Welcome We have now arrived at the third end of term newsletter since we moved into our online learning phase in March this year. Despite the many challenges that this time has presented us with, it has also created many more opportunities. Challenges and potential opportunities present themselves at every stage of our lives and the most important thing is not what they are but how we respond to them. January 4 will see our staff on a phased return to the campus with the first students arriving for their induction sessions on January 7. We are all very excited to see our students and hope that it will not be long before we able to welcome visitors and parents onto the campus too. Reflections on the year that has passed should allow us all to celebrate the continuation of our strong community, great successes in learning, wonderful contributions to our wide society, new friendships, sporting extravaganzas, continuous provision of education and the even stronger sense of what it means to be a member of the BSQ team. We have all found new ways to be kind, to welcome others, to show respect and care for others and to achieve our ambitions with determination and resilience. Just look at all these extraordinary achievements. e-Learning at BSQ I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the New Year. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Paola Montenegro, Ms. Natalie Sawyers and Ms. Fernanda Espinosa from Secondary and Ms. Natalie Cook and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Paola Montenegro – Secondary CAS, Sociales Teacher | Y11B tutor It has been an atypical time in our lives where it has been our duty to adapt and be resilient. Something that I liked about the virtual classes is the intense debates on Citizenship Education with y11 and it makes me happy because they make me investigate more and more and show that as a teacher you also learn from your students, and that you never stop doing it. On the other hand, I am fascinated by the dedication of my students from y7, y8, y9, y10 that they have given to Social, I feel super proud because they all strive, reflect and work collaboratively and we have covered difficult topics such as the First World War, Russian Revolution, Cold War, Ancient Civilizations and etc. And believe it or not, your messages between: We miss you miss! Have a nice day! they encourage me to continue teaching with the same affection that I have for them. However, as a tutor I am also excited because our y11 students are ready for one of the most important challenges of their lives and without a doubt it will not be the first; as we have so many high expectations of them for years to come, and I mean their IGCSEs. Conversing with everyone, this is what they were able to mention: María Verónica - The truth is, they look a bit intimidating, but the teachers make me feel more and more secure. They are a challenge, but with effort, it is achieved. Felipe - I am very excited about the IGCSE, I feel that although they are complicated, and are a bit scary, they will be something very good for me. I feel like I'm prepared and ready to do them, they are going to help me as a student so I really appreciate it. Mela - Merry Christmas everyone, do not stress too much about the exams and enjoy Christmas, for sure we will go well. Gael- I am ok with the IGCSE and of course with a little fear since I do not know, what is coming, but in general I am excited. Oliver- I'm very nervous about the igcse since I don't usually study a lot, but it's still a new and exciting experience Dani: IGCSE's take a lot of time to prepare and even with all that preparation I am a little nervous about what can happen. But the teachers have helped me a lot and they make us practice and review, so I think it will be good for me. Anto: I hope this year will run smoothly that we are able to do what we need to do and I thank all teachers and my friends for supporting us and caring for us and making sure we are good. Congratulations! We hope that after the Christmas holidays you are calmer and just as optimistic about your exams. Without more from Y11B, we wish you a Merry Christmas and may the following year bring a lot of love, laughter, hope, faith and joy Mrs Montenegro World War 1 Students in year 9 humanities have been studying the causes of WW1 for the past few weeks; looking at the MAIN causes - Militarism, Allies, Imperialism and Nationalism, but also the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Schlieffen Plan. Students have been asked to present their argument of what caused The Great War. Ms. Natalie Sawyers - Humanities Teacher The history of mime Last week our year 9 drama students were learning about an important area of theatre, mime! They worked in groups to create a profile of the great mime artist Marcel Marceau. They discovered some really interesting facts about his life and the style of theatre that he was instrumental in popularising. Ms. Espinosa - Drama teacher Ms. Natalie Cook – Year 1C Teacher This week in Year 1C we have been continuing our Maths work on ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’. We have been comparing groups of objects and looking at numbers in many different ways: tens and ones, ten frames, number words and digits. In Literacy we have been crafting letters to Santa Claus. We have been learning the features of letters and their purpose as well as using ‘and’ and ‘because’ to extend our sentences and using adjectives to describe the presents we would like to receive, As it’s nearly Christmas, we’ve also been making sure to practise our Christmas song regularly as well as decorate virtual Christmas Trees and start to make some Christmas Crafts! Kind regards, Natalie & Belén KS1 Christmas Concert Dear parents, Although this year may be a bit different, Christmas will always be a festive season, especially for children! Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate together at school but this will not stop us from celebrating together online! We would like to invite you to our Year 1 and Year 2 Christmas concert taking place next Wednesday, December 16th at 2.30pm via the Key Stage 1 Events and Assemblies blog on Canvas. This is the same page via which we are having our assemblies every Thursday. I hope that you all have access to it by now. Children have been working really hard rehearsing their Christmas songs and we would appreciate it if you could attend this special event. We are looking forward to this lovely concert and to celebrate Christmas with you all. Do not hesitate contacting me via email at [email protected] in case you have any questions. Kind regards, Ms Vasilokonstantaki Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, The Christmas festivities have officially begun in the Nursery class. The children have been looking into what Christmas is all about through traditional stories and activities. Keeping in line with this topic, the BSQ student council have organized a Recycled Christmas tree decoration competition. We look forward to seeing what you and the children come up with. There are great prizes in store for the first, second and third place winners. Please send us your images through email to become part of this friendly competition. Enjoy a great week. Kind regards Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update I would like to start by congratulating you all individually for your enthusiasm, flexibility, resilience and positivity. Each and every one of our BSQ community has risen to the challenges we have collectively faced, with good humour and patience. Our teachers have adapted to a different style of teaching, forming professional relationships with students, some of whom they have not met. Our support staff here at BSQ has continued to do what they do best – support the rest of the community and make everything work smoothly. The parents have continued to be that invaluable link between teacher and student – you have supported your child’s development during their online sessions and kept abreast of all the communication from school which all has to come electronically. And finally, our wonderful students have continued to engage with their learning and own development, adapting to the different technologies and activities and seeing this period as a challenge that they can rise to. In this final week of term, we would encourage all of our students to continue and complete their sponsorship challenges, complete any outstanding learning and share with their teachers and enjoy the Christmas spirit as we approach the holiday season. But most of all, spend some time reflecting on the progress we have all made together, the sense of community we have continued to embody and look forward to a well-deserved break! I wish you and your families a restful and safe holiday period and a wonderful New Year. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update The birds have moved in…… What an exciting week we have had. This is the first time since I have been at BSQ where I have been on site for the whole week. We have been focusing on the next steps of the return by welcoming staff to the site and orientating them with the new systems and expected protocols. They are also getting the opportunity to prepare classrooms and resources and also practice the new technology that will be used in their teaching. What is apparent is the level of detail and depth of preparations that have taken place to ensure success over as things unfold over the next couple of weeks. The school looks beautiful and there have been many adaptations made to facilitate our return. One of the things that I have noticed is the amount of birds enjoying the peace and quiet. I wonder if when the children and some sense of normality returns their numbers will decline again_ I hope not as they are beautiful. It really is idyllic and the physical environment looks top class. The workers and administrative staff have toiled tirelessly over the past few months and we are now starting to approach the final fence. They really do deserve our gratitude for what they have achieved to get us back. There is a lot of information going home this week so naturally there is lots to take in. I have written to parents of students in years 10 to 13 to outline the exam period and how we are supporting our students in the run up to these important assessments. The letter includes a full exam timetable for each year group, so do please ensure that you have seen this and discussed the implications as a family. There is a balance here between aspiring to and encouraging work to secure the best grades possible, and being gentle and supportive so as not put too much pressure on. We really do need the help of our parents in this and I look forward to your support. Please encourage revision and also promote wellbeing in the holiday period. Do also remember that all students will be given outlines and revision resources so there should be no excuses at all. We hope they return in the New Year prepared and ready for the challenges that approach them. I have also written this week about what learning will look like for students who are at school and at home. What we have planned will ensure that all will experience the same delivery with the use of live streaming directly from the classroom. Once again we are all adapting to the need to use new technology in our teaching pedagogy. I am confident that we will all benefit from the development as we did when we entered lockdown. We will all finally emerge from this experience in a far more advanced state. Do please look at this important communication as it covers useful tips and key information so that students are as prepared and successful as possible at school and at home. I have also included a copy of the timetable for all year groups which outlines the blended learning pattern of the day and new lesson timings. Christmas is fast approaching and we have a number of online activities planned. All students will be having a virtual Christmas Party this week in tutor time and on Thursday, the last day of term, the timetable will be collapsed so that there are lots of fun activities that the whole school can enjoy. The morning will end with a whole school assembly. Do please remember that the day ends at midday. Finally, I am sure that you will all want to extend your best wishes to Mr. Karakashian who has decided to return to the UK. I have enjoyed working with him enormously and he will be missed by the many friends who have enjoyed his company whilst at BSQ. He has been working incredibly hard, especially with year 13 over the last couple of weeks to help manage and secure intended university applications. We are very lucky to have Ms. Sadotra, Ms. Carrera and Ms. Todd to ensure that critical elements of this role as IB coordinator are secure. It really is an exciting time for everyone with growth and professional opportunities and we all wish him the best for the future as he embarks on new challenges. Do have a good week. Lee Moors
Head of Secondary
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