Principal's Message

In recent weeks I have been dropping in on VSE lessons across the school. It is always   instructive to observe lessons, especially in parts of the school that were not the natural   domain of one’s teaching career. The whole process is thought-provoking and generates questions from all participants' perspective – students, teachers and of course, parents. The challenges that we are all facing are sometimes as clear as the screen we are looking at, but sometimes they are in the not-so-obvious category when we reflect upon the impact of online learning on all of the stakeholders.
 
In the primary section I have been impressed with the way in which Nearpod gives the teacher access to individuals as they practise their newly acquired skills in real-time. The teacher in this instance is truly a facilitator as s/he can interact directly with one child at a time whilst keeping a watchful eye over the whole class and their work as it happens.
 
Primary PE was great to observe as the twenty-plus Year 2 participants were put through their paces: running, jumping and ducking as they went along. For a wrong move the forfeit was five star-jumps, luckily towels were on hand for cooling down. The other notable thing about this lesson was that the two PE teachers were physically separated by nine time-zones, but very much together in the same room thanks to the marvel of this technology.
 
It was my pleasure to revisit a topic that used to be taught in secondary, as Year 4 studied the Water Cycle online. Their grasp of the processes involved, and associated specific vocabulary, was hugely impressive. Children were swift to offer ‘evaporation’, ‘condensation’ and ‘precipitation’ in quick-fire answers. ‘What is sleet?’ someone asked, and this made me smile and think that he is lucky not to have encountered it yet!
 
A Year 6 science practical lesson saw children exploring the topic ‘refraction’ by using their live Google Meet link, Google Classroom, a mobile phone and naturally, a pencil and a sheet of paper. Each student could be seen making observations as a pencil was placed in water and an arrow motif was moved behind the glass receptacle. In true scientific tradition, the observations were carefully recorded before an explanation was formulated to account for what had been seen. The end of the lesson gave everyone the chance to share ideas and draw conclusions.
 
Finally, it was interesting to follow a group of children from one lesson to the next one: in this case it was Reception as they moved from Spanish class to PE. What struck me was the level of engagement and enthusiasm in two contrasting subjects, each demanding in its own way. When I say enthusiasm, I am talking about both the students and the teachers!
 
We may safely say that a VSE programme bears no resemblance to ‘home schooling’ where the parent chooses curriculum content and the style of teaching. Our VSE lessons are designed, delivered and assessed by qualified teachers who sequence skill and knowledge acquisition in order to build confidence in young learners. Children also benefit by learning from different teachers using a range of methodologies as they navigate this planned curriculum. 
 
Parents can support too, by acting as an audience to hear their child’s new learning when read aloud, explained or performed. Why not invite your child to teach you what they have just learned? It is a great way to help embed new ideas and aid understanding – after all, you never have to rote-learn something that you understand, you simply set about explaining it!
 
Best wishes, 
Michael Deveney
Interim Principal

The Five Ways to Wellbeing

During these unprecedented times, it is as important as ever to consider what we can do as individuals and as families to support our wellbeing. At BSY we have been working on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing since the start of the new academic year - you may have seen Mr Deveney’s post on our social media pages.

Research informs us there are five simple things you can do as part of our daily lives at work and at home to build resilience, boost our wellbeing, and lower our risk of developing mental health problems. These simple actions are known internationally as the Five Ways to Wellbeing.

What are the Five Ways?

1. Connecting -  With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day. 

2. Keep Learning - Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun. 

3. Being Active - Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness. 

4. Taking Notice - Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you. 

5. Giving - Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, as linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you. 
Staff have been recording their 5 ways on a weekly basis, if you would like to do the same here is the template  the staff have used. There is an excellent self help booklet available from the NHS UK. You may also wish to consider some of the action examples here at Mindkit .

If you would like to share any of your 5 Ways to Wellbeing we would enjoy hearing them. If your child is taking part and would like to share with their class this would be wonderful. 

Stay Well, Stay Safe!
Mrs O’Callaghan
Head of Primary

The importance of our well-being and the well-being of our children is a hot topic, especially given the changes and challenges we are experiencing due to Covid 19. We would like to invite you to spend an hour with Simon Mann as he shares tips on how we can support ourselves, our families and our children to be healthier and happier.

Simon is an expert in the area of well-being in schools and school communities. He has worked with numerous international schools in this region and is also the acting head at Dover Court International School in Singapore. As such the workshop is designed specifically for us, our families and our children.

Here are the details:
Date: 15th October
Time: 7:30am - 8:30am
Topic: Wellbeing workshop - hosted by Simon Mann
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93621356249
Meeting ID: 936 2135 6249

There have been so many WOW moments over the course of the half term that I have no space to share them all, but I hope you enjoy this selection of highlights:

In Key Stage 1, we have seen the Year 1 children explore lots of exciting places including the arctic, the ocean and space during their virtual field trips. This has captured the children’s imagination leading them to learn lots of descriptive language enabling them to describe animals with greater accuracy and to consider all their traits. Our students have also been exploring new Maths strategies, learning the part-part-whole method helping them to make the connection between addition and subtraction.  

In Year 2, the classes have explored and modelled the different habitats around the globe, looking carefully at the animals that reside there. ‘Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs’ was a very popular story time read, stimulating the children to write their very own dinosaur stories, leading to an interest in finding real facts about Dinosaurs.

The artwork produced by the students has been wonderful. Take a look at Mrs Bohl’s video showing her demonstrating a paint washing technique for the class to emulate in their own paintings. She was able to do this with a visualiser, that has been introduced in every class to assist teaching and learning. A great addition to our VSE offer.