Another busy week comes to an end. It was so good to see so many Junior School parents join us for our Curriculum Information Evenings. Year 13 parents also had a twilight session yesterday, where the new Internal Assessment Calendar was shared. A detailed presentation from our Careers team highlighted the complexities of applying to universities across the globe. The main message was that collaborative, trusting relationships between home and school will lead to success.

Although exceptional weather interrupted the After School Activities programme this week, our pupils were happy and busy, and as evident in this Bulletin, began an array of creative activities.

A particularly well done to Year 9 for achieving 96%, the highest attendance figure this week - a proud achievement indeed. Keep up the good work.

Prophet’s Birthday

I am sure that parents will be aware that Thursday 28th September 2023 has been declared a public holiday. You can find our updated term dates on our website, here. 

Ceramics After School Activity

On Sunday, we started the Ceramics Club with a range of students from Years 7-9.

The students had a great time and started work on some amazing designs. We look forward to seeing the end results.

Year 8 Maths

Students in Mr O’Leary’s class were discovering the ratio of circumference to diameter, for circles of different sizes, in order to prove that it is the same number for every circle. This is the number known as π or 'Pi'.

Great Golf 

The 102nd Egypt International Men's Golf Championship was held at El Gouna Golf Club last weekend. The tournament featured 13 countries, including the host country, Egypt. The Golf Association was eager to give opportunities to up-and-coming players such as Rani in Year 11 who competed brilliantly in the event.

Congratulations also go to Abdelrahman in Year 9, who won first place in the Egyptian Open Golf Championship, played in Soma Bay from 22nd - 24th June.

Parent Pastoral Workshops

The Pastoral team is excited to invite you to the first Parent Workshops of the year. The workshops will be a great opportunity to meet informally with some of our Form Tutors, followed by a short presentation by the Head of Year with the aim of strengthening our established partnership.

The dates for the workshops are as follows:

• Year 9 with Mrs Ahmed, on Wednesday 20th September, from 15:30 - 16:30,  in the Black Box Theatre.
• Years 7 and 8 with Mr Powley and Ms Turner, on Sunday 24th September, from 15:30 - 16:30, in the IB Common Room.
• Year 10 with Mr Tabram, on Monday 25th September, from 15:30 - 16:30, in the IB Common Room.

Further information and formal invites will be shared with year groups via their Head of Year shortly.

Wake Up, Shake Up

Every day, our Junior School pupils start the day with a group dance in the Quad. See below how we Wake Up and Shake Up! 

Year 1 Non-native Arabic 

Year 1 non-native pupils were learning Arabic with a couple of familiar friends this week as Mr. Elmalky revised basic conversations.

Year 2 Shared Reading with Buddy Class

In Year 2, the children have been doing some shared reading with their buddy class. The older children shared the text and asked questions to ensure their understanding.

Year 3 Arabic 

In their Arabic class this week, Year 3 pupils were working in teams to build sentences and make posters. 

Year 4 History

Year 4 have been learning about the Romans, and completed an archaeological dig to find treasure and clues relating to how the Romans lived and died.

Year 5 French

Our Year 5 pupils were practising their French this week, with word searches and group work. Très Bon!

After School Activities 

Pupils in the Junior School tried 'Yoga and Mindfulness' as an After School Activity this week, learning the benefits of breathing and stretching with Mr. O'Connell.

The Cooking ASA with Mrs Miah was also popular, as pupils learnt how to make cookie dough in our recently refurbished Food Technology room.

Please ensure children attend ASAs they are allocated to. Children who are absent on three occasions, without valid reasons, will be removed and this will result in children being replaced by other children from the waiting list. 

Parent Curriculum Information Evening

It was lovely to see so many of you at the Curriculum Evenings this week, we hope that you found the evenings informative and useful. Please remember that we are always here to support you and your children with any questions or concerns that you may have.

Copies of the class teacher presentations can be found on each of the individual class Google Classrooms. The Junior Leadership presentation can be found here. 

Junior School House News

Mrs. Tiernan, the Junior School Head of Houses, is delighted to welcome new Year 6 applicants for the House Captain positions.

The requirements of the role are as follows:

1 Boy + 1 Girl

• Responsibility
• Creativity / Ideas
• Commitment
• Professionalism 
• Confidence

Behaviour shall be taken into consideration in the selection process.

Applicants should:

• Send their applications via email to anne.tiernan@bisc.edu.eg
• Clearly explain why they would be great for the role
• Video applications are also acceptable
• Provide references from two teachers and include their names in their application

Applications must be submitted by Wednesday 27th September to be reviewed.

Gymnastics Success

Congratulations to Laila in Year 2 who won a gold medal for rhythmic gymnastics at a recent Egyptian Gymnastics Federation competition.

Reminder from the PE Department

Please make sure that jewellery is not worn on the days when pupils have PE. If they are unable to remove items, we will provide tape to cover them for health and safety reasons. Many thanks to those who come ready and prepared for their lessons!

A large amount of new equipment was ordered from the UK for Foundation Stage and much of it arrived this week. The children will be able to access new and stimulating games and equipment this term.

Foundation Stage One

This week, FS1 has been very busy; the children have been exploring the equipment in the classrooms, painting self-portraits and drawing pictures of their families.

All three FS1 classes come together each day to play in the garden.

Our specialist lessons have begun; Ms Mariam has been finding out about the children and their Arabic language skills, whilst Ms Tatiana has been assessing the children’s abilities at PE and she is already confident that FS Sports Day will be a day to remember!

Foundation Stage Two

FS2 settled into the routines and structure of the day. The classes are mingling during ‘freeflow sessions’ and also playing together in the FS2 garden; this enables the children to socialise and learn with a wider group. Those children who attended FS1 last year are familiar with the weekly library visit and the new intake were thrilled by the varied choice they were presented with. 

Ms Hala is teaching FS2 Arabic and this already promises to be as successful as it was last year. 

Ms Tatiana’s PE lessons are both challenging and enjoyable; she has been assessing the children’s gross motor skills and introducing them to the skills required in team activities.

Keeping our students safe online is a priority at BISC. We are happy to share advice from the Safeguarding Training Centre, to enable parents to understand the pros and cons of various social media, games and digital trends.

This week we are sharing 10 top tips to stay safe online.

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