BSB News: Issue 26 2nd April 2010
Key Dates
From the Executive Principal
April 2
Open Day 10.30—11.30 Shunyi
2
Last term
12
1st Day of Summer Term
day
–
of
1216
Music enrolement week
19
Year 9 Options + Residential Info
20
ASA begin
23
Sports day
23
Curriculum books sent home
29
Primary BSB idol
29
Secondary BSB idol
May 19
Key Stage 1
20
KS1 Swimming Gala
21
KS2 Swimming Gala
Dear all As we come to the holiday I‘d like to reflect a little on the journey we have made over the last few months. Our new campus has been perhaps the most visible, our Royal visit perhaps the most exciting. However it‘s easy to forget some of the other changes that have been more gradual. Our parents society and Parental Board is thriving and a valuable resource for the school. Our sporting programme is far wider than ever it was and I‘m finalising the location of cricket nets and rugby posts even now to further expand our offer as well as authorising thorough renovation of the sports facilities at Sanlitun. The World Scholars Cup, World Maths Day and our recent examination results were hugely pleasing. Academic excellence demonstrated in clear and independent terms is something priceless in any school. The first of our Royal Schools of Music Examinations will be taking place in November. Being selected by the ABRSM to host these examinations is a great honour of course. The school has grown rapidly from some 630 students in September when I arrived to our current enrolment of 725. We continue to grow at a remarkable rate. All of this has been achieved without compromising on that one thing which I believe has come to define and differentiate our school. Academic success, sporting prowess and opportunity along with artistic endeavour must be part of any great school. However the respect, behaviour, social graces and levels of commitment to parent/school cooperation and communication are unique to BSB and the key driver of what we do. We don‘t always get everything right…my own children don‘t always say please and thank you even at home…but our approach is consistent and has paid real dividends. We have managed to grow our school whilst avoiding the pitfalls that can sometimes come with larger numbers of students. The atmosphere at Shunyi and Sanlitun remains positive, family orientated, purposeful and respectful. Even Prince Andrew immediately picked up on this, which I have to say made me more proud than any other aspect of the day. We have also not relaxed our entry requirements and maintain a healthy waiting list. As the oldest British School in Beijing I think we can be justly proud of our traditions while working hard to listen to our parents and to constantly improve on what we do. To put that to the test I have asked that BSB be visited in the week after the holidays by a team of UK trained OFSTED inspectors. They will meet with parents separately from any staff (myself included) and would be very interested to hear from you. I should disclose that these inspectors come from our parent group Nord Anglia Education. I should also make clear that they are VERY thorough and, frankly, my job depends on what they find! This inspection will also help BSB prepare for a full (and wholly independent) inspection by a team from The Independent Schools Inspectorate in the middle of next year. I will make the results of both inspections available to the Parent Advisory Board and a summary available to all members of the BSB community. Have a lovely holiday with your family. Mike Embley, Executive Principal
BSB News: Whole School, Shunyi and Sanlitun: es
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The winner of this terms Table Tennis Tournament is Julian Nelmes, who beat Kim Ng in the final. Well done Julian!
Click here for Shunyi
Click here for Sanlitun
BSB News: News From Sanlitun: World Poetry Day Last Monday 22nd March was BSB celebrated World Poetry Day. At the Sanlitun Campus we were also lucky enough to have our Courtney Campbell workshops which worked in well for the day. Each year group had a style of poem and a poet to explore for the day with the children finishing the day by creating their own poem for their style of poem. Read on to find out what some year groups did. In Foundation Stage all the teachers chose different styles of poems to share with the children. The teachers moved from class to class so the children got to experience a poem from each teacher which they really enjoyed. In Year 2 we read the poem ‗Well, I never!‘ by June Crebbin in which the narrator boasts of eating a staggering number of animals whole (including a horse, a bull and in fact a whole farm!). On realizing that perhaps this is a bit much, the narrator swallowed not another animal but their pride and confessed to the lies, before telling the truth that they‘d swallowed a tooth! The children loved reading this comical rhyming poem, and set to work writing their own rhyming couplets about animals they‘d devoured. The outcome were two funny and fantastic class poems. In Year 3 we looked at a variety of nonsense poems and in particular the works of Spike Milligan. We used his poem, The Land Of The Bumbly Boo, as a frame for our own nonsense verse. We started by changing the name of the land to our own silly sounding place and continued the poem in this fashion. Our finished poems were presented on interconnecting pieces of a nonsense nation map which you can see displayed on the Year 3 corridor. In Year 6 the children selected a Poem written by Benjamin Zephaniah (following his workshop), to perform to the rest of the class. They thought carefully about the performance aspect. They then used his style of poetry to write their own, all about the theme of World Poetry day at BSB.
Sanlitun School Council The Great Raisin Race and Silent Party Games at Sanlitun raised a grand total of 9,973.50RMB for the Mamelodi Trust! What a fantastic success! A big thank you to all sponsors and congratulations to the competitors in doing so much for the schools in South Africa that the Trust supports.
Reading Tip #4: This week‘s reading focus is on the early reader, but it could also be a technique used for children who are either lacking in confidence or are weak in oral fluency. The technique is called ‗echo reading‘ and as its name implies, you and your child will echo one another. First, for the beginning reader, choose a book that is at their level or even just slightly above level. You, the parent, first read the page aloud. Use this chance to demonstrate appropriate pauses, observe punctuation, and impart expression, showing your child how the written word is used to actually communicate meaning. Next, pass the book to your child and allow them to read it aloud, too. They may need to sound out words and repeat phrases, but having heard it once from you gives them a model to follow and allows the words on the page to feel more familiar and less ‗scary.‘ For the older, less fluent reader, it allows them to focus less on the words on the page and more on the use of the words to communicate feelings and expression. Reversing the pattern, your child first and then you reading, also works for the older child who is able to read the words on the page but needs growth in fluency. Finally, as you finish the echo reading technique, echo back praise to your child on a job well done! Book Recommendation: Aesop’s Fables These short, easy to understand stories are great when time is limited. It‘ll keep your child‘s attention span and impart a little moral in a bite-sized package.
BSB News: Sanlitun Parent Society Dear Parents, What a fantastic end to the winter term for the Sanlitun Parent Society! With the advent of Spring comes the happy news of RMB10,000 in profits from Saturday's Jumble Sale, and over RMB2,000 towards the Parent Society from the Bake Sale! Saturday's success was only possible because of your generous contributions, which kept pouring until the day before the sale; your tireless support in the planning stages of the event; and finally, your tremendous assistance on the day itself. Our thanks go out to all of you who lent your support in one way or another. At our next meeting, after the Easter break, we hope to have our Yearn To Learn representative, Rene Cronan-Dixon, with us in order to present her with the promised funds. We hope to see many of you there as well. Have a wonderful Easter break, and a heartfelt thank you to all! With sincere thanks, Denise Lewis Martinez
Foundation Stage Pre-Nursery had two special guests in class this week. Ms. Vivien brought her niece's pet rabbits in for a visit and we could not get enough of the two little cuties! Hannah even named one of them 'Kitten'. We learnt that baby rabbits are indeed called kittens. It was all about rabbits and eggs this week as we learnt where eggs came from and watched a video clip of chicks hatching from eggs. We made bunny ears to wear to our Easter party and had great fun dyeing eggs with our Mummies! Nusrery has had an eggtastic week this week! We began our topic with a school trip to Ritan Park and an Easter egg hunt. We have made yummy chocolate nests complete with chocolate eggs. We transformed hard boiled eggs into beautiful Easter eggs with the help of one of the Nursery Mums and even made our own Easter baskets to put them in. We talked about the Easter story and related it to Hindu celebration of Diwali and the Chinese New Year celebration that we learnt about last term. What a fun and busy week! Dinosaurs ROAR! Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Pterodactyl and Triceratops are just some of the dinosaurs Reception has been learning about this week. We have been sharing lots of non-fiction books about dinosaurs and enjoyed listening to ‗Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs‘ series. We have made collages, paintings and made our very own 3D junk model dinosaurs which will be on display in the library soon!
BSB News: Key Stage One Year 1 in Sanlitun have been busy finishing their beautiful Polar Regions mobiles, with clay penguins and glittery snowflakes, they look lovely hanging in the classrooms. We have also been thinking about being responsible citizens and learning all about global warming and how it is effecting the Polar regions. The children were inspired to learn about endangered animals and made posters to raise awareness of how they are being harmed as a result of disappearing homes. We also thought about what we can do to help reduce global warming. We have had lots of marble rewards nearing the end of term: 1K made some scrumptious fairy cakes and 1S watched a DVD and ate popcorn. Year 2 in Sanlitun have been finishing their very professional-looking Gruffalo information texts this week and have made some mini books, complete with contents pages, glossary and wonderful illustrations. The children have been sharing their books with each other and are now displayed and available for reading in class bookshelves! Year 2 have also finished the term with Marble rewards: 2G celebrated with a DVD and popcorn and 2L had a comfy pajama party with bean bags and games!
Key Stage Two Year 3 spent a fantastic day of sketching at the Beijing Sculpture Park on Thursday. Armed with Mrs. Young‘s fantastic map, a selection of photographs of sculptures to find, and our trusty sketching pencils we hiked for hours and uncovered some amazing pieces of art work. We saw sculptures created in a variety of materials such as steel, bronze and glass, and had lots of fun drawing them and finding out about where they were created. We were so exhausted by the end of the afternoon that nearly everybody fell asleep on the bus back to school! Mr. Thomas, Sanlitun
Xi’an Video This week in Year 5, the children have been busy putting together persuasive adverts. While in Xi‘an on their residential, they took lots of video footage of the amazing sights they saw. Back in school, this video footage was edited and arranged with expert skills in order to create an TV advert to encourage people to visit Xi‘an. Not only did the children create fantastic videos, they also created soundtracks to accompany them and used many effect techniques to make their videos appealing to the eye. Some of the finished adverts were shown in a special Xi‘an assembly this week and, after watching them, everyone in the hall was keen to visit Xi‘an. Success! Stuart Young
BSB News: News From Shunyi: Movie Making ASA Art Gifted and Talented- Shunyi Campus The Gifted and Talented artists from Key Stages 1 and 2 have been busy in the last 2 weeks learning to print! These specialist Art sessions were run by Mr Thomas, who introduced the children to printing using ‗adigraf‘ and ink. The children designed 3 landscapes each that they wanted to print. They were then taught how to carefully carve into the adigraf using special tools. This part of the session was tricky and it took the budding artists some time and patience to cut out their designs carefully. Then came the fun part of the session, getting messy with the ink! Mr Thomas allowed each child to choose their colour card and ink, roll it onto the adigraf and then print their designs. The results were amazing and the children should all be very proud of what they achieved.
Foundation Stage Easter Antics in the Foundation Stage Both the Pre- Nursery and Nursery classes have been exploring the topic of Easter this week. The classrooms have been full of activities linked to this lovely theme. The children have been making Easter eggs, Easter bonnets, Easter cards and chicks. The Nursery children explored the story behind Easter and played a great game on the Interactive whiteboard with puzzles and pair‘s games. On Wednesday, they had a wonderful day at Chaoyang Park where they hunted high and low for their eggs in an Easter Egg hunt. We hope you enjoy the photos we took whilst we were there! It was eggs-cellent!! The Reception children have been continuing work linked to the exciting topic of dinosaurs! They have been exploring non -fiction books and ―Harry and his bucket full of dinosaurs ― It has been a busy week in their Numeracy sessions learning about halves and quarters as well as forming numbers all the way up to 20! We are all looking forward to a restful Easter break so we can come back after the holiday raring to go with our new topics! I wonder what we will be learning next?!! Kirsty Massie- Nursery teacher and Foundation Stage Co-ordinator
BSB News: News From Shunyi: Key Stage One This week Year 1 celebrated a double marble reward. They came to school in non uniform on Wednesday and on Thursday they munched their way through lots of pizza and yummy vanilla icecream at Little Italy! We also found time to decorate Easter eggs for our Easter Egg hunt on Friday morning, as well as enthusiastically decorating our Easter bonnets. Year 2 have also been busy getting ready for Easter. They used their art and craft skills to make super Easter cards and colourful bonnets too. 2A also enjoyed an Easter egg hunt as their final marble reward this term. The week ended with our annual egg rolling competition, which was as fun and loud as always. The children had a great time cheering and supporting their class egg - well done to the winning egg! Susan Anderson, Shunyi
Key Stage Two Year 3 have had a very busy week. In Literacy the children have created an Island setting for their quest Myths. They have combined this with their hero character profiles and their villain profile to begin writing their detailed quest myth. The children storyboarded the myth before starting the writing process, we look forward to reading the finished products. In maths we have begun identifying symmetry around us. The children have looked around school and taken photographs of symmetrical parts of buildings to display in the classroom. In topic the children have got together in groups to create information posters on the three main rock groups. Today the children visited the sculpture park and had great fun looking at and commenting on the sculptures. The children sketched certain sculptures and had a great day all round. Yr 4 have been budding scientists this week. In Science they have been learning all about friction, air and water resistance. They have tested cars on different surfaces to see how friction affects them travelling. They have also made Roman boats which they will test for water resistance in paddling pools tomorrow. In Literacy they have been writing explanatory texts, explaining how friction works. On top of this they have finished their life size Roman soldiers. These shall be on display to form BSB‘s very own Legion!
BSB News: News From Shunyi: Secondary From the Head of Secondary For those parents and students who could make it, I hope you enjoyed the Spring Concert last night. As usual there were some fine solo and ensemble performances which ensured an entertaining evening for all. Thank you to the music and performing arts departments for organising the event and for preparing the students so well. I would like to take this opportunity to pay particular thanks to Mr Webb-Mitchell for doing a fantastic job at BSB; he inspired our students musically and created many opportunities for them to perform, enjoy and thrive. Sadly, he is leaving us to focus on his composing career; we wish him every success and hope that he will join BSB in the future for joint collaborations. The sports teams have been busy this week; well done to the U14 girls basketball squad who achieved a great 32 points to 12 win against IAB; unfortunately the boys lost by the narrowest of margins 33-36 against ISB despite a great team performance. The U19 girls and boys football teams both had fixtures; the boys managed a 1-1 draw against Harrow but the girls were unfortunate to be defeated by IAB on this outing. Well done to all the players for representing BSB and for their 100% commitment and excellent sportsmanship. Year 10 students visited the Urban Planning Exhibition in the city this week to support and enhance their study of the IGCSE geography course. At BSB, we understand the importance of bridging the gap between the classroom and the real world; we are always looking out for new places/ environments including workplaces to take our students in order to enrich our curriculum. If you think you can help or have any suggestions please do get in touch. Thank you to all the parents who have supported us this term and to the students for their excellent efforts. Enjoy the lovely sunshine and have a relaxing Easter holiday. Martyn Steel, Head of Secondary
PLEASE NOTE: Year 9 IGCSE options evening and Residential Visit Information meetings have been postponed until Monday 19th April.
BSB News: News From Shunyi: Secondary Spring Concert
BSB News: Secondary—French For the last 2 weeks, Year 8 have been studying the topic of food and drink, and this week We made a shopping trip…without leaving the classroom! Student in 8JN and 8CY built their own dialogue, brought their own food and performed in the class. ―Un kilo de pommes, 4 paquets de chips et une bouteille de lemonade, s‘il vous plait!‖… Students even brought real Euro notes and coins to give change back, and the plays sounded really French! Well done Year8! We all enjoyed watching the performance, and learnt a lot from each other…and I guess we loved eating the props at the end of the lesson! J Madame Azeem
Film Club ASA Students this term watched a range of films from different countries including England, America, Spain, New Zealand and France. Though they were mostly light-hearted films, they showed the students different aspects of a country‘s culture. Food, entertainment, education, music, art and sport were seen from different perspectives, giving students an insight into how things can be viewed differently by people from different backgrounds. There was also a central theme to the movies of over-coming a challenge. Whether faced with presenting a board meeting, making a commitment, taking a journey or meeting someone new, these films showed how people can deal with difficult situations and highlighted one critical point – people should never stop trying.
BSB News: Secondary Sports News The next two weeks will be as busy as ever. ISB Spring Invitational Meet Saturday April 10 The Aqua Bears will be making another splash as they try set new PBs and go faster than before. The squad will complete preparations in their final two training sessions during the break on Saturday April 3 and Friday April 9 from 9.30-10.30am. races start at 9.00am on April 10 U19 Soccer Tournaments Saturday April 17 The boys have had a good season and have finished with 2 wins, 2 draws and only one loss. They travel to Tianjin where IST will host the end of season tournament. First games starts at 10.00am The girls have played enthusiastically but have struggled, somewhat, to find their form. To date, they have secured one win and three losses and are currently in fifth position in their league. BISS host their Tournament at the Olympic Center with the first game at 10.30am U14 Basketball Tournaments Saturday April 17 The boys have played each confidently and are building well for their tournament. The boys have two games in the first week after the holiday before traveling down to Tianjin where TEDA will be hosting the event. First match will start at 10.00am. The girls have manged particularly well this season considering the small size of the squad. Each match has been approached positively and the girls have demonstrated that they know how to work hard. Their tournament is hosted at BSB. The first game will start at 9.30am GO BEARS! BSB vs. HISB; Monday 29th March The boys started well in the first half and played some really nice football, despite missing a few key players. BSB went one up when Luke charged broke the defense and smashed one home from long range. Harrow came back strong after the break, however, throwing everything they had at us. We lacked the possession in midfield that we enjoyed in the first half and that made life difficult for us. But we defended strongly, and with ten minutes to go it looked as if we might just keep them out and get yet another win. Despite the opposition getting the ball into good areas our back four were just too quick and strong for them, and Duncan our goalkeeper was just too fast off his line. But unfortunately, with not long to go, a ball from a corner kick fell to a Harrow player on the edge of our box, and before we were able to close him down he managed get his shot off which hit the back of the net. Nevertheless it was still a good result for the team under the circumstances, and it got us a much needed point. Final score 1-1 Man of the match: Franklin Sunkuli Under 11 A Team vs SBJ 4-3 to BSB—well done!
BSB News: Primary House Names & Colours Normans
Saxons
Sanlitun House Points
Vikings
Secondary Merit Awards
Romans
Shunyi House Points
Key Stage 3 Mina Shin
262
Sejin Kim
200
Normans
491
Normans
296
Leonie Buschmann
198
Vikings
340
Vikings
281
Minori Yariwake
184
Romans
357
Romans
304
Saxons
367
Saxons
219
Congratulations to the Normans on earning the highest House Points for the week ending 29th January. Well done, Normans
Congratulations to the Romans on earning the highest House Points for the week ending 29th January. Well done, Romans
Key Stage 4 Oceane Duprat
60
Doris Sun
59
Prateek Pandey
47
Andrea DeMatteis
46
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 Publications and Liaison Officer on newsletter@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. Book donations wanted for Chatterbox Book Shop. NO Children‘s books please. Books in all languages gratefully received. Proceeds from book donations will be given to charity.
Hi everyone, my name is Antonella and I am from Italy. I live in River Garden, Shunyi, and I have two boys at BSB in Pre Nursery. I am looking for a native English speaking mum that can help me to improve my English. Please write me on antocucciolo@gmail.com if you would like to grab a coffee together sometimes. Thank you Antonella De Martin
BSB News: TO ALL PARENTS needs your help. Can you spare 1 1/2 hours a week to help keep the cafe open? Due to the relocation of some of our volunteers we need help to maintain the initial success of the cafe. Chatterbox opens from 9am - 1.30pm Monday - Friday and we have the following times available: Tuesday 12 - 1.30pm Wednesday 09 - 10.30am Thursday 09 - 10.30am 12 - 1.30pm Friday 10.30 - 1.30pm Please see the schedule above and if you are able to help on these, or at any other times, please contact Catherine Johnston mobile: 139 111 39731 johnston.cath@gmail.com or Susan Robinson mobile: 159 111 76679 susanrobinson1001@hotmail.com by 12th April 2010.
FOR SALE 1) Reebok exercise trampoline 95cms diameter, detachable legs, good condition. 300RMB or near offer. 2) Boy's silver /yellow bicycle, up to around 12 years. UK specs,front and single rear shock-absorbers, good condition. 450RMB or near offer. 3) British School of Beijing boy's blazer,chest 96cm., length (back of neck to hem) 66cm, sleeve 63cm. 50RMB. (Donation to school charity) All at Shunyi home,delivery possible. Contact Pamela-1371 8211 070 OR 8046-3322. Hello, my name is Susie Havas. Having 3 young children (8, 6, 2 years olds, two at BSB) I have always looked for effective parenting tips. After reading many books finally I found the method I can use for a lifetime and want to share with other parents. It gives us new communication skills for how to support our children when they have a problem how to help them to work out solutions for their problems by themselves how to confront them effectively and in a non-blameful way if their behavior is unacceptable for us how to solve problems together in a no-lose method that both of us are happy with the solution and how to create warmer, more satisfying relationships. This training works with children of all ages and the new skills are useful in all other relationships: spouse/ spouse, teacher/student, co-workers, neighbors etc. I am happy to announce that I will start an 8 session (3 hours/session) course on the Thursday 29th April. If you would like to know more about the method and course please do not hesitate to contact Susie Havas: 13910024146 or susiehavas@hotmail.com