Primary News - November 22 2021

Dear Parents and Students,

It has been a very challenging but positive start to Block 3 and we would first of all like to thank parents for their continued support and cooperation with the new measures coming into force this week. Under the supervision of the School Nurse and help from all of the teachers, students applied self-testing in a safe and familiar classroom setting. Most importantly, the learning continued in school without major disruptions for students and families.

For any questions or concerns regarding testing, masks and other frequently asked questions, please read carefully through the Covid-19 Update from the Principal. Should you have specific concerns about your child, contact your child’s Class Teacher, as they will be able to give you the most up to date and accurate feedback. Students working from home are able to access work through Canvas and receive feedback via communication with their teachers.

This week (15th-18th November) is marked as Anti-Bullying Week. In their PSHE lessons, students have discussed what bullying behaviour is and how it may affect victims of bullying. Students and staff also participated in Odd-Socks Day on Friday 19th November. This was a great way of expressing individuality and celebrating differences through sharing what makes us all unique.

As mentioned previously, Primary Reports for core subjects (English/EAL, Mathematics and Topic) will be issued at the end of this term. Parent-Teacher Interviews will be scheduled online in weeks 4 and 5 with Class Teachers and Slovene teachers (for those students attending the advanced/native groups). Parents will be able to book 10-minute slots to discuss their child’s progress with the teachers. More information on how to use the online portal to book your slots will be emailed to parents next week.

Please continue to check the News section and read the latest Update from the Principal. We will continue to monitor the situation for next week and inform parents of any updates.

I wish you a safe and restful weekend.

Kind Regards,

Katarina Železinger

Head of Primary

Early Years

The Early Years have had a fantastic week, learning about the concept of shopping, whilst buying and selling fruits and vegetables in the role-play area.

To practice their fine motor skills, the children created their own shopping baskets using the weaving technique. They especially enjoyed creating their own fruit salad and having fun talking about the colours and textures of the fruit they chose to cut.

Ms Kukovica

Year 1

This week, we have been reading the story Handa’s Hen and making our very first story web. In Maths, we have been learning about odd and even numbers and how to count in 2’s.

In our Topic lessons, we have started a virtual trip around the world, stopping in different countries and learning about various celebrations. Our first stop was the festival of lights, Diwali in India, where we made lanterns.

Ms Miklavec

Year 2

In Year 2 this week, we have been writing reviews about our favourite books! We are going to create a display with each small book and we can't wait to see the final product.

In Topic, we have started our Celebrations unit. We shared some celebrations from our home and host countries. We have also been learning about Nowruz, a celebration from Kazakhstan - It was really interesting! We are all so excited about all of the other celebrations we are going to be learning about in the coming weeks.

Ms Harris & Mrs Bradley

Year 3

Check out Year 3's amazing videos using this QR code! Students made their own chocolate bar design and TV advertisement.

We have just reviewed the work and looked at what made the most enticing product.

Which chocolate bar would you choose to buy?

Ms Blundell & Mr Kokalj

Year 4

ACTIVE PLANET ENTRY POINT

Year 4 spent a fun double Topic lesson in the Assembly hall, recreating an earthquake natural disaster. We had earthquake victims, family members of the victims, rescue workers, medical professionals and emergency relief centre workers. Chaos ensued, just like a real natural disaster. Students rotated positions and some were a little too good at pretending to be severely injured.

Our rescue workers struggled to bring the patients to the hospital in a timely manner, and there were not enough doctors and nurses to cope with the great influx of patients. The relief centre was prepared and ready but many hospital patients didn't make it there, too injured to be moved.

It was a great way to show students safe evacuation procedures and just how many different people are needed to help out the community in a natural disaster.

Mrs Charlesworth

Year 5

This week, the students have been launched into their new topic ‘Creative me’ which is very exciting. In our new topic, the students will be learning all about different artists and pieces of art.

During this block, the children will experiment with different materials and learn how to use paints correctly. In Maths, students are learning how to use the box method to multiply, so knowing those times tables is essential.

Ms Thomas

Year 6

This first week of block 3 saw the Year 6 students get underway on the new Science-Baking block. They conducted scientific experiments to test the ideal environment for yeast to activate and also tested the solubility of various materials. They are all eager to get to the baking phase which will start next week, just in time to bake Christmas cookies! Students also prepared a flyer that aimed to convince the audience about their choice for the perfect pet, including more unusual donkeys and chinchillas.

Mr Bishop

PE

Across primary PE lessons this week, we introduced some of the basic concepts of tennis and badminton.

Students were introduced to fundamental tennis and badminton skills (groundstrokes and serving) and we discussed some of the basic rules required when playing the game(s), along with the importance of effective teamwork when playing as a group.

PE Department

Slovene Foundation

Years 5 and 6 have been working on our Languages project this week. Firstly, they prepared an introduction video as a group at the end of Block 2. Secondly, in Block 3 they had a Zoom session with students who attend one of the Slovene public schools. Their task was to communicate in Slovene and English and get to know each other better. They have been practising both languages through several topics such as free time, pets, family and home. Finally, they are ready to approach new upcoming activities with their enthusiasm and good will.

It was a wonderful and meaningful experience for all of us. We can't wait to have another Zoom session and practice our Slovene language skills.

Odličen začetek 5. in 6. razreda. Le tako naprej!

Ms Košec

EAL

The students in one of the EAL groups practised their vocabulary by playing a barrier game.

They each had one version of the picture that they had to describe to each other in order to find differences between them. It was great fun!

Mr Siter

Slovene Advanced

Year 5 and 6 Students at Slovene Advanced lesson have started this block with a very authentic topic. We have discussed how people used to live years ago when there were no televisions and computers. In the upcoming weeks, we will talk about Slovene customs and habits.

Students will also have presentations on this topic. I can't wait to see what they will prepare!

Ms Drofenik

French

Bienvenue dans le Block 3!

This week was very productive in French lessons! Students remembered all of the things they have learnt so far, which led us to learn more things. Apart from learning how to speak French, it is important to know about the culture of the language and the extent it can have across the world. Therefore, students created the French-speaking map, where they could do their own research and spot the countries where French was mostly spoken or was the official language.

Did you know? French is the official language of more than 20 countries in the world! And the list of countries that mostly speak French is even larger...

C'est incroyable!

Ms Tatil

MEPI News

This Monday, we made our final touches on our planning for our trip to Šmarna Gora/Saint Marie which will be taking place this Saturday at 9 am. It was quite interesting since we came to the conclusion that if we do everything as we calculated on our route, it should take us 30 minutes to get to the top. Theoretically, this should work but realistically I don't think it will. It will take us more time since we also have to stop 7 times to check on our compass if we are heading in the right direction. We will be split into two groups for a better experience. We are all looking forward to it even though it will be very cold.

Zoja, MEPI Participant

The first reconnaissance in preparation for the execution of this year's Green Dragon Adventurous Journey has been successfully completed. A select group of MEPI Award Leaders from numerous Award Centres came together in order to hone their navigational skills, and assess the suitability and potential hazards of a route that is in close proximity to Dobrova. Mr Irving would like to thank Mr Staines for his participation, and Mr Luka Kambic for his expertise in arranging the event.

Mr Irving, MEPI Coordinator

Book & Barter - The Book Exchange

Do you happen to have any books at home, which you don't read anymore, enjoy or are taking up a lot of space in your home?

This is your chance to not only replace some of those old books with new ones from your classmates, but also expand the collection of books within our school library by giving back to the community.

On December 3rd, Book and Barter - A book exchange and donation event initiated by the MEPI programme and led by Taja and Chloe from Sixth Form - will be taking place and open for students to pick up new books and enrich their knowledge on new topics, by exchanging and/or donating books

You’ll find more information and details here.

BISL Make a Wish Holiday Project

In partnership with Zveza prijateljev mladine Ljubljana Moste-Polje, we are delighted to be continuing to support this special holiday initiative with the help of our generous community.

Through this holiday project, children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds write a letter with their holiday wish, and in order for every child to get exactly what they wanted, the gifting is done in such a way that, in cooperation with the ZPM Ljubljana Moste-Polje, we distribute these letters from the children across our community.

Over the past few years that we have been involved in this wonderful project, everyone's enthusiasm has continued to grow. Each year, we have made more and more children happy, last year with an incredible 150 gifts! This year, we are aiming for the same kindness, generosity, empathy and enthusiasm from our BISL community.

For more information and to get involved, please click here.

Dear Parents,

I have emailed out all parents this morning to thank you for your help and support throughout this week, it has been incredible. Thank you. Our Sixth Form students have distributed a quick survey and collected the results to check how everyone has felt after the self-testing. Thank you to Mr. Batson and the Sixth Form students for doing this.

For the first week back, we participated in the global Anti-Bullying Awareness Week culminating in Odd Socks Day today, we held the IGCSE Information Evening and started celebrating 'Creative and Performing Arts' as our theme for this block.

We have an exciting month ahead with both Art and Coding competitions, our Book and Barter event, Christmas activities and much more!

Please check the FAQs in my full Update here for questions that you may have, as well as your email on a regular basis to ensure that you are receiving all of the necessary communication. Thank you to parents for raising questions, we have added them to the FAQs and now have a comprehensive list of areas queried and answered, which really helps.

Finally, we look forward to putting up our Christmas decorations soon and really appreciate the help from parents with this annual tradition as we decorate the school to add excitement and festive cheer to our classrooms and corridors. Similar to the amazing Halloween decorations we had, the whole school becomes filled with wonder and our students thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere!

Please read my full Update from the Principal here.

I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

Kind regards,

Paul Walton, Principal