TIV Issue 1, October 2013

IBSB News and Views - By the Students for the Students

THE INTERNATIONAL VOICE

Issue 1: October 2013

International British School of Bucharest

www.ibsb.ro

Staff Editorial Team Journalists/Contributors Victor (Year 7), Anita (Year 10), Andrei D. (Year 11), Yagmur (Year 11), Andra (Year 12), Andrew (Year 12), Blanca (Year 12), Denisa C (Year 12), Lara (Year 12), Ruxandra (Year 12), Stergios (Year 12), Zoe (Year 12), Alexandra A. (Year 13), Anemona (Year 13), Catrinel (Year 13), Kira (Year 13), Mamta (Year 13) Sebastian (Year 13), Teresa (Year 13), Toby (Year 13) Contributing Staff Mr Kendall Peet Mr Robert Hewett Mr Ciprian Tiplea Mr Neill Lee Coordinators Student Editor: Sebastian (Year 13) Student Assistant Editors: Alexandra A. (Year 13), Denisa C. (Year 12), Ruxandra (Year 12) Teacher Coordinator: Mr Trevor Kingston Junior School Whiteboard: Ms Camelia Nicolau Layout: Mr Florin Ghita & Ms Lea Cohen

Office Staff Contact Information: Address: 21 Agricultori St. District 2, Bucharest, Romania, 021841 Tel: (+4) 021.253.1698, Fax: (+4) 021.253.1697 E- mail: office@ibsb.ro Website: www.ibsb.ro

Aura Bogdan Executive Director

On behalf of all the office staff, and teachers we would like to thank the students and parents for contributing to a smooth start to the 2013-14 academic year. The school continues to grow and develop with each year and we are interested to receive your feedback. If you have time and would like to be more involved in the school, please come along to one of our PTF meetings. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ana Maria Stere Extra–Curricular Services

Lea Cohen Marketing

Iulia Boboc Human Resources

Elena Iliuta Finance

Contents Page WHITE BOARD 2

Editor’s Note

28

Headline and Primary school House Captains

3

Catrinel—Head Girl Message / Assistant Editor Note

29

Preschool and Reception– Weekly Theme

30

Year 1 - Cross Curricular Lessons

4

Head of School Message

31

Year 2— Friends, Families, and Ourselves

5

Outward Bound for Inner Development

32

Year 3A— Learn About School Community

6-7

Applying to University

33

Year 3B—Design Their Own Crests

34

Year 3B—Village Museum Trip

35

Year 4—Trip to Park Lumea Copiilor

36

Year 5—Investigate the UN and UNICEF

37

Year 5—Examine Human Rights Through Art

SCHOOL UPDATES 8-9

New Teachers and Students

10-11 Starting School at IBSB as a New Student 12

Senior House Captains 2013-2014

13

House Games Review

14

The Parent-Teacher BBQ

15

Parent-Teacher Coffee Morning Review

16

The Year 6 to Year 7 Transmigration

18

IGCSE/A Level Summer Exam Results

19

Preparing for the Autumn Exams

CAS 20-21 CAS Update 22

Clean– Up Day

23

Rosia Montana

SPORT 24

Feature Student– Petru , Year 8

25

Caseiopea Fun Run

26

Bucharest Marathon Results

27

International School Mini-Olympics

38-39 Year 6—Head to Sinaia

SCHOOL EVENTS 40

European Day of Languages & Citizenship Day

41

Peace One Day

42

The 2013 Winter Production

43

Senior Graduation 2013

STUDENT VIEWS 44

Useful Websites and Programmes

45

Must Watch Movies

46

Roger Waters Concert

48

We’re All Going On A Summer Holiday

50-51 Work Experience 52

The International Duke of Edinburgh Award

54-55 Applying to University 56-57 Creative Writing 58-59 Berlin Exchange Programme 60

Staff Induction

61

Key Dates Calendar

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Editors Note

“I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom “

This issue of the TIV is the most challenging, with people having just got back from holiday and me harassing them for articles doesn’t always work. Even though some articles come in at a very late stage of the editing of the TIV, it is still up to the editorial team to put it all together, and I am glad to see that the current assistant editors are very enthusiastic and eager to learn all about the inner workings of the TIV.

felt the lure of the sunshine and heard the invitation to “go out and play”. One evening won’t hurt! One day off will do you good! All work and no play made Seb a dull boy…

Now that we have the official stuff out of the way, I will do what I usually do and pretend that I have some very important intellectual lesson to pass down to you, the ‘future generations’. If you are still reading, I applaud your tenacity.

2013-2014 will be my final year in this school, and that is both exciting and terrifying. The thought of leaving this school in search of a higher level of education to broaden my horizons, and increase my knowledge base, is what fuels my interest and my excitement. The excitement of new things, new people, new places, new traditions, new friends, new occasions and new etceteras! But at the same time what pains me, and also anyone that has to deal with change, is leaving what you have behind. I will have to leave this school, which I have attended for five years (going on 6), and that is something which is not easy at all. If anything, I want to make sure that I leave something behind, some sort of legacy, and I don’t just want that so I can feed my starving ego, but I honestly want to inspire as many people as possible, and in this article I will share with you, what I consider to be, my latest ‘life lesson’.

Summer 2013: exams were over, and I was looking forward with anticipation of great things; hope for the future in the form of exam results. I thought that it was all easy sailing, not in the sense that I didn’t have to study, but that I had studied sufficiently to know what to expect. The exams didn’t seem hard, and when analysing my results with those of my friends, it seemed as if I was, relatively speaking, in the same grade boundary as they were; but little did I know that this would be the year where most of us would receive a shock. The results came back and I was slightly disappointed. It seems that for all my hard work, I had not worked hard enough. What I had failed to grasp is that to get the very best results, EVERYTHING else has to go on hold – for a short period at least. It is something which is now blatantly obvious… however so few of us acted on the blatantly obvious when we

And suddenly, when we see the apple of temptation, we don’t look to the future and our long term goals, all we see is the apple and savour the thought of the juicy flesh beneath the all so tempting red skin. How can revising for exams compare with hanging out with friends? That’s all we think about. Well, with the benefit of hindsight, sitting as I am beneath the autumn cloud of resits, I urge you all to sit down and think about your priorities, so you can realise what is truly important in life. It may sound trite but setting goals really can make a difference: where do you want to get to and what do you need to get there? Try to make some kind of a plan, but always know that the best made plans of mice and men invariably fail, so build in contingencies and have a plan B, C, D, E, F and yes, just in case G! In essence what I’m trying to say is that you should always try to expect the unexpected and always expect to take a fall, and ideally learn from what you did wrong and try to better yourself based on those experiences, and with that I leave you with two George S. Patton quotes.

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week”

Sebastian M.—Year 13

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Head Girl Hello TIV Readers, It is incredibly exciting for me to be writing this Head Girl introduction and I would like to begin by congratulating all Prefects elected for this academic year, as well as all the students who applied. Being a Prefect is not only a huge responsibility, but it is an identity within the IBSB community. A Senior School Prefect is the representation of the ideal pupil: determined, hard working, community orientated, a good role model, and proud to be part of this school.

An objective of the Prefect Body this year is to build a stronger sense of community through strengthening the IBSB identity. In this, my thirteenth and final year at this school, I find I am constantly amazed at how far we have come. When I first joined, there was only one small, pink building with just under 30 students. Break times were spent playing hopscotch and randomly interviewing teachers. Today, IBSB is a strong establishment with impressive academic links such as ECIS and COBIS. The school is also involved in the local community through initiatives such as CAS and the

Let’s Do It Romania Clean-up Action.

On a more relaxed note, I can honestly say that despite the stress of yearly exam sessions, my time spent at IBSB can be described in only one way: super fun. From the UN Days, to the Winter Balls, to the School Productions to the House Games and of course, the end of year trips! This year promises to be even better, with greater involvement in clubs such as Debating and Photography as well as a planned Movie Night. One must not forget that beyond academics, “Education without frontiers” means the cultivation of open-mind thinking, the encouragement of extracurricular pursuits and the instilment of values.

Under this ethos, it is an honour for me to have been elected Head Girl this year. In many senses, IBSB has been a second home for me and I hope that, after completing their studies, students will look back on their time spent here with huge fondness and joy.

Catrinel V.—Year 13

Assistant Editor’s Note This is my final year and my last opportunity to work for the TIV, so my letter is not so much a page of rambling about the year ahead, as it is an attempt to encourage and motivate our newly formed team, along with our students. I’ve grown to love and cherish our IBSB community, with all of its extracurricular activities, its academic rigour and the inevitable exam pressure, so I would like to take this opportunity to give back a little by pouring my thoughts onto this page – and maybe one chance reader may actually find what I write thought-provoking!

It is my firm belief that without passion, our goals are devoid of meaning, so I encourage everyone to find a bit of drive and enjoy doing something, be it at school or in your private life.

We live now in a very difficult time and age, where we are under the impression that we are free to do as we please, but where we are actually tied down by electronics, jobs, duties and sometimes prejudice. I know very few people who remember what it is to truly be alive and dedicate a healthy amount of their time to their passions. To those people I raise a glass and offer congratulations, while to everyone else I throw out the question: “What if you put down your phone and put your prejudice aside and take a moment to...smell the roses?” The question has recently come to mind as I have had

to discuss university and career options with many people: my passions are perhaps underrated in today’s money making focused world of high speed technology and, so I am met with much scepticism when I admit that I want to follow my greatest passions and study literature and film. In the end, however, why choose something else just because it is supposedly set in stone that “management” or “medicine” is the best solution for everybody? If you lack the passion for those, you will inevitably fail, because how can you succeed at something if you don’t do it wholeheartedly?

I also encourage everyone in our school to contribute more to our magazine with absolutely anything! Yagmur and Andrei are now in charge of our very own Creative Writing section, which I too will submit to, simply because it is a great opportunity to be...well, creative! We want to hear your opinions about both school life and life outside of school. Tell us what you would like to read about in the TIV and we will make this publication what you want it be!

Alexandra A.—Year 13

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Head of School Message With the publication of Issue 1 of TIV due to coincide with the United Nations Day Celebrations, it is all too tempting to focus my piece for this issue on something related to the UN, or perhaps a little closer to home, the European Union, which has been getting so much press of late, owing to the economic woes besetting it from all sides. I could also talk about the problems affronting the United States in recent times as its debt level rises and the Democrats and Republicans wage war on tax policy whilst the world waits with anticipation to see which way the pendulum will swing. What stands out in both cases is the fact that although we generally advocate a United Approach, it is not something always easily achieved and as too often happens- more so than ever recently- the synergy- the potential gain from a united effort- is lost when the different parts of the whole are pulling in different directions, often to the tune of self- profit, to the detriment of all.

What does this have to do with IBSB though, I hear you say, and how does this relate to my chosen topic, IBSB United Internationalism? The simple answer lies in the word ‘Hope’. We so often hear that if you want to change the world, first start with yourself. At IBSB we have done just that, with plenty of evidence to prove the point that countries can get along and work side by side in harmony. In many ways IBSB is a successful experiment in internationalism; it is a microcosm of the world- a United Nations if you will- with twenty nationalities working in harmony for both an individual and a common good. It shows that people from different nations can get along and indeed thrive.

In a class a few weeks ago I saw Sonia from Year 13 offer to share her A Level study notes with the rest of class. I have also had a number of Year 13 students in my office over the past few weeks speaking about how they have changed in the last year, becoming more responsible, and in so doing offering to speak to the Year 11 and 12 students to encourage them all to study hard, knowing how much harder the A Level exams are than they expected and as such wanting

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to give the classes coming through as much notice as possible to help them prepare for what is to come- I will be taking them up on this offer in the weeks ahead. This is really something very special to see.

The Senior School Prefects are another example of this thriving Community Spirit. In our first meting after they were selected we asked them to spend some time with an allocated Primary School class each halfterm: one lesson per half term is what we were hoping for; however, almost all Prefects are now attending Primary classes on a weekly basis with some, Yang Yang for example, helping out twice weekly; in addition to this, they are also tutoring a number of students in Secondary as a part of the Academic Mentoring Programme set up last year, and are helping out in many other ways too numerous to mention here in the space available.

I also have students- almost on a daily basis- knocking on my door asking for permission to raise money at school for this charity or that. The Student Council is running better than ever, with many projects on the run. The Eco Committee is doing a wonderful job working to make IBSB more eco-friendly, and if they have their way will no-doubt have IBSB running- in part at least- on solar energy in the near future. It really is incredible to see how much our students care about their peers, the wider community, and the environment we all live in.

This issue of TIV stands as a testament to this United Internationalism, this IBSB Community Spirit, and it is something which we can all be very proud of and should work to nurture and protect. It is this Collective Internationalism and Community Spirit which makes IBSB such a special place to teach and study.

Kendall Peet Head of School

Outward Bound for Inner Development Outward Bound is an organisation and a process renowned for its results in developing independence, leadership and a willingness to contribute to society. It uses the great outdoors and activities including mountaineering, climbing, kayaking and camp craft to give students an exciting and unforgettable experience, as well as teaching the values needed to succeed in life and to be of service to others. The activities are especially chosen to ensure a high degree of adventure and challenge, as it is in these types of situations that students learn more about themselves and their team members.

In addition there is a challenge element, typically when candidates have to move the group from one side of an obstacle to another or to negotiate problems on their route to their new destination.

Either en-route or at the end of the expedition, participants will have the chance to contribute to a social or environmental project and to feel that they can give something back to the outdoors. Finally there will be a chance to be part of a social project, working with the under-privileged or a charity organisation. At the end of each of these phases and the whole expedition, students and staff review what they did, why they did it, what they might have done differently, and how it might be applicable to everyday situations.

Student reviews include comments about how much they enjoyed the experience and how they feel that they are able to tackle problems and obstacles with relative ease. In addition, they comment on how they got to know students who, previously they would never have spoken to.

Qualified staff coach the students, using a combination of skills to demonstrate a particular proficiency or habit. Students are then able to observe, discuss, practice and then review the whole process. This combined with living and surviving in the wilderness instils a great degree of team work, organisation, reliance and trust.

Staff invariably comment afterwards on the students’ increased confidence, on a greater willingness to take on a challenge, as well as increased interest in the reasons behind why things are the way they are.

Out of the Comfort Zone is a term used to show how students are pushed to new limits in a controlled situation. This allows them to test themselves in unfamiliar circumstances, but still in safety and under the guidance of experienced staff (indicated by the blue in the diagram below). Students who experience the anxiety of trying something different or overcoming a fear are far more able to deal with stress and challenges in everyday life, including in the classroom and leading up to examinations.

A standard course consists of an expedition phase where students walk from point to point, navigating throughout the day and camping at night.

“what they did, why they did it, what they might have done differently, and how it might be applicable to everyday situations�

Robert Hewett, Head of Secondary School

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Applying to University

Do you know what’s involved? Try speaking to a careers adviser, researching online and exploring in detail the type of modules you’ll be studying on different computer science courses.

So the one thing you know is that you want to go to university – the hard bit is deciding on what to study, and where.

What’s your principal reason for taking the subject? Get this clear in your head. Is it because of a particular career path, because you’re fascinated by how computers work or you just want to broaden your horizons? Or is because your brother or sister did it or because there’s a university close to home that offers this course? Question if your reasons are honestly the right reasons for you.

Which subject?

This is an important one to get right – you don’t want to waste your time and money on a subject you don’t want to do. To help you decide which subject area is right for you, break down your subject shortlist (or long list) into three possible routes, questioning your reasons as you go.

Is it… a subject you have already studied?

For example, maybe you loved English literature at IGCSE and A-level and you read novels for pleasure in your own time. Is an English degree right for you?

Will you still be interested in that subject for a further three or four years – enough to motivate yourself to work and research independently?

Any thoughts on life after university – what do you want to do and could your subject choice affect this? You may get to the end of this degree and still not know how you are going to earn a living! On a positive note, many careers will consider graduates with a wide range of subjects.

Is it… a subject that relates to a career idea?

For example, perhaps you did Work Experience in an estate agent office, and are now considering a degree in real estate management in order to become a professional surveyor. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to be a journalist.

How is the subject you’re considering viewed by the industry it is connected to? Do you need to study it to actually go into that career? You don’t have to do a journalism degree to become a journalist - many degrees are considered!

Have you done any/enough work experience to see if this is the right career for you?

Is it… a subject that relates to something new?

For example, maybe you’ve always been interested in computers and the internet at home, and enjoyed maths at school, so are considering a degree in computer science, a course subject you probably will not have studied before.

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It’s also worth thinking about: Joint honours – this could be a mixture of a subject you are already familiar with and something new, e.g. geography and something related to a career, i.e. planning.

Sandwich Courses - A sandwich course is one in which you spend a year doing work experience related to your degree. They are usually 4 year degrees and are very popular because employers like graduates with some experience. Even if it is not a sandwich degree ask, are there any work experience opportunities.

A Year Abroad?

Do you want to study in a different country for a year?

Will you miss the friends you have made though?

Which University?

Once you’ve got your subject choice sorted, start looking around for where you want to be based for the next few years. Here are a few pointers to get you thinking...

International, Private European, USA, UK?

European,

State

Course content Remember this might differ drastically from university to university, even if the courses have the same or similar names. On the other hand, it might be that the course you choose has to meet, or be accredited by, a professional body, such as civil engineering.

Have you actually read the outline of the course content provided by the university in detail?

Could you do any wider reading that relates to the course to prepare yourself?

What are the grade requirements?

You have to identify courses that you have a realistic chance of getting the grades for.

Are your course choices sensibly spread, including a safe bet alongside a more ambitious option, based on what you’ve been predicted to achieve?

have considered. Once you have that foundation, you can start fine tuning your search for the right career. You may be surprised at how you can fit your passions into a new career.

Location?

Is it a campus or non-campus university?

Do you want to live only with other students?

What sort of location would you like to be in?

For example, a country town or large city

Reputation?

League tables, friends, family, teachers and advisers - all can make suggestions of courses you should consider, but beware of over-simplified notions of what’s viewed as a ‘good’ university.

A few quick tips in doing the right thing when it comes to preparing and choosing a career: Follow your passion

Be Patient

Focus on the things you love to do

Set SMART goals

If you’re looking at the league tables, are you only considering universities higher up the table that you have heard of - why not explore some of the others?

Try new things all the time

Network and ask people for advice

What do other students think?

Know your skills and talents

Look for clues when you travel

Be open-minded and flexible

Work Experienceas much as possible

Look for clues everywhere

Get involved, but learn to prioritise

Take a look at student satisfaction scores.

Whether you’re just in Key Stage 3, at the end of Year 9, finishing your IGCSE’s, or you are very close to your graduation from high school, it is never too early to start to consider your higher education and your career path.

However, it can be too late. By that I mean, the sooner you start the better, as you have more time to do all the things that you should do in order to discover what you want. In the end, these are the main challenges that most of us face towards the end of Secondary School years.

Some of you have a good idea of what you want to do.

However, one thing that is worth highlighting is that it is quite possible that you may have to prepare for jobs that do not exist yet, or you may unknowingly be preparing for jobs that will not exist anymore when you graduate from your higher education studies. Technology moves forward so quickly and will inevitably bring changes in any type of business and on the jobs market. This is why information is vital when it comes to making the best possible choices.

Regardless of your reasons, the right career is out there for everyone. By learning how to research options, realise your strengths, and acquire new skills, as well as muster the courage to make a change, you can discover the career that’s right for you.

The first step in considering a career is to think carefully about what really drives you. You might find it hard to get past thinking about “what pays the most” or “what is most secure,” especially in today’s economy. However, it’s important to first discover your primary interests and passions. This can open doors to careers that you might not

At IBSB we appreciate the importance of making the right choices, even at an early age.

Our school has a number of programmes designed to give students lots of opportunities to develop and discover their skills and talents. We run annual Option Evenings for Year 9 and Year 11 to help students and parents to make the right subject choice for IGCSE and Advanced Level studies; we offer visits to universities and we receive a number of visits from universities across the year; we run an annual Work Experience Programme for our KS4 and KS5 students; we’ve made the CAS programme compulsory in the sixth form; we offer university application advice in Year 12 and Year 13, and we have implemented this area in our PSHE programme for Years 12 and 13.

Our extracurricular programme plays an important part in offering our students the opportunities to experience and learn new skills in various areas across the school year. In addition we are now implementing a new system of offering individual academic counselling and career advice to all students in KS4 and KS5. This is all based on tracking students’ progress and achievement at IGCSE and AS levels. Exam results are considered to be the main priority for applications to universities, but we also focus on students’ skills and passions during our meetings.

Ciprian Tiplea, Deputy Head of School Neil Lee, Post 16 Coordinator

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School Updates New Teachers and Students Getting to Know the Newbies!

so far I have enjoyed them all.

As an international school, we have a transient student and teacher body, so every year we have a few new faces around the school. For this issue of the TIV I interviewed a few of our new students and teachers to get to know them better, with some of my findings below.

Teachers Mr Hewett Where did you live before Romania and how does it compare to Bucharest?

Mr Sheikh Where did you live before Romania and how does it compare to Bucharest?

I taught in UK grammar schools and private schools and then I moved to Dubai. Compared to Bucharest (and, of course, England) Dubai has virtually no rain, so there was no need for a coat and an umbrella. It is always either hot or very, very hot! There are no stray dogs in Dubai, but I have found that the people here are friendlier.

Why did you move from Dubai?

I felt that it was time to move to the next stage in my career and also to move back to Europe. And the opportunity to teach in such an excellent school in a fascinating country like Romania was obviously crucial.

What did you think Bucharest would be like before coming here from what you had read, heard, etc?

Well I did not know much about modern Romania before coming, except for Hagi, who was a big name for me in my childhood because I really like football. I also knew that Romania had varied scenery with mountains and seaside; and, as I said before, I was aware of the country’s history, particularly Vlad Tepes and the revolution to overthrow Communism.

Describe yourself with 3 adjectives.

I would say positive, humorous, and interested.

What do you think about the Romanian cuisine?

I quite like it! I have tried the sarmale, mici and mamaliga and

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Well, before Romania I lived in Elgin, which is a small town in Scotland, and after that I moved to Beijing where I lived for three years. Compared to Bucharest, Elgin is a small town in the countryside, whereas this is a large city. Beijing compared to Bucharest is, I would say, more polluted, and here in Romania the traffic and the drivers are better and the people are friendlier.

Why did you move from Beijing?

I think that change is good and after three years in Beijing I found that there was too much pollution for my liking.

What did you think Bucharest would be like before coming here from what you had read, heard, etc?

To be honest, from reading about Bucharest on the Internet, I didn’t form a very good opinion about the place. It suggested that the place is cold, very grey and dull; unwelcoming really. I actually read that Bucharest is perfect for a “stag party”, which is something in the UK that typically involves heavy drinking before a man gets married, which obviously does not create a very good impression. In reality, however, it is completely opposite to what I expected!

What was your first impression of Bucharest and Romania in general?

Well, I found that the people here are welcoming because everywhere they have been very helpful. In shops, for example, they will not hesitate to offer help. I also found it interesting to see the Palace of the Parliament (Casa Poporului) and to be able to make a link between what I

have heard of the Romanian Revolution and seeing its aftermath, if you will.

Students

Describe yourself with 3 adjectives.

Intelligent, good looking… No, I’m joking! (We start laughing).

Well, let’s see… I would say happy, active, and determined.

What do you think about the Romanian cuisine?

It’s different, but nice. I don’t really eat lots of meat but I have enjoyed it here in Romania. I tried mici, mamaliga and ciorba de burta.

Eva, Year 8 What school did you go to before IBSB and how does it differ from here?

I went to INSPE. There, we followed the Scottish curriculum, which is a bit different from this system. The classes were also smaller, with fewer students than here.

Why did you move?

INSPE was a primary school only, so I had to move to a different school to carry on to a secondary school.

Ms Savu Where did you live before Romania?

I moved around a lot. I lived in Argentina, Myanmar, India, and in Canada as a graduate student or a Mater’s Degree in Economics, which was about 10 years ago.

Why did you move from Canada?

What was your first impression of IBSB? I knew IBSB because I’ve been here before from Reception to Year 4, so I kind of knew what to expect. But overall, I like it here.

What do you find most challenging about IBSB? Well, I would say that here we have to think more during the lessons and we are more involved. Also, the move from a primary school to a secondary school is a big challenge.

After I finished my Master’s Degree I didn’t really know what to do with life so I decided to visit my father who was a diplomat in Romania at the time.

What did you think Bucharest would be like before coming here from what you had read, heard, etc?

I hadn’t done any research or anything, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

What was your first impression of Bucharest and Romania in general? How does it compare to other places you’ve lived in?

I would have to say, it was a bad impression (smiles apologetically). When I landed, I had a spout of depression seeing the grey buildings and that muddy ice you get here, but then I got over it. I made new friends, I joined the PhD programme in ASE, I discovered the Romanian seaside which I absolutely love; every year I spend 1 – 2 months there. A lot has changed since I first came here ten years ago and I discover the city as it grows. When I first came, the small town in Canada had more to offer than Bucharest.

Describe yourself with 3 adjectives.

Oh my god! (Long Pause) I can’t do this! (Starts laughing uncontrollably. After stopping laughing, takes a peek at my notes, sees I have noted the laughter and laughs some more.

After some time, calls out to the students in the room, “Can any of you guys please give me three adjectives to describe myself?”

The answer follows!) Talkative, energetic and weird (the only word Miss could come up with to describe herself!)

What do you think about the Romanian cuisine?

At first I hated it, but now I love it, especially ciorba de burta.

Andromachi, Year 7 What school did you go to before IBSB and how does it differ from here?

I went to the Greek school in Bucharest. The differences were that there we learned everything in Greek, when here everything is in English. There were only seven students in my class and here there are many more. The children here are kinder than at my previous school.

Why did you move?

I moved from Greece to Romania because of my father’s job and also for a better life, because there are economic problems in Greece. I moved from the Greek school because I did not like it there.

What was your first impression of IBSB? I really like it and I thought it is a very good school. Here I can improve my English, the teachers are helpful and the kids are nice.

What do you find most challenging about IBSB? I still need to improve my English a bit and since everything is taught in English, sometimes I do not understand everything, but it is not a big problem.

Andrei D.—Year 10

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School as a New student

Halla, my name is Ana Valentina, but my friends call me Anita. I am new to this school as you probably know and if not... you know now.

At first, a few months ago, when I heard I might go to a private school I have to admit I was repulsed at the thought. I told myself this place would be filled with spoilt brats and fancy cars all around me and rich kids bragging about their Louis Vuitton bags. I was proved wrong when I came to this school to take my exams and met a few people who gave me the tour. What stood out most was they shared the same principles with me about society and school. What they had and what I rarely saw in the Romanian state system was ambition, something that I personally admired as I used to be a lazy kid and no teacher would bother to challenge me since they showed little or no interest in my education.

The school is small [compared to a Romanian one], and this results in a united community. Maybe, from the inside, you hardly notice this, but when I came here, I was excited about how everyone knew everyone and yes, there can be downsides and upsides to that, but I still think it is a good thing. I also love the diversity, how no matter what race, gender or age you are, you easily fit in.

The most recent, awesome experience I have had

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“When I came here, I was excited about how everyone knew everyone“

since I came here, was the Citizenship Day and House Games. It was a non-uniform day and not only did I learn how to sing in three languages, but it was kind of fun to work in a team. There were parts when we all got irritated and some of us went all ''RAAAGE'' on each other, but a few minutes later we were downstairs at lunch, laughing, and it didn’t really matter who won and who lost or what house you were in. It's good people know how to keep the competition at the game level… not live or die level.

Another thing I was scared of was the level of English and how hard it would be for me to study in this language, even though I adore it. It wasn't a problem though because the teachers are excellent and have made me feel welcome in class. Some of them might have a strict way of teaching in your eyes, but that only shows how devoted they are to YOU and your education, unlike the Romanian system based on my experience. The idea of certificates at the end of each week is also really nice, not letting any little effort or progress go unnoticed.

I like the student planners and how organized the school is, the clubs and the balance between fun activities and learning. The teachers try to develop every single person's knowledge and also extend the list of our experiences, help us communicate with each

Secondary House Games

other and try to get us prepared for what's coming .

They also have this radar for potential and even though you might be a bit annoying in class [to them, to me it's quite amusing], they don't actually hold any grudges and see past your behaviour during their lessons. Sorry if I might be one of the tiring cases!

I like how there are lots of options when it comes to food, being able to order pizza or anything from a restaurant, or buy from the kiosk of the school and so on. I love the sandwiches. I so had to write about them, the cheese is so delicious! I could write a magazine on food in general, sorry, but I had to slip this little paragraph in!

If there's one thing I don't like, it is the dress code or the fact that I had to dye my hair back so Mr Hewett wouldn't cut it off! I accept he is the Head of Secondary but I doubt that he has won many awards for hair dressing or fashion! But rules are rules I suppose.

I could write a novel based on one single month, and now I’ve said that, I expect Mr Kingston will set it as homework! About how many differences there are between my old school life and this one and about the people I met here and about how easily I could relate to their stories, lifestyle and beliefs. I am looking forward to add more stories to my "novel" and I will do my best to be a good student.

Thank you all for making me feel so welcome!

Ana Valentina A.— Year 10

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House Captains As all of you probably know, as in previous years, the House Captains and Vice Captains elections have taken place. The elections took place in Week 2 after each year decided who they want to represent their class in the Student Council.

As a House Captain and a Vice Captain you need to show leadership skills, be a friendly and understanding person, be organised and dedicated and, most importantly, act as a role model for your House. The competition for the positions was very tough, with all the candidates delivering excellent speeches.

However, in the end a decision had to be made. Who would best meet the demands of the role and provide the vital leadership to each House?

In Muntenia we had Adina T., Thomas F., Anemona B. and Steve S. competing for the House Captain position.

All of them delivered impressive speeches and set out why they deserved to be elected, but in the end Muntenia chose Anemona, who represented them last year. From the six candidates for the Vice Captain position, Cora Muller-D. was elected .

ZOE, Year 12 TRANSILVANIA

KIRA, Year 13 DOBROGEA

House Captains Invincible!

In Transilvania, Andra P., Sebastian Z., Cristine B., and Zoe S., did verbal battle for the position of Captain, with Zoe triumphing after a close contest. For the ViceCaptain position we had Andreea S., Cristine B., Vladimir S. and Alexandru O. standing . All four of them brought something different to the table but people felt that Alex would best compliment Zoe’s style of leadership.

Lastly, but not least, in Dobrogea we had Kira H., Blanca F., Batuhan O., Stergios M. and James C. standing for captain. Dobrogea sensibly chose Kira, who has represented the House as Vice– Captain for the last two years. A promotion well deserved!

Unusually, Dobogea opted for two Vice Captains, Batuhan and Petru N., Year 8.

So, with the Captains in place, the gauntlet is now down! Who will triumph this year and lift the House Cup?

ANEMONA, Year 13 MUNTENIA

Anemona B.—Year 13

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House Games If the weather is rather, well, British for an entire week, what better way to warm up and raise everyone’s spirits than with some sporty House Games? These took place on Friday the 4th of October on the athletics track next to the National Arena and were merrily presented by Ms Katie Bickell and sponsored by Borsec.

The mini sports day was an opportunity for the newly elected House Captains to prove themselves as well as for bonding between the members of each House, and of course were a way to take our minds off upcoming exams and assessments.

And for the record, the final result was as follows:

In the Primary School: Dobrogea came 1st Muntenia came 2nd Transilvania came 3rd

Both the Primary and the Secondary School students participated and I highly enjoyed leading the small ones in a quick warm-up together with other Prefects.

The events that took place were the 100 and 400 metres individual races, long jump, team dribbling, shot put and relay races. No teachers or parents participated this time as there was no time and some of the teachers were saving up their strength for the Bucharest Marathon which took place the following day.

In the Secondary School: Transilvania came 1st Dobrogea came 2nd Muntenia came 3rd Overall scores: 1st place Dobrogea – 2407 2nd place Muntenia – 2154 3rd place Transilvania – 1913

Everyone had a great time despite the cold weather and by the time of the relay races at the end there was a sense of a stronger bond between the members of each House.

Ruxandra R.—Year 12

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Parent Teacher BBQ And here we are, reading about the annual PTF Barbecue that took place on the 21st of September, three weeks after starting the new academic year of 2013-14 at IBSB; an event which enabled parents and teachers to get to know each other better in a relaxed atmosphere of food, sunshine, and good company.

The event started off with the Primary School Presentation which enabled parents to learn about the

new Primary Curriculum, as well as the Young Learners for English (YLE) Cambridge Exams. The presentation lasted for half an hour, after which parents and children enjoyed the appetising snacks, all the while chatting away with both our new and old teachers about the upcoming year. And who wouldn’t be enjoying such a day with all the food and drinks thanks to our parents and staff who brought in delicious sweets and salads.

timetable, the extracurricular programme, and how the school year runs.

After the presentations, the friendly environment was once again established during which parents and teachers continued to chat about whatever took their fancy, be it school, football, global politics or the price of bread!

Also, looking around, you could see our very responsible Prefects advertising the Casiopeea FunWalk Run to raise money for Breast Cancer Research.

This event was scheduled for the 28th of October at Tineretului Park—I am sure it was great fun!

“Enabled parents and teachers to get to know each other better in a relaxed atmosphere of food, sunshine and good company”

The Secondary School presentation was held in two parts: one for the returning parents, and one for the new parents to help them better understand the Secondary Academic Curriculum and examination

This year’s Barbecue turned out to one of the best we’ve had, with the parents going home satisfied about the school’s curriculum and believing that IBSB has become one of the very best schools for learning and for weekend barbeques!

Mamta M.—Year 13

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Coffee Morning What are coffee mornings? Put simply, they are an opportunity for the parents to meet the teachers in a relaxed, informal way to discuss the year ahead and to be able to ask any questions they might have.

A BIG ‘THANK YOU’ to CASA JIENILOR for providing the venue once again

“Parents to meet the teachers in a relaxed, informal way to discuss the year ahead “ This year, we organised the coffee mornings at the Casa J across the road from the school. It was an amazing opportunity also for the teachers to get to know more about their students. We would like to give special thanks to all the teachers and parents who attended this event and, of course, to Casa J our host.

Andrei C.—Year 12

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The Annual Year 6 to 7 Transmigration

Year 7 has just entered Senior School 6 weeks ago and the students all appear very enthusiastic about the move.

“We have settled in well and I can’t wait to see how the year will unfold!” said Alex in Year 7.

Everybody I spoke to said that they have loved it so far, and that the teachers have settled them in well.

Even though, when in Primary School, we were a little scared about Senior School, we love it now.

“Moving to the Secondary School is Great”

One of the best things about Secondary School is that you have more freedom. You have the transition in between classes, which is a great idea because it’s like having a little break, although we understand that we have to move swiftly between lessons. Nevertheless, it gives us a chance to stretch our legs and chat as we move between classes. We are also really lucky because this year we have a longer lunch which means we have more time for socialising and for clubs. This is just perfect in our opinion!

Overall, Year 7 feel very happy about the move to Senior School. Everyone is working hard and we are looking forward to a great year!!!

Victor P.—Year 7

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Summer Exam Results It seems that with every year the exam results continue to improve with a number of firsts this year that everyone can be very proud of. Most significantly, this is the first year that students have achieved a 100% PASS RATE in IGCSE (A-F), with no G or U grades awarded. This is a particularly incredible result taking into account the fact that many students join our school late in the programme, and in some cases join us with little or no English.

In A Level we also see substantial improvement, with this year being the first year that students have achieved a 90% PASS RATE, up from 84% the year before, and 80% the year before that.

Congratulations to all our Students, Parents, and Teachers, as these results reflect the collective effort of everyone working together toward a common goal.

With many new programmes and initiatives being prepared for 2013-14, we are excited about what lies ahead and will continue to work to ensure that our students have every opportunity to succeed in their future exams and university studies.

Top 2013 IGCSE Students Student Name

Grades Achieved

TOP YEAR 11 STUDENTS VALERIA G.

A*A*A*A*A*A*AAAB

STERGIOS M.

A*A*A*AAAAABB

DENISA MIHAELA N.

A*A*A*AAAAAB

TOP YEAR 10 STUDENT ZOE S.

A*A*A*A*AB

Top 2013 A Level Students Student Name

Grades Achieved

ALEXANDRA MARIA LULACHE

A*A*AAB

ALBA GAVALIUGOV MENDEZ DE VALDIVIA

A*AAAB

DANIEL MULLER-DEMARY

A*ABB

Results from the autumn exam session will be out at the end of January. Please visit the school website for the results from this exam session at that time.

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Preparing for Autumn Exams School has just started, however one month into this academic year and, for many of us, this is already a synonym for days spent studying, two espressos a day and being constantly surrounded by past papers and notes. The autumn exam session is upon us, and whether we are retaking or sitting exams for the first time, this is a nail-biting time.

Compared to the summer session, the autumn session can be particularly tricky. Firstly, we do not have the

set deadlines for yourself. This way you will have much smaller goals, and you will avoid feeling overwhelmed with work. Planning will give you the sense of confidence and control that you need. However, it is important to stick to your plan in order for everything to run smoothly.

When making this plan, which can be made months before the exam but also just about two weeks before, it’s important not only to take notes from all the chapters but also to have one month to just work on past papers. Past papers will give you an idea of the questions you will be asked in your exam and, if used efficiently, can make a difference between a C and an A. It is also important to ask for the teachers’ assistance in anything you might need, they are able to provide a lot of support and help you in your revision as much as possible. Finally, you must allocate your time well. We have a very short time to prepare for the autumn session and every minute is precious, so during the next few weeks getting enough sleep and studying should be our main and only focuses.

promise of two months of holidays after our last exam, this already pretty much halves whatever motivation we had, also we have less time to study, and last but not least, we need to balance revising for the exams with keeping up to date with what is being taught in our other subjects. This, in itself, already sounds difficult, but we also have to account for afternoons spent procrastinating, where we are so freaked out about everything we just decide that denial is the best solution and we start watching that new show that has just come out.

During this preparation time we are bombarded with tips on how to study and how to priorities. We all already know we can’t start studying the day before the exam and that we should take frequent breaks, but these are very basic revision tips that we all agree on; however when it comes to tips on how to study, each person seems to have their own opinion on what is best. Nevertheless, by reading all the different opinions, we may actually come across some information which might be useful for each of us.

Firstly, start by making a plan. When you find yourself about to lose control or close to giving up, take a piece of paper and make a plan of what you have to do and

“Bombarded with tips on how to study and how to prioritise” prioritise” At the end of the day, it all comes down to what works best for each person. If you have found a method that works for you, stick with it. And good luck to all of us taking exams! And one last tip – if you get the grades in the summer, you won’t have to go through all this stress in the autumn!

Teresa S.—Year 13

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CAS CAS Page

“Its all systems go for another Year of CAS”

Another year of CAS has started in full force, with Ms Johanna Croci again firmly at the helm. A new wave of students has joined and the latest recruits are already proving even more eager to be a part of IBSB’s Community Action Service.

The programme kicked off with all of the school’s partnering organisations coming in to school to talk about the projects the students could participate in, and this proved to be both informative and entertaining. Pupils circulated around our Business

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room, as at a business fair, moving from one stand to the other and buzzing with excitement as they read flyers and signed up for their two project options.

The star of the meeting seemed to be a gorgeous Labrador, part of the programme developed by Light into Europe through which they train dogs to be guides for the visually impaired. The organisation therefore earned a lot of attention and dog lovers all around gathered to see what the project entailed. In the end, this proved to be an effective method of getting the students to truly understand the projects and arrive at the right decision for them (although many agreed that all organisations made such great pitches that they simply couldn’t choose!).

Week three of term saw interviews begin and the

CAS Page

coordinating teachers agreed that the participants had prepared well, demonstrating the desired level of commitment. Then, in week four all the teams were assembled and everyone participated in a series of brainstorming sessions, with each group spending an hour together planning the year ahead. The Casa Agar team had a particularly fruitful session choosing their future activities from all the many great ideas, along with the Paper Tree Committee, who very efficiently organised the year’s first event, the Let’s Do it Romania Clean Up in Baneasa forest.

events than in previous years so that, by the end of the year, the Environment Committee will have changed the opinions of those students who still believe that this project is boring. Additionally, one of our most ambitious goals is to get solar panels for our school. Overall, we look forward to a very busy but also a rewarding and exciting year.”

Sebastian M. added: “This year we have a great team on board for Speranța Pentru Tine! So far CAS hasn't started on full throttle, but by the time you are reading this we should be eagerly working on our project.

Having a larger group will certainly mean that we will be able to do more and we have a detailed plan to ensure that our objectives are met by the end of the year. The number and variety of groups is very pleasing. I think we have a team of people who work well together, and who complement each other, in terms of skills and personalities. Let's hope for a great year filled with great experiences!”

Talking about the year ahead, Teresa S. explained: “This year in CAS we expect to demystify the idea that the Environment Committee is merely about sorting out paper and taking it to the recycling centre.

Therefore, although we will have to keep doing that rather repetitive job, we expect to organise more

Alexandra A.—Year 13

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Clean-up Day It all started in a little place, all the way across Europe, in Estonia, during the summer of July 2009 where a group of courageous volunteers decided that change was not impossible.

human vacuum cleaners, we managed to collect an astonishing amount of the horrible detritus dumped in the wild to contaminate nature.

We have come such a long way since it first started.

Three years ago 150,000 people signed up as volunteers on the national clean-up day; this year over 600,000 volunteers gathered all over the country to cleanse and heal the environment, and more than eight million joined the tidy up worldwide, making this not only one of the biggest events here in Romania, but around the globe.

Difficult to achieve? nevertheless.

Certainly.

But

achievable

The goal was simple: to raise awareness, and contribute to something to the world without expecting the traditional financial reward. It all began with a spark of initiative and a video featuring thousands of people collecting rubbish from their suffocating communities. This video spread through the internet, rapidly circulating all over the world, and encouraged many to engage in a more active role in their lives.

This mighty film, about how Estonians managed to implement this action, was a true inspiration and before we knew it, it reached us in Romania. The simplest things are usually the hardest to imagine in this world of over-complication, and this film was all we needed to make us stop and look around.

Where do we come in? Well we have been organising and contributing to clean-up events in numerous forests for eight years now, constantly reminding students, teachers and parents that we live in a community together, and that environmental protection and community development is part of our school culture.

This year, spreading through the Baneasa Forest like

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But the challenge is now not just to tidy the world but to change the world. Clean up days are all very well, but progress will only be made when clean up days are unnecessary because people respect the environment and do not litter in the first place. Only then will the battle be won, only then will the project started in Estonia be complete.

Romania is a beautiful country but a country scarred by pollution and litter. So let’s change that! Not just one day a year but every day! Let’s recycle, let’s pick up litter and put it in a bin, and let’s all make a pledge, never to litter the environment again.

Don’t just drop it, put it in a bin!

Stergios M. —Year 12

Rosia Montana “TO MINE OR NOT TO MINE, THAT IS THE QUESTION”

The Rosia Montana Project has split the country into two, after the decade-long controversy has recently resurfaced. Set in Transylvania, northern Romania, the project has been held up by various debates over its environmental impact.

In the autumn of 2011, a local woman appealed to Romanian TV viewers to understand the plight of those living in Rosia Montana. There was no work, she said, and the town needed to start mining gold again to provide them with a future. Romania is one of the EU's poorest nations and the level of unemployment is high, so the promise of foreign investors appeared to be a much-needed solution.

said Sorin Jorca, a Rosia Montana local, speaking to the BBC's Crossing Continents programme. "I would lose my house, the graves of my parents, the church, and the heritage that belongs to all of us. The mining industry is very dirty; they will use tonnes of dynamite each day. Think of the noise, the toxicity - life here is going to be impossible," he added.

In August 2013, thousands of Romanians marched in protest in what has been acknowledged by the press worldwide as the most peaceful and respectful of demonstrations. And more than a month later, the people of Romania show no sign of tiring and promise to continue chanting “Save Rosia Montana!” On September 23rd, Romanians formed a human chain around Bucharest’s Palace of the Parliament, demanding the resignation of the politicians involved in the Rosia Montana mining project. The fear of corruption and a lack of faith in the Romanian political system has united many opponents of the Rosia Montana project. The government's reluctance to publish the contract it signed with RMGC has exacerbated suspicions there is something to hide.

"We believe the issue has such big implications for Romanian society, and has generated such a large negative reaction, that it must be treated with the utmost seriousness," Environment Minister Rovana Plumb said. "The decision-making process cannot be conditioned by time and it may take several months more to fully evaluate the project.”

The project, therefore, appears to be on temporary hold, while the country continues to protest and the government continues to mull it over.

My question is, “Where do you stand on this issue?”

The open-cast gold mine, established first in the communist era, was taken over by Canada’s Gabriel Resources Ltd, which wants to expand and modernise the site. The company controls Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), which would develop the mine, but the Romanian state's stake in the project would rise to 25% from a current 20%. Gabriel Resources says RMGC would "undertake to preserve cultural heritage, ensure environmental protection and eliminate historical pollution". The company says the project "will create an average of 2,300 jobs in the construction phase and 900 in the operational phase". According to RMGC, 95% of the locals want the project to begin and the town is plastered with brash yellow banners reminding any passer-by this is a mining town.

With the project has once again brought to the attention of the public in August 2013, opposition to the expansion of the mine exploded because of plans to cut into mountain peaks and of the use of toxic cyanide in the mining process. "If this project starts, life is over for me,"

Alexandra A.—Year 13

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Sports Petru—Feature Student Having had several articles written about him, Petru N. (Year 8) is no stranger to the attention of the media and there is no doubt that the amount of attention he receives is directly proportional to the amount of effort that he puts into what some people may see as a hobby. Having sailed for only two years, it is obvious that Petru has a special talent when it comes to yachting. This year his achievements have yet again astonished us and he has earned the title of National Champion.

I had the pleasure to interview Petru after he was crowned Champion of Romania, so let’s see what has changed since last year:

Sebastian: A little birdie told me that you are now the holder of the title of national champion. What for?

Petru: Yes that is true; I am the national champion for sailing in the optimist class for boys.

means that I would like to sail larger boats and compete with more people, targeting the Olympics in time.

Sebastian: Do you have any role models in the sailing industry?

Petru: I do have one person I admire, the ex- three time European champion, Konstantinos Oikonomidis, who is a Greek sailor. His style and attitude are both funny and professional. That seems like the perfect balance to me!

Sebastian: What other new experiences have you had in the past few days?

Petru: I participated in the aeronautics show on Morii Lake where I casually sailed while skydivers were falling from the sky.

Sebastian: Where will your next competition be?

Petru: I will be going to San Remo in Italy, after Christmas, to Slovenia for the Portoroz regatta and, before that, I will be competing in the Torboli trophy in Riva.

Sebastian: It sounds like a busy schedule!

Petru: It is! And on top of that there is my school work and the little matter of playing Trincolo in the Winter Show production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. It’s going to be full on, but great fun at the same time!

Sebastian: When and where was this?

Petru: In Mamaia Romania, - the Sudgiol lake, in August.

Sebastian: Who was your competition?

Petru: Well I had three main opponents, two boys, one from Bucharest the other from Constanta, and one girl from Bucharest. The girl was two years older, and one of the boys was the same age as me, whilst the other was a year older.

Sebastian: Again I must ask, do you want to pursue this as a career or is it just a hobby?

Petru: Well, good question! I want do it in parallel with my future career, on a much larger scale. This

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Sebastian M. —Year 13

Casiopeea Fun Run

“Running to defeat cancer”

The day started cold and cloudy day, with no sun to be seen. Children and adults of all ages were either wrapped in layers of clothing or, like me, shivering from the breeze. At 10:00 am the signal was given and the men were off, racing to win but also racing to raise money for cancer charity.

With the men disappearing at speed into the distance, the teenagers were released, followed by the women.

Happily, the sun was on the women’s side and had started to warm up the chilly atmosphere by the time their race was underway. And with the sun starting to out strip the clouds, a warm glow passed through me, a feeling of pride because I was running to help women to beat Cancer.

As I finished the 6km race, I felt adrenaline surging through my veins, feeling happy and accomplished, though exhausted! The organizers were very kind and generous and had a table where you could get apples, chocolate, anything that would re-energise us.

By the end of the day, the sun was out, symbolically perhaps because this race was all about hope, all about a brighter tomorrow for the sufferers of cancer.

All of the participants deserve a huge pat on the back for giving up a Saturday morning to raise money for strangers and if you didn’t participate, then you can come along and join next year’s race.

Well done to everyone who participated, but a special congratulations to Maria from Year 3 for coming 5th overall in the children’s race.

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“Putting in the hard yards in the Bucharest Marathon”

Bucharest Marathon All in all, this marathon was yet another brilliant success and I would e\urge everybody to get into training now for next year’s event!

During a sunny, yet chilly, weekend in October, the city was closed to traffic and taken over by thousands of runners participating in the Raiffeisen Bank of Bucharest International Marathon. Over 8000 adults and 1500 children took part in this great competition over a course which weaves its way through the streets of Bucharest, starting and finishing in Piata Constitutiei.

IBSB was represented in the marathon by Thomas F., Alex O., Sonia S., Alex P. and Victor C., along with a number of teachers, including our Head of School, Kendall Peet, Deputy Head of School, Ciprian Tiplea, Head of Primary, Alan Cornish, and Head of Secondary, Rob Hewett. There were various teams, however, it was the mixed teachers and students team, led by Paul Georgescu, who performed best, finishing in a magnificent 12th place overall.

A big well done is due to the students who participated too. They set a magnificent example to the rest of us, demonstrating stamina, resolve and determination to complete the course. I was there, personally, in a volunteer capacity for 'Voluntar in Sport' and I strongly recommend joining this team of volunteers if you are not participating next year, as it is a wonderful opportunity to participate in competitions like this and to connect with other proactive people.

Final Results: Teacher/Student Mixed Team:

12th/361 Teams

Team time

03.04.37sec

Staff Team 1

63rd Place

Team time

03.36.46sec

SLT Team:

81st Place

Team time

03.41.21sec

Student Team

100th Place

Team time

03.44.471sec

Staff Team 2

345th Place

Team time

04.43.24sec

We look ford to seeing you all back again next year.

Sebastian M.—Year 13

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1st Place, International School Mini Olympics It was certainly a good week for sport at IBSB in Week 6.

Not only did the students and teachers perform well in the Bucharest Marathon, with the Primary School Football Team winning their game against The Cambridge School 7-2 in their first away match, the Primary School also won the first International School Athletics Events of the year, bringing home the winners trophy on Friday from the International School Mini Olympics.

The ten students who ran, jumped, and threw their way to glory were:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

MEITA M. POPESCU N. CRISTACHE M. ANTON Z. MURSEZ A. DRAGOMIR B. SELIN S. DEFNE S. BIANCA D. 10. CELIN R. Congratulations to Paul Georgescu and all the participating students on achieving this fantastic result.

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Whiteboard Primary Head’s Lines Welcome to the Primary School section of the continually improving TIV. I have to start by thanking the Primary TIV team of Miss Cami and Miss Alina for all their hard work editing our section and for their ideas and creativity.

We welcomed 4 new teachers into our fold; Mrs Hewett, Mr Qysner, Miss Mioara and Miss Corina. I am glad to say they have settled in very well and this was helped by the friendly and supportive school community we have here at IBSB.

Our first term has been action packed. If we take a moment to reflect back on all that we have achieved in the last 7 weeks I think you will be amazed. The Year 6 trip to Sinaia, Coffee Mornings, Open Morning, BBQ, Bucharest Marathon, the Casiopeea pink run against Breast Cancer, Sfanta Macrina collection, World Sight Day, Deaf Awareness Day, Mini Sports Day, baseline assessments in KS2 and now UN Day! Are you amazed? You should be. We also had time for teaching and learning too.

Getting outside of the classroom is something that we continue to encourage so that the children can see that learning can take place anywhere. We have had lots of trips already, including Year 6 going to Sinaia for 3 days, and we propose to have more residential trips at the end of the year for Years 2 to 6. For those children who went on the trips at the end of last year to the Black Sea, mountains or the UK, I am sure they are very keen to attend the trips this year. Next term we will give you more information on the trips we have to offer, Year 6 are organising theirs already.

Next term, we also look forward to Halloween, the Primary Maths Challenge, Kangaroo competitions and Christmas, finishing with the traditional Carol Concert.

We are also implementing the new curriculum in English and Maths and you can now find our key skills in English and Maths in the parents section of our website.

We wish you an enjoyable half term break and look forward to welcoming you all back next term.

Alan Cornish—Head of Primary

Primary School House Captains MUNTENIA Hello our names are Mara and Marius.

We are the Muntenian House Captains. This year we want Muntenia to win because we are the best. We will lead Muntenia to victory!

TRANSILVANIA Hello, we are Tamara and Max, the Transilvanian House Captains. We have been in Transilvania for five years and our goal is to help Tansilvania win this year. We will not give up. Go yellow!!!

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DOBROGEA Our names are Irina and Nico.

We are the House Captains for Dobrogea and together we will bring glory and fame to the red team!

NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Hello! This is Preschool and Reception This term we have been very busy with everybody doing lots of new and interesting things. We continued the Preschool and Reception “adventure” with a roundup weekly theme about “My Body”. Children were motivated to be active through games like ”Body Match”, “Kid Connections” and “Hokey, Pokey”.

We talked about the importance of taking care of our bodies, keeping clean and keeping safe in school when handling tools. Children were given opportunities to experiment with musical instruments, paints and table top games. Everybody enjoyed the songs about body parts like “Head, shoulders, knees and toes”, “I’ve got a body” and “Bend your body”.

It’s so much fuuunnn in Preschool and Reception!

Ms Irina Ruse

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NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Year 1

Year 1 is off to a great start this term. We have been doing lots of new and challenging things. We are learning all the letter sounds and how to read, which is very exciting. We are also learning to add numbers together in Maths. In cross curricular we have been learning “All About Us”. We examined the 5 senses and learned about the parts of our bodies and skeleton! We are even making a giant model of our bodies by tracing ourselves on paper. Then we will add in all the body parts we have studied by cutting and pasting.

One thing we love to do each week is meet with our reading buddies from Year 5! They have been great friends and helpers for us in learning about books. So far we are settled in and we are sure it will be a great year of lots of fun and learning.

“ All About Us” Chelsea Corvino—Class Teacher

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NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Year 2 Year 2 have had a great start to the term learning about our friends, our families and ourselves. Our topic is “It’s my life” and we wanted to learn as much as we could about who we are, where we come from and where we are going. This has meant not just learning about the human body (inside and out) but about what we can do to keep it happy and healthy enough to have a long and successful life. We have thought hard about what jobs we might want to do when we get older and learned that our class has future horse-riders, fashion designers and even a cardiologist. We have looked at photographs of ourselves moving from babies to toddlers to children

and, in Mr Quysner’s case, all the way into the first signs of middle age! It has been very interesting to find out how we see ourselves, especially when we drew our self-portraits.

Can you match the self portraits below to the real life photographs of children in Year 2?

Did you get them all? If not, please come to Year 2 to find out who we are! Remember, we are growing fast. What will we look like this time next year? In two years? In twenty years?!

Simon Quysner—Class Teacher

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NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Year 3A

Year 3A have got off to a great start with some challenging work, which has really made us think. We started by thinking about our classroom rules and how we should work. We also thought about how to be a good learner, by listening, questioning, trying, thinking, sharing knowledge, joining in talking (at the right time) and concentrating.

Our theme for this term is Our School Community. In these lessons we have been discussing and thinking about our school and what makes us a community.

We have looked at the different jobs people do and some of us even interviewed some teachers. We designed our own uniform and even our own school.

All in all, it has been quite an interesting first few weeks, but we are all still smiling, even Mr Jones!

Gareth Jones— Class Teacher

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NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Year 3B Year 3b has got off to a brilliant start! This term our class is looking at the theme of Our School Community. The class have already designed their own school crests and created a chart depicting how our school is organised.

Our learning board is beginning to fill up and we are all enthusiastic to begin our studies on various topics relating to our theme. In Week 4 we designed our own ideal school which can be seen in the photograph above.

Ms Orla O’Dwyer— Class Teacher

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NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Year 3B Village Museum Trip Year 3B had a sunny start to their first trip of the school year. On a bright autumnal day, our class visited The Village Museum in Herastrau Park.

The children saw various houses belonging to villages from all over Romania. They marvelled at the Stanesti village houses with their animal breeding and fruit growing linkage. We also observed the numerous fabrics which had been woven and decorated in the Romanian style.

Everyone is now looking forward to our next class trip. I wonder where will we be going next?

Alexandra Cojocaru– Class TA

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OUT AND ABOUT…….

Year 4 Trip to the Park Year 4 went bug hunting this term at Parcul Lumea Copiilor. Armed with magnifying glasses and clipboards the children searched the park for bugs as part of our minibeast topic. They had to find them, draw them, and classify them according to the bug dials they had prepared in class.

The sun shone, the bugs tried to hide but we saw spiders, beetles, moths, butterflies, ants, grasshoppers, ladybirds and a strange green bug that liked Ion’s red hat very much. Then, of course, children had fun playing in the park and racing each other.

Ms Andreea Cazacu— Class TA

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NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Year 5– Learning and Teaching This has been a busy term in Year 5. The children looked at the UN and UNICEF and how the latter helps children in developing countries. They also found out what developing and developed countries are and did some research using the Internet.

Besides working hard in lessons, the children also made weekly visits to Year 1. In these sessions they became the teacher; their job being to help the young ones improve their reading skills.

In English, our writers read several stories from other cultures and wrote their own stories which were put together in the Year 5 “Stories from Other Cultures” book.

They always displayed a great level of care and maturity towards the younger ones and it has been a pleasure to watch the positive interactions that take place.

Well done, Year 5!

Ms Silvia Hewett— Class Teacher

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OUT AND ABOUT…….

Year 5 Examine Human Rights Through Art Year 5 has worked hard this term in all areas of school life, from lining up to creating amazing art! Our theme was Human Rights and the children initially discussed what general human rights are and more specifically what rights children have. They also looked at the UN and UNICEF and at how these organisations are more likely to help developing countries. After doing some research about some countries and discussing the energy sources, the children were introduced to an artist from Brazil and are currently working on their first amazing art piece! It has been a busy term with a great deal

Ana Maria Boiangiu– Class TA

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OUT AND ABOUT…….

Year 6’s Trip to Sinaia 25th-27th September 2013

THE HOTEL , AGAIN…

ARRIVING

Once we had left the bowling place, we started going back to the Hotel (not knowing what awaited us on the way…) our hotel was built on a pretty steep hill but there were stairs and roads to allow people to go on it.

Coming down was fairly easy, all you had to do was to make sure you didn’t stumble down and fall, but going up was totally different for most of us, if not all, as we were totally exhausted by the time we reached the top of the stairs, but luckily we had a little rest and started going up again. Once we had finished our long journey back we were given the keys to our rooms and instructed what to do next.

Year 6 met at Gara de Nord a few minutes before the train to Sinaia arrived. We had a great journey while on the train. When we arrived we had a choice of a shortcut or the main road; we chose the shortcut, but now we all wished we hadn’t because it was one of the most exhausting walks in our lives. At last we reached the hotel.

THE HOTEL When we went in we all left our luggage in the lobby, and instead of waiting in the lobby for our rooms, we decided to go for a walk around Sinaia.

PELES CASTLE The first place we visited on our trip was Peles Castle.

Once we got there we bought tickets for a tour. On the tour we saw some of the fanciest rooms we had ever been in, including: the main hall, the hall of mirrors, the king’s study, the queen’s music room, and the armoury.

BOWLING After the marvellous visit to the castle, we walked all the way to the other end of Sinaia to go bowling!

There were four lanes and two and four leaders; the leader had to choose their team which would have a total of 6 or 7 players. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we all had a great time in our groups.

THE SECOND DAY-OVER LIMITS We were woken up early and instructed to have breakfast and then to go to the lobby where we would get ready to go to the mountains. We took the cable car up the mountain and started our seven kilometre walk that would take us two hours. By the time we reached the top we were so tired we barely made it to the Sphinx and couldn’t (or so we thought) make it back to the hotel...but we did it! The end

Matei & Rares— Year 6A

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Year 6’s Trip to Sinaia 25th September 2013 We arrived at the train station at 8:00am. The train arrived, all of our hearts were beating quickly due to the excitement. When we arrived, the receptionist told us the rooms will be ready in one hour, after how exhausted we were. After the walk, we went in the rooms, arranged everything, and went to lunch.

Immediately after having lunch, we went to the marvelous Peles Castle. On the way there, me, along with Andrei, made Ms Luiza laugh! The castle was amazing; it was mostly made from Crrara marble and multiple types of wood. Just imagine, Peles Castle took around 50 years to make! Finally, in the evening we went bowling and had great time.

26th September 2013 Today was the day we were going to walk 10km on Sinaia’s famous mountains. We went with the cable car on the top of the mountain, then we walked on the mountain. It was very tough, some people even needed to be pushed along by the teachers. In the end, it took us 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk the mountain; last year it took Year 6 three hours to walk up the mountains!

We made a new record! Horray! When me, Orel and Ofek (my roommates) wanted to take a shower, the water came in Ofek’s face. We asked Ms Becky for help. When she tried to fix the shower, all her clothes got soaked by water!

27th September 2013 Today was the “Goodbye Sinaia” day. We left our hotel ”Arca lui Noe” at 8:00am. We went to the train station in Sinaia, there we waited for the train to arrive. We left Sinaia and headed for Bucharest. All of us missed our parents and were excited to meet our parents again.

Max M.— Year 6B

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School Events European Day of Languages &

Citizenship Day “…linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent.”

Moving on, Citizenship day this half term (also House Games), saw students teaching other students their own native language through some nursery songs. It was fascinating seeing some people pronounce words in languages they had no clue about. Amongst the ‘teachers’ were YanYang & Kevin Z. (Chinese), Stergios & Thomas (Greek), Yunus & Batuhan & Yagmur (Turkish), Maria S. (Portuguese), Navya & Ananya (Hindi).

Sometimes people underestimate the cultural and international importance of learning an extra language; it’s not just about looking intelligent or being the bee’s knees after all. Nowadays whenever a native looks at you and sees this foreigner, they usually have a few stereotypes flying through their head harmlessly; however, when you approach them in their own language you see this smile creeping up on their face, as if they have just connected with a stranger that speaks through their own language and reaches into their own heart. The only reason languages are strikingly different is because of the diversity of cultures. We all know there are phrases, or even words, that cannot be translated into other languages or where you would need a whole rigmarole of words in order to convey one simple meaning. An example that comes to mind would be of a passage from the book “The Lieutenant” by Grenville, where the protagonist attempts to learn the native Australian’s language and therefore becomes friends with a little native girl. Before he must depart she tries to convey their friendship through an act of warming her hands over a fire and pressing her warm fingers against his own, all that meaning was conveyed in one word, “Putuwa”. Therefore by the simple learning of a few words, maybe even one, a whole other world is revealed to you.

Also ‘Light into Europe’ was invited to teach KS3 sign language, which they performed superbly in assembly.

This helped raise awareness of the cause, and was an interesting thing to see.

During that day we also had some football matches with all the houses against each other.

At the end of the day what truly mattered was that

everybody had a great time and our sense of being members of a world community was enhanced.

Denis C.—Year 12

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Peace One Day This year on 21st September 2013 the world celebrated Peace One Day. It is a day where many countries and Heads of State (and political leaders/groups such as the Taliban) agree to stop fighting for 24 hours and allow humanitarian aid to reach children and adults who need it most.

Last Friday, the Primary School joined together to celebrate this day during their lessons: PSHE, English, Science, etc. We also celebrated by making a giant human-peace-symbol in the middle of the playground during our break time.

It was a wonderful moment where pupils, from all different backgrounds and ages, came together peacefully to share in this joyful activity.

told an emotional story and enjoyed making peace with each other. Finally they joined together with their classmates from 6A to create a wonderful dance routine to celebrate Peace.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the day!

Hopefully you all made peace with someone on 21st September!

To end the school day, Year 6B held an assembly to share with the whole school and their parents the need for peaceful times and actions. They

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Winter Production This year’s Winter Show is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. The play has been chosen because it features on the English Literature iGCSE course, so year 10 students, in particular, will benefit from watching the play ahead of studying it!

However, as with last year’s Romeo and Juliet, this will be ‘Shakespeare with a twist’. In addition to an edited version of the Bard’s original play, Shakespeare himself is brought on to stage, along with his maid Meg, and two of the King’s Men, sent to investigate students from all years – 7 through to 13 – are taking part!

We are confident that the final production will be a great success, but ahead of performance, a huge amount of work needs to be done. Ms Broadhurst’s team will be designing and making sets, Mr Angel’s team will be learning and rehearsing the musical and dance numbers, Ms Bicknell will be working on the costume designs and, most importantly, the cast have to learn their lines before returning to school at the end of the half term break.

Time is at a premium this year because the production has been scheduled for the 5th of December, one week earlier than usual, so all involved will be working “flat to the boards” to bring you what we hope will be the best IBSB Winter Production ever!

charges of high treason because the play is a coded call for the return of Catholicism to England.

The play also features a number of great songs and will be visually spectacular, with students dressed as the fairies and spirits that populate the enchanted island of Prospero.

The cast is the biggest for any production so far, with so many keen to participate that eleven spirits have been added to Shakespeare’s original script, whilst the part of Ariel has been divided into three. Impressively,

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Trevor Kingston– Production Director

Graduation The evening started with Mr Peet giving out the CIS, ECIS, COBIS, and IBSB Awards. Next, the Senior School Prefects were recognised for their contributions made during the course of the year, and finally a selection of teachers received several awards and departing gifts, all in the lead up to the official Graduation Ceremony itself, which began with a video dedication from the presenters to our departing Year 13. Having filmed for two weeks before the event, both Victor and I were curious to see how our short film would be received and were delighted by the response.

It was an emotional day for students and parents alike, as IBSB gathered in the hall of the “Biblioteca Central Universitara Carol I”. Both nervous and excited, the friends and families of the graduating students were ushered into the magnificent hall, greeted by the graduates and presenter. This was an event the Year 13 students had been preparing for a long time and the entire organisational journey proved to be more complicated than anticipated, but as the evening unfolded, the graduates could happily say they had participated in an event that will live long in their memory.

Last year’s Head Girl, and much loved student, Alexandra Lulache started the string of graduation speeches striking a serious and respectful tone before

the ever-so-bubbly George brought the house down with a typically irreverent, idiosyncratic, and hilarious speech, the like of which, only George could devise.

One by one, the graduates walked on to stage to shake hands with their form tutors (a very serious Mr Lee and a nervous Ms Croci) and to enjoy their final moments as high school students. And by the end, the podium was a sea of black robes and bright yellow scarves and a rain of mortar boards.

The students moved outside for more photos and to mingle before heading on to a celebratory and joyous dinner party before the evening eventually ended in teary goodbyes and happy smiles.

We wish the Class of 2013 all the best of luck for the future and hope to see them again soon to hear all about the new stages of their lives!

Alexandra A. —Year 13

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Student Views Useful Websites & Programmes Educational duolingo.com (available as an app) Currently provides interactive tests in French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian including both your writing and listening skills. Each level has a certain amount of chapters to unlock in order to move to the next level.

openstudy.com The ability to ask questions in any subject for free, with answers fired off that have more credibility than the yahoo ask engine or any others.

memrise.com (available as an app) More of an online flashcard system, with flashcards provided by other users from languages to other subjects and even memory training. unplugthetv.com A video generator that offers several educational Youtube videos randomly whenever you’re bored or taskless.

gutenberg.org Offers popular free classics for pdf or other ebook files download, great for augmenting your culture knowledge.

Q10 Minimalistic, full screen word processor, built for typing without any distractions popping up on your screen, marvelous for the writers or people typing up their work.

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Free time

stereomood.com (available as an app) Filter songs according to your mood, from dreamy to ecstatic. (all kinds of genres)

http://i.imgur.com/KqDphoh.jpg An image file, sorting the best movies of all time by their genres. A great way of discovering similar movies.

alistofbooks.com Many ‘Top 100 books’ lists combined into one master list of 623 books one must read in their lifetime.

typeit.org Provides accents/characters from many languages for online typing. (even mathematical symbols or currencies)

documentaryheaven.com You can always find free documentaries and discover fascinating ones at the press of a button.

Programmes: Last.fm scrobbler A great way of letting a program know what kind of music you listen to, so that it is able to go by itself and find you more music for free.

Anki (available as an app) One of the top flashcard systems programmed for easy editing and making your own cards for easier learning in all the subjects you have.

Denis C.—Year 12

Must Watch Movies

The Butler

Rush

123 min - Action | Biography | Drama | Sport

132 min - Biography | Drama

Director: Ron Howard

Director: Lee Daniels

Stars: Daniel BrĂźhl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara

Stars: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda

A re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Average Rating: 7.5/10

Average Rating: 6.8/10

The Family Prisoners

153 min - Crime | Drama | Thriller Director: Denis Villeneuve

111 min - Action | Comedy | Crime

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo

Director: Luc Besson

When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.

But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

Average Rating: 7.2/10

Stars: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo. The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.

Average Rating: 6.4/10

Kira H.—Year 13

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Roger Waters Concert If you’re a devoted Roger Waters fan, then you were probably at the concert and are currently reading this reliving the spectacular event. If you’re simply a rock music enthusiast like me and would like to know what you missed this summer, let’s start with some background information on the artist.

Roger Waters is an English musician and co-founder of the famous band Pink Floyd. He’s a legend and in very good shape at 70. I’ve never seen a musician before memorise so many sentences in Romanian to reach out to the public and to dedicate them songs.

The Wall was not just a concert, but a spectacle. To describe it I’d have to begin with, well, the wall. Made of what looked like canvas white bricks it flanked the stage and then separated it from the public later when song after song it was completed by a group of brickadders.

Heads turned around before the concert to notice a model airplane in a corner facing the wall. However, we starred at the sky first when it ‘took off’ as the sound effects were first class.

Another Brick in the Wall The white brick wall was used to project images and drawings in accordance to the song, usually to show the evils of war and corrupt governments and capitalism. During the intermission the wall became a wall of commemoration, as fans from all over the world had sent photos of ‘fallen heroes’, family members and friends or famous people who had done good deeds during their lives and were terribly missed.

After the last bricks were added to the wall the stage was completely separated from the public and the artist came out of a wall’s compartment made to resemble a living room for one of his songs. Then the show moved in front of the wall and a balloon in the shape of a flying pig hovered above our heads.

The hit Another Brick in the Wall had everyone in the audience singing the chorus and a choir of Romanian kids accompanied Mr Waters.

The night ended with the wall falling and an introduction to the band. It was truly a unique show, a spectacle like I’ve never seen before.

Ruxandra R.—Year 12

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We’re all going on a Summer Holiday!

Summer holiday! It’s the one time of the year that everyone around the world anticipates, irrespective of religion. Two or three months where you get to ‘loosen up and kick back’. Whether it’s under the sun, in the cosy confines of your own room or high up in the mountains, it’s designed for you to forget about your worries and everything else that crowds your mind; the only days in your life that you’ll consider to be absolutely stress free!

When I came back from Transylvania, I won a 3 night stay at a 5 star hotel here in Bucharest, the hotel Grand Continental. Then, after spending 2 nights in my apartment, I flew to Canada, Ontario for 3 weeks.

I interviewed two people, a teacher and a student, to see the summer holiday from two very different perspectives: educator and educated; not so young and somewhat younger; party animal and Batuhan!

And how the schedules differed!

Ms Andrea Carman: I was lucky enough to see the parts of Transylvania that many Romanians, I think, have never seen. I drove through the mountainous areas of central Transylvania in a vehicle that is also designed to camp in. That’s the great thing; we could be driving along these back roads, passing shepherd’s huts, stopping for sheep’s cheese and things like that. All of a sudden we’d say “Oh my Gosh, look at that hill with the beautiful view, overlooking that little village. Let’s camp there!” The freedom we had was just incredible. So, I spent a week seeing the unknown Transylvania as far as I’m concerned, meeting the most incredible people along the way.

Batuhan O. –Year 13 I went to the beach in Constanta around mid-July for approximately three weeks. Other than that, I’ve just been ‘around’. It was a boring summer, if I am honest.

I did manage to see Now You See Me and Man of Steel.

I absolutely adored Now You See Me.

My greatest love is, of course, food and I ate my way through the holiday! One day we had fresh trout from a stream at the shepherd’s hut. They brought in all this cheese that they were making when we got there.

Amazingly. I didn’t manage to eat it all so we bought some for later! After that we had wild mushrooms. No, not psychedelic ones! Forest mushrooms that we saw on the side of the highway, which we harvested and grilled. We always had food on an open fire, accompanied by some tasty Romanian wine.

I had a wonderful time in Transylvania and would love to return but not in the immediate future as I have about 400 other places I want to visit first. As for next year, I have no definite plans yet because I like to be impulsive, but I know one thing for certain, I will be going to somewhere where the food is very good!

Man of Steel, however, was absolute rubbish in my opinion. Next year I would like to go to South Korea, Seoul. It’s the largest metropolis in South Korea and I’m keen explore it.

So, who made best use of the summer in your opinion guys?

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Work Experience

Everything around me was so professional and for the first time in my life I felt like an actual actress. I realised that it was the beginning to a very long journey. So the last thing I can say about my work experience is….. ACTION!

Lara S. – Year 12

Kira H. – Year 13 During my summer holiday I didn’t go the beach and get a tan like I usually would over the summer break. I was working on an Indi film of about 20 to 25 minutes.

I was the protagonist of the movie so for 2 months I’ve been rehearsing and getting ready to shoot. It was a great experience for me because I got a glimpse into the filming industry. Also, I realizsd that what you see on the screen is nothing compared to what happens behind the scenes. More than a dozen people work together to create a good scene (approximately 20 people for each shoot.).

However, my favourite part was when the make-up was put on because I laughed so much. The make-up artist was truly funny and each day wasn’t tiring, even after 14 hours of filming. It was like I was a totally different person. yea, of course.

Working on this movie was extraordinary. I learned a bunch of things, from how to position the camera to how hard it is to be a sound technician on set.

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This summer I spend three weeks as an Intern in the Hilton Hotel Bucharest because of my future plans to become a Hotel Manager.

I thought it would be good idea to have a taster of what I want to become in later life and it will also looks good on my university application for next the

Each week I was in a different department. The first week I worked as a concierge, giving the guests information about Bucharest but also planning tours and Airport transportation for them. The second week I spent in the business department which has different sections, such as Sales, Reservations and event planning. Most of that week I spent helping, as much as I could, planning weddings and parties in the Hotel.

In my final week I was in the VIP Lounge working as a waitress. Since this lounge is actually quite small and only two staff are needed, this department was a bit challenging but it was also the most exciting one because you get to interact with the guests.

If I would had to summarize these three weeks I would say that it was an incredible and amazing experience and I definitely plan to do this again next summer.

Sebastian M. — Year 13

Andrei D. — Year 11

Carol da Villa University

Fundeni Experience

I decided to try to do as much as I could during my holiday, and seeing as I missed the work experience period, I thought that it might be interesting to work during my break. I asked around to see where I could go to work, either as an unpaid experience or as actual paid work, and what I ultimately decided was that I would split my time into ‘two sections’.

On one side I worked for my Computing AL project, going over to Essentials and working in collaboration with them to further my computing project and also to learn what it means to be a system analyst and how to approach the process of creating a solution for a company’s problem. I had fun and learned quite a lot in the process.

The other (more interesting seeing as it is more relative to my interests) was spent researching at the Carol da Villa University. In collaboration with Ms Laura Bajenaru we researched something which she had noticed during work for her doctorate, a subject on which only one scientific paper had previously been published. With this in mind we set out to do as much as we could during the holiday, with a view to publishing an article within the year. The first series of experiments appeared conclusive, and so did the second, however there were constantly issues frustrating us, forbidding us from completing this task.

However let’s hope for a successful autumn and ultimately for publication!

From the very first time you step through the white hospital doors, the well-known smell of chemicals hits you, always managing to trigger some form of anxiety within, tensing you up. I was no exception to this, even though fortunately I was not walking through the hospital doors as a patient. After asking around for directions, we got to Dr Coriu’s office, where he gave us a pep-talk, telling us what to expect here in the following weeks and in turn what is expected from us.

I was no longer tense, but intrigued and eager to discover more about medicine. During the first day, we were given a tour of the section in which we would be for the next two weeks, to get used to the patients, the apparatus and obviously to learn our way around.

The next few days were alternations between the lab, where samples where analysed and a diagnosis was set, and interacting with patients, taking blood pressures and pulse rates. We saw a doctor perform a bone biopsy, which I found particularly interesting.

What I enjoyed the most however was observing doctors interacting with patients and communicating with them myself. Others enjoyed the lab work more.

Medicine has numerous branches, so it is important to know which specialty to choose. What I found out about myself from this was that although I find medicine fascinating, I would not be able to live a doctor’s life. Others found that they like medicine even more than before. It is important to get a taste of anything you wish to do before committing to it, to make sure it actually is what you want. This is especially true for medicine, because frankly, not everyone can do it.

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Duke of Edinburgh Expedition On the 7th of September, the Saturday just after the first week of school, I, Steve, Alin, and Adrianna departed from Bucharest, heading for Predeal to start our practice expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh award in which we are required to walk at least 6 hours per day for two days with one night of camping.

The trip was supervised by Ms Croci, the DoE coordinator, Ms Becky from primary school, who achieved the gold level award, and Ms Senzaconi, who joined us to supervise our belongings while we were out of the campsite.

could complete this demanding journey. At the campsite, we constructed our tents with the help of Ms Croci and Ms Becky, and began the second part of the journey for the day. When darkness loomed over us, we came back to the campsite and started preparing to make soup for dinner. After many failed attempts at lighting the gas burner I brought, a group of people at the campsite kindly told us that we could use their campfire. We were overjoyed at this proposal and were finally able to drink some hot soup made by ourselves before we went to sleep.

When we arrived at Predeal, we were left by ourselves to find the way to the campsite, which simulated the conditions of a real qualifying expedition. After 4 hours of arduous walking through rugged roads and twisted forest trails, we finally arrived at our campsite, Poiana Diham. This accomplishment completely erased our doubt about whether we

The next morning, we departed from the campsite at around 11 o’clock. The route taken this time was much easier, and to our delight, we took far fewer rests.

When we finally completed the journey, we all felt fatigued, but this pain was trivial compared to the satisfaction and pride of completing this journey.

In the end, we all learned that there is nothing that we can’t do, it is only a matter of whether we are determined to do it or not. With the experience from this practice journey, we are eager to start the real qualifying expedition, which is scheduled on the 6th and 7th of October.

Toby L.—Year 13

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Applying for University – A Student Perspective I am writing this article during a break on what is perhaps the 15th draft of my personal statement. The process of applying to university is something I have been looking forward to ever since I spent ICT lessons researching courses in Year 9 (sorry Mr Lee!). Now that the time is finally here, I can honestly say – in this colloquial form – that I am on the verge of a major freak out! Applying to university is shockingly bureaucratic, horribly stressful and utterly overwhelming. At the same time, receiving those emails about the status of your application gives you this absurd sense of purpose; you wonder whether you are going to spend the rest of your life as a scholar simply because of the adrenalin you get from applying. So, based on what I’ve been told and on my personal experiences so far, here’s an insight into what is involved!

For me, university options were in the back of my mind from the moment I selected my IGCSE subjects.

My brother was similarly determined to pursue theatrical arts. He was part of an acting society and attended the theatre regularly. Travelling to New York in order to learn more about Juilliard, we stumbled upon an article in The Guardian on a Psychology, Politics and Sociology course at Cambridge, commencing in less than a year. That was eventually what he ended up studying. Therefore, it is important to think about what you want to study, but always to be open to new suggestions, new pathways and especially, new passions.

Step 2—Research

Step 1— Think about what you want to study After receiving a Level 5 in my Key Stage 2 Science SAT, I knew that I wanted to study biochemistry. This would perhaps have been my first personal statement sentence if in fact, I had actually applied for biochemistry. Yet by Year 10, I decided I wanted to pursue Law, then History in Year 11, then Economic History and finally, Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

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Once you have discovered the field you are most interested in, research, research, research! I have a friend who basically printed out all of the UCL, LSE and Oxford websites and highlighted all over it until finally deciding what economics course she wanted to apply to. I know people who limit themselves to league tables and don’t see the greater picture of where they are applying to (i.e. city or countryside?) I know people who decided to go beyond the UK and are now researching the application process for Europe or the States. It is incredibly important to know what you need to do to get in, but more importantly, who you need to be. What type of people are the university interested in? Are you suited to the cosmopolitan

surroundings of LSE or the tranquillity of Warwick?

Step 3 - Choose your top 5 When choosing the universities you want to apply to, there are some basic criteria you have to keep in mind: a. b. c. d.

Grades required – be realistic about your attainment potential!

Resources available for your area – libraries, laboratories, etc.

University environment – the notorious city vs. countryside debate.

Opportunities available – study abroad programs, internships, etc.

It is important to remember that beyond academics, university life is supposed to be A LOT of fun. It is because of this that the choices you make must be based on where you feel you will be happiest. Ask, what institution do you feel represents you?

undoing a certain semi-colon into a comma for a week – don’t go down that path! Tell yourself when enough is enough. It is dangerous to be this paranoid! Instead, find two or three teachers you trust and work with them on the statement, ultimately, it should represent you, but from a very intellectually loaded perspective.

Step 5 – The Wait!

When all is said and done, it’s time for the wait. While for Oxbridge, you will still have that joy of doing something until the final result arrives (i.e. submit extra work, interview, etc.), for most of your other choices, the wait until March may seem endless. I can say that at this stage, it is most important to be patient, calm down and focus on something else. I guarantee that the offers you will receive represent the best options for you. Therefore, it is crucial that you fulfil the offer required!

Step 4 – The Application!

Here comes the bureaucratic part. Applications to British universities are submitted through UCAS. You are required to enter all the grades you have obtained, write a 4,000 character personal statement and receive a teacher recommendation. Getting all of this sorted takes about a month, so make sure you plan your time effectively. Also, set yourself a personal deadline. I have been constantly changing and then

I wish all IBSB students good luck in tackling University applications and hope that perhaps I have instigated a sliver of excitement in your hearts. All in all, this entire process is a coming-of-age story and as such, its climax is definitely something you should be looking forward

Catrinel V.—Year 13

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Creative Writing Something is coming through the forest A chill breeze is swaying the snow-filled branches of the tall and imposing pine trees, causing ice flakes to gently fall to the ground, adding to the already thick layer of frost and creating the illusion that it is still snowing. Through the complex of intertwining branches that cast a shade beneath, establishing a tranquil though hostile atmosphere, the white, blinding disc of the sun is visible, hanging in a crisp blue sky.

On the floor of the dense forest, a fox hurries with an unearthly grace. It bears a dead rabbit gripped tightly within its clenched jaws, the inanimate body occasionally flopping from side to side as the fox circumvents an obstacle in its path. Leaving an almost indistinguishable trail behind, with an occasional hot, red bloodstain piercing the sparkling snow, the fox swiftly melts away into the frosty thickets, seeking refuge inside its den.

Deeper in the heart of the forest, in a small clearing into which the winter sun pours powerfully, yet not powerfully enough to melt away the dense snow, a deer is drinking from a pristine stream, flowing fresh with pure mountain water. Suddenly she arches her long, elegant neck skywards and thrusts her ears in the same direction. Listening; listening; before darting into the motherly protection of the woods. Other animals react in a similar fashion as croaking birds rapidly wing their way free of the canopy of trees which has previously concealed them. Something is coming!

An eerie serenity sets in, swallowing the forest in a silent gulp. Not a movement, not a sound. Until, a faint noise is heard in the distance: a curious noise‌a mixture of sounds‌increasing in intensity. Branches

are snapping. There is a strange hum. Bushes rustle violently. Now an Ark of animals rush in a teeming chaos through the clearing, ignoring the ice-cold water, frantically splashing their way through, refusing to recognise it as an impediment.

And the animals have good reason to take flight: for the hum becomes a rumble, the rumble becomes a drum roll, and the drum roll becomes a thunderous roar.

Avalanche!

The forest nestles in the lap of the steepest face of the mountain. And as the colossal accumulation of snow and ice gains momentum, it razes everything in its path; sans discrimination; sans exception; sans mercy.

The oldest trees are now mere firewood and the mightiest mountain rocks are now scattered across the valley floor. The clouds of snow rise high into the air above, claiming the space. Nothing can stop this raw force of nature.

The roar decreases, the drum sticks pause, the hum dies down. Silence. The sun is setting behind the mountains. It forms an orange-yellow sky, blending its way into a deep red, eventually disappearing into a dark purple, melting back into a black infinity. Soon enough, the night will come, and the healing of the forest will begin again.

Andrei D.– Year 11

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beneath my palms, and all I can do is give it a little squeeze, draining it of its energy, like the way you drained me. As the wind travels through the leaves on the trees, it makes me wonder if they’re whispering sweet nothings in my ear, the way you used to.

Although, if I listen closely, it’s all so very melancholic, my dear.

It’s so loud inside my head and all the words I should have said keep on piling up as each second passes. It’s a full moon tonight and I only wish you were here, lying next to me, our fingers entwined with each other’s, only the November stars as our martyr. But you’re not, and I feel like I’m losing my mind. The stars are shining as bright as that gleam in your eyes when we first met. Let me tell you, darling, they could be the only source of light, yet I’d still seem to find your face in the darkness.

I’m lying on the grass, on the hill top. Remember, our spot? The spot where you promised you’d love me for eternity; oh, how I misjudged eternity’s time frame! I tried to get as close to the stars as possible, hoping they’d be able to wipe away my tears. If I were to step on the edge of the cliff, right on the very edge, I’d be able to see the whole town living it up. I used to find joy in seeing others happy, but now I’ve decided there isn’t really much point when you’re a walking disaster.

And with the moon watching my every move, I pray to God I’m not completely hopeless.

The wind passes me by, just like everyone else around me. With one sweep, it takes everything I have, but my pain. The goosebumps start to form. Remember, how I liked running my hand through your tiny hairs when you’d get goosebumps? But, you’re not here my darling, and I’ve never felt so useless. The grass is wet

There is an aching pain in my chest where my heart once used to be; now it’s just emptiness, refusing to be filled. The ache increases with every inhalation, because it’s a constant reminder that it’s one more breath without you.

It’s almost midnight, and the stars are looking down at me. I’m hoping they don’t pity me. I’ve had enough of pity to last me a lifetime. I would try to identify the constellations, but I know I won’t be able to, without you. A tear escapes from the depths of my eye, leaving a burning feeling behind, reminding me of the pain you brought upon me. And I should be remembering all the tears I have spent on you and all those sleepless nights. I wonder, whilst I am being tattooed with everything you’ve buried me under, will you be nostalgic for all our moments together, my dear?

Because it would be a terrible, terrible waste if I was the only one tangled in this doomed love of ours; feeling alone, so, very, very, very alone.

“The spot where you promised

you’d love me for eternity” Yagmur O.– Year 11

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Berlin Exchange

“Ich bin ein Berliner” as President Kennedy famously claimed!

from the Berliner Dom, before taking a walk through the Brandenburger Tor. Later that afternoon we met our host families and left to their houses for a welcoming, German, Sunday dinner.

On the second day, we went on a boat trip on the Spree that allowed us to see all of the capital’s wonders in just a couple of hours. After that boat ride, we visited the Glass Dome and upper terrace of the Reichstag, where we saw the parliament at work. At the end of the day we went out with our families as a group to get to know each other better.

Back in June, ten of our intrepid students left Romania and embarked on a wonderful trip to the beautiful capital of the mighty Germany, Berlin. The weekend of our arrival coincided with the anniversary of the iconic "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech that the former president of the United States, John F. Kennedy , gave to the West Berliners on the 26th of June 1963.

The second largest city in the European Union in terms of its population, and the fifth largest in terms of its area, Berlin is more than just the capital city of Germany. It offers an intriguing clash between the modern world and Germany’s darker past, with the graffiti infested streets that lay hidden in the outskirts of the city giving the proverbial finger to the much more austere Kurfürstendamm and the FriedrichshainKreuzberg.

We arrived on a Sunday evening, and immediately started our tour, beginning with the front yard of the Reichstag where we listened to the beautiful bells

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Our third day included a visit to the Jewish Memorial Monument that left a grave and unforgettable mark upon us. The mood was lifted, however, when for lunch we found a very interesting and secluded Taiwanese restaurant where we all had a lot of fun.

Towards the end of the day we took a look at a section of the infamous Berlin Wall, which stands in the centre of Potsdamer Platz as a memorial to the enforced division of the city during the Communist era.

With 175 museums, Berlin has more museums than rainy days. And we experienced both! On this third day of our stay, the heavens opened as we tried to cram in as many museums as possible in the short period of time available to us. The most impressive was a very unique exhibition of Anish Kapoor at the Martin-

“Ich bin ein Berliner” as President Kennedy famously claimed!

Gropius-Bau. And to wind up the day we visited another section of the Wall On our last day we were pleased to find that the school had organised a “graffiti tour” through the artistic districts of Berlin. And so it was that we ventured to the East Central. From our perspective

this was far and away the best side of the capital, with a multitude of cultures, colours, words and drawings scattered all over the place. We learnt about different contests and competitions that happen during the year and also about certain famous people who “toured” around the buildings of Berlin, creating revolutionary art. There was still another surprise in store, however, as the tour guides lead us to their personal workshop and taught us how to create graffiti and even left us to “practice” on their walls.

We are delighted to report that, at the end of this half term, the German exchange students who welcomed us to their homes are scheduled to make a return visit to Bucharest. And we can but hope that they will return home as entertained by our capital city as we were by theirs!

Lara S. – Year 12

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Staff Induction Preparing for the start of school is standard procedure in most schools around the world.

Teachers usually arrive a week or two before school starts to run through the school calendar for the year and to begin planning not just lessons, but the various events that will take place throughout the year.

An important part of the preparation is also ensuring that all staff are trained and ready for situations that might arise, and as such all staff at IBSB receive Medic Frist Aid training and basic training with the school fire extinguishers.

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“...ensuring that all staff are trained and ready for situations that might arise�

Some Key Dates for your Diary for 2013-14 Term Starts Primary School Halloween Party Bonfire Night PS Cross Curricular Reports Out Oxbridge Applications 1 Day Workshop Primary Math Challenge Starts PS Autumn Reports Out Caledonia Ball PS Parent’s Evening Secondary School Winter Ball Winter Production Primary Math Challenge Starts KS3 Performance Morning Carol Concert Term Ends Term 2a Starts Key Stage 3-5 Parents Evening ESU Public Speaking Competition 8-11 years Key Stage 4/5 Mock Exams Light into Europe Burns Supper Bucharest Debating competition KS3 Assessment Week Primary/Secondary School Ski Tips Secondary School Valentines Ball WS House Games Term 2a Ends Term 2b Starts SS London/Cambridge University Trip PS Martisor Day SS French/Art Trip to Paris SS HMCE Harvard Model Congress Europe PS Spring Reports Out PS Parent’s Evening SS Netherlands University Visit KS3 Assessment Week SS Berlin History Trip Parent Questionnaire Out KS3 Term 2 Reports Out SS International School Talent Show- AISB WS International School Swimming Competition KS3 Parents Evening PS Spring Show WS House Games- Lia Manoliu Stadium Term 2b Ends Term 3 Starts Annual Students vs PTF Cricket Match International School Athletics Competition PS Term 2b Reports out to Parents IGCSE/A LEVEL Study Leave Starts Years 11-13 End of Year Reports Out IGCSE/A LEVEL Exams Start Year 6 Assessment Week Primary School Residential Trips KS3 Assessment Week KS3 Drama Evening IBSB Sports Day SS Years 10-13 Work Experience Programme PS End of Year Reports OutA SS Graduation and Prize Giving Ceremony Summer Fete PS Graduation and Prize Giving Ceremony Term 3 Ends IBSB Summer School (4 Weeks)

Term 1b (Oct 28- Dec 20) Week 8 Week 8 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 10 Week 11 Week 11 Week 12 Week 12 Week 13 Week 10 Week 15 Week 15 Week 15 Term 2a (Jan 7- Feb 14) Week 16 Week 16 Week 16 Weeks 18-19 Week 19 Week 20 Week 20 Week 21 Week 21 Week 21 Week 21 Term 2b (Feb 24- April17) Week 22 Week 22 Week 23 Week 23 Week 25 Week 25 Week 26 Week 26 Week 27 Week 27 Week 27 Week 28 Week 28 Week 28 Week 29 Week 29 Week 29 Week 29 Term 3 (April 28-June 20) Week 30 Week 30 Week 31 Week 31 Week 31

28 Oct 2013 31 Oct 2013 01 Nov 2013 (Crowne Plaza) 8 Nov 2013 16 Nov 2013 18 Nov 2013 22 Nov 2013 23 Nov 2013, Intercontinental Hotel 26-27 Nov 2013 28 Nov 2013 5 Dec 2013 – Tandarica Theatre 18 Nov 2013 19 Dec 2013 20 Dec 2013 20 Dec 2013, 12.00noon Tuesday 7 Jan 2014 8 Jan 2014 18 Jan 2014 20– 24 Jan 2014 25 Jan 2014, at the Hilton 3 Feb 2014 3-7 Feb 2014 PS 9th-14thFeb/ SS 8th – 15thFeb 2014 13 Feb 2014 14 Feb 2014 14 Feb 2014 24 Feb 2014 24-28 Feb 2014 3 March 2014 3-7 Mar 2014 15-17 Mar 2014 21 Mar 2014 25-26 Mar 2014 24-28 Mar 2014 31 Mar - 3 Apr 2014 31 Mar - 5 Apr 2014 31 Mar 2014 11 Apr 2014 12 Apr 2014 12 Apr 2014 15 Apr 2014 16 Apr 2014 17 Apr 2014 17 Apr 2014, 12.00pm Monday 28 Apr 2014 3 May 2014 9 May 2014 9 May 2014 9 May 2014

Week 32 Week 33 Week 34 Week 34 Week 34 Week 35 Weeks 36-37 Week 36 Week 36 Week 37

13 May 2014 19-23 May 2014 26 May-30 May 2014 26 May-30 May 2014 30 May 2014 7 Jun 2014, 9.00am-12.30 9-20 Jun 2014 13 Jun 2014 13 Jun 2014, 5.00-7.30 20 Jun 2014, 11.00-12.30

Week 8 July/August

Friday 20 Jun 2014, 2.00pm Jun 30-Aug 01 2014

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INT E R NAT I ONAL B R IT ISH SC HOOL O F B UC HAR E ST E D UC ATI O N WI TH O U T FR O N TIE RS

“Preparing the children of today to face the challenges of tomorrow” Partnered with: