A great education is about exposure to difference. We prepare our young people for the rich variety of life by exposing them to different people, different ideas, different environments and different activities. From this they learn that success comes in many forms, they learn to embrace challenge, and learn to adapt. A BIS education embraces this philosophy and as we begin September, I am delighted that this week’s update demonstrates how we are creating the conditions for our students to embrace difference by highlighting the Launch of our Co-curricular Programme for 2020-21, and our “Read a New Book Month” for September.
Our co-curricular programme is a key pillar of learning at BIS- its range, depth and quality never ceases to amaze me. The way our teachers tap into their interests, passions and skills to provide a rich menu of opportunities for our students is incredible. It is also good for our students to see their teachers in a different light as they too step outside of their own comfort zones to try something different.
At the start of the year we said to our students that a key focus for this academic year is to be involved in all aspects of school life and it gives me great pleasure to report that the 120+ activities available to our secondary students have been met with unbelievable enthusiasm in the sign-up process. Thank you, our parents, for encouraging your sons and daughters to participate and try something new.
Another way we encourage our students to try something new and embrace difference is through encouraging the joy of reading. By exposing our young people to books we not only fire their intellectual curiosity with new ideas, but also share the benefits to their wellbeing of reading for pleasure. We adhere to the Platonic view that:
“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything”.
(Plato- 427-347 BCE)
September is “Read a New Book Month 2020” here at BIS. Find our more from our Teacher Librarian, Anita Curley:
September: Read a New Book Month
‘Reading books that we know we’ll like is a wonderful way to escape the stresses of daily life. But sometimes a new type of book allows us to see the world in a different way.’ (World Book.org, 2020)
September is ‘Read a New Book Month’ and at BIS Secondary we are encouraging all of our students to try to read a book they wouldn’t normally read - to challenge and expand their reading habits to gain new insights into a life, time, place, or idea different from their own.
Our Library Team has put together events and reading initiatives throughout this month to encourage our students to find out about and enjoy as many new books as they can, beginning with our Year 7 Bookmark competition launched next week - all Year 7s will have the opportunity to enter this House Event by designing a bookmark to promote and share their favourite books with others. Our Book Review Competition 2020 will also be coming up soon for all students to take part in, and ‘Pass on the Power’ of books and reading. Look out for BIS Secondary teacher reading recommendations too - one for each day of the month, beginning with some of our past favourites.
Ms Anita Curley
BIS Secondary Teacher Librarian
Co-Curricular Programme
We’ve spoken recently about the richness of life at BIS and one area that is incredibly rich is our Co-curricular Activities (CCA) programme. Designed to enhance and compliment the learning that takes place in our classrooms, CCAs really are part of the fabric of a BIS education.
Through CCAs, students engage with their peers, their teachers, and the wider community in different ways, forging strong bonds and engaging in important self-reflection. The co-curricular programme as a whole is designed to broaden students’ interests and perspectives of the world as they develop a range of skills including social, emotional, leadership, independence, collaboration, moral reasoning, decision making, problem solving, and critical thinking. CCAs enable these skills to develop through regular commitment to a weekly activity that develops students’ creativity, keeps them active, and encourages service within the community. We focus on quality experiences and provide a range of activities each term.
Alongside the teacher-led CCAs, we have a number of student-led CCAs where students organise the weekly activities for and with their peers. These CCAs vary from community focused, to skills development, and allow our students to develop their leadership skills in an area of their interest. All students are encouraged to submit ideas for CCAs, and it is through this that we have such a wide range on offer.
We’re incredibly excited to be bringing back our co-curricular programme starting with CCAs beginning on 14th September, and you can take a look at what we have on offer in our Virtual CCA Fair Google Site. A huge thank you to our Whole School Co-curricular Coordinator, Mrs Tracey Brownrigg, for putting together such a fantastic programme! We’re looking forward to seeing everything our students achieve this year both in and out of the classroom.
Follow this link for more on co-curricular learning from NAE.