Congratulations to all our sporting stars this week. Jessica gained an individual bronze in the National ISA Swimming Finals last Sunday.
Finley gained a gold and Austen a bronze at the ISA gymnastics competition in Shrewsbury last week. The boys' team which included Thomas and Jack came 1st overall which is a fantastic result. Our girls' team were placed 6th overall, Pippa also winning a bronze medal.
There are some lovely team photos as well of matches played at school last week.
Next week we very much look forward to our Infant Nativity and Christingle Service on Monday evening.
The Carol service next Friday will unfortunately be for school children only due to the current situation, but we plan to celebrate together as a school, with doors and windows open before we finish the school term.
This week with some of the juniors out at matches, we created some effective shadow puppets from some paper and used pencils as the rods to test them out using a light source.
This is a great chance to practise our cutting skills, trying to be as accurate as possible, and thinking about making the shapes large enough to create effective shadows. We had lots of fun and the children worked well, supporting each other in mixed year groups.
Our School band have been enjoying playing their Christmas pieces and we thought you'd like to hear just one of the pieces they've been practising "Walking in a Winter Wonderland".
The junior children were treated to an assembly by Mr Taylor. Mr Taylor teaches brass instruments to all ages and having performed to the children a piece of music by John Williams, he allowed the children to have a go themselves. If you would like lessons please talk to your class teacher or Mr Taylor.
This week the Under 9 Grantham Prep Rugby Team travelled to Ascoughfee Hall for an afternoon of fixtures. On what was a biting afternoon the children got stuck straight into action playing the hosts 'A' team. Unfortunately, the game did not go to plan and the team went 3 behind early. Grantham did manage to rally, grabbing a late try as they began to find their feet. There was no time to rest as the team were straight back into action, this time playing the Ascoughfee 'B' team. A much better performance saw the team run out winners 2 tries to nil, thanks in part to some excellent defensive skills. The final game of the afternoon saw the team again matching up against the Ascoughfee 'A' team. Learning from their previous game, Grantham put up a much more stoic performance showing great resilience coming back not once or twice but 3 times in managing a draw with an excellent opposition. A great afternoon!
U10 Team – George J, Dante, Taseen, Jessica H, Fraser, Hugo W, Billy, Serena
It was a chilly but dry November afternoon but that didn’t stop the excitement of the match that lay ahead. All the team were focused and played their part in an exciting and educational match with some good performances. The team battled against the cold and Peterborough’s strong defence. They passed the ball confidently and used the space around the court well. The match finished with a win for Peterborough 4- 2.
Superb effort everyone involved.
U11 Netball vs Peterborough School
U11 Team- Finley, Eva K, Jack T, Theo, Freddie Martin, Lily May, Isabella H, Katherine
Grantham won very convincingly 9-0, so this was a great opportunity for players to switch things around and be given a chance to play in different positions to where they would normally play. Peterborough also set a good example, to keep working hard until the final whistle and although they lost, they accepted their defeat very graciously.
ISA Gymnastics
Fraser H, Jack T, Austen, Thomas R, Lily May, Pippa J, Abigail T, Sophia K
Huge congratulations to the 8 children who travelled to Adcote School in Shrewsbury last week to compete in the ISA Gymnastics competition. The boys team won Gold, with Fraser also receiving an individual Gold medal and Austen getting a Bronze medal. The girls team finished in 6th place, with Pippa also receiving a Bronze medal.
Swimming National Finals
Jessica Hall is now the proud owner of a Bronze medal having competed in the National swimming finals at the Olympic pool in London last weekend.
A little light heartedness from Class 6 this week. We certainly enjoyed making this video and we hope you enjoy watching it as much!
Gabriel demonstrates his Colour Wheel.
Finley demonstrates his Colour Wheel
Newton's Colour Disk
This week in Science class 6 have been researching Isaac Newton's colour disk. A Newton disc is a disc with segments in rainbow colours. When the disc is rotated, the colors fade to white; In this way Isaac Newton demonstrated that white light is a combination of the seven different colours found in a rainbow. The children after learning the scientific principles behind the disk had a go at creating their own.
This week, we finished our wonderful book, Cogheart. The children have been busy drafting and editing their own stories linked to the plot of the book, centred on a girl called Lily, some baddies called Roach and Mould and the "mech-napping" of her beloved mechanical friends. They were very excited to see what happened in the end, and also to see their hard work up on the wall.
We have already started our work on the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, and hope to share some of this with you soon.
This week, in Year 2, we have started our dress rehearsals in preparation for The Big Little Nativity. We are all very excited and can’t wait to perform in front of a live audience.
In English, we have started a new topic all about letters and postcards. We have the books, Dear Teacher, by Any Husband and, John Patrick Norman McHennessy, by John Burningham. Please ask your children what fantastic excuses the books gave.
In Maths, we have been looking at quick and efficient ways to solve calculations by looking for patterns, or simple calculations.
As we come to the end of our Autumn Term Club sessions, Class One children have been finishing off all of the lovely items that they have been busy creating to adorn their Christmas trees. I have been very impressed by the dexterity of everyone in Sewing and the superb colour choices that they have all made for their baubles and gift boxes. Well done to you all - if Santa's elves call in sick, we know who to send as replacement helpers! You are all Christmas superstars.
The children are gearing themselves up for some excitement over the next week or so!
They have worked very hard during rehearsals for their performances next week which will be in front of their Parents and family members, which we are all looking forward to. I can’t say too much in case I give a lot away but what I can say is it’s promising to be fun and entertaining!
Pre-school room has been a hive of activity with the many Christmas creative activities that have been going on. We are trying hard to limit the use of glitter in order to be environmentally friendly but it is tricky given this time of the year! The role-play has been in demand having been turned into a stable scene with Nativity costumes, cuddly, furry stable animals, a baby Jesus in a manger and lots of imaginary cups of tea and coffee to keep the ‘visitors’ and ‘new parents’ happy!
During the P.E. lesson the children practised their dribbling skills with a football. Keeping control of the ball was especially difficult given the wind. The children are also being taught how to kick the ball with the side of their foot. Despite a chilly wind everyone had great fun. Thank you Mrs Joyce for making our P.E. lessons so enjoyable!
This week in Spanish, Mme Balestra has promised we will be keeping up the seasonal festivities by singing lots of Christmas songs in Spanish! Mme Balestra has been very impressed this term with the children’s’ listening skills. The children have certainly enjoyed learning this new language. Thank you Mme Balestra!
Gabriel is developing a passion for high diving. Every Saturday Gabriel attends a Diving Club. He loves learning new skills and techniques; he has even had a go jumping off a 5 metre board. He is now on Level 3, having passed his Level 2 and is taking part in a competition this weekend. Well done Gabriel and good luck at the weekend!
The Real Bilingualism
Learning a new language has become one of the most important objectives in everyday life in this growing and changing society. Our new world is extremely social media and technology driven. Many job opportunities today are executed remotely and will continue being the trend for centuries to come. Bilingualism is important, now more than ever, since there is a tremendous need for a higher multi-diverse and multi-lingual employee at major corporations and institutions internationally. Because of that, we at SEK Costa Rica International School teach our students a second language that prepares them for expanding their options towards better job opportunities, improving brain functioning and memory. It enables them to connect with a growing diverse population of multilingual individuals across the globe. Cross – culturalism is vital for one´s linguistic development since it fosters learning new customs and norms. Belonging to SEK International School allows students to make cross- cultural immersion a reality.
The most crucial part of learning another language is maintaining fluency. It is the continual psycholinguistic reproduction of developing different aspects of the language being learned. It is important to continuously practice improving in the areas of reading, speaking, accuracy, verbal, and semantic. These are just a few areas that will allow students to not only become fully bilingual, but to also keep their fluidity. Indeed that is the diversification enhancing bilingualism and fluency.
Jennifer Burke
Language Department Coordinator
SEK Costa Rica International School
School Bus Collection Points & Times
Bookings for this week:
Please contact the school office to book a place for your child.
8.05am Honnington
8.10am Barkston
8.20am Ancaster Playing Field
8.25am Ancaster Leisure Car Park (The Tank)
On Fridays the bus will run 15 minutes earlier to ensure pupils arrive in time for School Band.
The school bus mobile:
07784 343749
Access to the School Building after 4.30pm
As you are all aware there is now a gate which has a key code access to the Creche in the evening. If you do not have the code, please call 01476 593293 and your call will be answered by Creche.
