TIV Issue 1 - December 2018 by International British School of Bucharest

SCHOOL EVENTS Talent Show

IBSB Has Lucretia Gabroveanu Member of the Teacher's Band

The lights, mies, and sound system all in place, voices warming up, instruments being tuned, one step left and one step right, following the Âˇwalse De Melody'' pre-performance nerves showing, excitement rising... what's this about? It's the night of the IBSB Talent Show 1

If you were not present at this year's performance, be sure to add it to your calendar for next year as it's a night not to be missed. Kick starting the night was Dj Matei R. (8L) offering a powerful mix of electronic music to get everyone in the mood. It was a great set and for a moment in time we were all transported to beaches of Ibiza living the dream of an endless summer. You could hear the audience applauding from down the street. The night was officially off to a great start. In order of appearance the starring acts were, Vlad lliescu (9H) singing an Eric Clapton song, Andrei Ghita (8L) performing an original song on Guitar, Dora Tiderle (8L) singing Riptide, Jaime Baker (11C) singing 'Your Song' by Elton John, John Cazacu (7 1C) singing Elvis, the school band, namely Tudor Nacu (Yl 3) , Ana Erbasu (Yl 3), Emilia Jiang (7H), Antonia Gradinariu (9A), Jaime Baker, and John Cazacu performing 'Hurts' by Stay, Abbey Opperman (8E), Andreea Albu (8E), Alina Barbu (8E), Ariel Alter (8E), llinca Comusi (8E), Aditi Rawat (8E), Ana Maria Zamflr (8L), and Bianca Comusi (8E) dancing to 'Waka Waka', Ana Maria Zamfir performingÂˇ a ballet piece, Ariel dancing to a Hip hop medley, Felix Daianu (5E) singing 'Sing of the times', Andrei Peli (6M) playing Chopin on the piano, and Adela Ciobataru (7 2S) performing a contemporary Dance. As a special surprise, the teachers also performed French Song, might to the delight of the audience. All in all, is was a great night full of talent and emotion enjoyed by all, with the winners finally declared: Andrei Ghita (7 st Place), Jamie Baker (2nd Place), and Anamaria Zamfir (3rd Place).

Now we know: IBSB has GOT TALENT 27

February 2nd 2019, from 18.30h till late InterContinental Bucharest Ronda Ballroom Eur 125/person or 580 lei Dress code: NLOWV RU EODFN WLH DQG ODGLHV GUHVVHV DQG ÀQHULHV Contact us at: burnssupper@lightintoeurope.org or mobile: 0744 541774

SCHOOL EVENTS ESU Public Speaking Competition

Key Stage 3 ESU Public Speaking Competition Finals

The theme for this year's competition was 'Nature is a Common Language'; a hugely relevant topic in this age of fears over deforestation, global warming, and the spread of industrialisation. There were 9 Key Stage 3 finalists who stood up in the new assembly hall and delivered their heartfelt message to a respectful and attentive senior school and Years 5 & 6 from Primary. The speeches were eloquent, beautifully crafted, and delivered with passion and confidence. All of the participants were congratulated for their commitment and excellence. The eventual winners were: in reverse order. Alexia Verdes (Y9), Maria Sticlea (Y9), and the overall winner Aditi Rawat from Year 8. Well done, once again, to all of those who took part, and if you didn't? Well, there's always next year.

SCHOOL EVENTS A Level Art & Museum Trip

A Level Art & The Museum of Modern Art Ana E. (Year 13)

"Let me destroy 5000 years of art pis" stands proudly on one of the walls at the MNAC museum of modern art. We went there with the hope of finding both inspiration and material for our course work, and the exhibitions did not let us down. From photography to street art, from sculptures to paintings, the MNAC museum offers 4 floors presenting the view of contemporary artists on the world we live in. Each one of the 4 floors presented different themes and techniques, joined together by a stunning staircase that itself stood as an exhibition of street art. We spent 2 and a half hours studying the artwork, finding pieces relevant to us and absorbing as much as we could so that we could use it later for our own benefit. Indeed, all of us found that the time was too short for such a task. The huge diversity of artwork that the museum offers made it impossible for us not to find at least one useful piece, with most of us recovering multiple elements that I could use. Personally, I could have spent hours and hours sketching, drawing, noting down all that the exhibitions had to offer. This trip was a chance for all of us to do some personal research and primary studies, as they are vital to our projects. Through them we express dedication for the subject. Also, physical personal studies of art allow us to notice more subtle aspects of art or to find a less well-known technique or artist. This not only widened the area of inspiration, but would also help to make our projects more personal, which is what we are trying to achieve. For me, this trip was extremely useful, as I found multiple materials and techniques that I could use to further my project. And still, I did not have the time to capture all of what the exhibitions at MNAC had to offer. All in all, I believe that the exhibition offered an excellent opportunity for me to further my project, and I believe that all the students studying art benefited greatly from it as well.

SPORT EVENTS Autumn Cup Success

Autumn Cup Success On Saturday November l0th, deep in the heart of Herastrau Park, IBSB competed in the U9 and Ull, girls' and boys' Autumn Cup Football Tournament, coached and supported by Mr Georgescu, Ms Maria, Mr Old and Mr Saizu. There were many successes across each of the tournaments and many things to be proud of. Firstly, we had superb support from a large number of parents; secondly, the behaviour of the school pupils was excellent, solidly upholding the British values we hold dear; and finally, we were successful from a sporting perspective with both the Ul l boys and the Ul l girls winning medals: gold for the boys and silver for the girls. The U9 boys just missed out on a semi-final spot by one point Congratulations to all the pupils who represented the school with such decorum, skill, and obvious enthusiasm 1

What is your process usually like? How did you develop your individual techniques?

My favourite technique is working on the pottery wheel. It's a very quiet and meditative process, but still allows individuality and creativity. Working on the wheel takes a lot of practice, and I'm surprised and very pleased every time I feel that I've improved. I also work in a technique called slab building (it involves cutting sheets of clay), but although the results are nice, I find the process a little monotonous and don't enjoy it as much. What are you in the process of making at the moment?

I've recently started a series of vases which I'm very happy with. I think of the process as a ceramic collage - I make the parts on the wheel, and then spontaneously assemble them to create these vases which are meant to be clumsy and playful. I also play with their surface texture and colour, and have been experimenting with unusual glazes and pigments. Where do you see your practice going in the future? Do you have any dream projects you'd like to work on? I would like to take my vases further, in size as well as surface decoration. Although I love making practical objects, the art student in me is often drawn towards weirder objects. I also have a conceptual project I keep wanting to do, which is to make a number of unfired vessels and document their disintegration. It's meant to be a project which connects materials and landscape, labour and time...but I keep putting it off. One day it will happen 1 What advice would you give IBSB students studying art?

This is boring advice, but practice makes perfect. You have to keep doing creative work, even if it's a drawing a day, if you want to be any good. Up to a point, I think we can all be creative and talented, but in the end it's discipline and persistence which make the difference. Also, don't underestimate a formal education in art & design. Even if you don't end up being an artist, I think the creative and critical thought processes you learn in art school can be applied in many other fields, and come in useful later in life.

IBSB ALUMNI Elena Urzica

Aero Space Engineering at Delft Hello from DELFTI I'm sure some of you will remember me, as I just recently graduated from IBSB last year. My name is Elena Urzica and I am currently a first year student studying Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. I am actually in my second quarter of the academic year, having survived the first, and so I can describe life here and share my personal experience with you all with a certain degree of confidence. About the programme

Academically, the year is split into four quarters (each consisting of 7 weeks) and in each quarter we have four courses. At the end of the quarter we have exams in those four courses that then add up to our final grade for the specific module. So for example, a course that I did in the first quarter was Statics and now in the second quarter I have Dynamics: these two courses make up a module that I get credits for at the end, if I pass both courses. The setup of the quarters and regular exams is in my opinion something great about TU Delft, because you have a lot more information concentrated in a shorter period of time, which effectively means a course which usually takes a whole semester at another university only takes 7 weeks here. Although this is quite intense, meaning you need to work continually in order to keep up and understand what is going on at the specific moment, I would definitely say that I prefer this approach over a huge exam at the end of the academic year.

SCHOOL VIEWS Perfect Face

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Cristina Marascu Head of Mathematics and ICT

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After the students had their assessment test, Ms Marascu rewarded the Year 8 group with a fun lesson working on a unique and interesting project called: "Do you have the perfect face? " The students had to work in pairs to measure each other's faces and find out which girl and boy are closest to 'The perfect face'. They used rulers to measure from nose to chin, eyes to lips, etc., then calculated the mean of all their measurements. The answers were noted on the board and the girl and boy that had the mean closest to 'THE GOLDEN RATIO' were chosen. The results showed that people in the class who are the most attractive are Alexandra and Haidar. Most importantly the students all said that they had lots of fun and are all hoping to have more activities like this one.

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"Overall, we had a blast and I think that after all the hard work we've done this term, a fun lesson like we had today is always very welcome!"

STUDENT VIEWS Trip to China

My Trip to Chongqing, China Right after arriving in China for my summer holiday, I started researching locations for my annual birthday trip. As I've grown up in Bucharest, I have had very little chance to discover China, so every year I choose a city to travel to with my parents. As a lover of spicy food and hotpot, I thought Chongqing would be the perfect choice this year 1

Chongqing, located along the Yangtze River, is a large area crisscrossed by rivers and mountains, creating a landscape which made this place even more interesting and special to me. On my first night there, we decided to try Chongqing noodles at Hongya Cave, a large-scale stilt house complex built alongside a steep cliff on the banks of Jialing River. Here you can find the most authentic Chongqing food; one of the most famous types of noodles is called "DanDan", consisting of a spicy sauce usually containing preserved vegetables, chili, oil, and minced pork. Having tried it, I can assure you it is one of the best things on Earth I On the second day, awoke early to visit a place called "Ciqikou", a 1000- year-old town in another district. It was at one time an important source of chinaware and used to be a busy commercial dock during the Ming and Qing dynasties. While going back to the hotel, we were lucky enough to get the chance to take the famous train which goes through a building. It was both scary and fascinating. For dinner, the hotel recommended Chongqing's most popular hotpot place, and as a hotpot lover, I had to go I The three hour wait was worth it, because the hotpot soup was one of the best I have ever tried in my life; it was not just full of spicy condiments, but also some adding to the rich flavour of it On the third day, which was also my 18th birthday, I woke up to a room full of fresh flowers and cake- a surprise from my dearest parents. It was "my" day, so I decided where to go I And of course, I chose to go shopping in the centre of Chongqing. In the afternoon, while walking on a very busy commercial street, there was a monument that captured my attention. It was the ruins of the Chongqing bombings massacre, when Japan bombed the city of Chongqing for 4 years. The unplanned trip was very painful to me; although going through the museum and seeing all the photos taken of people suffering was a harrowing experience, it was important to me to pay my respect to the victims. Afterwards, my mood switched from an excited one to a sad one, but I still went and got ready for my birthday dinner. We chose the nearest restaurant, the one in our hotel. The view was superb, as the restaurant was situated on the 52nd floor of the hotel, and we very much enjoyed our seafood hotpot and ice cream cake. After my visit, I would say Chongqing is one of my favourite places in China. It's a city full of history and wonderfully kind people I But what I miss the most is the food - I would definitely recommend it if you like spicy food I Qian Qian W. (Year 13) Senior Prefect

STUDENT VIEWS Student Spotlight

LIGHT

SPOT Dear readers, Today I will be taking you through the journey of my school life, sharing with you the best moments of my fabulous adventure at IBSB. It might sound shocking, but I have been here in IBSB since the beginning of time, kindergarten (insert dramatic music). I still remember vividly the first day I stepped into the school's grounds. I was carrying my tiny floral backpack, walking up to the massive front gates. I don't want to be rude or anything, but have you seen the size of those guards? One of them reminds me of the BFG! With my mum at my side, I walked further into the playground looking at the huge kids from Yl 1 playing basketball, thinking I would never get to where they are. But here I am, already in year 7 I might be at the bottom of the secondary school, but that doesn't bother me one bit. 1

Xin Yi J. {Year 7)

Hey everyone, I am Rex from 7HI I moved from Sweden, which was where I lived for four and a half years. Joining IBSB was a nerve-wracking experience at first. Not knowing any names, and getting lost in the building. Getting called Rec, Rek, and T-Rex. But as I got to know the students and teachers, I realised how quickly I adapted to the school, and how everyone knew my name. I've even picked up a few Romanian words 1 The IBSB community is very warm and welcoming to new students. Bucharest as a city has a lot of hustle and bustle. When I moved here, I instantly fell in love with the covrige; if you don't know Romanian, it's a pretzel. As I said the word out loud to my Romanian speaking friends, they were all laughing and shocked at my pronunciation. With their help, I now know how to say the word, so I won't be embarrassed at the bakery 1

So, to wrap up, I am very happy here at IBSB. It's the best school ever 1

STUDENT VIEWS Year 8

Year BE: Now is the time for us to ••••••••

By llinca C. and Andrei S. (Year 8)

Have a lot of things in common such as: caring, sharing, helping each other, loving, and above all trusting our colleagues. Each of us have different personalities and thoughts, and as such we all are special and unique in different ways. In our class we respect and help each other on a daily basis. Everybody is included in all the activities we do in class. We all enjoy the atmosphere of all the classes we attend; we always work as one to achieve our class goals. We love the time that we spend time together. We put a lot of love and trust into our day and into our friendships, and the most important thing is that we respect everyone. In lessons we always strive to achieve new things in life. Everyone is active in class and we are attentive at all times. We have participated in multiple group projects, which improved our communication and listening skills. But sometimes we can be a little mischievous. We sometimes talk unnecessarily in class and do things that we are not supposed to do. We all have lessons that we love, but we also have some that are not so great for us.

We have interviewed some of our colleagues and one of our teachers, and this is what they said: Vlad: "I think our class is an interesting and unique group: we all are happy people, encouraging people, but we could be quieter at times. We like our lessons and this generally results in good grades in our tests. Overall, the class is a positive influence for younger people. " Ms Evi Laiou (Form Tutor): "Year 8 are a great group I am however their form tutor, so I am probably a bit biased. I love them all for different reasons. They can definitely be a handful, as they are still learning how to be kind to themselves and to the teachers. At the same time I can say they are loving (when they let themselves show it), extremely creative (in more than one way), and super intelligent. I can only hope for them to learn from their mistakes and become even better people because I know they can! 1

Then, I stood by as he courted, and was declined by Mary Owens (but you didn't hear that from me). Oh, Abe, there was another woman, but this one he engaged. I know now, he would later go on to have four beautiful children with this woman, but you see, he was a bit indecisive. The engagement was called off, then resumed and then they were married. Yes, I am starting to remember. I can also never forget the first time he was challenged to a sword duel. James Shields challenged him, over the publication of letters which taunted the Democrat Shields. I felt somewhat responsible, he gave me those letters to store. Abe was always quick on his feet though, he got us out of the challenge by explaining the letters. I was with him through most failures, offering comfort. Like in the early 40's, when he couldn't get his party's nomination for U.S. Congress. It took him almost 3 years of laborious work, but eventually he got them in, with him elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. At last he had a voice. Honest Abe. This name resonates within me, it has for all the years since he passed. I was with him when he earned that nickname, too. He often told me, in confidence of course, that politics would be the death of him. Eventually, he decided to leave politics to practice law in Springfield. An honest man he was, Abe. As a lawyer, his qualities shone through. That, as you probably know, did not last. I was right by his side, about a decade later, when the Illinois legislature chose Democrat Stephen A. Douglas for the U.S. Senate. This gave Abe the strength and resilience to return to politics with a renewed sense of direction. This renewal subsequently led to one of the most iconic speeches against slavery of all time in New Haven, Connecticut. Two months later in May, he was nominated to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Some argue I actually had quite a big role in this, but he would never publicly acknowledge it and I never asked for the publicity. On November 6th, 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States of America. Our happiness did not last for long of course. The civil war came. The most stressful four years of Abe's life, or so he told me. I'll spare you the details, since I don't believe I was around for most of it anyway. At the end of the four-year war. Everyone was mourning. We lost 620,000 good men in those years. I remember it as if it were yesterday. A bittersweet lingering feeling of relief mingled with guilt. As if this was not enough, what happened next shook the country to its core, and did much more to me. The theatre. I was there. I was sitting a mere foot away. I saw him coming. I tried to say something, I really did. But I was too late. It was the first time I let him down. Abe, forgive me. After it happened, I had but one peculiar wish. I wished for another chance to let him down, the reasoning seems illogical, but I just wanted him to stay alive. I was next to him when Mary screamed, and in the other room while doctors examined him. Abraham Lincoln died at 7:22 a.m., on April 15, 1865. With nowhere else to go, I ended up in the hands of the Smithsonian. Out of respect for Abe, I was not displayed till '93. I am still out now- all these years later. For I am, and always will be, just a simple Top Hat.

CREATIVE CORNER A French Trip

A French Trip to the Supermarket Rinfela D. (Year 8)

On a beautiful Wednesday morning, the sun glowing in the pale sky, we set out on our trip to the supermarket, with our lovely teacher Ms Diana as our guide. We had been planning it for a while and my colleagues and I were all very excited. Although the trip had an educational purpose, it was also intended to help us get to know our teacher and colleagues better. With this in mind, Ms Diana organised us into pairs and gave us each a piece of paper telling us what to buy. We then each received l O lei and excitedly headed down the stairs and out to the gate, eager to get underway. On the short but pleasant walk to the shop, Ms Diana, our photographer, took many stunning pictures of our walk, and I was very happy to see my colleagues and teacher with broad smiles on their faces. When we finally reached our destination, we stopped in front of the door to say "Bonjour" to the security and the cashier. Taking out our fancy pens, we started jotting down the names of some products in French. When we didn't know a word in French, we took out our handy dictionaries and looked it up. Thankfully, Ms Diana was always there to correct our mistakes and help us if needed. We slowly moved around the shop from section to section in search of the products on the list, until we all eventually completed our searches. The cashier and the attendants were extremely helpful, from when we entered till when we left the store, saving us a lot of time. It was a great trip which taught us many new things: new French words, to respect everybody, and strengthened our relationships with both our colleagues and our teacher. When our teacher eventually told us it was time to leave, we were all as surprised as we felt like the fun had just begun, but merrily returned to school knowing we would get to devour our food during the break. I cannot thank Ms Diana enough for arranging this visit- we hope you will arrange more next term.