ourselves – this year may be different in many ways because of the global situation, but the thoughts and feelings are still there. Thinking about what Christmas means to us as an individual and the ways we can bring joy to others will be particularly important this year, especially for those that have been directly affected by the pandemic. On Tuesday 8th December at 3:30pm we will host a New Parent Webinar –this is aimed at families who are thinking of joining the BSQ community so please do ask any friends who may be interested to contact myself or Mrs Verónica Peñaherrera. This week will also see the last of our Key Stage assemblies until the New Year – a chance to celebrate our successes within the community. Please do continue to visit your child’s Class Canvas page for updates about events and learning in the coming days and also to always contact your child’s class teachers if you have any questions about their learning or progress. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update Finally, the transition looms…. Much of what I have written over the last couple of months has been regarding exams and coping with online learning and the potential impacts of this on students. We have to consider again the exciting time that is the transition of students from the Primary School into the Secondary School. Our current year 7 students have done remarkably well considering the experience they have had. Usual fun was postponed at the end of last year along with the play – these are still planned. They are a resilient bunch and they are very lucky to have had such support and leadership from their key staff. At the end of year 6 they would have been excited about the change and step up and the freedoms they would experience in Secondary. Many of the concerns around transition are connected with attachment (the separation from friends and key teachers), the need to develop new relationships, and the need come to terms with their own accountability for learning and their new environment. If we are blessed with being able to be face-to-face again after the Christmas period, we need to consider that the year 7 transition effectively starts again – in the physical sense. This will be a time to celebrate and look forward to. I imagine that there will be some anxieties for some, but for the majority there will be much excitement, and we will be taking full advantage of this. We need to orientate them with their new environment and the connected freedoms, and also introduce them to specialist classrooms and more flexible approaches to learning. I would ask that you perhaps start exploring this in conversation at home to consider feelings and prepare minds. It is easy to assume that it will be business as usual, but it will not be, the step from Primary to Secondary is a huge moment in a child’s life. Yesterday I had the privilege of joining Ms Leon and Mr Madden at school to show my own children their new environment for the first time. What a wonderful and valuable experience it was. I now have two very excited children who are looking forward to the adventures to come – albeit with my son more focused on the bikes and scooters opposed to the business at hand. I am also looking forward to meeting new students who have arrived at BSQ this year and their parents who will join me tomorrow at school. This is to facilitate the same orientation. I am extremely excited to meet all concerned and start forging new relationships. It was nice to hear that one or two students today are bursting with excitement for their first opportunity to visit their new school. As I have previously written the exam weeks are fast approaching and will take place in the first two weeks of the new term. Remember, all students in years 7, 8 and 9 will not be sitting exams for Quimestre 1. Their grades will be based on a teacher assessment of their work over the previous few months in lessons. The quality of this in online workbooks and their general performance in ongoing assessment is critical for the best grades. Do please encourage this in the run in to the end of the term and support their approach to teacher expectations and deadlines. Year 10 and 12 will have exams in normal lessons, but these will be timetabled so that there are no more than 2 a day. I will share the exam timetable with you all next week so that revision preparation can be considered. Year 11 and 13 will face full Mocks in exam conditions. Again, the timetable of these and the resources for revision will be shared next week. We are preparing for both online and face-to-face exams to react to either possibility that faces us, but this should not be a distraction for students. Please support revision and preparations as appropriate. Do please look to my advice last week and build confidence and put your son or daughter at ease. To help in this process, and for students to have something positive to look forward to after the Mocks have passed they are currently considering a fun activity with the student council. Once agreed this will be shared. I look forward to whatever fun is forthcoming. This week we are enjoying the wonderful experience of celebrating those students who have received subject awards, and also awards to recognize our extremely talented individuals who consistently display our values without thought. They are all extremely deserving. This term the winners are Gala, Lyla, Martin and Riko. Well done and well deserved: I thought I would share a couple of the comments so that you can see a range if opinion on this important matter from a student perspective. She writes that quarantine has had an impact on students; sometimes, there are internet errors, sometimes the mic isn’t working. As Nicole, a Y7 student says, ‘’you miss your friends a lot and can’t form bonds with the new teachers that well. It’s also harder for the new students. Coming to a strange, new school in the middle of a pandemic can be exhausting’’. She goes on to say that ‘’there are many things to look forward to upon our return to school. Naturally, one of them is seeing our friends again after a long time. As well as that, there are a number of new teachers that you can finally meet in person. As for the new students, they can see the beautiful campus in person’’. She goes on to say that going back to school can mark the beginning of a great year ahead. We want to start 2021 on a good note, and we hope that you can join us! This is a very mature approach from the student perspective and I hope that it is something that resonates with you all. Finally, from me I would like to share some great work in year 8. I was extremely impressed with the work they were doing on learning and practicing the balancing of chemical equations. This is a very challenging topic and the students have been practicing hard and learning from their mistakes. I am still trying to get to grips with the equations myself – I will seek one of them out to explain for me. All very impressive indeed! Do have a good week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about why you should not overindulge your child.
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