BISM November Newsletter 2017 by British Schools Foundation

ISSUE 1 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER #22

The British International School of Marbella

NEWSLETTER A Newsletter for Parents, Students and Friends of our School

November 2017

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Headteacher’s Message Dear Parents & Students, As part of our BSF Charter focus on Awareness this month, safety has been a hot topic at BISM in our assemblies, PSHE and IT lessons. Within the Foundation Stage we have discussed Stranger Danger, and it would appear that it was a much needed topic to address as during our FS assembly many of the children agreed they should not go with strangers but some said they would if they were offered ice-cream. In the Primary and Secondary school we have been focusing on Body Safety, which I’m pleased to say the children dealt with extremely maturely and demonstrated they knew what to do if they found themselves in a situation that made them feel uncomfortable. We have also been revisiting cyber safety and as a school we have introduced Gooseberry Planet, an IT platform that aims to keep children safe online. The student council represented the school when they visited our chosen charity Hogar Betania in La Linea. We are going to be working very closely to design and resource a playground for them. So far this year we have raised 2137€ during our charity events and we hope to see this amount raise significantly next month during our Charity Christmas events so please give generously. Also this month, the Lunch Committee gave us their feedback on the school lunches. I am pleased to say that they feel the lunches are tasty and nutritious. They have given our catering team some very useful tips and will continue working with them to provide the best lunch experience we can for our children. If you would like to come in and try the lunches for yourself, please pop by anytime. The highlight of November though was Art Week. It was so lovely to walk around the school to see

children engaged in a variety of creative activities with beautiful results. The Art Exhibitions were a huge success, not just in terms of the beautiful art work sold and the money raised for charity but also the stunning performances from the Music Department. Well done to all the staff and children in making this such a special occasion. Next month there will be many opportunities to come into school for all our Christmas events so please keep checking the parent portal for further details. With very best wishes, Sian Kirkham Headmistress

Pre-Nursery Incy Wincy The children in Pre-Nursery were in for a big surprise when they came into school this week when they found a strange pipe on the wall with string hanging through it. What could it be? All was revealed when they found that Incy Wincy Spider was in fact on the end of the string! Using their knowledge of pushes and pulls, the children happily made Incy Wincy move up and down the waterspout in time to the nursery rhyme. They showed us how well they could sing and those who weren’t having a turn showed how to do an Incy Wincy action with their hands. It was lovely to see the children showing their ever growing language skills alongside their scientific curiosity. Mrs Rutherford Pre-Nursery Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Nursery Magic Beans During the month of November, the children in Nursery Class were learning through the topic ´Fairy Tales!´. In early November the children were introduced to Jack and the Beanstalk. They engaged in many beanstalk activities, from growing their own beanstalks, to creating their own castle in the clouds to roleplaying what they thought might be up the top of the beanstalk to finding lots of different coloured magic beans! The children gathered up all the magic beans they had found into a single pot. From there they sorted the beans by colour and then proceeded to count the total of each colour. Their Maths learning did not stop there. The children were very grown up and added the total of each colour to a graph, this was not a hard enough challenge for our super Nursery stars; they then analised their collected data! They told Miss Nixon and Miss Robles which colour had the biggest total, which colour had the least, which coloured beans had the same total and which had 3, 4, 5 etc! As you can imagine, we were very impressed with the children´s determined attitude when comparing the total amounts of their magic beans! Well done, Nursery Class! Miss Nixon Nursery Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Reception Tricky Words The boys and girls of the Reception class have been working so hard learning not only the sounds of the alphabet in phonics lessons but also when learning “tricky words”. One cannot sound out tricky words, you simply have to remember them on sight and if you can just remember them, it makes reading so much easier. The children are doing really well learning to read the tricky words and some have even begun writing them independently and having fun making sentences with them. Well done, Reception children! Mr Holden Reception Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 1

Year 2

Year 2/3

This month Year 1 children went on their first school trip of the year to Castellar Zoo. We had an amazing time where our fantastic guide Benji showed us round lots of different enclosures, introducing us to the many wonderful animals that live there.

The Year Two class have been learning all about healthy eating in Science lessons in the past few lessons. The focus of the learning was on a healthy balanced diet and what amount of different food groups should we eat. Some children were disappointed to find out chocolate was in the section that we should not eat so much of!

During our Spanish lessons in Year 2/3 we focused on Picasso and Cubism. The children were thrilled with the idea of creating an abstract geometrical portrait. It was a challenging project.

Castellar Zoo

We cuddled a lovely little monkey who was happy to meet us all wearing his nappy. Next, we touched an adorable lion cub and then we met a very sleepy honey bear. We were told that this cute animal sleeps for 18 hours a day but our excited class seemed to encourage him to wake up and he walked over the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backs as they made a bridge for him. Lastly, the children spent time in a large enclosure full of different birds, rabbits, guinea pigs and turtles. Fun was had by all and it was a memorable day! Miss Lawrence Year 1 Teacher

Healthy Eating

We played card games to try and place the food on the correct plate, whether it is something we should eat a lot, sometimes or a little of. The class also wrote a food journal and recorded what they thought was good about their diet and what they could do to improve their diet. I hope all children have reflected upon their diet and how well they eat at home and at school. With so many temptations in the shops of unhealthy foods it is important that children understand how to make the right choices. If the children can improve their already healthy diets even further, then the past few Science lessons have been worth it! Mr Thomas

Year Two Teacher/Lower School Leader

Spanish Art Week

Using wax crayons, their imagination and some inspiration from Pablo PicassoÂ´s artwork the children produced the most colourful and original creations. During the Art exhibition parents were impressed with their child`s work. On the whole, it was a great success. Miss Moriarty

Spanish teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 3 Investigate Measures Henri Rousseau Art Year Three were given a tape measure and asked to investigate measurements of their forearms, feet, head circumference and thumbs. The first and perhaps most important job was to create a table to record their results. Armed with their trusted friend Robbie the Ruler, the children created a perfect table. The children then estimated how big they thought each body part would be. To help them do this they thought carefully about the size of Robbie the Ruler (30cm) and used this information to help them make clever guesses. Next up, the children supported each other to measure in cm being careful to place the 0 at the very end of whatever was being measured. As you can see from the pictures, the children particularly enjoyed measuring the circumference of their heads! Once all measuring was complete the children converted each measurement into mm. To their surprise, the children discovered that the length of their foot was actually the same length as their forearm! Miss Allen

Year Three Teacher

During Art week Year Three studied the famous French artist Henri Rousseau. They discovered that actually Rousseau was very heavily criticised but his biggest fan was Malaga’s own Pablo Picasso. The children looked carefully at his works including ‘Tiger in a Tropical Storm.’ They discovered that Rousseau had a fascination with jungles and rainforests and although he had never been, he got his inspiration from the local gardens who kept exotic plants. Inspired by the jungle pictures the class created a bird’s eye view collage of the rainforest. They used oil pastels, tissue paper, and sponge effect paint. The results were very eye catching and colourful. Great work Year Three!

Miss Allen Year Three Teacher

Year 4

Aboriginal Dot Paintings Romans Assembly During Art Week, Year 4 focussed on aboriginal art, in particular, dot paintings. Australian indigenous art is the oldest art form in the world. We learnt about how school teacher Geoffrey Bardon worked with the aboriginal people in Australia in 1970s and made their unique art forms famous. The aboriginal people used the dot painting technique to keep their stories and traditions alive and yet disguised from outsiders. In Year 4 we designed our own dot paintings on paper and on rocks with disguised stories. We mixed the primary colours to make our own colours and then used q-tips and the ends of paintbrushes to carefully paint the dots. Have a look at some our amazing creations in these photos! Miss Marseglia Year 4 Teacher

“Going to teach you how to eat like a Roman, drink like a Roman, dress like a Roman, think like a Roman, build like a Roman, slay like a Roman and party like a Roman!” Year 4 certainly did all of that during their fast-paced, information-packed and song-filled assembly! The class played Romans, soldiers, teachers, children, joke-tellers and narrators to teach the rest of the school about why the Romans were so important in history. Thank you to all the parents for helping the children with their costumes, learning their lines and for coming to watch! Many thanks also to Miss Conlan for helping the class practise their songs and to Miss Costello for making some brilliant shields! Please see the QR code on this page for a link to a short video of the assembly. Miss Marseglia Year 4 Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 5

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Shape Investigations

Year 5 Drama

During our topic on shape, we explored all areas of 2D and 3D shapes. The children identified the different types of angles and were able to apply their learning to real objects within the school. A good example was the two flags in the school entrance that was exactly 44 degrees apart according to our expert mathematicians.

There has been lots happening in Drama lessons this term. Children have taken part in a range of games and activities that target confidence building, focus, teamwork, improvisation and creativity. Years 5, 6 and 7 have been extremely busy in their Drama lessons working towards putting on their mini drama performances in assembly.

The children then were presented with the task to draw out accurate angles using a protractor. We realised that this was a skill and through hard work and practice, can be mastered by anyone. To end our topic on shape, we investigated different 3D shapes and learned about faces, vertices and edges. As the children are studying the Maya civilisation, we looked at the shape of their temples and identified some of the common 3D shapes they used to construct it. The children used nets to build their own 3D shapes and we learned the names many different types of 3D shapes. Throughout the whole unit the children were able to make maths real. They made links with the outside world and applied their learning to real life situations. Well done, Year 5’s! Mr Kuhn Middle School Maths Teacher

Year 5 have been learning about how to use mime techniques, body language and facial expressions in order to communicate a fairy-tale story to an audience. Year 6 have learnt a range of Drama skills including: tableaux, soundscape, miming and improvisation and have put together an exciting performance based on a talent show. Year 7 have also been working on mime work as well as developing physical theatre skills, sound effects and dialogue to create a piece from Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Each class has really grown in confidence which has been wonderful to see and I’m sure there will be more interesting things to follow next term. Miss Condliffe Drama Teacher

Year 6

Year 7

During their humanities lessons and Art Week, Year 6 have been working on Islamic art and its different varieties to create a piece of artwork to auction at the Middle School Art Week exhibition. In their art lessons they took inspiration from a variety of interesting patterns and incorporated these onto clay tiles. Focusing on symmetry, line, shape and texture, the students developed their skills in clay work using clay moulding tools.

This month, to support our study of The Norman Invasion, Year Seven have been scrutinizing The Bayeux Tapestry as an historical source of evidence. This fascinating artefact is close to a thousand years old and offers a unique insight into the time it was created.

Islamic Art Clay

The designs were planned and created beforehand on sketching paper to add important detail. The students then transferred these designs onto a slab of flat moulding clay, using precision and detail to create geometric patterns using their own individual creativity. The finished tiles were then painted with acrylic paints with a focus on incorporating colour patterns used in traditional islamic designs. Year 6 worked very hard and the results were fantastic! Miss Flanagan Middle School Art Teacher

Telling Tales Of Long Ago

The Bayeux Tapestry, a historical record created in the 11th century, is the only masterpiece of its kind in the world. The most extraordinary thing about it being the fact that so much of it has survived and in such good condition. It is a huge embroidered piece of linen cloth measuring seventy metres long. The pictures tell the story of the conquest of England, by William the Conqueror in 1066. The designers sectioned the story into seventy-two separate scenes, which begin with the King of England, Edward the Confessor, shown close to death in 1064 and ends with the crushing defeat of the Anglo-Saxons by the Normans at Hastings on the south coast of England. The fact that it was commissioned to celebrate William’s victory led us to question the bias present in the embroidery and helped us to develop key skills that any historian needs. The students researched details of the tapestry itself. They used their sequencing skills to make sense of the narrative told. They also reconciled what the artefact purports to show with research they had already completed and again questioned it as a source. Finally, to tie in with Art week this month, the students had a go at recreating part of the Bayeux Tapestry themselves. That perhaps most famous of scenes, in which King Harold is slain. Studying this magical work of art really helped to bring the story alive and inspire the students to delve deeper. Mr Herron Middle School Humanities Teacher Deputy Headteacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Spanish Spanish Reward Initiative The Spanish department has launched an initiative to encourage children to get involved with Spanish. The goal of our school is to offer a comprehensive education. Spanish takes a great part in this process therefore we have designed two tactics to put into practice with both the native group and the non-native group, adapting to the needs and abilities of each group. In non-native students classes we encourage children to use Spanish in everyday life situations. During their daily routines we encourage them to talk to the Spanish staff in Spanish. This effort will then be rewarded with the Spanish stars system. Children add their own stars after being questioned when and why they have been awarded the Spanish star. The Spanish teacher will then record the stars in their star book every week. Each star is equivalent to one house point. With regards to Spanish native students, in order to develop their reading and writing skills within the Years 4, 5, 6 and 7 Spanish Natives group, we have launched in class a project called “Pasaporte de lectura”, where students will create their own “passports” of books they read during this year. They will read a book in Spanish each month and then write a review about it on a sheet provided in class. This will be done on a monthly basis, although they are more than welcome to read as many books as they like.

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Music

PHSE

This month in the music department saw the lower and upper School Choirs preparing for their first performances at the Art Exhibitions. The children have been coming in at lunchtimes to rehearse and have been so excited for their debut!

November is all about awareness here at BISM. Awareness teaching is not a new thing, in fact it has been documented as far back as Ancient Greece as a vital tool to support our well being.

Spectacular Performances

On Thursday the Lower School Choir wowed everyone with they´re fantastic rendition of ´True Colors’ On the Friday the Upper School left not a dry eye in the house with their beautiful performance of ´you are not alone´ with a super solo from Lucas! It was not just singing that took center stage at the Art exhibitions however as the School Orchestra also made their debut performance with a brilliant performance of ´first time waltz´. It was lovely to see music at the event to help bring the Art to Life. Miss Conlan & Miss Stone LS & MS Music Teachers

Awareness The children have been learning how to ensure that they are aware of other’s feelings, of their school, of things that could be dangerous, of their own bodies and many more. It also links very much with the growth mindset approach that we have in school, about being self-aware. The Foundation Stage have concentrated some of their learning on being aware of danger. As part of this, the children talked about fire safety and how to stay safe around the house. The children came up with some fantastic comments such as “If you touch it it is hot so it could burn you”. (Hugo in Nursery talking about the oven) and “You stay back and don’t ever put them in your pockets!” (Mikhail in Reception talking about firework safety). They talked a lot about stranger danger and how to stay safe if someone they don’t know approaches them and they made promises to be aware of their friends feelings by adding leaves to the Foundation Stage Family Tree. The other classes have been focusing on body awareness. In the lower school, they have been learning about being aware of health, hygiene and the body. In the upper school, they have been talking more about their bodies and the effects of exercise. They have also discussed positive relationships. Please help at home by encouraging your children to be aware of themselves, of others and of the things around them too. This could be with a simple thank you to show awareness of appreciation, by encouraging independent hygiene responsibilities or to talk about how to be a good friend.

To keep them encouraged they will receive 2 House Points for each book and review sheet completed, as it rewards the effort they have put into that. In addition, each month a student from each class will be rewarded with “la Estrella del Excelente Lector” (E.E.L). He/she will be chosen based not only on the number of books they read on that month, but also on the level and type of book. We will also consider the quality of the review sheet completed. To show the whole school some evidence of children’s effort, we have made a Spanish display where pictures of students with the higher number of stars will be placed every month. They will be rewarded with a little gift in the assembly the last Friday of the month. Their picture will be posted on the Spanish display. With these new tools we want to motivate children to use and enjoy Spanish. Our main aim is to improve their Spanish skills. Above all, our main goal is to create a motivating atmosphere for students because without enjoyment, there is no learning. MIss Aburuza Spanish Teacher

Mrs Rutherford PSHE Coordinator

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Foundation Stage Trip Organic With Love

The Foundation Stage were lucky enough to take a trip to the Owl Café! During this trip the children took part in a bake off workshop. Their baking skills were amazing! They all helped to make a delicious dough which they expertly rolled out and then carefully cut using an array of fairytale cutters. The very helpful team at Owl then put the creations into the oven, the smell coming from the kitchen was amazing. Once baked the children enjoyed their delights with some juice and then carefully made their way back to school. It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip with lots of new skills being learnt. The children were a credit to you all as they walked so sensible to and from Owl Café. Well done, Foundation Stage! Miss Nixon

Nursery Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Special Events Art Week

The children had a month of creativity this month when BISM celebrated Art Week. Each class chose a different artist to focus on to create pieces of art in their style as well as use their famous pieces as a stimulus for writing. Also during the week, a professional artist, Gabrielle Ange, came into school to work with each class teaching them how to paint using acrylic and oil paint. It was a fantastic week that produced excellent pieces of work which were then sold at our annual exhibition raising nearly 1,000€ for charity. Well done, super artists! Mrs Kirkham Headmistress Los alumnos tuvieron un mes de creatividad cuando BISM celebró la Semana del Arte. Cada clase eligió una artista diferente para crear arte en su estilo y también basarse en obras famosas como estímulo de escritura. Durante la semana vino la artista profesional Gabrielle Ange. Trabajo con cada clase, enseñando a pintar con pintura al óleo y acrílica. Fue una semana fantástica en la que se crearon una obras de arte excelentes que después se vendieron en nuestra exposición de arte anual en la cual recaudamos casi 1,000€ para caridad. Bien hecho super artistas!

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Cybersafety Near the beginning of every academic school year it is good practice to revisit a number of key areas such as academic expectations and the school rules. One such area we cover at the beginning of every year with is Cyber-Safety. This year we asked the children to complete a short questionnaire about their use of the Internet, cyberbullying and social media. The results made us question how we can better support our students, and their parents, in today’s world. As part of our response to the questionnaires we have invested in a platform called ‘Gooseberry Planet’.

GOOSEBERRY SCHOOL Gooseberry Planet uses gaming technology to help children learn about internet safety. In the course of a familiar game, children are exposed to online issues requiring a response such as meeting a stranger, bullying,grooming and sexual exploitation. Children love playing games and Gooseberry Planet is a fun way to present internet safety issues to them. The software platform facilitates the participation of parents and teachers to discuss with their children/students the issues raised in the game, and to monitor their reactions to the situations. Internet safety is part of Personal, Social,Health and Economic Education (PHSE) and ICT in schools, but many schools don’t know how to teach the subject. It is very difficult to keep up with the trends and stay in touch with what their students are using. Gooseberry Planet has a number of Apps for schools, which will facilitate the intervention of teachers and parents. We have registered the children and taken them through initial mini quizzes to ascertain their level of awareness. The children will cover a variety of issues through their Computing and PSHE curricula as we seek to ensure they are informed digital citizens. Details of their login credentials will be shared with you in the coming weeks and you will be able to have informed discussions about these important issues. In addition Gooseberry planet provide weekly updates on current issues and ‘how to’ and ‘information’ guides for parents. We shall be making this a regular monthly feature so please do take the time to inform yourself and help to guide and protect your children online. The Internet is a fantastic tool and resource with many learning opportunities. It does, however, have pitfalls and it is important that our children know how to use it safely. This month’s topic of awareness is online bullying:

Gooseberry Planet Parent Tip of the Week During school holidays, we see an increase in online bullying. The effects of which can be difficult to spot until it is too late. It can be a challenge to talk to children about what they do online and their friendships. Remember monitoring their safety online is more important than their privacy. Open a conversation and ask your child to talk to you about what they do online and look at the apps and games they are socialising on and how children use the online world. Please share with parents.

Online Bullying using Social Media Any app or online platform that enables social contact can support online bullying. As well as the big four social media apps (Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Whatsapp) there are other similar apps to be aware of. Yik Yak, Askfm, Kik Messenger, Voxer, Poke, Whisper, Tumblr, Shots of Me and more. Don’t forget online gaming platforms like Xbox Live, Playstation LIve and Stream. To get a good idea of the risks take 10 minutes to read the reviews or experience these apps for yourself. If you have questions or concerns please do speak with your child’s class teacher or myself. We do hope you find this of use and welcome any other suggestions as to how we can better safeguard our children in this area. Mr Herron Deputy Headteacher

Student Council Art Week

This month the Student Council went on their first school trip to our chosen charity, Hogar Betania. This organisation helps children in the La Linea area with extra schooling, events and generally creates a support system for them, that they may well be missing at home. We will be raising money throughout the year at various events to be able to update and design their outside space. Student Councillors looked around the building and outside space, coming up with some brilliant ideas on how we could improve their facilities. We are also collecting Christmas gifts for these children to brighten up their December. Many BISM families are taking a tag (boy or girl) with an age on it and are bringing in a gift for that child by the 11th December. Thank you for your support. Miss Lawrence Student Council Coordinator

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Lunch Committee At the beginning of term, it was decided that a Lunch Committee should be formed. Myself and 7 other parents, all with different aged children and all of different nationalities volunteered and the lunch committee began! Firstly, we met and each discussed why we were there and what we would like to improve on the lunch menu. We all agreed that the menu lacked variation and that it was too complicated for young children. There were also other issues with food running out by the time the older children came to have their lunch which we agreed needed addressing. Over the following week, 4 of the Lunch Committee, myself included, went into school to try the lunches on different days. All of us were pleasantly surprised! The quality of the food was very good, particularly the soup! The salad bar had nice fresh leaves, cucumber, fresh tomatoes, sweetcorn and jarred beetroot. Our findings made things slightly easier-the quality of food did not need changing just a few changes to the menu.

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Big writer Winner Excellent Writing As always, the children at BISM have worked very hard on their weekly Big Writing, which is always a pleasure to read. If you haven’t had a chance to read some of the Big Writing, which is displayed in our reception area, please take a moment to do so next time you are in school. Many congratulations to our weekly Big Write winners this month:

After a second meeting it was agreed that I would be the spokesperson for the Lunch Committee and the following week I had a meeting with the catering company and chef. I explained the Lunch Committee’s findings and also gave feedback from other parents I had spoken to. Together we agreed that the menu should be simplified slightly and items such as ‘mushrooms sautéed in garlic & parsley’ and ‘Honey glazed ham with parsley sauce’ should be removed from the menu. Fish will now be offered at least twice a week, items such as sweet potatoes and lentils are now going to be introduced, as are pitted olives and cubes of feta cheese to the salad bar. The vegetables were previously mixed together these will now be served separately allowing the children to have more of the vegetables they like and less of others they may not be so keen on. Fridays will be ‘treat day’ and any food that is fried etc will only be given then. I was also assured that the only time food had run out was once at the beginning of term and that from now on this would not be an issue. I must add that I left the meeting with the caterers and chef feeling very positive-I learnt that all of the food is prepared fresh every morning and that all of the sauces contain blended vegetables, which as a parent, I think, is always good to know! I would encourage all parents to be patient with the new menus-I will have another meeting with the catering company and chef at the end of this month to reevaluate what is working and what is not and make any amendments needed then. Please be assured that myself, the Lunch Committee, the chef and the Catering company’s main priority is making sure that the children get a nutritious, tasty lunch that keeps their stomachs full during the long school day. Lucy Foxcroft-Wardle Parent

Miss Marseglia English Coordinator

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Talking Point

Body Safety Awarness At school this month as part of our Charter Value focus on Awareness we have been teaching the children about Body Awareness. As well as discussing how to keep fit, clean and healthy we have also addressed the issue of Body Safety. Some may feel that teaching children about body safety and sexual abuse too young will take away their innocence or it is inappropriate, however, if we do not discuss these issues with our children, how can we protect or empower them? As a staff we discussed that if a child is old enough to be out of their parents’ sight then they are old enough to be taught how to keep themselves safe. Stranger Danger is a common issue discussed at home and in schools but more often than not the perpetrator is someone known to the child. We have explained to the children that not only should they never go with someone they don’t know but they should never go with anyone they don’t trust and NEVER without their parent’s permission. All the children now understand which body parts no-one should touch (to simplify it for them we explained that the private parts are under their swimming costume) and what to do should anyone ever attempt to touch them. But like with all lessons we teach, once is not enough. At school this topic will be revisited but at home we hope that your conversations with your child about body safety will be open and ongoing. Parents should not just have “the talk” with children, but multiple, natural conversations over time so that children know it is safe to talk about these subjects. For advice on how to talk to your child about body safety please click the link below: http://www.kidsfirstinc.org/preventing-abuse/ how-to-talk-to-young-children-about-body-safety