BAIS 2019-20:
BEFORE & AFTER 000
Contents Messages ............................................................................................................................ 1 BAIS Staff............................................................................................................................ 4 Elementary.......................................................................................................................... 9 Middle School ................................................................................................................... 21 High School....................................................................................................................... 28 Curricular Life.................................................................................................................... 29 Co-curricular Life............................................................................................................... 39 Events................................................................................................................................ 43 Autographs........................................................................................................................ 56
MESSAGES FROM THE DIRECTOR
The first year in a new school is always momentous for a Director; it is a mixture of giddy excitement and a steep learning curve. It was a pleasure to get to understand how deeply the teachers’ dedication runs for BAIS and to get to know every family and student by name. It was fun to enjoy BAIS signature events like the Authors’ tea. Added to this excitement in was some very serious work to set out a plan to put BAIS back on solid financial footing. Just when that was all in place, the COVID19 virus packed its bags and went travelling -- hitching a ride with travelers and becoming a global pandemic. The impact on our lives has been unprecedented. The BAIS community endured the mandated school closure, students -- a loss of socialization, teachers – feelings of failure, and parents emotional overload. 30% of BAIS students evacuated to another country, and families and staff alike still face an uncertain economic and employment future. The scale of disruption caused around the planet will be an unforgettable event in our lives, and the long road to a new normal will remain epic in our lives. And yet... it was a great year! This yearbook attests to just how wonderful it was and how much we learned and enjoyed learning together. It also shows before and after images to document the change from in-person to Home Learning. We have worked hard to support one another since March 18th, and we will find the best way to keep our students and staff safe and learning in future. We will make BAIS education wonderful again. Until then, flip through the pages of this book and remember the good times we enjoyed before and after COVID19 came along... and wash your hands... and keep a reasonable distance from others... and as the Glinny Glims put it:
Always keep your fins up and swim! Myna Myna Anderson, BAIS Director
Day 1
Day 175
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FROM THE BOARD 2020 began as we might expect every other in BAIS. We had a devoted staff and a dedicated student population working in harmony to achieve academic excellence. As a Board, we were dealing with serious financial difficulties and conveyed our concerns to parents. At the time it seemed like the biggest crisis we would face during the course of the year. From her first day on the job Ms. Myna has been extraordinary, and successful, in her efforts to tackle these financial difficulties but also in setting a tone of inclusiveness and learning in BAIS. We owe her a deep debt of gratitude. Then came the news that Sars-Covid-2, a novel virus, was beginning to emerge as a global epidemic. We immediately began to work with Ms. Myna and her faculty to ensure that in the event it became a pandemic we could continue to deliver the same standard of excellent education we had been working to provide on a face-to-face basis. On the 12th of March 2020 the WHO declared the pathogen and COVID19, the disease it caused, to be a pandemic. Fortunately we as a Board and the Emergency Team had been working on contingency plans which left us in a good position to deal with the Government’s announcement that schools should close as part of its Coronavirus response. I want at this point to express thanks, on behalf of the Board and parents, to Ms. Myna and all of the staff for the enormous work they put into implementing the move from face-to-face teaching to a fully digital model. They deserve extraordinary praise for the acuity and dedication for their adaptation to this new form of teaching and the increased workload it entailed. This new form of teaching has been a massive learning curve for all of us as staff, students and parents and has required dedication and commitment on all sides. It has not been easy on anyone but as a method of educational provision it has been world class in the tradition of BAIS. I have monitored the reaction across numerous nations in the move to online learning and BAIS is not only at the vanguard of implementation but in its execution. My sincere thanks to my fellow board members for their tireless work to support Ms. Myna in her work as school Director. This year we welcomed Carla, Jamal and Fady to the board and also had the invaluable input of Sandra and Youliana who unfortunately have served their terms and will no longer be part of our team. We were enabled and facilitated in our work by Ms. Leah and Ms. Madline who were tireless in their dedication to their work. I would encourage all interested parents to consider applying for the open seats on the Board and take an active role in the running and planning of the school into the future. The input and hard work of the student council and the PTO in making our community events thoroughly engaging and enjoyable experiences for all is also much appreciated. Sincere thanks to all of those involved. I would also take this opportunity to thank American Ambassador Richard Carlton Paschall III and his staff at the Embassy who have been hugely supportive of the school at this difficult time. In conclusion; we, as a community, have gone through an extremely difficult process in unprecedented circumstances. Although no one can predict whether we can return to face-to-face teaching in the new term, it is my sincere hope that we can. If this is possible then we look forward to welcoming back our current student and parent population as well as those who have chosen to join our community. Thank you all for your patience and perseverance during this difficult time and let’s look forward to returning to our regular school practices and experiencing the joy of our children interacting with each other in their classrooms and us as a parent group enjoying the social events which are so integral to our school community. Thanks again; I hope everyone and their families stays safe and well during the summer holidays. Kind Regards,
Cian O’Siochain Chair of the BAIS Board of Directors
Cian O’Siochain
Sandra Amalfi
Jamal Bensouda
Youliana Sadowski
Fady Ghanim
Carla Cerami 2
FROM THE PTO
It was a pleasure to be the lead for BAIS PTO during the past year and I hugely enjoyed working with a fantastic group of parents and teachers to organize fun events for the children and BAIS community. There was a great sense of team-work and community spirit and I would like to thank all PTO members (parents, teachers and Myna) who gave their spare time to attend meetings, make decorations, ask for raffle prizes, collect (or make) food and drinks, put up posters and many other tasks needed for the smooth running of the events. I would also like to thank the BAIS ground staff, teaching assistants and Mr. Philip, who work incredibly hard behind the scenes and make the movie nights and parties possible. The highlight of the year for me was the Christmas party, which featured a bouncy castle and reindeer cart, high-prize raffle and lots of fun activities for the children, including slip’n’slide, which proved to be a big (and wet) hit with the children. Seeing a long line of soaking wet children excited to have another go on the slip’n’slide, is one of my personal favourite memories from this year. As usual, Santa made a guest appearance (thank you Vanessa Sanyang) and had a very cozy grotto thanks to the wonderful creativity of Leah Woldman and her team. It was wonderful to invite other families into BAIS to enjoy the festive celebrations and to share our wonderful campus with them. It was also great to give a platform for some local food and craft businesses to showcase their wares at the local craft market, including service learning organizations like the Gambian Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GADHOH). The student council did a fantastic job with the gingerbread house competition and should be congratulated for their hard work and dedication at the Halloween and Christmas parties. The main aim of PTO activities is to arrange BAIS community events for us to come together, but we also raised a substantial amount of money this year (90,192 Dalasi), with which we are purchasing additional electronic Kindle Fire tablets / e-readers for the library. Hopefully this will enable more children to participate in educational and enjoyable activities such as the photography club and as learning aids. The tablets will be available at the start of the next school year. I would like to encourage parents and teachers to continue or get involved in PTO activities during the coming year. All are welcome to the meetings, whether virtual or face-to-face and we encourage new ideas for how we can come together as a school community, particularly in the COVID era. Thank you very much,
Helen Dr. Helen Brotherton, PTO Leader 2020-21 MBChB, FRCPCH, DTM, PGDip Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellow Assistant Clinical Professor & PhD candidate, Faculty of EPH, LSHTM Honorary Consultant Paediatrician, RHSCE, Edinburgh
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BAIS STAFF: ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Leah John Business Manager
Madline Prom Admin Officer
Myna Anderson HS Spanish Teacher & Director
Philip Jarju Maintenance Supervisor
FACULTY
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Keeping BAIS Campus Learning
Amal Abou-Alfa Math & IT Teacher
Awa Camara PK Teaching Assistant
Beryl Metzger Individual Assistant
Daniel Twum Music Teacher
Diantrec E. Badjie French Teacher
Elin Jacobson Early Childhood Teacher
Kelly McAllester Grade 3-4 Teacher
Kimberly Taylor Grade 1-2 Teacher
Leah Woldman Art & Library Teacher
Maiyai Taal Hocheimy MS/HS Science Teacher
Mariama Njie PK Teaching Assistant
Natalie Touray Kindergarten Teacher
Scott Hemsey MS/HS Humanities Teacher
Stephen Wright Physical Education Teacher
Valentine E. Williams KG-G2 Teaching Assistant 5
MAINTENANCE TEAM
Keeping BAIS Campus in Working Order
Adama Jallow Maintenance
Alex Adu Maintenance
Bully Touray Maintenance
Joseph Jarju Maintenance
Diminga Mendy Maintenance & Substitute PK TA
Sampierre Jatta Maintenance
Maintenance Crew – Together & Strong
SECURITY TEAM 6
Keeping BAIS Campus Secure
Abdou Marr
Alieu Jarju
Adama Mbakeh
Bala Sarr
Eric Sourie
Amara Cham
Musa Bah
Omar Sarge
Saidou Barr
Hasting Minton Security & Maintenance
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Staff Before…
Staff After…
Ms. Elin dressed as an elk for a project; MS Core Team checks in; Dr. Badjie checking his nounours!
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Elementary Before
After
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EARLY CHILDHOOD:
Highlights of the Year PK students learned and grew so much this year! The first theme of the year was The Very Hungry Caterpillar and we had our own caterpillar that turned into a butterfly. Pre-K also went out to the area around the school to collect trash and in that way do something good for the environment. Pre-K had lots of fun learning when playing and investigating in the outdoor area! During our Health and Well-Being unit we went to the Bakau market to buy fruits that we later enjoyed in the classroom. For Culture Day, Pre-K learnt about the Mandinka tribe and in their performace on Celebration Of Learning, they danced a Mandinka dance and spoke some Mandinka. We missed these activites when we had to stay home, but continued to learn about the sky, seasons, community workes, letter sounds, reading, emotions and feelings, patterns, numbers, the meaning of the words less and more and how to use Seesaw and Zoom. We enjoyed our Zoom meetings and to share experiences and learning there. -Ms. Elin Jacobson 10
SEEDLINGS & PRE-KINDERGARTEN 1
Arsh Sharma
Emilienne Murray
Jessica Thompson
Nina Micallef
Serine Akar
Xinyi (QiQi) Huang
Mohammed Bensouda
PRE-KINDERGARTEN 2
Abbas Salman
Ali Salman
Adesola Adefarakan
Ebrahima Jarsey
Omar Botto Jarsey
Henry Candler
Lydia John
Muhamadou Jah 11
PK students say good-bye to the butterfly that was once a caterpillar.
It is good to have extra big ears when listening for different environmental sounds! 12
Pre-K Discovery Learning!
We were caterpillars for our Celebration of Learning!
To celebrate BAIS reaching the reading goal during book month, we spent a great day at the beach. 13
KINDERGARTEN
Highlights of the Year We learned so much this year! Trimester 1 Science – we were modelling living things, and we visited My farm. The whole school went to the beach to read! Trimester 2 we visited Banjul! And we all turned 6 – although some celebrated in isolation! Then Zoom became the new normal! We do not always get to see your faces or hear your voices, and you often freeze but I know you are there! -
Ms. Natalie Touray
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KINDERGARTEN
Adama Cham
Elija Micallef
Hassan Akar
Nene Antonio
Nolan Hocheimy
Yolanie Hocheimy
Liam O'Siochain
Mrs. Natalie calls us the SUPER 7! And we are!
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GRADE 1 & 2
Highlights of the Year It has been an incredible year of learning for grades 1 & 2. Our learners have worked so hard and have made great progress this year. I am proud of the way they each handled the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of our favorite units this year was Fairy Tales. Not only did learners enjoy reading some of their favorite fairy tales with their classmates, they also had the opportunity to create their own version of the very popular story, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.� While also teaching the importance of being kind and generous, students did an amazing job performing their story for their schoolmates. To my amazing students, thank you for bringing me so much joy this year. Seeing your smiling faces each day made me the happiest teacher in the world. A little bit of each of you will always be with me. No matter where you go, always strive to be the BEST that you can be! -Ms. Kim Barker 16
GRADE 1
Absatou Touray
Amadou Bensouda
Marlow Murray
Ruijia Zhai
Babbi Jacobson
David John
Emile Amalfi
Leon Badjie
Sainabou Cham
Sebastian Sadowski
GRADE 2
Working on place value.
Marlow’s Cassowary’s habitat diorama.
Always reading! 17
Students investigating the effects of wind on the earth.
Presenting the landform project.
Showing an example of how mountains are formed.
Rick enjoying his silent reading time.
“The Three Rock Star Goats� presentation.
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GRADE 3 & 4
Highlights of the Year Compassionate, thoughtful, and curious, third and fourth graders learned so much this year about themselves and the world around them. Our many projects and activiites included creating rain guages, writing nonficiton books about animals, presenting on Aku culture, and cooking at home using fractions. We also learned how to be kind to each other, no matter our differences, to celebrate each other’s sucesses, and to support each other through challenging times. Thank you Grade 3-4 for an amazing year! -Ms. Kelly McAllester
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GRADE 3
Aminata Touray
Athena Seaver
Bemnet Yishak
…and learning both at school and at home!
Kaden Ghanim
Roisin O'Siochain
GRADE 4 Teaching others…
…investigating the natural world… Joelle Hamdan …and learning about Gambian culture!
…meeting on Zoom… 20
Middle School Before
After
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GRADE 5 & 6
Highlights of the Year For many reasons, it was a year we will never forget! From the trip to the beach across from BAIS during the retreat, to the endless emails from Google Classroom, here are some highlights: • Touring the Chinese Embassy and learning about the country’s culture… Chopstick Challenge, anyone? • Flexing math knowledge and engineering skills at the scale model project. • Photographer Jason Florio visiting and discussing human rights by sharing his amazing photos! • Squat logs: How many squats did you do in November? • Eulogizing Enkidu at his funeral. So many tissues! • PSEL: healthy habit PSAs. No one procrastinated, right? • Turning the soil so carefully at the BAIS Grows Garden. • Helping lead the timely Health & Fitness Fun Day. -Mr. Scott Hemsey 22
GRADE 5
Abdulmalik Ali
Adham Hydara
Aelwen Seaver
Andrew Birmingham
Ahmad Bazzy
Paul Nsega
GRADE 6
Batiste Amalfi
Julia Vives Roca
Mod Lamin Cham
Muhammad Awan
Raef Hamdan
Reo Maroun
Simon Badjie
Tahira Kishi Ojo 23
c
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GRADE 7 & 8
Highlights of the Year What a year! It will definitely be hard to forget and will mark our memories for years to come! Here are some of the highlights: • Going together for a meal to the Alliance Français to practice our French… • Touring the Chinese Embassy and learning about the country’s culture. • Using proportional reasoning and engineering skills at the scale model project. • Photographer Jason Florio visiting and discussing human rights by sharing his amazing photos! • Helping the Student Council organize Halloween and other fun activities for the BAIS students. • Helping lead the timely Health & Fitness Fun Day. • Touring the MRC labs and watched as scientists used DNA sequencer to determine the nucleotide sequence of a specific mosquito gene • Google classrooms, zoom meetings and 12 weeks of maximum screen time during our remote learning and COVID-19 lockdown! • And many more... -Ms. Amal Alfa 25
GRADE 7 A scale model of my bed
Collaborating in math class BAIS MS Retreat – fun and bonding!
Vital Badjie
GRADE 8
Amat Ceesay
Ashbah Awan
Jason Weerakkody
Michael Patipe
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... I feel honored and thankful for my time in seventh and eighth grades, as I’ve learned so much in a short amount of time. ... From an overnight trip to Marikissa, where we enjoyed my first time having s’mores (definitely fell in love with them), to walking around and appreciating nature around us, we’ve made countless memories. Even if it was a normal day at school competing with each other in the football field or the basketball court, the countless ranting and arguments, the annoying whispers when we were trying to sleep at the lockdown, as well as some anonymous person snoring and not owning up to it. I want to thank every individual who has helped in making my years here so remarkable and memorable. I want to thank all of you for making me feel welcome and at home even though”home” is miles away. ... I learned how to be confident and speak as a representative of the student council. I want to thank our student council team and Ms. Leah for giving me time and appreciating our efforts...
... I realized that all I had to do was not overthink or stress out about things. All I needed to do was just adapt to the situation to get through it. Personally, I feel like throughout my time in middle school it really changed the way I see things and handle things, but most of all it’s changed my grades… well, most of them anyway. I also learned to be creative and independent when it’s necessary, support the people around me so that we can create a strong bond, and share my ideas because they could make a change for the environment and the people around me. I remember when I was in 6th grade and we went on a field trip to Makumbaya for a service learning project and I volunteered to help the group of students on our side of the school. I was pretty nervous because it was my first time in middle school going up in front of a crowd of people having to know what I’m gonna say, but when I got up there and started helping everyone with the procedure on how to make briquettes, it felt like it was something I’ve been doing for a long time. This was because I was taught to believe in myself!
--Amat
–Ashbah ... I learned a lot about the culture in my time and got to meet the best friends, and also had the best teachers in my history of being a student. I learned a lot more science than in my previous school because I wasn’t the best in that subject. I hope that everyone at BAIS would try to be a leader and not disagree a lot because it’s a bad influence and you will later regret that decision. I believe that if everyone is a leader then the school would be a better community for students and it will help people understand others and what they think and create a better team chemistry for everyone, including teachers. I want to thank my teachers for helping us learn. We should really understand our teachers because they are trying to help us in every possible way they can, even if we disagree with what they choose to do. I understand that they are exceptional instructors and we will better understand their methods when we are older. My message to you all students is to pay attention to the right thing to do instead of the easy thing ... and if you do as instructed, you will gain more respect for the teachers and they will think of you positively...
... BAIS has helped me a lot and I am grateful to everyone who helped me. I was able to learn strong vocabulary quickly because I am really interested in learning about new things. Going on nature walks makes me curious about what I will find… and they have all taught me to be aware and to learn from what is around me. A challenge I faced was understanding certain questions my teachers gave me... and the way I overcame
this was by asking questions about our learning. This is something I used to be afraid of doing but after a while I wondered “Why do I need to be scared to ask a question?” Asking questions is the way to succeed in the path you are going. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me reach this level again. This includes my family, my friends, my teachers, and all the other BAIS students for supporting me and the other 9th grade graduates. Now this is a message to the younger students, you sometimes might get stuck somewhere but don't lose hope and give up there, you must keep on trying until you succeed and remember: “If there is a problem don't be afraid to ask –Michael questions about it.” --Jason 27
HIGH SCHOOL GRADE 9
Highlights of the Year
Aina Vives Roca
Aina had a long year of independent learning guided by her teachers and she also joined in PE, Art and Music with grade 7/8. When not in a classroom working with a teacher on Chemistry, Geometry, Spanish or World Hisotry, you might find Aina in the ‘High School room” with her head down figuring out how to balance a chemical equation but most of us found her out helping arrange events for others, playing sports or having lunch with friends.
The highlight of the year was Aina’s trip to the GISS conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire with Ms. Leah. Aina was part of a combined BAIS / American intl. School of Bamako team presenting ideas for how to address a community problem through service. Well done, Aina!
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CURRICULAR LIFE: SERVICE LEARNING Each year BAIS faculty selects one of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) as the focal lens of our whole school service learning program. This year’s service learning theme was SDG #3 - Health & Well-Being. It’s importance was made clear during the Trimester 3 home learning period when students faced limited social interactions and physical activity, as well as increased screen time. Throughout the course of the year, all BAIS students learned valuable information about nutrition and ways to keep active. Thank you for helping make our Service Learning Program a success!
Friday morning exercises!!
One of the Healthy Snacks shared in our online healthy snack day!
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LEARNING AT BAIS IS‌BUSY! BAIS students are empowered through research, debate, collaboration, discussion, special projects, individually created design, multi-step projects, investigation, and presentation of their learning. It is a rich, active academic life and it is fun!
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LEARNING AT BAIS IS… FOCUSED…
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LEARNING IS COLLABORATIVE… ACTIVE… FUN!
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BAIS values the arts for their power to create voice and authentic expression – students enjoy music and art classes and after school activities, and, even online, our young artists kept creating and sharing their work.
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DISCOVERY LEARNING
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The most profound learning comes when the learner is engaged in cognitive struggle; when a child is guided to independently investigate interesting things and figure out how they function. Our Early Childhood grades: BAIS Seedlings, Pre-Kindergarten 1, Pre-Kindergarten 2 and Kindergarten -- all used the philosophy of Discovery Learning so that our youngest learners were able to develop fine and gross motor control and test their understanding of how the world works.
From painting to hammering with real hammers and nails, from ‘making’ and selling food in the mud kitchen or restaurant to learning how to wash and care for baby dolls and their clothes; our little ones learned a lot this year through what they thought was just play!
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FIELD TRIPS BAIS students learned on and off campus in 2019-20 during field trips including: ⬧ PK Neighborhood Cleanup Walk ⬧ 14+ students Mahatma Gandhi quiz competition ⬧ MS Orientation Trip to the Beach ⬧ KG Trip to My Farm ⬧ MS trip to the Chinese Embassy ⬧ G7-8 Trip to MRC Laboratories ⬧ G3-4 Trip to test anemometers ⬧ KG tour of Banjul ⬧ MS French trip to Alliance Française ⬧ PK trip to Bakau Market ⬧ G3-4-5-6-7-8 trip to Bakau Women’s Garden Directions to beach: 1. March single-file towards Bakau; 2. Turn left at the goats; 3. Head into the sea breeze; 4. Careful going down the ‘stairs’; You’re there!
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Visiting the Bakau Women’s Garden helped connect student learning in the classroom with what is happening in our community. Tying in with the Service Learning Project, students learned how the garden operates and what a farmer’s life is like, as well as information about the crops themselves. The students are grateful that they weren’t put to work!
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Do you remember the man who came to show us paper cutting?
It is important to take time to share and celebrate our learning with each other and to allow people outside BAIS to share learning with us.
CELEBRATIONS OF LEARNING
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CO-CURRICULAR LIFE: AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
The After-School Activity program offered arts, sports, language and literature: wood-carving, photography, dance club, Chinese language, musical rehearsal, kickball, volleyball, book club, computer club.... and much more!
SATURDAY SPORTS Wright Academy continued to provide soccer skills to students of all ages, and Mr. Sampierre joined the scene with the BAIS B-Ball Academy in Trimester 2!
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STUDENT COUNCIL
The BAIS Student Council ran so many fun events for their classmates this year. Haunted House... Gingerbread House competition... ... Valentine’s Day... and when school had to close, they added spirit days: wacky tacky, crazy hair, pajama day and fort building! Thanks StuCo!
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SPECIAL VISITORS TO BAIS November – Games Boy: Sean Murphy
In November, Sean Murphy, an Australian actor, travelled all the way from Australia to perform his show – Games boy for BAIS students. We asked him to visit Fandema school as well, and we invited students from SBEC to enjoy “Games Boy’ with us at BAIS. Sean taught us games from all over the world which are fun, easy to play, and keep us away from video screens!
January – Chinese Acrobats
In January, we celebrated Asian New Year with an amazing performance by a professional troupe of musicians, and acrobats! Xie xie, Mr. Charles, for organizing this special treat! Again we hosted students from other schools including: SBEC, Maarif, Starlight, Newtown Lower Basic, Bakau Newtown Lowe Basic, Fandema and Bakau Upper Basic.
Also, a visit from Professor Tang all the way from the U.K.!!
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BAIS GARDEN
The BAIS Garden started in January 2020. The middle school helped till the soil.
We planted okra, tomato, wonjo and carrots.
Students weeded, measured and kept recording plant growth for weeks.
Then came the first harvest: 6.5 kg of okra shared with the community! Organic fertilizer (compost) prepared for next year! 42
EVENTS SEPTEMBER -- BAIS COMMUNITY BBQ The year began with a simple get together of the BAIS community. We enjoyed burgers and hotdogs, shared side dishes from each family, played musical chairs and three-legged races, and enjoyed live music on the balofon!
OCTOBER - BOOK MONTH BEGINS
Book month started in October and we took time to Drop Everything and Read every day. You could find students reading in all sorts of places!
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OCTOBER -- UNITED NATIONS DAY We held a special Celebration of Learning October 26th to celebrate United Nations day and the international make-up and collaborative spirit of BAIS! We started with a parade of nations with parents and students dressed in national costumes and colors, and then learned a little about the work done by the UN.
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OCTOBER - BOOK MONTH & AUTHOR’S TEA For Book Month we also hosted mystery readers, book character dress up day, a school-wide reading challenge, and an authors’ tea to celebrate at the end. Students set the reading goal 50% higher this year and met the target! The prize... reading at the beach!
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OCTOBER -- HALLOWEEN The PTO Halloween was awesome! Thanks to the Student Council there was a wonderful haunted house and the parents set up trick-or-treating stations around school. Doors had been made into Halloween book covers by parents and classes for Book Month. Children enjoyed games and some even dunked their whole heads under water for Bobbing for Apples! A movie was put on for all to enjoy, and Mr. Charles was the judge for the costume competition! Remember Mohammed being the cutest Spiderman ever?!
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DECEMBER – READING AT THE BEACH Nothing is better than working hard and earning something special for it. Our trip to the beach to read was just that – a chance to celebrate our accomplishment with the whole school reading, playing, dipping in the ocean, snacking and swimming at Coco Ocean Beach Resort.
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DECEMBER – CHRISTMAS FAIR The BAIS PTO signature event -the annual Christmas Fair & Party - was a huge success! Gingerbread house building, mulled wine, frost your own cookies, a visit from Santa, Christmas bazaar, donkey cart rides, lots of food vendors, and a rip-roaring slip’n’slide!
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JANUARY -- BAIS OLYMPICS
At the BAIS Olympics athletes from Fandema, Maarif, Special Olympics of The Gambia and BAIS competed in track and field events including: shot put, long jump, high jump, softball throw, long distance run, sprints and relays. BAIS students pushed themselves to do their best for their school team, and, in the end, Ms. Amal announced that BAIS had won first place!
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FEBRUARY -- GAMBIAN CULTURE DAY
On the first Friday after Gambian Independence Day, BAIS celebrated Gambian Culture Day. Every class had studied facets of one of the local ethnic groups. PK – Mandinka; KG – Wolof; G1-2 Fula; G3-4 Aku & Jola; MS – West African history, and HS – Gambia within the UN. Mr. Daniel led students in playing the national anthem on reorders and flutes. Then we proudly celebrated the people of The Gambia, their languages, and our learning!
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MARCH -- HEALTH AND FITNESS FUN DAY Learning to make healthy choices throughout their lifetimes is of critical importance for our youth. Health and Fitness Fun Day brought the local learning community together at BAIS to gain knowledge of numerous health-related topics with government leaders, scientists, teachers, and businesspeople. Students learned important hygiene practices, like washing hands thoroughly and brushing teeth regularly, through discussion and hands-on experiences just three weeks before schools were closed due to the pandemic!
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MARCH – MUSICAL & ARTS EVENING:
On Friday, March 13th, all of BAIS enjoyed an evening of arts at the Ebunjan Theater! The show kicked off by a performance of the AfterSchool Activity Dance Club (including athletes from the Special Olympics) to the song Don’t
Stop Me Now!
We then enjoyed the performance of ocean related songs by Pre-Kindergarten students: One, two, three, four, five... etc. and Ms. Leah screened the stop-motion animation videos created by students in grades 3 – 8. They were marvelous!
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Finally, the musical started – a tale of a gnarble (a teeny tiny, bottom-dwelling fish) who had dreams of seeing the top of the ocean. David John of Grade 2 played the lead role, and he sang and swam his way past the doubts of gnarbles and blyfish, past the hunger of the Warckels, Subbalubbles and Plinck, and with the help of the Glinny Glims. At last he made it to the top of the ocean. The lesson for BAIS was in the song... Always keep Your
Fins Up.. and Swim! Well done, BAIS students, for another wonderful show!
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MARCH – COVID19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC On March 17th, we were notified that schools would be closed due the the COVID19 Global Pandemic. Borders were closed that weekend and BAIS moved to Home learning using Seesaw, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and the help of parents to continue learning. We had 1 day of school, and the rest of Trimester 3 was online!
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JUNE -- STEAMPOSIUM
JUNE 55
AUTOGRAPHS
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AUTOGRAPHS
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