Ready, Respectful, Safe 

Everyone is working hard at BISC to embed a culture of respect. The majority of our students show wonderful, respectful manners, and are working hard and making steady progress. I welcome everyone’s support in securing the very high standards of behaviour within the community, in class and out. We will be putting measures in place to celebrate the excellent behaviour of the many students who are showing respect and benefiting from the opportunities provided for them here at BISC. More on this to follow in a couple of weeks.

Public Holiday - Thursday 5th October 2023

A reminder that tomorrow, Thursday 5th October, is a public holiday. BISC will be closed on this day. Wishing everyone a restful weekend.

World Teachers’ Day - Thursday 5th October 2023

On the eve of World Teacher’s Day, I would like to extend my thanks, on behalf of BISC pupils, to our teaching staff. Everyone remembers their favourite teacher and the difference a teacher can make. Thank you to all BISC teaching staff for their hard work, commitment and continuous efforts to make a positive difference.

Breast Cancer Awareness

As we all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Over seven million women have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past five years, making it the world's most prevalent cancer. To raise awareness of this important issue, we will be holding an information workshop for BISC female parents on Monday 9th October 2023 from 13:30 in the Theatre.

The talk will be led by Dr Yasmin Gamil (Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Specialist) from the Baheya Foundation. The focus of the workshop will be on the importance of early detection, screening and treatment available to patients. All female parents are invited to attend.

Upcoming Events

Pastoral Matters

This week we had the last of the pastoral year group meetings. Please remember that if you have any concern about your child's wellbeing you can contact their Form Tutor or their Head of Year. 

Tuesday 10th October is World Mental Health Day, which coincides with the Senior School's first PSHE day of the year. Students will spend half a day engaging in lessons and activities planned to support wellbeing and improve learning in school. Key Stage 3 and 4 students should wear their PE kit on this day.

On Wednesday 11th October, there will be a Parents’ Evening for Years 8 and 11. There will be no academic ASAs for any Senior School students on this day.

If You are Ill

This week we have seen students who are very ill attending school only for the purpose of sitting in-class examinations and then returning home. Students who are too ill to be in school should not come in solely for tests, this places stress on their physical wellbeing and undoubtedly slows their recovery. Students should stay at home if they are not well, and teachers will be able to reschedule their tests when they return to school.

Years 11, 12 and 13 Zamalek Art Trip

On Wednesday 27th September, the Art students from Years 11, 12 and 13 took a trip to the Art Galleries in Zamalek. They saw four different galleries - the Zamalek Art Gallery, the Picasso Gallery, Art Corner and the Liwan Gallery. It was a valuable learning experience for our students to gather information and knowledge to add to their coursework. The students took a lot away from the visit and will use this experience to improve their coursework.

Ceramics Club

This week the Ceramics Club started to make Halloween-themed monsters using a pinch pot technique, with some unique creations. The students were also able to show off the coil pots that they have been working on.

UK Maths Trust Senior Challenge

This week, a large group of Year 12 and 13 students sat the UKMT Senior Challenge paper. The Senior Challenge is a 90-minute, 25 question competition designed to challenge our most talented mathematicians. We eagerly await their results!

IB Drama Classes

Our Year 12 Drama students ran their own practical workshops on theatrical traditions, which forms part of their IB course. Here, our students are demonstrating Rakugo (Japanese sit down theatre), Elizabethan conventions, and British Pantomime techniques.

Egyptian History Lectures

To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1973 crossing of the Suez Canal, Year 10 students attended a lecture by Engineer William Mehany, who participated in the October war, and served in the army for seven years.

The grandfather of some of our students, Engineer Mehany pursued a career in the pharmaceutical industry after the war.

Also this week, Year 13 students met Colonel Diaa Khairalla, the grandfather of one of our students. 

Colonel Khairalla led a reconnaissance platoon in the war, and engaged our students with his vivid recollections of this historic period.

Modern Arab League at BISC - Second Session

عقد الجلسة الثانية لنموذج جامعة الدول العربية بالمدرسة 

في يوم الأربعاء الموافق ٢٧ سبتمبر، حضر مجموعة من طلاب الصف الثامن إلى الصف الثانيفي يوم الأربعاء الموافق ٢٧ سبتمبر، حضر مجموعة من طلاب المدرسة بالصف الثامن إلى الصف الثاني عشر الاجتماع الأول لنموذج جامعة الدول العربية بالمدرسة الدولية البريطانية بالقاهرة. وكان الاجتماع هادفاُ للطلاب، حيث أنه الحدث الأول من نوعه للتعرف على تاريخ الأمة العربية في المدرسة

ننوي حضور أو استضافة مؤتمراً لنموذج جامعة الدول العربية في الفصل الدراسي الثاني، ومن ضمن الموضوعات التي اخترناها للمناقشة:  الملف النووي الإيراني، والمشكلة الجارية بين فلسطين وإسرائيل.

برجاء التواصل على s777@bisc.edu.eg إذا كان لديكم أية استفسارات. 

نتمنى أن يشاركنا طلاب المدرسة من الصف السابع إلى الصف الثالث بالحضور للاجتماعات أيام الأربعاء من كل أسبوع .

Last Wednesday, a group of students from Years 8 to 12 attended the first official session of the Modern Arab League (MAL) at BISC. This was beneficial to the students as it was our first time collectively being exposed to this activity and approach to the history of Arab Nations. We aim to attend or host a conference in the second term. Two of the topics we have chosen to discuss are: Iran's nuclear weapons programme and the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. If you have any questions feel free to email s777@bisc.edu.eg. 

We hope to see students from Years 7 to 13 attend every Wednesday after school in the IB building.

Accelerated Reader News

There has been a flurry of quiz-taking in the Senior School this week, bringing our total words read to 4.9 million since the quizzes opened! Well done to everyone who has contributed so far. 

Our readers of the week are:

Linda in Year 7, who has taken the lead this week for most words read; not just in Year 7, but in the entire Senior School! And with a 100% success rate on every reading quiz too! She is a super enthusiastic reader and an expert at  recommending books to others. Well done, Linda!

Nouri in Year 8, who completed her reading target this week and has continued to read with enthusiasm!

Yassine in Year 9, who completed his target this week and has been proactive about his reading and book selection in difficult circumstances. Well done, Yassine!

Good scores on Accelerated Reader quizzes demonstrate excellent focus on reading and are helpful in enabling students to progress their reading to the next level. 

The following students have gained 100% scores on book quizzes so far:

Year 7: Malak, Laila, Masa, Charlie, Leonardo, Adham, Amira, Nahla, Maryam, Linda, Makram, Ali, Karma, Hala, Yousef, Layal.

Year 8: Abdullah, Magdalina, Lina, Yassine, Nouri, Lilian, Omar, Lara, Laila M, Jessica, Abdallah, Laila S.

Year 9: Hebatalla, Lily, Adam, Chloe, Ameena, Yousef, Carma 

Well done everyone! 

Message from the Library

Please ensure that all library books are returned to the Library as soon as they are completed. This will help to ensure that we always have a wide range of reading material available for everyone in the Senior School.

Senior PE House Competition - House Shirts

We would like to inform you that during the final week of term, from Sunday 15th to Thursday 19th October 2023, there will be house matches taking place during PE lessons. It is important that students come prepared and wear their House shirt on the days when they have PE lessons, along with their school shorts, tracksuit bottoms, or leggings.

These matches provide an opportunity for students to represent their respective houses in the sports they have been participating in this term. Therefore, they should also bring any necessary specialist equipment, such as football boots, shin guards, or swimming kits.

To ensure that students have their House shirts in time, we kindly request that you purchase them from the School uniform shop prior to the House Competitions week.

We are excited to see all the students proudly representing and competing for their Houses.

Sports Achievement

Musa in Year 11 recently competed in the 2023 AJP Tour Africa Continental Jiu-jitsu Youth Championship, representing Anubis Martial Arts of Palm Hills. He finished in 2nd place to earn a silver medal. Congratulations!

Year 13 Deadlines for October 2023

Upcoming Events

Key Stage 2 Pupil Council Representatives 

Over the last two weeks, Key Stage 2 pupils have taken part in elections to form the new Pupil Council. The children wrote speeches, created presentations and delivered their manifestos to the class before the elections were held. Well done to everyone that participated and congratulations to this year’s Pupil Council. We are all very proud of your efforts. 

House Captains 

The Junior School Head of House is delighted to announce and congratulate our new Year 6 Heads of House.

Many thanks to all who applied. There were a total of 43 very strong applicants, which meant it was an extremely difficult decision to make.

Our new House Captains of 2023-24 are as follows:

Year 2 Maths

Pupils in class 2F were working hard with Mrs Paget this week to improve their addition skills through the use of bar-models and part-whole models; whilst consolidating their knowledge of greater-than, less-than and equals to. Using fingers remains a perfect technique for reaching the answers!

Year 2 Helicopter Stories

Class 2F are also using Helicopter Stories, a concept introduced by Vivian Gussey Paley, to develop their confidence, communication and writing skills. Each week, they role play short stories, written by their peers, on stage. 

Year 2 in the Library

Mr Bailey was in the hot seat this week, reading a selection of wonderful stories to an enrapt audience of pupils during their Library lesson.

Year 3 Science

As part of our Science topic of Light, Year 3 has been learning about shadows. This week, class 3M went to the Nature Garden with Ms McKenna and Ms Lailah to draw around their shadows. We then went back the next day to see if our shadows had moved due to the time of day. 

Year 5 Maths

Year 5 were working in teams to solve mathematics problems this week, with Ms Welsh supporting the peer learning.

Junior School Choir ASA

Our Junior School Choir meet every week to learn and rehearse songs with Mr Bracey. They are busy preparing for upcoming performances and sound great!

COBIS Poetry Competition 

Children in Key Stages 1 and 2 are invited to submit a poem for the COBIS poetry competition, before Thursday 19th October. 

The theme for the competition is ‘A Future To Be Proud Of’.

After the entries have been submitted, we will award one winner per year group. The final entry will then be selected by the judging panel and sent to COBIS by Thursday 2nd November. 

COBIS Art Competition 

There is also a COBIS Art Competition for the children in Key Stages 1 and 2.  Children are invited to submit a piece of art that they have created by themselves, not a group of students. The submission date is Thursday 19th October. 

The competition judges will be scoring the entries according to the following criteria:

• Imagination and originality
• Overall impact of the finished piece
• Technical challenges and use of material
• Sticking to the brief: ‘A Future To Be Proud Of’
• The pupil and school name should not appear on the image of the artwork submitted (the name and class should be placed on the back)

After the entries have been submitted, each year group will be awarded one winner. The final entry will then be selected by the judging panel and submitted to COBIS. 

Reminder: Carers' Authorisation to Pick Up Form

For the safety and security of our Junior School students, we need to be informed of the people authorised to pick them up from school.

Please fill in the information on this form accurately and attach a clear photo per individual. Please select a minimum of two carers to pick your child up and a maximum of 3.

This information will be transferred to a pick up card, an example of which is below. We hope to start using these as soon as possible.

Upcoming Dates

Thank you to all the Foundation Stage parents who met with their children’s class teachers this week. If you did not manage to arrange an appointment, please email the teacher as soon as possible.

Please note that you will be invited to meet the Foundation Stage specialist teachers to discuss your child’s progress in Arabic and Physical Development later in the term. You will receive details about this nearer the time.

Foundation Stage One

The children have had lots of fun exploring the Mesozoic Era. We ended our topic with an engaging 'Dinosaur Hunt'; the children had to follow a map to the Nature Garden and find the hidden dinosaurs! Next week, we will start our new topic: 'Funny Bones'.

Foundation Stage Two

Foundation Stage 2 children have been continuing to deepen their understanding of the numbers up to five, including the composition of these numbers and how to subitise numbers using dice. The children have also been working on their number bonds within five.

Upcoming Events

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

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 tips about the online video game, Fortnite.