WelcomeThis week I want to say thank you to all our families for the calm and measured way in which you are responding to the decisions and actions we are taking at BSQ to keep our community safe. Our school values of respect and determination are shining through as we continue to provide high quality learning and a truly happy and positive learning environment for our students. For most of last week, early morning revision sessions, assemblies, experiments, sports clubs and celebrations continued to mark the BSQ days and I am proud of all the staff, students and parents who helped to make that happen. This week we see our community moving to online learning using our excellent platform - Canvas. Our staff have been busy preparing for the possibility of online learning since we were closed in October and students will be able to continue with their studies as usual, guided and supported by our wonderful team. All lessons start at 8am on Tuesday morning. Coronavirus. Many thanks to all of you who have communicated with our school doctor about your travel plans – please continue to do so and to be vigilant and aware of your own health. We will keep you posted and in the meantime please ensure that Sandy has a correct email address for you and that you read all communications carefully. Meet the team – First Aid Brigade We are lucky here at BSQ to have the support and guidance of a fully qualified pediatric doctor AND a team of supporters who are first aid trained and ready to help out. Dr. Sara Luengo - School Doctor Here at BSQ we have the First Aid Brigade, the school doctor is the leader and responsible for the training and decision making. With 5 to 6 members of staff who are part of it as volunteers, we are trained in first aid to respond quickly and effectively to all emergencies that happen on campus and outside in our school trips. The people who participate in this brigade are (Marisabel Nájera, Fernando Ruiz, Ana Espinosa and Alejandra Miranda). As the leader of this group, it is very rewarding to work with friends and colleagues and also to train and teach the entire community. Teaching first aid in a school setting becomes an ideal scenario, we have staff and students all with different backgrounds and social contexts, having their own groups of friends and family, by training all of them (specially the kids) they become multipliers of information on a large scale. First aid education must be universal, everybody can learn first aid, and everybody should. My experience as the doctor of the BSQ community and being responsible for the health and safety of it, has been very rewarding and a constant learning experience. I consider myself lucky due to the fact that, like I said before, I work under ideal conditions. I have a perfect setting to keep an eye on all of my patients, see their evolution, put into practice all the epidemiologic measures that I know would be best for the entire community, do follow ups and focus on prevention. The BSQ community as a whole, is a very healthy one. My focus is on maintaining and improving that even more, being vigilant of the situations in the country and the world that would require immediate action, to ensure we are all living and learning together. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this period. This week we have Year 8 students and the Climate Change Committee from Secondary and Mr. Matt Kidd and Ms. Coronel from Primary. Year 8 - Happy Women’s Day! BSQ celebrated the day with a Life and Learning skills lesson planned by Miss Parker and the Equality and Diversity Committee (Samantha Baugh, Silas Tapia, Mateo Almendari). The lesson was engaging and full of thought provoking facts and information about women with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of the continued struggle for gender equality covering topics like: feminism, women in education, violence against women and girls, the achievements of women and women in politics. Year 8 can tell you all about women in politics because they have been learning all about The Suffragettes in Humanities and understand the societal role of women from 1840 to 1920 and reforms women wanted. Through their historical enquiries they have been learning the importance of primary sources and how to analyse information and form a balanced argument. One of their tasks last week was to design a leaflet or poster for the Suffragettes campaign (seen here in the photos). I have been very impressed with how Year 8 have approached this topic and I am looking forward to seeing more from them as we move on to learning about Human Rights. Climate Change Committee The Climate Change Committee raised an amazing $700.80 from their Jeans day and Bake Sale event on Friday 6th March and would like to thank all the parents and students for their baked goods donations and the students and teachers for buying up all the cakes! The money will be going to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors. This charity was established in 2002 by Steve and Terri Irwin as a way to include and involve other caring people in the protection of injured, threatened or endangered wildlife. The charity has been helping hundreds of thousands of native wildlife affected by the Australian bushfires. Click here for more information. The Climate Change Committee continue to meet to discuss the way forward. On Thursday we received confirmation that we are now officially registered as an Eco-School. This is very exciting news and as the Climate Change Committee grows (we have now gone from 3 members to 8 members). With its holistic approach to education the Eco-schools programme will involve students, teachers, school staff, parents, management and the local community. You can find out more by following this link Watch this space for more news from the Climate Change Committee! Mr. Matt Kidd – Year 2B Teacher The boys and girls of Year 1 and Year 2 visited La Rana Sabia Theatre in La Merced last week as part of their drama learning. The students were given a tour of the incredible museum home to puppets and masks from around the world, including India, Pakistan and China. The highlight of the trip was the hilariously educational puppet show in the theatre where the students engaged with the performers with songs and advice giving. A very exciting morning was had by all and we cannot wait to return to La Rana Sabia in the future. Ms. Antonella Coronel - Head of EYFS Last week in Nursery was all about Humpty Dumpty! This traditional and loved nursery rhyme opened the door for a lot of fun filled activities and experiments. The children first began learning the story of this very courageous egg who even though was very fragile was not scared of doing what he loved most of all, climb! And even though he fell off many times, Humpty Dumpty kept going and trying until we helped him figure out how to keep him safe. A few boiled eggs were harmed in the process of this experiment however one was saved and showed the children that if we think outside the box we can find a solution for anything and everything. That is not all, this nursery rhyme also reinforced the children’s rhyming abilities. This skill is very tricky for the children at this age but they showed their love for learning it by asking questions such as “what rhymes with yucky” and trying out a few silly words themselves like oky, doky, tricky, chicky, etc. The children also designed beautiful outfits for Humpty Dumpty with a cutting and sticking activity. They then used the small world area to repeat the nursery rhyme by acting out the story with eggs and the great castle of the King. Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Thank you all for your understanding while the staff at BSQ make sure that Online learning is able to continue your child’s education during this period of school closure. We know that this will not be an easy time for many families and students so please be patient with the technology, keep in contact with your child’s class teachers and keep yourselves safe. There will be more specific advice for students from school that we ask you to read and digest, with Online Learning starting at 8am on Tuesday 17th March. In times like these it is important to revisit our school values and the other attributes we aim to instil in our students. Resilience is one of the main attributes that comes to mind when we are talking about coping with any changes as a result of the worldwide crisis. Resilience helps students navigate these stressful situations. When students have the skills and the confidence to confront and work through their problems, they learn that they have what it takes to confront difficult issues. The more they bounce back on their own, the more they internalise the message that they are strong and capable. Strategies to Build Resilience Parents can help their child build resilience and confront uncertainty by teaching them to solve problems independently. While the natural reaction of the parent might be to jump in and help so that the child avoids dealing with discomfort, this actually weakens resilience. Children need to experience discomfort so that they can learn to work through it and develop their own problem-solving skills. Without this skill-set in place, children will experience anxiety and shut down in the face of adversity. Build a Strong Emotional Connection: Spend one-on-one time with your child: children develop coping skills within the context of caring relationships, so it is important to spend one-on-one time with them. This means you need to put down the smart phone and focus on your child. When children know they have the unconditional support of a parent, family member, or even a teacher, they feel empowered to seek guidance and make attempts to work through difficult situations. Positive connections allow adults to model coping and problem-solving skills to children. Resist the Urge to Fix It and Ask Questions Instead: When children come to parents to solve their problems, the natural response is to lecture or explain. A better strategy is to ask questions. By bouncing the problem back to the child with questions, the parent helps the child think through the issue and come up with solutions. Teach Problem-Solving Skills: The goal is not to promote rugged self-reliance. We all need help sometimes, and it is important for children to know they have help. By brainstorming solutions with children, parents engage in the process of solving problems. Encourage children to come up with a list of ideas and weigh the pros and cons of each one. Label Emotions: When stress kicks in, emotions run hot. Teach your children that all feelings are important and that labelling their feelings can help them make sense of what they are experiencing. Tell them it is okay to feel anxious, sad, jealous, etc. and reassure them that bad feelings usually pass. Demonstrate Coping Skills: Deep breathing exercises help children relax and calm themselves when they experience stress or frustration. This enables them to remain calm and process the situation clearly. Embrace Mistakes—Theirs and Yours: Failure avoiders lack resilience. In fact, failure avoiders tend to be highly anxious children. When parents focus on end results, children get caught up in the pass/fail cycle. They either succeed or they don’t. This causes risk avoidance. Embracing mistakes (your own included) helps promote a growth mindset and gives children the message that mistakes help them learn. It can be helpful to talk about a mistake you made and how you recovered from it. Promote the Bright Side: Optimism and resiliency go hand in hand. Some children may appear more naturally optimistic than others, but optimism can be nurtured. If you have a mini pessimist on your hands, acknowledge the feelings that lead to pessimistic thinking and teach your child to reframe his thoughts to find the positive. Model Resiliency: The best way to teach resilience is to model it. We all encounter stressful situations. Use coping and calming strategies. Deep breathing can be an effective way to work through stress. Always label your emotions and talk through your problem-solving process. Star of the Week Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary UpdateDigital Futures With the temporary closure of access to school, many teachers and students alike find themselves for the first time engaging with perhaps the most significant development in education for generations: online and remote learning. While this presents many challenges, it also opens up a world of opportunity, as we are required to adapt to new strategies for communication and assessment. The habits and skills developed, practiced and honed during this trying time will be useful for many years to come in the worlds of higher education, work, and life. Parents need to support this by encouraging full engagement, and providing the space and resources students need to learn. Exam Sessions Students and parents of Years 11 and 13, please be assured that we are monitoring the situation regarding this year’s exam session on a daily basis, and will communicate with you all directly any issues that will affect these important assessments. In the meantime, please continue to attend all of your online courses and study sessions, and go about your extended learning and revision with the assumption that the exams will go ahead as planned. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, shares a Parent Caregiver Guide to help families cope with Coronavirus.
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May 2024
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