BSB School Magazine April 2020

@BSB

Celebrating 20 years of preparing our students for a better future

April 2020

Moving forward together • Thoughts from Lockdown - the COVID-19 epidemic • We’re in this together • The importance of preparedness in facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic

Life @ BSB before the Lockdown PLUS BSB REPORTERS | MEET THE TEACHERS | THE ROAD FROM BSB

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MOVING

Forward TOGETHER

The whole world’s life has been changed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has impacted the lives of everyone. That didn’t hold us back as humans, teachers, children, or parents.

We’re committed to implementing better ways of managing online learning and balancing the workload of our students as well as of the parents’ and the teachers’ ones.

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THOUGHTS FROM

Lockdown THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC

I am writing from the confines of my own home. This is not dissimilar to so many of us as we embrace the realities of the Coronavirus pandemic and the limitations on personal freedoms being implemented by governments for the sake of the greater good for society.

The challenges to societies, economies, businesses and individuals are immense. We are adapting and planning forward at each new turn and I am privileged to work with such a strong, creative, hard-working and intelligent team. Arguably the core aim of 21st Century education is to prepare students for jobs in the future that currently do not exist and for which we may not as yet have fully envisaged. This is a lesson from the last 30 years where revolutions in technology and communication have changed so much. The online educational paradigm forcibly followed in so many countries at the moment is one that we have unknowingly prepared for over recent years and I think that we were ready for the challenge at BSB in many ways, given a relatively mature approach to the use of technology within teaching and learning. Yet with anything, the proof is in the pudding and the real test is upon us right now as our online learning programme is in place yet evolving following reflection and feedback.

Uncertainties bring anxieties for all of us. During the first weeks of home learning one of our initial focus has been to consider the well-being of students as well as our staff as it is evident that the isolation and change from the school environment can be extremely detrimental. I have been delighted by the various pastoral responses that have been enacted from online assemblies, tutor sessions, individual counselling, group podcasts, orchestral recordings and many other more subtle means designed to monitor, support and edify our children.

As I write I am listening to Ms. Citron (yes – I call her that at home!) downstairs conducting an online French conversation class with 10 Secondary students. The level of student teacher interaction is impressive. Much thought had gone into the preparatory tasks that the students needed to bring to the lesson. Much planning had also gone into the consideration of each question and each phase of the

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lesson. Indeed, I would argue that planning a genuinely successful online face to face lesson takes as long as delivering one, if not longer, especially if it is to be appropriately differentiated with suitable outcomes for all the students. We have therefore taken a blended approach to online learning delivery and with this approach, the autonomy of our students will inevitably grow. This is no bad thing, but clearly we need to continue to monitor our students with care, facilitate support mechanisms for them and parents, who are often in difficult circumstances. Meanwhile our younger age groups will inevitably require significant support with new online methodologies presenting an entirely different set of issues with which our teachers and parents are wrestling. Our programme combines a

range of activities appropriate to each age group alongside teacher interactions, meets and screencasts using a variety of online tools.

The modes of pedagogy required for success in this environment are entirely different to the classroom.

Finding means, new methods, adapted methods and ways which work for each and every individual in our care is a challenge. In the first two weeks of online learning I have seen the provision evolve rapidly and I am sure that this will continue. I am very proud to work with reflective practitioners who, as ever, are responding intelligently and positively.

Of the many lessons that have been learned, perhaps the one most clear in my head is that as teachers - we

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miss our students. We miss the daily interactions and friendships. We miss the normal routine. We appreciate the enormous value of the broad range of activities that we organise together with our students. This is of course the case in reverse for the children. Online learning can never replicate the values of school attendance, however I am proud of what has been achieved thus far in the BSB online learning programme. The learning curve for us and the students has been significant and will not stop; but we have continued.

Philip Walters Headmaster

WE’RE IN THIS

Together Systems of education that are ‘child-centred’, that truly put children and their learning at the heart of everything they do, are fraught with a culture of ongoing reflection, monitoring, evaluation and modification to systems, policies and practice in the name of ‘school improvement’ and ‘raising standards’ for children. Schools exist in a constant state of non-complacency and thrive on a constant desire to make things, even the best things, even better. BSB is certainly no exception to this, and recent worldwide school closures resulting from the introduction of COVID-19 into everyday life has put staff, as both a group and as individuals, deeper into the chasm of self-appraisal.

Moving into a system which delivers the curriculum strictly online to children between the ages of two and eleven has certainly brought along with it a range of challenges. From increased ‘screen time’ to decreased physical activity, from the pressures of designing appropriate digital tasks and content for even our youngest learners to overcoming the

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implications of limited opportunity for socialisation, teachers find themselves working furiously, perhaps even more hours than before, to tackle the problems that arise and try to provide the very best learning opportunities for their students that they can. The ‘trial and error’ nature of the situation is consistently testing our resilience and demanding that we acknowledge mistakes and work hard to fix them. But hey – we are used to it.

This is what we DO. I have been impressed by the positivity and determination with which my BSB colleagues have approached each hurdle over these last weeks, choosing to see adversity as a valuable opportunity for professional learning and personal growth. Still, we cannot help but to occasionally find amusement and take solace from the glut of videos and quotes flooding social media that depict homeschooling parents begging teachers and schools to take their children back. We know how hard this work is. We know how many hours it requires. We know that it takes years to train to be a teacher, and that with the qualification must come a commitment to lifelong learning and an uncompromising desire to strive for excellence. We know, and we know how important it is to feel that this work is valued.

But what about our families, who have now taken on such an active role in learning in the home? What these social media posts are also saying is,

‘This work is hard! I have no training or experience! I need some feedback and support!’ Though now it seems like many, many moons ago, I have not forgotten the uncertainty and anxiety that I felt the first few times I stood before a classroom full of children who expected me to be the one who knew what I was doing, and I can imagine what our parents are going through as they endeavor to support their children’s learning on top of trying to meet their regular, daily obligations.

We teachers appreciate that we are not the only ones attempting to navigate uncharted territory, and we are here to lend whatever support we can to work in partnership with parents and families to keep children’s learning moving forward.

Here are a few tips for you, the latest additions to our teaching force: 1. Do what you can! We know that our families are dealing with a range of different circumstances and have different access to networks of support. Speak with your class teacher to help prioritise tasks, if necessary, but know that we acknowledge that there may be limitations.

2. Ask for help! Please do not hesitate to schedule meetings with teachers and school leaders if you need clarification on any activities or concepts. We are here to support you, too!

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3. Praise yourself for your efforts and celebrate successes! Though the workload can sometimes be daunting, taken on the whole with the rest of your responsibilities, it is more than likely that your child is making progress each day with whatever support you can provide. Pride yourself and your child on each accomplishment, however small.

4. Take a breath…and a break! Both you and your child will need to step away from the computer at various intervals throughout the day. Treat yourself to some fun, some physical activity and relaxation from time to time. Take advantage of this extra time you get to spend together.

5. Keep talking with your child’s class teacher! Your feedback will be essential to putting necessary modifications in place to improve our Academic Online Learning Programme on an ongoing basis. Please keep in touch with teachers and continue to take advantage of Parent Questionnaire opportunities.

We would like to thank you for your hard work, effort and ongoing support.

We value the work that you are doing.

Together, we can get through this!

Victoria Smith

Head of Primary School

The Importance oF preparedness in facing the challenges

of the COVID-19 pandemic On a busy day at school it is tempting for teachers to wish for at least a day or two without the students being there so that they can have some peace and quiet and ‘get some real work done’.

But it is only when you are in a school without the students that you realise how lifeless and eerie an empty school can be. The corridors no longer ring with the voices of staff and students and the playground, dining room and hallways are free of the happy bustle and hurly burly of daily school life.

So you have to be careful what you wish for, because as I write these words, some of us have spent several days working from home or in an empty BSB, which has been closed to protect our community from the effects of the COVID-19 virus. As our community members are flung far and wide, many of whom are in different countries, our interactions and teaching and learning now have to happen in front of a computer screen.

But undaunted by this new challenge, the Secondary teaching team have drawn together and have embraced the new opportunities that online learning can bring. Secondary teaching poses some unique challenges given the age ranges and outcomes for each of the Key Stages and, as such, our approach to the blend of online learning has reflected this. We have students who are preparing for GCSE and A Level examinations and therefore will need feedback and guidance on their coursework, assignments and essays. Key Stage 3 students will need to keep pace with their learning and continue to keep up with lesson content, as well as developing skills for the future under the guiding hand of their teachers.

To support these aims, we are using Google Classroom and everything that the G-Suite offers to enable teachers to post materials and recordings of lessons, take in, mark and feedback on students’ work. In fact, the possibilities are potentially endless. This is not just limited to teachers having one-to-one and class tutorials using videoconferencing,

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but it also offers opportunities to allow the orchestra and choir to continue, by assembling individual recordings to make a coherent and tuneful piece of music and without any auto-tune in sight! Our pastoral team have been providing activities and opportunities for videoconferencing with their Form Tutor at a time when many students crave some contact with members of their school community. We are also constantly evaluating the effectiveness of our online learning and will be making changes to reflect this need.

The commitment to the education of all our students and the opening of a new world of possibilities in creativity has been truly embraced by our BSB teachers, which is a testament to the versatility of their skills, to their resilience and to their dedication for the learning of all our students.

To return to the theme of my opening paragraph, it has been over the past weeks whilst being in an empty school, and now working entirely from home, that we realise how much we value routine, how much we value the personal interactions around school and how much we value the need for us to continue to connect with our BSB community. Since we will one day inevitably reflect on our experiences of school closure and online learning, we will of course look back on the creative opportunities we have had, but we will appreciate even more how close and connected our school is on a day-to-day basis.

If nothing else, we have now found an answer to the question as to whether teachers can be replaced by a robot or a computer. In short, they can’t.

Jason Porter

Head of Secondary School

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LIFE @BSB BEFORE THE

Lockdown Let’s have a review of how school life has been before the lockdown.

The teachers shared the activities from our second term and it is heart-warming to see the real-life at BSB. This is BSB and we’re looking forward to seeing you back on campus in September.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Pre-Nursery @BSB

By Raina Myson

Pre-Nursery have been exploring Textiles this Term and have been using junk modelling to create a class masterpiece, they have greatly enjoyed manoeuvring the boxes and tubs to get things in ‘just the right place’ and have exercised their fine and gross motor skills. This creative piece of Art has had the children exploring language, Maths, Science, physical development and understanding that others have different views and to share experiences. The children have loved discovering that they can tear ‘masking tape’ and tape anything together including themselves.

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Also this term, the children in Pre-Nursery have been learning to become more independent in all manner of learning, from unzipping and taking off their coats and changing into their indoor shoes to selecting activities in the classroom of their own choosing, all these skills are essential in developing confidence in themselves. We have shared tears and giggles when mastering shoes and socks, but the excitement on their little faces when they have accomplished these great feats are priceless and we are so lucky to be the ones to cheer loudly, and to high-five and celebrate the achievements of their hard work and perseverance.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Nursery@BSB

By Jenna Batson

Nursery has had a very enjoyable term due to the changes of our seasons. We at last were given a snow day so we could explore this amazing material: building snowmen, making snow angels, walking and making footprints in fresh snow and finally creating a slope for us to sledge down.

We have continued to visit the forest and seeing the changes of the year has been very evident for us this term.

Each visit has shown us something new: Trip 1 - bare trees, no sounds, muddy ground covered with brown mushy leaves still left from Autumn.

Trip 2 - snow, animal footprints in the snow, snow melting and dripping off the branches creating sounds as they fell to the floor.

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Trip 3 - beautiful purple, white and yellow spring bulbs peeking up from the ground, buds on the trees beginning to show, birdsong heard everywhere you go.

Spring is a wonderful time of year and we look forward to seeing the growth of nature both in the life cycles of plants but also animals.

This term we also invited our peers to join us at our dinosaur party. We made everything ourselves, from the decorations and invites to the sandwiches and biscuits. We had a ‘roarsome’ time.

I have been very pleased to see the engagement of the children in our special Google Classroom during the tricky time of home learning. The children have been keen and eager to continue their learning at home and we have loved all the photos, videos and comments they have uploaded - well done Boys and Girls!

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Reception@BSB

By Emma Sauer and Jodie Lewis

In Reception we have had a busy Spring term. Some notable events were trips to the forest, Friendship Week, Crazy Hair Day, snow and Book Week.

We have taken many trips to Băneasa Forest. It a great way to get some fresh air and physical exercise. At the forest, we get to experience the awe and wonder of nature. We are learning to respect nature, notice the changes in the seasons and recognise growth, change and decay. It is also a good way for a child to develop friendships with children from different classes.

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On the week of Valentine’s Day, we celebrated Friendship Week.

Throughout the week we did various activities with other classes. Year 2 and Reception made friendship bracelets and played snakes and ladders together. Reception made delicious blueberry muffins and shared them with various staff around the school. We also celebrated Crazy Hair Day, there were some very creative hair designs to be seen.

The long-awaited snow finally arrived.

We had so much fun playing in it. We built snow men and found a small slide, in the Ringwood Outdoor Learning Area, that we could zoom down in a sled. It was really fast and fun.

For the days we were open during Book Week, we read stories set in the forest, on our trip to Băneasa Forest. Will Mabbitt was the visiting author, he had us in fits of laughter at the EYFS Book Week Assembly.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Year 1@BSB

Getting the Measure of Tales and Toys

By Kate Dibble and Emily Marsh This term we have seen some exceptional work from both Year 1 classes!

In English we learnt all about traditional tales. The children had a great time reading a variety of different traditional tales. Once they were confident that they knew the stories well enough, they had a go at acting them out and finally innovated to create their very own version of the story.

In Maths we had a lot of fun exploring measurement. The children started

by measuring things around the classroom using ‘non-standard units of measure’, and then moved on to measuring in centimetres, millilitres and grammes. We used the cooking room to explore different weights and capacity and even got the chance to make some delicious cakes!

different materials and discussed which materials would be most appropriate for different types of toys. The children found it really interesting to research toys from the past and were amazed to find out about how much things have changed since their parents were children.

Our most recent topic has been Toys. We had great fun talking to the children about the different toys that were of importance to them and even heard a few stories about toys that were important to the people in their families. We used this topic to explore

We look forward to another fantastic term!

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Year 2 @BSB

Outstanding Historians

By Ann-Marie Isaac and Adam Pegrum

During the Spring term, the teachers had introduced a bakery role play area into the classrooms; it was evident that the children were keen to take part in the role play area once it had arrived.

Next, the children read a book about ‘The Great Fire of London’, some of them were quick to realise that there was a reason behind why the role play area was in the classroom!

The children used a variety of different materials to find out more and more about The Great Fire from researching Discovery Espresso, watching ‘Horrible Histories’ to reading a book about the fire. We continued to add a variety of things into the role play area such as bread and pastries made from salt dough, to naming the bakery ‘Pudding Lane Bakery’. The children were continuously enquiring about the fire.

So much learning derived from introducing this topic, from English and Maths to Art and D&T. A significant person during this time was a man called Samuel Pepys, and he wrote a diary about what happened in 1666. This inspired the children to

write their diary, imagining that they were in London at that time. It was important for them to focus on writing in the first person, use the past tense, and write in chronological order. Lots of writing opportunities were to be had in the role play area, writing instructions after baking the bread and creating an acrostic poem.

The children developed their Art skills using charcoal, oil pastels, and collage materials to recreate images of the great fire and in D&T worked on their woodwork skills of measuring, cutting, and joining wood for their Tudor houses. They learnt about houses and the fire service past and present and created a timeline of the fire in History. In Science, they also found out why they needed to use different materials when they rebuilt London after the fire through a variety of investigations and research on materials. We learned that measuring accurately was vital to ensure that the bread that we cooked came out perfectly.

Make sure you ask these young historians all about it!

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Year 3 @BSB THE ROMAN SOLDIERS

By Rachel Eglinton and Mallory Barnes

From the safety of our classroom and homes, we have been to Rome. Firstly, we went as geographers, exploring the location, and secondly, as historians, to unearth the past.

Using a range of maps, we have looked at the location of Italy in relation to other countries. This created some surprises, such as at how many seas there are on a map of the world, and at the size of Russia and Germany.

Interest was shown in the shape of Romania and Italy, and geographical vocabulary was further developed as we talked about bays and boundaries, for example. A closer look followed, to find main towns, as well as to learn to use key and grid references and we have practised putting words into alphabetical order to quickly use the index of an atlas.

Computing lessons have been dynamic and fun this term. We have spent a lot of time becoming familiar with our Chromebooks and have also revisited our understanding of internet safety.

Children then used the internet, as well as a variety of books, to undertake a research project.

In wonderment, we saw the spread of the Roman Empire and learnt how long the Romans ruled. Then we looked at the Roman Army and what they wore, as well as at the military structures that were used, in preparation for making these in DT. A range of historical texts have enabled us to see into the daily life of a Roman.

Science has been exciting; we started with a topic on magnets. It was fascinating to see pushes and pulls

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in action and to learn that the Earth is a huge magnet. At the end of the topic, we tested our developing group work skills and planned, designed and constructed board games that use magnets.

We have also learnt about food groups, balanced diets and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. An interesting part of our learning was looking into the food pathway from ‘farm to fork’ of a humble banana. This involved studying climate features, transport routes and Fairtrade factors involved in the food world. It really was amazing how far some of our food travels to reach our plates.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Year 4 @BSB

The Egyptian Explorers

By Geraldine Andrews and Susie Walsh

The spring term has brought new learning to Year 4. Our main topic has been ‘The Egyptians’. Children have learnt about life in Ancient Egypt through stories, artefacts, atlases and videos.

Showing off at the showcase In February, children had a chance to share their learning with their family and friends through the Year 4 Showcase. Children worked in teams to prepare activities to explain and demonstrate their learning. Parents had a great time answering quiz questions on Egyptians and Vikings as well as trying their hand at sawing and drawing!

City of Knowledge

in Bucharest, where they learnt all about different scientific concepts.

This included a workshop on ‘Sound’, our first Science topic of the term. The children enjoyed themselves exploring all the different activities on offer. The second half of term saw children learn about ‘Electricity’ and how to make a circuit. They also learnt how to stay safe around electricity.

Egyptian technology At the beginning of term both classes were lucky to work with Mr. Greenslade in the Design and Technology Workshop to build their very own Egyptian tool from wood. They had to research their design, sketch it then use various tools to make it. Children really enjoyed working with the saws, files and drills!

In February, both classes took a trip to the City of Knowledge Science museum

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Snow fun February brought the only real snow of the season and Year 4 didn’t want to waste the chance to get outside and play in it! We held a ‘Who can build the biggest snowball?’ competition which the children worked very hard to win!

There was some great effort put into rolling the snowballs and we had a very impressive winner!

Book Worms March saw the arrival of Book Week with children excited to attend a workshop by the author Will Mabbitt.

They learnt some new techniques and tips to improve their creative writing.

Children also took part in other activities designed to inspire a life-long love of reading.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Year 5 @BSB

Enriched Learning in Year 5 More than Just a Curriculum

By Karen Cojocaru and Laura Gildea

Learning is more than just a curriculum. Acquiring knowledge is more than just a plan on a piece of paper. This is why, at BSB, we make the most of providing real-life learning experiences through which our children can extend their knowledge, skills and understanding, helping them to see the purpose of what we learn in school.

Through enrichment, children become more engaged in, and more excited about, their lessons both inside and outside the classroom. This term, we have taken advantage of many experiences to enrich our children’s learning through the topics of ‘Rivers and Coasts’ and ‘Materials’.

Our visit to the Comana Natural Park was a superb way for the children to explore the concepts they had been learning about in Geography and Science in a real-life situation. They saw first-hand how landscapes are formed by the forces created by bodies

of water and how humans also have an impact on our environment in both positive and negative ways. As they explored the area, the children were moved to put their English learning into practice, suggesting writing to the local authorities to improve the cleanliness of the area.

Outdoor Learning is not only achieved through the many trips we undertake during the school year.

We also make the most out of our outstanding outdoor campus areas.

While exploring mechanisms during our Science unit on forces, the children developed an understanding of how levers and pulleys make work easier and then designed classroom investigations based on this. They put their Maths skills to use, measuring and calculating the amount of effort needed to move weights using pulley systems and simple levers created with metre sticks and rulers.

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The Enrichment highlight of Year 5 is the annual Production to celebrate the return of Springtime. We are lucky enough to have the privilege of learning about our host country language and culture through our Martisor musical play and the children made the most of the opportunity to develop and write the script and to design costumes, props and scenery for a real-life theatre presentation.

Parents were treated to some talented acting and singing and even joined in with the songs they knew!

What a great way to end the Spring Term and to enter the Summer Term!

We are looking forward to a fun-packed, enriched Summer in Year 5!

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Year 6 @BSB

It’s Been a Term of Opportunities for Year 6

By Nicola Pinson, Rebecca Doganay and Carl Helps In the first half term, our studies focused on Central America by looking at the food, history and stories which originated there. In History, we learned about the Ancient Maya civilisation.

By looking at photographs of artefacts and buildings, we were able to build a picture of what everyday life might have been like for the Maya people. We explored their temples, learned about their writing and number system and deduced information from statues and jewellery.

While still looking at the same region, we researched, tested and created local dishes. Delicious smells emanated from the Food Tech room as children cooked everything from chilli chicken to spicy hot chocolate.

We enjoyed comparing our own

creations with those bought from a shop. Although we did not always agree that ours tasted better, our analysis of the nutritional values proved how much healthier the home-made varieties were for us.

In English, we looked at a tale about the mythical city of gold - El Dorado.

Our focus was on using a range of sentence structures and consolidating our use of more advanced punctuation.

Children were inspired to write their own stories as a sequel to the original.

They impressed us with their descriptive language, build-up of suspense and exciting and original conclusions.

More recently, children have been researching, planning and

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building their own fairground rides.

To gain inspiration, we visited Orășelul Copiilor, the children’s park. Even though we chose one of the few snowy days when most of the rides were not working, we were able to discuss how they worked and make sketches of possible ideas for our own designs.

Luckily, we were able to make time to take over every single bumper car and have a whole year group race around the track. We have been fortunate to have the expertise of Mr. Greenslade to help us to construct our projects and by using the tools in the secondary DT room, they have been able to include more complex joining techniques and mechanisms.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Poetry Competition

By Karen Cojocaru

The annual worldwide Poetry Competition hosted by COBIS (Council of British International Schools) has become a regular feature on the BSB calendar and this year there were a record number of entries from our talented Primary students. This year, COBIS is working with Pobble - an excellent organisation which publishes children’s work online, securely and with permission, to a global audience.

The theme all our budding poets were given to address was ‘Today’s Actions Shape Tomorrow’s World’. All forms of poetry are acceptable and this allowed our students to be as creative as they liked.

during January. Our Primary School leaders had a difficult task this year due to the extremely high standard of poems submitted and the three they chose for our competition entries for the final can be seen below.

As always, an internal school competition was held in order to select three poems to send to COBIS and the judging in school was completed

Congratulations to our selected poets and well done to all those who entered. I hope this will inspire more of you to have-a-go next year!

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A Brighter Tomorrow

Pollution

I am a seed growing from the ground.

In the future, new seeds won’t see what I see now.

Pollution. Pollution pollutes water and air in towns and cities everywhere.

Now, this is the only way we can solve this muck.

It is to tell the governments that we are stuck.

But that is not the only solution to solve this problem about pollution.

Cars, factories, garbage and litter.

Oh, life must feel so, so bitter.

Stop using cars, stop using fuel.

That is wrong, that’s bad, that’s cruel!

Put garbage in the bin and do not litter.

Mother Earth will feel that as a big splinter.

Recycling and energy that’s the way to go.

Mother Earth will feel glad and she will glow.

And now my friends, please help me win this race to make the world a better place.

By Alessia

The beautiful place in which I am growing will soon be a wasteland. Its life force is going.

This is not acceptable. I WANT my beautiful place back!

The people are lazy; they don’t want to choose.

They’re careless and selfish - just watch the news!

So why not get together I say?

Let’s start right now; let’s start today!

We will work all day, all day and night, until we succeed with our ferocious might.

By Balint

I’ll show you all by sample, so right now I will give you an example:

ACT NOW!

You should never ever use your car.

A bus or a bike can also take you far.

Save today to save the future.

Actions speak louder than words.

Volunteer to save the world today.

Encourage the world to make positive changes.

Think twice about turning on the light, when the sun outside is bright.

Consider what you’re throwing away; it might actually be good use some day.

Appreciation for the world not greed.

Respect to nature not fight.

Let’s act now; time is tight.

by Ella

Motivate people in changing their lives.

Open your heart to nature.

The future is depending on us.

Have courage to save the world.

Everybody can make a difference.

Remember to reuse, reduce and recycle.

Everybody unite to make world peace, And make the world a better place.

Ready to make a change?

The actions of today save tomorrow.

Hoping for a better future together.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Harry Potter

BOOK NIGHT

By Ana Maria Marin and Abigail Deatherage Sure, fans can celebrate their love of reading on any given night of the year, but Thursday, 6th February called for something special. For the sixth year in a row, the British School of Bucharest became Hogwarts for one night!

We celebrated the Harry Potter Book Night with an array of magical activities for all our participating students from the Primary and the Secondary School.

You know you’re in for a magical time when, stepping into an evening of games, crafts and snacks, you’re greeted in the Primary Library by Voldemort himself, plus witches and

wizards, with the witches and wizards trying really hard to dress like Muggles!

The Library itself was also dressed for the occasion, displaying some dragon eggs, a Herbology Class, owls and flying keys, Pygmy Puffs and Pixies.

Earlier that day, students worked hard to prepare chocolate magic wands, cheese broomsticks, sweet golden snitches, sorting hats and cupcakes.

After the Sorting Ceremony, our teams of students read extracts from the books, cast spells, enjoyed snacks, found their way out of an enchanted maze, decorated socks for Dobby,

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scored points for their House and competed in the final quiz.

Harry Potter Book Night has brought a little piece of the magic to life for our students. By letting them step for a moment into the world of the characters they love, their imaginations are fuelled, their sense of belonging is strengthened, and - most importantly – they are inspired to keep reading.

Enjoy viewing our little magicians in this little photo gallery!

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Paving the way

FOR THE PIANO

By Naomi Aves

This term Primary Music celebrated the first piano concert of the year for our younger pianists. Some of these children only started piano lessons this academic year, whilst others have been playing for a bit longer. The children announced their pieces clearly, then took a bow at the end of their performance. I was very proud of how well the students performed their pieces. A special thanks goes to Mr. Robert and Mrs. Laura (our BSB instrumental tutors) for preparing several of the students for this concert.

We are very excited to have discovered the Music Teacher Board, which is an instrumental and vocal exam board that will enable our students to submit exams via an app rather than fly to the UK. We look forward to introducing Grade 1 piano to our new pianists in the very near future. Should you be interested in considering these exams for piano, or other instruments, please do follow their website: www.mtbexams.com.

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Living THREADS

By Rachel Eglinton, 1st Bucharest Girlguiding Coordinator World Thinking Day is an important annual event in the Girlguiding calendar. It is an opportunity to celebrate being a member of a community, known as WAGGGS. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts currently has 10 million girls in 150 countries.

Our two patrol leaders introduced the event with a musical game similar to Pass the Parcel. When the music stopped, whoever was holding the basket, shared why they are unique and took a piece of wool.

Girls then visited three stations to further explore the theme.

Diversity is being different. Girls considered yes and no statements to explore and admire what is the same and different about each other.

Equity relates to fairness in outcomes.

Advantages and barriers were recognised in fun tasks and girls realised that giving everyone the same opportunity (e.g. building a tower) is not the same as giving everyone what they need (some girls wearing blindfolds) in order to be successful.

Inclusion is belonging. By catching a line of wool if a situation applied to them, girls could see how the group was connected, and consider things they had in common with each other.

After each activity, the girls had taken a thread and lastly created a bracelet.

This symbolised that although we are unique individuals, when we come together we are bigger and stronger.

It is through connecting and sharing that we learn about ourselves and others. Three girls were videoed explaining why they are special, and we are proud that they were chosen to form a digital wall along with other units across the world.

Their reasons for being unique, are: Rainbow - “because I help my cat, am kind and helpful and I like cuddles”.

Brownie - “because I like going to the mountains and to the playground”.

Guide - “because I have different traits and beliefs to others around me”.

“We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads in the tapestry are equal in value no matter what colour”. Maya Angelou

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

NOT ALL CLASSROOMS

HAVE FOUR WALLS...

By Rachel Eglinton, Outdoor Learning Leader

Outdoor learning experiences are often remembered for a lifetime. Just think back to your own childhood, I expect there are fond memories of playing outside.

Integrating outdoor learning into the school day, either on campus or further afield, contributes meaning and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult or impossible to achieve indoors and whether learning outdoors is enjoyable or challenging, it is certainly authentic.

Lessons also tend to be exciting and immersive, as they are often practical and creative. At times however,

unforeseen situations arise, such as finding a spider sitting in a wellington boot. In these moments, a further richness is added to the learning, as well as resilience being nurtured.

Moreover, if we want children to become responsible citizens who value the natural world, what better than outdoor opportunities which offer a first hand appreciation of the changing seasons, and animal behaviour?

The health benefits of being outside add even more importance to venturing out. Simply being in the fresh air and being active, develops spacial awareness, fosters a sense of confidence and makes learning more

captivating. Taking time to process learning, to engage again with a practical problem, to connect with peers and work as a team, all lead to improved mental wellbeing as stress is reduced and self-esteem is raised.

Furthermore, outdoor learning also has an impact when returning to the classroom. Children are happy, refreshed and energised, with an improved focus for indoor lessons.

So, do ask your child, if they remember any of the lessons pictured. Can they as easily or with equal enthusiasm, recall a lesson that took place in the classroom? .

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PRIMARY ARTICLE

Primary University Programme ENRICHING, EXTENDING AND PERSONALISING THE CURRICULUM For more than 10 years the British School of Bucharest has successfully conducted the BSB University programme. This programme, unique to the British School of Bucharest, is designed to personalise our Primary pupils’ learning through skills development, reaching beyond the National Curriculum for England expectations. The BSB University programme enhances and enriches the quality of education our students receive.

Last term the pupils enjoyed coding, making movies, gymnastics, wood working, public speaking and many other activities.

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SECONDARY ARTICLE

BSB: A British

International School

By Jason Porter

I have to admit that I didn’t really want to get a pet cat. It was after a lot of arm twisting from my children that I finally succumbed and eyed suspiciously the new fluffy arrival which was brought to our house one day, to my family’s great joy. I didn’t regret it in the end, as we all adjusted to each other’s ways and the fluffy ball quickly assimilated itself as a member of the family as it grew up. But the cat’s newly established afternoon snoozes were abruptly halted by the shock arrival of another kitten into the household. Existing territory was suddenly being trampled on and the pair would eye each other up with sideways jealous glances and hiss violently as they danced around the food bowls vying for first snap at the tinned tuna. All their worried owners wanted for them was a peaceful coexistence. With the passing weeks, they found common ground and are thankfully now to be found curled up together snoozing. As a result, I pondered why humans cannot always seem to achieve this level of harmony. Working

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internationally has taught me that the more we get to know people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, the more we find we have in common.

BSB is a British international school of now 50 nationalities and finding this common ground and holding true to our school values of respect, equality and concern for others means that we look for what unites us, not what divides us.

Since the last edition of @BSB there have been many examples of what has united us as a school through the celebration of our achievements and the sharing of educational and personal experiences. This has included the debating trip to Marbella,

the French language trip to Antibes for our senior students, a universities fair and presentation from a range of European institutions and our Year 9 and 11 students making careful choices for their continued study at GCSE and A Level. Language Week and the Harry Potter Book Night all brought enjoyable out-of-classroom learning. We have not neglected collective and individual creativity and have celebrated success and participation in sports fixtures, as well as musical concerts, recitals, not to mention House Music and House Chess, both now long-standing traditions at BSB.

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We feel proud of what we have achieved this term and begin the final term of the school year with all our best wishes for the students who will be sitting external examinations. And as the term draws to a close, we look to the final part of the year and with it brings not only our welcoming of Year 6 students to Secondary, but also welcoming those families who either look to join BSB from within Romania or those families who will be moving to Romania and will be joining the BSB community from abroad. I would usually embrace this same welcoming spirit in my own household, but after renewed pleas, this time about getting a dog, I think we might just draw the line at two cats!

SECONDARY ARTICLE

BSB

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

By Philip Walters The beginning of the year is always busy. This is partly because it is a key time for teacher recruitment. We try to finalise staffing for the following academic year relatively early, seeking to ensure the highest possible calibre of teachers who will also be a good fit for BSB and our community. I am delighted with our retention rate this year yet also extremely pleased with the new staff that are scheduled to join us in August.

For the past few years we have also used this period to conduct a search for scholars to enter the school in the latter phases of Secondary at Year 10 or Year 12, commencing IGCSE and A Level courses respectively. I would like to examine our rationale for this programme and give some specific details including those of past scholars.

This year over 50 students from the local area applied for scholarship consideration for entry into either Year 10 or Year 12 from September. They were from a variety of schools - private,

international and public. At the time of writing, it looks like we will be able to welcome at least one full academic scholar to both Year 10 and Year 12. It is worth noting at this point, that out of equity to our current students, after the IGCSE results are published each year, those achieving outstanding results are awarded Sixth Form Scholarships.

We started the Scholarship Programme back in 2013 when three students from local high schools joined us for the Sixth Form on full scholarships. They completed A Levels successfully and all moved onto excellent universities, with two moving to the UK. They brought much to our community, which at that point had a significantly smaller Sixth Form and all three played significant roles in shaping student leadership roles in particular, with one of the scholars ultimately becoming Head Boy. They gave back to the community in the way that we would anticipate all our scholars should.

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Whilst our three initial full scholars were successful, it was evident to us that for scholars to integrate with increased or more assured success both academically and socially, entry would ideally take place at Year 10. This would give four years studying with us, with English as the language of tuition, more fully rooted within the British Curriculum and more time to become accustomed to both the style of pedagogy and examination expectations which are very different to our local Romanian system, especially in subjects such as the sciences where delivery appears somewhat different in the high school years. Our first Year 10 scholars joined us in 2018 and are faring well, hence there is a desire to continue with this route from now on, assuming places and funding is feasible.

The rationale behind such a programme rests in a number of facets. One of our core school values is concern for others and we recognise that there are many families in the broader local community that would love to benefit from the

education available at BSB yet are some way off being able to fund this. It seems clear that the families involved need to have sufficient desire to fund a likely overseas higher education once schooling at BSB is completed. Our target would be to assist the brightest local talent in such a position, who can truly benefit from the opportunity of study at BSB. However, there is undoubtedly an element of selfishness inherent within our intent. Taking on scholars into each year group from outside the school involves a desire for increased academic competition for all our students; stronger results for all our students and of course the increased community diversity which can encourage mutual understanding and awareness within all elements of our student body and community. I hope that you will share my belief that these aims are worthy and that the rationale is sound.

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SECONDARY ARTICLE

University

DESTINATIONS

By Jo Mattingley-Nunn

One of the best things, during these uncertain times, is hearing good news from our students applying to universities this year. BSB is proud of all of Year 13, many of whom already have numerous offers from their chosen universities. They have gone through gruelling application procedures, including interviews, extra exams, multiple mini interviews, online assessments and submission of their previous written work. For many, this has paid off, with offers including:

Kira, our Head Girl, has her preferred offer of reading English Literature and Language at Brasenose College, University of Oxford, among others.

Bram, our Head Boy, has an unconditional offer for Mechanical Engineering at University of Coventry, and is considering other offers.

Other students are considering offers from many other excellent institutions, including (at the time of writing):

Luca, our Deputy Head Boy, has been offered a place to study Medicine at Imperial College London as well as at UCL (University College London), an extremely competitive course with strict limits on the numbers of international students allowed.

Elenis has accepted her preferred offer to study Management at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), after deciding between some other excellent offers.

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UK: Kings College London, Loughborough, Leeds, Bath, Manchester Met, Brighton, Bristol, Liverpool, York, Leicester, Durham, City University of London, Manchester, Warwick, Nottingham Trent, Regents, Westminster, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Essex and Sheffield.

Europe: Istituto Europeo Di Design (Milan), NABA (Milan), Tilburg and Groningen.

Rest of the Word: Queensland.

These students are now waiting for the last few decisions to come in, applying in countries with later deadlines such as the Netherlands and Spain, and working hard towards ensuring they get the grades they need to meet their offers. It’s important to remember that all these offers are conditional, and places are not confirmed until the exam results confirm they have met their conditions. Lots of hard work is still needed, but we’ll be proud of them wherever they go.

SECONDARY ARTICLE

Student LEADERSHIP

By Robert Notley

Being a Sixth Former at BSB means a variety of things. On the one hand you are at the end of your compulsory education and on the other, starting to grow into a global citizen. To allow our Sixth Formers to grow BSB Sixth Form offer a wide range of opportunities that students can take full advantage of.

Student leadership is just one of these opportunities.

The Prefect Team forms a vital part of life in the Sixth Form and of the whole school, consistently working alongside teaching staff to enrich the academic and pastoral support offered to all students at BSB. Prefects are expected to lead the Sixth Form students in being important role models for younger students.

As you are most likely aware, for 20 years we have had a Head Boy and Head Girl. Each year this is a fiercely contested position. The selection process is rigorous and it consists of a letter of application, an assembly and then a formal interview by myself, Mr. Porter and Mr. Walters. Before they are able to apply for Head Boy or Head Girl, they must reach Senior Prefect status.

We will be announcing the Head Boy and Head Girl at the end of the academic year.

Alongside the traditional Head student roles, many of the Sixth Formers have taken on extra responsibilities. Many are coaching younger sport teams.

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It is wonderful to see the Sixth Formers pass on the knowledge they have learnt from their time here to the younger students. The Music Department also benefits from Sixth Form leadership. One student in particular directs a Year 7 and 8 rock band. Students from the Sixth Form are also helping in Primary lessons on a weekly basis.

The Sixth Form is the height of education at BSB and the students within it are expected to be fully embedded into the whole school community. It is important that the students of the post 16 section of the school show the younger students what being a Sixth Former means, and that is, being a positive role model.

SECONDARY ARTICLE

COBIS World Debate Competition in Marbella

By Kira, Year 13 Student The COBIS World Schools Debate Competition this year happened in Marbella, which was a blessing – even if we missed the snowfall back home, we were greeted by lovely seaside Spanish weather. The trip started off with a tour of Malaga, where we rode Segways, climbed to the very top of the cathedral and were able to admire the beautiful Moorish architecture.

Then followed a Gala dinner, where we enjoyed the spectacle of traditional Andalusian flamenco whilst socialising with the other teams.

Friday morning swiftly brought us back into the debating spirit. We started the day by discussing the ethicality of reality TV shows against the Mougins School from France – we had never debated with them and learning new styles and strategies from the teams we face is always exciting. We then went on to oppose Dubai College on whether “direct action is the most effective catalyst for change”. A veteran in COBIS debating, their speakers always take us by surprise with their insight, so it was a fierce battle until the end.

Energised by the high standards of debating, we headed towards our last round – an impromptu. We were up against the English International

College of Marbella in an economicsheavy dispute about the benefits of globalisation. Armed with our knowledge of A Level Economics and our experience in a multi-cultural school, we valiantly argued in favour of interdependence between countries.

After the three debates, the rest of the day was reserved for befriending the other teams, aided by a Cuban-themed party, but the next morning thrust us right back into the competition. We qualified for the Cup and reached the quarter finals, where a debate on prisoner rights sadly did not go the way we intended. However, this allowed us the opportunity to watch and learn from the teams that reached the semi-finals and finals, and ultimately cheer for the victory of the British School of the Netherlands. Years of debating have taught me to appreciate not only our own wins but the fruitfulness of the arguments themselves. This is why, despite not getting further, I left the COBIS competition happy to have spent a weekend surrounded by such innovative, intelligent students.

Congratulations to my teammates, George, Laura, Rareș and Călin and thanks goes to our coaches, Mr. Bird and Ms. Citron.

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SECONDARY ARTICLE

Vivent les langues FRENCH LANGUAGE TRIP TO CENTRE INTERNATIONAL D’ANTIBES

By Liz Citron Following on from the successful language trips to Nice and Madrid in recent years, the MFL department offered to take our senior students to France this year to study at the Centre International d’Antibes. Five students from Years 11 and 12 prepared themselves to be immersed in French life and culture for a week staying with host families in the beautiful, historic town of Antibes on the Côte d’Azur, home to Picasso and inspiration for many artists over the years. Quel rêve!

Mornings were spent studying French at the school, a picturesque stone

mansion with views to the mountains behind and sea below. Mixing with other international students and conversing uniquely in French made the lessons fun and engaging as well as a little challenging at times! In the afternoons, the wonderful ‘animateurs’ from CIA were in charge and accompanied us to the range of iconic sites nearby: Cannes, Nice, Monaco and the world capital of perfume, Grasse. Seeing the perfume making process and testing the products was a highlight, as was trying out the various gastronomic delights of Provence in local markets, such as ‘pissaladière’, ‘socca’ and ‘calissons’. Délicieux!

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It was impressive to see how our students adapted to the demands of this type of visit, chatting to their French hosts in the evenings and being open to new experiences throughout the week. On our return to school, it has been great to hear them using the phrases they picked up and showing a renewed enthusiasm for their language learning.

Vivent les langues!

SECONDARY ARTICLE

A Number OF ACHIEVEMENTS

By Alex Coope

Another exceptionally busy last few months in the Mathematics Faculty here at BSB. After the early success of our senior students in the UK Mathematics Challenge, Primary and Secondary students accepted the challenge of the COBIS Maths Competition competing against 270 schools worldwide finishing in a very impressive ninth place overall. Special mention goes to the 27 medal winners each achieving over 200 medal points. With two students managing amazingly to get over 500 points each.

Moving on into February, it was again time for the UK Maths Challenge but this time it was our Years 9, 10 and 11 having the chance to impress. This they very much did with some of the highest scores we have seen and over 85% of those who took part getting at least a bronze medal. Leading the way in each year were Celine in Year 9, Jemin in Year 10 and David and Daniel jointly in Year 11, both with 116 points, also being the highest scores in the school.

We now look forward to seeing how well our Year 7 and Year 8 do when they take on the Junior Challenge in a few months.

ARAS

742

JULIUS

213

SERGEY

580

QAISER

208

KATELYNN

325

JENNY

206

IVO

322

ERIN

205

ANDREEA

320

EVELYN

204

FELIX

302

EMILY

204

ALEXANDRA

275

STEFAN

202

MARCUS

275

NOOR

201

HEMIN

274

PETRU

201

SONIA

256

LUCA

201

YEONWOO

227

KAIS

201

ANA

218

KAITLIN

201

MIHNEA

217

WILLIAM

200

JIHO

215 48

Secondary

HOUSE NEWS

By Thomas Smith

With another eventful year well underway, and with all four Houses winning a variety of events it has been an extremely close competition. Olt came in First Place in the Maths and Countdown competitions, Mures won the Humanities quiz whilst Danube and Arges have been intensely fighting it out at the top since August. Arges took First Place in the Football, Hoop Shoot

and Chess competitions and Danube have stormed to victories in the Festive Quiz, Basketball and Volleyball events.

Last year’s champions, Olt, have been under intense pressure from the start of the year and all credit goes to the underdogs Danube who have Arges clearly in their sights for overall First Place.

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All year, the competition has been closely fought by all four Houses and this year has the potential to be the closest and most exciting competition yet. With everything to play for, take part in the online House competitions to finalise your place in this year’s event.

Healthy School

COMMITTEE NEWS

By Andrew Koene

Once again, the Healthy School Committee has continued to offer students and the school community opportunities to take personal wellbeing into consideration.

We have focused on several aspects of daily life that at times is taken for granted.

In January we focused on Nutrition where the theme was, ‘We Are What We Eat’. What we take in through our mouths becomes part of what we are.

Students learned about food groups, looked at how to read food labels, and

#Healthy

We also looked at Relationships in February but specifically with friends and family. The theme was ‘We Are Family’, which focused on what it means to be part of a wide group of friends, to having that one special best friend and differences with family relationships.

Lastly, in March we looked at Technology and focused on how to make Technology a helpful tool.

#Healthy

Habits@BSB

Did you know…

• that eating too much salt can make you unhealthy with high blood pressure and increased risk of cardiovascular (heart) disease?

• that by reducing your salt intake you will dramatically reduce this risk?

• that it’s better to never add salt to food before tasting it?

#Healthy

Habits@BSB

Up your intake

TECHNOLoGY

We Are Family

vegetables

MONTH

Did you know…

How to make the internet a helpful tool

• that fruit and vegetables give us a healthy supply of essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, and that seeds are great for fibre, too?

• Find online communities with shared interests.

• Contribute to making the internet a safer space.

• Limit the use of the internet to between one or two hours a day.

Reward your progress.

• Get together with friens or family and try something new together.

• Remember not to share personal and sensitive information.

• Search for tutorials and online courses about topics of personal interest.

• Avoid using electronic devices while spending time with family and friends.

• Follow positive role models in social media.

• that we all benefit from eating at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day as part of a balanced diet?

• that you should check the food you buy has low salt content? Better still, prepare meals with fresh meat, fruit and vegetables to control the salt you eat – celery, seaweed and spices are tasty substitutes.

• that your 5-a-day could be fresh fruit salad at breakfast, an apple/piece of watermelon as a snack, and good portions of different vegetables with every meal?

Why not share these healthy facts with your friends and family?

Why not share these healthy facts with your friends and family?

15/08/2019 22:48

BSB Healthy Food A3 Posters V4b.indd 2

Overall, the awareness and acceptance of the shared activities given to the students have been very receptive.

Students are gaining some very positive messages that will have a larger impact on them in the future.

The Healthy School Committee continues to ask for the support of parents at home to help make a larger impact with our monthly themes.

Habits@BSB

of fruit and

salt intake

Students discussed e-safety, talked about the positives related to technology and were challenged within lessons to use technology differently.

#Healthy

Habits@BSB

Reduce your

BSB Healthy Food A3 Posters V4b.indd 1

reviewed applications to help anyone track the food they eat.

Illustration:

15/08/2019 22:48

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Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man with Technology

Family is the best thing in life Your family members • Are your true love - There is no greater love compared to a parent’s love for their child.

• Will never leave your side - You can always count on your parents and siblings especially when things get rough.

• Can offer you the real happiness - There is no greater happiness anyone could feel when he or she feels the true essence of having family.

• Accept you - What you become in the future or whether you fail or not, they are always there to give you a hand so you can stand up again.

• Are your first critics - They will always be the first person to tell you the truth.

A well-functioning family characteristics include: support | love and caring for other family members | providing security and a sense of belonging | open communication | making each person within the family feel important, valued, respected and esteemed.

Why not share these healthy facts with your friends and family?

Sporting ENDEAVOUR

OVERVIEW OF INTER-SCHOOL COMPETITIONS

By Andrew Koene and the Physical Education Faculty

During the Basketball season all teams have been focusing on the development of implementing the motto of ‘Trust your Team’. All teams have had several matches and some even participated in their first ever BISAC Basketball league. Within the league, teams played each other twice which then qualified them for a seeded playoff. As it was their first time in a league the BSB Bears did well in demonstrating their leadership and confidence when faced with a difficult challenge.

The teams have demonstrated great growth and attributes of what it means to be a student athlete. We look forward to the next school year where we can build on the foundation we have developed this year.

Under 11 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at AISB

Under 14 Boys and Girls Tournament at AISB

The Under 11 Boys played well as a team and demonstrated the importance of persistence. They worked together as a team and played some great defence; but offensively they could not get their shots to fall.

Overall, the boys had a positive experience as they competed and demonstrated their BSB school spirit on the court.

On Saturday, 8th February the Under 14 Girls participated in a Basketball tournament at the American School.

After a challenging start the girls improved immensely and played amazingly well. They beat Vampires 2 and then Avenor, which took them to the third and fourth place playoffs.

It was a tough game and they were beaten by the American Vampires 1 team so came in fourth place. They all learned a lot and look forward to next year’s tournament. Thanks to Georgina (Year 12 student) for her help, support, coaching and encouragement throughout the day; she was an inspiration to the girls. Well done to the team!

The Under 11 Girls Basketball team came out with a lot of energy. The girls were excited for the tournament and put everything into it on the court.

Their effort and determination to focus on strong defence and utilising their height is what led them to taking second place in the tournament. This just proves that if you ‘Trust your Team’ good things can happen.

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The Under 14 Boys played to the best of their abilities and continued to show improvements in their game. It was a

competitive tournament for the Under 14 Boys, but they learned a lot from playing together. Next year the boys look forward to the challenge and will come ready to demonstrate their development as a team.

Under 18 Boys and Girls Basketball This year both Under 18 teams have really come together to develop a

sense of working together and having a clear objective with team goals set by their coaches. The girls worked on a new defence that has halted some schools during friendly matches. As a team they are really focused on achieving goals set by their coach and have only improved this year. The boys have worked on a new offensive strategy that has seen them working on maintaining possession and waiting

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for the best shot opportunity.

This attack has allowed the boys to be more competitive and play as a team during their friendly matches. Both teams look forward to next year as they have learned a lot and will only continue to develop as a team next year.

Co-Curricular

ACTIVITIES @BSB

By Mark Hooper

Education is a pretty wide concept that goes well beyond the walls of the classroom. The core aim of education is to develop well rounded individuals who develop physically, intellectually, morally and socially. In order to truly fulfil this development, there needs to be balance between academic study and co-curricular activities.

Co-Curricular activities are those taken alongside curricular activities and usually occur outside the pen and paper of the classroom experience. It gives students an opportunity to develop skills and exhibit their non-academic abilities. These activities encompass a wide range of activities including Music, Art, Drama, debating, student newsletters and sports teams to name just a few.

Participation in these activities can help students in lots of ways.

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A Chinese proverb very aptly states ‘teach me, and I will forget, show me and I might remember, involve me and I will never forget’. This shows theoretical knowledge is enhanced when this is taught through a cocurricular activity and aspects like aesthetic development, character building, spiritual and moral values, physical growth, creativity and many more aspects are backed up by cocurricular activities. Co-curricular activities are vital because even though they are not part of the core curriculum, they play a crucial role in giving the young boys and girls at BSB the ability to mould their lives to become well rounded individuals.

The co-curricular programme at BSB has been designed to mix a student’s participation in academics and create a chance for all round development.

The role that co-curricular activities play in a student’s life cannot easily be put into words, but it lets us understand some of the major benefits that are highlighted below; Overall Personality: It helps enhance the all-round personality of students to strongly face the sometimes rocky path ahead. Experiences and appreciation gained through these programmes grow a student’s resilience.

Strengthen Self-Confidence: Sporting CCA can instil not only great fitness but a sense of sportsmanship, competitive spirit, leadership, cooperation, team spirit and develop a sense of trust.

Developed Specialised Skills: From Music to Drama to debating students can develop specific skills some of which are homed through performance and competition.

Improved Academic Performance: Being involved in co-curricular activities goes hand in hand with improved performance as students learn to manage their time. There are numerous studies that back up these claims.

Sense of Responsibility: Giving students responsibility that often comes in the co-curricular environment enables students to learn to take their responsibilities seriously. Developing charity work also promotes empathy as well as responsibility.

Exposure to New Activities: Students are introduced to a whole array of activities through the Co-curricular programme. These can foster passions and enthusiasm that lasts throughout a lifetime.

The rewards of participating in Co-Curricular activities in school has been well researched and students that actively participate show higher academic results, stronger relationships in schools and are more likely to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. What’s Your CCA!

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Project Zephyr @BETT 2020 56

BETT is the world’s largest education technology show that is held every year, in London. This year, it was held over four days (22nd – 25th January) and attracted the largest gathering of UK and international educators and leaders in the world, all under one roof.

More than 800 leading EdTech providers were on show and 300 influential industry speakers gave their expertise on stage.

Simply put, it was an event like no other and we are proud to have participated. Team Foamblock, in partnership with BSB, attended BETT where one of the cars built by students during Project Zephyr was displayed.

For those of you who don’t know, BSB is the first school where Foamblock’s Project Zephyr was implemented. BSB Innovation Hub hosts the Foamblock’s ‘Project Zephyr’ which is a personal exploration toolkit and a different approach to STEAM. Students build, completely from scratch, a life-size custom made drivable electric vehicle.

By doing this, they have the opportunity to train and to learn a plethora of skills from Technical Engineering, Mathematics and Physics to soft skills like teamwork, negotiation, enterprise, marketing and communication, all the while exploring their own personality and character.

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Charities ROUND UP By the Charity Committee

The first half of this term saw many different activities led by the staff charities committee, students, and the BSB MAD group, which goes from strength to strength in the events they organise and the activities they offer. Selling stickers, a bake sale and raising awareness of the Australian wildfires raised 3,600 RON for WWF Australia and their work protecting wildlife and the environment in areas suffering extreme weather events.

Seeing the interest the students had in supporting people and animals on the other side of the world was heartening.

At the end of January, the Romania day event was held, with a Romanian snacks sale and a non-uniform day with students dressing in the colours of the Romanian flag, raising a massive 5,100 RON. This was followed by friendship week, where 3,508 RON was raised through the Crazy Hair Day and a bake sale, with all cakes baked

by BSB MAD students. The Tiktok dance off, a sell-out event in secondary, raised another 615 RON,

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as well as everyone’s spirits! We also sold a further 1,400 RON worth of Mărţişoare, including those made by the women and children at Fundatia Inocenti.

All the money from these events, except the wildfire stickers, has been donated to our partner charities, split between Casa Ioana, Fundatia Inocenti, Light into Europe, and LiberatED. You can find out more about their charities on their websites, which are listed below.

www.casaioana.org www.inocenti.ro www.lightintoeurope.ro www.liberated.global/english-home During the school closure period, we encourage all of our students and community to use some time to learn more about these charities, and what you could do to support them.

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#BSB REPORTERS SHAPING A HUMANITIES ACADEMIC PROFILE

By Laura, Year 12 Student As Year 12 students, it is rare that we know exactly what we wish to study for the next four or so years of our lives.

For quite a long time, I was contemplating between multiple areas of study, however when I came across Political Studies and Government everything seemed to click rightly into place. My profile seemed almost entirely guided towards this field.

What I started to notice were patterns in my CCA choices, my A Level choices,

my skills at school and all the other activities that I had been dedicating time to outside of school.

Sixth Form - the last two years of study before university - plays a key role in the personal and academic development of how we will grow to become adults. As intimidating as it may sound, the decisions we make during these last couple of years, including A Level choices and how we

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decide to spend our time (what CCA’s, leadership positions, out-of-school commitments etc.), all shape our future careers and life paths. Building a so-called ‘Humanities’ profile, or a personal portfolio for those interested in Politics, Law, Sociology, Psychology, Geography and many more, is of critical importance especially during the last years of secondary education.

BSB opens a lot of doors in this

academic domain and provides many opportunities for students that are interested in building such a profile.

Debating plays a key role in these types of portfolios. If you are the type of student that wishes to improve your public speaking or oratory skills, then this is for you. Debating has shaped my critical mind as well as my perceptions of our society. It has enabled me to think outside the box, voice the unthinkable and approach any possible topic with an open mind in an attempt at weighing both sides of an argument.

Learning to advocate for the impossible.

Debate plays a key role in our day-today life, and if your future plans lay even at the opposite end of the spectrum (this includes Maths, Science and the Creative Arts), the skills that one person can learn through it are of vital value in anyone’s academic path.

BSB has two striving teams, a senior and a junior one, both of which participate nationally and internationally throughout the year.

The senior team is currently preparing for the international COBIS championship which takes place in Marbella, Spain this year, and we are all looking forward to fruitful debates as well as academically and mentally challenging arguments.

Some experiences, however, need to come from self-conducted initiatives.

My passion for debating and public speaking pushed me to look further for out-of-school opportunities to explore the field I have identified as the one I will be pursuing at university. I therefore successfully applied to one of the only model NATO conferences for secondary students in Europe, BMNATO. In contrast to the actual NATO organisation, model NATO has five committees including a replica of the world-known North Atlantic Committee as well as the Crisis one. The Crisis Committee in these model conferences contained both NATO and non-NATO members in an attempt at replicating real-life crises between nations. I was selected as the delegate of The People’s Republic of China in this Crisis Committee.

The Conference itself lasted for three whole days full of extensive debate, directives and operative clauses being submitted and treaties being drawn up between nations. The main conflict we needed to solve were a series of bombardments on a global scale, all hypothetically placed in 2022, yet mirroring current events. The circumstances we were presented with were given to us on the spot in an attempt to see how well we could deal

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with the news as ‘representatives’ of nations from across the globe, as well as how articulately, diplomatically and accurately we could take decisions whilst maintaining our own nations’ interests and standards.

At the end of the conference, I was awarded the ‘Best Delegate Award’.

Awards such as these add to the overall humanities profile that I have been building over the years and bring more weight onto my academic self. I believe that, at the end of the day, it is important to pursue the things that we are passionate about. The award would be worthless if debating and politics were not as important to me personally and academically as they currently are.

The importance of what we dedicate our time to on these last couple hundred of metres of the marathon that is secondary school cannot be quantified in an article. However, the key thing to hereby recognise, is that opportunities exist out there, in every possible area of study or personal interest. The only thing left for each and every one of us… … is to pursue them in order to bring our dreams closer to our very own doorstep.

#BSB REPORTERS BSB’S JOURNEY TO BECOMING AN ECO-SCHOOL Written by Bonny and edited by Daniel (Year 12 Students)

This term, Head of Science Mr. James Walsh started an Eco-Schools Award CCA where he acts as the EcoCoordinator guiding the EcoCommittee. This unique CCA is open to both Primary and Secondary students to allow for diversification. The EcoSchools Programme is a student-led charity project that aims to make schools more environmentally friendly.

There are three distinct stages to this award, those being the Bronze Award,

the Silver Award, and the Green Flag Award. So far, our group of environmental enthusiasts have completed the second step, of three, in achieving the Bronze Award. Like most partakers, their ultimate goal is to reach the coveted Green Flag Award.

This final distinction requires excellent execution of all seven available steps as well as a demonstration of project work in three topic areas of their choosing.

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When being asked what motivated them to join this club, the students gave very inspiring responses, including “We care, we want to make the world a better place and make a difference for the next generation”, and “We are poisoning ourselves and someone has to do something about it”. It certainly was impressive to see students as young as these so committed to such a crucial cause.

Despite this, witnessing children in

such early developmental stages of education already being so concerned with issues of this magnitude, acted as a grim reminder of our potential future, lest we endeavour to work alongside them and try to make a difference.

What exactly has the Eco-Schools Award CCA been up to? At this stage in the award scheme, they have been going around the school campus reviewing how eco-friendly the school currently is, for example, checking if the bins around the school are plentiful enough, but more notably, whether they are being used in their intended manner. The students concluded that the number of recycling bins is insufficient and that several of them contain incorrectly sorted rubbish. One claims to even have found grapes in the paper recycling bin. The students have also been conducting surveys in school to gauge attitudes and knowledge about environmental issues.

Here are a few key findings from their survey: • •

• •

•

•

100% of respondents worry about environmental issues.

50% consider climate change the most concerning issue, followed by 20% who feel that deforestation is the biggest concern.

67% recycle at home, 93% recycle at school (although a lot of them thought that the recycling might not be properly dealt with here in Romania) In terms of the effort people would go to, 20% would walk 100m to the recycling bin rather than throw it in the regular rubbish. Another 43% would walk up to 25m.

Most want to reduce their use of single-use plastic, but would keep using paper, glass and metal then recycle it.

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Apart from these thorough investigations, the students have also been granted the opportunity to let their creativity shine through. If you take a stroll to the back of Mr. Walsh’s classroom CG01, you will likely come across a panel of logos hand-drawn by the Eco-Committee. In the following weeks, the committee will be deciding on which logo would best represent their image and what they aim to achieve.

If you would be interested in taking part in this initiative, do not hesitate to talk directly to Mr. Walsh or show up on Wednesdays 3:15 - 4:00 pm in CG01. Even the Sixth Form are welcome to join in and lend a supporting hand to the younger students.

#MeetTHETEACHERS Jodie Lewis

EYFS Coordinator and Class Teacher PROFILE: Why did you go into teaching?

Jodie Lewis joined BSB in 2014.

She qualified with a BA (Hons) in Primary Education from the University of Central England in 2001 and worked for four years in a mainstream primary school in the UK. Jodie then taught in a special needs school, for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. She moved into international teaching 12 years ago and taught in Egypt and Kuwait, before moving to Bucharest. Jodie was KS1 coordinator and returned after her maternity leave as EYFS coordinator.

I had always thought about teaching but always had a love for Art. So, after my A Levels I did an Art Foundation course at college. I had considered doing an Art Degree and then possibly teaching. At college they arranged for me to support an ‘artist in residence’ at a local primary school. I learnt so much from this opportunity and it confirmed that primary teaching was the route I wanted to take. Children are spontaneous, unpredictable, fun and adventurous. No day in teaching is ever the same, it is therefore impossible to be bored when working with young children, their energy and enthusiasm is infectious.

In how many countries have you lived?

England, Egypt, Kuwait and Romania. Egypt was my first international post, it was such an interesting country, a little bit quirky but full of amazing history. Here, I met my husband and my first son was born in Alexandria, so, it will always have a special place in my heart.

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Which school, where you have taught, was most different to BSB? From a cultural and sociological point of view.

My first teaching post in the UK was in an urban school located on a housing estate, with little cultural diversity. It was an ‘improving school’ so there were lots of changes and developments that needed to take place. I learnt a lot in my four years there as the school grew and improved and I gained a wealth of experiences.

Fundamentally understanding, that it is not just the curriculum that is important, but the development of the whole child. Also, the impact that family life and the local community can have on children.

You have also taught in a special needs school. Can you tell us a bit about how working with children with learning difficulties pushed you, both as an educator and as an individual?

Working at a special educational needs school was incredibly challenging both physically and emotionally, but at the same time extremely rewarding.

It showed me the value of teamwork.

I was lucky to work as part of amazing

team including TAs, nurses, occupational and speech therapists and lunch supervisors, who were all immensely patient, dedicated to their job and committed to the children. It really was like one family. I truly loved my role and here I celebrated the most incredible achievements with my pupils and on the flip side experienced some of my saddest moments in my 19 years of teaching. Every child is unique, and a teacher is there to develop the whole child and to celebrate their achievements however big or small. Being a teacher is so much more than just teaching.

What inspires you to be creative?

What are you enjoying most about Bucharest so far?

The children and the team I teach with.

If you weren’t a full-time teacher, what would your dream job be?

I would like to think that working in a book shop would mean you test out the merchandise, therefore, you would have time to read books and sit and drink coffee. So, this would be my ‘dream’ job as I know this would not be the reality.

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After living in the Middle East, a move to a country with so many green areas and parks and four defined seasons was very exciting. Springtime in Bucharest is still my favourite, although I love to see the array of colours at the forest in Autumn.

Bucharest is family friendly and has lots to entertain my two children.

The countryside and mountains are beautiful and there are many places we still want to explore.

#MeetTHETEACHERS Kate Dibble Class Teacher

PROFILE: Why did you go into teaching?

Kate Dibble joined the British School of Bucharest in 2011 as a Year 1 teacher. Kate studied Primary Education at The University of the West of England, in Bristol. Before moving to Bucharest, Kate spent five years teaching in the British school system in Devon, in the South West of England. After two years teaching in Key Stage 1, Kate moved to Early Years, where she taught Nursery for three years. She currently teaches Year 1.

After completing A Levels I worked full time as a Nanny looking after two children. The parents were both doctors and I helped to organise and run a busy household. I was extremely fortunate whilst working in this role to accompany the family when they travelled abroad, spending some time in New Zealand. This gave me an insight into different cultures and ways of life. I enjoyed planning activities for the children and watching as their individual personalities developed.

When the youngest child started school I realised that it was time to move on. I took the plunge and applied to universities to study Early Years Primary Education.

What made you want to join BSB? I have an adventurous personality and enjoy travelling. I saw the opportunity to broaden my teaching career and gain further experience.

I was working in quite a rough area in England and decided that I needed a change. I saw a job advert for BSB and applied for the job on a total whim.

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After the interview I knew that I wanted to work at BSB. In how many countries have you lived?

England and Romania Which school, where you have taught, was most different to BSB? From a cultural and sociological point of view.

Before coming to BSB, I taught at a school in Plymouth which is situated on the South coast of Devon, England.

Plymouth is a large city and the area that the school was situated in was very socially deprived. Many parents struggled financially. A breakfast club was set up to encourage vulnerable children to arrive at school early, as many would not receive adequate food at home.

You’ve taught Early Years as well as Nursery stages for multiple years. Do you have a favourite?

I have been asked this question many times. During my career I have taught a range of ages from Nursery to Year 5.

Had you asked me that question at the start of last year, before I spent a year teaching Year 3, I would have told you that Reception was my absolute

favourite. By the end of that year I would have said that Year 3 was my dream year group. Now I’m back in Year 1 and I’m loving that too! I think it’s fair to say that I just love teaching and enjoy the challenges and variety that come with each year group.

What do you think is the most important aspect parents need to understand regarding their child’s early development stages?

Childhood lasts for a very short moment of our lives. Don’t rush through it, enjoy it. Play with your children, have fun, laugh and be silly.

Children will learn and develop in their

own way, in their own time. Provide them with an environment where they feel safe to take risks and explore.

Make time to make dens, play in mud and splash in puddles. Make memories with your child that they will remember when they grow up so that they can do the same with their own children.

If you weren’t a full-time teacher, what would your dream job be?

I love to be outside and I am very focused on health and nutrition, so I think I would choose a job that involved these interests.

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What are you enjoying most about Bucharest so far?

I enjoy the busyness of the city. I like visiting the cafes and restaurants, my favourite being Saint Roastery. I love living close to an international airport as it enables me to be a frequent traveler to different countries and most importantly to have easy access to my family in England.

And finally: tell us something unexpected about yourself.

I can play the Clarinet. I had lessons until I was 16. I have not played it for a long time but one day, I may just play it again.

#MeetTHETEACHERS Graeme Morley

Head of Key Stage 3 and Secondary Science Teacher PROFILE: Why did you go into teaching?

For many years I worked in other fields but never found them rewarding. I have a lot of family members and conversations regularly came around to “You should become a teacher, I can see you doing that as a career”. After a while I decided to make the jump and apply to do my teacher training. I went to Jordanhill (Glasgow) and have not regretted my decision for a second.

Graeme Morley joined the British School of Bucharest in 2019 as a Secondary Science Teacher and he is Head of Key Stage 3 at the school.

Graeme attended King’s College, University of London, where he obtained his BSc (Hons) in Microbiology and has also completed his PGCE and a Masters in education focusing on bilingualism. Graeme started his teaching career 21 years ago and has taught in the UK and Kazakhstan.

Graeme is a sports fan and holds a 1st Dan black belt in Ki-Aikido.

What made you want to join BSB? In all honesty it was a personal recommendation from Clare Sugdon, who worked here and who I later worked with in Kazakhstan. I told her that I wanted to move to a country bordering the Black Sea and she recommended BSB and Bucharest highly. I enjoy the Eastern European attitude and way of life, it feels very comfortable.

In how many countries have you lived?

I have lived (been registered as a resident) in five but I’ve spent substantial

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time (months or more) in at least that many again as well as visiting more than I can remember. I love travelling and seeing new places.

Which school, where you have taught, was most different to BSB? From a cultural and sociological point of view.

I taught in a fully IB school. I hugely enjoy the IB diploma, it is an amazing qualification but the MYP is a different thing entirely, it can be variable in quality as it has no clear curriculum or exam. I felt that it did not suit my teaching style at all and that I was not giving the students there the education they needed.

How does having a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology help you in your day to day life?

I went to an excellent university that taught the subject but also taught around it and enriched it. I was introduced to comparative philosophy as part of my degree, being able to think independently and analyse arguments is a very valuable skill. The degree was also very wide-ranging, I did major courses

in Biochemistry and Biophysics alongside the Microbiology, this took me into organic chemistry research working in the Nuclear Fuels industry on pollution control. Another major, Virology, is useful given the current situation in Europe and the wider world. I would recommend generalising in the way I did as it keeps so many doors open for your future career.

How do you think/believe a child’s development is helped by living in a bilingual environment?

It makes them into a much more tolerant, open-minded and international person. I moved to South Africa when I was 11, the area I moved to had a huge majority of non-English speakers and I had to learn, to adapt

and to become much more accepting of difference. It taught me, and it will teach today’s students, that people have many more similarities than differences.

What inspires you to be creative?

Food – my creative outlet is cookery, I love it, I love experimenting and creating.

If you weren’t a full-time teacher, what would your dream job be?

Teaching is my dream job, I have done enough outside the teaching sector to know that. If I had not become a teacher, I envisage that I might have gone into the family tradition of farming.

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What are you enjoying most about Bucharest so far?

It is a hugely relaxing city for me. I enjoy the parks, the café culture, the boulevards, the old architecture, it feels good.

And finally: tell us something unexpected about yourself.

I played Rugby for over 30 years, I learned it in South Africa, and I have played it on four of the six continents it is played on. It hasn’t damaged me – much, but I’m retired now and will never play in North or South America.

#MeetTHETEACHERS Rob Notley

Head of Sixth Form and Physical Education teacher PROFILE:

What made you want to join BSB?

Why did you go into teaching?

Rob Notley joined the British School of Bucharest in 2019 as a Secondary Physical Education Teacher and Head of Sixth Form.

Rob studied Physical Education at the University of Chichester and before coming to Romania, he taught in schools in the UK. For the last 3 years, he was the Director of Sports at a large school in London where he completed a National Professional Qualification of Middle Leadership at the University College London.

At school I wasn’t particularly well behaved. I would constantly spend time with my Headteacher as an infant and then my Head of Year as a secondary student. It was assumed by everyone I would go into a skilled trade. Each report said, “Robert has the ability to do well if only he was to apply himself”. I entered Year 11 with a lot of work to catch up on if I had any chance of succeeding at GCSE’s.

This is when my Head of Year pulled me aside and asked me to help coach the Year 7 rugby team. I’m certain he has no idea on the impact this had on me. Someone, a teacher, a teacher I respected asked for my help. Me! Someone had belief in me and I took this opportunity and ran with it. At the end of the year my PE and Headteacher pulled me aside and asked what I was going to do in the future. My reply disappointed them, they told me I had all the qualities to be a successful PE teacher. This stayed with me forever.

When I left my previous career I knew I had to pursue teaching. I had to give back to the industry which showed faith in me. Teaching allows other industries to exist and flourish.

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I was impressed with the emphasis on community. Reading the ISI report before applying I was delighted to discover that BSB had a strong pastoral network. It was clear that staff and students love the School and this speaks volumes. I always enjoy the special atmosphere that you get from a small school. You get to know all the students personally. In addition to this you get a real sense of staff cohesion.

The willingness to help each other out in difficult times or when somethings needs to get done is greater in a smaller school.

In how many countries have you lived?

I have come straight from the UK. Romania is the only country I have lived in outside of England.

Which school, where you have taught, was most different to BSB? From a cultural and sociological point of view.

Probably the school where I was Director of Sport. A very large secondary school in London, over 2000 students. It was a state-run school which had a large variety of students. Multi faiths and a vast range

of cultures. The students came from council estates which had issues with drugs and gangs. Many of our students were caught up in issues outside of school. Their priorities were different to BSB students,the thought of going to a Russell Group University let alone Oxbridge was never considered. Having said that, it was amazing to see them come to life when their own religious holidays were celebrated. The different customs were well respected by all. In the PE department alone we had four different cultures.

What do you believe is the most important thing to understand when trying to teach Physical Education to children?

I was always told by my University lecturers, “You are either a teacher of children or a teacher of your subject”. That is something that stuck with me, I am very much a teacher of children. The most important thing to understand when teaching PE is understanding that not everyone enjoys sport or PE. It is a love or hate subject and Luckily most at BSB love it.

Unfortunately, the media and negative experiences older people had in PE makes our job even harder. We must ensure we break down the stereotypes; The ‘macho’ male PE teacher who only cares for the superstar footballers and not the student who avoids PE at all costs. The student who avoids PE is the most important student to look for and work with. The superstar footballer will always love PE and most likely get lessons outside of school.

In your opinion, how does sport help a child’s personal development?

Luckily fitness tests like the Multistage Fitness test (Bleep Test) are a thing of the past. 1980’s PE is no longer seen across schools, meaning the fear of embarrassment has disappeared (hopefully). Sport and PE can help a child’s personal development in a variety of different ways. I always explain to students and parents that a student may have four top grade A Levels but if they struggle to work as a team, don’t accept losses or victory gracefully and compete they aren’t as employable as others. PE develops social skills which employers look for as much as qualifications. PE also drives up confidence, perseverance and resilience.

What inspired you to study leadership?

Leadership has a lot to answer for.

Leadership has a huge impact on a variety of things. Staff well-being, student well-being, the education delivered to your child and the sustainability of the school. A well led school can be the difference between a good education and an outstanding education. I am intrigued by leadership, what aspects play a part in decision making? What are the different models of leadership? How can a leader get the best out of everyone? How does the use of words impact on the reactions of people involved? The subject is so diverse that reading and studying leadership makes you question everything you do as a leader. It

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makes you think twice before talking with people. Learning about leadership for me, is learning about people!

If you weren’t a full-time teacher, what would your dream job be?

I would love to work at a water-sports activity centre in the south of France!

The idea of waking up in the sunshine and spending all day in a kayak or sailing boat excites me. Looking out into the distance with nothing to see other than water. It releases a real sense of space and freedom.

What are you enjoying most about Bucharest so far?

Bucharest offers a range of different activities. Bucharest and Romania as a whole are truly hidden gems of Europe.

I enjoy the number of restaurants offering culinary delights from around the world but also being able to taste authentic Romanian dishes.

And finally, tell us something unexpected about yourself.

In 2017 I captained my Rugby Team to an undefeated league promotion to London 1 Division and we were named National Team of the Year, a very proud moment. A documentary was also filmed around the team, rumour has it Apple TV and Netflix are looking to air it.

THE ROAD FROM BSB

Beatrice Petrescu

Beatrice is a former BSB student, she currently studies at The University of Law in London. Discover her road from BSB: What university are you attending now? What made you choose your course?

I am attending The University of Law in London, where I am currently undertaking the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). This course is specific for graduate students who are looking to pursue a career in law. I previously studied Politics and International Studies at Warwick University and am now looking to start a career in environmental law and hopefully work for an environmental organisation such as Client Earth or Friends of the Earth.

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How is university – what are you enjoying and what are the challenges?

How did BSB help you achieve your goals?

My experience as a postgraduate student in London is very different from when I was an undergraduate at Warwick University. While living in a big city is great for its vibrant social life, I miss the community feel I had in a campus university, as well as the benefits from being part of a sports team. My three years at Warwick were so enjoyable because I joined the Lacrosse Sports Club in my first year, going on to play as goalie throughout my university life. Currently, my postgraduate life is much more focused on studying, as the GDL is an intense course with lots of content to learn.

Studying at BSB shaped my critical thinking and taught me how to think for myself and make my own decisions.

The ability of teachers to promote independent learning while also guiding students to get the best possible grades is truly commendable and I am very grateful for the wonderful teachers I had. Additionally, I was granted numerous opportunities to debate and speak in front of hundreds of students, improving my confidence and public speaking skills.

Anything else you’d like to share about your journey?

If you’d told me at the start of my undergraduate degree that I would later go on to study law, I would have never believed you. My journey, as such, has never been fully set in stone and I didn’t know what career I wanted to go into until my final year at Warwick. I think it is really important to be flexible and not to put too much pressure on yourself when choosing a degree to study at university, as there are so many opportunities in higher education to switch and you should always choose to study a subject that you truly love and enjoy.

When did you study at BSB? Any particular memories that stand out from your BSB years?

I studied at BSB when I was really young, and then I moved away and came back in Year 9 and left in Year 13. I have many nice memories from BSB and the ones which stand out are my trips to the World Scholars Cup in Prague and Kuala Lumpur. The opportunity to compete in debating internationally alongside my peers was truly an unmatchable experience. I also really enjoyed being part of the Student Planet BSB Committee, organising various events to raise £1,740 in one school year to build a dam for a school in Ethiopia.

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Any achievements or contributions that you are really proud of?

My interest in charity work continued when I went to university and I have been a volunteer for various environmental organisations over the last few years. Currently I am the chair for Public Interest Environmental Law UK (PIEL), a student-led initiative organising annual conferences pertaining to environmental policy and climate justice.

Any tips you would give to current students, relating to academics or life at BSB in general?

It is impossible for a student to know exactly what their career trajectory is from a young age, and it is better to experience various subjects and try out many things before choosing one career to focus on. If you’re interested in studying law but are unsure, I’d recommend studying a different subject at undergraduate level and then going on to study the GDL. Also, try to make the most of the personal support teachers give you at BSB, as university professors do not have the same resources and time that the great teachers and staff of BSB do. Lastly, get involved with as many extracurriculars as possible, as these experiences will be really valuable when you ultimately start looking for a job.

THE ROAD FROM BSB

Akis Gkousis 74

Akis is our 2013 – 2014 Head Boy. Discover his road from BSB, that lead him to be an Analyst-Health Economist at RAND Europe, a not-for-profit policy research organisation based in Cambridge.

What university have you been attending? What made you choose your course?

After I graduated from BSB in 2014, I moved to the UK, where I studied Economics at the University of York.

I went on to do a Master’s degree in Health Economics at the University of Leeds, graduating in 2018. Since November 2018, I have been working at RAND Europe, a not-for-profit policy research organisation based in Cambridge. My current role is Analyst-Health Economist and my work focuses primarily on the fields of health, science and innovation.

My overarching aspiration when I chose my course was to be able to make a little more sense of the complex world we live in. Looking back, my studies have given me a framework for thinking, analysing and understanding a variety of topics and issues, both in my every day and pro-

fessional life. I was particularly fascinated by Health Economics, which is essentially the study of how to allocate scarce health resources in a way that would maximise public benefit.

studies enabled me to begin a career in research, with my goal being to have a meaningful impact on health and social policy. This is of course only one of the countless roads you can go down after leaving BSB.

How was university – what have you been enjoying and what were the challenges?

When did you study at BSB? Any particular memories that stand out from your BSB years?

University was a fantastic experience for me. It was a smooth transition into ‘adult life’, as I had a fair amount of responsibilities, while enjoying the benefits of not having a full-time job. It got a little stressful at times, but this is one of the reasons why I felt a sense of accomplishment when I graduated.

All in all, university is a great environment to learn, socialise, enjoy yourself, and figure out what you want to do moving forwards (not necessarily in that order).

I was at BSB between 2010 and 2014, where I completed Years 10 to 13.

Some of the memories that stand out are the trips to the Romanian countryside, including one for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a trip to Prague for the World Scholar’s Cup and a Head Boy/Head Girl trip to Spain. However, what stands out the most is taking part in sports competitions, and particularly the wins against AISB at football and basketball.

Anything else you’d like to share about your journey?

Any achievements or contributions that you are really proud of?

Scoring the winning goal against AISB!

Thinking about my time at BSB and university, I have a ton of fond memories that I cherish. I met a lot of amazing people and made strong friendships that have lasted to this day.

How did BSB help you achieve your goals?

The skills and experiences I gained at BSB were essential for me to be accepted to a top UK university. My

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Any tips you would give to current students, relating to academics or life at BSB in general?

I believe that choosing the right university and course is important, but it does not tie you down to a certain career path. There is always opportunity to manoeuvre or even change direction completely later on.

It may feel like a huge decision, but you will get to make many more of them in the future.

FBSB Engaging the Community

By Erika Torazzina

Following the FBSB philosophy, to engage and support our parents’ community and develop topics of interest, we had the honour of hosting two interesting workshops.

The workshops, with two special guests, were on the themes of living in a third culture, children time and how to adapt and overcome the challenges of new countries and new cultures.

In the Autumn term we had Ximena Reyes as guest speaker, a very experienced intercultural trainer and

in the Spring term we had Claudia Landini, an expat for over 30 years and a coach. FBSB also ran two sessions with two speakers from the staff regarding the online resources used for lessons with the children and how to best use them at home. The second session with our university advisor gave us an overview on the terminology used in the British Curriculum when talking about the exam preparation to enter university.

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In line with creating an engaged community FBSB is also planning to have a third workshop inviting a third guest speaker to run a course on parenting and how to talk to children.

Considering the current school closure, we are working on a possible online course if the situation requires, and we are creating a parents’ network to make sure nobody feels alone or without the right support.

About @BSB @BSB is the termly school magazine issued by the British School of Bucharest.

The British School of Bucharest (BSB) is an established, well-resourced international private school located on a spacious campus in Pipera, to the north of Bucharest. The school provides a comprehensive international education based on the National Curriculum for England taught by fully qualified and experienced native English-speaking teachers, our school being the only one in Romania whose teachers are all native English speakers.

We welcome more than 600 students each year, aged 2-18, and teach them in modern classrooms with an impressive pupil to teacher ratio. This ensures a personalised and highly supportive learning environment which is part of a richly diverse learning community, with students representing approximately 50 nationalities.

Contact:

If you need any information about BSB, please do not hesitate to contact our Office Department: Tel: (+40) (0)21 267 8919 (+40) (0)728 133 433 Fax: (+40) (0)21 267 8969 E-mail: office@britishschool.ro

Other useful e-mail addresses: Admissions: admissions@britishschool.ro Marketing: marketing@britishschool.ro Data Protection Officer: dpo@britishschool.ro

British School of Bucharest Crawford House Foundation 42 Erou Iancu Nicolae Street, Voluntari 077190, Romania Registered: 17/2008 Fiscal Code: 24879960

Parking Address: The School’s car park is situated on Erou Iancu Nicolae nr. 65, next to the Strip Mall.

Access to the car park is based on the car registration and access is restricted for the public.

After leaving your car, it is a five-minute walk to BSB.

The British School of Bucharest invites you to become a partner in the @BSB School Magazine.

For further details of this opportunity, please contact marketing@britishschool.ro.

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British School of Bucharest Early Years Foundation Stage/Primary/Secondary 42 Erou Iancu Nicolae Street, 077190, Voluntari, Ilfov County, Romania T. + 40 21 267 89 19, +40 728 133 432, +40 728 133 433 F. +40 21 267 89 69 E. office@britishschool.ro

www.britishschool.ro The School is operated by Crawford House Foundation. Registered 3/25.01.2016. Fiscal Code 24879960