Issue #35

ISSUE 35 2 JULY 2010

Our Secondary Space explorers

blast off!

Return to the Forbidden Planet

FS Splash DayALL Farewells

2 JULY 2010 ISSUE 35

From the Executive Principal

D ear Parents

As the year draws to a close and I’m surrounded by the sounds of a cheerful school and way too much ice-cream being consumed by students in primary and secondary (and some of the teachers…) I’m reminded of just how eventful a year this has been, and how successful.

I cannot in this small space find room to mention even a fraction of the events or special people that have contributed and so I won’t. That is what the year books are for. I have seen students rushing around to have them signed by as many of their friends as possible and am reminded of what great memories they will have when they look back in many years time.

Of course there is also not room here to really thank properly all of our teachers and TA’s and admin staff for all of their work. We have a superb team here, it has been a pleasure to work with them all.

The students of course are the life of the school and I am endlessly impressed.

Next year brings a number of new challenges and developments. There will be a significant renovation of the Sanlitun main campus with improved canteen facilities being perhaps the headline event. The playground will be redeveloped of course. We continue to look for extra-facilities in the Sanlitun area but the search, though active, remains fruitless at present. In the meantime we will continue to invest in both campuses to maintain the standard that you must expect from The British School.

At the Shunyi Campus we will develop the new Lego Lab’s (and I might even have to personally “inspect” them regularly…) and add the secondary Design and Technology lab as well as cricket and rugby facilities amongst other areas.

We will be joined next year by a significant number of new families. I have met them all at Shunyi and Janet has met them all at Sanlitun. Our main criteria for accepting families remains just as it ever was during my tenure at the school; will the students add to the life of the school and be supportive of our absolute insistence on high standards of behavior and social skills. We will continue our unwavering focus on this key area.

The British School is, and will remain, the first choice for families in Beijing.

Have a safe holiday and I look forward to seeing you all again in the new school year

Very best regards

Michael Embley

Forbidden Planet Performance Space and more Splash DaySecondary perform to a packed house on Thursday 1st July Return to the Forbidden Planet with stellar performances from all involved.

Sanlitun School visit the Planetarium

Foundation Stage and KS1 cool down with water on a hot day!

SANLITUNSHUNYIJuly

End of Term & Prize Giving

2

AugustFirst Day of Autumn Term

30

SHUNYI


Start of New School Year Shunyi Campus 2010OUR FIRST DAYThe first day of the new school year starts on Monday 30th August. The school day begins at 8.30am, and the doors will be open at 8.15am. The academic school year calendar is attached. Teddies Pre-School and Nursery parents have been sent details of the staggered start for their children to refer to for the first week. We ask that parents of new children come to school on the morning of the 30th August for a welcome presentation/orientation and to join us for a welcome breakfast. Members of the Parents Association will also attend this event and be able to answer many of your questions about living in Beijing.

Primary School parents and pupils should come to the Primary School entrance (black gate on the right of the main entrance) and then follow the signs to their new classrooms, where staff will be waiting to greet them. After the first week KS1 and KS2 pupils should make their own way to their classes. FS children are taken to class by their parent/carer throughout the year.

Secondary School students both new and returning should use the main entrance and go straight though to the playground where they will be met by their tutors.

New School Induction ProgrammeOn Friday 27th August BSB parents and students are invited to school between 10am and 12noon to meet their teachers and find their classrooms. The staff will be setting up their classrooms and making the classrooms really feel like home in preparation for the children’s return. Class timetables will also be available for collection from your child’s classroom.

In order to help our pupils feel at home in their new school quickly, we have a planned programme of tours and other activities during the first week back to help the children feel comfortable and learn about the new school.

Family Welcome PackEach family will be presented with a welcome pack which will contain a calendar, school handbook along with information from the Parent Association and activities and programs hosted by the school. We recommend that you visit us on the 27th August to receive your pack. After School Activities (ASAs) will start in the second week of term and information on these will be included in the welcome pack.

SCHOOL UNIFORM AND THE UNIFORM SHOPSchool uniform is compulsory attire for all students attending the school. Uniforms can be purchased from the School Uniform Shop located on the right of the main doors in the Reception area at the Shunyi Campus. Students are expected to arrive at school everyday in clean clothes, worn in a tidy manner. Please refer to the Parent-Student Handbook for precise uniform information.

The Uniform Shop will be open during the holidays. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm - please allow about 30 minutes per child to make all the necessary purchases.


INVOICING & TUITION FEESAny finance-related queries should be addressed directly to the Finance Department (contact [email protected] or telephone Meagan on 8047 3588 ext. 627).

ADMISSIONS FORMSAttached are 3 further forms, which you are kindly asked to complete and return to Chiara by email [email protected] or fax 6458 0509 as soon as possible if you have not already done so.

1. School fees Payment formOne form per family - please complete and return as soon as possible.

2. School Bus Request FormFor those families who wish to make use of the School Bus service, please complete and return by 6th August. One form per family. Finalised bus schedules will be sent out by email by mid-August before school starts, and published on the school website at the end of August. If forms are received after this date, we will endeavor to meet your needs, however we cannot guarantee to do so.

For school uniform and bus issues, please contact Charlotte [email protected]

3. Confidential Medical History/Medical Insurance FormIn order to provide appropriate medical care for your child(ren) if and when required, please provide full details of any medical concerns or history that the school needs to be aware of. Please complete one form for each child and attach a copy of their vaccination records if this has not already been submitted. If your child has any dietary restrictions due to health or religious reasons, please also use this form to let us know.

All children attending BSB need to have full medical insurance cover. Please use the form to provide us with the details of your insurer, policy number and contact details. This insurance information will also be required whenever the children are taken off the school premises, and their full passport name and passport number may also be required - depending on the excursion. Please complete all details in full.

We look forward to welcoming you to BSB not long from now and hope you have a lovely summer. If you are relocating to China over the summer, we wish you and your family a smooth and trouble-free move.

Please contact us if you have any questions. Chiara and Sally will be in the office over summer.

Best wishes

Admissions TeamThe British School of Beijing


Chatterbox Cafe was established in February 2010 and is run by volunteers from the school parent community. All profits raised go to help support charity initiatives in Beijing and around China. These charities are chosen by Chatterbox volunteers.

We hosted a very successful Charity Bazaar in April and we hope to repeat this event later in the year. Profits from the Bazaar were given to Change for Life to help

provide hearing aids and to Beautiful Harbour which is a a local orphanage in Beijing who raise funds to provide simple surgical procedures for children and so increase their chances of adoption.

To date Chatterbox Cafe has raised the amazing sum of 14,000 rmb which has recently been donated to Roundabout and has enabled them to provide 12 baby cot’s (cribs) and bedding to a number of orphanages and children’s homes in Beijing.

Many more events are planned for next year and we would love you to get involved.

Chatterbox can only operate with the help of a dedicated band of volunteer helpers. Due to some of our helpers leaving this summer Chatterbox is looking for new members.

Can you help?

Chatterbox Cafe Volunteers - We are looking for volunteers to work in the coffee shop from August 2010. Currently it is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 1pm and volunteers are asked to commit a minimum of 1.5 hours a week. This is a great opportunity to meet other BSB parents, teachers, TA’s and other staff members. If you would be interested in helping out please contact Cath Johnston at [email protected]

Baking Volunteers - Chatterbox relies on its dedicated group of volunteer bakers who provide baked goods each week on a rota basis. We ask that volunteers provide baked goods one day a week for a term. If you would like to help out with providing baked goodies please contact Cath Johnston at [email protected]

Charity Committee - Chatterbox is looking to set up a charity committee who would co-ordinate school wide charity drives and collections. The committee would work hand in hand with the Parent Association. Anyone interested in forming part of this committee please contact Anne Nummela at [email protected]

Change for LifeDear All, On behalf of the Change for Life charity, I would like to thank the BSB community for the contributions and the support. Sincerely, Anne Nummela


Hoodwinked, SanlitunHoodwinked - SanlitunAfter weeks and weeks of preparation, prop-making, line learning and acting the moment of stardom finally arrived for KS2 Sanlitun.

On Monday and Tuesday night KS2 Sanlitun performed ‘Hoodwinked’ to a busy theatre of mums, dads, aunties, uncles, grandparents and siblings. ‘Hoodwinked’ is a comedy play based on the story of ‘Robin Hood’, the man who would steal from the rich and give it all to the poor people of Nottingham. The play is set in and around Sherwood Forest, in England. The play was adapted to include and represent elements of our life here in Beijing.

There was a buzz of excitement in the theatre and in the dressing room before the performances and the children couldn’t wait to get on stage. The evenings were packed full of excellent acting, beautiful singing, comedy, audience participation, thrills and surprises. Both performances were a huge success and the children made us all very proud. Every actor spoke in a loud, clear voice and the singing filled the theatre. A special mention must be given to the leading roles who worked tirelessly to learn their lines and stage directions perfectly: Aaron, Ji Min, Elena, Harim, Chiara, Joey, Julian and Jay. A big well done goes out to the solo singers too. It is a very daunting task to sing all by yourself to a lively audience, but every soloist kept their cool and all were fantastic!

The production was great team effort by all staff and children in KS2 Sanlitun, including all Specialists teachers that teach and support KS2 children. Much of the fantastic choreography was devised by some of our pupils in Year 5 and 6. Elena, Dayna, Gwennie, Atu and Chun Beum not only helped create the dance routines but also taught the routines to the children. A remarkable achievement!

KS2 Sanlitun would like to thank all its pupils, staff and parents for all their support in making ‘Hoodwinked’, a fantastic KS2 Production.

Christine Armstrong


What a year!looking back at all the past newsletters you will see just how much has happened in one year and how far the children have grown both academically and socially.

Our early years’ children arrived back in August 2009 to a completely renovated, newly kitted out playground with a fabulous grassy area which has enhanced PE lessons. Parents have had the opportunity to attend maths, reading and phonics workshops and we have been very grateful to those parents who have come into school every week to hear readers or help with creative activities.

Our Key Stage One children have made incredible progress with their reading and writing and performed their first production at the end of this academic year. During our recent Inspection the Lead Inspector was extremely impressed with the standard of writing and mathematical ability shown in lessons taught and with the children’s written work.

Key stage Two children have continued to thrive in our academic environment and our teachers are continually having to ensure their planning caters for children working above the expected level for their age.

Our children continue to progress under our musical programme and performed in two Music Circuses with an incredible finale where all children in Years 3 to 6 in both schools performed on stage together. The music department decided to introduce the recorder to reception in the final term and they have already performed at an assembly.

Children enjoyed more practical, problem solving days in Maths and Science and were able to explore their creative side during Book Week and Art Day, also having huge fun with Courtney Campbell who told stories through song. As a judge I was amazed at the range of talent in BSB Idol and was very proud when Sanlitun came second and third.

We have many talented athletes in Sanlitun and this year five of our pupils got into the FOBISSEA games. In our first ever netball tournament we came second. Our handball and football teams enjoyed many successes and our swimmers were able to improve on their personal bests at swim meets. The swimming galas showed just how many talented swimmers we have.

I have been extremely grateful to the parents in our Parent Society who have worked tirelessly to organise events for our children. Halloween was scary, Careers Week was informative and interesting and the children really enjoyed hearing about the different choices available. Record numbers of Mums and Dads came to breakfast at school and the jumble sale raised 10,000RMB for their chosen charity ‘Yearn to Learn’.

It is at this time of year that we have to bid farewell to members of the staff who are moving on to their next adventure. Fay Smart is getting married in the summer and joining her husband in Saudi Arabia. We appreciate all she has done in the last two years to make our Early Years campus so successful. Shanthi is returning to her home country and we will miss her warmth and creativity. Mr. McSweeney is going back to University and will be missed by children and colleagues alike for his style of teaching that made learning purposeful and fun, and his great sense of humour. Mrs Laslett is returning to England where she will give birth to her first child. I am sure every child who has had Mrs Laslett as a teacher will miss her as she has the ability to make everyone feel important and cared for. I personally am very sad that Mrs Godber will be returning to England with her husband. She has worked tirelessly to ensure Key Stage one is a safe, productive, warm place for our children to learn in and has supported and guided the teachers in her department. Thank you to all those teachers and we wish you all the best.

What a fantastic year and yet I am very excited about the start of next year as during the summer much work is being done at the main campus to improve our outside facilities and give the school in general a facelift. I am looking forward to seeing the children’s faces when they see how amazing the school looks.

Have a wonderful summer,

Janet Brock

From the Headteacher, Sanlitun


A final farewell from Foundation Stage SanlitunWe have now come to the end of a successful and exciting year in Foundation. It has been wonderful to watch the children grow in confidence and ability. We have enjoyed our new outdoor space, soft play resources and sharing lots of our exciting events with our many visitors. Now sadly is the time to say a fond farewell to many of the children and staff who will be leaving us this year for pastures new. We wish them all success and happiness on their new adventures. As the Foundation Stage Coordinator I would like to say a big thank you to all the parents, children and staff who have been supportive and made my

2 years in Beijing an exciting and memorable one. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing break. Best wishes Fay Smart.Reception has had a wet and wild final 2 weeks before we say goodbye to them as they move into Year 1. This week they have really enjoyed meeting and getting to know their new class teachers and friends. As a final celebration of our time together we all had a really fun time at Crab Island. We enjoyed sharing this day with all the mummies and daddies who came along with us. This was a lovely end to out topic on Water. We hope you enjoy the photos!

Foundation Stage, Sanlitun


‘If you like good music; if you want a treat; just hear these creepy crawlies play their cool calypso beat’. A treat was indeed what our Pre-Nursery parents got when they came to the Pre Nursery assembly. The Creepy Crawly Calypso consisted of a few insect songs that we love so much, from Incy Wincy Spider to Wiggly Woo. Our classroom was transformed into a garden and we became the little insects that dwell in it. The big smiles on our parents’ faces and the tears in the teachers’ eyes said it all. Our little ones were so very confident and happy with their singing, it was an absolute joy to watch.

A little note from Mrs Rinaldi Ending the term on such a high note was brilliant for us in Pre-Nursery. Now as we approach the last few days of school, it is with sadness that I have to bid my little ones, our parents and the school farewell. I feel very privileged to have been part of the lives of my

pre-nursery children and I know that I am leaving them in good hands. I would like to thank our PN parents for their great support. You have been lovely and I could not have chosen a better set of parents to work with. I would like to thank my foundation school team for their support in helping the little ones with their transitions and I wish everyone the best of luck!


Sleepover fun!Sanlitun’s Year 2 had a fantastic Sleepover in their classrooms last Friday. The children came to school on Friday evening with suitcases in one hand, and stuffed bears or pillows in the other, wide-eyed with excitement about their big Sleepover! After turning the classrooms into cosy bedrooms

and making nests of pillows, mats and sleeping bags, the children had great fun outside. They leapt about on a huge bouncy castle, played a game of rounders in teams, and made their own burgers for the delicious BBQ which we all tucked into as the light began to fade. Once night came, the

children got into their pyjamas and brushed their teeth before settling down for a DVD and soon it was bedtime. Despite being all together, and being so excited, and sleeping in the classroom, the children were so sensible and calm as they settled down for the night, and they slept well. In the morning they enjoyed a breakfast of toast, yoghurt and fruit before playing. Finally, they were being picked up by their families, with suitcases in one hand, a stuffed bear or pillow in the other, and slightly more bleary eyes! Mrs Godber and

Mrs Laslett are so proud of all the children for being so wonderful and a pleasure to take care of, and feel they will be an asset to the school on any future residential trips. Esther Irwin

Key Stage One, Sanlitun

EALThough the end of the year is finally here, the EAL students at Sanlitun showed no signs of slowing down their incredible progress. Here’s one last piece of advice for all of our EAL students: You’ll be away from BSB and your EAL teachers for almost two months, so make sure you keep practicing your English during the summer! You can read books, play spelling games, watch movies with English subtitles, and teach your family new vocabulary--just don’t forget how hard you worked for the past ten months! Have a great sum-mer and we’ll see you soon.

Mr. Fromer and Mr. Michalak


Key Stage Two, Sanlitun

PlanetariumOn Friday Year 5 went on a wonderful trip to the planetarium to finish off their topic about Space. The children looked around the different exhibits and tried out lots of the ‘hands-on’ activities. We explored the core of the sun, walked on the moon, learned about

asteroids and explored the surface of different planets. Despite all of this, there was still more excitement to come! We were all given a pair of spectacles and made our way to the 4D - YES 4D - theatre. I don’t think I have heard so much screaming in my life! We watched a film about the creation of the planet and the effects were amazing. We had all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures of the sea swimming at us and even trying to eat us! If anyone is wondering how 4D differs to 3D it seems to include things that affect our other senses. We where blasted with air, and sprayed with water during the film. One squirt of water coincided with a creature being chewed and it felt like we were being sprayed with its blood. Gross! The children had a wonderful time and to finish off the morning we had a beautiful lunch at The Red Rose Restaurant. Yummy!Christine ArmstrongYear 5

Good luck for the future year 6!Year 6 at Sanlitun this year have been a wonderful class, producing some excellent work and setting a great example for the rest of the school. The key word at the beginning of the year was ‘independence’, and it has definately come to fruition in Y6B. It has been lovely to see each and every member of the class develop in confidence, to be able to work more indepently and reach their potential. The class has also been a lively and imaginative place to discuss ideas – we’ve looked at World War Two, Global Warming, John Lennon and Genghis Khan – and a place to have fun and laugh with our friends. I am sure, wherever they go next year, all the children will keep working hard and learning a lot, and we wish them all the best for the future. Good luck 6B!

By Mr Salmon and Miss Beverley


Speech Day


Happening Endings…What a lovely end of term we have had. The staff delighted and awed the children at Tuesday’s BSB Staff Idol. The band “Heavy Metal Door” may have won (Mr. Bishop, Mr. Oak, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Embley got us all dancing in the aisles, after all) but the other staff acts were ‘class acts’ – from a 007 number from Y4 to FS/KS1 staff with an S Club 7 routine! Our teachers and TAs are certainly a talented group, in and out of the classroom.

All classes have had trips, splash days, parties or other special events. Excellent Work Books and Busy Books have been finished off and the final certificates of the year have been handed out. Children have been scrambling to impress their teachers with their glorious handwriting in hope of being awarded the coveted BSB Penmanship Award – who has managed to? We will find out on Thursday at our final assembly. Move Up Day was lovely with children eagerly wishing to learn about their new teacher, and those whose teachers were not yet in China wrote letters to welcome them. The Year Book is a magnificent reminder of aspects of a wonderful year at BSB and we hope to enjoy it for years to come. Our Y2- Y5 SATs results look terrific too with over 70% of pupils above average in maths, 68% in reading and a splendid 48% in writing. Y6 SATs results are published in September but promise to be equally impressive. These results reflect the hard work of the children, the support of their parents and the dedication of our hard working staff.

Our departing staff are saying their goodbyes and packing up their classrooms. They are: Mr. Gibson who is off on another adventure, Miss Tracey Hill departs for Sanlitun Campus and a class of her own, Mrs Grierson off to have her baby, Mrs Sophie Corr is off to southern China, and Mrs Jane Shi is off to Europe. Miss Cat Hall leaves us for the UK and her new life as Mrs Martyn Steel …what a happy ending for them both! Jane Smith, HoP

A Message from the Head of Primary, Shunyi


Kate Greenaway Award Winner Announced!For the past 8 weeks, the children at Shunyi Campus of BSB have been fervently reading, discussing and writing reviews of the 8 books

shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award of 2010. As the date got closer to when the winner was announced, the Primary School, as is tradition, held our own ‘in school’ voting. It was very exciting! Every child in the Primary School, as well as staff and teaching assistants were given a voting slip to put in a large red voting box, which was placed in the library. The deadline for voting was Wednesday 23rd June. As the votes for the eight books were being divided, it soon became clear that one book was a definite favourite. The Dunderheads’ was a winner by a huge majority. This book is about a group of children who outsmart their nasty teacher who calls them all ‘dunderheads’, hence the title of the book. On Thursday 24th June, the winner of the Kate Greenaway was officially announced in London. The book was ‘Harry and Hopper’. It won because of the way the death of a much loved pet was handled, as well as the beautiful but simple illustrations. Although this book also had many votes from the children at BSB, I think the storyline and the humorous pictures of the school children and the evil looking teacher in the Dunderheads, made it an outright winner for our school.

Dawn RossLiteracy CoordinatorShunyi Campus

Foundation Stage, Shunyi

Everybody plays an instrument in PrimaryIt has been another very exciting term of the primary instrumental program! Year 1 children have explored more notes on their recorders, Year 2s have started learning string instruments, in Year 3 we extended our playing to new strings, in Year 4 we have discovered more expressive ways of playing using dynamics and slurs on the violin and the cello and the winds added lots of new songs to their repertoire.

We would like to thank our PIPS teachers for all the patience and enthusiasm they have given the children to work on their instrumental skills! Without the musical knowledge and guidance of Ms Maggie, Ms Amy, Ms Alina, Ms Joyce, Ms Star and Mr. Samson the musical education in BSB would not be the same.

We are looking forward to the new start and new challenges of the next academic year, which will be a very busy one with preparing the children for ABRSM exams!

Vera MitfordMusic teacher


Hoodwinked


Piano Recital


Wonderful Water!It has been quite a week in Foundation Stage at Shunyi. The Reception children have been learning all about water and had an amazing day out at Crab Island. The fieldtrip was the highlight of an exciting week of learning about boiling water, freezing water, floating, sinking and reading water stories. The children came to school ready in their swimsuits with the water guns at the ready. After a short coach ride they arrived at Crab Island, where they

played in the water playground, having a great time splashing and squirting their teachers and assistants! After a packed lunch, the children then set off for the beach area. Some children dug in the sand and made sand castles, while others rode the waves and swam in the ‘sea’. A fun-filled day was had by all and it was the perfect end to our ‘water’topic.

Foundation Stage, Shunyi

The Nursery class had a fabulous time at our Crab Island field trip. The children enjoyed playing on the water slides, swings, and merry-go-round! They also built sandcastles and dug deep holes in the sand on the beach. The children got to sail “out to sea” in rubber dingy’s and tubes! And finally, the lovely day ended with strawberry ice lollies…yum!


This week...Year 1 have had a year packed full of exciting and interesting trips which linked with the science and topic work we were doing in class. In the Autumn Term, we visited the beautiful Lama Temple. The children learned a lot of about the artistic style of these types of buildings and created beautiful patterned tiles inspired by this trip. All the children thoroughly enjoyed the Great Wall Trip in the Spring Term. Justin enjoyed going up in the cable car, whilst Jasmine enjoyed pretending to fight the Mongol invaders! More recently, the children have visited the Botanical Gardens. Irene enjoyed sketching the pretty flowers, whilst Sebastian enjoyed searching for different shaped leaves. As well as trips to sites in Beijing, we have had lots of fun with the marble rewards which the children worked hard to earn. Our favourite marble rewards were the water fight in Summer term and decorating cup cakes.

Dawn Ross

What a fantastic year, Year 2 have had, full of a variety of activities! We asked the children what they had enjoyed the most during Year 2 and here are their answers:

They loved visiting the planning museum – but their favourite trip this year was when we

Last week...This week Year 1 have been doing another science investigation, to learn more about how plants grow. The children are also monitoring the growth of their bean plants now. We are wondering if any of the bean plants will grow as big as Jack’s beanstalk! On Thursday afternoon, the children were very excited about watching the Key Stage 2 production of ‘Hoodwinked’. It was fabulous! On Friday the children celebrated their 400 marble reward, by decorating yummy cup cakes with a variety of different toppings, before licking their lips and gobbling them up! In Year 2 we have had an interesting debate on whether or not it is alright to cut down trees in a tropical rainforest. The children were challenged to understand why this is happening, trying to look at both sides of the argument for and against it. The children have also been continuing to explore electricity. They pretended to be electrons carrying electricity around a ‘circuit’ made of hoops (to represent wire), with a switch and a mains power source (shown using signs). They then had a go at building and testing out different circuits.

Key Stage One , Shunyi


went to the Science Museum. They really enjoyed both the ‘4D’ film called ‘Dog and Bug’ and the play area! The

children have also enjoyed all the practical activities we have done as part of our topic lessons, such as building electrical circuits.

Our recent sleepover was a hit! Jun especially enjoyed the water fight – probably because he got to squirt Mr. Gibson several times! Daniel and Katherine loved the stories before bedtime and being able to stay overnight in the library.

Aleksis and Michael have thoroughly enjoyed block play and building fantastic constructions using all the various shapes and sizes of blocks.

Thank you again to all the parents who helped with our ‘textiles day’, where the children made their Yurt carpets. Lucy enjoyed this immensely, and produced a lovely piece of work with the help of her mother.

Joseph told us that he thought all the baking was the best thing about being in Year 2! He liked making gingerbread men and the pancakes that tasted absolutely delicious!

Junghui thought that our House Sports Day was very exciting and took part in a whole range of both field and track events. He said he was extremely proud to be voted ‘The Star of Sports Day’ and taking the

certificate home.

When we did sparkler poems Chris was very excited to see us (safely!) light a sparkler within the classroom. This really helped us write some fantastic poetry with some great descriptive language.

The children have produced some wonderful art, and they especially liked making clay models of hutongs and also their ‘Lord of the Animals’.

Susan Anderson and Trevor Gibson


Key Stage Two , Shunyi

Growing up!This week Year 5 and Year have both learning about puberty. Have learned about and discussed the changes that happen to boys and girls as they approach this exciting time in their lives. The teachers that took these sessions were very impressed with the sensible and mature way in which the children conducted themselves during these discussions. Other work in Year 5 has centred around putting the finishing touches to pieces which will go into the children’s excellent work books.

Key Stage Two , Shunyi

KS2 this year...When I look back at the newsletters that I have written this year, two opening phrases appear frequently: ‘We have had another busy week..’ and ‘Wow, what a fantastic week we have had..’ I think this sums up the year we have had in Key Stage 2. When trying to summarise some of the highlights of the year with the Key Stage 2 teachers we ended up with a huge list.

Whole school events like BSB idol, summer fayre, Easter picnic have been enjoyed by students and parents. The Royal visit made us all feel proud of our school. In sports, Key Stage 2 have had some tremendous successes. Our handball team has gone from strength to strength thanks to Miss Thomason, our footballers are regular achievers as too, are our swimmers and athletes. We have gained recognition in FOBISSEA, a great opportunity for the school and the children. All these skills have been duly shown off at the Swimming Gala and Sports Day.

More academic events have been just as enjoyable with World Maths Day - a real success as too was Book Week. The children thoroughly enjoyed having guests to school such as Benjamin Zephaniah and Courtney Campbell.

On the stage, the children have been fantastic, producing excellent shows, Cinderella and Hoodwinked which were enjoyed by all.

When I spoke to individual year groups about their own highlights, these are some of their responses.Year 3’s highlight has been all their collaborative art work that is on display around the school; they are


EALThis WeekThe EAL learners have made a lot of progress this year. Together, we’ve covered a number of challenging topics! All of materials covered have been met with an extremely positive attitude from the EAL students. It’s clear that each student has grown in confidence week by week and the children are increasingly able to access the curriculum with their main class teacher. I’m pleased to say that a good number of children will be coming out of EAL next year. They have surpassed my expectations and their level of English has dramatically improved! I’m fully confident that next year will yield similar if not better results in EAL. I would like to congratulate the children on all their hard work and I’m really looking forward to teaching BSB’s motivated, determined and happy EAL learners next year.Mr. Jonathan Chatters

EAL

very proud of their work. They also have loved having Flat Stanley visit us from Italy, taking him home and writing in his diary.

The Year 4’s said their highlights were winning the World Maths Day (a fantastic achievement), racing their Roman ships and having Benjamin Zephaniah visit their class. They also loved the weather conditions on their PingYao trip!

Year 5 also enjoyed the weather, stating their ski trip as a highlight along with their fantastic Xi’an residential and their ice skating Marble Reward.

The Year 6’s reflected upon their Mongolia trip with great affection; the sand dune surfing coming up frequently along with an appreciation of Genghis Khan. The other highlight that arose for them was the global warming topic, researching, creating leaflets and handing them out in Sanlitun to raise awareness. We say a sad goodbye to our Year 6 children and wish them well in Secondary; they have made great playground monitors and general role models this year - a big thank you to them. We also will be saying goodbye to Miss Hall, our fantastic Year 3 teacher. Miss Hall moves on to start a new life as Mrs. Steele next year. Having served us so well, we wish you all the best and know that your next school are very lucky indeed.

Thank you to all the parents who have helped out this year to ensure our trips, events and fixtures are well attended and well supported.

Until next term, have a safe and pleasant break,

Christian Bishop


Speech Day


Like . . . Wonderful!For the Year 6 transition lesson in English, the Year 6 pupils visiting the secondary school were given a special ‘close your eye’ treat to review some things their primary teachers have already taught them.After each child had her or his eyes closed, objects were placed in their hands. They were to feel them and pass them around without looking at them. Once the objects were hidden in a desk drawer again, the children were asked what the objects felt LIKE.They were actually soft toys in the shapes of British birds and made of soft, fur-like material. When these birds were squeezed they sang like the bird they were supposed to—the robin sounding like a robin and the blackbird singing like blackbird, and so on.One of them had a very strange, un-birdlike call. When asked to write down what that bird sounded like, Year 6 kids said it sounded ‘like a frog’ or ‘like a cricket in the night.’ These responses were excellent description of the ‘song’ of a bullfinch. This figure of speech was correctly identified as a simile.Then a string of Christmas lights was given the ‘close your eyes’ treatment and the children were asked to come up with metaphors for what it felt like.Finally, the children were allowed to see the lights lit up and twinkling. Some of the metaphors created by this experience included: Little starsStars in all the colours of the rainbowDifferent coloured stars shining in the nightThe brightest stars in the black night skyBrighter shining flowersA huddle of firelies at night, glowing

Secondary

Dear students and parents, After four extremely satisfying and eventful years I will be leaving BSB to return to the UK, to start a new chapter in my life. For those who are doing the same I would like to wish them every success for the future and a smooth transition to their new countries, schools and homes. The new academic year will bring changes and new goals which have been designed to ensure the secondary continues to grow, evolve and improve. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all at BSB and the wider community for the fantastic experience and amazing memories. I am proud to have played a small part in the successful and exciting beginnings of The British School of Beijing and I have every confidence that the school will be an even greater success in the future. Best regards and farewell. Martyn Steel


Forbidden Planet


ShanghaiLast week, from June 21st to June 25th, Y7 students had a fantastic time in Hangzhou and Shanghai for their residential trip. Hangzhou is regarded as” The Heaven in China” and was our first destination. After a very early start (5:00am from Sanlitun), we gulped down a delicious Thai lunch at the Banana leaf restaurant on our arrival in Hangzhou. Then, we headed toward the famous “West Lake”, where students were told about the beautiful yet sad love story of “The Madame White Snake” which happened on the “Broken Bridge” there. We all took pictures of the 3 gourd-shaped stupas, Hangzhou’s well-known symbol that can be found on the one Yuan notes.Later we visited “Lei Feng Pagoda”, “Ling yin Temple” and shopped in” He Fang street” at night! The next two days in Hangzhou were packed with fun: we went to the silk museum and made Tie-dye, spent a crazy afternoon of complete true fun in the Song Dynasty park: 3 hours of water games, a few walks through the haunted house and up the Buddha mountain, and 1 hour of magical sound and light show… Unforgettable!We also went hiking in a tea plantation and enjoyed “Dragon well green tea”, before leaving the green region for the very crowded and huge Shanghai. On our way to the big city, we did the Y7 bus Spelling Bee competition. Our 4 winners are Ragi (7EL), Joseph (7AA), Ben T. (7AA) and Ben W. (7AA). Well done boys!Needless to say that we were all very tired and achy from the hike. Never mind, we spent the evening playing bowling and went to a walk along “the Bond” to take pictures of Shanghai by night! Thursday was the World Exposition Day. Mist and rain had replaced the sunshine but it did not stop us! We managed to see 11-13 pavilions and took a great number of pictures. We got VIP access for most of them! Cool! We even got a treat with Burger King!!!! It was a long but exciting day and got back to the hotel absolutely soaked with the rain. A hot shower and a good night sleep worked wonders and the next morning, we were on our feet, ready for more adventures before returning home! Science and Tech museum, Imax cinema and maglev fast train to the airport: there was no space for down time there either! The Maglev train took us to Pudong airport in less than 8 minutes and it was time already to say good bye to Monica, Esther, Sabrina and Tina, our tour guides from Unknown China. What a great week we had! Thank you yr7! A special THANK YOU to Mr. Watt for his very helpful hand to get us VIP access and treatment at the Australian and British pavilions! Mrs. Azeem, Mr. Ng and Miss. Liu


SPORT 2009-10Sport 2009-10Congratulations and thanks to all the students that represented the Bears whether in the pool, on the court, on the field or around the track. Sport 2010-11Come and support your teams, improve existing skills or learn a new sport. The Bears need you. Aquabears September 1st 2010 2.30-3.30pmSwim team try-outs (boys and girls) in the pool Qualifying standards:- 8 Years & Under 5 x 50m on 1:45 min plus two other legal strokes- 9 Years & Over 5 x 100m on 2:30 min plus all legal strokes ISAC Season 1 Team Sport try-outs September 1st 2010 2.30-3.30pm- U14 Soccer (boys and girls) on the field- U19 Volleyball (boys and girls) in the gym We will also be running practice sessions for:- Primary soccer- Primary Cross-Country- U14/U19 table tennis- U14/U19 Cross country The ISAC U19 tennis tournament is scheduled for mid-October. ISAC Season 2 team Sport sign-up September 2nd 2010- U14 Volleyball (boys and girls)- U19 Basketball (boys and girls) We will also be running session for Primary Handball. If you would like more details or information please contact me at the address below. Julian BarnsleyAthletic Director & Activities [email protected]

Year 9 History trip to the Beijing Military History MuseumOn the Friday 18th June the Year 9 paid a visit to the Beijing Military Museum of the People’s Revolution. One of the main themes of study in Year 9 History has been ‘Conflict’. We have studied several conflicts including World War Two in China and Asia, the Cold War and the Vietnam War. The museum exhibitions were most helpful as an extra resource for these topics. The students were also taking part in a photo competition to see which team could take the best 5 pictures of features in the museum Mr Nick BourneHistory / Humanities Department


BSB is pleased to widen the scope of our newsletter by including a parents’ page, items for this page should be in keeping with the ethos of the School and should be submitted to our Publications and Liaison Officer on [email protected] before 4pm Wednesday on the week in which they are to appear. Please note we cannot advertise

businesses, the aim is to promote charitable events and personal ads.

NORMANS SAXONS VIKINGS ROMANS

Sanlitun House Points Shunyi House Points

Normans

Saxons

Vikings

Romans

Normans

Saxons

Vikings

Romans

Secondary Merit Awards

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 4

Mina Shin

Diana Park

Minori Yariwake

SeJin Kim

333

222

222

218

Oceane Duprat

Doris Sun

Prateek Pandey

Andrea DeMatteis

60

59

47

46

Parents Page

524

655

508

359

296

281

304

219

Any 16yrs or older BSB students who would like to earn some money? I’m looking for an

occasional child minder for my 6 & 8 year old boys. We live close to Champagne Merlin, Shunyi. If your interested contact Stephanie Baker

at [email protected] or phone 1355265305

Parent and Teacher inter school football league.

We are hoping to organise a mini 7-a-side

football league between other schools within Beijing. We would be hoping to have things running at the start of term 1. Those

interested contact Gavin Raymond via email on communitysoccer@britishschool.

org.cn.

Blue Total (KS3 + KS4) = 3964 + 192 = 4156

Red Total (KS3 + KS4) = 3553 + 202 = 3755

White Total (KS3 + KS4) = 3188 + 341 = 3529

ear members of the British School of Beijing community,I recently had the pleasure of meeting with members of the Parent Society at the San Li Tun campus. They asked me a number of questions which have relevance for the whole community and I felt it would be appropriate to pass on my answers to the whole school via the newsletter.

I was asked if, in the coming years, the curriculum of the school would change and the school would no longer be a British School. I replied that this was absolutely not the case and that the British School of Beijing would of course remain exactly what is now; a British school with all the traditions of the very best of British Education.

I was then asked if the tradition of having native English speaking teaching assistants would continue next year as some parents had heard that this would change. I was very happy to reassure parents and tell them that this was one of the many things that made the school special and will continue to be so for very many years to come.

The British School of Beijing is going from strength to strength. I am proud to be a small part of that process in conjunction with all members of the community.

Of course we aim to constantly improve and reflect on what we do. Our aim is always to help our students thrive. In that regard the strengths of the school should be celebrated and acknowledged, and the two areas above, amongst many others, are very great assets in a very good school.

Very warm regards

Michael EmbleyExecutive Principal

From the Executive Principal

SANLITUNSHUNYI SHUNYI


PARENT EFFECTIVENESS TRAINING

P.E.T. is an 8-session course specially designed for families to learn a time-tested model of communication that offers skills, which gives you

Better two-way communication More family harmony Establish successful discipline Children who become self-disciplined, more responsible and solve

their own problems Warmer feelings, closer relationships Children who are more self-reliant resilient independent, and self-

motivated Children who are more open to parent’s ideas, and

FINALLY, More fun in the family!

Course starts: End of September, further details given later

For More Information or a course outline contact: Susie Havas: [email protected] or 13910024146

Mum, can I have …

I’m very confused!

Help!

All I want is some peace and quiet!

Lookout! They’re arguing again!!

Issue #35

Documents

Transcript of Issue #35