Welcome ![]() Living and Learning together This week last year was the last week we were at BSQ before our lockdown and online learning started. So much has happened in that time that now, as we approach the processes needed to enable us to return to school safely, we can look back and reflect on all that we have achieved. You, as parents, have become true partners in the learning process as you have supported your children to learn at home, come to curriculum briefings, attended PTCs, provided resources, shared photographs, supported events and all whilst also managing the challenges of your own work and homes. BSQ is always proud of its community and more than ever we can be thankful for the teamwork and loyalty that has enabled our students to both survive and thrive. Thank you. Return to school updates: Today you will receive the survey via the Parent Portal that will ask you to select a return date for your children. Please complete this by 5pm on Wednesday so that we can organise the classes and logistics. Following the collation of all the information from the survey we will organise our classes so that we meet the requirements of the capacity rulings for safe learning. International Women´s Day This year’s them for IWD this year is #ChooseToChallenge and there is no better time than now to challenge the inequalities in the world - not just for women. At BSQ our own purpose is always to challenge inequality, misconceptions, ignorance about rights, bigotry, prejudice and cruelty that exists in the world. Here is a collage of some of our community and what they #ChoosetoChallenge: From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Claire Maudsley, Mrs. Patricia Tufiño, Ms. Sara Avent, Mr. Bowles, Mr. Kennedy and the Equality & Diversity Committee from Secondary and Mr. Chris Leadbeter and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary.
KS3 Spanish Year 7 students are working on the topic of biography. After investigating the biographical data of the painter Frida Kahlo, the students made an infographic with the most important aspects of her biography. In Year 9 Spanish lessons, students are learning about the Lyric Genre. The work is developed in groups, each group investigates a topic and exposes it in written and oral form. After their presentation, they close with a didactic game so that their classmates better internalize the subject. Mrs. Patricia Tufiño - Spanish Teacher Year 8 Science In year 8, students are investigating circuits using a virtual circuit builder program. In this investigation Gianella was looking to see the differences/similarities between series and parallel circuits and the effects of adding/removing cells and lightbulbs. Ms. Sara Avent KS4: When students become teachers: We truly know when we have mastered a topic when we are able to teach others about it. In year 10, students have been demonstrating their abilities to educate their peers on the geometrical properties of circles by creating challenging questions based on circular objects we see in everyday life. Here are some purr-fect examples by Bernarda, Koushiki, María and Bárbara. Mr Bowles, Mathematics Teacher KS5: Year 12 Biology Students of year 12 investigated the adaptations for pollination of a local plant species. They analysed the structure of the flower and linked that to the flower's function as the reproductive organ of the plant. Then they looked at how the adaptations of the pollinator have co-evolved with the plants. Several students did some beautiful flower dissections, matching structure to function (a key concept in biology). Here are some examples of their fantastic work. Mr Kennedy, Biology Teacher Equality and Diversity Committee Using gender-inclusive language means speaking and writing in a way that does not discriminate against a particular sex, social gender or gender identity, and does not perpetuate gender stereotypes. This is a kind reminder to use more gender inclusive language in any form of communication. Not doing so might make others feel isolated from a project, lesson or conversation in general. Ary - Equality and Diversity Committee member Do you have any questions? Contact Ary. Mr. Chris Leadbeter – Year 3A teacher Class 3A recently completed a topic all about the United Nations and human rights. This ended with children imagining they could give a speech at the UN’s headquarters. The focus of their impressive speeches ranged from reducing plastic waste to ending racism. The children also wrote a story based on the graphic novel Azzi in Between. They had to imagine what it would be like to have to leave their home and move to a new country. The children’s stories demonstrated excellent levels of empathy and thoughtfulness. The new term has brought the fascinating topic of ancient Egypt to 3A. Our learning has already included thinking about why The River Nile was so important, how to write an information text about one of the many gods of ancient Egypt and how to create a sculpture. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, It is an honour to celebrate with each of our families in both Nursery and Reception International Women’s Day. We believe that it is important for children as little as the Early Years Foundation Stage to learn about the inspirational achievements of women throughout our history in addition to how we have grown and progressed over time. It also raises awareness of gender parity and what hard work and dedication can lead us to. Friday will be a day to celebrate all the Mothers in the Early Years Foundation Stage and thank you for being that magnificent pillar your children can look up to in your homes. Over the past two week the children in Reception have been learning about The World and the different types of homes we can find all around. The students not only wrote about their homes, they also designed and built them, they made homes such as bungalows, yurts, castles, apartments and tree houses. Brilliant architects in the making! Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() This week, we look forward to another week of learning for our Primary students, supported by our teaching teams and of course our wonderful parents. This partnership is as important as ever while we remain online; with the teachers sharing the learning in advance, you have the opportunity to teach any new vocabulary that is coming up. This is particularly relevant in Topic and Science where the students may already have some knowledge of the concept, but are unsure about the technical vocabulary used or the translation from their home language into English. This is commonly called flipped teaching, where the content coming up is shared with the student and they learn about some of the basic concepts before it is discussed and analysed in class. As described before, this is especially important in the acquisition of new language, allowing the student to familiarise themselves with the word, phrase or concept in their home language and then being exposed to the English version of that word, phrase or concept. This process takes time – the students then need to hear that vocabulary in different contexts and practise it a few times before it comes part of their general working vocabulary, which is why the spiral curriculum in the British School works so effectively, giving them opportunities to practice their skills in different contexts and establish mastery over time. So, please do take time to either attend in the Teacher Meeting each week in person, watch the recording or study the curriculum content from Tapestry or the Class Canvas page, to give you the chance to ‘flip’ the teaching and give your child prior knowledge and understanding of the learning coming up – this will only benefit them and also gives you a meaningful role to play in your child’s education, with the accompanying satisfaction you will get when they have that famous lightbulb moment and join their leaning together! Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() The power of Art! We now finally have some clarity of how students will get to the point of assessment at IB and IGCSE. We have prepared excellent and thorough plans for teachers so that they know exactly what they need to do and when, and these are in the process of being communicated with students. I really am reassured that what we have in place will secure the deserved grades for each individual and I am impressed with the way that the news and plans have been received by the students. It really does reinforce just how adaptable and resilient they are at BSQ. There are of course additional tasks that now need doing or changing the best laid plans but once again, our very committed staff have just rolled their sleeves up, dusted down, and are now driving the tasks at hand placing the student needs at the forefront. The school celebrated International Women’s Day on Monday 8th March. During lessons on the day teachers dedicated a starter activity in lessons to this and shared some ideas from the Student Council such as statistics surrounding gender equality, and discussion areas like pay gaps, access to education, and violence towards women. During the LLS session our talented student council reps led the International Women's Day themed session and a Kahoot which they prepared themselves. They also took the time to prepare some excellent slides to share with the tutor groups. Once again, well done to those involved on the Student Council for their part in driving our high quality learning at BSQ. There are some really important student meetings currently to consider. On Friday last week there was a presentation to our year 12 to re-focus their attention on University Applications. There are a number of processes that are needed to secure their intended destinations after they graduate from BSQ. Our plan is for them to start early on preparing UCAS statements for UK universities, common application Essays for Universities in the USA, and securing decent teacher recommendations to support the whole process. The intention of course is to get slightly ahead of the game so that the pressures that inevitably arise in November and December when deadlines are approaching are relieved. We were also joined by Olivia Darby from BridgeU which is the application management platform that we use to support the process. She gave further direction on how she will assist in the process. Students in years 9 and 11 have important decisions to make in respect of study choices as they move into IGCSE study and IB study respectively. All parents and students are asked to attend virtual information events on the Morning of Saturday 20th March 2021. These important events will launch the process and provide information on what comes next. Do please try and join us. Finally, I would like to share some student work with you. We really do have some wonderfully talented students and in Visual Arts this is particularly evident. Ms. Belen Arellano works extremely hard supporting her students so that they produce their very best work. I look forward to being able to use some of this to display in the school once we return to not only proudly display our talents but also inspire our younger children. For now, here are a few pieces from the portfolios of Antonella, Gael and Marilin in year 11. Antonella: Gael: Marilin: What wonderful work! Thank you for sharing and well done.
Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary
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Welcome ![]() Living The mental health and wellbeing of young people has been of great concern and international focus during the last year, and rightly so. As adults now, we all remember a carefree (mostly) and untroubled (generally) school life where the expectation of getting up each morning, going to school and seeing our friends was taken for granted. Sports matches, musical events, birthday parties, holidays – all a part of the life we grew up with that have become limited or even non-existent for many of our children now. Whilst there is a lot of advice and guidance available for families linked to securing happiness and well-being at home, not all of it is practical, useful or helpful. The Young Minds organization in the UK has a great deal of useful resources such as this poster that shares ways to respond when family members and young people in particular are not feeling as positive as usual. Of course, the staff team at BSQ are always ready to listen to any anxieties or worries you might have and we encourage you to take every opportunity to approach us to talk about your experiences learning at home together, to share thoughts and to seek support and advice. Learning As you know we have a range of strategies we use in the classroom to support effective learning and you probably hear some of them on a regular basis through your computers at home. One of the most regularly used is what schools call ‘Cold Call.’ In this situation we make sure that all students are asked questions on a regular basis and this is used for a number of reasons. We might use it to ensure that no brains are truant from thinking, we might use it to ensure that all students have a chance to speak in every learning session and we definitely use it to check for understanding and ensure that everyone is ready to move on. In some schools, classrooms are dominated by a few students who jump in to answer the questions but at BSQ we aim to ensure that everyone has a voice and everyone can be heard in the learning process. If you want to know more about this technique – just ask your class or subject teacher. In the meantime, take a look at some of the wonderful learning happening across our school last week. Confirmation of places 2021 - 2022 Dear Parents, This is a kind reminder for families who have not had the opportunity to fill out the confirmation of places 2021-2022 survey. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share your intentions with us by March 5th in advance of the opening of our admissions process. Thank you very much for your cooperation and prompt response. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Ms. Valeria Cano and Ms. Aditi Sadotra from Secondary and Mr. Teddy Mercer and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mathematics Toolkit Just before the holidays, our Year 12 mathematicians were all working hard on solving a very famous mathematical problem that you may be aware of called 'The Towers of Hanoi'. You can try the problem yourself using this link! The students used a variety of high level mathematical skills to observe patterns and describe this age old problem using different types of formulae. They also then had to write about their mathematics and how they came to their answers. You can see some examples of their work below which demonstrate their ability to think mathematically and make their own interesting discoveries! Well done to our year 12 mathematicians! KS3 Music In our Key Stage 3 music lessons the students have been working on creating beats and songs using different online apps. They built on the skills developed in their ear training lessons to come up with their own compositions in year 7 using beats. Year 9 have been working on re-creating the song "Never gonna give you up". Here are some examples from these groups: Ignacio, Year 7 https://www.incredibox.com/mix/d3d6e6f8c83f5b82db00-v2 Vicky B. and Isabella A, Year 9 https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/song/6598096469884928 Ms Cano, Music Teacher Mr. Teddy Mercer – Reception B Teacher Students in Reception B returned from the Carnival break filled with renewed energy and ready to put their Mathematics strategies to the test! Now that we have become experts at counting on and counting back, we are learning about the number ten and how important it is. In Weeks 1 and 2, we are discovering more about ten frames and how we can use them to show number bonds. We are also making bundles of ten and showing how to show tens and one on a place value chart. Whew! Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, In a week’s time we will be celebrating International Women’s Day, where the children will have the opportunity to learn about important women throughout history that have impacted the life of us all, such as Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo and many more. In addition to this, we would like to present to them the women in their own personal lives as well as within their BSQ community. For this we would like to ask all the mothers in the Early Years Foundation Stage to please send to their class teacher a picture of themselves celebrating something you are proud of as a woman. Below is the term 4 calendar and the dates to save. We look forward to celebrating these events with the children of Early Years! Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() This week I would like to focus on two areas of the Primary School, our Spanish department and our EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) department. Both are integral to what we aim to achieve with our students while they are with us, ensuring our students live and learn according to our school values and become internationally minded life-long learners. In our Spanish department, our students learn about the vocabulary, grammar and structure of the Spanish language alongside developing an understanding of Ecuador and its varied geography and culture. For instance, in Key Stage One the students are learning to read more complex texts in Spanish, learning words with the syllables al, el, il, ol, ul, as, es , is, os and us in Year 1 and locked syllables (pra, pre, pri, pro, pru, pla, ple, pli, plo and plu ) in Year 2, leading to being able to recognise them in texts. In Sociales in Year One, the students have been learning about means of communication and transportation, writing secret messages using lemon juice and a flashlight. In Year 5 Sociales, the students have been studying Jerarquías durante la época colonial (Hierarchies during colonial times), an interesting topic that has led to many in-depth discussions about power and influence during this period. In upper Key Stage Two Spanish, the students have been reading classic books such as George’s Marvellous Medicine and Tornado. Through reading these books aloud, the students have given life and meaning to a written text through intonation, pronunciation, fluency, rhythm or volume of the voice. Through listening, we hope they can dream, imagine or express their emotions. In addition, they have been developing their correct use of vocabulary and linguistic structures related to the texts, to help improve their writing. On Tuesday, new parents thinking about sending their child to the Early Years section of the school are invited to a webinar (details in the previous Newsletter) to find out what many existing parents already know – that Nursery and Reception provide the foundations for success in later learning and are essential in providing opportunities for our youngest students to develop their social, emotional and academic skills in a safe and secure environment. Although many of our EYFS students have not attended school in person, they are still learning about the core skills they would do at school, with the support of their teachers. We would like to ask you all to collect any of the following to use in our outdoor area, ready to bring to school when we return:
Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() How would you spend $5 Million on health and wellbeing in the Valley? We have a busy time ahead thinking about our curriculum, how we manage assessment, and of course those students who are moving between phases. There are various key moments when students and parents negotiate where choices need to be made that impact study over the following two years and it is important to consider how these decisions contribute towards future aspirations. I am looking forward to key presentations over the next week or so. The first is for our year 12 students who are starting the process of considering what comes after graduating from BSQ. My task will be to engage thought and action towards this and hopefully, by May, each one will know what comes next. My aim is to secure the written first drafts of entry essays for the US Universities and UCAS references for the UK, and a good recommendation from their chosen teacher. This will relieve some of the pressure that inevitably arises as year 13 unfolds and course work deadlines clash with the demands from their subject teachers. On Saturday 20th March Ms. Todd and I will be leading presentations for our year 9 students and parents on everything that we think you need to know about IGCSE study at BSQ. This will enable some thought about future aspirations and choices that link to IB and onwards, and to what happens when they eventually leave here. Our year 11 students have had an extremely challenging year and have really stepped up to the challenge to secure the best possible outcomes. They now face choices for IB study in 6th form and the realization that they are really stepping up to face the challenges and rewards that the IB Diploma curriculum offers. These are all times that require great reflection and consideration before making those important choices. By now you are aware that we are submitting teacher assessed grades for IGCSE and IB, and we are looking at this as an opportunity. Teachers and students will be working hard to ensure that the correct supporting evidence is in place for everyone to secure the best grades possible. There will be additional test questions, essays and of course the coursework that needs to be finished. BSQ has been working hard to prepare for this from the beginning of this year, and we learned much from the same task last year. Please be reassured that we have the determination and experience to ensure that everyone gets what they deserve. Sport. In PE lessons currently there is a focus on a 10-week fitness training programme. As always there are occasions where not all can participate due to illness or injury and so a task was set for two students over the last few weeks who could not complete practical work, and I would like to share some of the amazing work done by Shira in Year 9. The task was to use a $5 million dollar grant to develop a health and wellness facility in the valley that can be accessed by all. She has had some amazing ideas and went into super detail, really embracing the challenge I set her. Here are some of the images from her work and you can find the full presentation and rationale for the design here. I think we should put our very bright and innovative children in charge! Well done Shira. Hillside design layout
This is just a taste of what she achieved and I invite you to take a moment to go and take a closer look at her work.
Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary Welcome![]() Living At BSQ we embrace the whole community and we ensure that parents are provided with multiple ways to access our staff and to receive information about the curriculum, about the pastoral and academic care systems and about how to support learners at home. In the Primary school we provide weekly planning sessions where parents can find out about the learning that is coming up and in the secondary school, we have dedicated a day to our exam groups and their families so that teachers can provide feedback directly to the families about mock exams and next steps. Thanks to all the staff involved and to all those parents who attended to support your children. One area we all find challenging is managing at home when it can be difficult to know exactly what to say or do to support learners to feel positive and hopeful – about their studies know and their future aspirations. This website has a wonderful set of resources to help you are parents according to the particular challenges you might be facing. Just answer the 6 questions about your child and the resources will match your answers. As always, if you need any support you can contact any member of our staff team for guidance and advice. Learning We talk a lot about student learning but it is also important of course to learn from each other and the completion of the recent parent survey gives the school a team a great opportunity to learn about what is important to the whole parent body and to be able to respond. Next week I will meet with the Parent Association leaders to explore the outcomes and propose some next steps. I want to thank all parents for completing the survey. As always, we had a high return rate and the outcomes were extremely positive in all areas. The suggestions for moving forward were supportive and ambitious and it is a pleasure to work with such a loyal and committed family community. EYFS Webinar Share the news with friends and families not enrolled in BSQ with children aged between 3 – 5 years old. RSVP https://bit.ly/BSQEYFSWebinar and join us for an interactive presentation and discussion about our exciting and challenging curriculum for Early Years students! From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mr. Bradley Edwards and Y8 students, Ms. Natalie Sawyers, Ms. Aditi Sadotra, and the Student Council from Secondary and Mr. Matt Kidd and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Y8 Newsletter Even though schools remain closed and isolation continues in our respected homes, this has not stopped year 8 from exercising together. Taking a keen interest in their fitness and more importantly, a celebration of Jota's birthday, the whole of year 8 was present for a live workout on Thursday morning. There was fantastic energy from all students and it was amazing to see such great motivation so early in the morning. Year 8 are currently in week 6 of their 10-week fitness programme, where they are not only improving their physical fitness but increasing their knowledge of the health benefits of different activities. Well done to all for an excellent lesson and I look forward to seeing the class progress more throughout this programme. Mr. Bradley Edwards – Y8 students Year 9 Humanities Lessons In year 9 humanities students reflected on what they had learned so far and what they wanted to learn, they could present this however they wanted. I did a Victoria Sponge. I want to learn more about the Victorian era, its economy, geography, and lifestyle. "Amyra" Students also created resources to help learn the 4 different plate boundaries. Ms. Natalie Sawyers, Humanities Teacher Year 12 Geography In Year 12 Geography have recently started a new topic: Global Resource consumption and security. Students were given the following data to transform into a graph. Whilst learning online students have to develop ICT skills as well as their usual ‘on paper’ skills. I usually let students decide how they want to present their work to allow them creativity but also be efficient or practice weaker skills. As you can see this data is trickier to draw onto a graph as the income isn’t on a clear scale. I like students to learn from their mistakes and make improvements. This makes understanding stick better. They initially asked what type of graph to draw, we discussed what would be best and why; we identified a line graph as it was showing continuous data. Initially, when students put the graph to scale with the x-axis as income the smaller amounts were very close together and therefore you couldn’t see the changes; therefore, the students couldn’t interpret it. However, changing it to a logarithmic scale meant that they could then see how the income was distributed over the year and how the curve changed over time. Income distribution changes In 1970 there were two mountain-like shapes on the income around $700 and $5000 which means there are two big difference income groups. However, in 2000, those two groups were combined and there are only one mountain-like shape. Also the number of people with income less than $500 had decreased. Therefore, I think the world become more equal in 2000 than in 1970. Student Council Year 13 to Year 12 University Application Webinar On Friday 5th of February, the Student Council senior experience group ran a webinar especially for the year 12 students. They planned the session on university applications in a variety of different countries to share what they have learned this year from their own applications. They sent out a survey in advance of the webinar to find out what the year 12's needed to know. Based on this information they put together a team of 7 willing year 13 volunteers who were experts in the country of choice. The idea, planning, and execution were all driven by the students and their desire to help the year 12's as much as possible in their own applications that they are starting to think about now. Here is a comment from one of the year 12 students in attendance: "The webinar was really useful for me. Thank you for hosting such an awesome webinar!" This is the beginning of a set of webinars that will be run across the Secondary school with the older students giving their advice to students in the year below. Well done to Martinna, Sofia, Byron, and Juan in Y13 who were instrumental in the planning and implementation of this wonderful session! Ms Sadotra, Student Council Mr. Matt Kidd – Year 2B Teacher Year 2 has been working very hard in Science this week. So hard that they have made their very own telephones... plastic cup string telephones. These are a great way to communicate while socially distancing and are a lot of fun. The boys and girls have been learning all about waves and ripples to understand how sound travels across distances. Using only sound vibrations, a cup to amplify, and string, you have a very cheap and effective telephone. With only some string and a plastic cup, the super scientists were able to make a working telephone that allowed them to talk to each other over great distances and around corners. Well done everyone! Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of Early Years Dear parents, Welcome back, we hope you all had a wonderful break. Today marks the beginning of term 4 and the live Little Kickers sessions will commence Tuesday on Canvas. The Nursery students will have their session every Tuesday from 11:30 to 12:00, the Reception children will have their session every Tuesday from 12:00 to 12:30. We look forward to seeing all the children join the live sessions and enjoy all the activities Mr. Julian Mora has prepared for them. You will receive a Canvas invitation to join the Little Kickers course. The next 6 weeks are filled with learning opportunities for the children and topics that will keep learning fresh and motivating. Below are the upcoming dates and topics of this term.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or your class teacher. We are delighted to start this new term with you and your children. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Welcome back to Term 4 here at The British School Quito and we hope you enjoyed the break with family and friends. As we look forward to nearly six weeks of learning with our students, I would ask you to revisit the discussion from the last newsletter about supporting your child to make relevant and personal goals (targets) for themselves. Once they have explained to you what it is they want to achieve, we need to make sure that they have appropriate structures and support in place to help them achieve their goal, although of course this may be more difficult than it sounds with a child who is aiming for something unrealistic in the short-term! However, we need to be aware that not all goals have to be (or can be) accomplished – the process of working toward the goal can be just as important as the accomplishment. Below are two simple structures to help frame your conversation with your child about their goal and how they might achieve it. Both are suitable with a little support and guidance. The Five Ss:
SMART Goals: Whichever framework you choose together; it is important you following the following three steps to make sure that your child has every chance of success.
I hope this process will support your child to achieve their goals! Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Half term – rest or prepare? Would you believe that we started back after Christmas just 6 weeks ago! How time flies. When we look back and consider what has happened since then it makes me feel extremely proud of the students. They have worked so hard and done so well to get through exams, testing, and various meetings to consider what comes next. It was fantastic to see so much support at the parent-teacher conferences just before half-term to consider outcomes and focus areas as we move ahead in studies. I have written to you all to say that we are in touch with the IB and IGCSE examination boards and we are preparing for every eventuality. I must stress again that as a school we are committed to the preparations towards the best possible outcomes for our students. The secondary staff are determined in their task of motivating our students towards these goals. I hope you all took the opportunity to rest and recharge. If I was a student facing important exams this year, I would have used this time very wisely indeed. Rather than taking the time to forget school and my studies, I would take the opportunity to make my coursework as smart as possible to ensure that my school guided work attracts the highest possible grades. I would also use the time to brush up on parts of the curriculum that I had perhaps struggled with and plan my time carefully over the next 5 weeks. Time is ebbing away and it is important that we all maximize every opportunity we have to our advantage. I had a wonderful meeting with ‘G’ (Sebastian) and Daniela from the student council. They are focusing on the work that the student body performs in raising funds for the many enrichment and other events BSQ enjoys. Whilst we are somewhat restricted, for now, it was pleasing to hear of their ambitions regarding future ideas. The first will be the BSQ ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ event they are planning. More to follow but those of you who may be interested in the challenge, be reminded to brush up on your general knowledge. You never know you may be the recipient of a decent prize and of course the honour of being worldly-wise. Well done to G and Daniella for presenting themselves so confidently to me in the meeting. Our staff have all been trying to engage learning through more project type tasks which allow students more autonomy over their learning. This is hoped that motivation and engagement will be increased along with the wellbeing benefits of being away from the screen. Mrs. Moors has been working with year 8 on this following their end of unit assessment. She wanted to give students an opportunity to explore areas of the module in which they didn't evidence their learning during the assessment activity. The project is an opportunity for the consolidation of their learning. Mrs. Moors refers to Oppenheimer, who said, "the best way to learn is to teach". By presenting their project, students also teach their peers who, in turn, benefit from revising the content of the module. Well done to all the students involved and for being brave enough to present their ideas online to their peers. Here are a few images to give you a flavour of their activity: Jose Gabriel – Year 8 It is particularly important to highlight the outstanding work from Elias N. on mega-cities and Shenzhen particularly. It was extremely thorough and interesting and I encourage you to look at the full presentation on the link below. Well done Elias.
Welcome ![]() Living As we look forward to our break next week there are many successes to celebrate from this term. We have completed our mock exam cycle for our oldest students with many outstanding outcomes and lots of targets to work on. We have taken time to focus on our mental health through INSIDE OUT so that we can continue to raise awareness of how important this issue is. We have completed our readiness for return to campus days with the staff team. We have welcomed prospective new families in webinars. We have maintained excellent attendance at online learning lessons and those lessons have continued to challenge and explore learning at a high level. As always, we are conscious that not being on the school site means that all our students are spending longer online than usual and whilst we work hard to provide a mixture of earning opportunities away from the screen too, it is important that parents are aware of the potential challenges. Tomorrow is Safer Internet Day in the UK and there is a wealth of resources connected to this and aimed at parents knowing how to keep their children (of whatever age) safe whilst online. This video reminds us all about how to be alert and watchful. It is always valuable to have a conversation about this at home. Learning As always there have been a range of exciting learning opportunities for our students to practise and explore skills and knowledge. Here are just a few examples. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Ms. Ruth Todd, Ms. Sara Avent, Ms. Natalie Moors, Ms. Aditi Sadotra, the Equality and Diversity Committee and the Student Council from Secondary and Ms. Hayley Dean, Primary Student Council and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Year 10 Explosion Safety Posters This week in Year 10 Chemistry, we have been applying our understanding of collision theory to create safety posters for miners. Explosions in mines are caused by the build of concentration of flammable gas and have devastating consequences. Here are some examples of the work produced by Year 10 explaining this phenomenon and how to avoid it. Ms. Ruth Todd – Chemistry Teacher Year 8 Science Year 8 worked together in small expert groups to complete this table about 8 different types of renewable energy. Each group worked together to gather the information and then shared it with the class in presentations. We collated the information into a useful table which they will use to prepare for a debate on which renewable energy is best next week. Ms. Sara Avent – Science Teacher Year 7 Art During the last unit with year 7 students, we had been exploring the oldest evidence of human art. From pictographs of Altamira in Spain to Chiribiquete in Colombia, students created their own cave art paintings inspired by diverse examples around the world. Students used natural pigments like coffee and charcoal to create their unique masterpieces! I hope you enjoy the works! Ms. Belén Arellano – Art Teacher Year 7 Humanities In Humanities this week, Year 7 moved away from the screen and adopted a ‘hands-on’ approach to show the process of weathering and erosion. Here are some excellent examples of creativity: Lyla Mathias Nina S. Mrs. Natalie Moors Inside Out Day! On Wednesday the 3rd of February we celebrated Inside Out day with all of the students. It is a day to raise awareness of children's mental health issues and give space to students to discuss how they are feeling. Staff and students all wore their clothes inside out for the day to represent that how we feel on the inside is not always reflected on the outside. You can see these outfits in the collages created by the different classes! In addition to the clothing in Secondary we dedicated some time in all lessons to have discussions surrounding mental health. These conversations were really beneficial for all involved and the students came up with some amazing insights. Here is an idea shared during a discussion in a year 8 mathematics lesson: "The loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest people smile the brightest, the most damaged people are the wisest, all because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do." This is a lovely reminder that we must always be kind to all as we never know what they may be going through. Well done to all the students for sharing wonderful thoughts and ideas throughout the day! Ms Sadotra Equality & Diversity Committee Mental health is a topic that many people struggle with and is often not given the necessary attention. Being part of this project was truly comforting as we had the opportunity to raise awareness and become conscious on how evaluating one's mental health is nothing to be ashamed of but an opportunity to recognize and reflect on your daily actions. We should all know how to take care of ourselves and others, especially during difficult times. Working on this has been an enriching experience because we could come together to create resources to help others. Of course, due to the circumstances and being online, it was a bit more complicated, however, teamwork won and we were able to create a booklet. Mental health is a topic of vital importance. This project helped us understand and better explore different situations and scenarios where problems with mental health are present. This will work as a stepping stone to greater and bigger projects by the E&D committee! Student Council Newsletter Hi Everyone, we have written a Newsletter for you, students and parents, to read with updates and important information about school and other things. We hope you like it and have a laugh or learn something new. Have fun! ![]() Fun Time: Memes Human: Isn’t that more of a grumpy face than a I love you face? Cat: Don’t judge me, or I will scratch!! Meoww Human: But aren't you just a picture? Cat: Oh yeah true, fine i will scratch you emotionally, there! Human: Okay…... Around the World: Thousands evacuated in Manchester, Wales and Merseyside to escape Storm Christoph: Torrential rain and floods in England lead to evacuation of Manchester and other cities. All over England there is horrible weather and no sight of sunshine. Former president Donald J trump is the first president of the united states to get impeached twice: It is still to be decided about President Donald Trump's impeachment trial and whether to convict him of "incitement of insurrection" following the deadly attack on the Capitol earlier this month. Student Council Update: Class points: Class points are now being used, make sure to be good in class and engage in lessons and earn class points. Get class reward sessions and be the winning class at the end of the year!! Valentine’s Day: For Valentine’s day the student council are working on a way of giving roses/cards/serenades online and they also are planning on doing different colour roses depending on who is giving it to who. There is also going to be a Valentine class collage competition and the winning class will get 2 class points!! School Updates: Manga high competition 7, 8, 9, KS3: This year we are also using Mangahigh to practice mathematics in a fun way. Manga high is a learning platform that has game-based maths activities from a wide range of topics like algebra, geometry, probability and statistics, angles, etc. As students, we find it very useful to increase our knowledge and use strategies. Besides that, what makes it even more engaging are the points, medals, and ranking, as well as, the house points that the teachers will award us with at the end of the Mangahigh COBIS Maths Challenge 2021. It allows us to compete with our classmates and other students from BSQ. Well done everyone. Inside Out day: Inside Out Day: Inside out day is celebrated on the 3rd of February all around the world to raise awareness for children’s mental health. At BSQ, students were asked to send a photo of them wearing clothing inside out and classes made collages. Also, in most lessons teachers and students got an opportunity to talk about mental health and how it has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is a class collage from year 13B!: It is important to open up about our feelings and never be scared of what someone might think. This is a very meaningful way for students to show who they are on the inside and raise awareness for mental health. Here is a quote that we should all remember: “How someone looks on the outside doesn’t necessarily reflect how they are truly feeling on the inside, so it is important to always be kind and think of others. “ If you want to read more: https://www.insideoutday.org.uk/ We hope you enjoyed reading the newsletter and we can’t wait to write another one! Stay Safe and Healthy! See you soon, Student Council Team 4B Newsletter Dear the BSQ Community, Welcome to the update of 4B’s learning. In the past couple of weeks, we have been writing diary entries based on the book The Island. The book is about a man that arrives on an island and because he was different he was discriminated against and prejudged. The story did not end well for the man and we learnt to not pre judge people based on our differences. From this we wrote diary entries about this man when he finally arrived at his home island and how he felt after his horrific journey and time on this nightmare filled island inhabited with dangerous and cruel people. In our interesting topic lessons, we learnt about the Civil Right Movement and the Jim Crow laws. We also learnt about the bravery of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. We listen to Martin Luther King Jr’s most famous and thought provoking speech ‘I have a dream’. As a class we then wrote our own ‘I have a dream’ speeches to demonstrate what we are passionate about and want to see changed. Across this term we have been learning about the culture of Hip Hop and its art. We are creating a piece of art step by step, firstly looked at Hip Hop dance, then clothing and colours and in our most recent class we learnt how to create graffiti writing of our names, including a lot of bright and bold colours. Thank you for reading our newsletter article and we hoped you liked reading all about our amazing learning journey's. Written by the Students of 4B Student Council – Primary Year 1 & 2 In Years 1 and 2 we the children have been learning all about Mental Health. Here are some quotes from the student council representatives about what they have learnt: “Feeling that come from us”- Jael “About how we are feeling everyday” - Jael “Emotions can be feelings like surprised and excited.” - Jael “We don’t have the same feelings everyday.” - Eduardo “We did Inside Out Day so we could express our emotions.” - Emilia “Miss Cook taught me about different feelings.” - Emilia “Some days we are not feeling great and that is okay” - Vivi Year 3 & 4 We have been learning about mental health which is all the emotions that we feel. Some examples of these are: anger, fear and happiness. All of these emotions are ok to feel sometimes. In PSHE lessons we have discussed creating a chart to record your emotions for the day. Talking about mental health is important so we can help each with our emotions. We enjoy doing activities in PSHE like guessing the emotion that someone is feeling. We have looked at the wheel of emotions. Now when we are working online it is important that the teachers know how we are feeling so they can help us if we need help. Inside Out Day was when we wore different coloured clothes inside out. This was so we could show how we were feeling inside. We had a class photo. Showing how you are feeling is really important so other people can help you out. If you say nothing, then people can’t help you. If you say you're happy but on the inside, you are sad then people will think everything is okay. Carlos Alberto and Juan Mateo. Year 5 & 6 We have been learning about our emotions and our mental health. We have talked about how we can experience different emotions, both bad and good and that all emotions are normal. We discussed how life can change in serious ways and that we can experience some difficult events in our lives. We also considered different strategies to use when coping with different situations. Having good mental health is when you feel peaceful with your thoughts and this is important because you will feel positive and you’re able to spread this positivity and happiness to others. Inside Out Day is a day where you can express yourself and your feelings. At BSQ we decided to wear our clothes inside out. This was to show that how we feel on the inside isn’t always expressed on the outside. As a school we believe it’s really important to talk about how we feel especially at the moment when some of us might be struggling with our emotions. We have enjoyed learning about our mental health because it prepares us for the future and it enables us to deal with difficult situations. Juanita and Manuela. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS. Dear parents, This week the children in Early Years will be looking into the Chinese New Years celebration. It will be an opportunity for the students to dive into this culture, learn about what makes them different or similar to us, what their costumes are and fun facts about China. On Friday however, we will celebrate Valentine's day in each individual session. Little Kickers will begin on February 23rd for both Nursery and Reception. You will receive a specific schedule regarding this throughout the course of the week. Your class teacher will also share an email with you if changes to your specific 1:1 session time slot will need to be made. We look forward to sharing another great week of online learning before the end of term break. Dates for your Diary
Have a very happy half term break. Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() This week I would like to talk about goals, but not the goals that we hope our favourite team score in a match, the ones that help us improve and accomplish new things. These are often called targets or next steps – they describe the actions we need to take to develop our knowledge, skills and understanding in a specific area of our lives. As adults, we set regular goals for ourselves, sometimes without even thinking about them, often related to tasks that we know we have to do, such as the shopping, exercise, work-related activities and so on. The ability to set goals is a skill that can help your child develop a sense of responsibility and learn time management and priorities. Goal-setting can also build their self-esteem by showing them that they can accomplish what they work hard for. Setting goals can also simply be a way for your child to understand what they want, or what they want to happen. It can even be a way to understand routines and schedules. At this age, they may have a hard time understanding how their current behaviour affects the future. You can think of goals at a very basic level with your young child. For example, simply asking, “What are you going to do after dinner?” is a goal. While it might not feel like one, at this young age that might be all your child understands as a goal.
Next week I will explore this concept further, with some simple structures to help you and your child develop meaningful goals for their development. In the meantime, please do look at your child’s written report, which details their attainment but also gives useful ‘Next Steps’ for them to improve further. As always, do please contact your child’s teachers if you need any support with this. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() DANGER OF EXPLOSION! There seems to have been a period of calm this week in the secondary school which is always welcome. Each week I meet with half of the Secondary staff in a meeting to consider wellbeing and other general monitoring needs. One of the agenda items that I always explore is something in the previous 2 weeks that they would like to celebrate. Almost all staff over the last 2 weeks have mentioned Year 12. These are clearly an extremely talented group of individuals who take their learning super seriously. All staff have reported that they are engaged, thriving in the activities that are shaping learning and that the relationships with the teachers are extremely rewarding. This is so pleasing to hear. Well done year 12. In a similar vein I have heard of some excellent success with our drive to place more autonomy on learning with students opposed to the teacher driving the agenda in each session. We have the need to balance content and how it is imparted, and with the wellbeing considerations for the children at the other end of the screen. We are really concentrating on developing a more project based focus on activity allowing creativity and independent learning skills. This has worked extraordinarily well in KS3 and as an example year 8, in science, where they have been considering ecological issues in Ecuador, presenting their ideas and then fielding questions form their peers. Ms. Avent tells me that the level of questioning and the tone of debate has been excellent. This is now being explored in the older years to drive more engagement and motivation. I hope that you all had some awareness of ‘Inside out day’ which highlighted mental health issues in youngsters. We had some coordinated activity around this with a presentation and focus. It was lovely to see some of our students sharing the moment on screen. Whilst the pictures are not necessarily that clear they do illustrate students turning their cameras on to acknowledge the fact that they were wearing clothes inside out. This was Mrs. Madden’s Theory of Knowledge class in year 12 – well done Mrs. Madden and everyone involved. On another note Ms. Todd has shared some excellent posters from her Year 10 Chemistry class who have been applying understanding of collision theory to create safety posters for miners. I have picked two that are particularly strong visually and in their content. Well done year 10. Looking ahead, we must again consider the Parent teacher conferences on Tuesday 9th February. These are for year 11 and 13 students and parents. All other students will be set work by their teachers to do independently at home. Finally, can I appeal to you all to ensure that where absences are required from lessons that you inform the school. This is so that teachers and pastoral leaders are aware. We are focusing on registers and attendance currently and this would be really helpful. If there is an absence which you are aware of before the event, then do please inform us prior to the event rather than on the first morning of that absence. This prevents any disruption to communication and the lessons. Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors
Head of Secondary Welcome![]() This week we will be marking the importance of our mental health and raising awareness of the complexities of maintaining it when we all turn Inside Out to consider how people may be feeling underneath their brave exteriors. Whilst we may not generally consider the pandemic to be a positive world event, it has certainly opened up a wealth of support, material and resources linked to the maintenance of a healthy mind and body as ways to survive lockdown become both more creative and more widely available. I was so pleased to read the newsletter contribution from two of our Year 10 students last week where they explored how they feel cared for and supported at BSQ. They talked about how their teachers and tutors are ‘always taking care of our mental health.’ They also mentioned that ‘teachers always try their best to inculcate the BSQ values.’ I am so pleased that our students feel like this because that is indeed what our core purpose is as educators. Of course we strive to ensure that our students leave BSQ with the best academic outcomes they can achieve and in addition, that they feel confident enough to step out into the world with the strength of knowing that their moral compass has been clearly set by their experiences in school. All schools these days have values or mission statements or visions but not all school manage to embed them so deeply or effectively into their daily culture. At our secondary Reward and Recognition assemblies we celebrate academic excellence, ongoing and determined effort and also those students in each Key Stage who have most consistently demonstrated their personal commitment to our values. They have been caring and respectful; happy and welcoming; ambitious and determined. They may have demonstrated these values through school work, with friends or teachers, in CAS projects, out in the community, during enrichment – anywhere really. Most importantly these people have impact on others in a positive way. In February we will be adding this award to our Star of the Week assembly once a month so that we can reward our younger students for developing these all-important values for life. e-Learning at BSQ From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Natalie Moors, Mr. Simon Newman and Y7 students, Mrs. Rocío Rueda, Mr. Bradley Edwards from Secondary Ms. Hayley Dean and Ms, Ms. Isobel Anderson and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Natalie Moors and Mr. Simon Newman – Y7 tutors In Year 7 we have been discussing and talking about our well-being. It is important to continue to do things you like and stay active while we are at home. Although we can’t do many of the things we used to do at school, we can still stay healthy and active during these times. Some of you might ask, “What is considered being healthy and active?” Well the World Health Organization says that well-being is, “Complete physical, mental, and social well-being - and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” We know it can be hard during this time of trouble, but here are some things our class has been doing for our well-being: Nina S: I like drawing a lot because it is nice to spread your ideas on a piece of paper; here are some pictures and drawings: Natalia: I like drawing and playing with my dogs. Drawing can help you calm your body and be mindful. It can also be a good way to relax and express yourself. Playing with animals and pets is fun and it is good to take your dog for walks so you can get some exercise and fresh air. Mr. Newman: I like taking Dora for a walk, near the Cumbaya reservoir, because it makes her happy. Taking your dog for a walk is fun and it can be exciting, instead of being inside all day. Tomas R.: I like to spend time with my cat, Kitty. She is very cuddly and I love her a lot. Playing with cats is fun and taking your mind off class and working for a bit can be good for well-being. Gonzalo: I like to play games. It is good to play games because it challenges your brain and can help take your mind off other things. Mathias: I have been taking some pictures and doing photography. It is good to take photos to capture moments in time that could have been forgotten. Also some find it calming and fun to take pictures. Nicole: I like playing Survival games and drawing creatures. I also like making plushies. Here is some of my work: Nina B: I have gymnastics two times a week with my best friend Anto in Gymfinity; I play with my puppy a lot and chat with my friends. Isabella Ch: I like going horse riding and seeing all my horses. I also like playing with my dog. Lyla: I like baking with my sister, it helps me relax and it is always fun to see the creations come together. I also like to talk to friends. Ignacio: I like to play tennis and video games. I also like to watch movies with my family and play with friends. Isabella: I like to do gymnastics twice a week; I am on level 3. Also, I like to take pictures of my surroundings, like flowers and playing with my pets. Mrs Moors - To relax, I like to get lost in the world of books. Thank you for reading our section on well-being, we hope you learned from this and will do some more active and mindful things in the future for your well-being. With a Thanks from Year 7, Bye and stay safe! Poetry Gallery – Y12 students Year 12 students developed a project about a singer-poet that they analysed and studied during October and November. It was a wonderful and hard experience and effort for them. The product of this project was a Gallery that with the leadership of Nicolas Orellana, they build and the result was very important and nice. Here I leave the link so you can see it. I would really like to show this great effort with the rest of the school, so they can appreciate their work as well. Kind regards, Mrs. Rocío Rueda – Spanish Teacher Inside Out Day On Wednesday, February the 3rd the Primary and Secondary schools will be celebrating ‘Inside Out’ day! Inside Out day is an event during Children’s Mental Health Week which is an awareness campaign that aims to enable young people to start talking about their mental health in the United Kingdom. The pandemic has impacted greatly on the mental health of children around the world and for this reason, it is even more important that we recognise this and talk about these important issues with our students here at BSQ. On the day we are asking all staff and students to wear a piece of clothing inside out! The idea behind this is that how someone looks on the outside doesn’t necessarily reflect how they are truly feeling on the inside, so it is important to always be kind, think of others, and support where you can. There will be time and space made for important discussions to be had surrounding the importance of kindness and the impact of mental health during the day. Please feel free to get involved as a family and all wear your clothing inside out for the day and continue these important discussions at home. If you would like more information on the campaign please click here. We look forward to seeing all the inside out outfits next week! Ms Dean and Ms Sadotra P.E Fitness Programme The secondary students are almost half way through their 10 week fitness programme. As part of their Physical Education lessons, students have been exploring different components of fitness and how they are used in sports. Alongside this, they have independently set goals to achieve within their very own fitness plan. Furthermore, they are looking at what personal qualities they need to work on to achieve their own fitness goals. With Week 1 & 2 testing done, students have completed a number of classes looking at full body workouts to flexibility challenges. It has been fantastic to see the students put Mr Moors and Mr Edwards through their paces with their excellent work ethic and desire to improve. We look forward to the results as we progress through the programme. Mr Edwards, P.E Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, Live Little kickers sessions will begin in the upcoming weeks on Canvas. You would have already received a survey regarding this. The aim of the survey is to hear your thoughts on what you feel will be the best time for the children to have these live sessions. We will use the data collected to create the final timetable and share them accordingly. We have Mental Health day coming up this week on Wednesday February 3rd. We will celebrate this day of open communication, understanding our feelings and sharing thoughts by wearing a piece of clothing inside out to represent sharing your inside feelings and emotions. Next week, in EYFS we will celebrate Chinese New Year's and Valentine's day. Each class teacher will share specific information regarding this during the course of this week. We look forward to another full week of learning experiences for the children to enjoy and take away from. Ms. Isobel Anderson – Nursery Teacher In Nursery, the students have been reading the touchstone text 'Elmer' to learn about similarities and differences and what makes us all unique. We have been exploring colour names and counting through the story, as well as making our own sponge-print Elmers! We have also been exploring different parts of Ecuador and learning new vocabulary as we go! The children were fantastic in our 'Galapagos Animal Yoga' session, and made some beautiful drawings of flamingos, blue-footed boobies and more! Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Last week, I shared some tips for online learning, to encourage our students to achieve the very best they can, through ensuring that they feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Please do take a little time to revisit the points below from last week and look at the new tips, with a view to make any small adjustments to your daily routines that you feel necessary. ![]() 1. Establish a daily timetable 2. Monitor screen time 3. Set up a dedicated learning space 4. Feedback to the teachers ![]() 5. Get outside: As the weather improves, it is even more important to get outside whenever possible. This not only helps with keeping Vitamin D levels topped up, but it also helps to lift your mood, makes you feel more energised and offers myriad of benefits to our mental and physical health. Take a walk, set up an outdoor exercise circuit, eat your lunch in the garden, stand outside and try to identify the birds that you can see and hear, find some puddles to jump in, whatever appeals to you and your family. As the Norwegians say ‘Ut på tur, aldri sur’ (directly translated as ‘Out on hike, never in a bad mood’). Or in other words, no one ever regrets going outside, even when it is wet! ![]() 6. Make connections to home: Finding learning moments within the home environment can be fun and engages students outside their timetabled lessons. There are mathematical, literacy and science skills involved in many day-to-day tasks, so get the students involved and you might even find they can lend a helping hand along the way. This could include cooking (can be linked to English, Maths and Science), household chores (Science, STEM plus essential life skills), gardening (science, maths and to inspire creativity in dance, art and English) or even learning something new together, like counting to ten in a different language. Our daughters have learnt new cooking techniques and discovered a love for puzzles – let their imagination run riot and see what they come up with! ![]() 7. Relax: This period of online learning and reduced social interactions has been a difficult time for us all, with internet and device issues, myriad of distractions in the home and the constant worry about the health of our family and friends, wherever they may be. Our first priority should always be the well-being and happiness of our students, followed by encouraging them to keep engaged and focused on their emotional and academic development. We look forward to another great week of learning opportunities, sharing feedback with the students and supporting them in the very best way that we can – please do let us know if there is anything we can do to help in any way. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Business as usual at BSQ We have achieved so much over the last two weeks as a community. All of my 1:1 meetings with staff this week have seen me thanking them individually for their determination and hard work – it really does illustrate just how committed the teaching team here are to meeting your needs, and ensuring that the information you need arrives when planned. I recall saying this three times now and I will repeat it again – our staff at BSQ are extremely talented and their teamwork always ensures collective success. After this, I suppose most would assume that a rest would be in order but education is demanding and the vacuum is filled with the next challenge. I wrote last week about the need to learn from the data gained from the Mocks and turn it into something constructive, irrespective of outcome. We are now considering what this looks like and how we ensure that every student gets a bespoke intervention package and mentoring focus going forward. Our responsibility and commitment is to ensuring that every individual is delivered to the end of their course with success. The parent teacher conferences planned for the 9th February are critical to this process – you may recall my earlier nod to the triangle of support and the role that we all play in success. I appeal to you as parents to please support this event and return the appointment requests so that you have this really important time together and agree on the checkpoints for next steps. ![]() Our students in year 13 have also been finalizing university applications for the USA, the UK and destinations in other countries and at home. I am pleased to say that all students who have chosen to study in the USA or the UK have made the application deadlines, and now we await the grades that meet predictions and ensure offers become reality. There really are some very prestigious universities in the plans and I look forward to seeing how these land in July/August. I have had the pleasure of seeing some amazing work from students this week. I would like to draw your attention to the work that Ms. Rueda’s year 12 Spanish Literature class completed in their virtual gallery. I was amazed at the professional outcome of their work in the gallery which focused on poetry analysis. You will find more on this in the newsletter and a link. It is amazing - well done year 12! ![]() You may recall the work of the student council and the class reward drive. This seem to be working well. One of the considerations for the class reward is the use of cameras in lessons. I have asked all teachers to praise and encourage when cameras are used but this has some way to go. If you walk past your son or daughter at home, please look to see of their camera is in use and encourage them if not – it really does make a difference to the learning process. Finally, I would like to wish students in IB English classes the very best of luck in their oral assessments. I imagine that this is extremely stressful due to the fact that these are spoken assessments in a second language but we have articulate and intelligent students in year 13 and I am confident that they will all do well under the guidance of the English team. Good luck! Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary Welcome![]() Living As we share the final newsletter of January it is hard to believe how quickly the year is moving forward already. In only 3 more weeks we will be enjoying the Carnival break which will be another festival where tradition will need to be amended and adapted to suit our current circumstances. Our counselling article last week was about dealing with disappointment – a really important lesson for us all to learn and I am not sure it gets any easier with age although we may have more strategies to apply. Learning To be honest, despite working from home for such an extended period, there is very little to disappoint as a member of staff at BSQ. Since March 2019 we have seen extraordinary efforts from staff, students and parents alike to adapt and succeed in what may have seemed like impossible circumstances. Mr. Moors wrote in his newsletter last week about the ‘soft skills’ necessary to flourish at school, at university and in the world of work and we have certainly seen a development of resilience, creativity, technology awareness and use, determination, flexibility and support for others – amongst so much else. As learners and educators, we are always looking for the positives and our school approach to ‘positive framing’ has helped us to create an environment where we can continue to guide and support our students to keep learning. 4 of the Positive Framing mantras that work just as well at home:
Inside Out On February 3rd - the UK national mental health day - students will be having an Inside Out day, focusing on mental health. Students will be asked to wear a piece of clothing inside out to represent that feelings on the inside don't always match up with the outside and vice versa. Parent Survey 2020-2021 This is a kind reminder for families who have not filled out our Parent Survey 2020-2021, please find below link to complete it, it will available until this Friday January 29th: https://orbitaled.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cx7DiurgTh2ULj?SchoolID=BQ Your feedback is valuable to us so please do get involved. e-Learning at BSQ From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Ms. Fernanda Espinosa, Y10 students, Mrs. Patricia Tufiño and Ms. Natalie Sawyers from Secondary and Ms. Hayley Dean and Mr. Edwards, Mr. Oliver Kyle and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. The Capacity to Rebuild and Grow from Adversity The current situation has made us think about the meaning of resilience and how we apply it in our life. Price-Mitchell (2015) says that resilience is not a genetic trait, but it is derived from the ways that we learn to think and act when faced with different types of obstacles. In our community we have seen great examples of resilience in our students, teachers and parents. Being resilient gives us the ability to overcome issues, bounce back from any setbacks and have the best chance of succeeding. It allows us to learn and grow in all situations. Resilience will also help us to approach new situations, people and experiences with confidence and a positive mindset. The road to resilience starts with children's supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and other members of the family. We as teachers, facilitate resilience by helping children think about and consider various paths through adversity and considering different options to an easy way to success. That’s why we want to share Price-Mitchell’s “Five Ways to Cultivate Resilience”. 1. Promote self-reflection through literary essays or small-group discussions. 2. Encourage reflection through personal essays. 3. Help children (and their parents) learn from student failures. 4. Bring discussions about human resilience into the classroom. 5. Build supportive relationships with students. Price-Mitchell, M. (May 20, 2015). Does Your Classroom Cultivate Student Resilience? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-cultivate-student-resilience-marilyn-price-mitchell#:~:text=Children%20who%20develop%20resilience%20are%20better%20able%20to%20face%20disappointment,challenges%20of%20school%20and%20life. Ms. Fernanda Espinosa – Secondary Teacher, Y10 Tutor First Look to the IGCSE (Perspective of Year 10) These weeks after coming back from the extensive and necessary Christmas break, Year 10 students have been working arduously. The first week our classes were focused on creating study material and our teachers held beneficial revision lessons facilitating our introduction to the IGCSE papers and questions. This and the past week we have been doing our quimester exams, which are crucial to us as they are our first mock IGCSE exams, our first opportunity to be tested on the knowledge needed for this program. Nevertheless, as a team we have persevered and been determined to do our best in each exam and with the help of our teachers and our dedicated tutors, who are always taking care of our mental health we have achieved to have our exams. Therefore, online learning has brought a different perspective to the IGCSE course and the exams. Exams are now done through exam.net; a platform that stops the students from visiting other websites for assistance! However, there still are a lot of ways that students could get help and that is why teachers try their best to inculcate the BSQ values to the year 10 students. This, along with IGCSE mock exam help understand the atmosphere present in a real IGCSE. It is very clear that teachers are always doing their best and we students are looking forward to successfully finishing exams on Friday to continue with our regular learning. By: Barbara and Ana Paula – Y10 Students Mrs. Patricia Tufiño – Secondary Spanish Teacher Year 9 students in Spanish lessons are studying the subject of literary figures to know the resources that writers use at the time of writing. Ma. Victoria and Amyra, for example, made her flashcards to facilitate her study, in this way she develops study skills. Ms. Natalie Sawyers – Secondary Humanities Teacher For the past few weeks, Year 9 have spent Friday afternoons discussing abortion. We have looked at biological information, religious and personal viewpoints. We have discussed both sides of the argument; pro-choice and pro-life and many thoughts in between. We had open discussions where the class share their thoughts, opinions and ideas, asking questions and considered all angles of the argument. The class were fantastic and respectful of the ideas of others and considered opinions other to their own. They considered why different people would have different opinions based on different factors and why people may change what they think based on different circumstances. For our final lesson on this, I split the class in half and the students were asked to create a poster on their given ‘side’ of the argument Pro-life or Pro-choice. Sponsorship challenge Firstly, another massive thank you to everyone who donated and participated in this year’s whole school sponsored challenge to raise money for Hogar Para Sus Niños. Thanks to everyone who filled in the Primary and Secondary google forms we can announce that BSQ raised an incredible amount of: $1415.60 A huge thank you to everyone who participated and helped change the lives of some of Quito’s most vulnerable children. Miss Dean and Mr Edwards. Mr. Oliver Kyle – Year 6 Teacher A warm HOLA! from year 6. We hope this update from the top of the Primary school finds you all well. ‘What have Year 6 been up to?’ we hear you cry. Well, dear reader, persist with your efforts and all will be revealed: ![]() Literacy – Autobiography In Literacy, we have been reading various autobiographies and studying a features checklist against each text. The children wrote an autobiography about their first day of school, at the start of this term and we are just about to look back at that piece of writing and decide – with our 3 weeks’ worth of learning – how to make it better. Try not to look at the list here and ask yourself this question – What needs to be included in an upper Key Stage 2 autobiography? If this were in class, I would put the timer on for 2 minutes, but I’ll leave that up to you. Have a look at our check list (Credit: Mr Newman from last year) and see what we are including. Throughout this term we have also been getting to grips with complex sentences with subordinating conjunctions, such as the example below: It was her childhood she thought of, before her time as a scientist in the Amazon, and the memories made her cry. Child and Parent Challenge: Choose one of the subordinating conjunctions – After, When, Although, Since – and attempt to create an MC, SC, MC sentence. MC – Main Clause, SC – Subordinating Clause. Answers to [email protected] house points to be won! ![]() Art – Betriz Milhazes I love art and could not imagine life without it and I think the children are with me. We are studying the medium of Collage this term and have been taking inspiration from the work of Brazil’s Beatriz Milhazes – cast your eyes to the right. Beatriz is one the key expressionist artists alive today and I urge you to search out her work. We will be using our lessons to eventually produce our own collage based upon modern songs to do with female empowerment – linking to our Topic work on Women’s Rights. Milhazes inspired art is due to be finished this week but our final pieces won’t be ready until half term. Should you wish to see any of them, please do get in touch, I know the children would be happy to display their artwork. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Over the course of the last few weeks, the Early Years teachers have been working on specific ways to improve on the online learning provision that is already in place. With this in mind, I am delighted to share with you the great news that Little Kickers will begin live teaching sessions through our main online platform, Canvas, very soon. Each class teacher will share specific information with you regarding time and day. As always, we will share the corresponding materials needed for each session a week prior through the weekly planning document. At this time, teachers are completing written reports. These individual documents are a reflection of your child’s progress and attainment over the course of Partial 2/ Quimestre 2 through the teacher’s observations. Next steps will also be shared on the reports to support future progress. Finally, I would like to say thank you for the fantastic support given to the children at home and also share how amazed we are of the students' work and their motivation towards learning. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() As I visit a variety of different conferences throughout the week, the one thing that really resonates with me is our students’ ability to adapt to this new way of learning and engage in a variety of ways with their teachers and peers that would not have been imaginable this time last year. Although this period of online learning has seen many changes in the way we interact as a community, we have continued to support each other, discovered new ways to communicate with each other and retained our collective love for learning. However, it is still important to focus on ways that we can support our students to achieve the very best they can, through ensuring that they feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Please do take a little time to revisit the points below and make any small adjustments to your daily routines that you feel necessary. More advice to follow next week.
We look forward to another great week of learning opportunities, sharing feedback with the students and supporting them in the very best way that we can – please do let us know if there is anything we can do to help in any way. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() There is feedback everywhere – what is important is what we do with it? I am so impressed with our students who are following exam subjects in key stage 4 and 5. We are now emerging from the grueling task of exams that they have all been tackling for the last two weeks. It has been an enormous challenge for them as they have had to endure this online using new tools and the need to follow complex plans and expectations. I have been involved with the process of invigilation on occasions and I have been enormously impressed with their diligence and ability to not only respond to their exams well, but also do this with absolutely no issues at all. Well done all. It is time now to move our focus to what we will do with this information on each students’ academic position within their subject syllabus. Staff are very busy marking papers and starting to consider ideas about intervention, action plans and how this is shared not only with them, but you as their parents as well. As I reported last week that parents of year 11 and 13 will be invited to attend an additional parent teacher conference on the 9th February 2021. It is super important that you engage in this process and also gain an understanding on how your son or daughter has fared in their exam. The teachers are now preparing for this really important process. We will also be considering exam entries for IB and IGCSE, and also considering where we may need to make changes between core and extended IGCSE subjects or standard or higher level IB exams. Students in years 10 and 12 will have their exam grade included in the report this time. The report which reflects performance in Partial 2 and Quimestre 1 Students in year’s 7-9 will have a teacher assessed grade that will be presented in place of the exam grade. Also in the report you will receive written comments and a target for each subject. This is really important information and I appeal to you all to look at these closely with your children so that you have a very clear understanding of their performance, skill development and their approach to their own learning. On the subject of progress and how we monitor this in core subjects, being English, Mathematics and Science, children in years 7-10 have also been doing online progress tests that we use internally. Over recent years the trend in learning attainment has been steadily rising in all areas. This reflects the hard work BSQ has done to ensure sound teaching pedagogy and standards. These tests outcomes will be analysed again to see what we need to do to develop the curriculum in these subjects to secure the ongoing upward trend into the future. All students this week are being interviewed by their tutors to assess their individual wellbeing. This is an important initiative from the Ministry of Education that is now considering the overall impact of online learning. The interview is framed around a set of questions written by the MoE and the data gained from these will be collected for a local and wider view. I have written extensively about the benefits gained from the online learning process, but inevitably some are finding this extremely hard indeed. We are acutely aware of the challenges that online learning poses, and of course, the children who are in need of support and guidance at this difficult time. We work hard to mitigate this with high quality and well informed intervention. I am pleased that the policy makers and overall governance of education in Ecuador are looking at this closely. It is an extremely important area. On a similar note, before Christmas, all students were involved in a survey called PASS. It is an all-age survey for pupils aged 4 – 18+ years that helps us understand our student’s mindsets at school, and if they are confident, ready and motivated to learn. The results and themes were taken to student focus groups so that the Middle Leaders can gain a greater insight on the thoughts and views of our children. Ms. Sadotra and I are almost there with the evidence gathering of this and next week we will set some key actions to address the areas where students feel that things are not quite right. Of course, as this becomes clearer and after this has been shared with staff I will write to inform you of some of the things we are considering. Once again I am extremely impressed with the level of importance that BSQ holds with our ongoing approach to seeking and valuing the views of our student body. Finally, do look out for the ‘Inside Out’ day as students will be encouraged to wear an item of clothing inside out. It is an event during Children’s Mental Health Week which is an awareness campaign that aims to enable young people to start talking about their mental health. How someone looks on the outside doesn’t necessarily reflect how they are truly feeling on the inside, so it is important to always be kind and think of others. The campaign asks people involved to turn their clothes inside out to get important conversations started. No one should be embarrassed about how they feel. Many schools across the world are urged to support Inside Out Day. It is hoped that this simple premise is easy to get involved in and it is also a meaningful way to engage pupils in discussions around emotional well-being. This is so critical at this time. If you want more information or advice do please visit this website: https://www.insideoutday.org.uk/ Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about Wabi-Sabi: Finding beauty in imperfection.
Welcome ![]() Learning Our secondary students are now in the middle of their exam season and we are all proud of the way in which they have been approaching both the preparation and the actual exams themselves. Around the world governments, ministers and exam boards are having to make difficult decisions about what to do this summer. Already in the UK the decision has been made that there will be no formal exams – instead once again the teacher grades will be what are awarded to the students. For us, both Cambridge and IBO are still planning to run their exam season in May this year and whilst that may well change moving forward, here at BSQ we continue to plan for our students to do their very best and feel confident that they will do so. Why do we test students? There are divided opinions on the value and benefit of tests, assessments and exams but there is certainly a place for them when carefully planned and appropriately reviewed. For example, regular class testing can show the teacher where the gaps in knowledge are so that they can plan to review more complex material more often. Quick quizzing can support the recall of information and understanding that might otherwise be relegated to the back drawer of the brain and therefore harder to access later. Assessments also give students the opportunity to review their learning, organise their notes and celebrate their own knowledge and understanding. Our academic staff have been exploring some concepts around knowledge and being ‘clever’ - what that means. One idea we explored came in three stages: 1. Knowledge is what we think both with and about. 2. We cannot think with or about something we don't know. 3. The more we know about something, the more sophisticated our thinking. Taking these ideas as part of our thinking on tests and exams then they give us all the opportunity to develop sophistication in our thinking. Perhaps we should all be doing exams more often! Living Thanks to those parents who have already completed our survey for 2020-2021. If you need any support with access please contact Andrea on [email protected] Inside Out At the start of February, we will be setting aside some time to explore mental health in primary and KS3 and this will include the concept of ‘Inside Out’ where we will be wearing an item of clothing inside out to raise awareness of the importance of understanding what others are thinking and how they are feeling. I hope you can join us. Secondary Webinar Join us to discover how our academic provision prepares your child for future success! The British School Quito invites potential families to join us for an interactive presentation about our broad and balanced curriculum for Secondary students. This session is reserved for families with children aged 10-16 who are not yet enrolled at BSQ. Parent Survey 2020-2021 Please if you have not had the chance to fill out our Parent Survey, you can find the link here. Your feedback is valuable to us so please do get involved. e-Learning at BSQ ![]() From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Patricia Tufiño, Mrs. Alejandra Miranda, Ms. Sadotra, Mrs. Montenegro and Mr. Simon Newman and Y8 students from Secondary and Ms. Polly Hall and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Patricia Tufiño & Mrs. Alejandra Miranda – Y13B tutors New Year! New challenges, it is what lies ahead for the students of year 13 B. These two weeks of January from 11 to 22 are challenging moments when facing their IB practice exams and for this reason, the students have been preparing little by little for these evaluations that will be an indication for the May 2021 exams. The teachers of each subject were in charge of delivering study strategies to help students in this preparation process, for example, guides were delivered with the topics developed in this period, review activities, as well as tips and advice so that they can assist each other in reviewing and studying, so that they can demonstrate their best abilities and skills in these mock exams. In the tutoring periods and through LLS we continue to develop topics of great interest according to age and interest. With topics such as the use and abuse of alcohol, the good attitude of the students allows ideas to be presented with a high degree of respect. In addition, it is important to note that in the first minutes of the start of the day, Alejandra Miranda is available from Monday to Friday to share with all the students who connect in the morning from 8:00 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. In this space you can talk, share music or exchange an idea or two. We wish you success in these mock exams! Manga High The COBIS Manga High Maths challenge 2020 - 21 is starting very soon and our KS3 students will all be getting involved in class! The British School Quito will be competing against various international schools all around the world. There are school and individual prizes up for grabs and we will be awarding certificates to the top scorers in each year group and the whole school! Students will be receiving their logins very soon and will be able to start practising on January the 18th in advance of the competition which begins on February the 1st! This is a wonderful opportunity for students to practise their mathematical skills in a fun and competitive way so I do hope you will encourage your children to get involved! If you have any questions, please get in touch with your child's mathematics teacher. Good luck to all who are taking part! Ms Sadotra CAS CAS is an important part of the IB, as it not only focuses on the interests and well-being of the students but also on developing strategies and meaningful learning through their personal experiences and group projects. Students for 18 months (Y12 & Y13) must develop at least 8 experiences and 1 project, reflect on their practice, show evidence and have a supervisor. In the same way, they have 3 interviews where the coordinator solves doubts and supports each one's process, and 2 weekly sessions where they can use that time for themselves or communicate their concerns. CAS on the other hand, is linked to PARTICIPACION ESTUDIANTIL which represents 10% of the final grade. During this context of COVID -19, students have focused on finishing their individual experiences either of Creativity, Action or Service, but many of the projects have not been able to have their characteristic and long-awaited trips, but internally we have been working to continue supporting the organizations we cooperate with. In the coming months we have some surprises and we are confident that we will surely be able to count on your support. I leave you with some examples of what we have been doing. Podcasting about global issues and events Raising awareness about Climate Change Mrs. Paola Montenegro – CAS Coordinator Y8 English lessons In English with Mr. Newman, students in Year 8 are currently reading Lois Lowry’s controversial novel, The Giver. Among many other things, this book has provided us with the opportunity to think about what it is to be a member of a community and the types of communities that we might prefer to be or not be a part of. Year 8 students have been thinking about the community presented in the book in which the main character Jonas lives and our own BSQ community. Here are some reflections: ![]() David Both BSQ’s community and Jonas’s community have similarities and differences. The first thing they have in common is having a set of basic rules. Furthermore, these communities have other similarities like having leaders so BSQ has a principal and Jonas’s community has the Elders. Now, on the other hand, BSQ’s community and Jonas’s community also have differences. Firstly, BSQ’s Community is driven by being better but Jonas’s community is not driven by being better but, instead, fear because in this community if you break rules you get punished severely. Secondly, the BSQ community doesn't have giant celebrations when a person is older but Jonas’s Community does, with lots of people attending. ![]() Doménica The community in Lois Lowry's The Giver and our own community share some similarities and some differences. For example, in the novel when the person passes the Ceremony of 12 they are basically grown-ups and due to that they get assigned their ‘career’. However, in our community we usually get more years of preparation and a choice of what we want to be. At BSQ, people receive some type of punishment for things like: 1. Misbehaviour or 2. Lateness but in Jonas’ community people receive Chastisements - in BSQ we get detentions and referrals. ![]() Elias In our community and in The Giver both celebrate ceremonies like getting to a certain time such as graduation in BSQ or getting to a certain age in The Giver. In the same way they both have leaders: in the novel the leaders are a group of people similar to BSQ where the leader is Ms. Newman and Orbital. Equally both communities have punishments if you don't follow the rules although they don't do the same punishments. At BSQ the normal punishment that is used the most is the verbal warning and then it goes on to detention. Obviously, the punishment is decided by the severity of the act or activity that the student did. However, in The Giver If you don't follow the rules there is one punishment and that is being Released. This means, in a form, being exiled from the community. ![]() Gianella BSQ and Jonas’s community have similar and different ways of managing each community. Some might seem crazy and some understandable, but it’s what they believe best for their community. A similarity is that for greater focus and attention, teachers take away valuable, material objects from children to force them to follow rules and finish the task or hear what the teacher is telling them. Another similarity is that for some year groups and classes people have to wear certain clothing because it’s part of the rules. Rules are respected and they have to be achieved. People, in both communities, have to respect others' appearance and not judge them without knowing them. Now for the differences: in BSQ people are allowed to take some things from school to home with permission. Staff, students and teachers don’t really need to follow the rules to the letter. They have to achieve it and make it, not necessarily do it as it says. The principal and the teachers don’t send away a child to never be seen again for a little mistake. What they do is tell and teach the child that what he/she has done is not right. Something the BSQ community gives is freedom; of course we have limits but people are allowed to do what they want. ![]() Naomi Jonas’ community and the BSQ community have some similarities and some differences. Firstly, they have rules and this is the same because they both are ruled by people. Additionally, they both have leaders in their community. On the other hand, Jonas’ community and the BSQ community have some differences: the BSQ community prepares us for the open world and for our futures but Jonas’ community does it differently because they hide people from the outside world, and are very controlled in every movement they do. It is like they don't have their own privacy, while in BSQ we have our own privacy and we are not controlled by people in every movement we do. ![]() Sebastian The community in The Giver and BSQ are similar in various ways: they both try to protect us, they both control children, they both are divided by age groups and you have to meet a certain criteria to advance to the next level. The difference between both is that they are based on different ideologies. For example, BSQ tries to prepare us for the outside world and the community aims to hide the people from the outside world. BSQ and the community are different because one is a school and the other a type of dystopian/utopian society; another difference is that inside the community there is no liberty of expression unlike BSQ. According to The Giver there is not much diversity in their community: the people have no beliefs or ambition because their future is determined by the council. Ms. Polly Hall – Year 1A Teacher The children in 1A have been working hard during the first two weeks of 2021! In literacy, we have been learning about recounts. The children have read lots of different recounts and will soon begin to write their own! We are going on a virtual zoo trip and the children will write all about this trip. In topic lessons we have started learning about how Quito has changed over the years. The children have looked at old photos of Quito and compared them to more recent ones. They have even interviewed older members of their families about how Quito has changed. In art, we have been learning about typography. Each child has created some beautiful typography using pictures of their favourite things and activities to represent the first letter of their name. Well done, everyone! We have also been having handwriting lessons. The children have made great progress in starting their letters from the top and making each letter the correct size. Great job 1A! ![]() Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, It has been a great second week of term 3. In numeracy, the children are beginning to work on number ordering and sequencing. To prepare them for this, they have rehearsed counting 1-20 in order by building plastic cup towers! Fantastic tower creations came from this common household item. In the Literacy sessions, Ecuador has been the central inspiration to the sentence writing process. The children were able to independently express in short and meaningful sentences what they like the most about Ecuador. To wrap this topic for the students, we have planned a homemade volcano experiment for this week! Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() This week for many of our students, in Years Two to Six, we are administering some important assessments to give us valuable information about each student’s skills and understanding in different areas of the curriculum. These assessments are used alongside other information the teachers have collated about each student’s progress and development and allow the teachers to cater for each student’s individual needs. Your child’s class teacher will let you know when these assessments are taking place throughout the week – they will need a quiet place to complete the assessment, a pair of headphones and the unique code we have already sent you to access the assessment online portal. Please do contact Mr Madden if you have any problems with this process. All of the teachers are busy completing the written reports for the end of Quimestre 1/Partial 2. These are a formal method for receiving feedback about your child’s progress, although teachers are always available to discuss progress and next steps with you to support your child’s development. Please do contact them if you would like to meet and discuss anything. You will also have received communication from the Student Support Department (SSD) about a survey created for all students in Ecuador by the Ministry of Education, called “Interview to identify Socio-emotional Aspects in the context of COVID (Ministry of Education)”. This is a requirement from the Ministry and we would kindly ask you to complete the permission letter and send back to school as soon as possible. These short discussions with each student in school will take place in the coming weeks, during their normal school day. Finally, I would like to thank all of our students for maintaining such a focused start to the New Year, supported by their parents. The levels of engagement and interaction within each session are high and this supports each and every student’s learning as we continue to provide high-quality online learning opportunities for our students. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() What is all this education for? This week I am planning for my presentation to prospective parents and this had led me to think about what we are preparing our children for. I have been in education now for over 20 years. I recall vividly at my first school being taken to the IT teacher who set me up with my first email address. This was on the Hotmail platform. I remember saying to him, “What do I need this for?”, and he replied, “This is the future young man”. I also recall how precious my paper diary was as all of my planning revolved around this. However, the email was reluctantly accepted and over the space of a year all that we did fundamentally changed for the better. I lose count of all of the email addresses I have had over the years but this one is still working now and I have been using it constantly since that day. The point here is that in a very short space of time technology has leapt so far that our skill sets have changed to gain new ground and we discard those which become obsolete. At BSQ we pride ourselves in the way that we prepare our students for the challenges that will face them in the future. We want them to leave us young adults who stand apart from others of their age. We are extremely fortunate here that our international education truly promotes that, and it is designed to skill them with what they need to be successful wherever they appear around the globe. Technology is progressing at a dizzying speed and so is the world of work. Every year it seems that there is some new technology, skill or device that professionals need to master to be successful. We cannot anticipate what comes next but we can focus on the fundamental skills needed to navigate these fast changing times. We could consider them as soft, transferrable skills that can be applied in a number of settings. These soft skills we develop should last a lifetime. They essentially land in three categories: learning skills which link to information processing, literacy skills which help employees with the independence of research and being informed thinkers, and life skills where we hope that well rounded individuals can thrive in any situation. Creativity which is key to many industries where innovation is required. If employees can think outside the box companies can adapt to changing markets or resolve potential problems. Employers need creative thinkers as they can apply logic to come to well-reasoned conclusions. Employees can objectively analyze a situation, weight things up and identify potential solutions. Those employees who are seen as good collaborators who are willing to listen, learn and work with others are more likely to accomplish a goal together. The modern workforce is full of employees with highly specialized skills and knowledge. Those with good communication skills are universally useful and their ability to communicate trickles into all aspects of life. It is argued that all of the technical knowledge and skill in the world isn’t worth much if you can’t effectively get your point across in a respectful and coherent way. Information literacy enables the employee with this skill is able to separate fact from fiction by interpreting facts and raw data they might find online. It is thought that a recent graduate should be able to find reliable information, judge what can be used to indicate performance and act on those judgements. Of course it is critical that future employees are adaptable so that they should be able to work both remotely or in the office, independently and with a team. They’re also open-minded, interested in new ideas and willing to take on new tasks. At interview this is something that can be make or break and is certainly something that I look for when interviewing new teachers. The world now requires leaders in all fields. No matter what a student’s ambitions are, cultivating leadership skills while in school or while working at an entry-level job can lead to greater opportunities in the future. If a graduate shows leadership early in their career—this shows potential and promise for the future. Employers are always looking for this and usually invest in it. Finally, employees need sound social skills. Though it may be tough working to develop these, especially if students are shy or less confident, it is always worth it. Good social skills ensure that a candidate can interact and work well with others, understanding the nuances of social interactions, bring the best out of others and ultimately, function as a part of a team. Again, this is a critical area that I observe in any recruitment of our teaching staff. At BSQ our strong values lead students toward these concepts and of course our IB programme at year 12 and 13 is fundamentally designed to develop the learner profile traits that link closely with the skills modern employers are seeking. Do praise and encourage this at home when it becomes evident as the consistency of this at home and school influences these behaviours and leads to strong rounded characters. In news this week I am looking at how we use the data from the exam outcomes to ensure that our parents are involved with the reflection process. Year 11 and 13 parents will be receiving an addition parent teacher conference for this in early February. The rest of Secondary school lessons will be collapsed for independent work set at home. Do please look out for the communication on this and ensure that you are able to attend to celebrate and agree strategies for further improvement. This week I will be speaking to prospective parents in an online webinar as part of our ongoing marketing strategy. Do please encourage any friends or family members that you might be aware of to contact our marketing team and take advantage of the opportunity. Finally, once again our student council have made me very proud indeed. The planned roll out of the new class reward strategy has been delivered and communicated to the staff. It really is a well- considered strategy which is designed to develop group efficacy, team spirit and community. I look forward to seeing this in action. Have a great week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about how to help children deal with disappointment.
Welcome![]() It was great to see so many exciting learning sessions taking place again last week with teachers and students alike catching up and enjoying exploring topics as diverse as the Incas, dinosaur dances, learning about words with the letter ‘y’, balancing chemical equations, intersubjectivity and musical intervals. Despite the challenges all our staff and families are facing at the start of this year, there remains a passion for teaching and learning that sets BSQ apart from other schools. As I look back at previous newsletters, I am always reminded and amazed again by how much has happened at BSQ in the last few years. So many of our exciting projects, family days, trips out, work in the community and adventures on the campus have been placed on hold. Behind the scenes of course much is still being planned and prepared and I am reminded of the original motto of the Scout movement around the world – Be Prepared. Nowadays the organisation has a vision ‘As a global movement, to make a real contribution to create a better world.’ Here at BSQ we embrace both of those ideals as we aim to support our students to be prepared to enter the world and be part of making it better in whichever way their talents and strengths support them. And, when the time comes, we will be prepared to re-engage, hands-on with so many of the opportunities that make being a part of BSQ so exhilarating. These are just a few examples:
In the meantime, our focus remains firmly on the quality of our online learning and the support of all our families to continue to live and learn as part of our BSQ community. e-Learning at BSQ Your Views! At BSQ the views of our parents are critical in terms of our decision making and support and we value your thoughts and opinions. Each year we share a survey with you that parents in all Orbital schools take part in and from that survey over the years we have seen high levels of satisfaction with the school, our staff and our education. Each year we listen carefully to the responses from our parents and make key changes as part of our continued drive to provide an environment where we can all live and learn together. Our 2021 survey will be released later today and I encourage all parents to participate, to share your thoughts and to support us to move forward with a shared determination. The survey link will be sent through our Canvas Parent Portal. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mr. Rodrigo Samaniego and Ms. Sara Avent, from Secondary and Ms. Hayley Dean, Ms. Heather Stollery and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mr. Rodrigo Samaniego, Ms. Sara Avent – Year 13B tutors With exams week fast approaching, year 13s have been working diligently to be able to get the most out of them. With all the challenges that come with taking an exam online, y13s have managed to prepare for them as best as they could. Some advice to help them improve their performance in the exams would be as follows:
Those recommendations, with the usual ones they are given for any test, should help them achieve their best possible scores. Thank you and update on our Christmas Sponsored Challenges. Before Christmas, the whole community got involved in raising money for Hogar Para Sus Niños, whether you completed an exercise, reading, writing or home help challenge, you all set about donating money to help some of Quito’s most vulnerable children get the food, clothing and education they deserve and WOW what a job you did. So this is a personal thank you from all the staff at BSQ to you the students and parents for all your hard work and donations that are now making such a difference to these children’s lives. We are so proud of how our community can make such a positive impact on another. We are still collating all of the donations to tell you an official amount. So if you have not filled in the Primary Google form or the SecondaryGoogle Form, please do so, then we can celebrate the incredible achievement of our whole community. But for now here are some fantastic photos of the children completing some of their challenges! Many thanks, Miss Dean Ms. Heather Stollery – Year 5A Teacher We have had a brilliant start to 2021 in 5A; the children started their year by reflecting back on 2020 and thinking forward to a brighter future! We all made our New Year’s Resolutions and here is a selection:
In literacy this week we began our new Unit: Narrative Thrillers. The writing has been so good it’s frightening to read! We wrote a class paragraph together using show not tell to enhance our writing. For Topic this term we are learning about the Incas and in ICT we’ve been planning our own Inca inspired movie which the children will be creating and filming over the next month. In art, the children have been learning about Inti the sun god and have designed their own version of him using symmetry, pattern and golden colours. Finally, in PSHE we started our topic about Mental Health. We had a very interesting discussion about what mental health is and then we each came up with 3 different ways that we are going to try and look after mental health this term. These included: being outside in nature, exercising, reading more and speaking to people about how we feel. Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, We have just finished the first week of learning of 2021 and the children are excited to be back with their teachers and classmates. Week 1 of term 3 was dedicated to reviewing what we have worked on during term 2. This term however, the children will be working on achieving new numeracy and literacy skills as well as building upon their previous knowledge whilst learning about Ecuador. We look forward to working with your support throughout term 3. Thank you, Kind regards. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Although I have the privileged position of being able to see all of our Primary classes in action, I am still both amazed and proud of what I see and share every day. I see motivated young learners, engaged by their teachers to participate in a variety of ways through the online system, willing to share their ideas and join in with discussions and go the extra mile by taking risks to improve their learning. This process is all supported by yourselves at home and the teachers online, with this partnership more important than ever as we continue to face the challenges together and make sure our children have the best opportunities available to them. We have already put a great deal of thought and planning into our return to school, but in the meantime will continue to provide high-quality learning opportunities for all of our students, with an emphasis on well-being and happiness. Our teachers are always happy to answer questions and give feedback about your child’s progress, with the Quimestre 1/Partial 2 written reports being prepared now, ready for early February. For students in Years 2 to 6, you will soon have received details about the upcoming Progress Tests in Maths and English (PTM and PTE). These are just a small part of the different ways that we support students in their development – they will give us invaluable information about the skills and knowledge each student has acquired this year and allow us to further tailor our individual provision. These assessments will take place in normal online sessions next week, with your child’s class teacher sharing the times and details with you. There is no need to prepare anything for these assessments – each student just needs their unique code to access the assessment website and follow the instructions, with their teachers available to answer any specific questions. Please do ensure that your child treats these as an important part of their learning – they should try to independently do as many of the questions as possible, without support, so that we get a clear idea of their skills and understanding in each different area of learning. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Welcome to 2021 - A New Year, new beginnings and the opportunity to embrace new challenges It is lovely to be back and welcoming students into lessons after everyone has enjoyed a decent rest along with the festivities enjoyed with your families. This week the staff have been preparing for and setting in motion plan B (it may be C) which sees all exams moving online. It was hoped that some of this activity would have been in school but our patience is still required. We are very fortunate here that our online systems are designed and rehearsed to the point that the most complex of exam requirements can be fulfilled. This ensures that our students are not inconvenienced in any way. The most critical exams are those being held in year 11 and 13. We have created a virtual exam hall online where students will enter and will then be guided and supervised on the Exams.net platform. This is designed to allow a level of security which ensures the integrity of the papers and the student responses. At the time of writing and at the end of the first day of exams I am pleased to report that this has been hugely successful. Well done to the staff and to our wonderful students who have navigated this seamlessly. This process is important to us and the students as the mock papers are key evidence for attainment levels and they also act as a catalyst which drives intervention over the coming months. Year 11 and 13 have had their timetable collapsed for the fortnight to allow the exams to take place. This means that when not sitting their exams they should be revising independently or taking the opportunity to catch up on a few things. Their teachers of course are delivering the invigilation at this time. Once exams are finished and we have the data outcomes for each subject, parents of students in year 11 and 13 will be invited in to meet teachers in a conference to discuss exam performance in each subject and also look at what we need to do to improve progress towards the main event in May. I will write to you all next week to inform you about this process and when it will be taking place. Again, we will have a plan A and a plan B to account for every possibility. Every week our students make us very proud indeed. Some of the best schools in the World are led in much of what they do through student voice and our impressive young leaders on the student council have been particularly busy recently. They have developed a new reward policy that focuses on the performance of the whole class opposed to individuals as is the norm. It is hoped that this has a really positive impact on the collective efficacy of the class community and also in the process, develop some teamwork. In the planning I enjoyed a ‘grilling’ by the students involved who throughout the consultation process showed maturity and determination to roll with our decisions and advice to produce something really professional to brief the staff with. Well done indeed! I am looking forward to the finance committee next week who are looking at fundraising. These individuals have every possibility in front of them to grasp hold of and they make us all extremely proud. If only we as adults could have those choices again! We have always been fortunate at BSQ to attract promising students to join our fold. In the very near future I will be leading a webinar from a marketing perspective on some of the work that the Secondary school does and how we are operating fully to maintain all aspects of our curriculum. I will be speaking to prospective parents about the diversity of the curriculum, the impact that students have on our development though student voice, how our students strive towards our values and how we ensure that they leave here after 7 years ready for the rigors that are presented in adult life. My preparation for this has really underlined how outstanding our children are and how seriously they take their education and their futures. They have some wonderful aspirations. My involvement in the futures process and how students apply for and select their destination university has really underlined again how talented our young adults are. Later in the year I will happily share with you the news of all the successes in those being selected to universities for September. There are some really prestigious universities on the list from around the World which underlines the caliber of or students. How exciting indeed! Finally, I would like to thank you again for the support, flexibility and understanding with all that we are trying to achieve under the current circumstances. Have a wonderful week. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about parenting during COVID-19.
Welcome (back!)![]() As we start this new term in January, I hope that everyone was able to spend time with family and celebrate such a special time of year – especially this year after such a long time living with a pandemic that has kept so many of us apart for so long. I also hope you all managed to download your Eco-calendar from the parent portal and are now using it to both plan your events AND learn about endangered species. As a community we are committed to developing our role as an eco-school and look forward to continuing with a range of campus-based projects when we return. If you completed the carbon footprint survey shared by our Redmove group, then many thanks from me and them. Our focus this term as always will be on both maintaining and even further developing the quality of our online lessons, activities and learning opportunities. Our goals and values remain in place as we work towards a blended learning model where we are all excited to be welcoming students back to the campus for face-to-face lessons and activities. Please watch this space for updates on dates and next steps. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Ms. Aditi Sadotra, Mrs. Claire Maudsley and Year 9 students from Secondary and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. End of Term Christmas House Competition On the last day of term, the Secondary school got in the Christmas spirit with some form parties, a Christmas Quiz, and a Christmas decoration competition! It was a really lovely way to finish off a long and productive term for all. Mr. Edwards created a really fun Kahoot with some great rounds involving a number of the teachers in Secondary! Do have a go yourself and see if you can guess the teacher! The eco-friendly Christmas decoration house competition allowed our students to get creative and festive as they wound down for the holidays. You can see the wonderful designs from our winners below! We do hope that you had a wonderful Christmas break and are excited as we are for a new year and returning to our wonderful campus! Ms. Sadotra, Head of KS3 Year 9 Science - Genetic Modification Before the break our year 9 scientists were researching Genetic modification in plants and animals. They have created these incredibly detailed and informative newspaper articles or infographics. They learnt a lot through doing this as did I! Did you know there are goats that give spider silk in the milk?! Well done year 9! Claire Maudsley, Year 9 Science teacher Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, It is so nice to be back and starting the new year at BSQ. We are continuing preparations to welcome the children back, both in-school and online. It is important to establish good routines for the children to prepare them for the new modality of blended learning. Setting up a weekly or daily editable calendar is a great way to start a good transition, where each child will be able to visualize and prepare for what is coming next, including snack, lunch, classes, breaks, and sleep. Kind regards. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() Welcome back to Term 3 here at The British School Quito. We are all hopeful that 2021 will be a productive and safe year for our whole community, where we will all be able to return to the campus and reconnect personally. After spending time with family and friends over the holidays, it is now time to focus on the learning opportunities in the coming weeks, while preparing for our return to school. All further details of the induction process and the starting date for each group of students will be shared with you once these are finalised, with the students in each year group remaining on their Online timetable which they used in Term 2 until they return to school (when they will move over to the new timetable). We also have the Progress Test in English (PTE) and Progress Test in Mathematics (PTM) assessments for all students in Years 2-6 coming soon – these will be administered in school for those students attending face-to-face sessions and online for the rest of the students, with similar instructions and procedures as the NGRT Reading assessment used last year and the CAT4 assessments this year for year 3. These assessments give the teachers invaluable information about the skills the students have already mastered and the ones they are still working on, allowing us to tailor our support more effectively. The Progress Test in English (PTE) is a standardised assessment of students’ technical English skills (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and reading comprehension. The Progress Test in Maths (PTM) is a standardised assessment of students’ mathematical skills and knowledge. PTM assesses two dimensions of mathematical learning, Mathematical content knowledge (Curriculum Content Category) and Understanding and applying mathematical processes through reasoning and problem solving (Process Category). Both are suitable for students from age 6 years upwards, enabling us to establish a clear baseline and to gauge student’s performance and progress over time. They can also help in identifying those in need of extra support, as well as those who are particularly able. I will be sharing more details about these assessments next week, with instructions about how to access them if your child is learning at home when they are administered. All of the teachers are excited about the new term and the learning opportunities they have planned for their students – do please keep reading the communications from school by both email and through Canvas as we look to start the year off with a real sense of purpose. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() Happy New Year to you all Welcome back and I hope you had a wonderful time enjoying a relaxing and peaceful break. It is perhaps important to reflect on the lovely things that happened in the last week of term. The last day of a long term sees us drop the normal timetable for lots of fun and games between staff and students, and of course, the opportunity to celebrate success and achievement. The students had fun quizzing and designing Christmas decorations and we saw some wonderful designs. I also had the pleasure of watching the school choir sings carols online. Well done Ms. Cano and the choir. It was really lovely to see and hear. The end of term is an apt moment for giving thanks and last term was particularly important. Our staff consistently work incredibly hard at BSQ and I am ever impressed by the determination they show in securing as much normality as they can through a screen. For this to happen takes a huge amount of time and ingenuity. The most simple things like quizzes and assemblies take time to create and this often goes unseen. Obvious thanks for the last event must go to Mr. Edwards, Ms. Sadotra and Ms. Todd, but let us not forget the tutors who put these plans into practice. On behalf of our students – thank you for providing a wonderful day and for all the things you do for our students on a daily basis! It is also important that we thank our students for their enthusiasm, hard work, flexibility, trust and determination in their efforts to continue with some form of normality. What a wonderful bunch you are. Our staff celebrated the end of the term by sharing why each of them were appreciated by their colleagues. It really was a lovely opportunity to share such positive thoughts with each member of the team receiving recognition. Now into the new term. This week sees our students in years 10 to 13 embarking on their exams. It really is an important time for them. Students - I hope that you were wise and used your time effectively preparing for this week over the holiday. I could wish you luck, but destiny is in your hands and you control what the outcomes are – if you put the work in over the holiday and on each day as you approach each exam, I assure you that you will be justly rewarded. I wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year – it will be significant for us all and I look forward to your ongoing support. Have a good week. Lee Moors Head of Secondary From the BSQ Counselling Team This week our school counsellor, Andrea Carrera, talks about the many shades of parenting.
Welcome ![]() We have now arrived at the third end of term newsletter since we moved into our online learning phase in March this year. Despite the many challenges that this time has presented us with, it has also created many more opportunities. Challenges and potential opportunities present themselves at every stage of our lives and the most important thing is not what they are but how we respond to them. January 4 will see our staff on a phased return to the campus with the first students arriving for their induction sessions on January 7. We are all very excited to see our students and hope that it will not be long before we able to welcome visitors and parents onto the campus too. Reflections on the year that has passed should allow us all to celebrate the continuation of our strong community, great successes in learning, wonderful contributions to our wide society, new friendships, sporting extravaganzas, continuous provision of education and the even stronger sense of what it means to be a member of the BSQ team. We have all found new ways to be kind, to welcome others, to show respect and care for others and to achieve our ambitions with determination and resilience. Just look at all these extraordinary achievements. e-Learning at BSQ I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the New Year. From the Staff and the Students Continuing with our teachers and their stories about e-learning this new period. This week we have Mrs. Paola Montenegro, Ms. Natalie Sawyers and Ms. Fernanda Espinosa from Secondary and Ms. Natalie Cook and Ms. Antonella Coronel from Primary. Mrs. Paola Montenegro – Secondary CAS, Sociales Teacher | Y11B tutor It has been an atypical time in our lives where it has been our duty to adapt and be resilient. Something that I liked about the virtual classes is the intense debates on Citizenship Education with y11 and it makes me happy because they make me investigate more and more and show that as a teacher you also learn from your students, and that you never stop doing it. On the other hand, I am fascinated by the dedication of my students from y7, y8, y9, y10 that they have given to Social, I feel super proud because they all strive, reflect and work collaboratively and we have covered difficult topics such as the First World War, Russian Revolution, Cold War, Ancient Civilizations and etc. And believe it or not, your messages between: We miss you miss! Have a nice day! they encourage me to continue teaching with the same affection that I have for them. However, as a tutor I am also excited because our y11 students are ready for one of the most important challenges of their lives and without a doubt it will not be the first; as we have so many high expectations of them for years to come, and I mean their IGCSEs. Conversing with everyone, this is what they were able to mention: María Verónica - The truth is, they look a bit intimidating, but the teachers make me feel more and more secure. They are a challenge, but with effort, it is achieved. Felipe - I am very excited about the IGCSE, I feel that although they are complicated, and are a bit scary, they will be something very good for me. I feel like I'm prepared and ready to do them, they are going to help me as a student so I really appreciate it. Mela - Merry Christmas everyone, do not stress too much about the exams and enjoy Christmas, for sure we will go well. Gael- I am ok with the IGCSE and of course with a little fear since I do not know, what is coming, but in general I am excited. Oliver- I'm very nervous about the igcse since I don't usually study a lot, but it's still a new and exciting experience Dani: IGCSE's take a lot of time to prepare and even with all that preparation I am a little nervous about what can happen. But the teachers have helped me a lot and they make us practice and review, so I think it will be good for me. Anto: I hope this year will run smoothly that we are able to do what we need to do and I thank all teachers and my friends for supporting us and caring for us and making sure we are good. Congratulations! We hope that after the Christmas holidays you are calmer and just as optimistic about your exams. Without more from Y11B, we wish you a Merry Christmas and may the following year bring a lot of love, laughter, hope, faith and joy Mrs Montenegro World War 1 Students in year 9 humanities have been studying the causes of WW1 for the past few weeks; looking at the MAIN causes - Militarism, Allies, Imperialism and Nationalism, but also the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Schlieffen Plan. Students have been asked to present their argument of what caused The Great War. Ms. Natalie Sawyers - Humanities Teacher The history of mime Last week our year 9 drama students were learning about an important area of theatre, mime! They worked in groups to create a profile of the great mime artist Marcel Marceau. They discovered some really interesting facts about his life and the style of theatre that he was instrumental in popularising. Ms. Espinosa - Drama teacher Ms. Natalie Cook – Year 1C Teacher This week in Year 1C we have been continuing our Maths work on ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’. We have been comparing groups of objects and looking at numbers in many different ways: tens and ones, ten frames, number words and digits. In Literacy we have been crafting letters to Santa Claus. We have been learning the features of letters and their purpose as well as using ‘and’ and ‘because’ to extend our sentences and using adjectives to describe the presents we would like to receive, As it’s nearly Christmas, we’ve also been making sure to practise our Christmas song regularly as well as decorate virtual Christmas Trees and start to make some Christmas Crafts! Kind regards, Natalie & Belén KS1 Christmas Concert Dear parents, Although this year may be a bit different, Christmas will always be a festive season, especially for children! Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate together at school but this will not stop us from celebrating together online! We would like to invite you to our Year 1 and Year 2 Christmas concert taking place next Wednesday, December 16th at 2.30pm via the Key Stage 1 Events and Assemblies blog on Canvas. This is the same page via which we are having our assemblies every Thursday. I hope that you all have access to it by now. Children have been working really hard rehearsing their Christmas songs and we would appreciate it if you could attend this special event. We are looking forward to this lovely concert and to celebrate Christmas with you all. Do not hesitate contacting me via email at [email protected] in case you have any questions. Kind regards, Ms Vasilokonstantaki Ms. Antonella Coronel – Head of EYFS Dear parents, The Christmas festivities have officially begun in the Nursery class. The children have been looking into what Christmas is all about through traditional stories and activities. Keeping in line with this topic, the BSQ student council have organized a Recycled Christmas tree decoration competition. We look forward to seeing what you and the children come up with. There are great prizes in store for the first, second and third place winners. Please send us your images through email to become part of this friendly competition. Enjoy a great week. Kind regards Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update ![]() I would like to start by congratulating you all individually for your enthusiasm, flexibility, resilience and positivity. Each and every one of our BSQ community has risen to the challenges we have collectively faced, with good humour and patience. Our teachers have adapted to a different style of teaching, forming professional relationships with students, some of whom they have not met. Our support staff here at BSQ has continued to do what they do best – support the rest of the community and make everything work smoothly. The parents have continued to be that invaluable link between teacher and student – you have supported your child’s development during their online sessions and kept abreast of all the communication from school which all has to come electronically. And finally, our wonderful students have continued to engage with their learning and own development, adapting to the different technologies and activities and seeing this period as a challenge that they can rise to. In this final week of term, we would encourage all of our students to continue and complete their sponsorship challenges, complete any outstanding learning and share with their teachers and enjoy the Christmas spirit as we approach the holiday season. But most of all, spend some time reflecting on the progress we have all made together, the sense of community we have continued to embody and look forward to a well-deserved break! I wish you and your families a restful and safe holiday period and a wonderful New Year. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Being BSQ – Secondary Update ![]() The birds have moved in…… What an exciting week we have had. This is the first time since I have been at BSQ where I have been on site for the whole week. We have been focusing on the next steps of the return by welcoming staff to the site and orientating them with the new systems and expected protocols. They are also getting the opportunity to prepare classrooms and resources and also practice the new technology that will be used in their teaching. What is apparent is the level of detail and depth of preparations that have taken place to ensure success over as things unfold over the next couple of weeks. The school looks beautiful and there have been many adaptations made to facilitate our return. One of the things that I have noticed is the amount of birds enjoying the peace and quiet. I wonder if when the children and some sense of normality returns their numbers will decline again_ I hope not as they are beautiful. It really is idyllic and the physical environment looks top class. The workers and administrative staff have toiled tirelessly over the past few months and we are now starting to approach the final fence. They really do deserve our gratitude for what they have achieved to get us back. There is a lot of information going home this week so naturally there is lots to take in. I have written to parents of students in years 10 to 13 to outline the exam period and how we are supporting our students in the run up to these important assessments. The letter includes a full exam timetable for each year group, so do please ensure that you have seen this and discussed the implications as a family. There is a balance here between aspiring to and encouraging work to secure the best grades possible, and being gentle and supportive so as not put too much pressure on. We really do need the help of our parents in this and I look forward to your support. Please encourage revision and also promote wellbeing in the holiday period. Do also remember that all students will be given outlines and revision resources so there should be no excuses at all. We hope they return in the New Year prepared and ready for the challenges that approach them. I have also written this week about what learning will look like for students who are at school and at home. What we have planned will ensure that all will experience the same delivery with the use of live streaming directly from the classroom. Once again we are all adapting to the need to use new technology in our teaching pedagogy. I am confident that we will all benefit from the development as we did when we entered lockdown. We will all finally emerge from this experience in a far more advanced state. Do please look at this important communication as it covers useful tips and key information so that students are as prepared and successful as possible at school and at home. I have also included a copy of the timetable for all year groups which outlines the blended learning pattern of the day and new lesson timings. Christmas is fast approaching and we have a number of online activities planned. All students will be having a virtual Christmas Party this week in tutor time and on Thursday, the last day of term, the timetable will be collapsed so that there are lots of fun activities that the whole school can enjoy. The morning will end with a whole school assembly. Do please remember that the day ends at midday. Finally, I am sure that you will all want to extend your best wishes to Mr. Karakashian who has decided to return to the UK. I have enjoyed working with him enormously and he will be missed by the many friends who have enjoyed his company whilst at BSQ. He has been working incredibly hard, especially with year 13 over the last couple of weeks to help manage and secure intended university applications. We are very lucky to have Ms. Sadotra, Ms. Carrera and Ms. Todd to ensure that critical elements of this role as IB coordinator are secure. It really is an exciting time for everyone with growth and professional opportunities and we all wish him the best for the future as he embarks on new challenges. Do have a good week. Lee Moors
Head of Secondary |
CategoriesArchives
May 2024
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