The BrITIShINTerNATIoNALSChooLBudapest, hungary

meDIuSM I D - Y E A R M A G A Z I N E 2 0 1 0

T H e B r i T i s H s C H o o L ’ s G o T T A L e N T !

Welcome to the fi rst edition of our mid-Year magazine! The vibrant and colourful pages aim to capture some of the events and personalities which are shaping this school year. The traditional January gloom has been brightened by news of the oxbridge successes; mark Czeller has been offered a place at oxford and Gwijde maegherman a place at Cambridge, not to mention the renewed energy exhibited by our own staff and students after the three week break!on the subject of energy, aside from that expended in study, creativity, kindness and sportsmanship, all other oil-based energy will be dramatically reduced over the coming months. our school has signed up for the 10:10 challenge – to reduce our carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010 – a worthy New Year resolution!

Jane Thompson

EVACU

ATION

DAY

DRAGONS’DEN

C u LT u r eW E E K

®

C o o K e r Y B o o K L e T

w H o L e s C H o o L

ThIS YeAr ThoSe ATTeNDING The FIVe DAY eVeNT WouLD hAVe BeeN ImPreSSeD BY The ACTIVITIeS AND eNJoYeD The

home-CooKeD FooD. TheY WouLD hAVe BeeN uNAWAre ThAT BehIND The SCeNeS There WAS A hoST oF NeW AND eXCITING ChANGeS IN PLACe, mAKING ThIS YeAr’S eVeNT A BIG SuCCeSS.

This year’s Culture Week was organized by The British International School’s parent volunteers, headed up by Esther Reitberg.

It took a lot of courage from the group of parents who offered to take on such a challenge! International cuisine, inspirational assemblies, costumes, music, activities, games, quizzes and curriculum-related programmes; the school heaved with diversity and interest from monday to Friday. everyone was involved in the experience. We spoke to Alan Wilkinson to fi nd out what he thought about this year’s event.

What were your top three moments?“The food hall was fantastic and it was the most all-encompassing food event we have ever had. It was spectacular! I liked the thing with the fl ags! I will always remember ‘We are the World’ with a smile on my face.“

What do you think made this year’s event so successful?“I think a massive thanks has to go to Esther. She is a one-woman-dynamo!“

“By presenting our culture, us parents got to know one another and even made friends. It has been great to show our abilities and culture and we appreciate seeing the good moods and high spirits of the children as they learn about our country. “Elena, parent from russia

“I like everything about Culture Week, the atmosphere around the school and the sense of community it creates.” Renie and Janene, parents from New Zealand and Australia

“The whole week is great, we especially like the passports and the way the children get to visit all the different cultures. It is so much more interesting for the children to experience culture this way.” Kavita and Sheena – parents from India

“The week brings all the different cultures together and creates a real community. Looking at the children and seeing how proud they are of their country and identity is really special.” Carmen and Julia – parents from Canada

C U L T U r e w e e K

Bea Perlato and Valentina WangNationalities: Italian and hungarian, ChineseLanguages spoken: Italian and english, english and hungarian

What did you like about culture week? Bea, “It’s different from normal weeks and we learn about our friends’ backgrounds and nationalities.” Valentina, “I think it is good to know more things about different countries.”

What have you learnt? “We have both learnt Japanese Calligraphy.”

Parent Winni Clausen approached the school with the idea of creating an international baking book. The result has been the fi rst booklet of the series crammed with recipes written by country nationals who volunteered some of their favourite cakes. The cookery book provides you with more than just delicious recipes; it also gives the reader an insight into the rich cultural fabric that is present in The British International School. Now you can really learn how to make a Cinnamon Swirl the Danish Way!

Winni Clausen has been living in Budapest for 6 months and is originally from Denmark; she has 4 children at the school.

We asked her what inspired her to create a cookery book.“It was two things; it was coming up to Culture Week, and everyone was talking about food and what they would prepare. I also love baking and had made some cakes for another family here, and they seemed so happy with the cakes I thought it would be a good idea.”

What happened next?“I hadn’t any plans but I was talking to Agnes Clapp (Math Teacher and Marketing Manager), and Agi said she would help. She was really helpful and pulled it together. Once we had decided to write the book, we got a good response from parents. First we contacted the Country Reps and they sent us a lot of nice recipes. For me it will be a very special moment of my time here. My father even took the book to work and a man there liked it so much he wanted to buy a copy, he even contacted the school!”

We also spoke to student cookery enthusiast, Emi Clapp, who has tried and tested a number of the recipes.

Which recipes have you tried?“I have tried four recipes; The English Lemon Tart, I did the Danish Cinnamon Swirl, the Canadian one and the Hungarian Cottage Cheese Cake.”

Which recipe was your favourite and why?“The Danish cinnamon swirls because it is made with yeast and it’s funny how it bubbles. It tastes lovely, I really like cinnamon.”

What will you try next?“I will try the Israeli Honey Cake next as it sounds delicious.”

What theme would you like to see next in the cookery booklet series?“Maybe soups would be nice. I like soups. My favourite is leek and potato.”.

NoT oNLY Do our PuPILS hAVe TALeNTS, BuT So Do TheIr PAreNTS. ThIS YeAr The FIrST BrITISh

INTerNATIoNAL SChooL CooKerY BooK WAS PrINTeD.

father even took the book to work and a man there

The BISB Christmas Celebration was held on 5th December 2009. We were delighted to have a very special visitor this year, the reAL Santa Claus travelled all the way from Lapland to see us! The event was very successful and, as well as providing lots of fun for all the family, it raised over huF 900,000 for charity. The money was donated to Csodalámpa, a charity that works hard to grant special wishes to sick children in hungary.

C H r i s T M A s C e L e B r A T i o N

PAreNTS orGANISING SPeCIAL eVeNTS

Balazs KokenyesyNationality: hungarian and PolishLanguages spoken: hungarian and english

What did you like about Culture Week? “I liked the assembly with all the different music.”

What have you learnt? “I’ve learnt that Ireland is split into four different provinces.”

Alina GlusNationality: ukrainian

Languages spoken: ukrainian, english, russian and hungarian

What did you like about Culture Week? ”This was my fi rst Culture Week, and I liked it a lot. I liked looking at all the different countries.”

What have you learnt? “I’ve learnt that there are sixty gods in Indian culture.”

on emi’s recommendation please try the hungarian

cherry cake

Y e A r 5 e v A C U A T i o N D A Y

The recent elections saw a member of every Primary class voted on to the Council, providing each form-group a direct channel of communication with the staffi ng body on issues that concern the Primary pupils.The fl edgling group started on a high by organising a remarkably successful Bake Sale. Surprising themselves they raised over huF 50,000 which will be split between Children in Bangladesh and a Primary School celebration event to be held later in the year.

P r i M A r Y e D U C A T i o N N e w s

P r i M A r Y s C H o o L

The BoNFIre – by Sam Carr, Y6A

The bonfi re silently spied on all around him,Ready to ignite and terrify the watchers,He slowly woke up keenly looking at its meal.

Suddenly he ignited playing like a child,Drawing like a painted image landGrowing as tall as a colossal mountain.

Then just as he climbed to the peak,Dancing before the crowd,Before drinking the last drop of fuel.

Then embracing his admirers,Beckoning them to his dwelling,With open arms and glimmering eyes.

Lying down on his soft and cosy bed,Sorrow behind his exhausted eyes,Waving his last good-bye.

BY hoLDING SChooL eLeCTIoNS IN The PrImArY SChooL, We INTeND To eNCourAGe our PuPILS To

LeArN AND VALue DemoCrATIC ProCeSSeS IN A FuN WAY.

TALeNTeD TeACherS ThINK CreATIVeLY!

Letter from evacuation by Robbie Laurence, Year 5 AquaLetter from evacuation by Robbie Laurence,Year 5 Aqua

Dear mum,

When we were evacuated I was really scared

because I did not know where I was going or

who I was going to stay with. I did not know

what to expect. I was on the train for the fi rst

time ever! I met lots of people but I was put in

with the scary doctor. She wanted to examine

me, but I said I would not want to be tested. I

miss my brothers, my friends and most of all

you and dad. I know I will never see dad again,

he is already dead, as you know. I miss my toys at

home because we can never play with the toys

we brought. my pyjamas have been taken from

me. my bed is under a huge machine. Lots of

people come to our house to see how hurt they

are. Sometimes at school I get bullied but my

friends stand up for me. The only time I see my

friends is at school because at home I am not

even allowed out of my room! I am very lonely

here and do not have many friends. I hope you

survive the Blitz.

Lots of love robbie

A diary note by Josh Molyneaux, Year 5 Aqua

Dear diary,

This morning I woke up scared. The reason why is that I was going to be evacuated to the countryside. I have never done anything like this before, I have never left London. Please, please – I prayed to God this morning, make my countryside life successful. At nine o’clock in the morning I got on the train and I felt alone, there was no one I knew. It was three hours to the countryside. Then I got there and I had a pretty good countryside mum. She had a bakery and she had loads of pets. She had a dog, 3 cats, 7 chickens, many different types of birds and a rooster. The work was fun and my new broth-ers and sisters were really nice. my brothers’ names are Jack, Sam, oli and hayden. my sisters’ names are Isabella, Anita, Victoria and Amelia. Tonight we stayed up till ten and we had lovely bedrooms. I got into bed and fell asleep.Goodnight.

Josh

While we aim to foster the creativity and talents of the pupils, we also aim to empower the staff to add their own special mix of talents into the curriculum. evacuation Day is a positive example of teachers thinking in creative ways to engage students in learning.Learning is not a prescriptive medication, and one size does not fi t all. Students, and in fact all of us, have different learning styles and teachers try to foster numerous learning methods to ensure pupils gain a colourful and varied experience while attending school.on an annual basis Year 5s are privy to evacuation Day, a real life experience of childhood in World War Two. Teachers, along with the assistance of parents, develop a day full of practical learning experiences related to the curriculum and aimed to encourage students to think further about the effects of confl ict.

here is our interview with Neil Moore and Rose Harris – Year 5 teachers

What is the purpose of the day?”It’s part of our creative thinking unit, to re-enact and bring the experience alive to the children. Evacuation Day will be a day all children remember when they leave this school.”

What preparation did you do for the trip?”We spent a lot time working through how to prepare for evacuation, what it must feel like, how to wear a gas mask. The children had to do everything from prepare their clothes to thinking about what to take in their suitcase.”

Why take the children outside of the classroom?”It basically rounded up everything we had learnt in the classroom. It is a real life experience for them, and therefore very powerful.”

It is quite an uneasy experience, how did you leave the day on a positive note?”As a follow up activity Solomon Daud, father of Abu Bakar in 5 Wave, came in and talked to the students. He works for the United Nations and explained to the children the role of the UN and how we can make sure this kind of war never happens again.”

A D A Y i N T H e L i f e o f M r . s P i N K s , H e A D o f M U s i C

mr. SPINKS hAS The TASK oF Co-orDINATING AND mANAGING The heADY muSIC DePArTmeNT AT BISB.

For those who have attended assemblies or popped into

our special events you would have witnessed a musical performance of some description, be it African drumming or piano playing,

orchestrated by Jon Spinks. Not only does he teach music lessons, he is involved in a crowd of other musical activities, helping to make BISB a musical hub.

Find out what a normal day looks like for mr. Spinks at The British International School...

6:45 am Alarm goes off , shuffl e to the kitchen, kettle on and start the day!

8:00 am Arrive at school, straight to the staff room to catch up with colleagues and grab a coff ee.

8:45 am Assembly practice lesson and getting everyone ready for Friday’s event.

9:40 am Meeting with the instrumental tutors, we’ve got a lot of private lessons this term.

11:00 am Teaching 4 Lilac.12:10 am Dash in the canteen, quick lunch and then singing club.1:10 pm Recorder time with Marigold 3.2:30 pm Straight on and teach 4 Plum.3:45 pm Meet school parents and teachers for African

Drumming class. 7:00 pm Nip home and then out for band practice. ”Aiming for

Sunday” have a gig this weekend.11:00 pm To bed – over and out for the day.

Szilveszter Palvolgyi, age 10, ChairWhy did you join the school council?”Well, I thought it would be a very good challenge for me to make the school a better place to learn; and I wanted to help people.”What little thing would you like to change?”Maybe we could have swings in the playground.” What big thing would you like to change?“A pond in the Bio-Garden with fi sh in, so different classes could feed them.”

Sahib Bhasin, age 10, SecretaryWhy did you join the school council?”I wanted to change the playgrounds a lot.”What little thing would you like to change?”More non-uniform days.”What big thing would you like to change?”Probably a swimming pool and a proper football pitch.”

Jeremy Howard-Grau, age 9, Vice ChairWhy did you join the school council?”I’d like to help recycle and make funds for charity; and extend break times.”What little thing would you like to change?”More signs for recycling.”What big thing would you like to change?”Raise funds would be the biggest thing. I’d ask Ms Crawley as she raises funds for charity.

ThIS YeAr our SChooL hAS Four TALeNTeD STuDeNTS Who hAVe DeCIDeD To APPLY For The WorLD’S moST PreSTIGIouS

uNIVerSITIeS: oXForD AND CAmBrIDGe. here IS TheIr ProFILe.

o X B r i D G e s T U D e N T sD r A G o N ’ s D e N

s e C o N D A r Y s C H o o L

Name: Nicolas NamoradzeNationality: GeorgianZodiac sign: LeoFavourite subject: musicA good student… is effi cient, hardworking, clever,

imaginative and determined!A good teacher… is one who not only guides the student

through the course and gives good feedback but also stimulates the student to foster a genuine interest in the subject!

Success is … music.my dream is to be … a concert pianist, conductor, composer.my dream is to live … in New York and London.

Name: Gwijde maeghermanNationality: BelgianZodiac sign: LibraFavourite subject: musicA good student… must always meet deadlines and

must do every piece of homework.A good teacher… should ask students if they have

enough time to complete their homework before setting it.

Success is … to combine an A-grade academic career with an amazing social life.

my dream is to be … a famous musician.my dream is to live … a happy life with a family of my own.

Name: Amber PerkinNationality: BritishZodiac sign: AriesFavourite subject: historyA good student… listens.A good teacher… is on the student’s side.Success is … not worrying before you go

to sleep at night.my dream is to be … a criminal psychotherapist.my dream is to live … on the sea shore.

Name: mark CzellerNationality: hungarianZodiac sign: ScorpioFavourite subject: SpanishA good student … does not leave everything to the last minute.A good teacher … is loved, not feared.Success is … being good at things.my dream is to be … satisfi ed with my life.my dream is to live … wherever I want to.

D r A G o N ’ s D e N

THE BUDAPEST TIMES

14 DECEMBER 2009 – 10 JANUARY 2010 14

EDUCATION

"I was impressed by the atten-tion to detail and the remark-ably professional approach thatall the student teams put intothe project."

Mr Howard Cohen,

Director, Global Cynergies

AKA Dragon

Have you ever consideredcompletely turning your life upsidedown, investing all you have into anidea you truly believe in and pittingyourself against top businessprofessionals in order to gaininvestment on national television?This is the principal idea behindthe popular TV programmeDragons' Den, and The BritishInternational School, Budapest has

adapted the structure to enableYear 10,11 and IB business studentsto apply their theoretical learninginto practice.

Business teachers believed thatby recreating a similar environ-ment to that of Dragons' Den,students would learn and practiceimportant aspects of businessstrategy.

'This scenario addresses keyaspects of all the KS4 and IB areasof study - marketing, finance,human resources, external influ-ences on business, leadership andcreative thinking. It empowersstudents to put into practice whatthey tend to learn theoretically - tobuild on 'thinking skills', working

outside their comfort zones, ability towork under time pressure, commu-nication skills and how to compro-mise effectively.'

Henny Letschert,

Business Teacher, BISB

In order to measure achieve-ment in a fair manner studentswere presented with the same task;the potential purchase of a failingbudget airline. Four local businessconsultants, Debra Molyneux,Jolie Powell, Howard Cohen andJane Thompson (principal, BISB),visited the school to act asDragons. Students were groupedtogether to develop a businessstrategy that would impress theprofessionals and answer any crit-ical questions related to theirideas. To aid students staff createda detailed website hosting all the

information students required todevelop a comprehensive presen-tation, it was the pupils task tointerpret the data and thinkcreatively in order to win thecontract.

Six groups presented their busi-ness proposals to the Dragons alongwith the whole of the secondaryschool, who voted on their abilities.

The afternoon was a valuableexperience for students who weretested in a pressured environmentand outside of their comfort zones.All groups reacted positively to thesituation, highlighting unusualways to increase revenue andanswering questions in a confidentmanner. Well done to all those whotook part.

– Jude Long, BISB

BEFORE

What do you think of the programmeDragons' Den?BALÁZS, "I like the show, we have a Hunga-rian equivalent, I like the idea of pre-senting new business ideas in that kind ofenvironment."ALEX, "Although it is very stressful anddifficult."

How do you feel about going in front ofThe Dragons'?ALEX, "I feel confident, we're a cohesivegroup even though we've not workedtogether before."BALÁZS, "And we're moving ahead at arelatively good speed."

Do you think you've got a good chanceof winning?BALÁZS, "I'm confident, compared to theother groups, the competition doesn'tseem too strong."ALEX, "Our marketing plan is strong andwe have different market groups to attract

business from. I think our finance isprecise too, which is important."

What do you think the key is towinning?BALÁZS, "I think it will be based on how wepresent ourselves and then the content ofour presentation."

AFTER

How did it go?ALEX, "I think it went better than weexpected, encouraging actually."

How did you feel when you were infront of The Dragons'?BALÁZS, I found it quite nerve racking whenyou're actually up there."ALEX, " I was fine."

Was there any unexpected surpriseswhen giving your presentation?ALEX, " We forgot to say a lot of things wehad prepared, I think this is really becauseof the time constraints and trying to packall the information in."BALÁZS, " Also the pressure makes youmiss things out."

What did you learn?ALEX, " I think that maybe simplicity is the keyand not overcomplicating a presentation."

Jude Long, PR and Marketing, BISB

Before and After the Dragons' DenInterview with students Alex Latinovits and Balazs Gatai

Dragons’ DenMeets business students of the

British International School, Budapest

The winning presentation

Alex Latinovits in action

CAS IS AN INNoVATIVe CourSe ThAT IS A VITAL PArT oF The INTerNATIoNAL

BACCALAureATe ProGrAmme.The course is 150 hours long and all IB students have to complete it in order to fi n-ish their studies. With the aim of providing young adults the opportunity to buildlife skills complimentary to their academic learning, CAS has nurtured and encouraged an enormous amount of IB creativity, action and service this year!”This term IB1 has been supporting Wonderlamp through many CAS activities. Wonderlamp is a truly fascinating charity in their mission to help children with serious illnesses. Tediously piecing together tons of Christmas decorations, we ended up having metres of paper chains, tons of various Christmas cards and lots of presents. Countless other activities were organised to raise money for this charity: a football tournament, name the penguin, a Christmas bazaar stall, a bake sale, the Talent Show, movie nights for both primary and secondary, a poker game, just to name a few! All in all, an enjoyable experience for all of us I am sure – made even better by knowing all our effort means the world to so many kids in Wonderlamp.” Milos Nenadovic, IB student

Talent Show – Talent is as Talent Does

It was impressive to see the breadth of different performances coming onto the stage at the Talent Show. There were com-edy acts, musicians performing personally composed compositions, dancers, teachers hitting the high notes and singers all under the spot light. While the performers led the way with their carefully rehearsed acts, there was another group of talented individuals who knitted the whole event together and they should be recognised for their skills too. Three IB students, Balazs Gatai, Laura von Kontz and Daniella egenhofer set themselves the task of seek-ing out the talent at The British Interna-tional School, Budapest as part of their CAS course.

What were the highlights of the Talent Show?”Two Year 8 students did a performance, and we had no idea what they were about to, not

even when we got up to introduce them. So it was fun fi nding out exactly what they were going to do. Also the Hungarian performer, Lola, who won best Hungarian Female Singer of the Year came and performed. That was really exciting. It took a lot of work in the last two hours, we were running around the school, but it paid off as it was really good fun and turned out well.”

Is CAS a good thing?” I like doing it, it is fun and we do loads of things we wouldn’t normally get to do. This was actually our fi rst CAS project.”

What are the benefi ts of organising a tal-ent show like this?”We already knew some of the performers but some people we had no idea about so it was a great opportunity for them to show the school their talents.” Balazs Gatai, IB student

C A s – C r e A T i v i T Y , A C T i o N A N D s e r v i C e

Mark Czeller, Y13, reviewing the success of our secondary boys’ Basketball team at the Nord Anglia Sports Tournament.

“You have seen these Hollywood films where a group of very enthusiastic people are down to play against the pros and nobody believes they stand a chance when they win. And that is basically what happened. The opposing team was better than us in terms of routine and skill, and they were winning right up until 5 minutes before the end. It was Arnaud who basically decided we were going to win and this motivated the rest of the team. Funnily this confused our opponents who thought the game was theirs; they were shocked at our sudden enthusiasm to win. I think at the beginning we felt overpowered, we did manage to hold our ground reasonably well but I don’t think any of us thought we could turn it around. The atmosphere was brilliant. The rest of the team was cheering us on, and we were really hyped up; it was interesting because the other team went to pot, our energy seemed to break their spirits especially when they could see there was a chance we were going to win. I felt we had a good set of players, however we were competing against teams who practiced up to 3 times a week. Before we started I thought we’d come somewhere in the middle of the tournament; I was not banking on us winning.“

And another tale from – Margherita Perlato, Y12, who writes up the girls’ Basketball and Volleyball matches:

“The first match miraculously resulted in the first victory for the girls’ Basketball team. Under the expert guidance of Mr. Downey with his reassuring catch phrase ‘tough luck’ and the magical skills of our team captain Silvia, we managed to beat the Prague team 22 – 20. Our second match against the Bratislava team was less fortunate as we had to face towers instead of players, a defence system which had been replaced by iron walls and a magnetic ball attracted to the opponents’ hoop. Without mentioning the score to spare our dignity, we can just say that despite the many Mexican waves led by Mr. Karacsony, the match was not our greatest success. Against the Warsaw team, with more confidence and increased experience on how to play basketball, the match ended 23 – 11 to us, guaranteeing our team a silver medal in the tournament. Two hours and a reinvigorating nap by the side of the court later, our minds were fully set on the other side of the volleyball net, ready to win against Prague. Unfortunately for us, they were not as willing to lose. In the first set we looked like statues, petrified on court. Even though we lost again, during the second set we were more active. Forty-five minutes later, we were playing against the Bratislava team and though the match ended in another defeat for us, this time we “died” while fighting as the score was really tight. Then we faced the Warsaw team with renewed motivation, great

r e v i e w s o f P r A G U e N o r D A N G L i A s P o r T s T o U r N A M e N T

From The horSe’S mouTh – STuDeNTS’ reVIeWS

encouragement from our team captain Margherita and Mr. Karacsony’s most effective tactics and we managed to end the match with the sound of victorious “BIS-Budapest” cheering in our ears.“

Writing

Jude LongEditingÁ

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