Issue 1 - October 2009 Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
read more on page 19
Japanese language workshop proves very popular with students Between Monday 21st to Friday 25th of September, BSB students were treated to a colourful variety of language events and activities to celebrate the European Day of Languages. Students enjoyed a week long foreign film festival, were treated to Irish and Greek dancing lessons, a French Art lesson in French, a Math lesson in German, and much, much more. In the picture above, Key Stage 2 Students are enjoying a Japanese Language Workshop run by Anca Focseneanu, Eri Utsunomiya and Akira Yamaguchi from the University of Bucharest.
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PTA BBQ well received
Swimming lessons prove popular
DT Cooking lessons
The PTA kicked off its social calendar this year with a school BBQ beside the BSB pool in order to offer parents an opportunity to meet and socialise. The turnout was extremely positive, boding well for the many social events planned for the year ahead.
With warm weather in the air, the BSB PE Department made hay while the sun shone, filling the student PE timetable with a number of visits to the school pool. With winter almost upon us, however, the PE curriculum focus now shifts to court, field, and indoor gymnasium sporting activities.
Ever since the introduction of the new DT block, the smell of cakes and cookies, casseroles and curries have permeated the airways of the BSB campus. From Key Stage 1 through Key Stage 5, students have been learning how to slice and dice, to bake, fry and boil with the help of teachers, TAs and parents.
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Contents Editor’s Note 2 Principal’s Report 3 The Front Desk 3 EYFS Gafencu Report 4 EYFS Pipera Report 4 Key Stage 1 Report 4 Key Stage 2 Report 4 Primary School Report 5 Secondary School Report 5 Where are they now? 6 Student Spotlight 6 New Teachers 7 BSB Clubs Underway 8 New Clubs 8 BSB University Courses, Term 1 9 Primary School House Competition 10 New KS 1 and 2 House Captains 10 Secondary School House Competition 11 New Secondary School House Captains 11 Primary Student Council 2009-2010 12 BSB helps large scale donation from Fujairah, UAE 13 Jeans for Genes Day 13 The New BSB Fish Pond 14 The garden 14 Preparing a Curry 15 Art and Language Week, all in one! 16 The BSB Art Department taps into student creativity 16 Student Language Portraits 16 Language Week, Sept 2009 18 18 Year 2 Irish Dance Lunch Time Cinema 18 Hebrew Games and Oriental Dance 18 Japanese Workshop 19 European Commission Representatives attend Key Stage 2 Language Assembly 19 Year 5 and 7 students bake cup Cakes for Language Week Bake Sale 20 Babylonia, The game for polyglots 20 KS4 Art lesson in French 20 KS1 language Week Assembly 20 Outdoor Hebrew lesson 21 Year 8 & 9 Learn to Greek Dance 21 Secondary School Language Assembly 21 Key Stage 4 Maths in German 21 Parachute and other Games 22 News from the PE Department 22 KS1 and KS2 Physical Education 23 Geography, More than just a map! 24 History: bringing the past into the present 24 The International Award Students Plan Bronze Expedition 25 Let’s go Skiing! 25 How to get a Maths merit in English 26 Learning to play the Keyboard 26 What is PSCHE? 27 27 IGCSE Music ICT - BSB Television 28 The latest news from the BSB Drama Department 28 What is BIG WRITING? 29 29 Eco Committee News EYFS welcomes ‘Happy’ the Tortoise 30 Chole the Guide Dog 30 31-36 Class Pages CDP Training at Camp Temagami 37 NACE: Creating an Effective Provision for Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils 37 EYFS Curriculum 37 PTA Bulletin 38 BSB Calendar: Key Dates 39 BSB Student 10th in World Go-carting Championship 39
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Editor’s Note
It has been a wonderfully busy start to the year and this first issue is full of articles to give you a glimpse into the world of a student here at BSB in Term 1. As you can see from
a number of articles, there have been some changes to the campus over the summer, with the music room being extended and a new pond installed for students to use in a variety of ways, whether it be for science or art, or even using the outdoor tables next to the pond for an inspiring English reading or creative writing session. There are also a number of articles on some of the new curriculum initiatives, such as the Big Writing project that will play an important role in the school Literacy program this year. You can find out what’s been going in a number of classes, including Art, DT, PE, Geography, and History, and learn how to make an authentic Indian Curry in PSCHE. You can get to know some of the new teachers and students in the Student Spotlight and New Teacher
BSB Charity Calendar
Doing charity work for the local community is an important feature of our identity at BSB. We believe that our students benefit from becoming involved in charity drives, learning about the needs of the less fortunate people around them and making a positive contribution to the community. This year we will continue the initiatives in cooperation with the PTA through which we have built up strong relationships with the charities we have been supporting over the years.
• St Stelian www.sfstelian.ro • Remar www.remar.org • Asociatia Sindrom Down Bucuresti www.asdb.ro • Guide Dog school for Blind and Deaf www.lightintoeurope.org • Concordia www.concordia.co.at • Asociatia Vasiliada www.asociatiavasiliada.ro • Children’s Hospital - Fundatia Inocenti www.inocenti.org • Jeans for Genes www.jeansforgenes.com Important dates for your calendar: The Shoe Box Appeal: starting in mid November. This year’s target is to collect 100 shoe boxes for the
sections, find out what the PTA, the Student Council and the Eco committee have been up to, and read all about the many activities that took place during Language Week. As always, I would like to say a special thank you to those who contributed to this issue. In particular, I would like to thank Mr Brad Hamacher once again for his many contributions. I would also like to thank the MFL Department for the wonderful job they did on reporting Language Week, and Ms Greaney and Ms Kemp for their colourful contributions to this issue. Thank you also to Louisa and Bethan, Year 10, Jennea, Year 8, and the many other students who contributed to this issue. I hope you all enjoy the read. Mr Kendall Peet
children living in placement centres from Craiova and Lipov and 30 shoe boxes for the babies and children from the Children’s Hospital The Artisan Fair: 11th December. We also have an on going clothes drive. In the two green bins outside the Parents’ Room we collect clothes, shoes and toys in good condition for our charities. The Charity Committee welcomes three new members: Ms Tiffany Moorcroft, Mr James Ward and Mr Stuart Harrison. Ms Rocio Marti has kept her engagement with charity work that she started last year. Please do not hesitate to approach any of us with any query or suggestion. Ms Dorothea Draser, Charity Committee
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Principal’s Report
Dear Parents & Friends of BSB, It is a great honour to welcome back our students and their families this
September and to meet the new pupils who joined BSB this Autumn. As many of you are aware, following our ISI inspection we received our school report and we hope that you have been able to access it from either our website or the ISI website. Clearly we were very pleased to receive a report which we believe accurately reflects the experiences our students here at the British School of Bucharest and we recognise that we must now build on this to ensure we are improving their learning opportunities each year. Each ISI report concludes with recommendations for development. This term staff have met to discuss these points and how we can best achieve them; indeed in several cases strategies are already underway to implement these suggestions. Completing a successful inspection is undoubtedly an
important milestone for every school, however we must always ensure we are moving forward and it is great to learn about the numerous new initiatives which are planned for this year, some of which you can read about in Newsblast. New staff and students are often an impetus to change and it has been great to hear fresh ideas through teacher meetings and CPD, as well as our new Student Council. In addition to the students and teachers, the PTA has returned after the holidays full of new proposals to allow parents and friends to become involved in school. We hope you will continue to support these ideas and those individuals from our parent body who generously volunteer their time for the good of the school community. An annual calendar event which has already taken place is Jeans for Genes Day, where we raise money
for research into genetic diseases. To highlight this day Ms Draser organised a visit to the Secondary school by the Bucharest Down Syndrome Association. Meeting these visitors was truly an honour; and their talk and performance certainly illustrated an important lesson about success in the face of adversity, which these students admirably demonstrated. It was also a timely reminder that there is a moral imperative for our students to make the most of all the learning opportunities they are fortunate enough to encounter and to achieve the very best they are capable of. As a school it is our responsibility to ensure students are equipped to achieve just this and so with a task of such magnitude we humbly embark on a new learning journey. These are indeed, exciting times. Jo Puddy-Wells
The Front Desk
Office staff
If you need any information 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, 8.00am-5.00pm, Monday-Friday.
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
For general enquiries or information about sports and clubs, please contact:
For specific help relating to school transport and student lunches, please contact:
Sandra Cristea, Office Manager Diana Udor, Office &Student Services Assistant Adina Suciu, Office Assistant Email: office@britishschool.ro Tel: 021 267 8919 Fax: 021 267 8969
Diana Udor Email: services@britishschool.ro Mob: 0728 133 432/3 Tel: 021 267 8919 Fax: 021 267 8969
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EYFS Gafencu Report
The new school year has begun very successfully for the staff, children and parents of Gafencu BSB. The support staff and parents have warmly helped the new teachers to settle in, the children have accepted the new teachers with confidence and respect. The arrival of new teachers has also brought changes in routines and organization. The preschool class is now on the ground floor with all day access to the garden, the children have
EYFS Pipera Report
I was very excited to return to work at BSB as the EYFS Coordinator for Pipera site., and feel very lucky to be part of a dynamic and very hard working EYFS team. This includes the teachers, teaching assistants, specialist teachers and probably most importantly our wonderful
Key Stage 1 Report
Key Stage 1 would like to welcome all of the children back for another year of learning and a warm welcome to students and parents new to our school. Everyone has settled in well and we look forward to an exciting year ahead. As always there are many events going on throughout the year. Class assemblies have started and we welcome parents to come in to
Key Stage 2 Report
As this is the first NewsBlast since our return to school after our summer break I would like to welcome everyone to Key Stage 2 whether you are new to the school or returning from last year. I would like to particularly welcome not only the new students who have joined us, but also the Year 2 children who have successfully made the
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the choice to either work inside or outside. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum guidance has made it very clear that children should not only be encouraged to make choices (with our appropriate guidance), but also be allowed to decide where they wish to work. So within this we have organised the daily routine of Reception and Creche so that they can also choose to access the outside. Our specialist lessons are taken by Mr Jonathan and Mr Mugur. Although we have only been at school a short while, the preschool class are already demonstrating where their particular interests are, painting and small collage work have been
particular favourite activities indoors. Whilst outside the use of the large soft blocks have enabled most children at some time to demonstrate their balancing skills, with a glint of humour as they have also included for the watching adults benefit a precarious wobble and jump! But in both environments the filling, empting and refilling of large and small containers has kept some of the children very busy!
cleaners (we make a lot of mess!).
fantastic children and seeing how they develop and make so much progress through their structured play activities, , welcoming the EYFS tortoise to our garden and leading our first parents workshop. I look forward to many more events, highlights and seeing the children continue to make outstanding progress.
I look forward to sharing many EYFS activities with everyone during the year in Newsblast. If you wish to find out more about what is going on in our department why don’t you visit our blogs? www.piperacreche.edublogs.org www.piperapreschool.edublogs.org www.piperareception.edublogs.org
The highlights of the term for me so far have been meeting all the
celebrate their children’s learning. Year 1 has had their bake sale and Year 2’s is scheduled for January. The children are eagerly attending their University Courses which started recently. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Key Stage 1’s fantastic new teaching team. In Year 2 we have Ms Kristen Swanson and Ms French-Paris and in Year 1 we have Ms Theresa Collins and Mr Ward. I have also moved to KS1 where I will be teaching Year 1. I would also like to introduce you to the KS1 TAs who help to support the different
transition to Year 3 and Key Stage 2. Mr Williams and Mr Harrison have moved from Key Stage 1 and we are pleased to have two new members on our teaching staff - Mr Dan Madsen from New Zealand and Ms Jane Taylor from England, have joined us at BSB this year. Already there have been a number of exciting events taking place at school since the start of the new term including our Jeans for Genes Day, two art competitions as well as the announcements of our House
Ms Kath Homer, EYFS Coordinator, Gafencu
Ms Tiffany Moorcroft, EYFS Coordinator Pipera
classroom activities - Ms Livia, Ms Valentina, Ms Andreea, Ms Lidia and Ms Dalila. The teachers of Key Stage 1 wish to thank our parents who have volunteered to be representatives for our classes. Please do not hesitate to contact them with ideas. Please remember to check on the schools’ website, children’s bags, homework/communication books and the Class Blogs for information and updates. Ms Justine Tyler, Key Stage 1 Coordinator
Captains, Eco-committee members and School Council representatives. Congratulations to all the students who were successfully elected to their positions of responsibility. Looking forward we have an extremely busy time ahead with a number of popular events scheduled, with our Music Recitals, Maths Day and of course our winter production all fast approaching. Mr Iain Davidson, Key Stage 2 Coordinator
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Primary School Report
Welcome back to all our returning pupils and parents and a warm welcome to all our new families. It has been wonderful to see everyone back at school after the summer and I hope everyone enjoyed a restful break. was a very exciting year and I was extremely happy to see our school’s successes celebrated through the excellent ISI report we received over the summer. This was a huge achievement by the pupils, staff and parent body and I hope the whole community feels proud of what BSB has accomplished, especially so as we are celebrating our 10th Year Anniversary this year. We were very successful in achieving the goals we set last year we were proud to see improvements in all our target areas. Science has a very high profile in the school and all the children are actively engaged in improving their scientific enquiry skills. DT was also highly developed last year and I was pleased to see
Secondary School Report
As the secondary school begins the new academic year I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to parents and students, both new and returning. We ended last term with a very busy schedule, which included the Madrid Trip, the Secondary School Production, Activity week, a BBQ and a host of other activities. I am delighted to say that during the coming term we have just as busy a schedule complete with a variety of activities to cater for all students. During the Autumn term the secondary school will be involved in a Christmas evening of entertainment, participate in Design Technology Days where students will have the opportunity to work with textiles and resistant materials, visit businesses and museums to complement their studies, have guest speakers visit the school to talk about a number of issues, get
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so much quality work happening as demonstrated through the high quality models and class work on display. Writing remains one of the big focuses for the school and will continue to be pushed as a target for improvement through the introduction of a new initiative called ‘Big Writing’. You will read more about it over the year from Ms French Paris who is taking on the role of Literacy Coordinator. Our Geography Silver Award proposal was submitted at the end of last year and is currently being judged. I would like to extend a huge thank you to Mr Harrison and all the primary teachers and pupils for all their hard work in this area. The proposal was outstanding and I am eagerly awaiting the results. As we are constantly striving to improve ourselves our targets for this year are numerous. Ms Fisher is working hard with all teachers to further develop our Gifted and Talented program as this year we will extend it to include Key Stage One. Mrs Dearman our new music and drama teacher will be working very closely with all the teachers in the school to integrate music into all assemblies and class lessons. A new set of lap tops has been bought for the primary team as well as a camcorder for each Key Stage and a
a small taste of life after school in the Work Experience program for Yr 11/12 students, and celebrate Language Days, Charity Events and Musical Recitals. In between all of these, the students will also be busy with their studies. We have a saying in the UK that there is no rest for the wicked, and this term is certainly going to keep teachers and students alike very busy. This year we welcome three new teachers into secondary; Ms Vollaire will be teaching French, Ms Greaney is our Art teacher and Mr Clowes has joined the Science department and will also be teaching Mathematics and Geography. All three teachers were working in the UK before joining the BSB team. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our secondary students on their June examination results. This year I am delighted to announce that 80% of Yr 11 students achieved 5 or more A*-C grades at IGCSE and 87% of Yr 10 students who were entered for examinations early achieved *A-Cs also. This year our Yr 9 students were entered for the Diploma in Digital Awards (DiDA),
new digital camera for each class. Under the guidance of Mr Leese, our ICT coordinator, and with the help of these resources, the pupils will be integrating technology into more subject areas, including raising the profile of BSB TV and improving the use of blogs. Mr Ward as our new Mathematics coordinator has already led a very successful training session with all primary staff and the new framework for numeracy is now running alongside the new framework for literacy. As part of our celebrations for our 10 Year Anniversary our new History coordinator, Ms Taylor, will be working with all staff in the school to start the BSB Museum project. I am sure you will be reading more about this as the year progresses. We also want to extend a warm welcome to Mr Burt and Ms Jones, who will be teaching most of the children in primary through EAL and PE this year. There is not enough space for me to explain everything that the primary team will be up to this year and I am sure that this year will be another hugely successful one full of yet more excellent teaching and learning for all our pupils. Ms Naima Hussain, Head of Primary
a computer examination which is normally taken in Yr 10 or 11 in the UK. The students achieved 100% pass rate with three students achieving Distinction, the highest grade awarded. Our SATs scores for KS3 students remain at a very high level; 81% of students achieved Level 5 (National Curriculum minimum requirement), many of our students achieved 1 or 2 grades above this and 3 students were awarded Level 8 in Mathematics. This is a remarkable achievement when one considers that these test results are compared to students and schools in the UK and the majority of our students take these tests in a second language. My congratulations go out to each student; I am very proud of their achievements. I am looking forward to a productive and exciting term with many activities and educational challenges for our students in the coming weeks. I hope you will be able to join us on some of the focus days and events. Ms Jane Greenwood, Head of Secondary School
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Student Spotlight
Where are they now?
Dear BSB, A very big hello from the Middle East! It is nearly two months since our wedding. We had a fabulous wedding day and our honeymoon to Paris and the south west of France went fabulously. Kristian, 1T, is 5 years old. He says he likes living in Romanian. His favourite subject is PE, his favourite food is Cheesy Biscuits. His best friends at BSB are Thomas, Matilda and Gregory. He also has a brother at BSB in 6H. Interview by Aaron 6H
Maria, Year 10, is 14 years old and was born on the 18th of July. She joined BSB at the beginning of this year- it is her first year in Romania. She previously lived in her home country, Venezuela. She has a brother called Jesus, also attending BSB in Year 6. During her free time she enjoys watching TV, drawing, and playing the piano (she is also learning to play the drums). Her favourite subject is chemistry as she thinks it’s interesting and easy to understand! Maria says she likes this school, but has been finding it difficult to adjust to an English speaking environment. We wish Maria a fantastic year and success in her studies! Tanya and Martin signing their marriage papers
We arrived here in Bahrain on Friday 22nd of August on the start of Ramadan. This meant no drink or food in public places until 6 pm. It was a bit of a shock as the place looked empty during the day time with all restaurants and coffee shops being closed. During the first week the temperature ranged from 38C in the morning to 43- 45C by lunch time, with humidity levels up to 78%. To describe what it feels like temperature wise, try to imagine yourself in a very hot sauna then crank up the heat twice the limit you can normally cope with - VERY hot! Now, thankfully, the temperature is down to 33 C in the evenings and believe it or not it does actually feel pleasant.
Interview by May, Year 10
David, 4H, is 8 years old and has arrived at BSB from Russia. He is a new student to BSB and has really enjoyed his time here so far. He enjoys reading and his favourite author is Anne Fine. He likes living in Romania and he especially likes the green areas of the city, like around Herastrau Park. In his free time he likes to play football and run around and he likes to eat cheeseburgers at MacDonalds. Interview by Sanya and Elena, 6H
Some interesting facts about Bahrain: • it is a very small island and it takes about two hours to drive from north to south • a full tank of petrol costs about 25 RON • they all speak English Tanya
Tanya was our previous Office Manager at BSB. Rida, Year 10, is fourteen years old and her birthday is on June 19th. She is from Pakistan and has lived in Romania for five years. She has been at BSB since September. Her favourite subjects are music and art and in her free time she enjoys listening to music, especially Lady Gaga. She also enjoys watching TV and going to the mall- she doesn’t like reading. She does not have any pets but would like a puppy. Interview by Bethan, Year 10
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Adam, 6U, is a new student who comes from Greece. He is in Year 6U and this is his first year in Romania. He thinks that Greece is still the best country in the world, but Romania is growing on him. He likes the British School of Bucharest because it is a new school with lots of children and that means new friends. His favourite subject is Humanities (Geography and History) and his favourite food is Spaghetti Carbonara. His favorite sport is Football. If he could change anything at BSB he would likt to have a bigger football pitch and lots less homework! Interview by Sacha, 6H
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New Teachers
Mr Steven Clowes New Science teacher
Mr Clayton Burt EYFS PE
Mr Clowes was born in Stoke-on-Trent, UK, on September 8th 1967. He likes playing chess a lot, enjoys singing badly, runs a cricket club here in our school and likes socialising and going out with people in big groups. He told me that after he completed his degree in science, he went to work for a firm where he did a lot of laboratory work, which he enjoyed, but the job became more and more paperwork, so he decided to leave to be a science teacher. He started teaching 5 years ago after completing his teacher training and worked as a cover teacher in England in about 10
Mr Clayton Burt comes from Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. He has joined the PE Department this year and teaches EYFS/Primary PE and EAL. Before coming to BSB he taught in many other countries, including a small village in China called Ning-Bo. Previous to this he was in Russia and before that in Thailand. He really likes Romania because he says that life is much easier here than in some of the other countries he has lived and taught in and he also likes the food. His favourite food is the classical ‘English Breakfast’. In his free time he likes playing squash, badminton and football. Interview by Andreea, Year 11
Ms French Paris Year 2P teacher
Q: Where were you teaching last year? A: China. Q: What were your first impressions of Bucharest? A: It had lovely old buildings in the city centre. Q: What are your hobbies? A: I like to travel to other countries and reading books. Q: What do you hope to accomplish while living in Romania and teaching at BSB? A: I hope the children learn a lot and that I learn to speak Romanian.
Q: How long have you been in Romania? A: About 8 weeks.
Ms Martina Greaney Secondary School Art teacher
As some students may already know, Ms Greeney is the new Secondary School Art Teacher. She comes from Galway, Ireland, where she has a large family. Before she decided to become an art teacher Ms Greaney worked in theatres painting the backdrops (backgrounds) of stage sets.
Q: If you could eat anything right now, what would it be? A: A nice fresh baguette sandwich. Interview by Sasha, 6H
She told me that working behind the scenes of theatres was so much fun. She also says she likes living in Romania because it has lovely weather and there are lots of places to go and relax. Romania is also the first foreign country she has taught in and she expressed her wishes to learn a bit of Romanian while she is here and also to visit some of the neighbouring countries like Croatia, Hungary and maybe further north to Russia.
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different schools before finally getting a position as a full-time science teacher. The last school he taught in before BSB was “Calvin Hall”, in the city of Hull. The school was very strong in science, offering a special award. Consequently, it also had a great big science lab and nine science teachers. He arrived in Bucharest on August 24th, our school being his first experience of teaching abroad. Just like most of us, he finds Bucharest quite interesting. He says he likes the Romanian weather because it’s
Mr Dan Madsen Year 5M teacher
much hotter than in England. He also says he that he finds Romanians to be very friendly and easy to talk to even though he has only managed to learn about 8 Romanian words. On the day I interviewed him, he said he was quite nervous because he had his first assembly that day - however, there was no need to worry, as his form class did a great job on their ‘Jeans for Genes’ presentation. Interview by Senia, Year 11
What do you like about Romania? The food and the people. What would you change about Romania? The postal service. How does Romania compare with the last country you lived in? Very different because where I was living before was by a beach and Bucaresti doesn’t have one. Do you like your students? Most of the time! Seriously, they are a great class.
Why have you come to Romania? To experience a new culture and school.
Ms Billie Jones Years 1-7 PE teacher
Ms Jones recently joined the PE Department of BSB and is responsible for teaching Years 1-7.
What do you like most about working at about BSB? I think the Clubs and University courses are great because they give students choices. Interview by Finn, 6H
She comes from New Zealand where she taught at the ‘To Awamutu College’ for 4 years, which is a large school with about 1000 students. She says she likes the weather and is especially looking forward to the Romania winter as she has only seen and touched snow twice in her life, as the climate where she lived in New Zealand was much warmer. Ms Jones has travelled to Hong Kong, which she really liked, London, and is going to visit Cyprus this vacation. She likes fruits and chocolate and she wants to try bungy jumping. She is hoping to have a lot of fun while teaching at BSB, but also looking forward to the challenges of teaching here. Interview by Andreea, Year 11
In her free time Ms Greaney likes to do her own art work, read, socialise and go to the theatre and cinema. Her favourite movements in art are Futurism, Surrealism and Cubism, but she also loves the great masters, such as Michelangelo and Rembrandt. Interview by Louisa, Year 10
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BSB Clubs Underway
BSB Clubs, Term 1, 2009-2010
Skills for Success Club Skills for Success is an afterschool club during which we learn tips and tricks that lead to success! It is a fun, educational club intended to help us a lot to prepare for our future! During the first club Ms Kemp, (the Skills for Success teacher), gave us a success spectrum sheet which we had to fill in. We also had to make a presentation on people who we thought were successful and why we thought they were successful and what being successful means to us. Then we had to write about who inspired us. I wrote about my parents and J.K Rowling! If we had this much fun during only the first hour of the club I wonder what we’re going to be doing by the end of the term! Ana, Year 8
Cricket Club With the marvellous weather recently Cricket club has been a great club option for all those who like playing games outdoors. The Cricket Club reviews have been great Charles Year 7 is really pleased with the bowling and batting he has been practising.
Key Stage 1
Key Stage 2 Monday
Spanish
Turkish Club
Ballet
Sewing Club Art and Craft Cross Country
The Secondary Football Club - Egor Yr7, Muhammad Yr7, Panayotis Yr9, Sophie Yr8, Miriam Yr8, Csenge Yr7, Noor Yr9
German- Native Speakers Ballet Tuesday
Miriam, Year 8
Art and Crafts
Art Attack Pupils have been looking at cartoon charaters in 2D and 3D this term in Art Attack club. In the next few weeks pupils can look forward to making masks from their cartoon drawings!
Drama Fun
Outdoor adventure based learning Skipping Army Fitness Training Wednesday Backgammon/ Chess Football
Edible Arts
Homework Club
Backgammon /Chess
Rounders
Swimming Football
Swimming
He liked batting the most. Finn Year 6 and Jennea Year 8 have both really enjoyed the warm-up games and the fact that everybody got a chance to bowl, bat and field!
Art and Craft
French- Native Speakers Spanish Beginners Creative Dance Art Attack Thursday Science Club Speedy Stories Arts and Craft Cricket Football Club Girls football Romanian for Native Speakers Football Club Gymnastics Friday Romanian Turkish Club Computer Computer Games Games Dance Dance
Key Stage 3-5 Duke of Edinburgh/ International Award Football Cross Country German- Native Speakers Cricket
Outdoor adventure based learning Army Fitness Training
Skills for Success Drama Club French- Native Speakers Computer Club
Fun with food
Art Attack club at Work
Ici on parle Français - Le club de Français Mr Clowes and Mr Madsen Cricket Club
Secondary Football Club The football club is really cool: you can enjoy a good work-out and of course, have fun. In the club there are a mixture of boys and girls which I think is great: the girls really show the boys what we can do too.
The French native club takes place every Wednesday. It offers an opportunity for all to meet and speak French and practice reading and writing skills. This year the French club will also produce a magazine. So look out for articles on studying and sports, jokes, comic strips. All this will be brought to you by our team of intrepid journalists: Louis-Phillipe Lapalme, Ester Samaniego, Anastassia Nevskaia-Martinez, Basil Chemais, Sophie Coulon and May Chemais.
Mr McGowan is our teacher. He’s really cool because he lets us play a game from the very beginning of the club, which allows us to show our skills from the very start.
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Turkish Club
New Clubs
Speedy Stories - A chance to read and listen to stories which are all 366 words long and are written by famous authors before writing your own. Army Fitness Training - Follow an adapted fitness programme developed by the Army Physical Training Corps and progress through different levels leading up to the standard required for a soldier’s basic training.
I showed my talent recently. I was playing with Csenge, Year 7, Chi Bum, Year 10, Egor, Year 7, and Robert, Year 9. Chi Bum passed the ball to me and I put the ball in the net for a goal. I was really pleased too because the goalkeeper was really good and big! The best thing about football club is that you do sport to let off your energy before you head home to do your homework. I would like to see Football Club on twice a week!
Cricket Gymnastics Debating Club
French Club
Outdoor Adventure Based Learning (ABL) Using the pool and school grounds for ABL activities, the students must be confident in the pool for wet activities such as snorkeling, water safety and group challenges. Dry activities include team challenges - lily pads and spider’s web. ABL will build self-confidence within group situations and students will be involved in decision making, leadership, encouraging and supporting others. These course leads on to the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
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BSB University Courses, Term 1
Friday the second of October saw the re-start of our popular university courses which offer the pupils the opportunity to learn new ‘life skills; in areas which are of particular interest to them. This year we have extended the number of weeks of each course from 6 to 8 and, in Key Stage 2, also extended the length of time on Fridays that our pupils spend in the university. This set of courses, as usual, have allowed the pupils to learn new skills from a wide range from
Some of the University Courses on offer in Term 1
examining Romanian Art, to Yoga, and Running a Small Business to Maintaining and Fixing a Bicycle. On a personal note I was particularly proud of the ISI report’s feedback on our university which stated that: ‘...the weekly half day ‘university’ courses offer outstanding opportunities for mixed age groups to engage in a variety of options...’ The pupil’s excitement, eagerness to participate in their choice of courses and parent involvement are further testimony to the continued success of the BSB University. Mr Iain Davidson, BSB University Course Coordinator.
Movie Making Cooking Designing and Making Clothes Romanian Art Designing and Making Board Games Skipping Guitar for Beginners Animal Rescue Bicycle Maintenance Art - Observation drawing Logical Thinking Skills Junior Journalism Programmable Robots Circuit Training Running a Small Business
Movie Making
Junior Yoga
Logical Thinking Skills
Designing & Making Clothes for Toys
KS 2 Cooking
Cooking Course in Key Stage 1
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Primary School House Competition
Key Stage 1 House Captain and Vice Captains
Andrei - Danube House Captain
Claudia - Olt House Captain
Llayda - Arges House Captain
House
Captain
Arges
Llayda
Nicolas
Danube
Andrei
Jackson
Boris - Mures House Captain
Vice Captain
Mures
Boris
Daniel
Olt
Claudia
Tae Min
Key Stage 2 House Captains’ Reports
House
Captain
Arges
Jarod, 6H
Vice Captain Lucie, 6H
Danube
Dilara, 6H
Bianca, 6U
Mures
Thomas, 6U
Suparnan, 6H
Olt
Eleanor, 6U
Sanya, 6H
Olt
Mures
Arges
Danube
Hello, my name is Eleanor and I am the House Captain for Olt this year.
Hello, I’m Thomas, the House Captain of Mures.
Hello, my name is Jarod and I am the House Captain of Arges.
Hi, my name is Dilara and I come from Turkey.
I am 11 years old and I am half English, half French. This is my second year at BSB. This year I want Olt to work as a team and to receive the maximum possible amount of house points. I am sure that Olt can be much better and hopefully they will win Sports Day.
I am ten years old and I was born in England. I came here to Romania in 2008. I like Mures because we never give up and we trust each other. The things that I would like to see this year is us working together and trying our hardest. I hope we have a fun year and learn a lot. I’m grateful for being voted House Captain and I will try to help Mures to the top.
I’m from Belgium. I have one sister and one brother. My sister’s name is Klara and my brother’s name is Luka. On Wednesday the 9th of September we had our House Team votes and out of 6 students, I won and Lucie won and became Vice-House Captain. However, the score was very close. I have many plans for this year, but my number one goal is for Arges to WIN!
I am Danube’s House Captain and I am really happy that most of the children voted for me. I am pleased to get a chance to help Danube to be better and stronger. I will always try my best to help. This year I am looking forward to making Danube the best team in school!
Olt House Captain Eleanor, 6U
Mures House Captain Thomas, 6U
House Teams
KS 1 and 2
It has been an exciting start to the year in the Key Stage 1 and 2 House Competition. The play time games are back with the basketball competition already finished. Danube were
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excellent contenders and won twice in a row. There is still the rest of the year though for the other house teams to get even in a range of sports and activities. Get ready to join in with the next round of games. The total house points are shared quite evenly over the four teams with Mures pushing
Arges House Captain Jarod, 6H
Danube House Captain Dilara, 6H
ahead slightly. By the end of the sixth week Mures have 1229 points, Arges have 1014, Danube have 1125 and Olt have 1210. Come on Arges, Olt and Danube…let’s make it a year to remember! Alex, 5M, breaks away in the House Team Basketball Competition
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New House
& Vice Captains
Every new school year the Secondary School nominates new House Captains and Vice Captains. This year students were asked to nominate themselves for either Captain or Vice Captain. Each student then completed a ballot paper and voted for who they wanted as Captain or Vice Captain. It was a closely contested ballot and we now have four new Captains and Vice Captains, they are: House
Captain
Arges
Louisa, Year 10
Vice Captain Eda, Year 8
Danube
Alex, Year 13
Isabel, Year 11
Mures
Denis, Year 11
Edoardo, Year 11
Olt
Mahmoud, Year 12
May, Year 10
Edoardo receiving the Weekly House Cup on behalf of Mures
Mures currently lead the House Competition with 421 points
Secondary House Captain Report Mures
Hello everybody! My name is Denis and I am Mures’s House Captain this year. Firstly, I would like to introduce Edoardo, Year 11, who will be helping me out this year as Vice Captain. I would also like to congratulate my whole team for an excellent start to the year.
We are currently in the lead and we have won for the last 3 weeks in a row! So keep up the good work Mures, and hopefully Mures will win the House Cup this year! Denis, Year 11, Mures House Captain
Danube
Olt
Arges
I chose to stand for House Captain this year because it is my last year at this school and I feel I have the experience to lead our House to victory. I saw what some previous House Captains were able to achieve in previous years and how they were able to guide their house team to victory and I feel I can do the same this year.
A big hello to everyone in Olt! This is Mahmoud speaking, your new House Captain. This is my last year of school at BSB and so I want to leave having won the House Cup. I would like to thank May, Year 10, who will be helping me and everyone else as a Vice Captain. Although our team lost last year, I still would like to thank everyone for their great support and the astonishing effort they put in.
Before I begin I would like to thank everyone in my house who voted for me; I am very grateful for your support and promise to do a good job as your House Captain this year. Last year our house put a lot of effort in, but unfortunately didn’t do as well as we had hoped.
This year I want to help Danube win and I know we can, so lets work hard and win some of the House Team Competitions and make sure that Danube has its name on the House Cup this year. Alex, Year 13, Danube House Captain
I’m sure we can win this year’s competition if we all put our hands together and work as hard as possible to earn the maximum amount of house points each week! Come on Olt, we can win this! Olt, Olt! Thunder bolt! Mahmoud, Year 12, Olt House Captain
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This year, however, we have made a very good start to the year and I feel confident that we will do much better in the House Competition. We don t have many pupils in Arges as the other Houses, so our achievements may be somewhat limited. This does not mean that we can t be first at the end of the year. As David and Goliath teaches us, it is often will that wins, not size or numbers! Louisa, Year 10, Arges House Captain
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Primary Student Council 2009-2010
With the speeches and voting having already taken place, the BSB Primary Student Council is now established for 2009-10. In our first meeting, Mr Hamacher discussed the accomplishments from last year and together we set some goals and plans for this year. Our first order of business was to decide on some of the roles within the council, so we voted. Here is a list of the 2009-2010 student council representatives and their roles this year:
Maria, 6H (President) Amy, 6U (Vice President) Clotilde, 5M (Secretary) Aliss, 6H (Secretary)
Daniel, 6U (Treasurer) Louis, 5L (Vice Treasurer) Anda, 4H David, 4H Sasa, 4D Charlie, 3M Angelica, 3T
With council roles assigned, we turned our attention to discussing and planning our idea for Playground Leaders; students who will be in charge of the playground equipment, Craze of the Week, and helping students with any problems that may arise. We voted that the best way to choose these candidates was to announce the position and then interview any interested students. Until then, we will take the role of Playground Leaders to model how it should be done. Another update to follow in the next issue of BSB Newsblast. Aliss, 6H
Primary Student Council 2009-2010
Student Council 2009 Summer Fun Day Student Council organised a Summer Fun Day for the end of the last school year and everyone had a lot of fun. At first break we got to play the Balloon Toss Game. The rules of the game were simple: all you had to do was toss a balloon to your friend. The hard part was that every time you caught the balloon you had to
The Student Council Up and Running
To begin, I would like to welcome all of the new members of the Secondary Student Council. I would also like to thank Mr Ellis for all his support last year and a big thanks to Alex, my predecessor, for the great job he did as President last year. The end of year party organised by the SSC last summer was very enjoyable- a special thank you to Mahmoud, Y12, for kindly offering to be DJ and to everybody else who helped. This year, the Student Council will be supervised by Mr McGowan and Ms Greaney. The Student Council representatives are Rhea, Rhys, Johann and Scott from Year 7, Ana and Polen from Year 8, Vanessa (Secretary) and Noor (Treasurer) from Year 9, Louisa (Vice-President) and Bethan from Year 10, and Alexandru Year 12, and myself. We have already started working have already had our
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take a step back. The winners of the game were the team that got the furthest apart without dropping the balloon. Another activity during Summer Fun Day was a wet and wild Pool Party! Every class also got a chance to go in the pool for one period which was great! I believe the Student Council did a great job last year! Dilara, 6H
A summer SPLASH, teachers and students playing the Balloon Toss Game on Summer Fun Day!
first meeting, in which we debated and discussed future plans and present concerns. We would like all students at BSB to feel that the SSC can and will support you with any concerns that you have. If there is anything that you are not really happy about, or you have an idea or proposal, you can discuss it with your form’s SSC representative. They will present this information to the other members at the next meeting and will keep you informed on all the developments. I would also like to point out that the SSC display board, Ms Greaney has kindly put together, is located outside Mr McGowan’s classroom. There you will find the date of the next meeting, the names and pictures of the SSC representatives and a “quick proposal” page where you can write your proposals for the SSC. I would recommend that you pay it a visit, as you will find useful information posted there. If you need any more details, feel free to ask any of the SSC members. Senia, Year 11, Secondary Student Council President
Secondary School Student Council
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BSB helps large scale donation from Fujairah, UAE, reach charities in Bucharest
BSB has been involved in a large scale charity drive initiated by Mrs Clotilda Lopez and started at Fujairah Private Academy in the United Arab Emirates. Clotilda Lopez and Gabriel Ene, a Sri Lankan Romanian couple who lived in Fujairah for almost two decades, decided to return to Romania last summer along with their 2 lovely daughters, Elena and Anastasia. Before leaving the UAE, Clotilda embarked on an amazing charity drive, determined to make a difference in her new home country. Mrs Cloty says: “Since we are leaving Fujairah and taking a container back with our stuff, I thought it would be a good opportunity to help the poor in Romania and carry useful items for them as well. I didn’t really know how to go about it but I spoke
with former Fujairah resident, Jo Puddy Wells, who is now the Principal of the British School of Bucharest and she guided me as to what to collect. Clothes, shoes, toys, baby gear are the most needed items. I then made flyers urging the community to help and Miss Jan Brettingham of Fujairah Private Academy was very kind and volunteered to put up my flyers through the school as well as boxes to collect the stuff on behalf of the school. So far, we have received so much and I’d really like to thank Jo Wells and Miss Jan as well as the community of Fujairah for their support. People have been very generous. The charity department of the British School of Bucharest will distribute the collected items accordingly among the Childrens’ Hospital; various orphanages and among the homeless.”
From the Fujairah Observer http://www.fujairahobserver.ae/sept09local.html It was a wonderful experience meeting Cloty and her daughters when they came to deliver the donations. Everything arrived safely at BSB, although some boxes were damaged in the customs procedure and the contents had to be refilled into plastic sacks. Ms Ionela, Ms Kemp and the Year 7 students have worked hard to sort the donated items and separate them by categories to have them ready for our charities. On behalf of the BSB Charity Committee I would like to say thank you to all those involved! Ms Dorothea Draser, Charity Committee
Charity clothes pickup
Preparing ot deliver charity bags to Remar
Jeans for Genes Day
Jeans for Genes Day was another success this year, as BSB successfully raised £844 (£200 MORE THAN LAST YEAR) to help children with Genetic Disorders.
In addition to celebrating the actual day on Friday October 2nd, where students were allowed to wear jeans if they donated a minimum of 5 RON to the Jeans for Genes Day charity, we had an assembly on Wednesday, Sept 30th. During the assembly, led by 6H, we showed a power point presentation about what ‘genes’ are and about the story of a boy named Thomas, who is living with a genetic
Joining together all of the mini-jeans pieces to create a House Shield for Mures
6H hosting the Jeans for Genes assembly with a great powerpoint presentation.
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Mrs Cloty and her daughters delivering their charity bags
disorder that prevents him from growing properly. We also organised an activity where all of the students got to decorate a cut-up section of a pair of jeans with paint, glitter and markers. In the end our mini-jean cut-outs were put together onto our house shields and the winning House Team won 50 points, which was OLT! All and all, Jeans for Genes Day was a lot of fun for a good cause. Maria 6H
The students of Arges working togther to decorate their mini jean patches.
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BSB Fish Pond, a popular addition to the school campus BSB now has a fish pond which is being used by a number of classes throughout the school, including the crèche. There are also enough picnic tables and benches for a class to have an outdoor lesson. Secondary Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 students are using the area and the pond to investigate ecology, classification, variety, genetics, trophic levels, competition, water quality, food chains, and environmental conditions throughout the year. Issues about safety and security are addressed with equipment on hand; a padlock on the gate and a life saving reach pole. Students are also only allowed in the area with a teacher. The whole area is designated as a tall grass area to be mowed and trimmed once a year, with the leaf litter left in situ for
Science biology project:
The garden
Over the past month, the Year 10 IGCSE Biology class have been studying the garden and observing the growth, wildlife and different changes in the garden, such as the temperature, ph of the soil and pond. So far, we have written down all the information that we need about the garden such as the types of plants, trees, fish and other life. Afterwards, we researched and found all their Latin names and families. We needed
class investigations of temperature, light, pH, biomass, and insect survey. For IGCSE biology we are studying habitat, environment and ecology. A macro-benthic survey of the ecology of the pond substrates is currently being conducted; gravel, sand, logs, and mud at different depths. Areas of shaded and sunny water are being studied to determine the niche, habitat and population of the organisms present. Also, the class is investigating pioneering species and competition of exotic and indigenous flora and fauna. In the future, we hope it will be a location for a weather station, insect traps, bio-digester, and bird boxes.
Year 10 students enjoying the outdoor study tables
Mr Kevin Power, Head of Science
to do this so we could know what nutrients and habitat they require. We are doing weekly information gathering on the changes taking place in the garden, recording the results, and creating a digital map. As a class, we have only just made a start on the garden but we are trying hard to transform it into a successful experiment and include more wildlife and plant species. We hope we can really make this garden work so that the younger years can also benefit from this first hand learning experience. I’m also pretty sure they will enjoy dipping into the pond. Louisa, Year 10 A BSB student investigating the Fish Pond
Year 10 students jotting down some observations
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The natural flora around the pond
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Naomi, Miriam, Ana preparig to cook in DT
Masterchefs Eda and Polen experimenting with a sweet curry
Masterchef with Year 8 Hyo Min, Jennea, Miriam and Naomi with their vegetarian creation
Masterchef with Year 8 Nikita, Ben and Daniel making a hot curry with chicken and parsley
Master Class Cooking with Year 8:
Preparing a curry
If you had taken a stroll to the D.T room on the 24th of September to inquire what recipe the Year 8’s were following on that particular morning, our answer would be: “Our own recipe!” You see, we have just started a new topic on preparing curries and Ms Kemp had set us an exciting new project: to work as a group and concoct our very own recipe for a curry that we would prepare next lesson! Ms Kemp had very graciously distributed a few recipes to all the different groups to use as guidelines as well as a very handy curry sheet to jot down our ideas as well as to write down the plan for our curry! So we got to work! The three individual groups assembled at their choices of time-
whether it was lunch time or after school- to discuss and plan the method of preparing the dish, the ingredients of our invention and to distinguish which cooking utensils we would require to prepare our creation. We also had to discuss which member of the group would be bringing in which ingredient! We did not need to purchase any oil, salt, cooking utensils or plates as Ms Kemp generously provided these items! Next step, COOKING! By the morning of our D.T lesson all of the groups had decided on a recipe and ingredients and not a single person had forgotten an ingredient! We departed for the D.T room absolutely buzzing with excitement and anxiety and immediately after arrival got straight to work! Before long the D.T room was overflowing with delicious and interesting smells and we were all seated at our tables (after having cleaned up) and were longing for a taste of our concoctions! If I may say so myself, the outcomes were DELICIOUS! Overall, I think that this experience
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was tons of fun and promoted many skills that could be used, not only in D.T, but also in other subjects! Some of these learned skills were teamwork and cooperation with our classmates; keeping our workspace neat and cleaning up after our task; planning a project; evaluating our work; working independently and giving positive criticism on the work of other students. We really enjoyed this project and had a lot of fun! Thank you Ms Kemp! Jennea Yr 8
If you are interested, the following is a recipe we used: Ingredients: One small onion, diced ½ a chilli, diced (depending on how spicy you would like the curry to be) 1 chopped clove of garlic ½ a teaspoon of cumin powder 2 tablespoons of oil 8 medium diced potatoes 1 cup of peas (can be frozen and with corn if it is wanted) Salt (to taste)
1 red pepper chopped and deseeded ½ -1 can of tomatoes 1-2 tablespoons of masala Method: Put a pot on a low heat (2) and add 2 tbsp. Of oil. Add the chilli and onion but do not cook fully Add in the cumin powder and chopped garlic clove Marinate the diced potatoes with the masala and add to the pot. Add in your desired amount of salt. Add in a small quantity of water so that the curry does not burn and allow it to cook for a little while. Once the curry is ¾ cooked, add the tomato and a small amount of water. Add in the cup of peas, be careful not to burn them. Add in the red pepper, but beware, pepper cooks very quickly (if you don’t want the pepper to be very crunchy then you may add them in earlier). Cook on low slow heat until fully prepared. You can serve the curry on a plate with rice or even some naan.
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Art and Language week, all in one!
If a BSB student was to show you one of their portraits created during language week, you would surely wonder why their skin is green or their hair is turquoise! You might wonder if each student is meant to be depicted as an alien or whether it is abstract art, but the explanation is quite simple: it’s a language portrait! During art lessons in language week, with the help of Ms Greaney and Ms Draser, Year 8 students managed to create a portrait of a new style and with a new idea! After a quick but very explanatory description of what a language portrait is from language expert, Ms Draser, we learnt that: a language portrait is a drawing of yourself from head-to-foot (in a slightly cartoon-like manner) where you colour in your body according to which languages you speak, would like to speak, or even only know two words in! This may sound a little confusing, but it is quite simple: first, you select a colour that you think represents a language that you speak or would like to speak. After this, you use that colour/language to colour in a part of your body that best describes that language for you .e.g. English= Dark blue= Hair! It is similar to colouring in with languages!
The BSB Art Department taps into student creativity
It has been a wonderful start to the beginning of my first year at the British School of Bucharest. Here is a little insight into the pupils’ projects and activities so far in the art department: Year 7 In Year 7, we have been learning about masks this term. We have looked at African, Italian and Chinese cultures and the masks that represent them. We have also been involved in the UNESCO competition. For this, we have created a painting, drawing, collage or sculpture that shows how we can make things better for our world and our environment.
Egor, Year 7
Year 8 In the past few weeks we have been studying portraits but took a break from this project to prepare for the competition ‘My World Our Climate’. Our task was to create a collage and turn it into an admirable piece of art. Year 8 got inspired by the many paintings Ms Greaney presented in class and eagerly got our fingers dipped in paint, glue and… nature. Miriam has been working on her collage. She has been busy flicking through magazines for pictures of nature and also images which show environmental damage. My first impression when I looked at her work was that I like the way the pasted images were separated into warm and cold colours. They had also been separated by technology and nature. The artwork created a mental image of technology suffocating the beauty of nature. The message was clear: ‘we must stop ruining our world!’ I believe this topic has inspired us with many ideas on how to save our world. Polen, Year 8
Antonio, Alex and Egor
Eda and Polen
Cezar, Andrei, Idan, Hristos and Csenge
Portrait by Jennea, Year 8
After this, Ms Greaney patiently showed us how to draw a simple cartoon template for a boy and a girl that we could then add our own personality to! This template helped us a lot! Time to start drawing! We quickly got to work, creating cartoon characters of ourselves and colouring various body parts in exciting colours and we were left with a wonderful result of a cartoon class with brightly coloured ears, eyes, feet and hair! If you would like to catch a glimpse of Year 8 language portraits, they are displayed on the many colourful display boards on the landings in the Crawford House. Finally, I would like to say that the creation of our very own language portraits was a fun experience for all! On behalf of Year 8, thank you Ms Draser and Ms Greaney! Jennea, Year 8
Ana and Jennea Muhammad at work
Students Language Portraits Pupils from Year 6H and 5L and Year 8 drew their own language portraits and were rewarded with a brochure with common phrases in all the languages of the European Union called “Languages Take You Further” - the best concise phrase book for making new friends from any country on the continent! “I liked my language lanyard because it was yellow. I had a sticker in Russian written in a different alphabet (поговорить со мной!) and one in German (Sprich mit mir!).” The meaning of the stickers is “Talk to me!” Gabrielle, 4D
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Artwork by Naomi Ingram
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Year 9 In Year 9, we have been studying an artist known as Escher. It has been a great experience, as we have had a chance to learn about a new artist and his style of work. We have had a lot of fun making a collage, as we could experiment with images and fabric. We have also looked at perspective. We have had loads of fun in Art.
Year 10 In IGCSE Art we are researching and learning about the various elements of art. We are also looking at different famous artists. I chose IGCSE art because it is fun and you can use your imagination and be creative! Jasmina, Year 10
Noor, Year 9
Year 11 We are now in our second year of IGCSE art, with our new teacher Ms Greaney. We are currently preparing for our mock exam ‘I, Me, and Mine’. We are also looking at a range of art movements, such as cubism, pop art, photorealism, and surrealism. We have experimented with collage, portraits and reproductions of artwork so far. We are looking forward to seeing our completed work at the end of year exhibition. We hope to keep you up-to-date in future issues of Newsblast with our progress. Senia, Year 11
Pollock inspired artwork by Jasmina
Artwork by Soo Min
Marina at work
Maria at work
Artwork by Andreea
Jonathan and Robert
Jasmina, Sahir and Iulia
Andreea, Soo Min, Alex and Senia at work
Environment collage by Noor Faisal
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Artwork by Iulia
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Language Week, Sept 2009
The European Day of Languages was celebrated on the 26th of September and as always is an opportunity for schools across Europe to celebrate linguistic diversity and the enjoyment of learning foreign languages. At BSB, we have expanded the celebration into a week long language festival that took place across all key stages from Monday 21st to Friday 25th of September. The events and activities put on during Language Week gave our students the opportunity to experience languages in various contexts and to engage with new cultures and languages in a fun way. “This year for Language week every class did something different. Year 8 and 9 did some Greek dancing. One of them was the Sirtaki. We had two lovely guests who were mothers of children in the school who came to teach us. Mrs Savva and Mrs Electra. We were put in many groups and started doing the dance faster and faster. We were being filmed. We were laughing until the very end. It was a lot of fun! During lunchtime we had Babylonia being played by some other forms. The game was about recognizing languages. At the end of the week we had an assembly in which we had a visitor from the German Embassy. His name was Mr Conrad. The whole week was a lot of fun.” Vanessa, Year 9 “I phoned my friends from England the other day and they told me that they also have Language Day in their school.” Polen, Year 8 “Language Week was the the best yet! Aaron, 6H The MFL department would like to thank all the guests, parents, members of staff and students who made this week such a successful event. Dankeschön! Merci beaucoup! Muchas gracias a todos! We think that this year’s language festival has reached its aim of making everyone across school aware of the incredible richness of our multicultural environment. We are “united in diversity” and take pride in it.
Year 2 Irish Dance
Language Week was about learning about other cultures. This year, for the first time at BSB, we had the opportunity to do a workshop with Year 2 related to that. Ms Greaney, our fabulous new Art teacher, happens to be Irish and a great dancer of traditional Irish dance! As you can understand, we could not miss the opportunity to share this with the Year 2s. First of all, we watched Riverdance perform to reel music on a DVD to get in to the mood of dancing to show all of our potential in the Disco Room.
Hebrew Games and Oriental Dance
For Year 3, the highlight of the week was surely the visit of Ms Liora Zytcer, the sports manager of the Ana Pescariu Sports and Spa. She comes from Israel and taught a fun Hebrew lesson through group games. Year 3 learned for example how to cheer for their team shouting laroz (run!) and likfoz (jump!). Liora Zytcer was a big success with Year 3, as one could tell by the loud cheering. At the end of the session, all the pupils put on a rattling hip scarf and learned the basic steps of an Oriental dance.
Year 2 Irish Dance
It was very good fun for everybody (including the teachers), and although it looks simple it is definitely not! If you would like to try, Ms Greaney said that it is all about pointy toes and straight arms close to your body. I would certainly recommend you give it a chance for either fun or fitness purposes.
Students eargerly answering questions
Lunch Time Cinema With the help of Miss Vollaire, KS 2 put on Lunch Time Cinema during Language Week. Lucie (6H), Louis (3W), Jarrod (6H) and Deniz (3T) brought in films in their native languages (or in other foreign languages) to show to their peers at lunch time.
Ms Dorothea Draser, Ms Rocio Marti and Ms Manon Vollaire
For more information regarding MFL, visit the MFL blog! http://mflbsb.edublogs.org/
Art Competition “World Languages” During Language Week we launched an Art Competition based on the topic “World Languages”. The judging of the work will take place on the 29th of October and the best art work will be exhibited at the French Institute of Bucharest. Special thanks to Mr Williams for organising the competition.
Film at lunchtime
“We watched movies in different languages, on Monday in Czech, Tuesday in Japanese, Wednesday in Dutch, Thursday in Russian and Friday in French.” Diana, 4D
Students learning an oriental dance
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Japanese Workshop entertains students
Students showing their animal drawings
Year 4 and Year 6 had the privilege to take part in a Japanese taster course run by Anca Focseneanu, Eri Utsunomiya and Akira Yamaguchi from the University of Bucharest. This is the second time our guests have come to teach us Japanese. The first time was in June 2009, when they did a Japanese and origami workshop in Secondary School. Our students made a good impression on the first visit, so the guests accepted our invitation to come back during Language Week.
Students enjoying a fun activity in the Japanese workshop
Mrs Anca Focsaneanu and Mr Akira Yamaguchi
Mrs Eri Utsunomiya explaining the activty
On their second visit our pupils learned to say their name and to say what animal they like. They also learned the specific onomatopaeic sounds of the animals in Japanese. Professor Yamaguchi’s impressive rendering of the sounds made by the rabbit, the pig, the cat and the dog in Japanese is worth highlighting. It shows that language teachers have no inhibitions whatsoever when it comes to giving their students a memorable impression of the new vocabulary.
We are extremely grateful for the time and effort invested by our guests and would be very pleased to have them again. Arigato! “The Japanese lesson was fun. Two people came in and taught us Japanese. The lady showed us the pictures of the animals and the man made the animal noises! Then we played a Japanese game sticking the parts of the face on the animal’s face. It was cool! Watashi Isabel des. Neko ga suki des.” Isabel, 6U
“I already speak Japanese, but the game was fun. We were blindfolded and had to say the part of the face that you wanted in Japanese. Then you had to put the nose, the eyes and ears the sheet to make the face of an animal. It was funny because the parts of the face were somewhere else.” David, 4D “I enjoyed how the Japanese man made all sorts of sounds and we had to repeat them. I am now going to say my name in Japanese: Watashi wa Daniel desu.” Daniel, 6U
European Commission Representatives attend Key Stage 2 Language assembly
Year 3 and 4 students dancing to La Mer
Cristina Mastacan and Roxana Iordache of Euras Europe Direct, from the Bucharest Information Centre of the European Commission, came to a Key Stage 2 assembly to tell our students more about the European Union, its foundation and its role in our everyday lives. The guests were impressed with the strong interest of some of the pupils and their incisive questions about the presentation. The pupils interpreted correctly the motto of the European Union, “United in Diversity”, representing the fact that in the EU there are people from many countries, with different cultures and languages, united and working together for the prosperity of all.
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Mrs Roxana Iordache speaking about the EU
As a part of the assembly, Year 3 and Year 4 learned a beautiful French song, La Mer, by Charles Trenet. Although the lyrics of the song were a bit difficult, the pupils could all identify with the sea dancing and sparkling. Some pupils discovered the similarities between the French lyrics and their native languages (Romanian or Italian) and they were able to figure out the meaning on their own. The pupils dressed up and performed the dance in assembly. With the music and the dance, a strong impression of the sea sparkling under the summer sky invaded the room. Thank you Mrs Dearman for this excellent choice of music!
KS2 wearing their Language Week lanyards
“During Language Week we did the register in a different language. It was very funny because Mr Harrison said it once in Japanese. With Miss Anamaria, the library teacher, we did the register in the languages that we speak, for example Romanian. In assembly there were two guests from the European Union and they taught us how the European Union works. We learned that there are 12 stars on the European flag and that there are 27 countries in Europe. They speak 23 languages in total.” Astrid, 4H
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Years 5 and 7 students bake cup-cakes for Language Week Bake Sale
On Friday, 25th September the Design and Technology Room was turned into an efficient cupcake factory under the supervision of the two dedicated mom chefs, Mrs Cathryn Hendersen (Scot’s mum) and Mrs Elisabeth Spearman (Olivia’s mom). The baking marathon involved Year 5 and Year 7 and took 4 periods. The result was a feast for the eye with cupcakes decorated with flags from around the world- definitely a hit for everyone. The Bake Sale raised 270 RON, which will be spent on prizes and resources for MFL.
“En la semana europea de idiomas, nosotros tuvimos films en distintos idiomas y recibimos llaveros y pegatinas. Nosotros también tuvimos curso de japonés y un assembly con invitados especiales. Lo mas interesante fue la Bake sale porque nosotros tuvimos bollos ricos” Sacha, Y6H
Babylonia, the game for polyglots
Secondary school students had the opportunity to showcase their different languages by playing Babylonia at lunch time. The game requires using your language skills to identify words from different languages by spotting the language family it belongs to. The students competed in their house teams and Olt emerged as the house team with the best linguistic abilities. They won 75 house points, followed by Mures with 40 house points.
KS4 Art lesson in French
delighted us by singing in Spanish and French. Congratulations to all the pupils greeting us in Spanish in the song ‘Hola!’ The French song, ‘Frere Jaques’, was also very impressive and got all the students and the teachers very involved.
“To celebrate language week, in French class we had a guest come in who spoke to us about the history of art in French. I really learnt a lot about the different time periods and I had no idea that there were so many different styles of art. It was really interesting and I understood a bit of the French! I am very glad Mrs Hottlet took the time to come in and talk to us, it was really a lovely experience.”
KS1 also participated in an interactive game in which they had to identify words from different languages meaning ‘HELLO’ or ‘THANK YOU’. They had to guess by the sound or characters of the sentence for house points. KS1 did not disappoint and took the challenge in a very mature way, taking turns to answer and putting their hands up as you can see in the picture.
Bethan, Year 10
I was really impressed by Mariam, Y7H. While playing we came across a word written in Arabic. The letters were obviously indecipherable for most of us, but after a while of looking at it very intently, Mariam said quietly: “Friendship, the word means friendship” and it was correct. How amazing! Well done, Mariam!
Mrs Hottlet giving a French Art lesson
KS1 Language Week assembly entertains all
Secondary School Students playing Babylonia
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As this was a very special week for the whole school, we decided to have a special assembly for the students in Year 1 and 2. The assembly started with the lovely background of a Spanish guitar, which in Spain is always a sign that something good is about to happen. Year 2 pupils had worked very hard in Music with Mrs Dearman and they
Key Stage 1 Assembly
Finally, a very well deserved special Language Day sticker was given out to all the students who could say goodbye to me in another language. Here is one of the questions for you all to have a think: الهأWhat language is this? What does it say? We would love to see your answers in the MFL blog: http://mflbsb.edublogs.org/
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Outdoor Hebrew lesson
Year 7 had the opportunity to learn some Hebrew words with Mrs Liora Zytcer who had come to see Year 3 previously. Among many other games, they played Fruit Salad and had to respond to
names of fruit in Hebrew. It was a great experience especially because one of their peers, Idan Shamel, speaks Hebrew as one of his native languages.
Mrs Liora Zytcer preparing the tug of war
Year 7 girls taking up the strain
Year 7 boys pulling with all their might
Year 8 & 9 Learn to Greek Dance
Mr Conrads highlighted the importance of learning German for professional success, especially in business, given the strong economic ties between Germany and Romania.
Year 8 and Year 9 started Language Week dancing to sirtaki music and getting into the rhythm of Zorbas’ dance. Mrs Elektra Grammatikoudi (Fivos’ mum in Year 6U) and Mrs Diamandoula Korda (Panayotis’ mum in Year 9) introduced the students to some basic steps of the rather complex dance. By the end of the lesson, all the boys and girls in Year 8 and Year 9 were dancing in a round dance and some managed to master the steps admirably. Both parties decided that it would be great to continue learning the rest of the choreography. We were delighted to have our Greek guests in and hope we can repeat the lovely experience soon.
„Am 25. September haben wir Mathematik gelernt… aber auf Deutsch! Erstens haben wir ein Autorennen in die richtige Reihenfolge geordnet. Das war sehr lustig und machte viel Spaß, weil wir nur auf Deutsch sprechen durften. Meine Gruppe hatte die richtige Reihenfolge geordnet gleich beim ersten Mal.
Secondary Language Assembly
Key Stage 4 Maths in German BSB students Greek Dancing
“This year the language week was very interesting. Every year group did something. Year 8 and 9 learned to dance the sirtaki. I thought it was a lot of fun!” Shani, Year 9
Secondary School Language Assembly
Mr Hermann-J. Conrads from the German Embassy was our special guest during the assembly connected to Language Week. He spoke about the history of the German minority in Romania, the Transilvanian Saxons and the Banat Schwabs. They settled in the North-Western regions of Romania in the 12th and 18th century respectively.
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Mathematik auf Deutsch
Mrs Houette is a great asset to our school, not only because she teaches Maths in a challenging and motivating way, but also because she can do it in German as well! As part of Language Week, KS4 students of German had the chance to participate in an Algebra lesson in German. They had to rely on their German skills in order to solve the problems set. The first task was about finding the right order of cars in a race by calculating. Another task meant matching Algebra terms and definitions like in a domino sequence. See Tudor and Mihnea’s account of the lesson in German below!
Mrs Houette giving a maths lesson in German
Zweitens haben wir ein Spiel and der Tafel gespielt. Es war wie ein Dominospiel (z.B. Ich bin ein Dreieck, wer hat die Summe von meinen Ecken?) und es hat auch viel Spaß gemacht. Es war ein bisschen schwer, weil ich die Wörter nicht weiß, aber ich habe die Wörter gelernt. Drittens haben wir eine Wortsuche mit Zahlen auf Deutsch gelöst. Das war sehr interessant und nicht zu schwer.Als letztes haben wir Kopfrechnen gemacht an der Interaktiven Tafel. Die Rechnung an der Tafel war auf Englisch und wir mussten die Summe auf Deutsch antworten. Ich habe alle die schweren Rechnungen beantwortet J.“ Mihnea Rusu, Year 10
“Mir hat der Tag gefallen. Die Spiele waren sehr interessant und lustig. Wenn wir es nochmal machen können, dann würde ich es gerne machen.“ Tudor, Year 10
Soo Min Roh and Maria Mercedes Tachon Gonzalez, who have recently taken up German, did a great job learning the numbers. Miss Kemp did not miss the chance to brush up on her German and her pronunciation was remarkable. Gut gemacht, Mädels!
Soo Min and Maria learning to count in German
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Foundation Stage Physical Development:
Parachute and other Games It is of great importance for children in early years to be given the opportunity to develop their physical and motor skills. In the EYFS curriculum we aim to help the children achieve a variety of skills as defined by the nine key objectives below.
• Recognise the importance of keeping healthy and those things which contribute to this. Recognise the changes that happen to her/his body when s/he is active. • Repeat links and adapt simple movements, sometimes commenting on her/his work. Demonstrate coordination and control in large and small movements, and in using a range of tools and equipment. We aim for your children to achieve all of the above targets through games, dance and gymnastics. The children in Foundation have been enjoying many of the games that we have been working on. Here are some photos of the children cooperating with their friends and thoroughly enjoying themselves during the parachute activity and running games. The aim of the PE Department is for the children in Foundation to find enjoyment in the activities and stay healthy through exercise whilst learning. Mr Clayton Burt, Foundation PE teacher
Co-operative games are great fun
The children should be able: • Move spontaneously, showing some control and coordination. • Move with confidence in a variety of ways, showing some awareness of space. • To show appropriate control in large- and small scale movements. • Move with confidence, imagination and in safety. Travels around, under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment. Show awareness of space, of self and others. • Demonstrate fine motor control and coordination. • Use small and large equipment, showing a range of basic skills. • Handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with basic control.
Parachute experience for Recepton
Great ball control from Pre-school
News from the PE Department
We have seen some changes in the PE department this year. First of all, we said a sad farewell to Ms Kemp who has left the department to concentrate her efforts in the Secondary School.
More parachute excitment
Swimming
Inter Schools
We are also making more use of the on site swimming pool this year. As well as the usual after school swimming clubs, PE lessons will now take place at BSB instead of traveling off site. You may have noticed the new cover over the pool; this will prevent the heated water from cooling down and so provides a comfortable temperature for swimming activities. Years 4 to 6 have already gone into the water this year and it is planed that EYFS to Year 3 will have their swimming lessons in the school pool in June. In the photos you can see some Secondary pupils working on their water survival skills.
We have one piece of school team news. Our Year 7, 8 and 9s came together for our first inter schools fixture of the year. The Boy’s Under 14 football team played against their counterparts from AISB. The game proved to be a difficult one for us and it became clear that winning wasn’t going to be an option. However, playing in an unfamiliar 11 aside game on a full sized pitch will provide a lot of valuable experience for our footballers. They each should be congratulated for their positive attitude and for the fact that they never once gave up playing for each other. Well done boys.
Angela and Alina work on their leg kick
Under 14s Boy’s Football Team
In her place we have Ms Billie Jones and Mr Clayton Burt, who have brought with them plenty of experience and some fresh ideas and I know they are keen to put them into practice. Another change for this year is the formation of ISAB (International Sports Association of Bucharest). BSB, along with 7 other international schools in the area will be organising various sporting events between them throughout the year. It is hoped that there will be more opportunities for our pupils to represent the school activities such as football, cross country running, swimming, basketball, touch rugby, and tennis. Further news will be available closer to the actual events.
Anthony O’Brien, Head of Physical Education
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Welcome to KS1 and KS2 Physical Education
2S busy playing Ab Tag
Diana & Klara, 4D, getting some advice on technique from Ms Jones
4D Girls receiving Swimming instructions From Ms Jones
4H Ilias & David working on their kick
Greetings and warm wishes to you all. I am Ms Jones and it is with great pride and pleasure that I introduce myself to you all in our first issue of Newsblast for the new school year. I am a Physical Education and Health teacher who has taught at Te Awamutu College in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island for the last few years. I am looking forward to the challenge of teaching all of the KS1 students and the majority of the KS2 students at BSB this year. In KS1 and KS2 PE we have begun the year with a flying start. In KS1 we have started the year with a Games unit of work. We have been participating in whistle and movement games, including one of the favourites statues. Our students have been getting a lot of enjoyment out of the dinosaur game, duck duck goose, stuck in the mud, dragon’s tail and AB tag. KS1 are due to move onto our next unit of work which is Gymnastics.
In KS2 we have been enjoying the warmth of the sunshine outside with introduction games and warm ups such as Captain’s Coming, Rats and Rabbits, Two True One False, AB Tag and name games just to mention a few. In week two we began our Swimming Unit where we build on skills and confidence in the water and work towards improving our technique for a variety of strokes; mainly the front crawl and backstroke. When KS2 are not swimming during their allotted time, students are learning and practicing the skills used in the Invasion Game - rugby end ball. These skills will be put into practice during the rugby end ball house competition to be held during Healthy Schools Week; in week 8 this term. After the mid-term break KS2 will begin lessons for skill development on Short Tennis.
4D enjoying Rugby End Ball
I would like to finish by saying a big ‘thank you’ to Mr Mugur for taking photos of us during our PE lessons and for helping out during our lessons each week. Ms Billie Jones, Physical Education Teacher 4H playing Rats n Rabbits
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Year 8 students working diligently on the topic of crime
Geography, More than just a map!
The Geography Department is the second best department in the school, after the history department.
It is also the only department in the school that is called the Geography Department. In the first issue of the all new improved BSB Newsblast we’d like to tell you about the all-new improved Geography Department. There is a new member of staff in the department, Mr Clowes. He will carry on the proud tradition of all geography teachers and make all students draw lots of maps! He also
teaches Mathematics and Science but has secretly told me that Geography is ‘numero uno’ for him and he raised his two thumbs (not on the same hand) as he said this. In this first issue we are going to focus on Year 8 Geography. They started the year by doing, wait for it… yes, that’s right a map. A big map, at that! And it was coloured in!
Students have produced the new BSB wall display of where all secondary students and teachers come from and will soon be displayed outside my room. Tours are available to see this exhibit but a small fee is required and no flash photography please. Mr McGowan, Head of Geography
History: bringing the past into the present
Year 7 Students studying “The Romans”
The History Department is generally considered to be the best department in the school and certainly the best looking one… by the history teacher himself. In this first issue of the BSB Newsblast, I will focus on Year 7 and what they have done so far. I can’t tell you what they will be doing in future lessons because history is about the past. Students begin by focusing on their historical skills. In the first lesson students learned about how we found out about the past and had to pretend that one of their fellow
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students had been murdered and buried with their possessions. Students also focused on other skills such as chronology, bias, time as well as developing their digging skills. Students then moved onto the first major topic of the year; the Romans. This is done in the form of an assessed project and a mandatory chariot race with a teacher of their choice. Students have already produced work on Romulus and Remus. In the first lesson I asked
Manuela and Sandra working hard on their Roman Menu
a student what the Forum was. He replied a ‘four-um was a two-um plus two-um’. They have also worked on Roman Gods, especially Mars who was named after the chocolate bar (his younger brother was Snickers). Other topics have included food and students got in the mood for this lesson by eating a pizza and jellyfish (a Roman delicacy). They also made their own menu’s giving their restaurant names such as ‘Rom McDonalds’. The fun continued with a study of Gladiators and the Roman
Army. In later lessons, students will study further aspects of Roman life such as senators, famous Romans, invasions, aqueducts and ordinary ducks. Throughout the rest of the year students will be studying such fantastic topics as the Titanic, and Britain 1066-1500. Mr Ciairan McGowan, Head of History
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The International Award Students Plan Bronze Expedition
Mr Power reconnoitring the trail, refuge and campground in the Curmatura region in preparation for the BSB Bronze Expedition
“What! No Facebook, YouTube, cell phones or iPods?” “NO electricity! How do I plug in my hairdryer?”
The International Award is underway once again with participants working on the skill, service and physical fitness portions of the Bronze. As a part of this we are planning the Bronze Expedition, October 15th- 16th, which consists of a two day overnight trip during which time we are required to be entirely self-sufficient, with at least six hours of trekking per day.
We have to stay overnight in primitive conditions without electricity or running water at a mountain campsite not too far away from Bucharest! In the weekly meetings, we are learning first aid, orienteering, navigation, camp craft skills, how to cook on campfires and backpacking stoves, and the principles of leaving no trace. Sometimes we do fun team
challenges like crossing a crocodile infested river or circumventing a giant sequoia without damaging the seedlings. The worst thing about it isn’t the hours spent carrying a heavy rucksack up a mountain, or cooking pasta on a stove, or no showers; it’s being woken up early in the morning! The IA Team
Let’s go Skiing!
I am pleased to announce that the British School of Bucharest will be returning to Switzerland for another exciting ski trip. Following the success of last years trip, we will be returning to Haut-Lac International Centre for one week in March. During the week students will have daily ski lessons by qualified instructors and will be awarded internationally accepted Ski Levels. In addition, students will have an opportunity to sample Swiss cuisine, meet other students from all over Europe and participate in nightly activities including bowling, ping-pong, volleyball and much more. If you have any questions, feel free to speak to Mr. Hamacher and check out Haut-Lac’s website at www.haut-lac.com.
Fivos points to his favourite slope on the huge mountain
Last year’s group with our skilled Haut-Lac instructors during our daily ski lessons
Follow the Leader- Last years group during their daily ski lessons!
Jennea is all smiles after her day of ski lessons
Brad Hamacher, Ski Trip Leader
BSB Annual Ski Trip Where:
Haut Lac International Centre in Les Sciernes - Switzerland When: March 7th - 14th Who: 20 lucky students from BSB How Much: The price last year was 1200Euros Why: Learn to ski in one of the world’s greatest ski destinations!
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
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Alex receiving a merit for Maths in English
How to get a Maths merit in English
You may not believe this, but I am telling you, every word of this is true. We were reading the Roald Dahl autobiography “Boy” as part of our autobiography unit in English class. There was a foreword about the author, (which is somewhat
Congradulations to Bethan, Louisa, and Mihnea, Year 10, for having their letters published in an international publication!
silly considering the book is an autobiography), anyway the foreword told of Roald Dahl’s birth date. Mr Murchison asked the class how old Dahl would be now, if he were still alive? For some time there was no sound from any of us. Amid those few nervous seconds, I stuck my hand up into the air for Mr Murchison to call on me. He did, and I said “93”. Mr Murchison looked as if he did not believe me and wrote 2009 on the board and proceeded to subtract Roald Dahl’s birthday from it. I was right
in the end and I got an English merit! The really strange thing was that it was for my Maths skills even though I was in English class! Anyway, we went on to learn about time order and chronology and we all entertained ourselves with loads of funny and shocking stories from the famous British children’s author: Roald Dahl. Oh, and if you can tell Mr. Murchison what year Roald Dahl was born (using only this article) you too might get an English merit- or should that be a Maths merit? Alex, 7H
Learning to play the Keyboard
The BSB band, Edoardo on Guitar, Denis on drums, Alex on Keyboards
General Introduction The exercises we do in music lessons are designed to get children playing the keyboard in the quickest possible time. Pupils work in pairs taking turns to practice each part of the sheet before moving on to the next stage. They then perform the piece as a duet-one person plays the melody while the other performs
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Mr Des Mulvany infront of the new music room exension
the accompaniment. Once they have established what the complete piece sounds like, they then begin work on the solo performance.
function and combining this with a chosen rhythm, the keyboard will provide accompaniment based on the chord and rhythmic style selected.
Single Finger Function This is a simple and effective way of providing an exciting song accompaniment with a minimum of keys. By selecting the single finger
Practice tip for solo performances Playing the keyboard with both hands is initially a problem for most children. There, the performance of an entire piece should not be attempted
until a considerable amount of practice has taken place. For any Key Stage 2 student interested in learning the Keyboard, we have Keyboard Club on Wednesdays. Mr Des Mulvany, Head of Music
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Year 8 with their gifts from Unicredit, raincoats and beach balls!
What is PSCHE?
Year 11, 12 and 13 students receiving their Health and Safety Certificates
that take their class forward like working cooperatively, being kind and friendly to one another and supporting each other when they need help and highlighting areas which hold them back! They came up with three targets to focus on and have been working on them in lesson with other teachers. Year 7 also wrote a class song which they can sing together for class unity and identity.
Year 8 have had been looking at Money in the 21st Century, comparing tender from centuries ago and how internet banking is changing the world. They have also looked at supply and demand and recently received a welcome visit from Unicredit Bank. So many excellent questions were asked from How the economic crisis is affecting the world to How can I become a Bank Manager! Well done Year 8 for all your hard work this term. 7H celebrating the targets they set themselves
In PSCHE so far this term so many exciting things have happened. Year 7’s have been looking at their class dynamics through an accelerators and brakes exercise whereby they think about things
Year 9 have been looking at how to lead a healthy life, they looked at a case study of Fizzy Drinks Machines in Schools, What is Stress and How to deal with Controllable and Uncontrollable Situations. Right now they are looking at the Dangers of Smoking.
Year 9 Brainstorming the causes of stress
Year 10 have looked at a topic based on ´Preparing for Adult life´ whereby values, responsibilities and supporting and being supported were very topical and caused very interesting class debates. Year 11 preparing for their work experience in November, looking at interview techniques, health and safety in the work place and the importance of having a quality CV. Ms Kemp, PHCSE teacher
IGCSE Music:
Music composition using computer software program Sibelius 5 For their IGCSE Music exam, students must compose 2 pieces of music. This task is traditionally achieved by sitting at the piano with a piece of paper and a pencil at hand, but with the advance of modern technology, new software has come to form an integral part of the IGCSE Music Curriculum with students now composing music using software called Sibelius 5. Sibelius 5 is a complex piece of software used to compose music, allowing a person to input music straight onto a music sheet on a computer using standard notation. Sibelius 5 comes with a wide range of options and one of the key features includes the ability to be able to play the music you compose
at the tempo (rhythm) you set it to at the push of a button. It has an easy to use interface and it has possible notations ranging from a simple bar rest, up to a note that lasts 1/1024 of a second. This program is a great help for IGCSE Music students like me due to the fact that changes can easily be made and mistakes corrected before saving the final piece into a file which can latter be played on any computer! If you would like to experience this amazing software yourself, you can head over to the Music Department where Mr Mulvany will be more that happy to give you a quick demonstration showing you some of the amazing features available! Mihnea, Year 10 IGCSE Music Student Mr Mulvany guiding Mihnea in the art of musical composition
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
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ICT - BSB Television
Zain Sheikh getting to grips with the new camcorders
BSB TV is back. Originally started last year as a University course by Mr Kennedy, BSB TV is now a permanent feature of life here at BSB. We now have several new camcorders in school and the children will be using them to create interesting and informative shows for all to watch. Be it a documentary about life at school, recordings of special days, interviews with staff, children or guests - you can find it all on BSB TV! The children will have the opportunity to plan and produce videos- giving them some hands on experience with the technology involved and the chance to show off some of their skills to the rest of the school. The editing and publishing will all be done by the Year 6 ICT Tech Crew - Finn, Aaron, Roberto and Jesus from 6H and Fivos and Calin from 6U.
You can all watch our progress in the broadcasting world by visiting the brand new BSB TV blog at the following web address: www.bsbtv. edublogs.org
Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog if you have something to say about our work or suggestions for future shows. Switch off your cable TV and be sure to tune into BSB TV!
BSB Primary ICT Tech Crew - Robert, Calin, Jesus, Fivos, Aaron, and Finn
The latest news from the BSB Drama Department
Rhy, 7H, centre stage as Fagin in Oliver
Firstly, welcome back to the students for the winter of 2009. We also have to welcome a new member of staff to the department, Mrs Dearman, who will be teaching the Key Stage 1 and EYFS curriculum. Mrs Dearman has come from London and has a lot of experience to offer the younger students.
of the children at BSB were involved in some way and their contributions were equally important for the success of the show. The choir sang beautifully and the dancers moved rhythmically like young professionals. The actors spoke clearly and well, and they added their own personal touches to the characters they played. It was a joy for Mr Mulvany and I to work with these young people and we hope that they enjoyed the experience too. It brought the year to an end on a very happy note.
hope that as the secondary school expands so will the upper school Drama Department. We wish everyone a happy 2009/2010 and look forward to meeting you at the various school events. Mr Kevin Kelly, Head of Drama
This year you will find the various productions and dates for the year ahead listed at the back of this issue. More detailed information will be forthcoming and we hope that you will all support us as you always do.
The market place in Oliver
Last year was very successful for both the Drama and Music Departments as we saw some familiar faces on the stage in both assemblies and at the Tantrica Theatre, Bucharest. Mama Mia was featured in the last edition of News Blast as we were still in rehearsals for the musical version of Oliver Twist. Oliver was a smash hit with the students receiving many kind words from the parents. All
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In drama class work this year students will focus on communication skills, looking at various social issues and using drama and characterisation in order to empathise with the various types of people around us. The themes will vary depending on the age group of the child and many will lead role play or mini theatre pieces, some of which will be used for assemblies. We will work very closely with the Music Department, as always and therefore our curriculum will be truly Performance Arts based. Another addition to the Drama curriculum is the EDEXCEL GCSE in Drama which is a two year externally assessed course which can lead on to AS and A2 university entrance qualifications. We have six students this year taking IGCSE Drama and we
Johann, 7P, playing Oliver
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What is BIG WRITING?
Eco Committee News
The Eco-Committee this year aims primarily to make the BSB, the students and the staff, as environmentally aware as possible. Every class or form has an elected representative who is responsible for gathering ideas and helping organise ‘green’ events. These students are also responsible for monitoring their peers, and even the teachers, to make sure that they are not wasting electricity, paper or other resources. The Eco-Committee has already had its first meeting, in which we decided to continue with the successes of last year, such as Eco-tree Decorating Christmas Competition (decorating Christmas tress with biodegradable or recycled materials) and ‘Green Day’, where students wear green clothes to raise money for environmental organisations.
Andrei and Emanuel using Punctuation Pyramids to do some Big Writing tasks
The committee also intends to raise awareness through a poster campaign around the school, to get students involved in Earth-Hour next spring, to obtain official BSB recycled bags and many other exciting projects that will be disclosed in the near future. Mr Ellis - Eco-Committee (Mr Power, Mr Murchison, Ms Evans, Ms Ullman, Ms Houette, Ms French-Paris, Ms Collins, Ms Vollaire)
Theodore using the Punctuation Pyramid on the Interactive Whiteboard
This year in the primary school, we are starting a project called ‘Big Writing’. Big Writing is a teaching approach which has been implemented in Primary schools worldwide to help raise standards in written work. It focuses on the development of the ‘writing voice’ through fast, fun, lively and predominantly oral activities. The main idea behind it is that ‘If a child can say it, a child can write it’’. The program focuses on the four main elements of writing: Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation, which are commonly referred to as ‘VCOP’. Children across the school partake in small daily learning sessions which focus on these different elements. The activities are great fun and we have
some excellent interactive resources in school, so do be prepared for your child arriving home wanting to teach you things like Kung Fu punctuation! At regular intervals the children will have a Big Writing session where they are given the opportunity to put all their newly learnt skills into writing. The writing sessions are conducted in the classroom with soft music and artful lighting to help the children focus on the task at hand. The children also learn to assess their own work to look for possible ways to improve and to make it even better. This is one of the central ideas of BIG Writing that children learn to reflect on their own work.
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
To help them do this there are display pyramids for each of the four elements, which give a visual break down of the requirements of each level. To give a simple example; the top of the punctuation pyramid is Level One and shows only a full stop. The next level- Level Twoshows a full stop and a question mark, Level three shows a full stop, question mark, full stop and comma and so on. The children can then identify what punctuation they have used and what they could include to make their writing even better. This project will start in school after half term and we are all looking forward to introducing this new lively approach to writing to the children. Ms Tiffanie French-Paris, BIG WRTIING enthusiast
A few of the Eco Committee teachers enjoying the fresh morning air: Mr Ellis, Mrs Houette, Ms Vollaire, Ms Evans
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EYFS welcomes ‘Happy’ the Tortoise
EYFS students with Happy
Name the Tortoise Competition: The winning name is Happy. Chosen by Esperanza from Preschool M. A big thank you to all the children who entered.
We have a wonderful new pet in EYFS Pipera. A Mediterranean tortoise was donated to us by Mrs Rowlands.
careful as it is sometimes difficult to see him when he is in the grass. Twice a week we give him a bath. At this time he also drinks water. We think he likes bath time.
On the day she brought him we were all really excited. We had already learnt a little bit about tortoises using our pretend tortoise. We knew what colour tortoises are and that they move slowly.
Mr Power and Mr Vasile have been giving us advice about how to look after our tortoise. Mr Vasile has two tortoises of his own. Some of the Year 1 classes have been to see our tortoise and we hope to have lots more visitors. If you want to see more pictures of the tortoise visit out blog: www.piperapreschool.edublogs.org
We also knew that they eat weeds and flowers. Our tortoise has a great home in the corner of our garden. This week we are building him a pond to have a bath in. Sometimes we will let him out to explore the whole garden but we will have to be
Ms Tiffany Moorcroft, Pipera Foundation Stage Coordinator
Esperanza with her prize for naming the tortoise
Chole the Guide Dog
Chloe is a Labrador guide dog who guides blind people across the road or through the park. Her trainer is called Mircea. Chloe is the first ever guide dog in Romania. The foundation that sponsors her is called Light into Europe. Light into Europe helps sensory disadvantaged children by building schools or getting hearing aids for the deaf. Guide dogs are just one part of Light into Europe. England has about 46 000 guide dogs. Guide dogs need about 5000 Euros to be trained for 2 years. We are donating money to Light into Europe so that we can get more guide dogs in Romania. Currently we have donated 1000 Euros, and we have another 500 to donate from the PTA (Parent Teacher Association). For more information please visit www.lightintoeurope.org. Suparnan, 6H
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Supernan and Chloe the Seeing Eye Dog with her trainer, Mircea
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Class Pages
Creche Pipera
Creche Gafencu
It’s now a month since we started at the Creche at Gafencu, and with six languages between us, the first challenge has been to develop our communication skills and get to know each other. The children have also been cultivating their creative talents. Painting has been a favourite activity, and many lovely pictures have been produced; in particular, some pretty glitter collages.
We have only been in school for a short time, but already the children in Creche are settled and enjoying exploring their new surroundings, especially playing outside. There has been a lot of driving around the garden, with a few stops at the slide, climbing frame and the rocking crocodile! This is very popular and a lot of fun, we love to see how many children we can fit on there in one go!
Preschool Gafencu
Welcome to the children and parents of Preschool Gafencu. Preschool is on the ground floor of Gafencu, which is wonderful because in this fantastic autumn weather the children are still able to learn outside most of the day, where they are busy playing with large cardboard boxes placed behind the bushes, being used to build Dinosaur dens. The sand pit has also been a focal point for several children, allowing them to enjoy their developmental stage of being transporters! The sand is being carried to various parts of the garden as part on an ongoing EYFS construction project.
Getting busy with the finger paints Albert, Maria, Elliot, Marguerite and Robert enjoy lunch Alexander and Tadeas playing in the playdoh
Inside the Gafencu Preschool room the children have been enjoying a variety of activities. Cornflower, shaving foam, swampy glup, polenta and cold cooked spaghetti have all enticed the brave and curious.
Albert, Maria, Robert, Philip and Marguerite make sweet music
We love Mr Crocodile
Preschool children enjoying music with Mr Jonathan
All the children have a clear understanding of the daily routine, from self-registering on arrival at school to deciding when to have their snack, and especially the singing of “Wheels on the bus” as the signal to meet on the carpet. The children of Preschool Gafencu are having a wonderfully busy time, so it is to be expected that they all look forward to “mummy time”.
Nicolas, Maria, Elliot, Marguerite and Philip absorbed in a story
It also seems that we have some budding chefs among our number, as much time has been spent working on play dough in the kitchen. Building is another popular pastime among the group, with our bricks being fashioned into many different constructions. Songs and music can often be heard from our room, particularly when Mr Jonathan comes round; visits from the PE teacher Mr Mugur are also very well received. We’ve also been making the most of the autumn sunshine with some outdoor play, with the children both enhancing their agility and confidence, by climbing on our frames and playing ball, and exploring sensory aspects, with the use of water and sand. In short, it looks set to be a fun year at the Gafencu Creche. Mrs Christine Stowe, Creche Teacher
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Ms Kath Homer, Class teacher Off we go
But the fun doesn’t stop there, inside there has been a lot going on too. Painting has been a big success, especially hand and finger painting. The children love to end their day with a story. At the moment “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” is the favourite, this has helped Creche learn some colours and animal names. I think Animals could be the theme in Creche for some time to come! Mrs Claire O’Brien, Class teacher
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Preschool M
Reception, Gafencu: Rocket Ships, Planets and Stars
Preschool M have settled into their new class really well and have achieved so much in just a few weeks. Our first theme was picnics and we loved playing with all the picnic items and learnt some new numbers and colours. Jan loved all the different colours. Esperanza collected all the pink picnic items together to put in her bag. We even baked and iced biscuits and walked down to the pond to have a real picnic in the sunshine. Carmen was good at baking and Tibor enjoyed icing his biscuit. He was very proud to take home an extra one for his mum.
All aboard the preschool train
As the new year begins, something exciting is happening on the top floor of Gafencu in the Reception class… the children are taking off in a rocket ship to explore the planets and stars. The children are enjoying learning about the solar system and the planet Earth that we live on. Sasha has even been using the globe and can now find Romania, France, Scotland and America. This has opened up opportunities to talk about 3D shape in a meaningful and motivating way. The children are now able to compare “flat” 2D shapes and know some “solid” 3D shapes. To fly to these exciting places we have also been counting on and back from 5 and then 10 to do “blast off”. Ambra also enjoyed cutting out 2D shapes and drawing and painting them. We will be making junk 3D models soon to create lots of interesting things.
You can see many more pictures of the activities we are doing in preschool M on our class blog www. piperapreschool.edublogs.org Ms Tiffany Moorcroft, Class teacher Playing in the water
We are now going train crazy! We have built our own train out of cardboard and we go on many different train journeys in it. Our favourite is to go to the jungle to visit Sunayana’s grandma. We have to get off the train and run away from all the animals - it is great fun. In our classroom we have a train station. We can buy tickets and food for the journey, Mariam serves coffee and cookies in the waiting room and Samuel is very good at washing up afterwards.
Fun with bubbles
We also love playing in our water tray. This activity encourages lots of communication between the children especially about whatever is in the water, our water has been blue, green and one day it even had bubbles in it. The children also enjoy pouring the water and filling containers with it showing their interest in Exploration and Investigation. One day we had cooked spaghetti and put it in our water tray. This felt strange and we had to think of lots of words to describe it.
Reception B and E: Young Explorers
In EFYS much of our planning is based upon the children’s interests and what we observe them doing. We found that the children interacted well with each other whilst playing with small world animals, especially the dinosaurs in the outdoor sand tray. We decided to explore their interest in dinosaurs further by first building a Dinosaur Den inside and outside in order to encourage imagination and role play. We have watched the children make up stories together using the dinosaurs and act like dinosaurs. Our observations have led to several learning opportunities, which have encompassed all areas of learning. We noticed many of the children playing hide-andseek and pretending to be explorers at play-time. So we decided to incorporate that into our dinosaur theme by exploring for dinosaurs. The children made special glasses to wear for the hunt and then we went in to our new Sensory Garden to search for dinosaurs. It was a great adventure and encouraged the children to work together, to communicate with each other and to use positional language. You may find us in the future searching for letters, shapes or other creatures.
We have also been lucky enough to be graced by princesses this term so far. Niya and Irina have enjoyed role-play and are learning to work together and share the materials and props to act out Snow White. The boys have been building lots of interesting things with the construction blocks. Tudor M has been very interested in them and through playing with the other children he has now began repeating English words and trying new sounds. Calin and Tudor M have been working together to build long, tall and big trains. The children have also had bags of fun playing with the cardboard boxes outside and they have been playing with children from Preschool and Crèche.
Ms Deanna and Ms Kayleigh, Class teachers
One day we had so much fun with bubbles. We ran and ran around the playground with our bubble makers. Some of us also played together in groups, Ayesha really enjoyed this. In the end we were so tired we had to go inside for a sit down and a story.
Class photo on the first day
Reception B and E get ready to go Dinosaur Exploring in the Sensory Garden
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Irina, Sanziana and Tudor S getting messy with the shaving foam
Alex C, Joost and Benji have been working on the computer and are very impressive because they can find Education City themselves and navigate the PC. They would be very helpful if our rocket ship broke down.
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We have been practising forming our letters and numbers as well. We have been trying very hard to form our names the correct way and Martina was so determined she kept trying and trying until she got it perfect!. Sanziana was very good at practising her letters using chalk and she enjoyed getting messy with the shaving foam to practice her letters. It is just as well that we have Alex M and Tudor S to tidy up; they have been great with the brush and shovel, really concentrating and working hard to get the classroom sparkling clean.
said ‘You know with hot water, it can break the ice.’ The ‘Ice Age’ encouraged the children to share and to take turns, as they only had three cups and of course everyone wanted to have a turn. The next day, we had dinosaurs frozen in green ice and in the future we are planning to make coloured ice together and perhaps even flavoured ice that we can taste.
The Reception class at Gafencu love books and always enjoys a good story. Cameron has even started to recognize words. They listen beautifully at story time but the only problem is they always get sleepy….ZZZZZZZZ…. until next time. As a final note, Mrs Nicoleta our TA would like to say that she is very pleased with the work the children are doing. Here’s to a great coming year.
It has been a great start to the year in Reception E, with such an enthusiastic group of children. We have all settled in to our daily routines well, myself included!
Ms Kellyanne Feeney, Reception Teacher
Welcome to Reception!
It’s been an exciting start to the year in Reception! The transition from Preschool to Reception has been very smooth, and the children have been quick to settle in to their new routines and teachers. The morning routine has slightly changed, as children now play outside until 8.30am. We have seen the children become more independent already as each morning they hang up their own coats and organise their bags and belongings. This is contributing to their personal, social and emotional development as they are learning to manage their personal items.
Ms Deanna, Class teacher
Reception E
In Reception E we have made our own Dinosaur Cave which the children just love to be in. They have learnt to take turns with each other and to share different toys whilst inside the cave. The Dinosaur Cave provides many opportunities for the children to practice their speaking and listening skills as it is based upon interaction with others.
We have been having lots of fun in 1C and learning to find our way around the ‘big school’. We have enjoyed being back at school and seeing all of our friends again! This term we have been busy writing our own poems and learning about rhythm and rhyme. We have been studying addition and subtraction in Numeracy and learning to count to 20 and beyond. We have been learning about our senses in Science and thinking about what makes each one of us special and unique. We have also been learning how to draw self-portraits in Art, and even created our own portraits using fruit in the style of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. In addition to this, we have been creating maps of our school in order to give clear and informative directions. Ms Collins was very impressed that we were all able to place Bucharest on a map of Europe!
When Emile and Oskar were in the Dinosaur Cave they discovered that dinosaurs lay eggs just like birds. This led us on to boiling some chicken eggs and painting them to make them look like dinosaur eggs. The children designed their own eggs and chose the colours that they wanted to use - so we now have luminous retro-style eggs in our dinosaur den. Encouraging children to choose their own colours and design develops their creative side.
Bienvenue dans notre classe!
Reception B
We would like to welcome Sabina to Reception B, she has been very brave as she is the only new child in our class this year and she has just begun learning English. She enjoys playing in the sand and doing cutting and sticking projects. Sabina especially enjoyed a sensory activity we did outside that involved putting our feet in the paint and making dinosaur footprints. Welcome Sabina!
Year 1C
Emile and Oskar sharing a book in our Dinosaur Cave
Following this we have been thinking about the conditions that all animal eggs should be kept in and made a ‘Dino Nest’. Filipa, Stephanie and Omar enjoyed collecting twigs and soil and organising our ‘Dino Nest’.
Practising our phrases
John, Andra and David
The EYFS encourages children to explain their own knowledge and understanding and to investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses. We recreated an “Ice Age’ in our class and the children spent a whole day investigating and talking about the ice. Andra and David and John used the cups to pour water over the ice to try to melt the ice away and get the polar bears out of the ice. David
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Filipa, Stephanie and Omar carefully laid out the leaves they collected to protect the Dino Eggs Ms Kayleigh, Class teacher
We enjoyed ‘Languages Week’, where we learnt all about Paris and learnt to say some simple phrases in French. The children in 1C know how to speak lots of different languages and it was fun learning how to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ in each others’ languages. At the end of ‘Languages Week’ we worked together to create a big sign for our classroom which reads ‘Bienvenue dans notre classe’ (see picture). Ms Theresea Collins and Ms Valentina, Class teacher and TA
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Year 1T
The children have settled in nicely to Year 1T and approach each school day and lesson enthusiastically. This term we have been learning about our Senses in Science which we have explored further in Literacy where we have been looking at poetry which involve the senses. We have written some poetry based on tastes, sound and what we can see. One of our favourite activities was where we matched colour to the sounds of different instruments, for instance we thought the shakers should match the colour green because they sound like the leaves in a forest. We also loved playing the instruments.
Year 1W: Self Portraits
Year 2P
Greetings from 1W, and what a lot of fun we have had so far this term. We have all begun to know each other very quickly and have learned lots of new rules. We have been studying about where we live and can even find Romania on a map. Looking at the Earth from Google Earth was great! We also had languages week and enjoyed singing songs in different languages and can now say ‘Hello’ and ‘Good Bye’ in French.
It seems no time at all since the term began and yet here we are hurtling through it. We have worked hard to settle in and learn classroom routines. There are some new faces and we are happy to have them in our class and have welcomed them with our usual friendliness. It is now difficult to remember who was here before and who has just started! We have of course been learning many things in the last few weeks; highlights include Art lessons which we all love, Literacy- Poetry and beginning to learn about Big Writing and History- learning about Remembrance Day. In this term’s Art topic we have been learning to look at objects and other people through a viewfinder. We have also learnt to consider what is outside of a photo or in other words what you don’t see. In the photograph you can see us drawing what we think was outside of a photo we were given. We had to pay attention to all the details and clues the original photo gave us and continue drawing from there. We have enjoyed listening to poems and creating new poems of our own in Literacy.
Completed portraits
The most exciting topics relate to learning about ourselves in Science and in Art. We know how our bodies move and are supported by a skeleton. We also learnt that we have 5 senses to protect us from danger and to collect information about the world around us. We can even put animals into different groups.
Year 2P doing the Kung Fu Punctuation. 1st row: Nicholas, Paul , Ismail, Christina, Alexandra 2nd row: Andrei, Theodor, Matthias, Tae, Anastasia, Emanuel, Anouk
Daniel measuring how many multi-links high the whiteboard is
Letitia and Sophie matching their colour and sounds
Year 1W Portraits
We have been looking at maps in Geography and we made a map of the school based on our explorations. We are drawing our own self portraits in Art. In Maths we have been learning counting, adding, subtraction and we have started measuring.
In Art we drew life-size pictures of ourselves choosing our own colours and then painted them outside, which was a little confusing as they were just like mirror images of us. You can see the fun we had from the photos. Please come and see our work in class. Au Revoir!
Ms Justine Tyler, Class teacher
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Mr James Ward, Class Teacher
Photo 2: Paul, Tae, and Alexandra hard at work during Art lesson.
We have also tried writing shape poems and list poems and really liked writing our own list poem about our favourite words! Ms Tiffanie French-Paris, Class teacher
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Year 2S
2S are off to an exciting start this year! In Art we have been examining life through the camera lens, taking photos of our favourite things around the school. We have also been planning and acting out our own commercials. We are currently learning how to frame the most important moments from these commercials to create print ads, and learning about how our choices can be influenced by such ads. In Science we have been exploring healthy habits, learning how to brush our teeth, wash our hands, eat and sleep properly so we can always feel our very best. Did you know that a child needs up to 11 hours of sleep each night?! Last but not least, we have been playing with punctuation to create some beautiful poetry.
Year 3T
Welcome back to school to all the ‘old’ children who spent last year with Mr Williams, but we must also welcome two new girls, Viktorija and Jenisa. The others have already shown their increasing maturity by their positive and welcoming attitude to these girls.
Year 3W
3W have been working on their design and technology skills this term, investigating and assembling structures for free standing photograph frames. We began by observing a range of free standing objects from art easels to musical note stands. We took care to observe the shapes that gave the structure its strength and we examined carefully the materials and joins. Mr Williams set us a challenge to build a structure that would hold a book ten centimetres above the level of the desk. We were only allowed to use 5 straws and 5 pipe cleaners. Enzo had the first success after working diligently and quietly for around twenty minutes. The following week the challenge became even harder.
Viktorija and Jenisa 3T
Enzo building his structure
2S students showing off their photography skills
I am looking forward to many more creative and healthy months ahead with 2S. Ms Kristin Swanson, Class teacher
Life in 4D
In Numeracy we have been learning about money, greater than, less than and pattern sequences. In Literacy we have been learning about writing good character descriptions and powerful verbs. In ICT we are learning about pictures made out of dots. In P.E we are learning about rugby and handball and it’s fun. Light and Shadow checking the shadow’s length
The class has some real characters, which I am really excited about, together with some extremely talented children in areas like music, IT and art.
Year 4D’s Class Assembly
In History we have been talking about Henry the VIII in Tudor Times. We also had our class assembly which we did on ‘Learning in School’. Hithu and Vlad, 4D
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Though the year will be challenging in many respects, I expect every child to show a good deal of progress whilst they feel happy to be in a well structured and stimulating environment. I also hope that they are all ready to learn a lot, whilst having lots of fun. Initially we are looking forward to working on our Science Topic: Light and Shadow and linking it with our Geography Topic: Weather and Climate. We are linking IT with Design and Technology to produce robust but beautiful photograph frames for someone special in our lives; a grandparent or sibling. Welcome again to all the children and have a good year. Ms Taylor, Year 3 Class Teacher
Enzo finishes his structure in record time!
This time Mr Williams told us we had to make a free standing marquee of a photograph frame, the important part was that we were only allowed to use A4 scrap paper and no extra joining materials. It was a huge challenge! Aniela created her design in just seconds, and Bram and Salman followed soon after with their more complex design that included the use of paper screws! 3W Class
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Welcome to the new 4H
4H class has made a fantastic start to the year and are storming ahead learning all sorts of fascinating facts and extending our skills in a wide range of topics. The boys have learnt ‘how not to be a husband’ from looking at the bad example of Henry VIII who either divorced or beheaded most of his six wives!
Year 5
In Year 5 we have been busy studying a range of topics so far this year. In numeracy we have been adding and subtracting decimals and rounding numbers to help estimate the answers. We have looked at the properties of shapes and been revising our basic facts strategies.
We have incorporated ICT throughout our learning. We have created a graphic model of the water cycle, used programs to help with learning about parts of language and there are continually new activities placed on the year 5 blog for students to practice what we have learnt. Check it out at http://year5blogbsb.edublogs.org/ Along with designing and making their own pottery containers, students in Year 5 have also created video reports and interviews for BSB T.V. and 5L prepared and presented their class assembly. Mr Sonny Leese and Mr Dan Madsen, Year 5 Class teachers
Welcome to 6U
Jakob and Stanislav working on an art project
The first few weeks since we have been back at school have been quite fun. Maybe it is because of Ms Ullman, our nice teacher. We have already learned some new interesting things in Literacy, Numeracy, Science, Humanities and Art.
Sophie, Raluca, David and Engin are observing organisms in the new science garden
Some students have enjoyed looking at the home-life and fashion of Tudor England and all have successfully been researching more about the lifestyles of rich and poor from this period of history. We have all also been getting our hands dirty searching for creepy-crawlies in the science garden. We have identified different scale habitats and have observed several, if sometimes a little strange or scary creatures and their needs and habits. We are all looking forward to many more creative and engaging ways of learning over the coming weeks and many of us have excelled ourselves and discovered more exciting evidence and information on our topics at home. Mr Stuart Harrison, Class teacher
Life in Year 6
This start of the year has been really exciting. We worked hard to organize and perform a Jeans for Genes Assembly with videos and activities. We have also been using the Laptop computers to write in literacy, make power point presentations for PSHCE and research to make brochures for our Geography unit on Mountain Environments.
Digestive system - Model Antoine
In Literacy we have enjoyed the stories from Roald Dahl. In particular, we have studied The BFG and looked at how Roald Dahl describes his characters to help us in our writing. Roald Dahl is one of the most enjoyed authors throughout Year 5 and probably the school. We have learnt about keeping healthy and what we need in a balanced diet. We have investigated the digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems and have conducted experiments to see how exercise alters our breathing and pulse rates. Thomas and Fivos collecting data on their plant investigation
6H students using the laptop computers to work on their mountian brochures in geography
Some of the things we have learned about are different genres of books, properties of numbers, plants’ needs for producing new material, mountain environments, and drawing people in action using ovals. In PE we have been spending one hour a week swimming and the other hour playing rugby or bench ball. We have been having lots of fun in everything we’ve been doing. We’re amazed by everything we’ve already learned and we can’t believe that it is already nearly half term.
Being in Year 6 is fun because we get a lot of responsibility and get to try our luck at becoming House or Vice House Captains. However, we do get a lot more homework. Roberto, 6H
5M investigating 3-D shapes
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Eleanor and Raphaela, 6U
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A calm morning on Temagami lake, nothern Ontario
Sunset in Temagami Lake region, nothern Canada
CDP Training at Camp Temagami, Canada This past summer, I took advantage of my time off to return to the Canadian for some sun and fun. However, instead of resting and relaxing at the cottage or on the beach, I headed north and found myself at Lake Temagami - guiding canoe trips. Returning to my roots as an outdoor educator I took a job at Camp
Temagami, which prides itself as one of three traditional canoe tripping camps in Canada. Here, I led 2 - 12 day trips into the great Canadian wilderness, where our group had to survive as a self sufficient unit; paddling hundreds of kilometres, portaging (carrying) our canoes from lake to lake, over-coming the
millions of mosquitoes and cooking delicious meals over a camp fire. Getting back to nature and the basics of life is an amazing educational experience for both children and adults as the group has to persevere through many hardships and work together as a team to accomplish our mission - getting home safely and
NACE: Creating an Effective Provision for Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils
I attended the NACE Challenge Award Conference on the 26th of June, 2009. NACE stands for National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE), which was founded in 1984 by members of the School’s Council Gifted Child Project, interested in the education of Able, Gifted and Talented students. One of the things NACE have done is set up the Challenge Award Framework- an invaluable compilation of materials that assist schools in their endeavor to create an effective plan for serving the needs of Able Gifted and Talented pupils. Once a school has achieved the monumental task of creating a successful provision for its students, it can have itself audited against the NACE Challenge Award Framework. The conference that I attended gave me invaluable insight into what an effective provision for Able, Gifted and Talented pupils would and
should look like. I participated in a number of courses such as: “A Walk through a Primary Portfolio”- This session was run by the Education Director of NACE, Mrs Rachel Feneck. Mrs Feneck amassed a number of notable pieces of information from portfolios of various primary schools who had successfully applied for and achieved the NACE Challenge Award. “Assessment for Learning = Assessment for Progress”- This seminar was lead by the Able, Gifted and Talented Department of Southgate Secondary School in Enfield, Middlesex U.K. This department did a wonderful job of exhibiting what a whole school tracking system should look like. They also gave suggestions on pupil monitoring, advice and guidance. “Underachievement and Able Pupils”- This presentation was run by Mrs Elaine Ricks who is the Co-author of the Challenge Award. Mrs Ricks demonstrated how creating an effective provision for underachieving able pupils can be managed with guidance from the Challenge Award Framework. Participating in the NACE Challenge Award Conference has affirmed my belief that career professional development is a priceless attribute for a teacher’s growth.
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
This conference confirmed and answered many questions for me. Initially I believed that the education of Able, Gifted and Talented students was just that, a provision for them that benefited them alone. But the NACE conference illustrated in a number of different ways that effective provision is all about creating an environment for learning where every pupil strives to be the best that he or she can be, and only in an abundant and productive environment will all students truly succeed.
have fun doing it! In order to have this opportunity I had to re-certify my Wilderness First Aid and National Lifeguarding Qualification, which will both come in handy this year at BSB. Mr Brad Hamacher, Teacher and adventure man extraordinaire
EYFS Curriculum: From Policy to Practice
As the new EYFS coordinator at Pipera I attended a two day course in London during the summer holidays. The main focus of the course was the implementaion and management of the EYFS curriculum.
Some reception class boys proudly showing me how they organised the dinosaurs
Ms Nicole Fisher, G & T Coordinator
We also had the chance to visit a well respected and successful school in London as well as meet other EYFS coordinators from British schools from around the world. I found the course to be really useful. I had an understanding of the EYFS curriculum already but it was very beneficial for me to see examples of it in practice and to be able to question teachers about it. I also enjoyed discussing the curriculum and sharing ideas with the other coordinators. I swapped contact details with them so we can continue to share ideas. Ms Tiffany Moorcroft, EYFS coordinator
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PTA Bulletin
One of the best things about being a parent at the BSB is the opportunity to enrich your life and at the same time make some really good friends. Through the long dark days of winter, and also through the short dark nights of summer, we have a wonderful time planned for you! The welcome BBQ on Friday 2 October was the first event of the year. This was a great time for parents, teachers and the children to get together and relax at the end of the week on our lovely campus, and everyone had a fun time. The build up to Christmas starts in earnest next half term, and this will culminate in the annual Fair at the end of this term. The event includes traditional songs by the children to get us in the mood for the holidays, and the opportunity to get together and eat drink, buy gifts and…. eat. We will have for sale some unique products made by the children or hand made in Romania, so bring your list of presents and buy some gifts that are not mass produced. A most significant event comes at the beginning of 2010, the 10th anniversary of BSB, founded by Corina Corda. We will have the chance to dress up and enjoy a fabulous celebration at a Ball, in February or March, details of which will be announced soon. The Summer Fair at the end of the year is the event of the year. We fill the air of the school grounds and of Pipera with the aroma of all our international food stalls and the sound of some very cool music, thanks to amongst others, the children, Mr. Mulvaney and Miss Kemp and her sister! There is a lot to do for children and parents, and some huge raffle prizes to be won as well. These are the main events which we attend as a community, but there are plenty of other activities to choose from also, which are listed on the notice board in the Parents’ room. For example at the moment we are supporting two charitable groups in an enjoyable way; Second Chance (www.secondchanceromania. org) helps the very poor villagers of Berceni. We offer groups of a minimum of 6 the chance to go there and spend a happy and creative day making mosaic articles such as mirrors, pots, and trays. Touched Romania Association (www.touchedromania.org) helps to transform the lives of high risk mothers and babies, and they provide workshops at the school where we can make jewellery whilst helping to fund their vital work.
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Incidentally, these groups always welcome volunteers. Our monthly cookery groups are very popular and places are limited to about 12, so sign up soon! We have a hands on demonstration of some popular dishes from a particular country in the morning, which we then eat for lunch! Previous sessions have included Italian, Greek, Pakistani and sushi, and coming up this term we have Indian and then French cuisine. It’s a wonderful way to extend your culinary repertoire whilst learning about the food of our international family. If you would like to tell us about some of your dishes (Romanian, please!) let us know. And don’t forget, we end each Friday school with the sale of books, magazines and the rental of DVDs, for which we are always happy to receive new stock. Finally, here are the names of the PTA Committee for 2009-10! President Daniela Mager Vice President Monica Ussia Secretary Marijana Ivanovic Zganjer Social Secretary Emilia De Jesus Alves Treasurer Jo Puddy Wells Treasurer Liaison Em Rowlands Teacher Rep. Naima Hussain Additional Roles DVD Rental Gwen Berry Roberta Masoni Laura Rossi Magazine/Book Sale Tamara Matvisin Jane Doherty Cookery Demonstration Diane Worth Emilia De Jesus Alves Ladies Lunch Emilia De Jesus Alves Notice Board Kate Van Schuijlenburg Mrs Diane Worth, BSB Parent and PTA member
A few pictures from the first PTA organised event this year
School PTA, Left to Right, Emilia De Jesus Alves, Daniela Mager with Mats, Monica Ussia, Em Rowlands and Claude-Amelie Willemot
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
BSB Calendar: Key Dates
November Thursday 5th - Wed/Thurs 11th/12th Friday 13th Thurs/ Fri 12th/13th Thursday 15th Tues/Wed, 17th/18th Friday 20th - Year 7 Mon - Fri, 23rd - 27th Friday 27th Monday 30th -
EYFS Pipera Parents workshop Letters and Sounds Primary Parents’ evenings Bake Sale Year 5 Secondary School DT Days Maths Day Secondary Review Evening Bake Sale Year 11 Work Experience Week Year 3 Bake Sale School Inset (school closed)
December Tuesday 1st Friday 4th Wednesday 9th Thursday 10th Friday 11th Wednesday 16th Tuesday 15th
National Holiday (school closed) Bake sale Reception Secondary School Concert KS1 Christmas Production Key Stage 5 Introductory meeting Artisan Fair KS2 Christmas Production EYFS Pipera Production
January Friday, 8th Thursday 14th Friday, 15th Friday, 22nd Friday, 29th
Year 4 Bake Sale EYFS Pipera Parents workshop EAL Year 2 Bake Sale Student Council Bake Sale Year 8/9 Bake Sale
February Wednesday, 3rd Thursday, 4th Friday, 5th Thurs & Fri, 11th & 12th Wed/Thurs 17th/18th Wednesday, 24th Mon - Fri, 22nd -26th Friday, 26th
Parents’ Key Stage 5 Options Evening Primary/Secondary Music Recital Year 6 Bake Sale Secondary Parent’s Evening Primary Parent’s Evening Year 9 Options Evening Year 8/9 Work Experience Week Year 10/11 Bake Sale
March Friday, 5th Wednesday, 17th Thursday, 25th Tuesday 30th Wednesday, 31st Earth Day April Monday, April 19th Thursday, 29th April
World Book Day Eco Day Bake Sale Green Day Bucharest International Schools Debating Competition Secondary Production: Bugsy Reception & Preschool Easter Celebration
Healthy Schools Week Science Day
May Friday, 7th Gifted and Talented Bake Sale Monday 17th Sports Day Thursday 20th Year 10 Parent’s Evening st Friday, 21 Student Council Bake Sale Monday 24th National Holiday (school closed) Thursday 27th Parents Transition Night Reception to Y1 Friday 28th Sports Day st rd Mon, 31 -Wed, 3 June Year 3/Year 4 Trips Mon 31st Thurs 4th June Y6 Liddington Trip June Friday, 4th Mon- Fri, 7th - 11th Tuesday 8th Wednesday 16th Thursday, 17th Mon-Fri, 21st-25th Monday 28th Thursday, 24th Friday, 25th Wednesday, 30th
Primary Reports out Year 5 Trip Gafencu reception children transition day to Pipera Key Stage 3 Parent’s Evening KS1 Production Year 7 Trip to Madrid Secondary School BBQ KS2 Production Barnaby Bear’s Picnic Leavers/ Awards Assembly - school finishes at 12.00
Please note that some of these dates could change.
BSB Student 10th in World Go-carting Championship Louisa: So Andrei we ve been hearing quite a lot about you and your achievements lately. So what can you tell us about your hobby? Andrei: Well, my hobby is carting and I’ve recently won a couple of national and international competitions and so I am now first for my age in Romania and tenth worldwide. L: awesome. So what can you tell us about carting? When did you start? A: well carting is great. It s like a small race car and it is fast, fun and risky. You have no seatbelts and the cart can go up to 210km (the professional ones) and my cart can reach 120km. You need to practice quite a lot so you can drive properly otherwise it is dangerous and you can get seriously injured. The competitions are put into 7 groups depending on age. It s pretty cool.i ve been doing carting since I was 4 and I won my first prize and competition at 5.
A: most definitely. I really love carting and I ve become very good. If I had to give other kids carting some advice I’d say that it is important to like what you are doing and never underestimate your capabilities. Also to be a good carter you have to be brave a little daring and you have to know how to race the carts really well. L: So tell us a little more. Do you practice often and what countries have you been to for carting competitions? A: I usually go carting 3 times a week for about 3 hours each time, that’s 9 hours of carting per week, with more time spent on the race track just before major competitions. In answer to your second question, I’ve had the good fortune to travel quite a bit to various competitions and have now raced in Italy, Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. L: Thank you Andrei for this interview.
L: So is this what you want to do for a profession? What would you advise others who what to do carting or have started?
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Louisa, Year 10
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Year 10 students investigating the latest addition to the BSB campus
42, Erou Iancu Nicolae Street, 077190 Voluntari, Ilfov County, Romania T. +40 21 267 89 19 F. +40 21 267 89 69 E. office@britishschool.ro www.britishschool.ro