Welcome![]() What a wonderful week with all the students back at school. There is a real buzz around the campus as staff and students work together to explore, read, learn, understand, challenge and aspire to even greater achievements this year. As promised this week, we want to showcase some of the new learning spaces where we can study, play and eat together. Exciting News As promised, the primary parents can expect an email from BSQ early this week with the news about how to log on to our new communications platform – Canvas. I talked about this in last week’s newsletter and we are now ready to launch the primary blogs where you can find our all about the living and learning taking place in your child’s classroom. You will receive a code to enter into the website and you can also download the parent app on your phones so that you can keep up with activities whilst on the go! On Thursday 19th at 3:30pm, Mr Ashfield and Mr Madden will host a parent drop-in session to help anyone who has not been able to access the platform by that date. We look forward to seeing you all on Canvas! Welcome Back Evening Thank you to all of you who attended our welcome back evening on Thursday last week. It was wonderful to see so many parents attending to find out about how the students will be living and learning this year. Our new Parent Association members have been selected and this week we will be electing the Core PA team of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. Thank you in advance for the hard work of everyone who has kindly offered their time to work with the school this year. Of course, we cannot talk about the new team without thanking the outgoing members. With special thanks to Martha, Pilar, Gloria and Belen for all their help and support since January 2018 and to all the parent representatives. It was a very successful and happy year. Our team 1 - the Arts Team With so many wonderful staff at BSQ, it is hard to choose who to showcase first, but we are delighted that we have such a talented, energetic and dedicated arts team this year and so we are starting there. Music, drama and art are such important subjects for students and with so many schools cutting back on their arts provision for various reasons, we are determined to make sure that all our students have the opportunity to act, sing, draw, paint, play and perform and find out where their talents lie! Welcome to Ms Cano, Ms Arellano, Ms Espinosa. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Ms. Danielle Parker in Secondary. We've had an excellent start to the new academic year in English at BSQ. Our new teacher, Mr Lee, is a wonderful addition to the team and already making an impact on our students with his skills in modelling evaluative writing. Our year 13s are preparing for the first Written Assessment for the IB Literature course, thinking critically about the graphic novel 'Persepolis', whilst year 12 have dazzled us with their deep engagement with a number of different key IB concepts and questions such as identity and "what is literature?". Huge praise goes out to our year 11s who have made an incredibly focused and mature start to their English studies, already reciting lines of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' from memory whilst year 10 have impressed us with their ability to discuss poetry and write analytically. Exciting projects are underway at KS3, with our new year 7s eager to read the classic "Lord of the Flies" and have the opportunity to consider big questions about human nature. Finally, a big thank you from me to the students who attended the first Equality & Diversity Committee meeting this Tuesday. Their ideas were truly inspiring. Everyone in year 10 and 11 is still welcome to attend the next meeting on Tuesday 10th at 1pm in B22. Ms. Danielle Parker - Secondary English Teacher Dates for your Diary Welcome Back Picnic. Our annual picnic will take place on Saturday September 21st between 11am and 2pm. We are all looking forward to welcoming our families for food, music, dancing and an opportunity to get to know each other better. September 21st – Welcome Back Picnic September 26th – Juramento de la Bandera Emma Newman Principa Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() The majority of our students have now completed a full week at school and you have all had the opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and find out about how each class is organised and the learning that will take place over the coming months. Please do ask your child’s class teacher if there is anything you are unsure of - once you have received your Canvas login details you will be able to see more information about each class and also share some of their learning. One thing I am often asked by parents is how they can best support their child at home. Of course, the answer is complicated, not least because every child is different and the same approach will not work with every child. The basics must also be in place first – your child should feel safe, secure and trusted, have the appropriate food, bedtime routines and of course opportunities to play and relax. The area I would like to focus on this week is how we find out about our child’s day at school. Traditionally, we would ask them ‘How was your day?’ and hope for them to share with us their learning, their thoughts and feelings and any worries they may have had. In reality, they will often respond very briefly, perhaps saying ‘OK’ or ‘Not bad.’ To really illicit more detailed responses to help us gauge their learning and how we can best support them, we must ask them more specific questions that require them to think more and actually reflect on their learning, experiences and feelings. Below are some questions that will help start that conversation:
Hopefully, you will all soon be having deep and meaningful conversations with your child about their learning at school and be able to support both their academic and personal development throughout the year. We hope to also have the new Canvas platform ready for you all to access soon, which will allow you to access the learning happening in each class and find out about special events that are happening across the school. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() sWelcome Back Evening Thank you to all those parents who made it along to the Welcome Back Evening last Thursday. It is always great to see so many families so committed to supporting our determination to provide the best experience possible for our students - something that requires the concerted efforts of everybody involved involved in a child's education, be it the teachers, the parents, or the students themselves. Thank you as well for the valuable insight and feedback you provide on such occasions, which helps us to improve and move forward in ways we may not have otherwise considered. Equality and Diversity Committee As one of our strategies to offer more and richer opportunities for developing leadership skills and habits in Years 10 and 11, the Equality and Diversity Committee met for the first time last week. Led by Ms Danielle Parker, and with a remit which includes planning and organizing some of our Saturday activity days this academic year, including our Ecuadorian Culture and International Women's Days, this committee will provide the students with the chance to improve important organisation and communication skills, learn more about human rights and diversity at both global and local levels, and create educational experiences for the whole community that will have real, tangible outcomes. If any more KS4 students would like to join, they should contact Ms Parker as soon as possible. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about helicopter parenting.
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Welcome![]() Here we are at the start of another school year and very happy to welcome back old friends and families whilst also excited to meet new students, parents and colleagues. There have been many changes at BSQ over the summer and I hope that you all enjoy the many new shaded areas, classrooms, multi-purpose spaces for meeting and activities and the new soft floor play area for climbing and play. BSQ is a vibrant, growing and professional school where we create an environment in which our students can flourish, grow and learn and these new facilities will give us even more opportunities to do so. Next week we will showcase some of the fantastic changes and how we are already using and enjoying them and you will have an opportunity to see them yourselves when we welcome you to the campus for our Welcome Back Evening on September 5th. Exciting news. Families who were with us last year will remember that at the end of May we hosted the CIS team who came to evaluate the school in terms of accreditation membership renewal. The process involves a stringent assessment against 95 standards of quality linked to staffing, teaching, student well-being, global citizenship and many other elements of our school life and the CIS expectations. I am delighted to share with you the fact that we were successful in our goal and have been officially notified that we remain a CIS school. The CIS team commented that BSQ is a ‘vibrant and engaged’ community with teachers who show ‘high levels of professionalism’ and that the school does an ‘outstanding job’ in caring for the safety and welfare of the students. My thanks to everyone in the BSQ who contributed to this fantastic outcome. New Communication Platform. This year we will be launching a new way of communicating with you all on a daily, weekly and termly basis. Canvas is a learning management system that is already in use across schools, businesses and universities across the world – including in the UK by the University of Oxford, University of Birmingham, London Business School, University of Wolverhampton and Manchester University. It is also the leading platform used by a number of Ivy League universities in the USA including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell and MIT. More information will be coming your way soon but for now you can see some of the ways in which Canvas operates here https://www.instructure.com/canvas/ Hats. As you know, it is often the case that the UV levels here are very high, and in line with our responsibility to keep the children safe here at school, we have introduced a new policy linked to Sun Safety and part of that policy is that all students (and staff!) must be wearing a hat when they are outside. In the primary school this is the BSQ hat that is part of the school uniform only (see the information in the parent handbook) but in the secondary school the students may choose their own hat to wear. Each classroom will have a supply of sun cream and our school doctor Sara Luengo [email protected] is on hand to offer up to date advice about being sun smart. Our team You had the opportunity to meet our new staff through the newsletters last year and I hope that you also have many opportunities to meet with all our team members during the course of the year. As the school grows so do the number of fantastic professionals here to ensure that your children are welcomed, happy, challenged, cared for and able to learn at the highest level. Over the next few weeks we will showcase some of the teams in the school who undertake important roles in the care and education of all the students but this week I just want to say welcome to all our staff as they start their new school year at BSQ. We look forward to welcoming you all on Thursday September 5th at 6pm to meet the secondary tutors and primary class teachers to find out about your school year ahead. From the Staff and Students Welcome back to our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Ms. Ruth Todd. Every year, at this time, social media and conversations with friends (yes teachers often socialise with other teachers!) are often filled with messages or memes of dread about the return to work. And whilst it is always nice to have an extended break in order to travel and unwind I for one do not see the return to work as something to dread. There are just too many things to look forward to: meeting new staff and students, seeing returning staff and students, hearing about learning experiences and exciting travels, seeing the changes in campus and (again) students as they grow up, talking about and making plans for the year ahead, fresh starts, getting to talk about recommended places to new staff and reminding ourselves (the returning staff) about how many exciting places there are to visit here, the list goes on. It really has been a fantastic start to the year with lots of smiles from students and staff alike, and an extremely positive atmosphere around campus. I for one count myself as very lucky to be part of the BSQ community, which is what we return to every year as we start again. Long may it continue and I hope you all have a fantastic year. Dates for your Diary September 2nd – First day of classes for Reception Students September 3rd – First day of classes for Nursery Students September 5th – Welcome Back Evening at 6pm September 21st – Welcome Back Picnic September 26th – Juramento de la Bandera The Calendar for 2019-2020 is on the school website here. Please do make sure that you have all the key dates written in your personal diaries. Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the new academic year here at The British School Quito, whether this is your first year here at BSQ or the next of many. For those returning, you will notice a great many changes to the Primary School since the students left in late June for the holidays, not least to the campus. We have added several new classrooms, including a new Nursery block, improved the playground surface and increased the available shade. It is amongst the teaching staff where you will find more changes, with new teachers joining our staff to work alongside their colleagues to help create a caring, creative and challenging place to live and learn. For the past two weeks they have worked tirelessly alongside their colleagues, learning about what makes BSQ so special and adding their own experiences, skills and knowledge to our teaching body. Please do take the time to have a look around the campus and welcome our new staff, particularly on Thursday 5th September when we will welcome all parents to the school at 6pm to meet the teachers. Of course, we also welcome new students to our school, from Nursery to Year 6, and we look forward to them joining our community and sharing our values throughout the year and developing as individuals in this unique learning environment. Again, please help us make our new families feel welcome and get to know them - aside from the opportunity to meet them on Thursday 5th we will also hold our annual Welcome Back Picnic on Saturday 21st September, with more details to follow. Another development this year is our introduction of our online communication and information tool, called Canvas. This is already used by the staff here at BSQ in a variety of ways and we will soon be inviting you all to join this online community so that you can access even more information about your child’s learning and the events and activities that are happening at school. Although we have greatly increased the level of shade available for our students, we still expect all students to have a labelled hat in school every day. Without a hat, they are restricted to playing in one of the shaded areas only. They are able to bring it to school on Monday, leave in school all week and take home to be washed at the weekend. Similarly, we ask that every student has a labelled water bottle in school every day to maintain hydration levels throughout the day. Bottled water is available in every classroom and the communal areas to refill their bottles. Finally, all the students look really smart in their school uniforms – please ensure that all items of uniform are clearly marked with their names. With the new year comes new challenges and goals to be met – I look forward to sharing these with you over the coming months as we truly strive for academic excellence and personal growth. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Welcome back, one and all, to what will surely be another fabulous, full, and fulfilling year of learning and living in Secondary. There are many new faces among the students and parents, from near and far, and we hope that you'll all soon feel settled, at home, and part of the BSQ family. We have a number of new teachers, too, in Secondary this year. We welcome Ms Aditi Sadotra, Mr Stefan Karakasian, Ms Belen Arellano, Mr Bradley Edwards, Ms Claire Maudsley, Ms Valeria Cano, Ms Sara Avent and Mr Matthias Lee, all of whom you'll have an opportunity to meet with soon at either the Welcome Back Information Evening on Thursday 5th September, or at the PA's Welcome Back Picnic event on Saturday 21st September. We've had a busy, exciting start to the year already. The IB students, new and old, have been in classes since Thursday 22nd as they begin and continue their journeys towards success. The Year 7 students started on Tuesday, while everybody returned on Wednesday. Classes are already in full flow, and the buzz of learning is tangible. Students are already making good use of the new facilities, including extra three extra classrooms, more shaded areas, and more seating for lunch and break. Please do help us in ensuring that your children have everything they need for learning and for recreation. This includes a laptop of similar device if they are in Year 9 or above, hats for when they are outside in the sun, and the right uniform for the right days - including House sports shirts for our fortnightly House sporting competitions. One change this is the way we will organize our parent, teacher and student conferences. These will now take place during the school week, hopefully avoiding any clashes with weekend plans and allowing all of the Secondary school to attend on the same day. The first of these will be on Thursday 7th November, so please make a note in your planners. Once again, welcome. I do hope to see each and every one of you very soon. From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about successful parenting.
Welcome![]() Living Well we have finally reached the end of the year for our students and in the same way as I did last year, I want to look back to the very first newsletter of the year. In that week we welcomed our new families and started the school year with our IB students. I also wrote this as a thought about how we should approach the school year. There are so many wise words published and spoken about education that it can be all too easy to find a relevant quote or saying. However, there is one phrase I come back to time and time again to describe how important the years spent at school are. It was Nelson Mandela who said that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ and he was right of course. Whether you are making a small change to your daily habits, a reviewing your ambitions or setting out a clear goal for the next steps in your life, we can all change the world a little bit by using our time at school to learn how to help others, make a difference to communities and champion the causes that are important to us. Let’s make this year at BSQ one where we really make a difference – both to our own achievements but also to the world around us. ‘Let’s make this year at BSQ one where we really make a difference’ ......well I think we can safely say that we did just that! With so many celebrations coming up this week we can look back at everything that has been achieved and leave for our summer holidays with a sense of pride in the values and life of BSQ. All this is only possible with the support of the families and I very much look forward to continuing our work together in 2019-2020. Following on from the success of Romeo and Juliet this term, if you don’t already have it in your diaries, please join us for the performances of Macbeth this week on Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:45 pm in the tent at BSQ. Please note that classes will end at 12:00 on Friday June 28th. At 6:30pm that evening we will be celebrating the graduation of our Year 13 students. Congratulations to all the class of 2019 and I look forward to seeing them and their families and friends here to wish them well. Earlier in the week we will also say goodbye to the end of the primary school days to our Year 6 students. Following the excitement of their trip to Ibarra last week, we wish them luck as they ‘graduate’ into the secondary school where we will officially welcome them in August with their tie ceremony. Calendar. The calendar for 2019-2020 is set and you can find it on our website under the events tab in News and Events. Learning. Completing our introductions to the new team members at BSQ next year, we continue this week with the new Primary School team members With the expansion of the Reception team and the growth of our two-form entry into Year 4, you will see a bigger staff team of Primary and Early Years experts next year. We are delighted to welcome the following new staff to BSQ. See additional information about classes for next year below. ![]() Ms Polly Hall Ms Hall is joining us from the British International School in Wroclaw, Poland and has also visited Argentina and taught in Russia. As a Spanish speaker who has run a range of clubs for her students to learn about the culture, she is very much looking forward to moving to Ecuador and exploring. Ms Hall also enjoys teaching drama and loves to incorporate theatre skills into her classroom – she is currently directing a performance of The Wizard of Oz with her students. ![]() Ms Patricia Thompson Ms Thompson is joining us from the Newton British School in China where she has been leading an Early Years team and helping to set up a new campus of the school. With additional training as a special needs teacher, she is passionate about supporting all her students to make progress and excel. As a keen dancer, Ms Thompson enjoys salsa and zumba dancing and is looking forward to travelling to Ecuador and meeting her new class and families. ![]() Ms Natalie Cook Also joining us from China, Ms Cook has worked as a team leader for the last year where she has developed the Philosophy for children programme in line with the IB Theory of Knowledge ideas. With a wealth of experience in teaching children with English as a second language, phonics, confident talking and multi-language classrooms, Ms Cook is excited to be joining our team and sharing her knowledge. ![]() Ms Anna Vasilokonstantaki Ms Vasilokonstantaki joins us from London where she has been leading a Year 1 teaching team and working closely with the Early Years staff. A Masters graduate from University College London, Ms Vasilokonstantaki is joining her partner here in Ecuador and is very much looking forward to continuing her teaching career at BSQ. She will also be keen to look for opportunities to continue the community links she has built up in London and, as a keen cyclist, explore Ecuador on her bike. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mr. Robert Taylor, Ms. Claire Ngwenya and Year 9 students in Secondary. Mr. Robert Taylor – Secondary English Teacher As we draw towards the end of another academic year, it’s easy to imagine that things at BSQ are winding down; in fact, it’s been one of the most action-packed few weeks we’ve had all year! A couple of weeks ago I assisted our year 11 students with securing work experience placements with local organisations, and it was wonderful to hear about the many rewarding, exciting and challenging work placements that they undertook. It was heartening to hear about them being given so much responsibility, and so much opportunity to get involved with real, meaningful work. I know that many of them came back with clearer ideas of what they want to do with their lives after school (and, in some cases, what they don’t want to do, which is also a very valuable lesson to learn at this time), and this enthusiasm fed into some wonderful social enterprise projects during Enterprise Week. Approaching the final week of the school year, it certainly feels like a time to celebrate achievements and successes, but also to prepare for next steps, and to ensure that next year is an even more successful one. Even though I won’t be there to see it first hand, I sincerely hope that next year each and every student builds on all that they’ve achieved this year, and gets the rewards that their hard work deserves. Ms. Claire Ngwenya – Secondary Maths Teacher In Y8 this week, the students have been doing a creative project, building models of The Globe theatre. This is to develop their understanding of scale drawing and scale models in maths, and also to link with BSQ’s Shakespeare season (for example, the English lessons where Y8 have been studying Shakespeare, and the school plays of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet). Year 9 Students – Secondary Play Being in the play was a fun experience. Of course, it was a lot of hard work. The rehearsals were very tiring since a lot of them were after school and on Saturdays, but I believe it was all worth it in the end. Mr. Wild was a great director along with Anabella. They both had fantastic ideas about the play. The actors were all very well chosen because everyone put in all their efforts to portray their character perfectly and smoothly. The idea for the characters to be wizards was really funny and creative. Thanks to the backstage helpers, everything was smooth and pretty much perfect. I believe that the play was a complete success. -Felipe Rodríguez During the three days of the play the actors gave their best effort and that was clearly shown on stage. You could tell all the actors were determined to act as well as possible. The backstage crew also did an amazing job, even though they didn’t act. The way the play was portrayed was excellent as it was a classical story with a fun twist. Overall the play was very impressive and I believe we’re all looking forward to next year’s play. -Emilio Sisa Dates for your Diary June 25th & 26th – Primary Production: Macbeth June 27th – Awards Ceremony and Y6 Graduation June 28th – Year 13 Graduation August 22nd – First day of classes for IB students August 26th – First day of classes for Year 7 August 27th – First day of classes for Years 3 – 11 August 28th – First day of classes for Years 1 and 2 September 2nd – First day of classes for Reception September 3rd – First day of classes for Nursery Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() It is with great pride that I write our final Primary Newsletter of this academic year and the end of my first year at The British School Quito. I knew before I came to Ecuador that the school and its students had a great reputation for learning, caring and determination but my expectations have been surpassed by my experiences here at BSQ. As parents, you should be extremely proud of your children, as we are of them as students; they never cease to amaze the staff here in their curiosity, passion for learning and caring attitude towards each other. As we move towards the end of the year and say goodbye to both teachers and students, we should all spend a little time reflecting on our successes and what we have achieved together as a team. I would like to say a personal thank you to all the dedicated staff here at BSQ and wish all those leaving the best of good fortune and happiness in their new adventures. This week we have a range of activities and celebrations, starting with the Year 6 performance of Macbeth on Tuesday and Wednesday evening at 6:45pm here at school. This will a wonderful way for the Year 6 students to demonstrate their personal and academic achievements this year and you are all welcome to attend. On Thursday it is the End of Year Award Ceremony, with many of our students being nominated for awards – more details to follow about this event. On Thursday afternoon we will host the Year 6 Graduation Ceremony at 2pm and on Friday will officially say goodbye to the Year 6 students as they move on to Secondary. Please note that school will finish at 12pm on Friday, with only snack being served in the morning. I hope to see many of you over this week to say goodbye personally – if you are unable to come into school for any of these events, please enjoy the long summer holiday and I hope you get time to relax and send time with family and friends before returning at the end of August, all refreshed and ready for the challenges ahead! Star of the Week Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() The Last Week The last week in Secondary is packed with activity. After the Rewards Trip on Monday (well done everyone!), there's a staff v student sports tournament; on Tuesday and Wednesday the students have full-on classes where they will receive their exam grades and, more importantly, feedback, and where they will be given any work they need to do over the long summer break. On Thursday we have both the end of year Awards Ceremony (super-smart appearance please) and the House Sports Day (so bring House/PE kit to change into); and on Friday, we have our farewell assembly to say goodbye to those members of our community who are leaving. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about how to keep children safe during the holidays.
Welcome![]() Living With only two more weeks of term left, everyone is busy at BSQ planning the end of year graduation and award events, revising for exams (and sitting them too – the Ser Bachiller exam is today for our Year 13 students), finishing projects or heading out on trips. At this very moment our first ever overseas trip to Budapest is taking place and we have some early photographs to share with you. So far the students have .. Trips like these can make such a difference to the ways in which students from around the world can understand each other and We all hope that next year the trips to Ljubljana, Budapest and Mallorca are popular and that many more of our BSQ students have the opportunity to meet other Orbital students around the world, in person. Around the campus we have started our summer building works with new classrooms, shaded areas and storage slowly taking shape behind the covers. Once the children have left the site more areas of the campus will be developed to further improve our provision for next year. I know many of you will remember some of the less happy-looking areas of the school that we were still living with only a couple of years ago. Just as examples, there were no specialist science labs but now.. The furniture in the cafeteria was not fit for purpose but now.. And the student furniture has been replaced throughout the school. Much of the work required each summer is maintenance so that everything is safe and secure for the return of the community in August, but we also have to think about where we can add value to the campus and to the experience our students have on a daily basis. With thanks to the BSQ team and many others who will be preparing our learning community for our return in August. Romeo and Juliet Last week on Tuesday afternoon I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the dress rehearsal for the secondary play and while I sat in the theatre I was reflecting on the courage, commitment and creativity of everyone involved. The team of people who worked on that play represented the whole community and in doing so exhibited the BSQ values perfectly. Everyone worked together with care and respect for each other and the determination and ambition on show was astounding to see. I am not going to steal Mr Wild’s thunder in this newsletter so see below for more words and lots of amazing photos. Learning. Continuing our introductions to the new team members at BSQ next year, we start this week with the new Primary School team members With the expansion of Reception team and the growth of our two form entry into Year 4, you will see a bigger staff team of Primary and Early Years experts next year. Whilst we will be sorry to say goodbye to Mrs Taylor, Mr Drayton, Ms Stone and Ms. Mitchell, we are delighted to welcome the following new staff to BSQ. See additional information about classes for next year below. ![]() Ms Hayley Dean Ms. Dean is joining us from the British International School in Belgrade where she has been the maths coordinator and a curriculum development leader. Prior to that Ms Dean had worked at a primary school in Bournemouth in the UK, as an activity leader at EF Language Schools and as a charity fundraiser in Australia. She is passionate about the outdoors and has been involved in the scout movement and the setting up of forest clubs so is very much looking forward to exploring Ecuador. ![]() Mr Chris Leadbetter Mr. Leadbetter is joining us from recent positions in Kathmandu and London. Having studied in Sheffield and Birmingham, Mr Leadbeter has spent 10 years teaching in primary schools, travelling around the world and has already spent time learning Spanish so he is very much looking forward to arriving in Ecuador and getting to know the students and parents. As a keen walker, he is also looking forward to exploring the country and with an interest in community work he is keen to bring some of his experience in that area to BSQ. ![]() Ms. Heather Stollery Ms Stollery is joining us from Network International School in Yangon where she has been working alongside her partner Bradley Edwards. Ms Stollery is an experienced primary teacher with a specialism in English language and literature teaching and has also enjoyed working with the local community in Myanmar developing projects for children as part of the Little Dragons charity. Ms Stollery is very much looking forward to joining BSQ where our values resonate strongly with her approach to classroom teaching. ![]() Mr Matthew Kidd Mr Kidd joins us from a primary school in his native Scotland having also spent 3 years in the Royal Navy serving as a hydrographical and meteorological officer. He has travelled widely and spent time volunteering at a school in India. As a talented musician, (Mr Kidd plays the Scottish bagpipes, violin, piano and guitar) he is looking forward to sharing this with his class and making a significant contribution to the enrichment programme. More to follow next week.. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mr. Oliver Kyle and Year 5 students in Primary. And all of a sudden, that was that. Well, here we are – nearly the end of June and the end of the school year. Year 5 have become very much a part of my life and, I’m sure, of Miss Nicole’s. It would be a lie if I said I was not going to miss them. There are days when there seems to be a million things to do and all the lesson plans you made haven’t worked and you doubt yourself. Then there are the days when you marvel at how the minds of these children work - the great successes you see them achieve, the growth in their characters, the laughter you all share – and you realise how special this time is and how fortunate you have been to share some of it with them. We’ve had our fair share of special times this year; from working with a local community farm, to trips to the higher plains Amazon at Huasquila Lodge, assemblies, marble days and our own Bake Sale. The Bake Sale was a real success and the children raised $420. We will be buying a range of goods (sanitary products, shoes, blankets) with the money and we will be delivering these to a hostel in Imbabura, run by a lady called Carmen Carcelén. Carmen has been opening her home to Venezuelan refugees travelling by foot from their homes in Venezuela to Perú. The children worked particularly hard in organising the event and they are proud to be supporting Carmen in her work and doing what they can for the people of Venezuela. Mr. Oliver Kyle - Year 5 Teacher Dates for your Diary June 15th - 21st – Budapest trip June 17th - Ser Bachiller exam Year 13 June 20th – Primary Consultation meeting day. (Parent – Teacher Conferences. Parents only.) June 25th & 26th – Primary Production: Macbeth June 27th – Awards Ceremony and Y6 Graduation June 28th – Year 13 Graduation Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() With only two weeks left of this academic year, the teachers are busy preparing the final learning topics and themes and getting the students ready for their transition to the next academic year. On Thursday, you have the opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher and discuss both their progress and their next steps. This will give you a few ideas about activities and learning that you can do with your child over the long summer break, to support this transition and help them close any gaps in their leaning they may have. Of course, not every student will be happy with the thought of moving to a new class – some may be worried about the change of teacher, others the change of classroom and others worried about the extra learning they are expecting! Our jobs as adults in this process is to reassure them that everything will be alright, that we are there to listen and support them and that they will rise to the new challenges. This week we also see the Nursery, Year 1 and Year 2 trip to Mini City, which follows on from our very successful Careers Fair, our Year 6 students return from their residential trip, we look forward to the Year 4 Class Assembly and Year 6 have their final rehearsal in Quito, ready for performing next week. The final written report is due to be published on Friday 28th June. If you know your child will be leaving school early for the summer holidays, please let your child’s class teacher know so they can make the necessary arrangements. We will also communicate with you on this day which class and teacher your child will be in for the next academic year. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Romeo + Juliet It took a lot of people - students, teachers, and parents - to put this year's Secondary production together, and they all deserve recognition for their contributions. At the very top of the list are the Tiny Piano crew: Anabella De Armas, Katherine Hoshima, Gustavo Perla, Valeria Duran and Ana Buitron. Their work behind the scenes, both creatively and logistically, was what made the play happen. A number of teachers helped design and build the set, with Helen Davila, Antonella Coronel, Sofia Leon and Andrea Carrera giving up their personal time to make the stage look so professional. Many others at school helped as well, with Andrea Zambrano designing the gorgeous posters and tickets, and Alcira Vela helping us with all of the things we needed to find, buy and transport. And parents too, lent us props, with Pilar Figueroa and Cecilia Egas contributing furniture for the stage. Like everything at BSQ, it was a team effort. We are lucky to have such a skilled and committed team. Business and Enterprise The Year 11 Business and Enterprise week was an enormous success. The quality of the work that went in to developing their social enterprise projects was extraordinary. Through creativity and critical thinking, through deep research, and through hard work, each group managed to develop a plan of real quality. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about “Do Your Kids Rule the Roost? Here's How to Regain Control”
Welcome![]() Living Following our CIS visit of the previous week, things were back to normal as usual at BSQ last week with an exciting array of trips and events taking place to supplement the learning. Year 6 visited a theatre to have their first dress rehearsal for Macbeth, Year 5 visited Fundación Guayasamín to supplement their art studies, Year 12 spent two days on Cotopaxi for their IB Geography studies, Year 9 have visited MIC, Reception classes have visited the Fire Station and of course Year 12 CAS students have been to Sinsoluka to celebrate Children’s Day with our friends there. Such a rich snapshot across only a few days is evidence of dedication of the teaches and the determination of our students to explore as wide a range of experiences as possible to supplement their classroom work and broaden their horizons. Learning. Continuing our introductions to the new team members at BSQ next year, we finish this week with the secondary team. With the arrival of our first two-form entry into the IB programme and our second two-form entry starting their IGCSE courses this coming year, we have made some additional appointments in the maths and science teams so I will start there this week. Whilst we are sorry to say goodbye to Mr Taylor, Mr Cannon and Ms Molina changes her responsibilities (and of course we will thank them properly at the end of the year) we are equally excited to be welcoming the following team members. ![]() English: Mr Matthias Lee Mr Lee is joining us from The Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School, an outstanding grammar school in Buckinghamshire, where he has been for the last three years. Mr Lee is not only an excellent English teacher but also a very keen sportsman describing football, boxing and Formula 1 as his main interests. He has really enjoyed coaching the Year 7 football team at his current school. ![]() Art: Ms Hanna Eichenhofer Ms Eichenhofer is originally from Germany where she studied Visual Arts Pedgagogy at the Academy of Arts inMunich, and Visual Arts with English Language at The University of Ausburg. Whilst Ms Eichenhofer now lives in Quito, she has also spent time volunteering in Brazil. She is also a dedicated linguist who speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese and some French - in addition to her native German. ![]() PE: Mr Bradley Edwards Mr Edwards is joining us from Network International School where he has been teaching PE, running enrichment activities and also introducing rugby to the local children. A graduate of Nottingham Trent University, Mr Edwards has also been a rugby coach, a swimming coach and a water sports instructor before training to be a teacher so he is very keen to experience the wide variety of outdoor activities that Ecuador has to offer. He joins us with his partner who will be teaching in the primary school. That completes our new team members for the secondary school. Next week I will introduce you to the new team members in the primary school. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mr. John Ashfield in Secondary and from Mrs. Cecilia Vallejos and Mrs. Catherine Farag and their Reception students in Primary. Mr. John Ashfield - Secondary Teacher June can often feel like a strange month in Schools, the year 11 and year 13 exams are pretty much wrapped up and students (and no doubt the staff as well) have one eye fixed firmly on the approaching summer break. Due to this there can be a tendency to think the School is slowly winding down ready for the end of term but that couldn't be further from the truth! The year 11 students have just completed a very successful work experience week, the year 13s are now preparing for their Ecuadorean final exam, years 7-10 are approaching their end of year exams and will be revising for those and the students who are taking part in the play are putting the finishing touches on what will no doubt be an excellent production. For myself I am very much looking forward to next week where I will be leading a trip of six BSQ students on a cultural trip to the historic city of Budapest to link up with students from other Orbital Schools to explore the city together, build ties between the schools and give all the students involved a taster in each others cultures (I cannot wait to see the other schools trying to master Ecuavolley!) All of this is taking place alongside ordinary lessons for the students as well! So for my final Newsletter contribution of the year I would like to say a big well done to all the students for maintaining their work ethic into this very busy month, to the staff for continuing to give their all to help the students be happy and successful and to the parents for their continued support they give throughout the year. It´s been a year of hard work that will hopefully continue for this final month before we can all enjoy a well earned summer break! Reception Team In Term 3, Reception A and B have been focusing on Superheroes in our community such as doctors, nurses, the police etc. During that time, we have had visits in our classroom from our own Dr. Sara (Reception A) and from a practising vet (Reception B). In both instances, the children came up with the questions for the professionals and both classes showed remarkable focus for the interviews. As a final note to this topic, both classes paid a field trip to the local fire station. Each class had already talked about what firefighters did, their uniforms and the equipment they used. Even still, there were some surprises during the visits. We were introduced to our guides for the visit and the children were delighted to know that there are also female firefighters as well as male. We saw the ambulances they sometimes use, their gym, kitchen, living or relaxing room as well as the bedrooms, one for men and one for women. They were impressed to find out that when on duty, firefighters have their uniforms beside their beds and that it takes only 1 minute for them to get dressed!! The children were also delighted to see the tower that the firefighters use for training and some even got to slide down the fireman´s pole. It was easy to see how interested the children were as once again, they showed tremendous focus. They love investigating the world around them and are eager to question and find out how it all works. As teachers and teaching assistants, it has proven to be a truly rewarding time as we watch these young children blossom. Reception Team Dates for your Diary June 11th – 13th – Secondary Production: Romeo & Juliet June 15th - 21st – Budapest trip June 20th – Primary Consultation meeting day. (Parent – Teacher Conferences. Parents only.) June 25th & 26th – Primary Production: Macbeth June 27th – Awards Ceremony and Y6 Graduation June 28th – Year 13 Graduation Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() This week the teachers in Primary are busy organising the timetable for the Parent Teacher Conferences, which are on Thursday 20th June. On this day, there is no ‘normal’ school for all the students, though we would encourage the older students to attend with you in their uniform to discuss their progress so far this year and their next steps. Although much of what will be discussed will be school-based, we will also want to share with you all ways that you can support your child’s development at home. As a parent, you are your child's first and most important teacher. When parents and families are involved in their child's education, that child does better and has better feelings about going to school. There are many ways that you can support your child's learning at home and throughout the next school year, including attending the Parent Teacher Conferences in a few weeks. To make these really meaningful and useful for your child, spend some time with them before the meeting to find out what they have been learning about, what they enjoy doing and what they find more challenging. Have a pre-prepared list of questions for the teacher and please do ask for translation support if appropriate, in advance. We hope that you will come away from these Parent Teacher Conferences with a clear idea about how your child is doing, what their next steps are and how the school and yourselves can support the development in the coming year. This week we have a multitude of events across the Primary School, from Reception and Year 6 assemblies, our Careers Fair, the Year 5 Bake Sale, a Maths Workshop for Reception B, Father’s Day celebrations in Nursery and trips for Year 6 and Years 3 & 4. As always, please keep checking this Newsletter and other forms of communication to keep a note of all the events happening across the school. Please enjoy some photos from this week’s assemblies, led by students from 2B and 3A. Star of the WeekMarcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Romeo + Juliet There are two things that makes Shakespeare so special: the timeless beauty of the language, and the timelessness of the stories. His works reach deep into the heart of human nature, contemplating and elaborating on themes that are as relevant now as they were when they were written.
Business and Enterprise Last week, the Year 11 students were engaged in work experience, in hospitals, at the UN, and selling cars, to mention but three examples. This week, they are bringing that experience to a different type of learning project. Over the course of the week, they will collaborate in groups to develop, from scratch, a social enterprise business proposal. From conception, through creative and financial planning, to marketing, they will develop a product or service. Through this, they will be learning and applying new and old skills and knowledge, from numeracy in budgeting to the presentation and public-speaking skills necessary to sell their wares. I look forward to seeing the end results. The IB Extended Essay One of the challenges our IB students face each year is meeting deadlines, and in failing to do so, becoming overwhelmed when work starts to pile up. This creates stress, and results in work being produced that falls short of a student's full potential. This year we have moved our deadlines around, with the intention that no two pieces of IB assessed work need overlap. If these deadlines are met, students will find that they are able to pull all of their effort into all of their work. The first such deadline is today. Year 12 students should have handed in the first full draft of their Extended Essay. Having done do, their supervisors can now check carefully through what had been written, and provide detailed and meaningful feedback ahead of the redrafting process which will take place next week. With the EE out of the way in Year 12, students are able to focus more on individual subject coursework when they return in August. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about positive reinforcement and 7 things you should not say to your children.
Welcome ![]() Living Well, we have now entered the final month of the students’ academic year here at BSQ and this is always a time when we start to look back at everything we have achieved during the year. This week we are all celebrating the success of our CIS accreditation visit. It was wonderful to have a team of experts from around the world joining us to explore our classroom provision, our campus and our processes and I am delighted to say that they were very impressed with what they saw – in particular the quality of the teachers, the attitudes and characters of our students, the support they receive, the way in which we keep them safe and secure and Orbital for their support of the school. Whilst we will not receive the full report for another couple of months, early feedback suggests that we will receive many commendations for our work and our community. I will share the findings with you when they are sent to me, but in the meantime, I am extremely grateful for the support and help given by parents during this time and we look forward to the next five years of development! It is also interesting to note a number of universities in the UK, USA and around the world have recently joined CIS too so there are plenty of great global partnerships continuing to develop. Learning. As promised, I am delighted to introduce you to the new staff who will be joining us in August this year to begin their BSQ learning journey to support, educate and develop your children. This week we will start with the secondary school. With the arrival of our first two-form entry into the IB programme and our second two-form entry starting their IGCSE courses this coming year, we have made some additional appointments in the maths and science teams so I will start there this week. Whilst we are sorry to say goodbye to Ms Ngwenya and Mr Taylor (and of course we will thank them properly at the end of the year) we are equally excited to be welcoming the following team members. ![]() Maths: Mr Stefan Karakashian Mr Karakashian is currently teaching in Malawi where he is responsible for the MYP Service as Action programme whilst also working as Country Director for the Mlambe Project working with local students. A graduate of Cambridge University with 6 years of teaching experience, Mr Karakashian will not only be expertly teaching our students maths, but he will also be taking on the role of IB Coordinator at BSQ ![]() Maths: Ms Aditi Sadotra Ms Sadotra is currently teaching in Bangkok, Thailand where she is leading a department of 8 staff members and developing numeracy across the curriculum. She has also been Head of Mathematics and a school improvement leader in London schools. A graduate of Bristol University and London Metropolitan University, Ms Sadotra will be sharing her rich experience as a GCSE exam marker and school leader in our own community. ![]() Science: Mrs Claire Maudsley Mrs Maudsley is currently teaching in Spain having previously worked in UK schools in Essex and Lancashire as a lead teacher of physics. In her role at the moment Mrs Maudsley is leading the KS4 science team and teaching physics to students from ages 11-18. Arriving with her husband and young daughter, she is looking forward to continuing her Spanish speaking and exploring Ecuador. ![]() Science: Ms Sara Avent Ms Avent is currently working in Chengdu, China where she is responsible for the Environmental Systems and Societies IB course, the science extended essay and the CAS science programme. Born in the UK, Ms Avent studied in Canada and holds dual nationality. She has gathered experience over 11 years teaching in Europe, Canada, Vietnam and China but is very much looking forward to coming to Ecuador in August with her husband. More to follow next week... From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mrs. Paola Montenegro in Secondary and from Mr. Teddy Mercer, Mrs. Laura Stone and their Year 1A and 1B students in Primary. Mrs. Paola Montenegro – Sociales Secondary Teacher Two weeks ago we went to a lecture with César Bona one of the fifty finalist teachers in 2014 for the Global Teacher Prize Awards or the Nobel Prize for Education, and while I was listening to his speech a part of it kept rumbling in my head "the society that we want, is in the school that we have" In other words, what he said is that today more than ever there is the importance of involving the school in the community and weaving networks where the problems that afflict us can be reflected in the classrooms to find solutions for the present. Immediately, I related it to our work in community projects in high school where the students of y7, y8, y9 for 9 weeks work in a service area, following a cycle of research, planning, financing and execution and learn about social responsibility, empathy, solidarity and respect in order to analyze from their perspective how to solve problems that our community presents. So in this academic year, we have achieved significant changes and empower students to lead significant activities for them. However, the key fact of all of this is to share and replicate these experiences too to reach more people. Here is a list of the activities carried out:
Finally, in the area of Inclusion of children at risk, we discussed about the importance of education to improve the quality of life that those kids need, and resources have been delivered so the children can go to school and complete it without complications. Mr. Teddy Mercer – Year 1A Teacher In Year 1A the students have become fashion designers, using their knowledge of artist Wassily Kandinsky to replicate his art work on to some amazing t-shirts! The students designed a variety of stencils, spray painted them on to t-shirts and then used fabric markers to add a dash of colour. We finished the last week of the Summer 1 term with a gigantic banana split! The bomba de calorias was exactly what we needed to finish the week with some energy! Mrs. Laura Stone – Year 1B Teacher On Tuesday 28th May 1B learnt about the different jobs which different people do around the school day in, day out. The children carried out some work experiences with different people. They worked with Mr Andres the director of the school, they worked with Dr Sara to find out how to be a doctor, some worked with Julio from the Maintenance team and others worked with Eliosa from the cleaning team. We concluded that each and every job is vital and the school would not open without each of these people's hard work every day to BSQ. Dates for your Diary June 3rd – Assembly led by Year 2B, parents invited. 1pm June 4th – Parent Conferences all day for Reception A. Reception B has normal lessons. June 4th & 5th – Year 6 are starting their transition process to secondary, following a secondary timetable for the two days. June 5th – Assembly led by Year 3A, parents invited. 9:30am June 5th – Year 5 Museum trip into Quito all day June 6th – Year 6 transition meeting for parents in the library at 8am. June 6th – Reception A visit to a local fire station June 7th – Reception B visit to a local fire station June 7th – Reception A Fine Motor Skill Workshop at 8am in their classroom June 7th – Safe Internet Parent Workshop at 8am in the Library, hosted by Mr. Norton and Ms. Andrea Carrera. June 11th – 13th – Secondary Production: Romeo & Juliet June 15th - 21st – Budapest trip June 20th – Primary Consultation meeting day. (Parent – Teacher Conferences. Parents only.) June 25th & 26th – Primary Production: Macbeth June 27th – Awards Ceremony and Y6 Graduation June 28th – Year 13 Graduation Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Last week in Primary we enjoyed two very different Class Assemblies, by 2A and 3B, but both demonstrated the learning that has been happening in each class, the skills the students have developed and also the enthusiasm and enjoyment the students obviously have for their learning. This area is often overlooked in schools and I am proud that our students really engage with their learning and also outwardly gain so much from sharing this with their parents and peers. This week we look forward to 2B and 3A sharing their learning with us. We also welcomed in the visitors from CIS (Council of International Schools) who spent the week sharing our daily experiences and activities and getting to know what makes BSQ such a special place to live and learn. The Primary students really enjoyed having new people coming into their lessons and asking them about themselves and their approaches to learning, as we did as teachers. This week we are also hosting the Reception A Parent Conferences, the Year 6 Transition Days, trips out of school for both Year 5 and Reception and Parent Workshops for both Fine Motor Skills in Reception A and Online Safety for all parents. Star of the WeekMarcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() End of Year Exams With the Quimestre 2 exam session for Years 7-10 starting in two weeks' time, it's worth revisiting how the school calculates the end of year matriculation grade for each student in each subject. Each of the six partial grades is worth just over 13% of the final grade. The end of Quimestre exams are each worth 10%. The end of Quimestre exams serve as an excellent way of testing each student's ability to learn and retain knowledge and skills over the longer term, and we strongly encourage study and revision to re-learn and embed previous learning. They are, however, only one small part of the overall course to success. Please try to use them as a tool for learning, and not allow them to become a source of too much stress. Romeo + Juliet Please buy your Romeo + Juliet tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Last year all shows were sold out, and some people were left disappointed. Work Experience This week the Year 11 students will be out on work experience. They will be working with businesses and NGOs in a range of roles in order to experience first-hand the world of work outside of school. This is all part of the careers counselling process which helps them learn about who they are and what they want to be and do, so that they might pick the right IB classes to put them on the road to success. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about active listening.
Welcome![]() Living This week we welcome the visiting CIS team to BSQ to complete the process of our 5-year accreditation cycle. We started this journey in 2014 with the membership application and since then have continued to develop and grow in line with both the CIS code of ethics and standards and – more recently – in line with our own values of living and learning together to achieve the high ambitions we have for every member of our school community. Thank you to the parent association representatives who were able to join us yesterday to meet and greet the CIS team along with our school staff. We also welcome Karl Wilkinson this week from Orbital. This is Karl’s third visit to BSQ now and he is really getting to know the school. On Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm Karl will be hosting an afternoon coffee in the canteen where he would be delighted if you could join him. It may be halfway through the final term of the year but there are still so many wonderful things happening here at BSQ both in and out of the classroom. In particular this year I am very excited about our Shakespeare Season. Whilst Shakespeare is often studied as a text in schools, there are not so many opportunities for young people to perform in the plays and we are presenting two of the most famous ever written, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Both of these plays are tragedies – meaning that there are quite a few deaths scattered across the plot - and both deal with significant themes that are still relevant in our lives today such as power, love, jealousy, anger, betrayal, greed and prejudice. Exploring these themes in depth helps our students to understand more about empathy and relationships as they look more deeply into the lives of the characters. Not only are these performances taking place but in the secondary English department students are studying Julius Caesar in Year 7 and Hamlet in Year 8 and tackling challenging questions about the themes Shakespeare was exploring. Much research has been undertaken about the study of Shakespeare and there are many different opinions but here the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) tell us some surprising results:
So, I hope that you will all check the Dates for your Diary and book a place to join us for our performances this term. After all, if ‘All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players’, then we are exactly right in our choice of drama this year! Learning. As we move forward into the final stages of this school year, I am delighted to tell you that we have completed our academic staffing for 2019-2020. With expansion and the completion of contracts, there will be approximately 16 new international teachers joining us in August and I am absolutely delighted with the qualifications, calibre and experience of them all. Over the next few weeks I will introduce you to them via the newsletters and, of course, you will have the opportunity to meet with them at the start of the term in August. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Ms. Sofía Molina and Y8 student Bárbara Ortiz in Secondary and from Mr. Oscar Tabango and Year 2B students in Primary. Ms. Sofía Molina – Art Secondary Teacher In the last few months the students of Y8 have been busy exploring several artists and art movements as well as developing new techniques. I would like to share some pictures that reflect their hard work. Bárbara Ortiz – Year 8 Student In year 8 we have been working very hard in order to persevere and progress in our learning, especially in Art. The latest topics we have learned about in Art are Cubism, Pop Art and now we are making our first attempts of making cityscapes. Cubism was one of the most influential visual art styles of the twentieth century and was created by Pablo Picasso. Pop Art is an art movement that emerged in the 1950s and became popular in the 1960s in the United States of America and England. Cityscapes are the visual appearance of a city or urban area. We have also expanded the range of materials we use, for example this year we have used acrylics and different shades of pencil. In conclusion this year we have all improved and evolved our art skills. Mr. Oscar Tabango – Year 2B Teacher Our Literacy focus in Year 2 has given us the opportunity to write about “character description and write informal letters”. We started by reading the book “The day the crayons quit” by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. We started reading several letters that crayons wrote to their owner Duncan because they are not happy with his treatment. Pupils personalize the crayons and wrote a letter as well then they also personalize Duncan and replied to the crayons. Then we chose hats related to stationary objects so they can personalize it again and express themselves how they are feeling, how they look like, this help taught them how to give details when are describing something or someone. Finally, they drew a character and wrote a full description of it. They were really inspired creating characters like: princesses, dragons, knights, wizards and robots. They were excited and motivated to create these outstanding characters. Dates for your Diary May 26th – 31st – CIS Team Visit May 27th – Year 2A Class Assembly, with parents invited. 1pm May 27th – Year 12 mock exams begin May 29th – Year 3B Class Assembly, with parents invited. 9:30am May 30th – Workshop for Parents in Years 1 – 3. Library between 8am and 9:30am May 31st – Workshop for Parents in Years 4 – 6. Library between 8am and 9:30am May 31st - RA Fine Motor Skill Workshop at 8am in their classroom. May 31st - Y6 are visiting a church in Quito June 11th – 13th- Secondary Production: Romeo & Juliet June 25th & 26th- Primary Production Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() This week we welcome the team from CIS who are here to meet our students, staff and of course parents and discover what we already know - that BSQ is a wonderful learning community and a great place to live and learn! The visit may mean a few small changes to the routines in the Primary School, though these should not affect the students. The students will have lots of opportunities to meet with the CIS team and share their learning experiences with them throughout the week. Students from Year 2 to Year 6 will also participate in our annual assessments of Maths and English. These consist of a Progress Test in Maths (PTM), which is a standardised assessment of students’ mathematical skills and knowledge and a Progress Test in English (PTE), which is a standardised assessment of students’ technical English skills (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and reading comprehension. These are enjoyable online assessments for the students with a variety of activities and challenges and they help us to gauge each student’s performance and progress over time. Today the students from 2A will share their learning with us at their Class assembly, followed by the students from 3B on Wednesday morning. On Thursday and Friday this week, we also invite parents to our next Student Support Department workshop, titled “How the family can manage children’s anger and tantrums in a healthy way.” This will be led by Miss Andrea Carrera in the Library between 8am and 9:30am, for parents of students in Year 1 to Year 3 on Thursday and parents of older students on Friday. Finally, I would like to celebrate the achievements of Marcel Grijalva Gálvez from Year 6. Last weekend, Marcel participated in an invitational interschool fencing competition (IN-CUP Fencing Competition hosted by Johannes Kepler School in Quito). There were athletes from eight schools competing in a variety of different disciplines. Marcel won Gold in the épée competition and Silver in the foil competition in his category and he dedicated this achievement to BSQ and the Y6 class. An épée is a thrusting sword similar in length to a foil but heavier, with a larger guard and a much stiffer blade that has a tapered shape, whilst a foil is a lighter, thrusting sword with a small, circular hand guard and a flexible, rectangular blade. Congratulations Marcel – the Primary School is proud of your ambition and dedication to your sport! Star of the WeekMarcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Romeo and Juliet Tickets for this year's Secondary play go on sale today, and are available from Sandy at reception for $10, all of which goes towards the cost of the theatre, the costumes and the set. The students are all working immensely hard to create an original and enjoyable show. Please come, please bring your families. Performances take place on the evenings of 11th, 12th, and 13th June at the Telón de Aquiles Theatre in Ventura Mall. Exit Permissions We take student safety extremely seriously, and one of the structures in place to ensure they are secure in school is the exit permission system, the essence of which is that I will not give permission for a student to leave the school premises during the school day unless I have explicit permission from a parent. This permission should come in the form of a pre-written and signed permission slip, printable from the website. In the absence of this, I will accept a signed letter, or an email from a parent's email address. In all cases, students need to seek my permission and signature in good time, as should I be otherwise occupied when they wish to leave, they will need to wait until I'm available. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about setting up parental control on Netflix.
Welcome ![]() Living Now that the rainy season has finally finished (at least I think it might have done!) you will notice a lot of intensive work being undertaken around the campus to make sure that the learning environment is perfect for living and learning. Painting walls, trimming trees and undertaking a thorough check of the safety of all the play and communal areas are just part of the regular ways in which we take care of our school. I’d like to say thank you to our wonderful maintenance team who work so hard to keep BSQ looking green, clean and tidy every day – not just after the rain. Learning. There have been a great many significant developments in the learning for our students this year and we are very proud of the curriculum at BSQ. Every week our teachers write in the newsletter about the learning opportunities and experiences they have prepared for and shared with the students and whether that is linked to human rights, scientific investigations, graffiti artists, Egyptian mummies or running challenges, one thing is for sure – our students have a rich and exciting wealth of new learning to explore every day. With thanks to all the fabulous teachers who know exactly how to capture the imagination of their students. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mr. Joshua Cannon in Secondary and from Mrs. Helen Dávila and Mrs. Katerina Taylor and Year 3 students in Primary. Mr. Joshua Cannon – PE Secondary Teacher The IGCSE PE students in Year 10 traveled to Guayaquil recently to complete their Cross-Country coursework. After months of training for the 3km/4km run at altitude here in Quito, the final run took place near sea level in Guayaquil. In addition to the change in elevation, the hard work and determination of these students certainly paid off. The students improved on their best running times in Quito by an average of 2 minutes with 2 runners finishing more than 3 minutes faster. I am very proud of the hard work and sweat that all of these students have sacrificed to reach this achievement Mrs. Helen Dávila and Mrs. Katerina Taylor - Year 3 Teachers The last few weeks we have been learning about photography and the fantastic works of Ansel Adams. This week the children have made a mix media piece of work inspired by his photography. They have used newspaper, oil pastel, paint, foil, magazines, card and charcoal to create beautiful pieces of art that next week we will be framing by making natural wood frames using wood we have been collecting. The children are enjoying this project as it has allowed for a lot of independent creativity. Dates for your Diary May 20th – Nursery Parents Workshop at 8:15am. May 20th – Year 1A Class Assembly, with parents invited. 1pm May 21st – Nursery Parents Workshop at 8:15am May 22nd – Year 5 Class Assembly, with parents invited. 9:30am May 23rd – Star of the Week Assembly - Primary May 24th – Battle of Pichincha Holiday May 26th – 31st – CIS Team Visit May 27th - Year 12 mock exams begin June 11th – 13th - Secondary Production: Romeo & Juliet June 25th & 26th - Primary Production: Macbeth Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() As we approach the end of the academic year, the teachers are concentrating on improving the independence and resilience of the students. This can be achieved in a variety of ways: by asking the students to work in pairs or small groups to solve a problem, by sharing clear instructions with the students which they must follow, through reducing the level of support available after the activity has been explained and a multitude of other ways. At home, we can support our children by allowing them to make more of their own choices, by not repeating instructions and encouraging them to really focus the first time we share information with them. You can also use visual reminders such as charts and timetables and have a particular place for all their things, so they can independently tidy away after themselves. At any age in the Primary School, we hope to see development in this area – from our youngest students filling their own water bottles and washing their hands after using the toilet to our oldest students using planners and success criteria to self-assess their learning and develop their own targets. This week is another four-day week and we are planning on following a Friday timetable on Thursday, to try and avoid too many missed sessions because of the two Friday holidays. This means that several classes will not have swimming on Thursday (NA, NB, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6). Thank you for your understanding in this matter. This change does also mean we will have Star of the Week Assembly on Thursday 23rd May. Year 12 from Secondary are also hosting a Bake Sale on Thursday 23rd May, so please encourage your child to bring in 50c or $1 to buy cakes and cookies – all proceeds will go towards buying snacks and game prizes for the children at Sinsoluka on International Children’s Day. Star of the Week Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Year 13 Return - Ser Bachiller Preparation After the stresses and catharsis of the final examinations, our Year 13 students will be done with the IB Diploma Programme as of Thursday this week. But that's not the end of their education at BSQ. Next Tuesday, 28th May, they will return to a specially designed programme and timetable designed specifically to prepare them for their Ser Bachiller examination, which will take place some time after 14th June. The Ser Bachiller exam is a very different assessment from the ones the students are used to working with in the IB Diploma Programme, and as such, it requires special attention. We use the Cuestionarix online platform to perform diagnostic tests and provide individually adapted learning programmes, and we have an adapted timetable that means that all Year 13 students will be taught and supervised by Spanish language speaking teachers for the duration of this process, leading bespoke classes in Maths, Spanish, and Ciencias Sociales. Year 11 Return - IB Introduction Week Also returning to class from an examination session, the Year 11 will begin the process of adapting to the structures and rigours of the IB Diploma Programme. In their first week back, from Monday 27th May, they will attend a specially timetabled series of IB 'taster' lessons, in which specialist subject teachers will give them an overview of the content, demands, and benefits of each class available in Year 12 so as to ensure that they have made the right choices for their future. This is followed by a week of Work Experience, a business and enterprise project week, an IB Core week with a focus on research and writing skills, and in the last full week of school, the first real week of IB study. We believe that this will put them in the best possible position to enjoy success and happiness over the next and final two years of their Secondary education and beyond. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about 10 basic life skills every kid should know by Secondary.
Welcome ![]() Living It is lovely to be back at BSQ after my week in the UK. It was also good to spend time with the Orbital team and the other Principals from around the world. Whilst our schools are all very different, there is a great deal we can learn from each other and I particularly enjoyed working with the Shanghai school on their marketing strategies and their language development programmes. I also enjoyed sharing the successes of our BSQ teacher development programmes and strong classroom strategies with other schools – some of which they will all be adopting moving forward. Do you know that there are now over 3000 Orbital students around the world and the sense of community is growing stronger as we undertake projects that allow students and staff to learn together. Announcement from the PA It's been two years already, that CAS and the PA have joined forces to work and support the Sinsoluka Foundation. This foundation provides a warm environment and school support to 285 children. This second year we are going to celebrate their day, on June 3rd, at the facilities of the foundation in the Historic Centre and we will make the delivery of your generous donations. But, in order to do so, we need the collaboration of the entire BSQ community and the active participation of everyone in the bake sale this Thursday, May 23. Also, please keep an eye for the information the PA will share and let´s work together to give a wonderful day of love to the children. Learning. Further to all the news last week about the exciting opportunities for our students this term, the secondary team are also gearing up for the annual Year 11 Work Experience Programme – this year begin organised by Mr Rob Taylor. Last year the students (now in Year 12) were supported to spend a week at places like the UN, interior designers, vets and flower companies – amongst many other adventures. Despite the fact that work Experience is important for so many reasons, lots of school simply don’t bother any more in the UK because of the challenges involved in organisation. Here at BSQ, of course, we absolutely feel that the benefits outweigh any challenges. So, what are the benefits?
Good luck to all our work experience students as they start to contact prospective employers. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mrs. Sally Madden and Year 9 students in Secondary and from Mr. Simon Newman and Year 6 students in Primary. Mrs. Sally Madden - TOK and Humanities Secondary Teacher This year, together with Mr. Dobson, I have been busy creating a new and exciting KS3 Humanities curriculum. Whilst we believe that it is important for students to learn about History and Geography, we are keen to add some new topics to help enhance the students learning experience, improve their personal development skills and engage them in the wider world. This will empower them to become more Internationally minded and understand what it means to be a Global Citizen. An example of some of the new topics we have introduced are Human Rights (Child Labour, gender equality and discrimination). Other topics include Life after Death, Religious Beliefs, Ethics and Philosophy. So, what is Global Citizenship all about? It is the idea that people have responsibilities that come with being a member of the world community. It is about connecting and understanding people from all backgrounds, religions and cultures. I was pleased to recently hear my daughter quote Malala Yousafzai during a conversation about education we had at dinner the other night. She has been studying Human Rights in Year 3 and said she could not stop thinking about how Malala had said this very important thing. “Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow, education is neither Eastern nor Western. It is human.” This week as part of the Humanities curriculum Year 8 have been delivering presentations to their class. Their task was to make a comparison between a rich and a poor country, indicating the impact of environmental, social, cultural, institutional, geographical and economic factors. I have been so impressed with how they have approached this task and the in-depth research they have conducted as a group. It has been such a rich and valuable learning experience for everyone. Well done Year 8! Year 9 students - Afro-Ecuadorian Awareness Day Mr. Simon Newman - Year 6 Teacher Our Topic focus in Year 6 this term has given us the opportunity to study the work of the British street artist known as Banksy. We were fortunate enough to have workshops with two local graffiti artists from Quito: Heins and Danna. They showed us that producing stencils for street art is not an easy task and it requires a lot of time and precision. We’ve been maintaining a ‘street’ theme with our work in Year 6 Literacy too through our study of the British poet, rapper and songwriter, Kate Tempest. We have studied the poem that she wrote for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Its title is My Shakespeare and we have used it as the inspiration for our own My Shakespeare poems. We’ll be publishing these poems (and our own versions of Shakespearian sonnets) at the Year 6 play in June… which you might remember is also linked to Shakespeare! Dates for your DiaryMay 13th - KS1 Assembly, led by Year 1B - parents invited. 1pm May 17th - Language Workshop for Nursery to Year 4 parents. 8am at the Library. May 24th – Battle of Pichincha Holiday May 26th – 31st – CIS Team Visit June 11th - 13th - Secondary Production: Romeo & Juliet June 25th & 26th - Primary Production: Macbeth Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Last week we enjoyed a full week of learning across the Primary School, ending in the Student Council arranging an Own Clothes Day to help raise funds for new playground equipment. This is part of their continual efforts to make BSQ the best it possibly can be, in consultation with their peers. The Student Council continues to meet regularly, sharing the ideas they collect from their classmates and coming up with creative ways to improve the school environment and provision. Once they have collected all the proceeds from the Own Clothes Day they will then look at what types of playground equipment the students would like and also start to plan the next phase of their ideas to improve break times in Primary. These include having Playground Buddies who help to supervise the new equipment and also support the teachers on duty. On Friday this week we are hosting the latest in our Parent Workshops at 8am in the Library. This workshop will be led by Miss Sofia Leon and is aimed at Nursery to Year 4 parents, with the title ‘How does learning in a different language impact students' brains and how to support your child at home.’ Star of the Week Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Enrichment To ensure that every single student has the chance to explore extra-curricular opportunities, we integrate the enrichment programme of creative, active and academic activities into the timetable school week. This last week saw the start of the third and final cycle of clubs and initiatives for this year. On offer are a wide range of options from athletics and circuit training, to writing and cinema, to science and philosophy. We do hope that everyone has found something to enjoy and exercise their minds and/or bodies! Year 12 IB Mock Exams Our current Year 12 cohort are the first class to have gone through the full IGCSE experience, and as such are well placed for success in their IB programme. In two weeks' time they will sit their first IB mock exams, which will be the first real test of how far they've come since, and how far they have yet to go. Mock exams serve a range of purposes. These at the end of Year 12 exist, primarily, as a first taste of what to expect when the real exams come around this time next year. We hope, of course, that they study hard and they achieve excellent results. More than that though, we hope that they take the experience of this exam session and learn from it to develop their own revision and exam strategies that they can use in the future. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about digital wellbeing.
Welcome![]() Living and Learning Today these two headings come together as I share with you some exciting opportunities for our students. You already know about the Orbital schools trip to Budapest this term. Six students and Mr Ashfield will be heading out to Europe to join up with students and staff from Orbital Moscow and Orbital Budapest. Whilst there they will see many of the famous sites of the city and enjoy adventures such as cruising on the Danube, swimming in the famous outdoor baths and ride on the 144-year old Cogwheel railway. This is a great opportunity to meet students from other countries and experience a different city, food, language and traditions and is one of the exciting benefits of being part of the Orbital group. Thanks to everyone involved in the organisation of this. ![]() An opportunity that some students and families might want to take advantage of is the university summer schools programmes around the world. Whilst I know some students are already planning their summer school experiences with other Universities and companies, this information has come to me via the Oxford Royale Academy. It is only one example of the many universities and groups providing an experience abroad, but it is supported by COBIS, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (the same as Orbital) and the British Council. There are many benefits to attending a summer school such as increased social confidence, language learning, making new friends and testing out how being in a university setting feels before making some choices about next steps in your study plan. I have some flyers if anyone is interested. A message from a BSQ alumnus Hi all my name is Nicole Jimenez and I am a BSQ alumnus currently studying at the University of Leeds in England. Last Sunday, I and a few members of LUUWHC (Leeds University Union Women’s Hockey Club) took on the 3 Yorkshire Peaks Challenge, which involves hiking three peaks (Whernside 736m, Ingleborough 723m, and Pen-y-Ghent 694m) and walking a total of 38.6km under 12 hours. I managed it in 11hrs 33minutes. We did this to raise money for donation to SUDEP action, a charity very close to my club’s heart as we lost a member to epilepsy a few years back. Therefore, I wanted to kindly ask for your donations, if possible, to my JustGive page, even a dollar can make a difference. Thank you so much for the taking the time to read this and I wish you all the best. http://www.justgiving.com/Nicole-Jimenez1?utm_id=27 Kind regards, Nicole Jimenez A message from Ms. Mitchell We are reaching out to our BSQ community to help us re-home a kitten found on the campus. We have already found homes for three of the four and there is just one left! If you or someone you know could help us with a new safe home for this little one, please contact me via email [email protected]. Thank you all. From the Staff and Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about learning in the classroom this term. This week we hear from Mrs. Rocío Rueda and Mr. Joshua Cannon in Secondary and from the Nursery team in Primary Mrs. Rocío Rueda – Spanish Secondary Teacher Poetry is the echo of the melody of the universe in the heart of humans. Rabindranath Tagore POETRY: a challenge to teenagers When Literature teachers face to guide students along the path of poetry, almost certainly, I could say that two doors open to us. The first one, as poetry lovers, we feel that the coming few weeks will keep us closer to this wonderful genre that activates our deepest fibres of sensitivity – in which we are not always able to activate by the demanding teachers work. On the other hand, the next door is to ask ourselves, to work, to plan, to innovate, and to create different ways to introduce our students to poetry and awake those same emotional fibres that have touched us. Year 10 students have walked an arduous path to decode the poems of the Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belli arriving at their literal and deepest meanings through the meticulous analysis of their forms of expression, the combination of words, the construction of literary figures and the discovery of emotions that were identified and interpreted trying to elucidate the intentions that Belli had to create his poems. It was undoubtedly a titanic work because of the rigorous literary analysis required and the upcoming evaluations; but it was also an invaluable task for their sensitive and supportive human formation since reading and approaching this lyrical world required them to delve into their own experiences to discover the often intricate purposes of poetry and give them a tool to help them decipher the texts that life will present them. The work of a little more than six weeks in the classroom demanded an individual work, but at the same time a team effort. There were a few moments of frustration and doubt that it was only possible to unravel with help. I saw their faces of worry and uneasiness when they were just beginning; but I could also enjoy their bright eyes when they finally came to find answers to the immense question that the poem brought them. And, then, it was time to face the challenge of analyzing a new poem, but now alone. The students and their knowledge; the students and their sensitivity. In that path we are now. We will see the results soon when we enjoy their readings and their revelations. Until that moment arrives, I invite you to approach POETRY, read it, enjoy it and find the answers of life that we often do not find easily. Mr. Joshua Cannon – PE Secondary Teacher For the last few months Year 10 IGCSE PE class has been practicing to complete part of our coursework, which consists of four different activities. It was a requirement that all of us do cross country running as one of our sports, so we have been working hard to try to accomplish this. Since February we have been running every Tuesday and progressively reached 3km (girls) and 4km (boys) distances. Since ‘cross country’ demands changes in terrain and incline, we have run around Chaquiñan and Parque Metropolitano. Although it has been very challenging, it is a learning opportunity and a chance to push ourselves. To show everyone a little bit of what we have been doing and to collaborate with one of the charities BSQ is already working with, we have decided to organize a fun run. On Monday May 6, during primary/secondary lunch times, a path will be set around the school for all students, teachers and parents to run through. Participants will pay an entry fee to complete different distances of up to 2km and make a donation to Beyond Lagartococha. Rewards will be given out for taking part and we really hope everyone can come and make a contribution. Nursery Team We have made some small changes in Nursery and Reception snack time that will hopefully have a big impact. As in everything we do we are trying to enable the children to be as independent as possible. Therefore, our snack food is now served in a communal bowl and plate. The children take their own bowl and add the amount of fruit they want and take a sandwich etc. They carefully pass the bowl of fruit or plate of sandwiches down the table to the next person. The children also pour their own juice from a big jug with the support of an adult if needed. We have found the children are eating more and are much happier every snack time. These may seem like little things but they will have a big impact in your child feeling independent and in control of their choices. Why don’t you try it at home too? We are happy to offer advice and support with any questions regarding eating times. Dates for your Diary May 6th – Year 6 Graffiti workshop. 8:15 – 10:15am May 10th – Homemade biscuits & tea for Nursery Mums at 11.15am to celebrate Mother's Day May 24th – Battle of Pichincha Holiday May 26th – 31st – CIS Team Visit June 11th - 13th - Secondary Production: Romeo & Juliet June 25th & 26th - Primary Production Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Last week was an unusual one in Primary, with only three days of school, though the students and teachers tried their hardest to fit as much learning into those three days as possible. One highlight of the week was the Year 3 trip to a local photography studio – we may have inspired the next David Bailey, Ansel Adams or Lorena Cordero! This week also promises to be packed full of learning opportunities. We have discussed with the students the importance of this final few weeks of learning before the transition to a new year group (or school in the case of Year 6). This term we aim to both consolidate the learning already undertaken in each year group but also really develop the students’ reasoning skills and develop their independence and self-motivation, in preparation for the challenges ahead. This week Year 6 will complete their Graffiti workshop and we will have an Own Clothes day on Friday, organised by the Primary Student Council, as part of their plans to improve the playground provision here at BSQ. As we approach the last few weeks of this academic year, do please keep checking the newsletter and your e-mail accounts for details of events, workshops and meetings. One date to put in your diary is Thursday 20th June, when we will hold our final Parent Teacher Conference in Primary. This will be an opportunity for you to speak with your child’s class teacher and other teachers working with your child and discuss their progress and next steps. On this day, the children will only attend school for their own meeting with their teachers. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Regular Study With exams happening for some and coming up in a few weeks for others, it's worth noting that while revision for tests can be effective in the short term, the real path to success is through persistent study all the year round. Learning of a concept or skill needs to happen 3-5 times before it properly 'sticks', and while all attempts are made to find time to return and remind in class time, the surest way to ensure long term retention is to work on extending and reinforcing learning at home. Romeo + Juliet With six weeks to go now until the Secondary production, it's time for me to start plugging the show and encouraging all of you to buy tickets. The students are working extremely hard right now, during and after school and at weekends as well, learning line, rehearsing and preparing. Performances will take place at Teatro Telon de Achiles in Tumbaco on the evenings of 11th, 12th and 13th June. Please note the date in your diary and commit to coming along with your family to support drama at BSQ. Jim Wild Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, gives us some advice to fix rude tween behaviour.
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May 2024
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