WelcomeThis is the penultimate newsletter of the year and it hardly seems possible that last week we congratulated our ‘graduating’ students in Year 6 and Year 7 and next week we say farewell and well done to our IB Year 13 cohort of students. All the BSQ staff send congratulations and best wishes to those ‘Classes of 2021.’ as they move into the secondary school, on into Year 8 or out into the wider world of Higher Education, further study or employment. You will all flourish and shine. Of course, this is the time of year, as in any school, when we also say goodbye to staff who are leaving and look forward to greeting our new colleagues as they arrive from around the world. I am delighted that so many of our staff have decided to remain at BSQ and continue the outstanding work they have been undertaking already. The following staff will be moving on to new adventures on June 30 and we wish them well and the best of luck in their new positions. We will of course, be thanking them personally at the end of term. Alex Beazley, Matthew Kidd, Chris Leadbeter, Sara Avent, Nick Kennedy, Teddy Mercer and Andrea Carrera. In August we look forward to welcoming the following new members of our academic team. Hannah Kerrigan will be joining our primary team. Hannah is travelling from South Yorkshire in the UK where she has been working in primary schools since 2018 and brings with her a wealth of experience working with Read Write Inc, Kagan techniques and SEND strategies. Hannah is a passionate runner and is looking forward to sharing her love of the sport with the students. As a keen volunteer, she is looking forward to getting involved with our community projects too. Nadine Parker will be joining our secondary team as a science, biology and ESS specialist. She currently lives and works in Cambridge but has previously spent time working at Dulwich College in Shanghai and in Camden, London. Nadine is passionate about extending the learning of her students and has successfully prepared them for university study through the international Foundation Programme Biomedical course implemented at her school. She is keen to be involved in enrichment activities and is a qualified DofE leader and a great organiser of events. Rachael Parkinson will also be joining our science team as a biology specialist and is moving to BSQ with her husband Colin. Rachael has worked and led teams in secondary schools across Japan, the UK and Dubai. She has experience of working for exam boards and extensive experience of different programmes of study in chemistry and biology. In her spare time Rachael enjoys circuit training and is looking forward to exploring the mountains for Ecuador. Colin Parkinson will be joining us with his wife Rachael as our history and global politics specialist in the secondary team. Colin is a keen cricketer both as an experienced player and as a coach and also enjoys football, rugby and badminton so perhaps we will see some of these sports in the enrichment programme next year. Colin has also travelled in Japan and Australia and is looking forward to a full and rich involvement in the academic and cultural life of our school. Sustainability and climate update. With the final part this week we are delighted to welcome our guest writer, Sylvia Harcourt. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD In my first article I mentioned that the food industry could be divided into three stages: production, processing and distribution. Of the 24 – 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions produced by the food industry, roughly 31% comes from livestock and fisheries, 27% from crop production, 24% from land use and 18% from transport supply chains. Visualize the whole process and the fuel consumption involved. Tractors ploughing up the land, chain saws chopping trees, massive trawler ships fishing for tuna, cod, herrings or sardines, factories processing the food – and then huge container ships, planes and trucks taking this produce around the world, around the country. So not only do you need to think about what you are eating, but where it comes from. Living in Ecuador we are incredibly lucky as such a large range of fruits, vegetables, meat and fish are found here. Many of them are available for a large part of the year due to the ecosystems found from the coast to the highlands, and down into the Amazon area. Not many countries are blessed with such diversity of land, food, climate – and biodiversity. However, take a look when you go shopping – and you will notice apples and grapes from Chile and California, mangoes from Peru, beef from Argentina, wine from Spain - the list could continue. You can make your own immediate contribution to the planet by eating less meat, buying more local organic produce and eating food that is in season. You can also contribute by growing some of your own food, in plant pots on the terrace or in the garden, no space is too small. Or, like the BSQ student requested, in some space in the school gardens. Little steps that make a big difference. Little steps that make you more aware of what is around you. Thinking about food, biodiversity and climate change leads on to thinking about the year we have just lived through and the Covid Pandemic. Pandemics will become more frequent if we keep destroying forests to grow soya, palm oil and raise cows. Less space for wildlife, more space for closer viruses! Take a look at this excellent diagrammatic explanation of pandemic prevention: politico.com/interactives/2021/preventing-the-next-pandemic Thanks for thinking about all this, and even better, for acting on some of it. The only way to achieve change is by working together. And what better time to start than NOW. Sylvia Equality & Diversity Committee Within the business environment, Ecuador has shown outstanding progress in terms of gender equality. The top companies and organizations in Ecuador show a very equal balance in the management staff, in CEOs and founders. Innovations and opportunities for all to have professional careers are rapidly increasing. Non-profit social enterprises committed to helping women be economically self-sufficient, start ventures and play a bigger role in the professional world have reached countries all around the world. Diversity and equality are both problems the professional sector has encountered for many years; starting in the 1920s, where women started to seek opportunities to develop their areas of expertise. This is a win for Ecuador and the world. G-Equality and Diversity Committee Do you have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected] Let´s talk about emotions Sadness is usually considered as a bad or negative emotion even when we all have experienced it. Some people hide it or get scared of feeling it, some others have been taught to shut out their sadness. In reality, sadness is a powerful emotion that helps us to appreciate wellness. It allows us to connect with others, when we reach out for help, and the most important part: it shows us how resilient we can be. Dates for your Diary As always please check this section carefully and ensure that you have all the details in your calendars.
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update As we approach the last twelve days of this academic year, I want to thank you all again for your resilience, patience and support throughout this year – the students have continued to flourish and develop, despite having to overcome a series of challenges, and this is because as a school community we have supported each other and retained our core school values. At this time of year, we look forward as much as we look back, so enjoy the next couple of weeks when we celebrate our many successes and also prepare the students for the next stage of their development. Some notes for your diaries:
If you have any questions about any of these events, do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or Mr Madden. Marcus Madden Head of Primary EYFS Update Dear parents, We are excited to share with you the upcoming events in Early Years Foundation Stage during the upcoming two weeks, All Reception parents are invited to join the ‘Welcome to Year 1’ session on Tuesday June 15th at 5:00pm via Canvas on the ‘EYFS Events and Assembly’ course. During this session you will be informed about life in KS1. The Nursery parents are invited to join the ‘Early Years at BSQ’ session on Thursday June 17th, at 5:00pm via Zoom with this link, during this time you will be shared details about the Early Years Foundation Stage. Friday June 18th is a school wide preparation day, due to this there will be no classes. The children are invited to join us on the school campus on Monday June 21st for the ‘Student Picnic’ from 9:00-11:00am. This morning will be filled with games and activities to reconnect with the school, teachers and classmates. Home learning opportunities will be sent for those who will not be attending, afternoon sessions will run on their normal schedule. Antonella Coronel, Head of Early Years Being BSQ – Secondary Update Celebration! It was wonderful to be at school last week welcoming students who have graduated from year 6 and who are now progressing to the Secondary school. It was lovely to see how proudly each student wore their gowns and sashes. It is important to remember just how important these occasions are as part of a child’s progression through school. Having the opportunity to meet each student and their parents was a real pleasure and it struck me just how confident each student presented themselves. We also celebrated the delayed graduation photographs for the current Year 7 and this was the same event that should have happened at the end of last year. Year 7 really have done well when you consider that they have moved into secondary school and completed a whole year fully online. This is perhaps the biggest challenge when you consider the anxieties at transition; the study of new subjects and meeting a range of new teachers. This is a real credit to them to have overcome this online and so well! I really am looking forward to the Graduation event for Year 13 and to see them all very proudly receive their pins and certificates. We are lucky to be able to do this at school even with the limitations placed on us by graduation rules demanded by the Ministry of Education. I am very aware of how disappointed our staff are that they cannot attend, but I know that the teachers will send them off with pride and their absolute best wishes. I would like to acknowledge the hard work that goes on in the background by the Administration staff. The success at these events is only achieved with their valued hard work and dedication to do the absolute best. The food is always wonderful, the attention to detail is excellent and the timing is spot on. Well done team! Now that we have had authority to bring students to the site, I am really excited to be working with the team to plan the sessions that will be happening on the 28th June. Years 7,8 and 9 will be coming to school in the morning and Years 10,11 and 12 in the afternoon. More information to follow on this. This will be a fantastic opportunity for us all to take stock, draw a line under the year together, and say our farewells as we look forward to whatever comes next. Finally, year 11 are thinking about their IB choices next week and enjoying the opportunity to experience tasters in each subject. I will also be meeting with some regarding eh choices they have made to ensure that what they have decided is the best possible pathway. The staff have contributed to this, and it is an important exercise. There will also be an opportunity at the end of August for changes if it transpires that their subjects are not quite right. Have a wonderful week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary Year 7 In Life and Learning Skills, we used one of our Monday classes to follow on from the presidential election, especially as Mr. Lasso has now taken office. We took a look at an article from the BBC which summarised Mr. Lasso’s election victory. We then focused on a small section from the article which described some of the things the President hopes to accomplish. Below you can read things that Year 7 would like to see changed or developed in Ecuador: Mrs Moors: create a recycling collection system from our homes. Mr Newman: ensure that those in government serve as role-models for the young people of Ecuador. Ignacio: Make houses for the dogs that live in the streets. Isabella Ch: Help people that are on the streets by creating a building so they can live there. Isabella S: Help most needed like people like orphans or other people that come from other countries like Venezuela. Victoria: That there's more school for the children. Have the vaccine in the country. Lyla: More funds could be put into food banks and handouts for the poor. Or he could start a movement to plant more trees. Or he could pass a law where you can only cause so much pollution per month. Or he could make people use more sustainable methods of electricity and use solar power and wind power as well. Nicole: Ecuador owes something like 57 billion dollars to other countries, so hopefully this government does something about it. Nina S: Maybe lower the oil prices to help those in poverty. Tomas: Maybe lower the electric bill, so people can spend more money for more useful things. Paula: Stop animal abuse in the country. Mathias: stop people from stealing money Rossy: I would like you to find a way for people to get vaccinated against covid faster because some people already sent a request like 2 or 3 months ago, like my grandmother, and they still don't read her email. Anna: Eliminate animal abuse and give food and home to the animals that live on the roads. Chenyue: Find a way to create less waste in Ecuador. Natalia: He should improve the power because the power goes out a lot. KS3 Spanish Year 9 students have worked all week with the knowledge of the dramatic genre, here is part of the result of their investigation. I hope you like it. María Victoria Amyra Mrs Tufino, Spanish Teacher KS5: Mathematics Futures Curriculum Our year 13 mathematicians have spent the last few weeks looking at where maths may be used in their future lives at university and beyond. One key area that we looked at in-depth was data analysis. The students came up with their own research questions, collected data, and then completed the detailed mathematical analysis. The culmination of the sessions was last week in which they presented their work to each other. They put in so much effort and their conclusions were very interesting indeed! Here is a sample of their work for you to see! Ms Sadotra, Mathematics Teacher
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