Primary: Weekly Update 18/06/2021

This weekly update is the final copy for the academic year 2020 - 2021.

A joint update from Early Years and Infant and Junior Campuses; we would like to thank you all sincerely for your kind support, particularly over these last few weeks. 

It is not the end of the year we would have hoped for. And yet, we have made it.  Our students have motivated and encouraged us to keep going and we have been so impressed with the engagement throughout this period of Virtual Learning.  Seeing the faces of students on the screens, their efforts on Seesaw, their enthusiasm and resilience shown, has been a joy for us.  We are very proud of each and every student.

We are pleased to be able to let you know that over the course of the summer, we will continue to make improvements to the school campuses. There will be significant work going on at both the Junior and Secondary campuses and minor work being completed at the Early Years and Infant Campus.  Please look out for an email from Mr Anthony Rowlands in the coming weeks with further details of what is happening and the specific details of the projects taking place.  

Further along in this update is the link to the final round up from the PTG committee. It is well worth a read and we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the core committee and all involved in the PTG for everything they have done throughout the year.  We are very grateful for your support and delighted that the committee will remain largely intact next year. 

Farewell to Our Leaving Staff

This year has presented many challenges and one that we are currently facing is how to give a good send off to those members of staff who are moving on.  We cannot have them speak to all the children in assembly, parents cannot show their appreciation in the classroom, and as a staff we cannot celebrate together all they have accomplished in their time at BIS. However, we know that as a whole BIS community, we can join together online, via social media and through email to thank those who are leaving for all their hard work over the years and for the impact they have made on the children at BIS. If you get an opportunity, please send an email or a message to express your own appreciation of their efforts.

We would like to thank and send our best wishes to the following members of staff:

Young Interpreters Update

Congratulations to our new Young Interpreters who have begun their online training in preparation for welcoming the new students who will join BIS at the beginning of the new term, after the summer break. They will play a very important role in helping our new arrivals to feel comfortable in their new environment, understand the classroom routines and rules, and make friends.

 The Young Interpreters are:

 Year 4: SeEun, Nha Ky, Samierra, Oliver, YoonSeul, Tony, Bobo, Temwa, Ranka & Andrew.

Year 5: Alistair, Hoai Anh, Aiden, Zaara, Lavin, Gianna, Julia, Sean, Ethan & Moon.

Mr Josh Dale, EAL teacher.

EAL Year 6

This term, Year 6 EAL students have been scaring each other with their ‘Tales Of Fear’. They have learnt how to describe a creepy setting, and how to build suspense effectively to keep readers on the edge of their seat! Students have been learning how to use a range of descriptive techniques, such as ‘show not tell’, similes and alliteration, to make their stories interesting and enjoyable to read.

They have also been honing their research skills to investigate unusual phobias and write a non-chronological report. Students took on the role of ‘expert’ to explain these weird and wonderful phobias in their reports.

As we headed into online learning, the enthusiasm and engagement continued as we moved onto ‘Warning Stories’. We have read a number of short texts, such as The Caravan and Elf Road that show exactly what happens when we ignore a warning! Students even created their own comic strips to retell the story of ‘The Caravan’. As you can see from our example, these comics look incredibly professional and students should be very proud of all their hard work! Well done Year 6!

Ms Mandy and Ms Shaheena, EAL Teacher

Live Cooking Session in Spanish Class!

 Hola amigos!

We had our final cultural activity this week; making “Chicken tinga tortillas”. This is a traditional Mexican recipe, originally from Puebla.

We all logged in from our kitchens with the ingredients ready to go. Some parents accompanied their children and between us we all managed to make some delicious tortillas.

Did you know that Mexican cuisine has been declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO since 2010?

 ¡Adiós!

 By Fiorella Balbuena, Spanish Teacher

LiF Mother Language Challenge- Final Round Up

Wow! What a wonderful five weeks it has been, celebrating and learning all about the many, many different languages and cultures of our students.

So many of you were excited to share your experiences and teach your friends and teachers new things. We had over 138 students taking part and more than 20 countries highlighted, including: The Netherlands, Turkey, Japan, France, India, China, Vietnam, The Philippines, Korea, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Slovakia, Thailand, Germany, Brazil, Wales, Czech Republic, The United Kingdom, Bangladesh and New Zealand. Phew! What a truly global community we have.

Your passion, creativity and presentation skills shone, and we learned new words, listened to fantastic stories, sang very catchy songs, cooked up a storm with some delicious recipes, and shared important moments and memories from home.

Our diversity and multicultural backgrounds are part of what makes BIS so special, and we hope you enjoyed taking part just as much as we enjoyed learning. You are truly global Citizens and Ms. Svit is so proud of you all!

Now count up those many house points you’ve earned (two per challenge completed), relax, and have a safe and wonderful summer!

Ms Erica Barthorpe and Ms Kathy Paine, EAL Teachers

Music Round Up

Although we have not had students on site for a while, it has not stopped the Music Department.  Do take a look at this post with some reminders of the great Music and events we have had throughout the year. 

PTG

We are all members of the BIS Parent Teachers Group and as mentioned above, this is the final round up from the PTG committee this year.  The committee is excited for more parents to get involved and by clicking on the link below, you are one step closer to supporting your child at school and making more friends within the parent community here at school.  Click on the link!

And finally…

The academic year 2020-2021 now draws to a close.  Thank you to the whole BIS community for all your support over the last 10 months.  What we have been through together makes us stronger.  Whilst the sad passing of Ms Emily remains heavy in our hearts, we can also look back on great times we have had together as a school. 

Farewell and best wishes to our BIS families who are moving on to new adventures in other parts of the world.  To those families who are returning, we look forward to seeing you in August and wish you a safe, relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

Ms Dee and Mr Ian, Primary Headteachers