BSB News Issue 14 11th December 2009
Key Dates January
From the Executive Principal Dear Parents,
4
First Day Back
A very warm message from me to wish you all a very peaceful and happy holiday season.
4—8
Music Enrolment Week
So many new opportunities and events are coming up in the next year that I hardly know where to begin!
12
ASA‘s begin
Janet Brock and I have been looking at ways to improve the facilities further at the San Li Tun site and I look forward to working with her on that…watch this space!
13— 14
Secondary Concert, Shunyi
18— 22
Year 11 Trial Exams
28
Music Circus III PIPS programme
February 2
Year 6 Parent Transition Evening (SLT)
3
Year 6 Parent Transition Evening (SY)
4
Year 6 Ski Trip
5
Year 5 Ski Trip
5
Year 11 Trial Exam Reports go home
10
Year 9 IGCSE option evening
10
Year 11 Parent Teacher consultations
Jane Smith and the whole primary team have done a superb job of turning our new Shunyi Campus primary section into a much more colourful and interesting environment with some lovely 3D display work that has really made a difference. I know Jane and her team have a lot more ideas that will ―spring up‖ after the Christmas holidays and I can‘t wait to see them. In secondary school Martyn Steel and our PE teachers have been working very hard with the students and have done a really wonderful job or raising the profile of sports and teams within the school and we have had some admirable successes over the last month. I know all the other coaches (myself included!) are hungry for even greater success. The art department has been working very hard indeed on sculptures, paintings and even has some pottery on the horizon. There is a real buzz around the school which I can only imagine will increase next year. Of course the Music department (ALL of them!) have done us proud this year with some truly spectacular performances that are a huge credit to our school (and if I might be so bold, the envy or some other schools!). Last night I was privileged to watch our wonderful choir perform for his Excellency the Ambassador at the British Chamber of Commerce Christmas Party. They received huge applause from the audience and personal congratulations from the CEO himself. It was a genuinely moving moment. Of course I would like to thank all our teachers and TA‘s for all their hard work. The special element that they bring to BSB cannot be underestimated and is clear in the face of children as they talk to them in class and in the corridors. My personal thanks to all of them. And finally, my thanks to all of you; the parents. You have made me feel very welcome and also contributed hugely to the life of the school. Not least in the form of the parents society and advisory board but also in the huge amount of help that you have put into many of the school events. This space is too short for me to name them all! Your work for charity will spread good cheer far outside the school gates and the effect of what we have achieved will make a real, and indeed critical difference in the lives of many. I am honoured to work with you all and I look forward to many more fruitful years. Very warmest regards
International Day—To Be Confirmed
Michael Embley Executive Principal The British School of Beijing
BSB News Teaching Assistant Recruitment for 2010/2011 Nicola Thompson, our TA Coordinator, has begun the process of recruiting native-English speaking teaching assistants for next academic year. Top UK universities have been contacted and already applications are streaming in for this ‗gap year‘ opportunity of a lifetime. We look for intelligent, enthusiastic, creative, sporty young people of the highest caliber to join our dynamic teaching teams. Applications will far exceed posts available and Nicola and members of the WSLT will interview shortlisted candidates later next term. SMS System The British School of Beijing is proud to announce that our new SMS system is in place. This will be used sparingly, to contact parents about snow days, occasional reminders of events at the school and other important information. If you have any queries about this service, please contact our Publication and Liaison Officer at elliot.richards@britishschool.org.cn
Whole School News: Shoeboxes Congratulations on sending in 539 shoe boxes!! You will be making a lot of children very happy this holiday. On Wednesday this week several mums came in to help check the contents of all the boxes. Thank you to Hyojin, Sai, Maggie, Michelle, Amy, Emily and Sonia, along with Catherine, Susan and Gabrielle who helped me finish sorting in the afternoon. We will be sending 499 boxes to disadvantaged children in Beijing, we feel that the contents of the boxes are most suitable for these children and will be well loved and used. We will also be sending 40 boxes to our school in Gansu, these will be joined by a further 150 boxes from one of our sister schools in Shanghai. I would like to thank you very much for all your hard work in sending in a box. I wish you very happy holidays and look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year. Sally Embley
BSB News Notices: From Admissions. Tips for January start! Spring term starts on January 4th 2010! The school day begins at 8.30am, and the doors will be open at 8.15am. During the holidays the Uniform Shop is open as following: From Monday 14th to Tuesday 22nd December: 10 am to 3pm. From Monday 4th January: from 8.30 to 11.30 am and from 1.30 to 3 pm. INVOICING & TUITION FEES Any finance-related queries should be addressed directly to the Finance Department (contact michael.lv@britishschool.org.cn or telephone Michael on 010-8532 3088 ext. 132). DEPOSIT If you child leaves school at the end of Spring term (April 2nd), please be reminded that the deadline for the deposit refund is January 9th 2010. Notice received after this date will not ensure the refund of the deposit. ADMISSIONS DOCUMENTS: Please be reminded to provide Admissions with the most updated contact details, copies of your visa, passports and medical insurance details. For any queries please contact: Shunyi Admissions, Chiara Marini on chiara.marini@britishschool.org.cn or phone 010-80473588 ext.605 Sanlitun Admissions, Desiree Weidmann on desiree.weidmann@britishschool.org.cn or phone 01085323088 ext. 117 ASAs: After School Activities start on January 12th 2010 for Primary and Secondary. Please check the Parents-Students Handbook for more details on the calendar. The Administration Team wishes you all a very lovely Holiday!
Click here for Sanlitun
Click here for Shunyi
BSB News News From Sanlitun: Foundation Stage As we approach the end of the term we realise what a busy and exciting time we have had in Foundation. As we tackle our Christmas activities we see how the children have grown in confidence and independence, and it is lovely to see how they have built new friendships and have enjoyed lots of fun learning experiences. If you were to walk past our Pre-nursery classroom, you would hear us singing various Christmas songs with gusto! You can feel us getting excited about Christmas as we prepare for it. We used scissors to cut out amazing snowflakes to decorate our winter bulletin board. We also wrapped presents to put under our class Christmas tree. We made salt dough ornaments, glitter stars and stamped and designed our own wrapping paper. In Nursery you would hear us continuing to enjoy the songs we learned for our production, in particular the one about Frosty the Snowman. We have listened to his story too and made a collage picture of him. We have also been busy making our Christmas cards and calendars – and thinking about what we would like Santa Claus to bring us. Passing Reception you would see that winter has finally arrived. After a busy few weeks getting ready for and performing our Christmas production of ―The Biggest Turkey in the Land‖, the children have been making Christmas cards, calendars, writing letters to Santa and making lots of winter collages. The whole Foundation team would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families an enjoyable and restful holiday and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year. Nancy Appelbe Thank you for your continued support. The Foundation Stage Team
Key Stage One This week in year one we have been getting ready for Christmas. We made Christmas cards for our parents, stockings to hang on our mantle piece and snowmen to decorate our classrooms. We also wrote a letter to Father Christmas. In year two we have been pretending we are Santa‘s little helpers! We have made Christmas wreaths with robin‘s to go inside them. We also made Christmas crowns. On Wednesday it was the KS1 Christmas party. We had a great time dancing with our friends and making conga lines! We can‘t wait to see what Santa brings us. Peter Mcsweeny, KS1
BSB News News From Sanlitun: Key Stage Two Year 5 in Sanlitun have been hard at work over the last 3 weeks creating their own animations. The idea began when they studied Maori myths and legends in their literacy lessons. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand who have a very distinct and rich culture. Many believe that Maori culture is being forgotten by new generations. The task for year 5 was to produce a Maori myth in a style that would capture the interest of younger generations of Maori. First, the children had to read old myths and then adapt them into a simpler style for a younger audience. Once this was done, the tricky task of animating could begin. The children used a style of animation called ‗stopfame‘ animation. This involved taking many pictures of clay models that, when played back, give the illusion of movement. Not only that, the children had to narrate their animation with their story and record this onto the computer. Finally, the children used video-editing software to put everything together. Lots of hard work paid off and the result were great and can be viewed on the school website soon. Stuart Young, Sanlitun
Christmas Carols at Sanlitun
This week we have a couple of pieces of work from Sanlitun Students. The task was to complete a newspaper report on the Christmas Fayre. Please see below for
BSB News V O L U M E
1 ,
I S S U E
S A T U R D A Y
1
5 T H
D E C E M B E R
Is it Fayre that Santa goes to BSB? was welcome to have a picture with the one and only Santa Claus. Once the picture was taken, it took one hour for the printed picture to be ready and therefore, it became less busy as the Christmas Fayre came to an end. Stalls BSB Choir singing.
Today the British School of Beijing (BSB) held it’s annual Christmas Fayre, taking place between 12p.m to 3p.m. It was opened to both the children from the school and the general public. The school was crowded with people having fun in the Fayre. All the money earned was sent to the charities UNICEF and the Spring Bud project.
To buy items and play games in the Christmas Fayre, you must first buy tickets that either represent 10 yuan or 5 yuan. In each of the games you can win a reward, a few examples are the Chocolate Tombola, Get Revenge with your Teacher and Santa’s wire. “ I liked the Chocolate Tombola the most!”Ji Min, Year 6 student. There were some stalls that sold necklaces and clothing which asked for
There was also face painting which had a lot of different designs for the face and also a magic shrink stall, where you can create a mini plastic label using magic. Raffle A raffle was held at the end of the Fayre, many people have donated for this and there were over 30 prizes. Raffle tickets were either ordered by the adults of BSB pupils, or bought at the time of the fayre. The 1st prize was an upgraded seat on British Airways, 2nd prize was a 2 for 1 beauty treatments at the Bath House Residence, last but not least, the 3rd prize was one night’s stay at The Opposite House. There were also a lot of restaurant vouchers and jewellery. Roger Ren, Sanlitun Reporter
BSB’s Choir During the Christmas Fayre, BSB’s choir sang a selection of Christmas carols, singing twice, once at the start of the Christmas Fayre and later at 1:30p.m. Some of the songs they sang were Silent Night and We Three Kings. “The Christmas Fayre is the best!”- Mr. Gibson, Teacher. Santa’s Grotto BSB’s waiting room was transformed into Santa’s Grotto and everyone
Get Revenge with your teacher stall. real money instead of the tickets and the food stalls only accepted real money.
Money earned by the Chocolate tombola.
BSB TODAY Beijing's Best Selling Newspaper
‘On the 5th day of Christmas’ Christmas gets cracking at the fabulous fayre. By Kirsty MacLeod On Saturday the 5th of December a traditional annual Christmas fayre was held at the British School of Beijing (BSB) in Sanlitun. This event included Father Christmas in his grotto giving presents to children and also there were Christmas carols, games, and a raffle.
people around them.
‘It really got me in the Christmas sprit!’ remarked Calum MacLeod as one of the Fayre visitors. He won first prize in the raffle, an upgrade on British Airways. In the raffle there were 30 prizes. At the Fayre many people enjoyed the delicious food; Brian Smith particularly adored the food and said that he loved the creamy soup and the cheesy burger.
In the hall there were stalls selling quite a lot of different things, ranging from books to jewelry, and from food to Christmas gifts. In the gym, which was alive with activity, there were games to play and competitions to enter. The chocolate tombola was rated the most popular game; a bag full of pieces of red, green and white cards. You must put your hand in the bag and pull out a card and if you’re holding a red card you are very fortunate because you have won a big chocolate treat. White, not as lucky but you still get some sweets and green is still ok but just a small sweet.
The Fayre was based in the hall and gym but there were a few stalls selling food scattered around outside. This year the Fayre was extremely busy with everyone swarming everywhere, pushing and shoving to make their way through the blizzard of
Merethe Borge was not one for the games but enjoyed watching the children having fun. The Fayre certainly did have a Christmas feel about it. Lijia Zhang said ‘it was quite unusual, this Christmas feel in Beijing as it is never as Christ-
massy as this, almost like a Traditional English Christmas.’ The Fayre felt like Christmas and looked like Christmas. In the gym there were hoops hanging from the ceiling, and on the hoops there were Christmas decorations which were made by the children of the school. This year’s Christmas Fayre had been great! If you went I hope you had a terrific time, but if you didn’t you missed a great time, but you can wait till next year!
BSB News News From Sanlitun: Sanlitun Parents Society Sweet Success After weeks of preparation: cotton candy twirling sessions, waffle timing theory classes, and crossing fingers for our toffee-apples, we did it! Thanks ever so much to the parents who gave freely of their time (and money!) to help make the Parent Society‘s stall at the Christmas Fayre sweet success. Very special acknowledgements go out to Nils and Renate, Sridevi, Ren, Yuni, Karen and Shakira, for going that extra mile. A very Merry Christmas to you and your families and best wishes for the new year!
Could Parents please be on the look out for a Silver Nintendo DS which has gone missing. If anyone has found it please could they return it to Lisa Li at Sanlitun.
GREAT NEWS You may remember in October of this year many parents and children donated over 13.000rmb in a sporty non uniform day at BSB. The money raised was to go towards a cleft palate operation for a baby girl called Mary who was being cared for at Beautiful Harbour Orphanage until she was strong enough to have the operation. The great news is that Mary went in for surgery on Wednesday 9th December! Her white blood cell count was high enough so she will hopefully have the operation. Lisa Agrassi who works closely with Beautiful Harbour has told us that ―things can change of course upon hospital entry, but let's hope!‖ Dawn Ross
A Picture from the recent performance of Cinderella by Sanlitun Students.
BSB News Christmas Concert Shunyi
BSB News Christmas Carols Shunyi
The Snow Man Last week‘s The Snow Man concert was an outstanding success and we would like to warmly thank everyone involved in this lovely evening of music. A string orchestra played music from the animated film The Snow Man whilst it was showing on the screen. The performers were professional musicians, Dandelion Children‘s Symphony Orchestra and volunteers from Kids on the Stage. This was the first project the Children‘s Musical Charity had taken on, involving the children at the Dandelion School in Beijing, a school dedicated to the education of migrant workers‘ children. The proceeds of the concert will provide free musical education for children in need. The idea for the concert came from Wings of Music Children‘s Musical Charity that creates opportunities for those who would otherwise be unable to access a musical education. It is hoped that through a free musical education, children may be able to overcome the obstacles that their personal situations have imposed on them. Congratulations to the organizers of this event – a memorable concert.
BSB News Foundation Stage
News From Shunyi:
It has been a wonderful time in the Foundation Stage this week. It really has been full of festivities with our Christmas parties, Christmas crafts and party games. We are really happy to be able to send home to you - the DVD of our Christmas Nativity show that the children performed last week. We were so proud of the children and thought that you too would like a memory of their great moments. Please enjoy! Also coming home this week, will be a range of Christmas cards and decorations that the all the children in Pre Nursery, Nursery and Reception classes have been busily making over the past few days. I am sure they will cheer any room up. Thank you so much to all parents for your help and support this term. It truly has been a magical time. We will deeply miss Mrs. Williamson as she moves to Hong Kong, but wish her luck in her new adventures. We welcome Mrs. Sophie Corr into Nursery in January. All that is left to say is have a wonderful holiday and we look forward to seeing you in January. Kind regards Kirsty Massie Foundation Stage Co-ordinator and Nursery Class teacher
Key Stage One Year 1 have had a very Christmassy week making paper chains, snowflakes, Christmas wreaths and Christmas tree using lashings of glitter and other shiny materials to decorate their creations. The children particularly enjoyed making reindeer faces by tracing round their hands and feet to make a cute Rudolph reindeer. The classroom has also been filled with the sound of the children practising their songs for the successful Cinderella production on Tuesday, as well as singing other Christmassy songs during the week. A fantastic end to a super term for Year 1! Year 2 also enjoyed a festive and rather messy week making lots of Christmas decorations for the classroom and magnificent crowns to wear at the Christmas lunch. The children also worked extremely hard in rehearsals, and then performed superbly, as cleaning equipment in the Cinderella production! They wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
BSB News News From Shunyi: Key Stage Two This week Year 3 have been drawing their topic to a close. The children have looked closely at teeth and foods which can damage them. We have looked at the different teeth and why each tooth is shaped the way it is. We have looked at animal teeth and discussed the how the diet of the animal is reflected in the teeth they have. We have also been preparing for Christmas making Baubles, bells, christmas trees and stars for the children to put on their trees at home. Of course the highlight of the week has been the singing and dancing for the production of Cinderella. The children were terrific and all the staff were delighted with them. This week Year 4 have had a very Christmassy week! They have danced and sung their way through the Christmas Cinderella production. They were a very good audience for the foundation stage concert where they learned the story of Christmas. They used water colours and press print to create their own Christmas Cards. They created their own Christmas hats for the Christmas lunch. They have thought about the meaning of Christmas and listened for Christmas messages in Christmas stories, songs, carols and films. And for their grand finale they have been making bread and mince pies for the Christmas Tudor Banquet! Year 4 would like to wish everyone a peaceful and safe holiday wherever they are. See you next year! Christian Bishop, Shunyi
Year 5 Year 5 this week have been finishing off their work on micro-organisms. We learned that microorganisms can be used in making certain foods, like bread, cheese and yoghurt, as well as in the making of beer and wine. We put this knowledge to the test by making two kinds of bread – one with yeast and one without – and compared the two. Jason Oak, Shunyi This week year six have been busily completing their forces and twentieth century topics. On Monday we completed an air-resistance investigation, where the children went through the steps of the investigative process to explore the relationship between air resistance and surface area. The children designed their own investigations, recorded their own results and drew reasonable conclusions. Yesterday the children also went to the Hard Rock Café in Chaoyang, where they investigated a range of artifacts, which the café has on show. As the term has progressed the children have studied the later part of the twentieth century, focusing in particular on popular culture and the Beatles, with particular reference to John Lennon. Capping this off with lunch and an artifact study was the perfect way to end, what I‘m sure the children will agree, has been a fantastic topic. Take a look at the photos to see year six in action! Mark Johnson (Y6J)
BSB News News From Shunyi: EAL: As the holiday approaches, let me congratulate all of my EAL students again on such hard work this term! Please have a well-deserved break, but do me one favour: try your best to use your English during the holidays. Read an English book, or watch some English DVDs. Ask your parents to take you to and English-speaking country, even. A very Merry Christmas from the EAL department! See you all in the new year. Andrew Morrissey
Chinese It‘s getting cold in Beijing. This week SY Reception advanced Chinese group learned a Chinese song named ―Little Snowflake‖. They enjoyed the song very much, and they also enjoy the cold but beautiful winter in Beijing. This Monday (the 7th of December) is ―Great Snow‖, which is one of the twenty-four solar terms. ―Great Snow‖ means it will snow heavily. Solar Terms is a calendar of twenty-four periods and climate to govern agricultural arrangements in ancient China and functions even now. These twentyfour solar terms each suggest the position of the sun every time it travels 15 degrees on the ecliptic longitude. Hope everybody enjoy your Christmas holiday! Primary Chinese Monica Li
Secondary Year 7 Secret Santa party at year 7! After 2 weeks of long, long and exhilarating wait, Year 7 students have finally opened their Secret Santa presents this morning. It was very hard to see boxes, bags and packets appearing every day around their Christmas tree, and we are not sure that all secrets remained secret, but it was really fun and all worth it when all students gathered around the tree and opened their gifts with frenzy! We then enjoyed a great party, with festive music and yummy food and drinks! What a good way to end the year! We thank you all for your hard work this term, Year 7, and are looking forward to more fun with you next term! Mrs. Azeem and Mr. Ng (7AA) and Ms. Liu and Mr.
BSB News News From Shunyi: Business Studies—Christmas Fair Project Task: To raise as much money for Charity at the Christmas Fair. The Year 10 Business Studies students were split into 3 teams and asked to come up with a team name (DEE, oLo and H.I.T). They then had to come up with their own ideas to enable them to make the greatest profit. Each group was given 200 Yuan start-upcapital. DEE Activities: Selling necklaces & bracelets, guess the meaning of the team name Captain: Hannah Team Members: Film, Doris and Luisa. Profit: 2060. oLo Activities: Making and selling snowmen and guess how many sweets in the jar Captain: Randy Team members: Ryder and Prateek. Profit: 1528 H.I.T Activities: Selling Christmas cards, bowling, guess how many skittles and marshmallows Captain: Mujtaba Team members: Harry and Tom. Profit: 1183 Winning Team = DEE Total profit = 4771 Each team was interviewed by Mr Baten, Mr Brightwell and Mrs Parr on Wednesday 9th December in an apprentice style interview process. Students were questioned on their performance and asked to decide on the most valuable members. Luisa came out as the top sales person and Randy was nominated the leading team captain. A fantastic effort from all the students involved. I look forward to the next challenge. Mr Brightwell, Business Studies
BSB News News From Shunyi: During their PE lesson on Monday, years 10, 11, and 12, were given the task of planning and leading a dodge ball tournament for children from year 3. They were responsible for organising teams, providing coaching drills, warm ups and cool downs as well as time keeping, scoring and organisation of games to be played on various courts, umpiring and most importantly making sure everyone was having fun! The afternoon was a huge success with a very close finish to the tournament. The final scores were as follows; Green Team 5 points, Non-Bibs 8 points, Red Team 9 points and our joint winners, the Blue and Yellow Team earned themselves 10 points. Well done to everyone. Tracey Hill
Music The final week before the holiday has seen the Senior choir, as always, performing Carols at many and varied venues. Last Friday the Senior choir travelled to the Westin Hotel in Financial Street to perform in their magnificent lobby. The choir were positioned on a very grand staircase and the students were enthusiastic, committed and splendid ambassadors for the school. This week the Senior Choir performed Xmas Carols at both Sanlitun and Shunyi campuses. The final musical concert of a busy term was at the Westin Hotel at a reception for the British Ambassador. The students should be applauded for their hard work in preparing for these performances, the quality of the singing and their commitment to represent the school at all these events. Thanks also to Mrs. Jennie Grierson and the Junior choir students from Shunyi and Sanlitun who supported us at these events and performed their very own ‗gig‘ at the Wangfujing Hilton Hotel last Thursday. I wish all the musicians a happy holiday and look forward to a fantastic January concert. Paul England Assistant Director of Music
BSB News News From Shunyi: Secondary School Christmas House Quiz On Thursday afternoon, 10 December the students took part in a 6 round quiz in the theatre. There were rounds on Science & Maths & ICT, History & Geography, English & Art, Languages, Sport & Music and the last round was a picture round. The picture round involved naming famous celebrities and members of staff when they were a little baby or child. It was a close fought competition but the winning House at the end was Blue House. A great time was had by all. Finally a big thank you to all the staff who provided the questions, the Maths teachers for keeping the scores and a big thank you to Mr Muhammad Azeem for his computer work and skills that helped in the presentation of the event. Mr Bourne
Sports News Senior Girls Basketball vs BISS The girls have had some practice and used the time to begin to develop an offensive game plan. By the time you read this they will know whether the practice has paid off. Practices continue for both boys' and girls' squads in theforst week of term as both team will travel down to Tianjin on Friday January 8th for their next game. Good luck teams! Swim Team A reminder that swim team will start on Thursday January 7th with the practice running from 3.40-4.45pm. There will be a bus available for students that need to return to Sanlitun for collection. Children that would like to join this club must already be able to swim at least 25m. GO BEARS! Julian Barnsley Athletic Director & Activities Coordinator
BSB News Whole School, Shunyi and Sanlitun: Primary House Names & Colours Normans
Saxons
Sanlitun House Points
Vikings
Secondary Merit Awards
Romans
Shunyi House Points
Key Stage 3 Mina Shin
139
Diana Park
111
Normans
350
Normans
235
Minori Yariwake
109
Vikings
381
Vikings
283
Leonie Buschmann
105
Romans
392
Romans
461
Saxons
552
Saxons
253
Congratulations to the Saxons on earning the highest House Points for the week ending 11th December Well done, Saxons
Congratulations to the Romans on earning the highest House Points for the week ending 11th December. Well done, Romans
Key Stage 4 Oceane Duprat
53
Andrea DeMatteis
37
Doris Sun
36
Sylvia Vidinyu
36
Parents’ Page: BSB is pleased to widen the scope of our newsletter by including a Parents’ Page, items for this page should be in keeping with the ethos of the School and should be submitted to our Publication and Liaison Officer on elliot.richards@britishschool.org.cn before 4pm Wednesday on the week in which they are to appear. Please note we cannot advertise businesses; the aim is to promote charitable events and personal ads from BSB parents. AustSwim Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety Certification Course February 2010 If you are considering doing the course, or have already registered, please let me know as AustSwim have generously agreed to offer a US$100- discount to everyone that is linked with BSB. I will be asked to confirm your association. Hope to hear from you, Julian Barnsley julian.barnsley@britishschool.org.cn
Athletic Director & Activities Coordinator The British School of Beijing