In their last two Romanian lessons, the children from 3C have been studying the short story “Vizita”, by Ion Luca Caragiale. This was story offered the children an opportunity to become more aware of the language and the expressions that the actors used when interpreting the characters from “Vizita”. Having read and fully understood the story, the children then watched a video with the same story. The children were then split in groups in order to role play their favourite scenes from this story. The role play was a valuable tool for exploring the behaviour issues brought up in the story, making the learning experience memorable, whilst also encouraging co-operation and empathy.

Computing is a new subject introduced in the 2014 curriculum to replace ICT. Year 2 are always very excited and enthusiastic about visiting the ICT room every Wednesday. They love the challenges and opportunities offered by the technologically rich world in which we live.
This year, the children have completed a range of different activities during their computing (ICT) lessons. They are becoming increasingly confident logging on and off the computer. Most can now navigate to different software programs and have started to use Google search to research different topics.
Offline the students have also been working hard creating their own algorithms to direct each other walk in different shapes on the playground. They are also getting to grips with turning left and right and instructing a program to turn left or right 90 degrees. Recently they have started to put all of this information into practise and are now creating simple programs on the computer. Last lesson they wrote a program that made balloons disappear when clicked.

Last week, during Maths time, Year 6P learned about quadrilaterals and 3D-shapes. First of all, the students remembered the notions that they learned in previous years. Ms Punt explained that there are many types of three-dimensional shapes. The children talked about spheres, cubes, prisms, pyramids, and other three-dimensional shapes whose faces are polygons. They solved many exercises involving 3D shapes. Then they were given some printed 3D shapes with basic, artistic, and fun designs to cut and paste. By folding 3D paper models, colouring and creating different patterns, sequences on their shapes, Year 6P has come up with a wonderful geometrical collection. It has been a very interesting and relaxing lesson learning the 3D shapes. Here are some photos with our beautiful Math crafts.

On Wednesday, during their Spanish lesson, Year 3 had some special guests: ghosts, witches, and pumpkins. They were very excited about it! They learnt the new vocabulary through mimio and powerpoint presentations. The different games we played helped them to get used to the new words and to have fun. In fact, the time went by so fast and they enjoyed it so much, that they decided to invite their new friends to our Halloween party in Baneasa. Happy Halloween!

On Wednesday, during their Spanish lesson, Year 3 had some special guests: ghosts, witches, and pumpkins. They were very excited about it! They learnt the new vocabulary through mimio and powerpoint presentations. The different games we played helped them to get used to the new words and to have fun. In fact, the time went by so fast and they enjoyed it so much, that they decided to invite their new friends to our Halloween party in Baneasa. Happy Halloween!

On Friday, October 7th, IBSB celebrated World Sight Day. The children arrived in school wearing sunglasses of various shapes and colours to mark this significant day. During the afternoon, each class got a visit from Brambles the guide dog and his handler Steve. Mrs Camelia Platt from Light Into Europe told the children that there are 100,000 children and adults in Romania with eye problems. The children brought a 10 lei donation for Light Into Europe and were told that it will be used to train the guide dog and provide canes. The message each child has promised to take home and tell their parents is that a visually impaired person has the right to go anywhere with a guide dog.

This half-term, the students in year 4 are learning all about insects. Following our visit to Cișmigiu Park, where we acted like real detectives and spied on some very interesting minibeasts, the year 4 learners were thirsty for information.
Using tablets and working in pairs, the students chose their favourite insect and did some research on it. They found some very interesting facts and they were excited to play the teacher’s role and share the information with everyone. Well done, Year 4!

Our first trip of the year was to Cişmigiu park where we explored the surrounding environment. Our theme was It’s a Bug’s Life, so this trip gave us a great opportunity to apply our knowledge about insects and plants. The children were enthusiastic as they compared different features, shapes and textures of plants. This was an excellent chance for them to show their skills from various subjects, such as numeracy (where they used non-standard measurements to measure the circumference of different trees), art (to determine different patterns of tree trunks by rubbing against the bark and creating a collage from different colours in nature), and cross curricular (the children were eager to find as many bugs as they could and see what their preferred habitats were). It was a fantastic adventure that the children benefited from and their tiredness at the end of the day was a testimony to all the hard work they completed during the day.

This Term Year 1 started their first Art lesson by painting beautiful pictures which they used to decorate our reading house made out of cardboard.
The students had a lot of fun when they discovered that by mixing primary colours you can create new ones. They discovered how to make green, yellow and purple and they enjoyed using them in their art work.
After painting the pictures, the students cut and glued them on the walls of the house. They were very excited to see the results of their work and now they are happy to spend their reading time there.

Last week the children from Year 3 really enjoyed listening to fragments of the BFG story by Roald Dahl, as well as watching the film at the cinema. They used their imagination writing descriptions of the giant, creating pictures of their own dreams and writing details about them. Therefore they chose to have their assembly about their dreams.

We used our cross curricular lessons to discuss about our dreams and aspirations and write together the script of our assembly.

Students enjoyed dressing up as the job that they dream they can do in the future. At the end of our performance we impressed everybody when dancing and singing “Reach for the stars”.

Last week Year 2 went on the Hop-on – Hop –off Bucharest City Bus Tour. They really enjoyed the trip and discovered Bucharest’s most important tourist attractions all in one single journey.

During our tour the students found out more about the city they live in and its wonderful surroundings. They looked at different types of buildings and landmarks in the city, talked about the difference between old and new buildings and discovered some of many building styles from around the city. They all spotted the Arc de Triumph which is famous in our classroom because they all drew it as part of a F.A.I.L (First Attempt In Learning) activity. In the F.A.I.L activity the children learned how important it is to keep trying and their first attempt can always be improved in time.

The children loved being on the top of the bus while seeing Bucharest from a different perspective. What a brilliant day out on a Thursday afternoon!

This week students from year 10 performed a Chromatography experiment during the Chemistry lesson that was designed to transform the theoretical concepts into practical ones. The Chromatography Technique involves a multidisciplinary approach and has applications in different research areas, criminology, drug development and many others science areas. Our students extracted chlorophyll from leaves and pigments from different coloured petals. The chromatography paper revealed that nature mixes different colours in its pigments in order to enhance life. The students learned that a simple technique, that uses basic materials, can help us discover a lot of hidden information about our surroundings.

Our primary school began Peace One Day by drawing and writing what peace means to each child. This activity generated lots of ideas as to how we as a school could celebrate this day. Therefore, we decided what better way to mark this special day than to make the peace symbol in our houses! During the afternoon break, each child in their colours of red, yellow, blue made their way to the playground to join in with the making of this symbol. It truly was a coloured spectacle in the name of peace! Every child joined hands to unite in an effort to create the largest reduction of violence globally, as well as the largest gathering of children in the name of peace, on one day – Peace Day. It is our participation as a school and other schools around the world on Peace Day that will ensure the success of this historic event and contribute to the institutionalisation of Peace Day around the world.

In Year 6, we’ve been looking at light-related phenomena such as light refraction and light reflection during our Cross- Curricular lessons. Since it’s such a fascinating topic, we decided to carry out an experiment in order to better understand how light changes from medium to medium.

For the experiment we needed a glass recipient, filled with water, pencils and paper. We put the pencils inside the glass recipient and noticed how refracting light changed the way we saw the pencil under water. It looked larger and the contour was blurry!

We can’t wait for our next experiment!

Year 6P had an extraordinary start to the new academic year 2016-2017. The old students had the pleasure to meet four new students and make them feel welcome and happy. They talked a lot as well about their wonderful summer holiday and then, the Year 6P students were asked to write about their summer memories in their English books. Also, in Art all the children really enjoyed the lesson, because they had the opportunity to play with and mix the various autumn colours. At the end of the lesson they created extremely nice autumn paintings. Here is some of their beautiful Art work:

Welcome back to a new term and all the exciting English Challenges ahead! Well done to those students who performed brilliantly in public examinations over the Summer but particularly the Lower Sixth who scored 100% A-C grades. They are all back for A2 and studying hard Shakespeare, Miller with dear old Jane Austen to come. Keep talking in English everyone and set yourself the target of learning a new word every day! The English department wishes you a successful and rewarding term. Go for it!

In Years 7 & 8 we concentrate mainly on life before the 20th Century. Whilst the books have an Anglo-centric slant, we will concentrate on events that had consequences in Europe, such as life in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In Year 9, we look at the two wars that engulfed the world in the 20th and the consequences of these two wars on Europe and the world at large. At IGCSE level, the students will look at Twentieth Century events such as the reasons for instability in Europe during the 1920s and 30s and the superpower rivalry between the USA and the USSR. All our teaching aims to inspire the students to deepen their knowledge and understanding, as well as to further their skills in assessing the value of evidence and understanding continuity and change as well as cause and consequence. History maybe a study of the past, but it influences our present and should help to shape our future.

On Tuesday, Ms Carman’s Year 7 English class spent some time using colourful adjectives in a bit of a different way. They were required to study and describe a rather bizarre creature/man by the name of Skellig, as part of their introduction to this popular KS3 novel. They were asked to draw a version of the projected image into their notebook in an effort to improve their skills of observation, then have some fun coming up with suitable adjectives to describe various parts of his face. The adjectives were colourful indeed, with such contributions as “ghostly white skin” to “oily strands of cobweb covered hair.” The final assignment is to put all the possibilities together and describe Skellig in a full paragraph. Ms Carman is looking forward to reading what the kids have come up with and hopes they will enjoy the writing process all the more.

Last week, during Maths time, Year 6P learned about quadrilaterals and 3D-shapes. First of all, the students remembered the notions that they learned in previous years. Ms Punt explained that there are many types of three-dimensional shapes. The children talked about spheres, cubes, prisms, pyramids, and other three-dimensional shapes whose faces are polygons. They solved many exercises involving 3D shapes. Then they were given some printed 3D shapes with basic, artistic, and fun designs to cut and paste. By folding 3D paper models, colouring and creating different patterns, sequences on their shapes, Year 6P has come up with a wonderful geometrical collection. It has been a very interesting and relaxing lesson learning the 3D shapes. Here are some photos with our beautiful Math crafts.

The Summer Show is always one of the most eagerly awaited events on the school calendar, not just because it is the final day of the year and summer holidays are just around the corner, but also because it is a celebration of the year’s endeavours. The students put on a great show, the award winners are announced, and we get to find out who won the House Cup – congratulations to Dobrogea by the way!

Thanks once again to all the parents who supported us at our final event of the year, as you have supported us throughout the year.

The PTF Social Calendar continued to offer our students, parents and staff a variety of opportunities to get together and socialise outside of school. Shifting from the increasingly popular Sunday Brunches, to the Summer Pool Parties, with a pool party organised first at the Daimon Club, on Sunday, May 27, and then at the Ramada Plaza Vitality Wellness Club, on Sunday, June 25. On both occasions all present were lucky to be able to enjoy warm weather with blue skies overhead. A big thank you to PTF President, Ms Claudia Marta, for arranging these social events, and to both Daimon Club and the Ramada Plaza for hosting us. I think the photos show that everyone present had a nice day in the sun.

The Year 6 ‘Moving On Ceremony’, which took place on the final Friday morning of the school year, being, Friday, June 24, was an emotional affair with the pupils from Year 6 each saying a few words before joining together for a rousing song, with piano and guitar accompaniment. They finished, as tradition dictates, flinging their mortar boards high into the air. They then did it again, because it is fun, and because some of the parents missed the Kodak moment. All in all, it was a wonderful moment in time shared by all present; a family occasion, with memories collected to last a life time.

Looking at the Year 6 graduates of 2016, we marvel at how far they have come during their time with us and rejoice in their bright plans for the future. It has been our pleasure to watch them grow with the school, celebrating both their endeavours and achievements, as they have filled me with a sense of pride, along with their parents.

The Senior Graduation was once again an emotional affair with a mix of laughter, tears, excitement, and just a touch of sadness as Mr Lee for the last time read out the names of the graduating students who one by one ascended the stage, taking their turn at the lectern to say few words about their experience at IBSB and to thank those people who helped them along the way, before receiving this graduation diplomas. Photos were taken, caps tossed, and the graduates of 2016 moved out into the night, onto their graduation dinner (this year on Level 21 of the Intercontinental Hotel) and a night of celebration that no doubt for many went on to the early hours of morning.
On behalf of the entire IBSB Community, a heartfelt congratulations to the graduates of 2016! We look forward to tracking your progress as you join our ever expanding Alumni Community.
May you each achieve success in life and your dreams become your reality!

Children in EYFS enjoyed the good weather and they spend a lot of time in the open. They were involved in curricular and extra-curricular activities which made them happy and gave them confidence. The last term of school has been very engaging and fun. They took part in educational visits like the one at the farm, where they fed the baby animals. They discovered the world of circus and tried their first tricks. Related to our overarching theme “Water”, children experimented blowing bubbles and they had amazing time learning about Pirates. Everyone was involved and happy!

The students have had a very enjoyable few days. On the 4th day in the morning they were either climbing and abseiling or doing archery and completing their own computer games. The weather has been up and down, but it was very nice when they went down to the river to do some science. The students were really impressed again when taking part in the science investigations and were very enthusiastic about getting into the river!

Day 3 (Tuesday): we made a trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp which was very interesting for the children. They looked carefully, listened to the facts, and watched a documentary. Throughout the trip they had interesting discussions among themselves on various historical themes and some of them bought candles and lit them in the memory of the victims of the Nazi regime. As teachers, we were really impressed to see the children approaching this event in history in such a mature way, with sensitivity and thoughtfulness.

We also had a set of interactive lessons in which the children had to use the grammar knowledge they acquired. After one of the lessons, for example, the children went to the Flohmarkt (Flee market), and indoor market, together with the teacher.

Day 4 (Wednesday): we decided to have a more relaxed day after so many trips and experiences, so we went shopping: the children had been saving their money in order to have more money for shopping. We hope they have made the best choices and are happy with what they have bought.

Day 5 (Thursday): Today we will be visiting the Deutsches Museum of Science and Technology.

Year 5 have had another fun and eventful day in Predeal. The day started out with the children doing some Archery and Paintball which they thoroughly enjoyed following some fun outdoor team building activities. The children are happy and are having fun!

On the second day of our trip we were warmly welcomed by the staff of the Sprachschule Aktiv, where our students will have the chance each morning to enjoy an interactive German lesson. In their first lesson, the children had the opportunity to use German a lot when describing themselves. They learnt about different types of food in Germany and then role-played ordering in a restaurant. The lesson then continued in an ice cream cafe where the students, accompanied by their new teacher, practiced what they had just learnt in a real life situation, ordering food and ice cream. The most important thing, however, was that after the lesson they continued to speak German for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon we went on a guided tour with explanations and details provided in German adapted to the children’s interest. We climbed the circa 300 stairs of Peter’s Church, from where we could see the whole Munich landscape and even the Alps. At the end of the tour we offered a traditional Romanian present to our guide to remember the time spent with us, then went to the toy museum (Spielzeugmuseum) where we saw the first Barbie dolls. Next we visited the impressive stadium Allianz Arena, where we also had another guided tour which the children enjoyed a lot. Our final activity for the day we will be visiting the concentration camp Dachau.

After arriving safely at Munich Airport, the children had fun on the S-Bahn ride to the hotel. We went then to the Royal Gardens (Hofgarten), and while we were heading to the Neue Pinakothek, Max found his own street Maximilianstrasse. Mr Nastase offered the children a short history lesson when we encountered the Memorial of the Victims of National Socialism, and then back to the hotel for a short break and lunch.

In the afternoon we headed out to explore the city centre, stumbling across the Town Hall (das Rathaus), which greatly impressed us all, as did the baroque masterpiece, the Asam Church (Asamkirche).

Not a bad effort for our first day in Munich, and to top it all off, the children have already learnt some new German words.

Tomorrow, the students will enjoy their first German lesson in the morning, and then in the afternoon take a guided city tour around the city and visit the famous stadium Allianz Arena.

Well done to the IBSB Middle School Debaters for winning the 2016 Junior Sir Winston Churchill International Middle School Public Debating Champion. The IBSB team went through the entire competition undefeated , winning both of the prepared debates and their impromptu debate.

It looks like the future of debating at IBSB is secure with the younger debaters showing they have as much to offer as the senior team who have made the final of the senior competition three years in a row, winning it twice.

A big thank you to Ms Blessy Savu and Mr Afzal Shaikh for all their work preparing the team over the last year.

Enjoy the celebrations everyone!

Middle School Team: Christie Vernon, Luiza Ruptureanu, Tamara Minea, Maximilian Mihailovici.

Last week, during Maths and Art time, Year 6 learned about tessellations. First of all, the students found out that a tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering a plane without any gaps or overlaps. Mr Ennion explained and showed how to form or arrange small squares, triangles, hexagons, and other shapes in a checkered or mosaic pattern. The children also learned to draw fractals and natural spirals by using reflection, rotation, and translation; things that are extremely useful in Maths. Later on the students started painting all these geometrical shapes – here are a few photos with our wonderful tessellations. As you can see, it was a very interesting lesson.

One of the highlights of our trip thus far has been the Mocanita Steam Train ride through the valley and into the mountains, about an hour from our hotel in Sighet. The train dates from the 1920’s and is fired entirely by wood. Halfway through the journey we stopped for a picnic lunch down by the river and the students spent some time skipping stones, exploring the surrounding woods, or playing cards, because deep in the valley, there was no phone signal!

Yesterday we visited the famous “Merry Cemetery” and then walked to the home of its creator, Ion Stan Patras, where the students met the man currently carving the unique crosses (trained by Patras) and learned about the process which is truly a fine art known only in this area.

Soon it was off to Maramures’ tallest wooden church, where the students got to climb the stairs for a view over the gardens and forest. They met the resident goat and got plenty of fresh air wandering around the 22 hectare woods surrounding the church.

Then we had some free time to lunch in the city of Sighet. The students chose a local restaurant serving traditional food recommended by our guide, and agreed it was not only delicious but excellent value. Following lunch, they had a guided tour of the impressive but sobering Memorial Museum of Sighet. This imposing edifice is dedicated to the many lives lost during the Communist crack down and the students learned about the often painful history of their country.

Last night, after dinner, the hotel served a dessert of Papanasi to great applause and Radu manage to eat three portions, declaring himself the Papanasi King.

Tomorrow is our last day in Maramures- the plan is to go swimming in a salt water pool for a spell, then stop at the local shop for refreshments to make the long train journey (about 14 hours!) back to Bucharest more enjoyable.

A huge thank you to Ms Aida for her support and to our wonderful guide, Ms Ilonka Cuth, for her excellent recommendations and guidance.

The Happy Travellers

Tomorrow is our last day

The Year 10 Historians are, to use a suitably historical term, a horde of History mad youths full of questions and usually come up with the correct answers! Their interest in the subject rather wonderfully goes beyond their curriculum, which is Cambridge Modern World History, but with quite a sharp Western European focus. Therefore, the historically thinly-populated and pastoral country known as Romania, and it’s rather over-sized geopolitical significance is neglected on the course, and Romania is reduced to a mere paragraph in the otherwise outstanding CIE course textbook.

This is not lost on our young historians, many of whom have been giving me a year-long refrain on the lines of ‘why don’t they talk more about Romania?’, for example when we did a brief segment on the Treaty of Trianon, the key post world war one peace treaty that led to full international recognition of Romanian Unification in 1920. Or during Stalin’s Takeover of Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the second world war, Romania is given a brief paragraph concerning the underhand and unscrupulous means the Communist Party maneuvered itself into the position of power.

My own knowledge of Romanian history is embarrassingly poor. Therefore, when I recently read a wonderful book I am sure a number of IBSB parents and teachers have either read or are aware of, For Two Thousand Years, by the author Mihail Sebastian, newly released in English by the famous Penguin Classics publication, and translated to great international acclaim from the London Guardian to the New York Review of Books, by the internationally award winning Irish and Bucharest-based author, Philip O’Ceallaigh, who is in the line of great Irish expat authors such as Samuel Beckett and James Joyce, I saw an opportunity!

I jumped at the chance to get in touch with him, especially as the book is a crucial account of interwar Romania and the experience of Bucharest’s minority of Jews and the growing anti-antisemitism of both the intellectual and state spheres, something linked to the Year 10 Depth Study on Nazi Germany. He very generously came to the school at short notice, having just come back from a lecture tour in London, to give his time and wealth of knowledge from his 15 years research and writing about Romania to the Year 10 class last Tuesday, period 6.

Moreover, Philip not only shared his knowledge and passion for contemporary Romanian history and the writers who made up Romania’s considerable intellectual circles, but his skill at story-telling really came through too. The students were rapt at how he explained the rise of the fascism in Romania through the prism of Mihai Sebastian’s almost tragi-comic life (his closest friends became the Vanguard of intellectual fascist Guardism). Moreover, as part of a trio of evil sisters plaguing Interwar Europe, with Romania and its Iron Guardism, Philip succinctly showed how the rise of Mussolini in Italy and the Nazis in Germany had overshadowed the importance of fascism in Romania to the overall European political context, as shown by its neglect as a topic on the CIE course that the students follow. Philip also passionately deconstructed some of the students’ popular misconceptions around the Holocaust in Romania, leaving some students with much food for further thought.

Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive and made me realise the importance of outside expert speakers. An afterword must be said about my colleague, Dr Silviu Nastase, resident Chemist, teacher and Photographer…in short a Polymath. Dr Silviu, himself from Braila, presented Philip with a painting from the author’s hometown of Braila. The painting showed a building that is presented as the first image of the protagonist in the novel, as a present for Philip’s work in publicizing the work internationally of Braila’s famous son. Philip said he was ‘overwhelmed’, at the gesture. So was IBSB at his great gesture in coming in to contextualize and consolidate the Cambridge CIE course with a local, native insight, a key aspect for furthering commitment and knowledge as UK educationalists have recently acknowledged.

Any student interested in reading For Two Thousand Years, I have donated a signed copy to the School library. Alternatively, it is available to buy from Carturesti and Anthony Frost bookshops.

THE IBSB Annual Sports Day took place on friday at Lia Manoliu Stadium. In the end we were very lucky with the weather as the early morning light rain stopped just before 9am, so no one got wet. We all enjoyed a nice day of sports with some sun and enough cloud to keep us all from being too hot or getting sun burnt. A big thank you to the staff and parents for their support on the day, to this year’s sponsors Borsec who provided the Sports Day Shirts and Water, Sunwave Pharma who once again sponsored the Sports Day Caps, Danone, who sponsored 4 full fridges of yoghurt, Mega Image, who provided the fruit for the children, and Tchibo for their great Coffee, which the parents and teachers definitely appreciated. Thank you also to World Ultramarathon Champion, Andrei Rosu for presenting the trophies this year! This year’s champions were the Dobrogean Team! Great Job Dobrogea!

This week we continued our learning with a new weekly theme: “Under the sea”. The children learned about sea creatures; we worked on extending children’s vocabulary and supporting them in making logical connections related to sea life. They discovered the many different kinds of sea animals, drew and painted sea creatures, read books related to the theme like “Commotion in the Ocean ”, “Winnie under the sea”, “Don’t eat the teacher”, and Fidgety Fish”, and sang songs related to the theme: “I’m a Little Fish” and “Five Little Fish”. We encouraged the children to investigate and record SINK and FLOAT items in this order- we had an experiment. They were also involved in different hands- on activities, like modelling shells in playdough, shell printing on tissues, and they also enjoyed it when they painted the rainbow fish.
Another funny activity was when they fed Mr Shark- and they really loved fishing.

Every Thursday afternoon, during club time together with a group of enthusiastic children, we learn about photography, about how to fill the frame, how to balance a picture using the rule of thirds, and other interesting tips. When the weather is nice we usually go outside armed with our cameras ready to put into practice what we’ve learned. It’s great fun to be a photographer and we learn to observe and wonder at the smallest details of our world.

On Thursday the Year 7 visited the Mud Volcanoes in the Buzau Mountains. The Mud Volcanoes exist because there is oil under the surface, as far as 30,000 metres deep, which gives off gas that rises up through cracks in the rock, passing through clay. This mixes with underground water and rainwater which results in the liquid mud ‘erupting’ out in volcano shaped cone. It is due to the oil that there is a smell similar to petrol in the area.

The students loved exploring the site of the Mud Volcanoes climbing and jumping around even finding a small cave and watching the mud bubble out of the cones. Watching the volcanoes bubbling and listening to them pop gave the impression that they could erupt on us- thankfully they aren’t that kind of volcano.

Of course some students had a bit of mud on them by the end of the day, they were well-prepared though and changed quickly for us to go for lunch.

Here’s what some of the students had to say after the trip:

‘Simply amazing, you can’t see things like these everywhere.’ Ronny
‘We had to find different routes around the Mud Volcanoes to avoid getting too dirty.’ Shashwat
‘The best trip ever!!’ Ishika
‘Amazing, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!’ Melissa

What an exciting Assembly it was! The Year 4 children were the directors, producers, and actors of the five different plays performed this afternoon at school. After two weeks of studying plays, the children had to write, rehearse, and organize props and the stage for their plays. It always amazes me how talented my children are and today was no different! I am a very proud teacher right now! As I said, I am flabbergasted Year 4! Well done!

What a brilliant day out! And what an adventure! Year 4 spent the day in Cernica Extreme Park. The purpose was to overcome difficulties and challenge themselves as Olympic athletes have to do throughout their careers. The children spent three hours on the high ropes courses in the middle of a beautiful wooded area. It was great to see all children overcome some level of fear and some even created new challenges when the route was not complicated enough. They supported and cheered each other and were very understanding about the different limitations everyone has. To make it all even better, the sun was shinning, we had a picnic, all of us were given shawarmas and aryans, and to complete the day the children had an ice-cream! Well done Year 4, it has been an excellent year of learning and growing up. Remember to reach high, always!

We congratulate Maria (Year 13), who is the third IBSB student to obtain her Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award!

The Award was presented in an official Ceremony in Brasov. 56 young people taking part in the programme, from Brasov, Fagaras, Cluj, Bacau and Bucharest were rewarded for their exceptional progress and for completing the four sections of the Award: Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and the Adventurous Journey.

As part of her Service, Maria supported the academic and emotional needs of a gifted 12 year-old boy. Maria helped the boy develop his self-esteem and motivation, while training her listening skills. She did this activity under the supervision of our Educational Psychologist, Ms Aida Ivan.

For her Skills section of the Award, Maria chose to learn how to cook. A very useful skill, especially as she is preparing to leave to university this summer. She has gradually advanced from preparing simple, fresh meals to more complex and demanding recipes. She is now able to cook a range of healthy dishes.

For her Physical recreation Maria continued improving her tennis practice.

Embarking on one of the most demanding and ambitious adventurous journeys, Maria hiked the peak route of the Piatra Craiului Mountains, from Vf. Ascutit to Piscul Baciului and came to Bucharest as a winner!

Maria has also completed her sections for the Gold Award, and she is eagerly awaiting the official ceremony that will recognise her achievements this autumn.

We are proud to have had Maria as our student, as she is a model of initiative, drive, and involvement. A worthy example to follow for all our pupils, and not only!

Art lessons for Year 5 students are always interesting and creative. This term our students have been learning all about Vincent van Gogh and Henri Rousseau-both post-impressionist artists- focusing on an important piece of work from each artist, namely Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and Rousseau’s “Jungles”. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about these artists as well as recreating their work, which you can see in the colourful photos attached.

Last Saturday, the 14th of May 2016, the participants to the Duke of Edinburgh International Award had the opportunity to attend “Impreuna spre Inaltimi”, a series of training workshops at Decathlon Iuliu Maniu. The event was organized by the CADDRU Association in partnership with Decathlon Romania.

The workshops covered five areas of the theoretical training for the Adventurous Journey Section of the Award: First Aid (covered by the Romanian Red Cross specialists), Tent Pitching, Navigation: map and compass, Equipment (including how to pack) and Survival Techniques. With over 60 participants of the Duke of Edinburgh programme attending from various centres in Bucharest, the event was a real success!

Three participants from IBSB joined: Tudor M., Luca O. and Eva S. (Year 10). Eva won one of the prizes kindly offered by Decathlon. We wish all the Duke of Edinburgh participants good luck with their expeditions this summer and hope that they will have exciting stories to tell on their return!

Oxford University Press hosted a book writing competition to commemorate the Oxford Reading Tree’s 30th Birthday! As a part of this celebration the children in Year 2, who all enjoy reading about Biff, Chip, and Kipper’s adventures and where they might go when the Magic Key glows, have been writing and illustrating their own Stage books. We then passed all their books on to Mr Peet and Mr Cornish to help choose the best books, and they said they really had a very difficult time judging the books as we have so many amazing authors and very imaginative stories in both classes. Finally, on Wednesday during our assembly, certificates were given out for Best Story – 1st and 2nd place, Best Handwriting, Best Illustration, and Most Creative Idea. Well done to everyone for creating the best stories they could!

On their last term of the year, the Year 1 French group is really excited to be learning all about toys.
They’ve been learning how to name different toys and how to describe them as well. Now, the students are able to name the toy’s colour, the type of material is made of, and describe its shape . On our last lesson we even learned about different patterns a toy can have. The students showcased their creative skills by creating their own pattern on a plain teddy bear. They really know all about toys!

As part of the Olympic Games Topic we are currently covering in Year 4, the children had to create an Olympic Torch for a future Olympic Games in Romania. Once again the children exceeded expectations with their torches. Their creativity was clear in their projects and we had an excellent “Torches Parade”; the children went to Mr Tiplea’s office and had to answer questions from Mr Hewett and Mr Tiplea. To make the whole event even more interesting, one of the students in Year 4 brought in an official Torch from the Athen’s Games in 2004! Overall, a great experience for all!

This year 2C have focusing on having a growth mind-set. This means not giving up, encouraging each other, trying your best, and learning from your mistakes. In class we have been learnt that the word “yet” is a very powerful word. We don’t say “I can’t do it” we say “ I can’t do it YET!” Last week we worked very hard to make an assembly teaching the rest of the school this powerful message. We performed a story called “Giraffes can’t Dance” and had great fun inventing our own dance moves to the song “Try Everything.” Today we went to watch the movie “Zootropolis” where a little bunny follows her dream to be a police officer. We are keen to follow our dreams, try everything and learn from our mistakes- maybe you can try something new too.

This week, on Monday, during Cross Curricular time, Year 6 continued to work even more on the theme of this term – The Olympic Games. First of all, the students needed to take into consideration some important things for this lesson: scale drawing, design, and awareness of space. Mr Ennion explained at the very beginning how to find out a scale on the map and how this was going to be used: the children learned how to read a scale by measuring given distances on Google Maps and using strips of paper. Excitedly they spotted IBSB on Agricultori Street on Google Maps and started to measure the length of the school. Then they tried to find out the distance from our school to the National Stadium. After that, all the students were asked to create their own map of ancient Olympic Games and to draw different types of buildings, such as a Hippodrome, Gymnasium, Palaistra, Stadium, Temple of Zeus, Boulenterion, and many others. It was a very interesting lesson about Ancient Olympia, as you can see from the photos.

This week, in Romanian, the students from Year 4H studied some of Caragiale΄s short stories: “Vizita”, “Dl Goe…” and “Bubico”. We read the stories, watched the movie based on “Vizita” and then it was time for the children to act! They were divided in 4 teams- each group had to distribute the roles, discuss the acting strategies, and practice the plays. They showed great team-working skills, creativity in interpreting the script, and impressive drama skills. Next week, we are looking forward to presenting our shows in front of the class!

On Tuesday, 8S had a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with a chef at the London Street Atelier to improve our cooking skills. Our goal was to prepare a 3-course Italian meal, in a limited amount of time, which for some of us was going to be tough. We started off slowly, working in two teams: Team A (nicknamed “Manic”), and Team B.

Team A worked on the main course: home-made ravioli with spinach and ricotta, as well as a Genovese pesto for the starter dish. Team B worked on the entrée and dessert: 3 types of bruschetta’s, one of which included the pesto made by Team A, along with a lovely Tiramisu (Fun fact: Mr Storey claims that it means “pick me up” in Italian).

We began slowly and in a messy way, as every beginner does, but as we got the hang of it, we started speeding up, but still with quite a lot of mess unfortunately: 2 people flattening out the once sticky dough, and another two working on the fillings for the ravioli. The pace that we managed to achieve inn the end was great!

In the end I have to say that it is experiences like these, where we can learn from our mistakes, that help us to and grow, and so I highly recommend all students to give cooking a go. I can also safely say that it was an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Over the past term, Year 5C learnt about Stone Age: how people lived then, what tools they used to hunt, to cook or to farm and many other interesting facts that amazed everybody. We have evolved so much!

In Art lessons, children got to experience charcoal pencil, and graphite and chalk in order to produce cave art. In other Art lessons the children painted prints of fossils using water colours, sponges, and pastel crayons, or they made fossils out of salt-dough.

They then quickly travelled forward in time and are now studying Van Gogh’s painting ‘Sunflowers’ as part of the cross-curricular topic Weather and Climate. Over the next few lessons, the children will reproduce paintings of the nature from various artists.

Watch out, Monet! We have some future artists in our class!

Last week in Year 3 we were looking at how to write poems using rhyming couplets. First we studied the work of great children literature writers, such as Robert Louis Stevenson and his poem ‘The Land of Counterpane’. Then we decided to give it a try ourselves and we began our own poems taking care to use words that rhyme. Using rhyming dictionaries we had fun discovering that many words with such different meanings sound the same- English is such a funny language! In the end, we typed down and decorated our poems and displayed them in our classroom for everyone to read and enjoy!

This week the year 8C group practiced their process writing skills in a new and delicious way. They first used ICT to research their favourite foods including desserts. Then they were required to create a recipe along with a guide to making and serving it. Once this was effectively accomplished complete with illustration, the learning began in earnest. Students tested their recipes by making them, bringing them to school and sharing samples with their fellow classmates. Some of the delights included Milena’s Chocolate Balls and Selin’s strawberry jelly cake. Perhaps the class favourite was Gili’s two colour chocolate cheesecake swirl. Not to be outdone, Matei chose to concoct his grandparent’s own syrup for making naturally flavoured fruity soda water to savour with our tasty treats. Well done, Year 8!

Congratulations to the IBSB U11 Football and Basketball Teams for winning both interschool sports competitions today. As far as results go, this is going to be pretty tough to top- the smiles tell the story best.

A big thank you to Paul Georgescu for his support in preparing the teams and for encouraging our students to set their goals high and to believe in themselves.

THE TEAM

1. Rares y3
2. Andrei y3
3. Radu y6
4. Or y6
5. Nichita y6
6. Maya y5
7. Lara y5
8. Sara y5
9. Dan y5
10. Efstathios y5

Early Years children have been very busy learning about the “People Who Help Us”. We learned about different jobs, including the jobs of Doctors, Police Officers, Postmen, Firemen, Farmers and Bakers, and the tools related to each job. They listened to many books related to the theme, they sang songs, and they designed many crafts related to the theme. They also had the opportunity to extend their vocabulary through role playing different activities in the Home Corner and connected their class learning to real-life experiences, which included going on educational visits to Dent Estet Kids Clinic and to the Firemen museum. At the end of the topic we rounded up the theme with a theme party, and the children all came dressed up in uniforms related to different jobs. They brought treats and shared them happily, played games, danced musical chairs, and had lots of fun.

Over the end of Term 2 break we all had, the children in Year 4 became artists, making amazing dioramas depicting rainforests. Their creativity is never ending and the result of their efforts can be seen in the pictures below. After studying the rainforest, its layers, and its inhabitants, the children went home with enough information to create their mini worlds, and they faced the challenge with great enthusiasm. Well done, Year 4!

During Book Week the Year 4 students were very busy writing books to share with their Reading Buddies in Year 1. The subjects were extremely varied, from robots to fairies, and the illustrations were carefully created. Initially the children had to plan their story, focus the writing on their very specific public, and then create it. It was a very successful exercise and the Year 1s thoroughly enjoyed the present of being allowed to be the first ones to ever read those books!

This term the Secondary School Student Council in collaboration with the Sixth Form CAS Programme raised funds to deliver 250 new books to the Constantin Teodorescu School in Şoldanu Village, Calarasi County. Senior Prefects – Andrei Dogaru, Matei Surdu, and Kevin Zhan joined Valentina Roman – the Executive Director of the Curtea Veche Association, Smaranda Nicolau – Educational Coordinator, Alexandra Zegrean – Assistant PR, to deliver the books to the pupils who were eagerly expecting them. Upon arrival, our students received a heart-warming welcome from over 100 young members of the reading club, their teachers, and members of the village community, who had prepared a delightful reception, including drama, singing, and dancing. Deeply touched by the pupils’ gratitude and desire to learn, our students left the Constantin Teodorescu School excited to continue their work with the Curtea Veche Association offering reading workshops, and delivering books to the communities that most need them.

The SRT University fair was a great opportunity for students to find out about the possibilities for studying at university level in countries like the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland. The university representatives were very helpful and talked to the students about the possible degrees available, the entry requirements, the fees, and many other important aspects related to living and studying at their respective university. Talking to the students at the end, I was happy to see that many of them left satisfied with many questions answered and are now one step closer to selecting their final options for a successful university career.

This term Year 2 have been learning about pirates. They have enjoyed discovering facts, learning about countries around the world as well as reading lots of pirate related stories. Wednesday was Pirate Day for the children and they had great fun dressing up as pirates. The children could explain why pirates wore their clothes and what a day in the life of a pirate might be like. They became authors and wrote their own exciting pirate adventures and enjoyed acting them out. In the “Arggfternoon” they decorated their teddy bears, making hats, eye patches and beards. The “Arrght” was one of the favourite parts of the day as well as reenacting a pirate battle. A great time was had by all.

This week in the Science labs, the Y8 students carried out two types of experiments: the first involved precipitation (copper sulfate with sodium hydroxide) and then filtering the solid product; the other experiment was a neutralisation reaction between sodium carbonate and hydrochloric acid. Carbon dioxide was given off and lime water was used to demonstrate its presence. Everyone agreed it was a great lesson.

Cross Curricular lessons in Year 5 are always interesting and challenging. This term in CC our students have learnt about the Stone and Ice Ages and how animals and people have evolved over time and adapted to their surroundings. As part of their learning they visited the Antipa Museum where they learnt many things about this time and even got to see real fossils! They also created their own cave paintings. It was a great day and we hope that next term they’ll have more interesting trips.

The Year 5 French students have been learning about the four seasons and how the weather changes through the year. And there is so much to talk about! In this unit the children learnt how to describe seasons using a poem, ‘Le retour du printemps’, and the music from Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’. It is always interesting to find out why students like the different seasons and all the fun things they can do as the year goes by.

The Year 3 non-native Romanian students have been learning about how important it is for our bodies to exercise and to eat healthy food. The students were very involved in the topic and very serious about what we should or shouldn’t eat. As a group, they sorted out the healthy food and spelled it in Romanian and were very happy to plan their own healthy meal as well.

The Year 4 German students went on a field trip throughout the school after having a lesson about different places in the school. They received a set of questions related to places in the Secondary School and had to write down the answers using the prepositions of place (recently learnt) and a description of their location. On our tour we visited all the rooms in the Secondary School and talked to some teachers who were very kind enough to receive us in their rooms. The art room and Mr Hewett’s office made a big impression to the children- the first one because it offered a variety of drawings and colours and the second one because the children were curious to see how a director’s office looks like. It was definitely a lesson in which the children were fully engaged from the beginning to the end and challenged to apply their German knowledge.

World Book Day 2016 was officially on Thursday 3rd March, but at IBSB we celebrated it on Friday 11th March. The day itself was a very enjoyable experience for Primary School students, thanks to events organised by our staff and PTF.
One of the most memorable features of the day was the visit of British author Stan Cullimore, who visited each class for some singing, storytelling, poetry and art. Stan is the author of more than 120 books for children, and he was very happy to meet our students to discuss their ideas. Stan ended his two days with us by signing copies of his books, some of which he left as prizes for our World Book Day costume competition.

Students were invited to dress up as characters form famous books, and they did not disappoint! Across the school, Mr Cullimore noticed a Mad Hatter, a Pippi Longstocking and a Harry Potter. There was also a lot of princesses, a few princes and knights, one bouncy tiger and an Aladdin among the wonderful costumes on display.

Another exciting activity for Key Stage 1 was the visit of Mrs Carmen Tiderle and Mrs Claudia Marinescu (who also happens to be a teacher in our Year 1 class), both of whom have recently published children’s books here in Romania. The two authors read from their books and talked about their ideas and inspirations for writing.

World Book Day was a lot of fun for our students, but there was also a serious aspect to our celebrations. Key Stage 2 students took part in a sponsored Write-a-thon, which involved writing a story based on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. They had previously arranged sponsors who would donate a small amount of money per word, so when the stories were completed the students could count the words and collect the money for charity. Similarly, Key Stage 1 students took part in a sponsored Spell-a-thon, for which they had to learn a list of challenging vocabulary and again collect sponsorship money for each word they could spell correctly on World Book Day. The money raised was donated to Cartile Copilariei, a charity project which aims to supply children’s books to the poorest communities in Romania.

It was a very busy but enjoyable day for all involved, and we must give special thanks to our PTF, Mr Paul Jennings, Mr Stan Cullimore, Mrs Claudia Marinescu and Mrs Carmen Tiderle for making it such a successful event. We are already looking forward to next year!

Last term Year 2 students learnt about people who made significant contributions to their lives both nationally and internationally. The students had the opportunity to identify the key role of a monarch and learnt about these fascinating people through a range of exciting and interactive activities. We compared the lives and reigns of Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria and placed significant events within a chronological timeline. We also found out about the life and work of some famous artists who inspired us to create our own drawings and paintings in their style. Our classroom turned into an impressive art gallery where the children admired their amazing work. It was so fantastic we decided to display their work outside our classroom for everyone to see.

For their half term homework the children were asked to research a famous person and organize the information as a nonfiction poster. The children enjoyed sharing their project with the rest of the class and some had chosen some very interesting people including a ballerina and Mr Dumitru Prunariu who was the first Romanian to go into space. I think we all learned something new including Ms Oana and Ms Deeble-Rogers!

Today the IBSB students and IBSB PTF celebrated the 1st day of March also know as “Martisor”. This beautiful day was filled not only with lots of flowers, traditional gifts and sweets, but also with love, joy and happiness. Special thank you to Made by you – Ceramica pictata de tine, IPaint Studio, Light Into Europe Charity and Touched Romania for organizing such enjoyable workshops and also a big thank you to our sponsors: BCR, Lifestyle Gourmet and “Travel Club”.
Wishing everyone a lovely spring!

Year 4 students have been learning about the Romans. They investigated important information on different sites for children and worked in groups to create posters that they presented in front of their colleagues. Also, they had to create a full size 3D Roman shield as their term project; they then made swords out of newspaper and simulated a battle on the football pitch. We all had great fun and, most importantly, nobody got injured! Apart from Ms Hewett who had to wear ear plugs during the fight!

Just before the mid-term break, in Year 5 we were busy with experiments, investigating Science. We layered colourful liquids with different densities, we floated metal paper clips on water, we pushed pins into balloons without bursting them, we pumped water uphill against gravity, and we watched pendulums do very strange things. We also been learnt why huge and heavy aeroplanes can take off and fly, why a candle can suck an egg into a bottle, how sound travels through the air, and how your eyes don’t always see what’s in front of them.

During term 2A the Year 6 students had many enjoyable lessons on The Demon Headmaster, the great book of Gillian Cross. The title character is a strange being with the powers of hypnosis and a desire to take over the world, as he believes it will be better under his ordered rule. He has piercing light green eyes, which he normally hides behind his dark glasses- removing these in order to hypnotise his victims. After reading the 16 chapters of this fascinating book and answering lots of comprehension questions, the students had a role play. They had to imagine a dialogue between the main characters and pretend they participate in parents’ evening. Later on Year 6 children had the pleasure to organize a press conference, then they wrote a newspaper article about the Demon Headmaster who disappeared at the end of the book. All students were extremely creative when asked to write a story of the headmaster as a child and how he discovered his powers and became evil.

On Tuesday, February 9th, IBSB celebrated Safer Internet Day 2016. Year 3 began by telling their peers what they love to do online. The children were shown examples of some comments which had been posted online and they decided to go and stand next to the emotion they felt when they saw it. As a class we spoke about how it made them feel and whether they think the post was kind to the person it had been sent to. Many children questioned, why would someone send a message like this? Could it make that person feel bad?

The children in groups then spoke about what they would do if they found themselves in a difficult situation while online. In pairs, the children presented to the class rules they would follow when using the internet. At the end of the day, every child made their one wish for a better internet!

The 2nd full day of skiing and the weather has been spring like. Warm slopes make for slush, but many of the groups have already been to the top of the mountain and, more importantly, made it back down again. As I write this, apres ski is in full swing. Some are in the pool, the rest are having a movie night.
We are in good spirits and the optimists amongst us are expecting snow Wednesday night to give us beautiful fresh snow on our final 2 days.

We hope everything is great back at IBSB.
See you soon,

IBSB Poiana 2016

This half-term the Year 5 students learning Spanish had a lot of fun learning all about the ‘Planets of our Solar System’. Their curiosity and thirst were piqued not only by finding out new information about our planets in the solar system, but also about other possible worlds. The highlight of the lesson was watching a short video in Spanish with lots of explanations regarding all the planets of the solar system- in fact the students like it so much they watched it at home over and over again, listening in Spanish and revising at the same time the vocabulary that describes the characteristics of different types of planets. The students also enjoyed using their imagination to create another planet themselves, which they then named and described.

Later, reading a story in Spanish about how life on the Earth is in danger because of actions of mankind due to pollution and other issues, the students realised that it was not just a story of fiction. In the story flowers could only be planted on the Moon because Earth could no longer sustain life. It led all the students to talk about the serious problems we face and solutions which are desperately needed for future generations of children to survive.

On a frosty day in January most of the Year 9 students who study various and varied modern foreign languages , Spanish, French and German, went on a trip to the Traditional Spanish Restaurant Alioli in Bucharest to discover and enjoy the Iberian specialties of the Spanish cuisine. It was a genuine experience for all of us, as the place has successfully tried to recreate the typical atmosphere of a Spanish restaurant.

It is a well-known fact that the Mediterranean culture promotes going out frequently and having a meal or just ‘tapas’(starters) with family or friends. The food is based also on the Mediterranean diet, a mixture of variety and delicacy. The main ingredients are olive oil -used in impressive amounts- vegetables, seafood & fish, cheese and meat in balanced proportions, and fruits like oranges, peaches, grapes, or pomegranate .

The students were all able to taste the famous ‘paella valenciana’ cooked with rice, vegetables, and chicken, or the typical ‘sangria’, a flavourful mixture of exotic fruit juice. It was an opportunity to be with colleagues and learn about the different gastronomic styles, link it to the studies in class and have some fun.

This week Year 2C went on a trip to “Made by you” where they had the opportunity to show their art skills by painting on ceramic. The students were very enthusiastic and keen to create their own plate using three different techniques: paint brush, confetti and sponge decorating. The results as you can see were pretty amazing and the students had a great time.

Children in EYFS have been busy learning about Jungle Animals. They learned to differentiate jungle animals from others and also learned about patterns: spotty, stripy, zigzags, circles, and spirals. They investigated animals that use camouflage to protect themselves from danger and role-played with jungle animals (lions, tigers, zebras, giraffes, rhinos, parrots and leopards). They were also involved in many hands on activities, like counting jungle animals and writing the correct number, sorting jungle animals, ordering them according to height, matching number sets, counting set-jungle animals. The teacher then read them some books related with the theme like: ‘Walking through the Jungle’, ‘Deep in the Rainforest’, ‘A busy, busy day in Tinga Tinga’, and ‘Wild Cats’. Now who wants to go on a safari?

This week during EAL we have been reading ‘The Rainbow Fish’, a lovely story about a beautiful fish. The Rainbow Fish is the loneliest fish in the ocean who becomes happier when he shares his beautiful scales with his friends. The story was a great opportunity to learn new words but also to enhance social and emotional skills. The students in Year 1 read the story, pointed at different words and pictures and talked about the rainbow fish’s feelings. The students predicted what would happen next in the story and acquired new language by labelling the parts of the fish. They enjoyed sharing and sequencing the events from the story, emphasising that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. We also made a Rainbow Fish book about friendship where we wrote what things a good friend might do. The children really liked the story and the various activities and are looking forward to their EAL lessons next week.

During the school holiday the students from 2C had to make their own shoe box diorama of a scene from a story. They had to use paints and different materials to create the scenery and the characters.

When the students returned back to school they were very excited to present to the teachers and colleagues their homework projects. We, along with year 2D, were invited to see the world of Narnia, the story of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Princess Sofia, and many more wonderful stories.

Everybody was very curious and asked a lot of questions about their colleagues’ scenes, but they were also very happy and proud to present their own. The students explained which story the scene is from and which materials they chose to make it and we were all very impressed with the end result. Well done Year 2C!

The IBSB Christmas Carol Concert took place this year on Friday, December 18, 10.00-11.00am at the Anglican Church, in Sector 1, officially bringing 2015 to a memorable close with the students from across the school singing a variety to popular international and Romanian carols.

Head of School, Mr Kendall Peet, opened the ceremony, thanking all the students, parents, and staff for their support over the term, and in particular of the various Christmas charities arranged by the students and PTF over the lead-up period to Christmas, wishing all present a happy and safe break. Head Girl and Boy, Zoe and Andrei, then shared a welcome message on behalf of all the students, leading into the traditional readings.

Wishing the entire IBSB Community a warm, joyous Christmas period surrounded by friends and family, and a festive New Year. May 2016 be a year of hard work and dedication, of dreams realised, and of individual commitment to the community around us.

The KS3 Performance morning took place this year on Tuesday, December 15, at Casa J, with all students from Years 7-9 offering something for all those present. Contributions came in the form of readings and acted scenes from well-known texts, as well as original pieces of work, including poems, narratives, diary entries, short skits, and dance performances, all enjoyed whilst eating pastries and drinking hot chocolate.

A big thank you to Ms Katie Bickell for arranging this extremely popular event with the students, and to Mr Angel for his musical accompaniment. The morning is one that left a lasting impression on all, attesting to the wealth of talent in Key Stage 3.

In November, the Preschool and Reception children learned about the night and day cycle/light and dark (black and white), investigating different sources of light, such as flashlights, natural light, candles, and lamps. Related to this theme, we then organized a pyjama party on Friday afternoon as a nice way to end a busy week. After lunch all the children changed into their pyjamas and then had fun eating popcorn and other treats brought in by the parents, and playing games, including musical chairs and other popular party games. In fact, the children enjoyed the afternoon so much that we are already planning our next party.

During Term 1b, Year 6 had the pleasure to study some great plays of arguably the most famous English writer: William Shakespeare. First we read from Macbeth- the best known scene with the three witches, after which we wrote and performed our very own magic spells. It was a nice moment because we worked in groups of three and used lots of props for our performance. Later on we began writing our own biography of William Shakespeare, but before that we searched in many books and on the internet for information about the writer’s life. We also studied the poem ‘All the world’s a stage’, which was both interesting and challenging, and from this poem learned a lot about figurative language; especially metaphors and personification. The hardest part was writing our own scripts at the end for the four Shakespearean plays (Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter’s Tale) that we performed this week. Here are some photos from our wonderful and unforgettable performance.

On the 3^rd of December the Year 1 children went on a visit to Merlin Book and Toy Store. They had the opportunity to meet a children’s book writer and an illustrator and had lots of fun listening to stories, and used their imagination to create their own stories. The children were interested in the books around the store and discussed what the stories may have been about, based on their covers, and then had the chance to choose books to buy to take home with them. All in all, a fun trip for the children and great learning experience.

This half term, Y3 students have learnt language relating to the celebrations of special occasions and of their achievements in activities and games. They have also learnt to say the name of the month in which they celebrate their birthday. The topic has provided opportunities for children to say more about themselves and they simply love that. Children add to their repertoire of games to play in French and here is a free website to try at home: www.french-games.net/.

In Term 1a Year 6E had the pleasure to go on a very nice trip to the MADE BY YOU workshop (www.madebyyou.ro). Before this visit we had been studying Optical Art or Op Art for short, discovering interesting facts about famous Op artists, including Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely. Op Art is a mathematically themed form of abstract art. Abstract means it doesn’t have to look like something. The point of optical art is to confuse the eye. We used compasses, protractors, rulers and sharp pencils to draw on our ceramic tiles. Our final Op Art challenge was to paint our designs onto ceramic tiles at the Made By You workshop. Here are some photos with our beautiful work. We are all very proud of it.

In Year 3 we have been discussing different types of rocks that can be found at school or in our homes. We even carried small experiments in the classroom, testing their properties and answering questions like “Does it float?”,” Is it permeable?” or “Does it split?”. The children acted out as real scientists completing charts, making predictions and finally testing rocks such as marble, slate, granite and others. We made some interesting discoveries: Did you know that slate is impermeable and does not split easily although it’s quite thin? Or did you know that chalk is type of rock?

In November, Year 4 was lucky enough to take attend of the International Film Festival for children. Our children went to two of the films available and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching these handpicked films. On Friday, November the 13^th they watched Molly Moon and once back in school had a chance to have a debriefing about this very interesting, and sometimes sad, film.  On Tuesday, November 17^th our students watched Song of the Sea.  This is a beautiful animation film that takes place in Ireland and touches some interesting subjects, such as the loss of a parent and the importance of being a good sibling.  Both films enabled the class to gather ideas to write a Story from Another Culture.  What a great experience!

This term, the Romanian Non-Native students are introduced in a magical world. Together with the Year 3 group, we spoke about Cinderella. We read the Romanian version of the story and had fun learning some new words and expressions. The students loved the topic so much that we decided to make our own story book. Working in teams, they matched the Romanian paragraphs with the images and they put everything together on coloured cardboard.

From flaming tornados to DIY lasers, nothing was missing from the 1^st Annual IBSB Science Fair. With many aspiring scientists and meaningful projects ready to be demonstrated, the Science Department started their fun and exciting event planned for the students.

Indicators were glowing, sodium carbonate and tartaric acid was making scientific clouds, potatoes were powering whole LED clocks and many more note-worthy projects were on display that day.

Since many participants had been working on their Science Fair projects for a long time everyone was ready to share and amuse their spectators. Even our helpful teachers were all very excited throughout the whole day.

Once we were all set up and ready to share our knowledge, our audience started piling in. Demonstration after demonstration, we were finally done with this stirring event. Something we would later look back to and remember as an event you wouldn’t want to miss.

At the very end we all packed away our well-rounded projects and headed home to share parts of our tiring but lively day to our friends and family.

It was certainly an event that students were thrilled to have participated in.

By Kyriaki, Yr9

Last term Year 2C studied a topic about healthy living called ‘Staying Alive.’  For the half term holiday the students had a homework a project where they were asked to show their understanding about the topic. They worked very hard in making the projects and were proud to present them when school started. They enjoyed explaining that it is important to eat the right food, to have enough sleep and to exercise to keep your body healthy. The children were very creative and used different methods to show what they learned during term 1a: a PowerPoint Presentation, a poster, a collage and an interactive notebook. With a big excitement about their own project but also with the curiosity of seeing the presentations of their colleagues, Year 2C had a great time learning together the importance of living healthy.

Remembrance Sunday commemorates those who died on all the battlefields from all wars, but first started as a way of remembering those who died during the four bloody years between 1914 and 1918 that came to be known as the years of The Great War, or World War One. It is fitting that we commemorate the dead from both sides in all distant battlefields around the world in the first truly global war, and a topic which is an integral part of study at IBSB School History. Far away from the huge cemeteries in France and Belgium where the war was bloodiest on the famous Western Front, in places like Tancabesti, where the Commonwealth Bucharest Cemetery is located, we see the true global reach of this war. 83 Commonwealth soldiers from World War One and Two lie there, from countries like the UK, Canada and even New Zealand and India.

Every Sunday before the fateful 11^th Hour of the 11^th Minute of the 11^th day in November (from the first time in 1918 when the many fighting nations finally bid their farewell to arms), representatives from all the nations lay wreaths to honour the dead after prayers (in English and Romanian) and the playing of the moving Last Post.

Schools lay wreaths too and this year our Head Boy and Girl, Andrei and Zoe, performed the task, laying our school’s wreaths with wonderful ceremony and gravity (pictured). Many of the wreaths were made up of poppies, the flower that we mark this day by as this was the flower that was the first to cover the muddy, churned up battlefields. Following the ceremony we were kindly treated to a nice lunch at the British Ambassador’s Residence, where Zoe and Andrei represented the school’s students admirably in the presence of many diplomats and Ambassadors.

This week was Year 2D’s assembly. Their Cross curricular theme this term is “Stories”. This week they have been looking at Michael Rosen’s story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.’ Through this story they have found out about different bears and where they live in the world; for example, a polar bear lives in Antarctica and a brown bear lives right here in Romania. They sequenced the story, described each scene adding lots of creative adjectives. They have also created a story map, which you can see around their classroom. They have enjoyed making collages representing each setting from the story: mud, trees, grass, storm, and cave. The children really enjoyed acting out the story, so much in fact that they decided to perform ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’ this week in the assembly to the rest of the primary school. The children were very excited to participate in the assembly and hopefully everyone enjoyed it too!

Today Y5 students explored a text about how autumn changes nature, but also children’s lives. Once summer is over and school starts, two friends in the story have to sadly say good bye to each other and accept that they will be apart until the next holiday.

Y5P students read the text and identified the different techniques used by the author to show the characters’ feelings. They discovered words and expressions with a powerful, emotional impact on reader, interpreted the subtle gestures, the actions of the characters, and created connections between the changes in the nature and those from the two children’s hearts.

In order to better understand the message of the story, the children then role-played a few scenes, showing the characters’ gestures and emotions.

The next step for them is to continue the story, using the same strategies they learnt about. We all worked hard, but also enjoyed the lesson!

This year saw the biggest turnout of IBSB students ever at the annual Bucharest Marathon. In total of 72 students turned up on Saturday to run in the various age groups, with Mr Paul Georgescu and Ms Magda Camenidis there to lend a helping hand and ensure everyone made it to the starting line on time. In fact so many students turned up that IBSB was awarded the trophy for the school with the third highest numbers of student entries, which Mr Georgescu collected on behalf of the school

Special congratulations to:

Maria Roates—1^st  Place (5-6 years)

Alina Barbu—  2^nd Place (9-10 years) 

On Sunday it was the adults turn to take centre stage with the Students up against the Teachers. In the end it was the students who won the day, finishing 50/613 teams (a great result with students from the Primary school running), with the teacher‘s team placed a little further back, but still respectable at 318.

Well done also to Silvia Hewett for finishing the 1/2 marathon, to Rob Hewett for the finishing the full marathon, and to all the parents entered in the team and individual events.

Each year COBIS schools around the world are invited to send a student representative to the Student Leadership Conference hosted by Kings College Madrid. This year, Senior Prefect Adriana joined 29 students from schools from 9 countries, for a weekend of workshops and sessions offered from leading speakers on areas relating to the topic of ‘Student Leadership’.

On returning from the weekend, Adriana said it was a great experience and one that she would definitely recommend to future Senior School Prefects for friends made as much as the learning experience enjoyed.

On behalf of IBSB, we would like to thank our colleagues at King’s Group for organising this hugely successful event for the student leaders from the various COBIS schools and wish all students who attended good luck for this academic year, in their exams and their future.

To view more photos of the event, please visit the COBIS event Flickr page and Facebook page.

To view videos of the Student Leadership Weekend, produced by the students, please visit their YouTube Channel.

Citizenship Day is a day when the students come off the normal subject timetable to work together in their houses lead by their team captain and progress through a variety of tasks and activities. The purpose of Citizenship Days are to build community and team spirit, but also to focus student attention on community issues. On this particular day the focus was on the refugee crisis currently facing the EU and surrounding countries.

The morning was spent investigating the current mass movement of people and the refugee crisis. There were videos, talks, and discussions which culminated in students coming up with their own ideas of how to tackle the problems and present them later in the day. It was nice to see most of the students in house colours and really immersing themselves in the conversations. The middle part of the day was aimed at having fun and activities will lots of funny, ridiculous, and also challenging competitions for the houses, including buckets full of water, water art, and balloons (of course) filled with water. The final part of the day was the assembly and the chance for students to feedback about what they had learnt, as well as some ideas of how to tackle today’s problems.

A special thank you to Ms Jane Broadhurst, Pastoral Care Coordinator, and Katie Bickell , the Key Stage 3, CAS, & Charity Coordinator, for putting together a fun and challenging programme for our students. Thank you also to all the staff involved in running the day. We look forward to Citizenship Day next term.

Saturday, September 13 saw a good turnout of parents and students for the annual Parent – Teacher BBQ, despite the threat of rain. In the end, however, the weather was kind to us, the grey skies lifted, the day lightened, and all present enjoyed a rich buffet of international cuisine brought in by the parents, with the chance to meet the teachers and staff in a social setting.

A special thank you to Alan Cornish for running an informative and well-received Primary School Presentation on developing a ‘Growth Mindset’ in the Primary School, which is a key focus for this year.

Thank you also to Aida Ivan for running the Child Safeguarding session – a requirement for all British Schools – which focused on issues relating to safety. If you missed either of these presentations, they are now available on the school website in the Parent’s Area. The next big social get together is the UN Celebrations on Friday, October 16. We hope to see all our parents there.

The students in Year 3D had a great time learning about shapes this week. We started our topic by talking about different shapes such as pentagons, hexagons, and even octagons. During the lesson the students had the chance to create their own shapes and share their work with the rest of the class. Everyone was excited to work in teams in order to sort several shapes into different categories. Using scissors and glue, the students were able to establish their own criteria and form groups of shapes, as you can see in the photos.

Following on from the Year 3D assembly last Friday, based on the International Day of Peace, the children generated lots of ideas as to how we as a school could celebrate this day. In the end, they decided what better way to mark this occasion on September 21st than to make the peace symbol involving every child in the primary school! During the afternoon break, each child made their way to the football pitch to join in the making of this symbol, becoming one in the name of peace. Peace One Day aims to advance active learning in the areas of conflict resolution, global citizenship, and human rights. We joined hands to unite in an effort to create the largest reduction of violence globally, as well as the largest gathering of children in the name of peace, on one day – Peace Day. It is our participation as a school and other schools around the world on Peace Day that will ensure the success of this historic event and contribute to the institutionalisation of Peace Day around the world.

This term Year 2 are studying a topic all about healthy living called ‘Staying Alive’. We have learnt that we need to exercise to keep our body healthy, we need a lot of sleep, and to eat the right food to fuel our body. As part of this topic we enjoyed a yoga session with our school counsellor Aida Ivan to learn some basic stretches to relax and keep our body supple. The children enjoyed working together to create bridges with their hands and made star shapes with their legs. One thing they learnt was that yoga is done in absolute silence to ensure that everyone is relaxed and concentrating. This is something we could all work on together – being relaxed and taking some time for ourselves!

The students have also identified healthy and non-healthy food and sorted them in the food groups. They also tasted a wide range of food and used amazing adjectives to describe the taste of each. Some children described hummus as ‘disgusting’ and others described it as ‘yummy’ and ‘delicious’.

We are looking forward to learning more about the topic ‘Staying Alive’ in the next four weeks.

In Geography this week we have been exploring one of the main stories being covered by the media across Europe, and in fact the world.  The Refugee Crisis.  Year groups across KS3 have taken different approaches.  Year 7 have been finding out about Refugees throughout history, putting their mapping skills to the test by locating their origin and destination.  This is then being followed up by finding out how one of the refugees made a contribution to society.  Did you know one of the first contraceptive pills was invented by a refugee?  Year 8 are taking a more general approach and building up their understanding of migration, both voluntary and forced, before considering why people have become refugees.  Year 9 have the challenging task of investigating some of the myths and rumours around refugees, to either prove or disprove them based on comments made by people responding to the media stories.

In order to support the students, many resources have been made available on http://www.pearltrees.com/markstorey, including some of the resources from the lessons in class folders, along with a folder ‘In the News’ to give a wider selection of information.

Students also have the opportunity to challenge themselves further by responding to posts on. http://storiesofgeog.blogspot.ro/ Here they will find articles and websites that they may find useful to their lessons, or something they are interested in.

Lastly, a twitter account has been set up to share websites, news stories as they happen.  Follow @MSTGeography to discover even more about Geography and world around us.

Today Year 5C had the honour to open the new season of Primary School Assemblies this week, with the children presenting a timeline of the Human’s Rights given the fact this is what they studied in class in the last week.

Every bit of the assembly was their concept and they put a lot of effort to make it work. Through short plays, speeches, and crafts that children prepared carefully in advance, they showed how Cyrus the Great set the slaves free in 153BC, how King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, and how Mahatma Gandhi fought for Human Rights in India. In Europe, during the World War II, Human Rights were almost extinguished because of Adolf Hitler. The assembly ended with Eleanor Roosevelt creating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

All in all, it was a great experience that made our students happy, excited, but also gave them a bit of stage fright. Thank you to all the parents who came along to watch their fantastic performance.

Our Year 1 children have been very excited about being in the new classroom. We used the  “Ourselves” theme as a starting point to allow the children to know each other better and to integrate the new children to the school and the current children from the Reception class.  As you can see in the pictures we drew around one of the children and labelled the parts of the body. We discussed what we use each part of the body for and about our five senses.

The youngest children in our school met their new classes, classmates, and their new playground last week and since then they have all been very excited about all these new things and have shown curiosity about the many new activities they have enjoyed. They have learned to play together, they have already shared many nice moments playing with sand or water, and most importantly they all had a lot of fun! Let’s see what we have lined up for our youngest learners to explore next week.

The first day of school is always an exciting time as the teachers wait to greet their new students and the students and parents arrive to discover who their class teachers and Form Tutors will be for the year ahead.

This year BCR sponsored a special ‘Welcome Back’ banner, along with a professional photographer to capture the moment for those up for an early morning photo shoot.

As you can see from the photos the students were happy to be back. We would like to wish all our students, parents, and staff the very best for the year ahead, as we work together toward our Vision, ‘Building a Community of Passionate, Lifelong Learners.’

Our recent ISI inspection report said we have an ‘Exceptional’ School, so let’s make this an ‘Exceptional’ year.

And so it proved on the 14th June as 16 good men and women true met together at the Moara Vlasiei International Cricket Ground to do cricketing battle for the honour of the PTF trophy.

Teams were allocated on a somewhat random basis as we mixed staff, parents and students and ended with a harmonious compromise: all the ringers in one team and the ‘fledgling-newcomers-to-the-great-game’ on the other. The Student team, led confidently by Steve won the toss and chose to bowl and then Steve was told in no uncertain terms by his dad that they had changed their minds and wished to bat: so much for the sanctity of captaincy!

The Student/Parent team began at a gallop scoring quickly as the fielders struggled with two basic issues in the field: a) the ball is hard b) a spectacular full length dive for a catch counts for nought if you then drop the ball.

Nayva’s dad and Steve’s dad showed the two teams how cricket should be played and both retired at appropriate moments never having been threatened by the Staff pace bowling. Indeed Walter hit one ball so hard the fielders in the deep were taking cover and donning protective helmets as it sailed towards them. The Sequira offspring showed moments of sparkle at the crease but only briefly. The surprise package was the Hewett axis who accumulated loads of runs before one Hewett decided to cause a marital tiff by running the other one out. Ouch! Questions will be asked over Sunday dinner about that one: the classic cricketing call for a run had been heard, here in the depths of the Romanian countryside: ‘Yes!!…No!!…Sorry!” That combination of words has been heard on cricket fields from Adelaide to Bangalore and from Wellington to Old Trafford.

All that remained was a cameo from Ms Blessy and new cricketing devotee, Mr Silviu, who, without really realising it introduced the ‘Switch-hit’ into Staff/Parent/Student cricket.

Total: 125 from 20 overs.

The staff side began in effective style: Mr Afzal (A.K.A. Chris Tavare/Geoffrey Boycott/Michael Atherton), dropped anchor at one end and seemed to think it was a five day test match. However, the scorebook never lies and the redoubtable Shaikh was never winkled out by the bowlers: retiring unbowed in the last 2 overs.

The staff had some newcomers who struggled somewhat with the rigours of the bowling; Ms Andrea, Becky and Mr Storey & Ennion fought gallantly if briefly and were soon making the long lonely walk back to the sun umbrella. Cue the secret weapon: Andrew; the representative of ‘Cricket Romania’. He was given strict instructions by me in what I deem one of my finest inspirational talks: ‘Go in,” I said. “Hang around, strike out, Mister Afzal is not progressing us quickly enough… push on, Andrew, and drive us to the finishing line!!”

2 minutes later Andrew returned, out for nought with a rueful expression; “That’s cricket for you!” It said.

Afzal and I then tried our level best and with some streaky hitting and pure slogging we pushed us on to within touching of their total. We knew we were close because they stopped discussing their holidays in the South of France and Steve and Ken were brought back to: ‘bowl straight & keep them quiet!’ Ms Jane joined me at the crease for the final two overs but the run-chase was not quite to be. We fell tantalisingly short.

Heigh ho!

Staff 111: the dreaded ‘Nelson’ for those who know their cricket superstitions.

A brilliant game, terrific spirit, oven-hot but enjoyed by all. Many thanks to Andrew for arranging the event, the drivers, the parents & students but mainly my team…’We band of brothers and sisters…’

Well done!

P.S: Training starts in September!

“Cricket to us was more than play; it was a worship in the summer sun.”,  Edmund Blunden

Paul Jennings,

Team Captain

Year 6 spent five days at Kingswood Centre in Colomendy, North Wales. We flew to Manchester Airport and then travelled by coach to the camp. Kingswood is a company which specialises in activities for schools, so there was plenty to do!

On the first day, we managed to get to the camp without collapsing or falling asleep, which was a big accomplishment.  We were shown around and we had dinner, then we went to the rooms to unpack our stuff. I think all of us fell asleep very fast!

The favourite activity of our class was the 3G Swing, which was basically an enormous swing on which you had to pull to release, and let me just say everyone really liked being suspended 15 metres in the air and then swinging down through the forest!

Another great activity was caving – and yes, we had a cave there, a very deep one actually. We tried to wriggle though holes and tunnels and at one point we even turned off the light in the cave. It was pitch black!

We did many more activities like Giant Zipwire, Nightline, Archery, Aeroball, Volleyball, Environmental Art, and Bushcraft Shelter!

Our camp was intensely populated by many, many wild rabbits, which greeted us every morning and evening. It was set in a deep and beautiful valley in between 3 mountains, so the scenery was amazing.

We also had miraculous weather – in five days in the UK we didn’t see a drop of rain!

Overall, it was amazing and fun, and we challenged ourselves to do new things we had never tried before.

By Ioana and Gruia

Last week we held our Transition Day for new students coming into Year 1 next year, for students new to IBSB and for our current Reception children. We held the activities in the Year 1 classroom along with Ms Irina from Reception, in order to introduce the children to what Year 1 will be like. The children got to explore the room and have lunch in the hall with the rest of Key Stage 1.

Even playing outside during break times with the rest of the children was a new and fun experience. We did some work on the Human Body, as we will do at the start of the year in Year 1 and also with Living Things, which we are studying now at the end of the year. It was a fun day filled with new teachers, new children, and an overall good introduction to how Year 1 will be!

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)

This year, Year 4 and 5 pupils got to experience things that only a few people get to experience in a lifetime. Travelling all the way past Zarnesti to Piatra Craiului, they were amazed to find their hotel beneath the mountain in a beautiful setting and it wasn’t long before they were taking part in different activities, competing for team points.

The students were split into different coloured groups, with nominated team captains, ahead of the activities. Each year group got to experience the zip-line, hiking up a trail, paintball, archery and swimming. Year 4 also learnt how to survive in the wilderness and how to put up a tent, whilst Year 5 got to go climbing, rope jumping, and cycling. No matter the activity, both the instructors and the teachers were impressed with how all children challenged themselves and tried new things. This was definitely the most true in the swimming pool, where all pupils were invited to jump from the 3 or 5 metre diving board, before being shown how it is really done by Ms Hewett.

As always, this will be one trip our pupils will never forget! With so many happy faces and so much laughter, it was hard for many pupils to select one favourite moment. Still, we’re certain that Ms Becky’s rope jumping, Ms Hewett’s diving, Ms Antoaneta’s dancing, Ms Claudia’s 5 metre diving and Ms Jones’ zip-line were among them.

Thank you to all the Radu Travel staff and to Ms Ana for her help in organising such a fantastic trip!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” (Helen Keller)

The pupils in Year 1 have been studying animals this term. In class the children learnt how to sort animals into categories based on their features, vertebrates or invertebrates, focusing on vertebrate animals like, mammals, birds, fish, reptile and amphibians.

Big words at the beginning… not any more! Through fun and interactive activities the children learnt the differences between them and applied the new knowledge creating groups of animals. As resources we used flash cards, colouring pages, mini animal figures, interactive games on the computer and many others. But something was missing… an educational visit where children could develop their learning even more. So we went to a farm in Pantelimon where the children saw and touched animals and asked good questions about the animals’ routine. The little ones were very excited to touch the goats, to watch how a mummy-sheep feeds her lamb, to see a deer running around, and to see black piglets. They’ve never seen black pigs, nor such big chickens before! It was a great experience with many new things to learn from. It is a great quiet place, with thoughtful personnel, where you can spend a day learning about animals.

On Wednesday, the 20th of May, the children from Year 4 visited the French Institute in Bucharest- the main francophone cultural center promoting French language and encouraging cross-cultural exchange and cultural diversity. Our students enjoyed the visit and especially loved their experience in the Youth Section of the library, located in a cozy corner of the Institute. They found lots of great books to read in French, as well as magazines, CDs, DVDs, and comic books. These ideal resources will support our pupils in the early stages of learning French. It is a great place to relax with a book or watch a movie! It’s your pick!

A big ‘Well done ’ to the U9 and 13 football teams that took part in the annual Lumina Cup this year. Improving on last years results, the U13 boys came 1st in their group, with the U9 boys coming 3rd. Victor, Year 8, received a special award as goal keeper of the competition for not allowing one goal past the entire tournament, whilst Mihnea, Year 8, received player of the tournament. Andrei R., Year 2A, was the top scorer of the competition with 9 goals scored! A big ‘THANK YOU’ to PE Teachers Paul Georgescu and Ciprian Iacob for their support this year in running the afterschool football club, inspiring the next generation of footballers.

Every day there are clubs running at IBSB in the Secondary School during lunch time and in the Primary School from 3-4pm (Monday –Thursday).These clubs offer our students the chance to explore new activities and interests, including sports, art and craft activities, the creative arts, as well as the more academic pursuits, such as the MUN Club and the School Debating Club. This week we stopped by the Primary School Young Engineers Club to see what they were up to. The photos tell the rest of story.

Last week the Primary School learnt about different religions across the world like Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and Hindu.

In Year 1 the focus was on Christianity and Judaism. The children found out there are different beliefs, different ways of praying, and that all religions should be respected. They learnt about the story of Zacchaeus and how to be kind and tolerant. They also learnt how Jewish people celebrate the Shabbat and they compared their weekend activities with it.

In circle time we discussed traditional celebrations from the two cultures and pointed out the difference between them. In art the children discovered the Buddhist mandalas and they had fun making their own ones. What will we be learning about next week?

The students from year 4 were recently invited to join an exciting carnival experience. It was the Carnival of the Animals!!!!

The topic of the French lesson was based on the piece of music composed by Camille Saint-Saëns. Each song for ‘Carnival of the Animals’ was written for a particular animal. The composer did a fantastic job of imitating the spirit of each animal with his music. The children had the chance to ask and answer questions about animals and describe them.

Extracts from ‘Carnival of the Animals’ were played and the students tried to guess what animals the composer represented in each piece. It was amazing to imagine the lions roaring, the hens clucking, the mules braying, the dancing elephant, and the bouncy kangaroos.

The topic for Term 2B in Cross Curricular was the Stone Age. During a very interesting and exciting lesson Year 5 children had the opportunity to create their own natural paint using only spices, plants, fruit, and vegetables. After they had the mixture sorted, they painted their cavemen paintings and the results were absolutely amazing. Not only did they learn a lot about Stone Art and culture through direct experience, they also enjoyed it very much as you can see in the photos.

Congratulations to all the students in the IBSB Track and Field Team who competed in the Interschool Athletics Competition on Friday, March 27th, against a field of 8 other International Schools. Many of our students won gold, silver, and bronze on the day, with the boys managing to win 1st Place overall, with the Girls coming 2nd Place overall. A wonderful result achieved!

A special thank you to Paul Georgescu and Ciprian Iacob for their support in preparing the school teams.

On Wednesday, April 1^st, the students had a special afternoon activity arranged around the theme of Healthy Eating. The students were all asked to bring in healthy snacks and fruit to use for the afternoon competition, where they each put their artistic skills and understanding of a healthy diet to good use creating the ultimate snack. You can see from the photos that there was an impressive range of tasty treats on offer and the staff were all very impressed by both the quality of the presentation and the tastiness value. A special thank you to Ms Marascu for arranging this fun event. Now, time for a tasty bowl of fruit salad, or maybe a fruit salad sandwich?

Every year on the 20^th of March, the anniversary of the creation of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF, or International Organisation of La Francophonie), the Journée Internationale de la Francophonie (International Francophonie Day),  is celebrated throughout the world, in the 77 states and governments of the OIF, and also many non-French speaking countries.

This year, our IBSB students decided to continue the tradition and organised a series of activities, including a Bake Sale and a Non-Uniform Day to support one of our local charities in their mission to help kids with cancer in Romania (http://www.sperantapentrutine.ro).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Catrinel, Maria, and Maria Luiza  (Year 11) for this successful initiative, for their inspiration to us all, and for the effort required to organise such an event. French cuisine, cultural quizzes on important French and francophone figures, and music contributed to creating a multicultural environment.

Inspired by the passion for the French language and Francophone values, the Year 9 students also got involved and worked on a Francophone Global Citizens Project where they used their knowledge of the current topic studied in class (Ways to protect the environment) and passed on this message in our community.

Students also got involved and promoted the French language and the solidarity of the Francophone culture by offering spring plants (in pots) in school at the end of the lessons. This activity was a wonderful opportunity for students to express their opinions (in French) on issues of great importance.

The pinnacle of the week and term was without a doubt the Spring Show where 47 of our Years 4 to 6 demonstrated self-discipline, improving performance skills, a sense of humour, a joie de vivre and the result of many weeks of learning lines, actions, songs, in the very witty ‘Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies’ that captivated a large audience of all ages. The confidence, focus, independence, and awareness of how each part contributed to a whole on stage was evident to all those in the audience as we laughed our way through what was nothing short of a stunning performance.

Special thanks to all the students for all their hard work out in to achieve such a wonderful performance. A BIG thank you also to Mr Angel, Mr Ennion, Ms Andreea, Ms Broadhurst, Ms Oana, Ms Maddie, Ms Luiza, Ms Orla and last but not least, to Ms Hunter, this year’s director extraordinaire, who together achieved a something truly magical, with the support of everybody in the Primary School, as well as the parents who helped to arrange all the costumes for the night. It was a true community event, a celebration of talent and cooperation, and with the charity raffle (Thank you to all those who donated a gift for the charity raffle which raised 3650 ron for Sfanta Macrina) an opportunity to give to those who have so little. A great night all round, and one that will surely be remembered for quite some time to come. DVDs of the performance will be available in the weeks ahead.

It was no April Fools for our IGCSE Geography group when Mr Storey told them they would still be doing their field trip despite the slight breeze blowing through Bucharest Wednesday afternoon. The trip was in preparation for their forthcoming exams and provided them with an insight into how and why data is collected for use in studies.

After some hesitation over the weather, the students enthusiastically set off to walk from school to the centre of the city.  Along the way they stopped at regular intervals to look at the urban environment around them. At each point they recorded data, including the amount of traffic, urban stresses such as litter, graffiti and pollution, and discussed what the main land use was.

The information collected will now be reviewed at by the students in lesson time to see how it could be used in an investigation. Thank you to Luce, Marilu, Victor and Radu for braving the elements and taking their Geographical learning outside the classroom.

Zoe, Maria, Andrei, Matei, Radu, and Vladimir (Years 11-12) have just returned from memorable university tour of England, including Cambridge, LSE, and UCL. The purpose of the journey was to find out more about the courses offered, the application process, and the prospects upon graduation.

At Cambridge the students had the opportunity to speak with the International Admissions and School Liaison Officer at Cambridge before going on a tour of King’s College. As a special surprise, Alex Vlad, former IBSB Head Boy currently studying Human, Social, and Political Sciences at Homerton College in Cambridge gave us a personal tour of Trinity, St. John’s, Peterhouse, Emmanuel, and Jesus college. On the tour the students had the chance to get the insider’s view of the college system, the societies, and many other opportunities that Cambridge has to offer its undergraduates. A big thank you Alex!

Back in London, they had guided tours at UCL and LSE – both world-leading universities. This time they had the pleasure and privilege of being guided by former IBSB Head Girl Alexandra Lulache, a second-year student of Anthropology at the most prestigious social sciences university in the world, LSE. Visiting the university campus, the library, the students’ hub building, as well as the positive vibe of the students left a lasting impression on us all. A big thank you also to Alexandra!

On the trip they also had the opportunity to meet up with former Head Girl Catrinel Vlad, recently accepted to Yale, and Deputy Head Girl Sonia Savin, who will study Economics and Philosophy at the LSE in 2015-16. All in all, I think everyone would agree that it was a very memorable trip, and it is clear that the IBSB alumni network is growing quickly, inspiring future generations of IBSB graduates.

The technical museum in Carol Park is truly one of Bucharest’s finest. Although we were a bit lost amongst diagrams of alternating current and electrostatic machines, the exhibits were fascinating and prompted a wide range of questions and discussion. When we reached the steam trains, bicycles and collection of old cars we were right back on track however, and were able to make fantastic links to our learning in class. Having missed the brief snow flurry while we were inside, we headed out to the park for lunch, a walk up to the National Heroes Monument, and a quick whizz round the playground before the buses returned to take us back to school. The children were then given postcards from the museum to write about their favourite exhibit, and take home for mums and dads.

As part of the new computing curriculum Year 2 are learning all about photography, how cameras work and how to take and talk about photographs. Linking to our work on transport inventions the children took the Samsung tablets out into the playground and took a range of photographs of toy cars thinking about backgrounds, angles and focus. Later that day they used an App called Animoby to transfer all their photographs into a single slide for ease of presentation. The children were really proud of their photographs and very creative in how they set up their shots.

This was the first Year 1 assembly this year! It was fun, but also a lot of work. Over the last few weeks, we have been reading some funny stories in Literacy about “The Pigeon” and the children loved them so much that they decided to perform one of them in front of their families and the whole school. Parents were very impressed, the children had fun performing, and all said that the assembly was a big success.  So well done Year 1!

This term children in Early Years have been learning about “People Who Help Us”. They learned about doctors and nurses and to differentiate among different kinds of doctors: dentists, paediatricians, and veterinaries. They understood and they talked about the procedures when they have to go to see the doctor. We raised children’s awareness about what a doctor/nurse is and what they do for people. We went on a trip to the Dent Estet Kids Clinic as part of our theme “People Who Help Us/Dentists” to facilitate our children’s understanding of community helpers and of the world of work. Children were enthusiastic to have met the Tooth Fairy.

Thank you Dent Estet for having us!

Did you know that on the 13th of March Year 6 together with Year 7 celebrated the Pi Day? Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi).

On the 14th of March people also celebrate Albert Einstein’s birthday and eat all kinds of pies. On the morning of 13th of March in the Senior School, students did the same thing, eating lots of delicious pies. Some students have presented some nice Power points about this event offering us good explanations about Pi number. For example, they found out that consequently Pi’s decimal representation never ends and never settles into a permanent repeating pattern. Three Year 6 students took part in a memorizing digits competition. They have really impressed us. Congratulations!

The German students from Year 7 came prepared with all the ingredients for preparing a Banana Milkshake in order to test a German milkshake recipe learnt in the previous lesson. They followed carefully all the preparation steps and came up with original ideas to make the milkshake tasty and appealing. In addition to making an irresistible drink, they also had a lot of fun.

In Term 2A, the students from Y5 have studied a very fascinating topic about planets during their French lessons. They can name the planets in French, describe their position in the solar system and some of their characteristics. The students have also developed new skills such as using complex sentences and becoming aware of adjectival agreement in French. Learning about planets was great fun with active learning opportunities for pupils: games, quizzes, poems and creating a display.

It was also Martisor Day, so all the students in the Primary School dressed in red and white to celebrate this important day in Romania.

The IBSB team achieved their target of going one better than last year, reaching the semi-finals of the World COBIS Debate Competition this year. The students all agreed that it was a tough competition this year – offering by far the highest standard of debating in the previous three years. The team have a lot to be proud of in beating the COBIS Debate Champions from the previous two years, BSN (The British School of the Netherlands), in the quarter finals, before eventually losing to tournament champions Edron Academy (Mexico), in their semi-final debate. Edron Academy went on to win the Competition, and were clearly the best team this year (they are the current Pan-American Champions and also recently won the World Schools Debate Competition).

Congratulations to all five members of the senior school debate team, Sebastian, Andreea, Vladimir, Zoe, and Andrei, as well as to our team coach, Mr Afzal Shaikh. Added to Sir Winston Churchill Classic trophy  collected earlier this academic year, it has clearly been a very good year for the school debate team.

On Wednesday, February  11^th ,2015, 12 students from IBSB accompanied by Mr Tiplea visited a Dutch University Fair where there were representatives present from a number of universities, including Roosevelt University College of the University of Utrecht, Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University), Tilburg University, University of Utrecht, Maastricht University, and the University of Leiden. The fair was designed for students who are 1-2 years away from graduation and all students attending said they left feeling they knew more about the educational choices available in Holland than when they arrived.

For parents who know little about Holland, Holland offers students a number of interesting courses as well as a flexible way to study as a cost that is considerably cheaper than studying in the UK or the Unites States. Entrance requirements are relatively low, but expectations for maintaining a good work ethic and good grades are very high.

Day 3

The third day of our Istanbul Trip was packed with negotiations and debate on resolutions and clauses. Each of our students managed to not only propose, but also pass from at least 1 clause to over 13 clauses within their respective committees. To put this in perspective, a typical MUN resolution has somewhere between 6 to 10 clauses. Some of our students were the main submitters of resolutions.

To give you a glimpse of a flow of negotiations, Steve and Zainab were representing Oman in the Arab League and one of their three topics was on “ending state sponsored funding of terrorist groups in the MENA region”. The resolution debated on this topic was mostly founded on the primary notion put forward by Oman: the creation of a Terrorist-Response-Team (TRT) that is comprised of, managed, and monitored by the Arab states. Oman proposed 13 clauses out of a total of 15 on this topic. They tackled constant questioning, particularly pointed ones came from the representative of India (who was a guest in the Arab League), who tried hard to de-rail Oman’s proposals. However, our students used multiple strategies to stay ahead of the game (they used the official notepaper to get other countries on their side, got other representatives to give speeches supporting Oman’s proposals, and maybe some other more tacit strategies). Defending one of Oman’s clauses, Zainab said: “the clause is about building a strategy that thinks 4 steps ahead – reaches victory faster with less lives lost”. Oman also suggested the organisation of a meeting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; one that would invite the extremists to the table. They justified this suggestion with the argument that as ISIL calls itself a Sunni extremist, and as Saudi Arabia has a Sunni majority governed by the Sunnis, they may be able to draw ISIL to a discussion on the religious aspect of the issue at hand. Besides clear support for their ideas, the representative from Palestine for instance thanked Oman “for creating a political platform and presenting a suitable solution that is greatly favourable for all within the Arab League”.  With all the commotion and debate, the end to this story of state-sponsored terrorism was all the more fascinating! The Arab League along with our Oman representatives colluded to eventually dissolve the resolution they worked on all day! This collusion was fascinating, and sent shock waves through the committee, with some members outraged while others enthralled. The game was very well played, and the representatives of Oman, along with their close allies on this issue (Djibouti – because they too had strong speakers) set the pace of the session to serve the interests of their country on this issue (neutrality, brotherhood, and participation without any significant disruption of ties – particularly with key partners such as the Saudis). This was just a snapshot of one part of the discussions on one out of 3 topics.

This same level of enthusiasm and rigour in debate and negotiations was visible also in the Security Council where two of our students (Maria and Sebastian) were representing the USA.

Day 3 was wrapped up with a party on campus organised for the students to socialise and strengthen their newly formed friendships.

Day 4

While our students in the Security Council and the Arab League continued with their debates within their respective committees, Day 4 saw the developmental committees in their national caucuses, which is a unique feature of this particular MUN conference.

In the national caucuses, the students of individual countries go in to discuss the various resolutions that were agreed upon in various committees. It enables all representatives of a given country to pool their ideas and commitments made in different committees. Three of our students are in these developmental committees (Catrinel, Sofia and Achille: all three represent France).

They then discuss and negotiate upon international commitments within an international summit that brings together all the delegates from all developmental committees. Achille, being the ambassador of France is expected to take a lead and guide the negotiations on behalf of France. As this is the last day of the conference, the students will receive their certificates of participation and T-shirts in the closing ceremony. Since the THIMUN format of MUN conferences are trying to minimise aggressive competition, and are trying to encourage collaboration (in the spirit of the UN principles), they have removed the possibility of earning individual certificates based on merit or strengths of arguments during the conference; as such there will not be any certificates of excellence given out in this conference.

Tomorrow we intend to conduct a final sight-seeing tour of the Grand Bazaar and possibly visit Taksim Square for much needed relaxation after the long days of negotiations.

Day 1

The MUN team attending the conference in Istanbul have settled into their respective committees. The first day of our stay was dedicated to a student and cultural exchange experience. Each of our students had a unique insight into aspects of life in Istanbul. While some host families took our students to visit the buzzing Taksim sector, other groups explored the local markets and hit the big malls of Istanbul. From dog-walking to jogging, shopping to sight-seeing, they all spent the first day settling in with their hosts. I am sure the students will be happy to share quirky stories when we get back.

Day 2 

Day 2 started with an early morning tour (some of us woke up as early as 5:30 am) of some of the key spots in the European part of the city. All the international delegates had a guided tour of the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

Our group then took a brief detour to take a unique photo-shoot in traditional Turkish costumes, which the students thoroughly enjoyed.

After lunch, we embarked on a one-hour guided ferry cruise on the Bosphorus strait, going from the European to the Asian part of the city. Though just last week the city was hit by snow storm and schools were closed, we had great spring weather, making the boat-ride very enjoyable for everyone. For a sneak-peek, I have attached just a few of the amazing pictures taken by Mr Nastase.

After the relaxed tour, our students switched gears and got into their formal MUN mood for the opening ceremony that was organized at the Koc school auditorium with 600 delegates from 40 schools. The main guest speaker at the opening ceremony was Mr Faik Uyanik, the Communications Officer at UNDP, Istanbul. His opening speech gave the students some perspectives on UNDP’s plans on tackling key developmental issues at the global level. It was fascinating for instance to hear about the 16 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), which will be the successors of the MDGs and how they will be monitored with over 169 global targets: a massive jump from just 8 MDGs, which have not been fully met at the global level. The second guest speaker was Dr Belgin-San Akce, a professor of international security and conflict resolution, who specifically addressed issues in relation to the Middle-East, which is the over-arching theme of this conference. While they both lamented about how “no democratic state can afford too many coffins coming home”, they both stressed that increased commitment particularly in investments is needed to fight the strong-hold of terrorist groups such as the ISIS which have usurped several regions and states in the middle-east. The students were urged to exercise leadership, engagement, and partnership in their debates and negotiations.

Following the opening ceremony, we attended the diplomatic dinner at the Divan Asia Hotel, after which students returned to their host families, to catch some sleep.

Day 3

The start of this third day has seen an active participation from our students. Achille, being the Ambassador of France, gave an opening speech at the General Assembly, while Catrinel and Sophia openly questioned the commitments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, pointing out the fallacies of the promises made by their respective ambassadors. Zainab, representing Oman, is already taking the lead within the Arab League to guide the lobbying in her committee.

More news to come 🙂

Its Day 5 – our last full day on the slopes – and we keep on rolling, rolling, rolling. We are very proud to say the beginners made it to the top of the mountain and came down slowly and smoothly. A successful couple of first runs. With our wonderful ski trip coming to an end, everyone had to take part in the timed slalom, with some very quick times from different pupils. As it was our last night, our pupils shone with other talents in the Annual Talent Show! We had some comedy acts, acting, jokes, and even a wonderful poem from Mr Quysner, whilst Ms Becky used her powers to make everyone smile. So after a long day all pupils headed off to bed to pack and sleep. We look forward to our last runs tomorrow 🙂

Wednesday was another wonderful sunny day in Poiana Brașov with excellent skiing conditions and lots of happy skiers. We have eaten well and made the most of the hotel pool after a long day on the slopes. After dinner the children organised themselves into groups to prepare for the big finale – the annual IBSB Talent Show.  Can anyone top the fantastic acts from last year’s extravaganza? Watch this space to find out!

Another full day of skiing today and although the weather has turned a lot colder, the snow is wonderful and the sun has been shining in a blue, cloudless sky.  The slopes are not too crowded and our excellent instructors have been working hard to make sure all children are improving their skiing and having a lot of fun in the process.

Today was Ioana’s birthday and after dinner we were treated to a birthday cake big enough to feed us all handsomely with more to spare! La Multi Ani, Ioana!
We also spent some time in the Kids Club Playroom where the ball pit was the most popular activity by far (for kids of all ages). Let’s see what tomorrow has in stall. More fun on the snow no doubt!

Today all the children we eager to get their boots and skis on, keen for an early start… even forgetting gloves, hats, and other items in their rooms (which meant the teachers had to run around the hotel collecting everything up!).

Out on the slopes we were greeted with the early morning sunshine and smiling faces from our instructors. The beginners learnt how to turn, stop, and generally move on the skis; the intermediates spent the day practising their skiing skills; and the advanced group had an exciting day exploring the various slopes Pioana Brasov has to offer.

The day ended in the pool, enjoying some down time, with many children feeling rather tired after a full day, ready for an early night…we hope!

Smiles from Poiana 🙂

A good start to this year’s ski trip with plenty of snow and sunshine.  We got out onto the slopes quite late on our first day, but still managed a good two hours skiing, which was a good way to start the trip.  The beginners began, the intermediates got back in the groove, and the advanced group put the rest of us to shame.  We will all sleep well tonight!

Looking forward to an amazing week ahead.

Each month at IBSB there are Parent Workshops offered to help support parents in the process of raising their children. There are works for parents in EYFS and Key Stage 1, run by Manuela Constantine, on the Second Wednesday of each month, 8.45-9.45am, and Whole School Parents Workshops run by our Student Counsellor, Aida Ivan, which take place each half term on a Monday, 4.30-5.30pm. Tea and coffee is provided and there is always time at the end of the presentation for questions and answers and a friendly chat with the teacher and other parents.

Some topics coming up in 2015:

Feb 11                   Building Resilience in Young Children
Feb 23                  Effective Communication – Tackling sensitive issues (death, divorce, sexuality, etc.)
Mar 30                 Moral dilemmas for children/teens –  Case studies
Apr 27                  Challenges in modern parenting styles
May 25                 The future of my child – career education at home

If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please email:

manuela.constantin@ibsb.ro
aida.ivan@ibsb.ro

Some of the students in Years 7-11 have been involved in a very special Community Action Service project this year, working with the children from Sfanta Macrina orphanage to help the lives of some of the street dogs, and in this case (see photos below) are taking Bela to the vet for the first time for her vaccinations, deworming, and first check-up. She is only a puppy, but already huge! The club is helping to improve her living conditions and the way others respond to her, and it’s working! She now has a house (shelter), water dishes, and some healthier food, plus she is freed from her chain twice a day. She is learning how to walk on a leash and socialise with other dogs. The children from Sfanta Macrina orphanage are also losing their fear of dogs, interacting with her in positive ways, and are beginning to understand how to treat and care for living creatures.

Next project- sterilisation!

Our students were focused and passionate in their final preparation debate against the International School of Bucharest on Monday. They debated both the ISB Junior and Senior Teams on the subject of whether violent video games should be banned and whether nuclear weapons should be banned on or not.

Good luck to the team at the COBIS World Debate Championships this coming weekend.

Every year the students in both the Primary and the Secondary school prepare and give speeches in front of their class, with the best speakers going on to compete in a school final. From here the best 8 students are selected to go on to compete in the regional ESU Public Speaking Competition, which this year included students from some 25 schools across Bucharest.

Public speaking is an important part of the IBSB program, helping to develop confidence and an important life skill, and in so doing providing students with a challenging experience and a real sense of achievement.

The final IBSB placements from the regionals are as follows:

Honourable Mentions: Ana Cristescu (Year 6), Melissa Aydogan (Year 6), Meea Stanca (Year 6),

3rd place prizes: Maria Sticlea (Year 5), & Aryan Agarwal (Year 5),

2nd place prizes: Shashwat Kumar (Year 6), Matei Atimariti (Year 6) & Beatriz Souza (Year 5).

All 8 of our students were placed in the competition and as such deserve a big congratulations!

A special thank you to Mr Ennion and Ms Hunter for preparing the students and to Ms Hewett, Ms Jones, and Mr Peet for helping out on the day.

Burns Night, on Saturday, January 24^th, saw some 40 odd IBSB students, staff, and parents don their social best and head out for an evening to celebrate Robbie Burns, the famous Scottish poet, and all that is Scottish, including haggis, Scottish refreshments, and dancing. Mr Peet opened up the evening with the traditional reading of the Selkirk Grace, Mr Hewitt joined the procession bringing in the haggis, and Ms Jones read out some excerpts from Burns in presenting the perfect image of a Scottish  man, complete with all his imperfections. We ate, drank, and danced the night away, with everyone leaving feeling imbued and enlivened with the Scottish Spirit.

Thank you to Stan and Camelia Platt and the entire Light into Europe team for organising such a wonderful night for everyone, and to Claudia Marta, our PTF president, for rallying the troops to ensure a good turnout from IBSB for what is without a doubt a very worthy cause- developing the Romanian Guide Dog Programme. If you are interested in working with Light into Europe to support their guide dog programme, please contact Stan Platt, stanplatt@lightintoeurope.org.

This week in Year 1 the children have been studying Countries and Culture in their Cross Curricular subject. It has been a week of animals and weather! They have learned about different climate zones around the world and the names of some of the continents. They also learned what the equator is and how it affects the weather in certain places. They organised pictures of animals into groups depending on their habitat and the food they eat and can tell you the difference between herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. I wonder what we will study next?

Following their success in winning the Sir Winston Churchill International Schools Debate Competition before Christmas, students of the IBSB debate team have been busy practicing their debate skills for the upcoming COBIS World Debate Championships (to be held 6-8 February), by participating in practice debates with other International schools. Topics include Globalisation, International Cooperation, and Free Speech. Here are photos from last week’s practice debate with BSB, debating whether the criminal justice system serves justice.

On behalf of the staff, students, and indeed the entire IBSB Community, we would like to congratulate Head Girl, Ruxandra Rogojinaru for being offered a place at Gonville & Caius College to study History in 2015-2016. Congratulations Ruxandra! It’s nice to see that hard work does pay off.

Ruxandra is the current Head Girl at IBSB, recipient of the COBIS Award and a special MUN Award, and Editor of the School Magazine, with an A-A* average at both IGCSE and A Level.

IBSB took away two teams to the inaugural International Schools Girls’ Football Tournament, on Saturday, January 17. Although our teams were newly formed and relatively inexperienced,  their abounding enthusiasm served the girls well as they played against some well-trained and organized opponents.

Interestingly, the most memorable game came when IBSB A team played against IBSB B team. Our A team thought they had sealed victory before the B team scored an equalizing goal in the dying seconds to for a well-earned 1-1 draw. And in the final game of the day, IBSB’s B team played incredibly well to earn a 0-0 draw with ISB.

Ms Becky and Mr Ennion both said they left the tournament feeling very proud of the girls’ achievement, noting we have two superb goalkeepers in Melissa and Meea, two reliable defenders in Lara and Kathleen, and also some skillful midfielders in Alina, Elian, and Kiki. They would also like to remind all the girls that the Girls Football Club will start again in the summer term.

Thank all the parents who came along to support, and especially Deva (Pre-School) who was the biggest IBSB supporter on the day.

This term has started in a very fun way for Year 5. The Cross Curricular theme for Term 2a is Myths and Legends. The children already knew so many interesting things about the subject, and so for this reason our lessons began with interesting discussions generated in the class. During this week the students started creating their own mythical creature. First they had to design one by cutting and gluing body parts of 3 different animals. Then they had to sketch it, to make it look as mythical as possible, and to give it a name. For everyone involved, it has been a incredibly interesting start to the term.

On behalf of the staff, students, and indeed the entire IBSB Community, we would like to congratulate Catrinel Vlad for receiving an unconditional offer to Yale University. Every year over 100 students from schools around Romania apply to Yale, with only 1 or 2 students accepted each year, and as such this is incredible achievement for Catrinel, paving the way for other IBSB students to follow.

Catrinel was Head Girl, School DUX, recipient of the ECIS and COBIS Awards, and Captain of the School Debating Team, achieving A*A*AA in her final A levels.

The Year 4 students showed an incredible amount of creativity and concentration during our trip to Made by You ceramics. It was a very specific art lesson in which the children received instructions and suggestions from specialists and were able to create some excellent pottery. They each received a bowl, special paints, and paint brushes, and worked hard for 2 hours in order to create very different final pieces. A lot was learned and now the children have a new bowl for their cereal in the morning. Good job, Year 4!

We would like to congratulate the Sixth Form IBSB students involved in the Cartile Copilariei Project for successfully raising 1000 RON from their winter stall and silent auction at the Winter Show and from online donations, allowing them to donate 65 books to the children reached by the programme.

We would also like to thank BCR for their generous donation of 5000 euros, kindly arranged through Ms Claudia Marta, the President of the Parents, Teachers, and Friends association at IBSB.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our cause. We wish you had a great holiday and Festive New Year. May all your wishes comes true in 2015.

Almost two weeks ago the students in Year 6 started preparing for an important event – Annual ESU Public Speaking Competition – which will be hosted by our school on the 24th of January, 2015, with the theme for this year being: Life is about the journey, and not about the destination.

To get the process rolling, the children spent some English lessons working on their speeches. They came up with lots of ideas in a brainstorming session and then began planning everything by writing clear and concise arguments, with the help of the teachers. Next they critically examined their speeches and the speeches of the others, trying to improve them by developing some good messages or by giving more examples to show how the information presented applies to the lives of the audience. Finally, the Year 6 students focused on delivering their speeches, taking into account the good standards of performance.

Here are some photos taken in front of the classroom, after the students prepared their cue cards and memorized parts of their speeches. They are still rehearsing for the big competition, so let’s wish them all good luck!

As part of our PSHE programme the Year 4 children learn about different religions so that they have a better understanding and more respect for differences. This term our focus was on the Jewish religion and we were lucky enough to have a visitor, Mrs Cohen, who helped us understand a little more about her culture. We learned about how Hannukah came about, the importance of the candles, and what people around the world will be doing celebrating Hannukah. It was a hands on experience, with the children being able to paint oil containers and play with dreidels.

This year’s annual art trip was again in the not so sunny London, but that didn’t stop seven Art students and three EAL students from exploring some of the most renowned museums in the Art World, where we gazed at some of the most famous art pieces in history.

Not only did we visit exhibitions, we also got to enjoy the winter markets and get ourselves ready for Christmas, as well as educate ourselves in medieval London at the London Dungeon Experience.

In the end, everyone came out with new and bright ideas for their next art piece that will surly impress Ms Broadhurst and the Cambridge examiners.

By Raluca S.

This week the Early Years children learned about the Indian Festival of Diwali. All the children listened to the story of Diwali, then coloured some nice Diwali patterns and had their hands painted with the specific Diwali Henna drawings. They also tasted some specific treats traditionally offered and eaten during this celebration.

We hope that by studying the festivals celebrated in different cultures and countries that our children gain a better awareness about the similarities and differences between themselves and others from differing families and communities, with different traditions.

We would like to thank our parents for their involvement and positive impact on the Early Years children. All children enjoyed the parents’ presence and we are looking forward to having more parents in class on different occasions.

On Tuesday 16th December we went to Heidi chocolate factory. Of course, everyone was excited by the idea. We not only had fun, but we also learnt many things, including the ingredients of chocolate (yum, yum!). After that, we did what every single child’s dream is: we made our own chocolate! Some put biscuits in it while others put more exotic ingredients and even mixed different types of chocolate. Speaking of different types of chocolate, we had the pleasure of tasting all kinds of chocolate. After all our “hard work”, we had a nice refreshing cup of hot chocolate. When we came back to school, we checked how good our work tasted.

By Gruia and Matei, Year 6

A BIG thank you to all the students and supporting staff for putting on yet another great Winter Show this year, which took place at the Tandarica Theatre on Friday, December 12th. The EYFS Carols, the Key Stage 1 Play ‘Christmas with the Aliens’ and the Secondary School Eclectic Compilation of shorts entertaining Skits were all warmly received.

Thank you also to the many parents who donated food for the PTF Bake Sale and/or something for the Winter Show Charity Raffle. In total over 3000 lei was raised to go to the Student Council who will allocate the money to the various CAS projects. 5000 euros was also donated on the night by BCR to the Curtea Veche Community Project to help raise literacy levels in poor communities throughout Romanian by ensuring children in these areas have access to books.

All in all, a night very much enjoyed by all and a lot of good achieved for the local community.

St Nicholas Day was a grand success once again last year thanks to the generous donations of many students like Ana (Year 11) who brought in an abundance of Finetti, candy, and socks! Three students in KS3 also chose to selflessly give leftover money from their trip to the Danube Delta to the cause. As a result, all of the children from Sfanta Macrina, day and residential programmes alike, received a sock stuffed to the brim with sweets, plus a large tub of Finetti to enjoy either at home or in the dining hall at Sfanta Macrina.
I would like to thank the entire school community for rallying together to make this special moment happen. I can assure you that for most, if not all of these children, the morning would have passed uneventfully with St Nicholas somehow overlooking them; however, we did not allow that to happen. We made a positive impact in our community, making it possible for disadvantaged children to create happy childhood memories, and most importantly, instilling hope for the future. Great job everyone!

Ms Katie Bickell

This term Year 4 put on their scientists caps and tested how friction affects how objects move. The children had to carry out a number of experiments, but first they had to write their plans, ask their questions, decide which variables to change or not and make predictions. Then it was time to work; shoes off and hands on! The children checked how cars move in different surfaces, who was wearing the shoes with most grip, and how friction affected different objects. It was a great week of discoveries and as per normal in Year 4 they did a great job!

On the 10th of December, 2014, Year 6 went to Made by You. There we painted plates with Aztec patterns. We made circles, triangles, two headed serpents, and lots of other designs, including spears and day and month signs. The art technician gave us some special equipment. The colours were faded but we were told that when they have been in a kiln they will become much brighter. Year 6 really enjoyed this art trip. When we interviewed Gruia about the trip he said it was awesome. After that we asked Meea what she thought of the trip and she said it was fun. Finally, we asked Lin Li what she thought about the trip and she said that we were creative and all had very nice designs. Well done everyone, and thank you to Made By You for arranging such a special day for all the students in Year 6.

By Philip and Melissa, Year 6

For the second time in three years the IBSB Debate Team brought home the Winner’s Trophy from the Sir Winston Churchill International School Public Debating Competition. Debating Transylvania College (Cluj) in the final, arguing the side of the opposition for the motion “The House believes that money spent to host an international sporting event, such as the Olympics or World Cup, is a worthwhile investment”, Team IBSB, consisting of Zoe S.(Year 13), Andrei D. (Year 12), and Vlad S. (Year 12), built a convincing argument weaving together a mixture of historical fact with more recent current events to achieve a well-deserved 4-1 victory. Guest Judges for the Grand final included:

HE Ambassador Corr praised the international schools involved for the focus placed on debating skills and described this as an extremely valuable training in the use of persuasion and influence which can be a lifelong personal asset. The Ambassador said the growth of debating in Romania and elsewhere is an indication of the need for presentation skills in public outlining of points of view and perspectives and the Sir Winston Churchill debate showed the very high debating skill of all the schools involved.

HRH Prince Nicolae shared the following with all present in the closing ceremony:

The importance of debating is an invaluable skill that students during their school years will find challenging, exciting and rewarding. To be able to debate a topic that is prepared only moments before being tested by the opposition or proposition and having the skill to think on the floor and respond from the information gathered as a team is an invaluable lesson, skill and reward that will no doubt serve the students well in their future lives carrying them forward in their successful careers.

For the second year I have sat on the panel of judges where, and once again I have been impressed by the standard and quality that has not only reflected the depth of thought given by the participants, but also cause those present to take pause and reflect. Congratulations to all the participants and the finalists.

From the entire IBSB Community, we would like to say congratulations to the entire team, including Luiza R. (Year 9), with a special mention to Zoe S., voted as the best overall debater in the tournament.

A special thank you to Ms Blessy Savu and Mr Afzal Shaikh for all their work in preparing the team for this competition.

In February our debate team again draw their swords as they head to the COBIS World Debate Championships, and our hopes and best wishes go with then as the begin preparations for this event.

On Monday, the 24th of November, Year 6 Spanish students Nicholas and Pietro had the chance to experience an interesting online journey to the Danube Delta, and to learn some interesting facts about the Nile and Ancient Egyptian civilization. While Pietro introduced us to the splendid species of fauna and flora common to the wetlands of the Danube Delta flowing into the Black Sea, Matei presented some interesting facts that relating to the impressive history of the Nile. It was an astonishing voyage that took us on a journey through the geography and history of our world, narrated in Spanish, so we developed not only our Spanish vocabulary, but also our interest in some of the picturesque and unique places on the Earth, reminding us that it is the duty of all the generations to learn about and to preserve their places of natural beauty.

Year 6 students have had the chance to learn and find out very interesting things about the Aztecs during term 1B. We discovered, for example, that these famous people had a unique system for slavery, played sports, and were very artistic. We also experimented in the classroom to see and understand better how the Aztecs were such great builders of islands, especially considering that their capital city Tenochtitlan was built on a swampy wet area.

The Aztecs are best known for eating chocolate, but also for killing and eating people in a sacrifice to their heathen gods. And because we have talked a lot about the Aztec diet (maize, beans, insects, fish, honey, dogs, snakes, and of course the most valued cocoa beans used to make chocalate) we ordered some special treats from El Torito Mexican restaurant.

So here we are tasting some delicious Taquitos, Empanadas de Pollo, Flautas, and Quesadilla.

Last Season’s Champions, the IBSB U11 Team are off to another good start this season with yet another win under their belt. Up against the ISB U11 Team this week, IBSB showed they are still a force to content with, winning their game convincingly 5-1. Well done to Paul Georgescu and the team. We wish you well in your future games.

This week a number of students at IBSB were treated to very special visit from a wonderful Scottish music group over from Inverness for the Caledonian Ball, who took the time to stop by to offer a concert in the Primary School during the their Monday afternoon assembly, and to run a Scottish session for the students from Key Stage 3. The musicians Fiona, Mischa, Conal and Innes won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award earlier this year (See www.mischamacphersontrio.com) and so it was an honour to have them as guests at IBSB.
We would like to say thank you to Stan Platt and the Light into Europe Charity for making this visit possible. It was a truly enriching experience for all the students and staff and we are already looking for to the next Light into Europe Ball- The Burns Supper- on Saturday, January 24th.

Saturday the 22nd of November saw a swath of IBSBers don their finest for the annual Light into Europe Caledonian Ball. The event, to raise money for the Romanian Guide Dog Programme, was hosted again this year at the Intercontinental Hotel, by our very own Sir Stan Platt, with British Ambassador, HE Mr Paul Brummell and Irish Ambassador HE Gerard Corr present amongst others, along with several tables of IBSB students, parents and staff. Eight IBSB students performed a number of Scottish Dances to the delight of all present, and even our very own Head of School, Mr Peet got involved, donating his collection of world No. 1 signed tennis balls to the charity raffle. All in all, a good night was enjoyed by all present, complete with good food, good company, and a fun night of Scottish dancing.

Next up on the social calendar is the Light into Europe ‘Burns Supper’, taking place this year at the Hilton on Saturday, January 24th. We hope to see many students and parents present once again for what promises to be another great night out.

Maths lessons for Year 4 students are always interesting and challenging. Ms Jones found some great interactive methods to involve all Year 4 children.

Last week we have been studying fractions, a unit which is not so easy for everyone, but surprisingly after Ms Jones’ explanations and demonstrations at the whiteboard everybody in our classroom understood what a fraction means and how they are formulated, even to the point of showing each other.

This week we are going to extend and consolidate the taught notions.

Year 4B students love History and projects! During our last Romanian lessons we learnt about our ancestors, the Dacians and the Romans, looking at their geography, everyday life, customs, superstitions, and political relations. Children asked lots of questions and also shared very interesting information with their colleagues. We read a text about the fights between Decebal and Traian and learnt many new words. As homework, students were asked to do individual research and make a presentation in front of the class, having the option to choose between designing a poster, creating a Power Point Presentation, or writing a presentation. We had lots of fun and learnt amazing information about our History (especially Ms Ana who was so impressed with her students’ enthusiasm, curiosity and knowledge).

What a wonderful trip! We went to the London Street Bistro to cook World War Two food. Year 5 cooked bread, veggie patties, beetroot patties, soup and carrot cake. We were separated in two groups; A team and B team, but we all cooked the same recipes. We had fun and worked great in our teams. The hardest thing to make was the fruit (and carrot) cake as it took a long time, but we successfully managed to make it. We want thank Miss Rachel and Miss Alina and all the other staff that taught us to cook.

By Ion B. and Kyra C.

Year 2 have been really excited about the new computing curriculum introduced to IBSB this year. In order to understand how algorithms work we have been out in the playground plotting our course across the solar system with a sequence of simple instructions.
Blast off! Forward 3, Turn Left, Forward 4, Turn Right, Forward 1, Touch Down!

We then transferred this experience into the classroom where we programmed our bee-bots to the make the same journey. Finally, we are learning to use “Scratch” on the computers so that we can programme a spaceship of our own design to travel across the space backgrounds that we have created. When all of our computer programmes are completed, we look forward to sharing them with parents and our friends through our social learning platform Edmodo.

Next stop – Planet Mars!

Over the weekend of November 7-9, 10 students accompanied by two staff members travelled to London to take part in the annual London University Fair- with over 90 universities attending and some very good seminars on applying to UK universities (including Scotland), using the UCAS system, writing a powerful personal statement, studying art and design at university, and much, much more. It was a very busy weekend with lots of questions asked and answered by the university representatives, and so the students all left the fair with a considerably clearer idea of they would like to do in the future and how to get there.

London itself was an amazing city and the students enjoyed touring the city, and so minus the odd drop of rain here and there it is was a great experience for all!

Asking the students if they would recommend this fair to their colleagues, the unanimous response was definitely – so if you missed it this year, ask your colleagues about it and seize the opportunity next year.

In Year 3, during our Cross Curricular lessons we’ve been looking at how our school is organised, by comparing it to other schools in different countries, by identifying existing jobs, and by imagining a new way of organising IBSB. By discussing uniforms and creating their own school crest, children put their creative thinking to the test and the results were amazing!

During the school holiday children then shaped their ideas of a perfect school into well-built and interesting displays accompanied by imaginative written presentations. All projects were welcomed with great enthusiasm as the children had great fun presenting their work in front of their colleagues and Year 4 A and Year 4 B, who visited our class and listened to their presentations. We were pleased to see the diversity of their work, which included schools made out of candies and others made out of wood, some of which had swimming pools and beautiful libraries decked with books of all sorts. Great job everyone!

Witches and Warlocks, Ghouls and Ghosts, Princes and Princesses, and of course the ever popular Grim Reaper, Dracula and his trusty Vampires were the popular choices of the night for this year’s annual IBSB Primary School Halloween Party, which took place on Friday, October 31st, at the Kiddo Play Academy Baneasa in Baneasa Mall.

Without a doubt it was our most successful Halloween Party ever, thanks to the tremendous efforts of the PTF, with almost the entire Primary school present, as well as most of Year 7 and a good portion of our Year 8 students. There were fun and games planned for the evening, food and drink available, a Fancy Dress Competition and the announcement of this year’s Pumpkin Contest, all of which made for a very exciting and enjoyable night for all present. Even the parents got in on the act, with Stan Platt dressed as a Wizard, Mr Zamfir a rather dashing Pirate, and plenty of witchy mothers present to add to the flavour of the night.

A big thank you to the PTF and especially PTF President Claudia Marta for all the hard work put in to make this event the success it was. Thank you also to Wilhelmina Arz for her help in selecting this year’s winner of the fancy dress competition, to KIDDO Play Academy for graciously hosting us, and to BCR, Nikon Yellow Store, and Dacris for sponsoring the photographs and prizes for both the fancy dress and pumpkin making competitions. Finally, a big thank to the IBSB Students, Parents, and Teachers who came along for the night, together making it a memorable night for all. We hope you enjoy the photos and look forward to seeing you back again next year.

Photo Credits: Cezar Aron

Friday, October 17, saw the IBSB Community welcoming Mr Adam Sambrook, Deputy British Ambassador, along with a number of international and Romanian schools on to campus for the annual IBSB United Nations Day Celebrations. The day was a celebration of all that is truly international, with an international buffet lunch provided for students, parents, teachers, and guests, followed by a live performance programme with acts from around the world. It was also a day dedicated to the idea of community and international cooperation- people working together for a common good- which is central to the IBSB curriculum and approach to education.

We would like to thank Mr Sambrook, DSBU, Avenor College Scoala 64 “Ferdinand”, the students from Fundatia Sfanta Macrina, the various charities and community partners who had stands here on the day, and Borsec who kindly supplied the refreshments, for all your support as your combined involvement made the day truly special for everyone present BCR,Cărți, Dulciuri și Flori, The Little Gym Bucharest, DENT Estet 4 Teens, Light Into Europe Charity, Prior Books, Magiun de prune Topoloveni , British Council Romania.

As part of our Cross Curricular lessons, the children have been studying and sorting mini beasts. Last Thursday we visited a beautiful park in Bucharest, the Cismigiu Park, and the children had the opportunity to experience nature as if they were scientists. We initially had a walk, looking at the different trees and bushes in the park and then safari began. The children went around looking for the mini beasts we talked about in class and tried to complete their work booklet with information and detailed drawings of the creatures they found. After a picnic lunch, the focus were the trees, seeds, and different leaves that were all around us. After collecting and discussing a variety of leaves and seeds, the children made some bark rubbings. All in all, an excellent day learning in the outdoors! Well done Year 4!

Now entering their third week, the students from IBSB are moving from the putting range to the driving range, as they develop their various golf strokes in the new IBSB Golf Club.

The IBSB Golf Club will continue up to the end of November and will restart again in April, with more opportunities for other students to join.
It is said that there are more business deals done on the golf course than in the board room, and as such learning to play golf may prove to be as important for the future business success of our students as learning mathematics and economics.

Education is all about looking at the bigger picture.

We would like to thank all the parents for their kindness and generous donations for Sfanta Macrina this term. Many of you appeared with bags of clothes, stationary, shoes, jackets and toy for the children and young people of Sfanta Macrina. Year 5’s classroom looked like a charity shop with the variety of bags and goodies on offer. Last week, Ms Katie and the residential children of Sfanta Macrina came to school to choose for the selection of clothes and stationary, walking away with many bags. This week, the remaining clothes and bags were sent round to Sfanta Macrina to the delight of many more children.

We would like to thank you all again for the kind donations you gave in and we hope you know they have gone to a good home.

The Year 12 and Year 13 historians went to the International History Conference exploring the centenary year of the start of World War One. Hosted by the University of Bucharest with Cambridge University and the Howard Johnson Hotel, on the 9th and 10th of November, it was an exciting and inspiring introduction to the world of academic History for them. Over the course of the two day conference they took part in key note lectures from some of the top Professors from the UK, Germany, Italy, Greece, Austria, and of course Romania. The students also participated in seminar panels on such aspects as the experiences and origins of the war. Our students in particular were marked out for praise by the organisers and the academics at the end of conference for both their incisive questions and their mature contributions- so well done to all our young historians!

On Thursday October 9th, IBSB had a whole school non uniform day to raise money for Light into Europe. Throughout the day, many classes carried out activities which simulated visual impairment by using blindfolds. Many of the younger children got the chance to write their names in braille, demonstrating that children who become blind at a young age can also experience the joy of reading and writing in school. With the use of fun feely bag activities, pupils were encouraged to think about how they experience the world around them, and learn not to take their sight for granted. To complete our week, Sir Stan Platt, Chairman of Light Into Europe brought to our Friday assembly two guide dogs for the blind. All the children were in awe to see and hear that their donations from World Sight Day were going to a very good cause.

In Year 3 we are currently studying during our Cross-Curricular lessons the differences between rural and urban settings/places comparing Bucharest to the countryside. In an attempt to get to know what the Romanian countryside looks like we took our students on an educational trip to the Village Museum. There, the children walked around the beautifully preserved houses observing the materials they were made of and taking down notes about customs in rural Romania.

We were happy to have such great weather during our trip, we took many photos, and we enjoyed our time at the museum to the fullest. When it was time for lunch we sat down on the grass and had a lovely picnic, eating our packed lunch while enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Thomas’s mother was kind enough to come along with us and prepared a sweet surprise for us: delicious chocolate muffins! The children were very happy to get a surprise treat.

In the end, we returned to school and the children created nice drawings joined with short pieces of writing describing their experience at the Village Museum as well as how much they loved spending time outdoors!

The initial wet weather made this mountain adventure more leisurely than originally planned, which ultimately worked in our favour as we spent two days acquiring survival skills, which included starting our own fires, and climbing through the treetops in Brasov, before heading off to enjoy two sunny days of trekking in the great outdoors, to both confront and make peace with nature and her elements.

Along the trail on the first day of trekking- some six hours under a sun beaming down from above- we managed to capture some wonderful photographs of Romanian’s stunningly vibrant wonders as they unfolded. Thankfully a night of rest back at the hotel replenished our energy levels and boosted the morale, leaving us more ready than ever to spend a night under the stars the next night. The next day more hiking, plus rock climbing and bungee jumping, with fantastic weather to boot, made for another brilliant day- the children even managed to prepare their own hot lunch, peeling potatoes and all!

With two dogs protecting us throughout the night, most slept comfortably. The camp fire cookout, along with an unlimited supply of laughter, made for a terrific last night to an undoubtedly excellent week.

On Saturday, September 27th, two IBSB students, Steve and Alin, Year 12, received their DofE Silver Award at a special Royal Gala Award Ceremony at the Hilton Hotel from HRH Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and HRH Prince Nicolae of Romania, along with other 20 students from around Romania. Accompanying our students for the ceremony was Ms Johanna Croci, IBSB DOE Programme Coordinator, with parents present to share the moment. Congratulations to both Steve and Alin for their wonderful achievement, leading the way forward for other IBSB students to follow in the years ahead.

Our training for the upcoming peak route qualifying expedition involved climbing approximately 1000 metres difference of altitude in one day, camping near the Piatra Mare Chalet, and descending on the next day by a different route. We loved the Sapte Scari Canyon with its breath-taking waterfalls and the lovely view of Brasov from the peak of Piatra Mare (1844 m).

We were glad to share this experience with our colleagues at BSB, who joined us on the same route in preparation of their expedition, and congratulate them on their success.

This term Year 2 are learning all about Romania. We have looked at where it is in the world and the names of countries around it. We have learned the names of important places in Romania, and that we live in the capital city Bucharest. We looked at the different types of buildings and landmarks in the city, talked about the difference between old and new buildings, and discovered some of the many building styles from around the country. And so it was, on a sunny Wednesday morning that we boarded the school mini-buses and headed off to Herestrau Park to visit the village museum and explore the many buildings from rural Romania.

After a lovely lunch in the park we jumped on the City Tour Bus and took a tour of the capital. The children talked non-stop about the buildings and landmarks they recognised, and asked lots of questions about those they did not. One full circuit of the city centre later, we returned to Herestrau Park to catch the buses back to school.

It was a wonderful day full of great experiences and happy memories. It must have had an impact on the children because the following day they produced some of their finest work of the year with interesting and emotive recounts, packed full of time connectives and fantastic adjectives. Their teachers were very proud!

On the 21st of September every year, over 2 million people celebrate International Peace Day. Peace One Day is an organisation working with global leaders and celebrities to bring a day of ceasefire and non-violence, allowing humanitarian aid to reach children and adults in need.

This year on Friday the 19th, IBSB joined schools and communities around the world to recognise this wonderful day of peace. The Primary and Secondary school joined together for a minute of silence, before releasing 350 white balloons into the sky, each sending a message of peace. Then later the same day Year 5 presented a memorable assembly on Peace Day. It was a wonderful day, with many happy thoughts and good wishes shared. We hope everyone had a peaceful weekend and that these peaceful thoughts last with us all year!

This morning 10 students from Year 10 headed off for a 1 week adventure in the great outdoors as an introduction to the

Duke of Edinburgh’s  International Award Programme.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s  International Award Mission is “To inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their achievements”  directly in line with the IBSB Mission “Working together to Inspire, Support, and Celebrate student achievement”

Over the course of the week the students will have the opportunity to face personal challenges and develop teamwork and leadership skills whilst completing a number of activities, including a track to the top of Mt Omu and an overnight camp under the stars.

We wish all our students and the two accompanying teachers, Ms Katie Bickell and Award Leader and Assessor Ms Johanna Croci blue skies overhead and many happy memories along the trails they will be walking.

As we celebrated Peace One Day on Friday, the Year 4 students created a beautiful Peace Dove. The whole class contributed peacefully to the final result. Each child was given a piece of the “puzzle” to colour- not knowing what each of the small parts meant; their only instruction was to colour either with shades of blue or to make it very colourful. They were all happily surprised when we put the pieces together and they saw their Picasso by Year 4 work. It does look impressive and in the pictures you can see how proud the children are of the contribution they made! Well done, Year 4!

Another year has started at IBSB and our joyful students are already into a good learning rhythm. One of the main focuses this year is ’Reading’ and students are encouraged to read both in school and at home through Scholastic Books, Guided Reading and Reading Buddies programmes. Last week, Years 2A, 2B and Year 5 got together, Ms Becky, Ms Collier and Mr Quysner carefully set buddies according to the children’s individual needs and an exciting programme came to life. Basically, Year 5s came and read with the younger ones, helped them to understand the story, explained what difficult words mean and they asked questions about the sequences and characters. It has so far been a great experience for all the children and a challenging one for Year 5s! We are looking forward to continuing this throughout the year!

Our last full day here was relaxing and fun. We all did a zip line and enjoyed mountain biking, and the teams took turns taking breaks in between these activities to play table tennis, football, and other sports and games, spending time together and getting to know each other a little better. In the evening,  a big camp fire was lit by the instructors and we sat together telling stories, laughing a lot, and singing silly songs under a very starry night. A perfect end to a perfect day!

Tomorrow we have more activities planned before lunch, and we will find out which team won the competition. Everybody is looking forward to that!

We will be back in Bucharest tomorrow afternoon at around 4 pm with a great collection of beautiful memories and look forward to meeting the parents who we hope will all be waiting for us at the main campus.

On Friday, September 5th, Year 6 had their first important assembly, in which they talked about the responsibilities of the new prefects Ioana and Gruia, but also about the new House Captains who will all be looking to set a good example to the rest of the school and help students and teachers in the Primary School. The Six Year 6 House Captains for Dobrogea, Muntenia, and Transilvania will collect house points every week, support their house at all times and try to earn as many house points as possible.

On Monday there were elections at break time, so everybody from the Primary School had the chance to vote for the person they would like to lead their house. After listening to the candidates’ persuasive speeches in assembly, it will be hard to choose the best House Captains. Here are a few photos from the elections.

Another exciting day! We went hicking in the mountains and visited the cave monastery Schitul Coltii, a really beautiful and picturesque place hidden away behind a rock high on the mountain.

After lunch the instructors organised various outdoor games for the students, which the adults enjoyed as well: archery, laser ropes, and angry birds. The archery competition was particularly enjoyable and challenging.

Tonight we will be having karaoke after dinner and everybody is looking forward to another entertaining evening and more good weather tomorrow, on a day that has more challenges and fun activities planned out for the students.

Day 1 turned out to be a very full day. We arrived at our new home for the next week around 1:30 pm and quickly we sorted out our accommodation, had lunch, and then had a short session from the Radu Travel team, who instructed us on the safety rules. After this, the students were split into 6 teams of 9 people at random, that is, by drawing numbers on playing cards, with each team choosing a name related to the colour they chose and a cheer. Later on we learnt how to use the climbing gear and how to use the ropes and tie nots. In the evening we were allowed to play football, volleyball, or table tennis at will under the careful supervision of the instructors. A very good start- very enjoyable for all!

Last weekend IBSB students and staff took part in the annual Delta Triathlon in Tulcea.  Mr Georgescu trained and organised the team, including eight students and three members of staff.  The weather was fantastic and the children were in high spirits as they swam150 meters, ran to the transition area to get their bikes and cycle 2.7 Km (7-9 years)/ 5.4 km (10-11 years) , before dismounting for the final 500m / 1 km run.  All our athletes managed to finish their race in very good time, with Alina B. (Year 4) coming second in 7-9 years-old race.  Well done  to everyone, including Patrick and Philip K., Anton and Ana Maria Z., Andrei M., Isabel D., Alina B., Andreea A., Mr and Mrs Hewett, and of course Mr Georgescu for an excellent competition!

After the summer holidays, the students in 4B came back to School full of energy, great ideas, and were ready to share their news with their class mates. It was week to get use to the School and class routines, write the 4B rules and for all to start learning! The students created an “All About Me” sheet, in which they wrote about themselves, their likes and dislikes, and their families. They also brought in a shoe box filled with items that represented who they are and what is important for them.  As we are a very reliable group of children, they also had to get ready for this year’s first class assembly.  Great job Year 4!

At this year’s graduation and end of year award ceremony we were honoured to have three guest speakers: the Vice Rector of Carol Davila University, Professor Dragos Vinereanu, His Excellency the Irish Ambassador, Mr Gerard Corr and HRH, Prince Nicholas of Romania. Their speeches on working in the field of medicine, internationalism and the importance of not believing in failure were an inspiration to us all.

Congratulations to all the Graduates of 2014 and to the Senior School Award Winners, acknowledged for their academic results, for their involvement in community projects, and for their outstanding charity work and engagement in extra-curricular activities.

Taken together – the Award Ceremony, the speeches, the musical ensemble performed by Steve (Yr 10) and Anemona (Yr 13), backed by our very own Mr Militaru, the graduates’ speeches, the laughter, the tears, the photos and live media interviews, the food, wine and champagne- it was a very full night, with many happy memories surely to remain in the minds of all those present for that brief but important moment in time. To those moving on this year, you will all be missed greatly – to be perfectly honest, the school will not be the same without them.