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Page 1 of 15
November 23, 2017 Volume 11, Issue 6
BAIS Buzz Mission Statement
The Banjul American International School is an accredited international school
providing a meaningful, rigorous American curriculum in a global context. In
partnership with the local and international community, we empower students to
become enthusiastic, creative, lifelong learners who value integrity, cultural
diversity, and global responsibility.
Message from the Director
Dear BAIS Families,
Can you believe we have completed the first trimester
already?! I’m extremely proud of our students’ and teachers’
wonderful work, which you will observe in detail in the
Teacher-Led Portfolio Conferences next Thursday (see page
2). You can also read a bit about what has been happening
throughout our classrooms in the Teacher Updates on pages
6-15.
I am thrilled to announce that I have received a School
Exchange grant from the Association of International Schools
of Africa (AISA). This grant will cover all costs for me to visit the
American International School of Freetown (AISF) December
1st - 5th. I will stay with Irene Epp, the Director of AISF, and we
will spend this time sharing our experiences and practices. This
is an exciting opportunity for me as I spent four years as a
teacher and administrator at AISF, and Irene is now my mentor
in the AISA School Heads Mentorship Program. Irene is a highly
experienced and very accomplished school director, and she
has successfully led AISF’s recovery since the school had to
close down to the Ebola outbreak. I am fortunate to have the
opportunity to learn from her and am excited to see how we
strengthen the partnership between our schools.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Caleb Steindam, Director
Inside this Issue
Teacher-Led Portfolio
Conferences (p. 2)
BAIS Musical: Aristocats!
(p. 3)
An Opportunity for Student
Musicians! (p. 4)
Student Council Update
(p. 4)
BAIS Christmas Party (p. 5)
Teacher Updates (p. 6-15)
Upcoming Events
Fri, Nov 24
No school (Thanksgiving holiday)
Thursday, Nov 30
Teacher-Led Portfolio
Conferences (No regular classes)
Fri, Dec 1
No School (Prophet’s Birthday)
Dec 1 - 5
Caleb at AISFreetown for AISA
School Exchange
Wed, Dec 6
T1 Report Cards sent home
Sat, Dec 9, 3:30-6:30pm
BAIS Christmas Party
Fri, Dec 15
Last School Day of 2017
(Winter Break begins Sat, Dec 16)
Page 2 of 15
Portfolio Conferences
Portfolio conferences for the first trimester will be next Thursday, November 30th. Portfolio
conferences are an opportunity for BAIS students, parents, and teachers to celebrate all the
students have learned and accomplished over the course of the trimester. The portfolio
conferences for the first trimester are “teacher-led,” meaning the teacher will guide the
presentation and discussion of the portfolio with contributions from the student. The second
trimester’s conferences are “co-led,” meaning the student will play an increasingly active role in
presenting the portfolio to the parents. For the third trimester’s “student-led” conferences, the
teacher will be present but the student will take the lead in guiding their family through the
portfolio. Reports will go home six days after the portfolio conference, on December 6th, to
provide further detailed information about the students’ progress.
Please note that there is no regular class the day of portfolio conferences. On November 30th,
parents should bring their children to school with them only during the scheduled conference
times. Please be on time for your conference, because there is much to discuss and you will need
to finish on time. If for any reason you are unable to attend at the scheduled time, you may
contact the teacher to see if it is possible to schedule a conference outside of this window of time.
Here is the schedule for next Thursday’s portfolio conferences:
Grades 2 through 5 will have portfolio
conferences with both Mr. James and
Ms. Stacy, so some of these conferences
were scheduled on other days in order
to fit them all in.
Page 3 of 15
Disney’s Aristocats Kids musical play
The BAIS musical performance this year will be Disney’s Aristocats
Kids, based on the classic animated movie The Aristocats, in which
a Parisian cat family befriends a group of jazz musician alley cats
and must escape a kidnapping plot by their bumbling butler Edgar.
It’s a fun story with unforgettable songs. Our final Aristocats
performance of will be at Ebunjan Theatre on Friday, March 2, 2017.
Students in grades 1 through 9 may audition for roles in the
Aristocats. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will perform in opening
acts before the Aristocats. There will be performance roles for all
students who want them. If any students do not wish to perform,
they will contribute to the performance by working on set construction, costumes, and props.
Auditions will be held in December during the final two weeks before Christmas break, and we will
begin practicing as soon as we return in January. Students can begin practicing for auditions now.
Just go to https://www.mtishows.com/disneys-the-aristocats-kids and click on “Audition Central”
on the right side of the page. From there you can pick any character to view the audition
materials of excerpts from the script and songs with sheet music.
As you may recall, I announced earlier that we would be performing Seussical Kids as our musical
this year. We were all excited about this show, but unfortunately our distribution company made
an error by selling us the rights to Seussical even though they did not have showkits in stock. But
there is doubly good news, because we still have a fantastic show to put on with the Aristocats,
and we are already guaranteed to have the rights and showkit to perform Seussical next year!
Page 4 of 15
An Opportunity for Young Musicians
Our final performance of Disney’s Aristocats Kids
will be on Friday, March 2nd, 2017. Before the
opening acts begin, as audiences are taking their
seats, we would love some music performed by
BAIS students who are studying a musical
instrument. These performances will not be part
of the official program and are not be too high-
pressure, but could be a wonderful opportunity for
aspiring musicians to perform in a beautiful theater
in front of a live audience. Let Mrs. Sanyang or Mr. Steindam
know if you are interested in this performance opportunity.
Student Council Update
It’s been an incredible year already for Student Council! The
Halloween Party was a momentous achievement for Student Council
and great fun for the whole BAIS community. They accomplished the
success of the Halloween Party thanks to the extraordinary leadership
efforts of Ms. Stacy and many others who helped enormously. The
Student Council wants the parents who helped out for this event to
know that they deeply appreciate their help.
Ms. Stephanie is coordinator of Student Council now, and they are
continuing to have fun while contributing to a positive school
experience for all BAIS students. Today, the Student Council led the
whole school in a fun Thanksgiving activity at the end of the school
day. Students teamed up to hunt for “turkey eggs” throughout the
school, while being chased by “turkeys” from the Student Council
who tried to tag them to take eggs from them! This was followed
with a chalk activity of drawing turkeys and thinking about what we
are all thankful for. It was a fun way to end the week with everyone
together before beginning the Thanksgiving holiday.
Student Council is also excited to collaborate with the PTO by
helping to decorate for the BAIS Christmas Party! The next page
contains information about the Christmas Party, which will be on
Saturday, December 9th.
Page 5 of 15
Page 6 of 15
Art (PreK-HS)
The artists at BAIS have been hard at work over the last month! By now you’ve
seen the beautiful books they illustrated for Author’s Tea on November 3rd, which
challenged them to utilize the art elements and design principles they’ve been
honing throughout the trimester.
Our youngest students have also continued exploring what art is and how artists
create while learning a bit of art history. They even made cut-paper “color
gardens” inspired by Henri Matisse and tried to capture the feeling of music in
the style of Wassily Kandinksy!
Meanwhile, our upper primary and middle school students have been looking at the unique
features of graffiti and street art by examining artists such as Banksy and Keith Haring. Check out
these pictures from their recent stencilling project!
Be sure to visit www.baisart.weebly.com for more updates and images from the art room!
-Ms. Leah
Page 7 of 15
Pre-K
Students are growing in all ways imaginable in Pre-K! In language arts, we have been busy
studying the letters F, G, H, I and now J. Students learned how to write each letter, its associated
sounds and objects around us that begin with the same letter
sound. We have been working on how to write our name, and
most of the students in class can
now do this! Pre-K students have
also been learning about fairy
tales. We’ve discussed certain
elements that are commonly
found in fairy tales and are
having fun listening to some
classics in the meantime!
In math we have been focusing on shapes. We are learning how shapes are all around us and
that many different shapes can be found hidden in buildings and houses. Pre-K students can draw
basic shapes and are incorporating them when they build towers in our ‘construction zone.’
We have taken a break from our class kitchen and supermarket, and students can now visit the
Pre-K Hair Salon and Pre-K Eye Doctor for role play. The class has been learning about the
importance of looking after your eyes and how when you go to an eye doctor, you may be asked
to read from an eye chart. If you feel like your eyesight is fading, please come and visit us in Pre-K
and one of our specialized optometrists’ will give you a thorough exam!
Many fun, hands-on experiments have taken place with our five senses unit. Students have used
their sense of hearing to decipher what certain sounds are in our hearing games. We had two
guest speakers come and talk to us about being deaf who also taught us
some basic sign language. We used our sense of taste in our blindfolded
taste tests, created beautiful pictures with glitter for a sense of sight, and
did more blindfold experiments with our sense of touch. Our favorite
experiment was when we got to get messy and use our sense of touch to
play with corn flour. Two men who are blind from “Start Now’ also came to
talk to our class about what it is like to be blind.
Page 8 of 15
Kindergarten
Greeting from Kindergarten,
In Science, Kindergarten talked about how the sun heats up the ground and what we can do to
reduce it. The children built shades from different material to create shade from the sun.
We continued to practice sight words in various ways. One way was by writing the word “you” in
shaving gel. It was lots of fun!
In Math we started to work with addition and subtraction. The children wrote their own addition
and subtraction stories.
Page 9 of 15
Grade One
In Grade One, students have concluded their study of Kenya with a role-playing session in which they portrayed
Maasai villagers who were offended by the remarks of visiting nature photographers. A meeting was held by the
photographers to problem-solve the situation and a plan was made to apologize and make amends with the Maasai. It
worked!
Students then explored painting with straws around an elevation
map of Africa and are currently working on developing map skills
and understanding cardinal directions, using maps of Africa and the
world.
In language arts, our new board games make learning fun and help
us to recognize compound words, blends, and contractions!
We were fortunate to have Jimmy’s dad drop by with
a robot named Jainaba! Jimmy demonstrated how
the robot could clean pencil shavings on our
classroom floor by using sensors and how it could
find its way “home” to get recharged. We were impressed and happy with our clean floor!
In science, we have studied phases of the Moon and recently learned how to locate
the North Star using the constellation, The Big Dipper. We loved how the book, The Big Dipper and You, describes
how the North Star is like the tip of an umbrella when you spin it. Like the tip, the North Star stays stationary while
everything spins around, including us!
Page 10 of 15
Grade Two to Five
Grades 2-5 have classroom blog where activities and work can be published to a wider audience.
You will find interesting posts around exploring the different spheres on Earth, Halloween
watermelon carving, experiments on water, erosion and weathering experiments and building the
fossil records, just to name a few. Check out themenagerie.edublogs.org to see what we have
been doing.
- Ms. Stacy & Mr. James
Page 11 of 15
Middle & High School Science
Science class has been keeping the momentum high as we moved into learning about Newton’s
Laws of Motion! The students have been making meaning of and connecting the Laws through
running various experiments and collecting then analyzing data. They explored concepts of
friction and the relationship between mass and acceleration. Students learned how to represent
these concepts and motion of an object using force diagrams, first as drawings with arrows
representing force and then as free-body force diagrams.
In their mid-unit assessment of building a balloon-powered car, students worked hard to apply
Newton’s Laws to and manipulate materials into a vehicle that moves! It proved to be a
challenging engineering task as the force provided by only one balloon is very small, thus their cars
needed to be very light weight.
In our final time trials, hosted on Tuesday, November 21, Aina’s car was awarded the golden
balloon for the farthest traveled! Aziz’s car was awarded the golden balloon of fastest to 3 meters!
All the students did a fantastic job in getting their cars to move!
Page 12 of 15
French
Page 13 of 15
Middle/High School Math
The Middle School students wrapped up their Fractions Action unit. They learned how to add, subtract, multiply and
divide fractions and mixed numbers and change fractions to decimals. Fractions usually pose a challenge for students
and it is important to gain the skills acquired to handle operations involving fractions as they are needed in the units
such as percentages, ratios, rates and proportions. This week, we started our unit on Parts and Wholes whereby
students learn to use proportional reasoning and solve problems involving proportions, rates and percents. Students
will be working on examples involving real-life problems such as doubling a recipe or calculating the price of a sale
item that is half off and more. These help enhance their understanding of the importance of this topic in mathematics
and how it relates to everyday life. Students in grades 7 and 9 also worked on solving two-step equations and learned
to apply them in word problems. All MS students explored solving inequalities in one variable and graphing them.
The grade 7 & 9 students continue their work on functions, equations using function table of values and graphing
coordinates of points from the table. They have also reviewed inequalities and their application in problem solving. In
mathematics a linear inequality is an inequality which involves a linear function but contains one of the symbols
of inequality: < is less than. > is greater than. ≤ is less than or equal to. Students explored the writing and translating
word phrases to inequalities. They learned that to be at least 16 to drive a car can be written as a≥16 (a is a variable
defined to represent age). For example: If you have at most $60 and want to spend $22 on jeans and the rest on t-
shirts that cost $9, students know that this can be translated to an inequality using algebraic reasoning that can give
them more than one possible solution and the inequality is 22 + 9t ≤ 60. Seventh graders explored learning by
simulating solutions to problems such as finding 2 or more consecutive numbers with a certain sum or difference; so if
n=8, then n+1=9, and n+2=10 and so forth (examples of three consecutive numbers). A great emphasis is placed on
enhancing problem solving skills and algebraic reasoning to give students the opportunity to apply the skills they are
learning and their application in real world context. Middle school math is also integrated with science in several of
their projects. Students worked on equations involving Newton’s Laws of motion and applying the formulas to solve
mass, distance and velocity or rates. The MS students learned to apply several formulas related to energy such as
kinetic energy = 1⁄2 × mass × velocity
2. Some of the problems needed students to calculate the area and perimeter to
determine to apply the formulas of Potential and Kinetic energy. Other applications and integrations with math were
the use of graphs and function tables.
Students continuously work on improving their ‘Math Talk’ questioning/discussing when working in teams to solve
problems and share with the class.
Page 14 of 15
Middle/High School Humanities
The BAIS Middle/High School students presented their final project for the first unit, Early
Civilizations, in late October. An inquiry-based project, the Oriental Museum of the University of
Chicago Museum Display Project required students to investigate eight features of a civilization of
their choice, create “new” and unique artifacts, and present their findings to parents. They chose
from the Indus River Valley, Huang-He, the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and the Kingdom of Kush. After
weeks of research, analyzing, writing, and creating, the students finally shared what they learned.
It was an impressive collection of knowledge and creativity! Thanks to all the parents who
attended this special event!
After this project, students began to analyze Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy and contemplating
why catastrophe is so compellingly entertaining. After wrapping up the Epic of Gilgamesh and
studying epic heroes, students were introduced to Antigone and tragic heroes. Before reading
Antigone, concepts like harmartia (fatal flaw), catastrophe, and catharsis were introduced along
with the six elements of tragedy according to Aristotle: plot, character, thought, diction, melody,
and spectacle. Using reader’s theater and rotating roles, students acted out the drama and
followed Antigone and King Creon during their tragic downfalls. The final assessment for this unit is
a debate where the motion “Antigone is the true tragic hero in Antigone, not Creon,” will be
argued by two three-member teams. Debate skills and strategies have been introduced, and
teams are in deep into their preparation.
After the Thanksgiving holiday, students will begin their 3rd unit, The Maya, which has been
designed to practice more advanced informational reading skills, geography, and interdisciplinary
connections with math and science. Students will publish blogs as a forum to share their learning,
so stay tuned!
Page 15 of 15
Music
Pre-K students learned the song “Swimming” and demonstrated the various swimming positions as
they sang. Added to their repertoire was the song “Sing a Song of Senses,’’ which taught students
about the various senses and what the eye, ear, nose, tongue, hands and eyes are used for. One
of the favourites this month was “I Wanna Be Like You” from the Jungle Book musicals. Kindy
students learned the song “This Is a Cowbell” and joined in by rocking their cowbells and
percussion instruments together in a steady beat. Students also sang and danced to the songs
“Oh Where Has my little Dog Gone’’, “Sing a Song of Senses,” and “Funga Alafia,” a Nigerian song
that means “welcome.” Grade One students learned the songs “Shiver & Shake,” “I’m a Little
Scarecrow,” and “Crunchy Leaves,” as well as “Fanga Alafia” and various Christmas carols.
Grades Two and Three learned the song “Back to School”. They also learned the songs “Shiver and
Shake” and “Chumbara.” Grades Four and Five focused on recognizing the value of the various
musical notes. They completed a variety of exercises that used musical notes in a simple math
equation and used the staves to identify notes above and below the treble and bass clef. Middle
and High School students continued to complete various the musical scales and key signatures of
E and A Major. Students learned with examples various terminology used in standard music
notation such as forte, messo piano, andante, and
adagio.
Students of all ages have also been rehearsing
various Christmas carols.
Physical Education
It has been an exciting first trimester with a lot of accomplishment in PE class at all grade levels.
The pre-k students are reviewing what they have learned and been assessed on the locomotor
and non-locomotor skills in small sided game situations.
Building on social skills through parachute play has been a challenge for the kindergarten
students, and we have made great progress. Kindergarteners are now enjoying playing together
with a parachute and learning different way it can be used to have fun.
Primary students are reflecting on the various concepts and skills they have been learning
throughout the trimester, and preparing to reflect on their accomplishments with their families in
the portfolio conferences.
Middle and High School have just completed a written test and research activity on the Track and
Field activities they have done. In golf, they are currently working on recording data into their golf
scorecard.