SPELLING B-E-E

This past Thursday, 36 of our Primary School students travelled to QSI-Bishkek to participate in a

team spelling bee contest. The students did very well, and enjoyed the lively and fun competition.

This year, the spelling bee had students compete in groups of 3 or 4, combining students from

several schools in one team. This gave the students a chance to meet other students and build their

teamwork skills. Spelling Bees are important for our Primary students as it allows them to develop

their spelling, identify spelling patterns, participate in healthy competition, and build confidence. The

students had a wonderful time, congratulations to our spellers, well done!

PAMC GARAGE SALE – SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER

Please join us this Saturday, November 12 from 9a.m. to 11 a.m. for our PAMC Winter

Garage Sale. For those of you that aren’t familiar, a Garage Sale is much like an outdoor

bazaar, or a place where people sell their lightly used belongings such as household

goods, clothes, and other miscellaneous items. There will be tables set up inside the BIS

café, you will be able to buy homemade refreshments while perusing the items for sale.

If you would like to reserve a table to sell your belongings, please contact pmac@esca.kg

or call 0312 21 44 06. The cost of a table is 400 Som. In addition, there will also be a

homemade goodies auction where parents and community members can bid for

homemade food and treats made by other parents. We look forward to seeing you!

11 November 2016 Newsletter for BIS Parents and Friends. No: 11 / 2016-17

CENTRAL ASIA SOCCER CLASSIC

For the first time in BIS’ history our students took part in

the Central Asia Soccer Classic which was held in Almaty,

Kazakhstan. The tournament was organized by the Almaty

International School as a part of the CAFA (Central Asia

Football Association) League. Our School sent a team of

boys 12-15 years old (Junior Varsity) who competed with

five other schools.

Our players played three games on Thursday and two

games on Friday. On the first day, which was sunny and

very warm, they won their first game 8:2 with the

QSI/Hope Academy team. Unfortunately, the second day

was very cold and windy, and it snowed during our game.

Despite the first amazing part of the game for the semi-

finals, they lost 4:3 against the team that eventually won

the tournament. Our team spirit, attitude and fair play on

the pitch was appreciated by all the coaches and we

received the trophy for the best Sportsmanship.

Magdalena Matysow, Assistant Soccer Coach

NEW TEACHER HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This week we are highlighting our new Head of English, Darren McQuay, who is an experienced

English language teacher, originally from the UK, who is joined the BIS team in August 2016. He

has a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons.) in Linguistics from Bangor University and a Post Graduate

Certificate of Education from Edge Hill University. Over the last three months Darren has shown

that he is a creative, inventive and passionate teacher of English, who inspires and engages

students. These skills led him to become the key leader of the West Side Story show team and you

can often din him leading students in show practice during school days and holidays. When

interviewed for Voices, Darren had the following to say:

My full name is ‘Darren James Patrick Martin Christopher McQuay’ (yes, really!), originally from

Manchester in England. I studied in Manchester Grammar School (England), Balakermeen Sixth

Form (Isle of Man), Loreto College (England), Bangor University (Wales), Language Link Institute (Adelaide) and

Edge Hill University (England), so it's fair to say I've moved around a little. My family all live in Australia, and I try

to visit every year; I am the oldest of 3 children, and have a younger brother and sister.

I wanted to be a teacher since I was 10, but before

becoming one, I worked as a chef for a few years,

which I really enjoyed. I like playing guitar (10 years),

drums (20 years), and video games (24 years), and play

music at Chicken Star on Saturdays, and PS4 most other

evenings. I currently have 3 dogs (Samuel L Dogson,

Jake the Dog, and Snow), who keep me busy when I'm

not teaching, and cost me a fortune in dog food! I have

lived in Kyrgyzstan for a year, and really enjoy it; the

country is beautiful and the people are friendly and

open. I like people, places and things.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK- WUSHU

Wushu is a traditional martial art which originated in China about 2000 years ago. In the West, the more common name

for this martial art is Kung Fu. In the East, it’s traditional Wushu. Traditional Wushu includes a wide range of styles,

techniques, weapons, and spiritual practices. Being a complex system of development, Wushu promotes not only

physical qualities but also intellectual abilities, good manners and behavior.

My Wushu practice started when I was 11. Like all the

students, I started with the very basics and after 15

years I’m still there. Even being the prize-winner of

different international competitions and world

championships, I think I am still a beginner (yes, my

teacher confirms it).

Indeed, Wushu is a lifelong trip! At the age of 16

traditional Wushu became my passion and I decided

to become a coach of the Traditional Wushu

Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic. I’ve been teaching

Wushu at BIS since 2012. During training my lovely

students learn different styles of Wushu, do general

fitness exercises, and play games. They have successfully

participated in different Wushu competitions and

performed in the “Dragon’s Birth” International Traditional

Wushu Festival last year.

BIS Wushu Students, JIAYOU (which means, “come on, let’s

go”)!

Lilia Toktarova, P.E. Teacher and Wushu Coach

PYP IN THE CLASSROOM

As our Primary Classes have concluded their first Unit of Inquiry before our Fall Break, I thought I would take an

opportunity to discuss the next Unit of Inquiry. Most classes are now entering the Unit “Where we are in Place and

Time.” This Unit, as described in the title, has students take a look, and inquire into, geographical and historical

perspectives. Many of these Units are heavily based in Geography and History standards, but some go even further,

looking into how Science and Technology affected the daily lives of those in the past and present. To support the

learning within these Units, each class uses a central idea to guide inquiry and curiosity.

What is a Central Idea? It is a statement that …

• is an enduring understanding.

• relates and connects concepts.

• transfers through time and across cultures.

Two examples of these central ideas can be seen in the Primary 2 and Primary 5 classroom. Primary 5’s central idea is

“The discoveries and explorations of humankind changes our perspective of space and time.” In the Primary 2

classroom, their learning is being guided by the central idea of, “Societies and roles of people change over time.” Over

the next 6 weeks, the classrooms will combine a variety of disciplines to help support and understand these central

ideas. As always, if you have any questions, please contact me at wpolan@bis.kg

William Polan, PYP Coordinator

KELECHEK COMMUNITY SERVICE

Kelechek ECA this week went off on a

neighborhood adventure in search of

trash. For students and staff, it was an

enjoyable afternoon hunting for things

that do not belong on the roads around

the school.

On the way we discovered candy

wrappers, bottles, Styrofoam, gloves,

hats, cigarette waste and even a phone

case and a smart phone charger!

Brian Totman, Kelechek Coordinator

STAR ACHIEVERS

Star Achievers are back! At BIS, we like to honor students for their hard work, determination, compassion, and

willingness to learn. During assemblies, Primary teachers select 1 or 2 students from their class to honor with a ‘Star

Achiever’ award. This award is normally given to those that embody IB Learner Profile traits (i.e. Caring, Risk-Taker,

Inquirer, Knowledgeable, Thinker, Principled, Open-Minded, Balanced, Reflective, Communicator) Congratulations to

this week’s Star Achievers.

WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE - FINAL DEADLINE MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER

Over the last several weeks, our students have been donating their lightly used winter clothing to local orphanages. This

drive allowed students, and the greater BIS community, to give back to those in need. The drive has been very

successful, with students from all ages understanding the importance of giving back and helping those less fortunate

than themselves. Your donations will be greatly appreciated, and

certainly provide a valuable lesson for the students. The deadline for

clothes is this Monday, November 14th. Here is a look at the current

leaderboard.

The Snow Leopards are currently winning, collecting more than

80 articles of winter clothing from 15 donations.

The Phoenixes are in a close 2nd, collecting 70 articles of winter

clothing, with 14 donations.

The Piranhas are in 3rd, having collected 50 articles of winter

clothing, with 13 donations.

We currently have had 42 individual donations, or roughly 1/3 of our

student body. Come on BIS, we can do it!

LUNCH MENUS

The lunch menu for 14 - 19 November is here: 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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday 12th November: Parents Association Garage Sale

Saturday 3rd December: Anniversary Show, Rehearsal starts at 11.00 am. Performance starts at 16.00

Friday 9th December 14.00: Provisional Date & Time, IGCSE Graduation Ceremony

Wednesday 14th December: Parent–Teacher Meetings

Friday 16th December: End of Year Assembly – Last day of term

December 17th – January 8th: Winter Break

Monday 9th January: First day of second term

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

SCHOOL BUS AND CHILD PICK UP

Two buses are operating regularly twice a day. One connects the school with central Bishkek and the other to south-east

Bishkek. More buses may be added later, depending on demand. Each bus starts the route at 7.00 am with pick-up

points along the route, to arrive at school by 7.45 or 8.00. In the afternoon, buses leave the school at 16.40 to arrive at

their final destination before 18.00. If you have any questions about bus service please contact Mirzat Osmonova via

mosmonova@bis.kg

Also, please always notify your Form teacher or school reception if you would like to pick up your child earlier before the

end of school day, or if he is not coming to school for any reason.

mmn

This week in Preschool 1 was dedicated to an ocean theme. We discussed what the ocean was, its inhabitants, ocean zones and explored a bit about divers. We loved singing such ocean songs as “Baby Shark” and “Starfish”. To better understand the ocean, we created an ocean in the bottle, we used some water, oil and blue paint; an easy but fascinating experiment. The children enjoyed taking turns to shake it to make it more bubbly. Children also explored different textures and sparkly objects within our ocean sensory bin. Another ocean science activity was about ice melting; we froze some sea shells, tiny sharks and fishes; the next day we had fun unfreezing them with warm water. During math lessons we sorted fishes by colour one day, another day we sorted them by sizes. Our works of art this week were an octopus, a sparkling starfish, a mermaid, and a diver. Next week we will talk about insects.

Everyday children experience a range of emotions; in Preschool 2 we are using the “How we express ourselves” theme to teach children about the different emotions they feel and how to react to them. We want to provide an environment where the children can feel free to express themselves. On a paper plate, children drew a happy face, on the other side they did a sad face and stuck a craft stick at the bottom; at circle time we talked about how children were feeling for the day, if they were happy they showed the happy face, if they were sad, they turned the face to the other side. Children shared why they were feeling a certain way for that day. At circle time we sang the “If you’re happy and you know it” song, we added on extra lines for different emotions and acted out the feelings. Children also made facial features on

Preschool Newsletter No: 11 / 2016-17

11 November 2016

Preschool Discoveries

crackers e.g. happy, sad, angry with raisins, carrot sticks and little cheese cubes. Then as a math lesson, counted how many raisins, cheese cubes and carrot sticks they used. We did an experiment which was to pass an apple around the circle; the children hit the apple lightly and I showed them the apple, on the outside the apple still looked good, but then I cut the apple and showed the inside to the children, it was bruised; this experiment was to make children aware that our words and actions can hurt others inside but does not show on the outside, that we must think about what we say and do, and not to hurt our friends’ feelings. To encourage children to share their feelings we experimented with mixing vinegar, baking soda and watched it explode; we discussed why it was important to share our feelings as if we kept it all inside, our feelings can explode too. The children are becoming more self-aware, they are expressing themselves with words as ‘stop’, ‘I don't like it’, or ‘please, wait for your turn’, they are also learning the social skills of being together and to express how they feel positively.

In Preschool 3 we continued our journey with houses and shelter around the world. This week, to understand the concept of shelter and house as protection, we learned about animal houses. On Tuesday we learned about birds and their different kinds of nests, we even collected sticks, twigs and leaves to build our own nests but realized it was not so easy, and we needed to weave, instead of just putting the materials together. On Wednesday we discussed hibernation, how animals are not sleeping but really their body kind of just ‘switched off’, and then how important it is to be well protected in a house during this period. On Thursday we discover the world of insects, with their complicated houses to be shared by enormous families where all the chores have to be shared to maintain an order and protect each other. Finally, on Friday we looked at beavers’ lodges, and realized how animals have engineering skills to build the best houses possible. Please don’t forget to send us photos from your house to allow children to discuss and describe their own house.

Finally, the whole Preschool team would like to remind you about bringing clothes appropriate for the weather, we want to continue going outside, as it is the perfect opportunity for children to discover the world by themselves, and learn to socialize. Bear in mind that the weather in Bishkek can drastically change in the same day.

Enjoy the weekend,

Preschool Team