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‘Conflict: Healing the scars of the past’. This was the bold theme underpinning debates in the three committees running at the Wellington MUN on 24 and 25 March. The committees: Security Council; Human Rights Council and the General Assembly for beginners constituted of delegates from five international schools in Shanghai. Eighteen delegates and two chairs representing BISS Puxi were all raring to go as the excitement of socialising and collaborating with other like-minded delegates reached fever-pitch.

We often describe the learning journey of a student as being when they are in the midst of being at school. Recent research suggests that the learning begins whilst in the womb. The foetus is exposed to a range of sensory experiences, such as sound, light, and touch, which can influence their development. For example, research has shown that babies can recognise their mother's voice and respond to certain sounds in the environment while still in the womb.

In English lessons on Tuesday, students were celebrating World Poetry Day by crafting and performing their own compositions, in addition to testing their literary knowledge through participating in a fun poetry quiz.

The Year 3 children have been engaging in the exciting ‘Talk for Writing’ genre of non-chronological report writing. The text titled ‘How do people survive in the desert?’ was the starting point to sharpen and develop the children’s writing skills of the non-chronological report.

As the school year continues, we are proud to highlight the important role that our Year 5 and Year 6 students are playing as playground buddies. These students have put themselves forward for this responsibility and are now serving as role models for younger children in our school.

Mathematics is an essential subject that provides a foundation for many other subjects and is crucial for success in everyday life. As such, it is important for schools to provide a strong Maths education for their students. One way that BISS is doing this is through the implementation of the White Rose Maths scheme. Recently, James Callan, our Maths Leader, held a Maths parent workshop to inform parents about the White Rose scheme and how it is implemented across different year groups.

Last week, Year One students were very excited to go on their first educational visit of the year! Excursions out of school are such a valuable part of our students’ education and learning experience, and we are delighted that we can now resume such activities.

At the start of Term 2, students across the Secondary School were encouraged to apply for a Prefect Role. The rationale behind a Prefect is the following: A Prefect employs the core values of courtesy, respect, and responsibility. Prefects are ambassadors for the school and are excellent role models for other students. Their function is to represent the student body at school events and to act as role models upholding our value system.

With a busy schedule consisting of deadlines, class work, homework, IAs, EEs, CAS, ECAs and exam preparation we often do not have chance to reflect on our feelings and stressors. Our body is very good at sending signals, but we are also equally good at ignoring these signals.

The presentation on ‘Getting Exam Ready’ on Tuesday 7 March was aimed to provide both practical information about the upcoming IGCSE exams, study leave and how parents can support their children in their first set of external examinations. If you were unable to join the event we have shared the information covered by email.

I still vividly remember the week leading up to my first day at Tufts University – “butterflies in the stomach” would be underselling the sensation. As a grizzled adult, I am tempted to look back now dismissively: there was no apparent reason to be so apprehensive. But as a university guidance counsellor and parent, I find dismissing these feelings not so easy – their roots are grounded in a reality worth investigating.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the Higher Education Guidance team at BISS. The team consists of Jessie Lee, an expert in applications to the top universities in Korea. Ms. Lee has been with BISS for 5 years, and during this time, has cultivated strong relationships with Korean members of our cohort. Her role as CAS Coordinator enables her to get to know our students intimately and challenge them to take risks that expand their horizons and push them out of their comfort zones.

Thank you to those parents who attended the ‘Succeeding at Key Stage 3’ event this week; there was a very strong turnout. It was a pleasure to present information which we hope is of help to you as parents/guardians and your children, to support their academic success, and be happy and healthy learners at BISS.

Reading is key to unlocking the academic curriculum and is of fundamental importance when considering a child’s future achievement, wellbeing and successes in life. Current research by the Institute of Education highlights the benefits of reading books and newspapers, and visiting the library as having a significant impact on a child’s progress with reading.

As a global group of schools, there are many integral differences between each and every Nord Anglia school, which could be cultural, the curriculum, interaction with the local community, assessments used etc. However, all Nord Anglia schools globally follow the key philosophy of ‘Be Ambitious’.

Secondary students at BISS were treated to a literal taste of Diwali (the Festival of Lights) this week. There were student-led stalls with traditional snacks and drinks, and henna design, all with the backdrop of some amazing harmonium (similar to an accordion) performers. And in the spirit of the festival, we had a bright and colourful non-uniform day as well as some candle and rangoli making at lunchtimes in the week.

The Junior MUN conference hosted by NAIS Hong Kong kicked off to a great start at 8.15 am on Saturday 29 October. Fifteen young and enthusiastic delegates and two committee chairs trooped into our campus ready to discuss the set topics and formulate possible solutions to the following issues in their respective committees.