Issue 1 - November 2008
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
On Page 9
BSB Students Explore
the Sights of London
One of the best aspects of studying at an
international school is the many chances students
have to learn about other cultures.
One way to do this is to head off on one of the school’s regular
trips abroad. This summer, some of our students enjoyed a
summer trip to England, where they participated in a 5 day
outdoor adventure camp and 2 day tour of London.
On Page 20
On Pages 4 & 5
On Page 10
Students eat Pizza as Science
Experiment
Key Stage 1 Students Move into BSB Summer Shakespeare
receives standing ovation
New Building
What does pizza have to do with science,
you ask? Find out just what Mr Powers, the
new Head of Science, has been getting up
to with the students in the BSB science lab
this term.
One of the more noticeable changes is
the development of a second floor in
Ringwood. Read about the new changes to
Key Stage 1 and some of the other changes
at BSB inside this issue.
The Summer Production was one of the
highlights of the BSB calendar and it was
to rapturous applause and a standing
ovation that BSB students lined up to take
their final bow.
Contents
· Editor’s Note 2
· BSB Charity Update
2
· Principal’s Report
3
· Foundation Report
4
· Primary School Report
4
· Key Stage 1 Report
4
· Key Stage 2 Report
5
· Secondary School Report 5
· Ringwood students to get new
lunch room
5
· Happy builders hard at work
on the Foundation Stage
art/lunch room
5
· New Teachers
6
· Where are they now
· BSB Blogging
· Ms. Jennifer Ullman, Year 6
Teacher
· Jeans for Genes
· Student Council for 2009
· BSB Students take London
by storm
· A “Sweet” Story
· Science Speak
· The Music Department
adds a little Rhythm · Student in the spotlight
· Starting School at BSB
6
7
· Healthy Bake Sale
13
· Year 6 celebrating Bake Sale13
· Entrevista con Rocío Martí 14
7 · Year 4 Art
14
8 · European Day of Languages 15
8 · BSB University Course
Overview 2008
16
9 · BSB Physical Education
18
10 · Personal Health Social
10
Education
19
· Gafencu Sports Day
19
11 · BSB’s A Midsummer Night’s
Dream 2008
20
12
13
· Foundation Theatre: The
Window Sill
· The Drama Department
· A Day in the Life of a TA…
· New Primary School
Equipment in Use
· Ks1 Star Of The Week
Celebrations
· Reading at Anthony Frost
British Book Shop
· Primary School House
Competition
· House Point Chart · Secondary School House
20 Competition
25
21 · Foundation Stage
26
22 · Exceptional Student Writing 28
· Years 1-6 Class pages
30
22 · What is CPD?
33
· The Eight Millennium
23
Development Goals 34
· My Day
23
at the MDG Conference
34
· Adult Classes underway
35
24 · Bucharest International
25
Schools’ Forum
35
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Editor’s Note
September and October were particularly busy months
for BSB, as always, with the bustle of the first week
back in which both returning and newly arrived students
find out who their form tutors, class teachers, subject
teachers and TAs will be for the year, which classrooms
and locker they have been assigned, and what their
weekly schedule looks like. It’s an exciting time to be on
campus and with such a busy calendar planned for the
year ahead, it is sure to be a great year for all concerned.
Mr Kendall Peet,
BSB Newsblast Lifer
The University Courses, are back in full swing, with more
courses than ever being offered, thanks to the great
work of Mr. Ian Davidson and his hard working team,
which you can read all about on Pages 16 and 17. You
can find out about some of the charity work being done,
as well as the sporting events that have been organised
by the newly arrived PE teachers who are now heading
the BSB Healthy School campaign (pages 18 & 19). There
has been a lot going in the classrooms, and you can
read on to find out why students received chocolate as
a reward in English classes and ate pizza in the science
lab (Page 10). You can also find out about some of the
new teachers who have joined us this year, what some
of our past students are getting up to (page 6), and what
it is like to be a student beginning your first year at BSB
(page 13). Mr Sonny Leese talks about the new initiative
to get BSB classes online (page 7), some of our senior
school students inform us about the importance of MDG
(Page 34), and several teachers return from a CPD trip
to England and tell all (Page 33). We do a little catch up
with a write up on the Summer London Trip (page 9), The
School Summer Productions (page 21), and Gafencu’s
Sports Day (page 19), and are offered a brief glimpse
into the world of the BSB TA (page 20), thanks to
Mr Jonathan Crispin’s little foray into journalism. In all,
it is a full, fun packed issue with a little of something for
everyone.
I would like to very briefly thank everyone who
contributed to this issue; in particular, I would like
to thank Mr Brad amacher and his team of University
Course writers for the many articles they contributed to
this issue, Ms Doina Antohiand MsHelen Calthrop for the
great job they did collecting up the information for the
class pages, and Mr Serafini for helping to reduce my
stress levels immeasurably by offering to help put this
issue together.
Happy reading
BSB Charity Update
Ms Hussain and Reverend Martin
Jacques with the food collected for
Stelian Charity Food Bank.
One boy who received a shoe box.
This year we hope to repeat and build on the
fundraising successes we had last year with the
Shoe Box Appeal, entry into the DHL Marathon,
and various other fun charity fundraising events.
Already this year we have started well with the
Jeans 4 Genes Day raising over 3000 Ron for
genetic research (Turn to page 8 for a detailed
review), and the Harvest Festival Food Bank
Appeal, which raised a large amount of food for
people in the Romanian community in need.
Reverend Martin Jacques attended the Primary
School Assembly and personally thanked all the
BSB children for giving so generously and, along
with a representative from Sf. Stelian (www.
sfstelian.ro), answered many of the questions
the children had about the charity work they are
currently doing in Romania.
With Christmas nearly upon once again, it is
time now to turn our attention toward the Shoe
Box Appeal, to collect gifts for children from
poor families in Romania who cannot afford to
buy presents for their children. Last year BSB
students brought in a large number of shoe
boxes full of presents and donated them to a
school from the village of Rosia Montana. Miss
Renaudin and Miss Marcu took the boxes to
the children of this village, which is situated
in a poor mining area in the North-West of
Romania. We hope this year to again be able
to give presents to students in need, so please
give generously.
We want our students to have an active
participation in the choice of the initiatives and
charities we are going to support this year. To
this end, the School Council and the secondary
house captains are going to research charities
and make a decision as to who they would like
to support.
Some of the fundraising events planned for this
year ahead include:
· The Artisan Fair on the 12th of December
· A Quiz and BBQ Night for Parents (in spring)
· A Sponsored Whole Day Keep Fit Relay
· Funny Socks Day
Ms Dorothea Draser, BSB Charity Committee
Young Rosia Montana pupils
receiving the BSB shoe boxes
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
2
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Principal’s Report
Dear Parents and Friends of BSB
Welcome to our first newsletter of the academic
year, and a warm greeting to all our new staff and
families that have joined the BSB community this
year.
Jo Puddy Wells
Principal
The Front Desk
If you need any information or help
with regard to BSB, please do not
hesitate to contact our office team
during normal working hours.
Office hours: 8.00am-5.00pm,
Monday-Friday.
For help relating to school
transport, student lunches,
or sports and clubs, and for general
enquires, please contact:
Tanya Biryukova, Office Manager
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 021 267 8919
Fax: 021 267 8969
Cristiana Patru or Adina Suciu
Email: [email protected]
Mob: 0728 133 432/3
On behalf of BSB, we would like
to wish all returning and new
students the very best for the year
ahead.
One of our main aims this year is for the school to
become more involved with the wider community,
and to this end we have already established several
new initiatives and links with relevant groups. We
are now an official supporter of the charity Light into
Europe which works with Blind and Deaf schools in
Romania (www.lightintoeurope.org). We have been
working alongside them for many years, but felt that
the time had come to make a more official bond;
we look forward to the many collaborative projects
in the future including liaison between staff, a
visit on Children’s Day in 2009 and also the part
sponsorship of a guide dog in the new year. They
are already looking for families who might consider
fostering a guide dog puppy, so please be in touch
if you feel you could commit to this wonderful
opportunity.
As we become more established we are also able
to cultivate healthy links with international schools
outside of Romanian. This year we are planning
projects that will involve Literacy (Brighouse
School UK), Art (Highgate School, Nicosia), and P.E.
(British School of Brussels). I am sure you will read
more about these ventures in upcoming editions
of Newsblast. We are also working alongside
Bucharest schools and already a new series of
sports fixtures has begun.
You may also have noticed that we have been able
to expand our adult classes at school to include Art,
English and Romania, all of which have proved very
popular with parents and friends of BSB alike. We
would like to extend our programme of activities so
if you have any suggestions please let us know, and
if you would like more information on any of these
classes please contact our office.
This October saw the establishment of Monster
Munchkins, our first toddler group aimed at children
currently too young for our crèche class. They are
meeting on a Monday morning in the community
room, and it has been a pleasure to see some new
families on our campus, it is a great opportunity
for the community of young families in our area to
come together for a chat and play; it seems to be
proving a great success, and our thanks go to Emma
Donaldson and Ali Power for their work in setting
this up.
Already our PTA group has organised several
coffee mornings for new and old parents, Class
representatives are helping in classrooms, plus
we have had two Ladies Nights out in Bucharest,
as well as a great day of Halloween activities for
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
the students. Our thanks go to all those involved
as this is such an important part of school life and
could not happen without the commitment of time
that is so generously given. We hope that as many
of you as possible would like to get involved with
upcoming events including the Artisan Fair and carol
singing in December and the traditional collection
of filled shoeboxes to be donated over the holiday
period.
We are all enjoying the atmosphere created through
these collaborations and feel it is a vital part of our
students learning to be part of an active community
so thank you to all those supporting our new
ventures.
We have a very full schedule of events this year,
however one of our top priorities to help in our
school’s development, has been to commit to
an Independent School’s inspection this coming
May. I.S.I. (www.isi.net) is a body approved for the
purpose of school inspection by the DCSF, British
Government body, and we are looking forward to
their teams visit. We have been informed that the
team will include Mrs. Sara Wiggins as the reporting
inspector and Ms. Christine Ryan who is currently
the Chief Inspector of the Independent Schools
Inspectorate. The inspection will last for one week
and will include a full inspection of all aspects of
the school structure for teaching and learning. I
hope to keep you informed with more information
concerning the inspection nearer the time, however
if you have any questions about how this will work
please do not hesitate to be in touch.
We are very happy to be able to expand our
opportunities to the students to learn a musical
instrument, and with the funds raised at last year’s
Summer Fair we are purchasing some instruments
that children can borrow for a term while they begin
to learn the instrument. Following this if the student
chooses to carry on with the instrument they will
need to purchase their own, but it gives the chance
to try the instrument before an expensive purchase
is made. Hopefully through this new project we will
build up a more comprehensive group of musicians.
Although we have been treated to a marvelous
musical recital this term we are looking to establish
a larger group, and see more of our students taking
part. Initially we have found flute, guitar, cello and
violin teachers. However if you have discussed
another type of instrument and would like to make
an alternative suggestion please be in touch.
For now may I wish you a very happy Autumn term;
and if I may help in any way in answering your
questions or responding to a query please do not
hesitate to be in touch.
Kind Regards,
Jo Wells
[email protected]
3
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Foundation Report
Ms Angela Harvey,
Head of Foundation
Hello to everyone. Well the year has started in a rush
and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to making the
most of this year knowing that it will pass by in a flash.
Learning will take place, fun will be had, friendships will
be made and lost and made again, and undoubtedly as
always, knees will be scraped, tears will be wiped, and
we will all be one year older. So… how can we make the
best of this year? Well, fortunately we have way too many
ideas to just share with you in this paragraph, so instead
we will share them with you in all the other ways we have
e.g. departmental newsletter, communication book,
display board, e-mail and letter. Please let us know your
ideas? Keep in touch. Talk with us. We want to share this
fresh new school year with you.
We have lots of new Teachers and Teaching Assistant’s
this year. I am sure you have met most of them by now,
but if you are not sure who somebody is, take a look
at the display boards just inside the front door of each
building – we have a wonderful team of people who all
have something special to bring to the Foundation Stage
Department.
Ms Angela Harvey, Head of Foundation
Primary School Report
Ms Naima Hussain,
Head of Primary
Time in a school seems to be governed by different rules
to time outside the school gates. On the one hand, the
first half term seemed to race past in a blur; it barely
feels like a moment since I was welcoming back the old
faces and meeting all the new ones on Day 1; and yet,
on the other hand, it also feels like the new classes have
always been working together, here in our beautiful
campus. Faces, which two months ago were unknown
to us, now feel as familiar to us, as those which we have
known for years. In this regard, I am forever amazed
by the ease in which children adapt and accustom
themselves to new experiences and routines; walking
around the classrooms and observing the children
playing together at break time, it is very obvious and
pleasing to see that new relationships have been forged
very quickly throughout the school.
The teachers and pupils in primary have been very
busy this first half term. I have seen some amazing
work being done around the school and it is always a
pleasure to see how happy and engaged the children
are with their work, their classmates and their teachers.
All the children seem to have thrown themselves
wholeheartedly into the clubs, new university courses,
and assemblies, as well as the many special events that
we have had already this year. The days have been jam
packed with memorable activities, such as the Jeans for
Genes and Language Day assemblies, House football
tournaments, bake sales, the Harvest festival, music
recitals and spelling bee, to name just a few.
We have also had a lot of help and interest from our
parent class reps this year and so a huge thank you has
to go to all the parents who have contributed to these
activities, or helped in other ways.
Following on from the half term break, teachers had two
training days focusing on science, PSCHE and art, as well
as getting things ready for another busy half term- I’m
sure you will have the chance to read about this in a
future issue of Newsblast.
I hope you all had a wonderful half term break and fid
yourself returned to BSB refreshed and ready to work
and to enjoy all the exciting things we have planned for
you all leading up to Christmas.
Ms Naima Hussain, Head of Primary
Key Stage 1 Report
Ms Lindsey Banks,
KS1 Co-ordinator
Key Stage 1 began the school year in a super new
building. Over the summer the Foundation/Reception
Ringwood building was extended and developed to
house KS1. Years 1 and 2 returned from their summer
break and found a great new facility waiting for them
- how lucky they are! The new staircase mens that Years
1 and 2 have a separate entrance from the rest of the
Ringwood building. This will create easy access to our
classrooms. As well as 4 spacious classrooms, we also
have our very own ICT suite fully equipped with 8 new
computers. The classes will use this suite to support
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
their learning. All classes have a timetabled session
each day.
Miss Banks would like to thank the teachers, TA’s and
cleaning support team for all their hard work in creating
a colourful and inviting environment for our students. We
look forward to welcoming you to our new building if you
haven’t yet seen it - come and have a look!
Ms Lindsey Banks, KS1 Coordinator
4
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Key Stage 2 Report
Key Stage 2 has really hit the ground running this year.
We have welcomed many new children to our class and
some new teachers also. Many staff have taken on new
roles in our school including myself, as the new Key
Stage 2 coordinator.
Mr Patrick Kennedy
Key Stage 2 Coordinator
We have made several new developments, including
changes to both our assemblies and playtime
procedures. Assemblies are now in the Primary dining
hall on Mondays and Thursdays- we have some really
exciting ones coming up. The children are now enjoying
their playtimes on the grass, with the space giving them
all the opportunity to move around freely to play their
games.
Christmas is fast approaching and in preparation for
this year’s celebration, the children are busily learning
Christmas carols in their music sessions as Key Stage
2 children will join in a Christmas celebration later this
term. There are also many other exciting developments
as well. Building on the successful introduction of the
interactive whiteboards last year, we now have new
laptops for the children to use. Each child will have
access to these and this will greatly enhance their
learning opportunities. There are so many exciting
things happening in our school, it is looking like this
year will be an incredible year for both teachers and
students alike.
Mr Patrick Kennedy, Key Stage 2 Coordinator
Secondary School Report
Ms Jane Greenwood
Head of Secondary School
I should like to extend a warm welcome to parents and
students old and new as we enter the Autumn/Winter
term 2008. It gives me great pleasure to start the year
by heralding our examination successes. Our Year
11 students enjoyed IGCSE examination success; 2
students have moved to schools in the United Kingdom
and Germany, and our other students have become the
first Key Stage 5 students in BSB. The BSB students
achieved outstanding SATs results this summer, a
testament to the hard work of the students and the
staff. Key Stage 3 students achieved a 100% success
rate (the benchmark is a comparison across all schools
in the UK), and 38% exceeded the national standard.
In Mathematics over 73% of the students in Year 9
achieved a level exceeding the UK national standard and
2 students achieved Level 8 - the highest level for this
Key Stage. The Key Stage 2 SATs results (our current Year
7 students) achieved equal success whereby 96% of
BSB students achieved the UK national standards and a
staggering 60.6% of them exceeded them. Well done to
all the students.
The new academic year brings both new students and
staff to the school. This year I should like to welcome
several members of staff who will be teaching secondary,
and in some cases primary students as well: Mr Lampert
(Mathematics), Mr Power (Science), Mr Perrett (French),
Ms Marti (Spanish), Ms Fortune (Drama/PHSCE), Ms
Kemp (PE/PHSCE), Mr O’Brien (PE) and Mr Ellis (English
as a Second Language). Our students are quickly settling
into their studies and extra-curricular activities. We offer
a range of afterschool clubs including chess, fencing,
karate, music, a range of sporting activities, and an
outdoor adventure club - indeed, something to suit every
taste.
I hope that you have found the draft calendar and the
secondary parent handbook useful. The information
should enable you to see when certain events such
as music evenings and productions, activities,
consultation evenings and examinations will take place.
Any additional information will be circulated via letter
and email. I anticipate a full and varied programme
of activities over the academic year. I look forward to
working with you and your family in what will be a busy
and productive year in Crawford House.
Ms Jane Greenwood, Head of Secondary School
Ringwood students to get new lunch room
Happy builders hard at work on the Foundation Stage art/lunch room
The builders are back at BSB, providing a
great point of interest for Pre-Schoolers,
whilst building the new room on the side
of our building to complement the new
Key Stage 1 level finished over the summer
beak. This new room will be utilized for art
and messy play, and will also provide a
separate space for Reception and
Pre-school students to eat lunch in. They
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
have also created steps from each class
room to make it easier for the younger
students to enter and exit classes and we
will have a fenced in area at the front of the
Foundation building, which can be used for
outside learning during fine weather.
Look out for mention of other
improvements to come in Issue 2.
5
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
New Teachers
Ms Kemp, the new Head of Department, and Mr O’Brien
are the new PE teachers at BSB. We are very glad to have
them join the BSB staff. Here are a few basic things
about them: Ms Kemp has been teaching for 6 years. She
has taught in England for 2 years, Madrid for 3 years and
now she is here teaching in Romania for the first time.
She is primarily a PE teacher, but is also a qualified high
Ms Jennifer Kemp, Head of
school art teacher. This year Ms Kemp will be teaching
Physical Education
us both PE and PSCHE. She says she enjoys Bucharest
a lot, and thinks that it has a good social life and lots to
do. Her favourite sport is athletics. She likes BSB as the
students are very friendly, willing to learn new things,
and very enthusiastic. She is especially looking forward
to the GCSE courses with years 10, 11 and 12. Mr O’Brien
has been teaching for 8 years now. He has taught all
around the world, in places such as Wales, Kuwait, which
is in the Middle East, Venezuela, and in China. He is
teaching for the first time in Bucharest. He teaches PE
to the primary school. Out of all sports, his favourite
is rugby. He likes Bucharest, as he thinks it is a very
accessible city, and is very happy to be part of BSB.
As you have all noticed, we have a new science
teacher! His name is Mr. Kevin Power and you can find
him downstairs, at the ground floor, in the science
lab, looking through microscopes or investigating
miscellaneous substances in round test tubes. He is
not here to blow the school or neighborhood up, but to
teach us something about science. With a vast store of
teaching experience, some fourteen years, believe me,
he has what it takes to make you if not love science, then
at least make a frozen frog jump out of the fridge. He
has taught in many other places, such as Kenya, Berlin,
London, Columbia, Washington DC, and Nevada and has
decided to make Romania his next port of call. When
asked about the reason why he came to Romania, he
answered leisurely that it was close to his and his wife’s
relatives. He was born in 1968 in Osceola, Arkansas, in
the United States and studied at Bentonville High. During
the interview, he also “confessed” that while being in
high school, he played clarinet and saxophone in a band.
Bet you didn’t know that, right? After high schol he went
on to study at the University of Arkansas, University of
Surrey, and then worked at the Peace Corps Roehampton
Institute who sent him off to work in Kenya, where he
met and befriended an old African maumau warrior from
Kenya called Muratti. I’m afraid that my space here is
limited, so if you want to find out more about the above
story, then go ask him yourselves! For now, all I can say
is that we would like to wish Mr Power a warm welcome
to our school and hope that he will enjoy it here! Just in
case you might want to send him a present, his birthday
is on the 29th of January.
Our new Head of Languages and French teacher, Mr
Nicholas Perrett, arrived in Romania in the summer of
2008, and is originally from Bath, England. During his
short time here in Romania he says has enjoyed his time,
saying that the Romanian community is very friendly.
His main wish while here in Romania is to experience
as much of Romanian culture as he can, saying that he
loves to travel and to experience new cultures. During
his last 15 years teaching French he has taught in several
countries, including Germany, France, America, and a
little more off the beaten track, South Korea. One of Mr.
Perret’s key interests is Italian food (both cooking and
eating). He said that he likes to play football and hockey
in his free time. During the course of the interview, he
also mentioned that he thinks the school has a nice
atmosphere, with very friendly teachers and studentsincluding this year’s Mures House captain.
Mr Anthony O’Brien,
Physical Education
Mr Kevin Power,
Head of Science
Mr Nic Perrett,
Head of Languages
Maria, Year 10
Senia, Year 10
Where are they now
Hello to everyone!
I am very happy to be able to send you all a
little bit of news from us in France. The whole
family is great and we have settled in France
very fast. The city we are in now is called
Toulouse; it is big and very beautiful. This is
a great city because we can go everywhere
by bike and there are not a lot of cars. We
have a big house with seven rooms, a huge
underground room, but a small garden, which
doesn’t really matter because we have a park
Edoardo, Year 10
Us in France in our new house ▼
really close to our house.
We are now all in a French school which is
also very close to our house, so Gonzague,
Priscille, and I can go by bike. It’s great! The
French school is very different to the English
system, but we are managing to adapt! We like
our new school, but miss the BSB people a lot!
We miss you all a lot!
Merry Christmas!
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Constance, Year 9, Toulouse, France
6
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Technology Update: BSB Blogging
Blog is short for “web log.” Basically, a
blog is an online journal. You can write
or post about whatever you like: updates
of your life, political opinions, a great
trip, favourite recipes, what music you’re
listening to - anything that takes your
fancy. At BSB we are using blogs to further
the children’s learning, to celebrate their
achievements, and to communicate with
parents and families.
Blogs can include words, photos, movies,
hyperlinks to other websites, and lots
more. They are usually composed of one
or more blog entries. Each entry can have
Key Stage 1
www.1jbsb.edublogs.org
www.1hbsb.edublogs.org
www.2bbsb.edublogs.org
www.2wbsb.edublogs.org
its own title and always says the date and
time you published it. Blogs show the last
entry first, and you can scroll down to read
earlier entries. So it’s like a reverse diary.
You can also leave a comment for the
teacher to see.
Each class in Key Stage 1 and 2 now has
its own blog. The specialist teachers have
them too. To access the blogs please go to
the websites below.
To find your class blog look for the class
name at the beginning of the address.
E.g. 4K’s Blog - www.4kbsb.edublogs.org
Key Stage 2
www.3lbsb.edublogs.org
www.3bbsb.edublogs.org
www.4hbsb.edublogs.org
www.4kbsb.edublogs.org
www.5tbsb.edublogs.org
www.5bbsb.edublogs.org
www.6sbsb.edublogs.org
www.6dbsb.edublogs.org
Specialists
www.pebsb.edublogs.org
www.dramabsb.edublogs.org
www.mflbsb.edublogs.org
www.ealbsb.edublogs.org
www.musicbsb.edublogs.org
Ms. Jennifer Ullman, Year 6 Teacher
How long have you been in Romania?
What did you teach in America?
I’ve lived here in Romania for four months.
However, I have visited many times before and
have seen many of the beautiful attractions
throughout the country.
I worked for nine years in a school district of about
13,000 students, near Columbus, Ohio. I taught
3rd grade (which would be equivalent to Year 4) for
three years and 6th grade science (which would be
equivalent to Year 7) for three years. I also served
as the district science coordinator for three years....
Science is my favorite subject. I also coached cross
country and track.
Do you like Bucharest?
I enjoy living in Bucharest, especially since it’s
very different from where I’ve lived in the past. I’ve
never lived in a city before, so it’s interesting to
experience a new lifestyle. However, it has taken
me a little while to adjust to driving in all of the
traffic.
Jennifer Ullman
Year 6 Teacher
What are your hobbies?
I like to ski, horseback ride, run, and do basically
anything dealing with the outdoors and nature.
How long did you live in America?
What is your favourite animal?
Before now, I have lived my entire life in America.
This is my first time living abroad.
My favourite animal is the Okapi, which is native
only to the Congo.
Where in America did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town outside Cleveland, Ohio.
I lived there until I left for college. My parents still
live there.
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Johann, 6U
7
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Jeans for Genes
On Friday October 3rd it was Jeans for Genes
Day. Jeans for Genes is a fundraiser for children
born with genetic disorders. These disorders
range from minor (cleft lips) to major (sickle
cell anaemia). In the UK every half an hour a
genetically disordered baby is born. To give
a helping hand BSB held Jeans for Genes on
Mures getting down to business;
decorating jeans to help others!
October 3rd 2008, in which each child bought 5
or 10 Ron and wore jeans. In total the school has
raised 3000 Ron. A big thank you goes out to all
the students who participated and to all the staff
members who took their time to organise this
event.
Maria, Year 10
Year 10
Jeans for Gene’s day was great!
It was a sea of jeans!
Although we had to wear our school T-shirts
we still had great fun wearing jeans. Before the
day during our assembly we learned all about
Genes and children with genetic disorders. We
all agreed that we wanted to help out. We all got
into a giving mood by designing and decorating
jeans with our House Teams and Danube were
the winners!
Mena and Calista, 4H
Mures wins the contest
for the most creative jeans!
Primary Student Council
& the new Senior School Student Council
Primary Student Council is a group of students
elected by their classmates who represent the
school as leaders. We had to write and deliver
speeches on why we would be great leaders and
what we will do to try and make BSB a better
place. So far we have discussed some of the
ideas given in the suggestion box.
While we know that ‘No Homework Week’
probably isn’t the greatest idea we had a laugh
anyway. However, we are busy discussing the
next course of action!
The Senior School’s Student Council held their
first meeting on the 24th September, and it looks
like we are going to have an exciting year. We
have got a keen and dynamic team consisting
of Alex, Louisa, Ana Maria, Shani, Maria and
Isabela, ably assisted by Mr Hammacher, Mr Ellis
and Ms Jezeph. The President is Alex, the Vice
President is Louisa and the Secretaries are Shani
and Ana Maria.
This year we will look at lots of things we can do
to improve students’ lives, following on from the
Anna, 4K good work of last year, when we put rubbish bins
around the school, a salad bar in the lunch room
and last but not least, we made lunch breaks
longer!
BSB Primary Student Council with the
Student Council president, Alex
Alex, Year 12, and Mr Bill Ellis
The New Senior School Student Council
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
8
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Westminster Bridge in front of The London Eye. ▼
BSB Students take London by storm
On June 3rd, The annual Secondary School
International Trip got underway. This time
England was the destination. We were
accompanied by Mr. John, Ms. Renaudin,
and Mr. Murchison and had a fabulous
time.
Upon arrival we were whisked off to the
New Forest area where we lodged down
for the next 5 days at the PGL camp in
Shorefield. During our time there we
participated in a plethora of activities,
including abseiling, archery, ball sports,
camp craft, climbing, eco trail, fencing,
orienteering, raft-building, beach walk,
rifle shooting, sensory trail, water sports,
swimming, and a trapeze and ropes course
to name just a few- as you may very well
imagine, it was a very busy 5 days.
After an intense 5 days in Shorefield, it was
finally time for what was the big event for
many of the students-London! The trip was
often confused as, “The London Trip” and I
suppose this is easy enough for anyone to
do considering all the activities and sights
the students experienced in the great city.
First off, we checked into the Elizabeth
Hotel in Eccleston Square: ‘Winston
Churchill, used to live next door to where
we stayed!’ Mihnea Year 9.
While in London it was all a bit of a blur,
as the students moved from one amazing
sight to another, starting with the London
Duck tour. This was a tour of the city on
an amphibious vehicle that was originally
used to land the soldiers on the beaches in
WWII. The tour went all around London and
culminated with us actually driving into the
Thames!
Mr. John then managed to arrange a tour
in “The London Experience”. This was the
latest attraction put on by the “London
Dungeons” group and, in this case,
followed London chronologically from its
beginnings to its contemporary position
as a city the whole world looks up to. Of
course, the tour included all the scary and
gruesome details and was really quite
interesting.
In front on London Bridget, Near The Globe
Immediately following this the students
went to “Grease, The Musical” at the
Piccadilly Theatre. That night everyone was
exhausted and went to bed in ample time
to prepare for the final day-shopping and
the flight home.
‘Shopping should have been one of
the horrific events in the “London
Experience”.’ - Mr. Murchison.
After a long and eventful week everyone
was disappointed to say goodbye to
England, but relieved to return laden
with souvenirs to their waiting families: I
actually missed my brother!
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Louisa, Year 9
9
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A “Sweet” Story
Year 7 winners of Mr Steve
Murchison’s ‘Sweet Story’
competition: Ana, Naomi, Jennéa.
The ‘up and coming stars’ that the
winners chose as their personal
favourites: Bianca (Andreea),
Matthias, and Natalie displaying
their sweets.
In Year 7 English we read Roald Dahl’s
“Boy”. One of our favourite chapters in
the book was “The Bicycle and the Sweet
Shop.” In it, one of Roald Dahl’s friends,
Thwaites, tells the author that he should
never eat Liquorice Bootlaces (a type
of sweet) because his father, who is a
doctor, had told him that they were made
out of rat’s blood.
We then displayed them on the wall. We
collected sweet wrappers and displayed them
as well. For fun, we decided to turn it into a
competition. Mr. Murchison chose six out of
all the stories and some other students chose
the best three. The winners were awarded with
their own ‘sweet’ surprise - a chocolate bar. As
a bonus, the winners got to choose the three
stories that they thought were best. These
students were also awarded prizes of chocolate
bars but they were given to them by the winners.
After reading this story, Mr. Murchison suggested
If you wish to see the stories we wrote, why not
that we write our own ‘sweet’ stories, based on
a sweet that we liked. In our stories we added in visit Crawford House – the ‘Sweet Stories’ will be
there waiting for you to read!
as many disgusting ingredients as we could- it
was fabulous.
Ana and Andreea, Year 7
Science Speak
Alex and Albert checking
Salivary Amylase in different pH
concentrations
Alex and Susana
working on their conclusions
for the Salivary Amylase lab
Hello from the science room. This first half term, one of the
many things the senior students have been working on is
enzyme experiments. Using Salivary Amylase, we have used
the scientific method to determine ideal temperature and
pH levels for amylase to change starch into maltose. We are
concentrating on asking “why” this works, “what” makes it
change, “how” we can do things differently to improve the
experiment, and what are the practical everyday applications of
this knowledge.
“My favorite part of science this year, so
increase our pulse rate then we had to
far, was the first lesson when we used the measure it.
van de graaf.
We then had to get out the pool and run
I liked it because I had to put my hands
up and down the track course twice and
on the metal ball and my hair went static! only in our swimming costumes! That was
okay even though the little kids started
I also liked when we made a circle and
laughing at us.
felt the current going through us. I look
forward to other experiments!”
Nevertheless, we learned a lot about
our own pulse rates, breathing rates and
Bethan, Year 9 about what sort of movement makes them
increase and decrease.”
“My favourite part about science this
year was when we did our swimming
Louisa, Year 9
experiment. We had to go swimming to
Analysing the contents of pizza
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
10
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The Music Department adds a little Rhythm
to Student Life at BSB
The History of the Drum kit
All pupils are taught rhythm. Rhythm is a very
important part of any piece of music. The pupils
are taught about creating rhythm by playing
drums and percussion instruments. They will
find out what a drum is, about the history of
drumming, and the different types of drums that
they can play. Different types of drums are found
around the world.
Mr Des Mulvany leading
a senior school assembly
A drummer keeps the other musicians playing
together and helps make sure that nobody
speeds up or slows down.
Choosing your style
One of the great things about the drums is that
they are relatively easy to learn. With a little
practice you will be able to play a basic beat
within a few hours. Within a few months, you will
be able to play along to your favorite songs
Drums can be played in a wide variety of musical
styles, from classical and jazz, to rock and pop
music. They can be played alongside other
percussion instruments. But first, there are some
basic things that every drummer should know.
The history of drumming
If the human voice is the oldest instrument in
the world, drums are a close second. This is not
surprising when you think that drums are a quite
simple instrument. All you need to make a drum
is a stick and a surface to hit. The oldest drums
found date back over 6,000 years. Drums were
once used to communicate. A person’s voice
does not carry very far, but drums can be heard
for many miles. In certain areas of Africa drums
were worshipped and even given names.
When the Ancient Greeks and Romans arrived in
Africa, they started using African drums to keep
soldiers marching in pace and call out orders.
Mr Des Mulvany
Mr Desmond Mulvany comes from Ireland but
has lived for many years in America. He has been
teaching for 10 years and moved to Romania in
September of 2007. The schools where he has
taught before were all in England and he enjoyed
his teaching experience then a lot because
he says that his was one of the most popular
subjects. He says that he enjoys teaching in BSB
because it’s a nice school in a nice atmosphere
with many lovely students. He thinks there are
many students currently enrolled at BSB with a
lot of musical talent playing a variety of musical
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Many European armies continue this tradition of
using drums when they marched.
The Modern Drum Kit
By the 1920s, musicians began to play more
than one drum at the same time. Once the
drums were arranged properly, bands didn’t
need a group of drummers any more. Bit by bit,
the modern drum kit took shape.
The Electronic drum kit was developed in the
1980 by a company called Simmons but it will
never replace the normal drum kit.
Drum facts: The largest drum kit.
The worlds largest drum kit is played by
Michael Mc Neill from Missouri. His drum kit
consists of 105 pieces: 7 drums, 19 toms, 3
snares, electronic drums.10 percussion drums,
25 cymbals, 16 bells, 20 other percussion
instruments and 1 kitchen sink.
Famous Drummer
Buddy Rich is regarded as the greatest jazz
drummer of all time. His career started at the
age of 3 years and spanned decades. He won
many awards for his drumming despite the fact
he could not read a note of music and he never
received a single drumming lesson. All the
students have drumming lessons in the British
school of Bucharest. The great thing about
drumming is that you don’t even need a drum kit
to get started! Most drummers will tell you that
they always tap on different things. This is, after
all how drumming started many thousands of
years ago. Before long, recognising rhythms will
become a habit. This first exercise will get you
thinking about those rhythms.
Mr Des Mulvany MA, BA hons, PGCE
Head of Music
instruments, and this makes his teaching
experience particularly colourful. He is now also
preparing three students from Year 10, including
myself, for the IGCSE exams.
If you want to learn more about Mr Mulvany
and his colourful musical past, then why not
stop by the music room for a friendly chat. He is
always happy to share a few stories with anyone
passing by- and believe me he does have some
interesting stories!
Edoardo, Year 10
11
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Student in the spotlight
Susana, Year 12
Susana has recently joined Year 12. She comes
from Portugal and can speak Spanish, Greek and
Portuguese. She likes the school and thinks everyone
is very friendly. However, she finds the studying a
bit difficult because she has to do two classes in
one. Her favourite subject is PE. She has probably
developed her passion for sports from her father,
who is a football coach. Susana has two dogs named
Nany and Minie. She likes sunny, warm weather, so
she would like to visit Borabora.
Noor, Year 8
Noor is in Year 8. She has recently moved from
Dubai to Bucharest, but originally she comes from
Pakistan. The thing she likes most about Bucharest
is the weather. The weather is cooler than in Dubai
and has four seasons. Basketball and football are her
favourite sports and her favourite food is French fries
and spaghetti. She has one brother in year 6 and
two sisters in the primary school. Noor has relatives
in Australia, Pakistan, Dubai and Norway. One day
she would like to visit Canada.
Alex, Year 12
Alex is in Year 12. He is the school council president
and one change he would like to make is the colour
of the uniform as he thinks it looks cheeky. He likes
Italian food and listens to rock and house music. He
has 3 dogs and is interested in computers. One of his
dreams is to visit Australia and China. His opinion
about Sushi on Friday is that it’s a very good idea,
however, he would like it if there was a bigger variety
of sushi. Next year he is hoping to go to Switzerland
to study hotel management.
Andreea, Year 7
Andreea is in Year 7 and comes from Romania. She
has moved from a public school to BSB and thinks
our school is very nice. She likes the teachers and
her favourite subjects are art, maths, English and PE.
She is very interested in astrology and likes reading
books about it. In the October holiday she visited
London with her family. The places she would like to
visit most are the Maldives and Canada. Her hobbies
are playing golf and swimming. She has one cat
called Barny. Her favourite TV shows are ‘One tree
hill’ and ‘Dansez pentru tine’.
Ayesha, Year 9
Ayesha Naeem is her 4th year in Romania. She has 2
brothers. Her hobbies are singing, dancing, reading
horror books as well as watching horror movies.
She also likes spending time with her friends and
especially going to parties. She would like to visit
USA and Canada, in particular Toronto. Her favourite
subjects are English, drama and health education
(PSCHE). Her favourite movie is ‘Just my look’ and she
would like to see ‘Wild child’. Ayesha is vegetarian
and would like to change the school lunch. She plays
flute and her favourite colour is baby pink.
Jasmina, Year 9
Jasmina is currently studying in Year 9. She comes
from Austria and has been at our school ever since
Year 1. She likes to talk, write, and dance. She is also
very sporty and enjoys watching comedies. Jasmina
has a younger sister in Year 2. In the October holiday
she went to Austria. She has one cat named Susy.
Her favourite subjects are geography, English, art,
and music- she plays the piano. She would like
to visit England and Holland. If she could change
something about the school uniform it will be the
‘black shoes rule’, so we could wear dark coloured
shoes.
Andreea, Year 10
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
12
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Starting School at BSB
September first was the day school started at
BSB. This was very unusual for me since the
school I went to before, Mark Twain, just up the
road, started two weeks later, on the fifteenth of
September.
I came to the start of school very enthusiastic, but
I was also pretty scared because I didn’t know
anyone there.
Alex, Year 10
On the first day I met some of my new colleagues
at the gate, my new form teacher and as I soon
discovered my English teacher Mr Peet, and then
went into school to meet the rest of the teachers.
The first day at a new school is always a bit weird
because no one knows you, and you really don’t
know anyone else either.
Gradually, however, it gets easier and better as
every day passes as you make new friends and
slowly get used to the new teaching system. Before
coming to this school I had to choose two subjects
for my IGCSE exam at the end of Year 11. In the end,
I chose Business Studies and Music.
Later I found out that everyone in my class chose
Business Studies, probably because everyone
thinks knowing how to create and run a business is
very important these days. Im glad I chose buisness
studies, but I’m also really happy I chose music,
because we have a really cool teacher, Mr Des
Mulvany, who makes school a fun place to be.
All in all, I can honestly say that coming to BSB was
the best choice I could have made.
Alex, Year 10
BSB first ever Healthy Bake Sale
This term Year 4 is presenting the
first ever healthy bake sale! We had
big discussions about what it means
to be healthy and what we should
eat. So we decided to have a healthy
bake sale.
We brought cheese and crackers, fruit on
sticks, salads, olives, muffins with fruit
and lots of other good food. It was a big hit
and mostly everything was eaten. However,
we did notice that the chocolate covered
bananas were the first to go!
Marcel checking out the Healthy options at BSB 1st
ever Healthy Bake Sale
BSB’s 1st ever Healthy Bake sale was tasty and
nutritious.
Year 6 celebrating their Bake Sale
Our bake sale was first one of the year and we had all
sorts of cakes, cupcakes, cookies and much more. Many
sweets went really well and quickly. We ended up with
667 Ron and we all want to spend the money on different
things. I personally think that it was the greatest bake
sale of the year.
Ana, 6D
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
13
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Entrevista con Rocío Martí, profesora de español
English summary of the interview
Miss Martí is telling Susana that she likes Romania and that she worked previously in Madrid and Dublin. She thinks
that her pupils in Primary and in Year 7 have had a head start in Spanish. Learning Spanish is not as easy as it might
seem, but with the necessary effort, they will succeed.
Susana Peseira from Portugal, IGCSE
candidate for Spanish from Year 12,
is interviewing Miss Rocío Martí,
Spanish teacher and SEN coordinator
at BSB.
Susanna: Cuánto tiempo llevas en Rumanía?
Miss Martí: Llevo aquí 3 meses exactos.
Susanna: Te gusta Rumanía, Bucarest?
Miss Martí: Tiene sitios preciosos, aunque otros
no tanto, en general me gusta mucho.
Susanna: Dónde has trabajado antes de este
colegio ?
Miss Martí: He trabajado 4 años en Madrid
en dos colegios Británicos Internacionales,
International School of Madrid y Saint Anne’s
School tanto en Primaria como en Secundaria.
He trabajado también durante un año en Dublín
enseñando español.
Susanna: Tienes muchos alumnos de español en
el Colegio?
Miss Martí: Sí, tengo muchos alumnos en
Primaria aunque sólo a Year 7 en Secundaria,
pero espero que el año que viene haya más.
Susanna: Tienen tus alumnos facilidad para
aprender el español?
Miss Martí: En general todo el mundo piensa
que el español es muy fácil, pero hay que
estudiar. En este colegio los alumnos hablan
más de un idioma, así que estoy sorprendida de
la facilidad con la que aprenden.
Susana, Year 12
Hola a todos! Bienvenidos al club de Español!
Primary school students actively
involved in Various fun language
activities
Spanish is new this year on the primary and
Year 7 curriculum, a welcome addition to the
MFL family of German and French. So far we
have been studying the calendar (days of the
week, months of the year, etc.), numbers,
colours, describing faces, etc. and through the
year we will study animals, celebrations, likes
and dislikes, etc. The Spanish room is in the
Primary Building, we have boards with our work
displayed, please come and see what we have
been doing!
language and so eager to say “iHola!” when they
see me around school.
In this picture you can see Pelin, Thomas, Alex
and Philip playing the Spanish game called
“La Oca” (“The Goose”), Calista and Raluca are
playing “Guess who” in Spanish and Amelia, Seo
Young and Alliss are completing a domino about
colors in Spanish. As you can see all of them
were very focussed!
Ms Rocio Marti, Spanish Teacher
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term at
BSB. Our pupils are so excited to learn a new
Year 4 Art
Lea bravely holding the Preying
Mantis whilst Oscaraims his camera
looking for the perfect shot!
The girls from 4H (Gurbani, Mariana,
Joanna and Julia) are future
photographers!
Tudor and Alessandro working
together to capture the moment in
print for all to see.
For our art lessons this month Year
4 have become photographers. We
learned how to use cameras and
how to set up great shots. We all
brought our cameras from home
and went on a photo expedition. A
girl in our class named Lea found a
huge Preying Mantis, which became
a photo favourite! When we were
finished we copied our pictures onto
the computers and got to investigate
the photo shop tools that let you add
colour, cut and paste other images
and do lots of other things.
Oscar and Stefano, 4H
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
14
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European Day of Languages, 26 September
Celebrating linguistic diversity, plurilingualism and lifelong language learning
Logo of Language Day by the
European Commission
Can you find a better place to celebrate the
European Day of Languages than our school?
With approximately 40 languages spoken by
our students, who come from many different
countries all around the world, this is a truly
international and plurilingual place. Along with
English, everybody speaks or is learning to
speak at least one more language. We provide
French, Spanish and German as Modern Foreign
Languages.
The week leading up to Language Day on
September 26th was marked by activities and
competitions with a language focus in which
both the Primary and Secondary Schools
participated. In our MFL lessons we turned the
focus for a while away from the foreign language
to have a look at each child’s native language.
Grouped by native languages, the children gave
a message in front of the camera in a large
variety of languages including French, Romanian,
Arabic, Turkish, German, Czech, Urdu, Greek, and
of course English. KS2 pupils wrote postcards
to our partner schools from Italy, England,
Austria and Spain. Year 5T for example made
very professional looking postcards with famous
sights from Bucharest and Romania, like the
People’s Palace and Bran Castle. We are looking
forward to the replies we will get and hopefully
we will stay in touch with our penpals from these
European countries.
The second challenge was to create a class
poster with a phrase from every language spoken
by the pupils in that class. Well done to Year 4H
and Year 5B for their brilliant posters!
Pupils were encouraged to think about their
favourite word in any language (preferably their
native language) and write down what it means,
where they have encountered it and what it
reminds them of.
In Secondary School, the house and vice
captains explored the diversity of languages
spoken in Crawford House by interviewing
peers and staff on how to say a phrase of their
choice in a different language. Andreea Prasacu
and Susana Peseiro, the two leaders of Arges,
managed to round up the largest number of
languages, including some as exotic as Swahili.
In the assembly dedicated to this event,
students competed for house points in the Who
Wants to Become a Millionaire Language Special.
Ms Dorothea Draser, German Teacher
Can you guess what some of the favourite words of our pupils in KS2 mean?
Match them up.
Obrigado by Thomas 5T
Chat by Eleanor in 5T
Zealous by Tatum in 6D
Shalom by Daniel in 5T
Vata de zahar by Liria in 5B
•
•
•
•
•
An example question from the European Day of
Languages Quiz in Secondary School
•
•
•
•
•
Hebrew for Hello
Portuguese for Thank you
Candy floss in Romanian
Enthusiastic in English
French for Cat
Solve this puzzle and you could
win a 200 Ron Book Voucher- 2
prizes to be won (Primary and
Secondary School each have
1 voucher). All entries must
be submitted to your class or
form teacher before the end of
5T postcards of Language
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
November. All correct entries
will go into a draw to be drawn
in the last assembly of the year.
Winners will be published in the
next issue of BSB Newsblast.
Postcards of Language
15
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BSB University Course Overview, October 2008
After the long summer holiday it is great to see all our pupils back in school,
refreshed and eager to learn new skills. This year our university courses are even
more varied than before and this has helped to ensure that the majority of pupils
received their first choice of course.
Codes and Code Breaking, Planning a
Dinner party, French, Romanian and
Spanish for Key Stage 1 pupils and Problem
Solving are just some of the learning
opportunities available for our pupils.
Indeed, this edition of Newsblast has
been put together with the help of our
Junior Publishing university course, so
congratulations to all those involved. Our
cookery courses are always very popular
and over-subscribed, but we are fortunate
to have 3 different cookery groups. Special
thanks must go to our parent volunteers
- Mrs Rouf and Mrs Henderson who are
running one of these courses. If you would
like to get involved with our university
program please see our advert in this
newsletter. Finally, one course that I am
particularly excited about is our very own
BSB tv and I am looking forward to it’s
‘launch’. The producers of ‘CNN’ and ‘BBC
World’ better look out!
Mr Iain Davidson, University Course Coordinator
BSB TV: 3… 2… 1… Action!
Do you want to be interviewed by BSB TV? Do you
want to be seen on television? BSB TV is bound to
interview you! This term we have been interviewing
people and editing them on the computers. We had
lots of questions to ask them and it took much time to
load when we put them on the Digital Movie Creator
3! Some of the interviews took more than 3 minutes!
Mr. Kennedy complained that it takes too much time
to load! We had lots of fun putting animation and
editing them! Some people like Mr. Mulvany made us
say the question again and again. I hope I will be able
to do a similar course next term!
We have our French course with Mr Leese once a week
and it is great because we get to use French in the
course. We learn new words and try to speak in French,
which often makes us laugh. My favourite thing in
French University was when I tried the brie cheese.
My favourite thing about French was the numbers and
colouring running games.
Oskar, 2B
Darius, 1J
Alexandra, 5B
French Course
Sarah, 1J
My favourite time in French was the food party.
I liked the pate.
Gardening
In the University Gardening course we are learning all
about plants and how to take care of them. We are
learning how to pot seeds and grow plants and how
to transfer them into the ground and then take care
of them. It is incredible how much you need to know
in order to look after plants properly.
“I like gardening University because we plant flowers.
They are growing a lot!”
◄ Some students in the Gardening Course tending to the gardens
Miruna, 2B
Improvisational drama
I chose Drama for University because I wanted to
learn about theatre and learn new games and have
fun at the same time. I like most the drama games
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
because they are a lot of fun. I am learning special
games of improvisational theatre.
Robert, 5B
16
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BSB Junior Editors University Club
We are the BSB News Blast Junior Publishers.
We write articles for the BSB News Blast. We do
interviews and use cameras to take pictures for the
news paper. First of all, we discuss what we want
to write in the meeting room and then when it’s
approved we go off to the ICT suite. Now we do my
favourite thing, the writing. After that, we help each
other to edit our work. At the end of the university
course Mr.Hamacher gives in our work to Mr. Peet,
the editor of News Blast. If it’s good enough it will go
into the magazine but if it’s not good enough it won’t
make it in and it’s back to the drawing board.
◄ The BSB NewsBlast Junior Editors: Igor, Thomas, Rhea, Mena, Calista and Anna, who was absent.
Monster Storms Course
In our university we are studying monster storms. So
far we’ve studied hurricanes and tornadoes. We’ve
learned that both types of storms need moisture,
warm air, and energy to form. We also learned
that the storms can be different strengths called
categories. Monster storms are very dangerous and
cause destruction.
The Monster Storm Team
◄ Students experimenting with devices to imitate some of the phenomena that occur during storms
The Rowing Course
In rowing we have been learning pace, speed and
rowing technique. We are all aiming to row a total of
just over 11,000 metres which would give us a grand
total of 55,000 metres. There are four people in the
rowing course- me, Johann, Basil and Cinar. We are all
from 6U and are enthusiastic rowers.
Harry, 6U
◄ Cinar showing good rowing technique while Johann and Mr O’Brien help keep the running total of metres rowed.
University Cooking Course
I like this course because we are learning how to
cook. When I grow up I want to learn how to do all
kinds of food. We have cooked cake, pizza, papanasi
and Raffaello. The other reason why I like cooking is
because it is fun and I learn a lot. Also I can teach my
mum how to do all these foods that I did in cooking.
Chira, 4H
World Cup History
I think that football World Cup History is really fun! I
also lean a lot. I think it’s clever because we learn and
have fun! I think everyone likes World Cup History.
In football World Cup History we have been learning
about the first World Cup all the way up to guessing
about the next World Cup in 2010. We have also been
looking at the best goals, saves, star moves etc. I
recommend this to anyone who likes football and
would like to play or lean more football.
Scott, 6U
Codebreakers Alert!
In our Codes and Codebreakers University Course we
have been learning about all the different codes that
people from long ago and today have been using.
There are picture codes and a man called
Giambattista della Porta made up a code of
boxes and dots which we learned. Then we used
Ross, Sarah and Suparnan substitution codes, using a different letter or number
writing codes, Year 5
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for our message. We also
learned about Morse Code and Call Sign Codes and
next week is Braille and Sign Language.
Every week we have to write a message in one of the
codes for someone else to solve. Sometimes it’s hard
to work out. It’s a fun course to do. Everyone should
try it!
Cesar, 6D
17
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BSB Physical Education
On behalf of myself and Mr Anthony O’Brien we would
like to congratulate all our young performers this
term. It has been a great start to the year for the PE
department. Brand new equipment, fresh ideas and
lots of energy and enthusiasm to boot! It is going to
be a superb year for Physical Education with links
Harry 6U, Mohammad,
being made across our school committees and with
Cezar, and Hristos 6D, and
Mr Anthony O’Brien with our neightbouring schools as we speak, dates have
already been chosen for our first matches! Keep on
our gold contenders
the look out for the new PE notice board and for
further details…
Hristos showing us his
super pull shot!
Striking and Fielding with a focus on Cricket has
been our first curriculum area of the year. The good
weather played a part in this choice and the pupils
have worked very hard. Right from the start of the
year some of our KS2 pupils were put through the
Asda Kwik Cricket Awards scheme. These awards are
5T working on their leg kick!
Full stroke in action…
Year 5 and Year 8/9 have been powering up
and down the pool this half term gaining
more confidence in the water and working
on their strokes! Year 10, 11 and 12 having
completed a unit of work on striking and
popular throughout the UK and are a key component
in PE at KS2. There are 3 award categories, Bronze,
Silver and Gold and while Year 3 and Year 4 have
been working towards their Bronze Award the Year 6s
have been tackling the Silver Award, with a selection
of higher achieving pupils being invited to try for the
Gold certificate.
To gain an Award the pupils had to consistently
demonstrate their fielding, bowling and batting skills.
Cricket is a difficult sport to master and both myself
and Mr O’Brien have been very impressed with our
pupils interest as well as the skills on display. Well
done and congratulations to all those who took part
and won certificates and we look forward to seeing
the rest of KS2 out on the cricket pitch later in the
year.
Flavius, Year 11, preparing
Dennis on the counter-attack!
to take a long corner! Sticks
down well done Year 10/11/12!
fielding have moved into their first invasion
game unit of the year Hockey. Basketball
training will also be running at lunchtimes
to get ready for a fixture against ISB soon.
Sports clubs have also begun with vigor.
Key Stage 2 basketballers
The Key Stage 2 basketballers should be
proud of their first term’s work. Learning
new skills and tactics of the game has been
our focus. I am looking forward to gaining
a few more additions to the club next term.
Staff participation
Ms RocioMarti, Ms Dorothea
Draser and Ms Helen Jezeph
deciding who is going to go
first!
Mr Steve Murchison
and Mr Bill Ellis just
about to take flight
Mr Patrick Kennedy, Mr Sonny
Leese and Ms Lyndsey Banks
racing after Mr Alex (4H TA)
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Ms Doina Antohi
making that inch perfect
pass to Mr BillEllis
Ms Antohi Doina again having
an impact on the game with
Ms Marti, Mr Hamacher and
Ms Fisher looking on
18
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In addition as apart of the Healthy Schools
Programme teachers are also encouraged
to keep healthy and increase their level of
physical activity. I invited a “Streetsurfing”
company from right here in Bucharest to bring
some boards for all staff to try at the very
beginning of the year (www.streetsurfing.ro).
Another club for staff is Mr Hamacher’s
Ultimate Frisbee club every Wednesday. The
numbers have been rising and rising each
week with staff so eager to take part since
the beginning of term. “It’s a really fun way
to stay fit and burn off a few calories” quoted
Ms Rocio Marti after her first session.
All in all, a very successful half terms work
with lots more to come. A huge thank you to
all for the support....a waterfall begins with
only one drop of water!
Best Wishes,
Ms Jennifer Kemp and Mr Anthony O’Brien,
BSB Physical Education Department
Personal Health Social Education
with Citizenship / Healthy Schools Committee
Year 9 girls discussing
balanced diets in class.
PHCSE has really taken off this year providing our
pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills
and attitudes to make informed decisions about
their lives. This term Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 have
been working under the umbrella of “Enjoying and
Achieving”. Year 7 and Year 8 have been working
with Miss Fortune on creating positive relationships
and managing their money. Year 9 and 10 have been
looking at healthy lifestyles and linking this to body
image. They are currently carrying out a survey about
secondary pupils food habits and Year 11/12 have
been looking at how economies function, morality
and rights. Lots of discussions and debates and lots
lots more to come.
The PHCSE programme at school is directly linked
with our Healthy Schools Programme and the
committee of Miss Kemp, Mr Hamacher, Miss Beggs
and Mrs Pillay are busy organising future healthy
eating events, communicating with the house
committee about physical activity events and will be
working with the school council on issues such as
bullying to support our pupils emotional health and
well-being!
Gafencu Sports Day
On Friday the 6th of June the Gafencu
site held their Sports Morning at La Club.
The students competed in seven relay
activities and various races. We are proud
to announce that the Mures team won
the most points and achieved first place
with Danube, Arges, and Olt following in
second, third and fourth place.
Congratulations to Harauna, Patrick, Darius
and Lara who placed first in our boys’ and
girls’ races. We were glad to have some
parents attend the event and cheer on our
athletes. A big thank you to Mrs Willemot
for running our rest station.
Patrick (Alexandru in the background)
Maria
Selina and Karl
Mario
Lara, Luca, Patrick and Alexandru taking a break.
Luca, Tudor, Reis, and Darius waiting for their
activity to start
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19
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BSB’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Summer 2008
Shakespeare wrote “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream” for a cast of about 20
people. It is most likely that it never
crossed his mind that it could be
adapted for over 100 little people;
children, that is. And to be honest, it
hadn’t crossed my mind either.
of a girl she was. She was spoiled, innocent,
and always did what she had in mind. At first
I thought about her and read the whole script,
imagined the story, created the effect in my
mind. I would like to say that, if you get excited
before performing, then just count to 10 and take
deep breaths.”
The rehearsals were eventful and there were
times when I was not sure that it would all come
together in the end. The result, however, was
great. The lighting, the costumes, the great
music and the spacious stage of “L.S. Bulandra”
Theatre made all the difference; in the end, the
children had a great time, the parents too, and
all was well that ended well.
“I liked the rehearsals very much. I enjoyed
watching the others. During the night of the
performance, I was afraid our group (The
Apprentices) will forget something and we did.
My name in the play was Starveling and I enjoyed
it very much.”
Polen, Year 7
Matthias, Year 7
Doina Antohi, Drama Teacher, September 2008
Drama Notice
Stage 3 and 4 Drama by Mrs. Fortune.
Clubs running at BSB this term
are: Key Stage 1 and 2 Drama run
by Ms Doina Antohi
Our Christmas production
this year will be a play called
Cinderella and Rockerfella. The
production will involve both Key
Stages 2 and 3.
Here are some thoughts from the students
who took part:
“Since I didn’t have a big part, it seemed like
the rehearsals took forever. The night of the
performance was a bit scary at first, but overall
it was good. I would have liked to have a bigger
speaking part.”
Ana, Year 7
“The rehearsals were fine but got a bit boring
after a while. It was fun to be on stage during
rehearsals. The night of the performance went
very well and was well organised. Even though
we made a few mistakes, I think everyone
enjoyed it. My role in the play was Hypolita the
Duchess who was marrying the Duke. I enjoyed
doing it and found the part interesting. Overall I
thought the play was great and I had a fantastic
time.”
“The rehearsals were fun, because you got to
see everyone else acting. The performance night
was good; I sat near the stage and got to hear
everyone say their part. But someone skipped a
whole scene that night, and I thought that wasn’t
fair. I was one of the narrators, and I had to dress
up as a clown. It was fun being a clown.”
Naomi, Year 7
Natalie, Year 7
“It took some time to put the scenes together
and act it all over again from the top. However we
had a great time talking about our parts. During
the big night, I thought that I was doing the last
rehearsal and there would be no need for panic.
Meanwhile, backstage, all of us were excited,
which made it difficult for us to concentrate. My
role was Hermia. I think it was a really hard role
to perform. It was hard to think about what kind
“I think the rehearsals were really useful. Not
everyone got to do their part in every rehearsal
but it was still a lot of fun. The night of the
performance was nervously awaited by all the
students and staff. I was really excited to be
performing the ‘real thing’ at last. I played Helena
in the production and I thoroughly enjoyed
playing such a wonderful character. I hope this
year’s production is as good as last year’s.”
Jennea, Year 7
Foundation Theatre: The Window Sill
Foundation Stage Pipera worked really hard for
weeks to learn and practice their lines, songs and
actions for their production of ‘The Window Sill’.
Alice (aka Christina) is a little child who is so small
she cannot see over her window sill. She asks her
shadow (aka Smaragda), the grass (Creche), the
animals (Preschool) and the flowers (Reception)
why she cannot grow as fast as they do. By the
end of the production Alice has grown and can
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see over the sill. She is so happy and everybody
sings about how one day they may be bigger than
their audience! Our last rehearsal was incredibly
successful and if you know anything about the
theatre you will know that that is a bad sign!
However, the children performed beautifully on the
day. Well done Foundation Stage Pipera.
Ms Angela Harvey, Head of Foundation
20
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The Drama Department
The Drama department focuses on
creative development of students,
providing the opportunity for different
means of self expression.
the same problem are tried out; all ideas and
approaches are encouraged, thus leaving room
for creativity in problem solving.
As a result, communication reaches its highest
expression, as all children have to interact with
The classes take place in rooms that are different
each other in order to fulfill the given task;
from what the children usually know: the
communication of different types is theorised
furniture is limited to chairs that are not always
and expressed: the children get to analyze and
used. Drama is about large, however intimate
experiment meanings of body language, facial
and comfortable spaces, surrounded by curtains
expressions and tones of voice.
and lightened by spotlights.
The Drama lessons, often linked to literacy and
history themes, are centered on types of games
that develop abilities and skills meant to build
on social and emotional intelligence.
Antoine and Daniel, 4K, developing
conflict in Drama
4 K working as a team in Drama
KS 1 Drama Club performing a
Monster Story
Drama challenges perceptions by getting
children to use their senses differently than they
usually do: recognizing someone by touching
their hair, for example, while blindfolded, is a
kinesthetic experience the children highly enjoy.
Drama activities start out by focusing on
lengthening concentration span, as there are
a lot of games that require prolonged and
sustained attention.
Becoming another happens at a more complex
stage, and teaches self control, discipline,
tolerance, empathy, and understanding
ideas and the way humans interact; ability
to understand others’ motives and choices
Some other activities stress self confidence and
becomes critical. Through acting, children reach
trust as main coordinates of a positive, confident
depth of understanding.
self image; the children are encouraged to stand
in the spotlight and speak and act out in front
All these happen in a safe atmosphere; children
of peers; learning how to confidently speak in
are confronted with different situations without
public, and express and illustrate one self beliefs
experiencing the actual dangers, pitfalls, or
and ideas in front of others becomes essential.
consequences that those situations might imply.
Quite a great number of activities concentrate on
team work and cooperation between members
within the team. Children work together to fulfill
several tasks and they learn to define their role
within a group that has to reach a certain target.
Most Drama activities are team oriented rather
than hierarchical, pointing out the fact that each
member has a highly important role when the
group has to achieve a goal.
Leading abilities are however highly encouraged,
as a team always works best when led by
someone the group trusts. As everyone is
given the opportunity to lead, leading a team is
another skill that Drama develops.
What the team usually works toward is solving
a problem together, in order to ‘save’ all the
members of the group. Several solutions to
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Drama traces the boundaries of a parallel reality
where most socially forbidden gestures are
allowed and encouraged. It is the safe way to
go through situations that would otherwise be
harmful, by getting to analyze consequences
without actually experiencing them. This is where
the educational power of Drama lies.
But the bottom line of it all is that Drama is a lot
of fun; as there is no right or wrong, all ideas,
thoughts, and perspectives upon the world, are
encouraged.
Drama is basically the subject where ‘the world’s
a better place when it’s up side down’.
Ms Doina Antohi
Drama Teacher for Foundation Stages and KS 2
21
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A Day in the Life of a TA…
If you have ever entered the classroom of one
of the Foundation, Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2
classes, then you are likely to have noticed at
least one other adult working there in addition
to the class teacher. These hard working adults
are there to provide additional support for
the children, and at BSB we refer to them as
“Teaching Assistants” (TAs); in this article we are
going to spend a bit of time thinking about the
work of the TAs and the contribution they make
to our school.
to the children read and ensuring that they
regularly have new books to take home.
The TA day begins bright and early. Some start
their day by travelling to school on a school bus
in order to collect the children who travel by bus,
while others travel independently and arrive at
8:00 in order to help get things prepared for the
day ahead.
In addition to all of this, the TA helps to prepare
the classroom by displaying the children’s work,
photocopying activities, and making sure that
the class has all the resources that are needed
for the class lessons.
Once the day begins, the TA spends his (yes we
now have male TAs!) or her day assisting the
class in a variety of ways. This often involves
supporting individuals or small groups in
subjects like numeracy or literacy in order to
help the children further understand the lesson
being taught.
The TA also takes much of the responsibility for
the class’ development in reading by listening
If you were to do a survey of every child in the
school and ask them what their favourite part
of the day is, no doubt many of them would
say playtime. Playtime, though, would not be
possible if there were no adults to supervise
the children, and here again the TAs play a big
part as they regularly go outside to ensure that
playtimes are safe and happy.
Since arriving at BSB over a year ago, I have had
the privilege of overseeing the work of the TAs
and have had the opportunity to observe the
giftedness and commitment of all of them. In
this time I have seen what a vital role they play
in creating a friendly and hardworking classroom
environment and I therefore want to thank them
all for their hard work and for being such great
people to work with.
Mr Jonathan Moore-Crispin
TA co-ordinator & 6U TA
New Primary School Equipment in Use
There are new extraordinary games in
the playgrounds of BSB for KS2. There
are gigantic dominoes for building giant
towers. There is a new game similar to
tennis called Swing ball, where a tennis
ball is attached to a rope that is attached
to a stick and then it’s a battle to see who
can get the ball wrapped around the post.
And finally there is an enormous Snakes
and Ladders board. Instead of figures, you
Sara, Ross and Calin building a Domino Tower;
looks like it needs some support
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Swing Ball is a HIT!
are the figures! However, some children are
missing after playing this game and people
say the snakes ate them!
Igor, 6D
Beware of Snakes
22
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Ks1 Star Of The Week Celebrations
Andrei, 1H
Deniz, 2W
Every Thursday in KS1 each class takes it in
turn to perform class assemblies to celebrate
their work. As well as sharing super work
we also reveal the Stars of the Week. Each
teacher chooses one student from their own
class who deserves special recognition.
This may be for super work or for excellent
behaviour. It is a great honour to be a Star
of the Week as many of the children have
already found out. Charles from 2B said “That
was great, when do I get to do it again?”
Andrei, 1J
Karin, 1J
Bram, 2B
Christina from 1H was thrilled when she was
chosen and said “I bet my brother in Year 3
hasn’t got one of these trophies”.
hallway of our building. Recognition indeed!
Here are some of the Stars of the Week so
far....
During the Stars of the Week ceremony
students are presented with certificates.
They sit at the front of the Hall and wear very
special satin sashes and fabulous hats for
the duration of the assembly. The students
have their pictures taken afterwards and this
then goes onto our Stars display in the main
As well as Star of the Week, we have a Star
of the Month. The winner for September was
Christina from 1H. Congratulations Christina
and you get to keep that fabulous gold
trophy! Well done to all our Stars of the Week.
Ms Lindsey Banks, KS1 Coordinator
Reading at Anthony Frost British Book Shop
This month I was lucky enough to spend my Sunday
lunch time doing one of my all time favourite activities;
reading to children. Each month the shop asks guest
readers to come and read to the children and it was a
real pleasure. They were a great audience and I saw
lots of familiar faces as well as meeting some some new
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
ones. We read my favourite picture book, ‘We’re Going
on a Bear Hunt’ as well as another old faithful, “Flat
Stanley”, and all the children, myself and Mrs Puddy
Wells spent a very pleasant lunch time among some
beautiful books.
Ms Naima Hussain, Head of Primary School
23
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Primary School House Competition
Key Stage 1
Mures
Arges
Olt
Danube
Everything you ever
wanted to know about
the Primary School House
Competition
Q.: What on earth are House teams?
A.: Well, house teams are four groups that divide
the school.
Isabella
KS1 House Captain
Alexander
KS1 House Captain
Erin
KS1 House Captain
Victor
KS1 House Captain
Alexandra
KS1 House Vice Captain
Lena
KS1 House Vice Captain
Noah
KS1 House Vice Captain
Ethan
KS1 House Vice Captain
Key Stage 2
Harry, 6U (House Captain)
Hi my name is Harry and I am house captain for Mures. I am 10 years old. My hobbies are
football, Ps2, golf, rugby, handball and swimming. I have been house captain for a few
weeks now and I hope to lead Mures to the top of the board.
Egor, 6D (Vice House Captain)
My name is Egor and I come from France, I’m ten years old. I am Vice Captain of Mures, I
liked the idea of being Vice Captain before I became one. I like playing on the computer
and playing football. I have a brother and a sister, both in Arges. Now, being a vice
Captain, I am looking forwards to making Mures the best and beating all the houses at all
competitions, especially on Sport day. I hope that all Mures will have fun!
Andrei, 6D (House Captain)
Hi my name is Andrei Atanasiu. I am 10 years old and I am House Capitan of Arges. I have
a bigger brother and sister, my brother is 14 years old and he is house vice captain of
Mures my sister is 25 years old. My hobbies are tennis, karting, football, basket ball, PSP,
and cricket. My favourite subjects are P.E., Maths, and German.
Rhea, 6D (Vice House Captain)
Hi! My name is Aishwarya Asthana and I am Vice Captain of Arges. I am 10 years old and I
come from India. I hope Arges earns lots of house points and wins this year’s best house
team! I will do all my best to be a good Vice Captain!! Go Arges!!!
Fillipo, 6U (House Captain)
Hello, my name is Filippo, I am 10 years old and I am House Captain of Olt. I come from
Italy. To all of you that are in Olt reading this newsletter I encourage you to get the most
house points ever!!!!
Tatum, 6D (Vice House Captain)
Hi, my name is Tatum Rouf. I am 10 years old and Vice-captain of Olt. I come from England
and have a younger sister. I’m going to encourage Olt to earn more house points. I
promise to be a great Vice Captain. GO OLT!!
Antonio, 6D (House Captain)
My name is Antonio Salameh and I am the house captain of Danube and I come from
Syria/Greece I like playing basketball and football I’m 10 ½ and I have 5 dogs and 2
rabbits. I’m also looking forward to beating all the house teams and being the best
house captain of Danube (no offence) but I also like playing with friends and Alex the vice
captain, but I want you guys to have fun!
Alex, 6D (Vice House Captain)
Hi my name is Alex I am 10 years old and I am vice captain of Danube. I come from
Romania, I have a brother and I like Lego. I hope that Danube will win and have a good
time.
Houses
There are four Houses: Olt, Arges, Danube and
Mures. Each house has a house captain and a vice
captain. Each house collects house points and are
trying to win the Behaviour Cup.
House points
All houses try to get house points. You get house
points through good behaviour, (you get smiley
faces for work) the house with the most house
points is named House of the week. A house
captain goes all over the school to collect house
points for all four houses. When this is finished
the house captain counts the house points and
rights the total on the total bar. In the assembly
the teacher reads out the results. The house that
has the highest wins the Behaviour Cup. Winning
the Behaviour Cup means your house wins twenty
five house points.
House Captains & Vice Captains
House Captains are the captains of the house and
there are four in Key Stage 2. The House Captains
lead their houses in the House Competition. If the
House Captains are sick, on holiday, or on a school
trip, the Vice Captains stand in for them. The Vice
Captains have the same “power” as the House
Captains but can only replace the House Captain
when the House Captain is away.
But how do you become a House Captain?
It’s easy, you get elected. In the second week of
school and you need to be in Year 6
Key Stage 2 Captains and Vice-Captains
Students who want to be a house captain have to
write a speech. Then, at the Thursday assembly,
the houses are divided and send to different
classrooms. There, the Year 6 students have the
opportunity to address their house before they
go out to allow the house to vote. The student
with the most votes is named House Captain, the
student with the second highest number of votes
is named Vice Captain.
House Competitions
House competitions are the competitions created
by the house/vice captains. They are three times
a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It works
very easily, two house teams play on Monday
and the other two play on Wednesday. While the
House Captains are playing the other two House
Captains referee. On Monday the 13th of October
the Basketball competitions started. Egor and
the other members of the House leaders plan to
include other sports this year, including a junior
marathon, rugby, snowman creating for winter,
volleyball, field hockey, chess and many more fun
activities!
Igor, 6D
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
24
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House Point Revamp 2008
Since the beginning of term, the
Secondary House Committee has been
busy working on new ideas for the House
Point competition. As you all know,
house points are given by members of
staff in recognition for helping others as
well as competing in house activities and
sports games during the year.
Once a week the house points are
collected and presented in the Assembly
on Tuesday. The house that has the most
points at the end of the week will now
receive a House Cup to indicate they
have the most points for that week.
These scores are then collated at the end
of the term and whichever house has
the most points will have a non-uniform
day. At the end of the summer term, the
house that has the most points overall
will be rewarded with a final treat. Ideas
the committee have at the moment
include a trip out, a barbeque and many
others which are all hush hush at the
moment.
The new committee members are Mr
Pantella, Mr O’Brien and Mr Perrett.
House Point Chart
For September-October 2008
Secondary School
House Competition
Mures
Arges
Olt
Danube
Denis, Year 10
Andreea, Year 10
Nour, Year 12
House Captain
Polen, Year 7
House Captain
Hi, my name is Denis
Zisman and I’m the
House Captain for
Mures this year. I’m 15
years old and I’m in
Year 10 this year. This
is my sixth year at BSB.
I’m a friendly person
who enjoys playing
sports and I believe I
am a person you can
relay on for almost
anything. I like meeting
new people and making
new friends and think
that I am a cool person
to hang around with.
I enjoying going out
on weekends and
partying with friends.
I think BSB in general
is a pleasant place to
study, a place where
people fit in easily and
makes friends quickly
as it is a cosy school.
This year I hope, and
will try my hardest,
to lead my house to
victory in the House
Games Competition. I
will participate as much
as possible and will try
to inspire others to do
likewise. I truly believe
that the house cup this
year will go to Mures!
Hi, my name is Andreea
and I’m the new House
Captain for Arges. I’m 14
years old and currently
in Year 10. I like playing
hockey, swimming,
and drawing. I like all
kinds of music, from
classic to rock, as long
as it is good music. I’m
a friendly, happy, and
a sociable person. I
like being surrounded
by people and having
fun with my friends. I
consider myself a team
player and last year I
found it very interesting
to see what a house
captain does for and
gets from his/her team.
Being a house captain
is a very interesting job
because you have to be
there for your house,
to help them to get as
many points as possible
and maybe win.
Hi, my name is Nour
Chehab and I’m 17 years
old. I’m currently in
Year 12 and have been
at BSB for 4 years now,
of which the last three
years I have been the
house captain for Olt. I
think I’m a very friendly
person and everyone
says I’m really good at
helping people with
personal issues and
giving them advice. I
enjoy going out with
friends on weekends
and having a great time
around people. I like
going to BSB and this
year there’s been great
improvements around
the school and it made
it seems to be more fun
and interesting as well
as better surroundings
in which to learn. This
year I can tell that Olt is
much more enthusiastic
about the competitions
and winning every week
because of the new
changes that happened
this year with the house
awards. I hope this year
we will win because Olt
is known for winning in
past years at BSB.
Hi, my name is Polen
Turkmen and I’m the
new house captain
for Danube this year.
I’m in Year 7 and I am
nearly 12 years old. I
come from Turkey. I
have been in the British
School of Bucharest
(and in Danube) for 7
years. I was a house
captain last year, when
I was in Primary, where
I think we really worked
together as a team,
which is what makes a
team successful in my
opinion. I hope that we
will be successful this
year in collecting house
points and helping
the team to improve
because I really want
Danube to win at least
once in the senior
school. I hope we all
make a great effort each
week.
Tudor, Year 9
Vice House Captain
Susana, Year 12
Vice House Captain
Vanesa, Year 7
Vice House Captain
Maria, Year 10
Vice House Captain
House Captain
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
House Captain
25
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Foundation Stage
Creche Gafencu
Jakub and Anna Sofia are taking
turns choosing different coloured
pegs to put on their boards.
Agata and Jason playing follow the
leader while enjoying the warm
autumn weather.
Over the past few weeks, the
children have been learning
about themselves, their senses,
personal hygiene and their likes
and dislikes. Some have enjoyed
discovering the way things
feel, such as a corn flour and
water mix, shaving foam, jelly,
beans, sand and corn or just
play dough. Others spent time
in our discovery corner exploring
the way cinnamon, nutmeg and
vanilla smell. Some
children had fun learning about
personal hygiene routines at our
crèche beauty salon or at our
doll’s hospital. The ‘patients’
are washed and groomed at our
salon, then sent straight to our
hospital where only the children
know how to administer medicine
and treat our doll patients.
Although all of these sensory
experiences are great fun, the
children all agreed that story time
is their favourite part of our day.
It has been a busy and exciting
first half term in Creche. We have
had great fun this term exploring
our new classroom and garden.
We love our messy area and have
been getting very creative, we
have been painting with brushes,
rollers and our fingers. Outside
we love playing in the little
houses; you will often find us
pretending to have coffee and
cakes. The rocking crocodile
is another favourite activity, in
which we see just how many
children can we fit on him. Most
importantly, we have been
making new friends and gaining
confidence so we are ready for a
busy year in creche.
This half-term in Preschool
students have been learning
about themselves. They have
been working very hard at
recognising their name and the
names of their friends. Students
explored their likes and dislikes,
shared their baby and family
photos, as well as their favourite
toys and favourite thing to do
at school. We talked about our
bodies and what different parts
help us to do. We learned about
our sense of touch and felt
different textures, we used our
eyes to see Autumn changes, we
explored our sense of hearing
by listening to various sounds
and guessing what they were,
we tasted different fruits, and we
smelled different scents. All of
the students are looking forward
to our next unit, ‘Celebrations’.
Pre- School C have been enjoying
their first half term at school. Life
is always busy in our classroom,
but we have also greatly enjoyed
our “adventures” out into the
wider school grounds. Sometimes
we take the bikes and scooters,
we love to drive around the
grounds and we always head for
the round- about. Some of us are
very keen on directing the traffic
and you never see a traffic jam
when we are on duty. Some times
we pop in to visit Mr Mulvany
in the music room, and enjoy
an impromptu concert, or travel
all the way to crèche to visit our
friends there. We are getting very
confident about meeting new
people and every body at school
should watch out as we may be
visiting you soon.
Creche Pipera
Lisa, Victoria and Matthew
reading books
Ayesha, Evelina and Jonty getting
creative with the paints
Pre-school Gafencu
Sasha painting with his eyes
closed. He is imagining the leaves
changing colour and falling while
listening to Vivaldi’s Autumn Allegro.
Benjamin demonstrating how he
can measure his name with a tape
measure.
Pre- School C
Pre school C off for a bike ride, but
we need to make sure no one is left
behind.
Leaf hunting, Vlad helps Lisa fill her
box, but what has Constance found?
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
26
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Pre-school H
We have now completed our first
term in pre-school, and after a
few initial tears all the children
have rapidly developed a sense
of ownership of their work space.
This is most evident when a child
shows with great confidence a
visiting grandparent or parent
around.
Developing independence skills at
snack time.
Investigating the paint tools
In pre-school we have been
encouraging the children to
develop their independence
skills- maybe some of you have
noticed this at home, when, for
example, your child insists on
pouring their own milk or water.
We have also being encouraging
them to take responsibility for
tidying their toys and resources
away when they have finished…
has any one noticed this
happening at home?
Reception Gafencu
Students in the Reception class
at Gafencu will probably say that
their favourite thing to do these
days is to build with the big soft
blocks in the library. They have
made and ridden motorbikes,
built and sailed boats, helped
each other to make the tallest
towers, been extremely respectful
of each others’ constructions,
and then had great fun together
knocking everything down again.
Whilst lots of great learning
has been taking place in the
classroom, the children have
particularly enjoyed learning the
‘Jolly Phonics’ phonemes. This
is a system which uses a story,
and a physical activity to help
children to use many different
sections of their brain to learn
letter sounds. We have cracked
eggs (‘e’), danced with castanets
(‘c’ and ‘k’) and wobbled jelly
(‘j’)- all in the name of good solid
learning.
▲ “J j j j j jelly” say Sai, Smruti, Meea, Luca, Alice, Francesco and David as they make the jelly wobble and learn using Jolly Phonics.
Reception B Visits the Office!
“British School of Bucharest, Isabelle
speaking.”
Reception B decided to pay a
visit to the office to help the
office staff for an afternoon. The
children were kept very busy
answering phones, preparing
mail and working on the
computer. Miss Cristiana said she
was thankful for the help!
Back in class the children have
been busy setting up meetings
and giving out their business
cards. Some of the children have
even started making credit cards
so they can pay for their business
lunches in our ‘Cozy Café’.
Our construction area is a
favourite spot to play in! Over
the past weeks we have enjoyed
using big wooden blocks to build
towers higher than ourselves!
We then toppled them over
and watched the blocks come
crashing down! What great fun!
Other children built a long bridge,
spanning our entire carpet, and
then used cars to drive on it.
Building also helped us with our
social skills, as we got to make
new friends, learn English (for
some of us this is new), share,
and take turns. You will hear lots
of giggle and laughs from our
construction area!
“Hello Ms Deanna, this is Tabi, don’t
forget we have a meeting today at 10
o’clock.”
Reception H Students building big!
Tedy is proud of his very tall tower!
Kristian, Tedy, and Daniel
are working together!
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
27
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Exceptional Student Writing
Using
powerful imagery in a poem:
while
running towards the P.E.
hall. “THE TROPHIES ARE
MISSING!”All year 5 started
running toward the trophy
My brother is a computer.
cupboard. Everyone started
He’s full of useless
running all around the school.
information.
“Stop!” shouted Andrei.
Someone tried to delete
“Look, a… a… a footprint.”
information,
Everyone was staring at
But he got an electric shock,
the footprint for over half
And now he is in hospital.
an hour, thinking: is it a
He’s full of baby games,
teacher’s footprint? It was a
And likes playing them all,
He hates people touching him, beautiful day, I was playing
with my mini monster truck,
Especially when they don’t
when suddenly – BOOOM!!!
wash their hands.
Something landed on our
house. But what - ? I had
Writing an account of an incident
no time to waste. I dashed
in a range of genres:
into the forest, up a tree, to
the top. What happened to
my family? Why didn’t they
“OH MY GOODNESS!” shouted come? What was the thing that
Egor
My Brother
Mystery
, 3L
Amelia
Annie
was a girl who
liked going on adventures.
She was 14 years old and
studied special things she
found on adventures.
landed on our house? All day
long I ate three apples, but
always thinking what was that
thing, it surely wasn’t human…
or was it?
Fear
Fear was walking past a gun
shop. He waited outside the
door, to push someone down
the stairs. He sees a man
through the door window
buying a shotgun. Fear
decides to follow him home.
When the man got home, Fear
was still following him. The
man started to walk up the
stairs when suddenly Fear
pushed him down the stairs.
The man yelled and shot fire
Idan, 6D
bullets
randomly. The fifth bullet hit
Fear in the head. Fear fell
down in agony and died.
Annie on a Treasure Adventure
One day Annie was searching
for something special to study
at her warm house. Soon she
couldn’t find anything so she
thought she could quickly go
home and get a spade and
come back to start digging in
the forest.
Soon she came back with
a spade. Then she found
a perfect spot and started
digging. Soon it was 12 cm
long. She kept on digging.
Soon it was all hard and she
couldn’t dig. She lifted a
Orphan Mill
don’t answer the wake – up
call,” said the maid, and then
she left. Henry was an orphan,
“WAKE UP! NOW!” shrilled
and lived in an orphanage
a high pitched voice. Henry
run by John the boss, who,
groaned, and turned over in
his very broken bed. He wasn’t in the orphans’ opinion, was
the wickedest man on earth.
going to get up. Too comfy.
“Ouch!” Henry suddenly leapt You know why? Because when
visitors weren’t around, the
out of bed (because he’d
orphanage turned into a mine
gotten hit by the saucepan.)
“That’s what you get when you shaft. And guess who did all
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
hard thing that was hard to
carry. Then she saw it was
an enormous treasure box.
Then she couldn’t hold on any
longer and dropped it. Then
she ran home and got a cart
so she could carry the special
treasure home.
When she came back she
couldn’t find the special
treasure, she could only find
the long hole. She was just
about to go to her warm house
when she heard a rustle in the
bushes. Then a man came out
the building, moving
rocks and riding carts through
collapsing tunnels? The
orphans! Henry reached for his
clothes. … All right, rags. He
didn’t know how he was able
to get out of bed, he thought
to himself as he trudged of to
the pet house. I forgot to tell
you earlier that the orphans
were allowed one pet to help
with the treasure box and hid
behind a tree. Then Annie
said “Give me that treasure or
I’ll call the police.” The man
didn’t give it to her. Annie got
so cross.
Annie went to the police and
told him all about the man
and the police went to the
forest. Soon he took the evil
man to jail. Then Annie got the
treasure and a special award,
a medal.
The end.
them do their
job, like a rabbit to dig you
out if you get buried, or a
dog to warn you if a cart was
coming. As for Henry, he had
a jet black (mostly by soot)
horse called Nightmare.
(Horses were used to pull
carts of stones.)
Sarah
, 5T
28
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
I went in a rocket. I fell off the rocket.
I didn’t know where I was. I saw many
bumps on the ground. The ground was
rocky. I saw aliens, I think one billion
aliens. I was impressed when I saw a
man, walking to a castle. I think I was on
a planet very close to the sun. I smelled
good food. The castle was a jail.
P
Eldan, 3
B
Liria, 5
It was pitch
black, and
there she
was,
Becki
Ramstone,
sitting on her bed,
crossed-legged, and as
still as a statue. She couldn’t
sleep. She could hear creaky tiptoes,
slithering like a serpent under her bed.
She could hear the clock, gently going
tick-tock. What if there’s a thief down
there? It couldn’t have been Mum or
Dad, could it? Maybe there’s a thief
down there, and he wants to get
Dad’s expensive TV set. Who knows?
But Becki had a brilliant idea.
She slowly got out of her bed, put
her slippers on, and she slipped on
a black blanket. She could see her
big, tall, black Labrador, sleeping all
over the floor. The dog’s name was
Alexandra, but Becki called her Alex
for short.
Becki kept walking. The creaking
footsteps stood still, and so did
Becki. She looked around: nothing
3P
Clara,
but dead silence. She ran back to
her room, but just as she reached
the door, a massive hand pulled
her back, and escaped through
the chimney.
Becki didn’t move in the tall
figure’s hand. She just let it
happen. The thing ran, and then,
slowly, she could see the thing
lifting itself with its great wings.
Yes, they were floating in the mid
air.
When they landed, it landed with
a great thump. Believe me, it was
a massive figure, but it looked like
a flying serpent to Becki. It walked
into its cage. He put Becki on a
table. “What are you?” “A human”,
answered Becki. The thing laughed.
“What are you?” asked Becki. The
thing howled with anger, showing
his great big white teeth. “I am a
dragon”, he answered. “And your
name?” “Rex”, replied the dragon.
“Why did you take me away?” “I need
a friend to play with”, he answered.
“but why don’t you play with all of
those other dragons?” “Because they
are always eating humans and being
mean.” “Well, now you have me, what
are you going to do?”
My teacher dropped us in a
strange place. I can see red
trees and pink birds. The floor
is red and I see one person
only. He has strange ears.
Everything is red and so is
the person. I move a little
forward and I see a sign. It
says Mini Mountain, turn
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
I saw everyone was
small and I was a giant.
There were small houses
and so many people around
me, like one million. They
wore red dresses and had
swords and they wanted
to take me somewhere.
They took me to a lake
that was very deep and
threw me in it. It was so
big that I reached the
Elad, 3
P
bottom. There were
sharks, crabs, and big
fish. I heard a big noise. It was a
submarine and it took me on it’s back. It smelt
very good like pizza. Some sharks and crabs came.
They were so scary.
Year 4K Class Poem
Strange Setting
left. I turned left and walked
for two hours. I saw another
sign with lights. I smell mashed
potatoes. I see a little man.
He takes me to the swimming
pool. I jumped in it and my
teacher made me come back.
I want to be a Superstar
I want to explore the world
I want to be the smartest girl
I want to do a ballerina twirl
I want to be a famous earl
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a superstar
I want to live near the seashore
I want to ride a dinosaur
Yee Haa
I want to be kind for evermore
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a dog with fur
I like it when a cat goes purr.
I want to be addressed as Sir
- Yes Sir
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a super cool surfer
I want to be a scuba diver
I want to have my own pet tiger
I want to be a lion tamer
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a superstar
I want to fly to outer space
I want to win an Olympic race
I want to be a knight with a mace
I want to be a flying ace
I want to be a superstar
I want to be a superstar
29
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Year 1H
From All Over the World
1H group photos
1H Self-portraits
The children in Year 1 H are from
all over the world. Between
us we represent 11 different
countries! We have much
enjoyed learning about these
countries, finding out about
the ways we are similar, as well
as learning about the things
we do differently in our native
cultures.
We have also been thinking
about our lives in Bucharest the things we like to do and the
places we like to go.
what they mean to us. We
also enjoyed painting self
portraits that we displayed in
class - we looked closely to our
features and to how they are
different and represented them
on paper. In science, we have
been measuring our hands to
see how many cubes we can
carry. We have investigated in
order to see if there is a link
between size and our capacity
to hold larger amounts. We
used different strategies to
pile up, layer the cubes, so
that sometimes smaller hands
could carry more. We worked
together on a storyboard of
“Where the Wild Things Are”.
We discussed and wrote about
our favourite ways to enjoy
stories, based on the book
“Amazing Grace”: some of us
like to dress up, act stories out,
become characters, listen in
bed, use puppets or dolls etc.
It has been a very exciting start
to our year together!
Mr Stuart Harrison, Class Teacher
Year 1J
Show and Tell, Stories, and Self Portraits
1J at work on their self-portraits
The children in Year 1 J have
enjoyed participating in an
assembly based on “Show and
1J students enjoying a story
tell”; we shared information
about favourite things and
toys – how we got them, and
Ms Helen Jezeph, Class Teacher
Year 2B
Miss Banks and Miss Livia
welcomed the new 2B at the
beginning of term.
this month to KS1 and some
of the classes in KS2. It was a
great success and the children
made up their own dance
We are now working together as routine. All good practice for
a team and the children know
when it’s a parent assembly
the routines of 2B. What a finely and you all get to come in and
tuned working team we are!!
see us!
2B students in there new class
We have been learning the
times tables in Maths. In
Literacy we’ve been exploring
Traditional Stories. We
performed a class assembly
In Science, we have been
investigating Materials and
their Properties - looking at a
range of different natural and
not-natural materials. We have
The children in Year 2 W have
been having a lot of fun in
Science.
of our Science Materials topic.
We designed an experiment to
show us which methods cause
ice to melt the fastest.
We have also observed boiling
water changing into steam and
experimented with popcorn to
see how it changes before and
after applying heat.
Thank you once again for all
your support - particularly with
the wonderful artefacts you all
provided for our Topic subject,
it was super.
Ms Lyndsey Banks
Key Stage 1 Coordinator
Year 2W
We have been learning about
the properties of water as part
then back again to liquid when
it cools.
Mr Mark Williams,
Class Teacher
A sample of 2W student work
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
30
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Years 3L & 3P
Roman Day
Roman day was on the 8th October and we
dressed up as Roman and Celts. We started
Roman day by remembering what we have learnt
about the Romans. We had a lot of fun
on the Roman day.
First we did some Roman literacy. In Roman
literacy we read a story called ‘Escape from
Pompeii’. Then we did some Roman Maths.
In the afternoon we had a feast of Roman food.
We had pancakes with honey, oranges, apples,
grapes, marzipan, olives and Glorious Gladiator
Cake. It was very tasty. After the feast we made
mosaics and some children had a gladiator fight!
Here is what some of us thought about the day:
To see more pictures of our Roman
day please have a look at one of our
blogs:
www.3lbsb.edublogs.org,
www.3pbsb.edublogs.org
‘I liked dressing up and making the helmets
because we used many colours like blue, purple
and orange. The colours were very light and
good. We dressed up like Romans. I couldn’t
believe it. I loved the Roman Day because I
looked like a real Roman.’ (Anda Voicu)
‘I enjoyed the Maths because I liked learning the
letters.’ (Ioana Roibu)
‘The Feast was very good and so much! I had a
good time.’ (Engin Berberoglu)
‘I liked making the beautiful mosaics because
I liked the things we did in teams.’ (Amelia
Spackman)
‘In the Roman day I liked making mosaics and
fighting with swords because we were in teams.’
(Philip Gogos)
‘We made some spectacular Mosaic. My group
made a flower pot mosaic. Other groups made
different types of mosaic. We used confetti for
tiles.’ (Bridget Calthrop)
Year 3
Year 4H
Science: Habitats
Mena and Mariana searching for
mini-beast in a flower garden habitat.
Searching for mini-beasts and
noticing the apples, which are all
part of the food chain in this habitat.
In year 4 we have been studying
animal and plant habitats. We
learned that a habitat is a place
that provides food and shelter
for both plants and animals. For
example we investigated the
plants and animals living in sea
grass beds, tropical rainforests,
woodlands and many others.
We also discovered that there
are habits all around us at the
BSB, so we went outside and
had a look. We found minibeast habitats everywhere
under rocks, on leaves, in
bushes and up trees.
Tudor, 4H
Year 4K
Enthusiastic entomologists examine BSB
Up close and personal.
Daniel pauses to record what he has
found
Year 4’s Science unit has seen the children
carefully consider their surroundings.
While learning about habitats, the children
took some time to explore and find out
Tasos has an eye for detail.
about different habitants that share our
wonderful garden areas. They found a
huge range of insects and mini-beasts and
they carefully recorded the results. It was
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Elena and Clotilde contemplate a
bugs life.
fun to record the facts and to look closely
at the details of the tiny creatures while
contemplating the way they behave.
31
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Year 5B
Ancient Greek Pots
Dilara and Maria making their
containers
In our History lessons, we have
been learning about the Ancient
Greeks and their pottery and
we decided to make our own.
We used clay and Ms Barclay
showed us how to make pots
from coils or pinch pots or slab
pots. Then we spent the lesson
making our own designs.
The clay felt quite squidgy and
soft and it was fun to get a bit
dirty. The best thing about
making the pots was to discover
stethoscope and how to use
a pulse meter. After that, we
used stethoscopes and pulse
Suparnan and Finn meters to listen to each others’
heartbeats and count the
Doctor in the House!
pulses while resting and then
after a little bit of exercise. We
In our Science Lesson, Ms
saw that there were changes.
Barclay dressed as a doctor.
My partner was Joo-Yun. I
She wore a coat from the
couldn’t find her heartbeat and
Science Lab and tied up her
we joked that maybe she wasn’t
hair. Liria was the patient and
alive! It was a really fun lesson!
Ms Barclay showed us how
to find her heartbeat using a
Alexandra, 5B
how the clay worked and what
we could do with it.
Year 5T
Learning about the human body
In Science this term we have
been looking up how to keep
healthy. We have learned about
diet, our heart and things that
affect our body. We listened
to our heartbeats using a
stethoscope and learned how
to take our pulse rate.
Raphaela Werner listens to Bianca
Lucini’s heartbeat as Miss Catalina
looks on.
Year 5T takes its pulse after running
on the spot for 1 minute.
Year 6U
Welcome to 6U, which is
located on the first floor of
the primary building. Our
teacher is Miss Ullman and our
assistant is Mr. Jonathan. We
are a unique class. In our class
of fourteen students, thirteen
languages are spoken. Also,
5T Students
Year 6D
Diversity in 6U
A class of many nationalities bridged
through one language - English.
We investigated what effect
exercising has on our heart rate.
Firstly, we took our resting pulse
rate, and then we exercised
for one minute. Immediately
after we took our pulse to see
how it had been affected by the
exercise. Afterwards we took
our pulse every two minutes to
see how long it would take to
return to normal. Later in class
we graphed our pulse rates
changed.
Literary Genres
out of the fourteen students,
only two of us are actually
British. Some of the languages
spoken are Turkish, Arabic,
Serbian, Russian, Hungarian,
Urdu, French, Italian,
Romanian, and of course
English! We have written our
class guidelines so that all of
the languages are recognized
and appreciated, but here at
school we speak in English. 6U
is also a unique class because
six out of the fourteen students
are new to the school this year,
so we have been spending the
first few weeks getting to know
each other. Welcome to BSB!
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
Tatum and Casey (Year 6D)
performing their presentation of
literary genres
Year 6 D has been learning
about different literary genres
and the way they are employed
in literary works in order to
convey certain meanings.
While most of the class chose
to display their work as a
Basil, 6U poster, two students, Casey
Whelan and Tatum Rouf, chose
role-play to illustrate their
work; in this, Casey interviews
a well known author - who
highlights the different types of
genres and what each features
specifically.
The students were then read
the opening of a story (mystery
genre) which ended with: “It
has been ten days since this
began. Ten days of hell.” After
that, students had to write what
had happened in those 10 days,
as a flashback, continuing the
story, but not in the “right”
order.
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Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
What is CPD?
And why is it important?
CPD is an acronym for Continuing Professional
Development. It is an integral part of any school
program and forms a core basis of the BSB
Development Plan. This summer, several of our
teachers headed off to England to participate in
a variety of training courses. Following is a brief
report about three of the teachers.
A Visit to Woodhouse Primary
School, England
Last year we were visited by the Head and
Deputy Head of a leading primary school in the
UK called Woodhouse. They spent two days with
the staff of BSB working on assessment practices
and how to raise achievement by setting targets.
The work was very worthwhile and all parties
gained a lot.
This summer I visited Woodhouse School
myself for two days to work with their Senior
Management Team on assessment, target setting
and effective use of ICT. This was a wonderful
visit for me as I got to meet the students and
staff and share knowledge and experience with
another school who are working with very similar
students to those of BSB. We have also initiated
greater links between the two schools and are
starting learning projects between the students
at BSB and Woodhouse.
EDA Course in Headship Skills,
Cambridge, UK
During July I attended a course with the
Education Development Association in
Cambridge. On my course were Heads and
Deputy Heads from independent schools from
locations as diverse as Bermuda, Luxemburg
and Kenya. This was a wonderful opportunity
to share good practice and learn new skills with
many professionals in the field of education.
During this 5 day course our group of 12
delegates discussed a wide range of issues
connected to managing international schools
and we all learned a lot from each other.
Our course leader Polly Patrick was a very
experienced Head teacher from the UK and she
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
provided us with a wide variety of advice and
training directly from the UK government. For me
this was a very valuable experience and I gained
a lot of useful knowledge and contacts with
people in a similar position to myself.
Ms Naima Hussain, Head of Primary
Key Stage
Management Training
In the Summer I attended a week long residential
course at Cambridge University. Throughout the
week Ms Lindsey Banks and I attended seminars
and tutorial sessions covering a variety of topics
relating to our new appointments as Key Stage
Coordinators.
The course was very interesting, providing us
with some excellent background information
about our new positions. We covered a variety
of subjects, including how to be an effective
manager, how to carry out an observation and to
co-coordinate staff effectively.
The course was run by a current head teacher
from London and drew on the expertise of
other head teachers also. There were 24 other
teachers from various international schools also
attending.
By the end of the course I think we had all gained
a real insight into the new roles that awaited us;
the course also gave us an important opportunity
to discuss with other teachers issues relating to
teaching in general and international schools. It
certainly was a very busy week, but also a very
satisfying week, and one we were very happy to
have had the opportunity to be apart of.
Mr Patrick Kennedy, Key Stage 2 Coordinator
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Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
The Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
On September 25th we were present at an MDG
meeting to discuss MDGs, which are for PEOPLE like
you am me. MDGs are guidelines to improve life by
preserving humanity, by eradicating preventable
diseases, by providing opportunities for those
that don’t have it, and by trying to form coalitions
dedicated to strengthening human relations,
equality and democracy.
The MDGs provide concrete markers and goals
for improvement. As each goal becomes closer to
being met, momentum builds and more people are
able to help in some way. More people are aware
of how to help; thus, they help themselves, others
and humanity through small personal steps.
These personal steps in turn become local goals,
local goals develop into national goals, and and
national goals spread into international awareness.
Awareness of these MDGs is integral to the success
that humanity desperately needs. Education is
needed and helping humanity by addressing the
MDGs step by step, person to person, community
to community, nation to nation and eventually
globally will render humans triumphant over our
current woes.
The UN, Britain and Romania have been making
asserted efforts to achieve these goals by 2015. We
have 7.5 years left to do our part in reaching these
targets. What role do you play in making these
goals a reality? Go to: http://www.undp.org/mdg/
to find out more about the MDGs and, what YOU
can do to help HUMANITY.
There are eight goals in total. Some of the main
goals include making sure every child gets an
education, decreasing the child mortality rate,
fighting for woman’s equality, and combating HIV
and AIDS.
Louisa, Year 9
My Day at the MDG Conference
The meeting started at 10 am. Some people present
were: students, the British ambassador Mr. Robin
Barnett, UNDP representative Mr. Jan Sorensen,
people who are part of non-governmental societies
which help these goals come true, people that did
some work with the eight goals and other people
that had something to say about this situation.
Alexandra and Louisa with Mr Robin
Barnett HM Ambassador to Romania
First we were all introduced to the eight goals and
Mr. Barnett gave a small speech in Romanian,
which was very impressive. This lasted around 20
minutes. Then we were given a puzzle which we
had to do in 10 minutes, a task in which we failed.
This was followed by the most interesting part of
the workshop. It was a debate. People gave their
opinion about the eight goals. The people that
did some work on the subject had the opportunity
of talking about it. The debate lasted around 40
minutes.
During the debate the goals that were most talked
about were education, maternal health and
reducing child mortality rate. The debate at one
point derived from Romania and went on to the
problems in Africa. It was more like a comparison
between Africa, Romania and the whole world. They
all agreed that Romania isn’t such a poor country
after all and that it has a very strong educational
system.
At the end Mr. Murchison finally got the chance to
talk and said that for these goals to be achieved
everyone should be aware of the problems. After
the debate prizes were awarded for the people who
worked towards the eight goals. The winner came
from Iasi and he came up with the idea of making
people aware of problems by using mobile phones.
At the end we were all invited to have something
to drink and eat some cookies. We talked to the
British ambassador and people that were present.
After that was done all three of us went to finish
the puzzle, as leaving it undone might be a bad
omen. We then got the chance to see the British
Council library. It is more towards high school and
university. It has a great deal on business. However
it also contains DVD’s, magazines, some history
books, teacher English books and has a small
section on fiction books. That was the end of our
visit at the British Council. Afterwards we went and
ate and talked about what we have learned. Then
we got picked up and the day ended.
For me this visit was very interesting. I learned a
lot of new things and I was introduced to these
eight goals. Personally I think that 2015 is too soon,
however these goals can be achieved. With time,
patience and the involvement of everyone these
goals will be eventually achieved.
Alexandra, Year 10
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
34
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro
Adult Classes underway
In response to a high level of parent interest, a
range of Adult classes are now being offered at
BSB. Classes on offer in the term ahead include:
Mr Ellis teaching
the Advanced Adult English class
on Tuesday, from 2.10-3pm
Art
Following on from last years success, the Art
Department is offering a new course in Art and
Design, exploring painting and drawing through
a variety of materials and based on the topic Still
Life.
· Thursday: - 9.00 am-11.30am (Coffee break 10.00-10.30)
- 12.00 am-3.00am (Coffee break 1.30-2.00)
· 12 places available
· 700 lei per term (including all materials)
For further information contact Barbara Lavery
[email protected]
Romanian for Beginners
By the end of the course you will be able to:
Adult Art classes run
Thursday, 9.30-11.30am
or 12.00-3.00pm
• Understand basic Romanian words and
phrases
• Speak in simple phrases and have basic
conversations in Romanian
• Have some knowledge about Romania and its
history and culture
· Starting Monday, 13.45-14.45 pm
· 12 places available
· Classes will be 6 euro per session
For further information contact Mrs Ana Maria
Marin [email protected]
English classes
English classes are offered at 4 levels:
• Beginner
• Pre-intermediate
• Intermediate
• Upper intermediate/Advanced
· Each level will have 1 lesson per week: please contact
the office for dates
· 12 places available per level
· Cost: 8 euro per session
For further information contact Mr Kendall Peet
[email protected]
Pilates fitness classes
A system of exercises using special apparatus,
designed to improve physical strength, flexibility,
and posture, and enhance mental awareness.
· Teacher: Mr. Atanasiu
· Contact the office for details.
· Cost: 33 Ron per class
If you would like to attend any of these courses
in the following term, please contact the office
by phone 021 2678919 or email (office@
britishschool.ro), and they will be able to
confirm your place and give you further detailsplease note that spaces are strictly limited, so
enroll early to avoid disappointment. These
classes are open to friends in the community,
if you wish to be accompanied by someone
who is not a British School parent. There are
plans to extend adult classes to include foreign
languages and a variety of other courses.
Bucharest International Schools’ Forum
International school principals meeting to discuss key issues
The British School of Bucharest Magazine
At the invite of the new AISB Director David Ottaviano,
Bucharest’s international Heads of School met last
month to discuss the possibility of coming together
for various events. Sports events were highlighted as
a priority, but it was also discussed that various Arts
and Drama opportunities would be good occasions to
come together. To seize the opportunity to start fixtures
for our students Ms Kemp, Head of our PE Department
has already set up a meeting for all of Bucharest’s
international schools’ PE teachers and hopefully this will
be the beginning of many productive links.
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A beautiful campus, fantastic facilities, an unforgettable education.