ISSUE 1 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER #43
The British International School of Marbella
NEWSLETTER A Newsletter for Parents, Students and Friends of our School
January 2020
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SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Headteacher’s Message Dear Parents,
to them, and to you for support.
I hope you are all well.
I wish you all an enjoyable month.
As this latest edition of our newsletter shows, our school continues to thrive and provide the children with numerous opportunities to develop their independence, their intellect and their physical wellbeing. I am extremely proud of the range of activities we provide, both through the curriculum and through our extra curricular activities. The children continue to impress me with their tireless enthusiasm and smiling faces. It’s been a great start to the year.
Dean Moore Headteacher
Often, you will hear teachers and educators talk about how busy they are and this is certainly true. Sometimes though, it’s appropriate to look at this from a different perspective. For example, if we, the teachers, are busy it follows that the children we teach are busy too and yet, rarely, do we hear them remark how busy they are, which of course they must be. The children here are remarkably hardworking and resilient. They are keen to challenge themselves, to try new things and very often succeed in doing so. They rarely complain and are always engaged in learning new skills and acquiring knowledge. It’s a cliche, but only because it’s true, that we can learn a lot from children and their attitude generally to life. It’s a privilege for me to be busy in educating the children who come to our school and they make it all worth it. I am very grateful
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Foundation Stage One Terrific Trains This term Foundation Stage One are looking at different types of transport, one of the first books that we have looked at is an excellent book called ‘Terrific Trains’. This book takes the children on a journey finding out all about lots of different types of trains and their uses. Trains have been a huge hit with all the children and they have been very excited. We have built trains in the outdoor classroom, completed number problems about seats on a train, strengthened our fingers by punching holes in tickets and learnt song and rhymes about trains. As part of our maths topic, we have been looking at 2D shapes and studying them in our environment, getting the children to look closely at them and discuss their properties. For example, taking about how many sides and corners a shape has. The children were asked to look at some train pictures made up of 2D shapes. They were then challenged to follow the pictures to make their own 2D shape train. This gave the children a chance to use lots of mathematical language talking about the size and position of the shapes. The children had to focus in order to keep on track with their work. First, the children did this in small groups with the teachers but lots of them then went on to make other 2D shape trains with the magnets and the loose shapes in the continuous provision. It was great to see them work so hard and produce such great independent learning. Mrs Riddell Foundation Stage One Teacher
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Foundation Stage Two Traffic Survey The children in Foundation Stage Two are learning all about different types of transport. When learning all about road transport, the children loved going out of school to the road with Mrs Toro to complete a car colour survey during Spanish. As this was so popular, we decided to take it a step further and during Maths, the children went out to complete a more detailed survey, this time looking at different types of transport and how many pass our school in a 5 minute period. The children had to use a tally to record their findings and cheers of ‘It’s a van!’ and ‘Look! A big bus!’ could be heard as the children carefully remembered to cross the tally with that fifth spot of a car or van. Once back in school, the children then added up their totals, finding that cars were the most popular and bicycles were the least popular. This leads well into Environment Week in FS where the children will learn about environmentally friendly modes of transport. To continue their learning, the children were introduced to a pictogram and transferred their written findings into pictorial form, giving a much better visual representation of their data findings. Well done Foundation Stage Two, great data recording! Mrs Rutherford Foundation Stage Two Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Foundation Stage Christmas Trip Festive Fun Day To begin the festive season and to get the children ready for Christmas Foundation Stage embarked on a day full of festive fun. We started the day with a trip to the park where after a good play the children took part in a treasure hunt. They had to find a bauble and a voucher for a hot chocolate at the cafe later in the morning. The children explored the park and we had soon found all the baubles and vouchers and were ready for a walk to the cafe. The cafe had sectioned off an area ready for us all and we were treated to a lovely hot chocolate and caramel waffle. We then ventured next door to look at all the Christmas decorations. The children were asked in groups to select some Christmas Tree decorations for us to take back to school. The children chose well and enjoyed looking at what was there and reading the prices. Back at school in the afternoon, the children changed into their Pyjamas, decorated our class trees with the decorations we had purchased and then settled down to watch a Christmas film. It really was a lovely way to spend the day, the children were so well behaved and walked to the park and back very well. A huge thank you to all the parents and helpers who came on the walk with us. Mrs Riddell Foundation Stage Leader
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Year 1 PSHE and Shared Lunch
Since the change in the structure of our school days this year the children have had much more focus on their own wellbeing. I really enjoy welcoming the pupils into the class each morning accompanied by calming music. There is a clear routine established and the children know exactly what to expect as they come to class every day. This welcome is crucial for the learning ahead for the rest of the morning. The shared lunch experience is having a positive impact on their table manners as most pupils use a knife and fork effectively. The pupils are all willing to try each food on their plate, even if they don’t think they will like it. What I am most pleased about is the conversations that we are having at the lunch table. It is very nice to find out new things about them every day. At the end of each day we all gather together and discuss how their day went and sometimes take part in activities such as yoga to refocus our attention. I believe this new approach that is more focussed on the pupils’ wellbeing is having a positive effect socially and academically. I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas holiday and looking forward to the exciting new year ahead for our community here at BISM. Mr Thomas Year One Teacher
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Year 2
Year Two at BISM Year Two have started 2020 with incredible enthusiasm! Although they had a very long Christmas break, the children have settled back into school excellently and have tried their best to complete tasks to a high standard and work well as a team! In PSHE, we have been looking at road safety and the importance of being vigilant when crossing busy and dangerous roads. As a class we have been reading the Hodgeheg, which tells the story of a family of hedgehogs who learn the value of road safety, being alert and being sensible. We also looked at responsibility: who is responsible to clean our bedrooms? look after our pets? take care of our siblings? The children talked about other responsibilities they have at home and at school. In our Art extended curriculum module, we looked at surrealism and the most famous surrealist artists in the world, such as Salvador Dali. We looked at one of his most famous works, The persistence of memory, and talked about it’s hidden meanings. During our discussion, we talked about how the painting reflects the damage to our environment and the impact we as humans have of protecting our land and animals. We talked about the use of clocks and how these symbolise the importance of time: time keeps on going, it does not move! So we must never waste time worrying about little things and focus more on doing as many important things as we can as time goes by! We then created our own persistence of memory work using real clocks and our own take on surrealist drawings. Safe to say, the results were DALIghtful! During our Science EC module we had a competition between the boys and the girls to create amazing posters about materials. We researched information about manmade and natural materials. The children truly incorporated the value of teamwork and leadership. Overall, the children have made a fantastic start to the year and I am looking forward to the rest of the term! Ms Flanagan Year Two Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Year 3
Ancient Egypt
In Year Three in January we started learning about the Ancient Egyptians. The children are fascinated by this great civilization, enjoying finding out about the last queen of Egypt; Cleopatra, as well as the longest river in the world, the Nile, which was also of enormous significance in the growth of Egypt. Baking bread, since bread was what the Egyptians ate more of, than anything else. was also a fun activity that the children enjoyed, as was debating the cause of death of Tutankhamun. No consensus was reached and so it seems the jury is still out on that one! Also in January, the children of Year Three had another round of show and tell, which included a host of great presentations from the class members. On display, we had video messages from Paul Gascoigne, google slides made independently by the children, a huge collage of pictures about the Danish army and a set of riddles from Anais. The riddles created quite a stir in Year Three, with a few days when the children became intrigued by telling each other jokes including clever puns. So to finish, here are some jokes related to Ancient Egypt.... What did the Pharaoh say when he saw the pyramid? Mummy´s home! Where do Pharaohs like to eat? Pizza - tut. A mummy covered in chocolate and nuts has just been discovered in Egypt! Archaeologists believe it may be Pharoah Roche. Mr Holden Year Three Teacher
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Extended Curriculum Key Stage 1 Enterprise and Challenge KS1 Mathletes The students in the Mathletes module got into training straight away by learning some simple tricks to speed up their problem solving skills. They flexed their maths muscles and built their understanding of number, taking part in some fun training games. They participated in activities such as cupcake addition, counting in 2s snakes and ladders and building subtraction cube towers. The students demonstrated great resilience when attempting tricky problems. Well done Mathletes, gold medals all round! Miss Allen Extended Curriculum Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Sports and Wellness KS1 We Will Find the Right Bib for all the Dribbling! And there was a lot of dribbling! The basketball unit was fantastic. The children learnt about passing, dribbling, shooting and game tactics through a series of fun games and drills. They particularly enjoyed playing end zone games where the objective is to pass the ball to a player within the shooting circle on their team. Their passing skills improved markedly and they started to think strategically about rebound balls an how to gain possession in the shooting circle.
Mark Gorozhankin and Isaac Sinian also got the chance to showcase their talents in a basketball workshop at Aloha College. It was great to take out some of our youngest children to a competitive sporting event. Miss Bruce PE Teacher
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Knowledge and Understanding Adventure Bugs
As part of the Knowledge and Understanding strand of the extended curriculum, the children took a journey across the world and became the ultimate explorers! The Adventure Bug module was designed to educate the children about a range of global topics, such as the seven wonders of the world, world wars, significant art movements, global chocolate production and ways to tackle environmental issues. The children studied the seven wonders of the world and studied maps to understand their geographical locations. The children used Atlases and learned lots of fun facts about the world’s most significant wonders, such as Petra in Jordan and the Great Wall of China. It was important for the children to understand the social and economical impact of the most significant wars in our history: World War 1 and World War 2. The children learned all about evacuation and created their own evacuees suitcases. They learned about the history of how and why the wars began and life of soldiers in the trenches. During chocolate week, the children learned about the production of chocolate and the most significant chocolate makers across the world. The children learned about how chocolate was invented and became food critics to test different types of chocolate. They had the opportunity to practise their creative writing when describing taste and texture. The children also studied the life and work of Leonardo Di Vinci, and analysed two of his most famous paintings: The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. The children recreated the Mona Lisa, with their own heads! At the end of the unit, the children learned about the environmental crisis we are tackling in modern society and talked about ways to prevent further damage to our land, seas, and animals. Overall, the children showed great enthusiasm and worked incredibly hard together as a team, in pairs and individually. It was great to work with a variety of children across lower primary and they produced some earth-shattering work! Ms Flanagan Year Two Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Upper Primary English Years 4-6 Year 5 This month, Year Five have been reading a very thought-provoking novel called Oranges in No Man’s Land by Elizabeth Laird. Not only have their been improving their comprehension skills of a quite challenging text, but at the same time they have been learning facts about Lebanon and the Civil War that happened there. The class have had to infer the thoughts and feelings of the different characters in the story and why they might be feeling this way. Echoing Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo, that Year Five read earlier this year, the novel examines many themes around war and encourages children to consider the question: is everyone on the ‘other side’ bad? Year 6 Blood! You might not like it but, as the Year Six class have been learning, it is essential for you to live. Did you know that in one tiny drop of blood, there are 5 million red blood cells, 7000 white blood cells and half a million platelets? This has been a very interesting non-fiction topic, which has also generated some thought provoking debates, such as: should people be paid for donating blood? The class have been practising their formal report writing as well as their persuasive writing with their advertisements for blood donors. Have a look at some of the children’s posters and written advertisements below. Miss Marseglia Upper Primary English Teacher
Save people now!!!!
Save someone's life today More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day (you can make the difference). OVER 4.5 MILLION AMERICANS NEED A BLOOD TRANSFUSION NOW. Most people can give blood, if they are fit (and healthy).
Did you know? That just 1 donation can save up to 3 lives, and every 2 seconds someone needs blood.
If you donate blood you'd have less chance of getting cancer and you could burn about 650 calories. It also reduces stress and you get that feeling that you saved someone's life.
Save everyone Today !!!
Go be a hero today! Save people’s lives today to have a great feeling inside you. Donate blood for people that need your help, you only need to get one little injection and you have saved 3 people’s lives! You can save babies, toddlers, tennagers, adults, and elderly people! How cool is that? It won't hurt you to get an injection or save lives, it also won't waste your time it only takes an hour or less! Donating blood is good for you, you have less risk of all types of diseases. Are you stressed? Well if you are, donating blood is the best way to reduce it. As well as reducing stress, it also gets rid of your negative feelings. If you’re struggling to keep fit donating blood is the best way to reduce that, you lose many calories, it also helps your physical health! BE A HERO, SAVE PEOPLE’S LIVES TODAY! By Maya Arbel, Y6
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Upper Primary Maths Years 4-6 Upper Primary have made a fantastic start to the new decade in Maths. Year Six have been focusing on understanding common fraction and decimal equivalents. Using a calculator to solve 1 ÷ 2 = 0.5 and 1 ÷ 4 = 0.25, the children quickly discovered that 1 ÷ 2 is the same as ½ and 1 ÷ 4 is the same as ¼ so we can work out other decimal equivalents such as eighths and fifths by dividing the numerator by the denominator. The children were beginning to spot patterns that ⅛’s were going up in 0.125 and ’s in 0.2. However, they noticed something strange when dividing by ⅓’s, there was a recurring decimal and the calculator display only shows some of the digits, but the digit actually repeats forever. Then they started to realise that when dividing 1 by a multiple of 3 it always results in a recurring decimal. Year Five have also been working equally as hard trying to establish whether a number up to 100 is a prime or composite number. After being given a set of prime numbers the children started to understand that a prime number is not in any of our timetables and they began to establish a rule that a prime number can only divided by itself and one. They then started to use their reasoning skills to explain whether every prime number is an odd number or trying to find prime numbers which is less than 100 and one more than a multiple of 10. See if you can solve this problem Year Five tackled earlier this week.
Year 4 have been building on their multiplication skills to solve multi-step word problems involving money. They have been using their skills of partitioning an amount into its pounds and pence (£5.45 = £5.00 + 40p + 5p). They then were multiplying their partitioned amount by the amount needed and then looking to work out their change using an empty numberline. They have been using a lot of their maths we have been covering all year to solve some very tricky money problems. Well done Year 4. Mr Whyman Upper Primary Maths Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Extended Curriculum Key Stage 2 Creating and Performing KS2 Dramarama
Upper primary have been learning lots of new skills (and having lots of fun!) in their extended curriculum drama module. They have studied the features of a play script, learned about voice, body language and facial expression and even written and performed their own scripts! As Christmas approached, Dramarama were rehearsing and performing a short adaptation of Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol. Esme (Year Six) in particular made excellent use of voice when in role as the infamous Scrooge! The class loved it! Lincoln (Year Four) has really developed his drama skills and performed in quite a frightening role this term. While Italia (Year Six) and Anastasia (Year Six) showed how difficult it can be dealing with teenagers, in their short script! Mateo (Year Four) had the best facial expression of the entire module, when he put a ‘spell’ on all who watched him! It was very scary indeed! It has been fantastic to watch our ‘Drama Queens’ (and Kings!) develop their confidence while having so much fun! They know exactly how to develop a character in a short drama piece and moreover, how to evaluate and peer assess each other’s performance too! But I must admit, what you have heard is true...Dramarama really are bananas! Miss Kerlin Secondary English Teacher
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Enterprise and Challenge KS2 Coding with Python In this module, children were introduced to Python. Python is a programming language used to develop software on the web and inapp form, including mobile. It was a great way for children to learn the basics of programming and to be able to code sets of instructions using Python. In fact, NASA actually uses Python when they are programming their equipment and space machinery, so the sky is the limit when you know Python! We started off by looking at what instructions are and how precise that need to be in order for the recipient to understand what to do. Here we had to guide a classmate around the classroom only using limited words and phrases, in the correct order, to successfully, and safely, move around the room. The message was clear: input = output. When correct instructions are coded in, an exact output will be displayed on the screen. We started with basic coding with Python by learning how to print lines of text on the screen. We progressed onto learning how to calculate using the four operations in an equation. We also learned how to use the turtle graphics module in Python. Here the children had to import the turtle programme and then made circles using t.dot(). We then continued drawing shapes by adding colour - t.color and using the t.goto and t.penup to make more than one circle on the screen. The children have made excellent progress in developing their coding skills with Python. Maybe in the near future, we will all be using a programme coded by our very own BISM students! Mr Kuhn Secondary Maths Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Knowledge and Understanding KS2 Computer Whizzes
The Computer Whizzes module has focussed on teaching the children to become more confident and independent when using laptops in general and a range of different computer programmes. In this module, the children have also practised using Google Docs, Google Slides, researching online and the different features of gmail. Most importantly, the class discussed how to use computers and the internet safely. One area that the Computer Whizzes EC module focused on was touch typing skills. The children practising their typing speed and accuracy using a website called Typing Club: www. typingclub.com. The children practised their typing skills while keeping good posture, not looking at the keyboard and typing each letter with the correct finger. You can see their lovely postures in this photo! Miss Marseglia Upper Primary English Teacher
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Sports and Wellness KS2 Basketball The basketball group has been working very hard to improve their hand speed, skill, and effectiveness in games. Even the warm-ups have been tough, with shuttle runs to work on fitness and wall drills to develop close control and hand speed with skills such cross-overs. Students have further developed existing skills such as passing, dribbling, set shots, and have also learnt new skills such as advanced lay-ups, rebounds and 3-man weave. The group has progressed really well and participated in competitive matches towards the end of the module. Students demonstrated great teamwork, good tactical and positional awareness and have played with good sportsmanship. Some students also showed good independence skills by taking charge of certain drills for their teams. Mr Allen PE Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Secondary English Years 7-9 All the World’s a Stage!
January has been a busy month for Key Stage 3 English as years 7,8 and 9 delved into new territory! For Year 8 and 9 it was the one and only ´Shakespeare´ while Year 7 have been enjoying learning about Roald Dahl in his autobiographical novel ´Boy´. All of Key Stage 3 are developing their understanding of the writer’s craft while also exploring key themes and characters from each of the set texts. Year 7 have always been the most competitive class so when I mention ́spelling bee’ we have many keen volunteers. This month, we started every lesson by learning four new spellings. We used lots of inventive ways such as: mnemonics, songs, verbal tennis and good old fashioned spelling bee competitions! Adrian, Paddy, Lauarto and Charlie O’Brien showed off their unbelievable spelling abilities time and time again this month! For this, they must be commended. The girls might not have clenched the Spelling Bee title on this occasion but they did however, draw and label the most accurate scientific drawing (from memory) of the inside of Roald Dahl ́s mouth. Ms Ladds would be proud! Leonardo DiCaprio has been the topic of conversation in Year 8 all week as they study Shakespeare´s ‘Romeo and Juliet´. Typically the girls have shown most interest in the love between Romeo and Juliet, where as the boys were keen to act out the brawl in Act One Scene One! I was impressed by the year 8’s willingness to take part in drama this month and is certainly an area we will continue to explore this term! Shakespeare’s Macbeth has had Year 9 utterly gripped! They have been fascinated by the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and have had many in depth discussions about the role of women during the Jacobean era, the presentation of Lady Macbeth as an evil and manipulative character and the factors that led to the downfall of Macbeth. The Year 9’s have shown maturity and understanding beyond their years, as they discussed these themes and it has been the greatest pleasure teaching them this play. Year 9 showed their understanding of the characters further, by creating short dramatic scenes based on Act one. Well done! Miss Kerlin Secondary English Teacher
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Secondary Maths Years 7-9
Transformation and Enlargements
During our unit on transformations and enlargements, we looked at how shapes can be transformed in ways such as translation, reflection and enlargement. Enlargement is described by its scale factor and the position is described by the centre of enlargement. The scale factor describes how much larger (or smaller) the enlarged shape is compared to the original shape. The scale factor is found by dividing a length of a side of the enlarged shape to the length of the corresponding side of the original shape. In this lesson, we learned about fractional and negative enlargements. Fractional enlargements are when a shape is enlarged by a scale factor between 0 and 1, the image is smaller than the original shape. To make this process more manageable, the children had to use rays (guidelines) to project where the transformed image will be placed on an x and y - axes grid. For example, a scale factor of {½} means that the side-lengths of the new shape are half the side-lengths of the original. A scale factor of {⅓} means that the side-lengths of the new shape are a third the side-lengths of the original. When the scale factor is fractional and the shape decreases in size, we still call it an enlargement. We then moved onto negative scale factors. When there is a negative scale factor, the enlarged shape is turned upside down. Care needs to be taken when finding the corresponding lengths. An enlargement using a negative scale factor will cause the enlargement to appear on the other side of the centre of enlargement; and will be inverted (upside down). The shape will also change size depending on the value of the enlargement. Not only was the challenge to understand the concept of enlargements and scale factors, but precision and accuracy were of utmost importance to ensure the new shape (image) has been transformed correctly. Mr Kuhn Secondary Maths Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Secondary Science Years 7-9 Specialised Cell - Speed Dating We have been studying cells as our first Biology topic in Year Seven. We have learnt about the structure of a cell and the function of each cell organelle. Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. The human body is composed of trillions of cells. They provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from food, convert those nutrients into energy, and carry out specialized functions. Cells also contain the body’s hereditary material and can make copies of themselves. Cells have many parts, each with a different function. Some of these parts, called organelles, are specialised structures that perform certain tasks within the cell. The pupils were set a project to create a 3D model of a specialised animal or plant cell and a presentation to accompany the model. The pupils really impressed me with their motivation and dedication to the project. Some of their descriptions and models were at the same standard as some A-Level presentations that I have I seen. This is quite an achievement for pupils that are in Year Seven. The children also had fun learning about the types of differentiated cells through the medium of ‘speed dating’. Please do not worry we were not encouraging the pupils to begin dating each other, merely to encourage them to extract as much information as possible during a specific time period! Ten pupils were given specialised cell cards; sperm, egg, nerve, root hair, ciliated...to name but a few. They then sat around the room and the other half of the class came in and had three minutes to ‘date’ each one. They had to fill in a table to include a diagram, location, description and function of each type of specialised cell. After they had completed four ‘dates’
they then swapped over and the others had the opportunity to meet with the other cells. Pupils were really engaged in the activity and had fun, and hopefully one they will remember! Ms Ladds Middle School Science Teacher
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Extended Curriculum Key Stage 3 Sports and Wellness KS3 Hockey
The hockey group has been working very hard to improve their control and handling of the hockey sticks, including speed in turning the stick, in order to ensure they don’t hit the ball with the back of the stick and give away free hits. Rules such as this one have been a key focus for learning, as many of the students had not played proper field hockey before this module. Students have learnt other new skills specific to hockey, including push and drive passes, shooting and dribbling. Some students showed good independence and leadership skills by taking charge of practices for their teams. Overall, the group has progressed really well and participated in some good matches towards the end of the module. Students also demonstrated great teamwork skills and participated with good sportsmanship. Mr Allen Sports Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Enterprise and Challenge KS3 Natural Hazards
A natural hazard is a threat of a naturally occurring event that will have a negative effect on humans. This negative effect is what we call a natural disaster. In other words when the hazardous threat actually happens and harms humans, we call the event a natural disaster. Natural Hazards (and the resulting disasters) are the result of naturally occurring processes that have operated throughout Earth’s history. Geologic processes affect every human on the Earth all of the time, but are most noticeable when they cause loss of life or property. If the process that poses the hazard occurs and destroys human life or property, then a natural disaster has occurred. Among the natural hazards and possible disasters to be considered are: Volcanoes, earthquake, tsunamis and floods to name but a few. We have explored the structure of the Earth and what each layer is made of and what happens when a crack appears in our crust and the liquid magma bursts through! If we continue to harm our planet, what will our planet have in store for us... Ms Ladds Secondary Science Teacher
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Knowledge and Understanding KS3 Child Development
Key Stage Three have worked hard this term completing their first unit of the Cambridge Level One Child Development course. They have worked with Foundation Stage to learn about the developmental milestones associated with children’s emotional, social, language and physical development. We have had the opportunity to conduct activities based around the theme of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. These activities were planned and conducted with maturity and enthusiasm. In particular David and Sofia took part in leading whole class activities while Jasmine, Sasha and Sophie worked well as a team promoting learning and helping to develop children’s social awareness. The students have learned a huge amount about the unpredictable nature of small children through studies from Harvard and Nottingham University, and really getting to know the children in our Foundation Stage. Mrs Townsend Secondary Art Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Creating and Performing KS3 Rock band
Rock Band continues to go from strength to strength, benefitting from twice-weekly rehearsal sessions, and with the addition of more instrumentalists and vocalists the opportunity for more diverse repertoire has also increased. In constantly trying to improve skills, the focus recently has been on learning to listen to each others’ parts more carefully, to tighten up each performance, and to develop a greater sense of ensemble. The setlist continues to grow, and the Band have played ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone’ by Shakin’ Stevens, ‘Take On Me’ by a-Ha, and have recently started learning ‘Yackety Yak’ by The Coasters and ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’ by Status Quo. Everything’s shaping up to sound great, and the Band can’t wait to perform live again, soon! Oh, and they need a name – all suggestions welcome! Mr Everist Secondary Music Teacher
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BISM Football/Basketball Team News The Infantil team had a couple of tough results during December and January, losing two very close games, firstly to San Pedro A 3-5, and the week after to Pablo Picasso by 3-4. Then they faced the league leaders San Jose! Despite losing this game in the end 2-6, the team showed great attitude and resilience, reassuring Mr Whyman that they would soon return to winning ways. They duly did the following week, beating Athletico Marbelli 7-2. Keep up the good work Infantils! The Alevin team went from strength to strength throughout December and January, recording good wins against Sportcab, San Pedro A, Aloha School, and most recently Vasquez Cultural. They are playing with great authority, confidence and showing a real togetherness and team spirit, where everyone works hard for each other. These qualities have brought them right to the top and they have been 1st in the league since before the Christmas break! Long may it continue! The Benjamin team has gone through a major transitional phase over the last couple of months. In fact, we feared at one point that the team would not be able to continue. However, the recruitment of some fantastic new players has meant that the team is still alive and kicking (literally). The new look Benjamins have won their first two matches together, beating Athletico Marbelli 4-0 and most recently FC Marbella B by 5-1. They have climbed up the table a little bit and we hope the upward trend will continue! Mr Allen Sports Teacher
SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Whole School Spanish
Tiene Una T? Es La palabra Tiburon? Too much work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…Year One Spanish students have been working really hard in their phonics lessons and it was high time they had some games as well. For the past few lessons we have been trying to play different games on the carpet while doing things with words. Breaking down words into their smallest components…. syllables and letters! They love to act out words and to lipread one another... Phonics can actually be fun! They have also been learning how to play a version of the traditional Hangman, not only with letters but also with syllables! A bunch of words on the board to choose from, and just one goal: to mislead our friends so they will not be able to guess at the word before the stickman is completely drawn. Do they know their ABCs? Not only do they need to know that words are made of letters and they need to count them all right to play the game, they also need to be able to identify the number of syllables! Strategic thinking, teamwork and leadership, and, obviously language awareness are being developed while having fun! Miss Rodríguez Spanish Teacher
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