It is lovely to see our students learning so much about Nepal with evidence of this right across the school; enjoy exploring and finding out more about Nepal and so many other rich learning experiences below. Our community has succeeded in collectively completing the Himalayan Trail, a challenge that was set for us all before the Dashain break; congratulations to everyone that contributed to this fabulous achievement.
Our secondary students marked Remembrance Day with thought provoking and meaningful assembly about the lessons we can learn from past and present war to avoid more conflict in the future. Well done to those students who took part in the Qatar Leadership Conference last week and good luck to those students who will be taking part in the Singapore Model United Nations Conference this week. MUN is a fantastic opportunity for our older students to experience leadership and advocacy whilst learning about important global issues and how to tackle them effectively through diplomacy.
Thank you to our Foundation 2 parents for attending the phonics workshop and our Year 7 and 8 parents for attending the parent teacher consultations this week following the recent reports. Next week will see our Year 9 parents attending their consultation; you will have received guidance in a letter from Ms. Knowles, so please check your email and speak with your child to ensure appointments are made.
We will be having a Parents Information Session on Thursday 26th November at 5:00 pm where our leadership team will be providing a variety of updates with an opportunity to ask questions regarding our ongoing provision.
It remains for me to wish everybody a very happy Tihar and remind you that we will return next Wednesday, 18th November. Please enjoy the festivities and please stay safe.
Brian Platts
Principal
Recent and future updates
Great Himalayan Trail Challenge
Well done to all the walkers, cyclists, runners and jugglers involved across our ĢƵ community –WE DID IT! As a team we have more than covered the 1700km it took to complete the Great Himalayan trail. Distances are still being submitted and who knows where in the world we will end up walking to… A huge thank you to all of you that got involved. It’s not too late to submit your distances and pictures.
Early Years News
F1 and F2 are celebrating Nepali week. The students drew their favourite things of Nepal, made a Mount Everest collage, pretended to climb Mount Everest and made a card and diyo for the upcoming Tihar celebration. What a lovely celebration of our host/home country, Nepal!
Lucie’s favourite part of Nepal is scenic landscapes and Kayleigh’s favourite is people from Nepal (especially her friends). It was wonderful seeing Bilashita’s dad sharing about the Tihar celebration during an Early Years Zoom session.
Key Stage 1 News
Year 1 has started Talk for Writing around the book Lost and Found, a story about the friendship between a penguin and a boy. We learned more about penguins; for example, that they enjoy sliding on their bellies. The students came up with predictions and made their own story maps to help them retell the story.
This week Year 2 has been focusing on the Eat Well plate in IPC and looking at the ingredients that make up different meals matching the ingredient to the correct food group. Muntaqium, Aadya, Juhi and Ari have designed their own very colourful versions of the plate!
Lower Key Stage 2 News
Year 3 have been delving into the world of Ancient Egypt as part of their new IPC topic: Temples, Tombs and Treasure. This week they have been researching the River Nile, the world’s longest river, putting together posters and models to display the things they found.
As part of their Paintings, Pictures and Photographs IPC topic, Year 4 have been looking at prehistoric cave paintings and combining several artistic techniques to recreate their own versions. Using animal stencils and layered texture backgrounds, an impressive array of cave art appeared on Seesaw earlier this week!
Upper Key Stage 2 News
Year 6 have been stretching their problem solving and engineering muscles this week during their low-tech Wednesday challenge – this week the task was to create a machine that would lift water! After doing some research into existing designs, students designed, planned and then made prototypes.
Year 5 spent some time this week thinking about Remembrance Day and its importance around the world. They explored why the poppy is used as a symbol of remembrance and the dove as a symbol of peace. They then created their own pieces of art to represent the message of peace and hope.
Key Stage 3 News
I would first of all like to say a huge well done to the students in Key Stage 3 for such a successful week. So much has been going on that all of the students involved in the key stage should be proud of. It is amazing to see the quality and effort that is being put into the work produced, right across the board. The students have dived straight into their new projects for the term and really got stuck into the tasks that have been set for them.
In Y8 Geography, the students have been looking at climate change and the impacts that it can have on the world around us. It is great to see such young students really taking into account the effects that climate change is having on our world and being so aware of the issues that can arise if we do not act as soon as possible. The students were tasked with creating a cartoon that carried a powerful message and the results were fantastic.
In Music, the students have been continuing their learning of Raga music. The students have been playing ragas and anhemitonic scales in preparation for creating their own improvised music inspired by Nepali and North Indian musical traditions.
In Year 7 Languages, the students have been looking into selling their house. They have been delving into their inner estate agent and trying to convince people to buy their property. They have been including the amount of rooms the house has and different things that make it unique. Some of the work produced has been fantastic.
In Year 8 Drama, the students are adapting the processes of Gyre and Gimble: making the puppet breathe, notice & interact with others. Instead of brown paper puppets we are using our own cuddly toys at home! Here is the moment when the puppets met for the first time.
A huge congratulations to all of the students in Key Stage 3 for such a fantastic week. It is great to see the standard of work that is being produced week in, week out.
This week’s student of the week goes to Urgyen in Y8. Urgyen has made a great start to term 2 and has come back ready to try his best. In Music, Urgyen created a piece of work that was absolutely fantastic. They were learning about the different instruments that are used for Raga music and were tasked with creating a presentation. Urgyen thought of an innovative and creative way to display his work by adding links to each of the instruments to hear the sounds it makes. This is a clear example of someone going above and beyond to excel in their learning.
When asked for some words of advice for other students, Urgyen said this:
‘Try to complete more than the minimum’
Key Stage 4 News
As the second week of Term 2 draws to a close, students have continued to work hard. KS4 students are continuing to work closely with their mentors to set academic and personal targets based on their Term 1 reports. It is important for students to be setting SMART targets, especially Year 11 students who, as of now, will have external exams later this academic year. To make the prospect of the external exams even more real, CAIE have, this week, released the examination timetable. There is still much uncertainty about how the remainder of this academic year will pan out, but students should take the release of this timetable as an indication that, at this point in time, examinations are going ahead, and thus, setting their academic targets is crucially important.
Following on from the release of this timetable, in the coming weeks, KS4 students will be focusing on study skills in their PSHE sessions.
For PSHE this week, students have been looking at the issue of food security and hunger. In many countries, including Nepal, these issues have been further exacerbated by the pandemic.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to The World Food Programme, which has been helping to alleviate much hunger and food security around the world. Currently in Nepal, there are approximately 2.8 million people (almost 10% of Nepal’s population) who are food-insecure. It is important that our students have an understanding of this and appreciate how fortunate they are. Next week is also Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in the UK
In Geography, Year 10 students have continued to look at migration. Having considered voluntary migration earlier this week, the end of the week has seen them considering reasons why people become refugees and many of the problems faced by refugees. There was also a quick quiz on the 10 countries that ‘house’ the most refugees. Which countries do you think? They may not be as obvious as you think, as the Year 10 geographers found out! Answers at the end.
In Business this week, Year 10 students have been looking at businesses that stopped operating or have gone bankrupt and have had to explain why a business of their choosing failed. is an example of some great work produced by Ayush.
Research and Investigation is the important first step in any Design and Technology project and Yr 10 students have been investigating different brands for their Sunglasses project. They’ve also had to learn 2 long words; Ergonomics and Anthropometrics, about how we interact with products and the study of human measurements!
Great examples here from Aadi, Ojaswi, Niyanta,Himanshu Em, and Needadh.
Positive comments for KS4 students have been pouring in this week. Here is a selection of what teachers are saying about our students:
Meghna and Manon (YR 11): Awesome Physics video explaining how voltage can be increased when a current carrying wire is in a magnetic field;
Ishan, Elana, Lionel, Sachi, Needadh in Yr10 Doing a calculation correctly and not just copying the answer in Maths independent work lesson;
Jeebika, Needadh, Serra, Sansta, Himanshu Y10s: English Language and Literature; fantastic contributions to class discussions;
Nimisha in Yr10 : 100% in last weeks’ MyIMaths homework.
This week’s student of the week in KS4 is Meghna. She continues to amaze her teachers with both the output and the quality of her work. Last week, Meghna attended the Qatar Leadership Conference and was burning the midnight oil after having attended full days’ of lessons and then conferences in the evening, which when finished, she then had her homework to complete for all of her subjects. Meghna has an incredible work ethic and for those of us that know her, know that she will, undoubtedly, go on to achieve much in life. Well done, Meghna! Keep up the amazing work. Here is what Meghna has to say:
“The two week break was very well-needed, and I think I came back this past week feeling a lot more stable. It gave me the opportunity to appreciate things like how interesting my history lessons are and how much I enjoy the independence online school has given me, and even put me in the headspace to look forward to an MUN conference coming up later this month. That being said, this week was perhaps the most hectic week I’ve had thus far. I attended the Qatar Leadership Conference over the course of 5 days, where I listened to students and teachers host workshops all dedicated towards sculpting student leaders, and I think it was an incredible opportunity for me. I walked away inspired to start my own projects, like plan my own MUN conference, tools that I think would make me a better leader, and some really awesome friends. The only downside was that it ended at 11 pm every night, meaning I was often burning the midnight oil to make sure I was still meeting all of my deadlines whilst still getting revision done. It put me on a weird schedule, but if anything, it made me prioritize and be productive. The entire week was chaotic and I barely had time to breathe, but it was the most rewarding week I’ve had in a long time.
As the week drew to a close, I looked forward to the weekend to just take time off. For a long time, I’d feel guilty and unproductive for taking a break, but I’ve realised that it would do me more harm than good to keep going. It’s so needed to just turn your brain off for a while, and I’d like to tell people in similar positions that if you know that you’re working hard consistently, you deserve a rest. I personally like to play the piano, read a book or watch a movie, but there’s no limit on the things you can do.”
The world’s top 10 refugee hosting countries according to Amnesty International are….
Key Stage 5 News
University
Reminder to all students applying to the UK that your ĢƵ UCAS deadline is 20th November. Remember to share your personal statement with your mentor for feedback. If you would like further guidance or information please contact Ms. Hemelik (ahemelik@tbs.edu.np)
Those applying through Common App – your ĢƵ deadline is 18th December. Please ensure your recommenders know where you are applying and you have sent your Brag Sheet to Ms. Hemelik.
Key Stage 5 Highlights
Seoyun has really impressed her new Chemistry teacher who describes her as ‘an all around rock star.’ Always participates to the fullest extent, takes risks when learning new chemistry content and never fails to ask questions to extend her thinking!
Ritu has made amazing progress in Psychology. Her work has been unfaltering, despite the additional work she has been doing in the first week for the leadership programme.
Jason, Adwita and Joeun have made fantastic progress in their extended answers in their biology test and have shown resilience this week despite issues with internet connections!
Student of the Week
Rachit Kedia, Y12 is our student of the week. For his consistent positivity and kindness.
He has also completed an online Introduction to Business course on Future learn. Well done Rachit!
I believe that school is the foundation stone for the future. Therefore along with studies developing soft skills and fundamentals are also equally important. Friends there is no shortcut to hard work. I thank all for giving me this recognition which I will cherish always. Always remember to balance between studies and wellbeing.
I would like to end with my personal quote: “ In life there is darkness but within that darkness there is a twilight and as you gradually move forward you will meet the pathway to success”.
Tihar Break on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th November.
