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Year 13 Lecture Series
This week, we heard a highly enjoyable and informative lecture on “The Egyptian Economy in the Last 100 Years”. The lecture was led by H.E. Prof Samiha Fawzy, former Minister of Industry and Trade, and our own Prof. Alia El Mahdy who is leading the 'Egypt and Middle East Programme' at BISC. This lecture series is part of our sustained efforts to ensure all BISC students have a full appreciation and knowledge of Egypt, and the region.
The success of the 'Egypt and Middle East Programme' hinges on the support of our community. Every effort must be made to convey the importance of this initiative to our students, both at home and in school; if we want our children to help shape the future of Egypt they must fully understand the history, culture and language. I would like to thank the Chairman of BISS, Eng. Ahmed Ezz, for organising and supporting this particular event and for helping to drive the programme forward from inception.
Book Week
We would like to thank Ms. Quinn, Mrs. Miah, Ms. Dooijeweerd and the Foundation Stage Team for leading on the highly successful and enjoyable Book Week. Instilling students with a love of books has so many benefits that can sometimes be overlooked in the current technological age. Below are the key benefits identified by numerous studies.
The evidence on the benefits of reading for pleasure are below:(Gov.uk)
- There is a growing body of evidence that illustrates the importance of reading for pleasure for both educational purposes as well as personal development (cited in Clark and Rumbold, 2006).
- Evidence suggests that there is a positive relationship between reading frequency, reading enjoyment and attainment (Clark 2011; Clark and Douglas 2011).
- Reading enjoyment has been reported as more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status (OECD, 2002).
- There is a positive link between positive attitudes towards reading and scoring well on reading assessments (Twist et al, 2007).
- Regularly reading stories or novels outside of school is associated with higher scores in reading assessments (PIRLS, 2006; PISA, 2009).
- International evidence supports these findings; US research reports that independent reading is the best predictor of reading achievement (Anderson, Wilson and Fielding, 1988).
- Evidence suggests that reading for pleasure is an activity that has emotional and social consequences (Clark and Rumbold, 2006).
- Other benefits to reading for pleasure include text comprehension and grammar, positive reading attitudes, pleasure in reading in later life, increased general knowledge (Clark and Rumbold, 2006).
Book Week
A game of hangman to test students' vocabularies:
Book Week Costume Parade Winners:
Best Dressed:
Toby - Year 13, Tatiana - Year 7, Tamara - Year 10, Ryan - Year 9, Aly - Year 7, Marion - Year 9.
Best Group Costume:
Zahra and Mansour in Year 12
Best Teacher Costume:
Ms. Katsaitis and Ms. Tweedley
Thoughts From Some Of Our Book Week Leaders:
"This year's book week was by far my favourite out of all of the years that we have done it before. As for myself, I ran the hangman activity where students had to guess a literary term and if they succeeded they would be rewarded a lollipop. I also participated in the breaktime activity that was held in the library where we got to socialise with younger students about books. I've heard from my other peers that this book week was a success, we all had a great time and the main message about the importance of reading was delivered and received. I have seen all of the year groups participate in book week by dressing up and talking about their favourite books that they have read so far in the year. I think that Book Week should be continued as all of the students here in BISC find it very fun and something different that we can do every year." Shahd
"This week I’ve seen the BISC spirit return. In my opinion, Book Week is an amazing school activity which encourages students to immerse themselves within a fantasy world, as it helps you live over a thousand different lives during one life." Snigdha
"I loved seeing reading and literature being promoted throughout the school and to all year groups. What I enjoyed the most, however, was sharing laughs with other students during the literature trivia game - it was great to be able to share my passion for the subject through a fun little activity. Indeed, I'm already looking forward to another fantastic book week next year!" Almante
"Book Week has been an incredibly successful week in my opinion. Through trivia, costume day, surveys, quizzes, and more, I believe BISC has truly embraced the literary spirit with enthusiasm. Personally, I had a blast planning and organizing snack time in the Library alongside my peers, spreading knowledge on the importance of reading in Ms. Quinn's assembly on Monday, and most of all, the burst of creativity when it came to Costume Day on Wednesday. Reading is a subject that should be discussed more, not only during this week but constantly throughout the year since I bet students and BISC as a whole could benefit greatly from it." Sally
Creative Arts Trip to London
An amazing week was spent during half term by Year 10 to 12 students and teachers on the Creative Arts trip to London. The students enjoyed theatre performances, gallery visits, workshops and sightseeing activities.
The students represented BISC very well, engaging with the tours and opportunities at every turn. We are very proud of them! We are looking forward to planning more trips like this in the future.
Year 9 Arabic Class
BISC/IDP University Fair - Sunday 26th February
The BISC/IDP University fair was a great success, as Senior School students and parents discussed undergraduate courses with representatives from UK universities, and learnt about the entry requirements, scholarships and acceptance rates.
IDP Egypt will also support BISC year 12 students with the IELTS test (International English Language testing system) which is the main English proficiency requirement for all universities.
Photos from the event can be seen below:
STEM Week, 12 -16th March
There will be numerous Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths events across the maths, science and computing departments. The full timetable will be released next week.
Year 7 Logarithmic Scales Research Project Competition - in the run up to our STEM project day, we will be running a research competition for Year 7 students. See more details on your Google Classroom and hand in entries to your maths teacher or at the maths office by Thursday 9th March.
The Pi Day Baking Competition will take place on 14th March. Entries must be
- handmade by yourself, not shop bought and then iced. (You may buy icing)
- NOT contain nuts.
- include either the symbol for pi (π) or at the least the first 3 digits of pi (3.14)
Entries must be in a labelled tin or box (with lid) with an entry slip which can be collected from S111 or your maths teacher.
Year 8 Spelling Bee
Our top spellers from each class in Year 8 will be competing for the Spelling Bee title in the following languages:
| English | French | Spanish | Arabic |
| Ali | Farida | Ali | Farida |
| Abdallah | Yassine | Hussein | Hussein |
| Tamara | Selim | Louis | Yassine |
| Laila | Hassan | Yaseen | Ali |
| Amari | Farah |
The event will take place on Monday 6th March in the Theatre at 15:30. Everyone is welcome to attend to support our Year 8 students.
IB Visual Arts Exhibition
Parents are invited to join us for an exhibition of the work created by our talented IB Visual Arts students. Details are on the poster below.
Student Achievements
Congratulations to Maryam in Year 9, who competed for her basketball team, the Egyptian Shooting Club and won first place in a recent basketball competition. The team are now through to the semi finals of the Republic Egyptian Basketball Championship.
Congratulations also to Hussein in Year 8 for competing in the Egypt Swimming Competition a few weeks ago.
Elevate Education Parent Workshops
Elevate Education offers one more parent support webinar this term:
- How Your Child Can Maximise Marks in the Exam Room - 21st March
Register for free on the link below:
The Chairman’s Award
We are delighted to introduce The Chairman’s Award, which he announced to our Junior School students at the flag ceremony just before half term. This offers the chance for our very best pupils to be rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the College Alpin-Beau Soleil in Switzerland for a one week Summer School experience.
Each of the year groups from Years 1-6 will have one student who will be awarded with this experience. The selection criteria for this will be as follows:
- Excellent academic performance: has attained the highest combined average results in English, Maths, Science and Arabic across the year group classes.
- Music: in Years 3-6, to play an instrument and show commitment and practice in this area. In Years 1 and 2, to show an interest and aptitude in music.
- Sport: to be an active participant in a range of sports and show good sportsmanship in lessons and ASAs.
- The Arts: to participate in dramatic performances with enthusiasm, to show a flair and innovative grasp of techniques in Art lessons.
- Behaviour: Demonstrates exemplary behaviour throughout the year, demonstrates a positive attitude towards learning, demonstrates care, concern and kindness for the welfare of others, demonstrates excellent manners towards peers and the rest of the school community. To show they are always ready, respectful and safe.
- Attendance: Maintains a school attendance rate for the year of at least 90% (excludes absence from significant medical condition / significant family trauma event).
This reward will obviously be awarded with parental consent and approval.
We are sure that you will agree that this is a fantastic opportunity for our students and we know they will all be working hard in the next few months to be in with a chance.
Book Week
This week we have had lots of fun with Book Week.
We were delighted to host a British company called TeachRex - and a friendly gorilla named Thomas - to run assemblies and workshops for the children, which were both engaging, informative and fun. Below is a selection of photos, and there are more photos of Years 1-6 on this link.
We had dozens of wonderful entries for our Book in a Box Competition, and you can see a selection on the photos below.
Mr Dorran judged the entries for winners, and admits that it was a tough decision!
Congratulations to our winners:
Hamdy 1E, Nayla 1H, Amina 2B, Layan 2N, Said 3M, Kamar 3I, Anima 4T, Hassan M in 4E, Ali A in 5G, Malika 5O, Sherbahadar 6F and Lamar 6M. They have won a mufti day for their class!
Students have taken part in various wonderful activities including Buddy Reading, as seen below when class 5O and 3I joined up to read together.
There was a Costume Parade to celebrate dress-up day, with some fantastic outfits on display.
The open air Book Fair was a great success, as children and parents were able to choose from a wide variety of books.
Last but not least, the week ended with some peaceful reading on the field, with our children supported by Year 12 students.
Assembly by Class 2F
This morning we saw a wonderful performance by class 2F for their peers and parents, showing all that they have learned about different countries and nationalities. Students were then treated to a special performance of Indian dancing by Jazba, the official dance group from the Indian Embassy in Cairo.
Arabic Drama
Junior School students enjoyed a special class in Arabic Drama with actor Karim Mahmoud Abdullaziz, studying the play El Feil El Nono El Ghalabawy by Salah Jahil.
BSME Under 11 Squad
Good luck to the Under 11 students travelling to Abu Dhabi to represent BISC in the Under 11 BSME Games. A big thank you to our travelling staff: Helen Foley, Akif Yaqub, Gordon Holder, Tim Lynch and Navida Bukhari.
Maths Workshop
The Junior School Maths Workshop, hosted by Mr Banton-Smith, will take place on Sunday from 14:00 - 15:00 in the Farag Hall. Please remember to send your reply slips back to your class teacher if you are attending. We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible.
Great Mathematical Pi Bake Off Years 4-6
We will be holding our own Bake Off Competition for Years 4-6, themed around the magical number ‘Pi’. Students are invited to create a cake or pie and bring it on Tuesday 14th March to the tables in front of the Junior Office. Please remember to include your name and class name.
Rules of the competition:.
- It must be made by you - not bought from a shop!
- It must include either the symbol for pi or at the least the first 3 digits of pi (3.14).
- It must NOT contain nuts.
- It should not exceed a 2-person portion size.
- At no point can it be shared with other students on the BISC campus.
Parent Conference Meetings
We will be hosting Parent Conference Meetings on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th March from 15:30 - 18:30 each day, where you can meet with your child’s class teacher. The bookings will open on Engage next week (Tuesday) and further information will be sent. You will also have the opportunity to book a slot with all of your child’s specialist subject teachers.
Songwriting Competition
Calling all young songwriters, singers, musicians, and producers: the Song Academy Young Songwriter 2023 Competition is now OPEN for entries!
All students in Key Stage 2 are invited to enter this global competition, before the deadline of Friday 31st March.
Star-studded judges include Fraser T Smith, Plested, Amy Wadge, Jimmy Napes & Calum Scott), and there are fantastic prizes up for grabs, including a Yamaha instrument worth up to £1,000, home studio set-up, a recording studio session with a top producer and a chance to perform at The Young Songwriter 2023 showcase.
Check out www.songacademy.co.uk/SAYS23 for further information, plus songwriting tips. If you would like advice or support, please contact Mr Shaun Bracey or Mr Callum Watt.
Foundation Stage children have enjoyed Book Week. They read a wide variety of books as well as listening to stories read to them by the older children. Thank you to any parents who came into school and read a story.
You will notice from the photographs that FS2 children had fun reading in unusual places for story time this week. Thank you to all the parents who sent in photos of their children reading.
We enjoyed seeing all the wonderful costumes during dress-up day. Below are a selection of photos with many more photos on this link.
| 5th March |
Junior School Maths Parent Workshop in the Farag Hall, 14:00 - 15:00
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| 7th March |
Year 1 Fagnoon Trip
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| 8th March |
Year 7 trip to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
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| 13th and 14th March |
Foundation Stage and Junior School Parent Conference Meetings
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| 15th March |
Pupil Leadership Conference 2023 (selected invitees only)
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| 20th March |
Year 6 Solo Musical Performances, 14:00 - 15:00
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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 Social Media and the impact on Mental Health.
If parents would like copies of any of the photos you have seen in the Bulletin, please email s706@bisc.edu.eg.
