There is a social media post going around Egypt that showing a dangerous game which has caused serious injury and one suspected death.

Thankfully, there are no reports of BISC students engaging in such reckless behaviour, but it would be prudent to speak to your children this weekend to warn them of the dangers of following such trends. Please note that you may find the following video disturbing.

Christmas Decorations

I would like to thank the Chairman, Eng. Ahmed Ezz, and the Board of Governors for arranging the wonderful Christmas decorations. Next week, we will have various activities taking place in the school to acknowledge the festive spirit and the end of what has been a long but rewarding term. 

We have an exciting last week of term ahead next week, with a number of festive and celebratory events taking place. The Year group Praise Assemblies are being held in the Theatre throughout the week, and we hope to see many of the parents at these events as possible as students are recognised for their Academic Excellence and Academic Endeavour during Term 1.

The Christmas Concert on Sunday evening is shaping up to be a fabulous event and the ongoing House events provide plenty of challenge and competition.

On Wednesday, the whole school will be celebrating World Arabic Day and we hope to see all students and staff in traditional Arabic clothing.

On Monday, it was wonderful to acknowledge the achievements of the current Sixth Form students with a celebration of their success in the Theatre.

82 students were awarded prizes. Year 12 students were awarded for their academic achievement in their GCSE exams and Year 13 students celebrated their successes in the recent mock exam series. Students were also rewarded for their academic endeavour across all subject groups.

I would like to thank Ms Ayad for organising and presenting the event and to congratulate the students on the wonderful achievements!

Mr Baxter

This year’s theme for the COBIS Poetry Competition was ‘Who am I’ and BISC has entered two excellent, and very different, poems for the Key Stage 3 category.

The two shortlisted entries are by Tony in Year 9 and Ali in Year 8, and you can read them by clicking on the link below.

We wish both of them the best of luck!

This morning, Mr. Kizintas' Year 10 Chemistry class were in the lab, yielding potassium nitrate salt using the neutralisation method. This practical experiment forms part of their GCSE curriculum.

Congratulations to our Under 11 and Under 13 Athletics team who came first in the Egyptian Games competition on Friday!

Under 11

The Under 11 Athletics team competed against 4 other schools in track and field events. Everyone who competed won a gold, silver or bronze award in a least one of their events and some won 3 or 4 certificates. The pupils represented BISC brilliantly and all tried their very best.

In both track races and field events, we led the way. The training and practice events during the ASA really made a difference and the children were confident and knew exactly what distances and times they were aiming for. Many achieved personal bests for the season so far and a BISC record in the 600m was broken by Maryam. The existing record was 2.14.07 and she ran in 2.08.74. Many other records are close to being broken as well.

Congratulations to:

Nahla, Eleanor, Habeeba, Maryam, Maria, Taya, Nour, Tia, Layal, Naya, Charlie, Nathaniel, Omar M, Youssef, Mohamed, Ismail, Karim El S, Karim H, Ahmed, Omar N and Mansour 

Under 13

The final overall results for all U13 Boys & Girls Egyptian Games are in, a big thank you to the PE department for making it a success.

Girls from our Sixth Form attended 'Girls Get Strong' at CAC on Saturday, where they took part in sporting activities and attended workshops about feminism and body confidence.

There will be no ASAs in the last week of term. ASAs will begin again in the second week of Term 2.

Sunday 11th December

• Year 7 Praise Assembly 08:15am in the Theatre (parents invited)
• Christmas Concert 18:00 in the Clocktower Quad (parents invited)

Monday 12th December

• Year 9 Praise Assembly 08:15 in the  Theatre (parents invited)
• Year 10 Praise Assembly 11:45 in the Theatre (parents invited)
• Photography competition deadline is on Monday 12th December

Tuesday 13th December

• Year 8 Praise Assembly 08:15 in the Theatre (parents invited)

Wednesday 14th December - Arabic Day

• Traditional Arabic dress (not just a non-uniform day)
• First break: dish party breakfast (Arabian and Egyptian cuisine, please bring disposable plates, spoons, forks, cups as needed)
• Key Stage 3 Arabic Assemblies
• Extended second break: activity stations (Tabla circle, Calligraphy, traditional games) in the nature garden
• Arabic Year 10 competition with a special guest appearance in Periods 5 + 6

Thursday 15th December 

• Y11 Celebration Assembly 10.45am in the Main Theatre
• Sixth Form movie and hot chocolate afternoon P4
• School finishes at 12.30pm

Students and staff across the school are encouraged to dress up wearing something that represents the Arabian and Egyptian culture on Wednesday 14th December.

Get ready, and be creative - prizes will be awarded for the best costumes.

In celebration of the World Arabic Language Day, throughout the day, the children in Y1, Y2 & Y3 will enjoy storytelling in their Arabic lessons. The children in Y4, Y5 & Y6 will have a session with the author Amal Afifi.

Today, a Year 7 class of non-native speakers were preparing posters for the day about Egyptian customs such as Sham El-Nessim and Ramadan, while listening to the song “Zorony kol sana mrra”.

Key Stage 2 Parents are invited to a Christmas performance on Monday 12th December in the Theatre.

There will be two shows: 

Year 3 & Year 6: 13:30 - 14:00 

Year 4 & Year 5: 14:30 - 15:00 

Please note, there will be a 30 minute break during the two shows and refreshments will be provided. Siblings (FS to Year 2) will be allowed to attend the performance if accompanied by their parents; please arrange with the class teacher who will arrange to bring them to the Theatre.

We look forward to seeing you there!

To ensure the safety and happiness of our pupils, together as a community, we should all be working together to stamp out bullying at school. As this goes without saying, it is also vital to understand what is meant by this term.

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.

Bullying can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time (for example, through sharing of digital records).

Bullying of any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders.

Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

What bullying is not:

• single episodes of social rejection or dislike
• single episode acts of nastiness or spite
• random acts of aggression or intimidation
• mutual arguments, disagreements or fights.

These actions can cause great distress. However, they do not fit the definition of bullying and they’re not examples of bullying unless someone is deliberately and repeatedly doing them.

This week we welcomed Sitara Theatre to perform Monkey Puzzle, a Julia Donaldson Donaldson story, with a Christmas twist!

Our Key Stage 1 children loved it!

This week, Year 6 students were able to show off all the hard work from Term 1, including writing and artwork related to the Ancient Greek civilisation.

There was some fantastic work on show and we were delighted to see so many parents supporting the event.

During breaktime, and as part of the initiative of encouraging Junior School students to talk and discuss thoughts and ideas in Arabic, some of the Key Stage 1 students had the opportunity to listen to Ms. May Kenawy while reading the book أريد أن أكون سلحفاة "I Want to be a Turtle" written by the Unesco prize winner, Amal Farah.

This event was very well received by the children, as Ms. Kenawy has an extraordinary talent in storytelling. Not only this, but she went the extra mile by bringing a real little turtle for them to examine. Hopefully it was a memory that will last forever and will always make reading in Arabic appealing from these chidlren.

Our gratitude goes to Ms. Kenawy for her endless support!

Today we saw Year 6 non-native students rehearsing for the Arabic show that they will perform on 14th December.

It is remarkable to see their progress, they should be very proud.

Congratulations to the following pupils from Key Stage 2, as they have been selected as Assembly Leaders, who will assist staff with the preparation and delivery of our weekly assemblies.

The Key Stage 2 Pupil Council assisted Mr. Issa with the application and selection process.

Please note there will be no After School activities during the last week of term (week commencing Sunday 11th December).

Information regarding next term’s After School Activities will be shared with parents imminently. 

Khaled in Class 2M won a gold medal with his team in the Boys’ Under 8 Egyptian Gymnastics competition.

He is pictured here with his teammates and coaches (he is on the right of the picture). We are so proud of him, well done Khaled!

Last week, we had the pleasure of watching a Key Stage 1 production of Christmas Around the World in a packed Theatre.

Here's a video of the performance, for any families that were unable to attend.

Photos of the event can be found on the link below.

This week, FS1 children started their Winter topic.

They learnt about animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctica, the types of weather during the winter season, winter clothes and December celebrations. They finished the week by making some warm wintery Gingerbread men.

A reminder for parents of the Winter Fun Activities coming up in Foundation Stage:

Sunday 11th December - Santa's parade (children only, wearing a Christmas hat)

Monday 12th December  & Tuesday 13th December Winter Fun activities in the FS nature garden.  Parents are invited to attend this event. Exact times for each class have been sent via Engage.

Wednesday 14th December - Arabic Day - Children should come into school in Arabic themed costumes.

Thursday 15th December - Christmas party - Children can wear their own clothes. Please send in party food for the class to enjoy. School will finish at 12:15 for FS classes.

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