SEPTEMBER 2010

THE SECONDARY NEWSLETTERSecondary News from the Pupils and Teachers of The British School of Alicante

I would like to congratulate all our pupils and staff for a wonderful start to our new school year. Our youngest Nursery pupils settled very quickly without too many tears and all of our new pupils are beginning to make new friends. It is extremely important that we make a positive start to the term and I am very pleased with the level of support, good will and optimism shown by all our pupils, staff and parents. As a community, we will need the support and encouragement of each other throughout the year ahead and I am confident we will have a very productive and enjoyable year.

Message from the Headteacher

I would like to appeal for your further cooperation on the issue of parking at school, particularly at the beginning and end of the school day. Considering the amount of traffic this generates, I am pleased that the vast majority of parents manage to drop off or collect their children without causing any problems.

However, I would ask that you do not double park or park unattended at street corners or directly in front of the school gates. There has been some disruption to traffic flow and to public transport which we must try to

minimise. Similarly, the increased risk to our pupils caused by such parking is something we must avoid at all costs.

Please check our website regularly for updates and information as well as the Dates for your Diary section in this newsletter.

Thank you and best wishes.

Derek Laidlaw

Sixth Form Team Building Event

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Behind every great accomplishment, there is an even greater opportunity.

This past month has been noth-ing short of remarkable. Personally, my family and I have arrived to a new country, moved into a new house and have all started at a new school. But what a school! I begin my time as Head of Secondary here at King’s College, in a school basking in the success of its students who have achieved tre-mendous results across the board. All of our departing students should be very proud of their splendid achieve-ments and look forward to the chal-lenges that lie ahead of them. Such results were hugely dependent upon individual as well as collective deter-mination to succeed and it teaches all of us an important lesson: that behind every great accomplishment, there is an even greater opportunity. For all of us; students, teachers and alike, this opportunity begins now.

Determination should always burn brightly within us all: students, teachers and our wider community. Whether or

Stephen GreenNew Head of Secondary

not it will heat the room or the whole house depends on how much time we spend feeding the fire. Whether our goals, this academic year, are to achieve academic excellence or to be part of a successful team/house or simply to become that better person... everyone is perfectly capable as the next. The intensity of that desire to ob-tain a goal and the ability to suppress self made excuses will determine the time it takes for us to reach that objec-tive. It is an exciting time.

We spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the future, but it is also important to bear in mind what we do in the present. We all believe at King’s College that the effect of enrich-ment (i.e. extra-curricular) activities on the personal development of students is fundamental and far-reaching. We live in times when politicians, business-men, businesswomen and education-alists alike are concerned that young people emerge from their education with high quality key skills, such as communication, problem-solving and working with others in teams. Students

who therefore undertake enrichment activities in addition to their academic studies find it helps them significantly to increase both their motivation and their achievements. I would therefore encourage all students to enroll in our numerous lunchtime activities. If you have not so already, do it today.

I foresee the coming year as one with so many exciting opportunities. We should be excited by this but re-member not to let ourselves get so wrapped up in what happened yester-day or where we are going tomorrow. We should remember to enjoy today. I have always believed that every day is one which we all experience inspira-tion and challenge but crucially I have always remembered to have fun too. It is what I will bring to King’s College and it is what I expect to see in return.

Stephen GreenHead of Secondary

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WORK EXPERIENCE NEWS

Virginie MaireWork Experience Coordinatorvirginie.maire@kingsgroup.org

As the work experience coordi-nator, I would like to thank all the parents who have kindly agreed to help us with our work experi-ence programme this year. I have received a large number of replies and as a school we are very fortu-nate to have parents who are will-ing to give up their time and offer their expertise to help our pupils.

Thanks to your support, this year our pupils will be able to experience a greater variety of activities and work placements. I will be in touch very soon with anybody who has offered to help. If you need more information about the work experience programme or on how you can help, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Once again, thank you for your invaluable support.

NEW TEACHERS IN SECONDARY

Sian DaviesMy name is Sian Davies and although I am from Wales, I am an English teacher. I have been teaching English for more than 10 years and I have also taught Drama and Media Studies. I have come to Spain from England, where I was Head of Eng-lish at a small boarding school in the middle of the countryside. I feel very lucky to be much closer to the sea here! My children have also started at the school, in Reception and in Year 3. I love reading, theatre, spending time with my family and teaching. I am hoping to improve my grasp of the Spanish language over the coming months and I am hoping that my children will be able to help me out.

Kerry WoodI have been teaching history for quite a long time now. I originally trained and worked in Bristol before deciding that I wanted to teach abroad. Since then I have worked in the Seychelles, Melbourne and Almunecar in Grananda province. I have just returned to Spain from being Head of History in Dorset. Teaching has been great for me as I have met some fantastic students and also been able to travel. Some of the most in-teresting places I have been are Japan, Indonesia and Cuba. I am look-ing forward to windsurfing and diving as well as carrying on learning my Spanish whilst I am here in Alicante.

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New Pupi ls

It has been a very busy 4 weeks in sec-ondary school!! Now we are going to take a minute to welcome some of the new students in KS3.

We interviewed them about their time in school so far and this is what they had to say.

Sergey My favourite part of the school has to be the Astroturf because I like to play football. Since starting BSA I have made a lot of friends in my tutor and from other classes.

My favourite lesson is Spanish be-cause I really like languages. In this school there are good people and I think the teaching is better than my old school. So far I have found the school very good, I like it a lot!

L i r idonaI do not have one favourite part of the school, I like it all!! I have made many friends through being kind to them and they have been kind back to me. My favourite lessons are Science and English because we do experiments and we have made restaurants in English. I left my best friends in my old school so I have enjoyed the first 4 weeks because I have made new friends very fast.

IsobelMy favourite part of the school, so far, is the patio because I like the way it is set up. I have made new friends by asking for directions around the school! My fa-vourite lesson in this school and my old school is Science, it always has been.This school is different from my old school because everyone speaks Spanish and the grades are different.The first 4 weeks have been pretty good, very different, but good!

CHESS ACCOLADEIRENE in Yr 9 will be travelling to Greece next month to compete in the World Chess Competitions.

Irene is the Spanish Under 14 and Under 18 Girls´ Champion and was originally taught to play Chess by her brother Javier. Irene is current-ly ranked number 7 in Europe and we wish her every success in the forthcoming competition.

This year the BSA will be taking part in the Student Investor Challenge 2010. We will be competing against thou-sands of teams to win some sensa-tional prizes. Each team consists of 4 students.

What does the competition involve?

The aim of the competition is to make as much money as we can in the stock market investment world before the competition finishes on 4 February 2011 by increasing the value of our portfolio (the collection of shares that we will own). At the start of the com-petition we will have £100,000 of fan-tasy cash and this money will be used to buy and sell the shares listed on the competition website.

Student Investor Chal lenge 2010

The competition is designed to be as close to real life as possible, but there are somerules that our team will need to follow:

Our portfolio must consist of the shares of ten different companies.

At least six of the ten shares chosen must come from the list of FTSE 100companies.

We can only hold £15,000 of cash. All the rest of your portfolio must be held in the form of shares.

All stock market data will be live data provided by Bloomberg.

We can only trade each company’s

shares once during a 24-hour period.The minimum investment in the shares of a company is £1,000.

How to pick your shares

If we pick shares using guesswork our team is unlikely to be successful, un-less we are really, really lucky. To gain an advantage over the competition we will need information and we will gath-er this by searching newspapers and company websites.

Miguel Angel BalibreaHead BoyYear 13

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Ana Deputy Head GirlAs Deputy Head Girl and a member of the Sixth Form Committee I believe our role is to act as a model to all students which involves setting high standards in attitude, work ethic and behaviour, and to show support for our fellow students.

I manage the Sixth Form Common Room (a privilege that we are really lucky to have), putting up a Cleaning Rota, since it is vital that everyone in the Sixth Form behaves well there and keeps it neat and tidy, and making sure that our Sixth Form keeps track of what is going on in school and committee meetings since I think it is important for everyone to be able to get involved. I liaise with the KS3 coordinator to offer help and support with Assemblies, tutor group visits and individual pupils in KS3 and to organize and participate in the Buddy System, in conjunction with the KS3 coordinator.

Maria Head Girl It is a great honour to be this year’s Head Girl. This is a great opportunity and I really hope to be able to hold the post as well as all the Head Girls before me have.

This post carries a huge responsibility, as the Sixth Form Committee’s aim is to ensure that our secondary pupils do not feel that the school is just a place to learn, but a safe, relaxed and pleasant place too, somewhere where they can easily feel integrated. As Head Girl, my duty is to make sure that everyone perceives our school like that, to be close to the stu-dents, and if any student ever needs something, be always there, to listen and help.

AlejandraHead of Student CouncilBeing a sixth former has presented me many opportunities, specially, that of being head of school council and Charity committee. Speaking Charity-wise, I’ll organize various appeal-ing activities for all age groups to collect money and I hope it’s as effective as it was last year! Being in a position of responsibility requires lots of time-management and listening skills, as I must hear what others need to say in order to represent them in a fair manner before the staff and obtain the best out of the school community. This year, along with the KS4 coordi-nator, we’re going to convert our school in an official eco-school!

Miguel Head Boy I am very proud to carry out this important role as part of the sixth form committee. As Head Boy, I will have many responsibilities to help and represent the school which I will do the best of my abilities. These include receiving important visitors, attending Sixth Form committee meetings to discuss important issues, make the school a better place to be in, showing the school to interested new students , and being a good role model for younger students. I would like to thank the school for giving me such an important role in the school which will not only benefit the school, but will also help in my future career.

S ixth FormLeadership Group

Marta ChairpersonI am very proud to have been offered this important post as Chairperson of the sixth form com-mittee. As Chairperson, I will have different responsibilities which I will try to do as best as possi-ble, such as attending the sixth form committee meetings to discuss important issues to help the students feel better at school, introducing the visitors which will give talks to the students, or being a role model for younger students. I would like to thank the school administration for trusting me with this job which will not only help me become a more mature person, but also help me apply to university and in my future career.

Nicky Sports Captain

Starting the second year of sixth form this year has been really exciting. Being offered the post as sports captain has motivated me to get the school more involved in sports learning teamwork and team bonding skills, with also the chance to improve an individual’s attributes to the sport. This year there will be many sporting events taking place, and one of the priori-ties this year is to get girls more involved. Please look at for the annual Sports Day event in term 2 and come along to support us if you can.

Congratulations to Lillie Papworth for winning the Roald Dahl book competition. Not only did she win house points for Darwin, she won a copy of Roald Dahl's 'Matilda'. There was a ' tie breaker quiz

off' between Lillie and Sofia Martinez Lopez held by Mr Green and after a gruelling 6 questions Lillie finally won the competition. Well done to both girls for entering their correct Roald Dahl quizzes.

Roald Dahl Book Compet i t ion

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A s part of our new Sixth Form in-duction, the sixth form students went on a teambuilding trip to the beach. A dedicated team of trained leaders had prepared several exciting activities to strengthen our team resolve and con-fidence.

We were split up into four mixed teams, each with its own identity and indi-vidual personalities. We had to come together and overcome a series of tests to arrive to the final challenge and claim our prize. Activities ranged from standing on a giant ball while the rest of the team pushed it towards the fin-ish, at the same time holding it strongly so that you didn’t fall, or building a boat with only four planks of wood and three tires, that of course, we had to inflate. Each one had its own unique chal-lenge and pushed our abilities to work together to the limit.

At the end, of course, we could only claim our prize by joining together with the other teams. The lesson was a sim-ple, but highly effective one. It was only by collaborating and working together was success shared by all. Though this we claimed our prize… a refreshing can of Coca-Cola! Well earned after a hard afternoon in the sun.

When we returned, all of the students agreed that this had been one of the most fun days spent together. We were now ready for the year and chal-lenges ahead knowing that anything was possible through teamwork.

S ixth Form Team Bui ld ing

Event

Dates for OctoberSchool Closed – 12th October 2010

Swimming Gala – 20th October 2010 *

School Closed – 29th October 2010

*Date to be confirmed

For more dates please see our Parent Calendar on the website.

www . b sa l i c an te . com

SCHOOL GROUNDS IMPORTANT NOTICEPlease note that the school grounds will close and gates will be locked at:

5.50pm on Monday – Thursday5.30pm on Friday

This is necessary due to Health & Safety reasons and for Insurance purposes. I would therefore ask that all parents and pupils vacate the premises by then.

Please also note that, whilst some staff are present after school, pupils who are not enrolled in an Optional Activity will be unsupervised. Thank you for your cooperation.

Glorieta del Reino Unido 5Alicante 03008 Spainwww.bsalicante.com

email: carlos.lazaro@kingsgroup.org