Year 11 is a testing time for students, teachers, and parents. For our students, the previously elusive IGCSE exams were a glimmer on the horizon. The realisation that the mock exams are in 24 weeks has been something of a shock to the system for many. Add this to the serious and complicated nature of the PSHE sessions in the past weeks, the Y11 pastoral team wanted to try to relieve some of the growing pressure and stress.

It can be easily said that in today’s world we are living online and I think we still have yet to fully realize the implications of doing so, one of those implications is that our tracks through the digital sand are eternal!

On 17th June BCB secondary school students took part in a house sports day. Students competed in a variety of team events, each worth up to 100 house points. The team with the most house points at the end of day won the coveted house trophy!

WIDA MODEL provides information about a student’s level of English proficiency (ability to listen, speak, read, and write), both in social and academic language. Social language is English used in everyday communication. Academic language is English used in association with school subject areas including: Language Arts, Mathematics and Social Sciences at all age levels.

Throughout the English curriculum at BCB, students are encouraged to be critical readers. But what is critical reading? According to The Writing Centre, critical reading is ‘reading that applies certain processes, models, questions, and theories that result in enhanced clarity and comprehension.’

The school has recently joined in with the puzzle of the week! It is an international maths competition to engage students, teachers and parents alike! The puzzles are designed to be accessible to all students from year 5 and up, and often our year 4s like to have a go.

"Olhos de cigana oblíqua e dissimulada. Eu não sabia o que era obliqua, mas dissimulada sabia…"

Science teachers are aware that experimentation awakens a strong interest among students at different levels of schooling. Students also tend to attribute to experimentation a motivating, playful, intrinsically linked to the senses. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to hear from teachers that experimentation increases the ability to learn, as it works as a means of involving the student in the topics that are discussed in theory lessons.

People that migrate (move) from the place where they live to a new place where they will live are known as migrants. Internally displaced people (people that migrate inside the country), internationally displaced people (people that migrate out to a different country), refugees (people that seek refuge, shelter), they are all types of migrants. Migrants, and migration, are as old as humanity itself. Migration is so common, and so present in our daily lives, that it’s very likely you know someone in your family who is (was) a migrant. My family, for instance, is made up of many migrants.

The Y11s only have about two weeks to prepare for their IGCSE exams. This is quite an interesting but also very demanding time for them - everyone remembers how stressful exams can be from back when we were in school ourselves.

The behavioral policy makes sure that all our students understand that decisions and choices have consequences just like in the real world. We need to follow guidelines that are created to ensure students are safe, feel included and can focus on building positive relationships and achieving success in academics.

It is that time of year when Primary students in Year 6 look forward to transitioning into Secondary with students moving from both the CF and CJ Primary to a vastly different and strange new world …….or is it?

Technology is an innovation of humans and learning how to intentionally engage with Big Data, Machine Learning, and the Internet of things is an essential skill in our everyday lives. As smart devices and cloud connection become an increasing part of daily life on Earth, coding and programming is evolving from an optional field of study into a basic literacy.

Exercise makes us feel good – that’s well documented. But do you know why? Does it burn off stress? Reduce muscle tension? Or release endorphins perhaps?

When reviewing vocabulary during a speaking activity recently, one student used the phrase, “I put my fork and knife down.”  I recast the sentence saying, “So, you put down your knife and fork?”. “Yes, I put down my fork and knife.”, came the response. Why did this sound so odd to me and why was the poor student confused when I tried to explain that it’s knife and fork in English, in that order otherwise it sounds wrong? I believe a direct translation from Portuguese (garfo e faca) is partly at fault for the confusion, but English must also take some of the blame.

In the IB, students face what is possibly two of the most critical years of their lives. Small but consistent decisions they make now can unlock future opportunities that they may not even know exist yet.

As we approach the middle of the school year, I’d like to take some time to explore what is happening within the mathematics department, in the classroom and with student’s at home.

Summer has arrived in the southern hemisphere as well as the main rainy season of the year. The hottest season is known as the wettest one, which is to be expected. However, we have noticed that weather events have become more extreme over the years. In the context of extreme weather events, our secondary students have engaged in the STEAM challenges in collaboration between Nord Anglia and MIT.

In the arts we are enjoying the experience of teaching and learning practical work again. Our students are doing a range of activities including; printing, perspective, painting, playing instruments, playing in ensembles and performing in front of an audience.

What an interesting and eventful first term it was! As we are now heading full gear into term 2, it’s always valuable to look back upon what we have done and achieved.