Eid Mubarak

BISC would like to wish everyone in our community a happy, prosperous and peaceful Eid Mubarak. 

Year 13 Graduating Class of 2024 - A BISC Legacy

Our Year 13 graduating class enjoyed their final week at BISC, leading a variety of activities under the umbrella heading of ‘Spirit Week’. From Sports Day, to Dress Up Day, to community service and iftar meals with their teachers, they have conducted themselves beautifully, making everyone proud. It has been a nostalgic week, as many are marking the end of a 15-year journey at BISC. The School community honoured their successes, achievements and spirit in a final and touching standing ovation.

They are remarkable young women and men; we are extremely proud of them, wish them well and want them to remember that BISC will always be here and will always be their home. 

Revision and exam preparation will be the focus over the next few weeks and we will continue to support them, both academically and pastorally, to ensure they are ready to face the challenges ahead. The very best of luck, Year 13.

Careers in STEM Conference (CISC)

On Tuesday 16th April, BISC will be holding its inaugural Careers in STEM Conference (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). With an invitation to fulfil their potential and find their place in the world, BISC students will have opportunities to meet with professionals from myriad STEM careers to learn about the steps to take for a successful career pathway.

There can be no better inspiration than our keynote speaker, Dr. Mae Jemison. This American icon broke more than the sound barrier by becoming the first woman of colour to travel into space. Graduating from the most prestigious universities as a chemical engineer, then as a medic, and with a degree in African-American studies, she can motivate us all academically. However, it is her pioneering work in the realms of social responsibility that impact the most.

Parents will also be able to benefit from Dr. Jemison's wise words. Please look out for an invitation to attend her keynote presentation, a question and answer forum, and reception on the afternoon of 16th April.

Attendance and Punctuality

After the Eid break, our school day will return to pre-Ramadan timings. All students must be on campus by 07:55 at the latest and the School day will end at 15:10.

We will also be requesting your support in improving attendance and punctuality across the School. There is significant academic research on the impact of attendance on attainment. Please remember that every day matters and every lesson counts. Thank you for your support in helping us secure the best outcomes for our students.

Key Dates 

Year 13 Sports Day

Year 13 Guard of Honour

On Wednesday 3rd April, students from across the School came out to wave goodbye to our Year 13 graduates in a beautiful guard of honour walk. More photos here.

Year 10 Maths Project Awards

Following last week’s highly successful mathematical modelling project in Year 10, the awards for Best Project go to: Hassan A, Salaheldin A, Ali G, Andrei R, Mansour S, Farida A, Lara E, Zara ES, Nadine H, Sasha W, Mariam Z and Adam S. Well done to all of the Year 10 students who completed the project!

BISC’it Student Magazine - Issue #2

The journalistic team at BISC’it, the School’s student-led magazine, is proud to present its second issue, which can be viewed on Google Classroom.

In this issue you will find: Ms Clarke interviewed to review the School production 'We Will Rock You', teacher superlatives and awards, an overview of Ramadan and its significance, and articles about CISC & Careers and BISCMUN-XI. Our staple content is also there presenting: teacher dopplegängers, student memes and a term 2 crossword!

We hope you enjoy this issue, and if you have any suggestions for content, please feel free to email us at: MagazineASA@bisc.edu.eg.

Year 8 Science

In a Biology class this week, Year 8 students participated in an eye dissection, as part of their light and eye anatomy topic. Students pinpointed key components like the lens, pupil, cornea and optic nerve. They looked into how the lens is shaped and its ability to bend light. More photos here.

Secret Student

In order to raise the profile of positives in School, we introduced a scheme this year to encourage students to take more responsibility for their own attitude and approach to learning, and improve the culture by striving for a positive learning environment in our classrooms and around the School.

The winning secret students this week are:

7KF - Ann AK - 47 Points

8JH - Elias A - 55 Points

9SW - Hassan B - 57 Points

10JW - Shahira A - 58 Points

11TJ - Sienna K - 57  Points

IGCSE and O-Level Examinations - May/June 2024

The official IGCSE and O-Level examinations of this summer will run from Friday 3rd May until Monday 17th June 2024 inclusive. The exams follow the external timetable set by the examination boards. Examinations start at 11:00am (for an AM exam session) and 15:30pm (for a PM exam session).

BISC students have been issued with their personalised exam timetables. Students who have not received their exam timetable can collect it from the Examinations' Office after the Eid holiday. You can see the BISC timetable through this link.

Parents and students are requested to please refer to this important letter, issued this week by Mr Starkie.

On behalf of the whole BISC community, we wish all students the best of luck in their upcoming exams and look forward to celebrating their achievements in August.

End of Year Examinations

During Term 3, the Senior School will be conducting final evaluations of student progress and setting targets for future academic success. Our formal series of End of Year Examinations will start from Sunday 26th May until Wednesday 5th June 2024, inclusive. All Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 students will be in attendance daily for examinations, following an exam timetable which will be released after the Eid holiday. Results and feedback will be provided in lessons from Sunday 9th June, including guidance and support for students, in order to secure strong academic outcomes in the next academic year. 

Stars of the Week

Year 7 - Nahla I for consistently displaying respect, being responsible, and being ready to learn across all her lessons at BISC.

Year 8 -  Ammar A for being consistently positive throughout Term 2 and working hard despite his involvement in the musical.

Year 9 - Malek S for always being so positive and polite. 

Year 10 - Edan H D for getting the most positives, no AFI's, 100% attendance, and always being willing to get fully involved in everything he does! Keep up the excellent positive spirit, Edan.

Year 11 - Zahra A H for getting the most positives, no AFI's, 100% attendance and no lates. Zahra is always friendly and willing to offer a helping hand. 

Year 12 - Sebastian S and Lea A

Reader of the Week

Mohamed B in Year 7 has completed next term’s reading target this week! The best news though, is that on completion of his reading, he decided to try to gain double the amount of set reading points by the deadline. This shows fantastic commitment to building skills through reading. Well done, Mohamed!

Despite being a short week, we still have some 100% AR quiz results to celebrate:

Year 7

Mohamed B, Charlie D, Linda, Ahmed M, Ethan P, Ali S.

Year 8

Fatima S, Ryan S.

Upcoming Events 

Eco Awareness Day

Today was Eco Awareness Day in the Junior School - organised by our very own Eco Committee. Our main objectives were to raise awareness about our roles as an eco-friendly school and to brainstorm ways we can become more sustainable. The highlight of the day was a session with our Buddy Class in the JS Quad. We showcased our eco-friendly, Junk-to-Funk outfits and had fun completing an Eco-Quiz together. In class, we flexed our creative muscles by designing our own Eco Superheroes. The Eco Committee will be picking their favourite design soon. It was a fun-filled and educational day, and we are all excited to make a positive impact on our environment. More photos here.

A big thank you to all the Eco Committee members: 

Hailey S, Lara S, Lara G, Khadiga, Maya,  Laila G, Zane H, Laila C, Lily A, John G, Mona M, Kameela O.

Year 6 Iftar

Many of our Year 6 pupils have been fasting this Ramadan. Last Monday, we all gathered to break our fast together at the School. Each pupil brought along a delicious dish to share with their friends and teachers. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying the food and each other's company after a day of fasting. These moments of togetherness and sharing truly reflect the spirit of unity and generosity that Ramadan teaches us. More photos here.

Key Stage 1 Assembly

In last week’s assembly, Class 2L performed songs and a dance based on their favourite Roald Dahl characters. We also celebrated the Stars of the Week and Mathematicians of the Week. More photos here.

STEAM Week Dress-Up Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics)

On Thursday 18th April, we will be having a dress-up day to celebrate our STEAM Week theme of 'Time'. Pupils are encouraged to dress up as something that represents their understanding of time, such as characters or animals from the past, futuristic figures, clocks, people who find out about the past, or other symbols of time. This activity aims to engage pupils in creative expression while reinforcing their understanding of temporal concepts.

After School Activities

Thank you for entering your After School Activity choices for Term 3. We will be sharing all confirmations via email shortly. Term 3 ASAs will begin on Monday 22nd April. 

Stars of the Week

Key Stage 1

Year 1E Kenda; Year 1H Hassan; Year 1J Naod; Year 1N Haytham.

Year 2L Nadine; Year 2B Emily; Year 2F Ali; Year 2C Hana.

Key Stage 2

Year 3B Hatem; Year 3F Omar H; Year 3M Roshdy; Year 3O Mahmoud.

Year 4T Youssef; Year 4D Hussein; Year 4E Hassan and Sulaima.

Year 5B Taya; Year 5W Tamim Z.

Year 6F Mourad; Year 6I Ahmed M; Year 6M Malika; Year 6W Hassan.

Sporting Achievements

Congratulations to Omar in Year 4, who recently won a gold medal in a tennis competition.

And to Abbas in Year 4, who won a handball competition with his team.

Arabic News

في إطار أنشطة برنامج مصر والشرق الأوسط، وللمرة الأولى في المدرسة الدولية البريطانية بالقاهرة، تم تنظيم معسكر للغة العربية يومي الثلاثاء والأربعاء الماضيين. وقد شارك طلاب الصف الرابع والخامس في أنشطة تتعلق باللغة العربية، موزعة على ثماني محطات مختلفة، ومتمثلة في تمارين متنوعة وجذابة تركزعلى القواعد النحوية والإملائية واللغوية

كما ظهرت مواهب الطلاب الفنية من خلال تمثيلهم مشاهد قصيرة في مسرحية باللغة العربية الفصحى الحديثة. هذا بالإضافة إلى قيامهم بتمثيل دور مذيع الأخبار، مما يساعد على تعزيز مهاراتهم اللغوية وثقتهم بأنفسهم

For the first time at BISC, Egypt and the Middle East Programme organised an Arabic camp on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd April. Pupils in Years 4 and 5 participated in Arabic language-related activities across eight different stations; engaging in various interesting exercises that focused on grammatical, spelling and linguistic rules. 

The pupils also demonstrated their artistic skills by performing short scenes in a play, using Modern Standard Arabic. They also played the role of TV news presenters, further enhancing their language skills and confidence. Year 4 photos Year 5 photos

Upcoming Events 

Foundation Stage One

FS1 children had a busy and fun-filled Term 2. This week, they completed many Spring art activities and ended the week with an egg hunt. Next term will be very busy and exciting.

Foundation Stage Two

The children in FS2 ended the term with a most enjoyable egg hunt.

Our Summer term topic is ‘Growth and Change’ and we will plant a variety of seeds and observe their growth. As we prepare for the FS2 Graduation, we will reflect on how the children have grown and changed throughout the year.

STEAM Week 

The week commencing Monday 15th April will be STEAM week (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Maths). We have many activities and experiments planned.

On Thursday 18th April, children can come to school dressed in a STEAM-related costume, e.g. a scientist, a doctor, or an engineer.

Swimming Lessons 

FS1 and FS2 will start swimming in the first week back on the following days:  

FS1Y -  Tuesday 

FS1B -  Wednesday 

FS1C -  Wednesday 

FS2G -  Tuesday

FS2H -  Monday

FS2L -   Monday

FS2S -   Monday

Children can either come to School wearing their swim kit or change in School. 

Please pack the following items in a swim bag (all items need to be labelled): 

• Swimsuit or trunks 
• Towel 
• Goggles
• Swim hat (if your child has long hair)
• Pool shoes - e.g. Crocs or flip-flops 

We encourage children to change independently, and practising this during the Eid break would be helpful.

Reminders

Please send in spare summer clothes.

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 advice about Five Nights at Freddy's.