Welcome Back. Whole School Mural. Whats Inside? The British School of Nanjing. This year has started a little earlier than usual for our new students!

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1 Issue #01 THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF NANJING DOCENDO DISCIMUS The British School of Nanjing a newsletter for parents, students and friends of our school AUGUST 2013 Welcome Back This year has started a little earlier than usual for our new students! Whats Inside? Children Learn to Play and Learn in Music & Movement An interview with students! Key stage 2 have started their 5 week basketball module Plus much, much more! Whole School Mural For more stories including news and events, please visit our website on

2 2 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER contents featured 03 Head s Message 04 Foundation News 06 Music & Movement 07 Primary School News 08 Interview with Students 09 Art News 10 Middle School News 11 Music News 12 Sports News 14

3 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 3 from the headmaster Dear Readers, Welcome to this, slightly briefer than usual, August newsletter. As this is being written, we are just one week into our new school year; a year that has started a little earlier than usual for our new students! This year, many of our new students joined us on Friday 16th August for an Induction Morning. With time spent with their new teachers and classmates, as well as some carefully chosen student ambassadors, there was a warm welcome for everyone. Each left with a smile on their face and an eager desire to return on Monday! During the day, the students took part in a range of activities from tours of the school (that included, vitally, the location of the toilets) to some amazing science activities the morning was a huge hit for both students and staff!

4 4 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Foundation News Look what I can do! BY RAJ GIL The children in the Foundation Stage are settling in well in school. They have been busy as bees learning the routines and working hard on showing on the skills of good listening, good sitting, using kind hands and good sharing. The children have been very enthusiastic and have enjoyed joining in with all the activities including their very exciting Music and Movement lessons. The children in Pre-Nursery have been getting to know their teachers and have started to gain confidence when participating with activities in class. They have been having fun with play-dough, small world activities, building sand castles and having a splashing time in the water tray. The children in Reception have painted amazing selfportraits, looked at how many members are in their families and made beautiful sparkly family homes. 9 The children in Nursery have been learning to say please and thank you and showed off their painting skills by painting outlines of their bodies using the appropriate colours. All the children are having lots of fun in our role-play areas At home, The Chef s kitchen and The Baby Clinic. I would like to say well done to all the children in the Foundation Stage for working so hard and making such a great start to the year.

5 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 5 Foundation Stage have been working so hard and making such a great start to the year.

6 6 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Music and Movement Learn to play Play to learn! BY VANESSA MÉDICIN Our Music and Movement classes take place every day, either indoors in the classroom or the hall, or outdoors in the playground, on the football pitch or basketball court, or, later, in the swimming pool. They reach into many aspects of the children s needs and development, in an exciting, captivating, friendly and safe environment. The activities covered link together all the areas of learning, with a focus on physical development and creative development. They build self-confidence, social awareness and group interaction, and stimulate exploration, improvisation, imagination, creation and expression. But what do we learn first in Music and Movement? We learn to play and we play to learn. Play and creativity share similar cognitive and affective processes. Positive and appropriate learning experiences during early childhood foster good academic results and a successful social life. What is an appropriate learning experience to young children? One that is fun! Singing, playing a music instrument, dancing, finger playing, storytelling, pretending, making faces and voices, miming, acting, playing circle games and actions songs, playing racing games, performing relays and circuits, playing ball games and water games A lot of playing to do, fun to have, and happiness to share.

7 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 7 Primary School News Welcome Back! BY CLARE CANNON PRIMARY STAGE LEADER Welcome back to the new academic year, the Primary students look refreshed and eager to enjoy the offerings that the new year brings. The children have returned in a great frame of mind and are all working hard and making the most of the opportunities they are given. Every classroom is abuzz with excitement, enthusiasm and energy with all the students keen to discover and learn. The children have very positive attitudes and are determined to show their new teachers how hard working and committed they are to their learning. We hope to foster this throughout the school year and make the most of every learning opportunity. We welcome our new Primary staff- Mr. Dyer, Ms. Karetsa, Mrs. Heath, Mr. Griffiths and Mrs. Emmerton. We would also like to welcome the students who have joined us at BSN this year. It is wonderful to see the friendships that have already been formed and that will flourish as the year progresses.

8 8 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Languages Joining A New School! BY THE CHINESE ADVANCED GROUP AND QIU LAOSHI CHINESE SPECIALIST As part of our Chinese Group have been interviewing some of our new students to see how well they have settled into life at The British School of Nanjing. The new students in Year 5-6 come from different countries. Some of them have been living in China for a few months but others just came. They are very friendly and their enthusiastic presence is a fantastic addition to our school. We were struck by how well they have settled into the new class and decided to interview them to find out their secrets! Like many new students, they have had to make new friends: a task which can be difficult for any child, but in fact they told us: At BSN they found it very easy. Many of them made friends on the first day here. We went on to talk about how the Life in Year 5-6 so far has been quite different from what they are used to : Subjects are so active here. We are learning about Chinese language and culture in the school. It is fun! The new students are very comfortable at the British School and they hope that their friends will come and join in the future.

9 9 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Art News Whole School Mural BY CAROLINE SHEPHARD ART SPECIALIST Inspired by the Art writer, Waldemar Januszczak s, exploration of the revolutionary achievements of the Impressionists, the children from Year Five to Nine, painted BSN in a whole school art mural. As the students painted, they learnt about the most influential early Impressionists - Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Bazille - who together laid the foundations of the artistic movement. They also found out about what social and cultural influences drove these artists to their style of painting, how they were united and how ultimately they challenged and changed art forever. As the students painted, they discovered how the impressionists tackled and approached the theme of people and the great outdoors. The whole school mural was organised and planned by the students in the Middle School. Those in Year Nine took responsibility for the figures (students at play), those in Year Eight: the flora and fauna, and those in Year Seven: the buildings. The impression the whole school mural leaves the viewer with is one of a calm, natural and nurturing atmosphere that of the British School of Nanjing.

10 10 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Middle School News Welcome Back! BY MATTHEW BRADLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL LEADER Welcome back to another term at the British School of Nanjing, in particular to the Middle School as it expands into Key Stage Four. I always welcome the beginning of a term, especially the beginning of the Autumn Term as it is a time of opportunity. Everything is ahead of us, events, courses, ASAs, Residentials, various initiatives...everything is ahead of us and at this point, we can sit and not only reflect on the past year and all it taught us but also consider how we can reinvent ourselves, adapt what we are doing, improve, streamline... Now that is opportunity! You will notice that, not without considerable effort, I have managed not to use the word new. You see, as I began to say at Prize Day last year, though we have much to celebrate that is new, I want to make sure that we do not lose sight of what we have already achieved and built: the traditional, the established, the old if you like. (And I don t mean me!) Perhaps it would be better to use the current buzzword sustainable. Hence welcome back! The mood already is one of maturity, amongst the students, particularly as we now have our first cohort to start their IGSCEs, a natural development from their KS3 studies. I would like to introduce a number of members of staff you will not have met before; Mr Skelding, our History specialist and also part-time addition to our English department; and Dr Emmerton, a microbiologist, general science and ICT teacher. And we have all your old favourites still from last year. There is plenty to sing about, dance about and talk about, but I will stop here and simply say once more:

11 11 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Music News Masses of Music! BY TIMO MCVEY HEAD OF MUSIC Welcome to the start of another academic year, this is my 5th year here at BSN and I am looking forward to seeing the music department grow in numbers and to continuing with the fantastic quality of music making that happens here at BSN. The music department is involved in school events, productions, concerts, external engagements, peripatetic lessons and various ensembles - to name just a few of the exciting things lined up for this year! This year peripatetic lessons will be available for the piano, violin, cello, flute, drums and clarinet; letters should have gone home already with the options available to each Key Stage. We will be offering scholarship places again this term. Scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate a commitment to lessons, progress and contribution to an instrumental ensemble. To apply for an audition for a scholarship please contact Mr Mcvey via your child s communication diary or directly via . We will also be adding two new ensembles this year: a flute choir and a Trad Band during ASAs. These are in addition to our recorder ensemble, string band and choir. Students are able to perform at any point during the school year in assemblies and need only to speak to Mr Mcvey to reserve a slot. Scholars are expected to perform a solo in at least 1 assembly a year and participate in an ensemble. The main opportunity for students to showcase their talents is in BSN Idol - our annual talent show - on Friday 21st March Students are not limited to playing music but anything that they can do to entertain and amuse an audience. This is always a very enjoyable assembly which is never complete without an amusing staff contribution... Lastly I would like to thank all the parents, staff and, of course, the students, for an enjoyable Presentation Day filled with fantastic music which wouldn t have been possible without your work at home.

12 12 SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Sports News Slam Dunk! BY DANIEL AYLWARD HEAD OF PE Students in key stage 2 have started their 5 week basketball module and all students are keen to improve their game. Students in Years 4&5 will have the opportunity to represent their house in the first of many inter-house competitions when they compete in the inter-house basketball tournament due to be held on September 26th. Last year s primary school inter-house basketball tournament was a hotly contested event which was eventually won by Saxons - but with last years Year Five students now joining The Upper School it will be interesting to see how our new Year Four students get on in what will be their first time in a competitive sporting environment. The event will be held after break and be finished just before lunch so if you would like to see your child competing for their house trophy please feel free to come along!