WelcomeThis is the penultimate newsletter of the year and it hardly seems possible that last week we congratulated our ‘graduating’ students in Year 6 and Year 7 and next week we say farewell and well done to our IB Year 13 cohort of students. All the BSQ staff send congratulations and best wishes to those ‘Classes of 2021.’ as they move into the secondary school, on into Year 8 or out into the wider world of Higher Education, further study or employment. You will all flourish and shine. Of course, this is the time of year, as in any school, when we also say goodbye to staff who are leaving and look forward to greeting our new colleagues as they arrive from around the world. I am delighted that so many of our staff have decided to remain at BSQ and continue the outstanding work they have been undertaking already. The following staff will be moving on to new adventures on June 30 and we wish them well and the best of luck in their new positions. We will of course, be thanking them personally at the end of term. Alex Beazley, Matthew Kidd, Chris Leadbeter, Sara Avent, Nick Kennedy, Teddy Mercer and Andrea Carrera. In August we look forward to welcoming the following new members of our academic team. Hannah Kerrigan will be joining our primary team. Hannah is travelling from South Yorkshire in the UK where she has been working in primary schools since 2018 and brings with her a wealth of experience working with Read Write Inc, Kagan techniques and SEND strategies. Hannah is a passionate runner and is looking forward to sharing her love of the sport with the students. As a keen volunteer, she is looking forward to getting involved with our community projects too. Nadine Parker will be joining our secondary team as a science, biology and ESS specialist. She currently lives and works in Cambridge but has previously spent time working at Dulwich College in Shanghai and in Camden, London. Nadine is passionate about extending the learning of her students and has successfully prepared them for university study through the international Foundation Programme Biomedical course implemented at her school. She is keen to be involved in enrichment activities and is a qualified DofE leader and a great organiser of events. Rachael Parkinson will also be joining our science team as a biology specialist and is moving to BSQ with her husband Colin. Rachael has worked and led teams in secondary schools across Japan, the UK and Dubai. She has experience of working for exam boards and extensive experience of different programmes of study in chemistry and biology. In her spare time Rachael enjoys circuit training and is looking forward to exploring the mountains for Ecuador. Colin Parkinson will be joining us with his wife Rachael as our history and global politics specialist in the secondary team. Colin is a keen cricketer both as an experienced player and as a coach and also enjoys football, rugby and badminton so perhaps we will see some of these sports in the enrichment programme next year. Colin has also travelled in Japan and Australia and is looking forward to a full and rich involvement in the academic and cultural life of our school. Sustainability and climate update. With the final part this week we are delighted to welcome our guest writer, Sylvia Harcourt. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD In my first article I mentioned that the food industry could be divided into three stages: production, processing and distribution. Of the 24 – 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions produced by the food industry, roughly 31% comes from livestock and fisheries, 27% from crop production, 24% from land use and 18% from transport supply chains. Visualize the whole process and the fuel consumption involved. Tractors ploughing up the land, chain saws chopping trees, massive trawler ships fishing for tuna, cod, herrings or sardines, factories processing the food – and then huge container ships, planes and trucks taking this produce around the world, around the country. So not only do you need to think about what you are eating, but where it comes from. Living in Ecuador we are incredibly lucky as such a large range of fruits, vegetables, meat and fish are found here. Many of them are available for a large part of the year due to the ecosystems found from the coast to the highlands, and down into the Amazon area. Not many countries are blessed with such diversity of land, food, climate – and biodiversity. However, take a look when you go shopping – and you will notice apples and grapes from Chile and California, mangoes from Peru, beef from Argentina, wine from Spain - the list could continue. You can make your own immediate contribution to the planet by eating less meat, buying more local organic produce and eating food that is in season. You can also contribute by growing some of your own food, in plant pots on the terrace or in the garden, no space is too small. Or, like the BSQ student requested, in some space in the school gardens. Little steps that make a big difference. Little steps that make you more aware of what is around you. Thinking about food, biodiversity and climate change leads on to thinking about the year we have just lived through and the Covid Pandemic. Pandemics will become more frequent if we keep destroying forests to grow soya, palm oil and raise cows. Less space for wildlife, more space for closer viruses! Take a look at this excellent diagrammatic explanation of pandemic prevention: politico.com/interactives/2021/preventing-the-next-pandemic Thanks for thinking about all this, and even better, for acting on some of it. The only way to achieve change is by working together. And what better time to start than NOW. Sylvia Equality & Diversity Committee Within the business environment, Ecuador has shown outstanding progress in terms of gender equality. The top companies and organizations in Ecuador show a very equal balance in the management staff, in CEOs and founders. Innovations and opportunities for all to have professional careers are rapidly increasing. Non-profit social enterprises committed to helping women be economically self-sufficient, start ventures and play a bigger role in the professional world have reached countries all around the world. Diversity and equality are both problems the professional sector has encountered for many years; starting in the 1920s, where women started to seek opportunities to develop their areas of expertise. This is a win for Ecuador and the world. G-Equality and Diversity Committee Do you have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected] Let´s talk about emotions Sadness is usually considered as a bad or negative emotion even when we all have experienced it. Some people hide it or get scared of feeling it, some others have been taught to shut out their sadness. In reality, sadness is a powerful emotion that helps us to appreciate wellness. It allows us to connect with others, when we reach out for help, and the most important part: it shows us how resilient we can be. Dates for your Diary As always please check this section carefully and ensure that you have all the details in your calendars.
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update As we approach the last twelve days of this academic year, I want to thank you all again for your resilience, patience and support throughout this year – the students have continued to flourish and develop, despite having to overcome a series of challenges, and this is because as a school community we have supported each other and retained our core school values. At this time of year, we look forward as much as we look back, so enjoy the next couple of weeks when we celebrate our many successes and also prepare the students for the next stage of their development. Some notes for your diaries:
If you have any questions about any of these events, do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or Mr Madden. Marcus Madden Head of Primary EYFS Update Dear parents, We are excited to share with you the upcoming events in Early Years Foundation Stage during the upcoming two weeks, All Reception parents are invited to join the ‘Welcome to Year 1’ session on Tuesday June 15th at 5:00pm via Canvas on the ‘EYFS Events and Assembly’ course. During this session you will be informed about life in KS1. The Nursery parents are invited to join the ‘Early Years at BSQ’ session on Thursday June 17th, at 5:00pm via Zoom with this link, during this time you will be shared details about the Early Years Foundation Stage. Friday June 18th is a school wide preparation day, due to this there will be no classes. The children are invited to join us on the school campus on Monday June 21st for the ‘Student Picnic’ from 9:00-11:00am. This morning will be filled with games and activities to reconnect with the school, teachers and classmates. Home learning opportunities will be sent for those who will not be attending, afternoon sessions will run on their normal schedule. Antonella Coronel, Head of Early Years Being BSQ – Secondary Update Celebration! It was wonderful to be at school last week welcoming students who have graduated from year 6 and who are now progressing to the Secondary school. It was lovely to see how proudly each student wore their gowns and sashes. It is important to remember just how important these occasions are as part of a child’s progression through school. Having the opportunity to meet each student and their parents was a real pleasure and it struck me just how confident each student presented themselves. We also celebrated the delayed graduation photographs for the current Year 7 and this was the same event that should have happened at the end of last year. Year 7 really have done well when you consider that they have moved into secondary school and completed a whole year fully online. This is perhaps the biggest challenge when you consider the anxieties at transition; the study of new subjects and meeting a range of new teachers. This is a real credit to them to have overcome this online and so well! I really am looking forward to the Graduation event for Year 13 and to see them all very proudly receive their pins and certificates. We are lucky to be able to do this at school even with the limitations placed on us by graduation rules demanded by the Ministry of Education. I am very aware of how disappointed our staff are that they cannot attend, but I know that the teachers will send them off with pride and their absolute best wishes. I would like to acknowledge the hard work that goes on in the background by the Administration staff. The success at these events is only achieved with their valued hard work and dedication to do the absolute best. The food is always wonderful, the attention to detail is excellent and the timing is spot on. Well done team! Now that we have had authority to bring students to the site, I am really excited to be working with the team to plan the sessions that will be happening on the 28th June. Years 7,8 and 9 will be coming to school in the morning and Years 10,11 and 12 in the afternoon. More information to follow on this. This will be a fantastic opportunity for us all to take stock, draw a line under the year together, and say our farewells as we look forward to whatever comes next. Finally, year 11 are thinking about their IB choices next week and enjoying the opportunity to experience tasters in each subject. I will also be meeting with some regarding eh choices they have made to ensure that what they have decided is the best possible pathway. The staff have contributed to this, and it is an important exercise. There will also be an opportunity at the end of August for changes if it transpires that their subjects are not quite right. Have a wonderful week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary Year 7 In Life and Learning Skills, we used one of our Monday classes to follow on from the presidential election, especially as Mr. Lasso has now taken office. We took a look at an article from the BBC which summarised Mr. Lasso’s election victory. We then focused on a small section from the article which described some of the things the President hopes to accomplish. Below you can read things that Year 7 would like to see changed or developed in Ecuador: Mrs Moors: create a recycling collection system from our homes. Mr Newman: ensure that those in government serve as role-models for the young people of Ecuador. Ignacio: Make houses for the dogs that live in the streets. Isabella Ch: Help people that are on the streets by creating a building so they can live there. Isabella S: Help most needed like people like orphans or other people that come from other countries like Venezuela. Victoria: That there's more school for the children. Have the vaccine in the country. Lyla: More funds could be put into food banks and handouts for the poor. Or he could start a movement to plant more trees. Or he could pass a law where you can only cause so much pollution per month. Or he could make people use more sustainable methods of electricity and use solar power and wind power as well. Nicole: Ecuador owes something like 57 billion dollars to other countries, so hopefully this government does something about it. Nina S: Maybe lower the oil prices to help those in poverty. Tomas: Maybe lower the electric bill, so people can spend more money for more useful things. Paula: Stop animal abuse in the country. Mathias: stop people from stealing money Rossy: I would like you to find a way for people to get vaccinated against covid faster because some people already sent a request like 2 or 3 months ago, like my grandmother, and they still don't read her email. Anna: Eliminate animal abuse and give food and home to the animals that live on the roads. Chenyue: Find a way to create less waste in Ecuador. Natalia: He should improve the power because the power goes out a lot. KS3 Spanish Year 9 students have worked all week with the knowledge of the dramatic genre, here is part of the result of their investigation. I hope you like it. María Victoria Amyra Mrs Tufino, Spanish Teacher KS5: Mathematics Futures Curriculum Our year 13 mathematicians have spent the last few weeks looking at where maths may be used in their future lives at university and beyond. One key area that we looked at in-depth was data analysis. The students came up with their own research questions, collected data, and then completed the detailed mathematical analysis. The culmination of the sessions was last week in which they presented their work to each other. They put in so much effort and their conclusions were very interesting indeed! Here is a sample of their work for you to see! Ms Sadotra, Mathematics Teacher
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WelcomeThis week I am very excited to see our ‘graduating’ students on campus for their photoshoot and certificate ceremony. On Thursday 10 and Friday 11 we invite Year 6 and Year 7 to join us. Of course, we always celebrate the end of the primary school journey with Year 6 but last year we postponed this in the hope that we would be back at school in September 2020. This week they will get their special space to celebrate with family members. The origins of the word graduate are linked to the concept of stages, degrees of movement forward and that is certainly what we will be celebrating this week – another step forward and another year completed. Well done everyone involved for all your hard work in getting to this stage. As we approach the end of this school year, reports are being written, exams are being completed and graded, awards are being nominated and all the usual activities are taking place. Regardless of where we are working or learning, we are making sure that all students are busy, challenged, learning and happy. There will be lots of information begin shared with parents over the remaining weeks and days of the term – please help us to hold successful events by making sure that your diaries are up to date. With part 3 this week we are delighted to welcome our guest writer, Sylvia Harcourt. 3. CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE FOOD INDUSTRY I know you are all very busy – but I wonder if you had a chance to start putting together and acting on a list of 30 things you can do, during June, to help the Planet. I would love to hear back from anyone about what ideas they have. In particular, did you do something special for World Environment Day on Saturday June 5th? Remember, apart from fossil fuel use and cement making, land use has had one of the biggest effects on climate change – and land use is due to agriculture, to produce our food. June 8th is World Oceans Day. Maybe that day you can make sure you don’t eat tuna – one of the most heavily caught fish in the ocean – and the catching of which causes incredibly high levels of “by-catch”. This is the capture of other species by mistake – the turtles, sharks, sea lions, dolphins, albatrosses, that get caught in the nets or on the longline hooks that are used. If you do eat tuna, then look for the label on the tin that says “dolphin friendly” and this should mean that the fishing techniques try to avoid catching other species, or at least dolphins. Since 1990 there has been a 71% decline in the number of sharks in the sea. This is a terrible number and many of these are caught by mistake while fishing for tuna. Others are caught deliberately to send to countries that want shark fin soup. Ecuador still allows the export of shark fins if they are taken from sharks caught as “by catch”. How can that be proved? It is not easy. To understand more about the ocean, I would like to recommend two documentaries found on Netflix. One is about fishing and is rather hard to watch at times – “Seaspiracy”. The second is called “My Octopus Teacher”. This one makes you realise how we underestimate animals and their emotions. We can’t solve the climate crisis without protecting and restoring the planet, as everything is interconnected. Let’s Heal the Planet Together. NO ONE IS TOO SMALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Let´s talk about emotions Part of accepting our emotions is recognizing how our body is feeling. For anger we usually could show headache, muscle tension or sweating. As other emotions, anger is necessary and natural, it can be expressed in many different ways. Breathing is our center, also a tool to come back to the present without denying this feeling. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update This week we invite all of the Year 6 students and their families to visit the school campus and receive their Graduation certificate. This is a wonderful opportunity for a small part of our community to reconnect in person and celebrate the successes of the year. All parents of students in Years 2 up to Year 6 will have now received details of their child’s login details for the upcoming Progress Tests in English (PTE) and Progress Tests in Maths (PTM) assessments which will take place between Monday 14th June and Friday 25th June. The timings of these will be shared by your child’s class teachers and may be at different times that the normal online sessions, so please do watch out for details of these online assessments. These assessments 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 in the coming year. There is no need to prepare anything for these assessments – each student just needs their unique codes 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. Please do note the following events in your diaries and look out for further details regarding these via email and on Canvas:
Marcus Madden Head of Primary 5A Newsletter For the past term in Year 5, we have been exploring poetry and looking at different poetic structures. Our first lesson started with the QFT – ‘Painting is silent poetry. Poetry is painting that speaks’, which enabled some interesting questions and discussion. We then started the unit by writing Haikus, focusing on specific language choices for effect. We then explored calligrams and used our topic of Guayasamín to create different shapes using the poetry we had written. This created a really interesting effect and showed us the correlation between art and poetry. Our final topic focused on rap as poetry and this allowed us to listen to different artists and also perform our own rap video in the primary assembly! We had a lot of fun with this part of the unit! Throughout the topic the students have been performing poetry using Flipgrid, practicing using their body language and tone to express different emotions. We were inspired by the poet Michael Rosen who is an excellent performance poet. It has been a really interesting topic. Take a look at some of the poetry that has been created by 5A! Ms. Heather Stollery. 5B Newsletter Contribution In Term 5 of this year, Year 5B were investigating the famous Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín who I’m sure many of you are aware of. His life, inspirations, and of course his work were investigated across many curriculum areas – for example in our Topic lessons we studied his travels around South America in the 1950s which inspired his first major series entitled ‘Huacayñan’; in our Literacy lessons we created haikus (short poems which follow strict rules about how many syllables are in each line) that related to specific paintings that Guayasamín had created; and in our Art lessons we developed some skills in taking self-portrait photos inspired by Guayasamín, and then painted our photos. Below you can see a selection of the paintings that were created by 5B – take note of the colour composition used in each painting, and in particular the facial expressions, designed to show fear, suffering, or anger. Mr. Kevin Dobson & Ms. Andrea Figueroa EYFS Update Dear parents, We are quickly approaching the end of the school year, and we have a great deal to celebrate, from your wonderful support to the children´s strive to continue learning new skills past the challenges! During this time, opening conversations about changes and transition with the children is key to making the process manageable. Here are a few steps you can take to make these conversations a breeze.
To parepare the Reception families for the transition to Primary, we invite you to the ‘All about Year 1’ online session, where Ms. Vasilokonstantaki will share information about Year 1 and details on what you and the children can expect next year. This session will take place via canvas on Tuesday, June 15th at 5:00PM on the “EYFS Events and Assemblies course”. We look forward to seeing you all there! Antonella Coronel, Head of Early Years Being BSQ – Secondary Update The whole child! As we approach the end of term my attention is being increasingly drawn to next year and the opportunities the time allows for us to consider the curriculum and wider experience at BSQ. I have had numerous conversations with staff about how we are ensuring their academic curriculum plans being revised and updated. This extends wider for me as one of the biggest hits we have taken this year is to the enrichment programme. This usually takes place on a Wednesday afternoon and for various reasons, whilst online, it has taken a back seat. BSQ prides itself in the rich and wide programme of activities designed to invigorate the experience and skills of our children. I am looking forward to my meeting with the parent representatives on Monday 7th June, and as part of this informal meeting I intend to outline my vision for the curriculum and see how this can be developed further next year. I met with the staff who are responsible for administrating this on Thursday and they are now exploring how we can consult with parents to come up with some ideas about how we can widen even further the activities we currently have planned. We have some wonderful venues locally that our children could visit on a weekly basis with the support of parents and the school regarding supervision. Imagine the children who love climbing or Gymnastics being able to use their enrichment time at the local venue with excellent facilities. Perhaps the expert Tennis players, Swimmers or Horse riders who would benefit from expert coaching and well-resourced facilities at this time. I only hope that once back, we have the support from you as parents and the desire from our children to be part of this initiative. Do please look out for the survey questions as they are sent and ensure that you give voice to our planning considerations. If you have contacts or suggestions, then do please drop me a line. On Friday last week I enjoyed hearing about all the experiences gained by the year 11 students in their work experience presentations. I was enormously impressed with the skill and confidence in their delivery, and of course the depth of consideration in their research tasks and presentation content. As always, I am hugely impressed by our wonderfully talented students. Well done all! You may recall the achievements of Ignacio in year 7 a few weeks ago and the wonderful progress he is making in his Tennis. He was in Guayaquil again last weekend competing at a G1 National Tennis tournament. Once again her performed well and I am pleased to report that he won the doubles and came second in the singles in the 12 years category. We all wish him the very best of luck this week as he is competing in the 14 years category at a much larger South American Tournament at Club el Condado in Quito. This is a tournament organised by Confederación Sudamericana de Tenis (COSAT). Ignacio is clearly a talent to watch in the future. If as parents, you have any similar stores of the wonderful achievements of your children then do please pass them my way so I can share the good news. Ignacio – Year 7 G1 Tennis Doubles Champion (Age 12) and second place singles (Age 12) - Guayaquil Have a wonderful week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary Year 13 Science Communication The Year 13 students have produced some fantastic articles, videos and podcasts as part of their six-week Science Communication course. The science department would love to share a selection of their intelligent and creative ideas. Alisson produced an evocative photo story about cheese production in Loja. This is just one of a series of photographs that wonderfully captures the intricacies of the cheese-making process. Gala created a highly entertaining and informative video about the zebra finch in Quito. The way she edited and presented the piece bodes well for a future career as a presenter. Gala also wrote an insightful article on the damaging effects of invasive species such as the eucalyptus trees that are colonising Parque Metropolitano and Ilalo. Impressively, Gala based her article on three interviews with experts. Gala interviewed Liliana Jaramillo, who works for a project called Nativus, an organisation that strives to increase the population of native plant species in urban environments. Gala’s article ended on a positive note, outlining several solutions to combat the plant invasion. Tomas based his captivating article on an Ecuadorian oncologist called Edwin Cevallos. Cevallos travelled into the Amazon jungle and worked with the Shuar community to explore the “cure all” properties of the plant Solanum dulcamara, also called bittersweet nightshade or woody nightshade. After testing the plant extracts on himself, Cevallos went on to develop a drug called the Biological Immune Response Modulator (BIRM). This article left us with the resounding question: why have we not heard more about BIRM? Nico and Byron created a well-informed and professional podcast episode on Elon Musk’s Neuralink and a monkey playing the video game Pong only with its mind. Neuralink is the name given for several brain-machine interfaces that aim to connect humans and computers. Nico and Byron, whose podcast was mystifyingly called Encebollado Mix, had clearly researched the science behind the project and they delved into the ethics of the contentious issue. Naomi interviewed Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, a Turkish astrophysicist who discovered the unusual paradigm-challenging Burçin’s galaxy. The article finishes with the line: “This discovery tells us that we still have a lot to learn, and we should keep looking deeper and deeper into space and keep searching for the unknown.” What a well-timed article following the peculiar full moon that passed through the night sky recently! Credit: © Science Friday Anghy produced a beautifully designed article delving into the problems associated with insomnia. She looked into the data and found that the recent lockdowns have had a significant negative impact on Ecuadorians’ sleep. Mathias and Eva made an entertaining podcast episode that explored the negative impact of lockdowns. Both students used current research to suggest that the harmful effects of the Covid lockdowns perhaps outweighed the good. This 40-minutes episode kept my interest because of the independent thinking, unconventional ideas, heart-felt opinions and entertaining teamwork of the podcasters. Mikaela produced a brilliantly creative comic strip - along with a feature article - explaining the great variety of colour seen in birds. We look forward to pitching these articles, photo stories, podcasts and video clips this week! Mr. Nick Kennedy, Science Teacher Y10 student contribution You may be thinking, what is Yaas? Well, Yaas was a very Severe Cyclonic Storm. It was a relatively strong and highly damaging tropical cyclone that made landfall in Odisha and brought significant impacts to West Bengal. It formed on 23 May. The cyclone caused considerable damage. For example, some electric lines fell down and there was no electricity for 2 days, roads were filled with water and broken trees, stores were destroyed, some poorly built roofs flew off, and all the water caused some animals to go inside people's houses for shelter. We experienced a similar cyclone in 2020 so everyone had some time to prepare for it and had a general idea of what it would bring. In preparations for the storm, many electrical companies in West Bengal and Odisha prepared additional generators and transformers.The Health Ministry also prepared to ensure that there was no disruption in vaccine supply and COVID-19 treatment. Evacuations were also ordered on low-lying areas. In Bangladesh, over two million individuals were ordered to be evacuated in coastal areasWhen the cyclone started it generated a wind speed of around 140kmph at the time of landfall. The total damages in West Bengal, the most heavily impacted state from the cyclone, were estimated to be around ₹20 thousand crore (US$2.76 billion). Nonetheless I was very grateful my family members were all safe and sound and it was a good case study for geography as well! Koushiki, Y10 student Worker of the Year! Last week our year 11 students started to think about futures and their potential careers through participating in the worker of the year competition! Students wrote CV's, had interviews, and when successful started on their chosen job! Students chose a wide variety of jobs as can be seen below: The student's all took on a range of tasks linked to their chosen fields. Here are some examples: Singer: Produce a song (write/create/compose) and try to sell it to a production company. Marketing Manager: Create the brand-book of a business to sell your services. Doctor: Research a rare case (in which the patient has a rare disease of some kind) and give the bad news to a family after studying this case. Film yourselves delivering the news. Do not forget to fill in the medical file. Also, you need to prepare a workshop about breastfeeding in the hospital you work now. During the week students took part in discussion on issues surrounding the world of work. We were blown away by their thoughtful and well researched responses. Here are some examples: Recent studies prove that occupational inequality is indeed an issue we face nowadays, for example, the fact that only 5% of CEOs are women, however, many businesses choose not to care about it unless they are directly called out for it. The statement 'occupational inequality is not an issue businesses should care about' is not one I agree with, however, it is one that is heavily demonstrated by companies. Businesses in the fashion industry benefit from occupational inequality since they are constantly selling eurocentric beauty features to fit the beauty standard, because eurocentric beauty features are mainly found in white people this facilitates occupational inequality for businesses & they benefit from this since it sells more. When it comes to models in the fashion industry most of the models picked for high-end brands are musicians or actors since they have large fan bases, but other than that they rarely pick a person of colour to represent them. To me, that demonstrates that companies only challenge occupational inequality for their benefit (since ambassadors give them more impressions) but they never challenge it to benefit the people facing discrimination. To them, occupational inequality can be used as a weapon to make them seem better amongst their competitors for being more 'accepting' which is why many companies update their icons to a rainbow flag in pride month but other than that take no initiative against homophobia. Occupational inequality is something businesses only seem to care about when it can be used against their competitors in order to make themselves more appealing to the public eye. - Samantha B. Parents should definitely have parental leave since they are also part of the child's development and the mother's recovery (If that is the case), they are a great help for both the child and their partner and are part of the preparation for the next stages of their child. This applies for any gender and sexual identity and the role the person has. Of course there are different things to consider corresponding to each baby and the situation each person is at, which is why the time of their leave depends on these things and of course where they work. - Gala F. Here is a selection of some of the student work. We were simply blown away by the creativity, professional standard, and depth of the student's tasks. It was truly inspiring to see what talent we have in this cohort and what a success they will all no doubt be. Video Game - Gael
Ms Carrera, Career Counsellor Ms Sadotra, KS3 Coordinator KS3: Year 9 Spanish The students in year 9 were given the task to help them to see the hidden feelings behind the words of some amazing poets. In groups they analysed poems and then created videos containing their poem and images or representations that conveyed the central sentiment. This final week we have the work of Juan Pablo, Manuela, Mateo, Maria Victoria, and Sofia. Mrs Tufino, Spanish Teacher
Bienvenidos Esta semana estoy muy emocionada de ver a nuestros estudiantes "graduados" en el campus para su sesión de fotos y ceremonia de certificación. El jueves 10 y viernes 11 invitamos a Año 6 y Año 7 a unirse a nosotros. Por supuesto, siempre celebramos el final del viaje de la escuela primaria con Año 6, pero el año pasado lo pospusimos con la esperanza de que volviéramos a la escuela en septiembre de 2020. Esta semana tendrán su espacio especial para celebrar con los miembros de la familia. El origen de la palabra graduado están ligados al concepto de etapas, grados de avance y eso es sin duda lo que estaremos celebrando esta semana: otro paso adelante y otro año cumplido. Enhorabuena a todos los involucrados por todo su arduo trabajo para llegar a esta etapa. A medida que nos acercamos al final de este año escolar, se están redactando informes, se están completando y calificando exámenes, se están nominando premios y se están llevando a cabo todas las actividades habituales. Independientemente de dónde estemos trabajando o aprendiendo, nos aseguramos de que todos los estudiantes estén ocupados, desafiados, aprendiendo y felices. Habrá mucha información que comenzará a compartirse con los padres durante las semanas y días restantes del trimestre; ayúdennos a realizar eventos exitosos asegurándose de que sus diarios estén actualizados. Con la parte 3 de esta semana, estamos encantados de dar la bienvenida a nuestra escritora invitada, Sylvia Harcourt. 3. CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO, BIODIVERSIDAD E INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARIA Sé que están todos muy ocupados, pero me pregunto si tuvieron la oportunidad de comenzar a armar y actuar en una lista de 30 cosas que pueden hacer, durante junio, para ayudar al Planeta. Me encantaría tener noticias de cualquiera de ustedes sobre las ideas que tienen. En particular, ¿hicieron algo especial para el Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente el sábado 5 de junio? Recuerden, además del uso de combustibles fósiles y la fabricación de cemento, el uso de la tierra ha tenido uno de los mayores efectos sobre el cambio climático, y el uso de la tierra se debe a la agricultura, para producir nuestros alimentos. El 8 de junio es el Día Mundial de los Océanos. Tal vez ese día puedan asegurarse de no comer atún, uno de los peces más capturados en el océano, y cuya captura causa niveles increíblemente altos de "captura incidental". Se trata de la captura de otras especies por error: tortugas, tiburones, lobos marinos, delfines, albatros, que quedan atrapados en las redes o en los anzuelos de palangre que se utilizan. Si comen atún, busquen la etiqueta en la lata que dice “amigable con los delfines” y esto debería significar que las técnicas de pesca intentan evitar la captura de otras especies, o al menos delfines. Desde 1990 ha habido una disminución del 71% en el número de tiburones en el mar. Un número terrible y muchos de ellos son capturados por error durante la pesca del atún. Otros son capturados deliberadamente para enviarlos a países que quieren sopa de aleta de tiburón. Ecuador todavía permite la exportación de aletas de tiburón si se extraen de tiburones capturados como “captura incidental”. ¿Cómo se puede probar eso? No es fácil. Para comprender más sobre el océano, me gustaría recomendar dos documentales que se encuentran en Netflix. Uno trata sobre la pesca y es bastante difícil de ver a veces: "Seaspiracy". El segundo se llama "Mi maestro pulpo". Este nos hace dar cuenta de cómo subestimamos a los animales y sus emociones. No podemos resolver la crisis climática sin proteger y restaurar el planeta, ya que todo está interconectado. Curemos el planeta juntos. NADIE ES DEMASIADO PEQUEÑO PARA HACER LA DIFERENCIA. Comité de Igualdad y Diversidad de BSQ El mes del orgullo y la aceptación de la comunidad LGBTQ + Junio es el Mes del Orgullo, en este mes la comunidad LGBTQ + celebra la libertad de ser ellos mismos. Creo que es importante enfatizar que el progreso de la sociedad sólo es posible a través de la aceptación y el respeto entre todos los grupos que forman nuestra comunidad. Además, el apoyo a la comunidad LGBTQ + ha aumentado en los últimos años, ¡y esto es increíble! Quería mostrar algunas formas sencillas en las que puede contribuir a la aceptación de las personas LGBTQ + en su comunidad:
Ciertamente, la sociedad ha recorrido un largo camino desde la intolerancia y la desigualdad, pero aún nos queda un largo camino por recorrer. Sin embargo, tener celebraciones como el "Mes del Orgullo" recuerda a la sociedad la esperanza de un día tener un mundo igual para todos. Ana Paula - Comité de Igualdad y Diversidad ¿Tienes alguna pregunta? Ponte en contacto con nosotros en: [email protected] Hablemos de emociones Una parte de aceptar nuestras emociones es reconocer cómo se siente en nuestro cuerpo. Para la ira usualmente se pueden presentar dolores de cabeza, tensión muscular o sudor. Como todas las demás emociones, la ira es necesaria y natural, puede ser expresada de diferentes maneras. Respirar es nuestro centro además de una herramienta para regresar al presente sin negar lo que estamos sintiendo. Fechas importantes para sus calendarios
Emma Newman Directora BSQ – Primaria Esta semana invitamos a todos los estudiantes de Año 6 y sus familias a visitar el campus de la escuela y recibir su certificado de graduación. Esta es una oportunidad maravillosa para que una pequeña parte de nuestra comunidad se vuelva a conectar en persona y celebre los éxitos del año. Todos los padres de estudiantes en Año 2 hasta Año 6 ahora habrán recibido detalles de los datos de inicio de sesión de sus hijos para las próximas evaluaciones Progress Tests in English (PTE) y Progress Tests in Maths (PTM) que se llevarán a cabo entre el lunes 14 de junio y el viernes 25 de junio. Los horarios de estos serán compartidos por los maestros de la clase de sus hijos y pueden ser en horarios diferentes a los de las sesiones en línea normales, así que tengan cuidado con los detalles de estas evaluaciones en línea. Estas evaluaciones son solo una pequeña parte de las diferentes formas en que apoyamos a los estudiantes en su desarrollo; nos brindarán información invaluable sobre las habilidades y los conocimientos que cada estudiante ha adquirido este año y nos permitirán adaptar aún más nuestra provisión individual en el próximo año. No es necesario preparar nada para estas evaluaciones: cada estudiante solo necesita sus códigos únicos para acceder al sitio web de la evaluación y seguir las instrucciones, con sus maestros disponibles para responder cualquier pregunta específica. Asegúrense de que sus hijos los traten como una parte importante de su aprendizaje; debe tratar de hacer de forma independiente la mayor cantidad de preguntas posible, sin apoyo, para que tengamos una idea clara de sus habilidades y comprensión en cada área diferente de aprendiendo. Tengan en cuenta los siguientes eventos en sus diarios y busquen más detalles al respecto por correo electrónico y en Canvas:
Marcus Madden Director de Primaria Año 5A Durante el último trimestre de Año 5, hemos estado explorando la poesía y analizando diferentes estructuras poéticas. Nuestra primera lección comenzó con QFT: "La pintura es poesía silenciosa. La poesía es pintura que habla ”, lo que permitió algunas preguntas y debates interesantes. Luego comenzamos la unidad escribiendo Haikus, enfocándonos en opciones de lenguaje específicas para lograr un efecto. Luego exploramos caligramas y usamos nuestro tema de Guayasamín para crear diferentes formas usando la poesía que habíamos escrito. Esto creó un efecto realmente interesante y nos mostró la correlación entre el arte y la poesía. ¡Nuestro tema final se centró en el rap como poesía y esto nos permitió escuchar a diferentes artistas y también realizar nuestro propio video de rap en la asamblea primaria! ¡Nos divertimos mucho con esta parte de la unidad! A lo largo del tema, los estudiantes han estado realizando poesía usando Flipgrid, practicando el uso de su lenguaje corporal y tono para expresar diferentes emociones. Nos inspiramos en el poeta Michael Rosen, que es un poeta de interpretación excelente. Ha sido un tema realmente interesante. ¡Echen un vistazo a algunas de las poesías creadas por 5A! Srta. Heather Stollery. Boletín informativo de Año 5B En el quinto trimestre de este año, 5B estaba investigando al famoso pintor ecuatoriano Oswaldo Guayasamín, de quien estoy seguro que muchos de ustedes conocen. Su vida, inspiraciones y, por supuesto, su trabajo fueron investigados en muchas áreas del plan de estudios; por ejemplo, en nuestras lecciones de Temas estudiamos sus viajes por América del Sur en la década de 1950, que inspiraron su primera serie importante titulada "Huacayñan"; en nuestras lecciones de Alfabetización creamos haikus (poemas cortos que siguen reglas estrictas sobre cuántas sílabas hay en cada línea) que se relacionan con pinturas específicas que había creado Guayasamín; y en nuestras lecciones de Arte desarrollamos algunas habilidades en la toma de autorretratos inspirados en Guayasamín, y luego pintamos nuestras fotos. A continuación puede ver una selección de las pinturas que fueron creadas por 5B: tome nota de la composición de color utilizada en cada pintura y, en particular, las expresiones faciales, diseñadas para mostrar miedo, sufrimiento o ira. Sr. Kevin Dobson y Srta. Andrea Figueroa Actualización de EYFS Estimados padres, Nos acercamos rápidamente al final del año escolar, y tenemos mucho que celebrar, desde su maravilloso apoyo hasta el esfuerzo de los niños para continuar aprendiendo nuevas habilidades más allá de los desafíos. Durante este tiempo, iniciar conversaciones sobre cambios y transición con los niños es clave para hacer que el proceso sea manejable. Aquí hay algunos pasos que pueden seguir para que estas conversaciones sean muy sencillas.
Para preparar a las familias de la recepción para la transición a la Primaria, los invitamos a la sesión en línea "Todo sobre el año 1", donde la Srta. Vasilokonstantaki compartirá información sobre el año 1 y detalles sobre lo que usted y los niños pueden esperar el próximo año. Esta sesión se llevará a cabo vía Canvas el martes 15 de junio a las 5:00 PM en el “Curso de Eventos y Asambleas de EYFS”. ¡Esperamos verlos a todos ahí! Antonella Coronel, Líder de EYFS BSQ – Secundaria ¡La persona integral! A medida que nos acercamos al final del trimestre, mi atención se dirige cada vez más hacia el próximo año y las oportunidades que el tiempo nos brinda para considerar el plan de estudios y una experiencia más amplia en BSQ. He tenido numerosas conversaciones con el personal sobre cómo nos aseguramos de que se revisen y actualicen sus planes de estudios académicos. Esto se extiende más para mí, ya que uno de los mayores éxitos que hemos recibido este año es el programa de enriquecimiento. Esto generalmente se lleva a cabo un miércoles por la tarde y por varias razones, mientras que en línea, ha pasado a un segundo plano. BSQ se enorgullece del rico y amplio programa de actividades diseñadas para fortalecer la experiencia y las habilidades de nuestros niños. Espero con interés mi reunión con los padres representantes el lunes 7 de junio y, como parte de esta reunión informal, tengo la intención de esbozar mi visión para el plan de estudios y ver cómo se puede desarrollar aún más el próximo año. Me reuní con el personal que es responsable de administrar esto el jueves y ahora están explorando cómo podemos consultar con los padres para proponer algunas ideas sobre cómo podemos ampliar aún más las actividades que hemos planeado actualmente. Tenemos algunos lugares maravillosos a nivel local que nuestros hijos pueden visitar semanalmente con el apoyo de los padres y la escuela con respecto a la supervisión. Imagínense que los niños que aman la escalada o la gimnasia puedan usar su tiempo de enriquecimiento en el lugar local con excelentes instalaciones. Quizás los jugadores expertos de tenis, nadadores o jinetes que se beneficiarían de un entrenamiento experto y de instalaciones con buenos recursos en este momento. Solo espero que una vez de regreso, tengamos el apoyo de ustedes como padres y el deseo de nuestros hijos de ser parte de esta iniciativa. Estén atentos a las preguntas de la encuesta a medida que se envían y asegúrense de dar voz a nuestras consideraciones de planificación. Si tienen contactos o sugerencias, por favor escríbanme. El viernes de la semana pasada disfruté escuchando sobre todas las experiencias adquiridas por los estudiantes de Año 11 en sus presentaciones de experiencias laborales. Me impresionó enormemente la habilidad y la confianza en su presentación y, por supuesto, la profundidad de consideración en sus tareas de investigación y el contenido de la presentación. Como siempre, estoy muy impresionado por nuestros estudiantes maravillosamente talentosos. ¡Bien hecho todos! Quizás recuerden los logros de Ignacio en el año 7 hace unas semanas y el maravilloso progreso que está haciendo en su Tenis. Estuvo nuevamente en Guayaquil el fin de semana pasado compitiendo en un torneo Nacional de Tenis G1. Una vez más, se desempeñó bien y me complace informar que ganó los dobles y quedó segundo en individuales en la categoría de 12 años. Todos le deseamos la mejor de las suertes esta semana, ya que está compitiendo en la categoría de 14 años en un Torneo Sudamericano mucho más grande en el Club el Condado en Quito. Este es un torneo organizado por Confederación Sudamericana de Tenis (COSAT). Ignacio es claramente un talento a seguir en el futuro. Si, como padres, tienen información similar de los maravillosos logros de sus hijos, por favor indíquenme para que pueda compartir las buenas noticias. Ignacio - Año 7 Campeón de Tenis G1 Dobles (12 años) y segundo lugar en individuales (12 años) - Guayaquil Que tengan una semana maravillosa a todos. Lee Moors Director de Secundaria Comunicación científica de Año 13 Los estudiantes de Año 13 han producido algunos artículos, videos y podcasts fantásticos como parte de su curso de comunicación científica de seis semanas. Al departamento de ciencias le encantaría compartir una selección de sus ideas inteligentes y creativas. Alisson produjo una historia fotográfica evocadora sobre la producción de queso en Loja. Esta es solo una de una serie de fotografías que captura maravillosamente las complejidades del proceso de elaboración del queso. Gala creó un video muy entretenido e informativo sobre el pinzón cebra en Quito. La forma en que editó y presentó la pieza es un buen augurio para una futura carrera como presentadora. Gala también escribió un artículo perspicaz sobre los efectos dañinos de especies invasoras como los eucaliptos que están colonizando el Parque Metropolitano e Ilaló. Impresionante, Gala basó su artículo en tres entrevistas con expertos. Gala entrevistó a Liliana Jaramillo, quien trabaja para un proyecto llamado Nativus, una organización que se esfuerza por aumentar la población de especies de plantas nativas en entornos urbanos. El artículo de Gala terminó con una nota positiva, destacando varias soluciones para combatir la invasión de plantas. Tomás basó su cautivador artículo en un oncólogo ecuatoriano llamado Edwin Cevallos. Cevallos viajó a la selva amazónica y trabajó con la comunidad Shuar para explorar las propiedades de "curar todo" de la planta Solanum dulcamara, también llamada solanácea agridulce o solanácea leñosa. Después de probar los extractos de plantas en sí mismo, Cevallos desarrolló un medicamento llamado Modulador de Respuesta Inmunológica Biológica (BIRM). Este artículo nos dejó con la pregunta contundente: ¿por qué no hemos escuchado más sobre BIRM? Nico y Byron crearon un episodio de podcast profesional y bien informado sobre Neuralink de Elon Musk y un mono jugando al videojuego Pong solo con su mente. Neuralink es el nombre que se le da a varias interfaces cerebro-máquina que tienen como objetivo conectar humanos y computadoras. Nico y Byron, cuyo podcast se llamaba desconcertantemente Encebollado Mix, habían investigado claramente la ciencia detrás del proyecto y ahondaron en la ética del tema contencioso. Naomi entrevistó a Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, un astrofísico turco que descubrió el inusual paradigma que desafía la galaxia de Burçin. El artículo termina con la línea: "Este descubrimiento nos dice que todavía tenemos mucho que aprender, y debemos seguir mirando cada vez más profundamente en el espacio y seguir buscando lo desconocido". ¡Qué artículo tan oportuno después de la peculiar luna llena que pasó recientemente por el cielo nocturno! Créditos: © Science Friday Anghy produjo un artículo bellamente diseñado que profundiza en los problemas asociados con el insomnio. Ella miró los datos y descubrió que los recientes cierres han tenido un impacto negativo significativo en el sueño de los ecuatorianos. Mathias y Eva hicieron un entretenido episodio de podcast que exploró el impacto negativo de los encierros. Ambos estudiantes utilizaron la investigación actual para sugerir que los efectos dañinos de los cierres de Covid quizás superaron los buenos. Este episodio de 40 minutos mantuvo mi interés debido al pensamiento independiente, las ideas poco convencionales, las opiniones sinceras y el entretenido trabajo en equipo de los podcasters. Mikaela produjo una tira cómica brillantemente creativa, junto con un artículo de fondo, que explica la gran variedad de colores que se ven en las aves. ¡Esperamos poder presentar estos artículos, historias fotográficas, podcasts y videoclips esta semana! Contribución de Año 10 Puede estar pensando, ¿qué es Yaas? Bueno, Yaas fue una tormenta ciclónica muy severa. Fue un ciclón tropical relativamente fuerte y altamente dañino que tocó tierra en Odisha y trajo impactos significativos a Bengala Occidental. Se formó el 23 de mayo. El ciclón causó daños considerables. Por ejemplo, algunas líneas eléctricas se cayeron y no hubo electricidad durante 2 días, las carreteras se llenaron de agua y árboles rotos, las tiendas fueron destruidas, algunos techos mal construidos volaron y toda el agua provocó que algunos animales entraran a las casas de las personas. abrigo. Experimentamos un ciclón similar en 2020, por lo que todos tuvieron algo de tiempo para prepararse y tuvieron una idea general de lo que traería. En preparación para la tormenta, muchas compañías eléctricas en Bengala Occidental y Odisha prepararon generadores y transformadores adicionales. El Ministerio de Salud también se preparó para garantizar que no hubiera interrupciones en el suministro de vacunas y el tratamiento de COVID-19. También se ordenaron evacuaciones en zonas bajas. En Bangladesh, se ordenó la evacuación de más de dos millones de personas en las zonas costeras. Cuando comenzó el ciclón, generó una velocidad del viento de alrededor de 140 km / h en el momento de tocar tierra. Los daños totales en Bengala Occidental, el estado más afectado por el ciclón, se estimaron en alrededor de 20 mil millones de rupias (276 mil millones de dólares). No obstante, estaba muy agradecido de que los miembros de mi familia estuvieran todos sanos y salvos y también fue un buen estudio de caso para la geografía. Koushiki, estudiante de Año 10 ¡Trabajador del año! La semana pasada, nuestros estudiantes de Año 11 comenzaron a pensar en el futuro y sus carreras potenciales participando en la competencia del trabajador del año! Los estudiantes escribieron CV, tuvieron entrevistas y, cuando tuvieron éxito, ¡comenzaron en el trabajo que eligieron! Los estudiantes eligieron una amplia variedad de trabajos, como se puede ver a continuación: Todos los estudiantes asumieron una serie de tareas vinculadas a sus campos elegidos. Aquí hay unos ejemplos:
Durante la semana, los estudiantes participaron en debates sobre cuestiones relacionadas con el mundo laboral. Nos quedamos impresionados por sus respuestas reflexivas y bien investigadas. Aquí hay unos ejemplos: Estudios recientes demuestran que la desigualdad ocupacional es de hecho un problema que enfrentamos hoy en día, por ejemplo, el hecho de que solo el 5% de los directores ejecutivos son mujeres, sin embargo, muchas empresas optan por no preocuparse por ello a menos que se les llame directamente por ello. La afirmación 'la desigualdad ocupacional no es un problema que deba preocupar a las empresas' no es algo con lo que esté de acuerdo, sin embargo, es algo que las empresas han demostrado en gran medida. Las empresas de la industria de la moda se benefician de la desigualdad ocupacional, ya que venden constantemente características de belleza eurocéntricas para ajustarse al estándar de belleza, debido a que las características de belleza eurocéntricas se encuentran principalmente en personas blancas, lo que facilita la desigualdad ocupacional para las empresas y se benefician de esto, ya que vende más. Cuando se trata de modelos en la industria de la moda, la mayoría de los modelos elegidos para las marcas de alta gama son músicos o actores, ya que tienen una gran base de fans, pero aparte de eso, rara vez eligen a una persona de color para representarlos. Para mí, eso demuestra que las empresas solo desafían la desigualdad ocupacional en su beneficio (ya que los embajadores les dan más impresiones) pero nunca la desafían para beneficiar a las personas que enfrentan discriminación. Para ellos, la desigualdad ocupacional puede usarse como un arma para que parezcan mejores entre sus competidores por ser más 'aceptables', razón por la cual muchas empresas actualizan sus íconos a una bandera del arco iris en el mes del orgullo, pero aparte de eso, no toman ninguna iniciativa contra la homofobia. La desigualdad ocupacional es algo que a las empresas solo parece importarles cuando se puede usar contra sus competidores para hacerse más atractivas para el público. - Samantha B. Los padres definitivamente deben tener la licencia parental ya que también son parte del desarrollo del niño y la recuperación de la madre (si ese es el caso), son de gran ayuda tanto para el niño como para su pareja y son parte de la preparación para las próximas etapas de la vida. su hijo. Esto se aplica a cualquier género e identidad sexual y al rol que tiene la persona. Por supuesto que hay diferentes cosas a considerar correspondientes a cada bebé y la situación en la que se encuentra cada persona, por lo que el tiempo de su baja depende de estas cosas y por supuesto de dónde trabaja. - Gala F. Aquí hay una selección de algunos de los trabajos de los estudiantes. Simplemente quedamos impresionados por la creatividad, el nivel profesional y la profundidad de las tareas de los estudiantes. Fue realmente inspirador ver el talento que tenemos en esta cohorte y el éxito que sin duda serán todos. Videojuego - Gael
KS3: Español en Año 9 A los alumnos de año 9 se les dio la tarea de ayudarlos a ver los sentimientos ocultos detrás de las palabras de algunos poetas asombrosos. En grupos, analizaron poemas y luego crearon videos que contenían su poema e imágenes o representaciones que transmitían el sentimiento central. Esta última semana contamos con el trabajo de Juan Pablo, Manuela, Mateo, María Victoria y Sofía. Sra. Tufiño, profesora de Español
Welcome This week we welcome the month of June – the last month of the school year for our students. Tuesday June 1 is Children's Day here in Ecuador and traditionally we have worked with our partners at Sinsoluka to support them to provide games, learning and other supplies for the children they care for. Our CAS students continue to work to support Sinsoluka and the community at Triada. More details on this as we move through the month of June This year we also have another project underway and it is connected to our own students and their understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations at different times in their lives. This June the Yellow campaign #I’llStandByYou is designed to support parents to be part of the conversations at home too and support materials have been prepared by our SSD team to enable that. These are not always easy conversations but it is important that staff and parents work in partnership to educate and protect the young people in our care. If you would like to talk about the June Yellow campaign further, then a parent workshop will take place later this month to explore ways to help at home. With part 2 this week we are delighted to welcome our guest writer, Sylvia Harcourt. Sustainable goals. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD. 2021 Congratulations on what you all did in BSQ for Earth Day – and extended it to be Earth Week – a real commitment. World Environment Day takes place on June 5th and World Oceans Day on June 8th. Also in June we have World Day to Combat Desertification on the 17th, and more relevant for Ecuador, the 22nd is World Rainforest Day and the 29th the International Day of the Tropics. Maybe you could make the whole of June become Earth Month? Maybe every day you could make some small change in what you do, to help the planet? Maybe even ask BSQ to declare June as Earth Month? I would like to concentrate on this idea now and go back to my second article about food next week. There is however a link. The biggest change you can make, as an individual, is make changes in what you eat, as the expansion of agriculture has been one of humanity’s largest impacts on the environment. Not only has agriculture caused land use increase, destruction of forests, increase in livestock, but it has caused tremendous impacts on the soil. Natural fertility levels dropped and now huge quantities of chemical fertilizers have to be applied, along with herbicides and pesticides. These all filter through the soil and into the water – streams, rivers and into the ocean. We need to think of the Planet every day – not just one particular day. Maybe we could all make a list of at least 30 things we could do, at least one for each day of the month – but not just the normal “recycle” – maybe more basic such as don’t buy drinks in plastic bottles, take cloth bags when you go to do the shopping, only take a 5 minute shower, have 15 minutes every evening with no lights on, or one hour with no smart phone use. Try Meatless Monday and Viernes Vegetariano, buy organic products whenever possible…there are a lot of actions. I really liked the request by one of the BSQ students to grow vegetables to feel part of nature, and then donate them – a double result – lovely! As Greta Thunberg said during one of her “Friday for the Future” speeches – NO ONE IS TOO SMALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. So, let’s get Active (not anxious), Bold, Creative – AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Thanks, Sylvia Let´s talk about emotions Happiness is one of the many emotions we, as humans, are fortunate to experience. This emotion is so pleasant that it is logical we constantly seek it. But, although focusing on the positive is very productive, it is important to listen to what other emotions may be trying to tell us. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Following on from our extremely successful Careers Week activities, organised by Ms Dean and Ms Camacho, last week I was lucky enough to listen in on two special visitors to Year 1, both focusing on a form of transport they are involved with. First, Mr Daniel Cook from the UK explained how he was first introduced to kart racing when he was young, being taught to drive by his mother, who was a driving instructor, and subsequently working alongside different racing drivers and becoming involved in the engineering side of racing cars. Our Year 1 students asked some extremely insightful questions and were fully engaged throughout the presentation, learning a variety of scientific and engineering concepts. Our second special visitor was equally as engaging and knowledgeable – our very own Bruce Duthan from 1B. Bruce shared his passion for karting and explained several of the safety features of go-karts and we all agreed that both visitors had motivated us to explore our passions further. Please do note the following events in your diaries and look out for further details regarding these via email and on Canvas:
Marcus Madden Head of Primary Y2 Newsletter The Mackintosh Rose Year 2 have been studying different artists as part of their Topic learning. The children have explored a lot of styles of art, from Abstract and Impressionism to Pop and Contemporary art - it has been so much fun! Last week, the students studied the Scottish artist and architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who is famous for his ornate yet simple MacKintosh Rose. The children created their own roses inspired by the style of Mr MacKintosh and have produced the most wonderful pieces of art. We have so many talented artists in Year 2! Exploring our fingerprints In Science, this week, Year 2 students focused on exploring their fingerprints; how they look and why they are unique. Students tried an experiment and took fingerprints of their family members for their experiment comparisons. Year 2 Team Student Council Newsletter In the student council, we have been reflecting on the past year that we have been online and thinking about some of our successes and what we have managed to overcome from the difficulties. Each student councilor spoke to their class and wrote a short paragraph to summarise their experiences and what they are looking forward to in the future. We hope you enjoy reading it! Year 1. This year we have learned about the solar system, planets and rockets and also about Earth and volcanoes. In Maths we have been counting into 2s, 5s and 10s. We enjoyed cooking and doing science experiments like recreating a rocket take off. Also, although it has been a bit difficult at times, we really like spending time with our parents and waking up late! We also like to learn about how to use the computer and share our ideas in the public chat. We miss a lot of places in school like the canteen and the pool, but mostly the playground. But the things we miss the most are our friends and teachers. Year 2 This year, we enjoyed learning about informal letters. We also learned about how to be resilient and be kind to everyone. The best thing about online learning is seeing our friends through a camera and talking to them. Another thing we really liked was spending more time with our parents. We have really missed our classrooms, the playground and the pool! We also missed our friends and teachers. Overall, we miss our adventures at school! Year 3 This year in 3A we have been learning about Ancient Egypt when we made Canopic jars and mummified tomatoes. Also in Science we learned about magnets and how to make plants grow well. The best things about online learning have been spending more time with our family pets, and getting to use different apps. We have missed playing with our friends at break time and being able to go on school trips. We can’t wait to all be back together! This year has been very difficult for everyone in 3B because many of us have stopped seeing our friends and relatives. 3B has been studying about ancient Egypt and mummifying a tomato. We also like reading and doing maths. Sadly, the pandemic has taken away a lot of things that we like about our dear school BSQ. Some things we miss are: playing with our friends in the playground, hugging them, laughing, doing sports outside and swimming in the pool. We are really thankful for our teachers. Year 4 This year in year 4 we have been learning about many things including: fractions, Japan, ancient Greece and civil rights. Other cool things we have done are having visitors and creating our own masks during theme week. We have missed being with friends, having trips, meeting our teachers in person, the playground and coming in on the bus. The best things about online learning is using programs like: Flipgrid, Closegap and Scratch. We are really looking forward to next year when we are back together again as a school! Year 5 During our year of online learning, Year 5 have been studying lots of different things like Oswaldo Guayasamin, the Incas, Apartheid, lots of different topics in Maths and poetry. In art we have learnt lots of techniques and we have managed to do some experiments in science! Even though it has been difficult studying online, we have really enjoyed being able to sleep a bit more! Also we feel like our typing and general computer skills have improved, and some of the classes have been really fun. However, we’ve missed seeing our friends and all the teachers, doing group work in person, playing games like football and playdates after school! It’s difficult not being able to see each other but we are looking forward to next year! Year 6 This year we have been learning about lots of new things, for example in Maths we have been learning about decimals, fractions and also coordinates. In literacy we have been learning about how to make a letter. In Art about pointillism (art made with lots of points) and in science we have learnt about circuits and classification, we also have learned about the history of Ecuador in sociales and also Yoga in P.E. One of the best things about online learning is that we can spend more time with our families and pets, as well as learning to control the computer better than before, and watching movies with our friends online and having our pajamas on all day! However, one of the things that we miss about school is seeing our friends and teachers, playing football with friends in school and also being in class without our internet being cut off. We hope to return soon! EYFS Update Dear parents, June 1st is Children’s Day, it is an annual celebration in honor of the children across the world. This date offers us the opportunity to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s lives and their rights. In the British School Quito, we have decided to not only honor this day, but also to celebrate their lives throughout the full month of June. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we will begin this special month with a whole department celebration on June 1st, at 10:30AM via Canvas. We look forward to sharing this day with all of the Early Years students together in one session on such a meaningful day. Antonella Coronel, Head of Early Years Being BSQ – Secondary Update Surfing the wave in style! The time is passing extremely quickly and again we have enjoyed a wonderful week in the Secondary School. It seems like we have joined a wave as it starts to build, and we are now surfing comfortably in the tube as we head through the next couple of weeks. I am looking forward to the point where it breaks, and we ride out in style. Our wave this week has included the year 11 work experience activities so excellently led and considered by Ms Sadotra and Miss Carrera. Students have learnt about interviews, CVs, applications, and many other elements that make up the world of work. I had the pleasure of interviewing Antonella for her Veterinary role and was amazed by her confidence, and her ability to articulate her thoughts. Her friendly manner and enthusiasm convinced me as a potential employer. It again reinforces my belief that we really do prepare our young adults so that they stand out from the crowd. At the end of the week, it all came together with presentations from the groups about their individual experiences of the activities and lessons learnt, and the opportunity to present their research task. The results were outstanding! Once again an abundance in confidence, detail and dedication by all. We are now looking ahead to the Extended Essay and their focus on this in their subjects over the next 2 weeks. Mrs Newman starts this off on Monday and then the higher-level research, analysis and writing begins. Year 13 are nearing the end now and their attention on Friday will turn to the leavers assembly where we will all be there to see the anecdotes and various messages from the teachers. I am sure that there will be the odd tear, but this is to be expected. Year 9 this week had their introduction to IGCSE sessions and when I surveyed them to consider the usefulness and whether what they experienced raised their interest in what was to come, the success was resounding with a 95% positive. Well done to the teachers for preparing and delivering such engaging sessions. We are now looking at the year 6 to 7 transition activities and the IB taster sessions for year 11 which start in a couple of weeks’ time, so again we are looking ahead and preparing for the year to come. On Friday we enjoyed a house activity led by Mr Edwards and the student council which had a STEM focus and specifically celebrating women in STEM fields. Students attended workshops of their choice on Artificial Intelligence Robotics’, Engineering, and Constellation’s. Challenges were set in these fields and the entries will be judged early next week. Great work again from our amazing student council and no doubt over the weekend students will be negotiating the hurdles set! I am personally looking forward to finally meeting our hard working and very dedicated parent reps in the Secondary school. I was lucky enough to meet some as part of my interview week last year back in January. It really is very strange that we have not had the chance to reflect and come up with strategy from the parent perspective, or to be able to merely socialise and get to know you all. This meeting is taking place on the afternoon of Monday 7th. Mrs Newman has sent the invites and I look forward to you questions and to meeting you all so that you can feed back to the wider community. Have a wonderful week everyone. Lee Moors Head of Secondary Spanish lessons The students of year 13A and B are living challenging times because they are near the culmination of their General Unified Baccalaureate to obtain their baccalaureate degree from the Republic of Ecuador, for this reason, the students are working on their Degree Project that will replace to the Ser Bachiller exam. This project aims to analyse a case study. The Case Study is a research strategy that encourages critical thinking about situations, problem solving, discussion and reflection on the case that each student will choose according to their interests. We wish you the best of success in this important endeavour on your way to obtaining your bachelor's degree. On the other hand, the year 7 students are working with the lyrical genre in the unit entitled Poemas con cariño. They are learning everything related to the elements of a poem such as verse and stanza, as well as related to consonant and assonance rhyme. For this reason, they are creating their own poems. I share some examples of these works. Mrs. Patricia Tufiño, Spanish Teacher Year 9 Chemistry Taster Session This week year 9 got a taste of what IGCSE Chemistry is like, they impressed Miss Todd with their knowledge of the atom and its component parts - here we use the multiuser whiteboard to allow students to share their answers in order to assess understanding and check their answers! Ms Todd, Chemistry Teacher Year 9 Spanish The students in year 9 were given the task to help them to see the hidden feelings behind the words of some amazing poets. In groups they analysed poems and then created videos containing their poem and images or representations that conveyed the central sentiment. Over the coming weeks I will be sharing the work of each group. This week it is the work of Mikaela, Anastasiia, Rafaella and Angela Mrs Tufino, Spanish Teacher Year 9 Geography Taster Session Year 9 were given an introduction into IGCSE geography last week. At the start of the session they picked a random number and were then given one of the below categories and had to find an item around their house that linked to it, then explain it. Here is the work they produced! Ms Sawyers, Geography Teacher KS4: Introduction to the theory of knowledge Last week the year 11 students spent a week learning about the theory of knowledge. This is an important part of the IB curriculum and this important week was excellent preparation for them. The students looked at knowledge from the perspective of a number of different subject areas and came up with some excellent work. Well done year 11! Mrs Madden, ToK Teacher KS5: Year 13 Futures Curriculum Students in Year 13 have been receiving lessons prepared by the Student Support Department as part of their Futures Curriculum. Teaching Life Skills education to the students can be helpful as it specifically addresses the needs of students this age, helps in motivating, providing practical, cognitive, emotional, social and self-management skills for life adjustments. We have also designed sessions that are mostly dialogue based in order to provide as many spaces as possible for the exchange of ideas and for students to ask as many questions as they need. Some of the topics we have covered so far include Healthy Relationships, a Refresher on Consent, Homesickness, a Forum session with guest speakers and Sexual and Reproductive Rights. It is wonderful to see the students become active participants in their learning. Great work Year 13! Ms Leon, Student Support Department
BienvenidosEsta semana damos la bienvenida al mes de junio, el último mes del año escolar para nuestros estudiantes. El martes 1 de junio es el Día del Niño aquí en Ecuador y tradicionalmente hemos trabajado con nuestros socios en Sinsoluka para ayudarlos a proporcionar juegos, aprendizaje y otros suministros para los niños que cuidan. Nuestros estudiantes de CAS continúan trabajando para apoyar a Sinsoluka y la comunidad de Triada. Más detalles sobre esto a medida que avanzamos en el mes de junio. Este año también tenemos otro proyecto en marcha y está relacionado con nuestros propios estudiantes y su comprensión de cómo mantenerse seguros en una variedad de situaciones en diferentes momentos de sus vidas. Este mes de junio, la campaña amarilla #I'llStandByYou está diseñada para ayudar a los padres a ser parte de las conversaciones en casa también y nuestro equipo de SSD ha preparado materiales de apoyo para permitirlo. No siempre son conversaciones fáciles, pero es importante que el personal y los padres trabajen en conjunto para educar y proteger a los jóvenes bajo nuestro cuidado. Si desea hablar más sobre la campaña June Yellow, a finales de este mes se llevará a cabo un taller para padres para explorar formas de ayudar en casa. Con la parte 2 de esta semana, estamos encantados de dar la bienvenida a nuestra escritora invitada, Sylvia Harcourt. Objetivos sostenibles. 2. CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO, BIODIVERSIDAD Y ALIMENTACIÓN. 2021 Felicitaciones por lo que todos ustedes hicieron en BSQ para el Día de la Tierra, y lo extendieron para que fuera la Semana de la Tierra, un compromiso real. El Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente tiene lugar el 5 de junio y el Día Mundial de los Océanos el 8 de junio. También en junio tenemos el Día Mundial de Lucha contra la Desertificación el 17, y más relevante para Ecuador, el 22 es el Día Mundial de las Bosques Tropicales y el 29 el Día Internacional de los Trópicos. ¿Quizás podrían convertir todo junio en el Mes de la Tierra? ¿Quizás todos los días podrían hacer algún pequeño cambio en lo que hacen para ayudar al planeta? ¿Quizás incluso pedirle a BSQ que declare junio como el Mes de la Tierra? Me gustaría concentrarme en esta idea ahora y volver a mi segundo artículo sobre comida la semana que viene. Sin embargo, existe un vínculo. El mayor cambio que pueden hacer, como individuos, es hacer cambios en lo que comen, ya que la expansión de la agricultura ha sido uno de los mayores impactos de la humanidad en el medio ambiente. La agricultura no solo ha provocado un aumento del uso de la tierra, la destrucción de los bosques y el aumento de la ganadería, sino que ha provocado enormes impactos en el suelo. Los niveles de fertilidad natural bajaron y ahora deben aplicarse grandes cantidades de fertilizantes químicos, junto con herbicidas y pesticidas. Todos estos se filtran a través del suelo y hacia el agua: arroyos, ríos y el océano. Necesitamos pensar en el Planeta todos los días, no solo un día en particular. Tal vez todos podríamos hacer una lista de al menos 30 cosas que podríamos hacer, al menos una para cada día del mes, pero no solo el "reciclaje" normal, tal vez más básico, como no comprar bebidas en botellas de plástico, tomar bolsas de tela cuando vayamos a hacer las compras, solo tomar una ducha de 5 minutos, tener 15 minutos cada noche sin luces encendidas, o una hora sin usar el teléfono inteligente. Prueben “Meatless Monday”, lunes sin carne, y Viernes Vegetariano, compren productos orgánicos siempre que puedan… hay muchas acciones. Me gustó mucho la solicitud de uno de los estudiantes de BSQ de cultivar vegetales para sentirme parte de la naturaleza y luego donarlos, un resultado doble, ¡encantador! Como dijo Greta Thunberg durante uno de sus discursos de “Viernes por el futuro”, NADIE ES DEMASIADO PEQUEÑO PARA HACER LA DIFERENCIA. Entonces, pongámonos activos (no ansiosos), audaces, creativos, Y HAGAMOS LA DIFERENCIA. Gracias, Sylvia Comité de Igualdad y Diversidad El 21 de mayo fue el Día Mundial de la Diversidad Cultural para el Diálogo y el Desarrollo. Este día fue declarado por primera vez en 2002 por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, que reconoce la necesidad y la relevancia de "mejorar el potencial de la cultura como un medio para lograr la prosperidad, el desarrollo sostenible y la coexistencia pacífica mundial". Este día está destinado a celebrar no solo la riqueza de las culturas del mundo, sino también el papel esencial del diálogo intercultural para lograr la paz y el desarrollo sostenible, incluidos los cuatro objetivos de la UNESCO con respecto a la diversidad de las expresiones culturales (2005):
La pandemia COVID-19 ha revelado la volatilidad del sector cultural, afectando el derecho fundamental de acceso a la cultura, los derechos sociales de los artistas y profesionales creativos, y la protección de una diversidad de expresiones culturales. Por eso, la mejor manera de alcanzar los 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible es aprovechando el potencial creativo de las diversas culturas del mundo y entablando un diálogo continuo para garantizar que todos los miembros de la sociedad se beneficien del desarrollo sostenible. Este día también fue una oportunidad para reflexionar sobre los diferentes medios como industrias creativas, expresión cultural, que pueden ser tangibles o intangibles y cómo se vinculan para contribuir al diálogo y la comunicación. Es de gran importancia celebrar esto, ya que permite el entendimiento mutuo y el desarrollo sostenible de los vectores sociales, ambientales y económicos. Esta fecha debe estar marcada en el calendario de todos para expandir los valores de la diversidad cultural, el diálogo y el desarrollo en todo el mundo y usarla como una forma de inclusión para un cambio positivo. "Durante más de un año, la crisis del COVID-19 ha precipitado una crisis de diversidad cultural. El cierre de museos y sitios del patrimonio mundial y la cancelación de festivales, conciertos y ceremonias han sumido al mundo de la cultura en un angustioso estado de incertidumbre, amenazante en particular los creadores independientes, que son el alma de la diversidad cultural ". - Audrey Azoulay, Directora General de la UNESCO, con motivo del Día Mundial de la Diversidad Cultural para el Diálogo y el Desarrollo Barbara-Comité de Igualdad y Diversidad ¿Tienes alguna pregunta? Ponte en contacto con nosotros en: [email protected] Hablemos de emociones La felicidad es una de las tantas emociones que los humanos tenemos la suerte de experimentar. Esta emoción es tan placentera que es lógico que la busquemos constantemente. Pero, aunque enfocarse en lo positivo es muy productivo, es importante escuchar lo que otras emociones nos pueden estar tratando de decir. Fechas importantes para sus calendarios
Emma Newman Directora BSQ – Primaria Después de nuestras actividades de la Semana de Carreras, que fueron muy exitosas, organizadas por la Srta. Dean y la Srta. Camacho, la semana pasada tuve la suerte de escuchar a dos visitantes especiales del Año 1, ambos enfocados en una forma de transporte en la que están involucrados. En primer lugar, el Sr. Daniel Cook, del Reino Unido, explicó cómo se inició en las carreras de karts cuando era joven, cómo su madre, que era instructora de conducción, le enseñó a conducir y, posteriormente, trabajó junto a diferentes pilotos de carreras y se involucró en el lado de la ingeniería de coches de carreras. Nuestros estudiantes de Año 1 hicieron algunas preguntas muy interesantes y participaron plenamente durante la presentación, aprendiendo una variedad de conceptos científicos y de ingeniería. Nuestro segundo visitante especial fue igualmente atractivo y conocedor: nuestro propio Bruce de 1B. Bruce compartió su pasión por el karting y explicó varias de las características de seguridad de los karts y todos estuvimos de acuerdo en que ambos visitantes nos habían motivado a explorar más nuestras pasiones. Tenga en cuenta los siguientes eventos en sus diarios y busque más detalles al respecto por correo electrónico y en Canvas:
Marcus Madden Director de Primaria Boletín de Año 2 La rosa de Mackintosh Año 2 ha estado estudiando a diferentes artistas como parte de su aprendizaje de Temas. Los niños han explorado muchos estilos de arte, desde el abstracto y el impresionismo hasta el arte pop y contemporáneo, ¡ha sido muy divertido! La semana pasada, estudiaron al artista y arquitecto escocés Charles Rennie Mackintosh, famoso por su ornamentada pero simple MacKintosh Rose. Los niños crearon sus propias rosas inspiradas en el estilo del Sr. MacKintosh y han producido las obras de arte más maravillosas. ¡Tenemos tantos artistas talentosos en Año 2! Explorando nuestras huellas En Ciencias, esta semana, los estudiantes de Año 2 se enfocaron en explorar sus huellas digitales; cómo se ven y por qué son únicos. Los estudiantes probaron un experimento y tomaron huellas dactilares de los miembros de su familia para las comparaciones de sus experimentos. Equipo de Año 2 Actualización de EYFS Estimados padres, El 1 de junio es el Día del Niño, es una celebración anual en honor a los niños de todo el mundo. Esta fecha nos ofrece la oportunidad de defender, promover y celebrar la vida de los niños y sus derechos. En el British School Quito, hemos decidido no solo honrar este día, sino también celebrar sus vidas durante todo el mes de junio. En EYFS, comenzaremos este mes especial con una celebración de todo el departamento el 1 de junio, a las 10:30 a.m. a través de Canvas. Esperamos poder compartir este día con todos los estudiantes de Early Years juntos en una sesión en un día tan significativo. Antonella Coronel, Líder de EYFS BSQ – Secundaria ¡Surfeando la ola con estilo! El tiempo pasa extremadamente rápido y nuevamente hemos disfrutado de una maravillosa semana en la Escuela Secundaria. Parece que nos hemos unido a una ola cuando comienza a construirse, y ahora estamos surfeando cómodamente en el tubo mientras avanzamos en las próximas semanas. Estoy deseando que llegue el punto en el que se rompa y salgamos con estilo. Nuestra ola de esta semana ha incluido las actividades de experiencia laboral del año 11, tan excelentemente dirigidas y consideradas por la Srta. Sadotra y la Srta. Carrera. Los estudiantes han aprendido sobre entrevistas, CV, aplicaciones y muchos otros elementos que componen el mundo laboral. Tuve el placer de entrevistar a Antonella para su puesto de veterinaria y me sorprendió su confianza y su capacidad para articular sus pensamientos. Su manera amistosa y su entusiasmo me convencieron como posible empleador. Nuevamente refuerza mi creencia de que realmente preparamos a nuestros jóvenes adultos para que se destaquen entre la multitud. Al final de la semana, todo coincidió con presentaciones de los grupos sobre sus experiencias individuales de las actividades y lecciones aprendidas, y la oportunidad de presentar su tarea de investigación. ¡Los resultados fueron excepcionales! Una vez más abundancia de confianza, detalle y dedicación por parte de todos. Ahora estamos mirando hacia el Ensayo Extendido y su enfoque en esto en sus temas durante las próximas 2 semanas. La Sra. Newman comienza con esto el lunes y luego comienza la investigación, el análisis y la redacción de alto nivel. Año 13 está llegando a su fin ahora y su atención el viernes se dirigirá a la asamblea de egresados donde todos estaremos allí para ver las anécdotas y varios mensajes de los maestros. Estoy seguro de que habrá alguna lágrima, pero es de esperar. Esta semana, Año 9 tuvo su introducción a las sesiones de IGCSE y cuando los encuesté para considerar la utilidad y si lo que experimentaron aumentó su interés en lo que estaba por venir, el éxito fue rotundo con un 95% positivo. Enhorabuena a los profesores por preparar e impartir sesiones tan interesantes. Ahora estamos viendo las actividades de transición de los años 6 a 7 y las sesiones de prueba del IB para el año 11 que comienzan en un par de semanas, así que nuevamente estamos mirando hacia el futuro y preparándonos para el año que viene. El viernes disfrutamos de una actividad en la casa dirigida por el Sr. Edwards y el consejo estudiantil que tenía un enfoque STEM y específicamente celebrando a las mujeres en los campos STEM. Los estudiantes asistieron a talleres de su elección sobre inteligencia artificial, robótica, ingeniería y constelaciones. Se establecieron desafíos en estos campos y las entradas se evaluarán a principios de la próxima semana. ¡Gran trabajo nuevamente de nuestro increíble consejo estudiantil y sin duda durante el fin de semana los estudiantes estarán negociando los obstáculos establecidos! Personalmente, estoy ansioso por conocer finalmente a nuestros representantes de padres que trabajan arduamente y son muy dedicados en la escuela secundaria. Tuve la suerte de conocer a algunos como parte de mi semana de entrevistas el año pasado en enero. Realmente es muy extraño que no hayamos tenido la oportunidad de reflexionar y desarrollar una estrategia desde la perspectiva de los padres, o de poder simplemente socializar y conocerlos a todos. Esta reunión se llevará a cabo en la tarde del lunes 7. La Sra. Newman ha enviado las invitaciones y espero con interés sus preguntas y conocerlos a todos para que puedan retroalimentar a la comunidad en general. Que tengan una semana maravillosa a todos. Lee Moors Director de Secundaria Español Los alumnos de año 13 A y B están viviendo momentos desafiantes porque están cerca de la culminación de su Bachillerato General Unificado para obtener su título de bachilleres de la República del Ecuador, por esta razón, los estudiantes están trabajando en su Proyecto de Grado que reemplazará al examen Ser Bachiller. Este proyecto tiene como objetivo analizar un estudio de caso. El Estudio de Caso es una estrategia de investigación que fomenta el pensamiento crítico sobre situaciones, la resolución de problemas, la discusión y la reflexión del caso que cada estudiante elegirá de acuerdo a su interés. Les deseamos el mejor de los éxitos en esta tarea importante en su camino a la obtención de su bachillerato. Por otro lado, los alumnos de año 7 están trabajando con el género lírico en la unidad titulada Poemas con cariño. Están aprendiendo todo lo relacionado a los elementos de un poema como verso y estrofa, así como lo relacionado a la rima consonante y asonante. Por esta razón están creando sus propios poemas. Les comparto unos ejemplos de estos trabajos. Sra. Patricia Tufiño, profesora de español Sesión de Prueba de Química en Año 9 Esta semana, el año 9 probó cómo es la química de IGCSE, impresionaron a la señorita Todd con su conocimiento del átomo y sus componentes; aquí usamos la pizarra multiusuario para permitir que los estudiantes compartan sus respuestas con el fin de evaluar la comprensión y verificar su respuestas! Srta. Todd, profesora de química Año 9 Español A los alumnos de Año 9 se les dio la tarea de ayudarlos a ver los sentimientos ocultos detrás de las palabras de algunos poetas asombrosos. En grupos, analizaron poemas y luego crearon videos que contenían su poema e imágenes o representaciones que transmitían el sentimiento central. Durante las próximas semanas estaré compartiendo el trabajo de cada grupo. Esta semana es obra de Mikaela, Anastasiia, Rafaella y Angela Sra. Tufino, profesora de español Sesión de prueba de geografía de Año 9 Año 9 recibió una introducción a la geografía IGCSE la semana pasada. Al comienzo de la sesión, eligieron un número aleatorio y luego se les dio una de las categorías siguientes y tuvieron que encontrar un elemento en su casa que estuviera vinculado a él y luego explicarlo. ¡Aquí está el trabajo que produjeron! Srta. Sawyers, profesora de geografía KS4: Introducción a la teoría del conocimiento La semana pasada, los alumnos de Año 11 pasaron una semana aprendiendo sobre la teoría del conocimiento. Esta es una parte importante del plan de estudios del IB y esta importante semana fue una excelente preparación para ellos. Los estudiantes analizaron el conocimiento desde la perspectiva de varias áreas temáticas diferentes y obtuvieron un excelente trabajo. ¡Bien hecho Año 11! Sra. Madden, profesora de ToK KS5: Plan de estudios de futuros del año 13 Los estudiantes de Year 13 han estado recibiendo lecciones preparadas por el Departamento de Apoyo al Estudiante como parte de su Plan de Estudios Futuros. Enseñar a los estudiantes la educación en habilidades para la vida puede ser útil, ya que aborda específicamente las necesidades de los estudiantes de esta edad, ayuda a motivarlos, brinda habilidades prácticas, cognitivas, emocionales, sociales y de autogestión para adaptarse a la vida. También hemos diseñado sesiones que en su mayoría se basan en el diálogo con el fin de proporcionar el mayor número posible de espacios para el intercambio de ideas y para que los estudiantes hagan tantas preguntas como necesiten. Algunos de los temas que hemos cubierto hasta ahora incluyen Relaciones saludables, un repaso sobre el consentimiento, nostalgia, una sesión del foro con oradores invitados y derechos sexuales y reproductivos. Es maravilloso ver a los estudiantes convertirse en participantes activos en su aprendizaje. ¡Buen trabajo Year 13! Srta. León, Departamente de Soorte Estudiantil
WelcomeI hope you all enjoyed the long weekend and are looking forward to this last push towards the summer holidays. With 5 weeks of learning time left in this academic year, the BSQ community is busy preparing for celebrations of achievement, attainment, commitment and determination throughout this long and challenging year. The staff are reflecting on the awarding of certificates to students who have worked hard, made significant contributions to the class, supported others, smiled, been brave and made progress (amongst many other categories). Despite the long time we have been at home, our students have found ways to continue to develop and grow – and even suggest ways to improve our school environment when we get back. I was delighted to receive a collection of letters from Y4B last week where they were sharing their persuasive proposals for more play equipment at BSQ. Here are some extracts that particularly impressed me although all the letters were well-written and clearly planned for maximum effect! Well done 4B. A request for a vegetable patch: Firstly, a good reason to have a vegetable patch is to help the students learn to take care of plants. These vegetables could be used for charity and we would be able to help many people as well. Surely, with this we will have more nature around us. Wouldn’t it be a great idea to help people in need? (From Melissa) A request for a slide: Please put the slide in because it helps the children to exercise and a natural way of climbing to the top of the ladder also helps with their leg strength and coordination. Sliding helps develop the vestibular system therefore their sense of balance and unstructured play allows children to develop their vestibular system. (From Ojas) About why we should buy swings: Are you thinking about why you should buy swings? This is why. First, only on a physical level, swings are extremely positive tools that promote muscle development, flexibility and coordination. They help develop balance, gross and fine motor skills (modulating grip strength and hand, arm and foot coordination) and strengthen the heart! (From Ximena) Sustainable goals. As you will all know, here at BSQ we are committed to educating our community about sustainability and changing behaviours as a result. We have strong student groups working on this, committed staff and parents who get involved when we hold events. We are also lucky to have wider community members to offer support, advice and guidance. Today we welcome Sylvia Harcourt to our newsletter. SYLVIA HARCOURT I have a B.Sc from Nottingham University (UK) in Zoology and an M.Sc from Bangor, North Wales in Ecology. As a biologist I have worked in Africa in Rwanda studying Mountain Gorillas, in Kashmir observing Hangul deer and for many years in Ecuador, mainly in Galapagos. I am a Governing Member of the Charles Darwin Foundation and also now do biological and conservation translation work. Travels over the years have taken me to National Parks in Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Peru and Costa Rica – all countries with amazing wildlife and all in need of protection. I have been involved with the BSQ for 26 years as a parent, bi-lingual class assistant, Vice President of the PTA, and President of the Board. For the last 4-5 years I have worked as a Consular Agent with the British Embassy. In 2006 I was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for my conservation and education work in Ecuador. For me education has to be a priority for conservation to succeed. A big question now that we all need to ask ourselves is - can one personally do anything useful about our climate emergency, the loss of plant and animal life (biodiversity) and the high levels of pollution in the world, whether from pesticides, plastic, car fumes or excess light at night – or are these problems that the Government and big business have to solve? I hope my article helps answer that. CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD. 2021 You may wonder what food has got to do with biodiversity and climate change – a lot. Two big international organisations have started campaigns connected with food and COP26, the big climate change conference to be held in Scotland in November. Both groups are targeting animal rights. One group is requesting COP26 provides only vegan – or at least vegetarian – meals at the conference. The other group is doing a massive campaign against McDonalds – the biggest meat consumer chain – because a large part of its supply comes from Brazil, where forests are being cut down to make way for cattle or for growing soya to feed domestic animals – cattle, chickens, pigs. Their push is not just because of land destruction and the threats to biodiversity, but also because of the appalling conditions that animals are kept in. Animals kept in “factory farms” are given daily antibiotics as they are in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, but need to be kept “healthy”, so they grow faster and fatter. 70% of the global production of antibiotics is used on farm animals. McDonalds are being pressured to re-consider their antibiotic policy. 70 billion (roughly!) animals are in factory farms. Keep in mind that most pandemics have been produced by viruses jumping from domestic animals to humans and this is made so much easier by the close proximity of millions of workers to factory farmed animals. At present humans make up 36% of the biomass of mammals. About 60% of mammal biomass consists of cows and pigs and wild animals now make up only 4%. Farmed poultry contributes to 70% of all bird biomass while wild birds only 30%. These figures are terrible. The food industry, which can be divided into production, processing and distribution, produces 26% of all greenhouse gases (GHG) which contribute to climate change. The combined production of livestock, fisheries and grain crops (much of which goes to feed animals) produces 58% of the GHG that is produced by the food industry. That means just the production of our food contributes around 14% of all GHG. Another rather terrible figure is that 70% of all fresh water is used for agriculture and 1/3 of that water is used for animal production. The average water “footprint” per calorie of beef is 20 times larger than to produce cereals or root crops. And as the human population grows, all these figures will grow too. Many people ask “but what can I do, I feel helpless”? So “Let’s get active, not anxious”. If each of us takes action, even if only a small move, it begins to make a difference and companies start to notice – and the planet starts to recover. Make small changes in your diet. I have long advocated “Meatless Monday”, but even better, go vegetarian three days a week! Start cutting back how much meat and dairy you eat as we don’t need animal protein every day. Make your diet more plant based. Reduce food waste. Don’t put more on your plate than you are going to eat, don’t buy more than you need. Little actions but if each of us do something the total effect adds up. “Take care of the planet – there isn’t another one with chocolate!!!” By: Sylvia Harcourt Let´s talk about emotions Emotions are natural reactions that appear in our body in response to what is happening around us. We cannot control them and they make us feel in different ways. Some are more pleasant than others, but it is important to remember that they are all necessary. By accepting them we will be able to manage and learn from them. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update At the beginning of this short week, I wanted to welcome you to the beginning of Term 6, our final term of this academic year. Although we have changed to four partials for external reporting purposes this year, instead of the usual six, we have kept the use of six terms to help split up the year into manageable chunks of learning. Term 6 is when we complete the expected learning in each year group and also assess the students’ knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways, before completing the final written report for the year. As part of this process, all students in Years 2 to Year 6 will complete the final Progress Tests in English (PTE) and Progress Tests in Mathematics (PTM) in mid-June. We also host a variety of events and activities to prepare the students for their move to a new year group, focusing on those students who are moving key stages (Reception to Year 1, Year 2 to Year 3 and Year 6 to Year 7). More details about this will be shared in the weeks to come. Please also make a note in your diaries of other important dates coming up:
Marcus Madden Head of Primary Year 4 - Topic This term in topic we have been answering the question ‘What influences great artists?’ looking at the famous and inspirational artist Frida Kahlo. Over the term we have been researching her history, where she lived and investigating a range of different pieces of her collections, understanding the meanings behind her paintings. As we were learning about her influences such as: her background, her family, her culture and how people perceived her. We then used a range of activities such as recreating a Frida Kahlo picture ourselves, learning how to build up to our final creation of our own portrait in the style of Frida Kahlo. Here are some of our photos from our development process and some of our final pieces. Year 4 - Literacy Over the last couple of weeks, we have been reading “Flanimals” by Ricky Gervais. Flanimals are weird and wonderful fictional characters, and in the book you learn about their behaviours… which one you want to meet, which ones would eat you up and which are just plain weird! We designed our own Flanimals and tried to design them each with different personalities. In order to write fantastic descriptions about them, we looked at the author’s use of sentence structures - specifically the use of sentence openers. Have a look at the Flanimal writing Year 4 have produced. Can you see the different personalities? Can you see what sentence openers we looked at? Which Flanimals would you like to keep as a pet? Which would you definitely want to avoid? Thank you so much The year 4 team EYFS Update Dear parents, Welcome to the first week of Term 6, we look forward to working with your children in the final stage of this academic school year. This final chapter does come with new challenges as many changes will be arising soon in your child’s daily routine. Because of this, we want to invite you to encourage open conversations at home about emotions and how to manage them effectively. To open a conversation like this with young children, it is important to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, where each child feels comfortable and secure. A fantastic way to create such an environment is through a cooking or baking activity. Here are two fun and simple recipes you can do at home with your child to open a space for a productive conversation. Enjoy the delicious food! Antonella Coronel, Head of Early Years Being BSQ – Secondary Update Deep thinking; preparing for the world of work, future study, and exams We have enjoyed a most rewarding week as teachers now gear up to deliver the final tasks of the year. Year 11 have been absolutely amazing this week and they have completely committed themselves to the introduction to the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) core element of their IB studies next year. Our TOK team have imparted the basics of this line of study. It is a slightly different learning concept to the norm and perhaps requires students to think differently and more deeply. Students will be asked to deliver a thoughtful and purposeful inquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge. TOK is composed almost entirely of questions. The most central of these is "How do we know?", while other questions include:
Through discussions on these and other questions, students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions, as well as developing an appreciation of the diversity and richness of cultural perspectives. The skills here are most certainly beneficial to degree level study, and when I recall my own studies at University, I was often asking similar questions when considering wider research and literature. Next week year 11 will be taking part in our online version of work experience, which this time has an angle to help students prepare CVs, write applications, and experience a formal interview.. I am really looking forward to posing questions to students as they vie for jobs this week. Year 9 are experiencing taster lessons for the next line of study in IGCSE, and the staff are showcasing their subjects. All conferences are on the year 9 form page and we expect all students to attend these, irrespective of their current choices. In August there will be some flexibility in case any have changed their mind. Next week we will be releasing the exam schedules for years 7,8,9,10 and 12. Year 10 and 12 will be having a more formal exam approach in line with their syllabus and assessment needs, and for this they will also be given revision guides. We really want them to be as successful as possible. Exams will be in lessons and supervised by their teachers, and the grades will reflect on their hard work over this difficult year. Do please encourage revision and preparation for these important end of year exams. Have a wonderful week everyone Lee Moors Head of Secondary Year 13 Since successfully wrapping up all of their IB coursework, Year 13 are now turning their attention to their futures. Teachers have been working hard to create lessons that they will be able to use in their new and exciting next steps, whether that be university, work or a gap year. We asked Year 13a to share some thoughts about some of their favourite lessons from these new courses and this is what they had to say: Lautaro: I have most enjoyed the lessons about general healthcare like exercise. It contained more information than I was expecting and I will definitely become warier of in the future. These classes are really interesting and I am thankful for helping us with these. Gala: I have most enjoyed TOK. This new curriculum is more focused on debates, which we did not get the chance to fully explore whilst doing the IB. I particularly liked the focus on ethics that our "great debate" had. That is something I am very interested in, and wish I had explored more in other subjects. This was a good opportunity to explain to my classmates my view on empathy – one that I have developed a lot these last months. I am not particularly fond of debates, but having experience with this subject (either by reading books or watching videos related to empathy or by having experiences strictly linked to the topic) made it appealing. I gained more confidence in my communication skills and managed to participate more than I expected. Martinna: I really enjoyed the "health series" with Mrs. Luengo. These lessons clarified a lot of doubts I had and myths I believed. Also, I liked the lesson about feeling homesick since it was a very true conversation with Mrs. Leon and the tips were practical and helpful. I loved the first aid lesson. Especially because we got to watch an episode from The Office and we got to discover different songs that work with CPR. The first aid tips were really helpful and a lot of myths were clarified. Tomas: I have most enjoyed Spanish lessons. I have also continued to develop my research skills and have been able to involve myself in a subject I find incredible but did not really understand, pharmacology. Anna: I have enjoyed the basics of first aid with Mrs Madden. I laughed at the video clips of The Office. The videos were a fun way to learn about what not to do in an emergency. The information that stuck in my mind is that we can use the beat from the song Staying Alive by the Bee Gees to know how many chest compressions we have to do for CPR. I also enjoyed Dr. Sara’s sessions. These sessions were extremely informative. She explained in depth the importance of exercise, nutrition and sleep. Ms. Sara Avent Year 9 Humanities Students in year 9 humanities had the opportunity to debate whether Euthanasia should be legalised through thinking from both sides of the argument and putting forward their points and the ideas of others. They worked in small groups with their given viewpoint and then opposed the views of another group. Ms Sawyers, Humanities Teacher Year 9 Spanish The students in year 9 were given the task to help them to see the hidden feelings behind the words of some amazing poets. In groups they analysed poems and then created videos containing their poem and images or representations that conveyed the central sentiment. Over the coming weeks I will be sharing the work of each group. This week it is the work of Isabella, Gonzalo and Felipe. Mrs Tufino, Spanish Teacher
BSQ Equality & Diversity Committee Education access in Ecuador has been an important challenge that the country has faced for decades. Even before the pandemic, some important sectors struggled to get resources they needed. Now, the problem has gotten even worse. Children from all places in the world have lost their right to education or it has become a privilege. Families struggle to pay for electronic devices and internet connection in their houses. The COE Nacional made rural schools a priority in the PICE program that aims a national gradual return to school. However, the increase in COVID cases has created obstacles in the continuation of the program. This situation is one of the many problems the pandemic has brought to minorities. It adds another reason for us to take care and practice biosecurity measures. It is our job and duty. G-Equality and Diversity Committee Do you have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected] Bienvenidos Espero que hayan disfrutado del fin de semana largo y estén ansiosos por este último empujón hacia las vacaciones de verano. Con 5 semanas de tiempo de aprendizaje que quedan en este año académico, la comunidad BSQ está ocupada preparándose para las celebraciones de logros, compromiso y determinación a lo largo de este año largo y desafiante. El personal está reflexionando sobre la concesión de certificados a los estudiantes que han trabajado duro, han hecho contribuciones significativas a la clase, han apoyado a otros, han sonreído, han sido valientes y han progresado (entre muchas otras categorías). A pesar del largo tiempo que hemos estado en casa, nuestros estudiantes han encontrado formas de continuar desarrollándose y creciendo, e incluso sugerir formas de mejorar nuestro entorno escolar cuando regresemos. Me encantó recibir una colección de cartas de Y4B la semana pasada donde compartían sus persuasivas propuestas para más equipos de juego en BSQ. Aquí hay algunos extractos que me impresionaron particularmente, ¡aunque todas las cartas estaban bien escritas y claramente planeadas para lograr el máximo efecto! Bien hecho 4B. Una solicitud de un huerto: En primer lugar, una buena razón para tener un huerto es ayudar a los estudiantes a aprender a cuidar las plantas. Estas verduras se podrían utilizar con fines benéficos y también podríamos ayudar a muchas personas. Seguramente, con esto tendremos más naturaleza a nuestro alrededor. ¿No sería una gran idea ayudar a las personas necesitadas? (De Melissa) Solicitud de resbaladera: Por favor, coloque la resbaladera porque ayuda a los niños a hacer ejercicio y una forma natural de subir a la parte superior de la escalera también ayuda con la fuerza y coordinación de sus piernas. El deslizamiento ayuda a desarrollar el sistema vestibular, por lo tanto, su sentido del equilibrio y el juego desestructurado permite que los niños desarrollen su sistema vestibular. (De Ojas) Sobre por qué deberíamos comprar columpios: ¿Estás pensando por qué deberías comprar columpios? Esta es la razón. Primero, solo a nivel físico, los columpios son herramientas extremadamente positivas que promueven el desarrollo muscular, la flexibilidad y la coordinación. Ayudan a desarrollar el equilibrio, las habilidades motoras gruesas y finas (modulan la fuerza de agarre y la coordinación de manos, brazos y pies) y fortalecen el corazón. (De Ximena) Objetivos sostenibles. Como todos sabrán, en BSQ estamos comprometidos a educar a nuestra comunidad sobre la sostenibilidad y el cambio de comportamiento como resultado. Tenemos fuertes grupos de estudiantes trabajando en esto, personal comprometido y padres que se involucran cuando realizamos eventos. También tenemos la suerte de tener miembros de la comunidad más amplia para ofrecer apoyo, asesoramiento y orientación. Hoy damos la bienvenida a Sylvia Harcourt a nuestro boletín. SYLVIA HARCOURT Tengo una licenciatura en Zoología de la Universidad de Nottingham (Reino Unido) y una maestría en Ecología de Bangor, Gales del Norte. Como bióloga, he trabajado en Ruanda, África estudiando gorilas de montaña; en Cachemira observando ciervos Hangul; y durante muchos años en Ecuador, principalmente en las Islas Galápagos. Trabajo como Miembro Gobernante de la Fundación Charles Darwin y ahora también hago trabajo de traducción biológica y de conservación. Los viajes a lo largo de los años me han llevado a Parques Nacionales en Kenia, Zambia, Tanzania, Perú y Costa Rica; todos países con una vida silvestre increíble y todos con necesidad de protección. He estado involucrada con BSQ durante 26 años como madre, asistente bilingüe de clase, vicepresidente de la Asociación de Padres y presidente de la Junta del Directorio. Durante los últimos 4-5 años he trabajado como Agente Consular en la Embajada Británica. En 2006, Su Majestad la Reina Isabel me otorgó un MBE (Miembro de la Orden del Imperio Británico) por mi trabajo de conservación y educación en Ecuador. Para mí, la educación debe ser una prioridad para que la conservación tenga éxito. Una gran pregunta ahora que todos debemos hacernos es: ¿se puede hacer algo útil personalmente con respecto a nuestra emergencia climática, la pérdida de vida vegetal y animal (biodiversidad) y los altos niveles de contaminación en el mundo?, ya sea por pesticidas, plástico, humo de carros o exceso de luz en la noche, ¿o son estos problemas los que el Gobierno y las grandes empresas tienen que solucionar? Espero que mi artículo ayude a responder esto. CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO, BIODIVERSIDAD Y ALIMENTACIÓN. 2021 Quizás se pregunten qué tiene que ver la comida con la biodiversidad y el cambio climático, ¡mucho! Dos grandes organizaciones internacionales han iniciado campañas relacionadas con la alimentación y la COP26, la gran conferencia sobre cambio climático, que se celebrará en Escocia en noviembre. Ambos grupos están apuntando a los derechos de los animales. Un grupo está solicitando que la COP26 proporcione sólo comidas veganas, o por lo menos vegetarianas, en la conferencia. El otro grupo está haciendo una campaña masiva contra McDonald’s, la mayor cadena de consumo de carne, porque una gran parte de su suministro proviene de Brasil, donde se están talando bosques para dar paso al ganado o al cultivo de soja para alimentar a los animales domésticos: ganado, pollos, cerdos. Su impulso no sólo se debe a la destrucción de la tierra y las amenazas a la biodiversidad, sino también a las pésimas condiciones en las que se mantienen a los animales. Los animales que se crían en "granjas industriales" reciben antibióticos diarios ya que se encuentran en condiciones insalubres y de hacinamiento, pero necesitan para mantenerse "saludables", para que crezcan más rápido y más gordos. El 70% de la producción mundial de antibióticos se utiliza en animales de granja. Se está presionando a McDonald’s para que reconsidere su política de antibióticos. 70 mil millones (¡aproximadamente!) de animales se encuentran en granjas industriales. Tengan en cuenta que la mayoría de las pandemias han sido producidas por virus que saltan de los animales domésticos a los humanos y esto se hace mucho más fácil por la proximidad de millones de trabajadores a los animales de las granjas industriales. En la actualidad, los humanos constituyen el 36% de la biomasa de los mamíferos. Aproximadamente el 60% de la biomasa de los mamíferos consiste en vacas y cerdos y los animales silvestres ahora representan solo el 4%. Las aves de corral de granja contribuyen al 70% de toda la biomasa de aves, mientras que las aves silvestres solo el 30%. Estas cifras son terribles. La industria alimentaria, que se puede dividir en producción, procesamiento y distribución, produce el 26% de todos los gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) que contribuyen al cambio climático. La producción combinada de ganado, pesca y cultivos de cereales (gran parte de los cuales se destina a la alimentación de los animales) produce el 58% de los gases de efecto invernadero que produce la industria alimentaria. Eso significa que solo la producción de nuestros alimentos aporta alrededor del 14% de todos los GEI. Otra cifra bastante terrible es que el 70% de toda el agua dulce se utiliza para la agricultura y 1/3 de esa agua se utiliza para la producción animal. La “huella hídrica” promedio por caloría de carne de res es 20 veces mayor que la de producir cereales o tubérculos. Y a medida que crece la población humana, todas estas cifras también crecerán. Mucha gente pregunta "pero ¿qué puedo hacer? Me siento impotente". Entonces “Pongámonos activos, no ansiosos”. Si cada uno de nosotros actúa, aunque sea un pequeño movimiento, comienza a marcar la diferencia y las empresas comienzan a darse cuenta, y el planeta comienza a recuperarse. Hagan pequeños cambios en sus dietas. Durante mucho tiempo he abogado por el “lunes sin carne”, pero aún mejor, ¡háganse vegetariano tres días a la semana! Comiencen a reducir la cantidad de carne y lácteos que comen, ya que no necesitamos proteínas animales todos los días. Hagan su dieta más basada en plantas. Reduzcan el desperdicio de alimentos. No pongan más en sus platos de lo que van a comer, no compren más de lo que necesitan. Pequeñas acciones, pero si cada uno de nosotros hace algo, el efecto total se suma. "Cuiden el planeta, ¡no hay otro con chocolate!!!" Por: Sylvia Harcourt Hablemos de emociones Las emociones son reacciones naturales que aparecen en nuestro cuerpo como respuesta a lo que ocurre a nuestro alrededor. No las podemos controlar y nos hacen sentir de distintas formas. Algunas son más agradables que otras pero es importante recordar que todas son necesarias. Al aceptarlas seremos capaces de gestionarlas y aprender de ellas. Fechas importantes para sus calendarios
Emma Newman Directora BSQ – Primaria Al comienzo de esta corta semana, quería darles la bienvenida al comienzo de nuestro último semestre de este año académico. Aunque este año hemos cambiado a cuatro parciales para fines de informes externos, en lugar de los seis habituales, hemos mantenido el uso de seis términos para ayudar a dividir el año en partes manejables de aprendizaje. El sexto trimestre es cuando completamos el aprendizaje esperado en cada grupo de año y también evaluamos el conocimiento y la comprensión de los estudiantes de diversas maneras, antes de completar el informe escrito final del año. Como parte de este proceso, todos los estudiantes de Año 2 a Año 6 completarán las pruebas finales de progreso en inglés (PTE) y las pruebas de progreso en matemáticas (PTM) a mediados de junio. También organizamos una variedad de eventos y actividades para preparar a los estudiantes para su paso a un nuevo grupo de año, enfocándonos en aquellos estudiantes que están moviendo etapas clave (Reception al Año 1, Año 2 al Año 3 y Año 6 al Año 7). Se compartirán más detalles sobre esto en las próximas semanas. Por favor, también tomen nota en sus diarios de otras fechas importantes que se avecinan:
Marcus Madden Director de Primaria Año 4 - Tema Este término hemos estado respondiendo a la pregunta "¿Qué influencia a los grandes artistas?" Mirando a la famosa e inspiradora artista Frida Kahlo. A lo largo del trimestre hemos estado investigando su historia, donde vivió e investigando una variedad de diferentes piezas de sus colecciones, entendiendo el significado detrás de sus pinturas. A medida que íbamos aprendiendo sobre sus influencias, tales como: su origen, su familia, su cultura y cómo la gente la percibía. Luego usamos una variedad de actividades como recrear una imagen de Frida Kahlo nosotros mismos, aprender cómo construir nuestra creación final de nuestro propio retrato al estilo de Frida Kahlo. Aquí están algunas de nuestras fotos de nuestro proceso de desarrollo y algunas de nuestras piezas finales. Año 4 - Alfabetización Durante las últimas semanas, hemos estado leyendo “Flanimals” de Ricky Gervais. Los flanimales son personajes de ficción extraños y maravillosos, y en el libro aprendes sobre sus comportamientos ... ¡cuál quieres conocer, cuáles te devorarían y cuáles son simplemente raros! Diseñamos nuestros propios Flanimals e intentamos diseñarlos cada uno con diferentes personalidades. Con el fin de escribir descripciones fantásticas sobre ellos, analizamos el uso que hace el autor de las estructuras de las oraciones, específicamente el uso de abridores de oraciones. Echen un vistazo a la escritura de Flanimal que ha producido Año 4. ¿Pueden ver las diferentes personalidades? ¿Pueden ver qué abridores de oraciones miramos? ¿Qué Flanimals les gustaría tener como mascota? ¿Cuál definitivamente querrían evitar? Muchas gracias El equipo del año 4 Actualización de EYFS Estimados padres, Bienvenidos a la primera semana del sexto trimestre, esperamos trabajar con sus hijos en la etapa final de este año escolar académico. Este capítulo final viene con nuevos desafíos, ya que pronto surgirán muchos cambios en la rutina diaria de su hijo. Por ello, queremos invitarte a fomentar conversaciones abiertas en casa sobre las emociones y cómo gestionarlas de forma eficaz. Para iniciar una conversación como esta con los niños pequeños, es importante crear un ambiente relajado y amistoso, donde cada niño se sienta cómodo y seguro. Una forma fantástica de crear ese ambiente es a través de una actividad de cocina u horneado. Aquí hay dos recetas divertidas y sencillas que puede hacer en casa con su hijo para abrir un espacio para una conversación productiva. ¡Disfruten de la deliciosa comida! Antonella Coronel, Líder de EYFS BSQ – Secundaria Pensamiento profundo; prepararse para el mundo laboral, los estudios futuros y los exámenes Hemos disfrutado de una semana muy gratificante ya que los maestros ahora se preparan para entregar las tareas finales del año. Año 11 ha sido absolutamente increíble esta semana y se han comprometido por completo con la introducción al elemento central de la Teoría del Conocimiento (TdC) de sus estudios del IB el próximo año. Nuestro equipo de TOK ha impartido los conceptos básicos de esta línea de estudio. Es un concepto de aprendizaje ligeramente diferente a la norma y tal vez requiera que los estudiantes piensen de manera diferente y más profunda. Se pedirá a los estudiantes que realicen una investigación reflexiva y decidida sobre diferentes formas de conocimiento y sobre diferentes tipos de conocimiento. TdC se compone casi en su totalidad de preguntas. La más central de ellas es "¿Cómo lo sabemos?", Mientras que otras preguntas incluyen:
A través de discusiones sobre estas y otras preguntas, los estudiantes adquieren una mayor conciencia de sus supuestos personales e ideológicos, así como también desarrollan una apreciación de la diversidad y riqueza de las perspectivas culturales. Las habilidades aquí son ciertamente beneficiosas para el estudio de nivel de grado, y cuando recuerdo mis propios estudios en la Universidad, a menudo me hacía preguntas similares al considerar investigaciones y literatura más amplias. La próxima semana, el año 11 participará en nuestra versión en línea de experiencia laboral, que esta vez tiene un ángulo para ayudar a los estudiantes a preparar CV, escribir solicitudes y experimentar una entrevista formal. Tengo muchas ganas de hacer preguntas a los estudiantes mientras compiten por puestos de trabajo esta semana. Año 9 está experimentando lecciones de prueba para la siguiente línea de estudio en IGCSE, y el personal está mostrando sus asignaturas. Todas las conferencias están en la página del formulario del año 9 y esperamos que todos los estudiantes asistan a ellas, independientemente de sus opciones actuales. En agosto habrá cierta flexibilidad en caso de que alguno haya cambiado de opinión. La semana que viene publicaremos los horarios de exámenes para los años 7, 8, 9, 10 y 12. Los años 10 y 12 tendrán un enfoque de examen más formal en línea con su programa de estudios y necesidades de evaluación, y para esto también se les dará guías de revisión. Realmente queremos que tengan el mayor éxito posible. Los exámenes serán en lecciones y supervisados por sus maestros, y las calificaciones reflejarán su arduo trabajo durante este año difícil. Fomente la revisión y preparación para estos importantes exámenes de fin de año. Que tengan una excelente semana. Lee Moors Director de Secundaria Año 13 Desde que terminaron con éxito todos sus cursos de IB, Año 13 ahora está centrando su atención en su futuro. Los maestros han estado trabajando arduamente para crear lecciones que podrán usar en sus nuevos y emocionantes próximos pasos, ya sea en la universidad, el trabajo o un año sabático. Le pedimos a Año 13a que compartiera algunos pensamientos sobre algunas de sus lecciones favoritas de estos nuevos cursos y esto es lo que dijeron: Lautaro: Lo que más he disfrutado son las lecciones sobre salud general como el ejercicio. Contenía más información de la que esperaba y definitivamente me volveré más cauteloso en el futuro. Estas clases son realmente interesantes y estoy agradecido por ayudarnos con ellas. Gala: Lo que más disfruté de TOK. Este nuevo plan de estudios está más centrado en los debates, que no tuvimos la oportunidad de explorar por completo mientras hacíamos el IB. Me gustó particularmente el enfoque en la ética que tuvo nuestro "gran debate". Eso es algo que me interesa mucho y desearía haber explorado más en otros temas. Esta fue una buena oportunidad para explicar a mis compañeros de clase mi punto de vista sobre la empatía, que he desarrollado mucho estos últimos meses. No soy particularmente aficionada a los debates, pero tener experiencia con este tema (ya sea leyendo libros o viendo videos relacionados con la empatía o teniendo experiencias estrictamente vinculadas al tema) lo hizo atractivo. Gané más confianza en mis habilidades comunicativas y logré participar más de lo que esperaba. Martinna: Disfruté mucho la "serie de salud" con la Srta. Luengo. Estas lecciones aclararon muchas dudas que tenía y mitos que creía. Además, me gustó la lección sobre sentir nostalgia, ya que fue una conversación muy verdadera con la Srta. León y los consejos fueron prácticos y útiles. Me encantó la lección de primeros auxilios. Especialmente porque pudimos ver un episodio de The Office y pudimos descubrir diferentes canciones que funcionan con CPR. Los consejos de primeros auxilios fueron realmente útiles y se aclararon muchos mitos. Tomas: He disfrutado más las lecciones de español. También he seguido desarrollando mis habilidades de investigación y he podido involucrarme en un tema que encuentro increíble pero que realmente no entendía, la farmacología. Anna: He disfrutado de los conceptos básicos de primeros auxilios con la Sra. Madden. Me reí de los videoclips de The Office. Los videos fueron una forma divertida de aprender sobre lo que no se debe hacer en caso de emergencia. La información que se me quedó grabada es que podemos usar el ritmo de la canción Staying Alive de los Bee Gees para saber cuántas compresiones de pecho tenemos que hacer para la RCP. También disfruté de las sesiones de la Dra. Sara. Estas sesiones fueron sumamente informativas. Explicó en profundidad la importancia del ejercicio, la nutrición y el sueño. Sra. Sara Avent Humanidades de Año 9 Los estudiantes de humanidades del noveno año tuvieron la oportunidad de debatir si la eutanasia debería ser legalizada pensando desde ambos lados del argumento y exponiendo sus puntos y las ideas de los demás. Trabajaron en pequeños grupos con su punto de vista dado y luego se opusieron a los puntos de vista de otro grupo. Srta. Sawyers, profesora de Humanidades Year 9 Español A los estudiantes de Año 9 se les dio la tarea de ayudarles a ver los sentimientos ocultos detrás de las palabras de algunos poetas increíbles. En grupos, analizaron poemas y luego crearon videos que contenían su poema e imágenes o representaciones que transmitían el sentimiento central. Durante las próximas semanas estaré compartiendo el trabajo de cada grupo. Esta semana es obra de Isabella, Gonzalo y Felipe. Sra. Tufino, Spanish Teacher
Comité de Igualdad & Diversidad El acceso a la educación en Ecuador ha sido un desafío importante que el país ha enfrentado durante décadas. Incluso antes de la pandemia, algunos sectores importantes lucharon por obtener los recursos que necesitaban. Ahora, el problema se ha agravado aún más. Los niños de todos los lugares del mundo han perdido su derecho a la educación o se ha convertido en un privilegio. Las familias luchan por pagar los dispositivos electrónicos y la conexión a internet en sus casas. El COE nacional hizo de las escuelas rurales una prioridad en el programa PICE que tiene como objetivo un regreso gradual a la escuela a nivel nacional. Sin embargo, el aumento de casos de COVID ha creado obstáculos en la continuación del programa. Esta situación es uno de los muchos problemas que la pandemia ha traído a las minorías. Agrega otra razón para que cuidemos y practiquemos medidas de bioseguridad. Es nuestro trabajo y deber. G-Comité de Igualdad y Diversidad ¿Tienes alguna pregunta? Ponte en contacto con nosotros en: [email protected] WelcomeThis week I have been attending and hosting sessions at the annual COBIS conference in amongst the normal, everyday business of BSQ. The topics have been wide ranging and engaging, including Coaching, Safeguarding, Diversity, Marketing, Using Data and a wealth of opportunities to meet other school leaders and share experiences and ideas. Orbital are also running their 2021 online conference this year and exploring Wellbeing, Language Teaching, E-Tech and Accreditations – amongst other things. Whilst online conferences are not always necessarily the most heart-warming or personable events, they are certainly productive and allow far more people to be in the same ‘place’ at once and share their challenges and solutions. This year we will once again be celebrating some of our key moments online and whilst we may feel disappointed by that, we can at least manage to share the special events with friends and relatives all over the world (time differences aside!). Make sure you have our key dates below logged in your diaries so that you can celebrate with us. LAHC - Wingate School Interschool Chess Tournament A LAHC member school, The Wingate School would like to invite any middle school pupils (ages 10-14) to compete against our Chess Club at 5pm (Mexico City time, GMT -6) on Thursday 10th June 10th, 2021. The tournament will be played on chesskid.com. Each child will be given a chesskid login and a zoom link. On the day, pupils will need to join the zoom meeting with their logins and then they will receive further instructions. To register, please respond your interest here and provide a list of pupils that would like to participate, including their names and ages, by the 28th of May. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Colin McDonald at the Wingate School ([email protected]). Let´s talk about emotions Mental and emotional wellbeing is as important as Academic development. We just wanted to remind you that acknowledging your emotions will make easier for you to guide your children to recognize theirs. Ms. Nicole Camacho Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Last week I shared some thoughts about the importance and benefits of reading regularly with your child. Here are some suggestions to help you support and encourage your child to improve their reading skills, once they have learnt how to segment words and decode unfamiliar words Questions for discussion when reading:
Other ways to help your child with reading:
Have a great week of reading and please do share any success with your child’s class teachers. Marcus Madden Head of Primary Ms. Natalie Cook – Year 1 Teacher This term Year 1 have been working on their ‘Artist’ theme with a focus on colour. In Science they have explored rainbows, completing experiments to make their own rainbows and they also used skittles to see how colours mix together. In Topic Year 1 have looked at the artists Teo Monsalve, Beatriz Milhase and Joaquin Torres Garcia. They then created art inspired by their works. In Art the children have learnt about Primary and Secondary colours and also explored different techniques they can use with watercolor paints. EYFS Update Dear parents, Over the last week, the Early Years Foundation Stage students have been learning about food and how they can help us stay healthy with characters like Supertato, a crime fighting potato that uses his powers to save others! In the Reception class, the students took on the challenge to taste different vegetables, even ones they previously thought they did not like. They rehearsed expressing their opinion by saying ‘I like’ or ‘I don’t like’ after tasting each one. Are you up for the challenge? Antonella Coronel, Head of EYFS Being BSQ – Secondary Update Let’s reflect and celebrate The end of the year is in sight and we should consider what we have achieved in our community since the beginning of August last year. For me it has been one of the most difficult, but also one of the most rewarding years in my career. I say this as it is the first time I have taken a new position and have not met the staff and our wonderful students in a normal school setting. Thinking back, I for one never thought that we would still be in the same situation now. What we must do is reflect on the journey and celebrate all of the many positive things that have been achieved by the teaching staff and the students. On Wednesday evening I listened to the wonderful presentation that was given to prospective parents by members of the leadership team. There were a number of highlights, but what struck me was all of the amazing things that we have achieved irrespective of the fact that we have been and still are, online and away from our campus. This is of course the physical community but in a real community sense we have just moved this online. There are very few things in our usual school business that have been impossible to achieve. Also, overall, our students have been engaged, flexible, enthusiastic, and resilient when facing the challenge of learning through a computer. This is not the first time I have said this. As a teacher myself, being that this is our first responsibility, even as a leader, I have had so much work commitment and engagement of a high quality and detail in the work from the children I teach. The physical book has moved to the online medium and in some cases, these are now over 100 pages in length. Some are so big in content they have had to be archived for a new version so that when opened, they do so at a reasonable pace. I am constantly impressed by the innovation that students show in presenting ideas or giving evidence in the challenges and activities they are given in PE. Their use of media through film and imagery is astounding, and their ability to reflect and consider their performance is developing rapidly. We will all be enthusiastically taking many experiences and developments with us back into school when we do eventually get there. I wonder if some of these things would be as strong if we had been in school and not online. Let us celebrate and be thankful for all that has been achieved. Year 9 Science Year 9 have been working extremely well, as they have for the whole year, leading the school in the number of house points that they have collected as a class. A special well done to Maria and Mikaela who have the second and third most number of accumulated house points in the school. In science Year 9 have begun studying their Introduction to IGCSE biology, this week learning about Osmosis and Diffusion, looking at both animals and plant cells. Along with this, they have made detailed models or diagrams of cells at home. In the coming weeks they will also be studying an introduction to chemistry and physics at IGCSE along with having taster sessions in all of their subjects prior to beginning their studies in August. Mrs. Claire Maudsley, Science Teacher | Y9 Tutor Remembering Mr Lopez As many of you may have heard, on Tuesday, April 27th it was announced that one of our previous teachers, Marco Antonio López, sadly passed away. We would like to share our condolences and reflect on all that he has taught us. Many who have met him or were taught by him can agree that he was a person with strong virtues & a great philosophy. He went beyond merely teaching Spanish literature to focus on the many life lessons that shaped us into better people. His intuitive character allowed him to look at the world with great depth and insight, and his presence and thought reflected these qualities. We share our deepest condolences with everyone who knew him, particularly his family, and we would also like to thank him for everything he did for our community at BSQ. We would like to share with you a list of his artistic recommendations that he shared with us over the years. Please take a moment to look at some of the things he read, watched, and listened to, to share with and understand his spirit. Samantha - Year 11 student on behalf of us all Year 8 Science In year 8 science, students are learning about sound waves. Last week and this week we are learning how the human ear perceives sound. Students made a variety of different human ear models. Here are some of the excellent submissions in workbooks this week! Great work year 8! Iván
Doménica Ms Avent, Science Teacher Year 7 Drama Year 7 drama lesson this week was focused on improv exercises. But, what is improv? Improvisation, in theatre, is the playing of dramatic or comedy scenes without written dialogue and with minimal or no predetermined dramatic activity. The method has been used for different purposes in theatrical history. Using the resources each actor has at home, they created a unique and different character which they presented to the class. Ms Espinosa, Drama Teacher Year 7 English The Year 7s went on a virtual field trip this week to extend their learning about Shakespeare. First, they visited Shakespeare’s birthplace Stratford-Upon-Avon. Next we ‘travelled’ to Central London to see the iconic Globe Theatre. The students enjoyed an interview with Sir Ian McKellen, who shared his passion for Shakespeare and the reasons why Shakespeare is the best writer of them all. Mrs Moors, English Teacher Year 9 Spanish The students in year 9 were given the task to help them to see the hidden feelings behind the words of some amazing poets. In groups they analysed poems and then created videos containing their poem and images or representations that conveyed the central sentiment. Over the coming weeks I will be sharing the work of each group. This week it is the work of Shira, Doménica, Daniela, and Amyra. Mrs Tufino, Spanish Teacher KS5 - Year 12 ESS Year 12 ESS have been learning about terrestrial food production systems. Students were tasked with researching and investigating a food production system of their choice and to create a system diagram to illustrate the inputs and outputs. Patricio investigated rice-fish farming in China: Ms Avent, Science Teacher BSQ Equality & Diversity Committee Xenophobia, phobia of foreigners. Xenophobia emphasizes differences in people's features, such as their accent, their language, or their skin color. Xenophobia sends a message of hatred, discrimination and racism against others. It is important to promote equality and diversity among all to learn to accept others without judging them by their nationality. For this reason, I share with you some initiatives against xenophobia. · International debate tournaments: a way of seeing foreigners as equals. · Workshops in schools. · I am a Migrant: give migrants the opportunity to share their point of view. · Talks and Presentations: share ideas about the dangers of xenophobia and the acceptance of everyone in school and the community. It is important to educate everyone to accept and respect each other equally. Do not forget that we are all equal and human. Ana Paula - Equality and Diversity Committee Do you have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected] Have a wonderful week everyone.
Lee Moors Head of Secondary Bienvenidos Esta semana he estado asistiendo y organizando sesiones en la conferencia anual COBIS en medio de las actividades normales y cotidianas de BSQ. Los temas han sido muy variados y atractivos, incluidos el coaching, la protección, la diversidad, el marketing, el uso de datos y una gran cantidad de oportunidades para conocer a otros líderes escolares y compartir experiencias e ideas. Orbital también está organizando su conferencia en línea 2021 este año y explorando el bienestar, la enseñanza de idiomas, la tecnología electrónica y las acreditaciones, entre otras cosas. Si bien las conferencias en línea no siempre son necesariamente los eventos más conmovedores o agradables, son ciertamente productivos y permiten que muchas más personas estén en el mismo "lugar" a la vez y compartan sus desafíos y soluciones. Este año celebraremos una vez más algunos de nuestros momentos clave en línea y, si bien podemos sentirnos decepcionados por eso, al menos podemos lograr compartir los eventos especiales con amigos y familiares de todo el mundo (¡aparte de las diferencias horarias!). Asegúrense de tener nuestras fechas clave a continuación registradas en sus diarios para que puedan celebrar con nosotros. LAHC - Torneo de ajedrez interescolar de Wingate School Una escuela miembro de LAHC, The Wingate School desea invitar a estudiantes de 10 a 14 años a competir contra su Club de Ajedrez a las 5 pm (hora de la Ciudad de México, GMT -6) el jueves 10 de junio de 2021. El torneo será ser jugado en chesskid.com. A cada niño se le dará un inicio de sesión de chesskid y un enlace de zoom. En el día, los alumnos deberán unirse a la reunión de zoom con sus inicios de sesión y luego recibirán más instrucciones. Para registrarse, responda aquí a su interés antes del 28 de mayo. Si tiene alguna pregunta, comuníquese con Colin McDonald de la escuela Wingate ([email protected]). Hablemos de emociones El bienestar mental y emocional es tan importante como el desarrollo académico. Sólo queríamos recordarle que al reconocer sus emociones le será más fácil poder guiar a sus hijos a reconocer las suyas. Srta. Nicole Camacho Fechas importantes para sus calendarios
Emma Newman Directora BSQ – Primaria La semana pasada compartí algunas ideas sobre la importancia y los beneficios de leer regularmente con sus hijos. Aquí hay algunas sugerencias para ayudarlos a apoyar y alentar a sus hijos a mejorar sus habilidades de lectura, una vez que haya aprendido a segmentar palabras y decodificar palabras desconocidas. Preguntas para debatir al leer:
Otras formas de ayudar a sus hijos con la lectura:
Que tengan una gran semana de lectura y por favor compartan cualquier éxito con los maestros de la clase de sus hijos. Marcus Madden Director de Primaria Srta. Natalie Cook - Profesora de Año 1 Este trimestre, Año 1 ha estado trabajando en su tema "Artista" con un enfoque en el color. En Ciencias han explorado los arcoíris, han realizado experimentos para hacer sus propios arcoíris y también han utilizado bolos para ver cómo se mezclan los colores. En el Tema del Año 1 hemos mirado a los artistas Teo Monsalve, Beatriz Milhase y Joaquín Torres García. Luego crearon arte inspirado en sus obras. En Arte, los niños han aprendido sobre los colores primarios y secundarios y también han explorado diferentes técnicas que pueden usar con pinturas de acuarela. Actualización de EYFS Estimados padres, Durante la última semana, los estudiantes de Early Years Foundation Stage han estado aprendiendo sobre la comida y cómo pueden ayudarnos a mantenernos saludables con personajes como Supertato, ¡una papa que lucha contra el crimen y usa sus poderes para salvar a otros! En la clase de Reception, los alumnos asumieron el reto de degustar diferentes verduras, incluso aquellas que antes pensaban que no les gustaban. Ensayaron expresando su opinión diciendo "Me gusta" o "No me gusta" después de probar cada uno. ¿Están preparados para el reto? Antonella Coronel, Líder de EYFS BSQ – Secundaria Reflexionemos y celebremos El fin de año está a la vista y debemos considerar lo que hemos logrado en nuestra comunidad desde principios de agosto del año pasado. Para mí ha sido uno de los años más difíciles, pero también uno de los más gratificantes de mi carrera. Digo esto porque es la primera vez que tomo un nuevo puesto y no he conocido al personal y a nuestros maravillosos estudiantes en un entorno escolar normal. Pensando en retrospectiva, nunca pensé que todavía estaríamos en la misma situación ahora. Lo que debemos hacer es reflexionar sobre el viaje y celebrar todas las muchas cosas positivas que han logrado el personal docente y los estudiantes. El miércoles por la noche escuché la maravillosa presentación que los miembros del equipo de liderazgo dieron a los futuros padres. Hubo una serie de aspectos destacados, pero lo que me sorprendió fueron todas las cosas increíbles que hemos logrado independientemente del hecho de que hemos estado y todavía estamos, en línea y fuera de nuestro campus. Esta es, por supuesto, la comunidad física, pero en un sentido de comunidad real, acabamos de mover esto en línea. Hay muy pocas cosas en nuestro negocio escolar habitual que hayan sido imposibles de lograr. Además, en general, nuestros estudiantes se han mostrado comprometidos, flexibles, entusiastas y resistentes al enfrentar el desafío de aprender a través de una computadora. Esta no es la primera vez que digo esto. Como maestro, siendo que esta es nuestra primera responsabilidad, incluso como líder, he tenido tanto compromiso de trabajo y compromiso de alta calidad y detalle en el trabajo de los niños a los que enseño. El libro físico se ha trasladado al medio en línea y, en algunos casos, ahora tienen más de 100 páginas. Algunos son tan grandes en contenido que han tenido que ser archivados para una nueva versión, de modo que cuando se abren, lo hacen a un ritmo razonable. Estoy constantemente impresionado por la innovación que muestran los estudiantes al presentar ideas o dar evidencia en los desafíos y actividades que se les dan en Educación Física. Su uso de los medios a través de películas e imágenes es asombroso, y su capacidad para reflexionar y considerar su desempeño se está desarrollando rápidamente. Todos llevaremos con entusiasmo muchas experiencias y desarrollos a la escuela cuando finalmente lleguemos allí. Me pregunto si algunas de estas cosas serían tan fuertes si hubiéramos estado en la escuela y no en línea. Celebremos y agradezcamos todo lo que se ha logrado. Ciencias en Año 9 Año 9 ha estado funcionando muy bien, como lo han hecho durante todo el año, liderando a la escuela en el número de puntos de casa que han acumulado como clase. Un especial agradecimiento a Maria y Mikaela, quienes tienen el segundo y tercer lugar con mayor cantidad de puntos de casa acumulados en la escuela. En ciencias, Año 9 ha comenzado a estudiar su Introducción a la biología IGCSE, esta semana aprendiendo sobre ósmosis y difusión, observando tanto animales como células vegetales. Junto a esto, han realizado modelos detallados o diagramas de células en casa. En las próximas semanas también estarán estudiando una introducción a la química y la física en IGCSE, además de tener sesiones de prueba en todas sus asignaturas antes de comenzar sus estudios en agosto. Sra. Claire Maudsley, Profesora de Ciencias | Tutor de Y9 Recordando al Sr. López Como muchos de ustedes habrán escuchado, el martes 27 de abril se anunció que uno de nuestros maestros anteriores, Marco Antonio López, falleció tristemente. Nos gustaría compartir nuestro más sentido pésame y reflexionar sobre todo lo que nos ha enseñado. Muchos de los que lo han conocido o les enseñó pueden estar de acuerdo en que era una persona con fuertes virtudes y una gran filosofía. Fue más allá de simplemente enseñar literatura española para enfocarse en las muchas lecciones de vida que nos convirtieron en mejores personas. Su carácter intuitivo le permitió mirar el mundo con gran profundidad y perspicacia, y su presencia y pensamiento reflejaban estas cualidades. Compartimos nuestro más sentido pésame con todos los que lo conocieron, en particular su familia, y también nos gustaría agradecerle por todo lo que hizo por nuestra comunidad en BSQ. Nos gustaría compartir con ustedes una lista de sus recomendaciones artísticas que compartió con nosotros a lo largo de los años. Por favor, tómense un momento para ver algunas de las cosas que leyó, vio y escuchó, para compartir y comprender su espíritu. Samantha, estudiante de Año 11 Ciencias en Año 8 En Ciencias en año 8, los estudiantes están aprendiendo sobre ondas sonoras. La semana pasada y esta semana estamos aprendiendo cómo el oído humano percibe el sonido. Los estudiantes crearon una variedad de diferentes modelos de oído humano. Estas son algunas de las excelentes presentaciones en libros de trabajo de esta semana. ¡Buen trabajo año 8! Iván
Doménica Srta. Avent, profesora de ciencias Año 7 Drama La lección de teatro de Año 7 de esta semana se centró en ejercicios de improvisación. Pero, ¿qué es la improvisación? La improvisación, en el teatro, es la representación de escenas dramáticas o de comedia sin diálogo escrito y con mínima o ninguna actividad dramática predeterminada. El método se ha utilizado para diferentes propósitos en la historia del teatro. Utilizando los recursos que cada actor tiene en casa, crearon un personaje único y diferente que presentaron a la clase. Srta. Espinosa, profesora de teatro Inglés en Año 7 Año 7 realizó una excursión virtual esta semana para ampliar su aprendizaje sobre Shakespeare. Primero, visitaron el lugar de nacimiento de Shakespeare, Stratford-Upon-Avon. A continuación, "viajamos" al centro de Londres para ver el icónico Globe Theatre. Los estudiantes disfrutaron de una entrevista con Sir Ian McKellen, quien compartió su pasión por Shakespeare y las razones por las que Shakespeare es el mejor escritor de todos. Sra. Moors, profesora de inglés Español en Año 9 A los alumnos de año 9 se les dio la tarea de ayudarlos a ver los sentimientos ocultos detrás de las palabras de algunos poetas asombrosos. En grupos, analizaron poemas y luego crearon videos que contenían su poema e imágenes o representaciones que transmitían el sentimiento central. Durante las próximas semanas estaré compartiendo el trabajo de cada grupo. Esta semana es obra de Shira, Doménica, Daniela y Amyra. Sra. Tufino, Profesora de español KS5 - Año 12 ESS Año 12 ESS ha estado aprendiendo sobre los sistemas de producción de alimentos terrestres. Los estudiantes tenían la tarea de investigar e investigar un sistema de producción de alimentos de su elección y crear un diagrama del sistema para ilustrar las entradas y salidas. Patricio investigó el cultivo de arroz y peces en China: Ms Avent, Science Teacher Comité de Igualdad & Diversidad Xenofobia, fobia a los extranjeros. La xenofobia enfatiza las diferencias en los rasgos de las personas, como su acento, su idioma o su color de piel. La xenofobia envía un mensaje de odio, discriminación y racismo contra otros. Es importante promover la igualdad y diversidad entre todos para aprender a aceptar a los demás sin juzgarlos por su nacionalidad. Por eso, les comparto algunas iniciativas contra la xenofobia.
Es importante educar a todos para aceptar y respetarnos equitativamente. No hay que olvidar que todos somos iguales y humanos. Ana Paula-Comité de Igualdad y Diversidad ¿Tienes alguna pregunta? Ponte en contacto con nosotros en: [email protected] Que tengan una excelente semana.
Lee Moors Director de Secundaria WelcomeLast week the students in the primary school were lucky enough to spend time with some fabulous speakers as part of the Careers Week. This has become a tradition at BSQ and I clearly remember our first event in 2019 when the professional guests had set up their tables in the library and brought a wonderful range of exhibits with them to show the children – including a puppy! Starting to think about careers early is a real luxury for our children and having such great speakers available to help them consider the pros and cons of each future is really exciting. Many thanks to all the speakers and to the staff team for their organisation. It might seem early to start thinking about next year but you can find the calendar on the website here. Please note the start of year, start of term and holiday dates so that you can be absolutely sure you are ready to attend all classes. I have included all our usual events and celebrations but, of course these will be open to change according to the national and local changes in restrictions moving forward. If you foresee any issue with any dates, then please have a conversation with your Head of School now in order to keep them informed. Virtual Open Day This May 12th at 5PM we are inviting potential families who have children 3 - 16 who are not yet enrolled at BSQ to join us in an interactive session about our exciting and challenging curriculum! If you know some relatives or friends who might be interested in attending this virtual event, please let them know they can register here http://bit.ly/BSQVirtualOpenDay. Dates for your Diary
Emma Newman Principal Being BSQ – Primary Update Last week all of our Key Stage One and Two students attended a series of presentations from a variety of internal and external speakers as part of our Careers topic. The purpose of these talks was to show the students a range of different career choices and the various paths that our presenters took to achieve their chosen career. The teachers were all extremely impressed by both the quality of the presentations and also the questions our students asked, with many demonstrating our school values and really thinking about their ambitions. Many thanks must go to Ms Dean and Ms Camacho who organised the events and the staff who facilitated the presentations. Continuing with the theme of reading from last week’s newsletter, I would like to share with you all further benefits of reading with your child regularly. 3. You will develop a close relationship with your child The strongest parent-child relationships start early. When your child becomes older, he/she will be on the move playing, making new friends, exploring the environment, etc. When they are still young, however, children spend most of their time with their parents. This is an excellent time to establish a healthy relationship, and there is no better way to do it other than to read to your child, especially given the other added benefits i.e. boosting your child’s intellect and their language mastery. Snuggling with your child to read a book will create a long-lasting bond and beautiful memories that are hard to forget in a lifetime. It is also fun and a perfect time for sharing passions, values and perspectives. 4. Reading to your child sends an important message (i.e. reading is fun!) When your child views reading as a comforting and close activity with a parent, they are bound to develop a love for reading. When all the daily business of life is paused for a short while and we spend one-to-one time with a child reading, our children feel how special they are and they relate those wonderful feelings with books. Have fun reading – in either Spanish or English! Marcus Madden Head of Primary Y1 Sociales In Year 1 we started learning about the definition and properties of matter. Each class we experiment with the elements to understand what materials they are made of, whether they are flexible or rigid, do they float, or if they are transparent, translucent, or opaque. It’s been very pleasant to discover so many scientists within the classes, full of curiosity and desire to learn. Year 4 Sociales In both years 4 Sociales lessons, we have been studying about the regions of Ecuador, this time it was the turn of the Amazon and Galapagos. The students have really enjoyed learning about the diversity that these two regions bring to us. The children have mentioned that we are very fortunate to live in a country so rich in flora and fauna. We have quickly learned about Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle to various parts of the world and in particular to the Galapagos Islands. We learned about the culture, food, dress, traditions, celebrations, and legends. Greetings Mr. Oscar KS2 Spanish lessons In KS2 lessons, we have enjoyed learning some topics such as: Y3: Literary texts in which students can have fun playing and creating: riddles, children's songs, greguerías and tongue twisters. During this week the students learned to write their own riddles. Y4: Poetry: Expressing our feelings through poetry has been the theme to use the beauty of words and start creating your own poems. Y5: Rhymes and Verses: Students have learned how sounds are combined to form words and phrases into verses and rhymes and begin to understand the rhythm and inflection of the language by creating their own verses and rhymes. Y6: Spelling rules: Spelling is of great importance since it is part of grammar, that is, it is what teaches us to write words correctly so that everything written is easily understood. Thus, the students learned by enjoying some rules through online games. Ms. Ana Espinosa, Spanish Teacher EYFS Update Dear parents, As we move closer to the last term of the year, it is important that we continue to encourage the children's independence at home on a daily basis through creative activities. Here are a few fantastic options you can select from to do with your child at home!
Antonella Coronel, Head of Early Years Being BSQ – Secondary Update Dates for the Diary Last week I hinted at the work we were doing to invigorate and improve the activities that several year groups will be experiencing as we head towards the end of the academic year. As always it would be easy to just continue as usual, but at BSQ we are proud of the fact that we are continually innovating and creating new and exciting opportunities to develop the experience for our students. Year 11 have several events to look forward to and three are Connected to IB studies forming part of the Diploma programme as three core elements of study which sit alongside the 6 key subjects chosen by students. They are the Theory of Knowledge, an Extended essay on a subject that they are interested in, and a Community, Action, Service programme which is designed to enable students to consider community issues. Year 11 will have a bespoke programme to introduce the Tok led by Mrs Madden to prepare them for the in-depth skills required in this area of study. They will also enjoy an online work experience week where again, they will be on a special timetable to consider and explore all issues connected to the world of work. The week will be certificated for those that meet all expected outcomes. Year 11 will also have an opportunity to experience our IB subjects in a taster week so that they are introduced appropriately to all our subjects in Key Stage 5. This will allow them to have a greater understanding of the choices they have made for study next year. Much like year 11 it is important for year 9 to consider the study options as they embark on their IGCSE studies in year 10. We are planning a focused period of learning where they will experience all subjects. All students in years 7,8,9,10 and 12 will be sitting end of year exams with their teachers online. These important exams will underline and celebrate learning to close the year and form a base for the jump to the next years’ study. The exam results will inform Q2 and P4 grades and they will be shared in the final report. It is important that all students are working hard to this point to prepare. Of course, our extremely talented year 13 are now at the end of their studies and quite rightly they should be sent off with our absolute best wishes following a decent celebration. The main graduation ceremony will be online for all, but we are looking at how we might be able to do something small face-to-face in school, additionally for those who want to take part. This does depend of course on the emergency measures, so at this stage it is still to be confirmed. As the oldest leave school so the youngest join in the ever-perpetual life of school. How exciting it is to be welcoming our year 6 students as they embark on their next steps in the Secondary School. This is an exciting time for all and of course we are planning lots of activities for them to enjoy, getting a feel for how Secondary Education compares to their experience in Primary. As you have read there is much to organise and get into to calendars so to help you the dates for the events are as follows. Additional arrangements for each event will be released nearer the times. Year 11 17th to 21st May 2021 Theory of Knowledge Introduction week 24th to 27th May 2021 Online Work Experience (Different Timetable) 31st May - 10th June 2021 Mini Extended Essay activity in current subjects 14th to 18th June 2021 IB subject Taster week 21st to 24th June 2021 Community – Action – Service (CAS) project activity Year 9 21st to 27th May 2021 IGCSE Taster sessions Other events to consider 14th to 24th June 2021 Exam weeks for Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. 14th to 18th June 2021 Year 6 Transition taster sessions. 25th June 2021 Graduation for year 13 . 28th to 30th June 2021 End of year activities for all CAS The students of Y12 have been participating in a first aid training by Kingue adventure school. It has been wonderful to see all the motivation and effort that they found to complete this online course. Thanks to the Y12 parents who became their patients and participated in each of the case studies that they had, in order to practice what they have learned. This has been part of the CAS program for the second year in a row. Besides this First Aid certification, they will also be awarded with a LEAVE NO TRACE certification, that is intended for outdoor recreational users who wish to minimize their impact on the natural environment whether they are hiking, canoeing, kayaking, climbing, etc. Here are some images. Sociales Y9 students have been working in the History of Human Rights and its evolution. This topic is really important for them because it helps to develop citizens with a global perspective and contributes to the development of democratic attitudes. A special task that we did in class, was an analysis of a 2004 Kurdish war drama film "When the turtles can fly" - written, produced, and directed by Bahman Ghobadi - that narrates the life of a group of refugee kids in a Kurdish camp, the only worry they had, was to stay a life. As you know, the use of films is an essential part of the social studies class because it is a pedagogical tool that enhances our students' understanding of historical events and themes. In the tasks they have identified the needs of the children in camp, the rights that have been denied to them and what can we do from our point of view to help thousands of kids living in the same circumstances. Also they had to make a short review of the film. These are some examples of the group activities. Mrs. Paola Montenegro, CAS Coordinator | Sociales Teacher Year 7 English In English this term, Year 7 are studying Shakespeare’s comedy ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. So far, we have looked at the social and historical context underpinning the play and this week we have begun reading. Why not ask your child to explain who loves whom in Act 1? Mrs. Moors, English Teacher Volcanos in Year 9! The lucky students in year 9 had the privilege of having a volcanologist visit their lesson to explain the basics of volcanoes, explain her job and then answer their questions. They then did some research on volcanoes that had recently erupted. Here is what they discovered! Ms. Sawyers, Humanities Teacher Diversity in the workplace These past few years have brought attention to diversity and the increasing representation of people from various backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Making space and amplifying the voices of everyone in the workplace, equally, contributes to a more inclusive world. All of these areas will remain a top priority for organizations in the future. Many forward-leaning organizations are also focusing on the idea of ‘equity’ as part of their overall strategy. Equity in the workplace manifests in a wide range of ways from solving decision points that lead to pay inequity between different people doing the same work and exploring equity in talent in businesses. It goes without saying that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought tremendous change and upheaval to all working conditions. But another major change of the last year has been the increasing push to prioritize Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. The focus on equity in the workplace will be a magnified topic as businesses are being called on to operate with a deeper level of transparency around compensation reporting, board representation, harassment reporting and advancement all successes regarding the path to equality. Barbara - Equality and Diversity Committee Do you have any questions? Contact us at: [email protected] Have a wonderful week everyone
Lee Moors Head of Secondary |
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May 2024
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