ISB Newsletter - January 2008

BACK TO SCHOOL! ISB Primary Newsletter

26 January 2008

Book Fair The ISB Book Fair was organised and was far more than a book sale, it was an extraordinary experience where kids got to choose the books they wanted. ISB promotes activities that are focused on books and reading because we strongly believe that a class that reads succeeds.

Therefore, hosting the Book Fair was the best way to support our school's reading efforts.

Parents’ Info Update We kindly ask all parents to update their contact information in order to communicate better.

Parents who provide us with their e-mail addresses will receive letters in electronic format as well.

Students, parents, and teachers love Book Fairs for a number of reasons, including, connecting kids to the books they want to read, the fair features, a terrific assortment of titles selected by the school books coordinator, which helps build school, classroom and home libraries.

Science Week This year we have designated a special period in our calendar devoted to Science. This “Science Week” will be dedicated to promoting Science through the whole school from Reception up to Year 6.

In addition to being a fantastic reading event, a percentage of Book Fair proceeds went right back to our school to help achieve our goals.

Additional bonuses were available for incorporating our participation building activities along with the Fair, such as hosting a Parents Evening or attending a Workshop.

Scholastic Book Fair offered a special opportunity where children learned all about the great new books, planning tools and programs we offer to support them in learning the best English language practice.

The aim is to encourage pupils to take an interest in Science from an early age and develop enthusiasm for the subject. Our newly appointed Year 6 teacher is a passionate scientist with a degree in chemistry. He has volunteered to be our school Science Coordinator and organize this very special week with activities, quizzes and challenges throughout the week. The highlight of this week will be every class from Year 1 to Year 6 visiting our very own Natural History Museum (Antipa) here in Bucharest. This week will take place at the end of March, so please keep an eye on the notices and letters sent home.

ISB Primary Newsletter

Staff First of all we would like to welcome Ms Linda Henderson who will be joining us as our new Kindergarten Coordinator and reception teacher. Linda is from England and brings with her a wealth of international teaching experience. We are all excited to be working with Linda as we further develop the early years part of the school.

Other welcome additions to the staff are: Mr. James Ward, Year 6 teacher and Science Coordinator, Ms. Janet Picket, Year 3 teacher and Literacy Coordinator, and Ms. Patricia Page, Year 2 teacher.

We welcome them all to ISB and Romania.

End of Year Shows CONGRATULATIONS to all the children who took part in the End of Term productions. All the staff at ISB were so proud of their performances, as we know that to stand up in front of an audience and acting, singing and speaking, is difficult. Yet the children, from the youngest, Kindergarten children who delighted us with their singing, poetry recitation and dancing, to the older children who sang songs, performed mini plays and recited poetry excelled in confidence. On behalf of the staff and children of ISB, may we take this opportunity to thank you for your support for this event, both in providing costumes, helping children to learn their lines and songs and being such a supportive audience. We look forward to seeing you again in school.

ISB Primary Newsletter

ISB Primary Newsletter

Year 5&6 Residential Trip

Clubs

Within the next few weeks ISB is pleased to announce that we will start four brand new after school clubs. Firstly, there will be a Drama Club run

by Miss Carey, open to any students from years 3 to 6. Secondly, Miss Raluca will be starting a school choir which will also be open to students from years 3 to 6. On the sporting side Ms Laura our P.E. specialist, and qualified basketball coach, will be running a basketball club. Finally, Mr. Jackson will be running a football club along with Mr. John from the secondary school. These clubs are part of a pilot project with the view to expanding our range of clubs for the next academic year.

Upcoming Events

The half-term break trips have become a tradition at ISB with Years 5 and 6 deciding to go for a well deserved holiday, to Transylvania. We departed Monday 29th October for a fascinating four day adventure.

We visited a wide range of touristic attractions, from historical places such as Bran Castle, Rasnov Fortress to breathtaking natural landscapes including Sfanta Ana volcanic lake and Dambovicioara cave.

February Half term break 15-25 February Science Week 10-14 March Easter (Western) 21 March (no school) April International Book Week 21-25 April End of Term – Easter (Orthodox) 28 April – 2 May Last Day of School 13 June Summer School 16-27 June

Eminescu Day On Friday 18th of February, in our whole school assembly, KS2 pupils that study Romanian language (1st and 2nd level) organised a special production to celebrate Mihai Eminescu, the greatest and most celebrated Romanian poet.

Mihai Eminescu, born on January 15th 1850, was a late, very influential Romantic poet, celebrated in both Romania and Moldova.

Famous poems included “Luceafarul” (Evening Star), “Oda in metro antic” (Ode in ancient meter) and the “5 Scrisori” (The 5 Epistles).

We stayed in the stunning snowy ski resort of Poiana Brasov. From there we took the cable car to the top of Postavaru Mountain (1800 m). The ride was scary, but we enjoyed a 360° panorama of Transylvania, Prahova Valley, and the whole Carpathian mountain range.

There was so much to see and do we were rushed off our feet. Please come and join us next time and you will discover a different world outside of the classroom.