Welcome There is a great deal written about change and some very well-known phrases linked to the concept as you can see here. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Barack Obama It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles Darwin Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. Rumi And of course, the simple fact that there will always be change in our lives should equip us to deal with it effectively. There is nothing permanent except change. Heraclitus As we move through this academic year, we are still focusing on adapting and changing as the world around us continues to present new challenges and new opportunities. Each year there will be some staff changes at BSQ and this coming year we have the exciting opportunity to welcome our new Head of Primary. Introduction As you will know, last term we undertook an extensive and rigorous search for a new Head of Primary. School leaders, staff, students and parents all participated in this and I am delighted to share the news that we have appointed a replacement for Mr. Madden. Mr. Lewis Hutchinson will be joining us with his family and I have asked him to introduce himself to you. As you can see, he is already familiar with our values and looking forward to continuing and further developing the excellent provision already in place. My name is Lewis Hutchinson and I am incredibly excited to be joining the British School, Quito family as the new Head of Primary. I will be travelling to Quito with my wife, Jade, and our two children; Maxwell aged 8 and Lyla aged 6. I have spent the past 5 years as a senior leader in Amman, Jordan and prior to that I spent a number of years teaching and leading in the UK. I truly value being a contributor to a strong school community and from the conversations that I have had so far with BSQ staff, parents and students, it is clear to see what a wonderful, welcoming and supportive community has been built. I wish you all success this academic year and I am very much looking forward to arriving in Quito this summer to live and learn together. Saludos, Lewis Hutchinson Enrichment developments following the parent survey I am really excited to be able to update you on our developments with the extra-curricular programme at BSQ. This has been something that has been missed enormously by students and staff with the limitations placed on the activities due to being online. You will recall the recent survey which was designed to gauge parent opinion on where we go next. If you took the time to contribute I am grateful as your input was extremely useful. So far, we have been overwhelmed with the enthusiastic responses we have gathered. We really appreciate the time you took in filling out this form. Extracurricular activities are a perfect way to explore other interests alongside the academic curriculum at school. We are absolutely determined to develop our children holistically and allow them to explore interest areas and find something that they are passionate about. This approach provides a healthy way for students to develop self-esteem and their social interaction, and in turn, also contribute to our community ethos. We now have a much clearer understanding of our communities wishes and moving forward we will work hard on developing a plan to secure a broad and rich programme. It is also clear that you are happy to contribute to additional activities such as sport and the arts after school, with outside specialists coming to the campus, and also with opportunities for activities to take place off site. This is really exciting and we are now exploring opportunities so that we are ready to put them into place when we can. If you would like to add anything further and you have not had the opportunity yet, do feel free to email me at: [email protected] I will be in touch further as developments unfold. Ms. Martinez, Enrichment lead at BSQ Dates for your Diary As always please check this section carefully and ensure that you have all the details in your calendars.
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update As we continue with our Online Learning provision at the beginning of this week, it is just as important as ever to support our students both academically and emotionally as they access their learning online. Our teachers work hard to vary the pace, content and structure of the online lessons to keep the students engaged and able to participate with their classmates, using a variety of online tools and apps to support them. We always encourage the students, from whichever stage of the school they are in, to join in with the lessons, share their ideas using the public chat or microphone and to use their camera as much as possible so we can see them in person. While we appreciate this is not always possible, due to technology concerns and other circumstances, this greatly improves the interactions between the students and their teachers and creates a more conducive environment for learning to occur. Please note, to facilitate all returning staff to the campus having a rapid COVID test, the 8am online session on Tuesday 25th January will be cancelled. Normal sessions will resume from 8:45am onwards. On Wednesday we welcome back our Early Years Students to the BSQ campus; our Caterpillar students will remain at school until 12pm, with Dragonfly students remaining at school until 3:10pm. On Thursday, we welcome back students from Years 1-5, with Year 6 students remaining online for the remainder of the week. Please send all of your child’s school books and other materials so that we can continue our learning at school. Please note that from Wednesday 2nd February, all students from Dragonfly class up to Year 6 will remain at school until 3:10pm every Wednesday to allow us to have our enrichment activities in school. Please continue to look regularly at the Canvas Parent Portal (and Tapestry posts for EYFS) and the BSQ Newsletter to keep up-to-date with news from school. Our teachers continue to be available during normal school working hours for school-related questions - please avoid contacting them in the evenings and weekends, as this is the time they have to prepare their next sessions. We also look forward to Miss Lilly Lockwood joining our Early Years Team to work alongside Isobel Anderson and Renata Vasconez for the remainder of the week, before Miss Anderson leaves BSQ to return to the UK to have her baby. We wish Isobel all the best in this next phase of her life and thank you for all her wonderful care and teaching in the Early Years. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update The wider curriculum It is really wonderful to see how many of you engaged with the recent survey to gauge your thoughts on how we should develop the enrichment program at BSQ. This is an exciting time of development and this is something that is critically important with developing the holistic learning of our children. Our curriculum aims to develop not only academic learning but also areas of interest known, or as yet unknown. Our job is to provide as many opportunities and experiences as we can so that students get to try things and perhaps discover their talent. This activity extends to social and mental development with children developing relationships and interpersonal skills, and through personal success enjoy personal satisfaction, greater self-efficacy, and confidence. What has come from your feedback is your support for after-school activities along with our normal enrichment activities on Wednesdays - not only developing these but also having the opportunity to pay for additional and more specialist activities. Miss. Martinez, myself, and Mrs. Newman will be working with key staff over the next couple of weeks to look at the shape of opportunities for the remainder of the year and perhaps more significant development for next year. More to come on this as we move forward. For now, we are aiming to introduce after-school activities as soon as possible with options for those students who wish to participate. As ever, we are of course waiting on far higher approval, and for now, we will plan for the moment we can act. Ms. Sadotra has been busy again this week with all of the changes for year 11 and IGCSE exams. There is uncertainty at present, but we are determined to facilitate the appropriate experience for them. She has also been reflecting on the assertive mentoring program with staff and how students have responded with higher outcomes. This is a really important exercise as students may have achieved to the point where the support is no longer required, but equally, there may be students who have slipped slightly and may need to be added to the strategy. Ms. Todd has been reflecting on the start of the values program in Key stage 3. This aims to encourage students to find opportunities to develop values and gain from the motivation that self-driven success rewards intrinsically. We are only a couple of weeks in but the staff who are delivering the activities have been very supportive about the strategy and from what I have seen in the sessions I have dropped into; students are responding very well. She is now looking at the next phase of development with year 12. With this year group, we will be focusing on leadership. The activity will culminate in a leadership training event in June, and along with previous activities and experiences, we will use this to decide on Prefects, a Head Boy, and a Head Girl for the next academic year. These will be new positions of responsibility and there will be extremely high expectations of those involved. Younger students will look to them to aspire to be in similar positions of responsibility when it is their time, and also learn from their example. There will be much more on this exciting development to follow. Mrs. Montenegro has been focusing on IB this week to ensure that we have continuity in curriculum planning and she has also been starting to look at the requirements for our accreditation review which comes next year. This is an incredibly busy time for her and Miss Sadotra with the administrative parts of their roles for Cambridge and IB. Exam season is nearly upon us and there is much to do. Finally, from me, I ask that you support us as much as possible in ensuring that your son or daughter attends every lesson and follows up on the work set or homework expected. Online lessons are shorter but they must use the off-screen time to complete work. Don’t just switch off and move on. We are online currently and it is very easy for a student to be absent. This is an important time in the year and everyone has lots to do. It does not take long to fall seriously behind. Currently, recuperation is planned for the first week of July so let’s all work hard now before we have the need to use this intervention. Y12B In 12B during the lead up to Christmas the students have been working hard in LLS talking through issues such as online safety, mindfulness, organisation and anti-racism, among others. Throughout these sessions the students have shown remarkable open-mindedness, a genuine desire to listen to each other and consider each other's ideas in context and have generally proven themselves to be exemplary global citizens with the values of tolerance and diversity at the forefront of their world views. The students have in turn created a fantastic, supportive environment within the tutor group allowing every member a space to be themselves and feel comfortable doing so. As tutors we look forward to seeing the students continue to develop as individuals and are proud to be tutors of such a great group. Mr. Matthias Lee and Ms. Nadine Parker, Y12B tutors Have a wonderful week everyone.
Lee Moors Head of Secondary
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May 2024
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