ISB Insight 5 May 2015 by International School of Bucharest

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 201 5

Water Project Our students are raising funds to build a water well in Africa pg. 51

NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

There is an African proverb that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. As individuals, we can do a lot by ourselves, but we can accomplish amazing things with a great team. Here, at ISB, there is place for both individual and team success. This earnest feel is carried throughout this issue of the Insight Magazine which we hope you will enjoy reading. This past half term started with the very special and meaningful Friendship and Inclusion Week. ISB students “remembered that the only way to have a friend is to be one”. During this week, they joined in a cause which is brought to people’s attention all over the world, each year: International Day of Fight Against Childhood Cancer. Together, we raised 6570 lei in only one day. The students’ level of excitement rose considerably during Maths and Computing Week. “Jet Ski Addition”, “Island Chase”, “Me and the Key 3”, “Treasure Hunt” were just a few of the competitions and games the students very eagerly took part in. Using their knowledge of symmetry, the students produced remarkable pictures and MADALINA CIOC designs, while actively ISB Insight Magazine Editor earning points for their PR & Admission Officer houses which count towards the Maths Cup. Secondary School Science Week exposed our students’ inquisitive and inventive minds. Their scientific projects presented during the Science Fair were highly appreciated by their teachers and their peers. We can easily say that this half term was bursting with both sports and academic inter-schools competitions: FirSTep, Infomatrix, Quiz Contest, Football Tournament, Athletics Grand Prix and Swimming Challenge. Numerous gold, silver and bronze medals gained by our students are now telling the story of their hard work and determination. We invite you to read all about the past half term at ISB in this vibrant issue of the Insight Magazine, plus we give you a glimpse in to the future; we are happy to introduce in this issue some of the new teachers for the academic year 2015/2016 and to announce preliminary university placements of our Year 13 students. Many thanks to the students and the teachers for article contributions, as well as to our IT Manager, Victor Vasile, for his excellent work on the design.

Inside: Guess what the caterpillar ate to turn into a butterfly.. 4 Mother’s day in Early Years 2015 �� 10 Harry and Ron Take Over the Stage �� 11 Imaginary Stories �� 12 ISB students step into Space �� 13 Friendship and Inclusion Week �� 15 Computing Week �� 16 Stars of the Week and Stars of the Month �� 20 Famous Women in History �� 29 Wall of Fame �� 29 6 medals - Inter-School Swimming Challenge �� 32 9 individual medals and 2 team medals for ISB �� 33 fir ST ep winners �� 36 Science Week at ISB �� 38 Trip to Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum �� 38 Year 7 Science Experiments �� 39 Science Fair at ISB �� 40 1Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze Medal for ISB students at the Infomatrix National Stage �� 42 Isb Alumni London Reunion �� 46 Preliminary University Placements �� 47 Inter-School Quiz Contest at ISB �� 50 ISB - Raising Funds to Build Water Well in Africa �� 51 Yellow Day �� 52 ISB’s New Teachers �� 54

ISB Insight Magazine Issue 5 May, 2015 Editor: Madalina Cioc - admissions@isb.ro Graphic Designer: Victor Vasile - it.manager@isb.ro

Printed by: Head Print www.headprint.ro International School of Bucharest Sos. Gara Catelu Nr.1R, Sector 3 Bucharest-ROMANIA tel: 021.306.95.30 www.isb.ro

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Guess what the Caterpillar Ate to Turn into a Butterfly… MRS. LUMINITA LASCU NURSERY TEACHER

We are happy to say Hello to spring! The children showed great enthusiasm when exploring insects and minibeasts. That is why we decided to read the well-known story written by Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There were so many things to do! After listening to the story we tried to make our own characters. First, we made the small caterpillars by practicing our cutting skills and cutting out green circles. We stuck

Guess who has the longest caterpillar!

them together, added many legs, drew the face and added antennas. There it was our Tiny but very hungry caterpillar that started to look for food.

Some children have worked so hard to make their own booklet by coloring, cutting and sticking in the food the caterpillar ate in the correct order.

Everybody had great fun painting the body of the big fat caterpillar with a small bouncing balloon. When it was dried we made it look furry by sticking pom poms on it. During these weeks we have also played different games involving counting or recognizing numbers up to 10.

We also discussed the life cycle of a butterfly and made a pretty book.

I can make the number line all by myself!

At the end of the week we had a fruit tasting day and made a graph to show which fruit is the children’s favourite. We all enjoy the fruit and wanted more! Yummy!

I have made a cucumber caterpillar!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Mother’s day in Early Years 2015 MRS. VICKY SEESHAAN EY DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

On 6th March 2015 we celebrated how much the children in Early Years love their mums with a Mother’s day celebration. The children had been working very hard leading up to the special day to learn two songs to sing to their mummy, these were ‘Mummy I love you ‘and ‘Thank you mum for all your love’. After the amazing and heartwarming performances the mums joined their children in the classrooms for a special planting activity together,

Happy Mother’s day!

followed by a power point of photos individual to each class. All the children were very happy that their mums came to school. During the morning there were a few tears, but,

Mothers day

not from the children this time! We would like to thank all of you who supported this important event and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Reception News: Assembly and Stars of the Week MRS. CORINA DUME, RECEPTION TEACHER Proud of our achivements

Recently we have started using our Multipurpose room for a combined assembly, Nursery and Reception together. During assembly we do different activities such as reading a book with a good moral like “Hands are NOT For Hitting “or “ The Rainbow Fish”. We are providing a safe, happy and stimulating environment for all the children, where all are given the opportunity to experience a variety of activities,

to explore with their senses and to learn to relate to each other and form healthy friendships. On different occasions we are using Power Point Presentations to approach different subjects such as healthy eating, ways of helping each other, behaviour, etc. This way we are encouraging our children to show positive behaviour towards people, school and community.

Early Years Super Stars

During assemblies we also give out Stars of the Week Certificates for star students. We are awarding their phonics skills such as reading and writing, praising their behaviour towards their friends and pointing out skills like tidying up /helpfulness. Such activities will enhance growth in skill, knowledge, and habit in each student. Our objective is to develop happy and positive experiences for each child while they are at school.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Encouraging Enthusiasm in Reading at Home MS. KITTI VAUGHAN, RECEPTION K TEACHER

Reading is an important skill and children learn about the importance of reading by seeing adults at home reading for everyday purposes. In Reception the children first begin to listen to environmental sounds before learning the pure sounds and later begin to blend these together to read words and sentences. They also become familiar with ‘tricky words’ (those that cannot be sounded out) as well as using pictures and context to prompt them when reading a new book.

Even princesses love to read!

It is important that children are exposed to reading on a daily basis and in a number of ways to encourage enthusiasm and excitement, e.g. sharing a story, reading a recipe, making a shopping list or reading road signs. At home you can also read aloud to your children to encourage learning the language of books. You can talk about books, read together, both fiction and non-fiction, and make reading an enjoyable, shared activity. It is important to read to your

Go on an adventure- get lost in a book!

child in your home language if your first language is not English. There is evidence to suggest that reading in your home language will help your child to learn to develop reading skills in English. Try to make a special, quiet time for reading with your child, away from the interruption of TV and tablets. Listen to your child every day, even if only for a short period. Allow them to see books as a ‘treasure’ by buying them as a reward or treat.

Sharing a book with our ‘reading buddies’

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Halves and Doubles, Fun with Numbers in Year 1 MS. CATRIONA PITTENDREIGH, YEAR 1 LEADER

In Maths, Year 1 have experienced measuring with both standard and non-standard units of measurement. We learned the value of coins and how to calculate the change when we are shopping. We practiced counting on and back within 100 and identifying odd and even numbers. More recently we have been learning about halves and doubles, using our knowledge of Tens and Units to half larger numbers. Based on the method of halving, we have learned how to share different objects between ourselves fairly. In our Humanities lessons Year 1 have been learning about dinosaurs! We have had lots of fun learning some of the dinosaur names and

Experiencing symmetry through art in Year 1

identifying their features, building on these to draw our own dinosaurs. In our art lessons we used clay to create our own dinosaur fossil and made our own printing block in the shape of a dinosaur’s footprint using string and cardboard. We added paint to create our own dinosaur footprints and the results were great! In Science Year 1 has been learning about Growing Plants. We are able to name the major parts of a plant, looking at real plants and models and we have particularly enjoyed exploring how seeds grow into flowering plants. We have enjoyed the sunny days!

Marc and Sebastian finding out the half of 28

In English, Year 1 have been exploring different types fantasy stories. We have enjoyed discovering different settings and using our imagination to describe them using interesting adjectives. We have been using these ideas to talk about and prepare for the Year 1 show ‘The Goblin Next Door’, exploring ideas about the magical forest and the characters that live there. We have also made up our own dinosaur character, thinking about what it looks like, how it moves and what it’s personality is like. We have used this character to create a story with a beginning, problem and end. They are great!

Teamwork finding the half of 32

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Awe, Wonder and Inspiration in Year 2 MRS. VIKKI PEALL, YEAR 2 TEACHER

Our Humanities theme this half term has been the ‘The Natural World’ and it tied nicely with our Science unit on ‘Habitats and Weather’. So then where better to learn than outdoors? Our children have spent time investigating the areas around the school to monitor how we care for and how we damage the environment. They have been on a mini-beast hunt, tallying how many creatures they could find and the most popular area to locate them. They have recorded the weather patterns and devised ways to measure how much of each sort of weather we have had in Pantelimon.

Busy at working collecting the art materials

create swirls and arranging pieces to create layers in their work. It was wonderful to see the children interpreting Klimt’s work in their own way and using the skills they had developed through this humanities unit to create their own works of art. We also took our learning further by exploring beyond our school environment. We enjoyed a fun filled morning in Antipa Museum where

They have been inspired by a modern artist Andy Goldsworthy who combines his love of the environment with his thought provoking pieces of sculpture. The children in Year 2 collected twigs and stones and leaves and just like the great artist spent time thinking about how to arrange their material to contrast colours and textures. Using some of the leaves and pebbles they had collected the children tried printing patterns and had a great time experimenting with the amount of paint required to produce a perfect print! Following on from this the children then researched a more classical artist Gustav Klimt and looked at the patterns he included in his work, ‘The Tree of Life.’ This work became the basis for Year Two’s second masterpiece and they began making printing blocks to

we examined the different habits of different animals. We finished the day with a relaxing play in Kiselef Park. This unit really engaged the children and teachers alike. Romania certainly has some wonderful natural parks and we look forward to spending more sunny days enjoying the fresh

A ‘Goldsworthy’ inspired piece art air and ourofbeautiful surroundings.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Chocolate Fantasies and Mayan Inspired Clay Pots MR. JAMES PEALL, KS2 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

The Year 3 children have been studying chocolate in their Humanities lessons this term. Obviously it is one of the teachers’ favourite treats, but that is not the reason it is in the curriculum! The children have looked at where chocolate originated, via the history of Mayans, Spanish and European use of the cacao bean, as well as how the beans are grown around the world and a truly global product. The Year 3 children have been studying chocolate in their Humanities lessons this term. Obviously it is one of the teachers’ favourite treats, but that is not the reason it is in the curriculum! The children have looked at where chocolate originated, via

Chocolatiers

the history of Mayans, Spanish and European use of the cacao bean, as well as how the beans are grown around the world and a truly global product. We will follow the chocolate factory trip up with a trip to the dentist as part of our Science unit of ‘Keeping Healthy’ to ensure the lifestyle balance in our curriculum is maintained. An international and tasty unit indeed.

How many ingredients do we need to make chocholate

Mayan inspired clay pots

Nice chocolate bar

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Harry and Ron Take Over the ISB’s Stage MR. JAMES PEALL, KS2 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

There was magic in the air this half term, as the Year 3 children brought to life a story involving Harry and Ron. In an original story written by Miss Eva and the Year 3 team, Ron managed to get Harry into trouble again. During the show, and with more of his friends getting into trouble along the way, eventually Harry and Ron come across their arch enemy, Lord Voldemort. Just when the audience thought all was lost, the day was saved

Harry Potter production

as Dumbledore announced that Voldemort could never cause as much trouble as the Weasley twins and invited him to dinner. The Year 3 children did a marvellous job of performing, singing and saying their lines in a range of voices and in front of a large audience. Many

Practise makes perfect

congratulations to them all. The spider dance caught the audience’s attention, the broom dance took their delight up into the air and the terrifying Voldemort even had Lord Malfoy on his knees! Great work Year 3!

The scene of magic being produced

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Imaginary Stories, Invaders, Settlers and All about Sounds in Year 4 MR. SCOTT CABLE,

Relentless researchers

YEAR 4 LEADER

Mythical creatures of all shapes and sizes were spotted this term in Year 4 as we explored the world of Narnia from ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ which was the focus of our ‘Imaginary World Stories’ unit this term in English. We had a great time re-telling the story through drama games, exploring the fantastic human and imaginary characters and discussing the morals of the story. Similar discussions occurred during

our Humanities topic of ‘Invaders and Settlers’ as we debated the morality of the actions of the Vikings and Romans. We were very busy making Viking longboat models, creating our own Viking weaving patterns and investigating and exploring the might of the Roman army! We’ve had to listen carefully this term in our Science work on ‘Sound’ in which we have conducted a range of tests to look at how different sounds are

Weaving wonders

created and how it travels through materials. We especially enjoyed creating our own priceless plastic cup telephones! We still managed to share our time equally to complete our ‘Number and Problem Solving’ Maths unit which focused on fractions where we investigated equivalent fractions, mixed numbers and decimals. The whole of Year 4 looks forward to a restful Easter holiday and even busier final term!

Tenacious traders

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

ISB students Step into Space TONY S, YEAR 5 REPORTER

At the end of the Year 5’s Space unit, the three classes visited the Space exhibition at Mall Promenada. It was not a common exhibition; it was an interactive and fun exhibition. The students learned about the first trip to the moon and about the surrounding planets. They dressed up as small astronauts and experienced the small gravity of the moon on the “bouncy floor”. This educational exhibition has amazed more than 60 ISB students. It took about 45 minutes to arrive there and the trip took much school time but they learnt as much as at school.

Year 5 Astronauts

The tour through Space and lunar landing history took about 45 minutes.

A view of Earth from Space

3, 2, 1, We have lift off

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Treasure Hunt in Year 6A ZEYNEP, YEAR 6A

During the ICT lesson we had a treasure hunt with our house teams. We needed to find QR codes. From our class Lynxes and Bears won. We had lots of fun finding and sorting the QR codes on a piece of paper. Also we were on the site

The proud winners of the Treasure Hunt

ABC.ya.com and played a game called X40. Afterwards we had to screenshot at the end of level

10 and paste it in Microsoft Word Excel. We had fun and we enjoyed it a lot

6K’s International Assembly BRINDA, YEAR 6K

On the 1st of April 2015, 6K presented an International Assembly. They had been working really hard on it and they finally got to present in front of their parents and the whole KS2. Their presentation was appreciated. They

International Assembly by Year 6K

were also enjoying themselves while presenting!!

Overall everybody had enjoyed the assembly.

They had prepared a fun act, national anthems, and 6 national dances!! The best part was when all the kids clapped with them on the rhythms of international songs.

6K would also like to thank Mr. Mark, Mr. Mustafa, Mrs. Claudia and all the other teachers who supported them. Hope you enjoyed too!”

All About Forces in Year 6M ISABELLE, YEAR 6M Working hard on our science experiment

6M have been busy learning all about forces in science. Here they are performing an experiment to

test the friction of different surfaces on the wheels of a car.

They found that a rubber surface was the best and the carpet was the worst.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Friendship and Inclusion Week MRS. KAREN WILLOUGHBY, DEPUTY PRINCIPAL KS1

Friendship and Inclusion week took place during the week of 9th13th of February. This was a very special and worthwhile week in our school. It provided our students with an opportunity to celebrate their differences and commonalities with each other and with other children in our community. During this week, fun, friendshipbased activities were organised, such as the ‘Friendship Class Photo competition,’ a project called the ‘Helping Hat’ (in which, children had to help their colleagues, teachers and members of their families or communities) and in class, we made friendship crafts such as friendship bracelets and photo frames. The students in Key Stage Two were also very fortunate to be able to go and visit a school for various special needs called “Don Orione”. These visits helped us to appreciate

Helping Hands & Friendship by Year 1

the everyday things we take for granted, such as being able to hear and see without any problems. We were very impressed with how independent the other students were and we hope that we can make links and carry out more funfilled projects with these children in the future. By interacting with children who were physically or mentally challenged, the children from ISB learned that we all have the same emotional needs: to be accepted, understood and to be loved for whom we are.

To complete such a wonderful week, we decided to create a large scale ‘Friendship Wall’, where all students in Primary were invited to come and share positive messages on a brick of the wall. The ‘Friendship Wall’ is proof that, together, we can achieve wonderful things. Massive thanks to our Student Support Team, who organised our ‘Friendship and Inclusion Week’. Remember the only way to have a friend is to be one.

Having fun together while celebrating friendship

Class 2K know what friendship means!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Computing Week: “Jet Ski Addition”, “Island Chase”, “Me and the Key 3” & “Treasure Hunt” MS. MONICA TELE, ICT & COMPUTING TEACHER

‘Maths and Computing Week’ was also celebrated in the Primary Computing Lab. The children were engaged in many activities, competitions and a Treasure Hunt.

Everybody smile for the group photo!

Year 4 and Year 5 had a Computing competition with two rounds. In the first round, the children from Year 4 had to combine different shapes to build a bridge. Year 5 played “King of Shapes”. The second round for both year groups was ‘Me and the Key 3’, a fun, logic puzzle game that

required children to think outside the box to find the key. Year 4 finalists were Alex P, Celal, and in first place were both Nuri Can and Eric D.

Miss Adriana Cocora prepared an interesting activity for Year 1 children called ‘Jet Ski addition’ - a multi-player racing game that allows students to practice their addition skills. The Year group finalists were: Yannis Petzalis, Sofia Banica, Yezen Abudan, and the winner was Teodor Birzu. The other classes also had special activities prepared by Miss Monica Tele. Year 2 children played ‘Island Chase’ – subtraction exercises in order to power the Jet Ski and to make it go faster. Year 2 finalists were: Sara, Vladimir, Maria, and Amina was the big winner. In year 3, the children had to recognise different 2D and 3D shapes in a game called “Kangaroo Hop”. Year 3 finalists were: Ilias M, Burak, Furkan, and the winner was Violeta.

Year 4 during the competition

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Year 3 - happy after the races

Year 5 had more finalists from each class: Hakan Usul, Theodor Buda, Delia Dong, and the winner was Ilie, followed by Tarik, in second place. Miss Monica Tele set up a Computer Treasure Hunt for Year 6. They had

to find QR codes in their house team colour in the Primary corridors, and then read them with their devices to discover evidence or some clues and the answer to the questions to complete the quest. The students were excited about this game; they

improved their team player skills and revised their Computing knowledge. All children were excited and played very well, wishing for more competitions in the future. Congratulations for participating!

Violeta - Year 3 winner - with her class before the competition

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Maths and Computing Week’ MR. GWYN WARLOW, MATHS COORDINATOR AND YEAR 5 TEACHER

The week of 16th March saw the Primary Department of ISB celebrate ‘Maths and Computing Week’. The aim of the week was to have a thoroughly good time, whilst investigating and learning about our main theme – ‘Pattern and Shape’. Just about every break-time and lunchtime saw Mr Warlow’s classroom crowded with students, from both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, challenging themselves to complete puzzles concerning shapes and symmetry. At the same time, they were all busily earning points for their own houses, to count towards the overall Maths Cup. Throughout the week, many students also produced some fantastic pictures and designs. Key Stage 1 focused more on symmetrical pictures, while Key Stage 2 also included a wider range of mathematical pattern work. All of these designs also earned points for the houses. It was very clear to see the amount of effort that students

Recognisable faces - Mariana and Berta, I mean :)

put into these pieces of work. The final choice of the winners for each year group was very difficult indeed! Congratulations to the following students for their posters: Azra (Yr1), Sophia Maria (Yr2), Catalina (Yr3), Mark (Yr4), Berta (Yr5) and Celestin (Yr6). Friday lunchtime saw the House Quiz take place. Each team was represented by a player from each year group and the quiz allowed the students to work as a team, as well as answer some individual questions. It was great to see the amount of discussion and cooperation that went on, allowing the students to complete some very challenging activities. They all seemed to enjoy the quiz and the

Bobi’s imaginative poster

whole experience had a very hardworking and competitive feeling. The final scores were very close but the Lynxes’ team of Alex, Amir, Juli and Yasmin just about came out on top. When all of the activities and points were taken into account, the overall winners of the Maths Cup were the Bears! Again, this was incredibly close – the final score seeing the Bears victorious by just 5 points from the Hares! Well done to all of the students for taking part with such enthusiasm and a big thanks you to all teachers and other staff for making this a big success.

The winning house team - in action!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Painting Easter Eggs & Rabbits MRS. BOUHAR ELENA, RSL TEACHER

Easter is loved by children everywhere because it means party and celebration time. It is a fun time for all and children love decorating eggs. Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and other Central European countries. In Romanian Second Language class there are very enthusiastic, involved, and talented students from different nationalities and every year

We are very pleased with our final product

they enjoy painting Easter eggs and rabbits and then taking them home for Easter, even though this isn’t part of their culture.

HAPPY

EASTER

HAPPY

HOLIDAY! PAȘTE FERICIT !

Easter eggs and rabbits ready to take home

Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life

We are now ready for Easter!

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Stars of the Week and Stars of the Month MRS. KAREN WILLOUGHBY, Deputy Principal KS1 Wow, it has been a very busy few months and again we have many reasons to celebrate. Our students have been working hard, having fun and displaying good behaviour. The class teachers and specialists have had a tough job choosing

which students to award in our Monday assemblies. We would like to extend a big congratulations to all the children listed below and we encourage you all to keep working to the best of your potential. Stars of the Month: Ioana (Year 1C) for always working hard in Romanian lessons, Daria (Year 1A) for excellent progress during PE, Darius (Year 1S) for doing his best during all Computing lessons, Andrei (Year 1S), for a great effort in raising his hand before talking during Romanian lessons, Zelihanur (Year 1O) for finishing her workbook during Turkish lesson, Teodor (Year 2M) for a very good

progress in Music, Maria (Year 2M) for excellent progress in Romanian, Briana (Year 4L) for fantastic projects and great work during Romanian lessons, Edoardo(Year 5D) for great improvement during Romanian lessons, Emine Sueda (Year 5D), for excellent progress during PE, Ricardo (Year 5M), for Great improvement in behaviour, and computer tasks in the last month during the Computing Lessons, Venice (Year 5W) for great focus on her work during Romanian lessons, Etka (Year 6K) for good effort during the Turkish lessons, Muhammed (Year 6A), for his progress during Turkish MFL lessons.

Stars of the Week - 9th March

Shayan (2K), Maia (3P), Cevdet (1A), Aida (1S), Rares (2P), Cristian V(5D), Maks(3A), Paul (6M), Luca B(5M), Diana M (2S), Juli( 3G), Ehsan (4C), Khabab (6K), Sabina (4F), Sebastian (1C), Adrian (3J), Hafsa (1O), Mehmet (5W), Yunus (4L)

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Stars of the Week - 16th March

Emre (1S), Aisha (1C), Sergiu (1A), Aisha (1O), Stefan (2K), Selim (2S), Dunja, Dimitri, Alma (2P), Levent (3G), Erik (3P), Isaac (4C), Alexia (4L), Aysa (5M), Alessia (5D), Mihnea (5W), Ilinca (6M), Bolu (6K)

Stars of the Week - 23th March

Teo (1C), Hafsa (1O), Letitia (1A), Amina (2K), Aida (2P), Matei (3J), Maks (3A), Berfin (3G), Ionut (3P), Andrei (4C), Cristi W (4F), David (5D), Tony (5M0, Waled (6K)

Stars of the Month

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Third place for U11 Football Team in the Inter-School Football Tournament MR. JOHN MURPHY,

After the game

YEAR 5 TEACHER

The U11 football team have had a few amazing battles over the past few weekends. Playing in two tournaments being

top three in both. The U11’s have won medals and trophies, in these tournaments, but this isn’t the reason they play, they play because they have fire in their bellies and

Before the game

passion in their hearts. They have many more games left this year, so support them in their pursuit of pre-eminence.

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Huge House Points Possible MR. JAMES PEALL KS2 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

After twelve weeks of this term, the House Points totals are amazing. As of 3rd April, the Lynxes were winning with a score of 41, whilst the Bears, Hares and Foxes were all bunched together on 34 or 33 points. The Lynxes are very happy with their lead, but we know that could all change within three weeks

if one of the other Houses could score consistently. However, the Bears, Hares and Foxes seem to keep taking it in turns to win the weekly totals leaving the race for second place as a constant changing scene. If you look more closely at the breakdown of the House Points earned though, you will see that after twelve weeks the children in KS2 for the Bears and Lynxes had both received 3002 House Points! Amazing. The children in the Foxes and Hares from KS2 were only separated by 12 House Points. With over 21000 House Points

Overall Terms 2 and 3 House

Hares

Bears

Lynxes

Foxes

Eys

249

221

308

188

KS1

1489

1510

1492

1217

KS2

2788

3002

2800

Spec

735

661

642

849

Total

5261

5394

5444

5054

House Points Leaderboard Terms 2 and 3 House Hares Bears Lynxes Foxes Eys

awarded the closeness of these teams is magnificent. The Lynxes are currently earning the most House Points in Early Years, the Bears are winning in KS1 and the Foxes are the best in the Specialist lessons. The new House Team logos are displayed around the school and the children really like the new designs. With the Primary Sports Days coming up next term, there are many more chances for the children to show how brilliant they are at teamwork.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Fashionable Witches! MRS. FLORENTINA MURTEZA, ESL TEACHER

Literature is not about reading boring, tedious books; it’s about learning new things while feeding your creativity! Or at least this is what year 7 students have tried to prove when they created “A witch’s magazine” project, as part of their evaluation for English. After reading the book “The Witches” by Roald Dahl, the children made some very original magazines which contain: interesting facts about the witches, ways in which they can disguise themselves and

The students working at their first magazine

the latest in fashion for witches. The students worked hard and presented their projects in front

of their classmates. If you are interested in witches you can come and see their work in room 109!

Article form magazine

Humeyra, Adile and Beyza presenting their magazines

A selection of magazines

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

English Department Overview MR. BARNABY DAVIS, HEAD OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

It has been a busy time for the English department, as all of the exam years undertook the mammoth and stress inducing trial that are the mock exams. Most emerged wiser and more determined, and some even rather pleased. Results were good overall, and hopefully many performances can be replicated in the real thing. It was also a celebration of International Women’s’ Week and Mothers’ Day here at ISB. The English Department contributed

Working hard to finish the Poem Tree for the Mother’s Day

with some moving poetry and the construction of a poem tree outside of the theatre. The students each wrote what a mother or carer meant to them and then posted these on the ever growing tree. The final of the Bright Speakers competition was also held this month, on which more below,

and the Y11 Gifted and Talented students finished their programme of enrichment with the Y12 Literature class. This programme was designed to extend the skills base of the Y11 students by exposing them to the AS syllabus and inviting them to analyse at a slightly deeper level.

3rd Place for ISB at the Bright Speakers Competition MS. MADALINA CIOC, PR & ADMISSION OFFICER

Saturday, 21st March 2015, was the day of the Final Round of the Bright Speakers Competition which took place at International Computer High School Bucharest. All 33 finalists have demonstrated their public speaking talent describing their ideal school. They come up with

The creativity of the students shone through in the speeches they had written

excellent ideas, some of them which have been already implemented at ISB: learning outside the classroom, best students teaching some of the lessons occasionally, students having a common room or Career Counseling classes.

We are very proud of Asal S. (Year 7I), who won the 3rd place at this very tight competition. Well done, Asal! We would also like to thank her teacher, Ms. Janet Hunter, who prepared and supported the students.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Creative and Performing Arts MR. IAN MCSHANE, HEAD OF CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS

This has been an exceptionally busy time for the Arts Department, with Drama students completing their final practical performances at GCSE and A level and the Art students taking their exams and polishing up their portfolios. Meanwhile Miss Adina has been hard at work readying singers for the annual Gala Culturala performances. Good luck to all our students during this hectic term. To mark International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, we put together a short film highlighting the roles that mothers play in the life of staff and students. The film, “Mum final cut”, can be seen on youtube. Finally, Miss Bianca has brightened up the Arts corridor with an impressive mural, seen below.

Drama students Yusuf, Flora and Yaren perform their monologues

Ms. Bianca’s art mural

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Debating Club MR. IAN D ROBERTSON, HISTORY TEACHER

MR. BRENDAN CLARKE-SMITH, TEACHER OF SOCIOLOGY

ISB played hosts in March to a full debating competition against current Bucharest champions, IBSB. There were in fact, two competitions. ‘Seniors’ and ‘Juniors’ had separate fixtures for the first time. The seniors lost narrowly in a high quality and hard fought debate. The juniors were able to secure a creditable draw. The matches will be good preparation for future contests, as ISB will host the Bucharest Junior Inter School Debate Competition on Thursday 21st May 2015.

Debating Club students

Humanities News MR. ANDREW PALMER, HEAD OF HUMANITIES

Fieldtrips are an important part of the Humanities curriculum as they fire student’s imagination and allow them to witness environments, people and places first hand. On March the 13th AS Geography students travelled to the coastal city of Constanta to analyse coastal defence. Students recorded data at the Tomis tourist port and on Mamaia beach. The trip was a success and we are currently planning to introduce it as a compulsory residential fieldtrip for all AS Geography students next

The sea side Casino

year. I would like to thank Mr. Ian Robertson for a very successful Native American contest where students produced stunning displays on the topic. Students were awarded prizes to recognise their effort in a special assembly.

This time of year is very busy for our exam students and we wish everyone taking exams the best of luck and hope that their results reflect their effort throughout the year.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

News from Year 8 MR. PIERS POSNER, ENGLISH TEACHER

As part of my PGCE teacher qualification course, I have been conducting research into literacy amongst boys in my Year 8 class. The focus of the research has been the pupils’ motivation to engage with the term’s novel, The Maze Runner, and how this can be affected by the class room environment. Each Friday for the past several weeks has been

dedicated to comprehension of the text and strategies to encourage continued interest in the book. To this end, all the students have received a zip file of the entire text to read over the course of the term (10 chapter blocks, over 6 weeks) with activities and a quiz competition on Friday. At the end of each Friday lesson, the class has been requested to complete a 5 scale, 10 item Lickert questionnaire with such questions as: I look forward to my English class; I don’t care

what happens next in the book and reading is not very important. They were asked to respond to each of the 10 statements by ticking 1 of 5 possible answers: strongly agree, disagree, neither, agree or strongly agree. This was completed anonymously so as to encourage more honest responses and the data is being collated to demonstrate whether class room strategies can affect pupil’s motivation to read.

Students Attend Model Nato Conference MR. IAN ROBERTSON, HISTORY TEACHER

ISB Year 12 students, Maria Z., Teodora, Aruna and Madalina attended and took part in a strategic role play conference at Lumina University in February 2015. Students studied the role

and activities of NATO, as well as the political, military and economic issues it currently faces. This was not merely a series of lectures but an opportunity for students to role play a political and economic development, in real time. ISB students contributed to debates

with peers, analysed geo political events, problem solved solutions and constructed diplomatic responses to highly complex political issues. ISB students input and contribution to a thoroughly successful conference was outstanding.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

The Wall of Fame

Famous Women in History Wall of Fame MS. IULIA MUSTATEA, HUMANITIES TEACHER

With the occasion of the International Women’s Week, Year 7 and 8 students celebrated the role women played in history. Eager to discover their past and to praise those that contributed to

the world’s heritage, the students created wonderful posters and essays containing information on famous women in history.

during the lessons, like historical questioning and research, source analysis and explanation.

Great personalities such as Queen Victoria, Cleopatra or Marie Curie triggered the students’ curiosity.

The results were displayed as an exhibition on the third floor – Humanities Department floor.

Plus, they had the opportunity to apply the historical skills acquired

The students’ effort is very much appreciated!

History Dinner 2015 MR. IAN ROBERTSON, HISTORY TEACHER

Year 11, 12 and 13 History students attended a dinner to celebrate their academic work in 2014/15. The evening was an opportunity for students to unwind before their mock examinations. Later in the evening, students enjoyed tenpin bowling at Mall Vitan. History Dinner

Thank you for a great night!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Modern Language Department Celebrated Mother’s Day MS. CARMEN ZAHARIA, HEAD OF MFL DEPARTMENT Year 9 Students making their greeting cards

The week 2-6 March we celebrated the woman. Modern Languages Department took this opportunity to organized different activities dedicated to women in general, and to mothers in particular. Mother’s Day related topics have been approached during first week of March.

KS 3 students celebrated woman’s day preparing greeting cards for their Moms in Spanish, French, Romanian and Turkish. Year 10 wrote essays about mothers and motherhood. Some groups prepared presentations about famous women.

Mother’s Day greeting cards exhibition

Year 12 and 13 students discussed about women portray in Universal literature. Spanish group analyzed the Portray of the women in Isabell Allende writings. During the Turkish lessons students enjoyed moments of poetry dedicated to mothers.

Business School www.euruni.edu

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

6 Medals for ISB at the Inter-School Swimming Challenge MRS. INGRID STANCIU, ECA COORDINATOR Swimming Competition

On the 14th of March, ISB students participated in Avenor Inter- schools Swimming Challenge at Izvorani Olympic Center. ISB students obtained very good results and our school won the 3rd place as an overall result.

Alois G (Year 4C) - bronze medal

2000-2001 girls:

2006-2007 girls:

Andreea D (Year 7I) - Gold medal

Patricia P (Year 3P) - gold medal

Well done to ISB students and many

2004-2005 boys:

thanks to Mrs. Laura, Mr. Hasan

Alexandru T (Year 6M) - silver medal

and to all the parents for supporting

We are very proud of our winners:

2004-2005 girls:

our pupils in this event. We hope to

2006-2007 boys:

Alexandra C (Year 4F) - bronze medal

see more ISB students registered in

Stefan T (Year 2K) - silver medal

Swimming Competition

the upcoming competitions.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

9 Individual Medals and 2 Team Medals for ISB at the Inter-School Athletics Grand Prix MRS. INGRID STANCIU, ECA COORDINATOR

On Friday, 27th March, more than 100 students from 8 private schools in Bucharest lined up at the start of the 3rd Edition of Inter-schools ATHLETICS GRAND PRIX. The competition organized by Cambridge school gave our students the chance to compete with students from the same age group but from different schools.

Athletics

With only 12 participants ISB is proud to announce a great success. In events like 60m sprint, 200m, long jump and 4x200m relay race, ISB students managed to bring 9 individual medals and 2 team medals.

Mae H (Year 10B) – 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal

Alexandru A (Year 9I) – 2 gold medals, 1 bronze medal

Girls relay team – Bronze medal

Omer Faruk (Year 10S) – 1 bronze medal

Athletics

Izel C (Year 10S) – 1 bronze medal Rouzbeh A (Year 12S) – 1 gold medal, 1 bronze medal Boys relay team – Bronze medal Congratulation to all participants!

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Sport Activities MRS. INGRID STANCIU, ECA COORDINATOR

Under 11 football match

Year 3-4 Football for Fun

Year 3-4 Basketball

The Year 3-4 Football for Fun group has progressed very well. They are now regularly passing the ball during games and have embraced the value of teamwork and positivity towards their teammates. They have won 2 of their last 3 games, scoring 4 goals in each of those games. They have some new members of the group this term and there will be more opportunities for matches when they play in the Lumina Cup and the French School tournament in May.

In the Year 3-4 Basketball activity, children have been learning and developing the skills of ball control, dribbling, passing and shooting. Recently they have practiced 2 important elements of the game rebounding and individual playerto-player defense. They have been applying these skills in mini-games at the end of their practices and they will play their first match later this month against INSPE.

Key Stage 3 Inter House Competition

The Key Stage 3 Inter house competition took place between 23rd March and 10th April under the closed supervision of the PE Department and Secondary school prefects. Each year group participated with all 4 house color teams in football and basketball games during lunch time.

MRS. INGRID STANCIU,

The games were hard-fought, fastpaced and exciting throughout with amazing scores. In the boys final year 9 blue team defeated year

ECA COORDINATOR

Girls U-11 Football

The Girls U-11 Football group is very active, children have been practicing and applying many skills, including passing, shooting, ball control and defending as a team. They have played some matches and are improving their skill level and learning to work successfully and positively as a team. New members have joined the club and are fitting in very well. With all players in Years 3, 4 and 5 and eligible to play in the Under-11 age group next year, a promising future lies ahead. 7 red team and although it was a difference of age and physique, the determination and passion for playing showed that those differences does not matter. The girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; final was dominated by year 9 green team, but the year 8 red team showed excellent skills and a good strategy throughout the game. Congratulation to all participants on a competitive and entertaining inter house tournament!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Football Teams MRS. INGRID STANCIU, ECA COORDINATOR

The under 9 team have been training hard and developing their skills under the keen watch of Mr Mark who has done an excellent job as ‘caretaker’ coach during Mr Cable’s recent absence from club sessions. They have been working away on their first touch, dribbling and passing skills and are applying these in matches. The team continues to play matches in a competitive friendly spirit and have enjoyed recent games against the American International School of Bucharest, the British School

U9 Football team

of Bucharest and the International School of Primary Education; winning two games and scoring lots

of goals. We look forward to many more funny moments, wonder goals and dramatic games next term.

The Wonderful Experience of the ISB Ski Trip MRS. FLORENTINA MURTEZA, ENGLISH TEACHER

During half term break, some of the KS3 students, accompanied by Mister Murat Agce, Deputy Principal and Miss Florentina Murteza, English Teacher went to Predeal for a three days ski trip. The weather was wonderful and they had plenty of time to run on the snow track. As some students already knew how to ski they were allowed on the track first thing in the morning, led by Mister Murat. Others, less experienced, waited patiently and happily for their ski instructors.

Smile for the group photo!

“The instructors were very patient and they guided us through all the steps, from putting on the boots and the skis, to shifting and drifting in the snow. Though at the beginning of the training many of us felt rather scared and worried about the instability of the skies,

after the first day our confidence began to grow and between falls and hesitation we even managed to slide down a few times. We all had great fun and we really hope to repeat this experience next year. Hope you’ll join us too! “

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

fir ST ep Winners MS. MADALINA CIOC, ISB INSIGHT MAGAZINE EDITOR PR & ADMISSION OFFICER

The event was a huge success

International School of Bucharest hosted firSTep contest on Saturday, 14th of February. Contestants from all Lumina Schools participated with very well documented Science projects. FirSTep, the Science, Technology and Design Fair is the First Step to International Project Olympiads which is open to all

students starting from Grade 3 (year 4 ) in Lumina Educational Institutions. It is organized by Lumina Educational Institutions in collaboration with national and international science fair organizations. Its mission is to challenge students to prepare science and technology projects to find workable solutions to everyday

solutions, to raise awareness in our planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy and environmental issues, to engage students and teachers towards a further step in international project Olympiads of which have the same missions. As always, we are extremely proud of our students who won medals for their projects as follows:

The Minister of Economy (Andrei Dominic Gerea) handed out the medals to Suheyla & Aysenur

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015 Energy environment engineering category: Gold medal went to Suheyla & Aysenur for the project “Hydrogen on Board” Bronze medal went to Neslihan & Deniz for “Sustainable Fashion” project. Sustainable Fashion

Little Scientists category: Gold to Bahri for Two nostrils are better than one and to Adile for “Low flow – High profit “project.

Two nostrils are better than one!

Low flow_ High Profit

Design Category: Selin was awarded the gold medal for her project, “Fibonacci Water Park”. Ece was awarded gold medal for the project “Zippearphones”.

Fibonacci Water Park

Zippearphones

Bronze medals went to Meryem & Gulnur, Selda & Valentina, Beyza & Kevser.

Bio-inspired robotic device could aid ankle-foot reabilitation

Pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant

Congratulations to all, we are very proud of you!

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Science Week at ISB MRS. LAVINIA COJOCAR, CHEMISTRY TEACHER HOD SCIENCE

The Science Department of the International School of Bucharest organised in the week beginning 9th March, Science Week. Students were involved in numerous activities, both in class and outside

the school. Scientific Vocabulary Hangman, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Fear Factor, dissections, pictogram contests and quiz contests were few of the activities which took place in the class. The studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; visits to Natural History Museum, Geological Museum and the Atmospheric Romanian Institute were all excellent science lessons

taught outside the classrooms in a real scientific environment. All the visits and presentations were very interactive, engaging students in interesting discussions and gave them the opportunity to ask many questions, enhancing their knowledge already gained in class and learning key ideas about the upcoming topics.

Saturday trip to Geology Museum

Y8 Visit to the Geology Museum Science Week for Year 8 students ended on Saturday, March 14 with a visit to the Geology Museum, which enhanced the theoretical knowledge they gained in school when they studied the structure of the Earth, minerals, rocks, weathering processes and fossils. During the visit, the students had to find the answers to a series of questions prepared by their teacher, Mr. George, which challenged their observation and selecting information skills, communication and synthesizing skills. Due to their high interest, nobody noticed how the time flew by; although many students visited the museum before, they were fascinated by it. Students said they saw everything from a different perspective now.

Group photo for the photo album

Trip to Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum On the 11th of March, we visited the Antipa Museum. We were split in two groups and we started our visit with the guides who gave us important facts and information about the animal kingdom. At the museum, the guides showed us all the floors. One of the floors was closed last year, so it was an extra surprise for us. We saw everything from mammals` skel-

etons to the geography of Earth. It was amazing! Then, we did some shopping in the museum souvenir store. It contained a lot of interesting stuff such as the bottles of special sand that is not wet even under water. We would like to say a big thank you to our teachers who took us to one of the most interesting museum ever!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Atmospheric Institute Visit Our very inquisitive students learnt from specialists about the formation of the tornadoes and lightning, about types of clouds and separation of cold and warm fluids, due to the difference in density. They also learnt about absorption of heat by dark and light colored objects, about colors and infrared radiation. To complete the experience, students watched a couple of documentaries about satellites and aerosol particles in the atmosphere.

Students have been captivated by the documentaries they watched

Fermentation of Milk and Yeast Year 7 students excited to see how milk is fermented by putting a spoonful of yoghurt in a jar. They kept their jar with milk and yoghurt in a warm place overnight and the day after, milk appeared as yoghurt by surprising them.

Sharing ideas and working together is the key to every successfull experiment

Respiration of Yeast Year 7 students were captivated by the yeast experiment – the substance used to bake bread. They have now seen how bread raises by the yeast. The released gas –CO2- by the respiration of yeast with sugar is the main factor to raise the bread.

Respiration of Yeast

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Science Fair at ISB As always, Science week ended with a Science Fair. Our students, guided by their teachers, prepared different scientific projects. On Friday, 13th March, they displayed all the projects in the ISB Gallery and presented them to all their colleagues. The science teachers (Mr. Soner Efe, Mr. George

The human heart, an incredible machine

Popescu, Mrs. Derya Karabulut and Mrs. Lavinia Cojocar) evaluated their projects and decided on the

best projects from years, 7, 8, 9 and 10 and the best project of the entire Fair.

Food Tests by Salim and Omer Faruk

Teachers were very proud of their brilliant students

Chemists at work

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Winning Projects of the 2015 Science Fair edition MRS. LAVINIA COJOCAR, CHEMISTRY TEACHER HOD SCIENCE

Ruben’s Tube by Teodor and Franco

Electric Cornstarch by Humeyra (Best project of Year 7), Food Tests by Salim and Omer Faruk (Best project of year 8), Hearing Test by Marco and Abdullahi (Best project of Year 9), Matchbox Microphone by Ali (Best project of Year 10). The

best project of the Science Fair was Ruben’s Tube by Teodor and Franco (Year 10S).

a medal and the students who won the best project of the Fair received a cup.

All students who presented projects in the Fair received a participation certificate, all the winners received

Everyone involved enjoyed the activities and they are all looking forward to the next year’s edition.

Electric Cornstarch by Humeyra

Matchbox Microphone by Ali

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze Medal for ISB students at the Infomatrix National Stage MS. MADALINA CIOC, ISB INSIGHT MAGAZINE EDITOR PR & ADMISSION OFFICER

Infomatrix is an international competition held annually in Romania, since 2003, initiated by Lumina Educational Institutions, to allow the best IT students to meet and exchange ideas through the presentation of ICT projects. The 13th edition of the international IT project competition-Infomatrix 2015 (national stage) started on Friday, 27th March, at Lumina University Southeast Europe with an opening ceremony. Infomatrix 2015 was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education. High school students could sign up for one of the following categories: Computer Art, Hardware Control, Programming, Short Movie and Robotics. The objective of the competition is to encourage young people to use their imagination, passion and creativity to achieve technological innovations that could make a positive change in society. It is

1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze Medal for ISB students

known that every year companies are following the developments in the field of participants and even be interested in purchasing some of their projects. We are very proud of our ISB teams who won 1Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze medal at Infomatrix Short Movie Competition! We asked the winning teams to for a short presentation of their movies.

“In our short movie, Paths, we show the difference between two girls; one of them being able to get an education which makes her successful and have a career. On the other hand, the other one is forced to get married by her parents, she is at home doing housework and taking care of her child while she was supposed to be in school”. Nursima Stealing Believes

Stolen Lives by Nuriye and Meryem - Gold Medal Winner “Billy is a trusted engineer who takes on the big responsibility of building a school. However, he is not aware that his decisions will destroy his family life in future... What do you think will happen to Billy’s family?” Meryem Paths Silver Medal at the Infomatrix Short Video Competition

“This short movie is showing that theft is not only about stealing people’s property. We wanted to show theft from a completely different perspective. In this short movie we handle the issue of how media steal people’s belief with lie news. We have two businessmen which are in a rivalry and one of them does a crime but with the help of media he conceals and he steals beliefs of people and trust which people had to the innocent businessman.” Lamia

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Career Goals and Next Steps YEAR 10, STUDENTS

“Year 10 is not that easy, it has ups and downs, after all it’s the year before the big exams start. Year 10 and Year 9 are very different because things are starting to get much more serious in year 10. The teachers will give you more homework and a 90% or 80%, would really turn out to be grades really hard to be achieved, in my opinion. Good grades will be harder to obtain and homework will drastically increase also. Year 10 is a nice experience and is an adventure you will really enjoy but like every new thing it has advantages and disadvantages. In year 10 At this age in Year 10 you can choose which path you wish to follow. ISB and the teachers will help you along the way but the path you choose will only be walked by you and only you. So it’s important to be careful about the decisions you are taking at this age, because they will influence your adulthood. Year 10 overall is a fun experience. It gives you a lot of

Year 10 students preparing for their exams

freedom compared to the previous years but with the freedom also the responsibilities will follow. In conclusion, I think Year 10 is pretty hard but at the same time you will enjoy the trips and experiences that will be coming.”

the subject and we cannot get high

“For every student in Year 10 their career goals should be one of the most important things they keep in mind. In Year 10 we are already choosing lessons which are necessary for us, but we have to keep in mind our weakness as well. We have to choose the subjects in which we are more successful and capable. If we are not interested in

3 choices.

marks we shouldn’t plan a career based on those. Keeping in mind your weaknesses and the threads around you, you should have around

The person who is planning your career should be you because if you won’t like the job you are doing in future your life will be like a torture to you. If you don’t have interest in it you will not succeed in that area. So keep in mind that your career is the rest of your life after university. Being an adult doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything else besides your job. You can continue doing your hobbies to relax and to be happy. In conclusion, be very selective when you are deciding something so important for your

Working hard is the key to success

future.”

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Travel and Tourism CourseworkA Herculean Task MR. ANDREI SCHVAB, TRAVEL & TOURISM TEACHER

Per aspera ad astra (through hardships to the stars). Year 12 is an extremely tough year, and Travel and Tourism makes no exception. As part of their examination, Travel and Tourism students had to plan, organise and actually run their chosen trip. ISB students planned and organised four trips: to the Escape Room, to Slanic Prahova, to the House of Bounce and to the

Sports Museum. Perfection is not easily reached but they certainly tried their best. With guidance and advice from teachers, HOD and principals (whom I would like to thank for their patience and understanding), they had freedom of choice and learned on their own what it takes to organise and run a tourism event. Some were successful while some have yet to prove that they can rise to the challenge. We all learned more about ourselves from this experience. Planning and running a tourism event is not such an easy task as it first looks like. Those who started with this idea certainly changed their mind set over time. Just ask Year 12 Travel and Tourism students. You wouldn’t imagine how many stories they could tell you. Their original plan changed many times, they had to tackle bureaucracy, negotiate prices with transport companies, other providers of services, make reservations, convince students to come to their

Year 12

trip, convince parents to let their children to attend their organised trip (just to name a few). We learned that things don’t run always as planned, that we need to have back-up plans that we need to improve team work skills, our patience, our imagination and innovation. Working as part of a team and working to meet other people needs and interests, tested the students’ capacity to adapt to changing situations. I would like to congratulate my students for finishing their project, I am proud of them. They made better projects than my college students did. Message for my students: don’t relax too soon; you have yet to prove yourselves in the written exam that awaits you. There is no easy way, but I am sure that you can make it. Per aspera ad astra. P.S. Year 13 comes with another two extremely interesting papers.

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Orientation Tour at Ernst & Young MR. ANDREW LAWRENCE, ECONOMICS TEACHER

In February the Business and Economics students were invited to an orientation tour at Ernst & Young, the multinational business consultancy firm. Students got an idea of what kind of career options are available to them with Ernst & Young. All students had a good time and learned a lot about what goes on in that big tower downtown.

@Ernst & Young

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

ISB Alumni London Reunion MR. AHMET DUNDAR, ISB ALUMNI COORDINATOR

At Ev Restaurant in London, ISB alumni, along with former students, attended a fun reunion and enjoyed reminiscing about their school days in Bucharest. Some other alumni who could not make it to the reunion were visited in the places where they study now. It was so much fun seeing you in New Castle, Wigan, Coventry, and Oxford. Thank you all for making this possible!

ISB Alumni London Reunion

Dinner with Alumni, London

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Preliminary University Placements No. Name 1 AKDAG Rana 2 IORDACHE Andreea

University King's College London, University of Sussex The University of Birmingham, University of Sussex University of Bristol, The University of Nottingham, 3 CEBI Emirhan Sehsuvar The University of Sheffield University of Exeter, The University of CONSTANTINESCU Kent, University of Leeds,Loughborough 4 Alexandru University, University of Reading The University of Birmingham, Royal Holloway 5 GRAZIANI Eugenio University of London, University of Westminster, Queen Mary University of London Royal Holloway University of London, Queen Mary 6 ZEITOUNI Jamil University of London,The University of Strathclyde The University of Manchester,Queen Mary University 7 SHARBEK Narmin of London,Nottingham Trent University,University of Leeds Brunel University London, Royal Holloway University 8 LUMINARE Radu of London, University of Westminster,The University of West London Aberystwyth University,The University of 9 TIMOFTE Cosmin Bradford,The University of Essex, University of Westminster, University of Greenwich ZHANG Anthony Jia Coventry University,University of Leicester, The 10 Jun University of Manchester, The University of Warwick Brunel University London,City University London, 11 AYDIN Rumeysa Sultan Queen Mary University of London, Aberystwyth University, The University of Hull,The 12 KARACA Ayse Manchester Metropolitan University University of Greenwich, London Metropolitan 13 OZCAN Mert University,University of Roehampton, Brunel University London University of Greenwich, Royal Holloway University 14 OZCAN Selen of London Brunel University London,Royal Holloway 15 TOUMAR Sufian University of London, Queen Mary University of London,University of Westminster 16 SZABO Beatrix

The University of Stirling

19 TUDOR Razvan

The University of Stirling,The University of Strathclyde,Lancaster University,University of Portsmouth The University of Aberdeen,The University of Stirling,The University of Essex BHMS

20 SEVGILIOGLU Hatice

Bahcesehir University; Bilgi University

21 GHITESCU Andreea

Uni of Washington, Santa Barbara University of California, Univeristy of Oklahoma, Univeristy of Tennessee

17 POPESCU Catinca 18 GALBAVA Tatiana

Course Biomedical Sciences Biomedical Sciences Mechanical Engineering Computer Science International Relations Business Management Fashion Business Management International Politics Chemistry with Forensic Science Law Law Business Management Business Management Biomedical Sciences Marketing and Psychology Marketing and Psychology International Relations Hotel Management Architecture, English Language Teaching Full tennis scholarship

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

ISB is Visiting its Alumni, Prague MR. AHMET DUNDAR, ISB ALUMNI COORDINATOR

During the first week of March, we have visited our alumni who are now working in Prague and Wroclaw. Monika, graduate of 2005 welcomed us in Prague and we had the chance to reminiscing about her old days at ISB. Than at Wroclaw it was a great pleasure meeting with our 2009 graduate Maxim. Now we are looking forward to meeting other members of ISB Alumni who are to be visited in their new country.

Prague

Lumina Alumni Business Cocktail MR. AHMET DUNDAR, ISB ALUMNI COORDINATOR

Lumina Alumni Association orgaÂnized the first Lumina Alumni Business Cocktail on the 26th of March at Hilton Hotel, Bucharest. All 38 members of alumni who are now in

Alumni Business Cocktail

the business world enjoyed their time and made connections with other alumni members. Mr. Fatih Goktas, the general director of Lumina Educational Institutions and Mr. Aydin

Korucuoglu, the Lumina Association executive secretary expressed their gratitude to those who participated to the event assuring that this was just a beginning of future events.

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Your Start in a Hospitality Management Career BHMS also offers 1year, a 2year diploma in Culinary Management program and a 3year Associate Degree in Culinary Entrepreneur ship. These programs are accredited and recognized by the "American Culinary Federa on Foundaon". Paid Internships while studying With the guaranteed internships we ensure that our graduates are well prepared for the A top educaon and an individual career industry. Our Internship Placement Center plan combined with dedicated place ment, leads to good job opportunies. We offer modular programs lasng 12 months. Each program is comprised of 6 months of academics and 6 months guaranteed Swiss internship with earning opportunies during internships of minimum CHF 2'168.  per month. BHMS, Business & Hotel Management School, a member of Bénédict Educaon Group, is a contemporary school with modern facilies located in the city center of Luzern. It offers its’ graduates a unique opportunity to enter hospitality, food and beverage, culinary or global business management careers.

prepares students for job interviews as well as providing personal support during the internship when needed. Placement/CareerManagement aer graduaon With over a 90% success rate, the Master work Job Placement Center places interested graduates into aracve jobs with presgious naonal and internaonal employers. For examples of potenal

employers please visit www.bhms.ch. Advantages of BHMS • Central Locaon in Luzern City • Guaranteed Paid Swiss Internships • Internaonally Accredited Qualiﬁcaons • Aracve Job Placement

Successful graduates are awarded recognized diploma aer the ﬁrst and second year, and aer the third year they receive a Bachelor of Arts degree. Bachelor degree graduates can complete an MBA degree with only two addional years of study. All BHMS diploma, BA and MBA degrees are internaonally recognized and accredited.

Please contact BHMS for further information.

Baselstrasse 57 CH6003 Luzern Tel: +41 41 248 70 70 www.bhms.ch



The Prefects Dinner MR. AHMET DUNDAR, DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

The prefects team at ISB together with the head girl and head boy have been present in most of the school activities this academic year. This work done by the prefects had many positive effects on the rest of the school community. Charity campaigns, inter-houses football tournaments, water well campaign, Gala Cultura Event, talent show are just some of the activities which were organized by our prefects. For all this great work ISB administration team wanted to thank its prefects and for this reason on the 9th of April, they have organized a “Prefects Dinner” at Sultan Restaurant. After enjoying the delicious food the secondary school principal Mr. Sinan Kosak thanked

Dutch University Fair at ISB

all the prefects, school head boy and the head girl for the hard work they have done this year by showing commitment for all the school

activities. Now all ISB community is eagerly waiting for the prefects to show the same success with their upcoming exams.

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Inter-School Quiz Contest: 36 Students from 12 Schools at ISB MS. MADALINA CIOC, ISB INSIGHT MAGAZINE EDITOR PR & ADMISSION OFFICER

36 Grade 5 students from 12 schools in Bucharest (both private and public schools) have participated in the Elimination Round of the Inter-School Quiz Contest, which took place at ISB on Monday, 6th April. The Elimination Round was a Written Quiz in which multiple choice questions had to be answered. The performance was evaluated on the number of correct answers. The

Congratulations to the 5 teams who qualified for Final Round

quiz contest is in English and broadly revolved around the following topics: English, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Sports and Games, People & Legends, Literature & Art, Music, Movies, Technology and Popular News. Following a very tight competition during the very challenging Elimination Round, 5 teams have qualified for Final Round which will

take place at ISB on Wednesday, 8th April. We are all looking forward to Final Round on-stage, which will definitely be a very challenging and enjoyable one. Congratulations to everyone involved in the organization of the event, as well as to all the participants for proving their vast knowledge during this very challenging and enjoyable competition.

Final Round of the InterSchool Quiz Competition at ISB MS. MADALINA CIOC, ISB INSIGHT MAGAZINE EDITOR PR & ADMISSION OFFICER

Five schools qualified for the finals which took place at ISB on the 8th April starting at 10.00am: ICHB, Avenor College, Scoala Gimnaziala No.195, Scoala Gimnaziala No.197 and Scoala Liviu Rebreanu. The finalist teams had answered 20 different types of questions: multiple choice, short answer, poster

The winners of the Inter-School Quiz Competition

questions, sudoku, brain teaser, four operations, etc.

also awarded with Toshiba Windows Tablets.

Congratulations to Scoala Gimnaziala No 197 who won the first place, to Scoala Gimnaziala No. 195 who won the second place and to ICHB, third place. All three schools were awarded with medals and certificates of achievement. The winners were

We would like to thank everyone for taking part in this very challenging contest; it was a pleasure for us to host this event in our school.

We are all looking forward to the second edition of the contest next year!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

ISB is Raising Funds to Build Water Well in Africa MS. MADALINA CIOC, ISB INSIGHT MAGAZINE EDITOR PR & ADMISSION OFFICER

ISB secondary prefects have started a fundraising campaign to build water well in Africa. They aim to raise 5,000 USD which will cover all the cost of building a clean water source. ISB collaborates with “Kimse Yok Mu”(KYM) Foundation which has opened water wells in various vulnerable countries since 2011. The water wells built in 18 countries in the world, are meeting the drinking water need of 3 million people, along with animals and vegetation. KYM continues to open water wells in 11 countries in

ISB is raising funds to build fresh water well in Africa

2015. We are very grateful to H.E. Mr. Mohamed Eltayeb Gasmalla Mudawi, the Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan who supports our cause and offered his help in getting in touch with other NGO’s who have experience in such social projects. At ISB, we believe that social projects are a very important aspect of education. There is a strong sense of community amongst our population of parents, staff and students, many of whom frequently give up their own time to support the

school in numerous ways. Senior students prepared a corner on the ground floor where they displayed posters and a donation box. ISB took on the challenge and due to their commitment and to their generous donations we are happy to announce that we have already raised 3291 US Dollars out of 5000 US Dollars. Please join us in this noble cause and make this wish come true! Any help is greatly appreciated. Together we will make a difference!

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Yellow Day – International Day of Fight Against Childhood Cancer MS. ALINA CONSTANTIN, SCHOOL COUNSELOR

On the 12th of February, as part of the Friendship and Inclusion Week, our school organised a fundraising event in order to support children affected by cancer. Students wore yellow clothes and made a small donation on that day to support the cause. ISB students joined in a cause which

Handing the donation cheque to “Asociatia M.A.M.E.”

is brought to people’s attention all over the world, each year: International Day of fight against Childhood Cancer. This was an excellent opportunity to raise awareness in our community about children affected by different forms of cancer, who don’t have the possibility to live a normal life like the rest of us.

Students supporting the cause

Our students both from Primary and Secondary School were very sympathetic and supportive to the cause. This was seen in the amount of money we’ve managed to rise in only one day: 6570 lei. The money went to two different charities which help children in their fight against cancer: Asociatia M.A.M.E. and Noi Orizonturi- Familia.

ISSUE 5 â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Dancing as an Art FLORIN, ISB STUDENT

When I was small I never felt like dancing, I hated dancing! My parents tried to convince me to join dance lessons but they always got the same answer: NO WAY! I always thought dancing was only for girls and I had nothing to do with it. At that time I was more into playing the piano, not that I lost my passion for piano now, but I had nothing for dancing. Until one day when a cousin of mine asked me if I wanted to go and observe how is a dance workout. Then the next day, I told my mother I wanted to go dance. Now I am dancing on an international scale versus world champions.

DanceMasters

I had various performances throughÂ out my dancing career which are: 1stplace Dancemasters competition 2010, 1st place in Dance Impact Cup 2011, 3rd place Ruse World open basic 2014, 2nd place Generatia 9 Cup, 2014. My wish is that one day I will have a piano concert and I will be able to dance among the world champions at the top level. As well as dancing, I also play the piano, the guitar and I sing. Recently

I have been part of a special piano course, held by three Russian teachers and a Romanian actor. That is what really triggered a strong interest in piano playing. Continuing with my interests in music, I also play in a band which was created this summer. In general, I have a passion for arts, in whichever form they are, I love art! I would like to continue with art all my life because this is what I believe is a healthy life style.

Florin and his teacher during Viva Academy Masterclass

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

ISB’s New Teachers 2015 - 2016

At ISB we are committed to ensuring that we have a qualified and dedicated team working together to provide our students with a top quality education. We have worked very hard this year to recruit qualified and experienced teaching personnel that will help to deliver a broad, balanced and enriched curriculum. We look forward to a wonderful academic year ahead. Mrs. Helen Dixon is British and worked as a Primary School Teacher in the UK for 20 years before moving to Thailand in 2003. She has worked in Early Years for the Regent’s Schools in both Bangkok and Pattaya until now. Mrs Dixon has thoroughly enjoyed her time in Thailand where she has been very

Foundation 2 Teacher

Ms. Jessica Duvall is originally from the United States where she graduated University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree, Ms Charissa Scott graduated with a B.Ed in 2000 from the University of Plymouth, UK. Since then she has taught in London, Bandung (Indonesia), Moscow and most recently in Bristol, UK. She has taught in every year group from Nursery through to Year 6 and is very much looking forward to joining the excellent staff team at ISB.

Primary Teacher

Mr. Ed Smith studied Human Geography at Plymouth University before completing his Primary PGCE

much involved with the Equestrian Community. Her two daughters have now finished school; one is studying at university in the UK and the other planning a gap year. “I am very much looking forward to moving to Romania and working with the Early Years Department at ISB.” 2015 will be her first year at ISB. She has lived in China, Thailand, Malawi and Australia. In addition to a long history in childcare from the US, she has also taught early years for over 4 years in International schools. She has a passion for working with young children and is excited for the year ahead at ISB. She is a dedicated yoga practitioner. Other hobbies include traveling and taking treks in nature. “I believe early years education is

Foundation 1 Year Leader

very important and a paramount to the success of a child’s further education. It is important to have fun and be creative with young children to really get them excited about learning and going to school and interacting with other children. I hope we can all work together to help your children have a great year of learning! I like to have open communications with my parents, so please don’t hesitate to come in and talk to me! I look forward to meeting my new students soon!”

When away from work Miss Scott is not known for an ability to stay still. Which is probably a good thing as she already has five triathlon medals to her name and is looking to add more to the collection! “I’m really looking forward to joining the ISB team and meeting you all on the 31st August!” at Kingston University London. Mr. Smith taught in Epsom, Surrey for 2 years before moving to Mexico City where he has been teaching Year 2 for the last 4 years. Aside from travel, his interests include sailing at a national level, live sports and music and an obsession for cartography. After a fantastic time in Mexico he is coming to Romania with his partner, Rose and lots of enthusiasm for his new role at ISB. “I am a strong believer in inquiry

KS1 Coordinator

based, collaborative learning. I have 6 years experience as a primary teacher and have taught across the age range from Year 1 to Year 5. In Mexico I gained middle management experience and have ambitions to move into senior management. My ethos in the classroom is to inspire children to be happy, independent learners who develop a lifelong love of learning. I am extremely excited about coming to work at ISB and look forward to meeting you and your children in August.”

ISSUE 5 • MAY 2015

Ms. Rose Major studied Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. She completed her Primary PGCE at the University of East London and stayed in London for another four years. For the past two years, Ms. Rose Major worked in an International School in Mexico and before that she spent four years

Primary Teacher

Ms. Helen Lumb grew up in Scotland, graduating from the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Arts degree in 1991, followed by a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from Jordanhill teacher training college in Glasgow. She has been a teacher in London and the South-East of

Humanities Teacher

Ms. Sai-Leya Santana is British and graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2005 before completing her PGCE at the University of Cambridge, in 2007. She taught English Language and Literature at Key Stage 3, GCSE and A Level in Hertfordshire, England for three years before moving to Shanghai, China to teach in an IB international school.

working in London. “I have taught across three key stages over the last six years. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to work with your children. I consider myself a fair and consistent teacher, with a particularly strong skills set regarding cross curricular learning” Mr. Simon Quysner comes from South London in the UK and prior to arriving in Bucharest in 2013 worked in a number of Inner London schools. He has been married to his Romanian wife for 5 years and lives a quiet, contented life in Popesti-Leordeni where he is slowly improving his language skills. Outside of school Mr. Quysner enjoys playing the ukulele and England for over twenty years, mostly teaching GCSE and A level English Language and English Literature but with 5 years acting as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator. In her spare time she enjoys skiing badly, eating well and sleeping in. An enthusiastic dancer, she is currently learning Tango! Mrs. Mrs. Niamh Niamh Lone Lone was was born born in in the Dingle Peninsula of Co. the Dingle Peninsula of Co. Kerry, Kerry, Ireland Ireland which which is is steeped steeped in in history history and culture. She completed and culture. She completed aa degree degree in in European European Studies Studies at at the the University of Limerick and then University of Limerick and then did did aa H. H. Dip. Dip. in in Education Education in in Trinity Trinity College, College, Dublin. Dublin. Mrs. Mrs. Lone Lone travelled travelled abroad to work with an Irish abroad to work with an Irish Aid Aid agency. agency. She She taught taught Development Development Studies Studies and and Sociology Sociology in in Botswana Botswana

Key Stage Two Teacher

messing around with computers and new technology. He has recently started running but plans to stop again very soon. “I am very much looking forward to joining ISB in August and I hope that we can work closely together for a successful year ahead.”

English Teacher

for two years where she met her husband, Nasser and since then they have taught in the UK, and various British international schools in Malaysia, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. “I am looking forward to joining the International School of Bucharest with my two daughters and am really excited about moving to the city of Bucharest.”

Sai-Leya has always enjoyed travelling, meeting new people and learning new things and she is excited to spend the next part of her life in Romania. “Although I will be sad to leave my students and friends in Shanghai, I am very much looking forward to meeting my new students and colleagues at ISB.”

English Teacher

Flickr:www.isb.ro

/ISB.Romania

/RomaniaISB

/isbro