APRIL-MAY 2011

THE SECONDARY N E W S L E T T E RSecondary News from the Pupils and Teachers of The British School of Alicante

OliverThe Musical

Stephen GreenHead of Secondary

I asked my daughter recently

what she wanted to be when

she grew up. She replied with

a beaming smile that she wanted

to be a lion. A simple answer

which gave me great delight.

Really, this shouldn´t surprise

me given her strong personality,

her social skills and deep rooted

sense of pride – all traditional characteristics of a lion.

The last month of our Spring Term certainly went out

like a lion! During the last week of the longest term

in recent history, the school finished with the sound

of roars – from the roar of approval from our capacity

audiences for ´Oliver!´ to the roar of our students during

Sports Day. All agreed, the end of term activities which

took place this year were fantastic occasions. The

story of the last month

and the range of

opportunities both

offered and taken,

is told through the

various media within

this month’s newsletter.

We were fortunate to

experience our community

coming together in distinctive

and successful ways and we should take immense pride

in our individual and collective success. Maybe there is a

lion within us all….

Oliver, for two nights only! The second full musical of Kings College Alicante was an unmitigated success: the characters

came to life; one and all sang their hearts out and the professionalism of the cast was much commented on. Everyone involved from the cast to the stage hands, the band to the sound desk operators and all those teachers who gave up their time to help coax the cast through rehearsals worked extremely hard. Though the process was long, such dedication was obvious in the final performances. With their second full performance under their belts, who knows what heights these young performers can reach?

OliverThe Musical

SPORTS

DAY2011

RESULTS WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE

As part of their Heroic Deeds poetry work last term, 9W were given the task of performing either a poem they had written themselves or poems that

they had studied. Their teacher, Ms Davies decided that their interpretation and exciting dramatic presentations of the poems deserved a wider audience and they performed for the 9C class. At this stage, Mr. Slater, 9C’s teacher decided that 9W had set down the gauntlet and it was time for a Poetry Face off! A poetry face off is a poetry performance competition and this one would be between 9C and 9W to see who could perform the poems in the most imaginative or exciting way!

And so followed a week of nervous anticipation and rehearsal as 9W and 9C worked hard to write, rehearse and perform their final poems. The day of the performance dawned and both Mr. Slater and Ms Davies were overwhelmed by the high quality and range of the performances, there were lively raps, songs, poems written by students, poems written by established authors, fun poems, serious poems. Most of all, the students and their teachers enjoyed performing and watching each other perform. At the end of the face off, it was decided that neither class could possibly win as each had demonstrated a creative and committed response to the task. Therefore, their prize was to perform, once again, for Mr. Laidlaw and Miss Parry (they would also get some chocolate and sweets as a reward for their heroic poetry performances!)

The final Poetry Face Off was a wonderful performance by all Year 9 students and both Miss Parry and Mr.

Heroic Deeds or The Year 9 Poetry Face Off

Laidlaw were entertained and impressed, Miss Parry had not been expecting such an exciting performance as she had thought that the poetry may be a bit serious and boring! Mr. Laidlaw expressed his pride in the work they had completed and in their creative approach. He was particularly impressed by the singing, the rhythmic drumming and beat box style used by some of the groups.

All in all, a very rewarding poetry venture, proving to the Year 9 students that poetry can be interesting and entertaining. They also enjoyed their sweets and chocolate!

* Year 9 students were studying a range of poems about competition, sport and heroic ventures. The poems were based on the Winning Words project, which has been considering a range of poems for display in the Olympic village in London in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. The majority of the nominated poems are inspirational, to do with competition, winning and a range of sporting endeavours. Other poems are to do with home, pride and representing your country. More information about the project can be found here.

http://www.winningwordspoetry.com

One of the poems studied by the Year 9 students was Ulysses by Tennyson. A line from this poem was chosen by Winning Words and will be engraved as a permanent installation in the centre of the Olympic Village.‘To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.’

The purpose of this songis to keep this going onLooking for the words all of them we hoard,

And whilst we travelled we found the answers,we ended up with this lullaby...

My shadow and I,We play this game,everything we do...Is always the same.He thinks like me,

he's always by my side.Can't you see?

He's just like me.But when darkness comes,

I’m bad like Michael JacksonLoud like a claxon

You see me on the stageAnd you won’t walk away

Ferocious like a ligerFamous like a tigerLight as a lighter

Strong like a fighterI could punch a rock

Leave it looking like muckI could mystify a witchMake a real-life glitch

You don’t mess with meI’m like Mohammed AliBlood is just red sweet

That weeps from the meatBut did you know

That I’m lower than lowStephen Hawkins doesn’t knowWhat I know, about my fightingAs I’m on stage, hit by lightingI think I’m faster than lightning

As I do my fightingI deserve to fight who I want

Where I want, when I wantBut I know my rules

Napoleon once said with a droolYou must not fight too often one enemy or

You will teach the art of war to himBut forget that, I’ll begin my sin

Place my enemy in a binOr in a tin

Which I’ll throw into a binThis will help me begin

My sin, my life, my deathDyin’ when I’m old with rotten breath

But let’s get back to businessI write this poem, but what is this

I thought I was great like kaliVast like the sea

Important like the keySet in stone like a week

Is seven long daysThis is the last phase

Of the poem or the rapSo I’ll leave with this yap

I can see like a mapThis will end ASAP

If you oppose ideas brought to you by cloning just remember what happens to your brain when you are phoning,

microwaves are sent beyond your skulls' bonesand heatwaves that should be cooking scones,

are frying your braineven though we go through no pain.If all the world comes falling down

just hope that global warming wont let you drown.

by Hana Cho Park

Fighter by Michael Saliba

by Lydia Kay

he leaves my side.He says it's time for him to hide.

When darkness come he leaves my sideHe says it's time for him to hide.

My shadow... (and I.)My shadow ...(and I.)

We play this game (yeai yeai)Everything we do is always the same.

My shadow... (and I)My shadow... (and I)

We play this game (yeai yeai)Everything we do is always the same...Everything we do is always the same...Everything we do is always the same...

Following an energy saving campaign in Secondary and a litter campaign in primary, the school council has been awarded with the

Eco-schools Bronze award for working towards sustainability. Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework to help embed these principles into the heart of school life. Schools work towards gaining one of three awards – Bronze, Silver and the prestigious Green Flag award, which symbolises excellence in the field of environmental activity. The programme has been adopted by every local education authority in Britain and over 5000 schools, like us, are working towards their Silver award.

The school council has already achieved a number of steps towards the Silver award and hopes to receive the award by the end of the school year. To achieve the award they have to begin a large scale environmental project and we have been working with Mrs Davidson and the school keepers to introduce recycling to the school. We are hoping that this will help us achieve our Silver flag.

Eco-Schools Update

As a way of encouraging children to read, the school held its third book fair of the year, on Friday 1st April. It was a very successful day.

Our students, teachers and parents enjoyed flicking through books and buying many. Thanks to all those who bought a book because with every purchase we earned FREE books for our school. This time we got 863 euros!

A drawing and writing competition also took place on the day of the book fair. Many children from Reception to Y8 participated. The winners were: Inés (Reception F), Soraya (Y1S), Laura (Y2B), Paula (Y3B), Marina (Y4H), Patricia (Y5R), Ademi (Y6L) and Omar (Y7B) . They all got a free book of their choice from the book fair.

Sustainability is the key to future development and will feature heavily in our pupils’ courses and careers in business, engineering, education and politics. It is our duty to develop in them an understanding of how to live a sustainable life and how to run an organisation within sustainable limits. The young people of the School Council have shown leadership and enthusiasm in achieving this award for our school.

Congratulations to all of them and thanks to all the students who participated.

News from the Library

On Tuesday 3rd May, the Year 12 students went on a visit to the "Centro de Estudios de Cuidad de la Luz" where they learnt about

the different possibilities of studies there. It was a very interesting visit and they got the opportunity to discover the world of audiovisual and to see what goes on behind the camera.

Visit to Centro de EstudiosCiudad de la Luz

Dear Parents of Exam Students, Each year worried parents ask us the same question: “What can I do to help make sure my child

does their very best in their examinations?”.

Unfortunately exams coincide with the general stress associated with being a teenager. Relationships between children and parents, which may already be strained, can become even more diffi cult during the exam season. The most important thing for you and your child to remember is that there are plenty of people at the school who want to help. If your son or daughter is worried or anxious about the exams you must encourage them to talk about it. They can talk to you, their teachers and the school examinations team. We are all here to help.

It is also important to remember that it is extremely diffi cult to get an A-grade in every subject.

Try to keep your expectations low and focus on how to exceed those expectations.

Finally, although examinations are an important and necessary part of the education of your child, they are just a snap-shot of your child's academic performance.

Remember, many of the most successful and happy people have failed exams and it is always possible to take the exam again.

CREATE A REVISION SPACEA dedicated quiet space with good natural light or lighting with no distractions is best for studying. If you have other children who are not studying for exams, make sure that they know the importance of revision time.

TAKE A BREAKEnsure that your son or daughter has one evening a week away from their studies. It is also important that they take regular breaks during the study periods. Help them to relax if they need it, play nice music, get them to lie down or encourage them to go out and kick a ball around for an hour or so. All work and no play will not get the best out of them.

MAKE A PLANAgree a revision schedule with your child and stick to it. Offer to record their favourite TV shows for watching later. Treats are essential, it helps give a purpose for getting through that tedious revision!

BRAIN FOODFeed your child healthy food and proper meals. Avoid sugary snacks and junk food. Do not let them ‘burn the midnight oil’ using coffee or stimulant drinks to help them get through an all night revision session.

KNOW YOUR CHILD’S EXAM TIMETABLEEach of our pupils has been given an individual examination timetable, make sure they are using the most recent one. Ask Mrs. Laidlaw for a replacement. Stick it to the fridge door!

Know the exact date, time and location for each exam and incorporate this into the revision plan. Make sure that your child has the correct equipment for the exam (calculator, ruler, pens).

Remember what they are not allowed to take in to the exam (mobile phone, iPods, cameras).

EXAMOPHOBIAChildline counsellor, Maggie Turner says: “Some kids don’t revise through sheer terror.Then if they fail they can blame it on the fact they didn’t revise. Build up their confi dence by reminding them of things they’ve done well in, in the past. Others fi nd revision a diffi cult concept to grasp. Encourage them to see their teacher to develop revision skills."

Ten Top Tips for Exam Success:

Those Dreaded Exams!Mr. Simon Wicks

•

HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONAnything that may have a negative impact on your child’s performance in exams should be reported to Mrs Laidlaw or Mr Wicks. If there is a medical condition like hayfever that is particularly bad one day we should know about it. Similarly, if there is something happening at home like bereavement or divorce that may be affecting your child’s performance it is important that you inform us.

GOOGLE YES, FACEBOOK NO, TWITTER NO,MSN NO, BEBO NO!The Internet can be a useful source of study but is often a smokescreen to give the appearance of study. The Internet can be used to enhance the revision programme; but it must not be the foundation of the programme. The computer should not be turned on unless it is being used torevise. Keep an eye on how much time your child spends on-line.

NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG...Nagging won’t help focus your child. There is enough pressure already and it is important that your relationship offers help and support when they need it. Maggie Turner says “ Keep yourexpectations out of it. Your kids have enough of their own. And stay calm, anger and fear are catching”

KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVEIf you are stressed too, try talking to other parents who have already gone through exam stress.

Remind yourself, and your child, that exams aren’t the be-all and end-all. Reassure your child they can only do their best and if they do not do as well as you had hoped, you will still love them.

“The Internet can be a useful source of study but is often a smokescreen to give the appearance of study.”

Glorieta del Reino Unido 5Alicante 03008 Spainwww.bsalicante.com

email: carlos.lazaro@kingsgroup.org

• 12th May – Paul Cookson visiting

• Week 16th May - Insight Testing

• 20th May – Year 13 Graduation Dinner

• 21st May - Chess Tournament 3:15 pm,

Dates for May

For more dates please see our Parent Calendar on the website.

www.bsalicante.com