WelcomeWhat a wonderful week we enjoyed last week at BSQ. With all our students back at school a number of key events took place. We welcomed our Year 7 students to their secondary school life with our traditional tie ceremony. We missed being on the deck at BSQ but were still able to share this special moment with the tie delivered in our student packs! We welcomed parents to meet the tutors in the secondary school and there was a great turn out as you were able to hear about the school programmes and ask questions about how we move forward with living and learning this year. Many thanks to our secondary team for facilitating. We also started our parent information session in the primary school. This is a new weekly event where parents can hear about the learning for the following week and so have a deep understanding of what is being taught and learned with the opportunity to ask questions. Many thanks to our primary team for facilitating. 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 Ms. Aditi Sadotra, SSD team, Mr. Nick Kennedy, Ms. Fernanda Espinoza and Year 10 students from Secondary and Mr. Oliver Kyle and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Ms. Aditi Sadotra – KS3 Lead Tie Ceremony 2020 On Friday 11th September we formally welcomed the new year 7 students into the Secondary School during the tie ceremony. Usually this takes place face to face with the ties being presented to the students in school. We adapted things for the online environment and I am sure everyone in attendance would agree it was a really lovely event that demonstrated that despite these current challenges what a fantastic system of support we have in place for year 7. Our new year 7 cohort have themselves adapted quickly to the challenges they have faced in starting a new school system online and so it was lovely to recognise this during the ceremony. We were able to see the students proudly wearing their new ties with their parents by their side on camera while they were warmly welcomed by Mrs Newman and Mr Moors. The excitement, happiness and pride was palpable in the virtual room! In next week's newsletter we will hear from some of the year 7 students and how they found the experience! Year 7, we are all so excited to have you here with us in the Secondary School and are looking forward to seeing what you go on to achieve during your time here with us at BSQ! Welcome to all of our lovely year 7 cohort! Student Council Last Friday the voting took place for the BSQ Secondary Student Council 2020-21. This year there was an overwhelming response from the students and we had a record number of 35 applications! This really demonstrates how much our students value the Student Council itself but also a growing desire to want to make a difference within our school community. Well done to everyone that took the brave step of putting themselves forward! The successful applicants created a video this year to demonstrate to their classmates why they deserved their votes. There were some really amazing videos that demonstrate the outstanding leadership qualities of our students across all year groups. There are definitely some future politicians in our midst! Here are a few examples to show the quality of this year's candidates.
To the students who didn't make it this year, you should be incredibly proud, the quality of your ideas and videos were exceptional. It was very close in all tutor rooms as the quality of candidates was so high! Here are some live images of the voting that took place and below you can see the finalised list for the Secondary Student Council 2020-21! I am sure you will join me in wishing them a massive congratulations and we are all looking forward to seeing the positive changes you will make for the student body and wider community! Ms Sadotra SSD Team – Life Skills Because of the many different cognitive, physical, communication, and social needs of our students, there is no one set of traits shared by all. Each student is an individual. However, there are general issues around which educational instruction should be based in order for each student to reach his/her full potential: Life Skills. The Life Skills curriculum has been created by the Student Support Department and is taught by the school’s psychologists, the school’s doctor and tutors/teachers every Monday. Each topic has been developed around the three fundamental skills on which all other skills can be built: communication, decision making, and goal setting. Through lessons, activities, and role-playing, students will learn valuable skills and discover how they are relevant to their lives. Because of its flexible format, the curriculum’s topics are selected according to what best meets the needs of our students. Encourage your children to share what they have learned and reach out to the SSD if you have any questions or suggestions. Mr. Nick Kennedy and Ms. Fernanda Espinosa – Secondary Teachers With education moving online more and more, teachers and students are becoming increasingly experienced at balancing school work with time off-screen. So we want to share a couple of tips for working at home that may help make this period more enjoyable for us all. Set Up an Adequate Working Environment Working remotely (in general) is a challenge. Without the perfect environment and self-discipline, a stay-at-home-job can become a nightmare. With a little planning, this can be avoided. Firstly, set up a clearly defined workspace. If possible, this space should be intended for work only. You want this space to be friendly and inviting. Keep your work environment free of distractions like television, other family members or household chores. Natural lighting, a comfortable chair, music and a hot drink can go a long way in setting up your ideal work environment. Communicate Regularly and “Be present” Communication is essential in the online workplace. Keeping in touch helps bring humanity and warmth into the workplace and the classroom. As teachers and teaching assistants, we try to ease anxiety and stress by asking questions and listening carefully to answers and providing valuable feedback that can help move your class forward. Just because we are online, it is important to be entirely present. Overall, online education is a wonderful opportunity. The potential flexibility is an undeniable benefit. Online teaching is relatively new, so there really isn’t one set way to do it. With some research and preparation, all of us teachers and teaching assistants could find ourselves on the forefront of the online educational movement. Education is a ‘sharing’ field, we hope these simple recommendations will be invaluable to your online development. Year 10 students 1.Prepare the workbooks and canvas meeting for tomorrow. 2.Log in always 5 minutes before meetings. 3.Always try your best to participate with MICROPHONE. 4.Keep MOTIVATED. Try new experiences, keep your communication with teachers and classmates. The Struggle of Online Learning From technical issues to head aches from the screen, we have all by now in some point have struggled with online learning. It is difficult to keep up with school when you continuously struggle and most importantly can keep MOTIVATED because the key to overcoming challenges is motivation. A main concern when we are in our classes is connection problems which, by experience, are very difficult to control. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself for the class always before, have your timetable to hand, log to conference 7 to 5 minutes before the time set in the timetable and prepare your workbooks, mail and school materials the night before. Time management is crucial to prevent your computer from restarting, freezing or having a spinning circle in the middle of your screen when you try to log in to your class. The big picture is; how can you keep yourself motivated? For me is giving myself a goal. Having a goal gives you a purpose and a challenge to focus on. If you give yourself a educational goal it will be easier to keep yourself interested in classes since you will try to achieve your goal this way. Moreover, it is difficult to keep yourself out of the screen when it is mostly what we do all day. Having activities and experiences outside school is also important to keep motivated and to keep happy and energetic. Try a new sport, an art or even a new language. Keeping extracurricular activities not only helps you stay motivated but according to Johns Hopkins University “school-life balance is important for optimal academic functioning. Students often prioritize academics at the expense of personal factors, including relationships and exercise”. Finally, keep yourself in contact with your friends and family. Just like extracurricular activities social-academic balance is important to keep your school work properly and your mentality positive. Online school can sometimes be a struggle but struggles and challenges are what define us; what makes us stronger. So next time that you start to get crazy because your classmate left their microphone open and start singing a song remember: “difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations”. Ana Paula Giol – Y10 student Mr. Oliver Kyle – Year 6 Teacher Year 6 – Welcoming in a new academic year The new normal is here and although we would have all rather started the year in school, our Year 6 have begun the new term with an inspiring positive attitude and I am grateful to have them back in my life. I am also grateful to have my friend and colleague, Alejandro Burbano, standing beside me in Year 6 this year. Alejandro has shown great skills in Nursery and across the school over the last two years, and we are happy to welcome him to our Year 6 family. We are also happy to welcome Martine, Sofia and Paz, who have joined BSQ this year and we look forward to meeting them in person when we (hopefully) return to our home on the BSQ campus. A warm bienvenidos to the girls and their families! We have a lot on this year but our immediate focus is on North America, specifically Native American Indians but also investigations into the geography of the continent and its artists. We are currently studying the work of Alma Thomas and the children have produced some inspiring first drafts, which you can see below: Juliette - Y6
We are making some encouraging ground in our study of Native American myths, and using this platform to refamiliarise ourselves with the conventions for writing - Mr Newman would be proud! We are hoping to produce our own myths in the coming weeks, so watch this space. With all the changes happening, it is a great feeling to be back with the children again. We are looking forward to an enjoyable and enriching new year. Best wishes to all, from all of us in Year 6. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, We are now beginning week 3 of online learning, we want to extend a massive “thank you” for your fabulous support! In Early Years the children have been through an adaptation process during the past two weeks, they have shown great progress and enthusiasm. We have begun to host the 1:1 sessions with the children. These sessions will be hosted once a week per child. They are meant to support or challenge students in specific areas of learning. For the first 2 weeks however, we will use these sessions to assess where each child is in regards to strengths and areas of improvement. This will allow us to create an effective planning document to meet the needs and abilities of each child. Continue to share with us your child’s home learning activities on Fridays through Tapestry. We have seen brilliant work so far and we would love to continue supporting this through our feedback on the weekly summary posts. These posts are also used to assess and track each child’s progress through home and online learning. Thank you, Kind regards Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Now that most of the students have been back for two full weeks, it is time to reflect on the progress they have already made in their learning, their skills and their adaptation to the online learning timetable in their class. It would be easy to forget that our students display resilience, enthusiasm and determination each and every day while we remain at home, adapting to this new way of learning and connecting with the outside world. As adults, although we have our own activities to perform, often outside of the home environment, we need to be mindful of their needs and making sure that everything is in place to support them as best as we can. That means ensuring they eat and hydrate appropriately between sessions, have a suitable work station with a minimum of distractions and that they have a clear plan for the day ahead, however young they are. These ‘constants’ in their daily life will help to build routines and allow them to concentrate on their learning, knowing that you are there to support them when necessary. Even with our youngest students in Nursery and Reception, who often require adult supervision for their sessions, we can start to build their independence skills by allowing them to perform some of the tasks on their own, with our guidance, slowly encouraging them to take more responsibility for their own learning and development. I have been extremely pleased with the commitment of our students to our Kindness Challenge, having received a great many examples of the different ways that our students are being kind in their homes and wider afield. Although we are all apart at the moment, our students continue to demonstrate their kindness and caring natures through their actions and words and should be congratulated for taking the time to make someone’s day memorable. This week also sees the beginning of our Enrichment programme, led by Miss Nicole Camacho. With her support, our teachers have spent a great deal of time designing and sharing a range of activities that your child can participate in, so do please look at the details when they are sent to you and encourage your child to widen their skill base and try something new and exciting. This programme will continue once we return to school so it is good to get them started on developing new interests and skills. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update I write today whilst reflecting on the wonderful ´Meet the Tutor´ event that took place on Wednesday. I was particularly taken by the number of our parents who supported the event and took time to listen and offer valuable feedback and suggestions. The is really rich information for me and my team, as what we implement at school can be often be driven by logistical and educational needs. Your feedback and ideas really helps us reflect and consider the impact of our actions and policies on students at home, and you as parents. The Secondary school stage leaders are in the process of collating your thoughts and suggestions so that we can respond accordingly. I hope next week to be able to summarise some of this for you. If you were a parent who gave us something to think about, may I offer my sincere thanks. It really is helpful and well received. As a new school leader at BSQ, it is really important that you as a parent body have the opportunity to share a moment with me over some coffee to generally discuss how things are in our community. I am looking at how we can do that online with the hard working representatives of the parent body. If you were previously involved with this group and plan to be again this year, I really do look forward to meeting you soon so that we can develop a really positive working relationship. I will communicate this soon following the confirmation of membership of this important body of parents for this academic year. I have really enjoyed my classes this last week as the students have been super positive and engaged. I teach year 9, 10 and 11 and slowly relationships are developing. I have the luxury of meeting with my colleagues on a 1:1 basis regularly and this seems to be the theme being reported across the school in all subjects. This is fantastic feedback and something that should be celebrated and secured. Do say well done at home this weekend – your son or daughter deserves the recognition! We are focusing this week on student engagement and we are encouraging the use of cameras so that we can see faces in our communication. As humans eye contact and the ability to read facial expressions is a critical element in positive communication. It aids our relationships and contributes to our wellbeing. Please support us by encourage this at home. Finally, I am really excited about tomorrow as it is the formal occasion where year 7 are welcomed into the Secondary School. It is a great shame that we cannot enjoy the normal ceremony, but we have innovated somewhat to facilitate this important event online. I would like to welcome a wonderful group of students into the school who all have so much promise. I would like to join with the Secondary team in wishing them our very best as they progress into secondary education and hope that they enjoy the opportunities presented. Good luck to you all! Have a great week. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, gives some advice on what to do if your child struggles with online learning.
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May 2024
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