News

Last week Friday, our KS1 year groups held their annual Prize-giving & Awards Ceremony. Given the circumstances of this being a tough year, we felt it even more necessary that the students be rewarded for their hard work and dedication. We organised a live virtual ceremony, making sure that each student would have their moment and that all parents could be involved.

Students around the world faced a year they had never quite experienced before. Making a transition from everyday classroom activities to home learning, and online class has not been easy, but we are so proud of each and every one of you for making it through and better yet, excelling.

Seeing the progress from when we received our students in the beginning of the year to now, is incredible.

Prize-giving this year was that little bit more special, watching our students stay involved, keep a great working attitude and participate with enthusiasm – they absolutely deserve to be rewarded.

Siobhan Hendry
Key Stage 1 Teacher

It was with great excitement that we hosted our annual Foundation Stage Recognition Ceremony last Friday. Unfortunately, this year we couldn’t share our special day with our parents in person, but we were lucky enough to live stream the event to all our friends and family at home.

Each little one received a certificate special to them and their accomplishments this year.  As teachers we are exceptionally proud of all our students and it is with great excitement and a bit of sadness that we send our little ones on to the next year group.

We would also like to thank all the parents who have been there to encourage and support our students and teachers.

This year has been especially challenging, but we can definitely learn something from the students who still come to school with big smiles. They have shown great dedication and perseverance, setting a good example to all of us.

Monique Meyer
Foundation Stage Teacher

Earlier in Term 4 our Matric 2020 students’ achievements were celebrated at our very special annual Valedictory Ceremony.

Here are the top achievers of the 2020 Valedictory Ceremony 2020:

Congratulations to all the award winners. We are extremely proud of our class of 2020!

This morning at the Key Stage 2 Prize-giving ceremonies, we celebrated our students’ 2020 academic achievements.

As I watched the students celebrate their progress this year, something that really struck me was the adaptability and resilience of both our students and our school. In keeping with Covid regulations, both ceremonies were live streamed on Facebook. I suspect that if at last year’s Prize-giving, someone had told us that we would be broadcasting the next one to parents at home and at work, all the way across the city, we would have been very sceptical – but here we are!

Our students have achieved amazing results this year, and they have done so while adapting to online learning, face masks, social distancing, and so much more. Their achievements, always something to be celebrated, invite particular respect given the challenges they have faced.

Today, we took the time to celebrate our Prize-giving recipients’ achievements. I would also like to take a moment to congratulate each and every student in this school. You have been amazing this year – you can all be so proud of yourselves!

To our Prize-giving recipients: well done! We are so proud of you! Congratulations on your amazing achievements – I hope they inspire all of us to keep working hard next year!

Hannah Kirkaldy
Key Stage 2 Teacher

To learn a foreign language at an early age, or not?

“Research shows that learning a second language boosts problem-solving, critical-thinking, and listening skills, in addition to improving memory, concentration, and the ability to multitask. Children proficient in other languages also show signs of enhanced creativity and mental flexibility.” (Lead with Languages website).

There is much debate around the topic of teaching young children a second language. On the one hand, there is the argument, that children should first be proficient in their own language, before they learn a second language. For many students in our school, English is a second language, so do we add additional languages or not?

As I have been watching my Year 2 class tackle both Spanish, German and Afrikaans with enthusiasm and ever-increasing conversational skills, I believe that there is a place for additional languages in a young child’s life. The earlier they are exposed to hearing these additional languages, the easier it will be for them later in their school years, should they wish to choose the language route in our Cambridge curriculum.

Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher

We have been learning about birds this week in Foundation Stage.

The students have really enjoyed learning about different birds and how their bodies are different according to where they live and what they eat.

We completed a Bird Busy Booklet this week with various bird themed literacy and numeracy activities. As part of our art activities, we have made some lovely hanging bird cages with colourful birds inside, which have decorated the class beautifully.

We have also learnt some songs about birds, which we have listened to daily. One of our favourite songs is “What is a Bird?” by Pancake Manor. Please follow the link to enjoy the song at home:

Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year Teacher

The 2020 academic year began with an exciting opportunity for Marco De Mattos when he enrolled for the International Programme for Youth Development, more commonly known as The President’s Award.

Life took an unexpected turn with the advent of Covid 19 and the subsequent national lockdown. This was an incredibly difficult time for parents, teachers and especially for students who had to adapt quickly to the medium of online learning.

However, this Year 8 student would not allow any of these challenges to stand in his way and, despite the disruptions of lockdown, managed to complete all the requirements for a Bronze medal. Marco is the first student at BIS to achieve a Bronze medal in the President’s Award and we are all incredibly proud of him.

Since enrolling in the programme, Marco has acquired a ream of new skills, such as cooking and sign language. He served his community by handing out free hand sanitizer and followed an exercise regime, making sure he remained fit and active. On top of all of this, he also completed an ‘adventurous journey’ as prescribed in the requirements for a Bronze award.

Congratulations again to Marco for setting such an aspirational example for his peers.

Riaan Vosloo
High School Teacher

At BIS students can choose Chemistry as a subject from Year 9.  This provides students with a unique opportunity to have more variety in high school as Chemistry and Physics can be taken separately instead of as a single subject.  Students can choose between Chemistry and History and between Physics and Art. This often results in some interesting subject combinations such as Chemistry and Art or Physics and History.

After a long period of online lessons, it is exciting to have the Chemistry students back in the classroom.  Since BIS is privileged to have a well-equipped science laboratory, Chemistry practicals can now take place again.

This term the Year 9’s have been revising electrochemistry and enthalpy changes, whilst the Year 11’s have been revising chemical equilibrium, Hess’s Law and Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions.

Philippa Gogh
High School Chemistry Teacher