Welcome We have certainly learned to expect the unexpected over the last few years and when the terrible rain in Quito caused devastation and loss to communities, we were quick to consider how we could support and comfort the people who found themselves homeless and needing urgent supplies. Under the guidance and vision of Ms. Montenegro, our IB Coordinator, the CAS students, parents and staff collected donations of essential food, clothes and toiletries to support the families and the work of Fundación Susana Rivadeniera. I am not sharing this so that we can feel proud or so that we can congratulate ourselves on a job well done. I am sharing it because I want to connect with our values of showing respect and care to others, to connect with our status as an IB World School where being principled and caring are 2 of the IB Learner Profile Traits and to invite you to connect with us on a range of projects we are building throughout the school. If any of these activities catch your imagination or fit with your expertise, please contact a member of the PA and let them know! For example:
Some projects are hands-on and others are more about information but all are designed to continue the drive at BSQ to embrace excellence through learning. British Sign Language (BSL) This week eight of our Y3A and Y4A students will be demonstrating new signs: Name yours what, Name my using BSL. Please watch this brilliant video: Ms. Hayley Dean, KS2 Lead Message from Dr. Sara Dear all, We want to remind all members of our community the importance of staying safe and how to follow our protocols to communicate any relevant developments at home. Our priority is the health and wellbeing of all and being able to stay on campus, as we all know how much our students enjoy it and how much they benefit from it. Wishing you all a great week. Kind regards, Dr. Sara Luengo, School Doctor Dates for your Diary As always please check this section carefully and ensure that you have all the details in your calendars.
Mrs. Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Thank you for continuing to support the school and all of our community during these challenging times – the safety and happiness of our students and wider community are at the heart of everything we do and we really appreciate the efforts you are making to ensure we are as safe as possible. In school, we continue to follow the protocols, with regular handwashing, the wearing of suitable masks, social distancing and regular cleaning of all surfaces and equipment. We follow the mandates of the Ministry of Education and COE as part of our permission to remain open, which may result in students or staff having to remain at home. Last week, Ms Dean led an exciting initiative to highlight Kindness in the community, with everyone being encouraged to write messages to each other and display these on our Kindness Wall. It was fantastic to see all the different messages and notes, from students throughout the school, leading to lots of interesting conversations about the value of kindness and how important it is to be kind and caring to each other. This is something you can try at home – last week, Year 2 students were encouraged to tell their mothers why they loved and cared about them so much. Encourage your child to say something positive about themselves, a sibling or another family member, after you have modelled it yourself. Mr. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Celebrations We would like to share with our BSQ community that Mila, Year 5A, is the new Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) champion, category G1 Under 10 from Pichincha in both Singles and doubles. Congratulations Mila for these achievements, we look forward to supporting her in future competitions! Y5A team Being BSQ – Secondary Update New faces I have had the pleasure this week of conducting a number of recruitment interviews for new posts in the secondary school in August. I really do enjoy this process which is extremely thorough. We are looking for the very best teachers who not only offer an excellent learning experience for our students but who will also fit into our family and offer value to our community. I am very pleased with who we have met so far and there really are some excellent individuals now going through the process of preparing their journeys and the inevitable arrival paperwork for the summer. I look forward to revealing more as the next couple of months unfold. It has been a hugely busy week with our management of staffing to ensure that we keep everyone at school. The team have been doing a sterling job by giving their planning time to ensure that those staff away can still teach children by supervising them in the classroom. I am really pleased by the adaptation which does seem to be working well. The staff have once again just rolled their sleeves up and pulled together for the purpose of our core business; teaching our children. As ever the students have just rolled with the disruption and cooperated fully demonstrating a steely determination to do well and cooperate and also the resilience to just adapt and make the best of it. We are all super proud of them. There are a number of students who are still unable to join us due to COVID implications at home. A reminder of what to do to access work and keep up as best as possible. If students are absent from school for any reason they are expected to access the resources and notes from the missed lesson on the agreed platform which is most appropriate for that subject. Invariably these will either be on the canvas platform as shared files, or on our Google Drive. Teachers usually follow up in lessons with an email to their class with the presentation notes and resources. The students also have email contact with the teacher who will happily support further if required. We would expect students to be proactive in seeking these materials and uploading work to their teacher in online workbooks. I would recommend that they contact their teachers if they are unsure. As mentioned earlier we also have the issue of staff being away currently and we are resolving this by making sure that the lesson is delivered to the class with the teacher dialling in within the room. Other teaching staff are giving their free periods to ensure that students are supervised to facilitate this safely. Absence will be registered as ‘medical/illness’ and thus, it is authorized. Dr. Luengo is maintaining a register of this and it is communicated to staff and administration daily for record purposes. All positive tests are dealt with on an individual basis but the basic principle is that if a child (or member of staff for that matter) is tested positive there will be a period of isolation with a return once the clear PCR has been provided. We are having a drive on uniform, standards, and attendance currently. Please can I appeal for your support in ensuring that students arrive at school with the correct school uniform only. Students should be wearing black shoes (we are noticing an increase in converse style canvas shoes) and any branded streetwear is unacceptable. On the days that your son or daughter has PE then a school PE kit can be worn. Again, branded sports garments are not acceptable. Leggings are not allowed for any student in years 7-11. If we are consistent at home and at school this should be a fairly easy focus. Can I appeal to you all to avoid, where possible, medical appointments in the school day. We are seeing an increase in students leaving the site around lunch time. We really do need everyone at school in all lessons to maximise time with their teachers. Lost learning is a significant factor in underachievement. A huge well done for our year 11 students who have now completed their mock examinations. Our focus now turns to what they achieved and ensuring that gaps are closed and the correct interventions are employed for the next few months. We will be preparing another mock series as a formal summative process prior to the main exams and after the consolidation process between now and then. This should present some fantastic preparation for the real thing. I am a believer in the saying that ‘you get what you deserve’. If there has been lots of revision, preparation and sacrifice of normal fun and free time in being ready then I expect that you get what you deserve. Equally, if you have not prepared, given time or focus to prepare for these important exams then again, you will get what you deserve. Either way there are lessons to be learnt and in both cases more work is required to pick things up, and to not allow things to relax by resting on your laurels. Finally, well done to Miss Martinez for the thinking and planning behind the enrichment programme. It is really wonderful to finally see everyone out and having fun on a Wednesday afternoon. We are now considering next steps and how we can extend things further in line with the valued parent opinion we received last term. Y10B Music In music Year 10 have been experimenting with music by creating their first compositions as an introduction to the component 3 for the IGCSE music. They have been learning about cadences and modulation to related keys and applying that by creating melodies and chord progressions in different key signatures. They have enjoyed projecting their feelings into songs and their compositions have been wonderful to listen to. Ana Paula: Isa A: Luis: Ms. Valeria Cano, Music Teacher | Y10B co-tutor Y10B History It has been a difficult first few weeks of this term, due to remote learning but it has been pleasing to see the students working in such a mature and responsible manner. Learning at home requires discipline and self-motivation and 10B have lots of very determined students that are able to get on well and it not affect their learning. In History, the students in Year 10 have finished the first three topics in good time and showed good understanding of the inter war years (1918-1939). They have recently completed their assessments and the results show that they have revised hard at home. One of the most important things in History is to consistently revise older topics so that they retain that knowledge throughout the two-year IGCSE course. If they keep up these study skills, they will do very well in their final exams. Mr. Colin Parkinson, History Teacher | Y10B co-tutor Have a good week everyone.
Mr. Lee Moors Head of Secondary
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May 2024
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