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director's note
director's note
Dear Parents,
As this term gets underway, we are happy to announce that each month we will be covering a theme in our newsletter and in-school events. In February our spotlight is on Global Citizenship. This is more than simply having a diverse demographic in our schools. It is how we meet the needs of our community and how we build and foster relationships.
We know through several meetings that new families who join us would like to be put in touch with other families, not necessarily within the class their child belongs to. We also know that we have a large parent body of experts and industry leaders in their own fields. We will shortly be sending out a survey to find out more about you and how we can develop a strong and meaningful partnership to enhance and enrich our students' time here at school.
With best wishes,
Natalia
EYFS
Miss Lisa & Miss Lynne: EYFS1
We are happy to welcome new teachers and students to the Fish Class for the start of a new year! A warm welcome to Miss Lisa, Miss Melike, and our new Fish classmates!
Miss Melike
Miss Lisa
My name is Lisa Ward and I'm the new teacher in Fish Class.
I'm from New Zealand, and after teaching there for 20 years I decided to test the waters of international teaching and discovered I love it! I've spent 6 years in Azerbaijan, three years at a school with British Curriculum and Cambridge, then another three years at a school in Azerbaijan which had the IB curriculum. I've most recently moved from Nairobi in Kenya where I was in the leadership team for Early Years up to Year 3, again with the British Curriculum and Cambridge for core subjects.
I've got a special interest in education for students with complex health needs and was lucky to work for a year in the Southern Health School in New Zealand, which is a school where teachers work one to one with students and their families during some difficult times, and then help them transition back to their original school once they're well enough.
Because I grew up in NZ I love the outdoors, being in or near rivers and the sea and I'm passionate about sport - especially rugby!
I'm really happy to be here in Turkey and part of the BISI family. I look forward to getting to know everyone over the coming year.
Kind regards,
Lisa
Miss Lauren: Reception
Dragonflies have had a lovely start to the New Year! We made a Superstar of the Week certificates for someone special.
Dragonflies are always busy!
We have been learning about machines and have been investigating what machines do, how they help us and what noises they make! We recorded what we could see and hear.
Here are our healthy robots!
Year One
Miss Katrine: 1D & Miss Lizzie: 1S
This half term in Year 1, we are learning all about the planet Earth. We have been learning about dry land, the continents and the oceans, as well as what is important for life on Earth. We have also learnt about the importance of the sun and have been making our very own Earth collages.
Year Two
Ms. Verralls: 2V
For our technology unit, we have been learning about bread. Year 2 have enjoyed researching bread from around the world, testing different flour and yeast and tasting bread. Last week we tasted sourdough bread, chickpea bread, rye bread and traditional Turkish breads such as simit and bazlama. We really enjoyed this and talked about the taste and texture of the bread. We can't wait to make our own bread soon.
Children from 2V and 1D designed flags for the UK Polar Network. Their designs were made into one A3 flag and it was taken to Antartica. This week we received a very exciting picture of the flag in Antarctica. Neil Brims is an Electrician at BAS and volunteered to take the flag to Halley Research Station.
Neil has visited Antarctica on multiple occasions and has written a blog post about his experiences which you can read about ;https://www.bas.ac.uk/blogpost/blog-happy-at-halley/. Thank you for all your fantastic flags.
In South East Asia, the Lunar New Year is being celebrated. In Year 2 we have enjoyed learning about the year of the rabbit. We found the different countries in the atlas and made rabbit silhouettes. Miss Aycan showed us how to make kites for a New Year decoration. Happy Lunar New Year.
Ms. Aycan: 2A
Students in 2A enjoyed recording their ovservations during a DT investiagation, comparing various types of breads, and baking bread of their own!
Year Three
Mrs. Robbins: 3R
Year 3R is learning about lights and shadows. We went outside to observe how our shadow forms when our bodies block some of the sunlight. We had to wait for the sun to come from behind the clouds. Once it did, the students got busy tracing each others' shadows with chalk. The students especially enjoyed seeing how long their shadows stretched depending on how they positioned themselves againt the sunlight.
Ms. Adesanya: 3A
These are some photos from class 3A assembly. The assembly was enjoyed by all who were present. The children welcomed everyone in all of our classroom community languages. The children from year 3A presented some of the work they have done in class. They presented measurement and times tables in maths, particularly showing an easy way to learn the 9 times table. It was also nice to learn that when you spread out your hands, the measurement from the longest finger tip to the other one is also the measurement of your heıght. For English, the children told us about Haiku and the origin of the poems. They read one Haiku poem and named two famous poets. Finally, in science the children told us about the bones and the human skeleton. They told us about the functıon of each skeletal bone. They performed a skeleton dance to bring the assembly to a close.
Year Four
Ms. Lincoln: 4L
Please enjoy some photos of 4L's class assembly! Well done to all students.
Ms. Newman: 4N
Using their knowledge of times tables up to 12x12, 4N have been using the powerful Concreate-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach to develop a deep understanding of multiplication and division. First, we used concrete resources to secure their understanding of these concepts - children grouped counters to solve times and divide problems. From this foundation, children drew visual representations of the multiplication and division equations by drawing and grouping circles on a mini whiteboard. Finally we were able to move on to abstract calculations including written algorithms for multiplying and dividing two and three–digit numbers by a one-digit number. Children are now fluent in these formal written methods and have fully mastered these concepts through this progression of stages. They can use these skills to solve a variety of word problems, by choosing the appropriate operation and method.
Year Five
Ms. Lloyd: 5L
In 5L, students have inquired into six simple machines. They are the wedge, screw, lever, pulley, inclined plane and the wheel and axle. They all make work easier and have few or no moving parts. What better way than to learn about them than to make them. We had great fun putting the pieces together to create an end result.
Mr. Fawcett: 5F
5F have started a new topic in DT this term called 'crazy machines'. Their project will be to design, make and evaluate a Rube Goldberg Machine which includes many simple machines and accomplishes a simple task.
This week, they have started to build their first machine - the inclined plane marble run! Here are a few snippets!
Year Six
Ms. Cosnett: 6C & Mr. McCann: 6M
This week week Yr 6 have been showcasing their electrical skills. They have been creating simple circuits in order to make a range of components work. They have been lighting up each other's worlds with bulbs, fanning themselves with propellers attached to working motors and annoying each other with the loud screech of the buzzers they've made to work.
They have been putting together circuits based on circuit diagrams and drawing their own circuit diagrams to match existing circuits or to answer certain challenges.
Well done, Yr 6. Next time we have any electrical issues in our corridor, we know who to call!
Mr. Dennison: Music
There are many ways to learn about music. Year 5 had a great time adding movements to songs they have been learning.
Year 6 has been practicing music reading skills while learning about the history of jazz. They listened to Louis Armstrong then learned one of his biggest hits. Great job!
Year 3 used multiple pitched and unpitched percussion instruments to practice improvisation. They started creating their own rhythms and melodies in predictable patterns.
Languages
Mrs. Gwilliam: ESL
ESL January - International
Back to school after the holiday and the children have been working very hard. Year 5 intermediates wrote stories, using new vocabulary and past tenses about accidents that really happened! Year 6 have used new adjectives to answer the question: “What … like?” Year 4, 5, and 6 worked on organising their writing using pictures to write a story about a School Trip. Meanwhile the 3s and 4s have been challenging themselves with juggling and standing on one leg to talk about ability. Most exciting of all we have had some new students. Amongst other things they enjoyed playing bingo to practice numbers and doing puzzles for days of the week. The children are working well together collaborating with their classmates on a number of tasks. Well done to all the ESL students!
Ms. Hatice: Turkish
Our reading and comprehension activity with Y6. The first to hear and receive the word wins!
Mr. Vincent: French
Bonjour à toutes et à tous!
French students have been working on different projects throughout January.
After working on places in town, Y6 students designed there own city map and are able to give directions to reach any places in town. Y5s worked on numbers before starting a new unit on time. Y4 students are working on parts of the body and understand how plural forms are working, finally Y3 students are working on animals and just started to learn about colours.
Mr. Jeremy: Spanish
This month in Spanish, we learned how to name the items in a bedroom, ten European countries and capitals, the places in town, how to give directions and house furniture.
Reminders & Upcoming Dates
Friday 10 February: Y3 & Y4 Science Fair
Week of 13 February: Global Citizens Week
Friday 17 February: Global Community Day
Monday 20 February-Friday 24 February: No School, Mid-Term Break
Monday 27 February: Return to School
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