Welcome Recently a number of staff at BSQ attended a keynote presentation as part of the Latin American Heads Conference annual conference. Of course, whilst I was lucky enough to go to Mexico City last year and attend in person, this year the conference was online and what that meant was that many more staff could attend. The keynote was led by Ellen Mahoney from Sea Change Mentoring and the Circulus Institute. Much of the discussion focused on resilience and how to build and develop it during this year and beyond. There were some great tips around boundaries and control that we could all benefit from. I hope that you have seen some of the pictures of our staff testing out the processes and protocols that will keep us safe when we return to our campus. Whilst there is still no certainty about when that will be, we are confident that we will be prepared to welcome staff and children alike in the near future. 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 Mrs. Claire Maudsley and Y12 & 13 students from Secondary and Mrs Patricia Thompson, Mr. Teddy Mercer and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Claire Maudsley – Science Secondary Teacher | Year 9 Tutor Year 9 have made an incredibly positive start to the year. We have a new student who has joined us this year, Shira, who has been made to feel welcome and has made a fantastic start contributing to the class. Welcome Shira! Participation has been outstanding, with students keen to join the student council and take part in activities within the school. The candidates for student council wowed us with their speeches and presentations, with Maria Victoria and Doménica being elected. Congratulations as well to Anastasiia who came second in the House talent competition and well done to Pietro Janssen for being a well-deserved runner up. In LLS we have covered topics from internet safety to presentation skills, with the students always enthusiastically participating and sharing their ideas. In science the whole of the class produced some amazing individual project work, presenting them to the rest of the class and are now looking at magnetism. As their science teacher I have been pleasantly surprised by their enthusiasm and hard work and look forward to seeing what else they produce this year. Well done year 9. Spirit Week This 2020, year 12 & 13 as part of CAS, we have decided to organize a virtual Spirit Week, taking place on the 23rd, 26th and 27th of October. The main objectives are to heighten the sense of school spirit on campus and collect funds for a NPO “Refugio Los amigos de Isabella”, an animal shelter located at the North of Quito. We chose this refugee as we deeply care for the stray dogs and understand how difficult it is to help them in times of isolation. We want to do our part in the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of stray dogs even at long distances! For that reason, we have prepared several activities related to Halloween. However, in order to participate we kindly suggest you to donate between $3 to $5 dollars to the shelter by a deposit or a transfer. Our goal is to collect $ 700 dollars!!!! During the days of Spirit Week, students will participate in a several events:
And it is also the best time to dress up!!! So, pay attention:
Hand in hand, together we can change the lives of 200 hundred dogs!!! If you have any questions please contact [email protected] or Mrs Montenegro [email protected] Mr. Oliver Kyle – Year 6 Teacher Year 6 have been enjoying the online learning over the last few weeks and we have come to the end of a few projects. Here are some of the highlights: Literacy – We have finally finished our myths and written our Published Pieces. There have been plenty of points for development and discussion so do ask to read your child’s work! The photo shows an exert from a first draft of one of our number – a wonderfully descriptive first paragraph but, like all writing, there are points for development – what would you give as their Next Steps? Email me your ideas! As a class, we are now using Mondays to focus on our sentence and grammar – particularly past tense which many children find tricky, but everything’s tricky when first you start out – and it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! Art – We have also come to the end of our work on Outside Female Artists of North America and our gallery is up and running on Art Steps – get in touch if you would like the link. The children planned, created, and wrote about their installations, which they placed in an outside space in or near their home. The themes ranged from what made them happy, to the power of the elements, their feelings during this time of pandemic, and many featured environmental issues. The photo´s show exerts from the work of Sofia Dipinto (changing elements) and Andre Fernandez (water conservation). Read more about both of these installations - and everyone else’s - at our Art Steps site! There’s always more going on than time allows to mention but should you, or someone you know, want more information on what we’re doing in our virtual classroom, or if you want to come and join a lesson, then do get in touch with us at my email: [email protected], our door is always open. Take care of each other, keep positive and keep learning! Mrs. Patricia Thompson – Reception A Teacher The Reception children are now settled and well on the way in the term producing some amazing activities. We have been getting to know each other and finding out about each other's families. Talking about who is in our family and which country we come from. We also talked about our favourite things such as food and colours. The children have been working hard to make their family tree and share pictures of their family, including their pets with their friends. Some families were small and close, and others were huge, with pictures of great grandparents. With all having unique qualities. The children are having fun learning with phonics and have started to format letters and structure sentences about their families. Kind regards, Patricia Mr. Teddy Mercer – Reception B Teacher Students in Reception B have almost completed their first term of school for this academic year, marking yet another milestone in their educational lives. Miss Renata Vásconez and I are simply amazed at the flexibility, determination and enthusiasm shown by our students and parents. Well done, everyone! As we reflect on this term's learning and celebrate our achievements, here are some of our favourite moments from Autumn 1:
This is just a snapshot of what we can do in Reception B, the best is yet to come! Wishing all of our families a safe, enjoyable mid-term break. Mr. Teddy Mercer & Miss Renata Vásconez Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, The Early Years students have been working diligently on their three finger grip skills. In reception the teachers have created activities to encourage writing numbers and their names. In Nursery during our live whole class sessions, the children have been using playdough as a means to strengthen their hand muscles and practise finger movements before moving on to using pencils. The pictures below are excellent examples of the playdough activity we have been working on, in this case we made animals, such as a turtle and a spider. It is also a great opportunity to rehearse number formation. Kind regards, Ms. Coronel Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update As we approach the half-term break (school finishes at 12pm on Tuesday 27th October, returning on Wednesday 4th November at 8am), the whole BSQ community needs to reflect on the progress we have made this academic year, despite the challenges of learning online and only having virtual contact between each other. In particular, our students have demonstrated resilience and determination to succeed, engaging with their teachers and peers and participating enthusiastically in their learning. Although every student and adult sometimes struggles with this new style of learning, we have all developed new systems and routines to support our daily lives, with the support of our friends and family. An important part of this process has been taking time to connect with our support groups, whether they be colleagues, friends or family, wherever they may be. It is imperative that we retain this contact with our community, through whichever media is most appropriate; we all recognise the happiness that an unexpected phone call or message from someone you have not had contact with for a while brings us. Please take the time this week to reconnect with someone in your own community of colleagues friends or family and enjoy the happiness that this will bring to them. This week you will receive details about the plans for Spirit Week, which is organised by a group of Secondary IB students. The planned events run from Friday 23rd October until Tuesday 27th October. Please also remember to record the Parent Teacher Conference date of Thursday 12th November. On this day, there will be no lessons and you will have the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and ongoing development with their teacher. You will have already received details about choosing a suitable time for this meeting with your child’s class teacher, on your child’s Class Canvas page. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update Building our community to improve learning and wellbeing As a school we pride ourselves on being progressive and we take a serious approach to the ongoing development of our teaching and how this impacts learning. Currently, we are in the process of looking at this to see where we are all placed on our journey towards Mastery. One of our current focus areas due to the fact that we are still online is how we are using technology and resources. One of the most influential theorists in education currently, and who is extensively published is Doug Lemov. We as a school have spent much time developing his teacher skills as a package at BSQ for our staff. He has recently been interacting with global teaching opinion on twitter about the use of cameras and the benefits of these as part of the online teaching and learning. There are many views on whether or not cameras should be used and there are sound arguments on both sides of opinion. Our team at BSQ really do support his opinion that cameras are critical in the process of developing a loving, supportive and purposeful learning community. I took time this week to share this with students in assembly and our staff. A community, and in this sense the teachers conference is very important and should be structured so that it is inclusive and something that children can get a feeling of belonging and acceptance. This is simply a fundamental factor of learning! If teachers can see their children and speak to them verbally, face-to-face – opposed to texting through a chat – the teacher can be more personal in their interaction. The child will feel seen and important and perhaps loved, as this allows the gentle and caring attention that children need. The teacher can see things such as misunderstanding, or a lack of equipment or materials. It allows the teacher to quietly give more personal support. The children will feel more connected to their teacher and belonging is a powerful thing; doing these things really makes the child feel that they are important and seen. Our teachers will now be asking students to turn cameras and microphones on as we feel that this is extremely important. I have started the process at school by encouraging teachers to encourage use and their students to simply turn them on. I ask that you help this by encouraging use at home. If you pass by the screen, just check to see if the camera is on. Help us by gently encouraging this and point out the benefits. Also, in assembly this week I had the opportunity of finally giving my gratitude and thanks to students and staff for their achievements so far this year. I shared the quote that ‘Great things never came from comfort zones´. You sons and daughters are developing a number of strengths from our learning at the moment. It is not necessarily a position of comfort. They are working hard to develop and sustain great relationships, they are working hard on their tasks, they are cooperating and showing flexibility and they are developing a real level of resilience. These are all things that will stand them in great stead for the future life challenges. I was extremely pleased to see the awards presented in subjects and for our values. The recipients were well deserving and I was particularly pleased to see a few new students in the list. Well done to those recipients, praise indeed. We look forward to the fun activities of Spirit week which is almost upon us. This is on Friday, Monday and Tuesday before the half-term week. There are lots of wonderful activities to look forward to Including opportunities to dress up. Do please support the students and their ideas by participating and contributing. The chosen charity will most certainly benefit from your generous and kind donations. We look forward to refreshing ourselves with our half-term break. Please remember that Tuesday the 27th will be a 12.00 finish for all. Finally, you will receive some contact over the next week about booking appointments for the Parent Teacher Conferences that are due to be held on the 12th November. Tasks will be set by teachers for independent study at home to allow the time in the day for appointments. Please look out for this and ensure that you make your appointment with staff when they release their appointment booking sheets. Have a wonderful week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about child´s mental health: parental role
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