BSB School Magazine - Feburary 2008

Feb 2008, Issue 1

News

Blast !

The British School of Bucharest Magazine

Contents Page 2 Editors Note CIE: How does the Cambridge exam system work?

Page 3 Principal’s Report Page 4 Crawford House: Senior School Review Newland House: Junior school Review Page 5 Senior School assemblies: When, where, and what?

Page 6 The annual BSB Artisan Fair took place on Dec 10th Page 7 The annual BSB ‘Shoebox Charity Appeal’ Bake Sales: What are they and why do we have them?

Page 8 BSB Sports Page Page 9 Art Art Art News from the Music room Page 10 Get to know a few of the BSB students in ‘Student spotlight’ What is the Eco Committee?

Page 11 The BSB University Courses make their mark Page 12 Everything you want to know about the BSB House System and more.

Who are the house captains?

Page 13 Crèche Snapshot Life in the Preschool Page 14 BSB Reception get creative while Year 1 learn about the artic and building homes.

Page 15 Year 2 create some colourful seascapes, learn about Florence Nightingale, and get writing Page 16 Year 3 talk about what they are doing in science and delve into Celtic History, while Year 4 look back at Greece and the time of Homer.

Page 17 Year 5 learn about Solids, Liquids, and Gases while Year 6 work on their disco display Page 18 and experiment with solvency.

BSB ski trip departs April 19 IT, the way ahead Page 19 BSB Bulletin board BSB Crossword challenge Page 20 Year 11: Early exam success

This Issue’s Features:

Issue 1

YEAR 2 Combine Science and Art In Year 2, students have been getting ultra-creative, producing some beautiful seascapes and learning all about the ocean and ocean ecology in the process.

To read more about this and some of the other things classes are doing in the junior school, ……..Turn to Pages 13-18

Newlands House

Crawford House

Sara Snocken, Head of Keystage 2, talks about life in Newlands for Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, as winter slowly draws to an end ……….....Page 4

Jane Greenwood, Head of the senior school, gives a brief review of Keystages 3 & 4 as we move toward the summer exams. ..Page 4

Annual BSB ‘Shoebox Appeal’ This year saw parents again give generously for charity. To read more about some of the charity work going on at BSB ...Turn to Page 6 & 7

Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro

Editor’s Note This is my first year at BSB and so it is also my first year working on the BSB school magazine. For the past several years the various BSB Keystages and some individual classes have been putting out their own regular newsletter. We decided that as we have moved to a new location, that it would be a good idea to celebrate this new beginning by putting out a more comprehensive school magazine. So every class in the school made a list of potential names for our new school magazine and the student council convened to consider all the names forwarded, and in the end voted to call their new school magazine ‘BSB Newsblast!’

BSB Newsblast! will be published each term, offering a brief look into the lives and classes of students at BSB, covering the major events that have taken place, and letting you know about some of the important dates coming up in the school calendar.

In this issue, we have a variety of interesting articles ranging from the charity work that BSB students have been involved in, such as the Artisan Fair and the Annual Shoebox Appeal. There are also a number of informative articles, such as that written below by Jane Greenwood on the CIE system, and the article on the House System organised by our Head of French, Miss Renaudin. There is a brief review of the Music department, with it new

Head, Mr Mulvany, and the Art department headed by Mrs Lavery.

Mr Hall offers up an extensive piece on life in the PE department, and Mr Pantella provides us with a glimpse into the BSB world of IT. Perhaps of most interest though is the class review pages.

In each issue we hope to have something on every class and through the course of the year give every student a chance to appear in the school magazine. We will also be offering you samples of student’s work, such as the poem in this issue by Year 5 student Annemarie Petre (Mimi), and the many posters and other work on display, such as the wonderful work by students from 2W and the colourful disco poster by students for 6D. On page 19 you can read notices posted on the BSB Bulletin board. If you would like to post a message on the BSB Newsblast! Bulletin board yourself, you are more than welcome to send me an email and I will do my best to post your message.

We would also be happy to have businesses advertise in future editions of BSB Newsblast! as we would like to eventually publish a magazine that is entirely run by the students and self-funding, and I think with your help, this can be achieved.

Kendall Peet Head of EAL In June 2008 our current Year 11 students will sit International General Certificates in Secondary Education (IGCSEs) examinations in 8 subjects. Year 10 students will have completed the first year of IGCSE studies and Year 9 will have made their options choices enabling them to choose which IGCSE subjects they wish to follow. All students will follow the ‘core’ subjects in Mathematics, English Language and Science, as well as Information Technology and Modern Foreign Languages. Also there will be several optional subjects from which they can select ones that interest them.

IGCSEs are British examinations that have an international content. These qualifications are recognised around the world as programmes of study designed by the British examination boards for Year 10 and 11 students. The qualifications are designed to enable students develop independent thinking, creativity, analytical and evaluative appreciation and enables the individual to become a ‘self-manager’ of his/her own learning.

On completion of the two year course the students will sit external examinations set by the Cambridge examining body and which are also marked by CIE’s own examiners. Students are awarded pass grades ranging from A – G. IGCSEs are a pathway forward for students. These qualifications will enable students to seek employment, progress to further education at school or college, or to begin advanced level examination courses (AS/A2). The advanced level courses will allow students to progress to university where they will be able to work towards degree qualifications.

The British curriculum forms an ongoing educations process: Key Stage 3 SATS

Key Stage 4 IGCSEs

Key Stage 5 Vocational Studies and Advanced Level Studies

The international nature of the students at the British School of Bucharest often means relocation and a change of school. If I could offer one piece of advice to parents and students it would be to try not to move schools once students have started their Key Stage 4 and/or Key Stage 5 studies. Often, other international schools will offer different option subjects or will not necessarily teach a course in the same order. If this occurs it can affect the flow of study for a student. Continuity during a Key Stage will give the students the best opportunity for success.

We want to give every student the best opportunity to succeed in their chosen course of study. If you are concerned about any aspect of your son/daughter’s education, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Jane Greenwood Head of Secondary School 2

Principal’s Report Dear Friends of BSB,

It is always a real surprise at how quickly an academic year seems to race by, and with all the changes we have experienced this year, it is no exception. It has been good to start planning our dates for the coming year with regard to class trips and our other extra-curricular activities for children and parents. I hope you have received some information about parent classes and we are looking forward to widening the choices of activities, so if you have any proposals please be in touch. Some parents have volunteered their places of work as possible trips for the children, if you feel you have some ideas about interesting places to visit please let us know. Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered some of their time to work with the children, either helping

with swimming lessons, reading with the children or even teaching one of our university courses, it is much appreciated, and if you would like to get involved with some classes please let us know.

After a much needed break the teachers will be returning for some in-service training before the next half term begins. This term we will be joined by two Head teachers from the UK who will be looking at assessment for learning with our staff. In addition Ms Joyce Taylor, our school inspector from England, will be here for a week observing lessons and monitoring our school’s general development, as well as providing training with our Foundation Stage on High Scope practices and extending these within our curriculum.

The children have played a large part in writing their pieces for their newsletter and we all hope you enjoy them. A big thank you goes to the teachers for their work, and particularly to Mr Peet and Mrs Jipa for compiling everyone’s efforts.

I hope all our families and teachers have a restful half term, and we look forward to seeing you all after the holiday.

Jo Puddy-Wells Contact: principal@britishschool.ro

The Front Desk If you need any in formation or help in regard to your child’s education and support at BSB, please do not hesitate to contact our office team during normal working hours.

Office hours: 8.00am-5.00pm, Monday-Friday.

For help relating to school transport, student lunches, or sports and clubs, please contact: Dan Domnescu BSB Sports and Services Coordinator Email: services@britishschool.ro Tel; 0722 645 671

For any other general enquires, please contact: Cristiana Patru or Cristina Koiso Email: office@britishschool.ro Mob: 0728 133 432/3 Tel: 021 267 8919 Fax: 021 267 8969

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Crawford House I would like to extend a warm welcome to parents and students to our new secondary school building. Crawford House is an imposing building and it makes a very elegant secondary school. It has four floors housing the IT suite, science laboratory, art room, and the majority of secondary classes. Music is in its own building overlooking the gardens. Students already feel at home in their new surroundings and have settled quickly into their studies.

The spring and summer terms hold many exciting activities for the students: the ski trip to Austria, the secondary summer trip (the destination is still to be finalised), sports day, the American School University Day to name but a few. Year 11 students are now preparing themselves for the International General Certificate in Secondary Education (IGCSE), the qualifications that will lead them on to further and advanced level studies. Key Stage 3 students have just completed subject tests. The tests were delayed slightly to allow the school move to take place and to ensure that the students had settled into their new environment. Year 9 students have begun preparations for the SATs examinations in English, Maths and Science due to take place in May, and Year 10 examinations will take place later in the year.

This is the start of a new era for the British School of Bucharest and the secondary school. I look forward to working closely with the staff, students and parents in advancing student learning and achievement.

Jane Greenwood Head of Secondary School

Newlands House The Key Stage 2 team are pleased to be working in this great new location. The primary building is split over four floors; it is very palatial with sweeping staircases and large breathtaking crystal chandeliers.

This building houses the whole of Key Stage 2, plus the Year 2 classes. It also has a PE room, the junior library, a fully equipped ICT suite, a multi purpose room, the nurse’s room, an art room and kitchen facilities. We feel very lucky to be working in such great surroundings and the building is proving to be inspirational, especially for both Literacy and Art/DT. Assemblies are being held in the fabulous Disco room, where Year 6 are planning to use their dancing shoes at some stage in the year. The environment uplifts the spirits of both children and staff.

Key Stage 2 are looking forward to many exciting events in the coming terms. We have recently published a list of all of the competitions to take place, and I will be appealing for parents to help judge them later in the term.

The teachers are busy preparing exciting educational trips to a variety of locations for their classes. This will of course include the memorable overseas trip for Year 6, details to follow.

We will also be inviting parents on a weekly basis to see their children perform in their class assemblies, starting after half term.

We look forward to the remainder of the year and thank you for your continued support.

Miss Sara Snocken Head of Key Stage 2

BSB magically transformed into the land of Narnia‌.

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Senior School- Tuesday Assemblies Every Tuesday at 2.30pm senior school students and teachers gather in the assembly hall in Crawford House for a weekly senior school assembly. The following is a short review of one assembly that took place recently.

All secondary students and teachers gather in the assembly hall for each assembly, which is usually lead by one teacher and one year group, who prepare a performance on a topic of general interest, a current event or a celebration, attempting to present something to the assembly in an original and often humorous way. There are no limits set to the student’s creativity and talents.

What is Pancake Day? A good example of a senior assembly was that prepared by Year 7 on February 5th, to celebrate International Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday. After undertaking a little research, Year 7

A few Year 7 students preparing for assembly

Tim from Year 10 competing in the pancake race

Senior students enjoying the Year 7 presentation were out to prove that there is more to a pancake than just some dough fried in a pan.

There are very many traditions in different countries linked to making pancakes. There are also many words for pancake in various languages: crêpes, Pfannkuchen, May Chemais from Year 8 tossing a pancake palacsinta, blini…, as Hannah and Seung Yeon, our language experts, were able to show in their international pancake glossary. Make sure to have that in your pocket next time you are desperate for a pancake in Japan or Sweden.

Victoire and Alizee spoke about crêpes in France. Carla told us more about clătite in Romania. Sotirios, Ambroise and Sebastian S. gave a small introduction to Shrove Football in England.

Toward the end of the assembly the students were given a chance to show what they had learnt from the presentation in a short presented by Carla and Vanessa and were rewarded house points. More house points were given in the Pancake Quiz organised by Priscille and Shani. Of course, flipping pancakes high into the air can be entertaining, but having one with either lemon or chocolate filling can be just as rewarding. At the end of the assembly, everyone was invited to the Pancake Sale, where Year 7 students sold pancakes they had made themselves (chefs included: David, Sebastian M., Ana Maria, Ana, Kyung Mo, Louis , Ambroise, Nick) together with Mrs. Claire Kemper, Hannah’s mother, who so generously volunteered to help. You are a star, Mrs. Kemper, thank you for that!

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Annual BSB Artisan Fair raises money for charity On Monday the 10th of December the Annual Artisan fair took place to raise money for charity. With the help of BSB students a variety of Artisans came to BSB to sell their wares with 10 % of sales going toward the fund set up to support Ovidu Rom, an non profit organisation established to fund and resource schools with children from low income families in rural communities. This year a wide variety of stall were set up selling items ranging from traditionally painted Romanian eggs, through too glassware, leather ware and handmade crafts from a number of junior school classes. The colourful items for sale, combined with the food and music created a lively carnival atmosphere in which all present had a great time.

Here’s what a few BSB students had to say about the fair: I think it was a great idea to have the Artisan Fair again this year to help people in need. This year we had amny different stalls: eggs, charity stalls, Christmas crafts, leather goods, glassware, Swarovski and a variety of other assorted jewellery, books, African art, toys, bakes sales, and much, much more. I had to sell a type of hat together with Isabella from Year 10. I thought the Tombola was especially excellent. I hope we have the fair again next year.

Teresa Lainer, Year 8 This was the first time that I had the opportunity t o participate in the Artisan and to be honest I didn’t really know what to expect. I was really curious as to how the fair would go and so I was pretty excited when I arrived at school on the Monday morning. I think in total there were about 30 students involved in setting up the fair and we all worked really hard to get everything ready on time. As the fair got underway the people really seemed to enjoy themselves and in my opinion the fair was great as it taught us all to work together as a member of a team. This Artisan Fair was a great experience for me and I definitely add it to the other beautiful memories this year I have gathered so far this year.

Seung-Yeon Myung, Year 7 The Artisan Fair was a very good experience for me! I got the chance to see art from different countries and I think that the fair was really well organised. The band was awesome and I think everyone had a great time. The Tombola was a really great idea.

Andrea Prasacu, Year 9 I though the singers were exceptional. And would like to thank Mr Mulvany and Miss Renaudin for all their hard work.

Nicholas Evry, Year 7 The Artisan Fair was really fun. It was full of interesting things to do and buy lots of people brought things to sell at the fair and we all helped them to sell their things. I think the fair was really successful because we sold so many things. What was really nice for me was that most of the things were handmade. Overall it was a lot of fun and I hope next year it is even more successful and even more people come along and support the fair because it is for charity and I think it is important to help other people.

Shani Shamel, Year 7 6

Annual BSB “Christmas Shoebox Appeal�

The Annual Christmas Shoebox appeal ensured that children in need had a happier Christmas, thanks to the generosity of many BSB students and parents.

Thank you to all those who gave generously to the appeal.

Bake Sales Bake sales are a fantastic way of raising money for good causes.

In the last term we have been able to raise money that will go towards our classrooms.

In Class 1M we asked the parents to share their wonderful homemade baking. In the classroom we prepared for the bake sale by creating fun posters and making labels as price tags. Everyone had lots of fun trying to draw yummy cakes! On the day of the bake sale we went outside to help the parent volunteers in setting up the tables. It was a great day because we even got to sell Hot chocolate! We raised 600 RON and as a class we are trying to decide what we would like to buy with the money. We love to paint and draw lots so we may get fun things like that.

Some bake sales are created to raise money for other causes such as the Eco-committee or charities which we support. We all love bake sales and we get to eat a very special treat at the end of a very busy week. It is also a great way to introduce students to the idea of raising money and gives them the chance to decide how to spend their hard earned money. For many children it is their first time selling something and so it is a valuable step toward the real world that awaits them.

Mrs Marcu & Class 1M

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Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport A message from the PE department: This past half-term has given us the opportunity to explore many games this year and our current programme is rotating between futsal, basketball and netball. Indoor activities have included fitness circuits, athletic activities and gym.

In addition to the core programme it has been very pleasing to see so many of our pupils involved in extra-curricular sporting activities – long may this continue!

Please may we kindly remind all parents, and pupils, that the correct kit should always be worn for PE lessons and sporting clubs.

The PE kit should include BSB shorts and t-shirt, tracksuit trousers and sweatshirt. Trainers should be suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, having either laces or Velcro fastenings. For football lessons, and clubs, shin pads must be worn; if they are not your son or daughter will not be permitted to play in the games. In addition, following the half-term break we will be introducing variations of hockey and shin pads and mouth guards will be compulsory for participation. If your son or daughter does not have the correct kit then they will be given a warning in their planner and will only be permitted to play if they have suitable alternatives.

Non-participation and / or incorrect kit should always be supported by a parental letter.

Following the half-term break, some of the Foundation Stage classes and Years 1 – 3 will be visiting Atlantis for swimming lessons. Pupils will be reminded by their class teacher of the times and will need to bring their swimming kit (towel, goggles, cap, suit and flip-flops) on the correct days.

In the last few weeks we were fortunate enough to purchase two Concept 2 Indoor Rowing Machines. Pupils from Year 5 upwards are being introduced to the machines on a class by class basis ready for us to partake in the International Indoor Rowing League. Unfortunately we are too late for official entry into this year’s competition but it should provide us with valuable experience for next year’s event.

As a department we are currently networking both locally and internationally regarding fixtures, tours and tournaments so watch this space for upcoming events. More immediate fixtures will run on an Inter-House basis and will start after half-term.

The aforementioned rowing machines will be available to parents for one to one, or pairs coaching, with Mr.Hall, between 16:00 and 18:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays, following the half-term break. In addition, a ‘Friends of BSB’ Football Club will operate for adults between 18:00 and 20:00 on Mondays and / or Wednesdays. Both of these activities will incur a charge and if you wish to have any further information or register your interest then please contact Mr.Hall, mike.hall@britishschool or Mr.Domnescu, domnescu@britishschool.ro As a school and department we are currently exploring the possibility of running a summer school and sports programme. This will potentially incorporate programmes of Multi-Sport Activities, Pro-Sport Coaching, Educational Classes and Individual Activities.

Letters will go out prior to Easter detailing more information about what we will be offering and allowing you to register your interest.

All that now remains is to wish everyone a pleasant half-term and to anticipate your continued participation and support following the holidays.

Mike Hall Head of PE 8

Art Art Art Art Art Art Art Art Art Art In this rapidly developing society we are continuously bombarded with the visual world.

At BSB we believe it is important to provide a comprehensive program within Art & Design to equip our pupils with the knowledge to translate and manipulate this visual language in a way that enhances the creative and expressive self. Pupils acquire the ability to investigate, analyse and experiment developing skills to express ideas and use visual language.

In the first term pupils produced two dimensional work developing skills in drawing, painting and collage through various themes and with the emphasis placed on the investigation of colour. This term with our new resourced classroom we are able to explore three dimensional work building on skills from term one but in a new and exciting format from Box designs to Year 7’s mask making project.

Pupils develop skills in papier-mâché, cardboard construction and modroc techniques. Our work explores art from different cultures, historical and contemporary artists as well as art movements. Next term our focus will be on print and pattern.

Here at BSB our Art & Design program enables our pupils to develop skills which will be essential to them whatever they go on to do afterwards.

Play on Maestro The importance of Music Music is a powerful, unique form of communication that can change the way pupils feel, think and act. It brings together intellect and feeling and enable personal expression, reflection and emotional development.

Resources Music lessons will normally be taken in the Music department, where a collection of tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments are available. There is also an electric piano, twenty-one electronic keyboards, a Roland VD electronic drum kit and a Yamaha eight track recording studio. One room is kitted out with PC linked keyboards and Sibelius software, an overhead projector and a CD/tape player.

Our Aim: The aim of the music department is to provide opportunities for students to continue to develop and improve specific musical skills. Alongside the performing and composing elements, students explore the development of music through instrumental, song, dance and media genres.

‘Music is our daily medicine which aids for better communication with others and ourselves.’

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Student in the Spotlight!

Antoine is in year 3. He comes from Belgium and his favourite colour is blue. His opinion about the new school is that it is really good because there was a bigger PE hall. His hobby is reading. If he could go anywhere in the world he would go to London. His favourite subject is maths and it is his second year at BSB. Katie is in year 6, she comes from America and her favourite colour is green. Her hobby is writing stories. She would like to live in Florida. Her favourite subjects are literacy and PE. This is her first year at BSB. Egor is in year 5. He likes blue and he comes from France. His favourite subject is History and he would like to become a history teacher. He likes playing football and he would like to live in France.

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Maria is in year 10. She comes from Brazil. She thinks the school is really cool but too strict.

She likes drawing and playing music. She would live in the States if she could. She wants a creative job as she likes art. She has been in this school for 3 years and she has a dog named Fritz. She likes any modern music.

Sarah is in year 4. She comes from England and her hobbies are reading and watching TV. Surprisingly enough, her favourite subject is ... lunch, however she says that she would like to become an author. She has a cat, a rabbit, and a bird.

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Kyung Mo is in year 7. His hobbies are table tennis, football and reading Harry Potter. books He would live in South Korea, where he comes from. He finds the new school very tiring but nice.

He wants to be an ambassador. He likes classical music.

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Matthew is in year 8. He comes from America. He has a dog named Taffee and a turtle named Turtle. He likes hanging out with friends, Playing basketball and football. This is his fifth year at this school and he would like to be a film director. He wants to live in New York.

By Gonzo Pillet, Year 10

BSB Eco Committee What is an “Eco – Committee”?

The Eco- Committee meets regularly to consider how we can be more eco-friendly as individuals and as an organization.

Every class has an elected representative who acts as the spokesperson for the class. In this way we hope that the views of all members of the student community can be represented.

The Eco committee has met twice since our move to our new site, and is excited to begin work on making our school and community more environmentally aware. We are developing a BSB “Eco- Code” which we will soon publish. The Eco Code is a guideline which we hope all members of the school community will follow to make the environment better.

Our main Focus: In our meetings we brainstormed things we could work on and have chosen two areas to focus on this year: recycling and saving power. Recycling is important because it can reduce waste and make our resources go further. We plan to establish a recycling scheme at school to encourage better use of our resources. Saving power is important because it will save us money! It will also reduce the amount of electricity we use, which will mean less greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere, which is a major cause of excessive global warming. We plan to do regular audits of energy use at school, and we will make signs to remind people to save power whenever they can.

The “Eco -Tree” is coming!

Everyone can make a difference to the environment. To encourage individuals to take positive action, we will be establishing an “Eco-Tree” in the foyer of the school, where every person can make a pledge to do something to help the environment. Like, “I pledge to take shorter showers”, or “I pledge to recycle paper regularly”. Each pledge will be written on a paper leaf (recycled of course) and added to the branches of the tree. We hope that as it grows, the eco tree will help people remain committed to do as much as they can to make our world a better place.

Thank You from the Eco Committee!

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Junior School University Courses Building on from the success of our BSB University last year, January saw the start of our new and exciting range of courses for pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2.

These courses allow our pupils to choose their area of learning, based upon their own individual interests. The wide range of courses offered have opened up the opportunity for our pupils to gain knowledge and understanding on a range of topics, many of which are teaching our pupils 'life skills'. Naturally all of these courses are taught through National Curriculum subjects, although these vary from course to course. An important aspect of the university is that the pupils have selected what they learn and therefore should have even more enthusiasm than they usually do! The courses which are being run by both parents and members of staff include - Safari adventure, computer control, guitar for beginners, cooking, Italian for beginners, music from around the world, cricket skills, dance, learn Spanish, discover Ancient Egypt, magazine publishing, script writing, urban arts, planning a dinner party and public speaking. All the pupils are working towards skill levels which will be outlined on the certificates they will receive at the end of the academic year. If any parents have a particular skill, hobby or interest which they would like to teach the pupils, then please contact Mr. Davidson.

Chess Club My first day of university was good. Mr. Leese taught us how to move pieces.

We then played a match which I played against Andreas Kougionas. He took my queen which I took back and then got another queen. After that I took all his pieces except the King and made checkmate. The second match Andreas beat me with three or four moves. It was nice.

By Alex Pitulea Planning a Dinner Party In our University course we are learning how to plan a dinner party. On our first day we learned how to set our table and use proper table manners. In our second week we planned our theme for our dinner party which is ‘Sunset’. We also had to decide our colour scheme, which is orange, red and yellow. We have also decided on decorations that fit perfectly with our sunset theme. Then we created a supply list. We went to the computers to make invitations and placemats.

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Next week we will start working on our decorations.

We are enjoying our university course!

By Andrei Stalfort and Rhea Asthana Let’s Dance At Modern Dance University, we are learning various types of dances like hip-hop, rock, etc. Our teachers are Miss. Banks and Miss Olivia. It’s really fun. We are allowed to bring in our own CD’s and make up dance routines for them. We talk about what types of music we like and decide what different types of dances to do each week. I think Modern Dance University is fantastic!

Guitar for Beginners Course I am in the guitar course with Mr. Jonathan and I like it because it is fun trying a new instrument.

When the university course had not started I expected to learn at least two chords and already I have learned six. I am looking forward to the next time because I would like to learn more. I hope to learn how to play the electric guitar and I think university courses should be done two times a week.

By Filippo OK NOW. 3, 2, 1 ACTION! For my university course I am doing script writing and short film making. The students that are doing this course are deciding what type of short film we are going to make. Every student is thinking of an idea, and then we are going to present it to the class. The movie will take approximately 12 minutes, which is an extremely long time for a short film.

We are not going to have any animation.

Our teacher, Mr. Kennedy told us that we are going to make two different films, because one of the films may go wrong, and we would have to start all over again.

Our film will come out in approximately eleven weeks, and then we will put it in the www.youtube.com film competition.

One day after school, we will organize a little cinema for parents to come and watch our film, and maybe you can come too! We will keep you up to date with everything that happens, and also the theme of our two films.

By Iris Tilea The university courses run every Wednesday in the primary department during Periods 3 & 4.

THE BSB House System At BSB we are proud to have a house system which separates the school into four groups. BSB houses are named after a prominent Romanian rivers- Arges, Danube, Olt and Mures- with students from each house wearing a different coloured tie. . children take an active role in the inter house challenges between the house teams. Each year we vote for our Captains and Vice-captains, with this years captains and vice captains for each Keystage listed below. Well done to those elected and good luck leading your house in each Key Stage.

Keystage 1 Arges -

Keystage 3 &4

Keystage 2

Captain: Arina (2W) Vice: Jon (2L)

Arges -

Captain: Alejandra Mesina Vice: Eda Ozkan

Arges -

Captain: Akshay Bhasin Vice: David Coltan

Danube - Captain: Andrew (2L) Vice: Sarah Mueli (2B)

Danube - Captain: Polen Turkmen Vice: Ana Pavlova

Danube - Captain Matthew Florescu Vice: Anna Maria Doberescu

Mures - Captain: Eldon (2L) Vice: Vlad (2B)

Mures - Captain: Victor Florescu Vice: Iris Tilea

Mures -

Captain Denis Zisman Vice: Tudor Atanasui

Olt -

Olt -

Olt -

Captain Nour El Hoda Chehab Vice: Sotirios Moraitis

Captain: Fanni (2B) Vice: Bridget (2L)

Captain: Kenny Khran Vice: Stergios Mallioglu

A few comments from the some of the Keystage 3 & 4 House Reps “I am very grateful towards all the Arges house for supporting me by voting for me to become House Captain. I realise that this is quite a big responsibility and I will do my utmost to live up to my responsibility in representing the Red House. In any case that I am not there, I am sure that my trusted Vice –captain , David Coltan, will fill my place” Akshay Bhasin (Y9) “ Firstly I would like to thank all of the people who voted for me I promise to take this job seriously and to help the house as much as possible I promise you, my fellow team mates that I will not let you down, I will help the House Captain as best as I can” David Coltan(Y7) “I'm very “happy” to be House Captain this year, and so so very proud :D. I’m so sure well will work so very, very hard and will get soooo many house points. I know this is a important jobs, and I will take the job really seriously and will work to the best of my ability, and we actually “might ” win D: So if you're in Mures, get those house points. Oh, and thanks to all those people who voted for me.” Denis (Y9) “As a House Vice-Captain I have to make sure the House Captain is doing his job properly and I also have to be at every assembly and have very good behaviour at all times. I will be very happy to replace the Captain when he is absent and will try to get as many house points as possible, will work to stimulate others to get as much as me, and make sure they all behave well.” Tudor (Y8) “Being a House Captain for the second year in a row is a good thing for Olt, because I know how the house goes and who’s in it and who’s new and who’s old. After wining last year’s House Cup determined me to run again for House Captain. Thanks for voting for me and I’m sure we will win AGAIN this year!” NOUR (Y11) “I am the Olt Vice President and I promise to work to allow the secondary students to play on the football pitch during breaks.” Sotirios Moraitis (Y7) “As this is my third year as Vice and House Captain, I have already no most of my responsibilities. Last year was a good year for Danube, I did everything I could to help us win all the cups and I will do so this year. I expect to win this year with everybody in Danube’s cooperation! “ Matthew (Y8)

Photos from the first Senior House Games

Chess Tournament

Trivia Quiz

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Indoor games

BSB Creche Explores light and colour Term one in Creche was all about settling in and learning class routines and what behaviours are expected at school... and Christmas of course.

Term two started with our Light and Colour unit and then will continue on with a Story time unit after half term.

Tudor, Sasha and Irina making snowmen out of tin foil, cotton, white and silver glitter, during our Winter theme.

Benjamin and Ioannis working as a team to sort threading beads by colour.

Alex, Irina, Ioannis, Serban, Benjamin and Mrs. Diana

Celebrating green week as part of our Light and Colour Theme along with Harry our monster who helped us learn about the colour green. Harry was fed green objects which the children found around the classroom.

BSB Preschool

We have also been learning all about shape and colour. The children enjoyed our recent topic on winter. We had great fun in the garden. We are soon going to start our topic on community helpers. The children are looking forward to learning who helps us and how.

Our bubbling cauldron was a favourite for Luca and Patrick 13

Haruna discovering that green slime is both a solid and a liquid.

BSB Reception Reception C

One of the things we really enjoy in Reception C is art group activities. Below you can see we are making a Thomas the Tank Engine model. We also learn the alphabet and have fun on the computer playing games that uses letters and word.

Reception B

Reception B has been learning about different types of transportation. The children chose to build a car in the classroom for a role play area. First they looked at cars and designed their own, and then using various materials, they built one together.

Vrrrrrrm vrrrrm!!

Year 1

Class 1D 1D spent the month of January studying the topic of Homes. Through science, art, and literacy activities, students learned about materials and designs of the places that we live. Many of these concepts were discussed through the students' show and tell homework of bringing in a picture of their house and sharing it with the class. Both Anna and Simon presented pictures taken from abroad, and articulated very well about the materials used in the design of these homes.

Class 1M Class 1M have been busy this term learning all about the Artic. They have been creating their own penguins and polar bears in Art and writing about winter-time as they enjoyed the snow outside. They even managed to help create an igloo on the playground. They enjoyed creating a play about Pingu the Penguin and his silly dreams. Class 1M are a marvellous, magnificent, magical class who love to talk about all sorts of topics and complete lots of fun Maths!

Another highlight of this unit was the reading, writing, and performing of the Three Little Pigs. The class worked very hard at creating a script and props to present our Three Little Pigs play at our Key Stage 1 assembly. Noah, Aoife, and Alexandra did a fantastic job narrating the story, while Maxence was an excellent big, bad wolf. Thank you to all the parents who donated the various Three Little Pig stories for us to read together in our classroom.

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Year 2W In 2W we are learning about habitats. We made a display together. We worked very hard on it. First, we made the sea by painting seascapes on paper, then we cut the paper into little pieces and stuck it together as a collage. We also made flowers from tissue paper and pipe cleaners. The part I like the most is the jungle because its full of lions. Our class liked the flowers the best because they were very pretty.

By Freddie Llloyd and David Diaconu 2W

Year 2L

Year 2B

This year has been a very creative one for 2L with projects ranging from creating wall decorations for the room to helping label objects and trays in our room.

2B Investigate Florence Nightingale 2B have been investigating the life of Florence Nightingale as part of their History topic. The class have created a fantastic display featuring Florence, her medicine bottles and facts on her remarkable life.

These Year 2 students have also tackled many new academic subjects. In Maths students have focused specifically on learning about multiplication. To do so, students have made skip counting books for numbers two through 12. They have also worked on learning different multiplication songs. Some of the favourites, among these multiplication songs, include the 2s and 4s!

2B created Florence Nightingale puppets and painted her portrait during Art lessons and are very proud of their super classroom display – come in and see it soon!

Learning about different parts of sentences, including nouns, verbs and adjectives, has been a literary focus.

We have also worked on creating a story by developing characters, settings and problem and solutions. Students have created terrific ghost stories during this time. This was introduced through the study of traditional stories in which students wrote innovative versions of known tales as well as presented readers’ theatres.

The class also performed an informative assembly to the rest of KS1 on the life and times of Florence Nightingale.

2B above celebrate Pancake day by moving from the classroom into the kitchen to make pancakes, with their teacher Miss Banks explaining the finer points of pancake making.

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Year 3L 3L have had a busy start to the second term. Here is a run down of a few things that have been happening.

In Literacy we have been looking at instructions and the children made their own ‘Art Attack’ videos, showing other people how to make various paper objects. Rebecca may have a future in the TV business after her performance on screen!

We have also made some ‘Non-Bake Metamorphic Rock Cakes’ The children then chose adjectives to describe their cakes – there were mixed reviews! Anton thought that they were ‘scrumptious’, however Alex thought that ‘disgusting’ was a more suitable description.

Following this theme, we have been investigating the properties of different rocks in science. There was some great investigative work by Oliver, Alina, Antoine and Elena here when testing the permeability of various rocks.

In History we are looking at ancient civilizations, with a focus on the Romans and Celts this half term. We will be making treasure boxes in DT to store all of our ancient artefacts – the first of which are Celtic broaches which the children made in Art. Daniel is the child to talk to if you have any questions about the Celts. In his own time he has been doing some research and was able to take over the role of teacher to tell the children what he had discovered.

Watch out Gary Kasparov! The chess university course has started and there may be a couple of future Chess Masters in 3L with Tasos and Alex already scaring their teacher with their moves on the boards!

Well done to Francois, Angela, Seoyoung and Clotilde for great improvements in their English and Constance and Anastasia for hard work in Maths!

Year 4H

This is Year 4H at a Saturday morning class. In this photo you can see Ilinca T,Ilinca O,Fivos and Vaibhaw and we are measuring their structure. We were asked to build a structure using just newspaper and tape to see which one could hold a dictionary. The class was split into teams of 4 or 5 and each had a time limit within which to complete the task. Everybody had a lot of fun. Saturday was not a normal day as we finished classes at 13:00 and did not have to wear our normal school uniform. Hooray!

By Ilinca T

Year 4K

The ancient world comes to BSB

Have you ever wondered where you came from? Year 4 this term has been researching our ancient ancestry. The ancient world is full of mystery and excitement. We learnt about how the Roman Empire expanded through fighting and learnt that the Ancient Greeks are famous for their plays, poems and stories like Homer’s Odyssesy. We also read about Cleopatra and Tutankhamen. Throughout Term Two, Year 4 are learning about Ancient Civilisations.

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Year 5T

Year 5B Hello everyone!

Investigating Science

Our class is Andreea, Anthime, Angeliki, Basil, Cammy, Filippo, Harry, Helene, Hyo Kyung, Johann, Loukas, Louis, Mariam, Mimi, Parris, Robert K, Robert P, Sophia and Scott. Our teacher is Mr. Brian. We try to work together to do our best and Mr. Brian thinks we are actually getting better at it!

Year 5 has been learning about solids, liquids and gases (the three matters). We carried out an experiment to see if we could displace air in a container using different materials, such as foam, sand, and rock.

How did we carry out the investigation?

We really love our class assistant Miss Diana. We also love music with Mr. Mulvany and PE with Mr. Hall because we get to do cool things in Music and PE. We have hosted two assemblies and had a really successful bake sale last term. That was fun, and we made a lot of money. Now we need to work out what to spend it on!

We filled a container with 100ml of a material. Then we poured water into a measuring jug with 200ml of water and then poured some of the water into the container with the material in, but only up to the 200ml mark.

We measured how much water went into the container with the material before it reached the 200ml mark and then found out that the air displaced was the amount of water left in the measuring jug that had only 200ml of water in. We carried out exactly the same experiment with all of our four materials.

We are all looking forward to the rest of the year very much (Mr. Brian made us write that!)

Hope you all enjoy the magazine. Bye for now! "

How did we make it a fair test?

Spring

We used the same amount of water with each type of material. We also used the same amount of material.

By Mimi

What did we find out?

Blossoms blooming brightly, And the birds sing happily In the warm sunshine.

Raindrops dance lightly, Green, glossy grass growing, The wind is hardly blowing.

Spring is here.

We came to the conclusion that some air can not be displaced because all materials have gaps and air bubbles. We also found out that the more densely packed the material is, the less air can be displaced.

By Cammy McCready, Tatum Rouf, Eugenia Valais and Hyo Kyung.

Loukas, Angeliki and Andreea demonstrate their dance steps at the KS2 Assembly!

Year 6S Class 6S have been having arguments about whether or not to have a school disco. We have discussed the format that written arguments take, and have produced a display board showing reasons for and against having a school disco. Members of the class also helped to create a disco diva to go on the display. This included scaling up a drawing from an ornament that Miss S had. The class gave up their lunch break to paint and decorate the diva!

They greatly enjoyed the topic and are hoping for a school disco in the future, with the

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Year 6D

Year 6 Science Work

In Science we have been looking at different solutions and dissolving. We did an experiment to find out what can dissolve. Salt and sugar did dissolve, but flour and baking soda did not dissolve. We also did an experiment to if we could separate them again. Some people tried it with a filter and it worked. Other people were not so successful.

As part of their Literacy lesson Year 6 classes wrote and performed a play entitled 'Bad Day'. As well as looking at the various skills needed for script writing, they also designed some of the props and created the programme.

The play was performed twice - once to the rest of the Key Stage and a second time to the parents.

Annual BSB Ski Trip The price for each child is 1,700 € and includes:

19th– 26th April 2008

DFlight (non-stop to Munich with Lufthansa) D Return airport transfer from Munich to Hintertux, Austria - chartered bus (230 km) D4 star Hotel with swimming pool, spa and wellness centre ( 7 Nights including all meals) DSki/ Snowboard School for all levels DSki / Snowboard equipment rental (helmet, ski / snowboard, boots, sticks) DSki pass (6 days) DInsurance (health & travel) There will be 1 experienced adult for every 5 students and numbers are limited to 20 students. The minimum age for this trip is 8 years old.

IT Learning

As this trip is fast approaching, we require a 500 €/ per child, non refundable deposit, for the flight and hotel.

ICT at the British School of Bucharest is better than ever! A huge investment has been made on equipment and most classrooms now have interactive white boards and projectors. This is an exciting time for staff at BSB as the power of multimedia and online resources can be used interactively within classes for the first time. This means that teachers can talk about a subject, then show a DVD of something related to the topic, and follow this up with a review of interesting websites available for students to carry out research.

I think most if not all people today would accept that the view that ICT has a huge impact on our daily life and that it will continue to become ever more important in future as business moves ever deeper into the world of information technology. Here at BSB we understand the importance of computers to our student’s future success in the modern world and have accordingly equipped our classrooms and computer labs with the latest technology in order to ensure that students are given the best possible opportunity to gain the necessary skills needed for the digital era. With the use of new technologies and intuitive lessons, teaching and learning will be better than ever.

Bohdan Pantella Head of ICT

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Lunches

An insulated box will be pl aced by the ga anyone droppi te, for ng off a lunc h Please make everything is sure clearly labell ed with name class. The bo and x will be coll ected at 12 no the lunches di on and stributed. Th ere are now tw machines in sc o snack hool offering cereal bars, sandwiches an d yoghurts.

Coffee Mornings

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Created with EclipseCrossword — www.eclipsecrossword.com

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What word describes the fear of having to cook?

Which country has the largest waterfall in the world?

Where is the photo copier in the junior school?

What do we call the expression used to calculate data in a spreadsheet?

What do you call the box where you type in data on a speed sheet?

Which Year 6 student wrote a story entitled 'The Rubbish Bin'?

What ancient civilisation would you associate with Homer?

What popular nickname does the junior school assembly room have?

One quarter and two eights are ____ fractions.

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Where is the school ski trip going this year?

What is the name of the most famous building in Romania?

Which is the largest freshwater lake in the world?

How many girls are there in 1D? How many EAL students are there at BSB? What colour is the Foundation Stage villa?

Where will the 2010 Winter Olympics be held?

Which is the third highest mountain in the world?

What is the name of the Canadian mountain on the wall outside 6D? Which is the largest web-footed bird?

The Great BSB Crossword Puzzle Challenge

Across

BSB students achieve early success in IGCSE Cambridge Exams

Our warm felt congratulations go to our Year 11 students, who have achieved outstanding IGCSE results. Nour Chehab, Matei Coltan, Tim Oldag and former student Oana Dabelea are the first students to be entered for the external examinations offered by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) in 2008. The students gained three B grades and one A grade in English as a Second Language. Their English teacher, Mr Steven Murchison, said he was delighted with the results and is equally confident in their ability to achieve further excellent results in their remaining exams. He said that this success should give the students extra confidence as they begin their preparation for the forthcoming IGCSE summer examinations, beginning in April and running through to the end of June.

On behalf of all the staff and students at BSB, we would like to wish them the very best in the coming months.

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