Secondary News - 10. marec 2020

This week Mr Kirwan started with an assembly launching the English theme this block. A big congratulations to Max and Noah in Year 10 for winning a scholarship to go to study at Cambridge this summer! They submitted excellent essays in the Cambridge Essay Competition. Well done boys! Mr Kirwan spoke about the importance of English and the sheer volume of words in existence. Much of the language has developed and changed due to scholars who have contributed to the language over time- such as Shakespeare who contributed over 1700 words! It is the most widely used and spoken language in Global History! He challenged the students to read more this block.

This week the students participated in PUST. It was wonderful to see the many costumes the students put effort into preparing. Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Mickey and Minnie mouse and Snow White were among the many. A thank you to the PTA for selling doughnuts after school for the students to enjoy.

Also, this week bookings opened for parents for the second and final round of interviews this year. Please ensure that you book to see teachers and bring along your child so that they can be a part of discussions. It will be the final opportunity before Years 11 to 13 go on study leave and eventually sit exams, so these interviews are important for students now in the final turn.

I wish a wonderful weekend to all.

Stephanie Andronikos

Head of Secondary

Our Health Advice page includes information that you can read through and specifically highlights the following about the Coronavirus:

• Advice/Links understanding the virus
• Additional Information
• How to protect yourself and others from getting sick
• Symptoms and what to do

Staying at home is the advice for anyone in our school community showing symptoms and then to please seek medical advice immediately.

In school we have continued to upgrade all hygiene and health monitoring procedures. Which include:

• Increased the number of gel-sanitizer dispensers around school and the frequency with which students and staff use these.
• The disinfection of common areas (Handles, stair rails etc.).
• Increased cleaning during the school day.

We will contact parents immediately if there are any further developments and continue to our best wishes from the BISL community.

Mr Walton

This week we would like to share a blog written by Jernej of Year 9 and recognize the outstanding work of Domen in Year 9 who received a certificate in recognition of his work. Well done to both students.

Climate Change Blog

By: Jernej - Y9

To read the full blog with the charts and pictures please visit this link.

In this blog, I want to talk about Climate change, What causes climate change, how we can stop or slow it down, what people think about it and how you can help.

What is climate change and why we should be worried?

Evidence

Carbon Dioxide or CO₂ is proven to be a greenhouse gas which means it traps the Sun’s heat in the atmosphere. This graph shows that after we started using fossil fuels carbon emissions skyrocketed. We are the reason for these changes and many people choose to ignore them. The amount of CO₂ particles is not the only evidence. Because of these carbon emissions, the average temperature increased by 1.5°C since 1880, and this is not because the Sun got warmer or because there are more solar storms; this is mainly due to us and is really shown by the Greenland ice caps melting.

How much CO₂ would be deadly?

5,000 ppm: this indicates unusual air conditions where high levels of other gases could also be present. Toxicity or oxygen deprivation could occur. This is the permissible exposure limit for daily workplace exposures. 40,000 ppm: this level is immediately harmful due to oxygen deprivation.

Why should we be worried

We should be worried because the melting ice caps will cause the oceans to rise and sink many countries (Maldives,..). Extreme weather events are getting way worse. Chunks of Antarctica have broken off. Mosquitos are able to expand their territory spreading deadly diseases (malaria,...). Now wildfires seasons are months longer (as we have seen in Australia). Coral reefs are dying because the sea is becoming more acidic from the increased CO₂ in the atmosphere. Because of all those changes we have triggered the sixth mass extinction…

The sixth mass extinction

For an animal to become endangered there has to be 250 of them left on Earth. Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours. This is nearly 1,000 times the “natural” or “background” rate and, say many biologists is greater than anything the world has experienced since the vanishing of the dinosaurs nearly 65m years ago. As from 2019 1.000.000 from 8.000.000 of species are on the verge of extinction.

What can you do?

You can do many things, for example, you can purchase stuff from the farmers market or purchase groceries from trusted producers. Even with our current situation, we should be proud of our achievements towards solving the climate crisis.

Mr Cox

Head of Science

Before Christmas, students were encouraged to take part in the 2020 Cambridge Summer School Essay Contest. This contest was open to secondary students across the world and rewarded the best essays across a range of subject areas. The questions were designed to challenge students to think at a higher education level, and reflected the questions asked at entrance examinations to Cambridge University. Essay questions included: 'Should the law require people to vote in general elections?' and 'Does Philosophy have any practical value in the modern world?'

The full results were announced last week and we at BISL were absolutely delighted to learn that two of our pupils received prizes in the contest. Both Max and Noah (Year 10) will receive scholarships to take part in this year's Cambridge Summer School. They will spend two weeks at the university, meeting and studying with students from all over the world, and will get a chance to explore both Oxford and Cambridge. The boys' essays discussed the skills required in engineering, and the extent to which the United Nations is an effective organisation.

Mr Newsham

Head of English

The European Cadet Fencing Championship was held in Poreč, Croatia this week. Attending was Lars from Y10. Lars was also awarded the status of a Youth athlete by the Slovene Olympic Committee - congratulations to him on his success.

Some fantastic costumes were seen for our Pust celebrations this Tuesday. Here are a few pictures taken on the day and there and a lot more can be found on our Facebook page.

We are delighted to now have our new logo available on our BISL V-neck sweaters, cardigans, polo shirts etc.

Please visit our UNIFORM SHOPto purchase these new additions.

We are also happy to announce that new outfits will be introduced to our existing uniform, and more information on this will be shared in March.

Welcome back everyone!

I hope everyone had a great break, and I wish you all a productive and fulfilling block back. This week’s assembly consisted of language learning, and more specifically how we all can improve our English skills. With English assessments on the horizon, and even more stressful English IGCSEs and A-Level not far behind, scrutinising your analytical and writing skills are essential and imperative for not only your success in these exams but also in everyday life. In addition knowing how to effectively and freely express yourself and your opinions is integral to your success in contemporary society. As Mr. Kirwan mentioned in the assembly, reading more is one of the most effective methods to bettering both your vocabulary and comprehension of colloquial phrases and idioms in the English language for those of you who are not native speakers. Setting long term goals, and prioritising the core areas of the language- Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are all ways to expedite your competency in English. Especially for those of the younger generation, reading is often perceived as a redundant past-time that only regurgitates futile, nugatory information. This only perpetuates the insinuation that reading is bad and useless. However, with the cognizance of how beneficial reading can actually be, we can all grow to apprehend how good reading actually is. Scientists have concluded that reading not only leads to higher reading test scores for children, but also higher test scores regarding general intelligence as well. Stronger, more consolidated reading skills may also provide a cemented foundation in future learning as well. Defending against degenerative mental illnesses, making people more empathetic and open, helping you relax, and increasing brain power and function are all but a few of the benefits to reading.

Better start grabbing that book!

Max, Year 10