Welcome As many of you will know, today is commonly known as Saint Valentine's Day in many countries around the world. Everyone is familiar with him as the patron saint of love but, as always, there is far more to Valentine than meets the eye. He is also listed as being the patron saint of beekeepers, fainting, happy marriages and young people – amongst others! It sounds as if he was a great example of a multi-tasker. However, his life work was as a preacher and healer and when he refused to give up his faith he was executed. This kind of dedication to what you believe in is rare to see but there are certainly examples of leaders in this field who inspire our students to be passionate about and committed to as a result of their example.
Our own students of course have passions that they can write about and talk about with real commitment that often turns into action. This year again our CAS students will be continuing with the Lagartococha project and will soon be approaching you to buy cookie dough as part of their ongoing campaign to support the education of the community. We have champions of the environment and of course, of equality. This month you will see information and events linked to LGBTQ+ month and can read more in the article below by one of our students. So, whilst we celebrate this day of love and commitment, let's all take some time to think about what we are most passionate about and set a space aside to fight for it using St Valentine and the young role models above and below as our examples. SSD Article I bet you have missed us! We are excited to be back on campus and get things back up and running. This month we celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. It is a month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ history and the history of this community’s rights and related civil rights movements. It aims to promote and celebrate equality and diversity, but also recognize the achievements of the people in the LGBTQ+ community. The first LGBT+ History Month was celebrated in the UK in 2005. Since then, it has grown and now has a different theme each year. This year, the theme is ‘Politics in Art: The Arc Is Long’. LGBTQ+ identities have existed as long as humans have, but history books tend to either barely mention, completely ignore or deliberately erase LGBTQ+ people’s existence and contributions. This is a month to pay recognition to those who paved the way to equal rights and the countless numbers who were erased, ignored, and discriminated against because of their identity. Additionally, not only are we celebrating one key month but two. February is also home to Black History Month. Similarly, the Black History Month 2022 theme is “Black Health and Wellness.” This explores not only the legacy of Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine but other ways of contributing to health. We are celebrating figures that in their time have been marginalized, despite making great contributions to society such as Mae Jemison became the first female African-American astronaut to travel to space in 1992. The EDI Committee is fully committed to making this key month an amazing celebration. Stay tuned for more news on the events to come and… thanks for your support! Maite-Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Do you have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected] British Sign Language (BSL) This week two of our BSL Enrichment students will be demonstrating a new sign: Can I have? using BSL. Please watch this brilliant video: Ms. Hayley Dean, KS2 Lead Food Education Programme Dear BSQ community, We are very excited and happy to introduce you to the BSQ Food Education Program which has officially started with great success this week. Students in both Primary and Secondary school had the opportunity to find around the campus a variety of posters through which we shared some interesting facts about nutrition. This past week we focused on fruit and vegetables. Every week, our focus will be different, aiming at raising awareness and encouraging students to think twice before their next meal. Take a minute at the end of the day to have a discussion with your children about the content of these posters; what did they learn and what attracted their attention? We are sure you didn’t know that kale has more Vitamin C than oranges! Send us your answers to the riddles and get involved! We would love to hear from you. Ms Vasilokonstantaki - [email protected] Ms Leon - [email protected] Ms Valencia - [email protected] 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 After the success of the Kindness Wall in Primary, we extended the initiative for another week to encourage the students to continue to share messages and thoughts about each other and their teachers. Hopefully, this will also extend to home, with the students sharing their works of kindness to their family and friends in a variety of ways. On Tuesday 15th February at 1pm, Ms Vasilokonstantaki is hosting a Key Stage One Parents Workshop on the Key Stage One Events and Assemblies Canvas page. The focus will be on developing Life Skills and Independence. This workshop will provide you with some simple ideas, strategies and steps on how to build your child's independence and practise simple life skills. The week beginning Monday 21st February is Green Week, with a variety of events planned by the Student Council. This will involve all the students and staff from BSQ and aims to promote environmental values and practices and should be a real success. Your child will be asked to bring in materials for recycling throughout the week - please support them in this exciting initiative. Your child’s Partial 2/Quimester 1 report will have been shared with you - please do ask your child’s teacher for any clarification about either comments or grades and we look forward to speaking with you in more detail at the next Parent Teacher Conference, planned for Thursday 24th March. 4A and Year 6 reports will be shared with you very shortly - apologies for the slight delay. Mr. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Importance of PE in Primary At an early age, physical education activities are very important because they help improve self-confidence, improve strength, promote growth, physical, emotional and mental development. In addition, exercise helps strengthen growing bones and muscles, helps invigorate the heart, improves posture and balance, among other things. We often ask ourselves, what skills can be learned through exercise? Well, not only physical skills are developed but also social skills since it is easier to make new friends, encourages positive behavior, helps to create empathy, respect, and patience. In summary, physical education is very important for the comprehensive development of each one of us, especially at an early age. Mr. Fernando Ruiz, PE Teacher Being BSQ – Secondary Update The buzz of house activities It was wonderful to see the whole school out on the courts on Friday for their regular house event. There really was an excellent buzz around the place with the competitive opportunity to play volleyball on the courts in competition. This is a hugely significant game in Ecuador and the students really enjoy the competitiveness and excitement. What I was really impressed with was the level of play demonstrated by all students, clearly benefiting from the excellent PE teaching last term with Mr Edwards, but most especially our oldest students who provided a real spectacle of talented Volleyball. The results were really close with Cayambe in 3rd place with 3 wins, Illiniza in 2nd place with 89 points, and Antisana winning by only 1 point with 90. What an excellent day and it was wonderfully led by the staff. Well done Mr Edwards. We have spent time this week launching some exciting plans for our year 12 students. The transition from year 11 to 12 is really hard academically, emotionally, and socially. We have been considering aspiration and determination with everyone reflecting on their own strengths and weaknesses. The exciting news is that Mrs Todd is now drafting out plans for leadership student positions next year for Heads of School and prefects. These are great opportunities for students to excel, and also develop and refine their leadership skills for the future. It really does stand those appointed apart from others and is a reward for the hard work, initiative and leadership they have shown. More on this to follow. Staff are currently working hard with developing and refining their own skills around assessment and feedback. In Secondary we insist on 3 consistencies that staff need to meet. Personalised feedback is given to each student fortnightly, the feedback is descriptive and aligned with success and grade criteria, and students get a task that addresses misconceptions to close missed learning. From what I am seeing so far this does seem to be having an impact. I encourage you all to look at your son or daughter’s books regularly to see what is happening and to get an understanding of how staff are interacting with students in this important learning process. Staff will be sharing their work with each other in early March so that we can all share our good practice. Finally, from me, can I please appeal to you all to support us with some basics as students leave the house in the morning for school. Nails should be trimmed, makeup minimised, correct uniform and black shoes, no leggings for PE in KS3 and 4, and hats and water. We seem to be having to challenge this and I feel that it can be avoided. CAS - Basketball As part of their CAS project, Nico and Koutarou have been leading Basketball as part of the BSQ enrichment programmes on Wednesday afternoons. I have had the pleasure to supervise both of them and I have been very impressed with their knowledge in the game and delivery of their well planned lessons. So far they have covered key passing skills and shooting techniques. Whilst only 2 sessions into the programme there has already been a clear improvement in students game play and lay up technique. I congratulate Nico and Koutarou's excellent leadership skills and I look forward to working with them for the rest of the enrichment programme. Mr. Bradley Edwards, PE Teacher Have a good week everyone.
Mr. Lee Moors Head of Secondary
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