Secondary News - Sep 7 2020

Dear Parents,

Welcome to all families to a new year at BISL! It certainly has been a busy start, with many events held this week already! It has been a different beginning with Covid-19 safety measures still in place. To update yourselves, please see the measures that BISL has put in place already this yearhere. The Secondary teachers have worked very hard to prepare for the new year and we welcomed the new members of staff to the team. It was also wonderful to welcome so many families personally at the Orientation day last Friday.

This week, the start has been a positive one, with new students getting to know current students and forging new friendships. There have been many information sessions via Zoom this week, to aid families in learning more about the school and what is in store. On Tuesday, Mr Damjan and Ms. Kenealy introduced the activities that we are planning to start this Block. On Wednesday, parents had the opportunity to meet Form tutors and gather further information for the year. On Thursday, Mr Damjan, Ms. Dascalescu and Mr Irving presented an informative presentation about student voice, leadership opportunities and MEPI.

Congratulations to all of the students who received their IGCSE and A-Level results over the Summer. It was certainly a difficult time waiting to see how the final results would be allocated in the end, but it was worth the wait.Click here to see the incredible results of our students. Well done and we wish our graduating class well in all of their chosen university pathways.

The Enrichment Days are off to a great start, the first of three being held last Saturday. It was brilliant for new students to be able to form connections with staff and existing students, engaging in practical activities. Tomorrow, we look forward to the second Enrichment day to engage in more physical activities. To be able to sign up for our third and final Enrichment day next week, please look out for the facebook post at the start of next week.

This year, we have been very excited to share the news of having a new uniform supplier. The students are looking excellent so far. I am incredibly grateful for the efforts of the entire community in supporting the uniform to continue providing increased standards and common expectations for all.

Just to confirm for the uniform, students are expected to:

For 6^th Form:

• (Males) Wear collared, button up shirts, formal long trousers and appropriate formal footwear.
• (Females) Wear professional attire of equal formality, and formal footwear.

For KS3 and KS4:

• Full standard uniform as outlined onthe website.

The energy and buzz around the school is certainly a positive one and it will only improve as professional relationships further develop between all students and staff. I have already witnessed so much learning taking place and smiling faces around school, so I look forward to seeing these connections continue to flourish in the coming weeks.

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend ahead and I look forward to our second Enrichment day tomorrow, to participate in a series of sporting activities.

Stephanie Andronikos

Head of Secondary

The origins of a uniform was first explained by BISL founder Jeremy Hibbins back in 2013. He says:

“Why uniform at all? Because it is a British school, and by tradition, uniforms are quite common in them. This was introduced by the UK, as one of the first countries with compulsory education for children, in the past mainly because the school was attended by many street children who did not have noteworthy clothing. With the uniforms, the state made sure they had at least one outfit in which they looked decent, and so at first glance it was impossible to determine who had nothing and who had a lot. That’s how it started and that’s how it is still in India, for example, where all the kids at school look really tidy, even though some of them live in barracks. On some level they are equal, it doesn't matter where they come from, it's important that they all feel part of a system where knowledge and personality count, not how much your parents earn.

Apart from simplifying the morning dressing routine in later years, there is no begging for a child to have just such a (expensive) piece of clothing as a classmate, and this certainly saves something, so the argument that school uniforms are expensive does not hold. According to our calculations, about as much is spent on them, maybe even less than on ordinary clothes. In addition, they are beautiful, you know exactly what they are for, they are suitable for wearing. In this way, children learn and get used in advance to how things go later in the work or. official environment. If you dress nicely and formally for work, you also mentally move to that level, and in my opinion it is not bad to get children used to it. In addition, they feel they belong to something, they are proud of themselves and the school just like their parents, they look decent, they perform more seriously, and there is certainly no loss of individuality here, as opponents of such an arrangement claim.”

He added at the time: "This is one of the reasons why uniforms are kept in as many as 90 percent of schools in the UK, as is the case in many countries around the world."

We are so proud of our uniform, because it means equal opportunities and access to education for everyone at BISL! To read Mr Hibbins' 2013 article in full, click here.

It is my pleasure to bring you this first edition of the new school year and to be able to continue in the role of editor of the BISL Secondary Newsletter. If there is anything you believe should be brought to our attention or information you wish for us to share then I will gratefully receive it by no later than Thursday 18:00 every week for inclusion in Friday’s edition. Please send to brad.eve@britishschool.si with the subject Secondary Newsletter and we will do our best to include it as soon as possible. We wish all students, parents and staff a wonderful academic year and look forward to sharing all your stories and achievements in the newsletter.

Brad Eve

Editor - BISL Secondary Newsletter

If any parents are interested in a role within the PTA, please send an email to the Principal directly.

Here are some photos taken from the first of our three Enrichment days. The next 2 will take place on Saturday 29th August and Saturday 5th of September.

Year 7A

My name is Miss Sharpe and I teach PE. I am very happy to welcome you to Form 7A this year and am looking forward to sharing an exciting year ahead.

Miss Sharpe, Year 7A Form Tutor

Year 7B

My name is Miss Zupanc and I teach Mathematics and Mechanics. I am delighted to be working with you as year 7B form tutor.

Miss Zupanc, Year 7B Form Tutor

Year 8

Hi I am Miss Tušar and I teach Chemistry. I am delighted to be the year 8 form tutor and I am sure we will have a wonderful year ahead.

Miss Tušar Year 8 Form Tutor

Year 9A

Hello, my name is Mr. Kirwan. I am an English and Citizenship teacher and also the form tutor for 9A. I am very much looking forward to working with you this year.

Mr Kirwan, Year 9A Form Tutor

Year 9B

Hello and welcome to Year 9B! My name is Miss Fushia Clayton and I teach Art & Design for all Secondary and A Level. I am sure it will be an exciting year and I very much look forward to seeing the progress and achievements of our students.

Miss Clayton, Year 9B Form Tutor

Year 10

Hello, my name is Miss Louisa Dascalescu. I teach History and Citizenship. I would like to welcome both returning and new students to Year 10, and I trust they will have an exciting and successful academic year.

Miss Dascalescu, Year 9 Form Tutor

Year 11A

Hi my name is Harry Rogers and I am a Humanities teacher here at BISL. I am very excited to be Year 11A's form tutor this year and would like to welcome all of the students back to the school for this exciting and important year.

Mr Rogers, Year 11A Form Tuto

Year 11B

Hello. My name is Juan Mallo de Molina Herrera and I teach Physics here at BISL. I would like to welcome the students to year 11B and look forward to seeing you all through your IGCSEs this year. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Mr Juan Mallo de Molina Herrera, Year 10B Form Tutor

Year 12

Hi, I am Mr Dalton. I am the new IGCSE, AS and A Level Business and Economics teacher. I am delighted to have met my Year 12 form and look forward to working with you all through the year ahead.

Mr Dalton, Year 12 Form Tutor

Year 13

A big welcome back and thank you to Year 13. I look forward to seeing you progress and grow through your final year here at BISL. Thank you for being so welcoming to me and Miss O`Regan during this first week back.

Mr Johnstone, Year 13 Form Tutor

As the theme for this block is Mathematics, we will be spending the next few weeks highlighting and celebrating the contribution of Mathematics in all the different subjects you study. We will be running competitions this block in form assemblies, with problem solving activities and there will also be a Pi recital competition towards the end of the block, so I will be keen to see if anyone can memorise the number pi to a greater number of places than the mathematics department. There are house points up for grabs for the winners of those competitions so get involved and show your abilities in the subject that the great Carl Friedrich Gauss described as the queen of science.

Mr Batson, Head of Mathematics

There has been much talk of MEPI this week, as current participants begin to take stock of their achievements to date, and potential new 'recruits' (fuelled by Tutor Time presentations) consider the enrolment process! Parents too, have been sent information, and been given the opportunity to take part in a webinar. The MEPI meetings will start on Monday 7th September (so as to fall in line with our current school policy) and will focus on registering with MEPI through the 'Online Record Book' (ORB) app. All are welcome, whether you are ready to register, or just want to find out more. Existing participants may skip this first meeting, but we look forward to welcoming them back properly from the following Monday. In the meantime, please feel free to approach Mr. Irving, Ms. Tušar, or Mr. Hughes, if you are already looking to register, would like help with the ORB, or just have a question about MEPI in general.

Mr Irving - International Award Coordinator

This week the secondary pupils have been learning about skill-related components of fitness. They have focused on agility, balance, coordination, reaction time, power and speed, and used their creativity and knowledge to create activities for their peers to take part in. It has been fantastic to see the leadership skills that many of our pupils have and the interactions that they have made with their peers in PE. Year 10 and Year 11 have begun to apply these components of fitness to sporting scenarios, and the next few weeks will see pupils begin to test their own fitness in different scenarios.

Ms Hannah Sharpe, PE Teacher

Slovene news

We started the year in high gear with baseline assessments and team activities. Students also shared their experience and views about spending more time in Slovenia this summer.

Miss Kotnik, MFL Department

French news

Year 11 students have made a great start of the year. They revised actively known French IGCSE topics and challenged their speaking and writing skills. Well done!

Mrs Poulet, MFL Department

This week in year 7 and year 8 classes we began the school year by diving into a story about the most famous detective in the world - Sherlock Holmes.

Year 9 classes got the year off to an exciting start when they worked on a piece of descriptive writing connected with the story “Gladiator.”

Year 10 worked on persuasive writing and Year 11s were introduced to the final poem of their compulsory poetry studies.

Miss O’Regan, Mr Eve . Mr Kirwan English Department

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your support and encouragement throughout this first week at school. It has been wonderful to see the students, staff and parents together as we start this new Academic Year. It has felt very positive and the whole building feels full of energy and excitement as we press ahead into our first term of the year.

I would like to update you on the safety procedures that we had planned for the first two weeks as mentioned in the Summer update from the Principal.

We have opened in a very safe manner with a lot of extra procedures in place to ensure that all students return back to school in a clean building, clear guidance and good hygiene protocols in place for everyone. Thank you to all parents for helping with this by filling in the declaration forms, modelling hygiene etiquette and working together.

We have amended point number 3 below for secondary students to continue wearing masks for the next week.

After Week 2, we aim to start gradually reducing the guidance throughout the school. Further guidance on a staggered start for all students may be made if guidance is provided by the Ministry of Health/Education over the coming week for all schools in Slovenia.

Reopening/Safety Guidance

Safety is our number one priority at school and we continue to check and follow the latest guidance available (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, WHO, etc).

As we move into week 2, we will continue with the following procedures in place on a temporary basis and will review daily and update each Friday:

1. Sanitation guidelines, handwash and antibacterial gels will continue to be used throughout the school.
2. Declaration forms will be compulsory for all students to be handed in at reception. New students will hand these in before starting at school.
3. Masks for staff and students in corridors and common areas will be worn.
4. Lunches will be delivered to classrooms.
5. No large gatherings of students and teachers will be planned for indoors.
6. Early Years Parents can follow the settling in period instructions for the first week, allowed on site wearing masks.
7. Parents in the building by appointment only.
8. After school supervision for Early Years, Year 1 and 2, starts from Monday 31st August.

The following areas may be updated individually should further information from the sources above be confirmed:

• Masks for all staff in offices/smaller spaces.
• External Trips to public indoor sites.
• After-school clubs.
• Presentations for parents/calendared events (some events may take place in smaller groups at school, outdoors at school, virtually, etc)
• Possible split classes.

Click here to continue reading the Principal's article in full.