WelcomeThis week we will be marking the importance of our mental health and raising awareness of the complexities of maintaining it when we all turn Inside Out to consider how people may be feeling underneath their brave exteriors. Whilst we may not generally consider the pandemic to be a positive world event, it has certainly opened up a wealth of support, material and resources linked to the maintenance of a healthy mind and body as ways to survive lockdown become both more creative and more widely available. I was so pleased to read the newsletter contribution from two of our Year 10 students last week where they explored how they feel cared for and supported at BSQ. They talked about how their teachers and tutors are ‘always taking care of our mental health.’ They also mentioned that ‘teachers always try their best to inculcate the BSQ values.’ I am so pleased that our students feel like this because that is indeed what our core purpose is as educators. Of course we strive to ensure that our students leave BSQ with the best academic outcomes they can achieve and in addition, that they feel confident enough to step out into the world with the strength of knowing that their moral compass has been clearly set by their experiences in school. All schools these days have values or mission statements or visions but not all school manage to embed them so deeply or effectively into their daily culture. At our secondary Reward and Recognition assemblies we celebrate academic excellence, ongoing and determined effort and also those students in each Key Stage who have most consistently demonstrated their personal commitment to our values. They have been caring and respectful; happy and welcoming; ambitious and determined. They may have demonstrated these values through school work, with friends or teachers, in CAS projects, out in the community, during enrichment – anywhere really. Most importantly these people have impact on others in a positive way. In February we will be adding this award to our Star of the Week assembly once a month so that we can reward our younger students for developing these all-important values for life. 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. Natalie Moors, Mr. Simon Newman and Y7 students, Mrs. Rocío Rueda, Mr. Bradley Edwards from Secondary Ms. Hayley Dean and Ms, Ms. Isobel Anderson and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Natalie Moors and Mr. Simon Newman – Y7 tutors In Year 7 we have been discussing and talking about our well-being. It is important to continue to do things you like and stay active while we are at home. Although we can’t do many of the things we used to do at school, we can still stay healthy and active during these times. Some of you might ask, “What is considered being healthy and active?” Well the World Health Organization says that well-being is, “Complete physical, mental, and social well-being - and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” We know it can be hard during this time of trouble, but here are some things our class has been doing for our well-being: Nina S: I like drawing a lot because it is nice to spread your ideas on a piece of paper; here are some pictures and drawings: Natalia: I like drawing and playing with my dogs. Drawing can help you calm your body and be mindful. It can also be a good way to relax and express yourself. Playing with animals and pets is fun and it is good to take your dog for walks so you can get some exercise and fresh air. Mr. Newman: I like taking Dora for a walk, near the Cumbaya reservoir, because it makes her happy. Taking your dog for a walk is fun and it can be exciting, instead of being inside all day. Tomas R.: I like to spend time with my cat, Kitty. She is very cuddly and I love her a lot. Playing with cats is fun and taking your mind off class and working for a bit can be good for well-being. Gonzalo: I like to play games. It is good to play games because it challenges your brain and can help take your mind off other things. Mathias: I have been taking some pictures and doing photography. It is good to take photos to capture moments in time that could have been forgotten. Also some find it calming and fun to take pictures. Nicole: I like playing Survival games and drawing creatures. I also like making plushies. Here is some of my work: Nina B: I have gymnastics two times a week with my best friend Anto in Gymfinity; I play with my puppy a lot and chat with my friends. Isabella Ch: I like going horse riding and seeing all my horses. I also like playing with my dog. Lyla: I like baking with my sister, it helps me relax and it is always fun to see the creations come together. I also like to talk to friends. Ignacio: I like to play tennis and video games. I also like to watch movies with my family and play with friends. Isabella: I like to do gymnastics twice a week; I am on level 3. Also, I like to take pictures of my surroundings, like flowers and playing with my pets. Mrs Moors - To relax, I like to get lost in the world of books. Thank you for reading our section on well-being, we hope you learned from this and will do some more active and mindful things in the future for your well-being. With a Thanks from Year 7, Bye and stay safe! Poetry Gallery – Y12 students Year 12 students developed a project about a singer-poet that they analysed and studied during October and November. It was a wonderful and hard experience and effort for them. The product of this project was a Gallery that with the leadership of Nicolas Orellana, they build and the result was very important and nice. Here I leave the link so you can see it. I would really like to show this great effort with the rest of the school, so they can appreciate their work as well. Kind regards, Mrs. Rocío Rueda – Spanish Teacher Inside Out Day On Wednesday, February the 3rd the Primary and Secondary schools will be celebrating ‘Inside Out’ day! Inside Out day is an event during Children’s Mental Health Week which is an awareness campaign that aims to enable young people to start talking about their mental health in the United Kingdom. The pandemic has impacted greatly on the mental health of children around the world and for this reason, it is even more important that we recognise this and talk about these important issues with our students here at BSQ. On the day we are asking all staff and students to wear a piece of clothing inside out! The idea behind this is that how someone looks on the outside doesn’t necessarily reflect how they are truly feeling on the inside, so it is important to always be kind, think of others, and support where you can. There will be time and space made for important discussions to be had surrounding the importance of kindness and the impact of mental health during the day. Please feel free to get involved as a family and all wear your clothing inside out for the day and continue these important discussions at home. If you would like more information on the campaign please click here. We look forward to seeing all the inside out outfits next week! Ms Dean and Ms Sadotra P.E Fitness Programme The secondary students are almost half way through their 10 week fitness programme. As part of their Physical Education lessons, students have been exploring different components of fitness and how they are used in sports. Alongside this, they have independently set goals to achieve within their very own fitness plan. Furthermore, they are looking at what personal qualities they need to work on to achieve their own fitness goals. With Week 1 & 2 testing done, students have completed a number of classes looking at full body workouts to flexibility challenges. It has been fantastic to see the students put Mr Moors and Mr Edwards through their paces with their excellent work ethic and desire to improve. We look forward to the results as we progress through the programme. Mr Edwards, P.E Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, Live Little kickers sessions will begin in the upcoming weeks on Canvas. You would have already received a survey regarding this. The aim of the survey is to hear your thoughts on what you feel will be the best time for the children to have these live sessions. We will use the data collected to create the final timetable and share them accordingly. We have Mental Health day coming up this week on Wednesday February 3rd. We will celebrate this day of open communication, understanding our feelings and sharing thoughts by wearing a piece of clothing inside out to represent sharing your inside feelings and emotions. Next week, in EYFS we will celebrate Chinese New Year's and Valentine's day. Each class teacher will share specific information regarding this during the course of this week. We look forward to another full week of learning experiences for the children to enjoy and take away from. Ms. Isobel Anderson – Nursery Teacher In Nursery, the students have been reading the touchstone text 'Elmer' to learn about similarities and differences and what makes us all unique. We have been exploring colour names and counting through the story, as well as making our own sponge-print Elmers! We have also been exploring different parts of Ecuador and learning new vocabulary as we go! The children were fantastic in our 'Galapagos Animal Yoga' session, and made some beautiful drawings of flamingos, blue-footed boobies and more! Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Last week, I shared some tips for online learning, to encourage our students to achieve the very best they can, through ensuring that they feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Please do take a little time to revisit the points below from last week and look at the new tips, with a view to make any small adjustments to your daily routines that you feel necessary. 1. Establish a daily timetable 2. Monitor screen time 3. Set up a dedicated learning space 4. Feedback to the teachers 5. Get outside: As the weather improves, it is even more important to get outside whenever possible. This not only helps with keeping Vitamin D levels topped up, but it also helps to lift your mood, makes you feel more energised and offers myriad of benefits to our mental and physical health. Take a walk, set up an outdoor exercise circuit, eat your lunch in the garden, stand outside and try to identify the birds that you can see and hear, find some puddles to jump in, whatever appeals to you and your family. As the Norwegians say ‘Ut på tur, aldri sur’ (directly translated as ‘Out on hike, never in a bad mood’). Or in other words, no one ever regrets going outside, even when it is wet! 6. Make connections to home: Finding learning moments within the home environment can be fun and engages students outside their timetabled lessons. There are mathematical, literacy and science skills involved in many day-to-day tasks, so get the students involved and you might even find they can lend a helping hand along the way. This could include cooking (can be linked to English, Maths and Science), household chores (Science, STEM plus essential life skills), gardening (science, maths and to inspire creativity in dance, art and English) or even learning something new together, like counting to ten in a different language. Our daughters have learnt new cooking techniques and discovered a love for puzzles – let their imagination run riot and see what they come up with! 7. Relax: This period of online learning and reduced social interactions has been a difficult time for us all, with internet and device issues, myriad of distractions in the home and the constant worry about the health of our family and friends, wherever they may be. Our first priority should always be the well-being and happiness of our students, followed by encouraging them to keep engaged and focused on their emotional and academic development. We look forward to another great week of learning opportunities, sharing feedback with the students and supporting them in the very best way that we can – please do let us know if there is anything we can do to help in any way. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update Business as usual at BSQ We have achieved so much over the last two weeks as a community. All of my 1:1 meetings with staff this week have seen me thanking them individually for their determination and hard work – it really does illustrate just how committed the teaching team here are to meeting your needs, and ensuring that the information you need arrives when planned. I recall saying this three times now and I will repeat it again – our staff at BSQ are extremely talented and their teamwork always ensures collective success. After this, I suppose most would assume that a rest would be in order but education is demanding and the vacuum is filled with the next challenge. I wrote last week about the need to learn from the data gained from the Mocks and turn it into something constructive, irrespective of outcome. We are now considering what this looks like and how we ensure that every student gets a bespoke intervention package and mentoring focus going forward. Our responsibility and commitment is to ensuring that every individual is delivered to the end of their course with success. The parent teacher conferences planned for the 9th February are critical to this process – you may recall my earlier nod to the triangle of support and the role that we all play in success. I appeal to you as parents to please support this event and return the appointment requests so that you have this really important time together and agree on the checkpoints for next steps. Our students in year 13 have also been finalizing university applications for the USA, the UK and destinations in other countries and at home. I am pleased to say that all students who have chosen to study in the USA or the UK have made the application deadlines, and now we await the grades that meet predictions and ensure offers become reality. There really are some very prestigious universities in the plans and I look forward to seeing how these land in July/August. I have had the pleasure of seeing some amazing work from students this week. I would like to draw your attention to the work that Ms. Rueda’s year 12 Spanish Literature class completed in their virtual gallery. I was amazed at the professional outcome of their work in the gallery which focused on poetry analysis. You will find more on this in the newsletter and a link. It is amazing - well done year 12! You may recall the work of the student council and the class reward drive. This seem to be working well. One of the considerations for the class reward is the use of cameras in lessons. I have asked all teachers to praise and encourage when cameras are used but this has some way to go. If you walk past your son or daughter at home, please look to see of their camera is in use and encourage them if not – it really does make a difference to the learning process. Finally, I would like to wish students in IB English classes the very best of luck in their oral assessments. I imagine that this is extremely stressful due to the fact that these are spoken assessments in a second language but we have articulate and intelligent students in year 13 and I am confident that they will all do well under the guidance of the English team. Good luck! Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary
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