Welcome Living Tomorrow we will be welcoming many families who have not yet decided where their children will be attending school for the next academic year – 2019-2020. Our Open Day will involve a warm welcome, a tour and some information from me and also from some of our students. As BSQ grows and develops we really enjoy sharing our successes and plans with families who are looking for an education with strong values, excellent classroom teaching and a warm family welcome. These three things are not easy to achieve all in one so thank you to Andrea Zambrano, Veronica Peñaherrera, Heads of School, Breck Hoskins and Doménica Peñaherrera from Year 6, the teachers and assistants and the members of the PA who are supporting us to ensuring the event is a huge success. We are really looking forward to celebrating the wonderful school that is BSQ with new parents and students. Learning Here at BSQ we have a set of classroom strategies that are designed to support our students to learn effectively and you will see these teaching and learning behaviours happening in all our classrooms across the school. Last week I introduce you to the way in which we use No Opt Out to allow all students the opportunity to answer questions effectively in class. This week is the sixth of our classroom strategies and it is a crucial way in which we support all our students to be able to read and understand texts we use for learning – however challenging they might be. This strategy is called Control the Game and simply involves the teacher skillfully planning to include all students in the reading process by planning who will read what so that everyone can take part. This strategy also means that everyone is concentrating, and everyone is listening. It’s a really great way to develop classwork and confidence and we think it makes a positive difference. Thank you to all the teachers, parents and students who came in on Saturday October 13th to support the celebration of the STEM activities in primary and to attend the progress conversations with secondary teachers. Your support and collaboration with us in the learning of your children is essential if we are all going to support them to reach their goals. This week This week we have some more exciting trips going out. All the secondary school will be heading off to El Tren on Friday as part of the historical and cultural activity days for this year. With thanks to Ms Paola Montenegro for her dedication to this and her hard work with the organisation. I look forward to sharing the pictures with you next week. Also on Friday we are holding the primary progress conferences for parents, teachers and students – more details from Mr Madden below. Welcome to our new SEN Counsellor Last week we welcomed Sofía León as a new member of our student support department team. Sofía obtained her degree in Psychology at the University of Columbia in the USA and after she pursued her Masters Degree in International Relations and Human Rights in the UK. We are delighted to have her as our new SEN Counsellor at BSQ. Welcome to you Sofía! From the British Embassy Quito to all British Alumni in Ecuador The British Embassy in Quito would like to invite to Alumni who have studied in the UK to a "happy hour" on Wednesday October 17th, 18:30, at Santa Rosa Histórico (see map below). This event will be an opportunity to meet friends and colleagues who have studied in the UK, and to enjoy a nice evening with members of the British Embassy and the British Group. If you would like to join, please confirm your attendance to the following email address: [email protected]. If you know more people who have studied in the UK and have not received the invitation, please let them know about the event. Warm Regards, THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN QUITO From the StaffLast week we heard from Ms Parker and Year 11. This week it is the turn of Ms Ngwenya and the Year 8 maths studies. Last week in maths, year 8 revisited the idea of probability that they met in year 7. They looked at estimating probabilities, calculating probabilities, equally likely outcomes and theoretical probability versus experimental probability. Students also studied the probability of an outcome not happening related to the probability that it does happen, and how to list combinations of outcomes in a clear and logical way using a table or a sample space diagram. This week the year 8s have been investigating answers to bigger problems about dice and fairness. There were interesting discussions and debates, even some disagreements. Students did some thought experiments, made models of dice and had to justify their points of view to others. Their homework in partial 2 will be to produce a clear poster explaining their methods and their findings. Ideas surrounding probability can be taken further within maths, in areas such as Game Theory where you must analyse the probability of other people making their choices, and make your own decision based on those possibilities. Careers involving probability include risk assessment, insurance, actuarial science and even law. A deep understanding and appreciation of probability is good for children (and adults!) as they play games, evaluate the chance of winning, and the chance of losing, or getting hurt. Often children have to weigh up the potential risk of injury from climbing a tree, against the satisfaction of completing the challenge and the joy of seeing the world from up high. As an adult, probability is relevant not only in gambling but also general risk assessment. During a lifetime we will make many choices – where to live, where to study, when to leave home, whether to travel, whether to have a family, which career would make us happy, which career would make us the most money, and who to support in politics. We also have to assess the risk of driving, versus the risk of flying, versus the risk of riding motorbikes. Data and probability play a large part in the decision making process. The ultimate aim here, I think, is to be able to assess risks and exercise enough caution to keep oneself happy, healthy, and prosperous, while also maintaining curiosity and a sense of adventure. Often we must take risks in order to learn more, meet different people and discover new things that will enrich our lives. Ms. Claire Ngwenya Secondary Maths Teacher Dates for your Diary October 16th- PASS (Pupil Attitudes to Self and School) surveys for secondary students October 16th- Open Day for prospective new families October 18th - Year 2 Botanical Gardens trip October 19th- Secondary school cultural trip – details have been sent home October 19th- Primary school parent teacher conferences. (Details in the primary section below) October 24th- Football tournament for senior boys and girls away against Johannes Kepler school. October 24th- IGCSE PE trip to Parque Metropolitano October 25th- Reception trip to the zoo Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update On Saturday many of the Primary students enjoyed a challenging STEM activity, solving a technological problem using different strategies, equipment and resources. Please do take the time to look at your child’s Class Blog to see the wonderful learning opportunities that they have experienced in the past week. On Friday 19th October it is our Parent Teacher Conference, where you have the opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher and discuss their progress so far, their targets and how we can work in partnership to support and focus on their areas for development. Of course, many students will find this process daunting, so you can help by preparing them for this discussion. Please find time to talk with them about their learning, what they enjoy about school and what they find more challenging. The teachers will ask them questions about their learning and share their successes, alongside discussing areas they could improve upon and the strategies they could use to achieve this. Of course, we do not expect our younger students in Nursery and reception to attend. Appointments were sent out last Friday – please do let your child’s class teacher know if you are unable to make scheduled appointment. Star of the weekMarcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update Studying at Home The further you progress in Secondary, the harder you have to work, both inside and outside of class. In the IB Diploma Programme, it is expected that students are doing fifteen hours of personal study every week: three hours each for their Higher Level subjects, and two each for their Standard Level subjects. This work is not necessarily directed: where students find themselves, as they often will, without teacher-set homework to complete, students should be looking to fill the gaps in their knowledge, dig deeper into the topics covered in class, consolidate their notes, practice their skills, and test themselves. This is the difference between doing OK, and doing really well. And while it is always important that this happens, this become especially important around exam time. In six weeks, the Year 13 students will take their IB 'mock' examinations. These practice exams replicate the real thing, provide an early opportunity to embed knowledge ans to practice skills, and provide the evidence teachers need to assign predicted grades for university applications. For these six week, Year 13 students should be dedicating their study time to re-organising, consolidating and building on their learning of the past year. They should be researching further, and testing themselves using past papers and assessment schemes. To do this they will require time, space, and self-discipline. In this, your support is essential. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about how to deal with your child´s challenging behaviours.
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