Insight Magazine - June 2018 issue

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JUNE 2018 • ISSUE 11

ISB Hosts the First World’s Scholar Cup Bucharest Round PAGE 68

Rich Extracurricular Programme at ISB PAGE 32

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ISSUE 11 • June 2018

Message from The Director The end of the school year is always a reflection time for everyone and writing this article is a very good exercise for me.

Going through the pages of the school magazine I feel an immense gratitude for my colleagues who made everything happened this year, as well as for our wonderful students who are working so hard each day towards becoming the best version of themselves.

MR. SİNAN KOŞAK / DIRECTOR

JUNE 2018 ISSUE 11

International School of Bucharest’s Periodic Magazine Director SİNAN KOȘAK director@isb.ro Editor MADALINA CIOC admissions@isb.ro Design GRAPHIC DESIGNER alexandru.rotariu@isb.ro

1R Sos. Gara Cățelu Str, 032991, Bucharest, Romania (+40) 21-306 95 30 info@isb.ro www.isb.ro

This year we stayed true to our mission and continued what we do best: educate our students while working on improving the school and improving ourselves in the process. There have been some areas where we concentrated our efforts this year. We provided extended Child Protection and Safeguarding training for the ISB teaching staff and we undertook the necessary steps to become a GDPR compliant school. A business consultancy company from Canada audited our school in February and gave us very insightful feedback on our administration and customer services procedures.

ISB is also improving the Digital Marketing Strategy by adding a prestigious partnership with a professional Digital Company. So you will be hearing a lot from us from now on.

Another excellent piece of news is that our IB Diploma Programme has become very popular within the community and ISB is proud to offer a wide range of IB subjects in the 2018-19 academic year.

Our students participated in several prestigious international competitions this year and made us really proud of their excellent results. We hosted the first World Scholar’s Cup Bucharest round at our school and 30 of our students qualified for the Global Round which will take place in Barcelona in August. Congratulations to Ilinca L. and Ariana P who achieved the 2nd place in

the NASA Space Settlement Contest, with their project, Union. Congratulations to our students who got gold, silver and the bronze medal in the Infomatrix 2018 Short Movie Category. We were very happy to receive another Top in the World award at Cambridge exams.

Ana Maria A. scored the highest mark at AS Sociology in the world. We are extremely proud of all our 7 students who participated in the seventh edition of International Math Challenge which took place in Bangkok. 600 students from 50 schools in 17 countries took part in this challenge. Aida D and Mihail V. are the Gold Medal winners and George V., Maria V. and Eric D. are the Silver Medal winners. Well done, guys! You made us extremely proud.

The efficient use of technology and facilities in our school has always been an important agenda for us. I had the opportunity to travel to different countries this year and see the best practices and case studies at different schools in Germary, Denmark, Sweden and finally in Egypt. As a result, we have already started a very careful investment on our school’s IT, library and theatre facilities and the teacher training necessary to use these resources.

I am also very proud to be part of a wonderful community who came together in organising such pleasant and popular events throughout the year: Halloween Party, Christmas Celebration, Chinese New Year and Summer Fair. A big thank you goes to our PTA for their constant support and positive impact on the school’s life.

Like every year, I have to say goodbye and wish all the best to our graduates, to some of our teachers and to our leaving families. Thank you all for being part of the ISB for a while. I wish you all the best in your future journey.

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Homework for Primary Students.

For or Against?

MRS. KERRY HARRIS HEAD OF PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dr. David Carey, child psychologist

“Children need a break, to relax and go out and play in the fresh air, get exercise, talk to other kids. That’s the work of childhood – it is to play, not to study endlessly.”

The subject of homework in the primary school is one which continues to evoke emotional debate. It is a subject which parents and teachers have firm opinions about these may be based upon previous experiences, rumour, or research.

Supporters of homework argue it has academic benefits and can also encourage children to develop important study and time management skills.

The Math, units include also practical applications, helping the children to solve every day problems in real life.

They also argue that homework can give parents a chance to engage in their child’s learning.

On the other side of the debate those opposed to homework feel that it creates unnecessary pressure on students and on family life for limited academic benefit; homework can prevent children participating in other activities which enable them to develop other life skills in the sports,

arts, music and social interaction.

In Finland, which is currently regarded as a beacon of educational practice in Europe, virtually no homework is given.

Child psychologist Dr. David Carey believes homework for children who are still in primary school serves little purpose. “Research seems to indicate it doesn’t really consolidate learning.

When children aren’t given homework, they don’t learn at a slower pace than

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when they are given homework.” he claims “For younger children the evidence recommends no more than 10 minutes per class per night…..They won’t learn after a certain amount of time because their minds begin to wander and their motivation is reduced.

I don’t advocate piling homework on; it’s not going to work. Dr. Carey maintains children “need a break, to relax and go out and play in the fresh air, get exercise, talk to other kids.

That’s the work of childhood – it is to play, not to study endlessly,” This point of view is also reiterated by John Hattie, Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne. In his recent study on ‘Visible Learning’ 2009 he found that “Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero”.

At ISB primary school we review research and aim to maintain best practice in education. With our revised

homework policy, we are confident we strike the balance providing a small amount of homework to consolidate understanding and engage parents in learning but also allowing enough free time for children to broaden social contexts and develop new skills.

Insuring the holistic development of a healthy mind, body and soul.

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How Much Important is Pre Nursery Schooling MS. CRISTINA FLOREA & MS. CLAIRE O’BRIEN PRE NURSERY AND FOUNDATION 1 TEACHERS

Here, at ISB, we encourage the young children to ‘construct’ their own learning. This means to get away from ‘passive learning’ and follow their own particular interests and build their learning around this.

How can they choose at this age, you will ask? It’s simple, each classroom has various areas of learning containing a wide range of materials and resources that are well thought out and suitable for children of this young age. From this, they can do their own creations and engage in imaginative play. Children can learn through playing with their peers, adults and by themselves in a warm, safe environment provided at ISB. Research into early childhood education have shown that children who attend a Pre Nursery setting

Expressing creativity.

and receive a play based approach to learning at an early age usually have improved social skills, fewer behavioural problems and gain better results during their time in primary school.

Children learn a great deal in a Pre Nursery setting, with many different emphasis on different areas of a child’s development. Social interaction is one of the most important feature of Pre Nursery education. The children learn to interact with children of their

own age in a supervised and inviting environment which is different from their home environment. The child is also being prepared for the daily routines and structures of school life where they learn to identify their belongings like their own bag, water bottle and name.

Why is Pre-Nursery so important? The time children spend in Pre-Nursery programs is used to develop a foundation for a lifetime of learning, and that matters!

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Creating patterns using Maths.

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Painting a picture of Elmer the Elephant from the story Elmer.

Using language over, around and in, to retell the story Rosie’s walk..

A story map used to retell the story Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.

Using Stories to Enhance Literacy Skills in Early Years MRS. VICKY SEESHAAN EYFS COORDINATOR AND FOUNDATION 2 TEACHER

Children love stories, they like to listen to them, look at the pictures and recreate them in their play.

Stories are an excellent way to encourage children to think about words, how to build sentences and to create feeling in their writing. As a way to encourage children’s writing skills, at ISB we use stories to support literacy development. Through the story we can explore different ideas and how to express them. In order to maximize on this we have introduced some elements of the ‘Talk 4 Writing’ strategy into our teaching methods through Early Years and into Key Stage 1. The Talk 4 Writing approach requires teachers to focus on the same story for a significant period of time so that children are completely familiar with the words and structure of the story.

In Early Years we focus very much on the children’s ability to retell the story

and use other practical ways to retell it such as using puppets and visual aids.

This encourages language development and an increased vocabulary which supports comprehension of the story. Comprehension of a story is just as, if not more, important than just being able to read the words. It is the comprehension of a story that will lead to children being able to ultimately write their own stories further up the school. If children have learned stories by heart, they will be able to remember the way the story is structured and the vocabulary used.

At times, we might ask children to change certain elements of a familiar story for example, suggest an alternative ending, change the main characters or suggest a different setting. All of these things encourage them to think about other possibilities and to use their imagination whilst keeping some things familiar to build their confidence.

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Using “Bee Bots” after reading the story Handa’s Surprise.

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Extended Programme for Early Years at Very Competitive Fees MRS. VICKY SEESHAAN EYFS COORDINATOR AND FOUNDATION 2 TEACHER

“Children are born ready, able and eager to learn. They actively reach out to interact with other people, and the world around them. Development is not an automatic process, however. It depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments.”

(Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Early Education, 2012)

Choosing the right school or kindergarten for your young child is one of the most important decisions you will make for them. Here at ISB we pride ourselves on providing high quality Early Childhood education, we have a strong team of extremely experienced staff that are dedicated to ensuring your child has the best possible start to their education.

The point at which children enter school at 2, 3, 4 or 5 years old is called the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’, this is the start of your child’s school learning journey. Children develop at a rapid rate in the first 5 years of their lives and it is during this time that they will be exposed to a number of different experiences.

Children build upon the foundation stage to become successful individuals.

Therefore, it is vital that children do not miss out on this important stage of their schooling. It is during the Early Years of a child’s life that they will form their opinions on learning,

begin to interact with others, learn to read and be exposed to a multitude of other skills that will have a great impact on their future learning. It is vital that Early Years teachers and parents work together to get it right.

Here at ISB we feel it is important to provide children with a safe, secure environment in which they can explore and thrive. We strive to build positive relationships with both the children and their parents. The positive relationships developed between staff and parents is key to ensuring children are happy and confident to start school.

During the foundation stage children are able to explore boundaries and different relationships, they are able to discover how their actions affect others and how to resolve conflict in an appropriate way. These skills are crucial to being successful in society, it is also essential these skills are mastered before academic learning can be completely effective. Alongside giving children a firm foundation in their social interactions and independence

ISSUE 11 • June 2018

11 it is in the Foundation stage that children are introduced to numbers and simple Maths concepts, letters shapes and their phonic sounds. By the end of the Foundation stage we expect all children to be confidently working with numbers to 20, being able to identify them, order them, and count objects to match the numeral. We also expect children to be able to complete simple addition and subtraction number sentences.

During Phonics lessons children are exposed to letters and their sounds, we expect children to be able to segment and blend sounds they have learned in words to read them and to begin to write simple sentences independently. Of course all children develop at different rates and have different educational and social needs, therefore, the learning opportunities are tailored to ensure all children can access learning opportunities at their individual level. Ensuring children can confidently use mark making tools and have the correct pencil grip and letter formation is essential to their future success as these skills are very important going into Year 1 and beyond. If children are not confident with these areas before starting in the primary school this could hinder their ability to access the primary curriculum fully and slow down their learning.

Starting with the academic year 2018/2019 which will start on Monday, 3rd September 2018, we offer the parents the possibility to choose between a short programme (8.30- 12.00), a regular programme (8.30- 15.00) or an extended programme (8.30-18.00).

Early Years parents will also benefit from a 30% discount to the lunch fee and transportation fees starting with September 2018. Information on the school fees can be found here.

We will be happy to meet you at the school and answer all your questions.

Please contact admissions@isb.ro to make an appointment. We look forward to seeing you very soon.

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The Importance of Parental Involvement in a Child’s Education MRS. SARAH NEWSHAM YEAR 1 LEADER AND CLASS TEACHER

At ISB we feel strongly that parents’ involvement in school life and learning is very important for the wellbeing and development of our students.

There are many studies that show that a positive relationship between the school and parents/guardians has a huge impact on a child’s development and progress at school. Some of the main benefits are summarised in a review by Henderson and Berla (1994) and they include: • Children generally achieve better grades, test scores, and attendance.

• Children consistently complete their homework.

• Children have better self-esteem,

8th March with my mom at the school.

are more self-disciplined, and show higher aspirations and motivation toward school.

• Children’s positive attitude about school often results in improved behaviour in school and less suspension for disciplinary reasons.

Studies also show that when children know there is a positive connection between home and school, they achieve better and behave better in school.

At ISB we feel strongly that parents’ involvement in school life and learning is very important for the wellbeing and development of our students, whether that is through our home reading program and helping with homework or visiting school on open days or school events. We have many opportunities for parents to get involved with the school community and their child’s learning. These include the PTA and the fun events the parents and teachers organise for the students, open

Parents are invited to school to Open Mornings and spend time with their children in the classroom.

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The students invite their parents to school to present their very well documented class projects.

morning/afternoons where parents are invited in to experience some lessons along with their children. We also have class assemblies and shows throughout the year which parents are invited to as well as the Project

Based Learning events which happen throughout the year.

Teachers give workshops during the year, on different areas of the curriculum and how best to support their children in their learning. We also

offer workshops on supporting your child’s social and emotional needs.

Source - https://www.education.com/ reference/ar ticle/benefits-parentinvolvement-research/

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Parenting workshop about the challenges of adolescence.

The Impact of Parental Education in Children’s Development At ISB we feel strongly that parents’ involvement in school life and learning is very important for the wellbeing and development of our students.

Education defined very generally is a process that has the outcome of enabling a certain change or improvement. Together with the parents, the school plays a very well defined key role in a child’s development. However, through the strong attachment bond created between parents and children and through every day’s interaction, the parents have the opportunity to make a truly meaningful contribution to the child’s personal growth.

Being a parent is the most rewarding

and fulfilling role one can hold, a role that reveals strengths, vulnerabilities and a capacity to love that was unknown before. Also it brings a wide variety of challenges: some that can be dealt with instinctively, some that require a lot more information and reflection upon one’s choices and reactions.

Here at ISB, we strongly believe in the power of collaboration between school and family and its benefits for the children’s wellbeing and one of the

MS. ALINA CONSTANTIN SENCO

ways through which we try to support parents from our school’s community is through parenting workshops and courses. These are organised by our Student Support Service team.

Throughout the past few years, the parenting workshops have gained popularity and various topics have been covered and they are generally aimed at parents with children of all ages.

A few of the popular topics are: “The impact of digital media in children’s life and development”; “Mindfulness and

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Talking to parents about the stages of healthy sexual development.

mindful parenting”, “Raising an independent child”; “How to talk to children and teenagers about sexuality”; “The essence of adolescence”. The main aim of the parenting workshops is to help parents gain a better understanding of developmental aspects in children’s lives, and to offer access to ways in which they can support children through different stages. At the same time it is a great opportunity to share personal

perspectives and to learn from other people’s experiences.

Another program that we are running regularly is Circle of Security Parenting, a world renowned program, focusing on helping parents of young children to build an emotionally secure environment for their children and a positive relationship. This is an 8 week long program that offers valuable information based on decades of research

within the attachment field.

Regardless of the parenting approach one has or the parenting philosophies they feel they resonate with, at the end of the day it is important to remember that challenges will always happen and that every parent does the best they can with the available resources in that particular moment. However, it’s never too late to start doing things differently when feeling that there is a need for it.

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Year 2 children work together creating items for a shop and even creating their own money.

Preparing Our Children to Face the Problems of the Future MRS. HELEN DIXON YEAR 2 LEADER

Many of the jobs our children will be doing don’t exist yet, so it is impossible to teach them information leading to them performing a specific job.

Whilst finding out about the discovery of dinosaur fossils children in Year 2 were also learning about the different continents.

Not so long ago children left school, found a job and continued working in that field until retirement. The rapid development of new technology means that the children in our schools today face a very different future. In the past education focused largely on teaching knowledge and children sat exams, which tested how well they had retained this knowledge. However, in the modern world we don’t yet know many of the things that will be important in the future. It is predicted that most children in school today will have around six career changes, as

life expectancy increases and new development in technology changes the way we work. It is therefore, very important that children are taught the skills they will need to succeed in this changing world.

Here at ISB, we understand the importance of this and endeavour to ensure all our children are given the opportunity to develop their knowledge and also the skills required to apply this knowledge, enabling them to solve problems and discover things they need to know throughout their life.

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Sometimes children work independently to solve problems.

In many of our lessons in Years 2, the children begin each topic by discussing what they already know about the topic. They talk with their friends and come up with some questions that they would like an answer. This will form the basis, along with any knowledge that is deemed essential, for their work on the topic. The children will do much of the research themselves using different media, with the teacher supporting the learning. Through this approach, the children have to process and express this knowledge, rather than just writing down information given by a teacher. They work together to assess one another’s knowledge and help one another to progress and learn.

This form of learning is effective for helping children improve their self-confidence, which in turn will help them to do well. It also means that they will be more receptive to other, possibly harder, subjects as they will feel they have the skills and ability to tackle the problems in front of them.

In our Maths lessons for example, rather than just teach children one method to solve a problem, we teach them a range of methods and ensure that they are able to explain the method they have chosen to use and why? It is important that the children understand the process they are using rather than just learning a way to do something, as this means they will then be able to apply their skills and knowledge to an entirely different situation. Undertaking investigations is one of the ways we encourage this type of learning.

During our Science topic ‘Electricity’, rather than the teacher showing the children how to construct an electrical circuit, the children were given the wires, bulbs, batteries etc. and challenged to make the bulb light up.

They were challenged to explain the process and to investigate materials through which electricity could pass.

The children came up with their own ideas and applied their knowledge of writing instructions, from English lessons, to write up their investigation and interpret their results.

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Year 3 students proud of their hard work.

Year 3 Discover the Purpose of a Healthy Diet YEAR 3 TEACHING TEAM

Children had to apply their ongoing knowledge of healthy eating to ensure that their chosen meals were nutritionally beneficial.

Year 3 have been developing their understanding of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Teaching children as young as 7 years old about healthy eating and exercise is essential, as it provides children with the knowledge they need to make informed and healthy choices that will benefit their health, mood and even their performance in school. Children in Year 3 have enjoyed various practical activities from sampling foods, some of which were unfamiliar, to investigating the sugar content of some of their favour-

ite snacks as well as having a go at creating a healthy meal or snack of their own.

We were extremely fortunate to have had the valuable support of Mrs. Simona Pacurar, professional health coach, who kindly discussed the health benefits of whole foods, as well as important lifestyle factors for keeping healthy. Children also learnt what happens to food inside the body and discovered the different names under which sugar is often hidden.

The Year 3 teachers saw the Healthy Eating unit as a great opportunity for the children to work on an exciting project of their own, allowing them to further develop areas of interest that had been introduced during lessons.

So, as part of Year 3’s Healthy Eating project, children were encouraged to keep a food diary which allowed them to reflect on their diet and identify

potential areas for improvement as they became more aware of the components of a ‘balanced diet’. Other aspects of the project linked closely with curriculum areas that had been covered throughout the academic year.

Mathematical thinking was required when making a shopping list containing sufficient ingredients and calculating overall cost.

The open afternoon, provided children with the chance to showcase their hard work and was a huge success enjoyed by all. Parents were invited to sample the wide range of healthy starters, main courses and desserts prepared

by Year 3 pupils, who were also able to provide detailed nutritional information about their meal. Alongside the diverse buffet, various meal making activities took place in the Year 3 classrooms, providing a range of fun activities for parents, children and staff to enjoy.

The various aspects of the project not only helped consolidate skills learned in different subject areas throughout the year, but they also gave children an in depth knowledge around how to make healthy choices and perhaps more importantly, why.

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KS2 students working on the daily menu and making healthy choices.

Children were required to use their knowledge of instructions to create clear instructions for a healthy recipe they designed at home.

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Year 4 Are Alive With the Sound of Music MS. VICKY CLARKE YEAR 4 LEADER

Project based homework has been successfully introduced into the Primary School this year and it is clear to see that it is enjoyed and embraced by children and families alike.

The idea behind this change is to encourage children to think more deeply about a topic and for them to have ownership and control in their learning, completing a series of tasks which compliment their work in the classroom. Giving children the opportunity to work in their preferred learning style allows them to flourish and work to their strengths.

Throughout Year 4, we have seen presentations about countries completed verbally, via PowerPoint or display board, impressive collections of Ancient Egyptian artefacts and a range of habitats created in the form of dioramas.

Patrick was able to explain how to change the pitch of his drum.

One of our recent Science topics was ‘Sound’ and we challenged the children to research and make a working musical instrument using only recycled materials - exploiting cross curricular links with Music and the school’s Eco campaign.

At the start of the four week project, the children were given thorough briefs explaining the separate tasks they needed to complete: 1: Research the different groups of instruments.

2: Decide on an instrument they wish to make.

3: Design and make the instrument.

4: Test the instrument and make any improvements needed.

The enthusiasm of the children was contagious, sharing ideas and photos of their progress on Edmodo and talking about their work at school. We received a xylophone made from spanners, guitars made from cardboard boxes and elastic bands, and drums made from old bowls and clingfilm.

The best thing of all - each class was able to create their own orchestra!

Miss Elena worked with each Year 4 class in their music lesson to create a short composition to be performed to parents on our open afternoon. The

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Carla explaining how she made her guitar and what recycled materials she used.

children were able to perform in good time and rhythm. Many children then showed confidence in explaining how their instrument worked and could refer back to their Science work about volume and pitch. It is important that the children get the opportunity to share their hard work and we celebrate their achievements throughout, not only in class but as a wider school community.

Alongside the academic benefits of the project based homework, we hope that it allows the family to share ideas and quality time together whilst having fun. There will be many more exciting projects to come!

Parents and children alike enjoy sharing their learning.

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Using Technology as a Tool for Assessment MS. MARY ESTES YEAR 5 LEADER

Assessments can take many forms. A fun type of assessment can also be a game-based learning platform.

When students and parents think of tablets, or tablet computers, they probably think of distracting things such as video games and Facebook.

That’s not necessarily the case… at least not in the classroom. Year 5 classes have been using their tablets in their classrooms this year in exciting ways to extend their learning.

We use the ActiveLearn platform with Abacus for Maths and Bug Club for Reading. Year 5 teachers also often use EducationCity to assign homework that can’t be “lost” on the way home.

EducationCity is a familiar website to support what we’re learning in the classroom, but there are many websites and applications that are free for students and parents.

Another tool some Year 5 students use with our tablets is called Edmodo.

Edmodo is similar to Facebook, but it’s specifically for students to use in an educational setting. It’s been around for 10 years, but it’s still gaining in popularity among teachers. Edmodo provides a place for students to communicate, collaborate and celebrate with each other. When we had our one snow day this year, students were able to use their tablets to keep in touch with their teachers from home. Some students also used Edmodo to send messages to their teacher and to post their assigned work to show they were working from home.

In Term 3, we hope to use Edmodo to work in groups and share the work with our classmates online.

We recently shared some of our Art projects by posting them on Edmodo for our classmates to comment on and give us feedback. We can practice being supportive of each other by

Students using technology to share the classroom experience.

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When we use our tablets instead of printing worksheets, we use less paper and ultimately help save trees.

commenting in positive ways. Students have also posted pictures on Edmodo when they travel on our school breaks.

Year 5 students have also enjoyed practicing their Maths facts on their tablets using a program called XtraMath. This program helps students master their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts while competing with their classmates to see who can master each area first.

Assessments can take many forms.

A fun type of assessment is a game-based learning platform called Kahoot. Kahoots are multiple-choice quizzes that can be accessed via the web and students can participate individually or as part of a team.

During our Open Afternoon, we played a Mother’s Day Kahoot with our mothers and enjoyed some friendly

competition at the same time. Kahoots provide a way for students to enjoy their competitive side while learning at the same time.

ClassDojo is another tool that many teachers use at ISB. It’s a communication app for the classroom that connects parents, teachers and students. They can use it to share the classroom experience, especially class discipline feedback. Parents can also find out about important classroom news without having to check their emails from Educare. They can quickly see messages from their child’s teacher on their phone and respond back immediately to the teacher.

There are some obvious benefits to using technology in the classroom that help conservation efforts, which is how much paper and ink toner we can save.

Instead of printing off worksheets, teachers can post a picture of a worksheet or any other paper, and students can complete the work on their tablets.

Incorporating technology into the classroom is an integral part of a child’s education because it helps students prepare for their future as they will continue to use ever-changing technology into adulthood. Using technology in the classroom increases student engagement by putting children in an active role in the classroom.

The benefits of using technology in the classroom can far outweigh the negative impacts, from saving time looking up words in online dictionaries, to connecting to students all over the world. Using our tablets helps us bring the world into our classroom and into our hands.

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The project concluded with the trip to Vadul Lat where our students donated high quality resources to the local school.

Martisor Enterprise Challenge - Making a Difference MR. SCOTT CABLE YEAR 6 LEADER

Individually and collectively they showed greater levels of persistence, giving up when faced with tough problem or situation was not an option.

Any learning that is done for a clear, specific purpose is normally highly engaging and massively beneficial for students of any age. Year 6’s Martisor Enterprise Challenge which devoured most of our time in February was a great example of this. In small groups of four or five, the children formed companies; creating their own company names, logos and slogans. Their challenge was to purchase materials to make Martisor products and sell as

many as possible to generate a profit.

After discussion with the students it was decided that we would use 50% of any profits to purchase equipment for the playgrounds and the other 50% would be donated to Vadu Lat School in Giurgiu to help them purchase some materials for their classrooms.

As well as establishing clear goals for the entire project, with the help of some excellent parent guest speakers, the children came up with targets and milestones for both their companies and themselves as individuals. One of the most enjoyable and most beneficial aspects of the project was that it involved many individuals from across the school community; as well as our excellent parent helpers, each company had a Year 12 ‘business consultant’ who provided expert advice during weekly meetings. We also had great support from teachers across the school, who were very supportive and active; providing IT and music support, assisting with market research and of course, visiting our market stall and buying our products.

So, as well as all of the knowledge and understanding that the children gained about how to run a business, for us in Year 6, the greatest benefit the students received was the development of their teamwork and collaborative skills. They had the opportunity to work with a great range of people and they had to find solutions together to solve problems. The children had to develop their relationships and find ways to collaborate with new people, appreciating each other’s particular strengths and skills and utlising these to make the best teams they could. The students should be proud of the effort and attitude they showed throughout the project and the 4658 lei profit raised is a reflection of this.

The project concluded with a trip to Vadu Lat School where we donated some high quality resources to the school and we also spent some time playing and talking with the students and teachers. This was a great experience and it was good for our students and myself to see directly how their efforts have helped a small friendly school which really deserved it. After all of this work we certainly deserve to sit down and relax on our new picnic tables and maybe after a short rest we can also start to enjoy some of our new playground equipment!

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Year 12 ‘business consultant’ provided expert advice to Primary students during their weekly meetings.

Many thanks to our parents who agreed to come and talk to the students about entrepreneurship.

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“Mother Nature and the Environment” COBIS Art Competition MRS. GUZEL MIRASHOVA YEAR 2 CLASS TEACHER AND ART COORDINATOR

This year a lot of ISB children participated in the COBIS ‘Mother Nature and the Environment’ Art competition where International Schools from all over the word take part. The 2D and 3D artists from different age groups: EY, KS1, KS2 and KS3 have submitted their creative

work. Only the best quality entries and 2nd place Berfin D. from Key Stage reflecting the theme were chosen for 2. Currently all the wonderful entries are being sorted, saved and judged by the online art competition. the team of judges from around the In 2016 theme ‘The Room with a View’ world. The winners will be announced we had two winners, 3rd place Kush S. sometime this term so keep an eye on from Early Years and Foundation Stage our announcements.

Yang Z

Leyla Neva C

Sonia C

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Cosmin B

Sofia S

Bella C

Karina V

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Humanities in the Primary School: Project Based Learning

Ancient Egypt Comes to Life in Year 4.

MS. HELEN EVANS HUMANITIES COORDINATOR

In Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem or challenge.

Year 5 and their Ancient Greek Myth Games.

Whilst allowing for some degree of student “voice and choice”, rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st century skills (such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking), and create high-quality authentic products and presentations.

In the Primary School this year, we have delivered aspects of the curriculum using this ‘project based’ approach.

This method of teaching has developed from pedagogy which states that pupils learn best when they experience and solve real-life challenges.

It fosters active and engaged learning where students are inspired to gain a deeper understanding of the subjects they are studying. They are often motivated due to the fact that each project has an end product which is meaningful and purposeful to them. Our aim is to therefore, inspire

greater levels of commitment and determination in the children.

The projects often combine different subject areas together. This helps the children to see relevance in their learning and provides opportunities for them to use and apply the knowledge they are gaining in a variety of contexts.

Here are some photos of the projects the children have been involved in this year!

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Year 2’s Project on Materials.

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ISSUE 11 • June 2018

Recycling is Getting Fashionable!

MRS. SARAH NEWSHAM YEAR 1 LEADER

ISB is continuing its work to gain accreditation with the Eco Schools project and gaining our Green Eco Flag.

This term the Primary Eco Committee joined with the Primary Student Council to have a non-uniform day which ended with a recycled materials fashion show.

The students were able to come in their home cloths to raise money for the student to buy playground equipment to for the three playgrounds. This equipment has been purchased and the children are really enjoying using it during their break times to help them get moving and be extra ready for their lessons.

At the end of the school day we held a special Whole School Assembly where children from the Primary school from Early Years to Year 6 were able to display their very creative costumes. These costumes were made out of a variety of recyclable materials including plastic bags, paper,

and plastic bottles. The children shared information about how different materials can be recycled and reused. The children also shared their ideas about what would happen if we didn’t recycle as much as we can. We all came to the conclusion that the world would be a very sad please and that we all must do as much as we possibly can to help.

ISB is continuing with our commitment to improving our environment, both at the school and in the whole at large. We will be announcing some more initiatives in the next few months so please do keep watching the school website and www.isb. ro and supporting us where you can.

If you would like to find out more about the Eco School Project their website is www. ecoschools.global

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Extracurricular Programme and Enrichment Activities at International School of Bucharest

MRS. INGRID STANCIU AND MRS. KERRY HARRIS

Research informs us that extra-curricular activities offer an invaluable dimension to children’s education.

Extra-curricular activities provide a forum for self-discovery and help to build self-esteem. Exposing children to new interests previously undiscovered.

Extra-curricular activities also enable children to learn important life skills such as teamwork, time management and living a healthy lifestyle.

At ISB the highest priority is placed on achieving the best outcomes for academic achievement, but equally we recognise that a broad and balanced enrichment programme is essential to help our students develop into healthy, ‘well rounded’ citizens prepared for the future. We encourage participation and celebrate successes in the arts and sports and endeavour to provide a variety of opportunities for children to shine.

ISB students have the opportunity to participate in an extensive afterschool enrichment programme. We offer over 100 extracurricular activities throughout the year. In September we survey the children to find out what their interests are and which skills they

would like to develop. The enrichment coordinator uses her local knowledge and expertise to appoint experienced teachers and trainers to lead the clubs for the children. This year children have opted to play an instrument (drums, violin, piano, guitar, ukulele, or vocals) learn a new sport (basketball, football, volleyball, athletics, swimming or table tennis, dance, karate or gymnastics). They may choose to learn a new language (French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic, Romanian or Turkish) alternatively children may choose to develop their skills in arts and craft or a drama or a technology based course e.g. robotics.

At secondary level we also acknowledge that entry to UK universities is becoming more and more competitive, gaining A’s and A* in A Levels or high scores in IB may no longer guarantee automatic entry to university. Universities are increasingly looking to achievements in extracurricular activities to support student applications. In addition to the after school enrichment programme, ISB secondary students also have the opportunity to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh International Award programme, NASA Space Settlement Contest, and The World Scholars Cup and also support various community projects.

Some of the clubs which run at the school each year will be showcased in each issue of the school magazine. This issue we invite

you to read about Hama Beads, Athletics, and Volleyball for girls and boys, Sewing Club, Scrap Book Club, Basketball and Football for Girls.

Hama Beads (Mrs.Dana, Mrs.Vero, Ms.Andreea, Ms.Claudia) Do you know that Hama enhances children’s physical and mental skills in such a way that children never think they’re doing anything but playing?

Take a look at these masterpieces created by some little hands during the club run by Ms. Dana and Ms. Vero Wonderful World of Hama Beads!! Are you as impressed as we are?

Athletics (Mr.Claudiu) The students enjoy being a part of this club. They consider that the developed activities are interesting and useful, having fun as well. These activities are designed to increase the students’ level of the specific athletics skills in running, throwing and jumping.

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Our secondary students are delighted to share these activities with the youngest students from the primary school.

Volleyball U18 Girls & Boys (Mr. Claudiu) The club is gathering the most passionate students about the game of Volleyball.

It is a very dynamic club where the students combine the basic Volleyball skills with the desire of being part of the team and with lot of fun. Most of the club members were selected to represent the ISB over the BISAC Volleyball Championships. They won the gold and the bronze medal. Go EAGLES!

Sewing Club (Ms. Corina and Ms. Andreea) Generations ago, it was not only common but required that children learned the art of sewing and knitting.

Clothes were made by hand, hats and mittens were crafted in living rooms, not factories.

There are real benefits to investing the time and resources to teaching children the handwork’s art.

Besides the obvious benefit of being able to sew on a wayward button, hem a new pair of pants, or even craft a new baby gift, handwork provides your children with a creative way to: develop and mature their finger dexterity and fine motor skills, find and build their self-confidence, learn copious amounts of patience and have a social creative outlet for meeting and gathering with friends.

Scrap Book (Ms. Monica).

The purpose of the club is to give students a creative outlet.

We exercise the kids’ creativity as they display their memories in a scrapbook. The children use scissors, decorative papers, glues, stickers and other embellishments in order to create one-ofa-kind scrapbook pages along with special pens and markers to add handwriting notes.

Students create scrapbooks with their own photos while learning techniques for “logging” their memories.

Basketball for Girls (Ms.Ana) Basketball is a complex sport and its athletes are unique. Therefore, all the girls in my club have a great personality, a remarkable character and an amazing will. Continuously working together has brought great results during this year, our U18 Girls Team winning the BISAC Basketball Championship and our U14 Girls Team winning the second place. It is a pleasure working with such hardworking students and I’m looking forward to next year’s encounter.

Football for Girls (Ms. Ana) I consider the girls who choose to play football worthy of admiration.

Throughout my journey as the girl’s football coach, I’ve noticed that our players are outstandingly talented. I am confident that the future holds a bright

perspective for them as long as they keep on improving and they find pleasure in the activity.

A good season for the Girls Football Teams.

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“Sports Do Not Build Character. They Reveal It.” Heywoon Hale Broun PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

ISB’s health coach’s recommendations on healthy foods and eating habits.

Over the years, more and more students have joined our various sports teams at International School of Bucharest.

It all started with the Cross-Country run, organised by American International School of Bucharest, where ISB’s students won the most medals out of the participating schools.

Football BISAC followed, with the kick off competition at our campus. Both boys’ and girls’ teams represented ISB at

four age categories: U9, U11, U14 and U18. The U14 and U18 boys’ teams were the proud winners of the trophy this year and made us very proud.

We introduced Volleyball as part of the BISAC League this year. Our boys’ team won the 3rd place and the girls’ team won the championship, finishing the volleyball season in 1st place!

The BISAC season ended with the Basketball Championship. U14 Girls team won the 2nd place, while our U18 Girls stepped on the 1st place of the podium! Our little ones did not let us down either, the U11 boys’ and girls’ teams obtained 2nd place in a hard tournament at AISB. ISB students involved in these competitions won a considerable number of medals proving remarkable

sporting skills in different sport disciplines, competing against valuable students from other International Schools. More than that, they demonstrated a lot of commitment, they showed consistent fair-play and they respected not just the sport rules but the other athletes, teachers, coaches, spectators as well.

We are immensely proud of our students and we are confident that the BISAC experience is a unique experience for us all. The ISB students have a great time during the competitions, they make new friends in a multi-cultural environment, they spend high quality time with their peers, and they gather precious memories.

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Tournament of Champions.

Lumina Football Cup “The mutual respect and passion seen in every player was not only inspiring for us, but for all the staff members and guests as well.” ISB Eagles Football Team The 15th Edition of the LUMINA Football Cup was another success for ISB teams.

14 teams from 6 different schools competed in the senior section and 30 teams from 12 different schools competed in the junior tournament.

Congratulations to our U14 Football Team for winning the first place and the Top Scorer Award Open Boys Team for winning the first place and Best Player U16 Football Team for winning the 2nd place and Best Player

Congratulations to our Girls’ Team for winning the 2nd and the 3rd place. Our U9 Girls Football Team won the 2nd place and our U11 Girls Football team won the 3rd place. U9 Boys Team came 2nd and U13 Boys Team came 3rd.

A big thank you goes to all the participants and to everyone involved in the organisation of another successful football competition.

“The 2018 Lumina Cup was yet another event from which we have gained a lot of experience. As a team, we have participated in 5 different Lumina cup events. Nonetheless, we can honestly say that the 2018 edition of the Lumina Football Cup was one of the more thrilling competitions we have participated in.

The mutual respect and passion seen in every player was not only inspiring for us, but for all the staff members and guests as well. Additionally, this year, the music played helped keep our minds focused

on the games and created an enjoyable atmosphere for both the players and the spectators. We were also lucky enough to have a spell of good weather. The ISB staff members also did a very good job of providing us with refreshing drinks, which were served at the food stands and at our disposal for the entirety of the tournament.

After weekly trainings with the team and coaches, our open age squad managed to win all three of the matches played and were crowned champions of the Open-age Lumina football tournament of the 2018 edition.

Lastly, we would like to thank the teams who participated in the competition, their coaches, the organisers of the event and of course, our coaches Mr. Turgut and Mr. Oytun and teammates as well. We hope to meet again in the next year’s edition of the Lumina Cup”.

ISB Eagles Football Team

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Primary School ISB Got Talent Our teaching staff unites towards supporting the children in every aspect possible.

ISB’s Got Talent took place on the 4th of June. 36 very talented children, aged 7 to 12, signed up to audition for this competition. Their various performances revealed some very diverse skills: dancing, gymnastic, playing an instrument, acting and even football and magic, which made the jury’s decision really hard.

During the auditions, children got the chance to experience an authentic selection process, making them more responsible with their performance.

Congratulations to the 1st place winner- Golnaz (6C), 2nd place winnerDoria Andreea (6M), 3rd place- Briana

Elena (4N), best solo- Erik Andrei (6M), best group: Gloria Ana, Irina, Maria Carla (4V), Alessia Mara (3B) and audience’s favourite: Ari Sebastien (2H).

Golnaz showed a lot of confidence on the stage with an uplifting dance performance, winning the the judges’ hearts. Doria and Briana showed incredible gymnastic skills, leaving the audience shocked with surprise at the complexity of their artistic performance. Erik proved once again that he has incredible talent, playing very sensibly and at ease a cover of Ed Sheeran - Perfect, at the piano. Gloria,

MS. ELENA STOICA PRIMARY MUSIC TEACHER

Irina, Carla and Alessia combined ballet, gymnastics and piano playing. Last but not least, Ari was the audience’s favourite, touching our hearts with a simple yet tasteful performance of “Amazing Grace”.

The judges of the competition were Miss Nicoleta Motroc, Miss Monica Tele and Miss Teodora Varzaru (Secondary) and our MC for the night was Miss Ana Cuatu.

A big thank you to all the participants and to all involved in this popular event.

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Student Council Organises Easter Egg Hunt ALICE HOWARD, SCHOOL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE FOR 6M

The Student Council (including myself and Mr. Mark Eady, my class teacher) organised an Easter Egg Hunt throughout the four floors, hiding small chocolate eggs in various places. The eggs were more difficult to find as year groups got higher.

The person from each floor who found the most chocolate eggs got a Kinder Mix Chocolate. In the end, all eggs found were given out and shared equally, so that each child would have at least one chocolate egg.

It was fun thinking of all the hiding spots for the eggs!

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Secondary School Overview MR. DAVID NEWSHAM / HEAD OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

Another school year draws to a close and brings an end to a significant chapter in ISB’s history. As I write this piece, our Year 13 students are studying for, and sitting, their A level examinations. They are the final students to sit A levels at ISB and this makes it the end of an era. We wish them well. They complete their exams by early June and then have to wait until mid-August for their results.

This can be a nerve-wracking wait with so much riding on these results. We will formally say goodbye to them and watch them move on to the next stage in their life journey, at our Graduation Ceremony on Saturday June 9th.

They are not the only year group sitting external examinations at the moment.

Our Year 11 students are also in the midst of their IGCSE exams. The IGCSE is, of course, the international version of the exams taken by secondary school pupils in England. Students in over 6000 schools in 145 countries will be sitting their exams at the same time as ours so this is very much a shared experience.

These examinations, and the IB Diploma which replaces our A Level courses, allow our students to gain qualifications which are recognised internationally and which add clear evidence of what they have been able to achieve in their time at school.

They are the culmination of 2 years of work and are, quite rightly, known as “high-stakes” examinations. I am sure they will do themselves proud.

Outside of the classroom, our students from across the school have been busy throughout the second half of the year. This isn’t the place to list all

of the extra-curricular activities, but our students have been involved in competitions and events in various fields of creative arts, language, mathematics, science, sports and, of course, the World Scholar’s Cup - which we were proud to host in April. We have had Maths week, English Week and Humanities Week which have enabled our students to take their learning outside the classroom and to involve themselves in competitions and activities within the school but a little out of the ordinary.

Subject weeks are an integral part of the school calendar and are an important opportunity for students to understand how an individual subject fits into the real world.

I have written before about my belief in the educational philosophy of Kurt Hahn. He wrote “I regard it as the foremost task of education to ensure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial, and above

all, compassion.” Our core values of Learn, Respect, Succeed reflect this philosophy and will remain something the school will strive to develop in all of our students. Competitions, subject weeks, research projects, service work, discussions, debates and challenges all enhance our curriculum and encourage the students to push themselves and to not settle for what they know they can do, but to be willing to take risks and to discover what they didn’t know they could do. We would like to see a greater number of our students taking full part in the opportunities open to them. It is their participation in such events which adds the finishing touches to their education and helps them to achieve success when they leave school.

Even as the end of term nears, our teachers continue to work hard planning lessons which are accessible to all students in the class, have a clear purpose and direction and challenge the students to think for themselves.

These lessons also encourage our students to make links between the subject areas and to explore the latest ideas within a topic. This means that we will keep our students working hard, right up to the end of term and, in the case of Year 10 and Year 12, beyond that into the summer break.

I will end with a statement I have used before and which still holds true, I enter school each morning expecting to be surprised by something our students have shown themselves capable of achieving, and I am very rarely disappointed.

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The ISB Journalism Club Talks about Books with the Owner of Carturesti Book Store ARIANA & JOE MEMBERS OF ISB JOURNALISM CLUB

Extremely interested to find out about the story behind the biggest bookstore chain in Romania and the future of books, we visited Mr. Șerban Radu at his office in Cărtureşti Verona. We found out from Mr. Radu that the story begins in the year 2000, when Mr. & Mrs. Radu opened the first Cărtureşti bookstore in Bucharest. They knew they wanted a book store with a very soothing atmosphere for people who love books.

When we asked what their biggest business challenge was, Mr. Radu said that it was “making reading cool again” - a vision that was soon accomplished because the bookstore’s space was created to offer the perfect opportunity for people to meet each other for a cup of tea or coffee to get inspired and share ideas, or just enjoy the experience of reading a good book.

As the interview went on, we began to uncover the problems and hurdles that

Mr. & Mrs. Radu had to overcome in order to turn their dream into a reality, the main of which was the construction process. The bookstore is not one single building, rather, it is two that have been connected by spiral, almost maze-like staircases interconnected through the shared alleyway. They had previously been under the communist control of Ceauşescu and because of this the inside had been coated in cement - not really expressing the calmness of the type of bookstore he was hoping to achieve. It took a lot of convincing the government in order to get planning and building permission but in the end, he was successful.

The end result took a lot of work but nowhere is the evidence of the work put in more obvious than on the top floor. Once an attic with grey concrete beams, it is now an open space with wooden planks and beams giving off a homely-vibe. In fact, the same could

be said about the entire store. It feels far more like a welcoming home-like environment rather than just another one of the countless stores on the high street.

At the end of our discussion we asked Mr. Serban what he thinks of the online book stores and eBooks gradually taking a lot of the book market now.

Mr. Serban said that technology has indeed had a large impact on how people perceive reading with the growing popularity of eBooks and their practicality. He does believe that there will always be a place for physical books. The physical space may be used as a communal reading space or a cafe with books on the wall where customers can browse the different selections and either buy a hard copy or read it online. A concept that although sounds simple, does seem very effective.

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No Child Grows Up in a Straight Line MR. DEREK WALKER ART TEACHER, SECONDARY SCHOOL

Students in Year 11 and 12 have just completed their journey through the Cambridge arts course. The students prepared a personal portfolio of visual work that has now been sent to the UK for marking by the exam board. It was a pleasure and reward to see the student’s passion for art broaden and forge confidence. Exploring art requires the students to learn new techniques, materials and processes while at the same time producing artistic work that is original and alive with intention. In the classroom teachers and students engage in a dialogue that helps to

Art is a discipline that can be taught, it is a misconception that art is a talent that you either have or you don’t have.

unfold the complexity of the creative process. Both the teacher and students need to be dedicated and passionate to find the answers and solutions to a theme. A good teacher needs to be experienced to the complexity of the creative mind and have the sensitivity to guide individuals to take creative risks.

Like any other skill it can come much easier to some than others. It takes dedication, time and passion to develop creativity. Good practice comes from asking open ended questions allowing the students to drive their work and

accept constructive criticism. Students are allowed to review and refine their work as they progress making links and connections to their personal experience and work of other artists.

The key to the success is to allow an open door policy for the art studio where students can ask for advice and guidance at any point during the school day. The art studio balances the needs of each student through a constant process of differentiation where the teaching needs to be flexible to encourage freedom to think outside of the educational box.

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Spend, Save and Invest Video Competition MR. BOGDAN MANU, BUSINESS STUDIES AND ECONOMICS TEACHER & LAURA TIBULCA, PHD. ECONOMICS TEACHER

“The purpose of the project was to increase the level of Year 6 - Year 12 students’ awareness on spending, saving, investing, to develop Year 12 students’ abilities to organise and deliver an event and increase the level of teamwork and project management for Year 10 students”.

The Business and Economics department challenged Year 10 students to work within a team and create a 1-3 minutes video which explains to a target audience formed

by Year 6 - Year 10 students the differences between Spend, Save and Invest. The theme was “What would you do with 250.000 Lei?” Year 12 students had to form a team and organise a thematic event for more than 100 people. They had to organise, run and evaluate the event, provide support to participants from Year 10 and then write an article for ISB Insight Magazine.

From the six teams that register to the competition, we selected the first place and the second place winners. Please watch the winning videos using the QR codes to the right.

Here it is what two of our Year 12 students had to say about the project they participated in: “What are the things you want to invest in? Whether it is a car, a home or your very own business, it is important to understand the concepts of spending, saving and investing. Year 10 students put their creativity at work through a video competition organized by ISB’s Business and Economics teacher. With the theme of “What would you do with 250,000 Lei?” the challenge was to find ways to encourage this habit. Not only did

Tudor, 1st place winner:

Azra, 2nd place winner:

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the winners get a chance to present their video to the whole school but they also improved their project management skills and built a sense of teamwork - vital parts in any company.

Although they were given very little time to put their minds to work and come up with creative video concepts, all five teams successfully completed this challenge. In order to choose the winners of this competition, Year 12 students took on the role of judges.

In order for us to benefit from this competition, the teachers created a few tasks for us to complete as well. Three groups were chosen based on the successful delivery of their motivation and academic performance. Our first task was to create a design for the potential poster that would be displayed throughout the school as well as a Facebook post.

I decided to contribute to this project because I wanted to improve my understanding of project team development, teamwork and ability to promote projects across various platforms. I learned how important it is to address to your audience properly and customize your project to meet their interests. Learning to prioritize tasks helped me manage my workload and enabled me to complete any assignment I was given and maintain the quality of them. I also enjoy group activities so it was a nice experience to work with my friends.”

Andreea R. Year 12

”Spend, Save, Invest on its own is a simple competition of videos explaining the 3 mentioned terms.

What makes it different, and even unique, in my experience of it, is the fact that it has been an effort of humans. Making our way on an improvised yet constructive manner we managed to construct a community of people working towards a specific of goal. Having presented a good part of the event, I was given the opportunity to not only communicate these universal business and economics ideas but also see how people react to different ways of presentation. I started on a more formal note and while I did get people’s attention to an extent, it was when I got them more involved that they truly seemed to engage in the assembly. It gave me something I think we all need even if we don’t always realize, an audience. People I could speak and interact with.

The result out of this event, for me and I want to believe for everyone was understanding about myself and others by working with my chosen team on very close deadlines and producing together with the Business and Economics teachers an unfo rgettable event.”

Aris S., Year 12

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Humanities Week 2018: Vacaresti, Lipscani, Egypt and Cuba MRS. HELEN WILKINSON GEOGRAPHY TEACHER

“At the centre of the IB Geography course there are 4Ps: place, processes, power and possibilities.”

ISB is an IB World School and Humanities Week has been an opportunity to introduce key concepts, techniques and skills from the International Baccalaureate programmes to Key Stage 3 students.

Place, processes, power and possibilities concepts were investigated first hand in Vacaresti Natural Park and Lipscani.

Year 9 had a bird’s eye view and learnt about the unique series of human and physical processes that led to the formation and protection of Vacaresti; the largest urban nature reserve in Europe. They then created Action Plans to share with the Park Association containing their ideas of possible ways to manage the park for the future. Their ideas included; boardwalks to reduce footpath erosion, an adventure playground and chemical free compost toilets.

Year 7 put their map-skills to good use as they explored the old town of Lipscani searching for evidence of change. In recent years, this previously rundown area of the city, has undergone a process of regeneration and is now a magnet for tourists and local people alike. The students considered possibilities for further improvement of the area and what business they would

like to open if they had the power to do so. New businesses to look out for include; The Petit Café, The Junction Cafe and a shop, on Strada Lipscani, dedicated exclusively to slime!

The National Library has been hosting the Treasures of Ancient Egypt exhibition. This was the perfect opportunity for Year 7 to become critical observers; evaluating the value and limitations of the exhibits by looking at their origin and purpose.

This was used to assess how useful each artifact might be in the quest to understand the mysteries of Ancient Egypt.

In school, Year 8 were putting their thinking skills into action: Location Havana, Cuba 1959. In the scenario, the students were American business people put under house arrest by Fidel Castro’s new regime. They had 10 missions to complete to access the telephone number for the CIA Evacuation Hotline and only one hour to escape before the guard woke up.

Using inquiry and communication skills teams were able to find the clues, solve the puzzles and most escaped within the time.

And, most importantly, great fun was had by all!

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Group 4 Project for IB Science LAVINIA COJOCAR HEAD OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

What is G4P? The group 4 project is an interdisciplinary activity in which all Diploma Programme science students (except ESS students) must participate.

The intention is that students from the different group 4 subjects analyse a common topic or problem.

The exercise should be a collaborative experience where the emphasis is on the processes involved in, rather than the products of, such an activity.

The aims of the G4P are to: • develop an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and their influence on other areas of knowledge • develop and apply 21st century

communication skills in the study of science • become critically aware, as global citizens, of the ethical implications of using science and technology Types of projects that can be done: • Designing and carrying out a laboratory investigation or fieldwork.

• Carrying out a comparative study (experimental or otherwise) in collaboration with another school.

• Collating, manipulating and analysing data from other sources, such as scientific journals, environmental organisations, science and technology industries and government reports.

• Designing and using a model or simulation.

• Contributing to a long-term project organised by the school.

Project stages: The 10 hours allocated to the group 4 project, can be divided into three stages: planning, action and evaluation.

Planning: This stage is crucial to the whole exercise and should last about two hours. The planning stage could consist of a single session, or two or three shorter ones.

The CENTRAL THEME is voted from a list of 5 themes chosen by the teachers.

After the theme is chosen all group 4 students meet in their designated groups to “brainstorm” and discuss the central theme, sharing ideas and

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information and choose a topic related to the theme for their project.

ACTION: This stage should last around six hours Students should investigate the topic in mixed-subject groups.

There should be collaboration during the action stage; findings of investigations should be shared with other students within the mixed-subject group. During this stage, in any practically based activity, it is important to pay attention to safety, ethical and environmental considerations.

EVALUATION: This stage should last around two hours We (as a school) decided this should be in the form of a Science Fair where younger students circulate around displays summarising the activities of each group.

How is G4P assessed?

The G4P is not assessed with a mark by the IB board.

Each student has to write a reflective statement on their involvement in the group 4 project.

This statement must be included on the coversheet for each internal assessment investigation For students doing two Sciences, only one reflective statement should be written and used at the beginning of both IA. The reflective statement should have around 50 words and you should consider some of the following aspects: How are the aims of the G4P addressed?

What was the role of each student in the process?

How does the G4P allow the students to learn more about their strengths and

weaknesses when working in a group?

The schedule for our first G4P was: Thursday, the 17th of May 2018, assembly which included: - the general presentation of the G4P - voting for the theme - group allocation (done by your teachers) Wednesday, the 23rd and 30th of May 2018, during the enrichment hours, the students met in their groups to brainstorm, chose their project and made a clear plan on what they needed to do during the action stage.

Tuesday, 19th of June 2018, the action stage took place.

Wednesday, 20th of June 2018, evaluation took place.

More details on what happened during these last two stages will be given in the December issue of the Insight Magazine.

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International Baccalaureate Programme News MR. YUSUF ORHAN IB COORDINATOR

As the school year comes to an end, so does the first year of the IB Diploma Programme at ISB. The Diploma Programme has become very popular in the community in a relatively short period of time. The admissions department is currently very busy scheduling appointments at the school for prospective students and visitors who have shown great interest in the programme for the next academic year.

Our Year 12 students, commonly known as DP-1 students, are now working hard on their Internal Assessments (IA), written and oral works, as well as their Group 4 project, which they will showcase to the whole school. In the meantime, they are also busy with their TOK presentation.

As part of their CAS commitment, a group of Year 12 students helped as volunteers for the World Scholars’ Cup-Romania which took place at ISB and for the first time in Bucharest on 28th April.

ISB is proud to offer a wide range of subjects in the 2018-19 academic year. Please see the list of subjects below: English Language & Literature English Literature Turkish Literature School Supported Self-Taught Literature (SSST, Romanian and Chinese) English/French/Spanish (Language B & ab initio) Business & Management

Economics

Chemistry

Geography

Physics

Information Technology for the Global Society (ITGS)

Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)

History

Mathematics & Mathematical Studies

Psychology

Visual Arts

Biology

Theatre

Year 12 proudly holding the World Scholar’s Cup trophies

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2nd Place for ISB Students in the NASA Space Settlement Contest MS. MADALINA CIOC PR, MARKETING AND ADMISSIONS MANAGER

“It is up to us to decide whether exploring the universe is worth the risks and money. Union is a project for a settlement for 10,000 people.

Our aim is to provide a new world, a better world, where everyone is united in mind and soul. With the help of dedicated, trust-worthy and courageous individuals, from the ones that will help build the new home to its magnificent future residents, we are going to create a bright future for everyone involved. Children, adults or elders, everybody has a special place in our society. Whether their role is big or small, each will be a very important member of Union”. Ilinca and Ariana

about their project.

We are extremely proud of our Year 9 students, Ilinca L. and Ariana P, who won the 2nd place in the NASA Space Settlement Contest.

Both of them worked very hard together with their teacher, Mr. Ali Cabas at the Lumina Education Centre (CEL) to complete a science research and put together 100 pages of an extremely well-documented project called “Union”.

This year, ISB participated for the second time in this famous science competition where students conduct research and write 100 pages of unique content explaining all the details of

a sustainable space habitat for a minimum of 10000 people.

All the entries are judged by aerospace professionals. This year, 2500 entries were submitted and 10,000 students participated.

The students with the winning projects will be able to participate in the International Space Development Conference which will be held in Los Angeles. They will have the chance to meet with students from all over the World, NASA astronauts, space engineers, academicians, including Jeff Bezos, who is the founder of Blue Origin and Amazon companies.

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Secondary English Week 2018 MS. JANET HUNTER HEAD OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

During the first week back after Easter, there were plenty of fun and creative activities for all year groups in English.

First Language Creativity Year nine wrote responses to a poetry booklet created by The English Department. We were all impressed by many students who had thought deeply about the meaning of the poems they read and created their own personal artwork, sculptures and writing. We really enjoyed reading these, Ariana P and Aysenur O responded to ”Miss World” by Benjamin Zephaniah very perceptively and Ilinca S did very well to write her own sonnet in response to ”Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare.

Key Stage three students were invited to contribute to N(ot) F(or) M(uggles) Magical Merchandise, a catalogue of magical goods. Nearly forty students entered and the three winners were: Maria V 7S with her self-writing diary, Amir H 8I the creator of magical glasses and Razvan K 8S who designed Eye-Mulet: the magical holiday maker.

The judges also mentioned Alexandra C 7I’s Magical Bag as Most Useful, Roman P 7I’s Mood-reflecting T-shirt as Most Eye-catching, Celal Y 7S’s Magical Smartwatch as Most Likely to be Invented (eventually) by Muggles, Manolia J 8B’s Flying Servant Bed as Most Convenient and Rumeysa C 9B’s Fiction Cup as Most Imaginative.

Year 10 read to primary students, strengthening their relationship with younger students and wrote their own childrens books. Miss Carol mentioned that Tudor B made the stories particularly fun by giving the characters different voices.

Bright Speakers was also a success this year with Catarina F and Delia D delivering their speeches about fund raising for charity. Both girls delivered

superb speeches and even spoke in the key stage assemblies, demonstrating their leadership abilities.

The winner of the short story competition was Julia G, with her dual-narrative story ”Almost an Encounter” based on the idea of ”An Entangled World.” The story is both engaging and ambitious. You can read the story in this edition of Insight. We

are lucky to have such intelligent and creative students in our school.

Fun in English as a Second Language: In Year 7, students wrote a response to The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo, Year 8 students used their creativity and language skills to make a leaflet for a youth centre and year ten made English trivia posters.

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Spelling Bee Competition ISB ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

During English Week (23rd-27th April), all Key Stage 3 students were able to enjoy the challenge of ISB’s fifth successful Spelling Bee Competition, organised by Mr. Posner as part of secondary English week’s activities, and held in the theatre on Thursday April 26th, to discover the school’s very best wordsmiths. All of year 7, 8 and 9 were present and cheered their colleagues through each round

of increasingly challenging words.

The winners in each year have been awarded a certificate, a green card and a massive bar of chocolate. They should also pat themselves on the back as the competition was fierce indeed.

The winners were as follows: in Year 7 Roman P., in Year 8 Ahmet K. and in Year 9 Vlad C. Well done to all those who participated in each team and in the prior elimination rounds in class.

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English Week

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ALMOST AN ENCOUNTER JULIA G YEAR 12I

HER What is my world? It’s the street I live on, the path from home to school and back, it’s the bus line 181 and the tram line 2. It’s the path I make every Sunday I go to the church, and the same old truck I do on my bike in the nearby forest when I feel overwhelmed by the worlds of the others. My world is the little café I go to when I just feel tired and the redheaded boy always sitting in the corner, by the counter always with a cup of green tea and blue streaks in his hair.

HIM What is my world? It’s my room, where I can be myself no matter what and the psychiatrist’s room in the hospital nearby.

It’s the local pharmacy, where everyone knows me it’s the library where I used to hide from bullies from school. It’s the bookshop I always enter, spend there hours and hours and no money at all. My world is the little café I go to when I just feel tired and the girl with pink bun sitting by the window with a cup of ice tea and one eye blue and one hazel.

HER I love going to that café, I open my sketchbook and draw. I specifically like drawing the boy. He is somewhat a mystery to me. I like to imagine he must be an artist too, that he feels misunderstood or maybe he was a member of a cult who had run away. I like to imagine that’s true. It makes my drawings better, I think, when there is some depth in people that I put on paper, it makes me think like I know them, as if I was part of their world.

HIM The café is tranquil. From my spot in the corner, I can see everything: people outside, cars passing by, waitress carrying drinks around and her, the girl with a pink bun. She is drawing something. I wonder what does she draw. It’s kind of weird, but she always is here, always in the same spot, reading, writing or drawing. She is never on her phone, she never uses a laptop, I’ve never seen her wearing headphones. I take a sip HER He took a sip. Just when I want to take a look at him. I can’t. I have to wait. I look again. But he still drinks. He stares at me. He doesn’t glance, he stares. He had to see me looking. I put down my sketchbook and pencils. I look away trying not to blush. I order one more coffee. It makes me feel better whenever I drink it. And it’s not that I need to feel now, no, I just want to, because… everyone wants to feel better sometimes. I take my book out of my bag. I love, “Anne of Green Gables”, it’s been my favourite book since I was a child, maybe I still am somewhere down deep. I don’t look at the boy or at sketchbook again.

HIM He was looking at me. Do I have something on my face? I look at my reflection in my phone. No, nothing, the same face as always nothing new. The same face I hate. But yet she looked at me. I don’t know why. I’m not sure I want to know.

Not that I’m not interested. But I’m not sure I would like to know. She probably thought I did something weird, which I probably did, unaware of that. Maybe it was the was the way I drunk my tea. I look at the waitress. She’s pretty, I’m sure she has a boyfriend, I’ve seen her leaving the café once. I had nowhere else to go, and I sat on the bench on the other side of the street. She was leaving with this tall, handsome man. He had blond hair in a ponytail a leather jacket, tight green trousers perfectly fitting him. He must have attended the gym because I could see how wide is shoulders were. It was

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amazing to look at a pair like that. Her, beautiful, tall with chocolate hair and eyes and him, tall and muscular, both so well dressed and happy, it’s hard to believe this can be real, I hardly imagined me with anyone at all, not to mention some as perfect as those too.

HER He checks the waitress up. I shouldn’t look at him. I go back to my book. I can’t read. I look around. There a man coming in. He’s not a man really. He can’t be more than twenty. He’s no Adonis, but there’s something him about him. He has blond hair, the tide in a ponytail. His trousers are a bit too fitting, I can see every muscle underneath. He has a leather jacket, which is a shame because I can tell that he’s well built. His face, however, is extremely ordinary, nothing special.

Few freckles and pimples, grey bulging eyes. He’s far from perfection. But I can see what does the waitress see in him when she kisses him. I look away. I hate people doing that in public. It makes me jealous, not of him or her, buy of them together. I envy people who have someone. I look through the window, out into the world of haste and stress, the world of responsibilities, the world I’m not part of or the world I deny to be part of. It’s not my world. It’s the world that wants to have me. It doesn’t make sense, or maybe it does.

HIM She kisses the guy, the same guy. I’m jealous, that’s weird. Being jealous of a stranger is weird. I can how great it must be to kiss some like that. I look at the girl with a pink bun. She looks away, and I know she feels the same. She is jealous, she probably wished she could kiss him right now. That’s obvious, he looks like a Greek god, and she, the waitress, looks like a goddess. I look at my phone, open Instagram and check photos of people I don’t even know. It’s odd, but it is so fascinating, those people, they give up their privacy to be known. It’s just odd, but maybe it’s just me. I look at the girl, again. She seems lonely. Or maybe I’m going mad again. I stand up, but stand up too.

HER The stopped kissing at last. She gets back to work, and he takes a sit. I take my book again and start reading, but I can’t, again. I wish I could focus, but it seems like I never can. I follow the fluted letter on the cover, their painted gold on plain, brown cardboard. I smile to myself and hope no one notices it. I sigh and take my wallet out. I don’t need to ask for a bill, I know exactly how much does my coffee cost and I can just leave the money and be sure the waitress will collect it. I want to talk to this boy first, it seems like he would like, or maybe it’s just me, wanting to find someone to talk to.

I stand up, and he stands up too.

HIM She is clearly about to leave. I didn’t notice she left money before. Just in case I do the same. I want to head towards her, but I go a bit to the right, where the doors are just so she wouldn’t think I want to be pushy. She turns around and leaves I go after her. I wish I could talk to her. I wish we maybe could be friends. In my imagination is see her as my friend and as we laugh, but I know it’s foolish. I don’t even know her.

HER He wants to leave. He leaves money and heads towards the door. I don’t let him pass me. I take my stuff and leave. I open the door and hold them, I know he is just behind me. I turn right and go as fast as I can. I pray to God he will never know I wanted to talk to him. Maybe we could be friends, or maybe, my imagination gives me so many ideas, there was a slight chance for something more. Something amazing, straight out of a novel. But that’s insane, and I know it.

HIM She holds the door, she must have seen me leaving. She turns right. She goes very fast, she must be in haste, it would be strange if I followed her. Turn left. I don’t want to turn around. I don’t want to think that maybe I’ve lost a friend. But that’s impossible; you cannot lose something you’ve never had, can you? Nevermind, I almost run. I hope she will never know I wanted to find a friend in her.

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Year 12 Students Volunteer to Help Touch Romania Charity Organisation RAZVAN L. YEAR 12 STUDENT

Year 12 students involved in CAS and the Duke of Edinburgh Award have volunteered to help Touch Romania Charity Organisation with a couple of their charity projects: Casa Agar and the Bucharest Half Marathon. We have asked two of our students from Year 12 to talk about the two projects they have been involved in. We invite you to read about their experience there.

“Casa Agar is a maternal centre where single mothers who don’t have social or financial support, live with their children.

I decided to volunteer there to fulfil my volunteer hours, however, as I kept visiting the centre, I felt more content and sympathetic towards the children and their mothers. Now, I feel very satisfied seeing the children’s smiles as I babysit them and tell them stories. The children are very good at following my instructions and they also remember the stories that I have told them. I feel I’m an influential figure in their lives and as I’ve become closer to them, I’m becoming increasingly

fond of them. Now, every time I visit them, I’m thinking I am making a difference in their lives.

The maternal centre helps in preventing the abandonment of newborns and also helps in providing support to the families.

It is a great opportunity that the school offered me and I am grateful for the time I spend helping at the centre.”

Sali Zeitouni, Year 12 Student “Romania, being a developing country, needs certain types of events to attract tourists and foreign investment in order for the country to thrive. Many events are organised to attract tourists, especially in Bucharest, being the capital city. One of the annual big events that happened in Bucharest on the 12th and 13th May, was the Volkswagen Half Marathon: On the 12th May was the one kilometre marathon for children aged between 5 and 15 and on Sunday the 13th May, was the actual half marathon for adults and children over 15.

I was at the Touched Romania stand for most of the event. The atmosphere was vibrant, with music being played on the stage for the small children to warm up before they started their marathon. There were many major sponsors that had their stands there, teaching small kids all kinds of useful things. For example, McDonalds was giving out apples for the small kids so they would have the required nutrients and vitamins for their race and this would also teach the kids that eating healthy is crucial for having a healthy life.

Of course, the children at the event would not run the full length of 21 kilometers of an actual half marathon, but this event was more about making them understand and learn that exercising and eating healthy are crucial for a healthy life. Before the start of each race, the organisers explained that when someone trips and falls to the ground they should help them to stand up, teaching the children about fair play and good manners”.

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A Team of Brave ISB Teachers Participated in the Outward Bound Training

MS. TEO VARZARU ART TEACHER

Arrival. Shock. Afternoon of ice breakers

“What is this about?’ we thought to ourselves…

... And here we were expecting another one of those long, boring training seminars that you can’t wait to finish.

So of course we all knew the rules of a regular course, “introduction, name-learning games, ice breakers then team bonding games and so on…

What we did not expect was to enter the room and discover that we were about to sleep in the same room with 10 other female teachers from other international schools from all over the country. Needless to say, we found ourselves out of our comfort zones.

What got us out of this initial panic was meeting the other roommates and befriending them. The good part was that we all took it as if we were back in camp so we bonded with this idea in mind.

After a magical journey through the Transylvanian hills and forests, we arrived at the Outward Bound camp site. We noticed some pretty dandy houses, a small pond, a converted barn full of suspended ropes, zip-lines and off-ground rope bridges.

The other participants were so open

and friendly right away so the first night seemed more than bearable.

Second day. Adventures. Teamwork On the second day of the course we set off on a journey that would last the whole day.

We learned map-reading skills and orienteering, played many constructive games, saw deer and befriended a trusty dog that followed us most of the way.

We took turns in leading and following, we were entrusted with the well-being of a single egg and the creation of a team song.

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61 The day ended with some light rain, as we were on our way back, followed by an amazing rainbow.

Third day. Overcoming obstacles. Making friends. Building confidence On the third day we didn’t even realise that we were going to face a challenge so overwhelming with many emotions.

Now, you must understand that because this is called the “experience academy”, most of the training sessions were outdoors. And not ‘on a field’ outdoor but remember the giant barn with the ropes?!

So look at us; a bunch of teachers learning how to master the equipment for wall climbing. The participants were of all ages and came from different backgrounds; however this wasn’t even a factor when teams were created. All of us took turns in securing the ropes or actually doing the climbing part. I have to mention that we were fairly high up, so the perspective of climbing on those suspended rope bridges was intimidating even for the bravest of us.

We found ourselves in a situation where we had to push the boundaries of our newly formed trust to the limits and give them reasons to feel safe in our hands. We had a steep learning curve to discover about our strengths and weaknesses and call upon our skills as teachers to better them.

Everyone that night had overcome some fears.

Even if it was fear of heights, fear of getting ridiculed by others, fear of falling, or trust issues.

It started as a game, but we all got caught up in it. There were even tears of joy in the end.

Despite the difficulty and complexity of the situations we encountered and had to solve, the communication between the 13 members was optimal, regardless of the activities; this helped us achieve our goals, even though the activities were far out of our comfort zone.

A unique experience that demonstrated to us all, how important the support of your peers is and how much it can help not just in crisis situations but in developing trust, self-awareness and tolerance.

With this in mind, the members of the Outward Bound ISB team: Ingrid Stanciu, Teo Varzaru & Nicoleta Motroc suggest you should consider leaving your comfort zone from time to time.

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Congratulations to Aida (Year 5M), awarded with the silver medal at the Romanian National Olympiad of Informatics.

Computing Competitions at ISB MS. MONICA TELE COMPUTING TEACHER

Starting my first year of teaching ICT at ISB, I noticed that Primary students love competitions, so I decided to enrol the students in as many relevant competitions as possible each year.

At the moment, ISB students are participating both in local competitions

Bebras Competition Assembly

and in international ones.

ISB students are given the opportunity to participate in several internal competitions, such as:

• Class Competitions (Year 4 Tynker Project competition – creating the biggest number and the most interesting programming projects);

• House Team Competitions (e.g. BeeBot House Team Race for Year 2, Treasure Hunt for Years 4-6);

• Individual Competitions (e.g.

Keyboarding for each year group); • Golden Mouse – the class

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with the biggest number of house points in a week win 30 more minutes of extra time in the Computing Lab. The International or External Competitions ISB students partic.

• Bebras Computing Challenge 2017-2018 (individual competition for students older than 10). The Bebras Computing Challenge introduces computational thinking to students.

It is organised in over 40 countries and designed to get students all over the world excited about computing.

This year we had 46 students from Primary and Secondary enrolled in the contest. They prepared for the competition during Enrichment Day in the lab and also in their spare time following the instructions from Google Classroom.

• COBIS Creative challenge 2018 (class competition – project based).

Students work together as a class to create a 3-4 minute film celebrating where they live.

This year each Year 6 class created its own project during the Computing lessons. They made the videos outside the school’s hours.

Please use this QR code to watch the videos that Esma and Yi Xin made for their COBIS Creative Challenge 2018:

One of the proud winners of the Golden Mouse Competition

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ISB Music Wins the Best Solo Act Trophy at the Interschool Talent Show MRS. ADINA IACOB MUSIC TEACHER SECONDARY SCHOOL

The music students and volunteers at ISB have been going from strength to strength. We now have more and more students signing up, tuning up and rocking out.

This term we have had bands and instrumentalists sharing their soundscapes at the Talent Show and the World Scholars Cup. At the time of writing, we are preparing for an end-of-year concert that will showcase the musical talent within the school and the scope and range of their talent.

Ruan M., GianMarco and Giuliano and Alex S. An outstanding performance!

Erik M., Sanskriti S. and Carla D., the Primary School Band

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Ali B. won the trophy for the Best Solo Act

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ISB’s Got Talented and Beautiful Maria MS. MADALINA CIOC PR, MARKETING AND ADMISSIONS MANAGER

Everybody in the school knows Mrs. Maria, who has been working with ISB for eight years as part of the kitchen staff team. Nevertheless, this is not Maria’s special talent. Maria is special because she paints and she always has a big smile on her face. Her smile has the magical power to turn your day for the better in seconds and she is also “a giver”, without asking for much in return.

When I saw Maria’s work around the school, I knew I wanted to introduce

her to you. Very few of us know that the painted wall in the ISB cafeteria is her work, or that the paintings in various staff members’ offices are gifts from her. Maria will paint for you if she would like to say “thank you” or “I like you” - I know this because I am the proud owner of one of her paintings.

Maria told me that she learned how to paint from the Internet. She also told me a beautiful story on how she started “to paint the Spectrum school”.

She came to work during a snow day,

when the school was closed. After she had finished her work, she started to paint a wall in the primary school, using water colours. She didn’t stop until she had painted an entire wall with big, beautiful sun flowers to brighten the day. “I did it for the children”, Maria recalls. And she also shared with me that seeing their surprised little faces the next morning when they saw the painting was the best reward she could have got.

From that moment on, whenever she

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would have time she would paint, either for the school, or for her colleagues and friends. Her paintings are an extension of Maria’s smile and kindness.

There are so many other things I found out about Maria: she trained as a mine electrician, she likes to read “conspiracy” novels, she is captivated

by Nicholas Tesla’s life and work; she

has two beautiful children, a son and a daughter. Her full name is Maria Vreme. During the communist regime, Maria was asked to handwrite Nicolae Ceausescu’s speeches using oversized letters on cards because she had the most beautiful writing and she could write really big letters. The dictator, who was very short-sighted, didn’t

want to use glasses which were considered a sign of weakness.

As a “writing exercise”, I frequently try to find THAT WORD which best describes a situation, a state of mind, a person. I have been thinking for a while what would be the word that best describes Maria. I think the word is “dedication”.

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ISB Hosts the First World’s Scholar Cup Bucharest Round MS. MADALINA CIOC PR, MARKETING AND ADMISSIONS MANAGER

The International School of Bucharest was the proud host of the World Scholar’s Cup inaugural event in Romania, on Saturday, 28th April, 2018 starting 8.00am.

40 students from ISB participated in this competition, which brought together every year since 2007, over 20,000 students from 50 countries.

We welcomed to ISB Albanian students who joined the competition along with teams from the International Computer High School Bucharest.

This year’s theme was Entangled World. Teams of students (ages 10 to 18) participated in four events: Team Debate, Collaborative Writing, Scholar’s Chal¬lenge, and Scholar’s Bowl. Students explored connected topics in history, science, literature, the arts, and technology - and together as a team, they applied their learning both collaboratively and competitively in a safe and supportive setting.

Congratulations to all our 33 students

who participated in this well-known competition. We are extremely proud of them, especially because 30 of them qualified for the 2018 Global Round in Barcelona.

The aim of World Scholar’s Cup is to inspire young people of all backgrounds a love of learning, a confidence in new skills, and a sense of global citizenship.

I am positive that their participation in the Barcelona Global Round in July will be the perfect opportunity for them to reinforce these very important life skills.

“The World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) is an international team academic program that has builds a community of future scholars and leaders and allows students to discover the natural strengths and skills they never knew they had. Students of all backgrounds and academic levels are more than welcome to join. All you need is a team of three students with a lot of dedication and the will to work hard - it is, after all, a competition. There are

four main events: the Scholar’s challenge, Collaborative writing, Team Debate and the Scholar’s Bowl. The first event is an individual task and the other three rely on how well you can work with your teammates - what will you do when the clock is ticking and you can’t decide on an answer?

This competition is not looking for the top students in a class, it’s looking for people who can use logic and general knowledge to find the answer to a question. It’s a competition that combines all academic subjects and tests your limits of knowledge. As a team, we found it a pleasure to compete and participate. We were very excited when we found out that we had qualified for the Global Round in Barcelona. Being able to represent ISB outside of Romania in a globally recognised competition, for the first time, would be an honour.”

Ariana Li, Joanna Clarke Year 12 Students

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At ISB the students in Primary interact with a wide range of software.

Excellent Results of the ISB Students at the 16th Edition of Infomatrix World’s Final

ISB hosted the 16th edition of the Infomatrix World Final Competition which took place during 11-13th May. This year, more than 700 students and teachers from 43 countries participated in the Competition, presenting over 350 projects in the categories of Programming, Computer Art, Hardware Control, Short Movie, Robotics, Drone, Maze.

An alert system prior to the occurrence of natural disasters (floods, earthquakes) - the brilliant work of a team of students from Romania, or an inexpensive tool that can be used in agriculture on accidental land, robots that can help people with medical problems or toys that can help children learn programming more easily, were just a few of the multitude of projects that were presented at Infomatrix International IT Competition.

Congratulations to our students who won the gold, silver and bronze medal in the Infomatrix Short Movie Category. This year’s theme was “Love conquers all”.

Gold: Kevser E. & Melis Z. with “My story” Silver: Adile K. & Gulnur G. with “Roof of love” Bronze: Meryem B. & Zeynep K. with “Serendipity” Well done, girls! You made us extremely proud.

Many thanks to the sponsors for offering important prizes for the winners: Star Storage, Microsoft, IBM, ASUS, iStyle, PharmaLink, Solid System and StarTech Team.

A big thank you goes to all the participants of Infomatrix 2018 who are already preparing the technology of the future. The projects they have brought to ISB are fully demonstrating this.

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ISB Journalism Club Visited Romfilatelia

Mr. Sinan Kosak and the members of his journalism club visited and interviewed Mrs Cristina Popescu, General Director of Romfilatelia.

They had the unique opportunity of learning more about the fascinating world of stamps and just how important they are when reflecting a country’s history and culture. Thank you Mrs. Popescu!

e-mail: admissions@isb.ro

tel: (+40) 21 306 95 30

1R, Gara Catelu Str., Bucharest