Secondary News - Sept 14 2021

Block 1 Week 3

Week three of the year has been indeed very exciting with the beginning of school activities. It has been fantastic to see students playing football, participating in science experiments, and also learning Spanish! These activities really enable the students to further enrich their school life experience, enabling them to develop beyond the classroom. Please continue to liaise with the teachers who are leading the activities as they monitor student attendance. Thank you for supporting these fantastic clubs offered by our teachers.

The SEN and Gifted and Talented information sessions were held at school this week. These enabled parents to receive further information from Ms Železinger and Mr Bradley regarding the provisions in place for these students.

Additionally, this week saw the first of the Adventure Trips for the year, where Year 7 and 8 visited the Velenje Coal Mining Museum, Velenje Castle and Lake Velenje. Students were able to learn about the rich history of the area, whilst also participating in a short hike to take in the beautiful surroundings. In addition to this, teachers had further challenges prepared for students whilst they were paused at different points. Thank you to Ms Zupanc, Ms Tatil, Ms Hawkins and Ms Tušar for accompanying the students on this trip and especially to Ms Fairchild for organising it also.

Please be sure to read the latest Update from the Principal and I wish everyone an enjoyable weekend.

Stephanie Andronikos

Head of Secondary

Mathematics theme block

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Big news this week in the world of Mathematics. As we all know, the number Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Technically it has an infinite number of digits following the decimal point but researchers are always trying to find the largest number of digits Pi can be calculated to.

This past week, on Monday, Swiss researchers calculated Pi to 62.8 trillion figures!! According to a statement made by Graubuenden University of Applied Science, the calculation took 108 days and 9 hours to complete. This is almost twice as fact as the record previously set by Google in 2019.

The researchers are waiting for the Guinness Book of Records to certify their record but for all of you who are interested, they did reveal the last 10 digits for their calculation: 7817924264. For those of you who are wondering why Pi is important, here is a useful website to give you some further information. Currently, Pi is being used in RNA analysis which has very real and relevant implications in the world we are living in today.

Maths News

Key Stage 3 students covered their first algebra unit this year in student-led lessons by creating their own expression questions and teaching their peers how to collect like terms.

Year 10 revisited fractions and the order of operations. The students identified their strengths and target areas and addressed them through various activities.

Year 11 students' strive to improve their skills in calculating simple and compound interest shows their dedication to be successful in their second year of IGCSE Mathematics.

Year 12 students demonstrated their engagement in group work while solving past exam papers on the quadratic function.

Math mistake of the week:
Thank you to all students who approached me during lessons and in the corridor, including Katerina, Valentin and Peter from 8B, Milena from 7B, and also Tian and Peter from 8A. Excellent work!
Do not forget to check out new mistakes on display next week - across room 316.

Ms Zupanc

Mathematics Teacher

PE News

This week during PE, students continued to improve their understanding and awareness across a range of net and barrier games. Students were tasked with developing their serving and returning skills when participating in sports such as volleyball and badminton whilst also focusing on the importance of being able to rally consistently when playing tennis.

We also focused on developing a tactical understanding in sports such as kickball and Danish Longball, giving students exposure to competitive playing scenarios.

Mr Hayes

PE Department

English News

Year 7: Year 7B looked at different mythical creatures and began to do a unit on Vampires. We will be creating a project based on a mythical beast of our own choice.

Year 8: Both Year 8 classes jumped into the backstabbing, murderous land of Elsinore where Prince Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s murder. We examined the story of “Hamlet” and did some fun activities to get to know Shakespeare’s famous play in greater detail.

Year 9: Year 9 examined some classic Gothic Poetry and worked on analysing both Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-tale heart” - a story about guilt and his famous poem of lament for his lost love Lenore in the shape of “The Raven”

Mr. Wilkins, Mr. Staines, Mr Siter and Mr. Eve

English Department

Geography News:

In IGCSE Geography, the Year 11s have been developing and practicing their sap skills on large Ordnance Survey maps of the south coast of England. In preparation for their exams in May, the students have learned how to identify four and six figure grid references, measuring straight and curved distances and measuring heights using contour lines among other skills. If you ever get lost, just regret not studying geography!

Mr Astbury

Geography Teacher

Science News

The year 8`s enjoyed the density practical this week, weighing objects and then placing them in water to see how much water it displaces (showing the volume of the object). Using this they had to divide mass by the volume of water it displaces. I am sure they much preferred dropping the objects into the water compared to the calculations!

Mr MacNeil

Science Teacher

Slovene News

Our Secondary students became poets during Slovene lessons. They expressed their creativity, enthusiasm and sense for writing poems on a variety of topics. They have even added their own designs based on their feelings and beliefs.
Can you translate poems in your mother tongue? Give it a try.

Ms Drofenik and Ms Košec

MFL Department

Computer Science News

"In computer Science this week as part of the computational thinking topic, years 7 and 8 have been learning how to write algorithms in Python using Edublocks and year 9 have also been learning Python as part of their 'How to make a computer appear smart' topic. The robots have arrived and we are currently learning to build them in preparation for teaching with them very soon. Year 10 and 11 have also been programming in Python as well as continuing with their theory topics of number systems and storage devices. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching the students and I am looking forward to seeing them progress with their programming skills and increase their theoretical knowledge of Computer Science."

Ms Burtrand

Computer Science Teacher

MEPI News

It was fantastic to see so many new faces at our first MEPI meeting of this year! A BIG 'welcome back' to participants and staff involved with MEPI last year. And a VERY warm 'welcome' to our new participants (and also TWO new staff members). It is truly a great time to be involved with the Award. After a brief introduction, the first item on the agenda was a 'Rope Trick' ice-breaker, which was a fun and easy way for us to step slightly out of our comfort zone, and ultimately start to connect as a group. We then moved on to the business of setting-up the Online Record Book for our new participants. The app was downloaded onto mobile devices (and registrations will soon be confirmed). The participants also found time to start considering the activities they might like to undertake for the different sections of the Award. We even discussed the 'SMART' goals that would lead to the successful completion of this MEPI challenge. It's a great start!

Mr Irving
MEPI Coordinator

Come along on Friday 17th September for our Second Hand Uniform Sale! A couple of PTA volunteers will be set up outside the front entrance between 2:30-3:30 during pick up.

If you have any uniform items that your children have outgrown, you are also welcome to donate them to the PTA! Simply drop them off in the designated box by the front entrance by Thursday.

Dear Parents,

School open, lessons in action, After School Activities running and now School Trips are in full swing!

Our school is fully open and 'normality' is closer with our first Adventure Trips out today with Years 7 and 8, next week we have Year 9 and 10 Adventure Days, and also visits by our Primary students to the House of Illusions and an Eco Farm! We are delighted to arrange these opportunities and very happy that the students can enjoy exploring and experiencing class and year group excursions already this term. They will have an amazing time!

Tomorrow, we have our Enrichment Day 2 from 8.00am to 13.00pm. Over 60 students have signed up over the 2 weeks and this makes it our most popular Enrichment Days we have organised in the last year. We had wonderful weather on Saturday last week and enjoyed some excellent PE sports and arts and crafts. We have MEPI and Science activities planned for the students this week. I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Please come along to the PTA Second Hand Uniform Sale if you are free next Friday 17th September between 2.30pm and 3.30pm. This is a great way to meet other parents, help out one another with uniforms and to recycle any clothes so that others can use them. A great event and thank you in advance for your support.

Today, we had a fire drill onsite and the students were a real credit to the school. They exited quietly, calmly and in an organised manner. I was very happy with all students and staff and this further solidifies the high-quality safety expectations of the school and our procedures. Well done to everyone.

More deliveries have arrived in the new building over the past 7 days with extra tables, chairs and IT for the ground floor. On Monday 13th September, all primary classes will have a scheduled literacy lesson in the new library. Other building updates include the School Nurse's room completed, fully equipped and this has been an excellent addition to our provision here at BISL.

Please read my full Update from the Principal for more details and upcoming events.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind regards,

Paul Walton

Principal

All upcoming events and details are available on our website.