INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Dr Roger Fry’s Visit
Student Council Report
Welcome one an all
The British School of Alicante Monthly Update
Newsletter SECONDARY NUMBER 10 OCTOBER 2009
Message from the Head of Secondary Work, Rest and Play
Dr Roger Fry’s visit
It is often said that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy´. At school, as in later life, getting the right balance between work and leisure time is vital for sustained success. Without re-charging our batteries, we would all be less efficient and more irritable! For our pupils, school is their work. To get the best out of themselves, all our pupils must balance their school work with pursuits, hobbies, ´chilling out time´ and socialising. This is all part of growing up and learning to play an active and positive role in society. In this newsletter you will read about some of the activities and events our pupils have taken part in last month.
Shoes were polished, uniforms ironed and walls given a final lick of paint when Dr. Roger Fry CBE, the Chairman of King’s Group, visited the school. After touring some classrooms and meeting a lot of pupils - from the very youngest in Nursery to those in the upper sixth Dr Fry said:
These are equally important in providing our pupils with an ´holistic´ educational experience which extends beyond the classroom walls. I have attached a link to a BBC NEWS article regarding the benefits of school activities which I hope you will find interesting. In approximately 5 weeks´ time, our Y11 pupils will be sitting mock examinations for their IGCSEs. These provide vital preparation for the final exams later in the year and there is information on the website which I would urge you to read in order to assist your son/daughter with their studies. Together we can help all our pupils to achieve their best through a balance of work, rest and play.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8080865.stm
Derek Laidlaw Head of Secondary School.
“It was a pleasure visiting the School on Friday, and thank you for making me so welcome. The development since my last visit is very impressive indeed, and I should be grateful if you would pass on my congratulations to all your staff, and especially to the teachers. I was most impressed with the excellent work I saw in progress in the classes I was able to visit.”
DR. ROGER FRY
INTERVIEW The Sixth Form committee met Dr Fry when he came to visit Alicante. Their interview covered a range of different topics. Here are the highlights: Dr. Fry, First of all we'd like to say how pleased we are that you have come to visit Alicante today and we would like to thank you for taking time to talk to us. To start off we'd like to know what you have enjoyed most about your visit. Well on a cold and rainy day like today I'd have to say that this cup of tea has been wonderful, but not as wonderful as visiting the early years department and seeing where the school starts to teach the three and four year olds. It is very impressive and the work they do is actually very interesting. The project they are doing on castles, even making castles is outstanding. And the work they are doing on human senses is excellent. The quality of the children's work is a reflection of the quality of the teachers and classroom assistants that are teaching them. King's College in Madrid is much older than the school here. Can you tell us about one moment in the history of the Madrid school that stands out as being particularly satisfying or memorable? Well there have been lots of interesting events and moments. It all goes back a long way. When I first started the school in Madrid in 1969, about 40 years ago, there were two things that caused some problems. It seems very strange now but at that time it was illegal for girls and boys to be taught in the same class. So we had to have two schools. One for girls and one for boys. But we only had one building, so we had one floor dedicated to girls and another floor just for boys. When an inspector came we had to steer them around very carefully because the girls and boys actually had their lessons together. In the first years we were pretending there were two schools but actually running it as one. The other problem we had was that studying in English was not accepted for pupils wanting to go to Spanish universities. Technically any foreign school was illegal. One
of the greatest things that I think I achieved was that I got a dialogue going with the Spanish authorities about British education. The president of Galicia was the Spanish ambassador in London so I went to to talk to him and he thought it would be good for Spain to have a British school and it worked out very well because his brother was the Minister of Education. So in 1974, after lots of discussion, we finally got permission from the Minister of Education to teach a British curriculum. King's College was the first school ever to achieve that in Spain. We were the first British school in Spain that could legally enroll Spanish students and have their qualifications recognised by universities in Spain. The school here in Alicante is getting bigger and bigger. How do you feel about this? I think its very good because once you get three form entry each year, as the children move up through the school you can offer a wider range of subjects at IGCSE and A Level. Larger schools give you a greater choice when the time comes to join the sixth form and a bigger school can afford bigger and better buildings, sports facilities, IT and science labs, Art, music and drama studios. Everyone benefits. What has impressed you most about the school in Alicante? The school here in Alicante is extremely well organised. The students seem to be very studious. The exam results and the school itself improves every year. Don't forget that the school is still very young. We have been in Madrid 40 years, the school here is much younger. To have achieved all that there is to achieve in terms of quality of education in just ten years is an exceptional achievement ...and how does our school compare with the other schools in King's Group? All the schools are different. We have the original school, King's College in Madrid, which was founded forty years ago. It is in an old building, but has many more students and therefore can offer a greater choice of subjects. The two other schools in Madrid, the
infant and prep school are brand new. They are not quite as well consolidated as Alicante is, the new school in Murica is in a very big building with enough room for 700 children, but at the moment it only has 220 pupils. It grew from just 60 pupils in the first year so it is growing very quickly but has a lot to develop. Alicante is probably somewhere in the middle of the oldest one in Marid and youngest one in Murica. The school here has a very solid basis upon which to develop. It is clear that your career in education has been a great success; What have you based this on and do you have any role models that inspired you to do so well? Well, the success of King's Group is the result of lots of hard work, not just mine but the hard work of a whole team of people. When I was at school I was impressed by one of my teachers. He inspired me to build a careerer in education; which I have enjoyed very much. I have been lucky to do so many different things. Other people have created and developed schools and it is very satisfying to see the wonderful results of lots of all this hard work. You don’t get anywhere unless you work hard. It might be difficult but you really need to have the right idea at the right time and then you have to work hard at it. Being consistent and working hard are the keys to success. What does the future hold for King's College, Alicante? The future? The future here is very bright. The fact that so many people want to send their children to the school very clearly shows us the answer to the question. As you probably know the school had a difficult start, after all sorts of problems with the education authorities in Valencia, problems with building and with the finances. What Mrs Blaus has achieved here is nothing short of miraculous. The problems she had to overcome at the beginning were extremely difficult. Thanks to the help of a number of parents those problems were all solved and the school was put on a firm and settled foundation. In some ways the difficulties faced here in Alicante were similar to the problems I faced in Madrid 40 years ago. The school is in a great position now. It can do a lot of things as it continues to develop and has lots of demands from parents wanting to enroll their children. I am convinced the school will continue to develop; good exam results prove the school is good. The team here, with the support of the team in Madrid, need to make sure that the success continues and is built upon. As I said: the future is very bright.
SPECIAL FEATURE Parent Consultative Group As part of our continuing Quality Assurance Programme and our wish to include parents as much as possible in the life of the school, I invited eight parents and two staff to a meeting of the newly formed Parent Consultative Group (PCG). This was the second such meeting following last year's discussions about communications between school and home. Both meetings have been a very valuable forum for exchanging ideas on a range of issues, face to face. I am very grateful to those parents who gave up their time to come into school and intend to continue with these meetings each term; please email me (derek.laidlaw@ kingsgroup.org) if you are interested in attending one of our future meetings.
In The Frame
Scott, Year 8 I have been playing football since I was 6 years old. I started with my primary school team in Qatar where we won several local tournaments. When I moved to Spain I played the Charlton Athletic then I transfered to Sheffield United. Now I play in the first division with Jove Espanol from San Vicente.
I am the only British player in the squad which has improved my Spanish language skills. I have played as a striker, centre midfielder, defender and now in my preferred position as a right midfielder. My favourite teams are Manchester United, Dundee United and, of course Scotland.
Summary of PCG Meeting : Thursday 22nd October • Lunches : After sampling a school lunch, parents were impressed with the quality, choice and nutritional value of meals. Some very useful suggestions were made regarding vegetarian options. These ideas and others have been forwarded to Servicios La Salle for consideration. • Events : Parents and staff agree that these play a very important role in the school community. Holding Prize Giving in school rather than in a different location was seen as a major improvement. Sports events are also important but the timing of them has not been ideal for parents and it was agreed that Sports Day should be given a higher profile in order to attract more parents as spectators. Outreach events with charities and other schools in the community were also welcomed as important developments for the school. • Activities : Lunch-time activities were seen as a vital part of the school ethos as were day-trips and longer, residential visits. It was agreed that these activities enhance social and academic development.
Student Council Report The student council group of 2010-2011 is well on its way with positive ideas and many great suggestions for our school. September brought us 4 meetings in which a wide range of issues were discussed, ranging from house competitions, fund raising events and our initial plans for an Eco-Friendly school. The members have been giving me many new ideas for improvements around the school which will make the BSA a more comfortable place for everybody. Suggestions for new drinking fountains and more benches for the pupils to use at break times are just some of the changes that we hope may be implemented in the future. Overall the student council members have all settled in perfectly and there is a real spirit of cooperation amongst them. We are looking forward to working together in the future to make a difference and a positive contribution.
Maxim Salekhov Head of Student Council
Halloween Disco
G
houlies and ghosties and long legged beasties and things that go bump in the night... all these and more will be seen at this year’s disco. It is always exciting to see what new ideas are dreamed up for the costumes worn by the KS3 pupils who attend the annual Halloween Disco, which this year will take place on Wednesday 28th of October. It is always a very difficult task to decide who has the best costume and every year it seems to get harder, as costumes become more exotic and make-up and hair styles and colours more daring! Apart from the prize for best costume there will, as usual, be a prize for the best two dancers, one male and one female. This is one of the most entertaining parts of the disco, where the titles are usually only won following a tight battle between several very good dancers. A new addition this year is a ticket prize, so don’t forget to hold onto that ticket until the draw, which will take place after the dance prizes have been awarded! There will also be some games arranged by the older students and of course lots of tasty snacks and soft drinks provided to help maintain those energy levels! The proceeds from the event will be given to a charity which will be chosen by the BSA Charity Committee, who are assisting in the organization of the event. The evening (5p.m. to 7p.m.) looks set to be one of the highlights of our year, so get stitching those costumes and make sure you are there to enjoy it! Janet Bowers
T
he Halloween Disco was a great success raising over 160 euros for charity. The Prize winners were : Best Dancer female - Raquel (7P) Best Dancer male - Luis (7G) Best Costume - Juan Jose ( 8W) Ticket Prize - Irene (7P) Thank you
Welcome one and all The autumn term is well underway and the pupils who joined the school in September have had a chance to settle in. We asked them about their first impressions of their new school.
IRENE (7P) What do you like best about your new school? I have made lots of friends Which subject are you enjoying and why? Drama because we do lots of fun things for example we act as if we are objects. Have you taken part in any sport competitions since you joined the school? Tell me about them. I took part in the swimming gala, we had to swim in races and it was great fun. What lunchtime activities are you doing this term? Drama and Art, Drama is really fun and we play lots of games, we act out scenes from films. In art we are creating things and doing lots of drawing.
What activities do you do outside of school? I take part in gymnastics, swimming lessons, tap and ballet lessons.
What lunchtime activities are you doing this term? Art, It's really fun because we are making felt.
What school did you come from? Newton College
What are your goals for this year in school? I just want to do the best I can and make lots of friends.
What was the school like? How does it differ from this school? The school was smaller and the food wasn’t cooked there, they brought it in a van. The playground had different sections for bigger and smaller children.
RAQUEL (7P) What do you like best about your new school? The library because you can do your homework and read without being disturbed.
What are your goals for this year in school? To get more merits, make more friends and win some house points.
Which subject are you enjoying and why? I like art, maths, drama, ICT, music and science. I like all these subjects because I love what we do.
Tell me about your form class - have they made you feel welcome? I am in 7P and they have made me feel welcome, they are very nice and they helped me a lot.
Have you taken part in any sport competitions since you joined the school? The swimming gala, I liked it.
Tell me about your form class - have they made you feel welcome? Yes, very welcome. We do lots of group activities and we get on really well What activities do you take part in outside of school? Dancing What school did you come from? Blasco Ibañez, Elche What was the school like? How does it differ from this school? We had to speak Valenciano all the time and we had three hours for lunch.
CHRISTOPHER (7G) I’m changing the chip in my brain and now I speak more in English. I can understand books in English and I have a lot of friends and this school is very difficult for me. There are more lessons in this school and the teachers are very nice.
ARTURO (7G)
Tommy (7F)
Dayana (8W)
It’s going OK at the moment. I like Valencià, Sociales, Music and all the subjects. All the teachers are very good; the playground is very small compared to the one at my old school but it is fine. The installations are great; the food, the computers, the library. I think I am going to like being at King's College.
My first day at school I felt a little "new" and I didn't have any friends. The second day I saw some boys playing football and we became friends. Next Monday there was another new boy and now we are good friends and we help others when they need us. I like this new school, my teachers and my all my friends: Dani, Alex, Eloy and Carlos.
CANDELA (7G)
Berta (7F)
I am having a great time. I love Science class. I’m happy because the people in my class and on the bus and lots of others have accepted me and made me feel at home. I like this school because everyone is nice and kind. Of course my favorite teacher is Sta. Guio.
King's College, Alicante is a very good and well organized school. I feel very comfortable here because I already have a lot of friends. My tutor is Sr. Francisco and he is one of the best tutors in Secondary. My favourite subject is art with Miss Castro. I think this is a very good school.
At first when I came into the school I was frightened. But it's not the first time that I have changed school so it wasn't too strange. Of course, everything is new and different. I like this school very much and have made lots of new friends and met some lovely new people. When you start a new school it’s like starting a new life and and I would like somebody new to come to the school so that I can help them just as I was helped when I arrived. It is very difficult when no-one speaks your language and you cannot understand people very well. It might be good if other people had to experience what it feels like when you want to speak in your own language but nobody else does. I also find it hard to get help with my homework as nobody at home speaks English. It means I have to work extra hard.
LUISA (7G)
Daniel (7F)
Sophie (9B)
My experience so far at School has been very positive. I like the way we get taught. I really like all the teachers. It is a great help that if we don’t understand something they will explain it again. I love all the equipment that we use and our lockers as well. I have made some good friends and I’m having lots of fun.
The first weeks of school were very good. The very first morning Aaron was the first person I talked to and he became my friend. Afterwards, I met Gonzalo and Alex and they showed me the rest of the school. I think that this school is very good.
My first impression of the school was great, it is incredibly pleasant, pupils welcomed me to their form. Abi and Alba especially of 9B ensured that I had a great first day and kindly showed me around the school. My form teacher, Mrs. Bowers, took great care of me and helped me settle in and get used to the school rules. It was very different as I came from a large school in the UK, from thousands of children to just a few hundred is very unusual. I settled in quickly with a matter of days, now I feel proud to be a part of King's College, Alicante.
Max Baxendale (8C) Max has settled in really well into 8C – secondary’s top form! He has made lots of good friends already and feels very at home. When asked, Max talked about his favourite subjects being P.E. (even though at the moment he is on crutches!), and at the moment he is particularly enjoying art because likes practical subjects. Max’s other interests include: football, tennis and cricket and promises to give Harry a run for his money even though he has every respect for him as a player. Max is enjoying meeting Spanish people as he says ‘They’re different to English people and it’s nice to have a change!’ but still misses Manchester a bit. Max’s Spanish is coming on gradually, but is finding it a bit difficult as everyone has such a good level in his class. Max says ‘I’ve found it really easy to settle into the school because the people are really friendly and supportive.’
ART CLUB
Year 7 and 8 The art club got well underway with a staggering 31 students turning up to the club. The Year 7 and Year 8 students are creating original textile pieces, by doing this they will learn numerous textile techniques. The first of which is felt making, you can see from the pictures the students had great fun creating the base for their final piece and they now have the cleanest hands in school. The outcomes look very professional; we have found the new Maggie Greys of the textile world.
Year 10 The year 10 art students have started their iGCSE course very successfully and have produced some amazing pieces of art. This is the first time the students have used charcoal which makes the high quality of the work even more impressive.
We loved the chocolate! On Wednesday the 14th of October we visited the Valor chocolate factory. We were shown a video which explained the process they use to make chocolates of different shapes and textures. After that we went to see the Valor Museum which had interesting displays about the history of the company and allowed us to see the tools and implements that they used to make chocolate in the past as well as the actual office of Valeriano L贸pez, who founded the company in 1881. Afterwards we went for a walk through the typical Alicante style village streets of Busot and then we went on to the caves at Canelobre. The caves are, without doubt, a really impressive place to visit and thoughly recommended for everyone who hasn't already been. An underground walk takes you back millions of years.
Learning to Think!
Evaluating Evidence Year 9 Grace in Ghana Project Sophie Tranter evaluated Abigail Whitehouse’s development project – a clean, constant water supply - noting that it would help Grace, her family and her community.
As part of the new year 7 curriculum, pupils in Key Stage 3 will be focussing on different learning skills throughout this year. For the past month, we have been learning about thinking skills. We began with problem solving days for the whole school and have since integrated thinking skills’ activities throughout the whole school, particulary focusing on year 7. Here are some examples of the types of projects that have been going on:
Exploring a question Year 11 Coral Reef projectt.
Looking from different perspectives
Problem Solving
Year 9 have been putting themselves in the shoes of subsistence farmers in Ghana by playing a game and making decisions about what crops to grow. Laura Molina chose a low risk strategy of intercropping as she wanted to ensure that whatever the weather, she would always make some money to maintain the health of her family. Adrián López also followed an intercropping strategy preferring millet and yams. David and Obdullio went for high risk monoculture of cassava to maximise profit. Philip Boecker said that he couldn’t believe the small amounts of money that these farmers had to survive on. He certainly could see another’s perspective.
Year 7 have been warming up their brains at the start of each Maths lesson with problem solving. They also attempted to solve the problems that King Harold faced in 1066. Could year 7 have brought the English Army to victory with their problem solving skills?
Mia Craig’s work.
Thinking is a skill that you can learn. Taking a structured approach to thinking can change the way you perform inside and outside school. Year 7 have been improving their thinking skills. This is what they said: • • • • • • •
We do lots of thinking skills activities in Maths Thinking skills teach you how to make your work better We like to warm up our brains You learn things not from a book Thinking skills help you learn We have used them in lots of lessons but didn’t notice it before They help you to know how good you are at different subjects
Swimming Gala Winners : Key Stage 3 Event
Winner
Class
Time
25m Freestyle : Y7 Girls
7F
19.72 R
25m Freestyle : Y7 Boys 25m Freestyle : Y8 Girls 25m Freestyle : Y8 Boys 50m Freestyle : Y7 Girls 50m Freestyle : Y7 Boys 50m Freestyle : Y8 Girls 50m Freestyle : Y8 Boys 50m Freestyle : Y9 Boys 75m Freestyle : Y9 Boys
Caterina Prynn Hector Chapela Elisa Chen Yao Juan Soriano Natalia Galรกn Jamie Dumbarton Diana Salaeva Scott Laidlaw Pablo Lledo Jesus Ferrer
7P 8W 8C 7P 7F 8W 8C 9B 9B
21.84 19.25 R 17.25 43.28 R 47.05 45.00 R 41.28 38.79 -------
Event
Winner
Class
Time
25m Breaststroke : Y7 Girls 25m Breaststroke : Y7 Boys 25m Breaststroke : Y8 Girls 25m Breaststroke : Y8 Boys 50m Breaststroke : Y9 Boys
Ana Gonzalez Hector Chapela Elisa Chen Yao Charlie Hughes Jesus Ferrer
7P 7P 8W 8W 9B
26.16 R 28.79 22.88 R 27.50 48.09
Event
Winner
Class
Time
25m Backstroke : Y7 Girls 25m Backstroke : Y7 Boys 25m Backstroke : Y8 Girls 25m Backstroke : Y8 Boys 50m Backstroke : Y9 Boys
Aitana Ramon Alejandro Ramos Carmen Gomez Juan Soriano Gerry Bartley
7F 7F 8C 8C 9M
22.41 R 22.90 R 24.03 R 20.75 R 44.13
Event
Winner
Class
Time
25m Butterfly : Y7 Girls 25m Butterfly : Y7 Boys 25m Butterfly : Y8 Girls 25m Butterfly : Y8 Boys 25m Butterfly : Y9 Boys
Luisa Morely Luis Blasco Jemma Williams Scott Laidlaw Jesus Ferrer
7G 7G 8C 8C 9B
23.68 R 24.28 19.44 R 19.91 R 18.72
R=New Record Time
Winners : Key Stage 4 and 5 Event
Winner
Class
Time
50m Freestyle : Y10 Girls 50m Freestyle : Y10 Boys 50m Freestyle : Y11-13 Girls 50m Freestyle : Y11-13 Boys 75m Freestyle : Y10-13 Girls 100m Freestyle : Y10-13 Boys
Moresche Bartley Craig Laidlaw Maria Villaescusa Miguel Sancho Moresche Bartley Jamie Sanderson
10S 10C 12E 12E 10S 11P
34.93 39.03 39.31 33.62 63.65 1.39.10
Event
Winner
Class
Time
50m Breaststroke : Y10 Girls Ana Villaescusa 50m Breaststroke : Y10 Boys Toby Saliba 50m Breaststroke : Y11-13 Boys Victor Calderon
10C 10C 12E
55.40 56.28 50.31
Event
Class
Time
50m Backstroke : Y10 Girls Moresche Bartley 50m Backstroke : Y11-13 Boys Victor Calderon
10S 12E
45.91 45.46
Event
Winner
Class
Time
25m Butterfly : Y10 Girls 25m Butterfly : Y10-13 Boys
Moresche Bartley Javier Zapata
10S 10C
22.13 20.34
Winner
Congratulations to all competitors!
Are you a mathemagician?....
Maths Puzzle‌.
A perfect number is a number which is the sum of its factors excluding itself. For example the first perfect number is 6. Because the sum of 1, 2 and 3 is 6! So what’s the next perfect number? Solutions to Mr Panter. First one gets 3 merits. No merits for parents, sorry.
You have 15 cards, numbered consecutively from 1 to 15. You must lay them out in a triangle as below. Each card must be the difference between the two cards immediately below it. The first three are done already....
Party For Polyglots
Of the 100 people at a recent party, 90 spoke Spanish, 80 spoke Italian, and 75 spoke Mandarin. At least how many spoke all three languages?
Explain the missing piece?
5 4
Solution to last month maths work-out
123-45-67+89=100
9
Swine Flu The swine flu symptoms include: temperature higher than 38 degrees, coughing, sore throat, headache, runny nose, muscle pain, general feeling unwell, occasionally vomiting / diarrhea and respiratory distress. Visit the www.bsalicante.com for a complete and up-to-date calendar.
November Diary Dates November 23rd-28th: Isle of Wight Trip November 11th: Remembrance Day Assembly
Parents Meetings
Year 7 : November 12th Year 8: December 3rd Year 9: December 10th Year 10: November 26th Year 11: November 19th
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