Secondary News - June 14 2021

Block 7 Week 3

The PE block theme continued their celebrations with the four-square tournament finals being held this week. Two qualifiers from each cohort from Years 5 to 10 were battling it out. Everyone tried their absolute best effort, however, in front of a Secondary audience cheering them on, it was Filip in Year 10 who was the victor. Congratulations to all students who participated in this event. Next week, I know that the PE staff have been carefully planning a cross country competition for next week during PE lessons. Good luck to all.

This week also saw the Year 13 students, cohort of 2021, graduate. It was a simple and formal event, ensuring that the highest of safety measures were taken. With Covid still very much present within the community, it was lovely to see the students able to gather, participate in speeches, take their formal photos and enjoy some social time with each other afterwards. I wish this cohort all the very best for their future endeavours. To see the photos and the full article on the website, click here.

The current Year 11 students have spent this week transitioning with their chosen Year 12 subjects. This has been valuable time spent getting started on their A-Level courses. Thank you to Mr Batson for organising this and the teachers for spending this time preparing the students.

This weekend we are looking forward to the first of the Enrichment Days! These are being organised by the PE staff and there are a number of students from across the school getting involved. It should be a fun morning. For the students signed up, drop off is at school by 9am and pick up is from 12pm. The second and final Enrichment Day is next Saturday 19^th June. If students would still like to sign up for next week, please contact Mr Damjan directly.

Please continue to read the Update from the Principal for the latest guidance and news, as well as more photos of our recent Appreciation Days.

I wish everyone a lovely weekend.

Stephanie Andronikos, Head of Secondary

In secondary PE, students continued with endzone games and learned a modified game of blended rugby and American flag football. Students were introduced to the concepts of the line of scrimmage, understanding the four downs over a prequalified distance, and various approaches to advance the ball down the pitch.

The PE department additionally concluded our first four square tournament and would like to thank all the participants for their sportsmanship, respect, and challenging themselves during this event. The PE department would also like to congratulate the 2020/21 Four Square champion, Filip, from Y10.

The PE department would like to continue to invite students and their family members to participate in our walk around the world challenge. All you need to do is count your daily steps, add them up, and enter them into our walk around the world google form. We are now working our way through Costa Rica and have completed 8662 km.

Additionally, we ask you to remember to mark your calendars for our first Physical Education theme enrichment day this Saturday, June 12th, and our second on Saturday, June 19th.

Ms Fairchild, PE department

Year 7: Year 7 created reviews of a short piece of video with music and shared their understanding of various aspects of the clip such as plot, choreography and costumes. They then presented their clip to the class. They also enjoyed reading an excerpt from a play called “Where’s the party?” where they examined some of the wonders of colloquial English. They also reached the thrilling finale of “Stone Cold” the literature they have been reading throughout the year.

Year 8: Year 8 returned to the world of Shakespeare with a Unit that looked at “The Merchant of Venice” and the meaning of famous lines such as “a pound of flesh.” We also reached the final and sad ending of our literature study with “A monster calls”.

Year 9: 9a have been reading the classic “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck this week. They have truly got into the characterisation. They specifically are very fond of Lenny.

9b this week finished Macbeth with some wonderful acting, where Sophia made an excellent beheaded Macbeth. To finish off the week students wrote an alternative ending to Macbeth, which was fantastic to read.

Year 10 - Year 10 have been exploring unseen poetry throughout the week including a dark poem about a fish shop, where one interpretation could be that the humans are the fish. To finish the week, year 10 had a creative lesson where they contributed to the student magazine led by Julia. We also celebrated the birthdays of Julia, Aidan and Jerry - the last to turn 15, with “S’mores cake” which was made by Ms. O'Regan.

Ms. O’Regan, Mr. Kirwan and Mr. Eve - English Department

Thank you for all submitted answers and congratulations to Valentin from 7A and Aleksander from 9B who guessed correctly and received 5 house points. Well done!

Maths question of this week is:

In the rectangle ABCD the side AD is 10 cm long. M and N are the midpoints of the sides AB and CD respectively. How big is the grey area?

Students who solve the questions send the answer to my email by Wednesday 16th June. Good luck!

Ms Zupanc, Mathematics Teacher

Year 10 Business have just finished their end of term test.

4 A*'s, 5 A's, and nothing below a C!

Well done all round!

Year 11 have just completed a transition week to get ready to study Business and Economics next year, with Year 11 Business learning about leadership styles, and Year 11 Economics looking at why individuals make choices.

Year 12 will complete their transition to Year 13 next week, where Business will be looking at organisational culture and how it impacts all Business activities, departments, and functions, and Economics conducting a cost-benefit analysis based on marginal private and social benefits and costs with a real life case study.

Year 13 have graduated and congratulations to them once again!

Mr Dalton, Business and Economics teacher

Year 9 students at Slovene Advanced lessons have been reading an excerpt from the Slovenian youth novel titled “Leteči mački” written by Dim Zupan. This reading comprehension also included in-depth questions about characters, their relationships and adventures. Their challenge will be to write a sequel to the story in the next few lessons.

Ms Drofenik, Slovene Teacher

Year 8 has been working on the last unit in this Block. Firstly, students were competing for house points in three groups. They were revising typical sights around Ljubljana such as Prešernov trg, Ljubljanski grad, park Tivoli, reka Ljubljanica… Of course, we have winners who guessed all the words, shown in the photos, correctly. Secondly, we have been learning to compare our beautiful Ljubljana with other Slovene cities. Finally, students have focused on comparing Ljubljana with the cities where they have lived before. Zelo dobro!

Ms Košec, Slovene Teacher

This weekend some of our MEPI participants will be undertaking activities linked to the Adventurous Journey section of the Award. Taja, our Silver level participant in Year 12, will be joining another Award center to complete her Adventurous Journey. We very much wish her luck, and look forward to hearing all about her experiences afterwards - it is truly a challenge! Other Bronze level participants are taking on a full day's walk on Sunday. They will be carrying their rucksacks full of gear, and aim to complete a hike of around 14km. As they will also ascend and then descend 500m over the course of their journey, this will also make this their toughest MEPI challenge to date.

This week saw the International Award family come together online for A Global Celebration. Joined by our host Rhys Stephenson and HRH Prince Edward, we were proud to mark 100 years of the Duke of Edinburgh and to build on the extraordinary legacy he created through the Award for young people (MEPI) as they discover their infinite potential.

Mr Irving, MEPI Coordinator

Ma Petite Planete Challenge

C4C are into completing their second week of challenges for Ma Petite Planete and going strong. Team Greta Thunberg is in the lead with a whopping 227 points. Our number one player has an incredible 108 points from completing 38 challenges.

Challenges completed this week include:

• Do it Yourself +3 points
• MacGyver

Here is a great challenge that anyone can complete, all you need is a sock (or stockings), a block of wood, scissors, some nails and a hammer. Follow the steps in this video:

How to make your own eco-friendly dish sponge: Tawashi scrubber

And you're saving the world, one sponge at a time! Why not try it out this summer?

Veggie Day

Wednesday will see the BISL community go vegetarian for the day. Delicious Margarita Pizza and Vegan Bolognese will be served by Supercatering for those that order school lunch. But we need your help, please join us by preparing breakfasts and dinners that are vegetarian as well as home lunches. There are some wonderfully yummy vegetarian meals out there, here are a few ideas if you are stuck:

BBC Good Food

Please help us Save the Planet and Animals by eating a little less meat.

C4C Team

Celebrating our parents on Friday June 18!

Join us for this outdoor event on the playground from 7:15 - 8:00, giving us an opportunity to say thank you to the wonderfully supportive group of parents we have here at BISL!

Our first of two Enrichment Days is happening tomorrow (June 12th), if you’d like to register for next Saturday (June 19th), please contact Mr Damjan directly.

With the summer holidays just around the corner, find out how your child can join this two-week summer adventure with the British International School of Ljubljana - details here.

You have until Monday 14th June to register, if you haven't already done so. Week 1 will be free for all BISL students who wish to attend.

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

• 02.06.2021 - Ms Kukovica
• 29.04.2021 - Ms Blundell
• 15.04.2021 - Mr Brad Eve
• 25.03.2021 - Mr Dominic Hulse
• 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
• 06.10.2020 - Mr Jason Batson

As we approach the end of the school year, we welcome any donations of gently used school uniform.

The PTA will then host a Second Hand Uniform Sale during Orientation Day on August 20.

You are welcome to drop off your donations in the designated box by reception between now and the last day of school.

Dear Parents,

Finishing last week with our Student Appreciation Day was a wonderful experience and now today having a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast is another fantastic way to show our gratitude to those in our school community. This time, to our committed, caring and hard-working staff that bring such magic and joy to our students in the classroom each day. Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! Photo galleries of these two events are included in my full Update here.

Thank you to all parents and students for supporting this event, for the PTA providing the refreshments and food, and also to the students for producing such heartfelt and amazing comments for their incredible teachers to enjoy.

Next Friday we will be celebrating Parent Appreciation Day, which will be an outdoor event on the playground from 7:15 - 8:00, giving us an opportunity to say thank you to the wonderfully supportive group of parents we have here at BISL. I hope you can join us.

Today, you will have received a welcome letter from the teachers who will be leading the classes for next year. We will have further letters sent out as we split and create more classes over the coming weeks as more families join the school. An exciting time to find out about your teacher for next year and a quick write up to introduce themselves, to include key dates and contact information.

As mentioned last week, the last day of term is Thursday 24th June and this will, as always, be a 12.00pm pick up for all students. It will also be a dress down day (staff and students wearing House colours) as it is the last day of the year.

I look forward to playing sports, team building with the students and enjoying our first of two Saturday Enrichment Days tomorrow!

Please read my full Update from the Principal here for further details.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards,

Paul Walton

Principal