Insight Issue 2 December 2014
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Another fun filled half term here in Early Years!
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hanks to all the support the Baker books sale received we have managed to get lots of lovely new books for Early Years. The children have been able to go and have a story in our new cozy book corner! Mrs. Vicky Seeshaan, Nursery Teacher
Nursery V enjoying our new books
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n Nursery we have been learning all great pictures. We loved getting messy about autumn and shapes this half term. with some autumn coloured finger paint! We have explored the changing colours of Mrs. Vicky Seeshaan, Nursery Teacher the leaves and used them to create some
We love to get messy
Exploring autumn colours December 2014 3
Reception Under the Sea
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eception have been interested in ‘Under the Sea’ this term. We have been learning about sea creatures, creating our own wave machines, decorating our role play areas and doing lots of ‘Under the sea’ crafts. After a visit to the Aquarium we all made our own aquariums using recycled shoe boxes. We read ‘The Rainbow Fish’ and talked about the importance of friendship and each gave a friend in the class a silver scale. We also read ‘Who Sank the
Boat’ and made predictions about which objects would float and sink in our water tray. We made a giant boat from a box that we sat in to sing ‘Row, row, row your boat’. We have also been working hard with our phonics and some of us are beginning to read and write words. In Maths we have been counting and matching quantities to the relevant numeral. Ms. Kiti Vaughan and Corina Dume, Reception Teachers
Painting our ocean boxes Fun with numbers
Who sank the boat?” 4 Insight
Row, row, row your boat
Terrific Toys and Big Bad Wolves in Year 1!
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Sailor’s hats for Book Week!
n English Year 1 have been looking at traditional tales and have learned a lot of interesting things about books. We talked about authors, illustrators, parts of a book and we have also learned about main events in a story, characters, beginning, middle and end. We now know
that traditional tales have special story language such as “Once upon a time” and “They lived happily ever after”. In class 1A we invited Mrs. Ioana Bardas, Yannis’s mother to come and read a story to us. She taught us lots of interesting things and we had fun reading together.
Measuring length using cubes and making number bonds in maths December 2014 5
Year 1 Pushing and Pulling
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n Maths we have been working on addition and subtraction facts. We have been working hard using counters and number lines to complete number sentences. We have also been doing lots of practical maths this term. We had great fun using water to fill containers and we
understand the words ‘full’, ‘half full’, ‘nearly full’, ‘nearly empty’ and empty. We weighed lots of different things using a balance scale and we know how to find the lighter and heavier object. It has been great fun doing these hands on activities and we even made peppermint creams! Yum!
Sorting pushes and pulls
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n Science we have been finding out about different movements and pushes and pulls. We have been playing lots of games and had fun testing pushes and pulls in some experiments. We now know that we can change the speed or direction of a moving object by pushing or pulling it. We also made our own push and pull pop up toys!
We had great fun creating wiggly snakes by folding paper and we talked about old toys and how they are different to toys now. We made an old fashioned circus toy. We also had lots of fun bringing our own toys to school and sharing them with the rest of the class. We talked about if our toys were old or new, if they could do anything special, why we liked them so much and how they felt to touch. We painted portraits In Humanities we have been developing of our toys, trying to make them as similar our art skills this term in relation to toys. as possible. 6 Insight
Testing pushes and pulls
Painting the outside of a push and pull toy
Experimenting with changing speed and direction December 2014 7
Favourite Moments from Year 2
Class 2K
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ow, we cannot believe it is wintertime already! We have been so busy learning and of course having fun this term. Here are a few of our favourite moments from Term 1. We really enjoyed learning about Medieval castles. We made our own castles and displayed them on our class corridor. We also made a large book all about castles which was voted the best book in KS1 and we had fun dressing up as Medieval knights and princesses. “
Sara Maria, Tudor Ioan and Aysenur, class 2K. “Our class assembly was all about Traditional Tales. It was lots of fun because we explored many different stories that we enjoy reading and we performed a song and dance to a well-known Goldilocks song. We also enjoyed dressing up in the role of different story characters. Being on stage was a little nerve wrecking but we felt proud of our hard work and of each other.” Amina, Tudor Ianis, Sophia-Maria and Yasen, class 2K.
Year 2K Traditional Tales Authors (The Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson)
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Class 2P
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e really liked the work we did on symmetry this year. We made symmetrical butterflies and painted them. We also found symmetrical lines in shapes and in everyday objects around us. We made a wonderful symmetrical display which can be seen outside our classroom.”
Rares and Ferhat, class 2P “We really liked learning about instructions. We made lots of paper crafts by following different sets of instructions and we baked delicious gingerbread. Also as part of our homework we had fun making crafts with our parents. We made beautiful autumn crafts.”
2K display their Medieval Castles as part of their work in Humanities
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Class 2M
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y favourite memory from term 1 was when we made the pictures of night skies and rainbows for Science. We were learning about light sources. It was fun and interesting. We learnt that the moon is actually not a light source.” Kubra and Rana, class 2M
“My favourite memory from Term 1 was doing the ‘Wake and Shake’ during Health and Fitness Week. I really liked the funny songs and dancing and moving our bodies in silly movements.” Stefan and Acar, class 2M.
Year 2M created eye catching night skies by blending oil pastilles
Class 2S
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e really enjoyed learning about our feelings in our PSHE lessons. It was fun discussing the different ways that people can react when they are happy, sad or angry. We learnt a special song all about feelings and about being a good friend.” Jasmine and Yi Jia (Nicoleta), class 2S “We really enjoyed baking and eating our gingerbread this term. We carefully followed
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instructions and used time words to link each instructions. In Humanites we found it very interesting learning about different celebrations around the world. We also enjoyed visiting a local mosque and church. It was fun to learn new things outside of the classroom.” Mohamed and Tudor, class 2S
Year 3 Are About To Explode
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Which shades should we used to make it look realistic
his week in Year 3 we have been having a blast creating our own volcanoes. This is not an easy feat of course, it is nothing like climbing a volcano but it does take careful planning and preparation. A number of items were required before we could start: paper mache, cardboard, a plastic bottle and that is just to name but a few. As you can see from our pictures
Working together we achieved more
it is pretty messy work, but slowly our volcanoes took shape and with the help of: 1tablespoon warm water, some liquid soap, food colouring, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and finally some vinegar our volcanoes erupted and all that hard work was worth it. Mr. John Murphy, Year 3 Teacher
Making a volcano is not an easy task, it requires a lot of thinking and preparation December 2014 11
Travel through time with Year 4
Exploring the pyramids
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he highlight of our second term in Year 4 has been our fascinating Humanities topic in which we have travelled back through time, some 5000 years to discover all about the Ancient Egyptians. We have investigated how the pyramids were built, deciphered hieroglyphic codes and learned how to mummify people! We had the chance to put our knowledge into action in our trip to the Ancient Egypt exhibit which you can see we really enjoyed! All the classes have also enjoyed our ‘Solids, liquids and gases’ unit this term where we have conducted lots of experiments to test the properties of various materials. We investigated the particles in solids, liquids and gases, looked at how materials can change state and discovered if these changes are reversible. We have also gone back in time in our English unit this term ‘Historical Stories’ were we looked at a range of stories set in the past. We identified evidence of 12 Insight
historical settings, explored characters and wrote our own alternative endings to historical stories. The Prince and the Pauper was our focus novel for the unit and we enjoyed making the story come alive with a range of drama activities. In Maths we have also been busy this term. We learned many practical skills such as reading the time, weighing objects and interpreting data from timetables in our ‘Measurement’ unit. We are currently exploring and making various charts (including pie charts, pictograms, bar charts and Venn diagrams) as part of our ‘Data Handling’ unit and applying this knowledge to our Humanities and Science work. So it has been a super second term in Year 4 and we still have Art week to enjoy before the holidays; the theme this year is ‘Peace’. We wish you a peaceful and relaxing holiday and we look forward to a busy and prosperous 2015! Mr. Scott Cable, Year 4 Leader
Beware of the mummy!
A puzzling situation December 2014 13
Shakespeare Rocks at ISB
The whole cast of the show
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ear 5 performed ‘Shakespeare Rocks’ in the Theatre, on 27th November. The theatre was crammed full of parents eager to see this year’s excellent extravaganza of singing, dancing and acting. Year 5 had learned many songs and sung them with great gusto on the final day’s performance. Students tried hard to deliver their lines with their newly learned acting
skills much to the pleasure of the audience. There were many fine solo performances with both acting and singing and many students showed off their fine dancing skills. Will Shakespeare may even have enjoyed it himself... Mr. Robin Morrison, Year 5 Teacher
Shakespeare & Co with the Queen 14 Insight
Film & Giant Poppies Making and Lots of Fun
6A
produced a short film called “The Mysterious Disappearance� about a girl looking for her father. She had help from two detectives. During the search the detectives encounter another group
that was also searching for him. When they finally track him down they realize it was all just a prank for his birthday. The Assembly ended with a dance celebrating the end of the search for her dad.
6K
has been involved in various This term Year 6K made their own electric activities in Science, English and bulb or they have cooked milkshake and Math. The new Cambridge System, enables cake. us to use our practical skills more often.
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n November 6M had their assembly on in wars around the world. We also made Remembrance Day. We looked at some giant poppies in an art lesson as a symbol of the ways people remember things and of remembrance. thought about those who died fighting December 2014 15
En garde, prêts, allez! Karina Vasile, our Fencing Champion
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During the competition
arina’s favourite sport is fencing. She has been training with passion, commitment, enthusiasm since she heard the word “en garde” for the first time. Her hard work has now paid off: Karina is one of the champions. She won first place at her age category (10-11yrs) and the second place at the next age category (1213yrs) in an international competition at Shumen, Bulgaria. In November, Karina participated in the Aramis Cup, organised by Romanian Fencing Federation in partnership with ACS Aramis Club, and won the third place
at both age categories. Romanian Fencing Federation invited Karina to participate, together with other champions to a fencing demonstration during the Champions Parade which took place at Otopeni Airport on Wednesday, 19th December. Karina’s success story is nevertheless an uncomplicated story. Passion, enthusiasm, dedication and hard work make you a champion. Well done, Karina, we are very proud of you! Ms. Madalina Cioc, PR & Admission Officer
Karina, first place at Shumen Fencing Competition
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ISB Choir
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his year ISB has started a big new project which involves many happy students and lots of good singing. The ISB Choir has 60 members. They are students from 3, 4, 5 and 6 Year Groups. They have attented the auditions and they were recruited for their singing abilities. The Isb Choir has rehearsals weekly.
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The students, conducted by Miss Ioana Damian, are preparing a various programme for great concerts. This activity develops children’s confidence, their ability to listen and perform alone or in a large group in front of a big audience. We wish them Good Luck and hope to see you at their concerts.
ISB Star of the Month
here were lots of children celebrating being awarded Star of the Month for November by the Specialist teachers; with three children getting two awards! It is a great achievement to get Star of the Month, as there is only one for each KS
rather than each class. So in KS2 you are competing against 250 children instead of 19 in most of the Specialist subjects to be chosen. A very big congratulations to all the winners.
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House Points Leaderboard House Points Leaderboard 39
43
Hares Bears Lynxes
44
Foxes
63
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ll the children have been helping their Houses earn lots of House Points this term, from Nursery to Year 6, in classes, the canteen and all Specialist lessons. In fact the 400 Primary children have earned over 28000 House Points, that is the same as the population of Sighisoara! This term the Bears have performed the best in the Special events; Inter-House 8000 7000
Benchball, Basketball, Football and Book Week Quizzes. This makes them feel confident about the Sports Day in May. However, the House with the most House Points by far is the Lynxes. A huge congratulations to them as the winners of the Term 1 Trophy. Mr. James Peall, KS2 Coordinator
Primary House Points as of 3rd December
6000 5000
Hares
4000
Bears Lynxes
3000
Foxes
2000 1000 0 EYs
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KS1
KS2
Specialists
Total
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English Newsletter
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he English Department has covered a variety of topics over the past month. The Y10 and Y11 groups finished with the literature element of the IGCSEs for now and moved on to work on creative writing. Some exceptional pieces of work have been produced: a reflection of the high quality of the students here at ISB. The KS3 groups also moved on to a new aspect of learning, resulting in our much treasured class set of Kindles being open to other groups. Students in Y8 and Y7 are currently enjoying their use. These are invaluable tools in widening the scope of literature that children can study, and has allowed students to read and analyse such books as Wonder by R.J. Palacio and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The IELTS course has been up and running
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for some time now as an extra option for students in the Sixth Form. This has seen an enthusiastic take up, and we would urge any students who feel that preparation for the IELTS exam might be useful for their university applications to consider joining these sessions. We would also remind students that the Annual ISB Book Fair will take place on the 8th to the 12th of December. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to acquire new books in English, which is the foundation of achieving true fluency in the language – not to mention improving those troublesome grades! For those students of a more technological frame of mind, the English Department has a wide selection of ebooks available on request. Mr. Barnaby Davis, Head of English
Year 7 Novel Study
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iss Flori’s Year 7 students have given a twist to the famous Roald Dahl’s book, Boy, by making a “simplified” version of some of the funniest chapters, creating a very colorful and creative comic-book.
Their effort can be admired in room 109, and some of the chapters they worked on are: “The great mouse plot”,“Homesickness”, “Getting dressed for the big school”, among others.
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Creative & Performing Arts
The new eco-friendly school buses were a hit with students
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n December we are having our first Creative & Performing Arts Week, a heady mixture of performance, cross-curricular activities and ideas that we shamelessly lifted from all the other Subject Weeks. And why not? As Oscar Wilde once said, “Talent borrows, genius steals.� (My neighbour tried a similar line a few weeks ago. The judge still imprisoned him for three years. Obviously not a Wilde fan.) The Music Department is organizing the annual Music Concert for primary and secondary school. The very best instrumentalists of ISB will perform on stage for parents, students and teachers on the 10th and 17th of December. In Drama our IGCSE and A level students are hard at work preparing their final coursework performances, which will be previewed in the last week of 2014. The Art Exhibition opens on the 15th of December, when we will be showcasing the best of our current students as well as sharing the work of our recent graduates. There are also Arts trips organized for December to the animation studio AMC Pixel Factory as well as the Contemporary Art Museum. A report on Arts Week will come in the next newsletter. Mr. Ian McShane, Head of Creative & Performing Arts
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Humanities Department News
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s we approach the Christmas break staff in the department are busy getting our exam classes ready for their major A2, AS and IGCSE exams which are fast approaching. Teachers are working tirelessly to make sure that every student reaches their potential and are hopeful of a successful set of results. Travel and Tourism students, under the expert guidance of Mr. Andrei, have been busy planning and organizing trips for Key Stage 3 pupils as part of their coursework. Students themselves are expected to run, cost and deliver these trips. Some of the early ideas include trips to The People’s Palace, Karting and working their way out of an escape room. Watch this space! The whole department would like to thank Mr. Robertson and Ms. Iulia for the successful Remembrance Sunday
commemorations’, which is an important date on the British calendar. Many students were involved in the selling of plastic poppies and bracelets during their lunch break. The department is also busy preparing for the upcoming Humanities week. We have a special Tourism fair planned where students will be able to advertise a holiday suitable for a range of different markets. The Geography teachers are also planning 3 trips for our Key Stage 4 and 5 students which is an important part of their coursework. Finally, we always welcome students to join the clubs offered by the Humanities teachers which currently include Debating, an Entrepreneur club and the Newspaper as well as a range of extra revision classes. Mr. Andrew Palmer, Head of Humanities
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Delicious Symmetry
um yum! Who would ever think that math can be incredibly delicious and fun?! Well year 9 couldn’t be more excited when they entered the math classroom on Wednesday 2nd of October and found‌
cakes! Beautiful cakes in the shapes of cylinders, cuboids, square-based pyramids and triangular-based prisms, ready for them to cut and eat. Before they tucked in, Miss Cigdem asked them to cut the cakes into different planes of symmetry and take pictures! Everybody must admit that they were great! Many thanks to Miss Cigdem, Ingrid (one of the diligent students of our school) and her family for the delicious cake shapes! Ariana-Maria Disli
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Mathematics Support Club
e are very proud of our senior students their studies. The Mathematics Support who even though they have a busy Club they are running has proved to be schedule, they have made time to help very successful. Well done, guys! primary and KS3 students comprehend
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Mathematics Revision Course
Mathematics revision Course
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oing to school on holidays?! Does it not sound like a nightmare? Well take it like this: when your teacher organises a sleepover with great friends, fun activities and delicious meals‌it sort off ads up to amazing days! The year 9 students who participated at the sleepover had the privilege of being prepared for the checkpoint exams, meeting new people
and singing karaoke songs. They also got Green Cards for every pass paper completed (2). If you do not come to Miss Cigdem’s sleepover in school, you are missing one of the most amazing and funny activities ever! All the students who came thank Miss Cigdem for organizing these unique sleepovers, everybody awaits for more! Ariana, Year 9I
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“Emotions” Week in the Modern Foreign Language Department
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ovember 24th – 28th was Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Week at ISB. The theme of this year’s MFL Week was “Emotions”. Students identified and expressed different emotions through posters and footsteps containing words in different languages which then have been displayed throughout the school.
Various activities have been planned during MFL lessons and brake times such as: the role plays in Spanish, French, Turkish and Romanian, the French drama play, students singing songs in different languages, dances and the well known character Nasrettin Hoca giving sweets to children.
Electrifying Tango by Florin (Year 10) and his dance partner, Andra 26 Insight
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he highlight of the week was the MFL Assembly on Friday, which took place in the Theatre. The Assembly had been presented by our student Esther (Year 12) who did a fantastic job. Promotional movies of Romania, Turkey, France and Spain have also been presented. We have all enjoyed a play, “Expressing feeling in French”, starring year 10 students Ioana, Mohamed, Ali, Ioana S, Rajrita, Izel and Mae. Ece (Year 11), Aristeidis (Year 9), Ana, Sara and Cati (Year 8 students) sang for us in
Spanish, French and Romanian. One of the most electrifying moments was starring Florin (Year 10) and his dancing partner Andra, dancing Paso Doble and Tango. Through the celebration of MFL Languages, students were brought closer to the French, Spanish, Turkish and Romanian cultures. Both students and teachers enjoyed the activities and now they are looking forward for next year’s MFL Week.
Students decorating the school for the MFL Week
Passo Doble
Carmen Zaharia, Head of MFL Department
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U-12 Basketball Competition
Well done, guys!
ISB
U12 Basketball Team played its first tournament in November and obtained the 3rd place of the competition. Students realised that in order to win and be the best in the competition, they have to work really hard during training
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sessions. We hope to obtain better results in the upcoming events and we would like to thank all parents and PE Department for organizing such an excited event. Mrs. Laura Morrison, PE Teacher
Table Tennis Inter House Competition
Tennis Table requires a very high level of concentration
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etween 10th and 21st of November 2014, the secondary students took part into the Annual TableTennis Inter House Competition. All games were played at the high level and proved one more time how well prepared are our students, no matter if they are in year 9, 7 or 12.
Narmin, Kevser, Maria and Sifanur played the girls finals and Eugenio, Sufian, Nur and Jin played the boys finals. A big Thank You to our prefects who helped a lot during the games, being the referees. Mrs. Ingrid Stanciu, ECA Coordinator
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Year 7 Play Station Fifa 15 Tournament
Students experiencing mixed emotions during the tournament
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ear 7 students organised a Play Station Tournament on the 14th November. Students competed with each other and watched a lot of challenging games. In the final, Recep played against Omar. Recep won the game and got the 1st Place. After the tournament we went to a restaurant and celebrated with pizza. Then we returned back to school to watch a movie in theatre (with popcorn of course :) ).
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In the morning all students went to Mr. Oytun’s house to have a breakfast. It was nice to visit him in his house. FIFA 15 night was our first activity in secondary. We enjoyed it a lot and we are looking forward to participating in various activities like this. Mr. Oytun Pekel, Year 7 Leader
Year 8 are learning how to cope with exam anxiety
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his year the assessment week had a different structure for KS3. Students are setting all their end of term exams in the same week and in between exams there are no lessons but study hours which mean that students need to revise individually for their upcoming exams. This structure helps students become more independent and more responsible for what they need to revise. n order to help them overcome the anxiety caused by end of term exams, year 8 form teachers have developed an activity during the tutor time on the topic of exam anxiety. Students got to complete
a questionnaire and to find out the level of their anxiety caused by exams and then they received some practical tips in order to help them cope better with exams and the stress produce by them. Students also had the chance to talk about what makes them anxious regarding their exams and they shared their own coping strategies that help them whenever they get stressed about an exam. Students found it interesting to discover the level of their stress and to talk about their experience with exams. Ms. Alina Constantin, Year 8 Leader
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Year 8 Science edible projects
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ear 8 students started to study Chemistry this year. They learnt about the symbols of the elements, about the atoms and molecules, elements and compounds. It sounds quite challenging! Well, try learning the symbols and the molecule concept by making them edible. Each student designed and then cooked,
Everybody worked very hard and used all their knowledge and creativity to assure the success of the project
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or baked his/her own edible project, presented in front of the class and then shared it with their classmates. Marks have been given for the accuracy of the oral presentation, the design and, of course, for the taste of the each project. The marks were pretty good! Mr. George Popescu, Science Teacher
Checkpoint Revision Club
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hat is the purpose of the Checkpoint Revision Club? It is to prepare the students for the Checkpoint exams in April 2015. During this club, the students are learning how to answer tricky questions and what is the best way to approach some
of the questions. They are completing pass exam papers using or not making use of the calculator. We are positive that all their hard work will pay off and we are keeping our fingers crossed! Mrs. Cigdem Karaman, Mathematics Teacher
Tea Fridays for Year 9 students!
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f we do extra homework, we get tea for two Fridays”. This was the deal that Year 9 students made with their teacher, Mrs. Cigdem. The students embraced this
opportunity and were happy to do extra homework. We have had one Tea Friday already and it was really fun! Watch out… there is another one coming up! December 2014 33
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YEAR 10 – Let’s meet the new students!
tudents learn best when they feel safe. So there is no wiser way to begin a school year, than by taking time to build your students as a caring community of learners and as a problem-solving team. Once they know one-another and begin to feel comfortable and trusting, it’s a lot easier for students to share their answers and questions, help and be helped by their classmates, and become engaged in and excited by the learning process. New students joined Year 10 this academic year and the existing ISB students made them feel welcomed them in to our school and helped them to adjust very quickly. We invite you to meet and get to know some of our new students who happily answered their colleagues’ numerous questions:
Antonio
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Q1: What kind of music do you like? Q2: Where do members of your family come from? Q3: What holidays do you enjoy and how do you celebrate them? Q4: If you could travel anyplace for free, where would you like to travel? Why? Q5: What was the place you liked the most of the ones you have visited? Q6: What do you know about Romania? Q7: When is your birthday and where were you born? Q8: Do you have a favorite subject, in school? Q9: What is a movie or a book you have seen or read lately that you really liked? Why? Q10: Have you ever been part of a team? In school? Out of school? Musicrelated? Sports-related? What teams? What was your role? Q11: Did you think of trying to make good impression on the first day of school? Q12: If you could be any animal that you wanted, what would you pick? Why? Q13: What is something you would change about this school if you could, maybe if you became the principal?
Q1: Pop Q2: Mom-Romania and Dad-China Q3: I celebrate all the holidays with my family Q4: Turkey because it is very beautiful and the food there is awesome Q5: Antalya Q6: I know everything about Romania Q7: I was born on the 14th August 2000 in Bucharest, Romania Q8: My favourite subject in school is PE Q9: Hunger Games because the action was awesome Q10: Yes, football, attacker. Q11: Yes Q12: Jaguar, he is very agile and fast Q13: 1. Uniform 2. Mobile phone policy
Q1: Good music! Q2: Hungary, Hungarian Q3: Every holiday Q4: Los Angles Q5: USA Q7: April 29, Hungary Q8: PE Q9: Hunger Games Q11: Yes Q12:A cat ,because cats are fast Q13: Uniform
Balazs (Bali)
Bernadett (Betti)
Q1: Pop Q2: My parents are from Hungary and they speak English, Hungarian and German Q3: I enjoy all of the holidays and I celebrate them with my family Q4: California because I heard many good things about it Q5: Florida Q6: That it has a very interesting history Q7: 29th of April 1999 in Budapest Q8: Sociology Q9: Hunger Games Q10: No Q11: Of course, everybody does that Q12: A cat Q13: The uniform Q1: All kind of music Q2: From Iran. I speak Farsi, one kind of Turkish, Romanian and English Q3: Japan because of its culture Q4: Kuala Lumpur Q5: I speak the language Q6: 29th of March, in Bucharest Q7: No Q8: “Flight� a short story by Dorris Lessing Q9: No Q10: Yes Q11: Yes, of course Q12: A cat , because cats are smart Q13: Uniform
Saghar December 2014 35
Study Camp Group photo or selfie
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ight of our Year 13 students spent two days at Camping Potigrafu. They have prepared for their upcoming exams studying very hard for 6 hours each day.
Besides intense studying, they also enjoyed very refreshing walks in the forest, as well as very competitive board games. Mr. Ahmet Dundar, Year 13 Leader
Tea House Hot drinks available during breaks
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inter is here already and ISB Senior Tea House is opened during breaks and Students offer hot tea, coffee and lunch time in the ISB main Gallery! Money chocolate to warm up the cold days. The raised will go towards their Winter Fair.
U-18 Football Tournament U-18 ISB Football Team
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e are very proud of the ISB U-18 won the 4th place, although the team had Football team who participated in some missing players. an interschool tournament recently. They 36 Insight
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E-Safety - Growing up online
number of parents have expressed their concerns over being able to keep their children safe on-line. In order to start to address this very important issue, we have reproduced this leaflet resource which we obtained from the Times Educational Supplement. We hope you find this useful. We plan to hold a parents workshop on this subject in the new year. As your child grows and becomes more independent, it is only natural that they take this independence online. In our teenage years we explore, try new things and sometimes push boundaries and take risks, this is an essential part of growing up. With all of the potential that the online world and new technology offers, young people now have access to huge opportunities. They use technology to express themselves, explore, and be creative; it has changed the way they communicate. The internet has changed all of our lives, and your child has grown up during this change. Many of the things that confuse, baffle or even scare us, are part of the
everyday for them. For many of us, this can all be a bit too much. Whether you’re a technophobe or a technophile, it’s still likely that you’ll be playing catch-up with the way your child is using the internet. You might wonder whether what they are doing is safe, and you might also be thinking how can I be as good a parent online as I am offline? Be involved in your child’s online life. For many of today’s young people there is no line between the online and offline worlds. Young people use the internet to socialise and grow and, just as you guide and support them offline, you should be there for them online too. Talk to them about what they’re doing, if they know you under-stand they are more likely to approach you if they need support. Watch Thinkuknow films to learn more (https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/). The Thinkuknow website has films and advice for children from five all the way to 16. They can be a good tool for you to find out more about what young people do online and some of the potential risks.
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eep up-to-date with your child’s development online. Be inquisitive and interested in the new gadgets and sites that your child is using. It’s important that as your child learns more, so do you.
Emphasise that not everyone is who they say they are. Make sure your child knows never to meet up with someone they only know online. People might not always be who they say they are. Make sure your child understands that they should never meet up with Set boundaries in the online world just as anyone they only know online without you would in the real world. taking a trusted adult with them. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they Know what to do if something goes wrong. spend online. It is important to continue Just as in the offline world, you want to help to discuss boundaries so that they evolve your child when they need it. Therefore, as your child’s use of technology does. it is important to know when and how to report any problem. Know what connects to the internet and As a parent or carer you have a challenging how. job, you need to know what your children Nowadays even the TV connects to the are doing online and also help them to do internet. it in a safe way. With technology changing Your child will use all sorts of devices and on a day-to-day basis, the best way to stay gadgets; make sure you’re aware of which informed is to get involved. ones can connect to the internet, such as Here are three good ways to help you keep their phone or games console. Also, find up-to-date with your children and teach out how they are accessing the internet them the basics of staying safe: – is it your connection or a neighbour’s Wifi. This will affect whether your safety Let them teach you settings are being applied. The people who know best about what your children are up to online, are your Consider the use of parental controls on children! Get them to tell you about the devices that link to the internet, such as sites they’re using. Ask them questions the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles such as: and mobile phones. Why do they like the site? Parental controls are not just about • What can they do on it? locking and blocking, they are a tool to • What’s so fun about it? help you set appropriate boundaries as • Who uses it at school? your child grows and develops. They are • Who you can talk to? not the answer to your child’s online • Who are their friends on it? safety, but they are a good start and are not as difficult to install as you might This is a good way to develop a trusting think. Service providers are working hard relationship with your child about what to make them simple, effective and user they are up to online. friendly.
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each an agreement A good way to set boundaries with your child about what they can and can’t do online is to create an agreement with them. Here are some examples of the areas you might want to discuss: • Limits on the amount of time your child spends online, or playing computer games. • Having regular screen breaks – at least five minutes every 45-60 minutes. • Not sharing any pictures they wouldn’t be happy to share with you. • Not giving out personal details, such as mobile phone number and address, to people they don’t know and trust. • Coming to you if they are concerned. Or, if not, knowing where they can go for independent help and support.
You can introduce an agreement after watching one of the Thinkuknow films (https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents). Your child may have watched one of the Thinkuknow films; they are a great way to start conversations with them about what can happen online and what they can do about it. The films may also be a good way for you to learn about some of the pressures young people may face, what can go wrong and what you can do about it. We would recommend that you watch the film on your own beforehand so that you’re aware of the topics it covers. To find out a little more about e-safety and protecting your son or daughter online, you might want to visit http://www. childnet.com/resources or https://www. thinkuknow.co.uk/parents. David Newsham Deputy Principal (Key Stage 3)
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Alumni & Career Counseling
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KS5 students meeting few of the ISB Alumni at Carol Davila Medicine University
hen I grow up I want to become a doctor�. This is the career that 6 of our KS5 students wished for since childhood and they are now ready to pursue. Yesterday, as part of ISB Career Counseling Programme, they visited Carol
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Group photo during Alumni visit
uring the weekend we have met with some of our alumni in Turkey and London. It was either in a restaurant for a dinner, or having a coffee together and even had the chance to see a movie 40 Insight
Davila Medicine Faculty, together with their teacher, Mrs. Derya Karabulut. The highlight of their trip was the get-together with three of the ISB Alumni, who are now students at Medicine Faculty: Muzeyyen, Rama, Ceren.
together. No matter where we have met them, it was amazing to see how everyone has missed ISB and to hear their stories about their memories in ISB.
UCA presentation for Year 13 students
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niversity of Creative Arts (UCA), UK visited ISB and held a presentation to all art students from years 10-13. Many thanks to Alana Green, EU Marketing
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Officer for the very insightful presentation and to ISB Career Counseling Service & Creative Arts Department for organizing the presentation at the school.
Enjoying good food and each others’ company ll our ISB alumni are invited to our dinner on the 27th of December 19:00, ISB.
ISB Alumni Career Network
uring the first week of the second term experiences with our KS5 students. 5-9 January, some of our Alumni will Mr. Ahmet Dundar, ISB Career Counselor be visiting the school and sharing their December 2014 41
ISB’s Top Level International Olympic Students
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e are extremely proud of our International Olympic students, Selin (Year 9S) and Aki (Year11I) who won the gold and the silver medal respectively at Turkish Language International Olympiad last academic year. Their accomplishment was acknowledged during Gaudeamus, the well known international book fair organised by Radio Romania during 19-23rd November at Romexo. As part of the Top Level Guests: Romanian Olympics Project initiated by Radio Romanian and Dacia Group in 2011, our school has been awarded a Diploma for its top level International Olympic students, acknowledging ISB’s contribution to high quality Education in Romania. Together with other 25 students who won gold medals at international Olympiads from all over Romania, Selin was present at the event and she has been very honoured to receive the diploma.
only one who came from a country other than Romania. This made me feel slightly anxious. There was an interviewer, and cameras that were filming. And, as I waited for the event to start, I became more and more excited. It was the first time I was interviewed. Then, the cameras were switched on and the interviewer started to speak. By then, you were able to hear the thumping of my heart. And then, I heard my name coming out of the interviewer’s mouth. I was to be interviewed first! My hands were trembling at first but shortly, I became very confident. And I kept talking and my words died out with the sound of applauses. ‘’Yes,’’ I thought to myself. ‘’I did it.’’ The other students were interviewed after me. In the end, we received prizes which consisted of lovely books to read and some electronically devices. Along with the prizes, we also received certificates for ourselves and certificates for our excellent schools that teach us and make us exceptional students “I was invited to this event because I have worth going to the Olympics. “ participated in the Turkish Olympics and got Selin, Year 9S student a gold medal. I was the youngest one and the 42 Insight
New Reception Office at ISB
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e are very happy to present our brand new reception office situated in the Gallery. The Reception Office acts as a main enquiry point for students, parents and visitors at ISB.
Both Primary and Secondary Secretaries will be happy to answer your questions or direct you to the right member of staff. Students who are late or are leaving school early are asked to come to the reception to pick up their late or early permission slips.
December 2014 43
Book Week at ISB
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ook Quiz, Spelling Bee, Dress Up Day, Creative Writing, Extreme Reading Photo Competition in short, Book Week at ISB! The importance of reading and creative writing was promoted through various entertaining activities which involved both primary and secondary students during the
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week starting with 20th October. Primary students have participated in a very exciting Book Quiz, while Secondary Students have participated in a Creative Writing Competition and a Spelling Bee Contest.
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any thanks to all the ISB parents who Competition. This was the living proof that sent photos of their children reading our students are very skilled readers. and entered the Extreme Reading Photo
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uring this week primary students have books. The amazing books can be admired written stories and made their own in the Primary Gallery
December 2014 45
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hole School Dress Up Day was the perfect ending to a very busy and entertaining Book Week at ISB. Students and teachers celebrated books by wearing their favourite book character costume and
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participating in in the Assembly at the end of the day. The fantastic Book Characters have taken up the Primary Library first thing in the morning. It was be a day filled with FUN!
Parents’ Football Matches
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e invite all parents to join us for plus Turkish Baklava to restore the energy football matches at the school on level! Wednesdays, starting 7.00pm. We guarantee See you on Wednesdays! great fun accompanied by refreshments,
Collecting donations for the less fortunate ones
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his month, KS5 students organised a donation campaign across the entire school in order to collect clothes, footwear and toys for less fortunate people. The campaign took place in partnership with Asociatia M.A.M.E, a charity where some of our students are volunteers. Our students showed a lot of commitment to the campaign and they were very helpful. All donations went to ‘Sfantul Iosif’ Orphanage and several families in need that the charity supports both from Bucharest
and from other towns. The campaign was a great success; many families from the ISB community responded promptly to our call and donated several items which most definitely are very much appreciated by those who received them. On behalf of Asociatia M.A.M.E and its volunteers we would like to thank everyone to contributed to this initiative and made it all possible Ms. Alina Constantin, School Counselor and SEN Teacher
December 2014 47
Thank you, PTA
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t has been a very busy and exciting first been organised at the school with the help term for all the Parent Teacher Association of our very active PTA. (PTA) members; a plethora of events have It is now the time to say thank you for organizing the PTA Breakfast every other week on Thursday morning and also thank you to the numerous parents who have joined us. This event will continue throughout the year as the perfect opportunity for parents to meet and chat, share ideas over a cup of tea or coffee and a steaming breakfast buffet.
Frosty the Snowman
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rosty the Snowman, honoured PTA’s invitation to spend a couple of weeks in our school . The Primary students have welcomed Frosty with love and enthusiasm and sent him letters and drawings for two 48 Insight
weeks. Frosty came in their Assembly, On Monday, 8th December, to say THANK YOU for being such good hosts and for getting to know his young friends.
Parents Teacher Association invited the amazing actors from Pasee Partout Dan Puric Theatre to take us all, students, parents and teachers through a beautiful journey of winter stories.
Thank you PTA for organising christmas gifts for the very dedicated ISB Maintenance Staff member December 2014 49
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hoe Box Campaign, initiated by Sansa Thank you everyone for making this possible Ta Association and supported by ISB for them! and the PTA finished on the 5th December. Madalina Cioc, PR & Admission Officer Thank you everyone for the lovely wrapped up presents you prepared for the less fortunate children. The presents are now on their way to the children who are eagerly waiting for a miracle for their holidays.
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December 2014 51
Flickr:www.isb.ro
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