Newsletter Jan 2018

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Beaconhouse School System Kindergarten E -11 Islamabad

Newsletter January 2018 MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMISTRESS The onset of winter and the festivities of the New Year announce the completion of our first term. These past five months were full of fun, where the students did not only concentrate on their studies, but also participated in various activities. In the words of Jean Piaget, “ The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things” We at BKI E-11 strongly believe in involving our little ones in the learning process through activities such as exploring, analyzing, experiencing, creating, and reflecting. We are also utilizing our morning assemblies to emphasize upon the importance of good behavior in our children. This approach stems from our belief that self-evaluation is integral to development of wellrounded personalities. Our aim is to develop moral values and positive attitudes mingled with concepts and skills. Undoubtedly, self-discipline is as significant a trait as self-confidence. I express my heartfelt gratitude for the worthy parents whose cooperation made it easier for us to tread through the first term. I look forward to your support and feedback in the second term as well, as it contributes towards the steps taken for further improvement. Wishing you happiness and contentment in the New Year.

Regards,

Faaiza Ijaz Durrani

OPEN DAY The school opened on Monday 21st August’17, to commence the new session. The ambiance epitomized festivity, fun and warmth. Teachers planned various ice-breaking activities in classes to welcome the new students joining from this session.

Students were excited to see Mickey Mouse receiving them at the school gate. The beautiful photo booth ensured each click to be a cherishable moment. To mark the commencement of a new academic session, each student was given a sapling to plant in their community, hence educating them about tree plantation and conservation.

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ORIENTATION DAY For the development of a well-rounded personality of each child, it is very important that all the stakeholders are at the same page. Keeping up with the tradition of BKI E-11, we held an orientation session in the branch. Parents were briefed about the school policies, curriculum lay out, and assessment procedures. It was followed by a question & answer session. Parents' queries were answered by the branch head.

GRANDPARENTS DAY Tiny Tots of Early Years spent a day with their grandparents in school. It was an effort to express gratitude for the unconditional love they have for their grandchildren.

Students sang songs, recited poems, and expressed their feelings of love for their grandparents. Different stations were also set up for the children and grandparents where they spent time occupied in fun filled activities. Kindergarten students interviewed Amal Sheraz's grandfather and asked questions about his childhood. Rahma's grandfather dedicated a beautiful song for her. We thank all the worthy guests for taking the time out to make this event a resounding success.

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A VISIT TO CHARAGH-E-BADAR (NUML) We, in BSS, promote and support community service so that our students grow into empathetic humans, as we believe that empathy should be the basic guiding principle for all the actions from an early age. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step. On Monday 30th October, our students of class I&II went to Charagh-e- Badar, a school for underprivileged children being run by the students and faculty of NUML University.

Our students paired themselves with the children there and involved them in various age appropriate activities such as quiz competitions, games, painting competitions, and singing. They shared food with their Charagh-e- Badar buddies. The school coordinator, and the head of Chinese Department Dr.Liowere requested to give prizes to the winners. The NUML administration gave certificates to all the children and the staff members to acknowledge their efforts in community service. Spending a day with them was a humble effort to share Allah’s countless blessings bestowed upon us with those deprived of it. We hope that it will stay with our students and help in ensuring the development of a more just, caring, and compassionate world.

MILAAD

To pay tribute to the Holy Pophet Muhammad Mustafa PBUH, the students and faculty of BKIE-11 organized a milaad "Hum Aur Hamaray Nabbi." Students, their mothers, and grandmothers enthusiastically attended the event. Students recited Hamds and Naats and spoke about various aspects of the Prophet PBUH's personality.

For news and updates find us at: Call: 051 2221863 051 2221858

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http//www.facebook.com/bss.kg.e11 House# 512, Street# 33, Sector E-11/3, Islamabad

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INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY We celebrated International Children's Day in the branch on Monday 20th November. In this regard, teachers presented a role-play for the students, followed by singing, dancing, and a question answer session. Students thoroughly enjoyed the performance of their teachers. This gesture clearly communicated the love we all have for our little students. At the end of the day, each student went home with a little token conveying a message of love for him or her.

GLOBAL DIGNITY DAY In connection with the Global Dignity Day, students organized a special morning assembly presentation. Students and their teachers explained the significance of GDD through a very impressive panel discussion. A poster making competition highlighting the slogan “Dignity for All” was held among the students of Class II-A & B. Students were involved in an interactive discussion session conducted by an NGO Wah Wah GUL being run by ex Beaconhouse students.

ANNUAL SPORTS DAY The branch organized its thematic Annual Sports Day 0n 14th December 2017 at Shahbaz Sharif Sports Complex. National badminton champion Ms. Ayesha Ikram, graced the event as the chief guest. The event boasted 100% students’ participation. The theme, Transportation & Traffic Rules was carefully selected to ensure cross-curricular links. The ambiance not only epitomized festivity and fun, but also ensured the opportunity to generate awareness of traffic signs and rules. The invites also conveyed a public awareness message for all the parents regarding the significance of obeying traffic rules. In addition to the races, a spectacular Zumba performance, PT, and Karate displays stole the show.

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MORNING A school assembly creates a sense of community among the students and the faculty members by bringing them together. Conducted appropriately, it adds value to a school's curriculum and provides opportunities to address the issues such as social and personal behavior, reinforcement of acceptable manners, safety measures and national issues such as energy conservation. We, in BKI E 11 have been utilizing the morning assemblies not only to give our little ones a cheerful beginning of each day but also to build their confidence as performers and speakers, along with inculcating and reinforcing moral and social values in these future nation builders.

ASSEMBLY PRESENTATION

PODCASTING Podcasting is a wonderful way of allowing children to share their work and experiences with a potentially huge audience over the Internet. It does not only give them a potential audience for their work, but is also great for developing literacy skills. It also allows children to develop and practice their speaking and listening skills along with providing exposure to some amazing ICT skills. Our students from all the five levels are constructively engaged through this platform by sharing their learning and public awareness messages. You can listen to them on

https://soundcloud.com/user-966727935

DIGITAL STORY MAKING IN COLLABORATION

“The fun for me in collaboration is, one, working with other people just makes you smarter; that's proven.�Lin-Manuel Miranda Collaboration is the key to effective learning.

We in BKI E-11 took an initiative in this regard by inviting other branches to collaborate with us in compiling an eBook written by the students.

Under this ongoing initiative, students of each collaborating branch are contributing in designing one chapter of the digital storybook, which at completion will be compiled as an eBook as well as a printed hard cover book to be shared with all.

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PET DAY

BSS MOBILE APP “REDEFINING COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS”

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”

Students of class I-A observed different animals in connection with their science lesson, ‘Humans and other Animals’. They participated in a lively discussion about their pets, animal habitats, while also talking about the different characteristics of living things that distinguish them from non-living things.

BSS Mobile app is a comprehensive tool allowing teachers, parents, and students to connect from the comfort of their homes. The app ensures easy tracking of your child’s performance at school, and adds features to connect with the school’s staff like never before. Before creating an account, all users are required to pass the security clearance. Once an account is created, the student’s profile can be created at any time. App’s functionality is divided into academics and administrative components. It is available both on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Parents are requested to download the app at priority as, not only we will now be communicating through it but the homework will also be sent using this app.

COMPETITIONS INTRA-GROUP ONLINE DIGITAL PICASSO COMPETITION Abeer Waqas and Rayyan Akhtar of Nursery A secured 2nd position in Intra Group Online Digital Picasso Competition.

Inter-Class Spelling Competition KG-A 1st Sarim Ahmad 1st Hania Imran 1st Hawwa Bibi 2nd Zarkha Khattak 3rd Ayaan Sohail KG-C 1st Wadaana Malak 1st Rubas Waseem 2nd Abu Bakr Khan 2nd Shayyan Ahmad 3rd Ismail Anjum 6

KG-B 1st Ahmad Abdullah 1st Zayna Sadiq 1st Shayyan Salman 1st Anaya Sajid 1st Ali Haris 1st Tabraiz Haidri 2nd Eshaal Riaz 2nd Bilal Jahanzeb 2nd Hasnaat Khan 3rd Airaj Sohaib

INTRA- GROUP ONLINE LITTLE MUSICIANS COMPETITION FOR KINDERGARTEN ONLINE INTRA GROUP NURSERY RHYMES COMPETITION

Aisha Tahir of Pre Nursery A secured 3rd position in online Intra-Group Nursery Rhymes Competition held on 27th November,’17.

CLASS 1-A 1st Eshaal Ali 2nd Mustafa Anwar 2nd Ayra Syed 3rd Inayah Hussnain CLASS 1-B 1st Murtaza Anwar 1st Abdullah bin Hammad 1st Batool Mustafa 1st Hajra Ali 2nd Ayan Waqas 2nd Ali Sher 2nd Momin Durrani 3rd Fatima Zaidi

CLASS 2-A 1st Hamza Imran 2nd Fatima Nawaz 3rd Fatima Abdul Rahman CLASS 2-B 1st Zahra Haider 1st Gullali khan 1st Sufyan Ali 2nd Ayra Khan 2nd Ilhan Ahmed 3rd Suleman Inayat Khan

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SECURITY SYSTEM Safety of our students is our top priority. To make sure students and the school staff know how to respond in case of emergencies, security drills such as Evacuation, Lockdown, and Fire Extinguishing are being incorporated on a routinely basis in the school. Much to our satisfaction, our little ones performed flawlessly during these drills. At pack-up time, students are handed over to the parents after checking their school ID cards. The school also ensures security via a three-layer security system. At arrival, each visitor has to pass through:  The screening room, where each visitor is screened through a walk through gate and the original CNIC is checked and deposited. A female search guard is also stationed in the screening room for female visitors.  The visitor is then accompanied by a security guard to the school office.  The third layer comprises of the armed security guards who are positioned at the check posts overlooking the school, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

“Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.”

Beaconhouse School System strongly advocates enhancing the quality of education through training of its staff according to international standards. In compliance with our comprehensive training programme, all the newly inducted staff members attended a Beginning Teachers Programme (BTP) at the beginning of the year. Following are the details of the trainings provided so far this year.

Mrs.FatimeRafiq Developing Early Years Practitioner Course ( DEP) Mrs.FauziaIkram ELE Foundation Mrs.Fatima Hamid ELE Foundation Mrs.QuratulAinMmansoor ELE Foundation Mrs.Usaima Hamid Developing Reflective Practitioners (DRP) Mrs.HinaJavaid Developing Reflective Practitioners (DRP) Faaiza Ijaz Durrani Mentoring in Action Faaiza Ijaz Durrani Leadership 101

Parent Teacher Meeting “At the end of the day, most overwhelming key to the success of a child is the positive involvement of parents.”

In order to facilitate a smooth learning process for the children, it is of vital importance that we correlate parent teacher association on a regular basis. This platform provides all the stakeholders with an opportunity to address mutual concerns regarding students' progress and well-being. Other than the PTMs arranged by the school, parents can also request special PTMs through a phone call or using the BSS Mobile App.

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INITIATIVES TO BE TAKEN IN UPCOMING TERM

READING BUDDY PROGRAMME

In order to facilitate the struggling readers of lower primary, we will be commencing the Reading Buddy's Programme from 22nd January 2018.

CLASS OBSERVATION PROGRAMME

We at Beaconhouse School System believe that in the learning triangle, teachers and parents play an equally important role in bringing maximum benefits to the child. As per our previous practice, our doors are open for you to come and observe the different teaching strategies that we use in our daily classroom routine in Early Years, from 22nd January 2018. A circular will also be sent in order to register the parents for the visits.

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GLIMPSES OF ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE LENS

It is a proven fact that students learn more when they participate in the process of their own learning in various ways such as discussion, review, practice or application. Involvement in activities help create an excitement and engagement in children while catering to different learning styles and also help build a desire to gain more knowledge.

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