Primary News - March 24 2021

To brighten up the outdoor area, Primary students have been planting some flowers in the school playground and it definitely feels like Spring. We are also thrilled to have the older students back in school, after a long period of online learning.

Both primary and Secondary students have enjoyed being outside in the woodland area and seeing each other again. We welcome back Y10 students next week to complete the staggered return of all classes.

The Spelling Bee final round will be held next week and we look forward to announcing the winners on the last day of the term. Good luck to everyone!

Parent-Teacher interviews for the specialist subjects continue next week. If you were unable to make an appointment via the system, please contact the specialist teachers directly to set up an online appointment.

Please be reminded that next Friday is the last day of term and is a half-day, finishing at 12:00. Please see more information below.

For the PSHE topic this week, students talked about the importance that recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. Thursday 18th March marks the Global Recycling Day, to remind us that this is a global issue and you can read more about how you can help on this link.

Please read the latest Update from the Principal section below to keep up to date with the most recent safety guidance procedure updates.

I wish everyone a sunny and warm weekend,

Katarina Železinger

Head of Primary

Early Years

In Early Years we have been thinking about the sorts of food animals eat. As part of our 'Shopping' topic, we created a pet shop and the children took the roles of animals. They made props for their animals in the garden.

The reception children have been thinking about finding numbers to 100 on a number square!

Ms Rosa

Year 1

This week Year One enjoyed planting flowers in the new area by the school entrance. The flowers were kindly donated by a year 6 parent, and the box of flowers was chosen by our year 1 student councillor, Valeria. Everybody enjoyed getting messy outdoors!

In Topic lessons, year one made some great finger puppets and theatre stages. Here is a sneaky peek of these in the making. Premiers of the theatre shows will take place next week... watch this space!

Ms Blundell

Year 2

This week, in Year 2, we have been learning all about mass and how we know which objects have the greatest mass. We have been discovering how to measure accurately in grams and kilograms. We have had so much fun in Maths this week. In Literacy this week, we have been creating freeze frames for scenes in our class text 'Oh Gnome'. We have had a great week in Year 2 and we are looking forward to the last week of the Term next week.

Ms Harris & Ms Miller

Year 3

This week in Year 3, the students continued their studies of the rainforests of the world by examining the different animals that live there, and the parts of the rainforest which they inhabit, from the larger cats of the forest floor all the way up to the avian rich emergent layers. After studying the animals that dwell in these layers, the students chose their favourite animals to do a research project about, which they then presented to the class later in the week.

Next week, the students will complete their study of the rainforest by covering the plants that grow in this habitat, before conducting scientific experiments to determine the functions of various parts of these plants.

Mr Mulcahy

Year 4

The Year 4 students have been remarkable as always this week. We were very proud to be selected to kick off the inspection visit when the inspector was invited into our Maths lesson first thing on Monday to see the wonderful learning happening in our classroom.

We also received a second visit when the inspector was drawn to our lively drama workshop where we used a wonderful Australian author's book, Fox, to delve into emotions related to friendship, including trust, envy and loneliness.

In Topics, students completed their presentations about natural disasters and also their abstract artwork, making for a wonderful classroom display.

In this English unit, we are diving into the Performance Arts. We will be studying play scripts and finishing the unit with a short film project, where students will create, script, film and edit their own short films and premiere them to the school community. Lots of fun and excitement to come!

Mr Bishop

Year 5A

Y5A used their planning and knowledge to start writing their scripts about a bully. They used script conventions to create a story based on the characters in our model script.

I look forward to seeing the finished versions of these scripts next week and seeing them be acted out live in front of the students. Have a lovely weekend!!

Mr Walker

Year 5B

Year 5B have been learning about angles this week. Everything from defining angles, measuring angles using rules for how to use a protractor correctly, naming different types of angles, to remembering the degrees on a straight line, triangle, quadrilateral and circle.

Here are some photos of the students creatively showing their knowledge of an acute, right, obtuse and reflex angle.

Mrs Charlesworth

Year 6

After listing all the airport services, the students were divided into 6 groups and asked to choose 2 to 3 of those services to research in greater depths. Their task was to work together to write a visitor guide for an international airport for their chosen sections.

This could be done using a program such as Slides, Publisher or Canva. As a group, they needed to be sure to agree on features that would make it easy for both English speakers and those who speak English as a second language to use.

Once students have completed their brochure, they used an online translator application to translate it into another language. They then gave their translated version to a class member who speaks that language and received their feedback on how clear and accurate the translation is compared to the original.

Mr Kokalj

PE News

This week in primary PE the students reflected back on the skills they have learned through this block. They also revised all the fitness skills they have learned and also had to apply them in the proper circuit training with the method of HIIT (high-intensity training). Skills, exercises and intensity were modified for different year levels. Before heading into the last week of the block, students learned a lot in this block about different exercises, fitness skills, team play and fair play through the Rob the nest activity.

Overall, students had a very productive and active week in PE.

PE Department

Slovene News

Years 3 and 4 have been working on a house project this week. They were the creators of their own houses where they would like to live one day. Firstly, they drew the house with all the rooms and furniture they would like to have. Secondly, they added a furniture legend. Finally, they described their house in a few sentences as a team. Zelo dobro!

Have a look to see our creativity in these photos.

Ms Košec

Year 2 at Slovene Advanced students have been listening to a fairy tale about Mojca Pokrajculja this week. They practised spoken and written expression.

Their task was to summarise the story and write a description of the main characters from the story as well.

The student put in a lot of effort and also drew the story for an added bit of creativity. Odlično!

Ms Drofenik

EAL News

During some of our EAL lessons this week, we put our vocabulary and our storytelling skills to the test with the help of story cubes. The students enjoyed coming up with different stories with each new throw.

As a challenge, we tried to continue a story with the same characters through several casts of the cubes.

Mr Siter

French News

Year 5 are able to name buildings in the city in French. They designed their own city and were moving around it as part of a fun game, where one is giving the directions where to go (in French of course), and the other has to follow the instructions. Do they arrive at the same place?

Meanwhile, Year 6 have been learning about their morning and daily routine, working on some very nice French mind-maps.

Ms Berden

After School Provision

• EY and Y1 Supervision now open until 16.30.
• Y2-Y6 Supervision now open until 15:40.

No registration is required at this time. Students will go to supervision after the normal pick up time.

We ask parents to pick up students on time, via the main entrance. Masks must be worn upon entering the building. For any late pick ups due to an emergency, please call Reception on 040486548.

Last Day of the Block

We kindly remind you that next Friday 26th March is the end of Term 2. The school day finishes at 12:00 noon. During the morning sessions, students will be organising and collecting their work and personal belongings to take home. Any specialist lessons in the morning will run as normal.

Please ensure that:

• Any school books and reading materials are returned before the end of next week.
• Students bring a snack to school as normal. Note that there is no lunch on the last day.
• Any personal belongings go home, including indoor shoes/slippers, water bottles, P.E. kits or extra clothing. This will help us to clean and sanitise all the areas in preparation for the next Term.
• You look through the lost and found items, which will be displayed in the primary cloakroom area. To do so, please park your car in the nearby public parking area and access the cloakroom via the main entrance, after you have picked up your child.
• Students are picked up promptly at 12:00 on the last school day, at the blue zone pick up area, as per normal procedures.
• For any emergencies, please call reception on 040486548.

Spelling Bee

First, find the word allocated to your year group. Then, find as many words that rhyme with that word as you can. Tell your teacher your ideas for a House point!

• Cat - Early Years
• Snail - Year 1&2
• Hamster - Year 3&4
• Lizard - Year 5&6

The Queen Bees

Visit from Class of 2014 Alumni

Our Year 13 students were treated to a special visit this week from one of our alumni, Ana Milanez, from our Class of 2014, who graduated from BISL 7 years ago. She gave a wonderful presentation of her journey since leaving BISL, which took her to the University of Maribor, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics before going off to Ghent University in Belgium to obtain her Master's degree in the same field.

Finally she returned to Ljubljana, where she currently works at the Ministry of Economics as a researcher in the department for analysis and fiscal governance.

Along the way, Ana had many moments of self-reflection, particularly during her time in India. In her own words, Ana told the students: "Going to India was the best decision ever. I'm so proud I did it. You always, always have to listen to yourself and follow your dreams!"

Wise words Ana, thanks for stopping by and giving our students a glimpse into life after BISL!

Mr Batson, Head of Sixth Form

MEPI News

This week, our MEPI participants have been taking stock of their progress within the Adventurous Journey (AJ) section of the Award. They have now fully completed five out of the eleven criteria listed within the Online Record Book:

• Appreciating the culture within the journey's environment
• Camp craft, including food and cooking
• Necessary equipment and how to use it
• Team building and leadership training
• Understanding the impact of the journey on the environment
• And a few more criteria very close to completion

The first aid course has been moved to the weekend after the Easter Break, and a 7.5km hike in Škofja Loka is planned for the following Saturday. The opportunity for our participants to walk together as a group will prove to be invaluable in bringing them even closer together as a team, whilst they hone their practical skills within all aspects of the AJ.

Mr Irving, MEPI Coordinator

Teacher Feature

If you haven’t had a chance to read our recent Teacher Feature profiles, here’s what you may have missed:

• 10.03.2021 - Ms Emina Begić
• 24.02.2021 - Mr Chris Bishop
• 27.01.2021 - Ms Mateja Košec
• 13.01.2021 - Mrs Tanya Charlesworth
• 16.12.2020 - Ms Sarah Fairchild
• 09.12.2020 -Ms Polly Tušar
• 25.11.2020 - Mr Tobija Siter
• 04.11.2020 - Mr Gary Bradley
• 28.10.2020 - Ms Laura Harris
• 21.10.2020 - Ms Katarina Miklavec
• 14.10.2020 - Mr Nino Kokalj
• 6.10.2020 - Mr Jason Batson

Thank you to all of you for joining our PTA Meeting this morning, it was wonderful to see so many of you, and share our plans for upcoming events with everyone!

In partnership with Zveza Prijateljev Mladine Ljubljana Moste-Polje, our PTA are organising an Easter-themed donation drive. In particular, they are looking for:

• Easter-themed sweets and chocolates (easter eggs, bunnies, etc)
• Breakfast foods: cereals, muesli and similar, instant cocoa, Nutella (chocolate) spread and long-life milk.
• Pantry staples: oil, sugar, flour, pasta, rice, pasta sauces, wheat, dry cereal/grits and polenta.
• Hygiene: cleaning products, laundry detergent, shampoo and shower gel.

All items must be suitable for dry storage only (nothing for the fridge). The expiration date on all items must be at least two weeks.

You will see a large donations box by the drop off/pick up area to leave your goodies in before Friday 26 March. Thank you in advance!

PTA Committee

Dear Parents,

A week that started with sunshine, energy and excitement has finished with a calm and tranquil Friday at BISL after a huge effort from students this week. We've had assemblies, visits from Alumni, Shakespeare week as part of our English block and highlights from lessons from learning about angles in Mathematics through to drama in English, and more. As we move into the last week of the block, Spring is well and truly here at school and we are seeing many student projects, building projects and further improvements starting to bloom.

I have had a wonderful opportunity to visit a lot of classes over the past two weeks and to see every single teacher, their planning, marking and quality of the lessons has been first class. I couldn't be more proud to work with such a devoted, committed and enthusiastic group of staff.

We have welcomed back Years 11 and 12 into lessons on site this week and from Monday 22nd, all students will be in classes in the building. Our students have smoothly transitioned back into the classroom and their attitude and continued focus on exam preparation has been excellent.

From a safety point of view, the pick up and drop off procedures have further improved and I would like to thank all parents, students and members of staff on duty for all working together to make this safe and efficient at the start and the end of each day.

Please remember that the last day of Term, next Friday 26th March, is a half day at BISL, with pick up starting from 12.00 noon.

Continue reading my full Update from the Principal here for details of the above.

Kind regards,

Paul Walton

Principal

March

April - May