Term 1 Archive 2019-20
Headteacher's News - Thursday 12th December
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
Hamilton Wright Mabie
Dear Parents,
It has been a full week of celebration throughout the school. A celebration of National Day and the upcoming festive season, but also a celebration of the children's learning. I hope you enjoy the videos of Year 1 concluding their 'Continents' topic and children in Year 2 celebrating their learning on ' The Great Fire of London'.
Somehow, we also managed to fit in an Hour of Code, where children enjoyed programming the blue bots to follow particular routes, along with four festive singalongs and a National Day exhibition and assembly.
I thank all teachers, assistants and support staff from the bottom of my heart for their monumental efforts this term. We have much to be proud of. I would also like to thank the Parent Reps and Class Links for their unstinting support. I look forward to working with you again next term.
Building Character at the BSB
Character and resilience are every bit as important as academic qualifications. We do all we can to develop character at school, partly by giving children opportunities that involve sport, creativity, performing and volunteering. There are organisations outside of schools that pride themselves in building character - the Scouting and Guiding movements and the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Scheme being excellent examples of these.
We have been considering the ways we can develop character in our youngest students outside of school. It can be so easy with a young family to slip into a routine of school, home, the supermarket, ipads and City Centre. As food for thought over the holiday, we have developed some Activity Passports for the children. There are different, age appropriate challenges and experiences for the children to participate in, along with a checklist to be signed and dated. This is not compulsory, but we very much hope that some children will enjoy completing some or all of the tasks and sharing some photographs of their experiences with their class after the holiday. You will have received an email with the relevant passport attached (as well as linked below).
It leaves for me to only wish you a Happy National Day, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you enjoy a relaxing holiday with your families and we look forward to welcoming you back to school on Sunday 5th January.
Best Wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 5th December
"Anticipation of pleasure is a pleasure in itself."
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Dear Parents,
Excitement for the approaching holiday is mounting and preparations are well underway for festive sing-a-longs and National Day celebrations. Trips to the theatre to see Dr. Dolittle and The Three Billy Goats Gruff were a resounding success and provided excellent stimulus for the children’s learning.
National Day
We look forward to welcoming parents in Year 1 and Year 2 to the National Day assembly on Thursday 12th December at 8:10 am and parents of children in Nursery and Reception to their festive sing alongs.
Magic in the air!
Despite the anticipation for the end of term festivities, learning continues as usual. As always teachers are going the extra mile to make learning meaningful for the children. The ‘Ooh’s and Aaah’s were just as you would expect as the children created their own magic bubbles before writing about them in literacy.
End of term reports
End of term reports for all children in Infants will be available on the portal at the end of the day on Tuesday, 10th December.
Please note that school finishes at 11:30 am on Thursday, 12th December.
Champions of the Week!
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Wishing you a restful weekend.
Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 28th November
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, one for helping others.”
Maya Angelou
Dear Parents,
All year groups took part in assemblies on ‘helping hands’ today. Children were reminded what wonderful things our hands were capable of and how we should make the most of them. They were very clear that some things that hands can do are good - building, drawing, giving, holding. Others are unacceptable- smacking, stealing, hurting. There were also some words that came into both categories. ‘Pinching’ someone at school is not acceptable, however “ You need to be able to pinch to put a pinch of salt in your cooking.”
Children were also reminded about the importance of hand hygiene and the importance of washing hands before eating and after using the bathroom, particularly at a time of year when there are plenty of coughs and colds around.
Many hands make light work
This weeks’ champions of the week were selected as representatives of each Year 1 class for the grand opening of their ‘Build up Bahrain’ exhibition and they were proud to show Mr. O’Connor, Mr. Ridgway and Mr. Howe the fruits of their labours, even though some were a little reticent at first.
Hands On Learning
Many thanks to the families who supported children in Year 2 in creating some fabulous Tudor houses. This project has truly captured the children’s imagination and it was a pleasure listening to the children explaining their building techniques.
Author Visit
Children relished the opportunity to meet ‘real, live’ author Ms. Coryn Middleton and were inspired by her new book “Sara and her magic abaya”.
Champion of the Week
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Wishing you all a restful weekend and for those of you who are celebrating ‘Happy Thanksgiving’.
Best Wishes
Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 21st November
“The environment should act as an aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes and culture of the people who live in it. This is what we are working towards.”
Loris Malaguzzi
Dear Parents,
Green Week has been a wonderful opportunity for all sections of the school to work together. We are very grateful to the environmental committee in Seniors for giving up their breaks to introduce some of our youngest children to the Eco garden and to help them plant seedlings. Infants also participated in the whole school ‘black out’ on Wednesday morning, so that children were reminded what school would be like without electricity. The reaction from the children was mixed to say the least!
A Special Visitor
The school environment was very much at the forefront of our minds this week as we welcomed Ms. Marianne Valentine, the Inspired Early Years Coordinator from Reggio Emilia, Italy. She held training workshops for educators in Nursery and Reception, acknowledging that the BSB early years team has made a good start in embarking on the Inspired Reggio approach to early learning and giving us plenty of practical suggestions to beautify and enrich the indoor and outdoor environments for the children.
Year 2 visit the Fire Station
The photographs and videos of the Year 2 trip to Budaiya fire station speak for themselves as a quality,fun learning experience for the children. Many, many thanks to Civil Defence and all at the fire station for giving the children such a valuable opportunity.
Sara and her Magic Abaya
Children in Year 1 are on a world tour in their topic lessons at the moment as they explore various continents. ‘Sara and her Magic Abaya’ tells the story of a young girl who is fortunate enough to be able to travel between the continents, providing stimulus for the imagination. We are delighted that the book’s author, Ms Coryn Middleton will be in school next week, reading the story to all classes in Year 1 and answering questions about the writing process. If you are interested in meeting Coryn, or purchasing signed copies of the book, she will be in the Infant playground between 7.15am and 7.45am from Sunday to Tuesday next week.
PCC Movember Bake Sale
The month of November becomes 'Movember' as we all work together to support men's health. The PCC will be holding a bake sale on Tuesday next week, as per this poster, with all proceeds going to charity.
The BSB Blog now includes a PCC page - click here to find it, or click the PCC navigation button at the top of the page.
On the PCC page, you can find out who the members of the PCC are, and information about what they do. The PCC supports the school in many ways, communicating with parents throughout the school via their network of parent representatives and class links.
PCC social and charity events are a great way to become more involved in the school community.
Champions of the Week
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable weekend,
Best Wishes
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 14th November
“Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all humanity.”
Robert Alan
Dear Parents,
Children in Year 2 have been comparing and contrasting the geography, climate, culture and traditions of Bahrain with those of the United Kingdom over the past few weeks, coming up with insightful observations and questions on the topic. They concluded the topic by celebrating with a traditional British afternoon tea. Fully observing the etiquette in the grandest of society circles they made sure to use napkins correctly, to break rather cut scones, to ensure they didn’t clink spoons on the cups, to keep elbows off the table and to share jam and cream in the correct manner. Many thanks to all parents who contributed to the culinary feasts. It was a very memorable experience for the children.
The 'Gentlemen in Red'
It seems to have been a very ‘British’ week in the school as a whole. We were delighted to welcome the ‘Gentlemen in Red’ from the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and the Little Stars infant choir were proud to entertain them with a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Talk’. The Little Stars are also to be commended on their performance at the Bahrain Young Performers Festival. I applaud them for their stamina yesterday evening. They brought much joy to the audience- their absolute delight when it was announced that they were ‘runners up’ was contagious. ‘We’re one of the winners, right?’
The 'Numbers Lady'
Another visitor to the school this week was ‘Numbers Lady’, Dr Rebecca Klemm. She inspired the children to think about the power of numbers in the real world and after an entertaining assembly, worked hard on thinking skills with students in Year 2. We thank Parent Rep, Ms Tala Sibaee for introducing Dr.Rebecca to the school.
Build it up Bahrain
There was the best kind of hush in some of the Year 1 classes this week. The hush that comes from optimum engagement. The photographs show just how successfully their ‘Build it up Bahrain’ topic is developing. I am sure you will recognise many of the famous landmarks in the photographs. Again, many thanks to the mums, dads, uncles and architect friends who came in to support us. It was interesting to observe the genuine sense of collaboration rather than competition between the various groups.
Green Week
We look forward to ‘Green Week’ next week when classes will compete to ensure they are the most mindful of electricity usage. Children are most welcome to wear green coloured or recycled/ environmentally friendly outfits next Thursday, 21st November and may contribute an optional 500 fils for an environmental cause if they so wish.
Celebrations!
Excitement has filled the air in Reception as children have shared all their wonderful celebrations with each other. Birthdays, Diwali, Christmas, Eid, New Year, National Day, all have been discussed and dissected by our investigative pupils. The splashes of colour seen amongst the Reception corridor throughout the week as classes took turns to wear celebration outfits were a delight!
Bookcase Book Fair 17-21 November
Don't miss the Book Fair in the BSB admin gallery, from Sunday to Thursday next week. Infant students need to be accompanied by an adult when visiting the book fair, which will be available before and after school each day.
Reading is an excellent way to improve language skills overall. As well as reading by themselves, children also derive great benefit from hearing books read to them. Reading for pleasure, and listening to stories, give rise to a great deal of learning, yet somehow do not feel like hard work.
Champions of the week!
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.
Best Wishes
Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 7th November
"Following in the footsteps of those who went before..."
Dear Parents,
The historic Qa'lat Al-Bahrain is one of the most important historic, political and military forts in the GCC region and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Children in Year 1 could not have had a better landmark to explore as they embarked upon their 'Build Up Bahrain' topic. Whilst exploring, they put themselves in the place of the soldiers who had lived in the fort centuries before, feasting in the dining hall before a tiring battle and peering through arrow slits, ducking when they thought they caught sight of an enemy approaching. Upon their return to the 21st century, the children compared building materials and architecture of the past with those of the present day. There could not have been a sharper contrast. The next stop on their tour was the Avenues, where they sketched the Four Seasons hotel and the World Trade Centre. How shiny and metallic our environment has become!
Bahrain Young Performers Festival
We applaud all children who had the courage to participate in the Bahrain Young Performers' Festival. It is no mean feat, at the tender age of four, to stand up in front of an unfamiliar audience to recite a poem with clarity, confidence, expression and gesture. Moments of pure silence from the audience were testament to the power of some of the performances.Many congratulations to all performers and I hope you enjoy this snapshot of the event. The 'Little Stars' Infant Choir is also to be congratulated for securing a place in the Young Performers' final next Wednesday.
Many thanks to all parents who attended Parent Teacher Meetings this week. We hope they gave you valuable insight into your child's learning.
We wish you a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend, and for those of you who are marking the Prophet's Birthday, Mawlid al-Nabi.
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 31st October
"For children, most importantly, being in the garden is something magical"
Fritjof Capra
Dear Parents
Children at the BSB have always been refreshingly unsophisticated. This year’s Reception year group proved no exception as they made the most of the cooler weather and ventured to the Junior School Eco-garden for a picnic.
The children planned what they needed to do to make the picnic a success- what they should take to sit on to feel comfortable, what they would like to eat and how to transport their belongings to the picnic area. They thought carefully about what they would need to do when they had finished their picnics so that the area was welcoming for the next class.
Upon reflection the children were sure of a few things. They loved enjoying fresh air, that it was not sensible to carry heavy food or cushions if you had to walk a long way, and actually it would be nice if we went to a picnic area with more trees next time!
Thank you Juniors for allowing us to use your garden!
Birthdays
Please be reminded that from 1st November cupcakes should should not be sent to school to mark birthdays. We were over the moon to note that Adhrit in 2.6 was the first to bring healthy fruit in as a birthday treat. Mrs Adrian confirmed that everyone was delighted with the novelty.
Safety Outside of School
We are very grateful to the Ministry of Works and Seef Properties this week for moving the Seef fences back to make a safe walkway from the parade of shops at the back of the school.
EYFS Playground
Many thanks to Mr. Brant, Mr.Dinesh and the team for their work in the EYFS playground over the holiday. The children were delighted with the results.
Champions of the week!
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
We wish you a restful weekend,
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 17th October
‘Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness’
Seneca
Dear Parents,
As children and teachers positively skipped out of school this afternoon at the start of the midterm break, it was clear to me that all students and teachers who joined the school community in September are settled, established and feel at home.
It has been a fast paced start to the year as far as learning is concerned and the sense of focus in classrooms is excellent.
As the children in Infants participated in the whole school ‘Think Pink’ charity initiative the theme in assemblies was ‘helping others’, whether by donating to charity or volunteering practical aid.
The highlight of the week was without doubt the children’s singing in Arabic during assembly-undoubtedly the best ever! I hope you enjoy the videos.
We wish you a restful mid term break and look forward to welcoming students back to school on Sunday 27th October.
CLICK HERE for more photos
Champions of the week!
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 2 Champions
Have a lovely half term break.
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 10th October
“You’ll never be bored when you try something new. There’s really no limit to what you can do.”
Dr Suess
Dear Parents,
Children in Nursery were delighted to conclude their Media and Materials topic with the messiest Messy Day ever. I applaud the teachers and assistants for their efforts in making the day as varied and exciting as possible. Experimentation with shaving foam, jelly, paint, slime, potting compost, corn flour and bubbles brought an exciting energy to the Nursery corridor. It was good to see the children using the new vocabulary they have learned, words like ‘slippery’, ‘stretchy’, 'slimey' and 'scratchy' during hands on learning. However the day was also a great opportunity for children to try something new in a safe environment. Teachers were given great insight into their little personalities from the risk takers who dived straight in, those who were fired by the enthusiasm and soon followed suit and others who were initially reluctant to get their hands dirty. Well done to all children in Nursery and in particular to those bravely tried something new, even if they were a little hesitant initially!
Welcoming a special visitor
We were very pleased to welcome Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Mr Roddy Drummond to the school today. Children and teachers were absolutely over the moon when he popped into some Arabic lessons and they found they were able to converse with him freely in Arabic. He also managed to spot just a little of the cheerful singing in assembly.
Think Pink
On Wednesday 16th October, children in the Infants will be participating in a whole school charity fundraiser to raise money for Think Pink, a charity that raises money for research into a cure for breast cancer in Bahrain. Children are invited to wear home clothes instead of school uniform - hopefully home clothes with at least a touch of pink in them! This could be a fully pink outfit or something subtle like pink socks, a pink hat, a pink hair ribbon or any other item of pink clothing. Children are invited to contribute 500 fils to Think Pink for the privilege. It would also be a nice idea to add some pink items of food in your child’s lunchbox such as a strawberry yoghurt, some watermelon or a few raspberries.
Bahrain Young Performers
The BSB is holding a competition and performing festival called Bahrain Young Performers from the 4th to 7th November and we would like to involve some of our Infant budding young performers in the event.
During drama classes children have been learning how to stand in front of an audience, announce their performance and either tell a short story or recite a poem.
If you would like your child to be considered for entry into the competition then please help them to either prepare a story to tell or learn a poem from memory.
Here are a selection of poems to choose from or they can perform any poem which they have already learned:
Reception and Year 1 - Intro 1 poems.docx
Year 1 & Year 2 - Intro 2 poems.docx
Year 2 and above - Intro 3 poems.docx
Please email contact Mrs Lydia Carter on bypf@thebsbh.com for further information.
Champions of the week!
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 3rd October
" There is no respect for others without humility in one's self."
Henri Frederic Amiel
Dear Parents,
In Bahrain we are fortunate to have many opportunities for hands on learning outside the classroom. Classes 2.3 and 2.10 were the first to visit Bahrain National Museum this week in order to compare life in Bahrain in the past with the present day. The children were in awe of the lifelike exhibits and couldn’t help but wonder how hard conditions must have been for the pearl divers in the 1950’s.
Observing the cobblers, basket weavers and tobacconists at work, there was a quiet respect for the skills mastered without the aid of technology or machinery.
The children compared personal maps with an enormous map on the floor, keen to identify their favourite Bahrain landmarks.
Enjoying new Purchases!
We were delighted to receive delivery of new sets of class iPads this week. Children made full use of the Purple Mash Programme, logging in with their ‘secret passwords’ and creating a personal avatar.
Purple Mash is a wonderful tool used by Key Stage 1 to create a link between home and school using technology.
Respect
Assemblies this week focused on respect. We talked about respecting particular places, (how to behave in Bahrain National Museum for example), respecting things, (remembering to put the tops on feltpens and tidying the toys at the end of break) and most importantly, respecting people. The corridor inspectors are keeping their eyes open to see which children show respect when they are collected by their mums, dads, nannies or drivers. The "Thank you for picking me up"s overheard from Jack, Marwa and Hridit outside 2.1 at the end of the day were music to our ears!
Champions of the week!
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday 26th September
Dear Parents,
There is a feeling in the school that children are really starting to focus, make progress and get stuck into their learning. There is a lovely hush in some of the corridors and moments of pure silence in class groups as the children listen intently to a story or explanation from their teacher.
We are proud of the children’s perseverance and stamina, and our PHSE focus in the last two assemblies has been on ‘keep going’ even if something is hard at first. As I started to plan this week’s assembly and associated value this week, Mr. Brant popped in, “Are you sure this is what the children really need this week?” he questioned with a raised eyebrow. He was absolutely right. The children needed a little light relief. We focused on the power of playing - playing with the words to be exact. Nursery rhymes, nonsense words, limericks and playground jingles are all great fun and fabulous for developing children’s phonological awareness- a vital part of learning to read. Don’t be surprised if your child challenges you say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” backwards.
Arabic Curriculum Workshop for parents of children in Year 2
After the success of the the Year 1 Arabic Curriculum Workshops this week, there will be an additional workshop on Arabic in Year 2 for parents next Wednesday, 2nd October at 1.30pm. The workshops will be held in the EYFS hall and the R1 classroom. The workshops will feature Arabic as a first language and Arabic as a second language. I look forward to seeing some of you there.
Closer Supervision Please!
Whilst the children's behaviour is generally very good indeed during the school day, it has been brought to my attention that this is not the case in the cafeteria between 2.30pm and 3.00pm.
Any parents, nannies and drivers who wait with children in the cafeteria at this time of day are strongly reminded to keep a close eye on the children in their care. Running in the cafeteria is not allowed and is a health and safety hazard. Thank you for your support in this important matter.
Champions of the week
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.
Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday, 19th September
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."
Albert Einstein
Dear Parents,
We regularly review, evaluate and update our curriculum, responding to the needs and interests of the children to make learning meaningful and in context. Observing children in Year 1 solving maths problems practically this week, I was in no doubt that last year's implementation of White Rose Maths, where all learning starts with concrete representation, moving through pictorial and finally into abstract, has impacted the children's confidence and understanding considerably. The children's enthusiasm shines in many of these snapshots!
Our main curriculum drive across the Infants this year is 'Communication and Language'. This includes speaking, listening, reading and writing in both English and Arabic. Along with other private schools in Bahrain we were invited by the Ministry of Education to make a particular celebration of the Arabic language this week. This included a joyful surprise assembly led by the Arabic Department. Thank you Team Arabic.
Teddy Bears' Picnic
There are many moments during the day in any infant school when the teacher and assistant can't help but catch each other's eye in genuine amusement. I happened to catch one today as I popped into the Teddy Bears' Picnic in Nursery. One little boy had drawn a lovely shape for his teddy's head in his drawing. As his attention started to wander slightly, his teacher gently wondered whether he would like to draw teddy's eyes. As a large smile spread across his face, he proceeded to pick up real teddy and vigorously shade his eyes with a rather sharp pencil.
Well done Nursery for completing your first full week. I am sure you will sleep well tonight.
Curriculum Workshops
Many thanks to all parents who attended the Year 2 Curriculum Workshops this week. We hope they gave you some insight into the children's learning. Year 1 Curriculum Workshop will take place next Tuesday, 24th September at 1.15pm.
Champions of the week
Nursery Champions
Reception Champions
Year 1 Champions
Year 2 Champions
Have a lovely weekend,
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday, 12th September
"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."
Vince Lombardi
Dear Parents
Spending time in classrooms today it is hard to believe that the children have only been back at school for seven days. It is lovely to see friends reunited and new friendships blossoming in every year group. The nerves of the first day have given way to a sense of belonging as our existing students have gone out of their way to welcome newcomers to their class, their games and their chatty conversations. This is surely a reflection of the family values that exist across our entire community.
Many thanks to parents of children in Nursery and Reception who attended the Welcome Evenings this week. We are confident that they answered many burning questions. If you were not able to attend, the presentation is available on the Nursery and Reception pages.
At the BSB ...
... we look after each other!
Second Hand Uniform Sale
I was pleased to hear that the Second Hand Uniform Sale was a resounding success for the PCC funds and allowed many parents to enjoy a super bargain or two. We are working to foster a sense of responsibility for our environment in all of the children, and reusing and recycling uniforms allows the children to see this in action.
BSB Academies
BSB Academies is offering a range of musical, creative and sporting opportunities for students as young as 3 years, up to adults. Creative courses include instrumental and voice lessons, art, LAMDA Speech and Drama and film making whilst sports on offer are basketball, football, taekwondo, swimming, gymnastics and tennis.
Academies start this Saturday, 14th September. So if you'd like to sign up or find out more you can visit the BSB school shop (opposite the main gate).
Have a lovely weekend,
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant
Headteacher's News - Thursday, 5th September
" A smile is the universal welcome."
Max Eastman
Dear Parents,
I congratulate the children, the teachers, the support staff and you, the parents, on making such a positive, enthusiastic start to the school year. Even the very youngest children have put their best feet forward despite a couple of wobbles on the first morning!
Many thanks to parents who attended the Year 1 and Year 2 Welcome Evenings. I hope you found the information helpful. If for any reason you were unable to attend please view the following presentation.
You will see that our main focus this term is to develop each child’s sense of responsibility - responsibility for their belongings, their behaviour, their learning and our environment. Many children have already shown their innate sense of responsibility for their classmates' wellbeing as they have looked out for one another during the first week of term. We look forward to a great year ahead.
Please be informed that the school will be closed on Monday 9th September and Tuesday 10th September on the occasion of Ashoora, Sunday 8th September will be a usual school day.
Have a lovely weekend,
Best wishes,
Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant