Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards - BISC Winners 

We are very proud of our students who achieved an Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award for their performance in the iGCSE June 2023 exam series. Cambridge recognises the exceptional performance of learners around the world. The awards reflect the talent and hard work of learners and acknowledge the dedication and commitment of both teachers and parents. By winning one of these awards, these students have competed against thousands of other learners who have taken the same subject in their country, and globally, for the same exam series.

This is an incredible achievement and all of us at BISC are extremely proud of our students. There will be a celebration ceremony in the near future, attended by Cambridge representatives, to recognise this incredible achievement. Very well done. 

School Day - Holy Month of Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan is projected to begin on Monday 11th March.  

As in previous years, the School will adjust the school timetable to recognise the cultural and religious significance of this month.

From Sunday 10th March, the school day will finish at 14:30 for all students; school buses will depart at 14:45. The starting time of the school day will remain at 07:55. The Junior School will have an adapted timetable with minimum lesson disruption. 

In the Senior School, lesson 1 will begin at 08:00, and we have reduced breaks and lunch to ensure that there is no disruption to curriculum time. It is imperative that students arrive by 07:55 at the latest; they will need to go directly to their timetabled lesson 1, where they will be registered.

After School Activities will not run from Sunday 10th March, apart from academic support and intervention sessions for our GCSE and IB examination groups. A separate programme outlining all the intervention sessions offered this term will be published by the Senior School and shared with Year 11 and Year 13 parents. Please note that we will not be running second buses during the holy month of Ramadan. The canteen will continue to serve food as normal during break and lunch times.

Wishing everyone a blessed and peaceful month ahead.

School Photography 2024

Professional photography of students and class groups will take place between Sunday 10th and Sunday 17th March. Please see further details provided in this bulletin; an email outlining ordering and payment will be issued by the Business Office shortly. All students must be in the correct School uniform including their BISC blazer for the photographs.

Key Dates Ahead

Book Week

Our annual Book Week took place this week. This entailed numerous in-class activities during the KS3 lessons. Year 7 students made picture books that will be shared with our Junior School pupils; they had to think carefully about the language they use and how authors adapt and manipulate language, to suit their target audience. Year 8 students worked towards turning a story into a live performance, through puppets. All students were thoroughly engaged in bringing books to life.

On Tuesday, staff and students dressed up as their favourite book characters. Well done to Noor Al-S and Mariam A in Year 9 who used symbolism in their costumes to bring Ariel and Caliban from ‘The Tempest’ to life - this was an excellent understanding of the text they studied in English this term, and to Chloe L in Year 9 who hand-made her own costume! This year's costume competition winners are Charlie D, Mohamed B, Adham El-E, Ahmed G and Leo S in Year 7, who worked together to represent the characters from ‘The Midnight Gang’.  All the students looked fantastic!

We promoted literacy through cross-school events when our Year 6 pupils joined a Year 7 English lesson this week and everyone shared their love for literature.

The week ended with our annual Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R) event. Year 12 and Year 11 students read together with their Junior School counterparts and everyone in the Senior School ended the week with a good book, heading into the weekend in a calm and peaceful state.

A big thank you to Khadija S, Safiyya M, Hana C and Ynes H, the Year 12 students who have worked tirelessly since October to make the events and activities of this week a success.

Student Thoughts on Book Week:

“We dressed up, we created our own stories and it was a good break from tests. It helped us to cool down and we know that these skills will help us in the future” - Ahmed K (Year 7)

“We really enjoyed talking about our favourite books and dressing up, working as a team.  It was great to share each other's ideas. It was a nice and calm week” - Mohamed B (Year 7)

“For this year's Book Week, we created many quizzes and activities for the younger years to complete. From going into classes and seeing students complete these activities, I've realised that through fun activities all the students are much more interested in reading than they previously were.” Hana C (Year 12)

“I feel like Book Week, this year, has reintroduced an interest in reading, especially with the KS3 costume parade. Going into KS3 classes, to help with their creative writing and storybook-making has shown that each student can be creative in their work and, I think, have an interest in a variety of different genres and themes. The KS3 students seemed very keen to create their stories for the Junior School and I believed they enjoyed having the freedom with their writing and ideas.” Safiyya M (Year 12)

“I think Book Week was a brilliant way for us to see how students from different year groups can work together, for example, the Year 8 students have been making puppets to tell a story to the Junior School pupils, or how Senior School students were reading to Junior School pupils.” - Ynes H (Year 12)

We Will Rock You

A reminder that our Senior School production is happening next week. We Will Rock You will be performed on Monday 4th, Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March, starting at 18:00 in the main Theatre; it should be a wonderful, entertaining evening. Please reserve your seats using this link:

https://forms.gle/bb12EbKpQNSkWYku8

Seats will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. We look forward to seeing you there.

School Photography 2024

Professional photography of students and class groups will take place between Sunday 10th and Sunday 17th March. All students and teachers will be made aware of the day and time of their appointments next week. Please ensure that students follow the school dress code, including their blazers.

MUN at BISC (BISCMUN XI)

Our 11th Annual BISC Model United Nations takes place next week, from Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th March. 

BISCMUN's theme this year is 'Journey to Justice', where we invite students to think about the definition of justice, through debates on various topics, across eight committees. 

BISC is hosting schools from across Cairo and looking forward to an enriching weekend.

After School Activities

The adjusted timetable for Ramadan commences on Sunday 10th March. The last day for Term 2 enrichment ASAs is Thursday 7th March, academic support and intervention sessions for KS4 and KS5 will continue until the end of Term 2, throughout Ramadan. 

Stars of the Week

Year 7 - Natalie R for pushing herself to make progress across her studies and achieve as best as she can.

Year 8 - Zainab F for working hard in the Musical, and still gaining positives with a much-improved attitude to learning.

Year 9 - Hussein E G for always wearing the correct uniform and looking so smart. 

Year 10 - Hoda E for many positives, 100% attendance and being a great role model.

Year 11 - Habiba T for her consistent hard work, dedication and commitment to all aspects of the School.

Year 12 - Daniele and Petras

Year 13 - Ali K

Readers of the Week 

Nour G in Year 7 has completed many books this term and has become a bit of an expert on her favourite author. She completed this term’s target this week with a 100% quiz. Well done, Nour.

Olfat D in Year 8 has already completed nearly double the amount of required reading for this term. Well done, Olfat.

Sporting Achievement 

Congratulations to Omar F in Year 11, and his team, for winning the U16 Giza Football League. Well done, Omar.

Upcoming Events

Book Week

Book Week provided a plethora of opportunities for reading across the Junior School. With each class focusing on a book from a unique and exciting region of the world, pupils have been transported on a journey of reading, exploration and discovery of cultures, concepts and ideas across the literary world.

To celebrate a love of reading, there have been several Buddy Reading sessions taking place across the School. Below are photos of Year 4 and Year 1 pupils coming together to read.

We also enjoyed a Costume Parade, which was a wonderful event. There were many wonderful outfits, as you can see below.

In the spirit of collaboration between parents and the wider School community, it was a joy to have so many families reading together at our event on the field. It really showed the pleasure of sharing books with our children.

The Book Fair was a further testament to our shared values of creating readers for life. We look forward to sharing the results of the bookmark and writing competitions in the near future.

Pupil Leadership Conference

Following last year's success, we will be hosting a BSME Pupil Leadership Conference this year on Thursday 7th March. The event has been organised by a planning committee consisting of pupil leaders across both the Junior and Senior Schools. Young leaders from Years 4 to 13 will attend this event, as well as students from other BSME schools around Egypt. This year's theme, Inclusion, holds particular significance as we strive to cultivate a culture of diversity and unity within our School community. The conference will feature interactive workshops, team-building activities and more, providing a holistic learning experience for all participants.

Mrs Bukhari would like to take this opportunity to thank the planning committee for their contributions so far and we look forward to another successful conference this year.

PLC Planning Committee:

Year 3 Music Concerts

3M and 3O presented concerts to parents this week in the Music room. The pupils sang songs including ‘Cairo Kyle the Crocodile’ and a rainforest-themed tune entitled 'I Love the Colour Green'. In the middle of the concert, the audience was asked to close their eyes as the pupils recreated the sound of a rainforest using just vocal sounds and body percussion. There were some solo performances including piano and drums and all members of the class performed the tune 'Frère Jacques' on glockenspiels. 

KS1 Assembly

Before half term, Mrs Bievz led the children to sing in the Theatre, spreading the joy of music. We also handed out certificates for Stars and Mathematicians of the Week. 

KS2 Assembly

In the last assembly before half term, House Captains announced the Book Week competitions, we recognised the U11 BSME participants and celebrated the pupils who won certificates for Stars and Mathematicians of the Week. 

After School Activities

Junior School ASAs for Term 2 will end on Monday 4th March as Parents’ Evenings will take place on the following days. There will be no ASAs during the holy month of Ramadan.

We will be sharing a brochure of Term 3 ASAs in the coming weeks. Term 3 ASAs are scheduled to begin on Monday 22nd April.

Thank you for your support with our ASA programme this term. 

Arabic News

Class 2B Arabic Guest speaker 

التقى طلاب الصف الثاني الابتدائي بالأستاذة ملك ياسين ضمن فعاليات أسبوع الكتاب وتلك هي زيارتها الثانية لفصلهم. قامت الأستاذة ملك بقراءة "عين القمر" وهي قصة مأخوذة عن قصص كليلة ودمنة، واستمتع الطلاب بالقصة التي تجري أحداثها في عالم الحيوانات وتحمل قيمًا إنسانية رفيعة. كل الشكر للأستاذة ملك ياسين لدعمها وحرصها على تعزيز القراءة باللغة العربية بين طلابنا

التقى تلاميذ الصفين الرابع والسادس خلال أسبوع الكتاب أيضًا بالدكتور حامد شمة، والذي تحدث إليهم عن أهمية الكتاب ودوره في حياته، كما ناقش مع التلاميذ ظاهرة انقراض بعض الكائنات الحية ومنها بعض أنواع السلاحف. كان لقاءًا مميزًا مليئًا بالبهجة

اما عن الصفين الأول والثالث فقد التقي التلاميذ  بالأستاذة مي قناوي، التي قدمت لهم عرضًا تمثيليًا لقصتين عربيتين مميزتين هما "أخ خ خ خ" و"لماذا هذه الكلبة بالذات؟!!". وقد كان التلاميذ سعداء جدا بهذا اللقاء

During Book Week, the Year 2 children met with Mrs Malak Yassin for a second visit to their classroom. Mrs Malak read a story derived from the classical tales of "Kalila and Dimna". The children enjoyed the "The Moon's Eye" story, which takes place in the world of animals and carries noble human values. Many thanks to Mrs Malak Yassin for her support and continuous efforts in promoting Arabic reading amongst our pupils.

Also within the framework of Book Week, pupils in Years 4 and 6 met with Dr. Hamed Shamma, where he talked about the importance of books and the role they had in his life. He also discussed the topic of the extinction of some endangered species with the pupils. This was a special visit, full of joy.

Pupils in Years 1 and 3 had Ms Mai Qenawi visit them, who presented them with a theatrical performance of two Arabic stories: "Akh, Kh, Kh" and "What Is So Special About This Dog?!!". The children were enthused and excited. 

Upcoming Events

Foundation Stage One

Foundation Stage One joined the rest of the School and participated in many Book Week events this week. The children listened to stories from international authors and learned about different places and traditions. Some pupils from Years 4 and 5 visited the FS1 classrooms and read stories to the children.

The children had the opportunity to dress up as their favourite book characters and were encouraged to talk about their costumes. On Thursday, the children wore their pyjamas to School and read their favourite bedtime stories.

Foundation Stage Two

Foundation Stage Two children enjoyed Book Week and read a wide range of books based on the interests of each class. Our favourite stories include 'Dinosaur Roar', 'The Gruffalo', 'The Lion Inside' and 'Mad about Minibeasts'. The children loved dressing up as book characters and wearing their pyjamas to school for a cosy read.

Upcoming Events

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

This week we are sharing tips about how to set up parental control on new devices.