BIS IS NEASC ACCREDITED!

Following a lengthy accreditation process with self-study review of all aspects of the school, staff training and accreditation visits, the New

England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Commission on International Education, awarded BIS ‘Accredited’ status on 20 November 2018. We have already benefited from the NEASC process via improvements during the self-study process, and we also learnt from accreditation visit team members as they were always constructive and supportive. The visit report also includes several recommendations for further improvement which we will implement over the next 18 months before our report to NEASC in September 2020.

NEASC accreditation is very important to us in terms of international school standards and recognition. It also means that our High School Diploma for graduating students is now accredited, in addition to the accredited qualifications we offer for the International Baccalaureate Diploma,

Cambridge IGCSEs, and the Kygryz Republic Ministry of Education school certificate.

We want to thank everyone in the community – staff, students, parents and supporters - who have helped us reach this goal!

Newsletter for BIS Parents and Friends. No: 12 / 2018-19

23rd November 2018 Newsletter for BIS Parents and Friends. No: 13/ 2018-19

NEASC Preliminary Visit - March 2017

NEAC training with Michael Popinchalk - January 2018

NEASC Eligibility Visit - December 2015

NEASC Accreditation - Visiting Team - October 2018

P3’S TRIP TO THE RAILWAY STATION INSPIRED BY THE POOR AIR QUALITY IN BISHKEK Inquiry-based learning, strongly promoted by the PYP at our school, enables students to explore their own questions, to use their knowledge and to become life-long learners. After finishing their research about innovations in transportation, Primary 3 students decided to expand their thinking by looking at their own community and the impact transportation has on it. Last week’s poor air quality in Bishkek inspired many discussions and many students in P3 thought of ways to improve the situation in the city. This question brought a lot of excitement to the classroom and students brainstormed all their ideas, taking into consideration time, safety, comfort, expense and location. They realized that they do not know much about the public transportation in Bishkek, so we decided to take them on an educational visit to the Railway Station next to Erkindik Park, so they could find answers to their questions. Primary 3 had a chance to practice Russian with the officers working at the station who kindly provided them with information about the trains’ departures/arrivals, prices of the tickets, as well as length of some of the journeys. ‘We walked around the station, looked at the trains and tracks which seem to be quite old and slow. We learned that we could take a train to Pishkek, which would take 2 hours, but there is no train to get back to Bishkek. Also, to get to Astana it takes 24 hours, which is so long. We think that the improvement in the railway system in Kyrgyzstan could help the air quality. People would choose trains over cars if they can get to more places. It would also be cheaper, and you could look at the beauty of Kyrgyzstan from the train’s windows. We are still going to explore more ways, but we think that this one would be great.’

Primary 3 students, Ms. Magdalena and Ms. Elvira

P1’S FANTASTIC FAMILY TREES

Hello Mommies and Daddies! We made family trees this week. We have our Mommy, Daddy, Grandmother, Grandpa, brothers and sisters on them. Some of us had Grandma's Mom too! We made family trees so we know who is in our family. We made family trees so other people can see and know that this is our family. We are making a big museum in our classroom soon. We will put our family trees in our museum. When the museum is done, you can come see it

Can, Kolya, Helen, and Djamila, Primary 1

students

BIS Snapshot: School Life

BIS ALUMNUS AT THE IB 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN GENEVA

I am delighted to report that Daniil Kim, one of our first IB Diploma graduates who was the valedictorian last year, attended the IB 50th Anniversary Celebration, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland on 26 October

2018.

According to Daniil, the event was rather informal with about 50-60 people in attendance. However, he made the most of it by meeting many inspiring people and representing our school, as well as Kyrgyzstan. Daniil had the chance to give a speech in front of all the people present. After introducing himself, BIS and Kyrgyzstan, he shared the challenges he had faced as a member of the first cohort of IB in the country. The attendees were very interested by his story; in fact, several people from the Board of Directors approached Daniil in order to find out more about BIS and education in Kyrgyzstan. This meant that he had the chance to talk to Dr. Siva Kumari, Director General of the IB, as well as many other influential people. He met a member of the Board of Directors, who was also an IB alumnus, as well as other successful IB graduates, such as one of the founders of Kognity, an organisation that strives to improve education worldwide. Daniil has also been invited by the director of the IB college in Sevilla, Spain, to give a speech to current IB students next year.

Daniil reports, “I also met some other IB alumni, who are now studying in different universities around the world or who have already graduated and are now working. It was very interesting to hear their stories and impact of the IB on their lives.”

The IB alumni share memories and experiences even if they didn’t graduate from the same school. Whenever they meet another IB alumnus, they have some immediate kinship from their shared experience. We are proud and grateful that Daniil made this opportunity a successful one. We hope that the path trod by our first alumni will be strengthened even further by our current DP students!

Ms Makiko, DP Coordinator

DON DE NOURRITURE

This week the Embassy of France made a wonderful contribution to PAMC and school fundraising efforts by donating 20 boxes of food. This will be given to Kant Children's Shelter and Home and for the BMZ program within the SOS Children's Village in Bishkek. The donation was delivered by Madame Tatiana Roux and Madame Eline Baley and received by Student Council members who will ensure it reaches its final destination in good time. We look forward to receiving many more donations in the next week. Thank you!

TAIGANS SPORTS UPDATE

The football season has officially come to an end after the 2018 football awards were given out during secondary assembly last Friday. Congratulation to our award winners below: Junior Boys Football Team Most Improved - Said Malik (MYP2) Coach's Award - Frithjof Thevs (MYP2) Most Valuable Player (MVP) - Bruno Brezina (IGCSE 1) Senior Boys Football Team Most Improved - Arslanbek Zhaparov (DP1) Coach's Award - Nuzhan Amanov (IGCSE 2) MVP - Alessandro Marti (DP 1)

Junior and Senior Girls Football Team Most Improved - Satenik Serdakyan (IGCSE 2) Coach's Award - Lourdes Karpovic (IGCSE 2) MVP - Maddie Selinger (MYP 2)

Congratulations to our award winners and all of the players who participated during the football season this year.

Go Taigans!

ATTENTION BASKETBALL PLAYERS – THE SCHOOL NEEDS YOU!

Senior Boys and Girls basketball teams have started training. While the season does not officially start until January, our teams are working hard in preparation for the upcoming season. Our junior boys will start soon, with more information to follow regarding the schedule. Please contact me asap if you are between the ages of 11 - 18 and wish to play basketball for this upcoming season. All skill levels welcome!

Jimmy Grant, Athletics Director

LEARNER PROFILE COMPETITION WINNER This month’s winner of the IB Learner Profile Design competition is Story Stimmler from MYP2. Her powerful entry encapsulates what it means to be principled and stand up for what is right. Congratulations Story! We had lots of fantastic entries again this month and look forward to seeing what students will come up with for our December competition.

NEW FACES AT BIS Jyldyz Tuibaeva, Primary 5 Language Support Co-Teacher and French Teacher, jtuibaeva@bis.kg

Bonjour BIS! I would like to thank everyone for making me feel welcome from the first day I started working here. Every single member of our community is always there for you no matter how big the problem, which makes you really appreciate and value our school. I was born and raised in Bishkek but my passion for foreign languages led me to France at the young age of 19. I spent 5 years studying Economics and Management in France, in the lovely town of Grenoble (it’s very similar to Bishkek, with its beautiful mountains and friendly people). I believe that in the modern world it’s very important to speak multiple

languages, therefore I’m always happy to share my knowledge with my students in our French lessons. After graduating from Université Pierre Mendès France, I decided to move to London to bring my level of English to the same level as my French. In London I had the chance to share my knowledge of French with students of Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle (primary bilingual school) through private tutoring with some success. I have worked in various organisations, but I have always loved working with children the most. After living for more than 10 years in London, my husband and I decided to bring our 2 lovely children to our home city - Bishkek. In Bishkek I have completed my second university degree in Law from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, but my interest in working with children brought me to BIS, where I feel at home. As you can tell from my experiences, I love traveling, discovering new cultures, reading, cooking and trying new cuisines. I really enjoy working in our multicultural environment and hearing many different languages on a daily basis.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday 24th November, Parents Association – Friendsgiving Dinner

Saturday 8th December, Anniversary Show – Wizard of Oz, Kyrgyz National Philharmonic Hall.

Friday 14th December, Ded Moroz & Last day of school before Winter Break

More information about all of these events will be sent to you later, or see http://www.bis.kg

LUNCH MENU The lunch menu for November 26th – 30rd is Menu A: Menu

Form Teachers and our Chef are responsible for adjusting this menu to avoid any foods your child cannot eat, according to the information provided to us by you.

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PRESCHOOL 1

This week Preschool 1 had a special week! We have celebrated

Aysha’s birthday, which was the first birthday we have spent together

as a class. The friends enjoyed singing the “Happy Birthday” song, and

we want to congratulate Aysha one more time and give her a big

thank you for the amazing birthday balloons. This was also the last

week of our “Under the Sea” theme. To see what the children have

leaned, we made a sorting activity - the task was to sort farm and sea

animals and put them either in the farm or in the ocean. All the

children did a great job naming the animals and choosing the right

habitat. Moreover, to consolidate our knowledge about the ocean,

we made a paper plate ocean with fish cookies and salt. After

discussing different kinds of sea transport, we made a plastic bottle

submarine that can dive to the bottom of the sea to do scientific

research. In the math lesson, the friends learnt the number 3 and

made a picture counting activity. Next week, we will start talking about community helpers.

Ms Oksana, Preschool 1 homeroom teacher

Preschool Newsletter No: 12/ 2018-19

Preschool Newsletter No: 11/ 2018-19 23rd November 2018 Preschool Newsletter No: 13/ 2018-19

PRESCHOOL 2

Preschool 2 students are learning to recognize letters. Most children learn to recognize letters between the ages 3 and 4. Typically, children will recognize the letters of their names first. By age 5, most kindergarteners begin to make sound-letter associations, such as knowing that “book” starts with the letter B.

Ms Goulnara, Preschool 2 homeroom teacher

PRESCHOOL 3 This week in Preschool 3 we started our new unit of inquiry on shelters. We looked at different things we can use to create shelters and we crafted the stick house from the story of the three little pigs. We also learned about the letter 'e; we made a big elephant and did an emergency earthquake practice drill - all to help us remember the letter 'e'. Next week we will learn about the letter 'h' and we will continue to look at ordinal numbers.

Ms Carmen, Preschool 3 homeroom teacher