BSL Buzz january 2016 - The British School of Lomé

The British School of Lomé January 2016 BSL BUZZ United Nations Days at BSL Celebrating our diversity during World Religion Day To celebrate our diversity and in recognition of World Religion Day, the Primary School learned about some of the many different faiths around the World and shared their new knowledge in an exciting and informative as‐
sembly. Reception class shared the story about the beginnings of Buddhism and Year 1 shared a poem that they had written about Confucius inspired by their work on Chinese Traditional religions. Year 2 shared what they learned about Christianity and Year 3 showed us some very impressive Rangoli patterns often seen during the Hindu festival of Diwali. Years 4 and 5 shared information on the importance of prayer in Islam, while Year 6 taught us all a lot about the Jewish faith. We believe that it is vital that our students learn mutual respect and un‐
derstanding of each others beliefs to promote a better World. Holocaust Memorial Day The Secondary School marked Holocaust Memorial Day this month in a moving assembly led by our year 13 students. The theme this year was 'Don't Stand By.' Students remembered those who died in genocides and reflected on ways that they can fight prejudice and injustice in their daily lives. When you see injustice, don’t stand by… When you see prejudice, don’t stand by… When you hear intolerance, don’t stand by… When you see discrimination, don’t stand by… School Reports! An Important Notice Grade reports across the school will soon be sent out to all parents. For the first time grade reports will be sent directly to Parents’ emails rather than sent home as paper copies. If you do not receive your child’s school report please email our academic registrar, Sylvie Agobia at [email protected] to update your contact details. If parents are unable to receive school reports by email please contact our academic registrar, Sylvie Agobia at 22264606 and she will ensure that you are provided with a printed copy. Primary Science Day! The theme for our Primary Science Day this year was MAKE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION TO PROTECT OUR PLANET! Different year groups worked together on activities which focused on ways in which we could be kind to our planet. To round up the celebrations, the classes shared what they did and found out in an assembly on Fri‐
day 22nd January. Reception class and Year 1 taught us that we need to share things and use them wisely if we want there to be enough to last generations to come. Years 2 and 3 taught us about recycling and the importance of it in helping to save our planet. Years 4 and 5 looked at climate change and taught us that we need to recycle and use less electricity to help reduce our negative impact on the environment finally Year 6 taught us about how we could reduce our carbon footprint as a school and in our homes. The message we all went home with was that we have only one planet and we need to take care of it! BSL Lion Cubs In Action! BSL Primary Lions v.s. Lycee Francais. The KS2 primary students took on Lycee Francais on Wednesday 20th January. Their first match of the year, they main‐
tained a positive attitude throughout and displayed great sportsman‐
ship even in defeat. Years 3&4 were awesome despite losing 9‐5, whilst Years 5 & 6, encouraged by the cheering International Award Expedition to Kpalime Year 10 and Year 12 students embarked on their first training expedition to the hills above Kpalime. The students practiced putting up tents and learned camp cooking skills and about the countryside code. They also completed several hikes through the bush carrying all their equipment to act in a self‐sufficient way! Young Explorers Club Primary students also get the chance to learn some outward bound skills in the new Young Explorers Club now running every Thursday! Students will learn how to put up tents, camp cooking skills and orienteering! Cheetahs and Caracals Clash in a Creative House Event! The Creative Arts Department organised a fantastic house event for the secondary school this month with an artistic themed quiz which included some unforgettable karaoke performances from our staff members! Primary Inter‐House this month was an exciting football tournament. The Cheetahs and Caracals battled it out on the pitch but once all the results were in it was a draw! Reception and Year 1 played in London, whilst Years 2 ‐ 6 played on the new astroturf. Even the teachers took to the pitch to end the tourna‐
ment! Crèche and Nursery took part in water based play activities over in Brunel. Thanks to all the parents who came out to support us. Prom tickets are now on sale for all students in Year 10—13. The event will be held at the Hotel Sarakawa on the 28th of May 2016 with a masquerade theme. Tickets cost 25,000CFA from members of the prefect council. Students may invite guests from outside the school. Happy Birthday to our reception‐
ist Jackie Amegan who celebrated her 60th Birthday this month!
Thank you once again to the entire school community who supported our Christmas appeal. 40 children from ‘Mama Charity’s Orphanage’ and the Juvenile Centre here in Lome were provided with Christmas bags full to the brim with treats, toiletries, t‐shirts and educational supplies. Aneho Orphanage received a van load of food and medical supplies. Please see below a letter of thanks from Sister Victorine from Aneho Orphanage! Chers Amis de British School de Lomé. Grande est la joie qui m’anime pour vous écrire ce mail. Les mots me manquent pour vous exprimer toute ma gratitude pour ce geste que vous avez fait à l’endroit des enfants de notre orphelinat pouponnière « Divine Providence » sis à Aného. Les fêtes de fin d’année s’approchent et votre école s’est encore sou‐
venue de nous en mobilisant les élèves, les parents, les enseignants et d’autres donateurs pour venir en aide aux enfants. Vos dons cette année sont composés de: 15 paquets de couches bébés ; 10 paquets de spaghetti ; 05 cartons de tomates en boite ; 03 bidons d’huile 25l ; 06 sacs de riz 50 kg ; 01 carton de riz Sister Grace ; 05 Javel de 5 l ; 02 cartons de sardines ; 02 cartons de lait en poudre Peack ; 06 cartons de lait Nursie 1er âge ; 02 sacs de riz 5kg ; 04 sachets de vivalait ; 04 bidons 1l de lait ELLE Vire ; 08 cartons de savons ; 02 cartons de mayonnaise ; 01 carton de biscuits ; 01 sachet de Milo ; 08 pommades pour bébés ; 10 bouteilles d’eau de Cologne ; 01 carton de sucre St Louis ; des sachets et paquets de sucre ; 04 petits bidons de savon liquide ; des médicaments ; des farines pour bouillie ; des haricots blancs ; des farines de blé ; des boites de conserve ; des habits, chaussures, jouets et un berceau. Je profite de cette occasion pour dire un sincère merci à tous ceux qui de prêt ou de loin ont contribué à la collecte de tous ces dons pour nos enfants. Daigne le Tout Puissant vous bénir et vous combler de sa grâce afin que vous trouviez du succès dans toutes vos entreprises. Sœur Victorine AGBO. BSL Fish Ponds During the secondary school ‘Week Without Walls’ last year students who attended the science activity learned about building an aquarium and looking after fish. As a result we now have our own aquarium in reception and two giant fish ponds! This is a great learning resources for students of all ages. The fish have even started reproducing! The IB Visual Arts Mock Exhibition Some fantastic pieces of art from our IB art students were on display at their Mock Exhibition this month. The students explained their pieces of work to impressed visitors. We can't wait until the real one in May! Music on the Grass! On the last Friday of every month we celebrate our musical talent on the grass at Friday lunchtimes. This month our tal‐
ented private music teachers performed to drum up support for music lessons. Pri‐
vate lessons in piano, guitar and drums take place everyday after school! Please contact our music teacher for details. Road Safety at BSL
An important notice for parents about picking up students : Dear Parents, BSL is introducing new procedures when collecting your children after school. The safety of your children is always our main concern. As there have been several near accidents at the gate to the Lower Primary School we have decided that cars should no longer collect children from this gate (known as London gate). All Cars must now park in the main school car park. Parents and drivers need to walk through the main campus and collect children from the primary school before walking back to their cars. This includes nursery and reception aged children at 2pm and all primary children at 3.15pm. This will come into effect as of Tuesday 26th of January 2016. Please can parents who use drivers please inform them and ensure that they cooperate. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Best wishes, Guy Colborne Headteacher Chers Parents, Pour des raisons de sécurité, nous vous informons qu'à partir du mardi 26 janvier, le ramassage des élèves du Primaire ne s'effectuera plus par l'en‐
trée côté "London". Tous les véhicules devront se garer dans le park‐
ing principal. Parents et chauffeurs devront passer par l'école pour venir chercher les enfants. Ceci concerne les élèves de "Nursery/Reception" à 14:00 ainsi que les autres élèves du Primaire à 15:15. Il y a eu récemment quelques incidents qui au‐
raient pu être graves. Nous comptons donc sur votre collaboration. Cordialement, Guy Colborne Headteacher Healthy Eating School Policy At BSL, we recognise the importance of food in our lives. We know that healthy eating is vital for good health and we understand that there is a strong link between a healthy diet and effective learning. We also recognise the importance of food related skills in enriching our social development and in celebrat‐
ing, nurturing and increasing our appreciation of cultural diversity. We recognise that ensuring that chil‐
dren in our care are healthy shows our commitment to the Endeavour ‘Every Child Matters’. The general aim of BSL is to provide a stimulating, purposeful, educational environment enabling children to develop academically and socially in a cheerful atmosphere, so preparing each child for the opportuni‐
ties, responsibilities and experiences of life. More specifically – through our food policy – we endeavour to maintain or improve the health of the whole school community through education – increasing knowledge and understanding of what consti‐
tutes a balanced diet and how to ensure that food is prepared healthily and safely. We now endeavour to ensure that children are well nourished at school with every child having access to safe, tasty and nutri‐
tious food and water during the school day. As part of our healthy eating policy we want to send out the following guidelines concerning food that is not allowed in school during the school day. 1. Confectionery ‐ such as a sweets, candy or chocolate bars 2. Fizzy drinks ‐ Any fizzy drinks will be taken away and sent home at the end of the day 3. Chewing gum We would also like to request the following: 1. Snacks from home should be an appropriate size for one person and should not be shared. Crisps, cookies/biscuits should be sent as an individual portion only, not large bags or containers. 2. Chocolate cookies and biscuits, snack cakes, and crisps should be saved for occasional treats. Fresh fruit is provided daily at First Break. Fruit is prepared in small, individually consumable sizes. Fruit is naturally sweet and most kids love it. We want our BSL students to develop healthy eating habits and we want to work alongside you to en‐
sure that your children are developing these good habits that will help them to better learn in school! Cooking Club! Cooking Club is just one of the many after school activities offered here at BSL! The students meet weekly and learn the basics of cooking and excellent nutrition. The teachers encourage healthy eating and the students make their own recipe book as the club progresses. Hopefully parents will be able to try out some of the recipes at home! Up‐Coming Events at BSL! 1. Monday 1st —Wednesday 3rd February: Years 4/5 residential trip to Kpalime 2. Saturday 6th February: Model United Nations event! 3. Wednesday 10th February: Grade reports sent home via email! 4. Thursday 11th February—Friday 12th February: School holi‐
day 5. Friday 19th February: BSL Charity Showcase Night from the prefect council 6. Saturday 20th— Sunday 21st February: Years 11/12 Interna‐
tional Award Trip to Kpalime 7. Friday 26th February 12:45‐1:15: Music on the Grass 8. Friday 4th—Saturday 5th March: March Madness sports tournament 9. Tuesday 22nd ‐ Wednesday 23rd March: School theatre pro‐
duction of ‘Alice in Wonderland!’ 10. Wednesday 23rd March: Primary Parents’ afternoon 11. Thursday 24th March: Secondary Parents’ evening Calendar Dates: School Year 2016 – 2017 Here are the major calendar dates for next school year which we hope are helpful for parents in planning their holidays! th
1. 24 August 2016: New Staff Induction begins 2. 29th August 2016: All Staff report 3. 1st September 2016: School Opens 4. 13th September 2016: Eid‐al‐Adha Holiday (Subject to change) 5. 17th – 21st October 2016: Half term Holiday 6. 19th December 2016 – January 6th 2017: Winter Holiday 7. 16th – 17th February 2017: Half term Holiday 8. 10th – 21st April 2017: Spring break 9. 27th April 2017: Togo National Day Holiday 10. 1st May 2017: Labour Day Holiday 11. 5th June 2017: Pentecost Holiday 12. 26th June 2017: Eid‐al‐Fitr Holiday (Subject to change) 13. 30th June 2017: Last day of School Alumni News
Ariane Egbeto graduated from BSL with her IB di‐
ploma in 2009. She studied at Stony Brook Univer‐
sity in New York and is now teaching IB Chemistry and Biology at St. Timothy's School in Baltimore, Maryland USA. We love seeing Alumni back at school especially those who choose the noble pro‐
fession of teaching as their career! Great to hear what former students are up to! Danielle St. Luce met with Llona Kavege over the holiday. Llona now attends Barry University in Mi‐
ami Gardens, Florida, a 30 minute drive from Dan‐
ielle's home. Llona left the school after winning the BSL Award and achieving a string of A grades at IGCSE! Danielle graduated from BSL with her IB di‐
ploma and attends Cornell university. Did you know that BSL Club will now de‐
liver tasty meals right to your front door? BSL CLUB Home Delivery Service! 6pm‐8pm Call: 91 54 59 39 Menus will be sent out to all parents this week!