On Monday, October 10, Year 6 travelled to Cheile Gradistei near Bran for a teambuilding residential trip, staying for two nights. Excitement was building Monday morning and continued during the 3-hour journey towards the mountains, with the first afternoon spent playing different team games, followed by a relaxing swim and chillout in the Jacuzzi, which the kids all really enjoyed. In the evening, the three-course dinner was delicious and very well received, including a scrumptious desert. Needless to say, after such a busy day, everyone was early to bed and sleep like a log.

Tuesday, however, was where the fun really began as we visited Brasov Zoo and explored the grounds, viewing the many animals they were looking after, including seeing a huge brown bear having his breakfast and the monkeys swinging around. Next up was a trip to the Planetarium, where we watched an animated Space show that had everyone wanting to travel into space. For the afternoon, we split into two groups, both of which showed incredible confidence and resilience completing the Aventura Parc climbing track, including two zip-lines. We also went tubing down a slippery slope and tested our speed skills karting down a hill with a lot of twists and turns. 

It was clear that a lot of fun was had by all children and staff on this residential, which offers the children a fantastic opportunity to gain more independence and develop new skills and friendships. I still have many fond memories of the residentials I went on as a child at school, which I am sure the Year 6 children will also have when they look back in years to come. 

Tom Wilson

Year 6W Teacher

Eight of our students returned on Sunday, the 12th of September, from the Adventurous Journey Camp organised in Sovata, by the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for Young People in partnership with Outward Bound Romania.

The participants on the trip had the opportunity to complete their ‘expedition section’ of the Award and join in team building, rope course, climbing, and hiking activities on the Via Transilvanica section of the Gurghiu Mountains.

James Hudson (History teacher) and Joy Murphy (Science teacher) joined the expedition in the roles of supervisor and assessor, respectively, saying the trip was a great success, full of excitement, fun, and an amazing learning experience for all those involved. The students forged new friendships and challenged themselves to be better in everything they undertake, which is one of the reasons we are so keen to encourage our students to participate in this programme.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme is available as a part of the Senior School Club Programme, for students in Y10-13. To find out more about this programme please visit the school website.

Following on from the successful Y13 visit before the February Mid-term Break, it was Y12’s turn this week to visit the National Library of Romania located along Bulevardul Unirii.

The reason for the visit was to show the students an excellent location for them to study for their end of year A Level exams during the study leave period. At home there are often many distractions, including the fridge, the television, friends visiting, and at times other family members. School can be just as distracting, for those easily distracted, and so the National Library, which has 5 large study rooms, with between 50-80 study desks in each room, each with its own lamp and plug-in terminal for a laptop is an excellent option.

It is free to enter (Photo ID needed only at the point of entry) , and is open from 08:00-18:00 Mon/Wed/Fri, 08:00-20:00 Tues/Thurs, and 09:00-17:00 Saturday.

Membership enabling you to take books out is also free, and they even offer a service where the will bring a book from another library in Europe within two week absolutely free of charge if they don’t have the book in their library.

There a snack machines, coffee machines, and the temperature is careful controlled year round to ensure all present are alert and able to study effectively.

It is not used by many people, with less than 5 people in each study room during our two visits, and is mainly used by university students, which is another good reason for our A Level students to use it as they prepare to go to university themselves.

It’s the last night of secondary school ski trip, and we continue to enjoy heavy snowfall here at Poiana Brasov. It’s been a successful trip with great fun had by all, and so the students are already talking excitedly about returning next year! For now though, we’re all feeling rather tired after a busy week of skiing and are simply looking forward to returning home to a good night’s sleep, and a weekend enjoyed in the company of good friends, and family.

Laura Hawkins & Simon Astbury
Trip Leaders

To support Y13 students in preparing for their final A Level exams, we took them to visit the National Library, near Piata Unrii. This is an absolutely brilliant place to study, as the library is new, spacious, modern, and clean, with individual lamps and laptop plug-in points at each desk, and plenty of desks available for both individual and group study. There are 5 independent study rooms with over 300 study desks available., with the temperature specially controlled to be promote study- not too warm or too cold.

As a part of the trip, the students were offered a personalized tour of the library, highlighting the many benefits to be gained by visiting there to study or just to enjoy some quiet reading time. There are books in all languages, and any book that you want that is not available can be requested from another library in Romania or anywhere in Europe absolutely free of charge.

It is hoped that for those students finding it difficult to study at home, with the television, the fridge, and other distractions present, the National Library will offer a place to study more effectively after school, during the weekend, and over the study leave period. Entry is free, with the majority of students studying there being university students, who are there to work, serious and focused, acting as positive role models of good study habits for our students who will soon be at university themselves.

Address: Bd.Unirii nr.22, sector 3 030833 Bucharest
Phone: +40 21 314 2434
Opening Hours
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 08:00-18:00
Tuesday/Thursday: 08:00-20:00
Saturday: 09:00-17:00

Extra-curricular enrichment is just one of the experiences that make an international school education so valuable to students in the increasingly global economy. For the Y9 students this week, this included a trip to Virgin Radio and Europa FM.

At Virgin, the students had the chance to talk live on air about life at school. The presenters, noticing their ties, compared them favourably to characters in the Harry Potter movies, so our students took the lead and eagerly talked about the IBSB House System, with Transylvania, Dobrogea, and Muntenia, competing in events like the Sports Day Cup. It was a great tour, which ended with each of the students being very excited to receive a Virgin Radio gift pack, including hoodies and key chains.

At Europa FM, the students were again invited into the studio, this time listening to the news being read live, which impressed them greatly. They then each had a chance to record themselves, and were given a copy of their recording to keep as a memory.

With high academic standards in the classroom, and a value-added extra-curricular enrichment programme, it is easy to see why the international British School of Bucharest has a waiting list for most of their classes.

Day 1 Diary
Busy first full day in Poiana. Our first chance to hit the slopes and show what we could do. Everyone was initially put into groups in order to be assessed, and then, as of tomorrow, the chance to perfect and challenge our skills begins! This afternoon, we have been split into 3 activity groups. One for climbing, one for swimming and one for the escape room. A great first day!

Skiing Day Two
We were on the slopes bright and early and everyone was assigned to their instructor. The beginners were able to practice in the fun park, while others polished their skills on Bradul or pushed themselves further up the mountain. The weather was great and lots of progress was made!

Day Three
The weather put a slight halt to proceedings on day three as the wind prevented any use of the telecabina, gondola and the majority of the ski lifts. The majority, therefore, worked on their technical ability on Bradul, with only a small number of children venturing down on lupului. Fingers crossed for a better day tomorrow.

With our flight to London at dawn, and catching rush hour on our way to the hotel, we had to table our plans to join the public gallery at the House of Lords. We did get our fill of art and culture, however, in our visit to the National Art Gallery, before exploring the high streets of Kensington. From our group of seven students, it is the first time to London for three of them, and as far as first impressions go, the standout comment was that all the students said they can’t wait to study in London.

On Friday we joined a walking tour of LSE, visiting their seven storey library, regarded as the most modern library in London, which offers 1-2-1 support sessions organised there by tutors, a women’s only library section, and dedicated study areas for each faculty – with kitchen areas and showers also included, and much, much more. The library also hosts free public lectures by politicians from around the world on a regular basis.
We then visited the LSE Student Union Building, with a fully equipped gym, and free 1-2-1 practice sessions for job interviews and support finding internships. The university also has 150 sports societies on campus and no classes scheduled on Wednesdays to allow for extracurricular activities.
After the tour, we undertook some training and then headed to the Opening Ceremony at Clement House, mingling with British students from schools from around London and the wider UK, talking politics and history in friendly chatter getting warmed up for MUN! It was impressive to learn that 60-70% of the LSE student body is comprised of international students.

The COBIS World Debate Competition has once again proved to be an enriching experience for our students as they have had the opportunity to experience Andalusian life first-hand, with our students and staff beginning the day visiting the sights of Malaga on a Segway, a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter. The day included a visit to Picasso’s Museum, the Malaga Cathedral, lunch in the old quarter of town, and an official welcoming Gala Dinner, with tapas, fine dining, and one of the best performances of Andalusian dancing you could ever have the good fortune to see, bringing an incredible day to a perfect end. Tomorrow the debating starts, with the students looking forward to enjoying some high quality debates over the next two days with students from around the world.

What a fun and fantastic morning we had in Year 1 as we visited Climb Again. This term we have been learning about real life superheroes such as Louis Braille and Florence Nightingale to name just a few. These people inspired us and we wanted to make a difference too. Climb Again is a centre that helps people with disabilities by providing climbing therapy sessions and our class collected donations to help out.

Even though some parts were scary, our teachers were so impressed with how we overcame our fears and became brave superheroes ourselves! We definitely can’t wait to go back!

Year 5 are learning about World Wars in our cross-curricular topic. The students visited the national military museum to enhance their learning and experience some artefacts that have been collected over many decades and centuries, relating to warfare.

Year 5 have been enjoying the natural wonders of the Danube Delta on their 2019 residential trip.

“We are currently staying in Murighiol, in the southern part of the Danube Delta. Having travelled here by coach, we haven’t seen wheels since – it has been boats all the way for us! We have been visiting different areas of the Delta, including a cruise on Monday, a Caraorman Forest expedition on Tuesday, and a Sfantul Gheorghe adventure today, which means we have done a lot of sailing around: the different branches of the Danube are interconnected by smaller channels, and our river pilots really need to know their way around. Along the way, we have seen many different species of birds and wildlife, as well as frogs, snakes, and even wild horses! It really has been a fantastic trip, and I think we will all be a little sad to leave tomorrow, but thankfully we still have Quiz Night and some morning activities to look forward to before we depart.”

The Year 9 students had a well deserved day out of the classroom on Thursday this week.

We had been keeping an anxious eye on the weather forecast, but were lucky as it didn’t rain!

The purpose of their visit was to help with their preparations for their Romanian Tourism Project.

We met early at the Gara De Nord, but were hindered by the late arrival of the train, by 1 hour. However, we didn’t let the time pass, the students were set to work undertaking their Environmental Quality Study and Tourism Questionnaires in the train station.

On arrival in Sinaia the students did the same studies in their groups on the main high street. After lunch, we reconvened to trek up to the Peles Castle complex. Their final field study group work took place in this location.

The students commented on the enjoyable day that they had and how they want to have more trips out of the classroom. The trip increased their fieldwork skills and gave them plenty of practical information about tourism; to help with their projects which will be presented on the 30th of May. Mr Astbury, Mr Hudson’ and Ms Baker enjoyed their day accompanying some lovely and well behaved students.

On Saturday morning, my colleagues and I participated at a contest called Wordfest with Mr. Ennion. Full of joy, I participated in a funny play and told a Greek myth.

Before going in the room , I felt as scared as a mouse having to meet a cat. But then, I didn’t look at the judges or the other children. I just looked at my colleagues. It was all timed. There was a clock in my mind ( tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock ). After I finished, I sighed and smiled to myself.

At the end, at the prize ceremony, our school won some of the prizes. It was a wonderful experience to participate in Wordfest and I hope I can join in next year again.

by CARLA D. Year 5T

Stefan and I were really nervous. We were first, and when I went to the front I knew how all the children would feel. We all performed really well and in the end everything was fair. Some people were quiet, some were LOUD but all had done an amazing job so it was really difficult and close – but in the end we won first prize in the storytelling category!

by FELIX D. Year 5E

WordFest was a new event for us this year. It was a contest based on speech, drama and poetry, with children competing in six different categories: Impromptu Speaking, Group Acting, Individual Acting, Persuasive Speaking, Poetry and Storytelling. All categories presented different challenges, but the one thing they had in common was the work the children and parents had to put in to prepare for the event. We at IBSB know that hard work pays off, and we managed to walk away with 3 first prizes, 3 second prizes and two third prizes, which is testament to our students’ confidence, effort and ability to speak beautifully (we all know they love to talk!).

The scariest part for their teacher was during the prize ceremony when first prize winners had to perform again for everyone who attended the festival. However, in front of around 150 people, our four winners showed no nerves to impress and amuse the audience and sow they were worthy winners. Mara’s performance of her poem to a packed lecture theatre was truly spectacular.

A big congratulations and thank you to Mara, Sonia, Theo, Ecaterina, Sumi, Milo, Carla, Sandra, Felix, George, Alis, Anastasia and Stefan for representing our school so well. They showed respect, supported each other and worked very well as a team to impress the teachers, judges and other contestants at WordFest. We are already looking forward to next year!

by. Mr. Peter Ennion

The students taking Economics in Year 11 and Year 12 have both just completed units that relate to the history of money. Economics Year 11 have completed a unit on inflation, looking at the factors affecting the value of money, and the consequences of hyperinflation or deflation on the population. The Economics Year 12 group have completed a unit on the characteristics and functions of money in our current day economy. As such, we visited the Romanian National Bank on Monday, 25th September. Please see below some quotes from the children in our school about the trip and Economics.

“Money has a really important role in our economy; learning the history of it and actually seeing the evolution of the forms of money has been fascinating”. – Siena (Y12)

“Seeing all different types of money, learning about their history and talking about each one in particular was a pleasant and captivating experience”. – Victor (Y11)

“The collection of money from all over the world was quite impressive and the acoustics from the main room was really unexpected. Moreover, learning the brief economic history of my country was extremely fun!” – Alex S (Y11)

“We saw gold bars with very high purity of gold at 24K (99.99% pure): it’s so pure that if you bite or scratch it, you will leave marks because the purer, the more malleable”. – Stefan (Y11)

“A very interesting experience in a building I’ve seen numerous times, however never imagined to be so grand and interesting”. – Alex M (Y11)

“It was an enjoyable experience to see the history of the Romanian currency, how the rate of inflation increased or decreased and how the visual presentation of the bills changed and why”. – Boldizsar (Y11)

“It was very interesting and educational to see the National Bank’s progress throughout the years and how it evolved throughout Romania’s history. – Gekko (Y11)

“I was shocked to find out that a piece of gold with purity of 99.99%, just smaller than the palm of a hand, weighed 1 whole kilogram!” – Ioana (Y11)

Day 2: Following on from the Day 1 & 2 report yesterday, after lunch we went to the conference room and learnt all about Healthy Eating and Healthy Lifestyles- a well-timed message for our students in these modern fast food eating times we live in. Then, in the afternoon, we headed off to the lake on the campus to try the Tyroliane, where we made friends in addition to the three dogs on the campus- a lizard and a big frog.

Day 3: Today was our best day yet, full with fun outdoor activities and anther conference session. We started with climbing on a special wall before moving on to archery with everyone learning how to use a bow and arrow. Before lunch we also managed to fit in a fun activity on the lake: the children were supposed to swim to a lifeboat, get on it, and turn back with the boat while the other teams were throwing buckets of water at them. Everyone had a great time and laughed throughout. As very good team players, Filip, Or, Radu and Ralph all took care to help their colleagues to get on the boat and from boat on the bridge- well done guys! Thankfully, with all the rigorous outdoor activities, everyone is still in good health with just a few small bruises here an there. Now we are having lunch which will lead into our next conference session on?????

Leaving the damp, leaden skies of Bucharest behind them, Y6 are now enjoying the scorching sunshine of North Wales on their residential trip. After a long journey, which the teachers and children completed together in good spirits, the students arrived at their final destination minus a few pieces of luggage- arriving tomorrow apparently.

Since their arrival at Kingswood’s Colomendy Centre they have been bouldering, climbing, caving, singing, playing, swinging and learning. They also visited Chester Zoo where they completed a course on the environment and conservation…and they saw some penguins! A great start to a trip that is sure to return our students home to us excited, smiling, and full of stories to share.

Day 1 Review: Having all arrived at our destination safely, and settled into our rooms, our students were eager and excited to start the camp with their first planned activity: walking for 4 kilometers, a quater of which was along a tiny river , requiring us to clamber over rocks so not to get wet, which we didn’t managed in the end. At the end of the walk we were all treated to a refreshing, cascading waterfall and had the chance rinse cool down after our walk. After a busy day of travelling and walking, everyone was happy to head to bed straight after dinner for a good night of sleep, knowing that tomorrow will be another full day of fun activities.

Day 2: we started our day with one hour morning sports, with the teachers getting involved too. Then breakfast and off to the swimming pool for a variety of activates and contests… more to follow.

This week, Year 5 spent four days in Predeal for their annual residential trip. After leaving at 09:00 on Monday morning, we arrived in the mountains just in time for lunch. The students were excited to see their rooms and meet their instructors: Simona, Mircea, Costin and Radu.

The first afternoon was spent at an adventure park, where the children followed different obstacle trails through the trees, ending with a zipline. They then had a chance to play on the trampolines and test their coordination with a game of swingball. The first evening passed with a disco (and a game of football going on outside simultaneously!).

The weather was beautiful throughout the trip, and so it proved on our first morning. The students spent the morning at an aquapark in Brasov, enjoying the slides, jumps and pools. The bravest children even jumped from the five-metre platform! This activity left our students very relaxed for the afternoon, when they had to stay on the edge of the forest to build some shelters using nature’s materials. They worked really well together, as by this time they had been organised into three teams for the duration of the trip. The idea was that they worked in their teams on every task, earning points for good communication and collaboration.

The second day dawned as brightly as the first, and saw Year 5 trekking up into the mountains. The students were shown how to recognise different tracks on the ground, and were excited to see the footprints of a mother bear and tiny bear cub, very close to our hotel. Our guides advised us to keep making lots of noise in order to frighten away any animals, and Year 5 didn’t need a second invitation. Making noise is one of their specialities, so they sang happily up the hill, foraging for berries and picking flowers as they went.

Another challenging team activity was putting up a tent that afternoon. It actually proved more difficult to take it down again afterwards! This was followed by archery, when one person managed to hit the bullseye four times.
A campfire was the perfect way to end our last night in Predeal before we travelled back on Thursday, arriving back at school tired, happy and ready for school on Friday…

On Friday, the 31st of March, the students from Year 4 and 5 visited the French Institute in Bucharest. It was a great experience for our pupils, who enjoyed the variety of resources they found there: books, magazines, games, CDs, DVDs, and a lot of linguistic and cultural activities. We hope our children will visit the French Institute with their parents and borrow books, watch a French movie or attend different language workshops. The French Institute is the right place to discover the best of French culture and language.

On March 7, 2 teachers and 14 students lined up at the Otopeni Airport immigration desk excited about the 4 days ahead. The destination, Amsterdam Airport, and thereafter 6 cities in 4 days to visit and learn all about the many university opportunities available in the Netherlands. Across the four days the students had the chance to visit six university campuses, including the University of Amsterdam, Radbaud University, University College Utrecht, Rotterdam University, Erasmus University, Leiden University, and the University of the Hague. We meet up with IBSB graduates and other students along the way who told us about their experience living and studying in the Netherlands, and also had the chance to attend lectures and get a taste of university life first-hand. We learnt that the cost of universities is 10-30% the cost of universities in England and that EU students qualify for the student load. We also learnt that if you work part-time whilst at university you don’t have to pay fees at all and are entitled to free travel throughout the Netherlands. And for anyone without an EU passport, you have the right to live and work in the Netherlands after you graduate. At the end of four very busy days, I think everyone agreed that it was a great trip, with many compelling reasons to return to study in the Netherlands.

As we board the bus that will take us to the airport for the final leg home, I cannot help but reflect back on the past 7 days: we have had incredible weather the whole week; the students learned how to organise themselves and to help their peers in the kitchen, bringing the dishes, cleaning tables, keeping their rooms tidy, and packing their daily lunches- it’s been an education in independence; they also learned the rules of the mountain, making sure they stayed safe on the ski slopes and helped their team mates in need, and as their skills grew stronger with each day of practice, they progressed higher up the mountain. Having the right growth mind set has helped the less sporty to overcome tiredness and fatigue learning a new sport, and together we have formed a tighter community, getting to know each other much better over the last week. Watching the students share and bond on the trip has perhaps been the most rewarding experience of all. It’s been a truly great trip with many happy memories collected along the way, but now it’s finally time to head home to our families and friends, just in time to enjoy the midterm break…..yay!!!!!

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
KS3 Ski Trip Coordinators

The word for today is ‘Breath-taking’. The view here in Zell am See from the top of the mountain are really amazing as we are surrounded by snow-capped mountains under crisp azure skies. You couldn’t ask for better skiing weather. After a morning of skiing on pristine snow, with fun had by all, we decided to head into the town for a short shopping trip and some site seeing in Zell am See in the afternoon, returning to the mountain lodge in time for the farewell barbecue. Tonight everyone is packing their bags, getting ready for the return trip home tomorrow. It has been an incredible experience for everyone here with perfect weather, plenty of snow, and fun had by all. I’m sure we’ll all be back again next year!

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
Ski Trip Coordinators

Everyone was in a good mood this morning with blue skies once again, This is our fourth straight day with perfect weather, so everyone is really happy. The beginners group have made great progress on the trip and have already moved up one level mastering the T-bar ski lift today. We had another 4-5 hours on the snow and then, in the afternoon session everyone enjoyed the beach volley session. I’m sure we will all sleep well tonight. It’s hard to believe we have just two more days of skiing left until we head home.

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
Ski Trip Coordinators

The students were better at packing their lunches today, but a bit slower getting up at 6.30 in the morning because skiing for four hours from 10 to 12 and 13:00 to 15:00 is taking its toll. Nevertheless, they still found the energy reserves needed for the evening table tennis and billiard.

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
Trip Coordinators

Up again bright and early and back to the glacier for our second day of skiing. It was a good choice to keep skiing on the glacier because the snow is so much better there than on the slopes near to our accommodation. Today we followed the same schedule as in the first day of skiing, meeting for lunch at the restaurant half way up between the beginners and advanced groups. In the evening we booked the trampolines again and the football pitch because everyone enjoyed it so much on the first night.

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
Ski Trip Coordinators

All back safely from the first taste of the slopes. Plenty of snow and the ski groups are ready for tomorrow after today’s evaluation. The children are making themselves at home in their new rooms with their new roommates. Lights out as I type this and it is surprisingly quiet. Good, they will need their energy for a busy day on the mountain tomorrow.

This morning bright and early we set off for the Kitzsteinhorn glacier slopes by bus from out mountain lodge to meet the two ski instructors. The weather is incredible and the views from the gondola are breathtaking. We climbed up to the first level to gear up for skiing and beginners stayed at the base level for their first lesson. They climbed on foot up a short slope and then had to do their first” pizza” or snow plow. Make sure they do not cross the skis or “spaghetti”!

The advanced group moved up to third level with Dan to ensure safety and I, Ioana stayed with the beginners fastening ski boots, tapping off snow and shoulders for encouragement. We had a pizza and bowling evening with a few good strikes for the winners.

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
Ski Trip Coordinators

We just arrived at our accommodation in at the Kitzsteinhorn Ski Club in Zell Am See after a short flight and a long bus drive from Munich airport. The children are tired from the journey, but looking forward to seeing the facilities at the Kitzsteinhorn Ski Club where we were met by our tour manager Wolfgang. We have our own area at the Youth Hostel with 4 rooms- two for the girls and two for the boys, and one for each group leader in the vicinity. We tried out and picked up our ski equipment and then booked our first activity- football and trampoline for the evening. The evening meal was rather interactive because the children had to chance to cater for themselves. All fun and adventure on the first day!

Dan Boboc and Ioana Nitescu
Ski Trip Coordinators

All students attended their final meetings and thrashed out resolutions. We toured round to help them focus and were happy to witness Radu called up to present a point of information and later to speak from the podium itself; no mean feat for a Year 10 with a bow tie! Well done Radu!

Eventually, after 5 days of thinking and debating and discussing and amending, the two and a half thousand delegates were called to the main World Forum Theatre for the closing ceremony. Fantastic fanfares and farewells!

And then we went to the seaside for the afternoon! The teachers went on the ferris wheel; the students went to McDonalds: ’twas ever thus.

5.00am start tomorrow; but the good news is: the annual THIMUN IBSB Awards will be presented in Bucharest baggage reclaim tomorrow: students are agog!

The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were the model of exemplary behaviour from start to finish and as such were the perfect ambassadors of our school community.

A very successful THUMIN Trip comes to an end.

We’ll be back again next year!

Thursday has been very much like the John Wayne film, The Longest Day, with hours spent amending and crunching the grammar, the sub-clauses and the resolutions. One committee I sat in with Alexia spent 10 minutes demanding that the resolution was that the committee be allowed to go to lunch: there was almost an open revolution! The motion was passed and the chair was relieved. Ironically, throughout the day I caught feeds from CNN and the pressing issues our students are discussing were coming across the screen: child soldiers, nuclear proliferation, the threatening of borders; that’s the theme of this MUN: ‘borders’: how they can restrict or how they might sometimes be a welcome restraining hand: one person’s border is another person’s barrier I guess. The students are sticking to the task in hand with great determination, but they are tired. The final push tomorrow, then home Saturday.

Day two has ended and day three has begun; yesterday all committees were in session with the issues were being discussed ranging from the refugee and migrant crisis to eco-tourism; from transparency of arms sale to cultural security and development. All students were lobbying and voting; many took the floor and offered views and amendments. It was another high octane day which finally came to a close at 5.00pm. Exhausted, but happy, we made our way back and our delegates beavered away at adjusting their position papers and their resolutions to return this morning with all metaphorical guns blazing. Well done to the students for their commitment, resilience and patience!

Up bright and early on Day 2. Post breakfast, we made our way to the ‘World Forum Convention Centre’ for the first real day of THIMUN, to find ourselves upon arrival in a sea of intelligent, suited and ‘lanyarded’ young people all ready to debate their hearts out.

And IBSB were in there fighting their respective corners.

What a buzz to see our MUNners discussing papers, ideas and resolutions: for some it was panic time; but we worked it all out and they argued and allied with other countries and we have several delegates pushing forward into tomorrow’s lobbying and debates.

It was a brilliant day culminating in the official Opening Ceremony, where Adriana carried our flag with pride.

The key to this event is pushing yourself outside the comfort zone: as I sat here having a coffee at 6.00pm, after a 12 hour day, it was fascinating to deal with a student asking me how to unpick Togo’s attitude towards the transparency of arms sales; we sat down and shared our knowledge and came up with an amendment to a resolution! Job done!!!

More tomorrow!

We would like to let you know that the IBSB THIMUN Delegation have arrived safe and well in Holland, and are now happily settled into the architectural beauty of ‘The Hague’.

Yesterday we registered and received all the paraphernalia: ID, lunch tickets, travel cards, and so on. After that, we had lunch and returned to check in.

In the afternoon, we boldly set out to go to the seaside. Led by intrepid Petru, we strode out to the tram stop headed North… “Take us to the sea!”, we all cheered, then realized we were going the wrong way and found selves heading into the centrum instead: you see, the ‘growth mind-set’ is alive and well in The Hague; we haven’t mastered the tram system….yet.

Today the first full day of debates and lobbying and networking begins…. More to come!

Year 5E love nature and are very good writers. A perfect combination for us. In order for them to improve their descriptive writing in Romanian, we took them on a trip to the National Park, where they observed autumn’s beautiful colours, the shapes and the shadows and looked at the way the nature changes during this season. Inspired by the picturesque views, they filed in a worksheet with examples of personification, similes, and other examples of figurative language. We also got a bit of rain, which made our experience even more realistic.

Back to school, we looked at the pictures we took to refresh our memory, listened to Vivaldi’s Autumn composition and Chopin’s Nocturnes, then started to write ‘An Adventure in the Magic Park’. The students came up with lots of creative ideas which was the proof that our trip reached its target: inspire our students to see the magic of our life behind the appearance of the ordinary things.

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.

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.

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

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 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!

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.

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

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.

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 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!

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

“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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!