NUMBER 9 SEPTEMBER

2009

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The British School of Alicante Monthly Update

Year 10 and 11 new pupils

Learning to think

CyberBullying

Message from the Head of Secondary

New Deputy Head Girl and Boy

Welcome back after what I hope was a relaxing and family orientated summer break. I would like to take this opportunity to greet all our new pupils, families and staff to King's College, Alicante's Secondary School and hope that your time with us is both rewarding and enjoyable. You can read more about the latest teachers and pupils to join the secondary school on pages two and tree of this newsletter.

The forthcoming academic year will undoubtedly be one of challenge. We would not want it any other way for it is challenge that helps to prepare our young people for life beyond the school gates. Trips, visits, concerts, sports matches, house competitions, presentation evenings and numerous other events are going to ensure that this year will pass at a rapid speed. Therefore, it is important that students not only make the most of these opportunities, but also keep on top of their academic work. Regular two-way communication between home and school will ensure that our pupils are fully supported in their academic and social development. In order to continue to communicate effectively, we must have up-to-date contact details. In the next couple of weeks we will be reviewing the data we currently have for your family. Please let us know promptly of any telephone, e mail or address changes so that we are able to update our records accordingly.

Finally, I would remind you to visit our website (www.bsalicante.com) and the Virtual Learning Platform (www.bsamoodle.com) regularly; these sites will help you keep up to date with our progress and will provide up-dated information throughout the year. Our newsletters will be published on the website towards the end of every month. I look forward to meeting you all during the course of the next few weeks and months.

Derek LaidlawHead of Secondary School.

NewsletterSECONDARY

Traffic FlowBetween 8.30am and 9.00am every morning we have our very own "rush-hour". The school buses arrive at the same time as a large number of children arrive by car. To add to the traffic there is a new public bus route which goes past the main gate. It is important to keep the traffic flow-ing freely so please follow these two simple rules:

1. Do not leave your vehicle parked anywhere close to the school gates.

2. Drive slowly. Remember that small children are difficult to see; and they find it difficult to see you.

NEW PUPILS

Laura

I am Spanish but have lived in other places in Europe. I went to English schools in Munich, Germany and Toulouse in France.

I enjoy listening to music, hanging out with friends, dancing, horse riding and playing the piano. I also love the summer and don't really dislike anything, apart from slow drivers!

I think that all of the people here at King's College, Alicante are very nice and the teachers are really helpful. I am looking forward to the rest of the year.

Victor

My name is Victor and I am in form 10C with Miss Collingwood. I am from Brazil, Porto Alegre to be precise. I lived in Brazil for 11 years and then I moved to England for a further two and a half years. Now I have arrived here in Spain.

Well, I love playing the guitar and I sing as well so I hope that I can become a successful musician in the future. I am a huge Oasis fan. I can play all of their songs but I like all styles of music.

My first two weeks at this school have been great. I have already made a lot of friends and the teachers are r e a l l y nice as well.

Aaron

I have moved to Alicante from London, England. I have only been living in Spain for about four weeks now, so everything is really new.

I love music and back in England I enjoyed going to gigs and concerts with my friends. I hope to find some good venues in Spain where I can watch some good bands. I also enjoy playing football and think the Astroturf at the school is good to play on at break time.

Although King's College, Alicante is very different from my old school I am really enjoying it here. My life has changed a lot in the last few

months and I think this year should be very interesting.

Teresa

I have recently joined form 10C. I have come from Asturias where I was born but I am also half Canadian. I have lived all my life in Asturias and went to the English school there.

I like sports, especially dancing and gymnastics. I also like almost all kinds of music except classical. My favourite food has to be Italian.

My first impressions of the school are that the people are very nice and the school is very big. I really like the fact that there are lots of different kinds of sports and activities on offer at lunchtimes.

YEAR

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eleven

New Teachers

new teachersMiss. Welsh

I packed up all my worldly possessions into my one, slightly battered, car; the hound jumped in the front seat and off we went. The drive from Santandar to Alicante was easy, and fun, watching the landscape change from the lush green of the north to the harsher climate of the south. The dog spent most of the trip alternately panting and drinking water - I have no air-con in my car. It was all going swimmingly until we reached the outskirts of Alicante, it was at that point that the GPS system refused to go any further. I had no map of where I was go-ing - and this I feel to be a fitting metaphor for my time in Spain. I came from teaching Drama, in a school of 2,000 pupils in Oxford and now I will be returning to my first love - English - with

Drama to Key Stage 3. I finally made it to my new home, I just followed the coast. And now I hope to see the sea every day - perhaps one of these days my dog will stop chasing the waves and start behaving in a more relaxed Spanish manner.

Miss. Archibald

I am originally from Cardiff. Before moving to Alicante I was living and working in Durham. I taught music to primary and secondary children. I have joined King's College, Alicante as a whole school music teacher and I am really enjoying it here. I am looking forward to doing concerts and musical-theatre productions in the school. I love being in Spain and I am really looking forward to learning the language and seeing more of the country.

Mr. Panter

I am the new Maths teacher at King's College, Alicante. I am originally from Norwich, however I spent the last three years teaching in Cornwall. I am a keen sportsman and have competed in many sports, which will help me here as I’ll also be teaching PE to Year 7. Before teaching Maths my focus was on Civil Engineering, in which I have worked for four years in addition to studying for my Master’s degree at Loughborough University. I am already enjoying my new Spanish life and have been extremely impressed with the attitude of the pupils and the friendly atmosphere in the school.

Mr. Thomas

I teach English and French to years 7, 8 and 9 in the Secondary School. I also teach year 3 in the Primary School. Last year I taught at Xabia International College and before that I taught at Llandovery College in Wales. My first impressions of King's College, Alicante is that it is a very well resourced and progressive school that has really friendly, enthusiastic and committed staff. I know that I will be very happy here at King's College and in Spain. I hope to learn much more Spanish and improve my golf and tennis.

Learning to thinkWhat would you think if we announced that King's College, Alicante was going to shut its doors to all pupils over 14 years old?

During the first two days of Secondary school all the pupils took part in problem solving activities designed to give them a chance to practice their linguistic skills and to get their brains in gear for the new term.

The teachers decided to play a trick on the pupils when they told their tutor groups that due to a change in European Law King's College, Alicante would be closing its doors to all pupils aged over 14. Year 10 upwards would be asked to leave school and sent into the world of work. After the cheers had died down pupils began to think about how the change would effect their lives. They used a creative problem solving method invented by Edward de Bono. The Six Hats thinking technique helped then to analyse the problem, they looked at some maps showing the state of education around the world and then wrote letters to Mrs Blaus expressing their opinion on the matter. Eventually, we unmasked the deception and most of the pupils were actually quite relieved.

This map shows the distribution of child labour in the World. The larger the country, the greater the proportion of its children have to work.

Here is what some of the pupils said:

May, Jo and Cristina in Y13: wearing our "positive thinking hat" we thought that leaving school so young may help people to develop skills for a specific job. Gustavo and Sandro in Y10: Leaving school

at 14 is a really bad idea. For example in Uganda there is a small percentage of children in secondary education and a high proportion of child labour. It keeps countries poor and less developed.

Andrea, Irene and Claudia in Year 10: Generation by generation people will slowly lose knowledge that has been learned over hundreds of years.

Key Stage 3 News

An Exciting New Year AheadMr Birrell writes:

The summer was fantastic as I was fortunate enough to spend some time travelling throughout South America in Peru, Chile and Bolivia. However, towards the end of the holidays I was well rested, recharged and definitely looking forward to returning to King's College, Alicante to see everyone at the school.

The pupils lived up to my expectations. It was great to see them all, looking a little older and a little wiser, but moreover looking delighted to be back and eager to catch up with their friends and teachers alike about their various holiday exploits. It was also very pleasing to see that the schools exam results were fantastic once again and continuing to go from strength to strength.

Prize Giving 2008-2009Photographs of last year's prize winners can be bought for €5 each. If you are interested in purchasing a photograph of your son or daughter, please see Carole or Cristina at the reception desk.

It is amazing just how easy it has been to settle in and how much a part of the school community I feel that after just one year teaching at King's College, Alicante. This year I am looking forward to my new role as Key Stage 4 coordinator, especially as it means that I can continue to work with my old form from last year, the current year 11. I am also looking forward to working closely with the School Council and hope that we can work together to give a clear voice to our pupils about the types of changes they would like to see implemented within our school.

The start of the new school year is always an exciting time and this year is no different. The House competitions start off with a bang with next month’s swimming gala and I hope that Darwin can retain their title as champions this year. There is defiantely a positive buzz about the school at the moment and I am really happy to be a part of it.

Key Stage 4 News

Deputy Head Girl and Deputy Head BoyIsabel Delgado and Jack Bembridge are the new Deputy Head Girl and Deputy Head Boy.

They came in to talk with the Secondary Newsletter Editor.

Editor: Isabel can you tell me about what the Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl actually do?

Isabel: As Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl, we believe our role includes a number of different responsibilities, which involves responsibility for the management of the sixth form common room. We also have to help the KS3 coordinator with various tasks and overall we need to be role models to all younger pupils who will one day be in our place.Jack added: Managing the Sixth Form Common Room cleaning rota is really important. We are very lucky to having a common room and it is vital that everyone in the Sixth Form behaves well in there and keeps it neat and tidy. Ironically I was on the cleaning rota on the one day the room got left in a big mess - so I have to be extra careful in future.

Editor: Jack, is it easy to become a role-model for the younger pupils?

Jack: Being friendly to younger pupils is easy to do. Showing leadership is more of a challenge. My own role-model is a rugby player called Jason Robinson. He has had a real struggle in his life but I admire the way he plays. It is different. He is not afraid to tackle even the really big rugby players he faces in matches. Like me, he is isn't the tallest or the biggest player but he still tackles srongly and is not easily intimidated. I hope that I can be a bit like Jason Robinson, good for everyone. The committee are a really good set of people. Isabel is a great person to work with she is confident and bubbly and I am strong and determined. We make a great team.

Our first week in sixth formBy Marta and Ivan (Y12-E)

We couldn't wait to be in sixth form. Ever since we arrived in Secondary School we had been dreaming about this moment. Now finally we are Sixth Formers. We quickly realised that some parts of sixth form are just as brilliant as we expected, but not everything has been good news.

The good news is that we enjoy many privileges that we did not have in the past. Our favourite privileges are having free periods and a common room to relax in during those periods. Another great thing about being in sixth form is that we do not have to queue in the dining room. Overall, the best part of sixth form is that we get to choose the subjects we study. From now on we no longer have to endure the classes that we did not enjoy.

However, it isn't all good news. This year we are expected to work hard, harder than ever before in order to achieve good grades in our upcoming AS and A2 exams.

Our first two days in the Sixth Form were fairly relaxed, we had the opportunity to participate in team building activities and we had the pleasure to share our knowledge about cyber-bullying with the younger secondary students and help them with their concerns.

After the first two days, we started to work hard, putting in the hours and turning the brain power to max. We started as we mean to carry on as we set off on our wonderful journey towards success.

The Sixth Form Committee published in the last issue of the Newsletter missed off Jo Cornelius who is taking charge of our charitable projects. We are sorry for missing Jo from the list and wish her well for the year.

Sorry Jo!

Sixth Form News

Since starting golf 5 years ago with a handicap of 36 I have won many tournaments, played in The Comunidad de Valencia tournaments, also the Campeonato de Cataluña. My current handicap is 1.9.

Last Summer I played in England for the 1st time in the under 14 tournament (The Reid Trophy), I finished 23rd out of 120 competitors. This Summer I am playing 4 tournaments in England, all under 16 and I am hoping to get selected for the Under 16 England Squad.

At the moment I am rated 3rd in the Comunidad Valenciana and 17th in Spain for under 17 (Cadetes).

My most recent achievement is to have played in the Country Championship at Villaitana (Benidorm) where I was best in my age and 8th overall.

Breaking news: Since writing this piece for the newsletter Kieron was invited to join the England U16 golf team. He will be travelling between the UK and Spain next year and was recently voted the "Young Achiever of the Year" in the Pride of Spain Awards 2009. Congratulations from King's College, Alicante to Kieron for all his dedication and hard work.

In The FrameKieron Fowler

Every year the senior management team at King's College, Alicante update and adapt the Whole School Improvement plan. This plan covers all sorts of things that will make the school a better and more successful place to study in and to work. This year we have six main objectives for the development of the Secondary school.

In addition to these aims, each subject area will implement additional goals and targets specific to their own area of learning. Under-pinning our aims are two central medium term goals:

1. To become a more eConfident learning community and 2. To ensure that all activities and opportunities are rooted in the Every Child Matters agenda.

We continue to build upon previous aims, particularly Assessment for Learning and Assessing Pupil Progress, which are now estab-lished codes of practice throughout secondary school.

1. English language across the curriculum To maximise and improve speaking and listening in English To increase the standard of written English in all subject areas

2. Learning to Learn To further develop metacognition and thinking / study skills Development of Moodle as a learning resource in all subject areas

3. Y7 Revised Curriculum Introduce skills based learning programmes in line with UK initiatives Provide more deep learning opportunities through project work and cross subject topics

4. Tracking, Monitoring and Intervention Development of pupil records to better monitor pupil attainment and effort Key Stage Co-ordinators will intervene with targeted support programmes where necessary

5. Gifted & Talented pupils Provision for identifying more able pupils and giving them more challenges

6. Performing Arts To raise the profile of Music and Drama in the school

A new form of anti-social behaviour has emerged over the past decade, commonly referred to as “cyber bullying”. This involves ver-bal and emotional bullying via mobile phone text messages, internet chat rooms, social networking sites and email. Pupils and staff have been involved in a series of presentations and discussions aimed at highlighting the problem and we will continue to re-enforce our message through PSHE lesson and assemblies. Everyone who has taken part in this programme understands how seriously we take this issue.

Legally schools have no power to take action over "cyber bullying" that takes place away from the school. However mobile phones and internet connections make it difficult to draw a clear distinction between what is "home" and what is "school". Clearly King’s Col-lege are concerned with the general wellbeing of our pupils wherever they are. The UK Education and Inspections Act (2006) says: "Head teachers have the power 'to such extent as is reasonable' to regulate the conduct of pupils when they are off site… which can impact very strongly on the school life of those pupils involved."

The legal situation is complicated but the position of King’s College with regard to bullying in general and cyber bullying in particular is quite clear:

Cyber Bullying

Preventing bullying depends on frequent, open and clear communication between children, their parents and their teachers. To-gether we can protect our children from the bullies.

We will not tolerate any sort of bullying or cyber-bullying whether it happens at school

or away from school

Secondary School Improvement Plan 2009 -2010 Main Aims

Special Feature

Maths work-outSo you think you're good with numbers?

Prove it by placing exactly three common mathematical symbols between these digits so that the result equals exactly 100. The same symbol can be repeated, but each repeat counts towards your limit of 3. Rearranging the digits is not al-lowed. Solutions to Mr Panter, first correct answer gets 3 merit points!

October Diary Dates

October 7th: Swimming GalaOctober 9th - 12th: HolidayOctober 28th: Halloeen Disco (Y7 and Y8 only)October 30th: School closed for Staff Conference

Exams Season Opens onOctober 13th

Remember:

December 18th: End of Autumn TermJanuary 7th: Start of Spring Term

Visit the www.bsalicante.com for a complete and up-to-date calendar.

Latest news: http://www.bsalicante.com/news.phpMenus: http://www.bsalicante.com/monthly_menus.php

Calendar: http://www.bsalicante.com/school_calendar.phpSchool Telephone: 965 106 351

Email: info@bsalicante.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 = 100