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It has been a great year in the Secondary Music Department. Lessons continue to be rich and diverse, with many different genres and styles being studied, in both Music and Music Technology alike.

It’s been another exciting year in Drama at BISS and I have been very impressed with the dramatic output of our students.

There have been a lot of reasons to celebrate our students recently, so I wanted to do a roundup of all the recent Principal’s Commendations I have awarded.

At BISS Puxi, we believe in supporting and encouraging students to develop not only academically but also holistically through the engagement of local and global issues. Linking to one of our five pillars, ‘internationalism’, we emphasise the importance of becoming a global citizen who makes informed decisions and contributes to the local and wider community.

The Nord Anglia Maths Challenge was held from Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 January for students in Years 5 to 8. Our family of schools in the China region were invited to take part and we had some brilliant entries from colleagues across the Nord Anglia community. The central theme was Mathematics in China and the Lunar New Year Calendar!

Wishing you prosperity! Please bring me my ‘hongbao’! BISS is alive once again with a blaze of red as students and teachers have donned festive red or Chinese outfits to bring in luck for the Year of the Tiger.

On Friday 21 January, our Year 12 students enjoyed a series of enrichment workshops. We started the day by looking at how students can maximise their success in the IBDP – this mirrored the parent workshop that ran on Monday 17 January.

On Monday 17 January, we were able to invite our Year 12 Parents and their sons and daughters into school. They attended a workshop designed to help parents to understand what their sons and daughters will be doing in school in the coming months.

Last week, our school was invited by Oakridge International School in Bangalore (NAE) to take part in a 24-hour Codefest, from 1pm on Saturday 22 until 1pm on Sunday 23 January. Students needed to decide on a program idea related to a list of given topics and then, brainstorm their idea before the competition. They were only given the 24 hours window to write the code.

If you've watched the news, you have probably seen stories about Virtual Reality and wondered what you can do with it. As a school, we have wondered the same thing! So, a few years ago we bought some VR headsets to trial them and see how they can be used in education. We had a look at which one was the easiest to use and also reviewed which applications were available on each device. In January this year, the first Year 7 students had the opportunity to start learning how to do 3D modelling in Virtual Reality.

On Tuesday 11 January, our Year 11 students and their parents were invited to attend the IBDP Information Session and Subject Fair. The students have just started to think about their move into the IB Academy next year and we are keen to support them with their option choices. One of the benefits to the students of being given the opportunity to think about next year is to offer them additional motivation in this very challenging next two terms.

On behalf of the sportED Tennis team, we would like to offer a general summary of tennis activities happening this year on the fantastic five court facility we have at the school.

Last Friday, students from Key Stage 3 presented their work from this term in a showcase highlighting several weeks of hard work and preparation. While selected students presented their work from Music Technology lessons, the primary focus, however, was drumming within a large ensemble. Year 7 focused on Japanese Taiko Drumming; Year 8 African Djembe Drumming; and Year 9 performed Brazilian Samba Drumming. There is always a slight element of risk in engaging the students in two hours of high octane drumming on a Friday afternoon, but the results were amazing!

We walked out of school and on to the bus, bursting with adrenaline and excitement, on our way to NACIS. The ride was great fun, our small Drama group laughing at silly things such as Sofia’s drawn on moustache (ready for the performance, and lots of group selfies were taken.

Lara was one of the three students who achieved a perfect 45 score in her IB last year. We looked at how Lara achieved a perfect score and in turn, a place at Oxford University.

Parent and visitor entry to BISS Puxi campus has been restricted during the last 18 months as the school has followed the guidelines of the SEC (Shanghai Education Committee). There are clear criteria in place relating to travel, health and daily entry for pupils to the school grounds.

We're delighted to announce the publication of this year's Creative Writing Digital Anthology, featuring all the longlisted authors! We hope you enjoy reading fellow Nord Anglia students' work, and continue to be inspired by your retelling of these climate rebels' stories.

Our Year 8 students have made an excellent start to the year. So much so, that some students having already received praise emails from teachers to parents because it is not just about the relationships between students and teachers that count. If we forget about parents, then we miss out a significant part of the jigsaw puzzle. At BISS, we believe the most effective relationships are built on positive communication. Erik Cuc, Lucas Yu-Cheng and Liam Webb were amongst the students who were recognised recently during assembly time for their positive contributions to school life.

On Monday 6 September, we ran a Welcome Evening event for our Year 12 IB students and their parents. The focus of the evening was to introduce our new IB Team and communicate the roles that we will all play in supporting the students through this outstanding programme. We also wanted to give our parents an understanding of the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and how they can help their sons and daughters in achieving the best possible experience – academically and socially.

World-renowned expert on assessment for learning (AFL) Professor Dylan Wiliam joined our teaching staff and leadership team for a session on assessment for learning.