Term 1 & 2 Archive 2018-19

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 17th April

“I hope to be the architect of my own irrelevance, empowering others to the extent that they no longer need me.”

Eddie Liptrot

Dear Parents

Applause has been described as a “moment of shared delight” between the audience and actors on stage. I don’t think the multi-purpose hall has ever witnessed applause quite as exuberant as the whoops, cheers and claps at the end of the Year 2 productions this week.

‘The Bumblesnouts Save the World’ was a triumph.

The perfect vehicle for the children to showcase their highly developed, speaking, acting, dancing and singing skills. Right from the opening bars, the children seemed to take ownership of the production, totally aware of the actions and words of their classmates and quietly confident in their own contribution. It was as if the teachers had done their job and now the children realized that it was their responsibility to keep the show on the road. Of course, a tremendous amount of hard work, time, planning and creativity goes into a production like this. I am extremely grateful to Ms. Sarah and Team Year 2 for their magnificent collaboration in making the production possible. I would also like to thank Ms. Lydia, Mr. Mark, Mr. Brant, Mr. Nelson, Ms. Ghadi, Ms Sabeen and Mrs. Guyon for their contribution.

Special thanks must go to Mrs. Heinrich, who sourced the production in the first place and whose enthusiasm and talent fired the momentum.

Year 2 Bumblesnouts

Celebrating our Diversity

We were fortunate to have some special guests in the school today to launch BSB’s International Day. Drummers from the Royal Marine corps band treated the children to a rousing performance. The military precision of the performance was magnificent and the children came away with a sense that it takes a combination of aptitude, attitude and practice to perfect anything to such a high standard.

Thank you to the parents for sending children to school dressed in some magnificent national costumes- some of them were absolutely exquisite! Thank you for donating food items to broaden the children’s international culinary knowledge.

International Day 2019 #1

International Day 2019 #2

It leaves for me only to wish you a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. We look forward welcoming the children back to school on Sunday 28^th April.

Best Wishes

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 11th April

"Learning should be a joy and full of excitement"

Taylor Caldwell

Racing through space at a hundred miles an hour!

There has been a great air of excitement and anticipation in the Year 2 corridor this week. I know that the spring holiday is eagerly anticipated by all members of the school community but for this particular year group the excitement stems from the fact that the Year 2 production is very nearly upon us. The stage is set, the costumes are hanging on the back of the classroom doors, the lines have been learned, the dance routines mastered and the melodies practised.

We are really looking forward to performing of ‘The Bumblesnouts Save the World’ on Monday and Tuesday next week. Parents in Year 2 please make sure your child gives you your personal handmade invitation. I take my hat off to all the teachers and assistants involved in the production- there they all were, at the end of a very long term, giving their all to make production as magnificent as possible at rehearsals today. I hope you enjoy the sneak preview!

Trip to Al Osra Supermarket

This week, all students in Year 1 visited Al Osra supermarket in Mercado Mall. It was great follow up to their trip to palace gardens where they investigated fruits and vegetables at various stages of growth. They tasted some exotic fruits like dragon fruit, durian and ugly fruit and traced their journey from their countries of origin. They were stunned that the fresh fish was caught in local waters only a few kilometers away, not far from the site of their beach clean-up. They learned how some items were processed and cooked into a finished product. The bakery was a favourite- partly because they managed to taste their hand made cheese bread and watch the slicing and packaging of bread loaves. The hygienic hair nets were quite a hit with the would be bakers.

It was wonderful to see so much hands-on learning taking place, but the teachers came away feeling that the children had learned so much more.

Year 1 Trip to Alosra

From the bottom of our hearts we thank all the staff at Al Osra for making the children so welcome, going above and beyond in their duties to give the children a wonderful learning experience. Bahrain has always been known for its welcome and excellent service, this week team Al Osra has exemplified this for our students. The children saw outstanding service in action.

Trip to the Ritz Carlton

Twenty children from the Infants have been invited to an eco-lecture, workshop and collaborative art event at the Ritz Carlton next week. The experience will be led by world famous Michele Cousteau and I am sure it will be a great experience for the children.

Of course, it is extremely difficult to choose only 20 representatives from our large student body but in true BSB style, the children found a way. Year 1 were selected as the experience fitted in with their topic and the children in each class voted for their representative of choice.

The Spirit of Ramadan

You will have received an email from Mr. Jeff Smith, outlining the school hours during the holy month of Ramadan. Some parents have intimated in the past that they would like to be involved in school in some way during the special time of year. If you are interested in finding out more please sign up here https://forms.gle/jk5fGjaRaigpJTNt7 and Miss Haifa will be in touch with you directly.

Masters of Reusing

Coca Cola kindly donated a smart water bottle to each child in Year 2. The smart bottles are made of 30% plant-based materials. The children were challenged to drink water and reuse the bottle in a creative way. We were amazed at their original ideas and heartily congratulate the winners in each class.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

Have a great weekend

Best Wishes

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 4th April 2019

“If I cannot fly let me sing.”

Stephen Sondheim

Dear Parents,

I thank the Little Stars Infant Choir for bringing a glimpse of pure joy into the school this week. We were over the moon when they were chosen to participate in the St. Christopher’s School music festival grand final on Tuesday afternoon after their magnificent performance of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ during the heats on Monday. I am sure the children’s natural unbridled enthusiasm as well as their technical skill as they performed, was a contributing factor in the end result. We are delighted to announce that the Little Stars came away the overall winners of the Best Primary Choir award. Well done to all and many thanks to Ms. Lydia and Mr. Mark for their dedicated efforts in preparing the children. Students in Year 1 and Year 2 heartily congratulated the members of the choir in assembly this morning!

Trip to Bahrain Yacht Club

All classes in Reception managed to dodge the spring showers in the end and enjoy a fabulous day at Bahrain Yacht Club this week. A tour of the boat yard, taking note of all the numbers and 3D shapes they could see proved to be a great stimulus for discussion. How did each different type of boat move through the water? Which features of the boats helped them to move faster? Which boat would be most suitable for their own family, or indeed the most fun? Seashell collecting and sandcastle building followed along with lunch and a turn on the adventure playground.

Many thanks to Team Reception for making the day so enjoyable for the children and to the parent volunteers for their support.

Reception trip to the Yacht Club

Congratulations to this week's champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

Have a great weekend

Best Wishes

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 28th March

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

Malala Yousafzai

Dear Parents

I am sure that any visitors to the Year 2 corridor can sense that the Infant School has very nearly done its job and that this wonderful year group will be more than ready for the Junior School in September. The writing on display is a sure sign that they are in just the right place academically, but there is a new maturity in many of the children’s conversations. Their topic work at the moment involves identifying environmental concerns in 2019 and thinking of ways they can make a difference by reducing, reusing and recycling.

In Literacy there were some heated debates about the pros and cons of deforestation in the world, which inspired some magnificent persuasive writing. When barn owl Pip, who had recently lost his home where the tree his nest was built in was felled, joined us in assembly, the learning became even more personal and meaningful for the children.

I am sure you will enjoy the end of term production on this very topic during the last week of term.

Year 2 sing 'With Our Hands'

Winners of recycled bag design competition

Nursery Living the High Life

I am sure there are not many nurseries in the world where children manage to sample the high life of a five star hotel! Many thanks to ART Rotana Amwaj for accommodating us. The whole experience was a wonderful learning experience for the children. They have been discussing different jobs that adults do and you can see from the photographs the wonderful opportunities in the dining room, laundry, restaurants, swimming pool, administration offices, gym and reception to ask different professionals about their work.

The expedition sparked some great creative thinking. Don’t miss the models of the hotel itself and the bridge they travelled over that were constructed on the children’s return to school!

Nursery Trip to Art Rotana

Some classes in Reception have also learned much at Bahrain Yacht Club. Other trips were postponed to next week due to inclement weather. We will share the photo gallery next week.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We look forward to seeing many of you at the parent teacher meetings next week.

Have a great weekend

Best Wishes

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 21st March

“Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.”

Cheryl Lacey Donovan

Arabic Week

The fact that Mothers’ Day fell during Arabic Week brought much joy into the Infants this week. Mothers’ Day was a wonderful platform for the Arabic Team to showcase our determination to promote the beauty and spirit of the Arabic language. All children in Key Stage 1, whatever their nationality, performed an Arabic song or dance for their mothers. Year 2 attracted quite a crowd as their performance was at City Centre. I thank Ms Haifa and the Arabic team for their hard work and enthusiasm in preparing the children for the event, and the Year 2 team for their support. The Bahrain TV cameras were in attendance this morning and I have been led to believe that the event will be featured at 6pm on local TV this evening if you are interested!

Arabic Week 2019

Arabic Day 2019 2

In my opinion, the Mothers’ Day celebrations in Nursery and Reception really hit the spot! Mums, without the distraction of dads and siblings, were invited to spend time in their child’s classroom completing a craft activity with their child. A party atmosphere pervaded the early years corridors. In addition, Reception children took pleasure in waiting on their mums-serving them a cool drink and a personally decorated cookie. Upon reflection, it is easy to see why the events were such a success- after all, what does any child crave more than a whole hour of one to one time with one of their favourite people in the world!

A lesson in Art

Sometimes opportunities to consolidate learning pop up unexpectedly and teachers generally have a sixth sense, grasping the opportunity to make the most of them. The exhibition of Year 13 student, Pim van Manen’s IB art work truly captured the imagination of students in Year 1. The seeds of understanding had been sown during their beach combing topic. However after viewing Pim’s work, clarity dawned on lots of little faces. “See, if we keep throwing plastic in the sea the fish will eat the plastic and will die.” “And if the fish keep eating plastic we’re going to end up eating plastic too.” Thank you so very much for your time today Pim.

Class Group Photographs (reminder)

Class group photographs will take place on Tuesday 26^th and Wednesday 27^th March. For these children should wear correct school uniform, including navy hair accessories and clean shoes. We have tried to schedule photos for days when classes do not have PE. If your child happens to have PE on both the scheduled days, please wear uniform and bring your trainers in a bag.

Class Photographs on Tuesday 26^th March

N2, N6
R2, R9, R10
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.9, 1.10
2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.10

Class Photographs on Wednesday 27^th March

N1, N3, N4, N5, N7
R1, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8
1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8
2.3, 2.4, 2.8, 2.9

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

For those who are celebrating, we wish you Happy Mother’s Day, Happy Norouz or Happy Holi.

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 14th March 2019

“Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.”

Randy Pausch

All the fun of the fair

It was wonderful to see such a great turn out at the International Family Fair on Friday and I heartily congratulate the Infants choir on their magnificent renditions of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and ‘Doe a Deer’. We are extremely grateful to Ms Ellen Van Manen-de Boer, and the organising committee and the country stall holders who made the fair a valuable learning experience for the students. It was possible , wallet and appetite permitting, to almost eat yourself the whole way round the world!

As part of the Irish stall I was struck by how different behaviour traits are prevalent in various generations of children. I remember, nearly twenty years ago manning a stall at a school fair and feeling saddened that the children at the time where keen to spend their tokens on buying things they could see rather that taking risks or having a go on the games. It was interesting to see an opposite trend with the Infants of today, not risk averse at all and keener to have a go at the ‘lucky dip’ rather than simply purchasing something with their tokens.

Learning without Walls

We have been making the most of the glorious weather this week and getting out and about. There has been some fabulous discussion and learning as a result. Children in Nursery visited Bahrain fort, becoming familiar with the local environment. They thoroughly enjoyed the view, pointing to buildings where their mummies and daddies worked and many of the children turned out to be quite the budding photographers! The trip to the palace garden for children in Year 1 was also the perfect stimulus for learning about plants and growing. The children were happy with the stash of vegetables they came away with- only a few complaints about how heavy the bags were!

Y1 Palace Gardens Trip

Nursery Trip to the Fort

Cat in the Hat

Children in Reception thoroughly enjoyed the live action and slapstick comedy at the performance of ‘Cat in the Hat’ at the cultural hall. They are to be commended on their excellent behaviour.

Class Group Photographs

Class Photographs on Tuesday 26^th March

N2,N6
R2,R9,R10
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.9, 1.10
2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.10

Class Photographs on Wednesday 27^th March

N1,N3,N4,N5, N7
R1,R3,R4,R5,R6,R7,R8
1.4,1.6,1.7,1.8
2.3,2.4,2.8,2.9

A very special word

Parents of children in Year 1 and Year 2 may like to ask their children if they learned a very important three letter word in assembly this morning……? More to follow on this next week.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 7th March 2019

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents”

Emilie Buchwald

Book Week

Book Week got off to the most dramatic start ever when the children were informed at an emergency assembly that an unidentified object from outer space had landed in the playground during the midterm break. It was up to the children to make a thorough investigation with the help of Mr. Brant and his power tools. The children are to be commended for their creativity and ‘have a go’ attitude. Please be reassured that all investigations took place with the strictest health and safety checks in place.

The children’s of engagement in the project were extremely high, resulting in some phenomenal thinking, creativity and discussion. The photos and videos speak for themselves!

Creative stimulus for the imagination

After such a magnificent start, we have enjoyed possibly the best Book Week ever. In addition to buddy reading with children from the Juniors, a record number of mystery readers and a fabulous 'spot the door' hunt the children ended the week on high after a surprise performance by the teachers. Mrs. Robson adapted Julia Donaldson’s “A Squash and a Squeeze” to personalize it for the BSB. The children thorough enjoyed supporting 'the little old student’ (Mr. Brant) in his journey to make the school a happy place. I am extremely grateful to all the teachers who participated and who went to such great lengths with their own costumes to fire the children’s imaginations.

Guess Who?

Book Cover Doors

Activity Passports

There was a lovely buzz to the ‘show and tell’ at the start of the week when some children told their classmates about the activities they had completed during the holiday. There were some fabulous poems being recited from memory in Year 2 and plenty of printed out and signed passports. Some parents sent photos in as a record of the challenges completed. This was not absolutely necessary but we were delighted to use them as a talking point. There were two exceptional records that I cannot resist sharing that were part of the Activity passport. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Well, done Firas and Fahad!

There is no doubt that children spending quality time with an adult is vital for building empathy and resilience. That is the purpose of the challenges. The challenge is ongoing and certificates will be presented to those who manage to complete the passport before the end of the school year!

You will have received an email from your child's teacher with the relevant passport attached before the holiday (as well as linked below).

Nursery - Reception - Year 1 - Year 2

Firas Y1

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

We have an exciting second half of term ahead, with the Year 2 production, a Mothers' Day surprise and a variety of trips and parent teacher meetings on the horizon.

In the meantime, there is the pressing business of the International Family fair to attend to!

I very much look forward to seeing many of you there tomorrow. For those of you who are interested, the Infants' choir will be performing at 10.20am.

Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 21st February 2019

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

Neil Gaiman

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 half term 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 from your child's teacher with the relevant passport attached (as well as linked below).

Nursery - Reception - Year 1 - Year 2

Storytelling Workshop

We have spoken about children’s knowledge of their own family stories being an important factor in building their resilience. If members of their families have triumphed over adversity in the past, surely there is a strength in the family bloodline! I was glad that Grandpa Stick’s wife, Janet, chose this as the focus of the storytelling workshop for parents. Parents were challenged to make a little storybook of ‘their own story’ to share at home with their child. These true stories, told with authentic emotion, were a brilliant way to start developing storytelling skills. Many thanks to all parents who attended.

You can see from the video that there was something quite magical in the way Grandpa Stick held his audiences in his thrall.

He managed to hold the attention of two hundred and fifty children at a time with his enchanting retelling of Tiddalik. The sense of wonder was almost tangible in the moments of absolute silence in the audience.

We thank Steve for giving the children such a treat and for the twilight training session for teachers which left staff members feeling invigorated and inspired.

Reception at The Botanical Gardens

Children in Reception were blessed with perfect weather this week for their trip to the Botanical Gardens. They had done their research and knew that the best places to look for various species of creepy crawlies during their minibeast hunt. Worms and beetles were found in damp, shady spots under rocks and stones, whilst the children were quick to spot that winged creatures preferred flying in the sunshine.

After their hands were thoroughly sanitised, children enjoyed a picnic in the fresh air and rounded off the morning by creating some collaborative artwork- a beautiful collage of wax crayon minibeast sketches.

Reception at The Botanical Gardens

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable half term break.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 14th February 2019

“A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skills of others.”

Norman Shidle

Surprise in the playground!

Children returned to school this week to a surprise. The area under the tree had magically grown a cushioned grass carpet. The magic was conjured up by the ever dedicated Mr Brant and the facilities team over the weekend. In the assemblies for Nursery and Reception the traditional tale, The Enormous Turnip which shows the importance of working together as a team was revamped as ‘The Enormous Tree’. Perhaps you recognize some of the actors!

The Infant Tree

Parent Reps

Another team that it was a pleasure to meet with this week was the Parent reps for the Infants - Alifiah for Nursery, Bisan for Reception, Daniela for Year 1 and Eileen for Year 2. Amongst other things, we talked about increasing the amount of exercise and outdoor learning for the children in Infants. Our quick initiative to experiment with a new way of doing Wake Up Shake Up as part of Bahrain Sports’ Day brought us inspiration. The additional Wake Up Shake Up was held in three groups, including children from all year groups in Infants. It was lovely to see the older students acting as role models for the little ones. We plan to continue this on a weekly basis.

With the Parent Reps we also discussed ways parents may be more involved in the school community. We have plans to start coffee mornings/discussion groups including parents who may be interested as such topics as ‘behaviour management’ ‘developing mental wellness in children’ and ‘building a well rounded child’. Please find below an invitation to a story telling workshop for parents which you may find interesting.

INVITATION to PARENTS

(Limited places available)

I have long believed in the power of storytelling as a way to evoke ‘awe’ and ‘wonder’ in children. I think it is even more important during these times when many children spend so much time on screen. I also firmly believe that family stories of ‘fortunes won and lost’, ‘heartbreak and drama’ and ‘personal triumphs’ that are handed down from generation to generation are a great way of building a child’s sense of self and family worth.

This week we were lucky to welcome, Steve, also known as ‘Grandpa Stick’, a professional storyteller to Reception assembly. Staff and children found him truly inspirational. He will be returning to school next week to conduct a training workshop for staff and he has offered to conduct a storytelling workshop for parents next week.

This is the first of what we hope will be the first of many training/discussion groups for parents in the Infants as we work on developing the community feel.

It is hard to gauge how much interest there will be in attending the storytelling workshop. In this instance, there are forty spaces. If you are interested please click on the link below.

Date: Monday 18th February
Time: 11:00 - 12:00
Location: EYFS Sports Hall

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Team Reception

We heartily congratulate all parents, nannies and drivers who have observed the screen free zone rule in the Reception corridor. There is definitely a happier buzz in the area! When I happened to see a child in another year group leaving his classroom with his hand outstretched to play on his nanny's phone before they had even had the chance to greet each other, it reinforced my belief that we should introduce the screen free theme in other corridors in due course.

It was good to see so many parents of children in Reception supporting the Minibeast Parade this morning.I hope you enjoyed the selection of songs and poems.Many thanks to Mrs Robson and the teachers and assistants for preparing the children for such an entertaining performance. There were also some amazingly original homemade costumes this year - all credit you you! Thank you.

Reception Minibeast Parade

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 7th February 2019

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears and never regrets.”

Leonardo Da Vinci

Children’s development, as they grow, learn and mature during the cycle of the school year is a gradual, organic process. However, there are moments when, almost like a parent suddenly realizing that his son has had a growth spurt, a teacher is suddenly struck by evidence of real progress in a child. Now that we are almost half way through the school year I couldn’t help but acknowledge real progress in learning in all year groups in the Infants this week.

In Nursery real friendships have developed with some lovely gentle humor and camaraderie - it is lovely to see the children confidently experimenting and learning from their peers. In Reception, many children are well on their way to learning to read, spotting ‘tricky words’ in newspapers, signs and ‘real’ books. In Year 1 there is a growing sense of responsibility and independence, possibly generated by their beach clean-up and efforts with recycling. As ever, the teachers have made the learning for Year 1 as much fun as possible, as you can see in the picture of Recycle Michael.

Peninsula Farms

It was however Year 2 that blew me away this week. The language generated by the trip to Peninsula Farms was magnificently rich. Discussions developed about ‘pollination’, ‘red liquid to provide nutrients to the plants’, ‘plants with roots that looked like white spaghetti’ and feeling ‘apprehensive’ about feeding the goats. No wonder the children are proud to show off their linguistic skills.

Y2 Visit Peninsula Farms

Internet Safety Assembly

Even in assembly, Year 2 are displaying a new found maturity. After a sensible discussion about staying safe online, the teachers very gently pranked the children. I asked children to look towards their own teacher and to give them a smile to thank them for all their hard work. All the teachers and assistants studiously ignored the children and pretended to be engrossed in their phones. I wish I had captured the moment of communal shock on the children’s faces, followed quickly afterwards with laughter and relief that they were being pranked.

On a serious note...

Safer Internet Day has led us to consider our use of technology in the school community. For most people, phones are permanent attachments, sometimes causing us to miss important moments in real life. The end of the school day is certainly an important matter for a five year old. We would like to ask for your support for an experiment in the Reception corridor. Too often children gaze excitedly at the door at home time, waiting for the moment of connection with home- whether it is a parent or a nanny. So often that moment is missed, as the adult is distracted by something on their phone. Our aim is for the Reception corridor to be a screen free zone.

You may have noticed the new signs up “Turn off the screen & let your face be seen.” We would be grateful if you could explain to nannies and drivers why we are experimenting with this.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 31st January 2019

“Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sorry, Thank you, Excuse me, Please!

We have been focusing on good manners in assemblies over the past couple of weeks and children in Year 1 and Year 2 have thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Marks own composition, ‘Sorry, thank you, excuse me, please.’ Of course children really only learn good manners by seeing them in practice , being modelled by the adults who care for them. We were pleased to hear that the manners children in Year 2 practise at school, were generalized and well used when they were out and about this week.

Farming at its best

Many many thanks to Ms Reem for hosting all ten Year 2 classes at her local farm this week. Children benefited hugely from the hands on experience, learning about three types of vegetables- leafy ones like lettuce, root ones like beetroot and “flower” ones like broccoli and cauliflower. I hope the children’s original designs for irrigation systems were useful Reem!

Remsoon Gardens Y2 Trip

Messy Day

Today was a day for children in Nursery to leave their uniforms at home and experiment with a wide range of materials- from mud and slime, to coloured spaghetti and gellibaff. It was interesting to see how the little personalities reacted- some were hesitant at first, whilst others were determined to explore everything from the outset. The most memorable moments for me were when reluctant children suddenly started to enjoy the sensory experiences, smiling proudly because they had ‘had a go’.

Messy Day was the culmination of the Nursery dinosaur topic and children did their teachers proud showing off their new vocabulary- words like ‘extinct’, ‘herbivore’ and ‘carnivore’ were even mentioned!

Thank you Miss Natalie for creating the volcanic eruption for the children- the lava was the highlight of the day!

Nursery's Messy Day

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 24th January 2019

“We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do.”

Barbara Ward

The enthusiasm of children in Year 1 was boundless as they boarded the buses for Nurayan beach on Tuesday morning, armed with rubber gloves, sanitiser and bin bags. Exhilarated by the fresh air, they worked as a team to clear a long stretch of beach of rubbish, making a difference to our environment. Their work was to support an initiative by Bahrain Beach Combers and Darren, from the team talked to the students about the importance of taking care of the environment aboard a salvaged and redeveloped bus. It was interesting to note that the children no longer go by the mantra ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’. Their motto is now ‘Refuse, Reuse, Recycle’. They are hoping you will remember the message when you are offered plastic bags in the supermarket.

Many thanks to Bahrain Beach Combers for their time and effort this week.

Thank you Miss Lori!

Sadly, today was Miss Lori’s final day at the school as she is moving home to the States to be nearer to family. We thank her from the bottom of our hearts for the truly outstanding service she has given to the BSB. Lori is one of those special people who always puts 100% into everything she does- always ready to help- always with a smile! I know that she is much loved and respected by absolutely all members of the BSB community. Thank you Lori, we will miss you!

Purple Mash

We are delighted with the KS1 children’s enthusiastic response to our new online learning resource, Purple Mash. It is a great way to consolidate learning at home. I hope you enjoy these samples of children’s work.

Click below to view the Year 1 and Year 2 display boards all about Sports Day.

Year 1 Display Board

Year 2 Display Board

Sports Day

We would like to thank the parents of children in Nursery and Reception for being the ‘best sports ever’ this morning. Your good humour, warmth and encouragement set the tone for a morning of running, team games, water races and obstacle courses. The children didn’t disappoint, delighted to showcase their speed, agility and team spirit.

Their sportsmanship when congratulating each other after running races was exemplary- a tone set very firmly by parents and teachers. Not coming first in a safe, encouraging environment at an early age is a good way to sow the seeds of resilience later in life.

Bravo Team Nursery and Team Reception.

Nursery Sports Day

Reception Sports Day

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 17th January 2019

“Concentration is the ability to think about absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary.”

Ray Knight

Children, teachers and parents entered into the spirit of the annual Year 1 and Year 2 Sports days with their customary enthusiasm this morning. There was a definite feeling in the air that the team games and obstacle courses were fresh and exciting for our competitors and I thank Ms. Hana and Mr. Brennan for the thoughtful planning of the event. Watching the children this morning, the thing that struck me the most was the looks of intense concentration on their little faces. The pitch was a hive of activity with over 250 children and at least two hundred adults participating in a whole range of events. There was music blaring to jolly us all along and instructions were being delivered over the loud speaker. And yet, looking at the photos, you will see that so many of competitors managed to immerse themselves in the moment – focussing completely on the task in hand. No mean feat!

Most of the events were team races, and whilst nearly all students gave of their best, children in Year 2 shone in their genuine interest in supporting and encouraging their team mates.

The only individual race was the sprint, where competition was fierce. I congratulate all medal winners on some fantastic performances. I also applaud the sportsmanship of all runners. Naturally, all are keen to come first and some are disappointed when this is not the case but we were proud of those who had the generosity of spirit to congratulate their peers.

Year 1 Sports Day

Year 2 Sports Day

Congratulations and Celebrations

The dusty weather did nothing to dampen staff spirits at the end of the day today. Staff members in Year 2 gathered to congratulate Ms. Nazia on her very recent marriage and Ms. Kettunen on her engagement. I am sure you will join us in wishing them all the best.

PCC Coffee Morning for New Parents

Many families have joined the BSB community this term. The Parent Community Committee has organised a coffee morning, from 8:00am until 10:00am on Sunday 20 January, in the school atrium, just inside the front doors, where we can all get to know one another. We are hoping to see as many new parents there as possible.

Purple Mash

Click below to view the Year 1 and Year 2 display boards all about holiday news.

Year 1 Display Board

Year 2 Display Board

After School Clubs

I apologise for the unfortunate delays in the Infants after school clubs sign up process. I can confirm that there will be an additional football club on Thursday afternoons. Details will follow on Sunday.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 10th January 2019

“The trouble with being a good sport is that you have to lose to prove it.”

Croft M. Pentz

The new year has begun on a high energy note in the Infants. The focus of the ‘Healthy Living’ theme this week was exercise, in preparation for upcoming sports days. I applaud the teachers and assistants who volunteered to man the stage and lead the ‘Wake Up, Shake Up’ exercise sessions for children in Key Stage 1. It does everybody good to be ‘out of their comfort zone’ from time to time. Mr. Brant made sure I was out of mine when he made sure I was signed up to lead one of the morning dance sessions. The looks my husband and son exchanged over their cereal as I left the house with my trainers said it all…

Husband ‘Why are you taking your trainers to school?’

Mrs Gilbert ‘I’ve been signed up to lead this Wake Up, Shake Up “thing” ‘

At this point my husband and son caught each others’ eye – a look and a moment of tacit agreement that said it all! “Don’t laugh whatever you do or she’ll get cross” mixed with slight bemusement and horror that I may be a monumental embarrassment.

KS1 Healthy Living Week

Good, old Team Infants was there to ensure there was no hint of embarrassment. Thank you to BSB’s own ‘Village People’ for making this morning’s ‘Wake Up, Shake Up’ such fun.

Having considered the enthusiasm shown by the whole school community for ‘Wake Up, Shake Up’, we have decided to make it a regular feature every Sunday morning at the slightly earlier time of 7:35am.

Sports Days

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Sports Day for Year 1 and Year 2 next Thursday, 17^th January and for Nursery and Reception on Thursday, 24^th January.

In assemblies we have been learning about what it takes to be a good sport. Learning to lose with dignity, not throwing a tantrum, not bragging too much if you win and supporting rather than chiding team mates if things don’t go well for them. It would be great if this message could be reinforced at home.

Learning about our bodies with a virtual tour

Use of the latest technology hits the spot when it comes to engaging children in their learning. As part of Healthy Living Week, children In Year 2 investigated the effects of exercise on our hearts and lungs. Many thanks to the Juniors, in particular Ms. Rule for lending us their VR equipment. The virtualiTEEs and digital pulse – metres were ideal for finding out whether our predictions about the effects of exercise on the body were accurate.

Thank you Dr. Khulood

Many thanks to Dr Khulood AlSayyad for an informative and engaging presentation for children in Year 1 about keeping our bodies healthy. Your time and expertise are very much appreciated.

KS1 After School Clubs

We are offering a wide range of after school clubs for students in Year 1 and Year 2. All sign-ups are via the Engage Parent Portal which will go live on Sunday, 13th January at 8am. You can sign into the Engage Parent Portal here: www.mis.thebsbh.com. If you do not have an account with Engage or are having difficulty signing into your account, please email vijayanm@thebsbh.com.

First club allocations will begin Sunday, 13th January from 8am until 11pm and second club allocations start Monday, 14th January from 8am until 11pm. Children can only sign up for one club in the first instance. On Monday, you may sign up for a second club if there is space available.

Key Information

Sunday, 13thJanuary at 8am – first club allocation begins
Monday, 14thJanuary at 8am – second club allocation begins
Sunday, 20thJanuary – first day of clubs
Thursday, 04th April – last day of clubs
Children should be collected from the KS1 playground at 3:30pm sharp

We would like to remind you that clubs are offered on a first come, first served basis

These are the clubs on offer: CLICK HERE

A Memorable Concert

I hope that parents of children in Year 1 have fond memories of the ‘A World of Celebration’ concert at the end of last term. You may remember that the concerts were filmed professionally and links with the relevant passwords are now available for purchase. An order form will come home with your child on Sunday. In the meantime, here is a preview to make you smile.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

Best Wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 13th December 2018

Dear Parents,

Applause has been described as a ‘moment of shared delight’ between the actor and the audience. There has been an abundance of such delight in the Infants this week. Every single child performed for their parents in one way or another whether it was in a festive singalong, a Great Fire of London assembly or the phenomenal ‘A World of Celebrations’ production.

I thank all the class teachers, assistants and specialist teachers for their tremendous care, love, creativity and time as they rehearsed with the children to bring us these moments of pure joy. What struck me most was the atmosphere of enjoyment emanating from the young performers. This was partly due to the perfectly pitched songs, poems and dances giving the children exactly the right amount of challenge. It was also due to the teachers’ kind, consistent and calm management of the children as they honed their skills. I salute them one and all.

Nursery Festive Sing-a-long

Reception Festive Sing-a-long

A World of Celebrations

A professional video of the ‘World of Celebrations’ was made during the performance and copies will be available for purchase early in the new year.

Infant students in the ‘Exploring Instruments’ and ‘Little Stars’ also showcased their talent in an evening concert last night. Many thanks to Ms Lydia Carter for going above and beyond in preparing the children.

A World of Celebrations

Happy National Day

The Arabic department never fail to surprise me at this time of year. Their tremendous dedication and attention to detail when preparing the National Day exhibition is always exemplary. This year they drove the theme of education as they compared Bahrain today to Bahrain a hundred years ago. I hope you enjoy the videos and that the lovely gentle humour will make you smile. You can see that the creation of the exhibition was a labour of love.

We were honoured by a visit from Ms Hala Al Turk this morning and the children were over the moon to watch her performance in the National Day assembly. We thank Hala for giving us such a treat.

Bahrain National Day

It leaves for me to only wish you a Happy National Day, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you have a relaxing holiday with your families and we look forward to welcoming you back to school on Sunday 6^th January.

Best Wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 6th December 2018

“All the world’s a stage.”

William Shakespeare - As You Like It

Although drama has long been incorporated in the literacy curriculum in the Infants, this is the first year that we have had lessons taught by a specialist teacher. What better way to hone oral communication skills, build self confidence and practise working cooperatively! This has been a week when every single child in the Infants has had an opportunity to perform and to be part of an audience. Rehearsals seem to have been taking place in every corner of the school at every opportunity for the Nursery and Reception sing-alongs, the Year 1 production and the Year 2 Great Fire of London assemblies. We look forward to seeing many of you as possible at next week’s performances.

As for being part of an audience, Year 2 joined the Juniors to watch ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and were, quite simply, mesmerized by an enchanting performance. Younger children were delighted by the antics of a rather bold baby bear and his friend Goldilocks – their role play since their return to school has taken on a life of its own.

I would like to thank all children, teachers and assistants for ensuring that the BSB behaviour outside school was impeccable.

Theatre

Video 1.MP4

Video 2.MP4

Hour of Code

All children from Reception upwards participated in an Hour of Code this week. The younger children started by planning routes and giving directions for their friends or the robot to follow. Initially this was quite a challenge, as distinguishing left from right does not always come easily. There was then tremendous enthusiasm for putting codes into the beebots and bluebots in order for them to follow a particular route on the maze. Children in Year 1 directed robots through a maze on screen using the Lightbot website. The oldest students in the Infants had to give instructions using coding blocks for the Minecraft characters Alex and Steve to follow. Many thanks to Ms Rasha for instilling her knowledge and enthusiasm in the children.

Infants Hour of Code 2018

We are entering one of the busiest weeks of the school year and I hope you find the following schedule helpful.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions!

Reception Champions!

Year 1 Champions!

Year 2 Champions!

Best Wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 29th November 2018

Learning Without Walls

We often say that the most effective learning takes place outside the classroom. Year 2’s trip to the Fire Station was a magnificent hands on learning experience for the children. Linked to their ‘Great Fire of London’ topic, the visit really brought their learning to life.

Here is what some of the students had to say on their return.

Year 2’s trip to the Fire Station

“When there is an emergency, an alarm rings all over the fire station.” – Saif 2.10

“It was my birthday so I was allowed to go in the fast car with the siren on with Ms. Kettunen.” – Hadeel 2.10

“We put the fire out ourselves.” – Adam 2.10

“We saw how rainbows were made when the sunlight hit the water from the hose.” – Selim 2.10

“There’s a big pole and they slide down it because it’s faster than stairs.” - Laith 2.10

“The hose was really heavy.” – Jake 2.2

“We saw some equipment like helmets, oxygen tanks and masks.” - Yassin 2.2

“It felt scary when the alarm went off.” – Jewel 2.2

Always Learning

I hope you enjoyed a little extra time with your child yesterday as we closed early for a twilight session of CPD for teachers and assistants. Those in Early Years opened discussion on the Inspired Reggio Emilia approach to learning – focussing first on the ‘image of the child’ that we hold at the BSB. Mr. Brant led a session on Purple Mash, an online learning tool for children and Mr. Ferriere led a session on benchmarking reading. The evening ended with a three minute carousel where teachers could showcase their top tips or new ideas for their colleagues.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

Best Wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 22nd November 2018

“What is a friend? I will tell you it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.”

Frank Crane

Friendship Week

This week we have been considering friendship and the essence of being a good friend.

The oldest children in the Infants surprised us with their depth of understanding of qualities such as patience, kindness, the ability to forgive, honesty, loyalty, trust and a sense of humour. I enjoyed seeing that one student was voted ‘Champion of the Week’ for being a ‘friend to everyone’. One value that we hope to instill in the children is a sense of inclusivity in their friendships. ‘Come and join us’, is a phrase we love to hear.

Friendship Week

Nursery Animal Parade

Carnival of the Animals

It has been a pleasure to see the children in Nursery’s learning about animals develop over the past few weeks. The ‘process’ and ‘celebration’ display boards have often made me smile as I have read some of the children’s observations and questions. They concluded their learning with this morning’s ‘Carnival of the Animals’ and I thank parents who took time out of their busy schedules to listen to their children singing ‘Walking in the Jungle’ and ‘Five Little Monkeys’ in their classrooms. The costumes, so many of them handmade, were fabulous-so many original ideas! The children then paraded for Year 1 and Year 2 who cheered and smiled encouragingly at some of our slightly stage struck youngest students. Children in Reception then took the opportunity to interview their counterparts in Nursery. “What kind of animal are you?” “What noise do you make?” “Where do you live?” Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the change in routine.

Showcase Celebration

In addition to the Nursery and Reception Singalongs, the Year 1 Celebration Production and the Year 2 assemblies and drama performances there will be performances by the Little Stars and Exploring Instruments after school clubs later this term. This showcase of talent is not to be missed!

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

I wish you all an enjoyable weekend.

Best Wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert and Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 15th November 2018

“Let me tell you the secret that has led to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.”

Louis Pasteur

Our assembly last week was about perseverance and the importance of continuing to try, even when something is difficult. I was delighted that some students were nominated as ‘Champions of the Week’ for that very quality. All the teachers have shown great resilience and perseverance this week too. Stormy weather has led to flash floods in some classrooms and indoor playtimes – all during a week where early mornings and late afternoons have been earmarked for the all important parent teacher conferences.

Thank you to all parents who attended this week. I hope you gained valuable insight into your child’s learning and that you find the new style target sheets helpful. Please fill the following feedback form.

https://goo.gl/forms/l6n1yI3nxslrfOwB2

Little Stars

The children in the ‘Little Stars’ after school club were delighted to be included in the whole school welcome this week for our guests from The Royal Hospital, Chelsea. Congratulations on a rousing performance for the ‘Gentleman in Red’.

The Power of Music

There has been an abundance of music, song and dance throughout the school as children prepare for their end of term concerts. I am pleased to share just a glimpse of a rehearsal for the Year 2 Great Fire of London class assemblies.

Y2 Assembly - GFoL Nov 2018.mp4

Space Odyssey

Two students in Year 2 were fortunate to have the opportunity to meet a ‘real, live’ astronaut this week. Zain Hassan and Gabriel Nabeel-Gautheret along with Mr. Brant and some students from Juniors met Colonel Alfred Worden, the Command Module Pilot of Apollo 15 which flew to the moon in 1971. Many thanks to Wadi Al Sail Boys’ school for their invitation to meet such a distinguished guest.

2.mp4

3.mp4

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

We wish you a happy and relaxed weekend.

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 8th November 2018

The Gathering of the Clans

It is always a pleasure to see children gathering for year group assemblies. There are moments, such as the starts of recognition, spontaneous smiles and discreet waves as children recognise friends from other classes, that are a joy to watch. It is in assemblies that children realise that their class is a meaningful part of a larger whole – a life lesson in itself. Each week assemblies have a particular theme, sometimes linked to the curriculum and sometimes linked to a particular value that we are trying to reinforce in the school community.

The theme of this week’s assemblies was perseverance as we encouraged the children to ‘keep going’ and not to give up even if something is difficult to start with. Teachers and children shared examples of times when they had struggled with learning something new but had not given up. I hope the rendition of “If I fail 500 times, then I will try 500 more”, makes you smile.

♫“If I fail 500 times.

Then I will try 500 more,

I will be the one who won’t give up,

‘Til I succeed and reach my goal!”♫

We look forward to inviting parents to join us at year group assemblies in Term 2 and Term 3.

VID-20181108-WA0008.mp4

“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder…”

-Leanne Womack

Diwali

Children in Year 1 have been comparing and contrasting different celebrations around the world in their topic lessons. Discussions began with family celebrations such as birthdays and anniversaries and leading onto more global traditions of celebration. This week children explored rangoli patterns, lanterns and traditional dances from India. The beautiful diya lamps, created by children in Year 2, drew gasps of wonder as the colours glowed in the darkness. Happy Diwali to BSB families who are celebrating the festival of light.

Curriculum Information Sessions

Many thanks to parents of children in Reception who attended the ‘Learning to Read’ presentation by Ms Robson and Ms Fearon this week. We were delighted with the positive feedback from parents who attended the practical, no nonsense and light hearted session.

Click below for the Reception Reading Talk presentation and feedback form.

Reception Reading Talk Presentation

Feedback Form

Thank you to the parents who took the time to attend the Year 2 curriculum workshops. I am sure they gave you valuable insight into the way your child learns at school.

Click below for the Year Curriculum Workshop presentation and feedback form.

Year 2 Curriculum Workshop Presentation

Feedback Form

Parent Teacher Meetings

Thank you for signing up for an appointment with your child’s teacher next week. Please note that there will be NO AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS next week from 11^th-15^th November. The teachers will be otherwise occupied with Parent Teacher Meetings. Clubs will resume the following week on Sunday 18^th November. Sibling holding rooms will continue as usual next week.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions!

Reception Champions!

Year 1 Champions!

Year 2 Champions!

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 25th October 2018

“Whatever you are, be a good one!”

-Abraham Lincoln

What do you want to be when you grow up?

There is no doubt that children in Year 2 know a thing or two about creating a good first impression. They stunned us all as they arrived at the Job Fair on Wednesday dressed to impress. Their brief was to dress for an interview for their chosen profession and the students certainly didn’t disappoint with their choices of attire.

The day began with inspiring presentations and demonstrations by parents in the school who were able to give the students insight into their chosen profession – be it as a doctor, a fashion designer, an architect, a pearl diver or a hairdresser. The children surprised us all with the depth of the questions put to the visiting speakers. After that the children had the opportunity to experience life as a doctor, chef, tailor or banker by participating in carefully planned learning activities. In conclusion the children reflected upon their initial choice of profession and voted to change their selection if they so wished.

What amazed me was the eloquent manner in which so many of the children spoke about why they had chosen a particular profession – bearing their own skillset in mind. ‘Patience’, ‘ability to concentrate’, ‘strength’, ‘flexibility’, ‘good special awareness’, ‘ creativity’, ‘calmness’, ‘mathematical ability’ and ‘being good at thinking of words’ were all attributes that the students recognised in themselves.

Y2 Job Fair 2018

Reception go to the Garden

Children in Reception were learning the initial sounds ‘g’ and ‘o’ this week and their ‘tricky word’ to learn was ‘go’. Hence it seemed to be a good idea for them to picnic in the ‘secret garden’ behind the Junior School. The children were tasked with organising a picnic blanket for themselves and then enjoyed their snacks, relaxing in the fresh air. After a little time relaxing, they made sure they left the picnic spot as clean and tidy as it was when they arrived. It says something very lovely about the children that they drummed up such enthusiasm for such a simple pleasure.

Reception go to the Garden

Curriculum Workshops

Many thanks to the parents of children in Year 1 who attended the curriculum workshops this week. We were very pleased with the turn out and hope that you found the workshop useful. We would be very grateful if you could complete the feedback form by clicking below.

https://goo.gl/forms/W3fLO1lkYaUHz8iH3

We are continuously aiming to improve links with you, the parents, so all suggestions would be very welcome. Please be reminded of two further curriculum workshops for parents that will take place after half term.

Reception Reading Talk – Tuesday, 6^th November at 1:00pm
Year 2 Curriculum Workshop – Wednesday, 7^th November at 1:15pm

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Class Links

It was a pleasure to meet the class links for the Infants this week. Thank you for your time! We have revised the role of the class links and ask that all parents read this important information about the role of the class link. Click here for class link guidelines

Folk Dancing Experience

Many, many thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Brant (Senior) for sharing their extensive experience of folk dancing with children in Year 1 this week. We all had a ball!

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery Champions

Reception Champions

Year 1 Champions

Year 2 Champions

I wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable mid term break and we look forward to welcoming children back to school on Sunday, 4^th November.

Best wishes,

Julie Anne Gilbert & Matt Brant

Headteacher's News - Thursday, 18th October 2018

Dear Parents,

I am sure that when many of us reminisce about our schooldays, the sharpest memories are of learning that took place outside the classroom. At the BSB we are great believers in getting out of the classroom and bringing learning to life with any opportunities that are available in the kingdom.

Bahrain National Museum

Children in Year 2 had the opportunity to visit Bahrain National Museum this week. As they prepare for their job fair next week, they compared and contrasted many of the traditional careers undertaken in the past, with present day opportunities. The children were left in little doubt that the physical challenges for pearl divers, basket weavers, shoemakers and rug makers were not for the faint hearted! Many thanks to Ms. Heinrich and Ms. Lori for organising the trip.

2.4 Museum trip.mp4

Y2 Museum Visit

Think Pink

We were delighted that so many children in the Infants participated in the whole school charity fundraiser for Think Pink, an organisation that works to raise awareness and support research into a cure for breast cancer. Children added innovative ‘touches of pink’ to their uniforms – tutus, socks, pom poms, waistcoats and veils to name but a few. There was also an amazing selection of pink items in the children’s lunchboxes. In Infants alone we managed to raise 424 BD and we look forward to announcing the total from the whole school next week.

Curriculum Workshops

Parents of children in Year 1 will have received notification of curriculum workshops for this particular year group. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Wednesday, 24^th October at 1:15pm. The workshops will take place in the Year 1 classrooms that are located on the ground floor.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Headteacher's News Thursday 11th October 2018

“Teachers have three loves; love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.”

-Scott Hayden

I was struck by the enjoyment, focus and engagement in the maths lessons that I popped in to across the Infants this week. In the early years numbers are made meaningful to the children by highlighting their relevance in the real life. Our recent emphasis on teaching the ‘language of number’ has done wonders in giving the children further up the school confidence when articulating their strategies to solve a problem – whether it is by ‘putting the big number’ in their head, ‘partitioning’ or explaining place value. Changes made to the curriculum last year are now firmly embedded and it is obvious that our increased focus on the concrete and practical, before moving onto the abstract has had a huge impact on the children’s depth of understanding.

11th Oct Maths

Think Pink

On Thursday 18^th 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 add a ‘touch of pink’ to their school uniform. This could be 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.

Congratulations Miss Katie!

Hearty congratulations to Miss Katie, who works with Mrs George in R2. We were delighted when she announced her engagement to Mr. Bryce Kramlich this week and wish the happy couple all the very best.

Congratulations to this week's Champions!

Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

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