What's Up At BJAB #1 - Student Publication

WHAT'S UP BJAB?

HEADTEACHER'S NOTE

Dear reader,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the inaugural edition of what we hope will become a regular publication at BJAB

In a world where 'fake news' and the drawbacks of social media are all too prevalent, it is gratifying to see that pupils are BJAB are keen to publish carefully researched and well written pieces of journalism I have been most impressed with the way in which the editorial team of staff and pupils have gone about their task in such a short space of time In my interview Advika's questioning style was as far removed from a Paxmanesque style interrogation as can be imagined and quite possibly she dug much deeper as a result!

Do enjoy reading this historical first edition and thank you for supporting this initiative

Mr Retter

Members of Journalism Club celebrate the release of the first edition of BJAB's very own newspaper: What's Up BJAB?

The Chief Editor and English Editor celebrate making the final edits to the first issue of What's Up BJAB?

LETTERS FROM THE EDITORS

A note from our chief editor

Advika Arjun Hoskote, Chief Editor

The ‘What’s Up BJAB’ team is very excited to publish the very first BJAB newspaper Everyone in the journalism club has worked very hard to create some good content for you to read

We have also made an effort to make the newspaper trilingual French, English and Portuguese Our newspaper is filled with information about what’s currently happening in the world and of course, what is happening in our beloved BJAB Read on to find out about house points, sports competitions, football fixtures, interviews with our esteemed headteacher some of the talented staff, comics, facts and not to forget; Roxy’s adventures!

A note from our languages editor

Guilherme Antunes dos Santos

Nós começamos com um clube de jornalismo em Setembro 2022 Isto deu nos uma chance para começar um journal Isto está focado nas coisas que acontecem na escola e coisa que aconteceram no mundo em geral Eventualmente vamos estar a fazer coisas mais avançadas em termos de mundo geral

A note from our English editor

Felix Davis

Hi, my name is Felix and I am the English editor of the new BJAB newspaper, What’s up BJAB? We came to this name through a democratic vote but it tied very closely with the name The BJAB Times The following week we were supposed to be preparing speeches so we could get elected as editor or chief editor but couldn’t find the time to write it! Under great pressure, I improvised and was elected to the role of English Editor I promise to make this newspaper the best The newspaper team has been working tirelessly to make this first copy I hope you enjoy it

Felix Davis, English Editor

Guilherme Antunes dos Santos, Languages Editor

Quoi de neuf à BJAB?

Sports captain: c'est quoi?

by Eric Zurstrassen

Je me prénomme Eric et j’ai douze ans Je suis le capitaine des sports

Le capitaine des sports doit s’occuper de la cabane qui contient l’équipement de sport, m’assurer que les affaires sont bien réspéctés et arbiter des compétitions entre des années sous la mienne J’adore arbitrer les match en général, et la résponsabilité du travail m’aide à prendre de meilleures décisions

LA VOIX DES

ÉLÈVES

by Rachele Belotti

La semaine dernière, le corps étudiant a tenu une réunion du conseil de l'école Nous avons pris les conseillers de l'école préparatoire et nous avons rencontré les conseillers de l'école primaire Je les ai félicités pour leurs nouvelles responsabilités puis, je les ai ensuite envoyé dans leur classe où ils ont discuté et pris des notes sur les demandes de leur classe individuelle Nous avons ensuite rassemblé ces notes et en avons discuté avec les conseillers de l'école préparatoire Nous avons séparé les idées en deux catégories : celles qui étaient réalisables et celles que nous ne prendrions pas en compte cette année scolaire Avec ces données, nous avons décidé quelles idées nous voulions réaliser ce trimestre Moi même et Riya (responsable de l'éco conseil) allons discuter de ces questions plus en détail avec M Retter prochainement

Allez Schuman!

by Flora Drakopoulou

Bonjour à tous, je suis Flora, le ‘house captain’ de Schuman et cette année je suis en Year 8 Je pense qu'être un ‘house captain’ ce n’est pas seulement avoir un badge et annoncer les points de ma ‘maison’ chaque semaine, mais j’ai l’impression que c’est plutôt de représenter les valeurs de l’école et d’être un modèle pour les autres personnes qui sont dans ma ‘maison’ Cette année, j’aimerais bien qu’ on essaye d’avoir le ‘house’ et le ‘sports cup’ Je pense que ceci est une chose que notre ‘maison’ peut accomplir, mais même si on n’ y arrive pas à la fin de l’année, ça serait une chose dont je ne serais pas du tout déçue, car je saurai que toutes les personnes de notre ‘maison’ auront essayé et fait de leur mieux

ET L'ÉCOLOGIE?

by Riya Deswali

This term, there was a eco council meeting which took place in the sunshine gym All student representatives collected ideas to help make our school an eco friendlier environment for all One of the many ideas I was impressed by was the 10 mile radius meal The idea was tabled by the chair of the eco council, myself, and it helps address the issue of the school's carbon footprint

After taking a vote, we have decided that this issue must be acted towards to reduce our carbon footprint I look forward to the next eco council meeting to gather more ideas to make our school eco friendly

Please do pass on any ideas that you have to your eco council representatives or the Head Pupils

Some of our school representatives From left to right: Malachi (House captain for Hepburn), Eric (Sports captain), Rachele (Head pupil), Riya (Head pupil) and Flora (House captain for Schuman)

FEATURED INTERVIEW WITH MR RETTER

by Advika Hoskote, Chief Editor

Mr Retter joined BJAB as our new headteacher in August He was kind enough to give up some of his time to allow me to interview him for our first edition of What's Up BJAB? A transcript of our interview is below

Mr Retter, Headteacher.

Advika: “How has your move to Belgium been and what is your favourite Belgian dish?”

Mr Retter: “The move to Belgium has been absolutely great and I think that’s because the community has been utterly helpfulIt’s just such an amazing community I do love moules et frites with mayonnaise”

Advika: “What is your favourite time of the day in school”

Mr Retter: “I don’t think there is one particular time that I like the most but I do like meeting and greeting the children in the morningI also love to see everybody going by and that is lovely”

Advika: “ What is one thing you cannot live without?”

Mr Retter: “GoshThat is really hard If it has to be an object I think I would have to choose family or memories of family like, a wedding ring”

Advika: “ If you had to describe BJAB in one sentence, what would it be?”

Mr Retter: “It’s an amazingly friendly family like British international school”

Advika: “If you compare yourself to an animal, what would it be”

Mr Retter: “I think I would be a dogI am very fond of dogs and I like to be with people and love to play football like how a dog likes to chase a ball”

Advika: “ What is one of your hidden talents?”

Mr Retter: “When I was younger I did a lot of white water canoeing

Advika: “What makes a good day at school for you?”

Mr Retter: “I think every day at BJAB has been a good day and I know that because time passes so quickly and I have the best job in the world to meet and talk to the children and the staff”

Advika: ”If you could take your pupils to a field trip anywhere in the world , where would it be?”

Mr Retter: “If you have got an amazing group, who is chatty and friendly it doesn’t really matter where you go But to fully answer your question, when I was at my previous school Mrs Retter and I ran trips to Munich, Vienna and Berlin in the run up to Christmas, which with the Christmas markets was always amazing”

Advika: “ Which sport do you enjoy watching?”

Mr Retter: “I am afraid I am very sorry, I am a football fanI like watching competitive sports weather it’s the World Cup or the football fixture that BJAB has played in against ISFI also just like to see people enjoying playing their sport”

Advika: “If you won the lottery and had to give up teaching what would you do instead?”

Mr Retter: “I enjoy teaching and if you had to give up what you love and enjoy then I don’t think there is actually any pointSo I would carry on teaching but maybe use the money for something else or save the moneyThat is actually a really hard question”

Advika: “If you could have one superhero power, what would it be”

Mr Retter: “I think going back in time would be very nice because I would like to see what Etterbeek looked like then I am not so sure about going forward in time I would leave that to my imagination though”

Advika: “What is your idea of a perfect weekend?”

Mr Retter: “A perfect weekend is reading a good book, spending time with family, having a nice cup of tea, long dog walks, eating cake and my guilty pleasure watching Netflix

Advika: “Which was one of your favourite books you read when you were a child”

Mr Retter: “I think it would be ‘Emil and the detectives’ I read it in English though it is by a German author and he talks about the railway station in Berlin where before the war there was a zoo and I must have been in year 5 or year 6 when I read it It is because of the book, I wanted to go to Germany and see what it really is”

Advika: “If you could change one thing in the world what would it be”

Mr Retter: “I think at the moment it would be nice to change the situation in Ukraine. I know it is just one thing but it would really help”

Advika: Thank you for your time and detailed answers Enjoy the rest of your day!

by Riya Haresh

By Taehee Kim

Les années 8 ont organisé une superbe soirée pour les élèves de l'école primaire

Ce jeudi, ils pourront danser comme des fous aux sons des plus grands tubes du célèbre DJ Rionex! Cela s'annonce être une soirée d'halloween inoubliable!

DATE WITH DESIDERIO

Madame Desiderio is a staple of BJAB and a universally admired teacher of French I had the pleasure of interviewing her for this edition of What's Up BJAB?

Below is a transcript of the interview

What’s your favourite food?

My favourite food is pasta I particularly enjoy lasagna and make a mean ravioli

What’s your favourite colour ? My favourite colour is blue

What’s your aim?

My aim is to support students to create the first BJAB newspaper

Why did you decide to do journal club? l have always been interested in journalism, and I think it's good to encourage young people to write and contribute to school life

When did you want to be a teacher?

When I was six, I wanted to be a teacher and when I was 18, I decided to study to become a teacher

Do you have any pets?

No, l do not have pets yet, but would like a dog

What is your favourite subject?

My favourite subject is French and languages in general I love learning them!

by Taehee Kim

Which house are you in? I am in Hepburn GO HEPBURN, GO!

What’s your favourite thing to do when you are free?

My favourite things to do when I am free are doing cooking and reading

Why did you did you choose to teach Spanish?

Because I love languages and I think it’s a fun language to teach with the way it sounds

How many class do you teach? I teach 6 classes from Year 1 to Year 8

If you weren’t a teacher what job would you do?

I would like to own a little café and bake cakes for people and teach French in the café

What was your job when you weren’t a teacher?

My job was putting toys on the shelf in the supermarket during the summer

Mon challenge: apprendre une nouvelle langue

by Madame Desiderio

Ce mois ci, je me suis lancée un nouveau challenge: je veux apprendre à parler le néerlandais Mais pourquoi? Tout simplement parce que c'est une des langues officielles de la Belgique, et j'aime connaitre les langues du pays dans lequel je vis

Ce n'est, bien entendu, pas la première langue que j'apprends, mais je n'ai pas appris de langues depuis plus de 10 ans, et je dois admettre que j'avais beaucoup d'appréhension avant de commencer Toutefois, il faut bien une première fois pour tout

Me voilà donc inscrite pour 4h de néerlandais, tous les mercredis soirs

Je me rends vite compte qu'apprendre une nouvelle langue, c'est comme monter à vélo: une fois que l'on a l'expérience d'en apprendre plusieurs, l'apprentissage est, en fait, plus aisé

Je peux vite utiliser mes connaissances de la grammaire et du vocabulaire des autres langues pour créer des liens et progresser dans mon apprentissage Je retrouve aussi beaucoup de plaisir à apprendre quelque chose de nouveau

Mais tout n'est pas toujours facile, je me rends compte qu'il y a énormément de devoirs à faire J'avais oublié à quel point il est important d'apprendre aussi seul pour pouvoir vraiment connaitre une langue

Mes conseils pour apprendre une langue étrangère:

Choisissez une langue pour laquelle vous avez de l'intérêt: la motivation est clé Soyez ouvert d'esprit: chaque langue a sa spécificité

Ecoutez la langue à la radio, à la télé et sur youtube

N'ayez pas peur de parler et de faire des erreurs N'oubliez pas de faire vos devoirs: l'apprentissage se fait aussi seul

Madame Desiderio hard at work learning Dutch

by Miss Goodes

A TALL ORDER

The latest reading challenge for BJAB Prep is underway, this time with the theme of ‘literary giants’ All the books read by students across Y5 Y8 this term will be (metaphorically) stacked and measured

Will we be able to match the height of Roald Dahl’s BFG? Tolkien’s dragons? Rowling’s trolls?

Don’t forget to let Miss Goodes know whenever you finish reading a book (teachers too) to be added to the giant book stack The final measurements will take place on the last week of the Christmas term

A SCHOOL FULL OF POETS

This term, students are invited to enter the latest poetry competition from COBIS The theme is ‘Who Am I?’ and the deadline is 3rd November 2022 Please submit your poems to Miss Goodes at m goodes@bjab org to enter

Only one poem from KS2 (Y5/6) and one from KS3 (Y7/8) will be entered by the school but the other submissions will be published in our next poetry anthology Don’t forget you can still purchase the old one on Amazon here Amazonfr The Year 2021: A poetry anthology from the students of BJAB of Brussels, British Junior Academy Livres or through the school office!

SLEIGH IT AIN'T SO

BJAB Prep Presents ‘Once Upon a Christmas’

Performance Date: Tuesday 13th December

This Christmas

A busy department store readies itself for the festive season Customer complaints, dwindling profit margins and an unruly team of staff have left the store's boss, Mr Grinch, exasperated Before he has time to fix the first set of problems, another comes along in the form of Harold; an old man who is definitely not possessed by the spirit of Christmas Will Harold be able to move on from his past and focus on the future? Will things turn around in time for Mr Grinch to make a handsome profit?

Join us in the search for the true meaning of Christmas

ORACY OCTOBER: A HUGE SUCCESS

A huge congratulations to students across Year 7 and Year 8 who have almost completed the latest Oracy October This year’s theme was ‘Speak Like a Specialist’ which focused on using subject specific terminology and presentation styles

Thank you to Mr Mitchell, Mr Varden and Ms Whittaker for their support with this event and for showcasing that oracy is important in all subjects!

I look forward to awarding students their certificates in the final assembly of the term, particularly those for the individuals who have won each of the independent subject awards Well done to all

HISTORY CORNER

by Riya Haresh

Learning about World War 2 World war 2 was started by Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1939 as it drove France and Britain to declare war over Germany.

It started on the 1st September 1939 and it carried on for the next 6 years The war was against the allies (Britain, France, Russia, China , USA) and the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan) It finally ended on 2nd September 1945

The war in Europe finished when Germany surrendered This was about a week after Hitler ended his own life

When this was announced there was street parties all over Britain.

The allies won the war officially on 2nd September as Japan finally surrendered to the USA

The Victoria Cross award was sent to war heroes; it was awarded for extreme bravery

HAVE YOU TAKEN PART IN THIS TERM'S ART COMPETITION YET?

BY RIYA HARESH

When you first start at a school, you get nervous But at BJAB, you get a warm welcome starting with a greeting at the gate You get a locker, and head out to play until 8:30 You can take some time to settle, there is no rush The teachers are kind and understanding, and you can make nice friends Also, Miss Angela’s meals are absolutely delicious It has been three weeks for me and I’m content It’s a great school to go to

confident

Make some friends

Enjoy your first day

A FRESH START NOTÍCIAS GERAIS

por Guilherme Santos

Construir jangadas (ano 8)

Dia 29 de setembro nós fizemos uma experiência de construir uma jangada e sobreviver até o fim de um rio Isto deu mesmo um desafio aos nossos cérebros mas no fim estava tudo bem Um de nós apanhamos uma tose é um frio mas o resto estava tudo bem

O senhor varden ardeu a mão com carbonato de cobre

Dia 18 de Outubro o senhor varden ardeu a mão com carbonato de cobre Para quem não sabe carbonato de cobre é um químico que pode fazer mal ao ambiente e pode ser irritante a pele Isto pode levar qualquer quantidade de tempo para não arder mas é muito irritante

SÉJOUR AU CAMPING

by Archana Amrutharaj

Le vingt deux septembre, les années 7 sont allés au camping dans un parc national qui s’appelle Hoge Kempen

Le premier jour, nous avons marché douze kilomètres dans une forêt qui est très belle et nous avons vu des chevaux Après ça, nous avons mangé de la pizza autour du feu de camp Le lendemain, nous avons marché autour du lac et après ça, nous avons rangé notre tente et nos affaires Aurevoir Hoge Kempen!

RAFTING TRIP

BY FELIX DAVIS

Year 8 went on what sounded like an excellent trip to Leuven, where they learnt to build a raft and took part in a rafting expedition. Many people fell in the water, including Jack and Anvay, but they displayed a lot of courage and resilience

going back on

MUSÉE DES SCIENCES NATURELLES

by Julia Schembri

This term, Year 6 went to the Museum of Natural Sciences, in Brussels You may also know this as the Dinosaur Museum

They had a look at humans body parts as the heart and the veins were really interesting for our lessons

Year 6 did really exciting quiz, where you had to find information about the dinosaurs We also did marvellous drawings of the dinosaurs

Every pupil really enjoyed this trip Mr Mitchell even described the occasion as sensational

We hope that other schools will come to the marvellous Science museum

Museum

Natural Sciences

trip

by Riya Haresh

Last week year 5 enjoyed their forest trip and also learnt some nice things!

In Science, they learnt about habitat They shook trees and took photos of the interesting things that fell on their paper

They also had a lot of fun, with a classic hide and seek game with a twist

They also produced outstandng work of art with a project of painting with nature (twigs,leaves exc;)

In maths, they studied how to measure the age of a tree, by measuring a tree’s girth in cm times 05 gives the age

IT'S NOT OK!

By Miss Cowx

Students at BJAB have long been known for their good manners, tidy uniform and academic successes Many schools accept their success and focus on maintaining levels, but this school is different;wewanttomakethingsbetter Areyoupassionateaboutchange?Doyouwantto stop climate change? Do you know about homophobiainsport?Aboutracisminsociety? Doyouwanttomakeadifference?

Students and pupils of BJAB, you can access personalised coaching sessions to help you become advocates for your cause Speak to Miss Cowxformoreinformationabouthowtodothis

AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW

MR VARDEN

by Julia Schembri

You’re probably wondering what I will be asking Mr Varden about I will be asking him about a few different topics One of the topics will be about his past jobs, another topic will be about his childhood, and the last topic will be about his adulthood Here are all of the questions :

What inspired you to become a teacher?

What job would you do if you weren't a teacher?

What was your job before you became a teacher?

What is your favourite topic?

What is your favourite hobby?

Do you have any children?

Do you have any pets?

If you are feeling sad, who do you confide in?

Where were you born?

Do you have any siblings?

What created your interest in science?

1 “I realised when I finished university that I enjoyed helping people Because I love science, and I enjoy helping people succeed, Teaching felt like a very natural career choice”

2 If I weren't a teacher, perhaps I'd like to work in a laboratory or conduct research I'm particularly interested in microbiology and antibiotic resistance, so I'd enjoy research around those areas

3 Before I became a teacher, I worked in McDonald's I actually worked there for seven years from the age of 16 so I know how to make a Big Mac by heart!

4 My favourite subject is Biology

5 At the moment, I really enjoy learning French I go to lessons twice a week after school I'm also very grateful to my Year 7 and Year 8 classes, who often help me with my homework

6 No, I don't have any children. I do have a niece and a nephew who I enjoy spending time with though

7 Not in Belgium At home in Manchester we have a family dog, Buddy [shown left] He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Even though he's very old now, he still plays like a puppy

8 What a good question! Lots of people, but Madame Desiderio and Miss Goodes have been great supports to me here in Brussels

9 I was born in a town in the north of England called Bolton

10 I do I have two older brothers and a younger sister We used to fight a lot when we were younger not so much nowadays

11 I don't know I have always been interested in science from a young age I think I was around four years old when I became interested in the planets and asked for a telescope for Christmas!

The Varden family dog, Buddy.

MITCH'S PITCH

By Mr Mitchell

New year, new players, new energy. Following the covid enforced hiatus of competitive sport these previous few years, it has been an energetic and busy start to the new season Having already had more fixtures this half term than any previous year in BJAB, students have demonstrated model sportsmanship as they played against ISF and ISB Fixtures across year groups with both boys’ and girls’ teams playing have been well received by everyone involved and has highlighted the competitive spirit in many of our players There were some real heart in mouth moments as score lines went back and forth like a tennis ball in the heat of a rally Although some games were conceded as losses, I am proud to say that we also come away with two victories Lessons were learned and in class training has helped improve student’s ability in football

Highlights include a daring dash by Alec Zurstrassen to defend against an imminent goal, Tony Kountouris Renzulli’s cat like saves, the stalwart attacking form of Nadine Grava and the talented finishing skills of both Chitsike brothers With a few remaining potential football matches left, we begin to look to Basketball as our next competitive sport Matches will again be for boys’ and girl’s teams from across the Prep School, and with interest from schools such as, BSB, ISB, ISF and St Johns, there is certain to be more victories ahead Students and Mr Mitchell would like to thank all parents that have helped transport students to fixtures.

INTER-HOUSE

Mr Mitchell is giving all of us the opportunity to gather points for our house in a very exciting inter house sport competitions We will be able to join in house relay races, as well as basketball, hockey and football tournaments

can't wait to see the results of this

SECONDARY LAUNCH: A MARVELLOUS EVENING

BJAB is known for well organised, successful events

was no different! Families from across the school

came together to hear Mr Retter officially launch the

of our school

in recent years, having opened the

has already seen

and occupied

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recently as the past

years 2023 will see the

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By Desiree Curcio and Julia Schembri

image credit: yahoocom

How well did you do?