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Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

By Bibhushan and Saanvi

Last week, some of our Year 11 students went on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition in Herb Nepal. Over the course of the trip, they engaged/participated in a variety of activities, including two full days of hiking, skill-building sessions, and meaningful community and environmental work such as trash picking along the trail, through different villages and towns. The students later shared that the experience allowed them to develop several valuable skills, from cooking meals using recipe books to pitching tents independently, ultimately making them feel more confident and better prepared for their actual qualifying expedition/journey.

On the first day, the students cooked their own dinner and set up their tents at the campsite. The evening ended with a relaxing, smoky campfire where everyone gathered, preparing for the adventure ahead. The second day was especially memorable. The groups set off early from the campsite and embarked on a challenging 5-6 hour hike around the Ashapuri area. Although tough at times, the hike rewarded them with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, forests, and landscapes, sceneries that made the journey unforgettable. Along the way, the students collected multiple bags of rubbish from the trail, motivated by the reward of one house point for every kilogram gathered. Each group returned with several bags, the product of their collective effort to help keep the environment clean.

Along with this, students also took part in a hands-on permaculture gardening decision where they learned about sustainable farming, role of minerals in soil health and the importance of compost. They even planted a tree as part of their learning, giving them a deeper connection to environmental stewardship.��

After completing their activities, the students once again cooked their own delicious lunch, with each group preparing mouth watering meals. Throughout the day, they had an amazing time exploring nature, developing practical outdoor skills.

Year 11 IGCSE Drama Students perform their final piece of coursework

By: Upasana (Y11)

On Wednesday this week, the Y11 Drama students performed their IGCSE Group Performances. This was the final component of their practical coursework, meaning they have completed 60% of their Drama GCSE!

The first piece of the evening was performed by Ashvath and Pranava, who enacted the characters Sweeney and Mugsy in a scene from the play ‘Dealer’s Choice.’ In the play, Sweeney and Mugsy are coworkers at a restaurant where Sweeney works as a chef and Mugsy as a waiter. Although these characters both have goals they desperately want to achieve – they are held back because of their gambling addictions, which shapes their lives. Sweeney wants to be a better father and spend more time with his daughter, but is unable to break free from his addiction and quit gambling. Mugsy, on the other hand, can’t achieve his dream of opening a restaurant due to his ever-increasing debt from gambling. Through their performance, Ashvath and Pranava perfectly captured the self-destructive nature of gambling and put on a wonderful show.��

Following the first performance was Mateo, Maulik and Fahmi, with their scene from ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead,’ a play based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the scene, the characters Ros and Guild (played by Maulik and Mateo) are trapped in an absurd reality where the laws of probability are defied. This is seen when the characters toss coins and are able to flip 85 consecutive heads. While Ros doesn’t question this, Guild becomes increasingly frantic trying to make sense of it. Later on, the characters meet the Player (played by Fahmi) who is an Elizabethan tragedian actor who is struggling because of peoples’ preference for a younger group of actors. To survive as an actor in these hard times, he does “suggestive” performances. Together, the three drama students gave a very memorable performance.

The final piece was performed by Manashi, Athalia, Saivi and Aafia, taking on the roles of four waitresses (Adele, Carol, Mel and Nicky) working at a cocktail bar in the 1980s. Their piece combined several scenes from ‘Shakers,’ a play portraying the daily struggles faced by women through a humouristic lens.��

The group opened with a scene highlighting how waitresses are often disrespected and not treated fairly, yet are still expected to smile politely and be patient with the customers. The next scene explored body image, revealing just how quickly women can be to criticise – especially behind each others’ backs. This was followed by a scene where the girls were getting ready for a party, each one convinced she had to change something about herself in order to be considered “pretty.” Finally, the piece ended with a sequence where each character described a day when she believed she might be pregnant. Their stories explored feelings of anxiousness and doubt about relationships, finally ending with relief after realising it was a false alarm.

By performing their piece in this chaotic style, the drama students were able to explore serious themes while keeping the audience engaged and entertained. The piece was definitely one of their best!

Overall, all three groups delivered outstanding performances and all the Drama students should be incredibly proud of themselves. After the relief of finishing all three components of his practical coursework, Fahmi, one of the IGCSE drama students says that “Our class is super happy to have completed our three practicals, even after all the challenges we’ve faced for each! It is quite bittersweet to say goodbye to the pieces we’ve worked on since Year 10, but we’re all looking forward to what we can do in Drama in the future!”��

Senior Photographers Visit Local Exhibition

By Shayaan Nabi

(Special thanks to Chaya, Mr Sands, Ms Daly.)��

This week, our Senior Photographers visited a local photography exhibition to help them develop their own understanding of the art form.��

“We went to the photo Kathmandu exhibition, a collection of exhibitions at the Nepal Art Council. These exhibitions had a mix of photography mainly, but they also featured some films, poetry and other features of art. The Art and Photography students went there to take inspiration from photographs and see how we could put that into our own work. The photographs varied in subject matter, political issues, personal memory and personal histories; some were about the places the artists were, and some were all about the religions.”�� – Chaya, year 13.��

“We led a series of students from Year 9 to Year 13 to visit the exhibition, which runs from the November of 14 to December of 14 across various locations across the Kathmandu valley. Showcasing a range of artists and photographers all across the visual arts and photography.” – Mr Sands

“The theme of the expedition was global south solidarity; it brought together artists from across the global south and their work primarily explored connections to the land and the intersection of the person and the political. Students had the opportunities to reflect on the importance of family language and homeland and how this can be expressed through visual art.” – Ms Daly��

Awards Assemblies��

Our Key Stage Awards assemblies took place this week where we present awards for: high attendance, punctuality, marvellous mentees and of course individual and collective House points. Well done Makalu for winning the Term 1 and 2 trophy!

Housepoint Award Ceremony Upset!

By Vedanshee Pandey (Y8)

The atmosphere was tense in the hall on Tuesday morning as the Key Stage 3 students waited impatiently to hear who would be the current champions in Ģ����Ƶ house points.

��In the overall housepoint award assembly, the 1st place winner ended up being a new winner: Makalu! This came as a shock to many, as Makalu is the house that has barely been on the podium in recent years.��

This comeback from Makalu consists of not only one keystage, but across all of secondary school. This was the first time in a long time that Makalu won the top of the leaderboard. “I was so happy to see that we were finally first!” said Upasana, a current year 11 Makalonian.��

The 2nd place for overall house points was Annapurna; they played a good game last year and this year, but they were beaten by Makalu.

3rd place for overall house points ended up being Dhaulagiri; they have gotten a couple wins throughout the years, but not this time!

Finally, 4th place overall house points went to Kanchanjuna. Better luck next time!

Every house did their best, especially Makalu with their comeback of the year – but can they hold their title going forward? Well done, houses – let the games continue!

Winter Concert

The CPA faculty and music teams would like to invite all parents to our secondary Winter Concert on Tuesday at 5.30 pm in the hall. Any parents who would like to attend but are not available at 5.30 pm would be welcome to join the performance for Primary Key Stage 2 students at 1.15 pm on Tuesday afternoon, also in the school hall.

Head of Secondary Music, Ms Freeman writes “ Join us for our Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 9, beginning at 5:30pm! This festive evening will feature performances from the KS3 Choir, Senior Choir, talented soloists, duets, and our lively rock bands. You’ll enjoy a vibrant mix of music from Classical to Pop to Jazz, along with exciting dance and rhythm routines, and even some communal Christmas carol singing to bring everyone together!

Doors open at 5:15pm.

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a joyful and memorable celebration of music and community!”

Clubs & Activities Term 3 & 4

Next Wednesday will see the secondary clubs fair and clubs sign up during PSHE period 3 on Wednesday. Please talk to your child before then to help them choose a broad range of clubs that they will be interested in. For year 10 – 12 students it is important to be able to evidence commitment in all three types of activities: physical, skills and volunteering so that they meet the requirements for their Duke of Edinburgh International Awards and their British School Graduation Diploma.

Please see the letter Mr Samsom Lama sent you today for more details.

What an exciting week it has been in the Primary & Early Years section! We started off the week with our Community Ambassadors collecting all the winter bags and donations.��

Primary Community Ambassadors Take Action for Winter Bags Initiative

Primary Community Ambassadors engaged in hands-on learning this week by shopping for the Winter Bags initiative. This experience fostered empathy and compassion as they thoughtfully selected helpful items for children in need, while also building practical skills in budgeting and resource management. The activity strengthened their social responsibility, connected classroom learning to real-world application, and reinforced the school’s values of Compassion and Community. This meaningful opportunity empowered students to see themselves as active, capable community members making a positive impact. We are proud of their enthusiasm, teamwork, and developing leadership.

Parent Forum: Our Eco Journey Together

This week, we held a Parent Forum focused on Our Eco Journey Together, highlighting the incredible environmental work happening across our school community. The session began with our dedicated Primary Eco Ambassadors delivering a confident and informative presentation to Year 7 students, sharing the initiatives they have led and the positive impact they have made on our school’s sustainability efforts and work towards the Green Flag status. It was wonderful to see our young leaders articulate their passion for environmental stewardship and inspire the next generation of eco-conscious students.

Following the presentation, the Eco Ambassadors met with a small group of parents who attended the forum to review our progress and collaboratively plan for next steps. Parents and students engaged in meaningful dialogue about current eco-initiatives, celebrating successes such as waste reduction efforts, specifically stopping the use of paper cups within the school canteen, energy conservation practices, and community awareness campaigns as well as their main project: The Community Water Fountain. Together, they identified new opportunities for growth and discussed practical ways families can support our sustainability goals both at school and at home. The forum exemplified the power of partnership between students, staff, and families in creating lasting environmental change. We are grateful to all the parents who participated and look forward to continuing this important journey together as we work towards a more sustainable future for our school community.

Early Years and Year 1 & Year 2��

Our EYFS and KS1 Winter Show, “We Want Our Hats Back,” was a wonderful celebration of storytelling and teamwork. Our Year 2 Narrators guided us through the tale of the Year 2 Yetis, whose hats had been taken by Santa and his cheeky elves. Their journey to find them led them through a magical winter world, meeting many animal friends from both Year 2 and Year 1, with plenty of mystical musical numbers to lift their spirits along the way. At the end of the story, once their journey had been resolved with Santa, the EYFS snowflakes appeared and filled the stage with a sparkling winter finale. The children were amazing, working incredibly hard to learn their lines and songs and even helping to design and create their own costumes. It was a fantastic performance and we are very proud of them all.

We were also joined by the students and teachers from The Down Syndrome Society Nepal for the dress rehearsal.

Year 3 & 4��

Our Year 3 and 4 show, No One Wraps Like an Elf, was a fantastic celebration of talent, teamwork, and Christmas spirit! The children shone on stage with their wonderful singing, energetic dancing, and confident acting, bringing every scene to life with enthusiasm and joy. They worked incredibly hard in the lead-up to the performance, even creating many of their own props and costumes, which added a special personal touch to the show. The result was a colourful, festive, and heart-warming performance that truly showcased their creativity, dedication, and holiday cheer.

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The students & teachers from Mary Ward school also joined us for the dress rehearsal.

Year 5 & 6��

The Year 5 and 6 students delivered a wonderful performance of Bah Humbug, and their hard work truly shone on stage. From designing backdrops and props to organising costumes and rehearsing their lines, songs and choreography, the students took ownership of every aspect of the production. Each performer embraced their role with enthusiasm, bringing Scrooge’s journey, from a grumpy, Christmas-hating miser to a warm and generous soul, to life with charm and energy. It was a heartwarming show that highlighted their creativity, teamwork and dedication. We are incredibly proud of them all!

The students & teachers from Shramik school also joined us for the dress rehearsal.

Little Yetis

What a fun, engaging, and absolutely wonderful time we had celebrating the final session of our winter-themed Little Yetis. Our little snow-buddies had a blast as we wrapped up the season with giggles and games. From cosy sensory areas to creative painting, every toddler went home with a heart full of happy memories and a wonderful start to their winter break. Thank you for making this session a truly magical time!

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