Welcome Learning Our secondary students are now in the middle of their exam season and we are all proud of the way in which they have been approaching both the preparation and the actual exams themselves. Around the world governments, ministers and exam boards are having to make difficult decisions about what to do this summer. Already in the UK the decision has been made that there will be no formal exams – instead once again the teacher grades will be what are awarded to the students. For us, both Cambridge and IBO are still planning to run their exam season in May this year and whilst that may well change moving forward, here at BSQ we continue to plan for our students to do their very best and feel confident that they will do so. Why do we test students? There are divided opinions on the value and benefit of tests, assessments and exams but there is certainly a place for them when carefully planned and appropriately reviewed. For example, regular class testing can show the teacher where the gaps in knowledge are so that they can plan to review more complex material more often. Quick quizzing can support the recall of information and understanding that might otherwise be relegated to the back drawer of the brain and therefore harder to access later. Assessments also give students the opportunity to review their learning, organise their notes and celebrate their own knowledge and understanding. Our academic staff have been exploring some concepts around knowledge and being ‘clever’ - what that means. One idea we explored came in three stages: 1. Knowledge is what we think both with and about. 2. We cannot think with or about something we don't know. 3. The more we know about something, the more sophisticated our thinking. Taking these ideas as part of our thinking on tests and exams then they give us all the opportunity to develop sophistication in our thinking. Perhaps we should all be doing exams more often! Living Thanks to those parents who have already completed our survey for 2020-2021. If you need any support with access please contact Andrea on [email protected] Inside Out At the start of February, we will be setting aside some time to explore mental health in primary and KS3 and this will include the concept of ‘Inside Out’ where we will be wearing an item of clothing inside out to raise awareness of the importance of understanding what others are thinking and how they are feeling. I hope you can join us. Secondary Webinar Join us to discover how our academic provision prepares your child for future success! The British School Quito invites potential families to join us for an interactive presentation about our broad and balanced curriculum for Secondary students. This session is reserved for families with children aged 10-16 who are not yet enrolled at BSQ. Parent Survey 2020-2021 Please if you have not had the chance to fill out our Parent Survey, you can find the link here. Your feedback is valuable to us so please do get involved. e-Learning at BSQ 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, Mrs. Alejandra Miranda, Ms. Sadotra, Mrs. Montenegro and Mr. Simon Newman and Y8 students from Secondary and Ms. Polly Hall and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Patricia Tufiño & Mrs. Alejandra Miranda – Y13B tutors New Year! New challenges, it is what lies ahead for the students of year 13 B. These two weeks of January from 11 to 22 are challenging moments when facing their IB practice exams and for this reason, the students have been preparing little by little for these evaluations that will be an indication for the May 2021 exams. The teachers of each subject were in charge of delivering study strategies to help students in this preparation process, for example, guides were delivered with the topics developed in this period, review activities, as well as tips and advice so that they can assist each other in reviewing and studying, so that they can demonstrate their best abilities and skills in these mock exams. In the tutoring periods and through LLS we continue to develop topics of great interest according to age and interest. With topics such as the use and abuse of alcohol, the good attitude of the students allows ideas to be presented with a high degree of respect. In addition, it is important to note that in the first minutes of the start of the day, Alejandra Miranda is available from Monday to Friday to share with all the students who connect in the morning from 8:00 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. In this space you can talk, share music or exchange an idea or two. We wish you success in these mock exams! Manga High The COBIS Manga High Maths challenge 2020 - 21 is starting very soon and our KS3 students will all be getting involved in class! The British School Quito will be competing against various international schools all around the world. There are school and individual prizes up for grabs and we will be awarding certificates to the top scorers in each year group and the whole school! Students will be receiving their logins very soon and will be able to start practising on January the 18th in advance of the competition which begins on February the 1st! This is a wonderful opportunity for students to practise their mathematical skills in a fun and competitive way so I do hope you will encourage your children to get involved! If you have any questions, please get in touch with your child's mathematics teacher. Good luck to all who are taking part! Ms Sadotra CAS CAS is an important part of the IB, as it not only focuses on the interests and well-being of the students but also on developing strategies and meaningful learning through their personal experiences and group projects. Students for 18 months (Y12 & Y13) must develop at least 8 experiences and 1 project, reflect on their practice, show evidence and have a supervisor. In the same way, they have 3 interviews where the coordinator solves doubts and supports each one's process, and 2 weekly sessions where they can use that time for themselves or communicate their concerns. CAS on the other hand, is linked to PARTICIPACION ESTUDIANTIL which represents 10% of the final grade. During this context of COVID -19, students have focused on finishing their individual experiences either of Creativity, Action or Service, but many of the projects have not been able to have their characteristic and long-awaited trips, but internally we have been working to continue supporting the organizations we cooperate with. In the coming months we have some surprises and we are confident that we will surely be able to count on your support. I leave you with some examples of what we have been doing. Podcasting about global issues and events Raising awareness about Climate Change Mrs. Paola Montenegro – CAS Coordinator Y8 English lessons In English with Mr. Newman, students in Year 8 are currently reading Lois Lowry’s controversial novel, The Giver. Among many other things, this book has provided us with the opportunity to think about what it is to be a member of a community and the types of communities that we might prefer to be or not be a part of. Year 8 students have been thinking about the community presented in the book in which the main character Jonas lives and our own BSQ community. Here are some reflections: David Both BSQ’s community and Jonas’s community have similarities and differences. The first thing they have in common is having a set of basic rules. Furthermore, these communities have other similarities like having leaders so BSQ has a principal and Jonas’s community has the Elders. Now, on the other hand, BSQ’s community and Jonas’s community also have differences. Firstly, BSQ’s Community is driven by being better but Jonas’s community is not driven by being better but, instead, fear because in this community if you break rules you get punished severely. Secondly, the BSQ community doesn't have giant celebrations when a person is older but Jonas’s Community does, with lots of people attending. Doménica The community in Lois Lowry's The Giver and our own community share some similarities and some differences. For example, in the novel when the person passes the Ceremony of 12 they are basically grown-ups and due to that they get assigned their ‘career’. However, in our community we usually get more years of preparation and a choice of what we want to be. At BSQ, people receive some type of punishment for things like: 1. Misbehaviour or 2. Lateness but in Jonas’ community people receive Chastisements - in BSQ we get detentions and referrals. Elias In our community and in The Giver both celebrate ceremonies like getting to a certain time such as graduation in BSQ or getting to a certain age in The Giver. In the same way they both have leaders: in the novel the leaders are a group of people similar to BSQ where the leader is Ms. Newman and Orbital. Equally both communities have punishments if you don't follow the rules although they don't do the same punishments. At BSQ the normal punishment that is used the most is the verbal warning and then it goes on to detention. Obviously, the punishment is decided by the severity of the act or activity that the student did. However, in The Giver If you don't follow the rules there is one punishment and that is being Released. This means, in a form, being exiled from the community. Gianella BSQ and Jonas’s community have similar and different ways of managing each community. Some might seem crazy and some understandable, but it’s what they believe best for their community. A similarity is that for greater focus and attention, teachers take away valuable, material objects from children to force them to follow rules and finish the task or hear what the teacher is telling them. Another similarity is that for some year groups and classes people have to wear certain clothing because it’s part of the rules. Rules are respected and they have to be achieved. People, in both communities, have to respect others' appearance and not judge them without knowing them. Now for the differences: in BSQ people are allowed to take some things from school to home with permission. Staff, students and teachers don’t really need to follow the rules to the letter. They have to achieve it and make it, not necessarily do it as it says. The principal and the teachers don’t send away a child to never be seen again for a little mistake. What they do is tell and teach the child that what he/she has done is not right. Something the BSQ community gives is freedom; of course we have limits but people are allowed to do what they want. Naomi Jonas’ community and the BSQ community have some similarities and some differences. Firstly, they have rules and this is the same because they both are ruled by people. Additionally, they both have leaders in their community. On the other hand, Jonas’ community and the BSQ community have some differences: the BSQ community prepares us for the open world and for our futures but Jonas’ community does it differently because they hide people from the outside world, and are very controlled in every movement they do. It is like they don't have their own privacy, while in BSQ we have our own privacy and we are not controlled by people in every movement we do. Sebastian The community in The Giver and BSQ are similar in various ways: they both try to protect us, they both control children, they both are divided by age groups and you have to meet a certain criteria to advance to the next level. The difference between both is that they are based on different ideologies. For example, BSQ tries to prepare us for the outside world and the community aims to hide the people from the outside world. BSQ and the community are different because one is a school and the other a type of dystopian/utopian society; another difference is that inside the community there is no liberty of expression unlike BSQ. According to The Giver there is not much diversity in their community: the people have no beliefs or ambition because their future is determined by the council. Ms. Polly Hall – Year 1A Teacher The children in 1A have been working hard during the first two weeks of 2021! In literacy, we have been learning about recounts. The children have read lots of different recounts and will soon begin to write their own! We are going on a virtual zoo trip and the children will write all about this trip. In topic lessons we have started learning about how Quito has changed over the years. The children have looked at old photos of Quito and compared them to more recent ones. They have even interviewed older members of their families about how Quito has changed. In art, we have been learning about typography. Each child has created some beautiful typography using pictures of their favourite things and activities to represent the first letter of their name. Well done, everyone! We have also been having handwriting lessons. The children have made great progress in starting their letters from the top and making each letter the correct size. Great job 1A! Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, It has been a great second week of term 3. In numeracy, the children are beginning to work on number ordering and sequencing. To prepare them for this, they have rehearsed counting 1-20 in order by building plastic cup towers! Fantastic tower creations came from this common household item. In the Literacy sessions, Ecuador has been the central inspiration to the sentence writing process. The children were able to independently express in short and meaningful sentences what they like the most about Ecuador. To wrap this topic for the students, we have planned a homemade volcano experiment for this week! Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update This week for many of our students, in Years Two to Six, we are administering some important assessments to give us valuable information about each student’s skills and understanding in different areas of the curriculum. These assessments are used alongside other information the teachers have collated about each student’s progress and development and allow the teachers to cater for each student’s individual needs. Your child’s class teacher will let you know when these assessments are taking place throughout the week – they will need a quiet place to complete the assessment, a pair of headphones and the unique code we have already sent you to access the assessment online portal. Please do contact Mr Madden if you have any problems with this process. All of the teachers are busy completing the written reports for the end of Quimestre 1/Partial 2. These are a formal method for receiving feedback about your child’s progress, although teachers are always available to discuss progress and next steps with you to support your child’s development. Please do contact them if you would like to meet and discuss anything. You will also have received communication from the Student Support Department (SSD) about a survey created for all students in Ecuador by the Ministry of Education, called “Interview to identify Socio-emotional Aspects in the context of COVID (Ministry of Education)”. This is a requirement from the Ministry and we would kindly ask you to complete the permission letter and send back to school as soon as possible. These short discussions with each student in school will take place in the coming weeks, during their normal school day. Finally, I would like to thank all of our students for maintaining such a focused start to the New Year, supported by their parents. The levels of engagement and interaction within each session are high and this supports each and every student’s learning as we continue to provide high-quality online learning opportunities for our students. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update What is all this education for? This week I am planning for my presentation to prospective parents and this had led me to think about what we are preparing our children for. I have been in education now for over 20 years. I recall vividly at my first school being taken to the IT teacher who set me up with my first email address. This was on the Hotmail platform. I remember saying to him, “What do I need this for?”, and he replied, “This is the future young man”. I also recall how precious my paper diary was as all of my planning revolved around this. However, the email was reluctantly accepted and over the space of a year all that we did fundamentally changed for the better. I lose count of all of the email addresses I have had over the years but this one is still working now and I have been using it constantly since that day. The point here is that in a very short space of time technology has leapt so far that our skill sets have changed to gain new ground and we discard those which become obsolete. At BSQ we pride ourselves in the way that we prepare our students for the challenges that will face them in the future. We want them to leave us young adults who stand apart from others of their age. We are extremely fortunate here that our international education truly promotes that, and it is designed to skill them with what they need to be successful wherever they appear around the globe. Technology is progressing at a dizzying speed and so is the world of work. Every year it seems that there is some new technology, skill or device that professionals need to master to be successful. We cannot anticipate what comes next but we can focus on the fundamental skills needed to navigate these fast changing times. We could consider them as soft, transferrable skills that can be applied in a number of settings. These soft skills we develop should last a lifetime. They essentially land in three categories: learning skills which link to information processing, literacy skills which help employees with the independence of research and being informed thinkers, and life skills where we hope that well rounded individuals can thrive in any situation. Creativity which is key to many industries where innovation is required. If employees can think outside the box companies can adapt to changing markets or resolve potential problems. Employers need creative thinkers as they can apply logic to come to well-reasoned conclusions. Employees can objectively analyze a situation, weight things up and identify potential solutions. Those employees who are seen as good collaborators who are willing to listen, learn and work with others are more likely to accomplish a goal together. The modern workforce is full of employees with highly specialized skills and knowledge. Those with good communication skills are universally useful and their ability to communicate trickles into all aspects of life. It is argued that all of the technical knowledge and skill in the world isn’t worth much if you can’t effectively get your point across in a respectful and coherent way. Information literacy enables the employee with this skill is able to separate fact from fiction by interpreting facts and raw data they might find online. It is thought that a recent graduate should be able to find reliable information, judge what can be used to indicate performance and act on those judgements. Of course it is critical that future employees are adaptable so that they should be able to work both remotely or in the office, independently and with a team. They’re also open-minded, interested in new ideas and willing to take on new tasks. At interview this is something that can be make or break and is certainly something that I look for when interviewing new teachers. The world now requires leaders in all fields. No matter what a student’s ambitions are, cultivating leadership skills while in school or while working at an entry-level job can lead to greater opportunities in the future. If a graduate shows leadership early in their career—this shows potential and promise for the future. Employers are always looking for this and usually invest in it. Finally, employees need sound social skills. Though it may be tough working to develop these, especially if students are shy or less confident, it is always worth it. Good social skills ensure that a candidate can interact and work well with others, understanding the nuances of social interactions, bring the best out of others and ultimately, function as a part of a team. Again, this is a critical area that I observe in any recruitment of our teaching staff. At BSQ our strong values lead students toward these concepts and of course our IB programme at year 12 and 13 is fundamentally designed to develop the learner profile traits that link closely with the skills modern employers are seeking. Do praise and encourage this at home when it becomes evident as the consistency of this at home and school influences these behaviours and leads to strong rounded characters. In news this week I am looking at how we use the data from the exam outcomes to ensure that our parents are involved with the reflection process. Year 11 and 13 parents will be receiving an addition parent teacher conference for this in early February. The rest of Secondary school lessons will be collapsed for independent work set at home. Do please look out for the communication on this and ensure that you are able to attend to celebrate and agree strategies for further improvement. This week I will be speaking to prospective parents in an online webinar as part of our ongoing marketing strategy. Do please encourage any friends or family members that you might be aware of to contact our marketing team and take advantage of the opportunity. Finally, once again our student council have made me very proud indeed. The planned roll out of the new class reward strategy has been delivered and communicated to the staff. It really is a well- considered strategy which is designed to develop group efficacy, team spirit and community. I look forward to seeing this in action. Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about how to help children deal with disappointment.
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