BSB.CONNECTFriday 6th December 2013ISSUE 12www.britishschool.org.cn

Celebrating our students and our school values

BELIEVE

DEAR PARENTS AND STUDENTS,

As a Malaysian student with minimal international experience, BSB has managed to give me an excellent international

surrounding to my pre-university education.

In what seemed to be a rather short 2 and half years at BSB to me, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to

participate in many activities such as Model UN and residential trips which I reminisce quite fondly of. This allowed me

to expand my social network beyond BSB and travel to amazing places which I had barely knew of before.

Not only that, the staff were extremely helpful and even more could be said about my teachers, who in my mind were

much rather like friends whom I was able to discuss my academia with. This is further compounded by the quality of

teachers which gave me the chance to learn more than what was prescribed in the syllabus of the subjects I chose.

Therefore, a helpful word of advice to those who are wanting to come to BSB or those who are already there, don’t be

afraid to ask for help in your studies as the teachers are more than happy to help you out. Not only that, take every

opportunity present to you at BSB to improve yourself.

Last but not least, take advantage of the diversity which is present among students at BSB and also of the amazing

social life BSB and Beijing in general has to offer you.

All in all, BSB was a vital stepping stone in my completion of my A-levels and in helping me to get into one of the top

business schools in the world, Copenhagen Business School to study International Business and Politics.

J S Jashdave Singh.

From the PrincipaL Dear Parents,

As we draw towards the end of term, my first at BSB, it is hard to find words to sum up what I feel about our amazing school already.

Our mission is to create great learning, and to enable our students to fulfil the huge potential I see in them with every encounter. We therefore chose to focus this particular newsletter on student achievement in its many forms, in every facet of school life.

I actually cannot find better words to sum this up than Jashdave Singh’s on the front cover.

Students in this, their school, achieve wonderful things every single day; it is my privilege to share in their achievements, and our privilege to share a flavour of them with you now. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

With very best wishes, Andy Puttock

Our Principal Andy Puttock

PLATINUM HOUSE POINTS..…

Every Monday, primary school’s Celebration Assembly acknowledges students who are working to be the best they can be inside and outside of school.

Pictured here are the students who received Platinum House Point Certificates this term – that’s more than 200 house points earned for upholding the behaviour and social graces standards we value in our school.

From left to right are (back row) Lucy Carroll, Jenny Fu, Julius Ceelen, Lauriina Pitkanen, (middle row) Lucy Bang, Justus Ceelen, Robert Riedl, Joel Nestler, Mandi Pisila, (front row sitting) Vivian Mull, Clara Spinner and Noa Schwarz.

BSB community NewsCharity Recipients announced

After the fantastic success of the German Christmas Market, Tree Lighting and Christmas Fayre on the 23rd November, our Events team, in discussion with the Parents’ Association has announced the charity recipients of the money raised at the event.

SmileAngel Foundation and Unicef ’s Phillipines Disaster Fund will each receive a 17,500 RMB donation from our school following the joint fundraising efforts from the PA, our school and the many vendors who supported our event.

“Thank you to everyone who attended our celebration of the Christmas season,” our events manager, Mrs Eli Puttock, said. “It really showcased our wonderful BSB generosity and spirit and we are proud to support these vital charities that are focused on helping disadvantaged children in China and The Phillipines.”

SmileAngel Foundation was established in 2006 to improve the mental and physical well-being of Chinese children born with birth defects through its programmes in healthcare, art and public education. Beijing’s SmileAngel Children’s Hospital was launched in 2012 as a major step forward in the Foundation’s charitable mission.www.smileangelfoundation.org/en

Unicef ’s response to the Typhoon Haiyan disaster in The Phillipines has been to raise money to support the millions of children affected by this terrible event, through its campaign “There for The Phillipines”. If you are a user of Twitter, go to www.thereforthephillipines.org and tweet a message of support from yourself and BSB.

The Chatter in Chatterbox

Chatterbox Cafe is supporting our school’s sponsorship of the Beijing Playhouse’s production of The Wizard of Oz at BSB by opening the Cafe during performance times.

Volunteer parents will be working behind the counter to provide food and drinks to the patrons at the start of the performance and during the interval. To avoid queues, drinks, including wine and beer, and snacks (Mrs Field’s cookies) can also be pre-ordered at the start, packaged and ready for intermission.

Tickets are still available at Chatterbox for performances on

Saturday, 7th December at 2pmSunday, 8th December at 2pmMonday 9th December at 7.30pm

Tickets are 260 RMB. Buy one adult ticket, get a child’s ticket for free.

Next Parents’ Association Meeting

The next PA meeting will be held on Monday 20th January in the Boardroom (2nd floor). All welcome.

Talk About....

An initiative of our Secondary School Counsellor, Naomi Taylor, “Talk About” is an opportunity for secondary school parents to get together once a month to talk about parenting teenagers and explore current issues.

When: The first school Monday of each month (next one will be Monday 6th January), starting at 1.30pm in the 1st floor meeting room, C110.

For further information, please email naomi.taylor@britishschool.org.cn

santa’s secret shoppe!The Foyer has been a busy place all week as students, teachers and parents do a little bit of shopping at Santa’s Secret Shoppe!

This is a big annual fundraising event for the Parents’ Association and volunteer coordinator of this year’s Shoppe, Johan Melander, said it’s the best event of the year because of the excitement it brings to the children.

“Children get to select out gifts for their Mum and Dad and have them wrapped ready for Christmas. The parent volunteers are actively helping the younger ones do the Maths when making their purchases, which makes it a learning exercise as well. It’s been a great week.”

The PA will use the money raised to support other school activities throughout the year.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT

SCHOOL NURSE

Applications are invited for a part time expatriate school nurse to help care for our school community with a starting date of January 2014. Applicants wishing to apply should be a native English speaker or have an excellent command of both spoken and written English, have a nursing degree, up-to-date nursing registration, an enthusiasm for working with young children and be highly organised and self-motivated.

Applications (CV and cover letter with 2 references) and/or requests for further information should be submitted to the Principal, Andy Puttock – andy.puttock@britishschool.org.cn

From the Head of Primary Dear Parents,

This week has been a week of reflection for myself and the leadership team.

We have been looking closely at our academic attainment from our term one assessment data and setting targets for the year. Having exceeded UK standards by a considerable margin last year we are pushing for even greater attainment this year and raising the bar for ourselves to really challenge all the learners at BSB.

We have been involved with pupil progress meetings all week which are designed to closely analyse the performance of each individual in the school and create individual learning plans that ensure the children are pushed and supported in every area of the curriculum.

The result of these meetings is an air of excitement in the leadership office with the prospect of how highly the children could achieve this year. We have set our targets for the year and now have the job of ensuring we meet these with regular scrutiny and intervention. Combined with the use of High Performance Learning we are positive we will challenge and extend all the children this year and achieve even higher academic standards.

I look forward to sharing our overall attainment with you at the end of the school year.

As always, have a great weekend,

Christian

PRIMARY

HOW TO SOLVE A PROBLEMYear 5 students Min Joo Kim and Julie Kim know the meaning of being proactive.

These girls took a positive approach when they came across a problem that was effecting themselves and others around them.

After observing some silly behaviour on their bus, the girls decided to talk to Deputy Head of Primary Ms Lebihan. However, rather than coming to complain, they came with an idea of what to do about it.

Min Joo (pictured left) and Julie (right) worked together to design bright and eye catching posters to remind all of us about the good behaviour and respect for others we value at our school.

The posters can now be seen around school. Well done on your pragmatic approach, girls!

UP FOR THE CHALLENGEEvery Sunday morning since October 2011, Year 6 student Andrew Ocampochua meets with his fellow Scouits from the 1st Beijing Scout Group.

Recently Andrew (pictured right) was the first Scout in the Troop to be awarded the Chief Scouts Silver Award, having completed all six challenge badges to earn it. Andrew also has an arm full of other badges, as evidence of his hard work and commitment to the Scouts. His achievements will be publicised in the global British Scouts Overseas magazine.

Well done Andrew, BSB is extremely proud of you and your Scouting endeavours.

Pictured (left) are children in Nursery who have been learning the “golden rules” in term one, including taking turns when speaking, as you can see here. Reception students (pictured right) have made fantastic progress in reading and writing.

foundation stage - amazing achievements in term oneReceptionIt is amazing to see how much the children have grown since they began in Reception class in August. As the term comes to a close all teachers and teaching staff are so very proud of how much each child has achieved this term. We are particularly proud when we consider how good the children are at recognising the sounds needed for reading and writing.

This term many children have started to take home reading books too, and even more have started to make marks, write letters and cards and just scribe around the classroom in free play. Reception team feel that much of the children’s achievements are due to parental support and cooperation. Well done!

TeddiesWe are very proud of everything our Teddies children have achieved this term. Every single child in the class has made progress and reached milestones that are personal to them. We have particularly encouraged children to develop their independence skills. They are all able to wash their hands using soap and water and many of them are learning to change their shoes all by themselves. Some children are even learning to plan and select the resources they need for different activities.

Its always a pleasure to work with our young learners and its very rewarding to see their personalities and unique characters emerging!

NurseryIn Nursery this term there have been many achievements. If we look back to the beginning of the year we can remember the tears and anxious faces. Now the children arrive at school with big smiles on their faces. They follow the class routines and are very good at listening and following instructions.

The children who spoke only their home language can now communicate with their friends using the common language ‘English’. There is a lot of excited chatter as children are playing with each other, using the phrases of the week to express themselves when they would like to have a turn, ‘Please can I have a turn?’ or if something is upsetting them, ‘Stop I don’t like it’ they might say.

One of our greatest achievements this term is how the children are able to follow our ‘golden rules’. They are kind, they use their gentle hands, walking feet, listening ears and quiet voices. We are very proud of their achievements this term and are looking forward to the new term when we will see many more.

PRIMARY

year two believe and achieveTo achieve great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France

Year 2 have certainly done all of that this term!

Dreaming is using our imagination, believing in ourselves that we can improve, planning has been our drafting and redrafting and redrafting! And finally acting, actually producing a finished product.

Class 2GT began the term working on ‘I want my hat back’ by Jon Klassen. We went out and bought imaginary ‘toolkits’ and then began the process of filling them with our English tools - capital letters and full stops. We used role play and story sequencing and then produced our own piece of writing based on the original story. But it didn’t end there! We added more tools to our toolkit - connectives and verbs.

We had individual feedback from our teacher and we assessed each other’s work, discussing how and where we could improve. Then we worked on our writing again, extending and improving.

But it didn’t end there! We added even more tools - adjectives and apostrophes! We had feedback from our Year 6 writing buddies. Finally when we were sure that we had produced the best piece of writing we could, we published them! Then we started the whole process again with our next topic.

PRIMARY

Pictured is class 2GT showing their hard work in creating first drafts, reviewing them, redrafting and producing their finished product. They believed they could do it and with hard work and perseverence, they did it!

uncovering hidden talents in year 4Year 4 teacher Mr Jeremy Dean shares how he discovers some very special skills talents of his students

Dylan Minsker has impressed us all in 4JD with his highly accomplished drafting skills. He only picked up a pencil and set square last week, and he’s already designing skyscrapers and small towns.

Dylan has also tried his hand at CAD (Computer Aided Design) with equally impressive results. I wish I could tell you this was all down to my teaching but sadly not! Dylan was taught by our TA, Aditi Deshpande, who is a fully qualified architect.

We discovered Dylan’s talents during our guided reading session. During these lessons I work with a small group focusing on their reading whilst the remaining children complete independent tasks or work with Aditi.

It’s my favourite lesson as a teacher even though it’s the most ‘hands off ’ lesson I deliver. It allows me to introduce children to an eclectic mix of activities and uncover their hidden talents. We very often strike gold, just like Dylan and his huge talent for isometric drawing.

On Monday I introduced writing a blog as a student activity. I wonder whose talent we’ll uncover this week?

Year 4 student Dylan Minsker revealed a talent for drafting skills this week, helped by his TA Ms Aditi Deshpande, who is also a qualified Architect.

PRIMARY

the theme is team in year threeAt BSB we value teamwork and this term Year Three has achieived so much by working together as a team. A prime example of that is the Underwater World that has now taken over the Year Three classroom corridor.

Teamwork featured again this week as students in 3MK worked in small groups on a science project to make a boat using a variety of materials. As the pictures show, they presented their work to Head of Primary Mr Bishop, testing them in water and explained why they chose the materials they did to make their floating creations.

In talking about achievements this term, here’s what some Year Three students had to say:

• “The whole of Year 3 has turned this corridor into an amazing underwater world and we want to thank the teachers and maintenance people for helping to do it.” - Sam

• “In Year 3, everyone is fun and super nice, even the teachers, so when anyone leaves, they have a happy memory of BSB.” - Munenyiwa

• “Making the boat was the most fun thing in Term One, because we worked in a team and when Mr Bishop came to see we were really happy it worked and we achieved our goal in making it float.” - Elias

• “Seeing the new library (at the start of term one) was exciting and getting the new books. Going to the aquarium was really fun. The dolphin show was the best.” - Skyla

PRIMARY

Year 6 Field Trip photography winners were Michal Janowicz (6CC) won for his close-up photo of the lion and Aleksis Nummela (6SN) for his framed shot of the T-Rex skeleton.

YEAR 6 GETS COMPETITIVE with homeworkHomework became a competition for Year 6 with teachers deciding to publish the best written work and photos from their recent field trip in this week’s newsletter.

The students and teachers visited China’s Natural History Museum as part of their science topic.

The winner of the competition was 6MG’s Joseph Buchan for his very descriptive prose. Two winners were announced for the photo competition. Michal Janowicz (6CC) won for his close-up photo of the lion as did Aleksis Nummela (6SN) for his framed shot of the T-Rex skeleton.

Year 6 take a magnificent trip to the museum

On Friday the 29th of November the British School of Beijing Year 6 went to the Beijing National History Museum. This enabled the brilliant Year 6 students to learn about the ancient world. The bus journey from the Shunyi BSB to the History museum took approximately one hour.

When they first arrived at the museum they took a stroll through the tranquil aquarium there after glancing at the dusty fossils of the long forgotten dinosaurs. Moving on to the massive dinosaur park where robotic dinos moved like real life!

Here Year 6 students were amazed how realistic the dinosaurs seemed. Lastly, before lunch they headed to plant kingdom which had many false animals that looked so real most of the students found it hard to believe they were not! Finally they had a delicious packed lunch which consisted of a chicken sandwich, a banana, a small chocolate bar, crisps and a bottle of water.

When lunch was gobbled up the students began the treacherous bus journey back to BSB. The teachers commented, ‘The students were extremely well behaved but the other children there had no manners and just barged past all of the BSB students!’ They all had a wonderful day! By Joseph 6MG

Will Scotland become a country?By Carly Kiang, 5VS

Next autumn 2014, the people of Scotland will vote to see whether the nation should become an independent country.

Everyone over the age of 16 who lives in Scotland is able to vote. The current first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond wants to declare “Independence Day” in March 2016, with the first votes for an independent parliament in May.

The benefits of an independent Scotland would include Scottish people not needing to follow the UK”s laws, Scotland would be able to take its place in the world and last but not least, Scotland will still remain friends with England.

Even so, there are still a few disadvantages of Scotland becoming independent, such as facing greater financial risks and losing the security of the UK.

1707 was the year Scotland became part of the UK. Therefore, it has been more than 300 years since Scotland was independent! Some people strongly believe Scotland should become independent whilst others are content with Scotland staying with the UK.

Why would Scotland want to become independent? “Because we are a country!” says Mr Ferguson, who has a strong opinion on the topic of Scottish independence as he is a Scottish teacher.

The end of autumn 2014 could be a very historic time for the people of Scotland, remembered for centuries to come!!

PRESS PACK REPORT

Press Pack, a group of intrepid reporters from Year 3 to year 6, have taken over BSB Connect..AGAIN!

Press Pack is an After School Activity in the Primary School, headed by Year 6 teacher Mr Chris Cottrell and Mrs Deborah Cooper from the Marketing Department.

First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond shows his support for Scottish independence.

Press PackA Primary School After School Activity

PRESS PACK BECOMES FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS

This time the Press Pack have become Foreign Correspondents, focusing each on a country and writing a topical story aimed to inform and entertain us and, in some cases, call us into action.

Let’s see in which countries they have chosen to be foreign correspondents.

UNITED KINGDOM

Sumatran Tigers in the Survival Gamesby Paula Peniche, 5VS

Two pairs of Sumatran tiger cubs were born in August this year, which is exciting news because these animals are unfortunately near extinction.

The cubs were born in Australia, at Australia Zoo, and in San Antonio Zoo in the USA.

Sumatran tigers are only found in the wild in the island of Sumatra, which is part of Indonesia. But unfortunately, because poachers and the cutting down of 80% of Sumatra’s forests, the Sumatran Tiger is critically endangered and on the brink of extinction.

What can we do to help this unfortunate situation? The cubs are doing well in the zoo, but the mother needs adopting.To adopt Kaitlyn(the mother) go to: www.australiazoo.com.au/tiger-cubs

Adopting a Sumatran Tiger does not mean you take it home to live with you, it will mean you help pay it’s food,water and safety.

We hope you can help these beautiful animals to find good care.

Pictured is a little Sumatran cub wondering where he is.

PRESS PACK REPORT

Taekwondo is Number One!By Hughie Bishop, 5GS Research has revealed that Taekwondo is the most played sport in all of Korea.

Taekwondo is a martial art and was invented in Korea in ancient times.

It is now played in more than 150 countries and is also an Olympic sport. The focus of Taekwondo is kicking. It is also a form of self-defence.

The Taekwondo Association of South Korea has a membership of 3.8 million people and right now many people are learning it.

Page Two

BAM!....Right in the face Taekwondo uses lots of kicking

INDONESIA

SOUTH KOREA

PRESS PACK REPORT

Panda Sanctuary in Charming Chengdu By Paballo Mokadi, 5TW

Panda cubs tourism is big in charming Chengdu, China.

Chengdu is about 2000 km from Beijing. Each year 800,000 people visit the Chengdu panda reserve. There are also 41 other panda reserves in the rest of China.

In the Chengdu panda reserve there are 70 pandas and 40 on loan. Due to global warming, bamboo levels are dropping. Chengdu may be the only place to see wild adorable pandas. Mr Ferguson, who has been to the panda reserve exclaimed, “The panda base in Chengdu does so much good work to try to save the pandas.” His visit has turned him into a panda lover.

The animals in the panda reserve live in large enclosures made as much like their natural habitat as possible, with trees, rocks, streams and pools. If you are tired from looking at the pandas, you can go to the Chengdu restaurants where they have delectable spicy food and some relaxation tea.

Pandas enjoy being in the wild.

MAGNIFICENT MONTENEGRO!By Senya Tarasenko, 5VS

Magnificent Montenegro is a great place to visit so let me tell you about it.

Montenegro is a small country in Eastern Europe and its capital city is Podgorica.

Montenegro has some of the most beautiful places to see in the world, such as the Ostrog monastery, Lake Skadar and Porto Montenegro.

Montenegro is very hot so all people want to be by a swimming pool. But not everyone has a swimming pool but they can go to the beach and swim.

Montenegro’s neighbouring countries are Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania

Montenegro and its neighbouring countries

Page Three MONTENEGRO

CHINA

MONTENEGRO

Open your hearts to Orangutans

By Maddison Cooper, 6CC

Orangutans are extraordinary creatures that live in the wild in only two places in the world - Borneo and Sumatra.

Both these islands have lush rainforests, the ideal habitat for orangutans.

However, these poor creatures are nearly extinct because of human activity which is destroying their habitat. Unfortunately things like cutting down trees, hunting orangutans and forest fires make it hard for these harmless creatures to survive. Now only about 7,300 orangutans roam in the wild.

Borneo is a huge island that is partly owned by the countries of Malaysia and Indonesia. I was lucky enough to see orangutans when I visited Borneo in 2012.

I visited a sanctuary for orang-utans where they live in their natural habitat with food and medicine. When I was heading back to my room with my family and orang-utan came down and ran towards me. I was shocked with terror as it ran and grabbed my hand.I realised it was trying to be friendly, but then it went away. It was an amazing experience.

Baby orangutans love to play toegther.

PRESS PACK REPORT

Page FourMALAYSIA

WONDERFUL WILD TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA

By Jasmine Gray, 3JW and Emily Kok Min 3JW

South Africa is a popular tourist destination, with 860,000 people visiting the country each month.

This is because of how much fun tourism can be in South Africa. The number one tourist attraction in South Africa is Safari. About 600,000 people go on safari each year.

Safari is popular because you get taken on to areas of land called game reserves. On safari,these are the most common animals you could see: zebras, Nile crocodiles, hippopotamuses, mountain gorillas, cheetahs, rhinos, leopards, giraffes, elephants and lions.

Most times a one night staying at a South Africa game lodge will cost you 1320RMB per person. It is expensive but a once in a life time experience!

SOUTH AFRICA

From the Head of SECONDARY Dear Parents,

As Term One comes to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the positive start we have made to the school year.

It’s been a bumpy and sometimes exhausting road, but we are continually buoyed by the improvements we see in our students in so many different facets of school life.

Each week new stories are uncovered about students reaching for more, taking themselves out of their comfort zone, practising and persevering and producing some amazing work.

For me this Term has been about setting the groundwork for academic excellence using the principles of high performance learning. We have an amazing group of teachers who are committed to these principles and providing the best learning environment for your child.

This week’s newsletter celebrates our school values and making the most of opportunities here at our school that will lead you down the path of being the best you can be.

Best wishes,Steve Lewis

SECONDARY

top marks for markusCongratulations go to Year 11 student Markus Wagner, who as a Year 10 student received an Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award for his excellent results in German IGCSE in June 2013. BSB uses the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)organisation to provide the examination and assessment materials for students studying in an international school.

CIE is the world’s largest provider of international education programmes and qualifications for 5 to 19 year olds. Other schools in Beijing, such as Yew Chung and New Talent Academy are also Cambridge Assessment schools.

Through this award, Markus is recognised as the top student for German IGCSE in all of the CIE schools across China.

Congratulations Markus on this outstanding achievement.

Pictured is the recipient of the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award for top marks in German IGCSE, Markus Wagner, reading to Leo Lorenzen from the German Primary School, Klasse 1.

in less than a minute....How’s this for brilliant skill and great party trick - Year 8 student Siqi Chen can solve the Rubrik’s Cube in under one minute, sometimes in just under 30 seconds!

Siqi is pictured here with the cube she completed in a demonstration for BSB Connect in just 46 seconds.

Siqi says she began solving the puzzle about a year ago and after some practice has become faster and faster in completing the puzzle.

The Rubrik’s Cube began as a craze in the 1980s. Today, world championship competitions are held to see who can solve it the fastest. The winner of this year’s competition solved the puzzle in an average time of 8.8 seconds. See for yourself at www.rubriks.com. Don’t be surprised if we see Siqi there some day!

artist of the weekBen Berghaus - 8D

Students were asked to create a plan for a piece of Installation Art following lessons on Japanese Artist, Yayoi Kusama.

Students were given almost complete freedom as to how they completed the homework. However, they had to show an understanding of how repetition can change the way a space is perceived.

Ben really thought outside the box with this photograph of a room in his house covered in T-Shirts. Not only did this show off Ben’s great imagination but also his great eye for composition and lighting.

A worthy winner of Artist of the Week!

SECONDARY

students goes to yale universityfor world scholar’s cupThe World Scholar’s Cup is an international team event which sees students, from all around the world, compete in a series of academic rounds.

Having performed admirably well in Beijing and Dubai, this year’s team of secondary students from BSB flew to Yale University in the United States to challenge their brains against some of the world’s best.

It was billed as the Tournament of Champions and BSB didn’t disappoint!

In order to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, students had to be in the top 20% of highest scoring teams at the Global Round. The global round in Dubai had 1500 participant and The British School of Beijing had teams representing us in both the Junior and Senior sections.

Our students who qualified for the Yale round were William Guo, Vidhi Mahajan and Tamika Sankar (junior division) with Amy Wei, Chenoa Sankar and Nour Tobeh in the senior division.

Students from BSB continued to show their academic prowess at The Tournament of Champions and won awards in several categories including debating and the Arts as well as medals for scoring high points in both the senior and junior division. They arrived back in school with their awards and we are delighted with the way they represented the school.

Recruitment is already underway for next year’s World Scholar’s Cup and teams have been working on their debating skills and looking at some of the big issues which affect our world today. From globalisation to poverty, a wide range of interesting issues are covered during ASA time.

Any students who wish to be part of this exciting academic competition should speak to Ms Sankar or Mr Cairns.

Next year, we are aiming big and want to recruit the most talented, hard-working squad of students the school has ever produced.

Ben Berghaus is recognised as secondary school’s artist of the week with Installation Artwork.

The team representing BSB in the World Scholar’s Cup, held at Yale University in the USA - from left to right, William Guo, Vidhi Mahajan, Tamika Sankar, Amy Wei, Chenoa Sankar and Nour Tobeh.

SECONDARY

Q&A with rising star oliver holmesYear 8 Drama Student Oliver Holmes has been busy this week dividng his time between playing two characters in two very different drama performances. Oliver has a starring role in Beijing Playhouse’s The Wizard of Oz and is a cast member of Secondary School’s Drama production, Home.

Oliver has worked as a professional actor and continues to develop his skills in the Drama department here at BSB. He tells us a little more about his experience and why he loves Drama.

Tell us about your work experience so far?Through my drama school in Budapest last year, I was cast as Rufus Follett in the opera “ A Death in the Family “ I worked with the Center for Contemporary Opera from New York under the direction of Jim Shaeffer and Robert Alfoldi and toured in Segled in Hungary where we won awards for the best contemporary opera and then a tour in Avignon France.

It was amazing to work for the first time with a professional cast and getting paid was cool too !!!

What do you enjoy most about the theatre?For me, the best thing is being able to translate words from a script and make it my own and then work on something for a few weeks and then present a brilliant experience for the audience and being able to be whoever I need to be on stage as well as bring something of myself to the character.

How much time is involved?A lot! Well to be any good and to do the job well like with anything you want to be good at you have to invest time. For The Wizard of Oz, we have rehearsed four times a week for the last 3 months But saying that, it is fun working with other actors and developing our skills.

What would you say to students considering getting more involved with Drama?Go for it. I never ever thought about being a drama student. I only went to my first drama class originally to be there for my sister. But it’s turned out to be a great experience for me.

Every emotion that I feel through my daily life I can bring into my drama and sometimes that’s quite nice getting out everything on stage.

I did the graded LAMDA drama exams in Budapest ( they’re like the RSM exams for music but for drama and the performing arts ) and that prepared me well for a professional career and it’s great that Ms Arnold is now offering that opportunity to everyone here in BSB.

Even if you never want to have a professional career Drama helps you with lots of academic subjects like you wouldn’t believe. I am so much more confident doing presentations. I know how to analyse characters and having worked so hard professionally and now with the Beijing Playhouse, I certainly know the meaning of the term work ethic...So if you haven’t tried drama, my advice is certainly to try it you never know what might happen !!!!!

Oliver Holmes, pictured above, took on his first professional acting role in Budapest last year, with a lead role in “A Death in the Family”. Photos below are of the secondary school play Home and Beijing Playhouse’s The Wizard of Oz.

SECONDARY

students shine in mini united nations debateFrom Head of Year 10, Ms Sue Edwards

If you happened to walk past the old drama studio on Tuesday afternoon you’d have heard lively yet diplomatic debate, as the members of the Model United Nations group discussed three resolutions as part of a mini-United Nations Committee session.

Delegates from China, The USA, Peru, Kenya and India, to name a few, discussed how to prevent trafficking of endangered animals and humans across international borders. Although three resolutions were discussed, argued and amended, delegates didn’t manage to come to a consensus on the best solutions and strategies to implement it nationally (a mirror of the real United Nations perhaps!!).

All the delegates that participated had worked hard to research the country they were representing and the issues. They’d written policy statements, speeches and resolutions.

It was a fantastic afternoon and all those involved should be proud of the public speaking abilities and confidence they showed when under the spot light.

Students represented the countries of China, USA, Peru, Kenya and India at the Mini Model United Nations conference held at school this week. Students had written policy statements, speeches and resolutions on the topic of how to prevent trafficking of endangered animals and humans across international borders.

SECONDARY

achievement in student collaboration secondary school play - homeThe Secondary School play, titled “Home” is a unique play written by BSB’s Playwright in Residence, Mr David Lane, in collaboration with the students in the play.

Mr Lane was here in September working with the students for two weeks to write the playscript. The Drama students performed the play to audiences at school this week.

Here’s what Mr Lane wrote about his experience here at BSB.

“All the stories and characters you’ll see in this play – and some of the writing too – belong to the cast. These are characters that they chose to explore, situations that they dreamed up, and writing they often created or improvised themselves even on my very first day of working with them.

“I had just twenty contact hours across twelve days with these students in September, and in that time we moved from having nothing – no premise, no characters, no idea what the play would be – to the script you’ll see performed tonight.

“ They have been collaborators in a balanced ensemble of performers: a cast that has made choices together, thrown out ideas together, and supported one another and me in creating a play that tries to honour their creative ideas.

I’m not particularly interested in spectacle and stars in the theatre. I don’t care who can sing the highest notes, dance the most complicated moves or learn the most lines. I’m interested in truthfulness, and in empowering a cast of young performers to share something truthful about their own experience of the world. That is the platform that theatre provides. I hope they – and you – are moved by what they have to share.”

Students perform in the Secondary school drama play - “Home”.

HOMEOur Secondary School Production

SECONDARY

‘home’ - PHOTO GALLERY

Sport

sidney leads the way in athleticsBSB Athlete and U15 Fobisia Captain Sidney Masuke achieved a “golden double” at the recent Fobisia Games in Hong Kong, winning gold in the 100m and 200m sprints.

He was one of the stand out all-round performers at the Games, but particularly in Athletics where he also finished 2nd in Long Jump and 3rd in High Jump.

Fellow Fobisia team member Brian Looi was named MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the Swimming meet and although Sidney missed out on this accolade for the Athletics meet, his performance was a certainly a stand-out achievement.

A year 10 student, Sidney says he is aiming to become faster in 100m and 200m and currently trains by strapping 8kg weights on to his thighs when jogging to increase his strength. Despite being a keen sportsman, Sidney cites English as his favourite subject at BSB. Congratulations Sidney on your commitment to achieving your goals.

bsb DOMINATES IN HANDBALLBy Head of Primary, Ms Samantha Mitchell

Handball Tournament at BIBA December 4th 2013

Another successful tournament for the Primary School. One boys and one girls team travelled to BIBA to take part in the annual Handball Tournament.

Both teams from BSB dominated throughout the tournament and both placed 1st overall. The boys managed to score 46 goals during their 6 matches and only concede 5 on the way to the final. The girls didn’t concede any goals at all during matches.

Great work! Go Bears!The BSB girls and boys teams dominated in the Primary Handball tournament at BIBA this week.

reminder....Our Annual Faculty vs. U19 basketball game (boys/girls) is scheduled to be played Friday 13th December from 12:00-13:00 in the gym. Mr Wade from the Music Department has even put together a “Pep” band to play during the game. If your free to play or watch, please join us on the last day of term.

Year 10 student Sidney Masuke

tamsin sets her sights on top 5“I love tennis” is the way Year 8 student Tamsin Hart describes why she is aiming to be a top tennis player in her home country, South Africa.

Tamsin is currently ranked 8th in the whole of South Africa for U13 tennis and has set her sights on moving into the top 5 in the U14s.

She trains 4 to 5 times a week at Rainbow Garden Tennis Academy in Chaoyang Park and plays competitively every month to keep up her match practice here in China.

Tamsin was 7 when she began playing tennis in her home town of Pretoria and is ready and willing to make a big commitment to the sport. She says Victoria Azarenka is her favourite tennis player.

Tamsin also likes playing football here at BSB but will happily swap the boots for tennis shoes in pursuit of her dream. BSB wishes you all the best, Tamsin!

Year 8 student Tamsin Hart

Sport

our longest charity event ever!From Global Classroom Coordinator, Ms Thomason

On the 17th January, at 4pm, students and staff will begin the longest-ever charity event at BSB.

We are raising funds for a school and orphanage in Tanzania, where seven BSB students will be visiting and working during February.

To help us raise these funds, we are holding a 24-hour sponsored swimathon! It is the first time an event like this has been held at BSB. It promises to be a fantastic event and you can help.

We are looking for:

• volunteers to swim (each taking a turn for how long you want), • provide supervision for students, or even just to • sponsor and support our students.

The swimathon will start at 4pm on Friday 17th January and finish on Saturday 18th January.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. The Global Classroom is a Nord Anglia Education initiative that brings together students from across the Nord Anglia Education family of schools to collaborate on global issues and projects.

Please speak to Geraldine Thomason, sign up on the Global Classroom board (outside the Multi Purpose Room) or email geraldine.thomason@britishschoool.org.cn

Thank you for your support.