BAES Buzz
September 23, 2016
Volume 10
Issue 2
Mission Statement
The Banjul American Embassy School is an international community providing a high quality,
accredited American-Style education for students. In partnership with our community, we empower
students to become enthusiastic, creative, lifelong learners who value integrity, cultural diversity and
global responsibility.
Message from the Director
Dear BAES Families,
The month of September is flying by as BAES buzzes with educational, social, and fun activities.
Two recent highlights were the first community-wide Celebration of Learning, which featured
presentations by middle and high school students and introductions of our middle school Student
Council officers, and the Community BBQ, which brought BAES teachers, students, and families
together for food and fun in the sun (and rain!). We were fortunate to have the US Embassy tent
providing shade and shelter for us during of these events. This gave us a taste of how great it will
be to have a permanent canopy over the basketball court providing shade for our weekly
Celebrations of Learning and other community-wide events. We have all been disappointed that
the completion of the canopy is taking so much longer than expected, but we are confident that it
will be finished soon. I will keep you updated on the progress.
The BAES news covered in this issue of the Buzz includes updates on the Student Council, PTO, and
Board of Directors, and news on professional development for teachers including Ms. Stacy and
Mrs. Sanyang’s trip to Dakar for an AISA professional learning institute. Most importantly, this
issue features updates from your teachers about the teaching and learning happening in each of
your children’s classes. These teacher updates will usually be included in the second issue of BAES
Buzz to come out each month.
Enjoy!
Caleb Steindam, Director
Community BBQ
On Saturday, September 17th, dozens of BAES families and all our teachers came together for food,
laughter, conversation, and fun at the BAES Community BBQ. Even the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits.
Relive the memories with these photos taken by Mr. Scott, who is a photography enthusiast and will be
leading an after-school photography club this trimester!
Mr. James, grillmaster.
BAES students rule the swings!
BAES parents and teachers enjoyed great conversation at the BBQ and began
thinking ahead to possibilities for our PTO this year!
BAES families enjoyed spending time together, and parents and teachers
appreciated the opportunity to build relationships.
Fathers get in on the fun.
Who knew BAES parents were so
competitive?
Professional Development for BAES Teachers
At BAES we are fortunate to be able to provide high-quality professional development opportunities for our
already exceptional teaching staff. BAES is a member of the Association of International Schools of Africa
(AISA), which provides a variety of world-class professional development institutes across the continent.
We are grateful to the US Embassy and the US State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools for the
generous grant funding that makes our professional development possible.
Mrs. Sanyang (grades 2-3) and Ms. Stacy (grades 4-5) are on their way to Dakar this weekend to participate
in AISA’s “Making the Most of MAP” professional learning institute. As you know, BAES students from
kindergarten through 9th grade have been taking the NWEA MAP assessments over the past two weeks to
give us baseline data on students’ academic skills and knowledge to guide our instruction. Here are the
general aims of this institute, from AISA’s website:
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

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To build capacity and expertise in the use of MAP, while getting
hands-on with the rich data in the reports.
Ensuring informed use of MAP data among teachers,
administrators, and instructional specialists.
Using MAP reports to engage in high-impact goal setting that will
help each student grow.
Supporting differentiated instruction and meeting the needs of
every student through the use of flexible groupings.
http://www.aisa.or.ke/learning/professional-learning-institutes/aisa-2016-pli-s/making-the-most-of-map
We’re excited for Mrs. Sanyang and Ms. Stacy share their learning with the rest of us when they return!
Ms. Shelley Cook, educational
consultant and creator of the
EarthTrek curriculum
enhancement program
And there is another exciting professional development opportunity on
the way for all our teachers. U.S. educational consultant Shelley Cook is
arriving to The Gambia next Friday to work with BAES on our curriculum
and instructional practices. Ms. Cook will conduct a workshop in writing
instruction on Saturday, October 1st, for our entire teaching staff. This
workshop will focus on use of the Six Traits writing framework across all
grades and subjects. Ms. Cook will also work with our 2nd through 5th
grade classes to kick off the EarthTrek program, which you can read
about in the next issue of BAES Buzz!
Student Council
We’ve held all our elections and are thrilled to introduce the members of the 2016-2017 BAES Student
Council. Our middle school Student Council officers are Kelvin (President), Eloise-Michelle (Vice President),
Garv (Secretary), Yvette (Treasurer) and Georges-William (Communications Director). Our Primary School
Student Council representatives are Julia and Avery for 4th and 5th, Joseph (J.J.) for 3rd, Nayan for 2nd, and
Oghenerukevwe (Ruke) for 1st. Primary Student Council meetings will be held once a week during the
school day. The Middle School officers will meet with the 4th-5th grade representatives as well as other
middle and high school representatives on Tuesdays after school. The Student Council will play a very
important role in representing all BAES students to help guide school events, policies, and projects, as well
as working with the PTO on fundraising and event planning.
BAES PTO
The Parent-Teacher Organization, or PTO, is an integral part of our school. The PTO plans and coordinates
several major events and initiatives throughout the year, and it also raises funds to support specific
projects for the students’ benefit and enjoyment. The PTO is led by an executive committee made up of CoPresidents Sandra Wang-Harris and Cassie Banna, Vice-President Sandra Amalfi, Treasurer Barbara Banda,
PTO Board Liaison Edith Nkamla-Mbeku, and Teacher Representative Leah Woldman.
Our first PTO meeting of the 2016-2017 school year was last night, Thursday, September 22, 2016, at the
BAES Director’s residence. We had a great turnout and shared many exciting ideas for the school year. We
are already moving forward on plans for Halloween Movie Night, Picture Day, a bake sale with Student
Council, and a holiday festival in December!
Last year the PTO matched funds for the canopy that we look forward to having completed soon, and they
also purchased beautiful new materials for the early childhood playground. You should see the smiles on
our youngest students’ faces as they enjoy their newly upgraded play area!
Our preK and kindergarten
students love their new
pirate ship!
Philip Jarju, Head of
Maintenance & Security,
constructed the early
childhood center’s beautiful
new structure for climbing,
sliding, and exploring.
BAES Board of Directors
The first Board meeting of the 2016-2017 school year will be next Friday, September 30th, 2016,
at 2:00pm in the library. Board meetings (except for executive sessions) are open to all members
of the Association (parents/guardians and teachers). The aim of an international school’s Board of
Directors is “to advance the mission of the school as effectively as possible and to hold the school
‘in trust’ for future students and their families” (International Trustee Handbook, David Chojnacki,
2007). BAES’s Board consists of Amy Walla (Chairperson), Joan Vives Tomas (Vice Chairperson),
Laly Diab (Treasurer), Crystal Okebe (Secretary), Edith Nkamla-Mbeku (PTO Representative),
Jimmy Clarke (U.S. Ambassador’s Representative), and Marc Shaw. This year we have rotating
teacher representatives for the Board meetings. Mr. Scott Hemsey (Middle School Humanities,
ESL, and 6/7 Homeroom) is our teacher rep for the month of September. Parents/guardians and
teachers are welcome to attend Friday’s meeting to better understand how our school is
governed. There will also be opportunities for parents and teachers to participate in the Board’s
important work this year through membership in committees.
Hello from PreK 1&2 and Kindergarten! The
ongoing theme is “All about me” where we explore
many different aspects of ourselves! In math we
are working with numbers 0-20, measuring height,
learning the months of the year and comparing our
birthdays. During this month we have the pleasure
of celebrating one student’s birthday, which goes
well with our theme. In social studies we are
learning about where we are from and where we live. In
our class we have twelve different nationalities so there is a lot to discover and
learn from each other! We are also learning to recognize and discuss feelings, and
how to be good friends. In science we are talking about our body, both of what is
on the inside and outside! We will investigate the five
senses and see how we can keep ourselves healthy. In
English language arts we are studying our names and
the letters and sounds within them. All students are
making great progress in the writing of their names.
Kindergarten has been participating in the activities above while
working on more advanced skills. We are focusing on our writing skills
and letter formation. We have also been working with learning letter
sounds so we can start blending and reading. In math we have been
focusing on numbers and patterns. – Ms. Elin
Grade One has started the new academic year with lots of enthusiasm and excitement. As part of
our social studies and getting to know you activities, students have been talking about their own
families and describing different family members. We faced some tough questions and together as
a class are working on finding answers to questions such as “What is a family?” and “Who can we
include in our family?” We jumped straight into our reading program using the story “The
Gruffalo,” and the students have been identifying all the amazing nouns and verbs they can find as
well as practicing our retelling of stories. Revision of our phonics has also begun and the children
are showing just how much practice they have been doing over summer.
The students have loved the math centers and are busy practicing their counting skills when
adding. We have been using numbers and tally marks to record the different types of items we
can find in our room. In science the room has been getting loud when exploring ‘sound’ and
students have been busy describing the different types of sounds they can hear. We are exploring
ways we can use sound, how sound travels and how we can represent different sounds using
images.
With lots of excitement and laughter in Grade One already, we are all looking forward to an
amazing year of learning. – Mr. James
Grade 2/3 has started the year looking carefully at things that might not otherwise be seen or
easily noticed, such as...
 identifying venation patterns in leaves by using
rubbing techniques during science,
 discussing and compiling our own behavior rules
or “Essential Agreements” that enable our class
to function (quite magically!) as a collaborative,
supportive group,
 exploring number patterns with immediate responses
using our favorite slates and markers,
 finding our own voice in poetry, by using similes in our
“Like” and “EST” poems,
 and by exploring the work of acclaimed children’s author, Roald Dahl, in Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory, and discovering that we too, can write enticing headlines on our newspaper articles.
– Mrs. Sanyang
Grades 4 and 5 have been doing some fantastic work since the start of school. In particular they
have been looking at connecting to the wider world through our class blog. Every week we write
pieces describing what we have done during the week or sharing our favorite pieces of work.
Please visit and let the students know what you think –www.themenagerie.edublogs.org.
– Ms. Stacy
The young artists at BAES have been busy exploring their creative identities in the art room this month!
Over the past few weeks, we have been experimenting with materials and sharing our ideas about what
artist do, how artists think, and why art matters. Students in all grades are investigating and expressing
who they are as artists. Our primary classes have been examining how color and shape can show
individuality and they are practicing using drawing, painting, and collage techniques to create a variety of
self-portraits. Our middle and high school students kicked off the year with mixed-media vision boards that
expressed their unique interests and goals. They’re now diving into their own self-portrait projects, using
photo manipulation and stencilling to represent who they are and what they stand for.
Throughout the year, I’ll be sharing updates from the art room at baesart.weebly.com. Be sure to visit to
so you can learn more about our creative process and view the online gallery of student work.
– Ms. Leah
Bonjour et bienvenu dans la salle de français!
In the French room, students are busy with their first units which all centered on the theme L’école (The
school).
Thus, students in Kindergarten are hearing their first sounds and making their first words in French. While
some may cover their ears at first as a reaction to the strange nature of such sounds, others smile at the
new language. In elementary school, Grade 1 is expanding on the classroom routines that they saw last
year by adding expressions such as Prends!, Souligne!, Dessine!, etc. They will be asked to respond to and
give commands to their peers. Grade 2-3 students are (re)visiting the items that are contained in their
backpack with a view of describing them, focusing on the color and shape of such items. Grades 4-5 are
looking at the various jobs/occupations that one finds in a school in France which range from l’enseignant /
l’enseignante to le gardien. They will be asked to explain some of the tasks that the faculty, administrative
and support staff do.
As for the Middle school, Grade 6-7 are delving into
the main rooms and facilities that are found in un
collège (a middle school) in France and say what we
do in those spaces. Their colleagues in Grade 8-9 will
go beyond this and look at the timetable and the
subjects that are taught in a middle school in France.
All the students will compare what goes on in un
collège in France with what they have been
experiencing in an American school such as BAES.
As discussed with the parents who made it to the
Open House, students will be put in situations where
they will strive to communicate in French. For
instance, Middle school students will be asked to
attempt the following topic orally: a francophone
friend of yours plans to live in your country and is
looking for a school to enroll in. You give him/her
some information about your school (rooms and
facilities, teachers and other support staff, timetable
and subjects taught). I, the teacher, will act as that
francophone friend.
At BAES, we are off to a great academic year en
français. – Mr. Badjie
For grades 6-7, the first strand we started to tackle this term is Number Sense & Operations. They
explored the use of numbers in school and every day settings. Students practiced estimation
techniques and mental math strategies using compatible numbers, front-end estimation, rounding
and compensation. The sixth and seventh graders also investigated numerical expressions using
the numbers properties: commutative, associative and identity properties. They learned how
helpful these properties can be when working with mental math calculations. Mastery of these
skills is important to carry them through the next unit which will be on problem-solving and
reasoning involving fractions, decimals, percents and proportions.
Meanwhile, the students in 8th & 9th grade have been learning more
about variables, their use in transforming English phrases into
mathematical expressions as well as using the order of operations to
simplify expressions. They continue to polish their skills on learning
how to write algebraic expressions (expressions with variables) to
model real-world situations. Students gained a better understanding
of the absolute value of a number and how to work with them in
expressions. Students in both classes are reminded to always to
keep the acronym PEMDAS (Parenthesis Exponents Multiplication/
Division Addition/Subtraction) in mind while working with
expressions to ensure the order of operations is preserved for accuracy purposes. – Ms. Amal
What does it mean to be human? The BAES Middle School Humanities class is beginning the year
by thinking critically about human rights. What are they? How have they evolved over time?
Students are learning about the history of important human rights documents such as the Cyrus
Cylinder and Magna Carta, leading to a study of the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The 8th and 9th graders are studying the historical context in which these pivotal documents were
created, including medieval England and the feudal system. The 6th and 7th graders are focusing
on the rights that these documents protect, and how they may be connected with more recent
human rights documents. All humanities students are reading stories from refugees, and
expressing through writing how it may or may not relate to their own lives. How are
human rights being recognized or left unacknowledged in modern societies? Ask a
middle school humanities student to find out what they believe!
– Mr. Scott
GRADE 6/7
The students began their study of the cell by first learning about the origin of life on Earth. They looked at
how cells formed and evolved into modern cells. Students then discovered the characteristics shared by all
living things, as well as their common needs. They are learning that all living things are made of cells—
sometimes just one cell, sometimes trillions.
The students used an uncooked egg as a model of a cell to observe how various
materials enter or leave a cell. They are performing an experiment observing what
happens when the uncooked egg was placed in vinegar, then in water, food
coloring, salt water and oil. They predict what might happen when you put an egg in
vinegar for two days and how might other liquids affect an egg. Students measured
the circumference and the weight of the egg every day and graph the results.
They are now observing some typical structures and their roles in the functioning of the cell. Students will
discover each role’s relationship to cell processes such as diffusion and osmosis, cell growth, and cell
division.
GRADE 8/9
The grade 8/9 students started the study of energy with a discussion of the basic concept of energy. The
students moved on to learn about measuring motion—speed, velocity, and changes in velocity. They are
learning how energy, work, and power are related. The students performed an experiment: how high does
a ball bounce? They were able to calculate how much horsepower they have when climbing steps ten
meters high.
In studying “Energy: Forms and Changes”, students investigate the nature of energy, compare kinetic and
potential energy, and explore energy conversions and conservation of energy. They recognise the
importance of energy in physical processes.
Presently, the students are on a project to Design and Build a Roller Coaster that uses kinetic energy and
potential energy to move. They will consider how fast a roller coaster moves and how its speed changes
throughout the ride. This project will give them the chance to gain hands-on experience with the
conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy. – Mr. Jain
What a wonderful start to the trimester! Pre K is having fun with the Building
Blocks unit while learning the basics of orientation and expectations, personal
and general space and spatial relationships. Most thrilling to watch is the threeand four-year olds dancing during the musical ASAP, an essential component in
their curriculum. The Games unit has played a major role in helping Kindy and Grade 1 get healthy
exercise while developing social skills such as cooperation, friendship, and
communication. Introduction to static balances, body builder and flexibility
exercises in providing a fun challenge to the second and third graders. Fourth
and fifth graders are focusing on individual jump rope skills and tricks, while
middle and high school are getting an introduction to basketball with static drills
and the rules of game play.
– Mr. Wright
Kindergarten students are always excited when it’s time for Music class. At
the beginning of the first trimester they learned new nursery rhymes and
accompanied them with the various musical instruments in the music
room. First grade students learn different songs and learn to recognize
diverse genres and styles. They also dance along and enjoy themselves in
the process. Second and third grade students have learned various songs
including “Force and Motion,” a song from the Music K-8 magazine that they just can’t get enough
of. Grades 4 and 5 have learned about musical notes and staff notation. All 4th and 5th grade
students are able to name the notes on both the Treble and Bass stave successfully. Grades 6 and
7 learned to draw the Treble and Bass clef and how to place the notes on the
lines and spaces. They also learned to recognize and define ledger lines and
added several ledger lines above and below the Treble and bass stave naming
them successfully. Eighth and ninth graders are learning to recognize and sing
different types and genres of Music from various cultures. Students learned the
various sections that comprise a song and successfully completed the first level
of the Rudiments of Music. – Mr. Daniel