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The L ghthouse February 2016
The Lighthouse - February 2016 The British School, Alexandria
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PRINCIPAL′S MESSAGE
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It gives me great pleasure to write a few words for this first edition of the new BSA school magazine - The Lighthouse. It will be issued midyear (February) and will complement the Year Book which is published in June. It is very important to celebrate what we do as a school and to acknowledge the work and achievements, both academic and otherwise, of our students. Together with the Year Book we hope that these publications will serve as a happy memory for students of their time at BSA. Enjoy reading the magazine and do feel free to contact me if you have any comments about this first edition. Justin Blakebrough
Principal
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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FS1 LITTLE SNOWMEN
3 Merry Christmas!
FS1 did a fantastic job during their Christmas performance. We dressed up as snowmen and sang ‘I’m a little snowman’ for our Mums and Dads. We also sang ‘Snowflake, Snowflake’. We all had happy, smiley faces and sang very loud so everyone could hear us!
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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WHAT A CASTLE!
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This term there have been so many memorable moments, but the one that stands out most for FS1 was when the children decided they wanted a castle in their role play area. Here are a collection of images of the children creating their castle and playing in it. The children adore it and it has supported their developing vocabulary, sharing skills as well as helping the children to play within new friendship groups.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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FS2 FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS
In the second half of term 1, FS2 have been learning all about different Festivals and Celebrations! We looked at all different festivals and celebrated them. These included Halloween, Thanksgiving and Eid! As part of this we looked at something we all celebrate – Birthdays! We did lots of things to help prepare for a birthday party for our class friend Muddles! We counted candles on cakes, designed wrapping paper and made birthday cards! We also knew that on birthdays we get a birthday cake and by having our very own class bakery, we could celebrate our friends’ birthdays! We asked our customers how many cakes they wanted, cooked them then served them to all our friends! We were so good at this, Miss Evans took us to a real bakery to see how cakes are made! We all watched the baker make a big Santa cake. We then had a turn to make a tree or Santa cupcake! We were so excited to eat them at home!
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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MATHS WEEK IN YEAR 1
We were working on capacity by estimating which containers would hold the most water, checking and putting them in order and making potions.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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SANTA’S WORKSHOP
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December saw our classroom in Year 3 almost becoming part of Santa’s workshop! With the Christmas bazaar fast approaching and the festive season creeping quickly up - our Art and Design skills were put to the test. We completed the shoe box appeal to support a range of local orphanages and thought carefully about how we could decorate the boxes to brighten up their Christmas. We also designed and made festive Christmas gift boxes to sell at the Bazaar. We had to look at a range of existing packaging to help us plan our own gift boxes. We practiced the necessary skills such as ‘scoring’ to enhance our folds and creating prototypes. Finally, we created our finished gift boxes and filled them with sweets to sell! We thoroughly enjoyed the festive fun and loved using the paint, glitter and materials too. It was a great way to end a busy term of learning and we also shared the Christmas spirit with children who are less fortunate.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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YEAR 4
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This half term Year 4 have been having a great time, learning a variety of new things across the curriculum. They enjoyed their science trip to the aquarium and the fish museum where they were able to spot different fish and discuss their features and habitats. They have also been enjoying discovering how a computer works in computing lessons. They have been cracking codes and making their own, developing their programming skills and they particularly enjoyed using the B-bots. Throughout the term Year 4 thoroughly enjoyed developing their creativity in drama lessons linked to our English and topic tasks and we have finished the term with some fun experiments in science which linked to learning about the digestive system. Children particularly enjoyed these lessons as they got to eat yummy food.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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PISTACHE BAKERY VISIT
On Wednesday 25th November Year 5 classes went on a very exciting visit to the Pistache bakery in Sultan Hussein Street, Alexandria. This was to help them in their DT topic where they design and make items to be sold at the Christmas Fair. They learnt all about how to make chocolate using moulds and how to use fondant icing for decorating cookies and other bakery items. The chefs at Pistache were amazingly talented! They gave us excellent demonstrations and then helped the students to make their own cookie decorations. All students (and staff!) came away from the visit very happy – with some yummy treats and lots of ideas for what we could do back in school. Grateful thanks to all the people at Pistache – this kind of hands-on experience is so valuable for students.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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AND A PUPPET IN A PEAR TREE
Year 6 worked hard on Design Technology in the run-up to the Christmas Bazaar.The focus was on textiles and learning to sew. The unit started with 3 visits from Artopia who introduced children to basic glove puppet designs and simple stitches. Everyone enjoyed the sessions and a variety of individual looking puppets were created. The next step was to apply these skills to a new project and the children came up with the idea of finger puppets.This idea gradually evolved into Christmas designs of Father Christmas, Snowmen and Reindeer, with a few minions thrown in for good measure! On larger puppets,Year 6 have learnt to use the sewing machines to create Gingerbread Men- and more minions!
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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PSHE (PERSONAL, SOCIAL, HEALTH EDUCATION)
It has been all go in PSHE so far this year! Year 7 have spent the first term perfecting their communication and problem solving skills. They have thrown themselves in to all the class tasks, however, where they particularly excelled was in the team working and problem solving lessons. Their first challenge involved them being given an egg which they had to protect from smashing when dropped off the balcony. The students had a great time and were really able to put into practice the ‘blue skies thinking’ and creative techniques that they had learnt about. Their new found lateral thinking skills paid off and they managed to create some really innovative contraptions and some of their eggs managed to survive, which was ‘egg-cellent’!! Due to the personal reflection sheets and our group class reflections we identified that our communication and team working skills could be further developed and practiced which led to… The Spaghetti Tower Challenge! The students were given a pack of spaghetti and a roll of tape, they had to work as a team and communicate effectively and efficiently in order to build the tallest tower.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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PSHE (PERSONAL, SOCIAL, HEALTH EDUCATION)
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The students experienced working with a range of people and learnt about group dynamics, how to listen to everybody’s ideas and compromise as well as using lateral thinking. Year 7 have made real progress this year with their communication and problem solving skills. I am very much looking forward to working with them over the coming terms! Mrs Elizabeth Hamblin
Head of PSHE
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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BUSINESS STUDIES
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Business Cycle Song written using lyrics of The A team - Ed Sheeran No businesses investing Profits are disgusting Cheap labour everywhere But we don′t know what to do Most are losing their job too Prices are hard to bear And they say this is a recession No confidence It′s a depression Been this way since inflation Striked the nation Less Spending Controlled Lending No growth in the economy Oh help meI need to decrease my spending Cause this will last a few months Wages are falling all the time Consumer confidence is gone Businesses are only failing now Properties are very cheap People are not the same Economy has gone insane (x2) I sense a transformation Maybe it will change the nation Wages are slowly- going up More people are employed Businesses are up to much more I sense a multiplier effect
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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BUSINESS STUDIES
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Now they say this is a boom Faster economic expansion Been this way since the economy is overheating Completing, the economic cycle There′s much more investing How interesting Everyone′s happy and resting Production - is increasing Along with imported goods Consumer Confidence.. is much higher And in the end the economy is about Inflation that goes up and down It′s never the same Though mostly it′s insane (x2) By Germaine Aboud, Year 13
RAP ECON ALBUM The economy is at rock bottom. We call it trough. You can call it rip-off. No business investing none adding and no aiding. Everyone blaming other people start blasting each other. The business needs someone to lean on. Remember not long ago we were in the peak happy and young. Economy is happy. Businesses pass the darkness they don’t look to the back they whack everyone. Expansion buy a mansion the bad days reach expiration. By Kareem Hamed, Y10 Blue
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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BUSINESS STUDIES
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Based on "You Can′t Stop the Beat" from Hairspray 'Cause the economy keeps spinnin' round and round And my money′s being spent at the speed of sound I was poor Till I got a job And I got paid You can′t stop money! Ever since we first saw the light We all started saving 'cause the interest was high Now I′m tryna pay the rent but I don′t think I can pay You can′t stop money! I lost my job and my car is sold The recession′s left me out in the cold I wanna take a loan but I′m not that old Well, you know what they say That′s the business cycle way! By Sara Urso, Y10 Blue Negotiate Salaries We started at the bottom, no hope for us now. wages are decreasing, and profits are small. cheap labour is being used, why don’t we try! properties have lost their value, lets buy! people spending money makes profits rise! businesses and banks are feeling optimistic economy is getting bigger, top profits are here no one is unemployed, prices rise but soon problems are here, cracks formed high inflation, economy is overheating businesses are going down, unemployment up workers hours are getting lower. no new faces are here, less faces altogether no loans are taken, demands drop the recession is here By Peter Duke, Y8 Red The Lighthouse - February 2016
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FRENCH
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French is the third language of the school and is taught as a non-native language. In Pre-Prep, the students do not do any writing and the lessons are based on games. One recent addition to the department has been Ratounet, a little rat puppet that the children absolutely love. In Prep school, the teachers have worked really hard to make the language relevant and have created cross-curricular links with other subjects. Classes have had guest speakers such as Miss Esra (for PE) and the school doctor (Biology). These interventions have worked really well and show that French is not limited to the classroom. In Senior school, students are preparing better and better for the speaking tests we do every 7 weeks.This culminated in an excellent test for year 10, where students were very confident and some of them were able to have a chat with the teacher rather than an exam. This bodes well for their IGCSE if they continue working hard. In Years 7 to 10 students receive feedback after each assessment. The teacher writes this feedback on a pink sheet that is then glued in the book. Students have found these sheets useful as they provide targets and pointers on how to improve. In the A level classes, students have found the research work very interesting. They have researched the Second World War, the French Revolution and have studied 3 films. They have created mind maps for their research and have started writing detailed essays about their research. In speaking, they have had to debate controversial issues such as cosmetic surgery, nuclear power or the death penalty, take a position for or against these issues and defend their position against their teacher. Arnaud Germain
Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) The Lighthouse - February 2016
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FRENCH
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The Lighthouse - February 2016
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ENGLISH
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The English Department kicked off January in style, with a Reading Week challenge that got the whole of Secondary School feeling crazily competitive! ‘Guess the Literary Characters’ posters were a great success, with teachers dressed up in amusing (and sometimes scandalous) parodies of our favourite book characters. This really had the whole school guessing, but through all the furore of rivalry and competition, a few brilliant winners soon emerged. Sister-team Farah and Hana Osman (Years 9 and 7) collaborated to fly to first place, identifying all of the characters’ names and books correctly in the fastest time. Not far behind were the Aliza Kabani and Bahira Mansour (feat. Jude Maher) 8B Super-Combo, with Year 11’s Felix Dowidar-Jackson taking a gallant third place. All winners will be presented with a book of their choice to keep, and First Place have additionally been awarded the privilege of choosing a range of books to order for the Library. The English Department wishes to thank the whole of Secondary School, staff and students, for making the contest so much fun. As part of their study of Myths and Legends this term, Mrs. Robb′s Year 8 English students embarked on some creative writing of their own, and turned to Year 3 students for some inspiration with monsters and baddies. Year 3 pulled out all the stops, and enthusiastically shared their monstrous creations with their Year 8 buddies, exchanging ideas about how they wanted their villainous antagonists to be presented. Year 8 will meet up with Year 3 again later this term to share with them the fruits of their labour – in the form of a marathon storyreading session! Year 3 will then be invited to critique their efforts and provide valuable feedback. Go easy on us,Year 3! Miss Terry’sYear 7s have launched into their Newspaper Project with impressive gusto, producing their own newspapers and learning all about the editorial process from industry professionals whilst doing so! Year 9s are learning deep language analysis in their Literature classes in ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’, whilst Year 10's and 11's have performed excellently in the Mock Examinations they worked so hard towards. As ever, the attitudesand enthusiasm of BSA students are helping shape this into another great, successful year in the English Department.
Marika Terry
Head of English
All the winners of the Reading Week competition
These students love their library!
Mehraeel Nathan,Y7 Red With her Newspaper′s culinary section.
The Lighthouse - February 2016
Some of the intriguing posters that went up around Secondary www.bsalex.net
Arabic
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Maissa Wassef
Head of Arabic The Lighthouse - February 2016
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Under 9 Football team
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The Under 9 football team has been training very hard this term. 30 students signed up for the activity taking place on Thursday after school. Luckily, the team of coaches has increased as well, with Captain Ahmed in charge of 10 players needing more basic training and Mr Germain and Mr Camplin taking charge of the remaining 20, helped by Ziad Fouad (Y8), Youssef Mousselhy (Y11) and Hussein Anis (Y11). The boys have been practicing basic skills such as ball control, passing (short and medium range), shooting, headers, keep-ups and headers. It has been a pleasure to see their independence grow during warm-up as they can now do a comprehensive warm-up almost without any guidance. The coaches have insisted on a few key points: sportsmanship (always be fair), team work (the ball travels faster than a player!) and hard work. In preparation for games, a selected number of students attended two training sessions on Saturday mornings, one at school and one at the Liverpool academy in Green Plaza, where the pitch is bigger, allowing for some proper game situation practice.These sessions were well attended and developed the players further. The team of coaches hopes to see a similar interest next term in preparation for the CIBSA tournament at BISC and games with some local Alexandria schools. Arnaud Germain
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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Under 9 Football team
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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OLIVER PRODUCTION
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Oliver′, the Musical - Please sir can I have some more? The famous musical 'Oliver', Lionel Bart′s adaption of Dicken′s novel Oliver Twist, was on stage at the BSA this winter. Year 7 and 9 students staged an abridged version of the 1960′s musical on Tuesday 1st December with running time around one hour and ten minutes. The Story It′s an age-old tale about good winning over the forces of evil. A little orphan boy escapes the clutches of the Workhouse and his keeper at the Funeral Parlour and becomes a pick-pocket living on the streets of London. He mistakenly joins a gang of petty criminals led by the infamous Fagin, a crusty old miser and small-time villain. Oliver is befriended by Dodger, an artful East London Cockney lad from the gang, and his adventures begin. The story was very well portrayed by Y9 students taking principal roles and from Year 7 playing the orphans. The demanding role of Oliver, was admirably played by Tallah El Ali. Her effort and commitment to the show was impressive. Many of roles, even though cameo parts, were exposed with solo acting and singing. This makes the show a challenging prospect for any young performer. The pace of the show and energy was palpable and there were some notable and exceptional performances from the main cast members. The set was built by our Campus Staff and so a huge well done goes out to everyone that was involved. A team effort? Yes indeed it was... The Preparatory School helped us with not only 14 children from Years 5 and 6 to sing 'Oompah Pah', but also Mr Booth, an accomplished pianist, was on loan to us. Mr Larter took on a dame role as Widow Corney and Ms Terry was Mrs Bumble. This pair played the booming, greedy and rather cruel caretakers of the Workhouse but in true BSA fashion gave terrific support to the cast as a whole; of course Mr Larter was also the production director. Mr Blakeborough expressed his delight at the evening of the performance saying 'The fact that two thirds of Senior School students makes the production even more impressive.' My sincere thanks go to everyone for their input and patience. As Head of Music, I felt great pride that we had taken all concerned on a wonderful journey of creative discovery. Here′s to next year and many more Performing Arts projects.
Suzanne Patrick Director of Creative Arts The Lighthouse - February 2016
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OLIVER PRODUCTION
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The Lighthouse - February 2016
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our young artists
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Year 7 explored the turn of the century French movement Fauvism, led by Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. Working in pairs they painted over a number of weeks to create transcriptions of the highly colored emotionally charged work. This piece was created by Monica Fares & Adam El Kashouty in Year 7 Blue.
Year 8 have been exploring stenciling and cut work, inspired by contemporary British artist Banksy.
Year 7 have created multi-layered mono-prints as part of their Islamic Pattern project.
Frances Baker
Art Teacher The Lighthouse - February 2016
Year 9 have spent a number of weeks working on their self portrait, executing work in a number of techniques, charcoal, paint, mono print, and cardboard sculpture, inspired by contemporary makers. Maya Zaki in 9R created this large mixed media work, that allows feeling to take precedence over likeness.
Judy Abdel Aziz,Year 10, has been creating lino prints, a technique her class are exploring as part of their GCSE Art.
Rodayna Abdel Aziz,Year 11 has based her GCSE Year 11 Portfolio on structure, creating a painting of the school in preparation for her exam in May.
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House competitions
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The House Competitions were a culmination of the students’ programme of study in PE. All students participated and played with great enthusiasm and to the best of their ability. The House Competitions were particularly dynamic this term, with battles raging fiercely between Black Ibis and Blue Scarabs, Red Scorpions and Gold Eagles. The mid-term contests in Basketball, Volleyball, Bench ball and Hockey always raise anticipation, but it seemed that due to the particularly high profile of sports this year, our students were really on fire for glory. Haytham El Tonsy
Head of PE
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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HUMANITIES
26 Year 7 Iberotel Adventour
A mix of geographical skills, marine studies and survival activities left the Year 7′s enthused about Senior School after our field trip. They used their senses on the beach and map skills around the pool for the Geography activity. In another activity they learnt how to survive on a desert island and about different sea life, finishing off with sand castle sculptures and time in the pool for water polo. A great way to end the summer season.
Year 11 Urban Environments Investigation The lovely sunny weather helped to create a conducive working environment around Kafr Abdou for the students. The Geography students were able to practice their land use mapping, questionnaire and environmental quality survey skills in preparation for the IGCSE examination in the coming June. Hopefully their findings will help to pave the way for future solutions to the local communities urban problems.
Stevie Abbott
Head of Humanities
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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FRIENDS OF SCHOOL
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The Friends of School have delivered 50 benches to Abdel Halim Mahmoud School in Awayed. As promised, all Gala Dinner profit went to the making of those benches. A big thank you from El Awayed School to The British School, Alexandria and the Friends of School.
Rania Nashed & Heba Selim
Co-Chairs FoS
The Lighthouse - February 2016
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BRITISH COUNCIL AWARDS
Congratulations to several of our students for winning The British Council Awards for Outstanding Examinations Results. Well Done ! Best across 3 AS - First in Alexandria Orfeas Nanis - Year 13
High Achievement - IGCSE Urdu as a Second Language Muhammad Sheharyar Bin Ali - Year 11 Red
Top in the Region - IGCSE Foreign Language German Hend Youssef Weseya - Year 11 Blue
High Achievement - IGCSE Foreign Language Dutch Joanna Khatib - Year 13
Highest International Mark - GCSE Russian Anastasia Poole - Year 11 Red
The British School, Alexandria
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