NEWSLETTER 20

Dear Parents

As Stu Blackmore wrote in our last newsletter, this week we have been celebrating Safer Internet Day across the whole school. Described as a ‘landmark event in the online safety calendar’, this annual day is now in its 14

th

year and is celebrated in approximately 160 countries around the globe. The school’s investment in computing this year has opened up a new world of digital learning and with that comes the need to give BISS students the tools to keep themselves safe online. Stu Blackmore explains below some of the ways we have addressed this in school this week:

Safer Internet Day 2020 Children across the whole school have been taking part in activities this week to celebrate… This year, we have been encouraging the children to think about identity online, looking at how the internet shapes how we think of ourselves and others; exploring all of the things that young people should be free to be, when they are online. Children learned that our online identity is only a part of our identity as a whole and we must keep some information private.

Children in Nursery learned that we all have an identity that tells people who we are online and offline. They created a wonderful eBook to share with the rest of the school. In 4N, the children created their own songs, putting them to music to create wonderful videos. These will soon be available by a QR code on a display of the children’s work. 3L created stunning and informative posters while 3B designed their own avatars. In PSHE lessons, Secondary School children have considered the barriers that prevent us from expressing ourselves freely online and discussed a range of strategies for working together to make the internet a more inclusive space for everyone.

Events

Wednesday 19th

February Altorp gym – 14:15 (doors open at 14:00)

Year 2 Production – parents with a surname beginning with the letters A-L

Thursday 20th

February

Altorp gym – 14:15 (doors open at 14:00)

Ekeby 15:45 – 18:00

Year 2 Production – parents with a surname beginning with the letters M-Z

Year 9 Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday 21st

February Ekeby Years 10 and 12 reports available on the Engage Parent Portal

Monday 24th February – Friday 28th February - Sportlov Holiday – school closed

Wednesday 4th

March Ekeby Year 9 Options Evening – in the dining room from 15:30

Friday 6th

March Kungsberet Year 5 Ski Trip – children need to be at school by 07:15 for the coach.

From our Nurses Coronavirus Outbreak Update The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency due to the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems. They did not, however, recommend travel restrictions and trade bans. The current Swedish advice is as follows: Folkhälsomyndigheten följer händelseutvecklingen kontinuerligt och bedömer fortfarande risken för att smittan ska spridas i det svenska samhället som mycket låg. UD avråder från icke-nödvändiga resor till Hubeiprovinsen – Google translation below: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against unnecessary trips to the Hubei Province. One particular question we have been asked is: Do I have to take any precautionary measures even though I feel well after travelling from the outbreak area? The official Swedish authority’s reply is: No, you can continue as usual if you do not have any symptoms of infection, like coughing and a fever. In that case, you should contact health care services by calling 1177 Vårdguiden (Medical advice service). If you fall ill later, contact health care services by telephone and inform them of your symptoms and where you have been travelling. If we have employees or students/participants, who themselves have been in the city of Wuhan or Hubei Province, we would like them (or in the case of minors, their guardians) to contact the school Nurses. The same applies to those who are going away on the sports holiday next week. We would be grateful if you could tell us (the school Nurses) if you have been in a “risk” country.

We will, of course, update parents if there is any further advice, but for those who wish to know more, please use the links below: Link to questions and answers: https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/communicable-disease-control/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/ In Swedish: https://vardgivarguiden.se/kunskapsstod/smittskydd/sjukdomar/coronavirus-2019-ncov/ In English: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus-china https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Altorp News Next week is a very busy one at Altorp. On Tuesday, we are very fortunate to be receiving a visit from Zoleka Mandela. Zoleka has been a road safety campaigner since her own daughter was sadly killed in a road accident at the age of 13; she is visiting Stockholm next week as part of the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety being held in Stockholm. Alongside this, the Child Health Initiative will be hosting an event next week focussing on air quality and road safety. BISS are very honoured to receive a visit from Zoleka as a result of our participation in the UN Global Road Safety Week last spring that was organised by Miss Belcher and the School Council. On Wednesday and Thursday, Year 2 will be performing their circus-themed show to their parents. They have been busy writing the script, learning the songs, making props and rehearsing their show for the last few weeks. I can not wait to see them perform! Parents, please remember to come on the correct day to ensure there is enough space in the gym (see the calendar above).

Ekeby News Charity Bake sale Emerald’s bake sale will take place next Friday in the dining room at break time for their House Charity – Cancer Fonden, Swish number - 123 039 1896 (phones allowed for payment only).

Swedish National Tests These will take place in March for our Year 11 Swedish Formal students on March 10th and 12th- Emails will be sent to those involved. Year 9 IGCSE Options evening On Wednesday 4th March we will be hosting the Year 9 Options evening for parents and students to look at what IGCSEs are, what they involve, and some information about individual subjects. This will take place in the dining room from 15:30 with all the IGCSE subject teachers there to answer any questions you may have.

Relief Lunch Supervisor If there is anyone interested in occasional work (at short notice) we are looking to see if there is any interest in a relief lunch supervisor to cover for staff when they are off ill. Please email Rob King r.king@bisstockholm.se if you are interested.

Year 8 Tärnaby Trip Last night our Year 8s returned from their trip to Tärnaby. Four days of adventure, skiing, igloo building and ice fishing. They had a wonderful time and here are some thoughts from the students along with a few pictures from their blog. It was really fun. It was nice to play in the snow, ski and buy snacks with friends. Matilda It was fun to spend time with friends and teachers, even though it was very cold it was fun to experience new activities such as ice fishing and igloo building. It was also funny to see no one catch fish!’ - Boaz

I thought it was really fun to ski and it was especially fun to be able to choose where to ski with your group. It was also really fun to do igloo building and ice fishing, even if we didn’t catch any fish in our class. Emma

The most memorable scenery was when the sunset began to peek behind the mountain. The sun's golden rays of joy that leaped directly into our hearts. Just as the day began to end, the sunset really put the cherry on the top. No matter what I would say, it was a unique and unforgettable panorama to help finish off the day. Kate My favourite part was to go skiing. It was fun being independent, it was also fun to just be in your room and talk, or play card games. A truly fun and social trip. Adrian

It was really fun getting everyone’s face covered in snow by sneaking up behind them. Meine

It was a great experience to ski! It's already fun to ski with the family but with friends it may even be better. The best part of skiing was going off-piste. I don't want to say throwing snowballs at teachers and witnessing Mr Thompson not catching a fish was fun... but it was! - Valdemar

Valentine’s Day in the Ekeby Library

Happy Valentine's Day from the Ekeby library! To push students out of their comfort zone and encourage them to try out something new, over 300 books were wrapped and labelled with 2-3 clues for the annual Blind Date

Book challenge. Similar to a regular blind date, this challenge can either end in a new, sparkly book crush, or a tragic literary disaster. After checking out the selection, over 240 students gave true love a chance. Hopefully this means that their weekend is booked! There are still some wrapped books left, so stop by early next week and treat your shelf if you also want to experience love at first read.

February Fun with our Year 11 Breakfast By Emma Harris & Simon Wolfe As the year progresses and moves closer to coursework deadlines and before the IGCSE exams begin, we wanted to create a pause and have some fun down time for our Year 11s. So what better way to start the day than with a fantastic breakfast. Therefore, on Tuesday our first group of organisers; Vincent, Magda, Hugo and Hampus kick started our Year 11 breakfast initiative...BIG TIME! Thank you to their families who helped make this happen. Here’s what some of our Year 11s thought about it:

Vincent “It was a great way to start the morning and think there was something for everyone!”

Magda “A morning without breakfast is a morning without meaning, especially when shared with friends.”

Maud “The breakfast was amazing, it was a really nice way to start the day giving people energy.”

Jacob “It was the best way to start the morning, a splendid idea!”

Junior UK Maths Challenge Last week our senior students in Years 9, 10 and 11 sat the U.K. Intermediate Maths Challenge. We are confident that, with the practice and application many of them demonstrated by coming to the Friday lunchtime club, they

will have completed the challenge to the best of their ability and we eagerly await the results. Now we are delighted to offer the same opportunity to our Year 6, 7 and 8 students. Starting after the sportlov holiday, there will be a 30 minute session each Friday lunchtime, practising the types of questions they will face on Thursday 30th April when they all sit the competition. Everyone is welcome to attend the sessions but they must commit to coming to each session and be keen and motivated to come. It works best when they complete the practise questions at home bringing to the sessions any questions

they have found difficult. The materials range across five levels so the children can progress as quickly as they are comfortable with and they may come across new mathematics along the way. An email was sent earlier in the week explaining what interested parents need to do next. Our team of INSPIRE maths captains from Years 9, 10 and 11 will be on hand to help. Below is a picture of our certificate winners from last year. With enough dedication, this year there may be even more!

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