Archived News 201819T2:2

Headteacher's News Wednesday 17 April 2019

Follow @mrhowebsbh on Twitter

Spectacular International Day

The parade this morning was absolutely breathtaking and was followed by a morning of amazing international events, including a display by the Royal Marines Corps of Drums from Portsmouth, UK. Here is a Google photo album. Also check out these videos: the Irish dance; Tanishi's poem; Riya's dance; the Royal Marines drummers; Sean's guitar song; the tamba demonstration, and the zumba dance.

This is what the children had to say:

It’s always great fun because you can see people wearing national dress and carrying their flags. It was a beautiful collection of colours, all mixed together. I also liked trying all kinds of different food. – Arsen (5.09 and Turkey)

We got the chance to see everyone united and being proud of their own country. We also got the chance to learn about countries we hadn’t heard of before. – Micah(5.09 and Barbados)

It was fun seeing where everyone comes from and what they wear. I wore an orange dress with red, white and blue squares round the sides, because these are the Dutch national colours and I come from the Netherlands! – Rosa (5.09 and Netherlands)

International Day was great fun and we had lots of different activities. I liked it when the teachers told us about themselves and their own countries . Now we know a lot more about them than we did before! – Uddhav (4.09 and India)

It was great because we could see everyone’s different national dress and their flags. I’m the only person in juniors who comes from Serbia! - Ema (4.09 and Serbia)

We got loads of information about lots of other countries and how people there behave and how they dress – very interesting and very colourful! – Daniyal (4.09 and India)

People from many countries came together and everyone was proud to be flying their flags. I wore a t-shirt with the South African flag on it. Sterkte almal! – Adrienne (4.09 and South Africa)

I loved seeing, and learning about all the unique cultures. The best part was the parade when everyone was proud to be waving and flying their flags. – Ali (6.07 and Bahrain)

Fabulous Football

The term 2 football season drew to a close this week with the final Primary Schools League girls' tournament - check out Mrs Rule's report on the sports blog.

Inter-House Football - Dragons Roar Again!

Report from Mr Travers and Mr Drennan

Dragon managed to hold onto the trophy they won last year in the final of the Inter-house football tournament yesterday but it was very close!

Over the last 2 weeks, the students of Year 5 and 6 have been taking part in the ever-popular Inter House football tournament. Over 150 boys and girls turned up to represent their houses last Sunday when the competition started. The first day’s action resulted in a very narrow victory for Pegasus over Dragon after they came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1. Meanwhile, Mrs Rule’s Phoenix team beat Griffin by the same scoreline in the other match.

The huge thunderstorm last Tuesday meant that the matches were postponed and so the crucial final matches were all played on Sunday. Pegasus, led by Mrs Drennan, scraped another close victory, 2-1 against Phoenix before being held to a 1-1 draw thanks to a gritty display by Mr Doyle’s outnumbered Griffin team. Dragon bounced back from their previous defeat to book their place in the final with 2 victories which meant they would have the opportunity to gain revenge for defeat on the first day.

In the 3^rd and 4^th place play-off, last year’s beaten finalists, Phoenix faced Griffin and in the early stages, the two teams were evenly matched so there was a great deal of action in the midfield area of the pitch. Gradually, Griffin began to assert themselves and created a few excellent opportunities to score. The vital goal eluded them until Saud Al Sharafa managed a shot which left the Phoenix goalkeeper with no chance of saving, putting Griffin one goal ahead Despite their best efforts, Griffin could not improve on this, and spirited efforts by Phoenix were equally unsuccessful. The final score remained Griffin - 1, Phoenix - 0 The grand final saw last year’s winners, Dragon, pitted against the 2015, 2016 & 2017 winners, Pegasus.

With that background, and with so much at stake, it always promised to be a close match and despite some excellent play from both sides, the score remained 0 – 0 until a superb volley by the captain – Nasser Al Qattan – late in the match, put Dragon in the lead. The Dragon supporters in the huge crowd went wild! The last few minutes saw a remarkable fight back by Pegasus and in the last minute, they could easily have scored three goals – including one shot which goalkeeper Dylan just managed to tip onto the crossbar for the save of the tournament. In the end, though, Dragon held out and ended the game as 1 – 0 winners and as such retained the trophy for another year.

Well done to everyone who took part in this exciting and enjoyable tournament. Each year it is greatly anticipated by the students and it always proves to be a showcase for BSB talent, teamwork and sportsmanship.

Eco-Rangers meet Jean-Michel Cousteau: report from Ms Chapman

On Monday, the Junior Eco Rangers were fortunate enough to attend an environment lecture at the Ritz Carlton. The children had the chance to learn more about Jean-Michel Cousteau, the official Ambassador of Environment world wide and his legacy. He shared some of his experiences and knowledge about the ocean and it was clear to see his passion for sea life. He showed videos of him scuba diving and we learnt so many new facts! He reminded us of how important it is to be responsible and care for the ocean by reducing, reusing and recycling. He showed us some really sad photos where this had not been the case and sea life was being harmed. It's all about talking and the Eco Rangers were given the mission to spread the message! Here is a Google photo album of the day. Here's what the children had to say about the trip...

"I learned that we need to explore species more and we need to stop throwing plastic into the ocean." Aedyn, Year 3

"We learned there is so much plastic in the ocean." Nouf, Year 4

"I enjoyed learning some shocking facts about the ocean." Lina, Year 4

"My favourite part was when Jean-Michel Cousteau was telling Dory from 'Finding Nemo' about coral reefs. It was interesting how they release microscopic balls to reproduce." Aseem, Year 6

Cross-phase circuits - report from Mr Humphreys

4.05 have been working hard on producing electronic quiz boards in their Art/D&T lessons this term. There was lots of cross-curricular learning and teamwork involved in creating these projects. Science, Humanities, Art and communication skills working simultaneously. On Tuesday morning they shared their projects with their intended audience; 'A Year 1 child'. The children from 1.8 were a great audience and showed off not only their knowledge but also the inquisitive mind of a young child. Lots of questions were asked and answered by both sets of children and, just as importantly, all were smiling and having fun whilst learning. Here is a Google photo album.

Afterwards, the children commented:

Amna 4.05 - "The children were happy to answer questions and also to see the kind of things they will be able to make when they are older."

Danial 4.05 - "The Year 1s were very interested in how our boards worked and it was great to answer their questions."

Igne 4.05 - "It was great to be a teacher!"

Sama 1.8 - "I can't wait to get to Year 4 to make a quiz board."

Hari 1.8 - "It was fantastic."

Ayah 1.8 - "The boards were made from lots of materials and were fun."

In other news...

Have a wonderful spring break. See you all on Sunday 28 April. Don't forget, you can preview next term's clubs on the portal at mis.thebsbh.com now, and the system opens for sign-up on Sunday 28 April. Clubs start on 5 May and end on 27 June.

Headteacher's News Thursday 11 April 2019

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Peerless performances

The high spots of this week were the breathtaking concerts performed by Year 3 (yesterday) and Year 4 (this afternoon). The hall was packed with family members who came to watch. The memorable events had many highlights, including the Pink Panther Plate routine by Year 3, and the amazing Rain Storm sound effects generated live on stage by Year 4. Such awe-inspiring success comes from team work, with everyone pulling together under the expert guidance of their Music and Drama teachers. Regrettably we are having technical difficulties with the videos at the moment - I'll leave the links below, in case the technical issues clear in the next few hours.

St Christopher's School Music Festival - further news

Ms Carter has sent me some super photos from the final day of last week's music festival at St Christopher's School, featuring BSB students in juniors and seniors, celebrating their well-deserved successes. Here is a Google photo album of the additional pictures. Watch out for the Choir representatives; Level 2 Piano participants including Laneash, Maria, Nyall and Rose; all of the Grand Final performers and winners; Dalia winning Gold in vocals; Maria winning Level 2 overall; the Year 6 'Creatives' who performed their own composition; and Nyall performing to win Gold. Splendid indeed.

International Day Parade

Wednesday 17 April, the last day of term, is our International Day, when students come to school wearing either their national costume, or the colours of their national flag. Parents are invited to stay after morning drop-off for the Grand Parade at 8:15am, where there are sure to be plenty of photo opportunities. For the rest of the morning, children will follow a varied programme of educational, international activities. The school day will end at 12:30pm on Wednesday, and the spring holidays will begin.

Very well done to all students who are here in school right up to the last minute of the last day, for you know the importance of finishing a job properly.

Sports Latest

Last Thursday, after school, a large group of students headed over to Bahrain Rugby Football Club for a Gaelic Football tournament. A full report is being prepared on the Sports Blog and you can find photos in this Google album. Also, the Boys' Development Football Squad played in a friendly five-a-side tournament at St Christopher's School yesterday; this is also reported in detail over on the Sports Blog.

The inter-house football tournament is still under way, despite inclement weather on Tuesday, when we had to retire inside as a thunderstorm came over. BSB students are wonderfully adaptable. We all sat together in the atrium, ate our lunches and chatted, played chess and watched the weather through the windows. We shall aim to catch up on the missed games on Sunday, and the grand final is scheduled for Tuesday.

In other news this week...

Lunch boxes - please remember that candy, sweets and chocolate should not be brought into school. Lunches should be balanced, please. A few students have brought in only bags of chips for lunch. To have a productive day's learning, we need a nutritious lunch that will keep us going for the whole day.
Term 3 clubs - preparations are under way and we shall be opening the list of clubs for preview next week, via the portal at mis.thebsbh.com. Online sign-up will open from Sunday 28 April. Clubs will begin on Sunday 5 May and will run for eight weeks.

Headteacher's News Thursday 4 April 2019

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Girls' Football Squad

The girls played away at St Christopher's School on Sunday 31 March, as a culmination of all the Sunday afternoon training they have been doing. Check out the sports blog for a full report from Mrs Rule.

St Christopher's School Music Festival

Huge congratulations to everyone who took part in the annual Music Festival at St Christopher's School. The group in the video attained 2nd place in the finals on Tuesday, performing their own composition. What a wonderful achievement. Here is a Google album of photos taken at the Isa Town site. The festival was a memorable experience for everyone who took part and the overall standard of performances was excellent. If you took part and did not get a medal, please remember that without entrants who don't win, there can be no competition. It is the entrants that make the whole thing possible. Thanks to parents for your support, transporting your children back and forth and being there to watch them perform.

Y6 Shakespeare Day

Today, Year 6 students transformed themselves into Shakespearean and Elizabethan characters, occasioning a cavalcade of costumery. All the world was indeed a stage at this afternoon's Shakespeare show. Check out this Google album of photos. Here is what the children had to say:

“The best part was the performance – it was really fun! I dressed as a witch from Macbeth, just like my two friends so we were the three witches. Before we studied the play, I thought Macbeth was all about Lady Macbeth. I didn’t realise it was actually about her husband!” – Haya (6.02)
“I liked the different activities we had today and I enjoyed singing in the performance. I dressed as an executioner from Richard lll and I had an axe. I had read all about him before today so I knew how he ended up!” – Tibi (6.07)
“I enjoyed the performance because everyone was really giving their best. I dressed as an ordinary Tudor person but my favourite Shakespeare play is actually Romeo and Juliet.” – Mughdo (6.09)
“The activities were fun and I liked doing them with the rest of the class. The performance was amazing because you actually learned a lot while you were singing. At the end of the performance we all knew a lot more about Shakespeare than we did at the start.” – Haadiya (6.04)
“Everyone enjoyed the activities and the performance. They helped you to imagine what it was like in Shakespeare’s time. I dressed as an Egyptian woman because one of Shakespeare’s plays was about the Egyptian queen – Cleopatra.” – Angel (6.04)

Y5 Ancient Greece Day

Year 5 students brought their studies of Ancient Greece to a dazzling climax today, dressing up as Athenian philosophers, Spartan soldiers, Olympian mythological characters and the like. Here is a Google album of pictures from the day.

Y5 Movie Night

The Year 5 Movie Nights this week were well attended, expertly staffed by Y5 students, and raised a terrific BHD1478 for the children's chosen charity, the Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. BSPCA does excellent work, preventing an untold amount of suffering by providing a safe haven for animals with nowhere else to go. Occasionally, people ask me why children choose to support a charity that helps non-humans. A visit to the super-clean BSPCA animal shelter, with its eager volunteer workers and spacious enclosures, can help us see what a worthy cause it is. And one long look into the bright, eager, friendly, healthy, intelligent eyes of the animals as they jump up to greet you will leave you in no doubt at all. Here is a Google album of the Year 5 students in action on the two movie nights.

In other news...

After-school clubs have now ended for this term. A new season of clubs will begin next term and we will be in touch very soon, before the end of this term, with arrangements to sign up via the portal.

PE Kit - here are some words of advice from Ms Gray, Head of PE in Juniors

We are making every effort to look as smart as we can for school and with this in mind we would like to remind you of the school PE kit as we have seen many variations creeping in:

BSB house PE shirt
BSB PE shorts or trousers for those who prefer to cover for cultural reasons- unfortunately leggings are not appropriate for school PE lessons unless they are worn with shorts
White ankle or trainer socks for boys and girls
Sports shoes secured by laces (that they know how to tie) or strong velcro straps. Fashion shoes such as Adidas 'Gazelle' & 'Superstar' as well as Converse 'All Stars' do not provide the appropriate cushioning or support for sport. Slip on shoes, such as the Sketchers brand slip-on, are not appropriate for PE lessons as they are designed for low impact walking activities; feet are not secured, which can cause soft tissue injuries around the ankle area.
Could we ask for all jewellery to be left at home on a PE day as it must be removed during PE for safety reasons, including the safety of the wearer and those they are working with. With this in mind, I ask that religious bracelets are covered by a sweatband to prevent injury to others during team sports. Removing jewellery includes earrings too as they are a potential hazard for the wearer in in ball activities, such as basketball that we are currently on.

Many thanks for your support with this and helping our Junior PE Department raise the standard and profile of sport at BSB. We hope you also like our PE staff's smart new uniform too!

Headteacher's News Thursday 28 March 2019

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COBIS Poetry Competition

We have a poet in our midst! This year's international competition, run by the Council of British International Schools, attracted 465 entries from over 80 schools around the world. Our very own Nyall in 6.03 is the winner of Category A. He received his well-deserved certificate in today's assembly. Congratulations, Nyall, and very well done!

Mr Justin of the Mercedes-Benz team explains the F1-style steering wheel.

Visit to the Mercedes-Benz F1 Garage

"So, instead of afternoon lessons, why don't we go and say hi to Lewis Hamilton?" Eight students, each a keen follower of Formula 1, who had shown their expertise in the sport through their writing, were selected to take a tour of the Mercedes-Benz team garage this afternoon. Just as we were lining up for an official photo in front of Lewis Hamilton's car, a suave voice from behind us said, "Hi, everyone! I'm Lewis." We all shook hands with Lewis and he gave each of us a commemorative cap which he autographed on the spot. We saw his car engine revved up for a test - we can assure you it is LOUD! Mr Justin and Ms Kate gave us a tour of the paddock. We learned that each team uses over 160 tyres in a Grand Prix weekend. We were not allowed to take photos of our own in the garage area, but Lewis's official photographer and social media team recorded the whole thing. Watch out for us on Lewis's Instagram and Twitter feeds. UPDATE - here we are! As soon as we receive the official photos, taken by F1 photographer Steve Etherington, we will share them. Here are some photos from the paddock. You may recognise some famous faces if you follow F1.

Upcoming Spring Concerts

Please be sure to join us and support your child in contributing to their year group's performance this term; fliers below. Please note the new dates for the Year 3 and Year 4 concerts. I am sorry for any issues the change of dates has caused. Each performance will be a large-scale presentation. Rather than being all about watching individuals perform, the learning objectives include being part of a concert involving hundreds of people - a truly uplifting experience for everyone performing and for all in the audience. Additionally, the upper junior performances are the culmination of programmes of study from which the children have learned a great deal. We do hope you enjoy the shows.

St Christopher's School Music Festival

Many BSB students will be participating in the annual Music Festival, on the two sites of St Christopher's School, on Sunday 31 March and Monday 1 April. We are proud of the talented, dedicated young people who will be representing our school. Performers should make their own way there with parents, please, apart from group performers who have already been contacted by Ms Jade or Ms Carter regarding bus transport for the large groups performing on Monday. Wishing all entrants every success. Whatever the outcome, it is a wonderful experience to participate in such an event.

What is dyslexia?

As enthusiastic and interested teachers, parents and students, we are setting out together to deepen our understanding of dyslexia, a condition that affects around 10% of the world's population. Some of our 1,180 BSB families tell us they don't know much about dyslexia and would like to learn more.

Dyslexia is a general term for difficulties in reading words, letters and other symbols. Dyslexia does not affect general intelligence. Young people with dyslexia tend to fall behind in their reading and spelling, which can lead to anxiety and a poor sense of self-worth. If the young person understands why they are finding their work hard, and receives the right support at school and at home, their anxiety decreases, they feel happier about themselves and they are better placed to make progress.

Let's try a quick quiz. Please pick out, from this list of famous names, the one you think is or was dyslexic. The answer is in the next paragraph - no peeping!

Albert Einstein
Whoopi Goldberg
Walt Disney
Keira Knightley
Richard Branson
Leonardo da Vinci
Tom Cruise
John Lennon

It's important to understand that there is no stigma in having dyslexia. Many well-known, successful people have the condition and have cleverly learned strategies to cope and to work around it. In fact, all of the people listed have or had dyslexia.

Can having dyslexia be an advantage in any way? Yes, it can. It is said that dyslexia is connected to increased creativity. Dyslexia is better described as a 'learning difference' than a learning difficulty.

How do we help BSB students who have dyslexia? When we observe that a child is experiencing a specific difficulty with reading and spelling, we apply various strategies, including (but not limited to):

extra time to complete tasks and assessments, with reading support where needed;
providing a scribe for lessons when the learning objective does not involve writing;
using iPads or laptops when handwriting is not essential;
extra practice of phonics and letter sounds, including games and flash cards;
providing coloured overlays and line guides to help with reading and scanning;
focusing on key vocabulary words;
multisensory activities (e.g. games, songs) to help with spelling;
using oral responses rather than written responses where appropriate;
breaking down learning objective into manageable steps (scaffolding);
using visual instruction wherever possible;
revising high-frequency words.

If you have any questions about dyslexia or would like to know more, please contact Ms Jade via pa2juniors@thebsbh.com.

Girls' Football v Tekkers

The girls played a number of friendly games with Tekkers this week - head on over to the sports page for a full report from Ms Rule.

Assembly & Reef Arabia Cheque Presentation

Today, Mr T, Ms Chapman and the Eco-rangers presented a cheque for BD586 (and 375 fils) to Anthony from Reef Arabia. We are proud to support Reef Arabia's wonderful work on preservation of the Bahrain marine environment through our fund raising activities. Very well done to everyone involved, and thanks to Anhony for visiting us today.

Many more photos from today's assembly can be found here.

Y5 Charity Movie Nights

Year 5 students are hosting, with the help of their teachers, two after-school movie nights for charity:

Smallfoot for Years 3 and 4, on Tuesday 2 April
Ralph Breaks the Internet for Years 5 and 6, on Wednesday 3 April

Tickets cost 2BD per child; however, you may wish to donate more, as all money will go towards the BSPCA.

Refreshments will be on sale (courtesy of the Y5 children); therefore, children can bring extra money if they wish.

There will also be a raffle for the children to win a prize. Children will be informed about the raffle at the beginning of the 'Movie Night Week'.

If you wish your child to take part in Movie Night, please send the ticket money in a sealed, named envelope (with the exact amount inside) to your class teacher by Sunday 31st March.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Yours charitably,

The Year 5 Team

Arabic Reading Challenge Competition 2019 - report from Mrs Sana Mansour

We have 350 students in Juniors who entered the Arabic Reading Challenge Competition. Their task was to read 50 Arabic books with summaries. This had to be completed in a time frame of four months.

They had to achieve 5 different coloured passports – red, green , blue silver and gold.

Nine of our children in Juniors have done us extremely proud by completing all their passports and six of them are now ready to participate in the first round of the inter-schools competition.

Congratulations to the following students:

1- Nour 3.10

2- Ali 4.01

3- Joude 4.06

4- Ahmed 4.07

5- Mohammed 4.07

6- Fatema 5.05

Well done !

In other news this week

End-of-day pickup: Please remember that junior children, once picked up at the end of the day, must stay with the person who has collected them, until leaving the school grounds. Junior children are not allowed to roam around unsupervised after school. Thank you for your co-operation.

Headteacher's News Thursday 21 March 2019

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Dibba Trip 2

I am blogging this week from Dibba, UAE, where I'm enjoying a long weekend of outdoor pursuits with a group of Year 6 students and staff. This really is a super experience for the children. They are learning so much: independence, teamwork and a whole range of new skills. Check out our frequently updated Google photo album.

Arabic Week

My thanks to Mrs Sana Mansour and the Arabic department for everything they have put into making Arabic week such a success. Thanks also to parents who came in to participate in 'Let's Read Together' - it means a great deal to the children when family members come into school to read with them. Time spent reading is always time spent wisely. Hearing text read aloud, in any language, is a powerful way to improve understanding and fluency, and has a positive impact on writing skills, too.

We were also honoured by visitors from the Electricity and Water Authority, and the poet Mariam Dawood.

Here is a Google photo album with some highlights of the week.

In other news...

PE lessons - please remember your hat and water bottle for PE; very important for health and safety.

Canteen - remember, if you bring a packed lunch to school, you cannot bring food that needs to be heated up, and you cannot bring food that needs hot water to be added. If you want a hot meal, you are welcome to buy one from the canteen. Packed lunches must contain only things that can be eaten straight from the lunch box. We are a nut-free school so please don't bring nuts or nut products.

Student-Led Conferences - Tuesday 26 March - any parent who has not yet made an appointment with their child's class/form teacher, please do so via the portal at mis.thebsbh.com

Headteacher's News Thursday 14 March 2019

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Feathered Friends - report from Mr Travers

On two separate days this week, Year 5 classes travelled to the Al Azizia Bird Kingdom near Amwaj Islands, to bolster their study of “Living Things and their Habitats” in Science.

Students and staff were welcomed warmly by managers Dave and Julie – BSB parents – and their very helpful staff. Julie and Dave spent two hours showing everyone around and explaining the behaviour of the most exotic and interesting birds on the planet - macaws, parakeets, parrots, toucans and many more. There were hundreds of birds in total, including some very talented speaking and dancing birds.

Students and teachers were concerned to learn that many of these beautiful birds are endangered or even threatened by extinction but everyone was very relieved to discover that a great deal is being done to prevent this, including safe parks such as this one, where the birds are protected from threats. Many thanks to Dave, Julie and all the staff at Al Azizia Bird Kingdom for their enthusiasm and for making everyone so welcome. Here is a Google photo album of the Monday trip.

“I was amazed by all the bright colours of so many birds and I liked the parrots best. The ice cream at the end was very welcome too!” – Henry (5.03)

“ I enjoyed discovering so many unusual birds and the best part was having a chance to hold a very friendly parrot.” – Aiza (5.03)

“We started off with a quiz and we had to find out a lot of information by looking at the birds. There was a lot of variety. We all learned a lot about the birds and I liked discovering their scientific names.” – Jad (5.04)

“It was amazing! There was an unbelievable bird which could talk backwards. I think we heard 26 words. I also liked seeing the tiny tortoises in the giant cage. I think there were 10 of them” – Hamza (5.06)

“I enjoyed seeing all the exotic and colourful birds but my favourite has to be the amazing hopping bird.” – Eshal (5.08)

“I liked watching and hearing all the birds and seeing all the colourful feathers. I liked touching the large white bird which was so gentle and friendly.” – Lara (5.03)

Student-Led Conferences: Tuesday 26 March

Following the successful format we have used for several years, this term's Junior Student-Led Conferences will be held on Tuesday 26 March, as per the school’s calendar on the BSB website. There will be no lessons on that day for students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. You are invited to come into school with your child, to look through their work and hear from them, and their form teacher, about their current learning targets. Please make a 15-minute appointment with your child’s form teacher via the portal at mis.thebsbh.com

On the day, please arrive, with your child, at least 15 minutes before your appointment with the form teacher, so that your child has time to show you their books and explain their learning targets to you. That will enable you and your child's teacher to make the best use of your fifteen minutes together.

The focus of the day is very much upon your discussion with your child, and the meeting with the form teacher. Specialist teachers who are not form teachers will also be in school and available to meet with you if you really want to see them. Again, appointments can be made via the portal. Specialist teachers are unable to offer appointments on the day to the parents of every child they teach. If you find a teacher’s list full and you really need to see them, please email that teacher and they will be happy to arrange a mutually convenient time on another day.

Subject teachers who are also form teachers will, of course, be busy throughout the day seeing parents of their own form class. However, before the day, those teachers will pass any significant information to your child's form teacher, who will relay it to you at your meeting with them.

Students should wear school uniform for the meeting, please.

We look forward to seeing you on the day.

Shrek-tacular!

If you haven't bought your tickets for Shrek yet, get them quickly before they run out. The show launched last night before a dazzled audience. Donkeys, dragons, ogres, rock & roll... we've got the lot. This is truly a show to remember. There are performances tonight and on Friday. Don't be the one to miss out. Bring a box of Kleenex for the happy tears. The finale will surely set your feet a-tapping.

International Family Fair

The new springtime slot worked extremely well and we all enjoyed a fantastic Friday fair. Many thanks to Mrs Ellen and the PCC; also to everyone who ran a stall, performed, helped out or contributed in any way at all. Here is a Google photo album of the Eco Stall - here's to a greener world.

Looking ahead: Arabic Week

Next week is Arabic Week. Mrs Sana and the Arabic team have been arriving in school super-early each day, preparing everything for a memorable week of Arabic learning. I have started taking Arabic lessons from Mr Hatem's Year 5 set - a really helpful group of young learners who are very happy to act as teachers of Arabic to me. Today I learned to write the first two letters of the Arabic alphabet, and I learned that they make a word that means father. I'm looking forward to my next lesson, and to the whole of Arabic Week. Be sure not to miss the Arabic Book Fair. Educational research has shown that practising any of your languages helps you get better in all your languages. Time spent learning and practising a language is time spent wisely.

During Arabic Week, there will be many exciting, special activities. Mariam Daoud, a poet, will be visiting us and telling us how to get started, writing Arabic poetry. We will have a visiting speaker from the Ministry of Electricity and Water, and also our really enjoyable 'Let's Read Together' sessions, where mums and dads come into school to read Arabic books with their children.

Congratulations to Mrs Sana Al Reefy

Mrs Sana Al Reefy, teacher of Islamic Studies at BSB, received a special certificate from The National Constitutional Association, on the occasion of International Women's Day and Mothers' Day, in recognition of her fruitful efforts in Bahraini and Arab society. A proud moment indeed for Mrs Sana and for BSB.

Einsteins of the future

Class 3.06 put on their white coats this afternoon and taught us about the life and work of Albert Einstein, who became one of the greatest scientists ever to have lived. Einstein asked himself a lot of "What if...?" questions. He thought hard about what the answers might be, and he came up with his Special Theory of Relativity, which he later expanded into the General Theory. Here is a Google album of photos from the assembly.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Headteacher's News Thursday 7 March 2019

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Book Week and Character Day Parade

For the past week, we have focused upon that most useful innovation, the bound book. Learning to read - that is, reading for understanding, rather than just vocalising printed text - opens up an immersive world of imagination, adventure, fantasy, mystery and enlightening non-fiction. We have read to the children; they have read to us and to one another. Time spent reading is time spent wisely. We should choose reading material that we enjoy, making reading a pleasure that we all look forward to. My thanks go out to everyone - staff, students, and parents - for making this week, led by Ms Pillay and Ms Rogers, such a dazzling success. Here is a Google photo album of the parade.

Years 3 and 4 Sports Day

What an amazing day we had on Monday. The weather was perfect. We waited with bated breath as the results were announced in this week's junior assembly. The final line-up is

Winners: DRAGON with 43 points

Runners-up: PEGASUS with 41 points

Third place: PHOENIX with 36 points

Fourth place: GRIFFIN with 34 points

Here is a Google photo album with lots of pictures from the day. Well done, everyone!

Primary World School Games Celebration

Mr Smith and Ms Gray proudly feted our wonderful Primary World School Games squad at last week's junior assembly. The children represented their school superbly and I am sure they gained a lot from the experience. Their sportsmanship and fairness attracted the attention of many spectators, as did their splendid sporting skills, thanks to the dedicated training they had put in for six months before the Games. It is a pleasure to work with such diligent and committed young people. Here is a Google photo album of the celebration. Full report on the WSG on the sports blog.

Year 4 VE Day

On 21 February, Year 4 celebrated the end of the second world war in Europe by having an assembly with a street party - check out the photos in this Google album.

Ski Trip to Piancavallo 19-25 February

It has been more than a privilege to spend seven days in the company of thirty-five adventurous young skiers, their meteoric progress, hour upon hour, evident in their flamboyant s-bend trails all over the mountain. The ski instructors were better than excellent, their advice and support tailored individually to each learner, raising skills to the highest possible level over five days on the slopes. The children’s improvement was nothing short of breathtaking. Some who had been falling over on the nursery slope on day 1 were, by day 4, hurtling confidently down red runs, forwards and backwards, swooshing through reverse turns, negotiating obstacles and steep banks, clocking cheek-stretching speeds on the wide downhill sections. Several students skied the steepest, most nail-biting, highest altitude, adverse-camber corners in Piancavallo with fearless aplomb, under the vigilant supervision of their instructors. Some of us even skied part of a black run, the most challenging piste available. Here is a Google album.

To make best use of the slopes, the instructors took their groups to a range of pistes all over the mountain. Our staff did their best to meet up with as many groups as possible while they were under their instructors’ supervision; however, as there are 24 kilometres of pistes and the groups moved extremely fast as their skills developed, it was impossible, even for the more confident skiers among our staff, to catch up with every group. Moreover, in some of the locations where the children were skiing, it was essential for them (and us) to remain fully focused on skiing safely as per the directions of the instructors. That is why it was impossible to get equal numbers of photos of each child on the snow during the week.

The staff team and I would like to thank parents for making the trip possible. It was an (almost) indescribable experience for the children. Many of them, after a few days’ expert tuition from their instructors, were confidently and safely performing tricks and drills that I daren’t attempt; precipitous slopes stretching out beneath them, the hotel a miniature Lego model amid tiny toy trees in the valley far below. I can’t imagine any other sport or subject where children could possibly make such stellar progress in such a brief time.

Piancavallo is an ideal location for a school ski trip; better than any other we have visited. The Hotel Stella Montis, which caters specifically for groups, is spotlessly clean, warm as toast, and ideally situated for quick access to the ski slopes on foot. Mariana and her family gave us their personal attention and made us all extremely welcome. The food was beyond exquisite; all freshly prepared by the family themselves, supported by their team of serving staff. Almost every meal had a pasta option; however, there were also meats, salads and vegetarian main courses. No meal was even a minute late and there was always ample food for everyone. It was wonderful to be able to return to the hotel for lunch after each morning’s skiing, to refuel and refresh ourselves for the afternoon session. I have heard several children, as I write these words during our flight home, remark that they want to come again next year. As we pulled off our ski boots for the last time yesterday, I commented that we must all be feeling mixed emotions – sad to be leaving; glad to be returning home. One student replied, “I don’t have mixed emotions. I just want to cry.”

Ms Sellers and Ms Myburgh are due enormous thanks for their punctilious planning, anticipating every eventuality and more besides, ensuring a smooth and trouble-free week for everyone. The schedule contained not one spare minute. Each day on the ski slopes was followed by an evening activity, then dinner, shower and bed. Alongside the two trip organisers, Ms Mohi, Ms Chapple, Ms Kadijha and Ms Chami worked ceaselessly throughout the 170 hours of the trip, attending to the children’s every need, encouraging them to become more independent, and helping them grow in confidence. Members of the public stopped to congratulate us on the children’s good manners and kindness. Jill Judd of PGL also merits a special mention, for it was she who coordinated everything and guided us through our fulfillingly busy week.

I know that the children will not forget this trip. It is an indelible and invaluable foundation stone in their education. They know that you, their parents, placed absolute trust in us, their teachers, to nurture and care for them through the smorgasbord of experiences that comprised this awe-inspiring week. Learning to cope without their parents is the single most important part of a child’s education, for it is something we all have to do eventually.

It is ten minutes to midnight on Monday 25 February and we are about to start our descent into Bahrain. As I lower my laptop’s lid, I feel I’m closing a magical fairytale storybook; a wintry wonderland of adventure, courage, comradeship, team spirit, and seemingly impossible goals achieved through sheer grit and determination. You ought rightly to be glowingly proud of your children; we certainly are. They are wonderful. We all wish we could spend longer skiing with them.

Y3 Week Without Walls: Message from Mrs Drennan

Year 3 Week Without Walls (WWW)

Sunday 10th March - Thursday 15th March

The Week Without Walls program is designed to give students the experiences that will inspire them to become caring global citizens. Our aim is to make lessons memorable and formative in the long term, there needs to be an experience attached to the idea. See the application of academic learning and personal or social skills to real life;

• Bring real benefits to themselves and/or others

• Understand their own capacity to make a difference

• Make decisions that have real, not hypothetical, results

• Develop skills to solve problems

• Develop a sense of responsibility and accountability for their actions.

At the BSB our Year 3 team decided to design our WWW around our exciting topic of Mountains, Rivers and Coasts and link this to other areas of life in Bahrain that we feel will best provide an important and valuable learning experience for your children.

We have several Targets for our WWW:

Real Life Length & Perimeter situations
Search and Rescue, Basic First Aid and Contacting the Emergency Services this will include land based Life Saving skills in P.E, basic first aid training such as how to apply bandages and how to contact the Emergency services in the event of a real life emergency.
Write a Letter to the Survivors or Rescue Team this will include cross curricular links with our English, Humanities and Computing topics.
Rescue Machines this will include cross curricular links with our pneumatic moving system in DT and Science

Homework Thursday 7th March -

Your child should learn their home address and phone number by heart.
Normal Maths Homework, Spelling and Reading will also be sent home,

Checklist for WWW:

PE kit should be worn all week as the children will be outside at times and working on a variety of practical activities.

Year 4 Week Without Walls: Message from Mr T

Year 4 Week Without Walls (WWW) - Sunday 10th March - Thursday 15th March

• Bring real benefits to themselves and/or others

• Understand their own capacity to make a difference

• Make decisions that have real, not hypothetical, results

• Develop skills to solve problems

• Develop a sense of responsibility and accountability for their actions.

Our WWW has been designed around our exciting topics of All Living Things in Science and Improving the Environment in Humanities. The main focus for our learning will come from our Beach Clean trip and visit to Al Areen Wildlife Park. It is expected that this will provide an exciting learning experience for the students that will enable them to understand the world we live in and our roles as Global Citizens.

We have 5 Targets for our WWW:

English - this will include writing a newspaper article on our trip to the Beach and/or Al Areen. The emphasis here will be to try and think about what features are there in a newspaper article that can be used in their piece of writing to inform the reader about the trip that took place.
Maths - this will include calculating expenditure from certain stimuli at Al Areen. The emphasis here will be to try and use maths skills to subtract decimals and how to budget.
Science - this will include creating a poster for saving the environment that links to our Beach Clean trip. The emphasis here will be to try and recognise that environments can change and this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
Humanities - this will include creating an information board detailing environmental issues and solutions. The emphasis here will be to try and identify what environmental issues we have in our immediate and local communities and what solutions are there to resolve them.
Art/DT - this will include creating a junk model of one of the animals from Al Areen. The emphasis here will be to not only use recyclable materials but also reusable materials as well.

Checklist for WWW:

PE kit should be worn on Sunday 10th March for the Al Areen/Beach Clean trip
Normal uniform/PE kit should be worn for the rest of the week depending on class timetable

The Year 4 Team

Also next week:

Y5 trip to Azizia Bird Kingdom - Classes 5.10-5.05 on Sunday; 5.06-5.09 on Monday
Y6 trip to see Much Ado About Nothing on Tuesday
Shrek: The Musical - performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - be sure to get your tickets if you haven't already.

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