Punctuality Reminder

We have approximately 95% of the school arriving before 07:55 (thank you!). Feedback from staff is that this has improved learning and that Period 1 lessons are now far more productive than before. 

To reach our goal of 100% of students on the school campus before 07:55, I would ask all parents to aim for 07:45 which will allow for traffic fluctuations etc.

Overall, it has been a great response from the community. 

Attendance

Attendance is not quite where we want it to be. While there have been some flu viruses etc. which have obviously affected the school’s attendance record, it is still below the school’s expectations and needs to improve.

Some key reminders:

1. Holidays and family trips should not be arranged during term time.
2. Medical appointments should be made outside of normal school hours where possible.
3. You should not let your child stay at home unless they are clearly unable to attend. While we do not want to jeopardise your child’s health, it is clear that there are cases where the illness is minor and they should be in school.
4. You should not allow your child to miss school in order to study for an upcoming test or examination. 
5. The school encourages students to participate in sports outside of school. However, any fixtures that are during school time must be approved in advance. Approval is only given for those students who have a good academic standing alongside a strong attendance record.

Uniform Reminder

The school would like to remind all parents to check their child’s uniform in the morning before they leave for school. One of the areas that can be overlooked is footwear. Below is a picture which clearly shows what is permitted and what is not; permitted footwear is readily available throughout Cairo.

Model United Nations

Last week, we sent a delegation of 11 students to the prestigious The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) 55th annual conference, accompanied by Ms Adly, Director of MUN and Mr Stimpson.

We are very proud of our Deputy Secretary-General, Abdelrahman, who served as Chair in the Human Rights Commission and was particularly impressive in his knowledge of THIMUN procedures and handling a committee of over 100 delegates. 

Year 9 Options Fair and Parent-Teacher Meetings

We are looking forward to seeing students and parents at the Year 9 Options Fair on Wednesday 8th February. The event will begin at 14:15 in the IB quad and will be followed by the parent-teacher meetings in the IB classrooms. Please make sure you have booked your appointments with teachers on Engage.

Arabic Year 9 Parent Meeting

Parents are also invited to attend a meeting about Arabic Studies with Dr Alia ElMahdy on Wednesday 8th February, 13:30 in the Rosemary Theatre.

UKMT Intermediate Challenge

This week 50 students from Years 10 and 11 took part in the UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge. The Challenge encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. We wish all students the best and look forward to receiving their results. 

Key Stage 3 BSME Maths and Science Challenge 7th - 9th February

This is a fun interhouse competition of Maths and Science learning. Students can earn points for their House by completing maths and science tasks online. The tasks will improve students’ subject knowledge and problem solving skills. All students have been sent their login details. Good luck to all students!

We wish good luck to our Under 15 team, who will be attending the BSME Games in Abu Dhabi in March!

Arabic and Egyptian Culture Lecture

This week, we welcomed Professor Mohamed Afifi, History Professor at Cairo University and the former Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Culture to BISC, to present the next in a series of Arabic and Egyptian Culture lectures: “The French Campaign in Egypt and Mohamed Ali's Era: A Different Way of Reading the History.”

Students learnt a lot and asked insightful questions after Professor Afifi's presentation.

Update from the Careers Department 

Book Week 26th February - 2nd March

Advanced notice for parents: The BISC Literary Costume Parade will take place on Wednesday 1st March.  Students in all year levels can come to school dressed as their favourite literary character or author and spread their love of reading by talking about why they’ve decided to dress up as that person. If students do not want to be involved, they should come to school in their regular uniform.

'Girls Get Strong' Event

On Saturday 4th February, Year 12 students will be running this year's 'Girls Get Strong' event.

It is open for students from Years 6 to 8. The day is designed to introduce students to a range of different sports and to encourage students to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. Year 6 students will enjoy getting to know the Year 7 and 8 students that they will see around the Senior School next year.

The event starts at 10:00 am and students will have an action-packed day. There will be rugby, hockey, cricket, break dancing, boxing and more!

Senior School Reading Successes

The following students in Year 7 and Year 8 have received 100% on their Accelerated Reader quizzes this week:

Magdalina, Lina, Valentina, Yousif, Mamdouh, Selim, Adham N.

The following students are our star readers having read a considerable amount of books already this term (outlined below):

Louis (7), Abdallah (5), Valentina (4), Laila (3), Johannes (3), Daniella (3), Adham N (3)

We are seeing excellent reading habits develop in our Year 7 and Year 8 students. Please keep promoting healthy reading habits at home.

Language Stars of the Month - December & January

To recognise excellent effort and engagement in language lessons, the MFL department has an initiative called the Language Star of the Month. Teachers are asked to choose one pupil from each of their classes that has gone above and beyond in lessons and shown themselves to be a star language learner.

We are excited to name 31 students from Years 7-13 as our Language Stars of the Month for the first half of December and second half of January. Their names will be on display on the board outside S204 for the next month to celebrate this achievement. Well done! ¡Enhorabuena! Félicitations!

Great Golf

Congratulations to Abdelrahman in Year 8 for winning first place in the Under 13s Egyptian Golf Masters, played in New Giza over the weekend. An amazing achievement. 

Elevate Education Parent Workshops

We are racing through this term at a staggering speed and I can't quite believe the Year 5 Luxor Trip is nearly upon us. The children are very excited and we are all looking forward to it as it will be their first residential trip.

Can I please remind parents that After School Activities finish at 16:20 and children should be picked up, at the latest, by 16:30. Children should not be left in Junior School reception unsupervised if there is another event in the school for a sibling. Please make sure that you make arrangements for them at these times.

ASA Action

The lower and upper KS2 Chess Club started this week, during Sunday and Thursday lunchtimes. A number of pupils have signed up to play, from those who want to learn, to some experienced and talented players. This initiative has been brought about to promote positive relationships between our children, learn new skills and take part in healthy competition. Eventually, we hope to host a competition so stay tuned.

Some Junior School students have joined the Philosophy Club as one of their after school activities. This week, they were debating the definition and and ethics of bullying - a great chance to stand up and speak out!

A team of budding journalists are working on a Student Newsletter - creating the themes and writing the articles themselves. All will be revealed soon!

Meanwhile, some of our children were learning the basics of basketball in the afternoon sunshine.

Key Stage 1 Assembly

Well done to class 1H, who performed an excellent assembly about kindness for their parents today!

Well done to classes 3I and 3M, who performed an excellent joint assembly for their peers and parents today!

Arabic Writing With Class 2M 

The children in class 2M were practising their Arabic handwriting this week - and were proud to show off their best work!

Egyptian Cinema Club

Foundation Stage & Junior School Sports Days

U11 BSME Squad

Good luck to the U11 squad going to the BSME Games in Abu Dhabi next month!

Pupil Achievements

Well done to Maya in Year 2, who won a gold medal for Under 7s in Artistic Gymnastics at the Egyptian Gymnastics Cup at the New Giza club.

Sarah in Year 3 also won a silver medal in a gymnatics competition this week, despite only starting the sport 2 months ago! Well done!

Word of the Week

In Key Stage 2, we are committed to expanding the vocabulary of our learners across the curriculum. Every week, we will share a 'Word of the Week', for children to learn and practice at school and at home.

Below you will find the words of the week for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Thirteen years ago, the Headteacher at a school in Scotland was concerned by the
lack of fitness displayed by children within her school. To do something about
this, the children were encouraged to run around the school’s oval playground for 15 minutes a day to improve their overall fitness – and so, The Daily Mile was born. By September 2012, the entire school was participating in The Daily
Mile and the local community had begun to recognise the impact that The Daily Mile was having on the children. At the end of 2012, not one of the 57 primary school children at St Ninian’s was deemed “overweight” by the school’s nurse.

The Daily Mile is simple and inclusive and gets children out of the classroom for
fifteen minutes every day to run or jog, at their own pace, with their classmates,
making them fitter, healthier, and more able to concentrate in the classroom. It is a profoundly simple but effective concept, which does not require any special
equipment, training or staff training. Its impact can be transformational – improving not only the children’s fitness, but also their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general wellbeing. One reason exercise is considered so important for children is because it helps establish lifelong habits. “If you are generally active as a youngster, it has a moderately positive effect in terms of your intention and
commitment to being active as an adult,” says Prof Craig Williams, director of
the children’s health and exercise research centre at the University of Exeter.

There are also other long-term consequences. Late childhood and early adolescence are critical times for laying down bone, which reaches its peak density
in our 20s, declining thereafter. The higher your bone density during youth, the lower your risk of fractures and osteoporosis in later life. “The idea is that we try to put as much bone as possible ‘in the bank’ as youngsters,” says Williams. “The mechanical stimulation of our body weight going through our bones, muscles and tendons when we jump up and down, stimulates our bone cells to grow and lay down new bone.” There is also some evidence that the fitter you are when you are 18, the less likely you are to have cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, in later life.

The Foundation Stage at BISC decided to follow this example and in 2018 introduced the Daily Mile - within two weeks we noticed a difference not just in fitness levels but in concentration and focus in the classroom.

This week we relaunched the 'Daily Mile' in FS1. It was a tremendous success, every child who participated managed an entire circuit of the school running track, 400m. This afternoon, some FS parents attended a workshop about this, and to hear what other aspects of Healthy Living we have been looking at this term. They were also invited to join their children on the track, as you can see on the video below. (Photos here)

Parent Information Event

Parents are invited to a Parent Information Event on Thursday 9th February at 14:15 in the Farag Hall. The event will help explain the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum in more detail and look forward to where the children will be headed by the end of Foundation Stage 2.

In The Classroom

FS1 children are learning pre-writing skills and developing the fine muscles in their hands. 

In FS2, the children have been learning about the stars and the planets of our Solar System. They have made rockets and practised the familiar 'countdown' to lift off. They also wrote a list of what objects they would take with them on a space mission, and learnt about the moon landings which took place over half a century ago.

Children in FS2 also learned the concept of short sound movements, and had a lot of fun during the Arabic Art activity.

Keeping our students safe online is a priority at BISC. We are happy to share advice from the NOS (National Online Safety), to enable parents to understand the pros and cons of various social media, games and digital trends.

This week's advice is about how to build Digital Resilience at home.

If parents would like copies of any of the photos you have seen in the Bulletin, please email s706@bisc.edu.eg.