BSG Newsletter | Issue 2, 2015/16

Newsletter

Issue 2 - 2015/16

“Congratulations to Audrey Lowe for winning the International Day photo competition! The image perfectly reflects the vibrant, fun, family-friendly atmosphere of the event.� Mark Thomas, Principal

To download a copy of this newsletter, please visit www.bsg.org.cn |

BritishSchoolGZ |

bsgnae

message from the principal

Dear Parents, This has been a significant few months for The British School of Guangzhou. In October, I attended the annual Nord Anglia Education conference. This was an opportunity for all 42 Principals to consider Nord Anglia’s ‘Be Ambitious’ philosophy and identify what this will mean to our students, staff and schools.

There is no doubt that the staff of BSG are academically ambitious for our students. We truly believe that there is no limit to what they can achieve and we encourage them to aim to enter the very best universities. This year is no exception, and I am pleased to hear that our current Year 13 students have already received 14 offers from the world’s top 35 universities.

Last week, the NAE regional conference was held in Guangzhou. This was an opportunity for us to host the Principals and over 100 delegates from 7 schools across China.

During the conference, staff attended training workshops on a wide range of initiatives, including new assessment procedures, Early Years education and the Juilliard-NAE music curriculum. Our teachers have been working incredibly hard to ensure our guests gained a positive impression of the school and I am pleased to say that we received lots of positive feedback. I was particularly pleased to see our Sixth Form students involved in conducting tours of our sites and to hear Valerie and Jan (our recently elected Head Boy and Head Girl) give speeches to a packed audience of teachers and Principals. It really is wonderful to see so many of our students taking on such significant leadership roles, and is yet another example of the ambition we have for our students.

As part of the conference, music teachers from across the region were involved in practical workshops around the Juilliard music curriculum. This exciting initiative is just the start of the Juilliard collaboration, which aims to use music, dance and drama to develop creativity amongst all our students. I have no doubt that our students are being provided with high quality musical opportunities, and that we have become the first choice school for parents who see music as a fundamental part of a high quality education. For me, the highlights of the conference were the solo performances from Angel Lee and Sabrina Chui who provided delegates with a wonderful demonstration of what musical ambition looks like.

While we were very happy for Guangzhou to host this year’s conference, I am pleased to note that this responsibility is passed around the NAE China schools each year. Next year, we will nominate staff to attend the regional conference, but will not have the additional responsibility of hosting this annual NAE event.

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Once again, International Day was the highlight of the Guangzhou calendar with over 3,500 visitors.

I would like to thank everyone for their efforts to ensure the day went so well. It truly was a team effort with academic and administrative teams working alongside parents, security and outside vendors to make it a truly special day. Although it was hot and sticky, the rain never arrived, and once again we enjoyed a day of music, fun and games and were able to celebrate the wide range of cultures and traditions that makes our school so unique. As always a big thanks to our sponsors as without them this day would not be such a success.

As I write this article, our U15 students have returned from the FOBISIA games in Kuala Lumpur with a surfeit of trophies, including runner up trophies in swimming and athletics and overall winners of the U15s Girls football. Once again, I have an opportunity to comment on the impressive attitude of our staff and students in preparing for this event. Since the start of the term, they have been coming into school extra early to ensure that they are as prepared as they possibly can be.

This level of commitment and team spirit deserves special mention, and our thanks goes to the PE staff for their commitment, as well as to our friends of FOBISIA, who have provided their support with transport and fundraising efforts. It is very pleasing to note that the investment in heating the pool has already begun to make a difference, and I will look forward, with anticipation, to seeing our students compete in future events.

Kind regards, Mark Thomas

International Day Photo Competition Winner Once again, congratulations to Audrey Lowe for submitting this great photo of International Day. We hope to hold further photo competitions in the future, so keep a look out for updates.

Important information is often sent via email.

If you are not receiving emails, please contact our receptionist, Lily Huang at lily@bsg.org.cn

community

Charity Update International Day 2015 Around the World in 1 Day! Our International Day 2015 took place on Saturday 7th November, attracting more than 2,000 people representing over 55 nationalities, to the scenic shores of our South Lake campus for a fantastic day of family fun.

With over 100 booths on site offering activities such as horse riding, bouncy castles, games, golf and basketball there was certainly something for the whole family to enjoy. In addition to enjoying live performances on the main stage, families indulged in delicious cuisine from around the world while shopping, greeting familiar faces and taking part in an amazing grand prize raffle draw. Congratulations to Kitty Su from Year 1 Elephants, who took home the iPhone 6s and iWatch!

Congratulations to our other competition winners: Best-dressed staff stall- The Y2 Egyptian stall were victorious Best-dressed parent country stall – It was a close call but Korea pipped everyone to the post!

Best-dressed man - Mr Stallwood in his Jamaican attire Best-dressed woman - One of our lovely parents Andrea Schneider looked stunning in her traditional German dress!

Best-dressed girl - Blank Seliga in Y1 Sun bears beautifully represented Spain Best-dressed boy - Livvy Li from Reception Kangaroos looked very handsome in his traditional Korean clothes.

Together we raised a record breaking 140,208.54 RMB!!! All funds will be directly donated to 4 our nominated charities; ActionAid, Room to Read, Hopeful Hearts and GETCH, proving that a great community spirit exists in Guangzhou.

International Day 2015 would not have been possible without our 14 ‘Diamond Sponsors’. We would like to send a special thank you to Children First, Chimelong Hengqin Bay Hotel, China National Publications Import & Export Corporation Guangzhou Branch, China Union Fencing Club, Dr Lu Dental Clinic, Ezy Golf Academy, Free n Easy, Guangzhou An Bai Clinic, Karate Tiger Temple, Philosophy Beauty, The Little Gym, The Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich Hotel, Whyville Education and Yuexiu Property for their wonderful support.

In addition, huge thanks must go to all the fantastic sponsors, partners, vendors, volunteers, parents, students, staff who worked throughout the day; and last but not least, valued guests for making The British School of Guangzhou’s International Day 2015 a fabulous event for one and all.

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community

Term 1 Charity Update 9 members of staff participated in the Barclays Moontrekker on 16th October and raised 8042 RMB for The Nature Conservancy. Big congratulations to: 43km Louise Ruck: 7 hours 58 minutes 30km Emily Hardwicke: 6 hours 44 minutes William Gomm: 7 hours 6 minutes Kevin Clare: 7 hours 20 minutes Aidan Edmanson: 9 Hours 18 minutes Amanda Boby: 9 Hours 18 minutes Jason Yu: 9 Hours 18 minutes Gemma Campbell: 9 Hours 18 minutes Michelle McCarthy: 9 Hours 18 minutes Movember - 14 members of staff are growing beards/moustaches throughout the month of November to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. We have been selling Movember merchandise at our reception desks to help raise funds for this worthwhile cause (ongoing).

Charity Book Sale - After the school community answered our call for book donations, a book sale was held on 29th October raising 2741 RMB for Room to Read. We would like to thank our school community and Oxford Education Centre for your generous book donations.

Our Primary Parent Support Group (PSG) successfully organised this year’s Primary Halloween Party raising a fantastic 3032 RMB! The PSG’s will decide where they would like to donate the money they raise, throughout the year, at the end of the year. If you would like to join the Primary PSG please contact Mr. Andrew Cunliffe for more information Andrew.cunliffe@bsg.org.cn.

Secondary Halloween Donation - For a small donation, Secondary Students were able to roam the halls as ghosts and ghouls this Halloween raising a total of 1687 RMB. Secondary students rallied one another to collect Toiletries for the Homeless. In a drive aided by Living Waters (Church in Guangzhou) toiletry donations were then given to homeless charities and homeless people on the streets.

BSG had a stall at this year’s GWIC Bazaar selling tasty treats and Movember merchandise in an attempt to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. Thanks to the yummy treats donated by Maud Chu, our lovely parent volunteer, we managed to raise 450 RMB for this cause.

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community

Our yummy Early Years Bake Sales have raised 3080 RMB to date!

The Poppy Appeal, which remembers the fallen in conflicts that have passed and celebrates the future of the living, also took place this month, raising 1714.5RMB. Coming soon:

28th November GIVES Fair- Secondary Charity committee will be running an activity stall to help raise money for Autism research and relief in China. Our orchestra and choir will also be performing at this event so pop on down for what promises to be a great day out for all.

For more information visit www.gives.cn.

For information and details of forthcoming events at The British School of Guangzhou, please visit www.bsg.org.cn or email Gemma Campbell at gemma.campbell@bsg.org.cn BSG supports GWIC Holiday Charity Bazaar By: Lena Gidwani Ask any seasoned Guangzhou shopper (or any shopper, for that matter) what their retail fantasy is and chances are the word “bazaar or sale” will come up at least once. And that’s exactly what was on offer at this year’s Guangzhou Women’s International Club Charity Bazaar.

Under our blue BSG gazebos that we lent to GWIC, we sold delicious homemade treats, Movember badges and moustache nail decals. Even though it was a very sunny day, we put our best foot forward and raised a grand total of RMB450 for Prostate Cancer UK. We’d like to thank our PSG volunteer Maud Chu, mother of Sabrina and Alton Chu, for baking us some delightful beautifully wrapped chocolate bread and walnut and raisin cakes for us to sell.

The British School of Guangzhou would like to extend a huge thank you to our Parent Support Group (PSG). All charity initiatives this term have been incredibly well organised with their help, and the funds raised are a testament to their support for the School and outer Guangzhou community. We are always keen for new members to join the PSG, so please feel free to contact gemma.campbell@bsg.org.cn for further information.

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global campus

Year 6 Debate Team Announced!

The BSG Ruling Rhinos has been formed to prepare for January’s Global Campus competition.

By: Richard Marwood The team is comprised of: Jasmin Dewar (Team Captain as appointed by her teammates) Oliver Whitehouse Alisha Lowe Jonny Moon Scarlet Corr Oren Davies Amelie Piggott Boyuan Xu

Key Facts 8 students were chosen after nearly 50 applied Children selected Jasmin as team captain and the name ‘BSG Ruling Rhinos’ Weekly meetings will take place on a Tuesday at 12pm for debating practise and discussion

THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF GUANGZHOU

Rul g R n

Competition starts in January, with Global Campus letting us know the topic to discuss, analyse and argue, for or against, over the course of 4 weeks It will involve written and video-recorded debating (opening statement, rebuttal, rebuttal response and closing statement)

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“I am looking forward to battling! I wanted to join in because I love debating and I am particularly looking forward to working with my team. I am also looking forward to planning, working and debating.”

“I want to join the debate league because I want to improve my English skill. I am looking forward to winning because I don’t want to lose.”

Jasmin Dewar Team Captain

Jonny Moon

“I want to be in the Global Campus debate team because I get to meet new people and learn new things.

I’m also really looking forward to the first debate!”

“I joined to have fun and to get to know more people, then to challenge them.”

Scarlet Corr

Boyuan Xu “When I was born I won a debate against the doctor whether to give me the spark of life or not (mostly because I cried, screamed and kicked).“

“I am looking forward to debating because I love speaking out about what I think is right.”

Amelie Piggott “I am looking forward to the debate competition because I’m looking for a challenge and people are going to be trying to persuade me and I need to try and persuade them.”

Oliver Whitehouse “The thing that I am really looking forward to is meeting new people and making new friends. I can’t wait for the debate tournament to begin!”

Oren Davies

Alisha Lowe 9

focus

“Reject League Tables In Favour Of Inspiration” By: Andrew Fitzmaurice, Nord Anglia Education CEO Education is about inspiring people to learn and to be passionate about learning. But for too long, and in too many schools and countries around the world, a growing desire to reduce education into league tables has taken the joy out of learning. We, as educators, have a duty to bring inspiration back into the classroom.

It is this belief that has led Nord Anglia Education - a network of international schools that attracts some of the most academically gifted pupils from around the world – to collaborate with the world’s leading performing arts school, The Juilliard School.

Our new collaboration – through which we have developed a new curriculum with Juilliard staff and alumni working closely with NAE staff – has launched this academic year. And it came about because of a shared worldview – that the performing arts play a powerful role in society, not least providing the opportunity to inspire a love of learning for young people across all subjects.

It’s a common criticism of many schools, and indeed education systems themselves: the excessive emphasis on league tables of examination results has narrowed school curricula, limiting children’s education. Education should do more than this, with a focus on educating the whole child – and that means developing them intellectually, culturally and emotionally.

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But why start with the performing arts?

It’s an obvious question when there is such focus on the need to ensure young people are ready for the world of work.

How can there be time for music, dance or drama, when a relentless pursuit of minutely measured literacy, numeracy and science is what is needed?

Because we believe that the performing arts is a key, unlocking many of those skills that inspire children to engage with all their studies and develop a love of learning.

The programme is not an attempt to develop world-leading musicians – that is the role of The Juilliard School. But we do want to use our combined expertise and the power of the performing arts to inspire and engage students. It is well documented that young people in particular relate to music and the performing arts in a way that can rarely be replicated across the board in other academic subjects. If we can ignite their love of learning with music and the performing arts, we can ensure that flows across their studies.

We also know that learning music and the performing arts is linked to higher academic performance, helping improve literacy, mathematics and cognitive development. Evidence suggests that students who participate in learning the arts achieve higher grades in school, and students who receive musical instruction demonstrate enhanced brain performance.

READ MORE by clicking through to the Huffington Post article HERE.

early years foundation

Welcome To Toddler Class!

By: Sophie Corr Wow, what an amazing time we have been having in the Toddler Cubs. This is the first Toddler class that we have had at BSG and we have been so impressed at how the ‘Little Ones’ have adapted to school life!

Each day they come into school and say good bye to their carers and come into class to explore what we have to play with.

We have even had a special guest come to play with us for two days and they created a short video about ‘The Day in the Life of a Toddler’. If you would like to watch this, please follow the link below.

The last two weeks, our topic has been ‘Crash, Bang, Boom!’ and my, what fun we have had making lots of noise! We have pretended to be noisy children on the school bus when singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’, we have jumped on our bubble wrap walkway to make popping sounds and have crashed and banged on our pots and pans orchestra!

If you would like to make some noise of your own follow this link to play on a drum kit in your home! http://www.oyunlar1. com/online.php?flash=536

CLICK HERE to watch A Day in the Life of a Toddler

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early years foundation

Pumpkin Competition By: Lynne Abraham Sticky watermelon covered hands, a whole lot of paint, some glue, glitter (we are Early Years after all) and some creative minds were all that was needed for this year’s Lakefront Pumpkin Competition.

From Hedgehogs to bowling balls we had it covered, and it was lovely to see each and every class working together to make some smashing pumpkin designs.

Now here at BSG we have a tradition of using watermelons instead of pumpkins! Here at Lakefront, the children loved getting their hands messy, scooping out the insides…. and it was pretty tasty too!

Everyone worked extremely hard to make their pumpkin! The designs were unique and creative, and the best part about it was everyone had fun! Because the standards were so high across our Lakefront campus, the judging was not easy!

The winners were announced during our Halloween assembly. In third place was Pre-Nursery who all worked together to make a ‘Minion’ themed design.

In second place was the Nursery Fishes. Their design was a beautiful BSG ‘Core Values’ Tree, on which Isla commented: “My favourite part of making the tree was scooping out the sticky insides”.

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The overall winners were the Nursery Hedgehogs who worked hard to turn their pumpkin into a realistic, spiky hedgehog!

Everyone agreed that their creation was ‘pump-tastic’ and the Hedgehogs were delighted that they won lots of sweet treats to share. The class were all happy to be the victors, with Eleanor stating that “we are so happy that we are the winners”, and Kylie saying that “I am looking forward to sharing our prizes”!

Well done to everyone who took part.

Let’s get those creative minds ready for next year’s competition!

early years foundation

Mid-Autumn Festival Extravaganza By: Iwona Krasa The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the ‘Mooncake Festival’ or ‘Moon Festival’ is a one thousand year-old-tradition. It is held on the last day when the moon appears at its fullest and brightest. The Chinese people all over the world celebrate the Moon Festival to remember their friends and families.

In Nursery, we have a great appreciation for the culture and traditions of our host country.

My word, we were busy during that festive week! Our activities were wide and varied including the retelling of the story involving Chang Ye, the woman who is believed to have floated to the moon after swallowing the elixir of eternal life and now lives on the moon. The children were engaged in their learning, preparing very special Mid-Autumn cards for their parents, making playdough mooncakes, painting with chopsticks, and creating fabulous Chinese fans which they later used to dance with.

We concluded the Moon Festival with a Chinese costume day, which was a wonderful opportunity for the children to come to school wearing traditional clothes. The school was full of colour and we had lots of fun dancing to soothing bamboo flute music with our fantastic fans!

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early years foundation 14

Making A Splash!

By: Matthew McLaughlin

Over the last half term during our Physical Education lessons, Reception have been lucky enough to go swimming. All the teachers think it has been a great success. It was great to see the big smiles on all the children’s faces when they went swimming. We are always very grateful for the parental support during this time, getting the children ready and changed, and think some teachers might have retired without their help!

The children started to work on their confidence in the water and the basics of staying safe in and around the pool environment. We also learnt how to stay safe when crossing the road, protecting ourselves in the sun and keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Who would have thought there was so much to learn from a trip to the swimming pool?!

Once in the pool the children learnt about the affect the water had on the movement of their bodies. Some of the smaller children found this a little difficult as the water was almost up to their chin when standing up! The biggest challenge for the teachers was getting the children to listen as they were all super excited especially in the first couple of lessons. They played different games such as, “What’s the time Mr. Wolf?” which was a great way to build up their confidence in the water, strengthen muscles and most of all a fun way to learn. They also had an array of activities such as moving slowly and quickly, bubble blowing and putting their head under the water.

The children have enjoyed starting to swim and we are sure they will be excited when we begin swimming lessons again later in Term 3. Swimming is an important life skill and our lessons will support and enable the children to become confident swimmers. It is always a pleasure to see all children at BSG, no matter the age, developing a passion for learning in all aspects of their education.

PRIMARY

Spaceship Crash!

By: Nicola Butler As an intriguing introduction to the new topic ‘Light and Dark’, Year 1 were able to investigate a spaceship crash right here at school. This exciting start to our new theme has engaged the pupils’ interest and helped to motivate pupils to produce some super writing.

Immediately after witnessing this incredible sight, the children were full of ideas about what happened and were eager to share them with their friends and teachers.

Here is a quick recap of the spaceship crash: The children gathered together in the hall to enjoy a special treat when suddenly a CCTV clip flashed up on screen that showed a huge space craft plummeting to the ground. The children were instructed to put on protective face masks at once to avoid breathing in any noxious, alien gases and then they went outside to investigate what had happened.

Outside they spotted vast amounts of debris and scorch marks all over the floor. When they went for a closer look they found a USB memory stick from Beegu; the children decided that they needed to go back inside to see what was on it. Beegu knew that her spaceship was in trouble and had made a video asking for Year 1’s help.

They have agreed that they will all try their best to help Beegu to return safely to her home planet by building a new spaceship for her.

The only job now is to find out where Beegu has disappeared to...

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PRIMARY

If You Go Down To The Woods Today...

By: Will Gomm If you go down to the woods in China you are bound to find surprises. Snakes, giant spiders and all sorts of colourful birds you just wouldn’t find in Britain! However, Year 2 has been on the lookout for something far more special, something that can only be found in the forests of China alone. Can you guess what? Pandas of course!

Over the past few weeks we have been learning about the planet we live on and it’s natural dangers, such as volcanoes and earthquakes. This brought us to the amazing story of two Pandas named Liling and Tianfei who escaped from their enclosure during the Sichuan earthquake.

This led Year 2 to wonder, what kind of habitat would a Panda live in? Luckily our Nanhu campus is surrounded with beautiful bamboo forests. Naturally we had to investigate. So on a sunny Friday morning armed with whiteboards and pens we set off to find out what lurks in these deep dark forests and see if we could describe what a panda’s habitat may look, smell, feel and sound like. The children came up with some amazing adjectives and here are just a few.

We saw brown caterpillars and gigantic plants. We could hear birds singing beautiful songs. We could smell the humidity of the air and touch the soft, purple flowers.

Sadly we found no Pandas but our intrepid investigators headed back to school happy having explored our immediate surroundings and learned a thing or two about the life of a national icon.

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PRIMARY

A Bit Of Drama In Year 3!

By: David Barton Year 3 have been busily working on playscripts during their recent English topic. It was great to see some constructive drama in the classroom and I don’t mean someone loosing their water bottle. This was a great opportunity for different students to show off their talents! Some are definitely future thespians and were really able to dramatise everything they were given. There were even a few laughs on the way: “Oh no there wasn’t!”

“Oh yes there was!”

Anyway, it also gave our writers the opporuntity to be creative with their ideas.

In 3DB for example, they were writing all about the Vikings for their upcoming assembly. They first came up with their own ideas which they then used to make into a script. They all wrote the speech and then added the actions and stage directions. We are looking forward to see how this one turns out!

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PRIMARY

Residential Fun! By: Judith Sanderson The highlight of our time in Year 4 so far, would have to be our residential trip to Cheung Chau, which was an absolutely fantastic experience for all the children and grownups involved.

It wasn’t a very auspicious start when we had an accident, involving lots of blood, before we’d even left the school grounds! A very brave little boy soldiered on and I’m very happy to say that things, rather than going from bad to worse, actually went from bad to awesome!

Aren’t you worried about going through customs, dealing with huge variety of identity cards, visas and lots of different coloured passports? Asked people who didn’t know what an intrepid, internationally-travelled tribe of savvy children we had in tow. They were wonderful, walking in formation and queuing with a patience that would have done any British bus stop proud.

Things are learnt on a school residential that can never be taught in a classroom. New skills ranging from bed making to kayaking, participating in team building activities, developing stronger friendships and selfconfidence.

Finding out how brave you are by jumping off a boat into the deep sea, exploring a dark cave or surviving the sight of your teacher crawling out of a small tent, to shout at you at half past four in the morning!

Finally, the absolutely best thing of all about a residential. GETTING HOME! With a newfound appreciation for your very own bed and the joy of being reunited with loved ones.

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PRIMARY

Carry On Camping!

By: Michelle McCarthy Year 5’s residential was a non - stop event filled extravaganza! The children had the opportunity to build on the school values of commitment and resilience in a number of ways.

It was with huge excitement that we boarded the coaches on what was to be an excellent week of beautiful weather and picturesque scenery. Reaching the boarder was smooth sailing and after a long wait at immigration we finally reboarded the buses and headed to Sai Wan. The children had to demonstrate determination straight away when faced with a 45 min walk to the beach! So with heavy bags and weary heads the children dug deep and we finally arrived to the sight of golden sands and a beautiful sunset; this was to be our home for a week‌wow! After some team games and a delicious dinner the children prepared them selves for bed; falling asleep to the gently lapping waves.

Over the course of the week the children were on the go constantly. They enjoyed surfing, kayaking, swimming, canyoning, climbing and generally faced a lot of new and exciting experiences. Marsh mellows around the fire and camping with your best friends for a week are memories that will live with our children for a lifetime.

On Friday we returned to Guangzhou with sandy bags and contented heart as well as a new found respect for hot showers!

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PRIMARY

Spook-tacular Happenings In Year 6 By: Roshni Maher Last month, the children came to school in all shapes and sizes with their weird and wonderful costumes! 30th October was a frightening day for all – young and old! That afternoon, we transported ourselves into another world, and let the ‘zombies and mummies’ loose onto the dance floor, which had been magnificently decorated with ghosts, ghouls and gargoyles. Years 5 and 6 gathered in the dance hall to receive their next set of evil instructions. A boy and a girl from each class were chosen to represent best-dressed boy and girl.

The chosen few were then asked to strut their stuff on the spooky catwalk. The Parent Teacher Association, with the help of scary surgeon Cunliffe, chose the best-dressed boy and girl. The winners were Diana Badaev (Year 6) and Bryan Zeng (Year 5). After winning the title, Diana commented “Wow! I cannot believe it! I am so surprised I won because the competition was very high this year.”

Both wore stunning costumes, which took them hours to put together. After that, it was time to hit the dance floor, where the children perfected their dance moves. They also had a chance to buy some startling toys and sample the ‘ghoulish’ food on offer.

In the lead up to Halloween, the Primary school children had been set a challenge: to think of an innovative idea to showcase their pumpkin (watermelon) to the rest of the school. Year 6 decided to go with the Angry Birds theme. The students absolutely loved this idea and worked long hours to complete their goal. The creations were fabulous! The watermelons were adorned with papier mache, paint, glitter, cardboard, wires and much more! By Friday morning (Judgement Day!) the Angry Birds looked truly terrifying.

The pupils in 6C worked extra hard to create a backdrop for the chilling birds too, which looked very effective. Unfortunately, we did not win the competition but were happy to take part. A job well done, Year 6!

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PRIMARY

Under 11s Basketball By: John Robb On Saturday, 31st October, the Under 11’s Elementary Basketball tournament got underway.

The tournament was held at Utahloy, with the “big three” participating: The international school of Nanshan, Shenzhen (ISNS), Utahloy International School Guangzhou (UISG), and of course the mighty British School of Guangzhou (BSG).

BSG provided two teams for the event who each played two games. The teams were mixed with a range of both boys and girls from years 4, 5 and 6. Each game consisted of 2 X 20 minute halves. The children were very excited to take part in their first competitive basketball game and played well together.

BSG 1 played the ISNS to begin. BSG team were down by half time however, BSG 1 managed to pull together with their best efforts, raising their score to 14 points and winning their first game! This was a confidence booster they needed going into their next game.

BSG 2 played UISG in their first game. Unfortunately they didn’t receive the same success as BSG 1. The Utahloy team quickly took control of the game showing excellent passing, shooting and defence. It was clear to see that the Utahloy teams have been busy during pre-season. BSG 2 although under heavy pressure, never gave up and fought until the game was over.

BSG 2 were far from winning but they came together in unity and managed to hold off the waves of offensive attacks and even celebrated two baskets in the second half.

BSG 1 played UISG after the break whilst BSG 2 played ISNS. BSG 1 unfortunately suffered the same fate as the BSG 2 who played them previously. The Utahloy team was a force too tough to be reckoned with on the basketball court.

BSG 2 began to show more strategy and teamwork in their second game. They managed to take advantage of the shooting opportunities and scored 10 points before the game was out. Although BSG 2 walked away from the game with a lower score, they left the court a stronger team.

Fun was had by both teams throughout the tournament and all students represented their school very well. There was much cheering and celebrating from our young and eager pupils who played with enthusiasm, determination and high standards of sportsmanship.

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PRIMARY

BSG Batman!

At BSG, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by nature, and sometimes nature needs a little helping hand from our teachers.

Mr. Mikhail sprung into action to save a bat that had damaged its wing. It’s now safe and snug!

The bat caused a flap amongst Year 3 students, who were delighted to learn about the creature and know that it’s gone to a safe haven in a hut alongside the lake.

SECONDARY

Developing A ‘Growth Mindset’:

Encouraging students to Be Ambitious By: Emily Hardwicke

Part of what makes a Nord Anglia education so special is the commitment to ‘Being Ambitious’, that is expected from students and staff alike. In Secondary, we have been trying to encourage student’s understanding that there is no limit to what they can achieve, empowering them to go beyond what they ever thought possible.

By introducing them to the concept of a ‘Growth Mindset’ (perhaps best explained by Carol Dweck, a world renowned psychologist), we have launched a range of initiatives to help students achieve their full potential.

Dweck distinguishes between two types of people: those with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset. Where a mindset is fixed, people believe their basic qualities, such as intelligence or talent, are inherently driven. They spend time documenting these traits instead of developing them and believe that talent alone is responsible for success. If you believe this, you may constantly be trying to prove yourself.

Every situation calls for a confirmation of your intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?

However, by cultivating a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work – brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning (one of our core values) and a resilience that is essential to great achievement.

What have we done so far?

We launched our focus on the growth mindset by looking at how students deal with failure.

As students arrived at school one Monday morning, they were faced with an impromptu exam, which was made deliberately challenging to the point of being impossible! We wanted students to reflect on how they felt when faced with this situation. Did they give up straight away? Were they worried about how they were performing compared to their peers?

Were they resilient enough to keep trying even though it might have felt like an impossible challenge? After an assembly that explained (to a chorus of cheers!) that the exam was a fake, students looked at how they could develop a growth mindset through tutor time activities, further assemblies and during lessons.

This year’s Learning Reps are now heavily involved in developing workshops and Inset for teachers linked to this concept and will be leading further assemblies and work with students.

The poster below, designed by Amy Wong, also demonstrates the language we are trying to encourage students to use to change their mindset.

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SECONDARY

Going For Gold!

By: Stephen Dodds The Mathematics Department is very proud to announce the results of the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Senior Challenge 2015. This is the most difficult and prestigious qualification run by the UKMT; a sample of 3 questions from the test is here if anyone would like a go!

20 pupils from across Years 11, 12 and 13 took on the challenge and were rewarded with a remarkable 19 certificates.

In total, the students achieved 5 Gold, 8 Silver and 6 Bronze certificates. Congratulations to all the participants for a marvelous achievement.

The Intermediate Challenge is next on the calendar and will take place on 4 February 2016 (priority is given to Years 9, 10 and 11). The Junior Challenge will follow this on 28 April 2016 (Year 7 & 8).

Please contact Mr Dodds if you would like to participate in either of these challenges.

Bronze: Stephanie Yin, Judy Huang, Emmelyne Li, Jan Janeczek, Cindy Lin, Leroy Li Silver: Debbie Lee, Valerie Lye, Tae Lee, Angie Wong, Eric Tai, Sophie De Boer, Kotaro Hayashi, Yanly Ying Gold: Davy Yung , Tae Oh Kim, Ann Yu, Daniel Jeon, Advaitha Byereddy

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Who Learns Past And Future Tense? We Do! By: Donal Crawford EAL (English as an Additional Language) students need to spend a lot of time practicing using the language (grammar, vocabulary, phrases & idioms, etc.) that they are studying. Fortunately, however, this does not have to mean doing endless grammar exercises and tests. Language learning can (and should) be fun!

This week one group of EAL students finished studying future forms (simple future with ‘will’, future continuous ‘I will be studying’, and future perfect ‘I will have studied/I will have been studying’). So they got an opportunity to try using this language in competition with each other, while watching an episode of The Simpsons!

The aim of the game was to predict ‘What will happen next?’ At key point during the cartoon, the video was paused and students, working in pairs or small groups discussed with each other before writing down their predictions. They also had to look up and use any necessary vocabulary, and then read out their predictions.

Predictions had to be accurate in language use before they were accepted. We then watched the next section of video, and students wrote down what actually happened (using past tense grammar which we had studied previously), and compared this with their predictions. Points were available for those who got closest to the Simpsons’ version of the truth!

There were lots of interesting (and some very crazy) predictions. For example, at one point when Mr. Burns was bitten by Homer’s dog, some students suggested that “Mr. Burns will want to chase and kill the dog, and Homer’s dad will have to hide the dog.” Another group thought that “Homer and his dog will run away and they will join the circus, where the dog will be running on a wheel.” One of these predictions was actually correct!

It is great to see students actively using their learning as well as their imaginations.

Not only does this ensure that they better remember the target language for future use, but it also allows them to gain a sense of achievement and realize that English, while sometimes difficult, is also fun!

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Old At Heart By: Miya Shen Students have been creating special cards as part of the traditional Chongyang Jie, or Double Ninth Festival. This festival celebrates the elders in families and communities.

Honoring our elders is an important part of Chinese culture, and children eagerly joined in to write lovely messages to their grandparents.

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Language Perfect By: Nicholas McKenna All our Secondary students and some from Years 4 to 6 have recently completed the online Language Perfect competition where they compete against other schools from all around the world to demonstrate their language learning abilities. As ever, BSG students scored excellent scores with six students gaining Gold Certificates after scoring more than 3000 individual points. These students were Harsh Verdia, Huiting Su, Aditi Telang, Sitara Bhojwani, Max Siegel and William Su. We competed in mini leagues against other Nord Anglia and FOBISIA schools and Sanne Hoffman was the highest scoring individual student in the Nord Anglia German competition where our school also claimed the highest score.

The German Department also had the second highest average score in the FOBISIA league and this second place was also matched by the Spanish Department in both the Nord Anglia and FOBISIA leagues.

There were also high individual scores in the Chinese and French leagues and some students even took time to learn new languages during the competition. In fact, within the Nord Anglia community, we had the highest average scores in Greek, Russian and Samoan!

All the language teaching staff would like to congratulate and thank the students who represented the school in this competition. Our students answered over 280,000 questions correctly and they devoted nearly 2,400 hours of their time to this prestigious international event.

DANKE, GRACIAS, MERCI

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IGCSE Geography Trip To Hong Kong By: Kevin McDaid Thirteen Year 11 students spent the weekend in Hong Kong in support of their IGCSE course, to collect data and information for one of their 3 IGCSE exams.

The tasks were split into three main areas: shopping and retail, coastal processes and tourism. They firstly spent some time in the Central area of Hong Kong surveying members of the public about a hypothesis based on shopping preferences.

On the following day, they moved south to Repulse Bay where a number of different coastal measurements were taken. Finally, they completed another survey with members of the public about the effects of tourism in the Stanley area of the island.

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China In A Box By: Kevin McDaid Year 7 Geographers were tasked with creating a “China In A Box’ model for them to demonstrate their knowledge of China but also to test their teamwork skills.

The brief was deliberately vague so as to encourage students to be creative. The finished results were excellent, and a well-received display was pride of place in school reception for a number of weeks.

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The BIG DRAW!

Artist-in-residence, Tony Piggott, brings the festival to life!

By: Hollie Slaughter The Big Draw is the world’s biggest drawing festival with thousands of enjoyable drawing activities which connect people of all ages with museums, outdoor spaces, artists, designers, illustrators - and each other!

Between the 12th and the 19th of October our resident artist Tony Piggott kicked off The Big Draw theme ‘Every Drawing Tells a Story” with an exciting ambidextrous portraiture project involving Year 6 to 13 students and secondary staff.

Tony explains, “Drawing is easy. Like every other skill - The more we draw the better we get. The aim of this project was to remind each student that they have the capacity to draw with both hands and are limited only by their self-belief. Drawing is both fun and rewarding... It clears the mind and synchronizes the brain.”

From the 523 drawings that were created, our resident artist has had the painstaking task of compiling them into a movie that collectively tells our story as a community. The movie will be showcased in the reception foyer and will be on the BSG website. Can you spot your drawing?

Tony Piggott has been working here since October and will continue to be in the studio until the Christmas break. He has lead ‘The Big Draw’ and we have had the privilege of witnessing the evolution of his own drawing and painting projects. We place great value on creativity and the sharing of skills here at BSG and we want to collectively say a big thank you to Tony for being a central part of our creative hub in the Art department this half term.

To see more of Tony Piggott’s work visit www.ynotpiggott.com 31

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IGCSE & A-Level Guangzhou Sculpture Park Visit By: Hollie Slaughter On Wednesday the 11th November Year 10 to 13 Art students visited China’s largest Sculpture Park situated here in Guangzhou. The park showcases contemporary sculptures depicting Guangzhou’s rich history.

Located west of the Feieling Tourist Area in Baiyun Mountain, the Scupture Park covers a land area of about 460,000 square metres.

We spent the afternoon drawing, painting and analyzing the impressive sculptures situated in the park. We were stunned by bronze running horses frozen in motion across the grass and we had the opportunity to observe an accurate copy of Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ recreated by a Chinese artist. The aim of the trip was for the students to gather first hand visual research to aid them in developing their individual IGCSE & A Level projects.

“It was the first time I had the chance to go to a sculpture park and it was awesome! I was amazed by the wonderful sculptures. They seemed to reflect the personality of its sculptor, most sculptures are trying to convey a special message from the artist that cannot be expressed just in words.” William Ma in Year 10.

It was exciting to be inspired by artworks found here in our very own city. What else can you find in Guangzhou that inspires you?

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Drawing Skills With Seashells By: Jone Barrenechea The students in 7A & 7C started off the year practicing their observational drawing skills of seashells. These drawings, where texture and pattern had been explored were used as the starting point of the following activity: Lino printing. Students learned step by step how to produce a lino print and how to use carving tools safely. Every student produced 4 creative prints in different colours that were combined into one vibrant collage.

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Distorted Faces By: Jone Barrenechea Wes Naman is a photographer based in New Mexico. In his project “Invisible tape series� he explored what happens when the human face is distorted through the application of adhesive tape and he documented this experiment through photography.

Students in 8B have been working on the topic of Self Portrait. Using the artist as our source of inspiration students used oil pastels to reproduce their distorted facial features, skin tones and volumes. http://wesnamanphotography.com

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BSG Sport Report By: Andrew Dean This term has been an immensely busy time for the PE Department.

We have continued to progress in the quality and the quantity of school sport being offered to our students.

In Primary this term, we have taken part in an Elementary Basketball Exchange at Utahloy. It was a bit of an eye-opener to our Year 4, 5 and 6 students, but a great experience for them none the less. We look forward to the next term of Football, Nord Anglia Games and also FOBISIA Preparation!

In addition to this, the AFL Day, T Ball Exchange, Dance Showcase and Interhouse Sports are just around the corner and will be reported in full next term!

The Year 6 boys joined the Y7 boys in an U12 Football Tournament and after a 5 - 5 draw in the first game, it was all to play for. The boys were marvellous all day and with the threatening Marko Zanardo, duracel bunny of Oren Davies and solid platform of Alex Maino, Jonny Moon and Oscar Tomkies, the boys went on to beat the same Utahloy team in the final on penalties!

In Secondary at U14 level, we have completed the Football season and are mid-way through the Touch Rugby season. It is none stop for the students.

The Football season was not quite as successful as last year for the boys, however it was successful none the less. This year, we entered two teams into the football and the D1 Boys won the sportsmanship trophy, losing only to the teams that made the final on the day. The D3 boys came away with a 3rd place trophy, having been successful in the penalty shootout!

The girls also put out two teams and were more successful than the boys, going unbeaten throughout the season and continued this into the league! It was a great day with some amazing play! Certainly the best football seen so far from any girls in GZ! At U19 level, we have entered a new GISAC league against 5 other local international schools. Volleyball was the first sport up this season, and despite not much practice time, the first game showed positive signs despite a loss against UISZ. With some practice in between, the next few games were positive with 2 wins and 3 losses for both the boys and girls teams in the league.

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The tournament saw a depleted team for both genders through injuries and also other prior engagements, which severely affected our chances! Sadly, this year, it was one step too far, but with none of our players being in Y13 and leaving next year, it bodes weil for us for next season!

In addition, in cross country events, Kristina and Wayne have been the shining lights so far. Again, we had no students in the older ages competing, so this is another promising outlook for future years if the students stay at BSG and continue to compete!

Lastly, we hosted a GISAC Swim meet for U19 and U14 students. Although not a team event, BSG would have been dominant purely from fielding over 30 swimmers across the day in a large number of events. This was a great practice for the team prior to FOBISIA and really showed how strong we are locally in swimming.

Currently, we are in the thick of the Basketball season for U19s and Touch Rugby season for U14s. Reports will follow in the next newsletter.

Swimathon By: Rachael Troughton Over 100 BSG students and staff took part in a 24 hour swimathon that lasted from 7am on Friday until 7am on Saturday. Students and staff could enter as an individual or as a team. They were allocated a minimum of a 20 minute slot during this time period and were challenged to see if they could swim the width of the English Channel (35km) in this time period as a collective.

They were encouraged to gain sponsorship, which is going towards funding for FOBISIA Sport for Primary, U13 and U15 teams. 28 students stayed overnight on the school field and swam at different time slots all through the night. In total, the participants surpassed the distance of the English channel in 12 hours. By the end of the 24 hour time period, the collective distance swam was a staggering 80km. Special mention must go to Dylan Flower, who swam the most lengths as an individual (46), and Naomi, Phoebe, Julie and Charlie, who swam the most lengths as a team (67). Thanks to all staff and students who took part in this great event.

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International Day

A huge thank you to the sponsors, staff, students, parents and visitors for making it such a great success!

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