BISM Newsletter - February 2019

ISSUE 1 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER #35

The British International School of Marbella

NEWSLETTER A Newsletter for Parents, Students and Friends of our School

February 2019

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SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Headteacher’s Message Dear Parents and Students, It’s certainly been a month of showing off this February, with many events held for the parents to enjoy.

Firstly, we held our annual Numeracy Open Day. As always, it was wonderful to see so many parents in classrooms engaging and interacting in the maths lessons. Focusing on number work, the parents picked up some handy tricks to support their children with their maths development at home as well as gaining an understanding of how our maths curriculum is delivered. Later on in the day, Mr. Kuhn, the Maths Leader, led a parent presentation on Maths Mastery, explaining the importance of depth over breadth when teaching this curriculum area. Later in the month he also led a staff training session on bar modelling, an excellent method that can be used to solve an array of mathematical problems.

Not to be outdone by the older students, the EYFS children also invited their parents into school, not for maths but for ‘Stay and Play’. This time, the theme was, of course, Valentines’ Day. The children and parents enjoyed this unique opportunity to work together in school to create Valentine crafts. Thanks to all parents across the school for attending these special days, it means a great deal to the children and staff.

It wasn’t only ‘Stay and Play’ where our youngest cohort of students impressed

their parents this month but also during the class assemblies. Reception and PN/Nursery impressed all with their confidence, courage and presence, as well as their musical and acting abilities.

Well done, EYFS, you certainly awed your audience and made us all very proud. A big thank you to the EYFS and Music teams, not only for their hard work in supporting this assembly but supporting their learning each and every day.

The highlight of the month, if not the year, had to be the Talent Show. This year, the children were fantastic. My cheeks ached from smiling so much by the end of the day. Well done to all that participated. It takes a great deal of courage to perform in front of your peers. To do so with such style and panache is admirable, you are all winners in my eyes.

With very best wishes, Ms Kirkham Headmistress

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Pre-Nursery Shape Hunters The children in Pre-Nursery have been learning all about 2D shapes. We have looked at shapes in our environment, encouraging the children to find shapes and identify them. The children found it very exciting going on a shape hunt around the classroom. They were very successful in their hunt. Each time they found a new shape we sang a shape song. This helped them to learn the shape names and to understand that shapes often have sides and corners.

The children have begun to spontaneously find shapes and point them out to Ms Pottinger. They are very proud when they realise they have identified a shape correctly.

We looked at different shapes on the interactive board. The children looked around the classroom at shapes, and spontaneously brought them to the board.

They matched them correctly. Amelia took the red spot that she was sitting on, and held it up to match it to the circle on the interactive board. What a star!

The children particularly enjoyed the ‘Shape song swingalong’. They moved their bodies into different shapes in time to the music.

Well done Pre Nursery, you are fantastic shape hunters!

Mrs Pottinger Pre-Nursery Teacher

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Nursery Funky Fingers In Nursery we do lots of ‘Funky Fingers’ activities which are designed to build the children’s hand and finger strength (fine motor skills) and get the children ready to write with good control. As part of our work on snails the children were asked to make a spiral for a snail full of tiny little stickers. Any adult who has tried to peel these fiddly little stickers knows it can be tricky so it is a great workout for small fingers while getting the children to concentrate and focus.

The joy of activities like this is that they are fun and a great way of developing perseverance.

While the children were working on this simple task there was lots of chat around colour and shape.

Ariana - I think I like the diamonds the best, they look very sparkly.

Barana - Three green circles!

The children then began to count their stickers to see who had the most, accurately counting stickers up to 10. There was a lot of talk around more and less and comparing each others work.

Luca - I only need 4 more stickers to finish my snail.

This is great maths in action and a great way to consolidate all the information they know and put it to a great practical use.

Mrs Riddell Nursery Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Pre-Nursery/Nursery We’re Going on a Lion Hunt We’re going on a lion hunt, we’re not scared, we’ve been there before.......

Pre-Nursery and Nursery certainly weren’t scared when they performed ‘Lion Hunt’ in their assembly on the 15th February. After a week of rehearsals they were ready for their performance and not only did all of the children get on stage bravely in front of the school and parents, but they actually performed. They listened carefully to the changes in the music to know what they were meant to be doing and they responded with lively and animated faces. It was obvious to see that the children really did enjoy their performance and the whole team was beyond thrilled by how well these children did. They were actual superstars!

Special thanks must go to Miss Conlan for her superb musical arrangement and support.

Mrs Riddell Nursery Teacher

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Reception

Number Bonds to 10

The Snail and the Whale

The children in Reception have been learning about the special relationship some numbers have. They have learnt that in order to make 10, there are certain numbers that have to go together and ‘bond’.

Parents and Lower School had a wonderful treat when they attended the Reception Assembly recently. Their retelling of ‘The Snail and the Whale’ was a delight from start to finish!

The best way to introduce something new like this is in a visual and tactile way, which is why the children started their learning making a number bond rainbow and using the Numicon to see if it was correct. The rainbow was a fantastic tool, as when the children followed a number over the rainbow arch, it led them to the second number that made the bond to 10 (see the picture below). Then, using the Numicon pieces, they put the same numbers on top of the 10, if they fit and matched, then they were correct! That is the benefit of using Numicon, as the numbers that make 10 sit perfectly on top of the 10 piece, making it a great visual resource for those less confident in using numerals.

The story started with a musical introduction presented by the children and written by our very talented Miss Conlan. For the first ever time in a Foundation Stage performance, the children were accompanied by a small band, who provided psychedelic sound effects throughout the assembly, well done, girls!

Once the children had explored the bonds to 10 using their rainbows and Numicon, they were encouraged to write the number sentences, using a dice to give them their first number. For example, 2+8=10.

Every child delivered their lines with confidence, sharing the journey of the snail and the whale with the audience. The sea danced their way around the stage, following the snail and the whale each step of the way.

Each of the animals shared a little bit more of the story, there was the penguin shivering his way around, the parrot flying across the stage and the shark swimming with his scary jaws!

Who knew that rainbows could be such a great mathematical tool?!

To finish, there was the treat of the children singing their very own sea shanty. They confidently delivered their chants with a grin.

We couldn’t be more proud of the children and their performance. When they are famous actors and actresses, remember that you saw them here first!

Mrs Rutherford Reception Teacher

Mrs Rutherford Reception Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Foundation Stage

Valentine’s Stay and Play With a theme of love and friendship Foundation Stage held their first Valentine’s themed stay and play. In the hall there were lots of challenges set up which including making a bracelet for a special friend, guessing which smile belonged to who and decorating rocks with love hearts for a special friend.

One activity which all the children loved doing was making a Valentine’s card for someone special, the children worked so hard to produce lovely and unique cards and write thoughtful messages in them for the recipients.

We also had a wall of love where the parents could leave little message for their children telling them why they loved them.

This was very cute and the children loved hearing what their parents had to say about them the next day.

Thank you to all the parents that came and made this a very successful afternoon.

Mrs Riddell EYFS Leader

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SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 1

The United Kingdom The class have enjoyed learning about the United Kingdom this month as part of our topic work. They have learnt that there are four countries included in the U.K. and have studied each one in further detail.

The children have been amazed to see the coastlines, rivers and mountains of the U.K. and also famous landmarks of each country. They have also learnt about the culture in each country such as fantastic cuisine available e.g. the haggis of Scotland! Amazement spread through the class as they discovered there were more sheep than people in Wales!

They displayed fantastic listening skills when being presented with facts and discussed well in their groups to find out extra facts.

It’s been invaluable for the class to learn about the U.K. since we are a British School and can compare it to where we live!

I hope you all have a fantastic half term with your families!

Mr Thomas Year One Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 2

Germbusters This month Year Two have been learning about famous scientists and their discoveries.

The class were introduced to the French scientist Louis Pasteur and his discovery about germs and how they spread. Year Two learnt that through experiments Pasteur demonstrated how germs are spread through both the air and touch.

The germbusters of Year Two decided to investigate themselves. Armed with some left over Christmas glitter they began the experiment. They applied the glitter to their hands and moved around the classroom shaking hands with each other and touching objects.

It wasn’t long before the classroom became a giant glitter ball, proving how germs can spread through touch.

To combat germs spreading the class then learnt about the importance of hand washing.

They sang a catchy song explaining each step of the hand washing process. Y2 are truly GermBusters!!

Miss Allen Year Two Teacher

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Year 3 The World’s Worst Teachers Inspired by the recent Lollies Awards, which celebrate truly hilarious books for children, Daniyar, Mateo and Nikolai, kindly brought in some of their favourite funny books from home.

Daniyar brought in a book from Andy Griffith´s Treehouse series (illustrated by Terry Denton), explaining to the class that he had read them all and that they were very funny. Mateo showed a Horrible History book which had been making him laugh and Nikolai shared David Walliams´ The World´s Worst Children (illustrated by Tony Ross).

The rest of the class loved the look of these books and I am currently going through a binge reading session of David Walliams´ books, which have reminded me of how much I enjoyed reading Roald Dahl books when I was a child (and still do as an adult too!)

After considering what sort of characteristics the “world´s worst children” have the children of Year 3 turned their attention to creating the “world´s worst teachers”! They considered physical features, behaviour, and created a storyline for their worst teacher. Their stories, including teachers with 1000s of rules and those terrible tendencies were outrageously hilarious!

Mr Holden Year Three Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 4

Saving the Planet With Environmental Week, our mountains topic and the Team Tap Literacy project this month, Year 4 have been thinking about the importance of saving the planet!

In Literacy, we have been taking part in a COBIS LitFilmFest competition to try to stop people buying single use plastic bottles and try to end plastic pollution! The children researched and wrote non-chronological reports about plastic pollution, single use plastics and the pros and cons of using tap water. They then turned their hand to filmmaking and worked in teams of script writers, actors and filmmakers to create a short Year 4 class documentary, which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/de4huSdrWM0 Please share this amongst your friends and family and help to reduce plastic pollution!

In another effort to reuse plastic, the children created new toys and musical instruments from unwanted plastic during our art lesson in Environmental Week.

The whole school has been involved and we now reduce, reuse and recycle much more at school and we are always thinking of new ways that we can be environmentally friendly!

Miss Marseglia Year Four Teacher

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Year 5

Where Does Our Food Come From?

As part of their focus in geography lessons, Y5 have been studying a number of factors that are damaging to our environment. Earlier this month they were asked where the food they eat comes from and what impact does that have on the planet.

Food miles or food kilometres A food journey is measured in what is referred to as ‘food miles’ or ‘food kilometres’. This measures the distance travelled between the place where the food was produced and where it is consumed.

But the distance travelled is not the only factor we should think about when considering the environmental cost of our food. We should also think about how that food was transported. Every journey made produces carbon dioxide. Some forms of transport produce more than others. Aeroplanes have the highest carbon emissions. Ships have the lowest. Buying food that has been transported by ship is more environmentally friendly than buying food that has been flown in from another country.

The children were given bags of shopping with a range of items within. They had to identify where the item was produced and then used a distance calculating website to work out approximately the food had travelled. Some of the items surprised in just how far they have travelled especially given the climate we enjoy locally. The bananas from South America for example, added significantly to the total distance their one half bag of shopping had accumulated.

Something for us all to consider as we walk around Mercadona!

Mr Herron Middle School Humanities Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Year 6

Diagonal Lines Year 6 have been studying shapes in Maths. We have started our learning with what polygons are and looking at the properties of all quadrilaterals. Polygons are made of straight lines, and the shape is “closed� (all the lines connect up). We also explored regular and irregular shapes - Regular shapes have sides that are all equal and interior (inside) angles that are all equal.

Irregular shapes have sides and angles of any length and size.

We investigated what diagonals are and how each either bisect (equal lengths) or intersect each other. Protractors were needed to accurately measure the angle of which these diagonal lines meet. Each shape the children investigated, had different diagonal lines which needed to be observed and recorded carefully. Lots of mathematical knowledge and skills were required to work systematically and methodically through the discovery of each diagonal line.

Mr Kuhn Middle School Maths Teacher

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Year 7/8

Egg Racers On 19th February we held our first KS3 Science Competition, it was a truly Eggcellent event!

Pupils were very busy studying forces in their Science lesson but behind the scenes they were been even busier creating their ‘Egg Transporters’ for their forces and motion project.

They had to create a machine to transport an egg safety across the school playground. The standard was eggceptionally high, the pupils at BISM are eggtremely creative and innovative and the time and effort that some of them put into their projects is truly commendable.

Pupils needed to explain how the force of gravity pulled their egg racer down and how air resistance, drag and friction acted on the transporter to slow it down. They needed to explain how the forces caused the initial movement and the change in speed and direction (in some cases..) along the way.

The Year 6 pupils joined in as our guest judges. They were judged on the speed, safety, creativity and the scientific eggplanation behind the design. We were very impressed with their dedication and hard work. The winners were announced in assembly and they received an eggtravagant surprise and medals for the first place winner, I do hope we have many more competitions in the future!

Winners!

Joint first place: Sarina, Felix and Armelle (Zip-line chicken) and David, Julietta and Daria (Balloons and Leave blower) Second place - Charlie Tsang (Aeroplane) Joint third - Aggie, Maria and Victoria (Sheep), Sophia and Roberta (Zip-line bucket) and Maria and Emma (Catapult) Miss Ladds Middle School Science Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Spanish

Andalucia Day

“I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, (...) all the cities I have visited”, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges once wrote. In fact, we are our experiences. Our friends, our classmates, our teachers, our students, they all leave something of themselves in who we are, they become part of our identity, so to speak, and so do the places we have lived in. This is particularly interesting in a context like our school: many languages, many cultures, many experiences...and we have all met in Andalucía. No matter how long we have lived here or how much longer we are going to stay, Andalucía is now part of who we are.

On occasion of Andalucía’s Day, 28th February, the Spanish Department has tried to familiarise our students with our region. In my Spanish group for Year 5 and 6 we have been working with geography, literature and history.

Students have enjoyed being able to study contents in Spanish that go beyond the linguistics.

Thus they have worked with maps in different ways: both making a puzzle with the eight provinces that make up Andalucía, and looking at maps and locating rivers, mountain ranges, peaks, headlands, gulfs and, basically, all that comes with the territory.

Furthermore, and as our students have been studying all along in class, since ancient times, more often than not, nature has been explained from a legendary, almost mythical standpoint.

Our landscape in Andalucía is no exception. We are standing at what once was the farthest end of the known world. In sight, the Pillars of Hercules flanking both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.

And, as we have read in class, the emblem of Andalucía, our coat of arms if you like, still alludes to Hercules’ mythical voyage and his mighty task on our lands.

Finally, we have had a little taste of poetry as well, putting our heads together and considering rhyming patterns, and some other clues like punctuation to ultimately put scrambled lines from a poem dedicated to Andalusia in the right order. Córdoba, Jaén, Granada, Almería, Málaga, Cádiz, Huelva and Sevilla…all pieces of the same puzzle. This is Andalucía, and this is part of our students too.

Miss Rodríguez Spanish Teacher

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Art

Art in Action The annual Art in Action competition took place in Benahavis, hosted by the Benahavis Fine Arts Society on Sunday 3rd February. Each year, there is a competition between a number of schools in the Costa Del Sol to design the front cover of the society’s lecture brochure.

The children were asked to study the five given lecture topics and create a piece of artwork incorporating the themes and aspects of the topic.

Topics ranged from the work of Alfred Hitchcock, the history of Napoleon and the west in the 19th century, the work and influence of Rafael and the musical inspiration of Mozart.

The students of BISM from Year 7 and Year 8 worked incredibly hard to produce a variety of artwork which truly highlighted their artistic and technical ability. Eight entries were submitted in total: Year 8 Hugh Gibson Poppy Frost Lucas Hollingshead Richard Mamaladze Armelle Bonarriva Felix Klemme Year 7 Sebastian Fry Daria Constanzo The competition entries were presented at the Exhibition and were displayed for members of the public. The event was very successful and an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

Not only were the judges of the competition impressed by all the BISM entries, they awarded one of the pieces 3rd prize!!! Poppy Frost came in third for her incredible work depicting Norman Bates from the famous Hitchcock film Psycho. The judges were amazed by her technical ability, proportional representations and creative values. Poppy worked very hard on her artwork and should be very proud of her achievements. She truly is an incredibly talented artist and an inspiration to her peers. Well done, Poppy!!

Well done to everyone who submitted pieces for the competition. Your hard work and dedication to the arts resonates through your creativity and you should all be so proud of your achievements.

Miss Flannigan Junior Teacher

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Enviromental Awareness Week Foundation Stage Beach Trip

The children of Foundation Stage have been treated lately, having what was their third trip of the term so far for some children!

On Friday 8th February, all of the Foundation Stage children and an abundance of adult helpers headed off to join the Middle School pupils down on the beach in front of the Plaza del Mar Centro Comercial.

The children whipped off their shoes as soon as they were on the beach, wanting to feel the sand between their toes. As soon as the children were settled, the sand castle building began. There were big ones, small ones and even a princess!

It was lovely to see the teamwork that went in to building the sandcastles, with discussions about how much water was needed and how much sand should be used. Although the children thought they were just having fun, the scientific language used and the thought process that goes into each series of actions is all part of their learning and development, not to mention the gross motor skills needed to dig heavy, wet sand and carry large water-filled buckets.

The recent trips to the beach have been such a success that the Nursery and Reception children are going to be starting a weekly ‘Beach School’ session to use our wonderful, local resource that is the beach to enhance their learning!

Mrs Rutherford Reception Teacher and PSHE Coordinator

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Tres Jardines Trip

The children in Nursery and Reception classes enjoyed their visit to the Parque los Tres Jardines in San Pedro as part of Environment Awareness Week in school. The children were sad when the trip had to be postponed, however it was perfect in the end as the weather couldn’t have been better!

The trip started with one of the most exciting parts of any trip in the Foundation Stage, the bus ride! The children happily got on the bus, saying ‘Buenos Días!’ to the driver. The journey was quick but there was just enough time to get in a quick song or two before we got off.

Once at the park, we had a little walk, followed by a stop off to have a nice treat snack and to talk about all that the children could see, including the trees, the mountain and a giant nest box in the park for the birds. Following on from this, the children carefully walked down by the lake. They talked about the colours of the ducks before giving them some food.

After all the fun of feeding the ducks, the children went on yet another little walk, this time they were rewarded with an exciting playground to play in. There was laughter and fun all around as the children jumped on the trampolines, spun in the roundabout and sang songs using the Talk Tubes.

You may think that was all, but no! There is more! The children then went on an impromptu Gruffalo hunt during their next walk, many of us heard the Gruffalo but luckily he didn’t come out to try to eat us!

Next, the children had their delicious picnic lunch before playing on the second playground of the day. This was more like a theme park with a huge zip wire and a giant saucer swing. Even some of the teachers were afraid to get on and have a go!

It truly was a fantastic trip from beginning to end. Thank you again to our parents for all your support.

Mrs Rutherford Reception Teacher & PSHE Coordinator

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SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Enviromental Awareness Week Lower School Botanical Gardens

Beach Cleanup

The bright sun reflected Lower School’s mood whilst strolling down to the playa for the beach cleanup and sports competition.

Lower School were able to put into practise things they had learnt from Environmental Week about caring for our environment.

Within five minutes of arriving at the beach some eagle eyed children had found several pieces of plastic littering the sand. A big well done to all of Lower School who helped improve our environment by picking up and recycling rubbish that they had found.

As part of Environmental Awareness Week the Lower School went on a trip to the Botanical Gardens in Torremolinos. We went around the gardens in our classes and discovered the amazing array of plants and flowers on show.

The pupils had to choose their favourite plant, draw a diagram of it and label it. They worked well as part of a team and learnt lots!

In addition to the gardens we also visited the playground to round off the day and the children had an amazing time!

During the week the pupils understood that plants are an important ingredient of our planet to provide clean air for us to breath.

They enjoyed the trip and I am sure it will be one of the highlights of the year for them!

Mr Thomas Lower School Leader

After all the hard work cleaning up the beach, the children were then put through their paces with some other activities. There was a sandcastle competition with some amazing entries such as turtles and pyramids! There were also some wacky races which included the family favourite the egg and spoon race.

The trip was great fun and it is great to know that the children of Lower School will be the next generation of Eco warriors.

Miss Allen Year Two Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Enviromental Awareness Week Middle School Cruz de Juanar

On 7th February, the whole of middle school set off to hike up to ‘La Cruz de Juanar’. Before the trip, pupils had the opportunity to set their pace using chill challenge - some brave pupils signed up to ‘ghost´ the hike at a very fast pace, followed closely by the ‘hot’ and spicy’ groups. Pupils who wanted to enjoy the hike at a leisurely pace joined ‘mild’ group. The pupils set the pace with Mr Allen leading the excursion.

The weather was perfect and the views were stunning. We walked through beautiful olive groves and forests before climbing up to the summit. It was a tough hike and the pupils were impressive in their stamina, determination and resilience and some even managed to complete the hike in record time! We even had time to stop for a relaxing lunch and a few selfies at the top! It was fantastic to see older middle school pupils helping younger pupils with the hike and encouraging them along the way.

We hope to be able to offer more hiking opportunities as part of our sports and PSHE curriculum. Pupils were able to really appreciate the vibrancy and diversity of the area in which we live, the beauty of nature all around us and importance of working together as a team.

A huge thank you to our parent helpers, who gave up their time to support us on our trip.

Kian I enjoyed the trip to La Cruz de Juanar, it was fun.There was some parts that were hard but we were able to do it. We had a rest when we got there. There was beautiful views. There were a lot of caterpillars we had to go around them.

Juan I enjoyed it a lot because the way up was very difficult and I like difficult things. I also loved the views and also see Miss Bruce holding Olympia. Although some people got hurt it was lots of fun.

Felix Today, we went to the mountains of la Concha. It started in the coach where we had a 10-20 minute drive, then we started walking and we tried to avoid the caterpillars. I will always remember the screeches of the Year 5 girls!!

I’d say the worst part was going up the mountain and the best part was having lunch on the peak. The view was the best I had ever seen in my life. We stayed there for 30 min. And then went back the other way. It was really fun going the other way and almost falling. All in all it was a fun day for me.

Miss Kerlin Middle School English Teacher

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Sport

Inter-house Competition Unfortunately, the weather prevented the event from going ahead on the planned date, however, the sun was shining on February 8th BISM as they competed in a range of fun beach activities.

Middle school came first, with an assortment of fun games, including boules, beach-of war-contest, where each house put forward its strongest 5 to try to take the house trophy. There were some hardfraught matches but eventually the Saxons came through to victory!

It seems to be the year of the Saxons as they were the overall winners, with the Normans a close second, then the Romans and finally the Vikings. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day in February and the children had great fun! Well done, Saxons!

Next came Lower School, where they also enjoyed an obstacle course, wacky races, in addition to the sandcastle competition and football. The results were much closer, with the Normans taking the lead and the Romans and Saxons a joint second, with the Vikings in third place.

The event completed Eco-week, a week where children have shown awareness of the environment and this theme continued through the day as children cleaned the beach during the activities. It was lovely to see the children enjoying the natural environment where we live and making a difference to their surroundings.

Miss Bruce PE Teacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Sport Another busy month in the PE department saw the trip to the Cruz de Juanar, beach sports competition and another basketball tournament, in addition to the football matches. We are extremely proud of the way competitive sports has taken off in the school this year and the way the children conduct themselves when competing. They are a credit to the school. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the parents who kindly give up their weekends to support the children.

Benjamin Team The Benjamin Team have had another fantastic month, they have won every game except a draw against San Jose A team who are the current league leaders! They are the only team so far to have not been beaten by them! They are currently in sixth position out of 27 – a great achievement!

Top Goal Scorer – Hamza Alevin Team The Alevin team had a bit of an unlucky February! First we beat Marbella Paraiso comfortably, only for the league to award our opponents the game on a technicality.

Then we faced a Pablo Picasso side who recently registered a lot of new players and we were beaten 6-3. However the team responded really well and produced an excellent performance to win the next match against El OSO 6-2.

Top Goalscorer - Adam Basketball team On 16th February, the school basketball team showed great heart in two fantastic games.

The youngest team won their match, with most of the players scoring a basket! The older team were severely depleted but Evie, Kian, and Paddy stepped up to help them out and they played extremely well. So much so that the coach from the opposition noted their improvment! It was a fantastic afternoon and so great to see the children having a great time.

Mr Allen and Miss Bruce PE Teachers

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Music

Talent Show 2019 On Tuesday 26th February we were treated to a variety of great performances. 08:45 is an early start, but not too early for children from years 4,5,6,7 & 8 to demonstrate their different talents. Accomplished dancing, beautiful singing, great instrumental playing, a video from the gymnastics squad and a fearsome karate demonstration were all presented with great aplomb.

It is a real pleasure to sit and watch the children perform, but an even greater pleasure to know how hard they have practiced in their own time in order to present performances of such a high standard.

Congratulations to all the children who took part and showed great courage in getting up on the stage. The four judges, Mr Kuhn, Miss Frost, Mr Allen and Miss Portelli, had a difficult task on their hands deciding who would be the winners of BISM’s Got Talent 2019 but they came to a decision: A huge well done to Leanna in 3rd place for her karate moves, Sofia in 2nd place for her beautiful performance of Lost Boy and David and Felix in the top spot for their great guitar and drums duet of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

But that’s not it yet. There’s even more talent at BISM. Not to be outdone by their older friends, the children of Foundation Stage and Years 1,2 & 3 had their opportunity to perform later that day at 15:30. Foundation Stage kicked off the proceedings with a spirited rendition of Queen’s ‘Radio Gaga’, complete with moustaches!

Some brave children from Reception danced and sang with confidence. There was more dancing and solo singing, a solo guitar performance, a football skills demonstration, a mind bending magic act, self composed recorder pieces and self written songs, a piano solo and a great performance of Batman by the Lower School Rock Band, KAPOW! What a day. Both Talent Show’s were expertly emceed by Felix and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who watched and took part.

Miss Conlan Lower School Music Teacher

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Picture News An interesting question, one to which I am sure we all have an opinion. This month our news story also relates to our ongoing Environmental Awareness activities.

At least 35,000 school children took a day off school and braved cold and rain in Brussels to demand the Belgian government and the European Union increase their efforts to fight climate change at the end of January. “Young people have set a good example,” protester Henny Claassen said amid raised banners urging better renewable energy use and improved air quality. “This is for our children, for our grandchildren and to send a message to politicians.”

Things to talk about at home...

Do you think the Belgian school children were doing the right thing?

Do you think there are other ways to help create change?

Why do you think people protest?

Please note any interesting thoughts or comments and encourage your children to share them with their peers and teachers.

I look forward to hearing their views.

Mr Herron Deputy Headteacher

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Talking Point

Encourage Children to Follow Thier Dreams After watching this year’s Talent Show I started thinking about the importance of encouraging our children to follow their dreams. Sometimes, it seems difficult to let your children follow their dreams. You may be scared it might not work out for them, that they might get hurt on their way or even worse, that they may fail.

It doesn’t matter if it seems ridiculous, difficult or even impossible, as long as they’re happy about working towards it; for achieving a dream is not a destination but a journey.

We need to encourage children to believe in themselves and work hard for what they want.

With true belief and diligence, nothing can stop our children in all they set out to do.

Dreams are important for children; they give them something to look up to and the hope of a bright future. But how can we encourage them to follow their dreams?

Make them talk: if you never ask your children about what they want to do in the future, they will probably never tell you. So, show interest in their dreams. Don’t just treat it like a silly thing, take it seriously then they will do the same. This will prove to them that their dreams are important and achievable.

Support your children’s self-confidence: raise your children to be confident, but not arrogant.

It can be difficult to find a balance, but the best way to do this is to teach them about respect and assuming the responsibilities of their acts. Of course, this doesn’t mean they’ll always make the best decisions, no one is perfect, but it means they will always be able to make their own decisions.

Finally, set the example: have you always wanted to write a book? Earn a degree? Paint a picture? Or even to travel the world? Then follow your dreams. You can’t tell your children to follow theirs if you’re not showing them a proper example of what it looks like to work hard for what you want. Talk to them about your own goals and about how you’re trying to achieve them. This will have a great impact on your children!

Ms Kirkham Headmistress

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SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

E-Safety Momo

You may have heard of an online suicide challenge that is being perpetuated online currently.

Having heard and read about this I thought it might be useful to share the following article which comes from a publication called ‘The Week’. Incidentally this is a publication which we currently subscribe to, copies can be found in the library: Momo challenge: what is it and how did the hoax begin? Feb 28, 2019 Whatsapp ‘suicide challenge’ branded a hoax by children’s charities An online “game” that supposedly encourages young people to harm themselves and in some cases even take their own lives has been branded a hoax by children’s charities.

Momo - described as a WhatsApp “suicide challenge” - purportedly features an avatar of a woman with dark hair, pale skin and oversized eyes, who sends young people images and instructions on how to harm themselves and others. But after a series of warnings about the game spread across UK social media this week fact-checkers and charities declared Momo a hoax.

“News coverage of the momo challenge is prompting schools or the police to warn about the supposed risks posed by the momo challenge, which has in turn produced more news stories warning about the challenge,” says The Guardian’s Jim Waterson.

Kate Tremlett, harmful content manager at the UK Safer Internet Centre, also questioned the viral social news story, telling the newspaper: “It’s a myth that is perpetuated into being some kind of reality,” she said.

After a lengthy investigation, the NSPCC said there is no evidence to show the phenomenon is actually posing a threat to British children and added that it has received more phone calls about it from members of the media than concerned parents.

A Samaritans spokesperson was similarly sceptical, telling The Guardian: “These stories being highly publicised and starting a panic means vulnerable people get to know about it and that creates a risk.”

They recommended media outlets read their guidelines on reporting suicide and suggested press coverage is “raising the risk of harm”.

The story began circulating when reports emerged that a girl aged 12 and a boy of 16 killed themselves in northeastern Colombia in September after receiving Momo messages.

Local media at the time reported that the teenage boy knew the girl and passed the game to her before killing himself. She was reportedly found hanged two days later.

Colombian government secretary Janier Landono said: “Apparently, they practised this game through WhatsApp and it invited the young people to hurt themselves. The game has different challenges and the suicide is at the end.”

Reports of the game reached the UK earlier this month when a concerned mother from Bolton wrote on a local Facebook group that her son had been influenced by the game. Her sevenyear-old boy “told his school friends that doll-like creatures would kill them in their sleep”, reports the Daily Mail.

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

She said: “When I collected him from school the teacher asked to talk to me. She said he had made three kids cry by telling them that Momo was going to go into their room at night and kill them.

“When we got home I spoke to him about this and he told me some kids at school had told him to look at the Momo challenge, which he did.”

How was the Momo challenge reported?

“Users who engage with Momo on WhatsApp are sent disturbing and graphic photographs and in some cases are ‘doxed’ into self-harm and suicide,” 9 News Australia reported.

Doxing “is when someone hacks your private information and then threatens to share it online or in a public forum, akin to blackmail”, the news site adds.

Fox News claimed Momo was “also linked to the theft of personal data, harassment, extortion, anxiety, depression and insomnia”.

Where did the whole thing originate?

The game was said to have started in Mexico, with players “challenged” to communicate on WhatsApp with an unknown person known as Momo, according to the Computer Crime Investigation Unit of the State of Tabasco, Mexico.

The disturbing avatar was initially believed to show a work by Japanese artist Midori Hayashi, but is actually of a sculpture created by Japanese special effects company Link Factory and displayed at a Tokyo gallery.

Neither the company nor Hayashi had anything to do with the hoax, which began being shared online in August 2016, says The Independent.

According to Fox News, the Momo icon has begun appearing as an avatar or so-called mod in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto 5, while Momo content has also been added to the popular children’s game Minecraft, owned by Microsoft.

If this, or anything else you think should be flagged, has been an issue for you or your children then please do contact your child’s class teacher or myself.

Best regards, Mr Herron Deputy Headteacher

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EARLY YEARS

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PRIMARY

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SECONDARY

+34 952 779 264

www.bsm.org.es - info@bsm.org.es