What a superb week! Our Y4 and Y5 students have been trailblazing! They are the first students from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ to undertake their expeditions in 2 years and they have set the bar high. Well done to all the students who rose to the challenges and accepted the adventure with such enthusiasm. Thank you also to all of the staff who made it happen through their hard work and determination.
The leadership strengths of our Secondary students have also been coming to the fore this week. We have been very impressed by the standards of the presentations that our students have given as part of their applications for leadership roles. Well done to everyone who has put themselves forward and presented themselves so well.
Special congratulations go to Abayaa in Y12 this week who has not only written a beautiful poem, but has had her work internationally recognised by COBIS (Council of British International Schools).
In the next few weeks we will be offering parent information sessions in secondary focused on examinations, assessment and revision, so please look out for the invitation relevant to your child.Ìý
Have a lovely weekend.
Caro Drumm
Principal
Recent and future updates
Message from the Secondary Student Leaders
Hi everyone,
We started off the week with World Down Syndrome Day which we marked by wearing odd socks! It was so lovely to see everyone celebrating and using this day to inform themselves.
This week has certainly been a busy one, particularly for those who applied for the Head Prefect positions! There was so much passion put into each of the presentations and we want to congratulate all of them for delivering at an incredibly high standard! We wish you all luck for the next stage of the process. Our new student leadership team for 2022-23 will be announced in the final week of term.
KS3 Set Designers
Under the expert tutelageÌýof Ms Bradley from 4B, KS3 have been working hard to build, design and paint the sets for the Year 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Shakespeare Shows!
House Updates
Year 1 Spotlight
In Year 1 we are exploring the topic ‘Flowers and Insects’. The students observed plants and flowers closely and investigated plants from their home country and host country. Inspired by different artists’ work, the students made colourful paintings. They used their Science skills by doing a photosynthesis experiment. We enjoyed reading the book ‘In the Forest’ and wrote our book reviews. Our special visitor, plant and insect expert Mr Ajay Narsingh Rana, inspired us with his knowledge and also taught us how to take photographs of plants and insects close up. Mr Ajay Narsingh Rana, who has created an incredible database () of the flora and fauna in Nepal awed us with his incredible pictures and encyclopaedic knowledge. Year 1 learners impressed him with their knowledge about the plants and animals we find in our Host Country, Nepal and then were able to practise their new found photography skills in our colourful garden.
Year 12 Spotlight
With coursework deadlines and examinations looming for all of our examination year groups, Year 12 continue to be very busy academically. Given the return to ‘normality’, a trip is being planned towards the end of the academic year for current KS5 students, but we will also be welcoming current Year 11 students on this trip.Ìý Students will participate in team building activities to build a KS5 team spirit for next academic year.Ìý Plans are underway and details will be shared with respective parents and students as soon as details are finalised.
Excellent Science Results!
Recently, our Year 12 Science students sat their first ever external examination and for us to hold our first results day event in 2 years. They all did phenomenally well: 80% of the results received were A grades, with 37% of results scoring full UMS marks, which means students are at the very top of the cohort sitting these exams. This is a testament to all of their hard work and resilience over the course of the past few years.
Students who scored full UMS marks in TWO subjects and our excellent science team handing out results.
COBIS Competition Winner!
This week we received amazing news that Abayaa in Year 12 has won the KS4/5 2022 COBIS Poetry Competition.Ìý This competition is across all COBIS schools worldwide, which is over 150 schools. Ìý What an amazing achievement for Abayaa to be the overall winner.Ìý As a school, we could not be more proud of her and she has every reason to be very proud of herself. Well done, Abayaa!
Here is her winning poem:
Static
For three months We left the room untouched. The unmade bed The unwashed coffee mug The plate with cobwebs and crumbs From a half eaten sandwich
A then-fresh set of clothes Left hanging on the chair The slippers by the couch The old, broken radio- its battery dead- Sits there on the windowsill Collecting dust.
This morning They took the bed away Washed the coffee mug Threw the sandwich out. Strangers’ footsteps in a peaceful room disturbing that quiet carpet of dust.Ìý
I wear your watch, And your slippers, -both too big- I cling to those un-worn clothes Like a child would to a teddy bear.
Are you watching me fix the radio? Watching as I try To tune time back to that long-gone frequency: my life with you fading into the sharp static Of the past.
‘He’s in your heart’ They say ‘He wouldn’t want to see you cry’ They plug up my grief With tissues and halfhearted condolences And now where do I go from here?
New Student Leadership Team
Over the course of the last few weeks, many of our existing Year 11 and current Year 12 studentsÌý have applied for, and been interviewed for, various positions within the Student Leadership Team.Ìý The Head Prefect candidates have been presenting their thoughts and ideas on both leadership and their role within the school community at various assemblies in the secondary school this week.Ìý Well done to all those who were interviewed and, of course, to our Head Prefect applicants who very eloquently displayed their thoughts and initiatives in the assemblies this week:Ìý Abayaa, Anshu, Benjamin, Khaytee, Meghna, Shatraveer and Taha. All secondary students have now voted, and these results along with teachers’ and SLT’s thoughts, will form the basis of the appointments for the whole of the KS5 Student Leadership Team for next academic year.Ìý Watch this space for the results soon!
Model United Nations Club (MUN)
For all the MUN enthusiasts, the MUN clubs finally began this week! Students on the MUN team will be assisting teachers in running the MUN clubs for Y7-10. Their first session was on Thursday and everyone wasÌý incredibly excited to be able to work with so many people.
Zonta Club
Anshu in Year12 has recently been elected as the new President of Zonta Club. Well done, Anshu! Anshu would like to share some of her goals during her presidency. Being selected as the President for a club that stands for something I’m most passionate about has been surreal. Zonta International advocates for equality, education and an end to child marriage and gender-based violence. For the next academic year at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ,Ìý Zonta club aims to expand the work with our community partners on existing programs. Post COVID, although difficult, we aim to focus more on our community partners and ways to empower girls through vocational and educational events on dealing with mental health issues, breaking stereotypes inside families, cyber bullying and expanding more on the works initially started, includingÌý providing dignity packs of reusable sanitary pads. Although yet to sit down as a team and further explore our ideas and plans, Zonta club is really looking forward to create meaningful impacts.
Media Studies Revision
In media studies, students have been making use of the greatest resource at their disposal, each other! They have been pair-quizzing on key terminology and theory and presenting confidently on their own independent case studies.
Media students peer quizzing and presenting in recent lessons.
Mentor Structure
Students have been surveyed recently about the secondary mentor structure for next academic year.Ìý It was clear that KS5 students enjoy having a mixed year mentor group, and thus, it is likely that next academic year, the current system will remain.Ìý This is also of benefit to Year 12 students as they can gain valuable information and insights from Year 13 students about university applications.
Speaking of university applications, Year 12 students have now started researching countries and courses they may like to apply for.Ìý With the help of Ms Gurung and Unifrog, students have been looking at various factors to help them focus their decision about which country they may want to study,Ìý dependent on various factors from costs to courses.ÌýÌý
Chemistry Following on from their very encouraging unit 1 Chemistry external examination results, Year 12 chemists have been continuing to develop their practical skills. The level of technical competence has improved markedly over the year to date.Ìý Students have used a wide range of techniques and haveÌý a much stronger grasp on the need to reflect on their practical methodology in order to minimise error in their work.
Geography
The Year 12 Geographers have been continuing to watch developments in Ukraine.Ìý Not only is the number of migrants leaving Ukraine the largest fleeing of people in such a short space of time ever, but the impacts of the devastating events in Ukraine could be felt for years to come.Ìý Ukraine, as a major global exporter of grain, has seen its agricultural sector decimated, and it is unlikely seeds will be planted this year or even potentially next year too, which then affects subsequent years’ crops.Ìý At this stage, it is predicted that there could be a shortage of food globally.Ìý One interesting fact specific to Nepal is that while Nepal is self-sufficient in its egg and poultry production, the grain that is used to feed the chickens is usually imported from Ukraine.Ìý The price of these products (as well as already rising fuel costs) may be set to increase significantly. Time for a few free-range hens perhaps?!
Art
It has been very exciting to watch the Year 12 students’ artwork progress over the past few weeks.Ìý With AS Art coursework coming to a conclusion soon, Anisha, Samyukta and Shashank have all been working hard creating their final pieces.Ìý I’m sure they would be more than happy to discuss the finer details of their processes with you if you see them around school!Ìý For their final pieces that will be submitted to the examination board, a professional photographer will come in to school to ensure that the students’ hard work that is reflected in their artistic efforts is visible.
