TIV Issue 3, June 2013

THE INTERNATIONAL

VOICE Issue 3, June 2013

IBSB News and Views - By the Students for the Students

GRADGUATING CLASS OF 2013

Highlights Feature Articles:

It was a busy Term 3 with trips, exams, school productions, the annual IBSB Sports Day , the Primary School Artmark Auction, and many other events jammed packed into this bulging issue of TIV, all for your enjoyment and reading pleasure.

CAS Gala Talent Show Graduation Day MUN Bound Grease Lightning Sports Day The International Award

Visit our school website

www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Editorial Team Journalists/Contributors Emilia (Year 8), Maria (Year 9), Nicolo (Year 10), Yagmur (Year 10), Andrei (Year 10), Vladimir (Year 10), Steve (Year 10), Denisa C. (Year 11), Denisa N. (Year 11), Sebastian Z. (Year 11), Ruxandra (Year 11), Toby (Year 12), James (Year 12), Anemona (Year 12), Alexander (Year 12), Kira (Year 12), Catrinel (Year 12), Sonia (Year 12), George (Year 13), Contributing Teachers Ms Andrea Carman Mr Ciprian Tiplea Mr Kendall Peet Coordinators Student Editor: Alexandra (Year 13) Student Assistant Editor: Sebastian (Year 12) Teacher Coordinator: Mr Trevor Kingston Junior School Whiteboard: Ms Camelia Nicolau Layout: Mr Florin Ghita

Office Staff Aura Bogdan Executive Director

Ana Maria Stere Extra-curricular Services Officer

Contact information: ADDRESS: 21 Agricultori St. District 2, Bucharest, Romania, 021481 TEL: (+4)021.253.16.98 FAX: (+4)021.253.16.97 E-MAIL: office@ibsb.ro WEB: www.ibsb.ro

Lea Cohen Marketing

Iulia Boboc Human Resources

Florina Georgescu PR Officer

Elena Iliuta Finance

On behalf of all the office staff, and teachers we would like to thank the students and parents for contributing to a smooth academic year.

The school continues to grow and develop with each year and we are interested to receive your feedback . If you have time and would like to be more involved in the school, please come along to one of our PTF meetings.

We look forward to seeing you there.

International British School of Bucharest

1 1

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Editor’s Letter As this is my last ever Editor’s Letter for The International Voice, please be warned that it will be a long read.

I will not start talking about what I changed in the TIV in the 2 years I have been editor, because that is a judgment you should reserve for yourselves personally by looking at the past issues, as I am too involved and subjective to give a proper judgment. I can only say that I have tried to make it a better designed, more consistent and better quality product - and the extent to which I have managed to do that or not is for you to say.

Therefore, I would like to start by talking about the importance of the experience of writing itself, what the TIV represents in the context of our school, and the challenges and rewards the team is faced with when making it.

It is really hard to construct a proper journalistic piece of writing – one has to find an important issue, gather information from all viewpoints and find a smart and understandable way to convey it to your target audience.

However, I think that if one can master these skills, one learns some very important life skills – how to extract, adapt and convey information. At the TIV we have not yet reached the journalistic pinnacle, but slowly and steadily our abilities as individuals and as a group are improving in an attempt to get there.

Second of all, I would like us to remind ourselves of the role the TIV has in our school. Although we think of the TIV as a formal project, it is actually very pleasant and friendly, because although many say that the purpose of the TIV is to report what happens in school - putting things in the spotlight so people realise that they are happening - it is actually more of a memory; the best part of the TIV is the fact that you keep it, and that simple paper object will suddenly show you pictures, relate what you were involved in, and convey an atmosphere of what you were part of.

Personally at least, I think that the major purpose of The International Voice is similar to that of a vivid diary or a family photograph, reminding you of things that happened in order to better treasure them; and that is probably the reason that motivates me most to work for the TIV, to create better memories for every member of the IBSB family.

Furthermore, I would like to talk about the responsibility that arises from writing in the TIV- taking ownership of your task, completing it, respecting a deadline and moreover, taking responsibility for your views on things as they will be exposed for the world to see. Moreover, the TIV will often overlap with other responsibilities such as exams, and being able to manage them all efficiently is another valuable skill. Therefore I would like to congratulate everybody who chose to write for the TIV for taking this step, and I believe that it is an experience that will shape and improve many of your abilities.

Finally, I would like to continue in thanking some very important people that were essential in the making in the TIV apart from our many reporters, and those people are: Sebastian M - the future TIV editor whom I am glad to pass this responsibility onto and trust that he is passionate and responsible and capable enough to do a great job; Mr Trevor Kingston - who greatly improves the quality of every article, and who we rely on to remind us to do our job; Mr Florin - who is a crucial working force in putting together the TIV; and Mr Peet who polishes the end product into what you have now in your hands.

To all these people thank you, and most importantly thank you for allowing me to carry out this role for the past two years, as it has definitely shaped me as a more tenacious person able to manage a much higher work load, while having a pleasant experience throughout.

Alexandra L (year 13) TIV Editor

2 International British School of Bucharest

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Preparing Our Children to Face the Challenges of Tomorrow Backward planning Future Success In Ciprian’s article ‘BSO and ISI Inspection about the value of school accreditation’, he writes about the need for schools to prepare students to face the challenges of tomorrow. I would like to take this idea and extend it, to consider both what these challenges are and how we can best prepare our children to face them.

Backward Planning In order to create an education system that effectively prepares our children to face the challenges that lie ahead, I believe that it is best to take the approach that I encourage my students to take when individually preparing for their future, which is to choose a goal and then to back plan to ensure that firstly the goal is indeed achievable, and secondly that we understand the commitment needed to achieve the goal. As an example, in preparing to enter into the job market, rather than gaining a degree in a given field and then looking to see what type of work opportunities a given degree opens up - as many students do- I suggest reversing this sequence, by approaching a company to ask what type of qualification and experience a person would need in order to have a chance to work in a given industry and position. Although successful people are usually very busy, they are also usually happy to help students, knowing themselves what it was like to be a student, and may even take things a step further and offer work experience if the student appears to be serious.

The Value of Work Experience Unfortunately, in order to plan for the future by way of backward planning, you need to have some idea of where you are going, and this is the difficult part as many students are unsure about what they want to do later in life.

I often hear parents voice their concerns in this regard, worried that by Year 13 their children still have not yet decided on a career; and I certainly know that I hadn’t by this time. This is where work experience comes into play.

Over the years I have seen work experience play two major roles: I have seen it confirm and narrow a career choice; likewise, I have seen it indicate that a certain job or industry was not what the student had envisaged and, as such, it propelled them on a new course toward a career more in line with their given ability, talents and interests.

Jobs that don’t yet exist Work experience has great potential for guiding students towards jobs that currently exist, but what about jobs that don’t yet exist. Our students currently in Primary School are not likely to enter the job market as newly graduated career professionals for up to twenty years, by which time the job market will very likely be a totally different animal. To see the truth in this we need simply look at the jobs that exist today that did not exist even ten years ago. This list is just a short sample of some of the jobs newly created in the last ten years: Offshore windfarm engineer App designer Green Deal assessor Social media manager Market Research Data Miner Millennial Generational Expert Chief Listening Officer Blogger Search Engine Optimization Specialist User Experience Manager Like me, I am sure you have to do a search on the internet to find out what some of these jobs are.

So what about the jobs that don’t yet exist? How do we prepare our children for these jobs?

International British School of Bucharest

3 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Preparing Our Children to Face the Challenges of Tomorrow Developing Character, the right Mindset, and Skillset The answer lies in developing the character, mindset and skill set to be able to tackle the problems of tomorrow. What are the problems of tomorrow? J.S. Rischard in his book Highnoon, discusses twenty key global problems that the world is currently facing that will have an impact of the way our children live, work and relate to those around them. They are grouped into broadly three categories: Sharing our planet Sharing our humanity Sharing our rule book For our children to have a successful future, they are going to have to deal with these problems, and we as a school need to prepare them for this challenge Sharing our humanity Fight against poverty Peacekeeping, conflict prevention, combating terrorism Education for all Global infectious diseases Digital divide Natural disaster prevention and mitigation Sharing our planet Global warming Biodiversity and ecosystem losses Fisheries depletion Deforestation Water deficits Maritime safety and pollution Sharing our rule book Biotechnology rules Global financial architecture Illegal drugs Trade investment and competition rules Intellectual rights E-commerce rules International labour and migration rules

As a school, to back plan in order to prepare our students to face this world that awaits them and the challenges that await them, we can do no better than create an educational system that develops the next generation of critically aware, community-minded problem solvers, inspiring the youth of today to believe that they can make a difference and empowering them to do so with a first class education. As a school, we cannot necessarily focus specifically on preparing students for the jobs of the future, not knowing what these will be, but we can work to develop the character, the mindset, the skillset, to ensure that our students are ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead.

International British School of Bucharest

4

Kendall Peet Head of School

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

BSO and ISI Inspection Education is at the base of any strong and healthy society. We live in a world that is constantly changing and, as such, have to learn to adapt to these changes every day. Moreover, we must teach our children to become independent, global thinkers who can face the challenges of today and start preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. Education plays a very important role in understanding the world around us and creating the best possible path for our children. We all hope that they will live in a better world. However, for this to happen we must start by building the right foundation now. There is no tomorrow when it comes to change and education.

Many times we have parents asking us about the programs of the school, seeking reassurance that their children are receiving the best education. Parents often struggle to know exactly what ‘The best Education” is. There are many answers to this question, but the fastest one is related to the school’s international accreditations. Accreditations allow parents the opportunity to know if a school adheres to certain internationally recognised standards just by looking at the accreditations the school has.

IBSB has been an accredited COBIS member (Council of British International Schools) since 2009. We are also full members of ECIS (European Council of International Schools), CIS (Council of International Schools) and CEESA (The Central European Schools Association). The one accreditation we will focus on in this article is COBIS. What is COBIS? COBIS is a global membership association of quality British schools worldwide. The association, which is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in the United Kingdom, is committed to representing ‘Brand UK’, promoting quality assurance by providing formal British accreditation to British Schools overseas. A COBIS accredited school has undertaken an inspection approved by the DfE (UK); this provides quality assurance for pupils, parents and members of the school workforce.

What are BSO and ISI? The BSO (British Schools Overseas) status is given to a school for successfully passing an ISI (Independent School Inspectorate) inspection. ISI is a UK Government approved inspectorate responsible for the inspection of independent schools. Schools in the ISI are ranked among the best in the world and educate more than half a million children in 1,200 schools. Inspection is for the benefit of the students and teachers, seeking to improve the quality and effectiveness of education and care. ISI runs inspections for COBIS, and all schools successfully passing an ISI inspection, become COBIS accredited schools and achieve the BSO status. Only schools that have been inspected are classified as Executive Members. Associate membership is given to a school wishing to join COBIS, but which has not had an inspection, but must do so within three years.

Why do we need the COBIS accreditation?

As I mentioned above, the COBIS accreditation states that a school is functioning following a set of internationally agreed standards. These standards cover areas related to student progress and achievement at all levels: characteristics of the school, quality of teaching and learning, achievement and assessment, links with other organisations, children and parents views, quality of resources, health and safety requirements, social development, extracurricular programmes and leadership and management are all evaluated by inspectors and graded outstanding, good, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. As such, all these areas are being continually reviewed by our school management team in preparation for our next inspection.

International British School of Bucharest

5

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

BSO and ISI Inspection (continued) The report following an ISI inspection is made public on the school website and on the ISI website. So, the answer to the last question is - A school with COBIS accreditation is a school where children are given an education according to a set of high international standards. This should give you the assurance that your children are in a school where education at all levels is provided at the highest level.

IBSB’s last ISI inspection took place in 2009 and following this inspection our school became the first COBIS accredited school in Romania. Since then IBSB has also became an Executive COBIS member and we are now preparing for our next inspection which will take place in the autumn of 2014. ISI inspections are happening on a cycle of three to six years, depending on the previous report. Although our 2009 ISI report was good, IBSB has come a long way since then and we are confident that our school will come out with an outstanding report this time round. We are an open and transparent organisation looking forward to finding out from the ISI inspectors what is it that we are doing well and where we need to improve further. After all, from our perspective, this is the main purpose of the inspection – to give us a regular health check and to help us improve in areas where we may still need to work. We strongly believe that only by constantly trying to find ways to improve, can we ever hope to become better and better at what we do. This is part of the philosophy we aim to implement in our students’ mentality as well.

We are proud to say that IBSB is a COBIS school for many reasons, but most importantly we are proud to say that in our school we always set children’s development at all levels as our main priority. Happy children, who feel safe to express their views in and outside the classroom, is the first step towards good exam results and overall success.

Mr Ciprian Tiplea Deputy Head of School

International British School of Bucharest

6

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Our Changing World “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” ― Jon Krakauer I always love a good quote and I think this quote by author Jon Krakauer, sends a strong message that we all need to embrace change. If you think about it, from the moment we take our first breath, the only constant in life is change. This is a relevant concept for most of us as we approach the end of another school year and “different suns.” Many of you, both teachers and students, are moving on to new challenges whether it is the next level of your education or a new job. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your dedication, hard work and camaraderie. You will all be missed and our lives are richer for having known you!

Some of us will remain behind but that doesn’t mean we won’t embrace change as well. In my case, I will step down from the position of Head of Secondary and back into my former role as a full time English teacher at IBSB. I have enjoyed my years as “boss lady” and it has certainly challenged me and made me a stronger person. It also permitted me to get to know the staff better and if I had the space, I’d thank each member individually but just know, I could not have done the job without all your support and I will always appreciate that.

To all my departing students, I would like to remind you your real schooling lies outside the gates of IBSB. We have all done the best job possible to lay the foundation for your success and to prepare you to face our ever changing world. I’d like to wish you all the very best of luck with your endeavours as you take those important steps towards independence.

“Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. All the very best,

Ms Andrea Carman Head of Secondary

Assistant Editor Letter Greetings fellow readers of the TIV! I am very glad that you are currently paying attention to my article, which might not be the most interesting, however it is necessary. This last issue of the TIV has been, as always, challenging to both edit and put together. Challenging because of the many deadlines which people may not always meet! I myself know that deadlines are very important, however, sometimes I find that there are other things that seem more important, or maybe it doesn’t feel like the right time. The fact of the matter is that we teenagers generally see things on a day to day basis; we don’t look at the latent results of what we might do today, or what we might have done yesterday.

There are some people that have an innate sense of responsibility, and those people generally commit more time to projects, not because they necessarily want to, but maybe because they think it is the right thing to do. There are some people who look forward to the future, and sometimes this type of thinking may not always be beneficial. Why? Well people that only look at results and stare into the future often get lost and don’t pay attention to the present or the past , and how can someone hope for a bright future when they don’t reflect on the mistakes made throughout history? There are also people who are perfectionists, who may do well throughout their teen and early adult years, but who, at some point, when they make their first big mistake in life, will not know how to cope with it. Making mistakes throughout life isn’t something bad, actually I consider it something great, because by making mistakes and accepting them we can better ourselves as people.

For those of you still reading, I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to the TIV and I would like to especially thank Mr Kingston and Mr Peet for helping me shape myself as the future editor of the TIV. Most of all I would like to thank someone that I have not only been working with on the TIV, but who has helped me throughout the whole year, and that is none other than Sebastian M Alexandra L (year 13)! Thank you all for a wonderful year and a happy holidays – and that is one Assistant Editor deadline I have no intention of missing!

International British School of Bucharest

7 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

The Prefect Page The Prefect body is an essential element in this school, as not only is it in charge of putting students’ wishes and necessities into actions and projects, but it gives those students who are prefects a glimpse of adult life because it tests and challenges their ability to be responsible.

I would like us to discuss two important things: the activities of the prefect body this year, including their group dynamics, and the “prefect legacy” as we may call it, that we tried to establish this year.

Personally, I am extremely proud of the prefect body this year, because we were constantly involved in school activities, and every prefect department was active, setting high aims and fulfilling them.

Throughout the year, the Prefect Body was in charge of the Mentoring System, which helped several children from the Primary and Secondary Schools to better integrate in our school and manage their activities. We also helped in the running of many events such as the World Book Day, Tree Planting, UN Day and many more.

Our Social Events Prefects organized the legendary Character’s Party and enabled the Talent Show to take place; our Eco Committee has been working hard, as you probably saw from the many presentations they offered, and the reduction in plastic and paper used in school; our yearbook prefects managed to create the thorough product which you probably acquired alongside this TIV; the Dining Hall prefects brought to you the weekly Friday Menus; the Assembly Prefect George offered you numerous moments of entertainment, the Science Prefects tutored anyone who needed help and the Sports Prefects organized many sporting events such as the Halloween Basketball and many others. However, most importantly, the prefects fulfilled their most important role: to be available to offer help to anyone at any time, be they teachers or students, and be role models by being the best at what they do.

Finally, I would like to talk to talk about what being a prefect means for many, compared to what it should mean, in order to give a proper image about what it is like to be a prefect for whoever wishes to become one in the future.

Many choose to become a prefect for one reason only: it will help me in my application for university. However, they forget completely what that is based on, and why universities care about someone being a prefect. It is because it proves you are responsible, because by being a prefect, you have to learn how to put things into practice realistically, not only having good ideas, because what you do is scrutinized by a wide array of people - students, teachers and parents alike – and it shows that you can to take responsibility for the outcome of your actions; finally, we respect people who are prefects because they can set and achieve higher aims than the average individual.

Moreover, detach prefecture from university, and the highest motivation you can have, is to make yourself a better person. Why do you want to go to a good university? Probably to become a respected, “happy”, important person, not just for the university’s sake; then why not attempt to do that now, by being a prefect for your own benefit, because it shapes you as a tenacious person, instead of passively pretending you are a prefect for the sake of some recruiter’s preference?

Do it for yourself, forget other excuses, otherwise, the burden of responsibility will make you a bit sadder, tired and will stress you out; and why would you choose that instead of seeing prefecture as a challenge aimed at self-improvement?

I hope that as many self-motivated, curious, ambitious people will apply for being a prefect next year, and hopefully that will lead to still further improvements for yourself personally, and for the entire school community due to your actions. Work hard, do something you think is worthwhile, and learn from it.

Alexandra L (Year 13) Head Prefect

International British School of Bucharest

8

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Upon Ms Crane flying the IBSB Nest This article is dedicated - with a lot of admiration and also sadness, but also the very best of wishes - to Ms Crane, a teacher we have all grown to admire, in anticipation of the severe adaptation process us History Geeks will have to experience following her departure from IBSB. This article is written from the perspective of a History Geek or rather, one of her self-confessed disciples. We, the History Geeks, owe an incredible amount of our sense of fun, understanding of worldly things, education, history fanaticism and great times in this school to Ms Crane. Therefore, this article aims to show how this incredible person shaped us on so many levels, and without whom we would have probably been just that little bit less capable, less secure, less cultured, more gullible and more shallow – or less deep if we are going to be pedantic with Mr Kingston editing this article!

From a parent’s perspective at least, Ms Crane’s most laudable achievements are the educational successes she helped us achieve for Ms Crane suddenly transformed history into something not only cool but gripping: history was no longer about dust and dates, but about political action, cause and effect, the ups and downs of people – truly one of the most interesting subjects on the curriculum.

Moreover, because she managed to induce in us this excitement and interest in history, understanding of history came hand in glove with the enjoyment of the subject.

Ms Crane has a very special ability to synthesize things - her explanations are so down to earth and clear that you cannot help but understand; but, at the same time, she makes you aware of the complexity of the issues involved.

And what is more, we could always rely on her brutal and thorough Stalinesque marking of our essays to ensure that we kept improving and improving and improving .

This work ethic applies to Sociology as well, and I think that we can definitely attribute the increasingly good grades in Sociology and History in the past few years to Ms Crane, and her effective teaching skills.

These teaching methods were accompanied by a great deal of fun, sarcasm, productive deviation from the topic, rule-breaking and personalising the learning experience. Although, with strict moral codes about what the relationship between a student and a teacher should be, Ms Crane is so incredibly down to earth and approachable, that inevitably we grew to be as fond of her as she is of us.

Generating good grades doesn’t necessarily mean that person is a good person, or has a generally good effect on people – Stalin and Hitler got results! - but Ms Crane is so much more than a good academic teacher; she is the type of person that you look at for inspiration, motivation and to regain your faith that people can be good creatures, and learn, trying to apply some of these things to yourself.

9 International British School of Bucharest

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Upon Ms Crane flying the IBSB Nest (continued) Personally, I have learned an incredible amount of things from Ms Crane: I learned that even in the modern corrupt, materialistic world, you can still hold your values and be just; that you can go against the tide and take the decisions which are right, not that are popular, and that you have every right to do that; I have also learned that we, as people, have so much potential, and that if we foster and use this potential and don’t let ourselves be dumbed down and stupidified by choosing the easy way out, we can become strong and able people; I have learned that I can act, when I think something is not right or could be improved; and I have also learned how to appreciate British humour.

That is probably Ms Crane’s biggest contribution to us History Geeks- it made us strong minded, knowledgeable people, with an ability to discern right from wrong while still considering a context, with the ability to act on and shape things, all that being achieved in the most natural and relaxed manner.

Ms Crane, I don’t think there is a better way to summarise all that was said here than through this simple statement: We like you. You made us better people. We will always be History Geeks. We trust that you will be a happy person wherever you go, and that makes us happy. You are the definition of Alexandra L an excellent teacher.

(Year 13)

Upon the departure of Ms Cole and Mr Jamieson As we approach the end of the 2012-2013 academic year, unfortunately we must say goodbye to our Business/ Economics teacher Ms Cole, and our Geography/History teacher Mr Jamieson. Arriving in the academic year 20102011, they have both made their mark in the IBSB humanities department and in the school as a whole. Who can forget Mr Jamieson’s participation in the IBSB football matches or Ms Cole’s help at MUN? Yet before they leave, we can’t help questioning their time spent here.

Ms Cole Did you enjoy your time at IBSB? Yes, I’ve had a wonderful time.

What’s your most treasured memory of the time spent here?

The school trip to Antalya was fun.

Do you plan on returning to Romania?

No, I don’t think you should go back. I will come and visit all the good friends I’m leaving behind.

How would you characterize Romania in 3 words?

Promising, cultural, surprising.

Mr Jamieson Did you enjoy your time at IBSB? It’s been more than fun, it’s been wonderful – some great people, I made some great friends.

What is your favourite part of Romania?

I like Transylvania, the Saxon villages, given that I am a history teacher.

What are your top 3 highlights of the time spent here?

I enjoyed going to Munich and Bulgaria.

I started a football team – F.C. Casuals with the lads from BSB. The weather – sunshine and snow.

Mămăligă or being skinned to death?

I can’t eat mămăligă – I’ll have to go with the other one. It’s self-destroying, it reminds me of purgatory.

Catrinel V, Year 12

10 International British School of Bucharest

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Student Council Page This past year The Student Council has worked to the bone trying to spice up school activities and whatnot even more.

We’ve started with the Halloween Writing Competition as a means to try to get everybody writing, just further igniting this spark of creativity within anybody interested; Mamta won the big prize of the feather pen and various delicious sweets and chocolates she most likely devoured with such passion.

Nevertheless, our organization for Valentine’s Day proved more successful, we hope y’all enjoyed our fun matchmaking game, trying to find your number match as quick as possible, once again flavourful chocolates awarded. We even sold friendship flowers out of paper designed by the CAS, along with actual flowers for your various romantic and adventurous desires. Oh my, but don’t let the ‘Free Hugs’ campaign skip your mind, the first loving campaign designed for distributing care towards every single student.

Also, I really do hope all our non-uniform days haven’t passed by unacknowledged, the white and red day for March, Valentine’s Day and the green day for Earth Day, just so y’all can show off your pretty clothes.

Furthermore, for World Health Day we even took to giving everybody free fruits, all exotic kinds with whipped cream, honey and orange juice; all, in hope to promote just basic health and high blood pressure awareness which should definitely not be rising worldwide. Just as technology and knowledge is growing every month and even every day, shouldn’t we begin taking our bodies in consideration also?

Lastly but not least, by far our hardest work for the Student Planner re-design, took us several weeks but I am pleased to say it is all done and gone now! I just personally hope you will all appreciate our work and eventually find the Student Planner useful enough and cooler lookin’ huh? Yes, this opportunity was a great shot at trying to handle more important activities, proved something worth learning from indeed.

We’ve also recently come up with the idea of acquiring most if even all of the books part of the “A Very Short Introduction”, all these books may be available on a shelf possibly in the Study Room or anyplace suitable so everybody can take a glance at every one of them whenever they have study periods. These short introductions provide succinct basic knowledge information towards different subjects like, archaeology, psychology, literature, politics, anything you can think of written by professors and specialists. Worth getting into if you never know what to follow in university or later strive to become in life, if not that then just acquiring knowledge should be a good enough incentive.

Very well, we only hope the Student Council will further grow and help this tightly knit community, anything you need or want that’s worth delving into, don’t be shy, don’t cover your voice.

Ana Denis (Year 11)

International British School of Bucharest

11

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

CAS

International British School of Bucharest

12

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

CAS Gala When the year started, I set off in my task as CAS reporter unsure of what to expect. My choice, however, turned out to be the right one, as I got to witness a few but eventful months of CAS both through the eyes of a newcomer and through the perspectives of all of the groups involved: Speranta Pentru Tine, Light Into Europe, the Paper Tree Committee, Touched Romania and Help Animals Romania. Instead of putting down my own thoughts and positive impressions of their work, I sat down with four representatives of such projects and asked them about their experiences: Would you say this year's CAS was different than your previous experiences and why?

Gaetan M, Paper Tree Committee: As the leader of the group I was the only member to stay in the environment committee for a second year. I do not know if it was because of me being more mature this year, or because of a more involved team or simply because of the better opportunities brought to us, but I believe we have done more hard work this year and were more serious in defining our objectives and working towards actually completing them efficiently. Moreover, many bright ideas were instigated, some have not yet been fulfilled but I am sure next year’s team will manage to pick up from where we left off and do some good work for our community.

Daniel M, Speranta Pentru Tine: It was different in the sense that I got allocated into a different group. That changes the aims and activities, but I believe the overall sense of community is still the same.

Kira H, Touched Romania: This year was an exceptional year where we learned what volunteering really means. We also met with volunteers from America and we learned a few new things from them and we listened to how different volunteering is in India compared to Romania.

What were your expectations as a team when you started this year's CAS and how did you eventually get along in this experience?

Gaetan M, Paper Tree Committee: When we had our first CAS lesson as the Environment Committee in September, I believe the expectation was that of a year filled with hard work and many different ideas. In the beginning, we were a bit skeptical regarding some projects, either because they were not really feasible or due to the restricted amount of time.

However, as the year progressed and we got to work together, I believe we started seeing all projects as much more approachable. We became very eager to participate in each activity.

Daniel M, Speranta Pentru Tine: I expected the children to be less co-operative than they turned out to be. It was a true pleasure being there for them. Apart from that, the raffle at the Christmas play went better than expected.

Anurag J, Help Animals Romania: At the start of the year we had very different views from the ones we had at the end. We thought that animal adoption was considered a well-known thing in Romania, but we soon learnt that this wasn’t entirely true. We started out by going into the project head-on, and trying to tackle the problem by getting people to adopt animals. Then around half-way through the year we decided to change our plan. We took a more administrative role, trying to raise awareness for adoption before pushing ahead with adoption itself.

Kira H, Touched Romania: Our main objective was to raise money and donate clothes and food. However we mostly wanted to create a fun atmosphere for the kids at the maternity centre which we completed successfully throughout the year. This experience has taught us how much energy a child can have.

International British School of Bucharest

10 13 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

CAS Gala How involved have you been as a team to your cause and to what extent have you been successful in achieving your initially set goals?

Gaetan M, PTC: This year we have organized different activities, from the Earth day to PSHEE lessons on how to separate paper. We also had the privilege of visiting WWF and hearing about some of their initiatives. All in all, we are all very dedicated to this cause and do believe we can make a difference. The goals set have almost all been met, we managed to get the school involved in our project and that was one of our main purposes this year. The only goal which wasn’t quite met was getting a solar panel for our school, however a feasibility plan is being put together and it is something we definitely wish to focus on next year.

Daniel M, SPT: We could have done more. Perhaps the major drawback in participating in community services is that you need to be old or mature enough to make a change, but, most frustratingly that just so happens to be during the exam period.

Anurag J, HAR: As a team we have been very involved in our cause. Raising awareness of adoption was done through posters, social media, and a trip to the city centre. These have been successful with our group spreading our message and raising money while doing it.

Kira H, TR: We would go to the maternity centre each week. Also throughout each week we would raise money by the jewelry made by the mothers.

What would you classify as the advantages and the difficulties of your volunteering work?

Gaetan M, PTC: In our case, the main disadvantage is that separating the paper is a process that is sometimes a bit tedious, very time consuming, not allowing us to have much time to prepare the initiatives and activities we wish to.

Also, separating paper as compared to giving support to sick children and babies is regarded as much less important.

Nonetheless, we all believe we can in fact make a difference and that even trying to save our planet (or at least trying to contribute to that) is just as valuable as the other projects. An advantage is that since we carry out our work in school we are not dependent on organizations or hospitals and therefore this allows us to have more flexibility about how we organize our time and the activities we organize. Lastly, all the team work and help given to each other helped to shape us into more accepting and helpful students.

Daniel M, SPT: compared to last year? It's more mobile, and we get to have a direct impact on small children, which is extremely rewarding.

Anurag J, HAR: Our volunteering work has not only helped our cause but it’s helped us as people. We now have an understanding of how much it means to spend your personal time helping others out. But we have also found out how difficult it can be to set up a volunteering organization, and knowing that not all people are as interested in certain projects as you may be.

Kira H, TR: The advantages of volunteering are all the skills you gain and the most important skill of all is learning to learn to take care of 4 kids at a time. I don't believe that we had any difficulties, only the constant energy you needed in order to play with the kids.

What should future students expect and be ready for when choosing to join the same project in the following years?

Gaetan M, PTC: Every year students join the Environment committee / Paper tree in the hope of having an easy task to quickly fulfill every week and not actually having to think, solve or work through different issues which may arise.

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell them that it is not as easy as it seems and it requires a lot of time and effort.

Not only does the collecting of paper take most of the allocated CAS periods but it often goes over the breaks simply for the collection and selection of the paper. Most of the other activities such as the WWF money collection, Cleanup events, competitions or assemblies have to be planned during the student’s own time and members who are not willing to commit to the project fully are often disappointed.

International British School of Bucharest

10 14

Visit Visitwww.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

CAS Gala (continued) Daniel M, SPT: They should realize that being actively engaged in such an activity is by far not as challenging as pictured...and they might, God forbid, end up having some fun!

Anurag J, HAR: That it is a very difficult group for a number of reasons, but the main being that the 2 hour CAS sessions are not enough to set up a group that can operate as a volunteer group. However, it is also a very rewarding group, too. You have to be passionate about animals if you want to be part of this project.

Kira H, TR: The future students who want to choose this project should be aware that there will be a lot of household chores (e.g. washing dishes, ironing,...). Also, there will be a lot of interaction with kids so they should store a lot of energy.

CAS GALA – A DAY TO REMEMBER! What an ending to a fantastic year of volunteering! As Thursday rolled by, students eagerly gathered for an event that proved both serious and fun, under the careful observation of Ms Croci, who supervised the CAS Gala. Project teams made their presentations, and all were interested to see what everyone else had achieved during the year.

The jury, made up of Mr Peet, Ms Carman and Ms Croci were faced with the challenging task of evaluating the universally impressive work of Key Stage 5 students, who demonstrated that it takes a lot of application on the pupil’s part in order to get a successful project up and running. As many of the representatives interviewed about their CAS experience stated, the tasks are demanding, but the results are equally rewarding. This was something many agreed on, as they spoke about their projects with smiles on their faces and satisfaction evident in their voices.

It’s safe to say that while the room was filled with competitive students aiming to win the title of best CAS project, the entertainment was not absent from the Gala: the volunteers from IOMC gave out pacifier-shaped candy to everyone, bringing out the children in all of those present, while others incorporated jokes in their presentations.

The overall mood was lifted and it was most pleasant to see a group of competitive and passionate young adults talk about community projects which had a visibly impacted on their personalities and outlooks.

Needless to say, we are all curious to see the future generation of CAS volunteers and how they will choose to lead the projects into the future.

It is to this next generation of leaders that we now pass on the torch.

Alexandra A Year 12

International British School of Bucharest

15

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Caring, Sharing IBSB “Spring cleaning�, as you probably figured out from the name, refers to the supposedly only time of the year when you clean your house. Although many of us leave our bedrooms untidy even during this one time of the year when cleaning is meant to be done, most do at least manage to clean out our closets and find things to throw away. By why throw away what we no longer want, when others less fortunate than ourselves would love to have them? So, with this in mind, the Junior School organized a collection aimed at putting our unwanted stuff to good use, with all donations going to Second Chance and Sfanta Maria.

Being aware that there are other people who are not as lucky as some of us and who cannot afford things that we buy every day, without even looking at the price, was a big realization for some. This amazing event organized by our school allowed young students to learn the importance of helping the community for the good of everyone.

Everybody responded positively to this event and we all managed to kill two birds with one stone: firstly we got to help those in need and secondly, this was a great opportunity to get rid of things that we never use or no longer want, and which just needlessly occupied useful space.

Ms Rebecca Hunter, the teacher in charge, and the charity club students filled 30 large bags with clothes, kitchen items and other house hold items. Half of the donations were taken to Second Chance and the other half was taken to Sfanta Macrina.

Thank you to all those who participated and who thought of others ahead of themselves!

By Anemona Year 12

International British School of Bucharest

16 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Earth Hour: The Great Turn Off! On the 23rd of March 2013, between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., is the annual Earth Hour, an event that encourages households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour in order to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.

This event was originally developed in 2006 by WWF Australia and the advertising agency Leo Burnett Sydney with the purpose of engaging Australians on the issue of climate change, but since its first event took place in Sydney 2007 March 31, other countries quickly caught on, joining the effort to reduce the effects of climate change.

In our school, it is not different. As part of our CAS project, the environment committee focused intently on the organization of the event. In the end, we decided to make small lanterns to be given to the students wishing to participate.

During the assembly, which preceded the Earth Day, the beautiful lanterns, made by the environment committee, were handed out – with their purpose being the replacement of energy-wasting light bulbs.

Finally, the environment committee would like to thank everyone who participated in this event, for caring about our precious Earth, and making an effort to make this fragile world a better place.

Earth Day Earth Day, held annually on April 22, is an event, just like the Earth Hour, that demonstrates the need for environmental protection. First established in 1970, over 192 nations now participate in this event each year.

In our school, the Environment Committee celebrated Earth Day with an environment quiz, consisting of a variety of questions involving wildlife and energy use. Candy, organized and supplied by George and the Environment Committee, was awarded as prizes for correctly answering the questions.

During the last break of the day, Teresa and I were overwhelmed by the number of students enthusiastic to learn about our planet and answering the quiz. Some students had no problem answering questions like what it is in the atmosphere that helps block out harmful UV rays and what gases, emitted by power stations, cause acid rain. Fewer students answered correctly the tougher questions, such as the acronym of Polyethylene terephthalate (which by the way is PET) and which is the most endangered animal from the list of a) Iberian lynx, b) Giant panda, c) Wyoming toad or d) Aardwolf. The answer is b. No, just joking, it is C really but pandas are cuter than toads!

The only disappointment came when the end of break signaled the end of the quiz!

Taolun (Year 12)

International British School of Bucharest

17

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

The Bear Necessities of Life at IBSB Nowadays, the term “eco”, and everything associated with it, seems to have become an image for marketing strategies and has little to no tangible value. Viewed through the prism of a brainwashed society of “every man for himself”, the public regards environmental problems with scepticism and as a means to waste time. This problem also comes from a lack of trust in governments and organisations, claims Magor Csibi, representative of WWF Romania. It all boils down to the up and coming generations taking a stand and rediscovering the importance of Nature for man. Organisations are doing all they can to reach out and thus, new and surprising projects are born, like the “Adopt a Bear” campaign in which IBSB has recently been involved.

The World Wild Fund for Nature is, as its name suggests, a globally spread non-governmental organisation, best known for their work in protecting and saving endangered animal species. Their portfolio, however, ranges from educating students in schools all over the world through global projects, to fighting for the certification and European recognition of forests from various countries. As part of the regional programme “Danube-Carpathians”, WWF Romania was founded in 2006 with the help of a handful of enthusiasts and has been actively involved in the protection of the Romanian environment. With headquarters in Bucharest, Brasov and Baia Mare, this organisation, which relies for 60% of its funding upon the donations of individuals, aims to conserve, to rebuild and to responsibly administer natural habitats from the Carpathians and all along the Danube.

The project “Adopt a Bear” is, without a doubt, a fun way of saving nature. The project was triggered by the increasingly severe situation that brown bears are found in – threatened by poaching and a negative media campaign. Romanian Carpathian Mountains house no less than 6000 bears, the largest population in the EU; compared to the other 14 000 that live on the continent, this number may seem big, but in the context of the alarming decline of the species in the last centuries, many worried voices have surfaced.

The funds raised by the “Adopt A Bear” campaign are invested in conservation actions orchestrated by the WWF. Coordinated by the Environment Committee and my own personal interest in this topic, IBSB students raised over 4500 RON by purchasing “Teddy Bears”, thereby contributing to the maintenance of endangered species’ habitats, like those of the brown bear.

“I am very keen on the kids really understanding that they didn't just buy a cute bear,” reminded Ms Croci. “The teddy bear is really only a reminder of the contribution they've made to the forests, the bear habitat, and to their own future.”

For more information, go to:

http://www.adoptaunurs.ro/ http://romania.panda.org/

Alexandra A (Year 12)

International British School of Bucharest

18

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

SCHOOL EVENTS

International British School of Bucharest

19

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

I have a speech….

I remember, well, spending a cloudy Friday morning together with four other students and Mr Kendall Peet attending the ESU Public Speaking Competition final. Entering the Jockey Club in Bucharest simply curious about the contest, like myself, or as winners of previous rounds in the case of Zoe and George, we were truly impressed with the quality of the speeches. The competitors came from different corners of the country and, as I could make out by stealing glances at the notes of a competitor seated next to me, they had trained really hard together with their English teachers. The jury was comprised of representatives of the English speaking countries’ embassies and the competition had been made possible by the English Speaking Union of Romania which has in mind many other similar projects that encourage academic excellence in English.

The topic of the speeches was “A house divided against itself cannot stand” and the approaches ranged from personal experience to historical references, and all speeches were spiced with many quotes by illustrious personalities. The questions from the public were on the same level as the speeches and we could easily identify the winners based on their ability to respond to challenging questions.

As the time approached for the jury to deliberate, the contestants and public alike held their breath, excitedly, and we voted for our favourites while enjoying a glass of juice. George, who had progressed through to the semi-final and who only narrowly missed a berth in the final, chatted with his friends from the previous rounds and a small crowd gathered for photos around Prince Nicolae of Romania. He praised the wonderful speakers and their approaches to the theme.

However, the delivery of the speech was what mattered most as the Chairman of the Jury, Mr Raymond Breden, underlined before giving out the awards. We were not surprised by the verdict, as the winner’s speech was both entertaining and interactive. I felt proud to witness the tradition of public speaking first hand, an art which has survived since the ancient times of speeches in the Agora in Greece and in the Roman senate. All the speeches were excellent and superbly delivered and it is our aim to go one step further next year, securing a place in the final and winning the competition. I will certainly be putting myself forward to test my wits against the best Romania can offer!

I have a dream, a dream of winning the ESU Public Speaking Competition for IBSB!

International British School of Bucharest

20

Ruxandra R (Year 11)

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

ESU Public Speaking Competition Congratulations to both George and to Zoe for their wonderful performances in the ESU Public Speaking Competition of 2012/13.

Zoe won the Under 15 title for the whole of Bucharest, and George won the Senior Competition for Bucharest and progressed through to the national semi-finals, where he was only narrowly defeated.

Speaking about the national competition afterwards George said: “It was a great experience and although I was disappointed to be eliminated in the semi final, I feel very proud to have made it that far.”

“My speech drew heavily on the Chinese tradition of story telling, as I based my speech on the fabled Golden Ox. The moral of the story is that we succeed when we work as a team, and we fail if that team breaks apart. In the story, three brothers work together to capture a golden ox but then argue over how to divide the spoils, and as they argue the ox escapes.”

George continued: “I was so proud to be representing IBSB in the competition and I received excellent support from my fellow students – who gave up a Saturday to come and support me – and my teachers. When I was eliminated in the semi final it initially hit me very hard and Mr Kingston and Blanca spent the whole journey back on the Metro trying to cheer me up; but given time to reflect, I understand that I gave it my very best shot and that it just was not to be on the day.”

He concluded: “Overall, it was a fantastic experience. The other competitors were superb and there was no disgrace in being beaten by them. That said, it was good to hear Mr Kingston say that he still thought my speech was the best and that I deserved to be in the final!”

International British School of Bucharest

21

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

As Sure As Eggs Are Eggs Those Eggs Will Break So here’s a problem that even Einstein and Newton didn’t have to wrestle with. How can you drop an egg from the top floor balcony of IBSB without it breaking? Impossible right? Impossible wrong, when you pool the ingenious brains of the IBSB students!

Okay, so quite a few made an omelette of the exercise after scrambled brains made poor use of the protective materials poached from Art. Still they all fried very hard to succeed! (I would have worked hard boiled into that list of puns, but hard boiled eggs were not allowed!) For others, however, the task was over easy and the problem was cracked without shelling out any money on the problem. Just gather together the right materials, put them together in the right way and the yoke is on those who said it couldn’t be done!

The winners were all truly eggstatic. We had parachutes; we had a hula hoop flying saucer; we even had a deflated football used. It just goes to show what bright young brains can come up with when presented with a challenge!

The prize for the most inventive idea has to go to Adeona (year 9), who came up with the amazing plan of encasing her egg in the protective peel and flesh of an orange! Mind you, if it had gone wrong, that would have been one omelette I would not have wanted to eat! (Although Ms Carmen might have given it a go if the competition had been held just before lunch!)

But given most of the eggs broke when dropped from a great height, it does pose the question why birds build their nests at the top of trees. I guess that’s why we use the term bird brained!

International British School of Bucharest

22

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Talent Show Although hosted by the American School, IBSB was an important participant in the exciting event that was this year’s Talent Show, winning the Best Group Performance Award.

IBSB had many participants, including Kira and George who danced, the School Band with their original composition, the Steve, Navya and Teodora trio and finally, the winners, George, Alba, Seb and Andrew which sang their own version of the song Fuerte Ventura.

Overall it was a great experience, a great show, and a great exhibition of out school’s many talents.

Sebastian (Year 11) and Kira (Year 12)

InternationalBritish BritishSchool SchoolofofBucharest Bucharest International

30 23 Visit www.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro Visit

TIV By the students for the students

Talent Show

International British School of Bucharest

24 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Food Introducing Reviewthe IBSB Secondary Readathon So here is a challenge to all our students! How many of the questions below based on J.K Rowling’s famous novel, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” can you answer? There are 500 house points for the first person to answer all ten questions or the person who answers the most! (Answers to Mr Kingston) 1. What woke Mr Vernon Dursley?

2. At what time was the Hover Charm used according to the letter from Mafalda Hopkirk?

3. Between what times was Gilderoy Lockhart scheduled to sign copies of his autobiography?

4. What did Professor McGonagall place on a stool before the newcomers?

5. What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favourite colour?

6. Who wrote to Nearly Headless Nick rejecting his application?

7. What disastrous episode persuaded Professor Lockhart not to bring live creatures to class?

8. What is the name for somebody who can talk to snakes?

9. What colour do the Hufflepuffs play in?

10. Who is Percy’s girlfriend?

How many do you know? Well, of course, it would be an advantage to read the book! And to read it the right way up Nicolo! But here, in a nutshell, is the new reading competition to be introduced to IBSB in September, designed to encourage students to read more and, through their reading, to improve their vocabulary and written English.

We already have a fabulous library in the school but sadly it is not used as much as it should be. Many students prefer video games and television to reading, and so books remain on the shelves and gather dust.

But video games, whilst fun, do little to improve our minds – it is reading that develops a healthy brain!

So with this in mind, we will running a year-long Readathon from September, with students awarded points and prizes based on the number of books they read and the number of quizzes, based on those books, that they either successfully complete or compile.

The rules are simple. Quizzes are being compiled for books currently in our library and students will be awarded points based on how many questions they answer successfully on these ‘’quizzed” books. Meanwhile, any student reading a book that does not already have a quiz will be awarded points for compiling a quiz which future readers can be tested upon. In this way, we hope to build up a massive bank of quizzed books, giving students the opportunity to win points and prizes whilst competing in the IBSB Secondary Readathon.

To get us started, it would be great if every student could donate his or her favourite book to the library, complete with a quiz and the correct answers to the questions. Then, in a flash, we would have a bank of books with quizzes attached that we know students love to read!

50 house points will be awarded for every book donated, complete with a ten question quiz and answers.

Come on guys, let’s get reading and quizzing!

Mr Kingston

International British School of Bucharest

21 25 Visit Visitwww.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

World Book Day at IBSB Stepping Inside the Covers of a Book I first fell in love with books at the age of 9, when I discovered the clichéd world of Jane Eyre, whose story I must have read over 4 times. Then came Lewis Carroll and his many stories and finally, I “met” J.K. Rowling and the amazing J.R. Tolkien, with the never-ending world of “Lord of the Rings”. Other books joined and other authors appealed to me, but it was with Tolkien that I had my epiphany: I had become addicted. Even more, I had found the greatest life goal that I still stand by: to one day publish just as inspiring books. It dawned on me what an amazing world these pages can hold.

World Book Day brought back all these memories and more. Better yet, it was an opportunity to realize how many others (some much younger than myself) shared this passion for otherworldly tales. Many students responded to Ms Carmen’s challenge to dress up as their favourite character and the portrayals varied from classical fairy tales to modern day novels. It will remain my regret – not having made the time to come with a costume in time (Mr Kingston himself did little to help my conscience crisis and as my Literature teacher, had every right not to), but I applaud all those who showed up in wonderful and well-thought out costumes. Maybe for some of them the occasion just served for a good laugh, but I am sure that others participated with the same excitement just because it was their opportunity to live with their characters once more. I won’t go on about the wonderful feelings stirred by a book, though I could go on about it for hours. Instead, I will also congratulate the publishing company present in the school’s courtyard, who raised a great deal of interest. Primary school student Bia S targeted a certain book and convinced her older sister she had to have it (as a side note, this young prodigy will only read books with 100 or more pages). Well done, Bia! The prefects were equally involved in this school activity, with each of them going into the Primary School to read stories to the younger students. Kira (Y12) brought her Harry Potter wand in her attempt at making the audience visualise her story better, while Kelly (year 12) walked around with cat ears and whiskers. Seb M and Alexandra L (year 13) went full out with Willy Wonka and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory costumes, delighting everybody.

Alexandra A (Year 12)

International British School of Bucharest

22 26 Visit Visitwww.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

IBSB in the Den of Dragons

In the previous TIV issue, I wrote about an interschool business competition called “Dragon’s Den”, in which our school took part. After every team prepared as thoroughly as possible over the break, there came a time when a choice had to be made as to which teams would be sent further to compete against seven other teams from AISB, Mark Twain and BSB. All of the Yr 10 students performed excellently and Ms Crane was proud and impressed of all of us, but ultimately Freddy, and I and Alin, Steve, Nicolo, Maria and Teodora were selected to compete against the other international schools.

The awaited day of the competition finally arrived. We had mixed feelings ranging from excitement to fear surging through us, but we knew that we had done our best and put a lot of effort and hard work into our business plans. As we walked through the sumptuous Capital Partners offices, where the competition would take place, we sat ourselves down and all that was left to do was wait. Everyone was dressed formally and business-like, making it a genuine business experience. We were given a short briefing and then the first team from Mark Twain stepped into the boardroom where the dragons awaited. Each team was allotted an, unlucky for some, 13 minutes only – 3 for pitching and 10 for answering questions from the dragons – which actually is a very short amount of time considering that within this time you have to present an entire business plan and convince the dragons it is viable. Therefore, the pitch has to be succinct and you have to be able to think fast on your feet to answer any questions the Dragons may ask. I can tell you that waiting for 13 minutes, knowing that you will go next, seems a prodigious amount of time, more like 13 hours in fact!

As we were reading notes, revising figures and trying to predict what would happen within the confines of the boardroom, there was a shuffling from behind the doors. All of us turned at once in the direction of the noise, staring in anticipation. For a few endless seconds all we did was gaze at the wooden doors to see what would happen next, emotions building up faster and faster – blood racing and hearts pounding. Then, the doors opened. The team that had just pitched exited and went to their designated seating area. Freddy and I were next and we were ushered in, together with Ms Crane who could come in to support us.

As I stepped into the boardroom I was nervous - very nervous, but I had to hide that as the dragons would pick up on it. I glanced at Ms Crane who nodded and gave me her “Boys, you’re going to be fine” look, which was reassuring.

The dragons gave us the heads up, we started our pitch and they started assessing us with impassive faces. As our pitch progressed, I started feeling more and more confident, the nervous feeling dissipating, and the same applied for Freddy. Then, after our presentation was over came the part all of us were anxious about: the questions. You will never know what they will ask you and you need to be able to answer every single question appropriately. The fire breathing Dragons asked really challenging questions, but fortunately Freddy and I had the answers to all of them. All too soon, the 13 minutes were over, we shook hands with the judges and went back to Ms Cole and Maria, Teodora, Nicolo, Alin and Steve. Freddy and I didn’t realise how the time had passed – it seemed very short compared to the waiting time.

International British School of Bucharest

27 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

IBSB in the Den of Dragons (continued) The other team from our school was the second to last to enter the boardroom; and in the intervening period Freddy and I did our best to prepare them for their pitch. Then, it was time for their presentation. The five, together with Ms Cole, walked into the boardroom while Ms Crane, Freddy and I wished them good luck. The doors closed yet again, leaving us waiting the seemingly interminable 13 minutes. At last, their pitch was finished and as soon as they walked out of the boardroom we assaulted them with questions like “How was it?” “What did they ask?”, etc. All went well for them, too.

After yet another lengthy wait, during which the last team made their presentation, the Dragons at last made their decision, and all the teams were called into the boardroom. All of us were congratulated and applause filled the room. Then, the long-awaited time had come; who would get the trophies? There were three individual awards, Most Innovative Idea, Best Pitch and Overall Best performance. Freddy and I won Best Pitch, which we were very excited about in the days that followed. We than took many, many photos as a memento and headed back to school with wide smiles on our faces. It wasn’t so much about the trophy itself, as it was the experience that was so rewarding. We all had a first-hand encounter with the business world, with all its hard work and the rollercoaster emotions that go with it.

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we decided we would come back next year, too – when, in Saint George fashion, we intend to slay those Dragons!

Andrei (Year 10)

Pirates of the Curry Bean – A Total Triumph!

Well talk about having your thunder stolen! There were so many kind comments following our Winter Show that I began to get a bit big headed, thinking of moving into directing Shakespeare after ending my teaching career – and then along came Ms Chelsea and her cast of thousands and, quite simply, the best school production I have seen – ever!

What a triumph! What a joy! What a rollicking barrel of laughs in the very best traditions of British music hall comedy! ‘Carry on Admiral’ meets the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ best summed up the production for me. The script was superb. The direction was superb. The acting was superb. The singing was superb. And the delivery of the gags had me spluttering in my seat.

And what a joy – in every sense of the word! The pleasure on the students’ faces as they took their curtain call at the end of the performance said everything about the spirit of the production. And the way they mobbed and hugged their mentor, Ms Chelsea, on stage was the final magical moment of a magical evening.

And as I left the theatre, still chortling at one or two gags in particular, my mind was preoccupied with three thoughts – how well the Primary school is educating the students, how lucky we will be in Secondary to inherit such brilliantly prepared students into the future, and how the deuce am I ever going to come up with a show the equal of that!

In true Shakespearean fashion, I doff my cap to Ms Chelsea and to her fantastic cast and team!

InternationalBritish BritishSchool SchoolofofBucharest Bucharest International

Mr Kingston

30 28 Visit www.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro Visit

TIV By the students for the students

InternationalBritish BritishSchool SchoolofofBucharest Bucharest International

30 29 Visit www.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro Visit

TIV By the students for the students

Artmark Auction Artmark invited IBSB primary pupils to participate in an art auction at the Hilton Hotel on 30th May. Our pupils took to the stand with an auctioneer’s hammer in their hands and encouraged the audience to bid for the chance to buy a wonderful collection of paintings.

The event, Cei mai iubiţi dintre pământeni-- The most beloved of the Earth- was an auction dedicated to children on the eve of International Children’s Day and some of our pupils were auctioneers for the evening! They had the opportunity to see the paintings they would auction a few days before the event, and they were involved in planning what they would say to introduce their paintings. Each and every one of them spoke into the microphone with confidence, and many of our pupils managed to secure great prices for the artwork. In addition to paintings by famous artists, there was one painting sold which was the creation of one of our IBSB secondary artists: Alexandra L (year 13). Congratulations to her!

Our auctioneers were: Andrada, Y1; Lotus and Agathe, Y2; Kyra and Sofia, Y3; Stanislas and Gruia ,Y4; Matei, Claudiu, Bianca, Anda, Max, Tamara and Gili, Y5 and Ioana, Alex, Shirin, Toma, Stefan and Mike, Y6.

We would like to thank Ms Oana Radu and Artmark for inviting our school to participate in this wonderful event and to all of the children for representing IBSB so fabulously.

International British School of Bucharest

30 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Graduating Class of 2013 Graduation 2013 was a truly spectacular event held in the beautiful and prestigious Biblioteca Centrală Universitară Carol I. The event was both a formal celebration of achievement and a couldron of emotion as the school community came together to congratulate the Graduate Class of 2013 and to say an, at times, tearful farewell.

Compered superbly by Victor L (year 13) and Alexandra A (year 12), the evening belonged to a very special group of students who now move on to pastures new. We will be sad to see them leave, but we wave them goodbye proud of their achievements and confident that IBSB has given them the perfect springboard for a successful and happy life.

Go out there guys and live your lives to the full!

InternationalBritish BritishSchool SchoolofofBucharest Bucharest International

30 31 Visit www.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro Visit

TIV By the students for the students

Graduating Class of 2013

International British School of Bucharest

32 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

IBSB Triumphs at the Model United Nations As the cold and bitter grasp of winter broke, our glorious challengers awaited their flight to a land where the climate is far from frigid. A remnant of our successful debaters, Alex Puiu, Victor L (Year 11) (who participated in both Winston Churchill “Future Leaders” Debating Competition and COBIS Debating) as well as Zoe (Year 10), together with Year 13’s Daniel M and Maria (Year 13) who were drawn in by MUN veteran Alba (Year 13), formed a group which would soon be known as the “MUN’ers”.

Together with Ms Katy and Ms Cole, we arrived safe and sound in the Akka Hotel. We had all come with our speeches prepared and our position papers revised. However to know what it was we did exactly, the concept of MUN must first be understood: What MUN stands for is “Model United Nations” and, as the name implies, it is a simulation of the real organization, where real problems that are affecting us on a global scale are being discussed. The UN is split up into a number of major organs, and each organ is composed of one or more committees, such as the International Monetary Fund committee.

The job of each committee is to discuss global issues (such as nuclear disarmament or warfare in general) in detail and to draft a resolution that passes only when 2/3 of the countries in the committee agree to it.

The country IBSB were allocated to represent was Albania, and all (apart from Daniel M who had the country Guatemala since Albania was not in the committee that he was delegated to work in) had to act as Albanian Delegates for the entire week. To do that we had to learn about Albania inside out: when it obtained its independence, details of the government, its GDP, its political affairs and so forth.

I was delegated to the DISEC committee of the General Assembly, which dealt with disarmament and military technology as well as international security.

Victor L (Year 11) was delegated to the SPECPOL committee of the General Assembly, which dealt with nuclear energy and similar issues.

Zoe Smarandoiu was delegated to the SOCCUM committee of the General Assembly, which dealt with humanitarian problems and the importance of social diversity and ethnical preservation.

Daniel M was delegated to the Security Council, which dealt with crisis situations such as when a terrorist leader declares an attack or a shooting takes place.

Maria Sas was delegated to the Council of Europe, which saw to the economic, political and social development of Europe.

And Alba (Year 13) was delegated to NATO, which discussed military strategy and reforms at a higher level.

InternationalBritish BritishSchool SchoolofofBucharest Bucharest International

30 33 Visit www.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro Visit

TIV By the students for the students

IBSB Triumphs at the Model United Nations Personally I was incredibly nervous at first. DISEC faced problems with countries such as Iran and Israel or India and Pakistan that were afraid to disarm their nuclear arsenal as tensions were high among them, as well as with China not wanting to fully open borders for IAEA inspection. Little Albania could barely have a say in such huge global issues, but I managed to make my voice heard, and ended up being one of the most frequent speakers in the committee – which may not surprise people who know me well!

Days of delegation were followed by nights of celebration and soon enough, the concept of sleep was all but a distant memory, floating far from our energetic consciences. Both socially and academically it was a wonderful experience and we got to know so many diverse and interesting people.

Both myself and Alba received awards for being outstanding delegates in their respective committee, and we were the only delegates of smaller countries to win such an award. Given that the majority of students who participated were at university, this made the awards even more significant.

Another event and another victory for IBSB! Alex Puiu (Year 12)

International British School of Bucharest

34 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Grease before the Lightning!

It’s official, somebody up there loves IBSB! With violent storms predicted for the evening of the summer show, hours were spent in smoke filled rooms as managers wrestled with the decision whether (or should we say weather!) or not to postpone the show. Move it to next Thursday was one suggestion, but star of the show Yunus would be on holiday. Move it to the summer fete was another, but other key performers already had alternative plans and Mr Kingston would be in Dubai. Move it indoors suggested somebody else, but the stage wouldn’t fit through the door!

Anybody got a coin? Heads we go ahead, tails we don’t! What is the latest weather forecast? The BBC says it won’t rain before eight, but the BBC famously told the people of Britain that there wouldn’t be a hurricane one hour before a hurricane uprooted trees, blew buses onto their sides and lifted roofs off houses in London. Shall we? Shan’t we? Dare we?

Daren’t we?

And then to the strains of that famous Queen song, “The show must go on!” the decision was made, the pizzas were ordered, the stage was prepared, the sound system was set up, the cast did high fives and the curtain went up. Except being outdoors, there wasn’t a curtain!

And we all said a prayer!

And how that prayer was answered! With the clouds gathering, the final number was sung and the audience stood in unison to applaud a brilliant performance. And even as Mr Peet made the final speech, the rain began to spit, before the rain began to fall, before the lightning bolts cracked open the sky and, in true Biblical fashion, let down the torrent! Talk about perfect timing! Talk about Mr Kingston Grease Lightning!

InternationalBritish BritishSchool SchoolofofBucharest Bucharest International

30 35 Visit www.ibsb.ro www.ibsb.ro Visit

TIV By the students for the students

The Perfect Play …Is there such a thing? For our leading director, Mr Kingston, there is. But could he achieve it? Only one day before KS3’s Grease production, I was stunned to learn that more than half of the cast were struggling to remember their lines at the dress rehearsal. So what about performing those lines? If the actors couldn’t find the time to memorise their lines in between their tweeting and facebooking, what hope was there of the show coming together on the night?

As I observed the dress rehearsal, I started worrying when a twelfth try was needed to get a short scene in the middle of the play right. My hopes surged when Yunus came on stage and glanced around, his eyes twinkling like diamonds, before his perfect Danny like delivery of lines enchanted Mr Kingston’s ears. ’Maybe they’ll manage to get it right after all’, I said to myself, but all hope was ripped away when another member of the cast stumbled onto the stage, clutching a script as if it was super-glued to her chest, and mumbled her lines as if they were written in an ancient hieroglyphic Egyptian manuscript. Sweet Heaven, this play is due on in a little over 24 hours, I thought, as Mr Kingston and Ms Katie ordered a break and demanded that lunch was spent learning lines that should have been memorised two weeks before!

It is the night of the play and excited parents with smiles up to their ears are starting to appear as the sun is slowly setting and the thunder clouds are gathering in the distance. After everyone is sat in their places, with their hands pre-set to applause position and with cameras at the ready to capture forever their offspring’s shining moment, Navya and Irena walk up on stage to deliver a flawless rendition of ‘We Are Young’ by Fun. When the well-deserved eruption of applause subsided, the stars of the show – Flavia and Yunus - walked up on stage and reduced the audience to tears of laughter as they acted out a deliberately farcical love scene, with little Yunus standing on a chair to give the much taller Flavia a kiss.

Hang on, I think, this is going much better than I expected!

The play flows incredibly well from that point forward, and all the tiny production mistakes are impossible to spot because of the flawless acting of the stars of this show. Emi’s interpretation of Rizzo and Flavia’s of good girl Sandy make it impossible for the audience not to gasp in awe whilst Yunus works the laughter every time he appears on stage – which is often! The dancing is great, the singing is superb, the props are hilarious, and the audience are bowled over by a sensational IBSB adaptation of Grease, with Andrei Vagaon impersonating our beloved Principle Peet superbly and Octav Grigore more like Coach Ciprian than the original! A special mention also needs to go to Lena Stefan for capturing Ms Katie so brilliantly and to Matei Constantinescu who is a superb Putzei! In fact, the whole cast is brilliant!

And now it is over; and everybody is cheering and saluting each other as I add one last entry to my notes. They pulled it off! The show was amazing! But quite how, given the chaos of the day before, I will never know! I guess there is such a thing as a perfect play after all, but it’s no wonder Mr Kingston has very little hair left!

Vladimir S (Year 10)

International British School of Bucharest Visit www.ibsb.ro

36 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Primary Whiteboard

Head’s Lines Can you believe another term, and indeed another academic year is nearly over? It hardly seems possible that a year has passed… but it has, and when we take the time to look back it’s equally amazing that we have managed to fit so much into such a short time. There have been many highlights this term in the Primary School, which has been an energetic and creative place to be, thanks to both the staff for their ideas and the children for their enthusiasm.

So, we come to the summer and final version of our school magazine for this academic year and the old saying, ‘Time and tide wait for no man’ springs to mind. It has never felt truer. Of course, this is an ancient and wise saying and proves that we humans have never really had enough time to do all the things on our to do lists – even before we knew what to do lists were. Today many of us live our lives at 100kph and rarely have the time or luxury to take a pit stop. Well, that’s what summer is made for and I wish all of our families and teachers happy and languid summer days spent with your families and friends.

As teachers and pupils we are very lucky. Whilst the rest of the world only have New Year’s Eve to reflect on the past and make fresh and exciting plans for the year ahead, in schools we have our own special milestone each year encouraging us to reflect and look forward as we come to the end of another academic year. Unlike the world of work, every year around this time we have an end and a new beginning. Every class will graduate with new teachers, new subjects, new colleagues and new opportunities awaiting them after the summer break. Our Year 6 children will look back at the time in the Primary School with fondness (hopefully) and marvel at all they have learnt, confident that they are ready for the new challenges that lie ahead in the Secondary School. I am sure you will join me in wishing our current Year 6’s the very best of luck and success as they start the next phase of their journey.

I wish to thank everyone in the Primary School for all their hard work and dedication this term and indeed for the year. It has been a busy, but rewarding time for us as we continue to develop and improve. I also would like to thank the parents who support the school in so many ways. And finally, I’d like to thank the children for their confidence, endeavour and energy, and for surprising me, in some way, every day.

I encourage you all to reflect on the successes and failures over the last year, what you’ve learnt about yourself and how you have grown whether you are a child or an adult. I will be sure to do the same – time for a pit stop. So, I wish everyone a great summer holiday and look forward to seeing you all again in September. And for those who will be leaving us for pastures new, or in some cases pastures old as you return home, I wish you drum bun and thank you for all your support whilst you have been with us.

Alan Cornish Head of Primary

www.ibsb.ro

International British School of Bucharest

37

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Out and about...

Preschool and Reception Trip to Alexandria Fabric Factory!

As you know educational trips are a part of the rich curriculum that we offer here at IBSB. They are an extension of our children’s education intended to challenge them not only academically but socially and emotionally. These educational visits are an important part of our commitment to widen pupils' understanding of the world around them and to add value to the curriculum being studied.

In our cross-curricula topic work in Preschool and Reception we are studying patterns. We have already produced some great work in class. We also went to a Fabric Factory in Alexandria. It was quite an interesting trip because children were given opportunities to spend some time looking at the materials and factory processes.

Ms. Irina Ruse

International British School of Bucharest

38

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Out and about...

Year 1 Trip to the Zoo

In May, Year 1 enjoyed a great day at Bucharest Zoo. The class topic for the summer term was animals, and the children had been learning all about different animals.

At the zoo Year 1 saw some crocodiles that looked rather hungry!

A lion (and a lioness)

There was a chimpanzee who was SO big that everyone thought he was a gorilla!

We found out that Ms Madalina is not as tall as a giraffe!

There was one animal ( a bird actually) who was everyone’s favourite. It was an amazing parrot who could talk! The parrot even answered some people’s questions.

We saw a giant snake!

We saw lots of different kinds of birds, mammals and reptiles and we even saw a camel, but it was not the very hopeless camel.

Year 1 learned lots of things about animals when they went to the zoo. Everyone had a very interesting day.

Mrs Denise Wragg

International British School of Bucharest

39

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Out and about…

Year 2 A & B ‘Fire,

One of Year 2’s more interesting topics this year was based on The Great Fire of London. We learned about this historical event and used it as a basis for lots of extra-curricular activities. Having generated our own questions about what we would like to learn, we then worked co-operatively to create posters displaying our findings. We learned about how it started, how it spread, how we know about it and what happened in the aftermath. In order to support our work in class we paid visits to Vitan Fire Station and Foisorul de Foc where some fire-fighters explained their jobs to us and we learned about the Great Fire of Bucharest. As well as this we also designed and created our very own t-shirts with images of fire. We also presented our outcomes in some very entertaining assemblies where we acted out a poem, sang London’s Burning and performed a dragon dance. We even had time to complete our home project making our own fire stations and fire engines before presenting them to other classes and our parents. It was fire-tastic!

Mr Mark Mullan

International British School of Bucharest

40

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

News from the classroom…

Year 3 & Year 4 Volcano Making As part of our cross-curricular topic we combined our knowledge of volcanoes with art and design. In small groups

or pairs we worked hard for 5 weeks creating our own volcanoes from newspaper and cardboard. We had to make them in small stages and really enjoyed working with papier-mâché and the paint. Each group had their own individual volcano at the end that they were proud of. As the final part of our design project we erupted our volcanoes in the playground one sunny Friday. We were investigating the way a volcano erupts by using baking soda, vinegar and food colouring. Year 4 especially enjoyed shared their experiments with Year 1; describing how they made their volcanoes, what they had learned and what they were doing. All in all, Year 3 and Year 4 enjoyed designing, making and erupting their own volcanoes. A vol-tastic experience has been had by all!

Ms Chelsea Corvino

International British School of Bucharest

41

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

News from the classroom…

Year 3 & Year 4 Against Natural Disasters Charity Projects Year 3 and Year 4 had a common topic for cross-curricular over term 3a and these two weeks, called Natural Disasters. As homework, they had to create their own Relief Charity which helps victims of a natural disaster. Over the last half term children learnt about earthquakes, volcanos and tsunamis and their consequences on people and the environment. For their charity project children came up with names, logos, mission statements, fundraising ideas, pictures and persuasive presentations to ‘sell’ the charity to Year 3 and 4 peers. From each class three pupils were chosen for their brilliant presentation and ideas; from Year 3 Tara ‘Lava’, Medeea ‘Save the forest, save yourself’ and Matei ‘After Hurricane relief foundation’. From Year 4 Stanislas ‘Wet enough Sir Lanka’, Ioana ‘We know we can’ and Ronny ‘Wind be gone’.

International British School of Bucharest

42

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

News from the classroom‌ Year 5A From Farm to Fork

This term in Year 5a we have been learning about the journey of our food from its origins, normally the farm, to our tables. We began by learning about a humble tomato and how it changes from the seed to a beautiful juicy tomato. In some of the photographs you can see the children working in groups to make a 3 dimensional illustration of the 3 stages of a tomato, the plant, the flower and the tomato (with seeds inside). The children then learnt about how important it is to have a healthy diet. They did an assembly where they explained to everyone the importance of having a balanced diet. In Week 3 the children learnt about the process of making bread from the wheat farm, to the milling factory and finally the making of bread. Some children even went home and tried cooking their own bread and they brought it in for us to try. We still have 4 more weeks of learning and Year 5a are excited to find out more about their food and how it gets to our plates!

Mr Gareth Jones

International British School of Bucharest

43

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

News from the classroom…

Year 5B are learning about bread

In the last term of the school year, year 5b are learning all about bread making. We wrote our own instructions for making various types of bread from different cultures around the world. Our two Turkish students, baked some really tasty Pide bread which we all sampled and agreed it was delicious! We designed the journey of the wheat grain to the final product, bread. We titled our work “from seed to sandwich”. While doing this activity we learned all about milling, and harvesting and were truly amazed! We now greatly appreciate bread.

Ms Orla O’Dwyer

International British School of Bucharest

44

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

News from the classroom‌ Revising with Year 6!

Year 6 have spent the last term looking back over the work they have done in the last 4 years. For Maths and English this was not such an arduous process, but in Science they had to revisit topics they had not seen since Year 3! Luckily, it all came back to them fairly quickly, and it seems they knew more than they thought!

Here you can see Year 6 students using microorganisms to inflate balloons and to make their own yoghurt. Who would have thought that such miniscule beings could have such a big impact? Year 6 discovered how microorganisms are used in everyday life – even inside your body!

Mr Peter Ennion

International British School of Bucharest

45

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

News from the theatre…

The Key Stage 2 Spring Production

SCUTTLE: COCKLES AND MUSSELS! SLACK: HAWAII-FIVE-O! SCUTTLE: MUSSELS AND COCKLES! SLACK: Scuttle!!! We have been asked to explain what happened on the night of the Key Stage 2 production The Pirates of the Curry Bean!

SCUTTLE: Enough of this! We have a page of the TIV to fill! First off, let’s introduce the characters.

SLACK: There were 44 characters!!! It will take you a while…

SCUTTLE: Fine. We won’t do it. Then we will say what happened on the night of the show.

SLACK: So...what happened?

SCUTTLE: Well, there were many, many people at the theatre and after the show I heard some rumours.

SLACK: What? What were the rumours?

SCUTTLE: Give me some baked beans and I’ll tell you.

SLACK: Fine. Here take your baked beans. Now tell me faster.

SCUTTLE: I have heard that we were excellent, especially me.

SLACK: You? You just sat there in the barrow.

SCUTTLE: NO, YOU just sat there in the barrow! Whatever.

SLACK: Anyway, I heard all the people say that everybody was extremely good and beautiful and we all acted very well. The costumes were great and everybody had a magnificent time because the actors were so funny. Especially us!

SCUTTLE: The raffle took place at the intermission and a lot of people won A LOT of prizes. Including ME! I broke the record with 4 prizes and a broken arm!

SLACK: Let’s tell them how many teachers took part in the organisation of the play and what each of them did. So let’s start first of all let’s talk about Mr Angel who found the play, and was in charge of the lights and music supported by Mr Ennion and George from Year 13.

SCUTTLE: Now let’s talk about the props club in which many students were involved and were helped by Mr Mullan and Miss. Oana. In addition, Ms Chelsea, Ms Becky and Ms Andreea helped the students to learn their lines and perform perfectly.

SLACK: Special thanks to all those teachers and students who put in the effort to make it a wonderful night.

SCUTTLE: But remember, there can’t be a show without an audience! Thank you to all those parents and other relatives who came along to support us!

SLACK: With your help we managed to collect a lot of booty for charity!

SCUTTLE: Hey Slack, speaking of booty, has that shilling come out yet?

SLACK: The play is OVER Victor. Stop it I have been dreaming of that line since we were rehearsing the play.

Both: See you at next year’s Spring Production!

By Scuttle and Slack (Victor and Alexia, Year 6)

International British School of Bucharest

46

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

SPORTS

International British School of Bucharest

47

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Slam Dunking Heaven!

When I first heard I had been selected in the U14 (under 14 years) team an instant joy overcame to me. I felt really proud to play in the semi finals of Romania’s national basketball competition. I’ve been practicing basketball for 5 years and this was the third time my team had made it through to the semifinals A.C.S Champions (my team) played 5 matches and lost only one, and that by a margin of only one point. Timisoara, who defeated us, have a good team but I am sure we can beat them in the finals, we just had an off day. But we did beat St Ghiorghe, Oradea, Tirgul Secuiesc and Star Bucharest!

To win in basketball you have to work as a team, and if any one individual plays a maverick role it affects all of us.

My coach always says, “Don’t just wish it, make it happen!” and by adhering to the sentiment of this quotation, and working as a team, we are now in the Romanian national finals!

Emilia Mihaescu (Year 8)

In at the Deep End The morning of the 18th of May 2013 brought the much anticipated and hotly contested swimming competition. The setting was Bazinu Olimpic in Izvorani, and on a warm, spring, Saturday morning, a group of IBSB students set out to make our school proud. The students ranged from junior school students all the way up to Year 8, and with the entire school wishing them well, they did not disappoint.

Navya, Flavia , Raluca , Alex C., and Victor C. were the representatives from Secondary and, showing just how great IBSB is, they all came away with a medal. At the end of an exciting day of swimming, the students had a lot to celebrate and a lot to thank Mr Georgescu and Mr Ciprian for!

All in all, a grand day out!

Alexander (Year 10)

International British School of Bucharest

48

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

IBSB Illuminate the Lumina Cup

Never mind England’s FA Cup, never mind Europe’s Champions League, never mind next year’s World Cup, the competition every great team wants to win is…The Lumina Cup! So, given the quality of the opposition and the desperation to win the trophy, it was not surprising perhaps that relative minnows IBSB found lifting the trophy itself just a little beyond us. But our heroic footballers were, nevertheless, a credit to the school and collected Bronze in this toughest of competitions. Indeed, our brave boys deserve even greater credit given many of the opposition teams appeared to be playing over aged players. Will a UEFA or FIFA investigation follow, this reporter wonders!

IBSB started out excellently by winning the first two matches, giving us an early lead in the competition. The third match proved tougher, however, and the spoils were shared in a thrilling, pulsating, heart stopping, action packed, truly breath taking…0-0 draw.

So it all came down to the last game. A victory and the trophy would be ours. A draw and we would collect Silver. And even an unthinkable defeat would secure the school the distinction and honour of Bronze.

Sadly, this final hurdle proved too high and, despite an epic effort, our battling team stumbled to defeat.

Steve S. (Year 10)

49 International British School of Bucharest

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV TIV By the students for the students By Bythe thestudents studentsfor forthe thestudents students

My Trip to the Europa League Final The UEFA Europa League is one of the most important football competitions in Europe after the UEFA Champions League. All the football teams in Europe are fighting to get there for the fans, for the fame and for the title.

This time, the magic of the Europa League took place at the Amsterdam Arena, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on the 15th of May. The two teams that played in the final were London’s Chelsea FC and S. L. Benfica of Lisbon. I was there too, with my dad and my grandpa, ready to enjoy the show and the magic of this beautiful competition.

Chelsea, ’’The Champions of Europe’’ won 2-1 even though the team from Portugal dominated most of the match. The man of the match, however, was Chelsea’s defender Ivanovic, because he scored the winning goal in the very last minute of the game. Talk about high drama!

The Amsterdam Arena is one of the most beautiful stadiums in Europe and is very well known for its retractable roof, although the roof was open for this game, so the gods could look down on the Final! Amsterdam Arena is used for football matches and concerts. I was one of the 51, 628 people in the stadium itself, though millions watched the game worldwide.

The Amsterdam Arena is the most beautiful stadium I have ever visited and I am very happy that I had this opportunity to see it. This was my second Europa League final after the one in Bucharest and I hope that I will get to the Europa League final next year too; maybe to see a Romanian team in the final. Well, we can dream!

I really enjoyed the match and the atmosphere created, especially by Benfica’s fans. It really was the most spectacular Europa League final ever!

InternationalBritish BritishSchool School of Bucharest International ofof Bucharest International International BritishBritish SchoolSchool of Bucharest Bucharest

42 36 50

Andrei (Year 7)

Visit www.ibsb.ro Visit www.ibsb.ro Visit www.ibsb.ro Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Sports Day

International British School of Bucharest

51

Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Sports Day

International British School of Bucharest

52 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

House Games Once again, House Games were a triumph. The weather stayed fine, the majority of the school sported house colours, and the sense of competition crackled like a Geiger counter at Chernobyl.

As ever, success hinged upon a combination of teamwork allied to physical and mental dexterity.

Everybody participated with enthusiasm and passion but, when the final points were in, Muntenia emerged victorious.

Well done to Muntenia but the big question is, will they be able to defend their title next time around? Come on Transylvania and Dobrogea, the challenge is to knock the mighty Muntenia off their perch!

Kira H (Year 12)

On the 28 of May, Year 6 got the chance to join the Senior school House games. Excitement filled the air, and each team worked hard together striving win as they helped each other in whatever way they could. Everyone worked together like a charm, as if they hadalready participated in senior school house games before. Year 6 enjoyed everything a lot, but mostly the very first activity, the big chain where you needed to hold hands and pass a hoop along without breaking the chain.

With the help of the seniors, all three teams won an activity where a teacher showed a picture and the house representatnt needed to tell the rest of the team what they needed to replicate. Pictures included objects such as a christmas tree, Big Ben, the opera and last but not least, Year 6’s favourite, Stonehenge.

Finally, when Year 6 went back to Junior School, they kept talking over and over again about how extraordinary it was to paricipate for the first time in a Senior School House Games day.

International British School of Bucharest

Boldizsar L. (Year 6)

53 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Cricket Match - The IBSB Ashes!

On the day when India played Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, and in the summer when England resume battle with Australia for the Ashes, the eyes of the cricketing world turned on a village green twenty miles outside of Bucharest, as IBSB students took on the might of a combined teachers’ and parents’ team, and came within a hair’s breadth of epic victory.

Helped by two dropped dolly catches by Crane and Jamieson and with Sebastian Z. and Kunal M. bowling like Lillee and Thomson in their menacing pomp, and Steve S. showing Tendulkaresque technique with the bat, the valiant student team were only robbed of victory by an epic stand involving Peet and Cornish in mid innings for the PTA team, and an early innings clatter of wickets at the start of the students’ reply.

It was an epic game that will live long in the memory of all who witnessed it. Move over Botham, Richards, Hadlee and Warne, the future of cricket belongs to Romania!

Making sure Alin doesn’t bite

Mr Kingston

Mr Jamieson briefly before dropping the trophy

The stride of pride

International British School of Bucharest

54 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

International British School of Bucharest

55 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

STUDENT’S VIEWS

International British School of Bucharest

56 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

The Tea and Chocolate Club The make-up of the Tea and Chocolate Club has changed almost completely since its inception and we have been through ups and downs as our individual and group dynamics have changed, grown, or adapted; but I like to think that its essential substance and purpose have remained.

As this is my last year at IBSB, and thus the last year I will report about Tea and Chocolate (thinking about this really makes me uncomfortable and sad), and as we are not sure what will become of our club from now on, I would like to take you through a short journey, relating the meaning, influence and history of a group that holds a very profound meaning for those of us who have participated.

The Tea and Chocolate Club was an idea and need I had at the curious age of 14, and I had the luck to meet supportive people such as Ms Croci and the Tea and Chocolate members who helped in making it happen. At 14, I had many questions about the world, I found out about philosophers and tried to read them (more or less successfully), I found out new concepts and tried to apply them, but of course, many questions were left unquestioned or unanswered.

Therefore, I thought of the idea of a club, a small club of around 10 people from all age groups, who like to ponder and who are able to think, with the aim that, together we would discuss ideas, challenge our viewpoints, trigger new thoughts, and, by means of these dialectics, would grow closer to finding an answer for our many questions. In order to make this even more pleasant and stimulate conversation (and because I have an obsession with tea) we thought that it would be nice to serve tea and chocolate every session- to please our minds and taste buds at the same time- and from this basic idea- food and food for thought- the Tea and Chocolate Club came about.

It first started with a mixed group, with students from year 10 (myself and my much loved colleagues Dani, Alba & Shrishti) all the way to Year 13 (Andra, Vishal, Endre, Abhi, etc.) supervised by (and an active contributor to the conversations) Ms Croci, and with the support of Mr Angel, alongside many other teachers or guest speakers that attended our sessions. That year was great I think, and we had tons of debates on religion and beauty and happiness and many, many more. The second year we became more introspective and discussed more delicate and subtle topics and even played games (eg listening to classical music and making up stories inspired by it). In the later years, we brought ‘fresh meat’ into our club, such as Stergios and Sebastian and Andra and Blanca, Ioana and Seb M, who we hope have had fun with us, and maybe want to carry on the T&C Club legacy.

What I actually want to emphasize, in trying to summarize the essence of the Tea and Chocolate Club, is that it is a completely voluntary thing, where people come because they want to develop themselves as individuals, and where a strong bond is formed between us all because, by discussing all these issues, we let others see into our thought processes, structure, perspective, and therefore we grow to know and understand each other well. I think that all of this is a beautiful thing to do because it strengthens our ability to think and understand, it makes us tolerant to other viewpoints, it makes us feel good, it makes us friends, and it both satisfies and stimulates our curiosity.

As I prepare to depart for pastures new, I would like to thank all the people that were involved in the T&C Club through out the years, and wholeheartedly tell them that, for me, it was a beautiful, formative experience that I will remember and try to recreate at the LSE. And when back in Romania, it would be wonderful to pop back in to savour tea, chocolate and stimulating conversation.

Alexandra L (Year 13)

International British School of Bucharest

57 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

No Sushi but plenty of Tea, Chocolate, Culture When I first heard about the Tea and Chocolate Club my first thought was that nothing special would happen there, except for the consumption of tea and dark chocolates perhaps. Never did it cross my mind that there were actual conversations, not only relating to current and past events but also about opinions and beliefs regarding sociological and psychological aspects of life. But having decided to give it a go, I must say that the experience has helped me in numerous ways.

THE PEOPLE: First of all the people present create an atmosphere of warmth, and understanding. A crucial thing to understand is that this is not so much a club as it is a gathering of people, coming together to discuss particular topics. You will never be judged, and your contributions will always be valued providing you value the contributions of others and stay reasonably on topic. It is all a question of mutual understanding. Members of the club always come up with recommendations on what to discuss and the debate is always lively and inspiring, with argument and counter argument; and just as importantly, recommendations are made on what tea and chocolate deserves to be tested out and savoured. Never have I left the club without being able to say that I had learnt something, and I believe that participation has unquestionably helped me to broaden my cultural, social and intellectual horizons.

THE TEA AND CHOCOLATE: Of course what would the tea and chocolate club be without tea and‌well chocolate? I have had the opportunity to savour and enjoy several assortments of tea, which have all pleasantly surprised me in every way. The sweet taste of tea (without sugar, naturally) is complimented by the bitter tinge of dark chocolate. I personally am not an avid consumer of tea, and generally I prefer lighter chocolate, but I have found that since my initial participation, I have brewed tea more than ever before, seeking out the ultimate brand and flavour of this very traditionally British beverage (although, of course, tea is grown primarily in China and India).

THE EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS: I can, without a doubt in my mind, state that the conversations that take place in the tea and chocolate club are not only interesting and topical, but also relevant to current events. What also delights my appetite for knowledge is the varied perspectives on, and understanding of, a particular topic. Obviously there are always several ways to approach and discuss and debate about an issue; however it is always amazing how we can all learn so much from each other’s views.

Apart from the plentiful conversations that have taken place, there was also the Japanese night where we had the opportunity to broaden our cultural horizons. On this evening there was a schedule which was so vast that for most of the time we stayed separated. We did, however, get together to read Manga, which I personally enjoyed. After our short taste of illustrated literature, a couple of us went to look into the darker side of Japanese culture, which was all about the monsters created within fables and mythical creatures. After seeing some truly grotesque creations of the human imagination we took part in the presentation regarding the ceremony of tea, which was all terribly formal in a traditional Japanese way.

Sebastian M (Year 12)

International British School of Bucharest

58 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Farewell to Alexandra T.S. Eliot wrote “April is the cruelest month” as the opening lines of the Waste Land but, from where I am standing in IBSB, June is the cruelest month, for it marks the departure of Alexandra L (year 13) from our school family. I have only known Alexandra for a little over 9 months but, in that short time I have come to appreciate the very special qualities that this truly awesome young lady possesses.

Upon my arrival in the school, Alexandra asked for a meeting and told me that she would commence study for her English AS exam in September and would sit the exam in November, and that once she had secured an A grade, she would then complete her A2 studies in time to sit the final exam in June. This is a demanding two year course and my reply was “In your dreams”. Well, those who know Alexandra will not be surprised to learn that she has turned that dream into reality!

Nor will they be surprised to hear of the superb lead Alexandra has taken in the production of the TIV, nor of her string of awards whilst in the school, nor of her exemplary performance as Head Girl, nor of her superb performances in school productions, nor of the success of her beloved Tea and Chocolate Club, nor of the virtually unheard of unconditional offer awarded to her by the London School of Economics. The list of Alexandra’s achievements is literally endless, for she is sure to move from success to success as she journeys through life.

Perhaps the best tribute I can offer, however, is to say that she leaves behind a whole school of friends. Being brilliant may come easy, but being brilliant and popular too is a much more difficult nut to crack. So, having started with Eliot, I will finish with Eliot too, and simply let him say, You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles' heel.

You will go on, and when you have prevailed You can say: at this point many a one has failed.

Farewell to George Whilst an exciting time for the students themselves, the end of a school year is inevitably tinged with sadness as our Year 13s depart the school. Every year group has its own distinctive quality and this year is no different – indeed, in years to come, the “Class of 2013” will undoubtedly be regarded as a vintage year. Every departing student will be sadly missed.

But one “character” in particular will leave behind a very large, personalized sized hole – the key board playing, dancing, acting, laughing bundle of fun we all know as George!

How will the school cope without him? He was a star of the Winter Show, putting his own madcap stamp of the role of the Judge in Romeo and Juliet in Bucharest, he was the star of the ESU Public Speaking competition, winning the Bucharest heat and making it through to the National semi final, and he was the star of any number of assemblies and school talent competitions.

In May the school was hit by a twister but even that dramatic storm lacked the energy of George. It is truly exhausting just watching him, goodness only knows what it is like to be George! And the wonderful thing about this very special young man is the generosity of his spirit for George just loves bringing smiles onto the faces of others and no matter what your mood, being in his company inevitably brightens your day.

So, on behalf of everybody at IBSB, I would like to extend a special thank you to George for what he has given to others: unfettered happiness!

The consoling thought as he leaves our school is that our loss is, most definitely, the world’s gain!

Mr Kingston

International British School of Bucharest

59 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

D of E: The Pilgrim’s Progress In the past week many have heard of our adventure, of the Duke of Edinburgh, of our escape from the storm that hit Bucharest, without really knowing what it was all about. That’s why we’re here now: to explain what the famous Duke of Edinburgh (D of E) award is, how to achieve it, and most of all why someone would choose to embark in this unique, fun, but also tiring experience.

The D of E award was created in 1956 by no other than Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, with the purpose of creating a fun and thrilling experience for young people (of 14-24 years old) that requires a certain amount of experience, strength and skill depending on the age of the participant, his level and his will to work.

When we first heard about it, we weren’t fully convinced by the idea of working the whole year towards a trip of two days, just for a small award, but after talking with Mr Jamieson, the organizer of the D of E in our school, we discovered how such an experience could not only be fun and instructive, but also prepare us for our future, make us more independent, and help us grow as people.

So we started working, and for some time, it wasn’t a problem for some of us, because we were already used to having many activities during the week, while for others it was a bit harder to prepare; in the end we ended up liking these activities, and by the end of April, we were ready, ready for our expedition.

Mr Jamieson then decided to set up a practice walk in the city We were all really excited at the idea, and on Thursday 23rd of May we left the school really early to depart on our journey, visit parks, monuments, churches and streets without anything else other than the content of our backpack.

Our “mission” was to visit at least 30 churches in a period of 6 hours. We took photos in front of each of them as proof; at first we thought that it was a bit too much, but in the end we ended up liking it, and at every church we visited there was something new to see or to discover.

The walk was very tiring: when we stopped to eat, our legs were shot with fatigue, and at the end of the trip none of us could run or walk without stopping every now and then, but it was a very good training for the real expedition, in Brasov, in June.

We are sure we’ll have a good time there, and we hope that after reading this some more people next year will decide to try this unique, thrilling, and certainly exciting experience.

By Nicolo and Steve S. (Year 11)

International British School of Bucharest

60 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Riding the Crest of a Wave!

In the spring vacation I won three sailing trophies, two for 1st place and one for 2nd place.

Sailing is both a fun recreation and serious sport.

Regardless of the many differences in size and type, all sailboats work in the same way, harnessing the wind for propulsion.

A boat can be 'worked to windward', to arrive at an upwind destination, by sailing what is called “closehauled” with the wind coming from one side, then tacking (turning the boat through the wind) and sailing with the wind coming from the other side.

By this method of zig-zagging into the wind, called “beating”, it is possible to reach any destination, which seems counter intuitive when you think that sailing boat would naturally travel in the direction of the wind. A yacht “beating” to a mark directly upwind one 1.6 km away will cover a distance through the water of at least 2.3 km, if it can tack through an angle of 90 degrees (including leeway). Beating has been described as sailing for twice the distance at half the speed and three times the discomfort. And believe me, it is exhausting!

There are two ways to change from port tack to starboard tack (or vice versa): either by turning the bow through the eye of the wind, known as "tacking" or the stern, called "gybing". In general sailing, tacking is the safer method and is preferred, especially when sailing upwind; but in windsurfing, gybing is preferred as this involves much less maneuvering for the sailor.

Sailing boats with one hull are "monohulls", those with two are "catamarans", those with three are "trimarans". A boat is turned by a rudder, which itself is controlled by a tiller or a wheel, while at the same time adjusting the “sheeting angle” of the sails. In sailing flags are used to signal things and, at the last count, I had to know 36 flags and, yes we have to learn all that and a 178 page rule book before we can compete!

When Mr Kingston talked to me about sailing he asked if it was an advantage or a disadvantage to be lightweight and I said both! When the weather conditions are good and you want to pick up speed, it is a big advantage to be light because the boat has to carry your weight, but when the water is choppy and you have to turn the boat, being heavier helps, as you have to counter the balance of the boat. Either light or heavy, being mentally and physically strong is absolutely crucial.

Mr Kingston also asked if I had ever capsized and my answer was, of course. Sooner or later, every sailor will end up in the water and the first time it happens, it can be a pretty scary business. But you have to keep your wits about you, remember your training and follow procedures. There are no guarantees in sailing, however, and it can be a hazardous sport as the recent death of British Olympic Silver Medalist Andrew “Bart” Simpson so sadly illustrated.

But risks are part of the fun. It is an exhilarating sport that I would recommend to anybody; but to succeed, you have to be dedicated, brave, fit and resourceful.

Petru N. (Year 7) Oh, and you need a good memory for flags!

International British School of Bucharest

61 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

I’m a Cheltenham Lady! - Life after IBSB Moving on to boarding school in England Every year a few of our students make the decision to move on to complete their studies at a boarding school in England. Here is a brief report from one of our former students, Corina B., who recently returned to IBSB for a short visit from Cheltenham Ladies’ College in England.

England is a very different place to Romania. Where I live now, in Cheltenham , everything is really quiet and peaceful but, it will never feel like home. At the beginning it was quite weird hearing people talking only English, inside school and outside school, but as time passed I got used to it. Most of the people here are very friendly and are always happy and willing to help.

Being thousands of miles away from home has made me appreciate every moment of my life and to feel thankful for everything I have. Sometimes I become homesick and when that happens, I take my phone and talk to my old friends for a while and then everything starts to feel better.

The school itself is not so different from IBSB, except the fact that Cheltenham Ladies’ College is a girls’ school only… so there are no boys to distract you! The really nice thing about moving schools is that you get to meet new people from all over the world. You get to make connections , friends, and to experience new things with new people.

I would like to thank all my teachers who helped / tutored me to improve in all the subjects, in order to pass my entrance exams and, of course, all my friends at IBSB who I miss so much!

We wish Corina all the best in her future studies in England and hope that she will come back and visit us again soon.

Corina B. (Former IBSB Student)

International British School of Bucharest

62 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

The IBSB Portal to a Parallel Universe Hidden in this school there is a different dimension, located somewhere on the third floor; it's a separate locative entity, where one can sit on puffy coloured cushions, where plants hang above you, where vibrant drawings catch your eye and where the smell of tea is always in the air.

This may seem an irrelevant article but it is not; at least not for the minority of social sciences and Italian students that settle themselves lavishly in the comfort of Miss Croci’s room.

As we, the A level psychology class, prepared to leave this year, we started reminiscing on our favourite things in school, and realized that the place in school where we spend most of time is definitely Ms Croci’s Room; it gives the perfect vibe of productiveness and relaxation at the same time, where you can concentrate on important things, but allow yourself to be distracted for a few seconds to look at something pretty. It's a homely room, where you do things at your own pace, and understand things in your own way; it's a room that allows space for imagination and individuality; and most importantly, it has Ms Croci inside it; so it's the best room ever!

We just wanted, as a homage to the time spent in this room, to detail a bit on why we feel so good in it. First of all, everything we draw on the board remains there, so the whiteboard is filled with coloured drawings, either related to something we were discussing or simply things that came into our minds, all the way to famous classroom quotes (eg: “stop anthropomorphizing that bird!” or “I therapized someone”). Secondly, all of the chairs have cushions (red or blue) which make sitting in this room a different experience; first it started with only one cushion that moved from one person to another each day, until Ms Croci decided we all deserved a cushion! (and now we all sit like Royalty with cosy bottoms). Also, Ms Croci gives special attention to the people that study psychology/sociology/Italian and more, and so the room is filled with pictures, with an example being the Hall of Fame of psychology students, or the colourfully framed graduation pictures collection- and that makes us feel special (and of course get good grades and be on the hall of fame- even though she will put us there anyway because she loves us). Finally, let’s say you are stressed, or tired, or even happy for that matter, you can always be treated with a variety of teas, and we all feel like happy grandmothers, drinking our tea and discussing psychology, and it just gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling!

The ultimate proof of how cool Ms Croci’s room is, I think, our behaviour towards it, such as the break times spent working in there instead of going out, or the times we stayed after school in order to finish our work- you want to be good yourself when you are in that room.

Basically that is what we wanted to say, we like Ms Croci’s room, it makes us happy, we would sleep there if we could. And this portal into a parallel universe is one of the things we will miss most at IBSB – after the people of course.

A-Level Psychology Class

International British School of Bucharest

63 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

If cartoons educate children...

I hope that when I am a nice wrinkly old grandma, I will never say to my nephews: “In my day, everything was better, now you watch this horrid television and it plays with your minds!” However, as I grew up, things grew up with me, and that includes the entertainment world, and I would just like to explore what this change entails.

I know it may seem trivial and immature for a year 13 student to talk about cartoons, however, in today’s society we are relying more and more on cartoons, not only to entertain children, but to reinforce some sort of life lesson; to teach them values and ways to do things.

Thus I believe that the way children are exposed to media should be considered carefully; just like the way in which you teach them what is bad or good, and that you try to make sure they have good friends, or listen to good music - because children are socialized by everything around them, and especially by the things they like.

My brother and I still joke about the cartoons we used to watch such as “Jack Piratul cel Teribil” or “Shaman King”, that is because, after all this time, we liked them, and at one point we wanted to be like them, and thus learned from them. That is why I think that parents should pay a lot of attention to the stories and characters their children are entertained by and thus grow to identify with.

Consequently, I would like to talk a bit about the situation animations are in nowadays and then about my personal recommendation for great animations that a child may learn from.

If one looks at cartoons from the past three years, we can see a worrying trend: they are losing their innocence.

Madagascar is full of sexual innuendos targeting the parents who are watching the series alongside their children; moreover, there is no censure in using words such as “idiot”, “stupid” or worse in cartoons aimed at very, very, young children - so for parents who are complaining about why their children can insult and bully - often marked by the phrase “I can’t imagine where he learned that word from” - they should look at what the cartoons their children love so much teach them.

Furthermore, cartoons show more and more violence. Many will respond “but Tom and Jerry showed violence as well” and I agree so whilst I think the combative cat and mouse are cute, they do not teach children anything productive or positive, but merely how to deceive and hit out at an enemy. Moreover, most cartoons teach materialistic values, in which characters chase money, treasures or power- and personally, I think that that we should also educate other things, such as imagination, creation and acceptance of the world.

My opinion here is subjective, and the main point of this article is to urge parents to take a second look at the type of animations their children are watching, and then make an informed decision; therefore, the second part of this articlewhat I believe are the best animations to watch- is subjective and everybody has the liberty to ignore it.

International British School of Bucharest

64 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

If cartoons educate children (continued) “I'm not going to make movies that tell children, "You should despair and run away" says Hayao Miyazaki, creator and director of Studio Ghibli, “You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two”.

Animations such as “Spirited Away”, “Princess Mononoke” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” are not only beautiful, but create an entirely different world within each story. The animations are beautifully drawn and feed the imagination but each also talks about an important lesson of balance and harmony. No character is good or bad, no one is essentially evil- and that is perfectly true for real life- and the lesson in these cartoons are that we should not hate the bad, but renounce hate itself.

They usually have natural themes, which teach one to respect nature- either the nature of humans, or the natural world itself- and they place a strong emphasis on how we can manage a situation in order to make things good for everybody, not just one party, and how harmony is better than winning.

I think that this is a valuable perspective to have, and it is a better, and more complete way to view the world. Therefore, even though I am still a child myself, I imagine that these are the types of animations I would like my own future/potential/imaginary child to watch one day.

You may disagree, but let’s all give this matter some consideration so the next time a child hits his friend after watching a violent cartoon, we can at least say that we made an informed decision and Alexandra L. understand where the motivation may have come from.

(Year 13)

Twisting, Twisting the Night Away!

I was a few meters away from the school with Mr Jamieson and my friends. After walking for six and a half hours our bodies were exhausted with fatigue and we were desperate to rest. The day got darker every minute we approached the school and the clouds thickened and blackened too. Then we saw it. It was a wonderful and terrifying moment simultaneously.

On the right, children from the junior school were playing outdoor games and directly in front of my eyes were the secondary school and the stairs which led to the entrance. But behind us came the blowing wind as loud and fast as an express train. Mr Peter from the Junior School acted quickest, hurrying the children into the protection of the school; and we ran for cover too, with Mr Jamieson urging us all to get indoors.

Before we reached the stairs, however, it hit us. It hit us so hard that it changed our bodies’ direction and instead of approaching the stairs, we hit the walls. But battling against the wind, we managed to reach the stairs and get inside.

Outside, tiles and dirt flew everywhere. Many branches fell from trees. And moments later came the torrents of rain. Most amazing of all, however, was the vortex, as a Twister hurtled through the school, sucking up leaves, balls, sports equipment, even a full rubbish bin and turned them around in crazy circles before our very eyes, as if Prospero had released a spirit from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

It was truly one of the most amazing things I have seen and an experience I will never forget. You expect these sorts of events in the Mid West of the United States and even across Asia, but not in the middle of Bucharest!

What a crazy day! What crazy weather! What a twister of a memory that will remain forever!

Steve S. (Year 10)

International British School of Bucharest

65 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Caught in a Twister The Day of the Twister! A Personal account of the day Tornado Katie hit IBSB! Exhausted from the 6-hour journey we had undertaken, I was pulled up off of my wooden throne by Mr Jamieson’s motivational cries and shouts of victory resonating all around the streets. My schoolmates dragged themselves up with fatigue clinging to their limbs and, wishing for a lengthier break, we joined the march led by Steve and Mr Jamieson himself. With a throbbing headache and with my nose in my book, it was unlikely I would be given any help by anybody. Thankfully, therefore, it wasn’t long before we had the school in sight. The evening sun shone as bright as it had done since morning and the towering canvas of the laden red brick-like structure and pale orange highlights, bearing the same familiar image of our school, was a welcome sight to us all. Forgetting all our troubles and tribulations, we hastened our pace in the hopes of finally reaching peace and rest; but this hope was short lived!

When we walked victoriously into the school yard, we let out an orchestra of joy as we realized our worries and work were now done - all except Mr Jamieson, who strangely enough, was staring up at the sky. Before I could question him to ask what might be wrong, he said in his Liverpool accent, “We beat the storm alright guys.” Before I could make any sense of his words, the heavens opened and a sudden downpour crashed down upon us, turning the warming rays of light into the chilly splash of cold rain. But this was no ordinary rain and no ordinary shower, rapidly turning into a torrential downpour. Then came the flash of lightning, followed by another huge jag coming to ground nearby, accompanied by the deafening crash of a massive thunderclap.

Now all hell broke loose, children enjoying their well-earned breaks were skittled by the destructive power of what seemed to be a hurricane, our joy instantly turned into fear as we instinctively made for the doors of the school as they were flapped back and forth by a real life twister. With lightning all round, allied to the fury of the thunder and the wrath of the twister, the school grounds assumed the persona of a Hollywood action movie.

As the tornado lifted pieces of furniture into the air, twisting them around in a wild vortex of agitated air, the roof of the adjacent building was lifted like a lid on a tin can and shards of glass, debris and signs were sent soaring through the air. I was the first to the door, closely followed by the rest of the Duke of Edinburgh party, and I felt like I was suddenly taking the lead role a disaster movie!

Actually, thinking about it, my name sounds perfect for a famous actor! But the real star of the show was the Twister that visited IBSB on a crazy day in May! Coming soon to a cinema near you! The Day of the Twister starring Alin B (year 10) and the Guys from IBSB’s Duke of Edinburgh!

Alin B. (Year 10)

International British School of Bucharest

66 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

My Most Memorable Trip to Kenya The mind-blowing landscapes, the unique vegetation and the distinct culture of Kenya but also the relaxing resort, totally creating a contrast to the wild Kenyan world, made me wish for a second and maybe third dream vacation. But until then, I’ve decided to write this so we can remember the enchanting experiences we’ve had there and dream our way back.

The Safari Experience The National Natural Park in Kenya, Tsavo-East hosts a wide variety of species of wild animals, vegetation and incredible landscapes.

Entering and observing a natural habitat gives you a taste of adventure and new feelings which you can experience for the first time.

Being surrounded by unfamiliar, wild areas that I have never encountered before, awakened my senses and made me feel the raw taste of nature itself and just the fact that everything was ordinary and natural, yet so spectacular and new to me caused me to escape from the agitated life of Bucharest, and find joy in a non-artificial and luxuriant natural paradise which I never wanted to leave. Giraffes, elephants, antelopes, baboons, unique birds, buffalos, lions and zebras, all where I could see, hear and admire their untamed beauty.

The Masai Tribe Kenya has many tribes, and the most famous is the Masai tribe.

These groups of warriors surprised us with their fascinating rituals and traditions and their traditional lifestyle. Basically, a Masai lives in a small village. They make their tiny houses with human urine, cattle dung and clay and as a roof, they use hay and wood.

Each tribe has different rituals. The tribe that we visited had large holes in their ear lobes which they make with a burning thick stick, they have circles on their foreheads and cheeks which again, have been made with hot metal, and this particular tribe had a tradition which involved removing with a knife one of the lower incisors at a very young age.

The Masai have a unique maturity ritual dance, which is said to be for boys turning into men. When they mature, the young men have to go in the wild and kill a lion and come back with its nails and teeth. After this, he can get a wife.

Also, young men are not allowed to grow long hair unless they have killed a lion and, amazingly, we saw two men with long hair.

International British School of Bucharest

67 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

My Most Memorable Trip to Kenya The Resort

The hotel in which we spent the second half of our trip was called “Serena Beach Hotel”, situated in a luxurious part of Kenya. There, we had the chance to relax, sunbathe and swim in the warm Indian Ocean. The hotel was made of different small bungalows which had beautiful patterns on the balconies.

The first thing that we saw, when we arrived, were dozens of small monkeys running and jumping all over the place which was a funny to watch because they were everywhere and they were trying to steal people’s stuff. The bungalows were only a few meters away from the beach and the ocean and they were surrounded by aromatic Fichus flowers, which infused a lovely, powerful scent all over the place, and this was the best way to start our day.

The Artistic Pleasures One of my favorite parts of the journey was the fact that I could take loads of artistic pictures and find joy in simple things, such as waking up every morning with a delightful fragrance of flowers or finding lots of random arrangements of nature which made an outstanding photo.

I totally zoned out of the stress and let the positive energy flow through me. The fact that everything was so new made my vacation so exciting: the monkeys, the flow and backflow of the ocean, the white soft sand under the palm trees which made long beach walks perfect. It was a dream come true and I could have sunbathed all day long under the palm trees admiring the light turquoise ocean.

Denisa N. (Year 11)

International British School of Bucharest

68 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

My Most Memorable Trip to Kenya Fun Activities Absolutely everything we did was fun. It was the first time when I’ve ever spent New Year’s Eve in the open air in the conditions where I was dressed in a short, non-sleeved dress, sweating buckets and still having a great time. There was a party where there were dancers and singers who made sure that we were entertained and they really did a good job.

Another thing that I enjoyed was the constant entertainment on the beach, where we would be invited to join in traditional Kenyan dances and have fun watching ourselves dancing as if we were members of a tribe.

The boat trip was great fun as well, ignoring the fact that my mom vomited all the way back because of the big waves that made the ship sway hard :)) I enjoyed it because I loved the sensation the waves gave us and the view of the ocean was gorgeous! Unfortunately, my dad had no luck in catching any fish, despite the fact that we were told we are going to catch fish my size…Sure… :)) Also, we went on a “sea safari” when there was the backflow of the ocean and we could walk on the sea bed where the water would usually be over 5 meters high. We saw urchins, sea cucumbers, sea potatoes (if that’s what they’re called), sea horses and other creatures which we had never seen before. It was a really interesting and unique experience, and a wonderful way of starting a new year!

Kwaheri = goodbye

Denisa N. (Year 11)

International British School of Bucharest

69 Visit www.ibsb.ro

TIV By the students for the students

Upcoming Movies The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson.

Boys are busy falling head over heels for Jennifer Lawrence and girls just can’t get enough of Josh Hutcherson or Liam Hemsworth as the trilogy continues. After watching the first movie, it’s clear to see that the book was better by far. The movie had skipped almost half of the details and with a blink of an eye the movie was over. None the less, it was worth seeing Jennifer Lawrence in action. Catching Fire resumes after both Katniss and Peeta have won the 74th Annual Hunger Games, even though President Snow is nowhere near happy. So imagine the shock on Katniss and Peeta’s faces as they’re forced to go back on field, with all the previous winners, for the Quarter Quell. The question on everyone’s mind is, will they both survive this time? Fingers crossed for Peeta not getting harmed. (In cinemas November 22)

The Internship Starring: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rose Byrne, John Goodman, Dylan Oș Brien.

The phenomenal duo is back! After their role in 'Wedding Crashers', they decided to star in the upcoming comedy 'The Internship'. Vaugh and Wilson are going to be portraying two salesmen whose careers have been ruined by the digital world. To prove that they aren't ancient and are still 'game', they talk their way into becoming interns for none other than Google. The problem is that not only is their boss 20 years their junior but they're surrounded by young, brilliant and smart university students. Are they going to be able to compete among the nation's most elite? (In cinemas June 8)

Anchorman: The Legend Continues Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Wiig.

This movie is bound to be a box office success. Every single movie Will Ferrell features in is absolutely hilarious; from 'Step Brothers' to 'Blades of Glory'. If you add Steve Carell and the rest of the cast into the mix, it's safe to say nothing bad will come of it. This time, a news team is heading for New York. The movie centres around a custody battle but, despite the serious sounding theme, its guaranteed to be a barrel of laughs!

Carrie Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Judy Greer, Julianne Moore, Ansel Elgort, Gabriella Wilde.

You know how people say that high school is the best days of your life? Well, Carrie might not agree! Based on Stephen King's novel, 'Carrie' is about a shy girl, an outsider, who is pushed too far by a combination of her possessive and madly religious mother and her bullying peers. They don't understand exactly what they are playing with until she unleashes her telekinetic powers. It's time for revenge and Carrie won't stop until she's satisfied. (In cinemas October 18)

Yagmur O. (Year 10)

International British School of Bucharest

70 Visit www.ibsb.ro

The future in education

Preparing the children of today to face the challenges of tomorrow

Visit the school website at www.ibsb.ro and read past issues online.