February Events Calendar

SCHOOL EVENTS CALENDAR:  Click here for upcoming school events.

Internet Safety Month - Reminder to take time to talk to you children about internet safety guidelines in your home.

Secondary Musical Production,"BLOOD BROTHERS"  has been changed to Wednesday, March 17th and Thursday March 18th

ACTIVITY AND CLUB DATES:

Camp Creativity 2010 Dates and Information. Click Here.

Sports and Games Camp 15 - 19 February. Ages 6 - 13. Click Here

Open/Free Break Dance Class (Years 3-13) February 9, 3.30 - 5 p.m., (girls and boys)  with Phillip Chang in the Auditorium. Please wear tracksuit and sports shoes and come along if you are thinking of trying Hip Hop or Break Dancing next term.

OF SPECIAL INTEREST:

Year 4 Haiti Fund Raiser Bake Sale Reflections. Read what it meant to be part of the effort. Year 4 students, Ava and Grace, report.  Click Here ( and look below the Talent Shows winners).

Organisational Changes at the WCL Group, by Ann McPhee, Vice President, US Learning and Operations (For those of you who missed this major announcement in November). Click Here

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UPCOMING PARENT MEETINGS:

Nursery- Reception Parent Meeting with Jo Saunders - Thank you to the Nursery and reception parents who were able to attend the meeting on Tuesday 2nd of February on how best to support writing development at home. Click here for notes and handouts from the class.

Year 1 and 2 Parent Meeting with Jo Saunders to discuss ways of supporting writing development - 9 February (details though Class Reps)

Internet Safety Discussion Series - "Topic: Exploring Approaches to Monitoring Social Networks and other Technological Communication that Children are Using."  Please join us!

11 February, 8:45 am  -Primary Parent Discussion Group (Years 4-6) with Joel Gunzburg

11 February, 12:30 pm - Secondary Parent Discussion Group (Years 7 and up)  with Joel Gunzburg

24 February 7:00 pm - Parent Internet Safety Workshop.  Bring your laptops for a practical session on setting safety filters and reviewing risks that Facebook and other networking sites can be and what you can do to help your children stay aware. Invitation sent through post.

Year 3 and 4 Parent Meeting with Jo Saunders to discuss ways of supporting writing development - 23rd February (details though Class Reps)

ADHD Parent Support Group - 1st March, 12:30 p.m. Joel Gunzburg, School Counselor, will visit

Year 5 and 6 Parent Meeting with Jo Saunders to discuss ways of supporting writing development - 2nd March (details though Class Reps) 

A Focus on Learning - Years 7 - 9

Steve Reid, Lower Secondary Leader reports on “Looking for Learning" in KS3

Teachers at BSW have been busy going into each others’ classrooms “looking for learning”! I can hear the cry from parents, “Well, we hope you found some!” I’m happy to report that learning is happening in every classroom throughout school!

The serious side to this is that we are committed to trying to find out how much and what type of learning is taking place in our classrooms: new learning of knowledge, practice of skills, demonstration of understanding, and so forth.

From the nursery up to Year 13, we are going into classrooms and talking with students about their learning, asking them questions such as “ Why are you learning this?”, “Are you learning something new or practicing something you already know?”, “ What do you know now that you didn’t know when you came to school this morning?”. The questions seem straight forward enough but the conversations with the students followed by a discussion with the teacher, have enabled us to maintain our focus on the most important aspect of school, the student’s learning, as well as identify and enhance the learning experience for every individual learner/student.

As the year progresses there will be opportunities to share with parents the evidence of learning that we have found – if you would like further information at this stage, please don’t hesitate to contact any of the Learning Leaders at BSW.

A Focus on Learning in the Classroom - Year 7

“And by the way, let us recount our dreams…”

As an introduction to the study of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Mrs. Clare Saunder’s Year 7 English class has been exploring the theme of dreams in their lessons. After some initial discussions, the students were asked to keep a “Dream Diary” in which they recorded details of their dreams – the class then shared their experiences in class.

The students also produced “Mind Doodles” in their books where they tried to answer questions such as “Do you dream in colour?” and “Do you appear in your own dreams?” These “doodles’ led to some interesting and amusing discussions in class! The final part of this engaging activity saw the creation of a “Mood Board” at the back of the class-room where students tried to capture the “mood” of their dreams in both words and images.

If you get a chance to drop into Room 210, I’m sure you would enjoy looking at the work the students have produced! 

A Focus on Teachers

Getting to Know Saijal Patel, Year 1 Boston Class Teacher

I was born and raised in the heart of London. It is there I spent most of my life, studying and working. I graduated from university with a degree in Education.

I went on to take my first teaching job for a school based in the London Borough of Newham. At the school I was given many roles and responsibilities and was offered the position of Assistant Head Teacher just before I left. I loved being at that school and in London so much that I could see myself there forever. That’s when I decided it was time for a new adventure and to experience new things.

After leaving London I moved to Richmond, Virginia for a short period of time. From there I moved to DC to work here at BSW.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, meeting new people and exploring another capital city. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues and parents of BSW who have helped make the transition such a pleasant one.

Focus on Student Leadership

Primary Student Council Ends First Term Having Made a Difference

This week is the  final meeting of the current Primary Student Council before new class representatives are elected after the half term break.

In the Primary School each class in KS2 is represented by two councilors who serve for half a year each. In the second half of the year they are joined by Year 2 representatives. The Student Council is a way for the students’ views to be heard and acted upon and also for pupils to gain valuable leadership and community experiences. The Council operates to exemplify the personal learning goals, an integral part of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC.)

Meetings are chaired by the Primary Head Boy and Head Girl, who are also responsible for taking the minutes of meetings. So far this year the student council has considered green issues and recycling, worked with Year 12 on developing a garden in the playground, produced new playground behaviour guidelines, chosen charities supported by the school and met with parent representatives concerning their ‘ideal’ library.

Comments from the departing Councilors on what it meant to them to be part of the Student Council: 

"I feel like I have changed something in the school and it feels great! I feel really proud of myself" Sabella Y3 

"I learnt how people have extremely good things to change about the school. I learnt how our ideas can make a difference." Thomas Y3

"I've learned in the Student Council the importance of a a whole key stage working together like in a real life context. " Charlie, Y6

I've learned that you have to share ideas, and the world does not revolve around you. Alejandro Y6

"I have learned that it is important to reflect what all the classes feel."  Eirik Y5

Parent's Corner

 The Nursery – Year 2 Talent Show a Sheer Delight!

Who could believe that 23 young children from ages 3 – 6 years old could get up on a stage in front of a room full of peers, parents, and teachers and perform with such confidence and energy? Well, it happened on February 1 in a delightful hour and a half of pure entertainment. Click here to read more about the Nursery- Year 2 Talent Show and to view the winners of the evening.

To the many moms, dads and caregivers who made these talent shows possible, we extend our heartfelt thanks:

- to Sue Baker, Meg Lubenova, Meineke Kleute, Vicky Cooke-Welling, Carol Cordell and Kyla Lewis who helped Denise make all the snacks (and to Meg and Denise for doing all the scary Costco shopping!)

- to the Company 28 band for helping with all the sound checks, setups and technical execution of the shows;

- to Meg Lubenova, Engin Alper-Turunc, Tina Grubb, Joann Tell, Marie-Isabelle Callier-Mackel and Sofia Pagedas for their setup help;

- to Jen Jones-Platt and her crew for making our performers feel as important as Bono with all the technical upgrades;

- to Aileen Lonie, Perse Economou, Rosa Zaragoza, Melissa Schutte, Janine Everitt, and Deb Perry for being the "smiling faces" of the shows at our "will call" desk;

- to Debbie Bennett, Betty Mesfin, Meg Lubenova, Company 28 and friends (and the rotating moms from "will call") who kept the "hungry lions" at bay at our snack distribution tables;

- to Olga Rodriguez, Sara Bennett, Joann Tell, Sofia Pagedas and all the moms and dads who stayed to clear the debris and put away chairs;

- to Rolando and Harvey, who kindly put up with our chaos and our mess, time after time;

- to our Nursery teachers who hosted the often frenetic "green room" in their classroom;

- to our judges for their impartial execution of a nearly impossible task!

- to Fiona Pardoe and Tracy Queen for their assistance with programs, crowd-control and logistics management! 

A Focus on Drama Support

Baby Pram Needed for Secondary Musical

We are in need of some props for the upcoming show, specifically a babies’ pram (preferably like the one in the picture). If you have one that you could share, it would be most appreciated. It will be well taken care of and be used in only one scene. Please contact Katie Gough if you can help, at  kgough@britishschool.org