Dear Parents

It has been another packed week with BIS successfully hosting the BSSA Football Junior Qualifying Tournament and Stuco candidates giving speeches. One of the things I love about working in international schools is the can-do attitude of the students. An IB education really does seem to empower them to take on new challenges and get involved in their community. It is great to see so many of our students taking risks and putting themselves out there to lead others. Next week sees us host the BSSA Girls Senior Football Finals and the BSSA Junior Football Finals and  I would like to wish all the BIS students good luck and thank the coaches for the work they have done to support students getting to this point.  

Committing to training, collaborating as a team, public speaking are all great transferable skills that will stand our students in good stead for their futures. Education is not just about grades. Grades do open doors but it is the ability to use and apply knowledge for good  and the skills needed to collaborate around common goals that have greater impact in society. This is another reason why I value working in IB schools; pedagogy and practice support the belief that education can lead to greater understanding of different perspectives and collaboration can create a more harmonious society. 

Today has seen the first of our professional development days. Teaching is a collaborative profession and research has shown that collective teacher efficacy has one of the biggest impacts on students' education.  This is why we have professional development slots throughout each term so that we can learn and grow with each other and serve our students better which is all part of Goal 1 for us this year. In addition to these days we invest in individuals attending training with internationally renowned educators so that we can bring best practice back to BIS. Teachers working together and sharing best practice is an essential way of strengthening planning, teaching and assessing. 

I am pleased to share that our non-teaching staff also had the opportunity to undertake professional development today.  We have invested in a package that covers all aspects of school operations and teaching and learning and enables staff to enrol in live and asynchronous courses that will support their growth and development. As adults it is important that we model behaviours and attitudes that we want to instil in our students. Therefore it is important that we show that even as adults we never stop learning! 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend

Best wishes

Dr Heather

Head of School

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BSSA football tournaments have started, bringing together students from schools across Bali for a week of competition, teamwork, friendship and, most importantly, participation.

On Wednesday, the East Side qualifiers took place across three schools, with our 9–10-year-old teams competing at BIS, the 11–12-year-old teams at Dyatmika, and the 13–15-year-old teams at AIS.

For families who have been part of BIS for a while, and for those who are new to our community, it is worth remembering the philosophy behind BSSA. Its stated goal is to expose the maximum number of students to sport through participation in friendly competition. At BIS, this usually means having enough students to enter two teams in each age group, competing in Division 1 and Division 2.

Division 1 provides a more competitive environment, while Division 2 places greater emphasis on participation, development and making sure students have meaningful opportunities to play. Often, our Division 1 teams include some of our older or more experienced players, while Division 2 gives younger or less experienced students the chance to develop their skills and confidence. However, these are not fixed rules, and both teams are important parts of the BIS experience.

Ultimately, BSSA is about much more than the result on the scoreboard. These events give students opportunities to work as a team, communicate, make decisions, show resilience, respond to success and disappointment, demonstrate sportsmanship, and take responsibility for themselves and others. They also allow students to meet and interact with young people from other schools and to represent BIS as part of a wider school community.

At BIS, we are also fortunate to involve some of our older DP students as coaches for our younger teams. This gives our students the opportunity to develop a different set of skills: planning training sessions, managing groups, communicating effectively, making decisions, solving problems and leading others. It has been brilliant to see our DP students take on this responsibility and recognise how these experiences can help them grow as confident and capable leaders.

The BSSA season continues next week, with the Senior Finals on Tuesday, with the boys competing at AIS and the girls at BIS, followed by the 9–15 age-group finals on Wednesday at the same venues as this week's qualifiers.

We are delighted that many of our Division 1 teams have reached the finals, as well as our 9–10-year-old Division 2 boys team. While we are proud of these achievements, the real success is seeing so many BIS students taking part, supporting one another, developing new skills and representing our school with enthusiasm and pride.

Good luck to all our teams next week!

Albert Colet Garcia

PHE Teacher, Athletics and Activities Director