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What is the IB Programme All About Anyway?  Mr. Scott Hussey, IB Coordinator explains........

The IB Programme at BSW is a two year course that students begin in Year 12. Each student takes six subjects (selected from six subject groups) and also participate in three core activities.

Students study subjects from the following groups: a literature based language course, a conversational based second language course, a social science, a physical/biological science, a math course, and finally an elective course. In addition, students are also required to take "Theory of Knowledge"- a critical thinking course where students delve into the ways of 'knowing' ; complete 150 hours of CAS (Community, Action, Service) - an experiential based requirement where students grow as people in terms of their impact on the world around them, and finally research and write a 4,000 word Extended Essay from their own research.

The aim of the IB Programme is to enable students to become active members of the 21st century work force with an appreciation of other cultures and the skills to become effective world citizens. Students with IB Diplomas can directly enter competitive universities in the US and abroad and can recieve advanced credit in colleges and universities in the the US. 

The IB Programme at BSW is growing year by year and currently has an enrolment of 31 students.  Click here to read more in depth information about the IB programme.

IB Design Technology students plan a garden

For those of you who don't know....The IB Design Technology (DT) course is a  practical two year course in Years 12 and 13  where students develop critical-thinking and design skills which they can apply to improving the real world.

All IB students must take on a number of  community, action, service (CAS) projects to meet IB requirements for graduation, and the current Year 12 Design Technology students came up with an very interesting idea where they could practice their Design Technology skills and also meet their CAS requirements by helping BSW become a better place. To do this, they had to meet with the Primary School Student Council, who commissioned them to design and build an interactive gardening area on the playground.

Discussions between the two groups have so far have given the DT designers a chance to understand the needs and wants of the Primary School students as well as do a site tour on the playground to catch a vision for what is possible. We will keep you up-to-date with the latest developments as the garden grows!

IB English students went to the Folger Theater to see Much Ado About Nothing, a text that they will be studying.  Read more about it.

BSW is on the move toward going GREEN!

An update from Laurie Wolfert, a new parent volunteer, who is coordinating the way forward....

The effort to make BSW a greener place is moving along nicely. At this point there is a lot of investigative work taking place to uncover where we currently stand, how our small business neighbors deal with recycling, and exploring potential 'recycling events' that could be coordinated with other nearby businesses.

We are also exploring lunchroom waste and how it can be dealt with. In fact, Armand's has kindly agreed to a one week trial run for recycling the plastic food boxes--they would take these containers back to their site and recycle them. The question is one of volume; is their current recycling dumpster large enough to accommodate our lunch containers? Indeed, this is only a temporary solution until we get up and running with our own program, but it's a small step toward the ultimate goal.

The possibilities are many for the students to involve themselves and really make a difference. We would like to see the Student Councils and Environmental Club take very active roles in implementing new programs such as planting and tending a garden and composting food waste.

The goal of the 'Green Committee' is to integrate the various recycling efforts that are already taking place with many additional new ideas, thereby creating a streamlined,efficient REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE program that all can embrace.

It seems there is an abundance of enthusiasm for creating a greener BSW and if you want to be part of the 'make it happen' team, please email Laurie Wolfert at olwolfert@aol.com. Thank you to those who have already indicated their willingness to help.

Are you making your life greener?

Share your stories with us. (eg. i've switched to recycled tp and paper towels, etc.)  Send your green improvement tips to Gayle Berger at focusbsw@britishschool.org and we will include them in future editions of the FOCUS. 

Get to Know Miss Elena Whitelaw, Secondary Physics Teacher

 Having grown up in the "Wild West" of Scotland, I defected to the "Far East" in Edinburgh where I did my degree and PGCE (Post-graduate Certificate of Education). Fancying a bit of a change from the Scottish capital I then spent 6 months in London which didn't quite appeal so much to me, so I joined VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas)* and taught in a very rural area of Zambia for almost 3 years.

I followed this up with another 2 years at an international school in the capital, Lusaka, before finally returning home, ending up in sunny Portobello (Edinburgh's very own seaside "resort").

I then taught in two secondary schools, one in the heart of Edinburgh, the other in more rural East Lothian for 5 years, before throwing caution to the wind and taking a year off to travel. That allowed me to spend quite a bit of time in the US, in particular Washington DC. I went home once more last year and taught in various Edinburgh and East Lothian schools until accepting the my present Physics post at BSW in August.

(Since 1958 VSO, the UK equivalent of the Peace Corps, has been sending volunteers to fight global poverty by sharing their skills and experience with people in developing countries.)

Click here to view an updated staff list.

A Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night to Remember!

Roasting marshmellows over an open fire in the dark? What better way to spend a chilly autumn evening at the Smokey Glen Farms in Maryland! But, oh noooo! 80 secondary students and 13 teachers were on a much bigger mission....... to celebrate BSW's first annual Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night last Thursday Evening, the 5th of November.

Romping and rolling down expansive grassy green hills, playing soccer into twilight, eating all the hot dogs and hamburgers they could eat, and what's more..... competing against each other's houses for the best built Guy Fawkes. And the winners (in order from best to least well built) , as chosen by Peter Harding, Head of School,  were: Patuxent - 100 points, Potomac - 75 points, Chesapeake - 50 points, and Shenandoah - 25 points.

To follow the competion in good solid UK tradition, students watched in amazement as Mr. George and Mr. Hall methodically threw all the "Guys" onto the bonfire to celebrate the downfall of the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605 .  Click here to see photo highlights (Thank you Mr. Horton) of an evening to remember. A resounding sucess declared by all. Is it possible that a second annual Guy Fawkes Evening could yield an even bigger crowd? Watch this space in a year's time. Remember Remember....the 5th of November.

The Annual BSW Fall Festival is Friday, November 13

An Update from Chris Butler, Volunteer Coordinator ..Don't forget to join us for the Fall Festival, taking place immediately after school THIS Friday, November 13th until 6 pm. This is a lovely whole-school affair, at which the little ones watch a magic show, play games, win prizes and eat fun foods. (A small menu of standard festival fare - hot dogs, nuggets, etc. - will be available for purchase.) Our Secondary students will be on hand to help run the games and booths. For the first time, we will be donating half of our proceeds to a charity, to be named by our own student council and unveiled at the Festival.

Information papers have been distributed in paper form to all children; copies are also available on our school website under the Parent Tab/Forms/Event Specific Activities. The "Passport pack," with a passport for games participation and tickets for food and extra activities, will be available at the door for $15 per child. Parents can come in for free, and can buy tickets on an individual basis to purchase food and drink.

Your class reps have circulated e-mails soliciting volunteer help - please respond to them as soon as you can, and help as you are able, in order to assure the success of this community-building event. We will also be asking every family to contribute an item (or items) for our bake sale. We hope to see you there!