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Edition number 07 July 2013

2 3EXIMIUS 2012-2013Term 3

This year has been another busy one, typical of a full programme IB world school. As Portugal lives through perhaps the deep-est recession in its history we have all had to adapt and SDIS has been no exception. Throughout these challenges the parents, students, teaching and administrative staff have steadfastly and resolutely remained committed to the mission of this school. The pages of this edition of Eximius will show the hard work, passion, and above all, the love of whole child learning typical of this school.

I want to thank our parents for their support of our educational project, the Board of Governors for their service to the school, and particularly to the PTA who have done so much to engender a renewed sense of community at SDIS.

In the final analysis all our work as a community leads to the work of the wonderful young people who you see in these pages. Every single one of these students has contributed something to our school however small for however long. The work of all of us at St. Dominic’s in producing confident, reflective and compassionate global citizens is to be found in every one of our students. They have and will continue to make us so very proud.

As I take my leave of the SDIS community and as you read these pages, I wish you well on your journey through life, the world, your studies and your careers. I will take many happy memories.

Best wishes,

Jeremy SingerPrincipal and Head of Senior School

Principal’s Message

I can’t believe this is the End of the Year Edition of our school newsletter! School life at SDIS is as busy as ever in the last term of the year with IB exams, Exhibitions and Productions in both Junior and Senior School, not to mention all three programmes graduation ceremonies, Grade 12 students graduating from the Diploma Programme, Grade 10 students graduating from the Middle Years Programme and Grade 5 Students graduating from the Primary Years Programme.

Once again I would like to thank all the contributors of this edition of the EXIMIUS.

I hope you enjoy and revive the precious moments we had this term while you read the next pages.

Enjoy your summer!

Rina [email protected]

From the Editor

All rights reserved. Property of Veritas Educatio. Educação e Serviços, S.A. NIPC 508318289

Calendar 2013-2014

2013 Term 1

Total school days for students 72 days


2014 Term 2

Classes resume

National Holiday

National Holiday

Municipal Holiday

Classes end at noon

2-4 September

Thursday 5 September

Saturday 28 September

28 Oct – 1 November

Saturday 23 November

12, 13, 14 December

Friday 20 December

Teachers only

Classes begin for all years

Welcome Barbecue

Mid-Term Break

Christmas Fair

Senior School Performance

Classes end at noon

Monday 6 January

28/02 - 07/03

Tuesday 15 April

Classes resume

Mid-Term Break

Classes end at noon

Monday 28 April

Thursday 01 May

Tuesday 10 June

Friday 13 June

Friday 27 June


2014 Term 3


It was with immense pride that the SDIS community marked the com-pletion of the secondary education of our 36 senior Grade 12 students at a Graduation Ceremony held on Saturday, June 1st 2013.

This event, attended by parents, members of the Board of Governors, students, teachers, alumni and dignitaries was held at the Hotel Villa Italia in Cascais. Our guest speaker was Mrs Ana Stilwell-Fonseca a former student and recording artist. Mrs Stilwell-Fonseca made a wide ranging speech to our Graduates in which she talked about her experience in the world of work and how what she had learned at St. Dominic’s had influenced her career and life journey.

Mr Singer, Principal and Mr Marques dos Santos, Chair of the Board, joined Mrs Stilwell-Fonseca in presenting the Graduating Certificates on stage. During the ceremony the Grade 12 students played their own music, received honorary awards for the arts, sports, CAS, aca-demic excellence and the ECIS award for international understanding and responded to Mrs Stilwell-Fonseca with a speech of their own. It was a beautiful event followed by a reception.

We wish all our Graduating Class all the very best for their futures and the hope that all their dreams and aspirations come to fruition.

Jeremy SingerPrincipal and Head of Senior School

Grade 12 IBDP GraduationCeremony


18th Annual

Terry Fox RunEvery year St. Dominic’s contributes in various ways to this worthwhile campaign organised by the Liga Portuguesa Con-tra o Cancro – Núcleo Sul, to raise funds in support of cancer research in Portugal.

The campaign honours the memory of Terry Fox, a coura-geous young Canadian man who, after losing his right leg to bone cancer, began his Marathon of Hope to raise badly need-ed money for cancer research, by running across Canada. He was unable to complete his marathon due to a recurrence of his cancer, but Terry’s vision lives on more than thirty years later, not only in Canada, but in over fifty countries around the world, and importantly for us, in Portugal – for the last eighteen years!

During the International Day at St. Dominic’s in April there was a Terry Fox booth, organized by Ms. Nathalie Hervé, be-side the Canadian table, where people could find more infor-mation about the Run on May 4.There was also a Senior School Assembly where Terry Fox’s philosophy of life, “You can do anything if you try,” was em-phasized and incorporated into the IB Learner profile. As our special guest, the Canadian Ambassador to Portugal, Heidi Kutz, pointed out, “Terry Fox’s courage and vision embraced a global citizenry impacted by a disease that has no borders. This vision and its international connotations are consistent with the IB Learner Profile.”

This year St. Dominic’s Senior School students assisted once again at the Terry Fox Lunch held at the Four Season’s Ritz Hotel – a high-profile event which is part of the campaign - as well as at the Run on May 4 at the Parque das Nações, han-dling the registration for the event.

The Junior School always becomes involved, too. This year, Ms. Hervé’s Grade 1 class led the way by designing posters, and organizing a special Terry Fox Day fundraising event – Red and White Day – in addition to presenting in Assembly to encourage other Junior School students, and staff, to par-ticipate.

We had one of St. Dominic’s biggest turnouts of Run partici-pants in the last few years. It was gratifying to see, as well, that ex-students and staff and their families, have made the Terry Fox Run a tradition.

Sandy WardTerry Fox Run Campaign Co-ordinator

Terry fox was a boy from Canada. Terry Fox was caring because he wanted to help others. Terry Fox had a big heart. He was a risk-taker because he decided to run across Canada with only one leg and it is a big country! He was very strong! These are some of the words of my grade 1 students who learned about Terry Fox this year. They showed curiosity learning about his life and reflected on why he is still an impor-tant figure all over the world even after his passing. The students designed posters

to encourage everyone to run the annual Terry Fox Race and did a fundraiser ‘Red and White Day’ to raise money for cancer research. The junior school raised over 100 euros! They demonstrated commitment to a very important cause and were enthusiastic ambassadors for St. Dominic’s School at the annual Terry Fox Run.

Ms. Nathalie

Message from Mrs Dinah Hawtree Dear Students, Staff, Families and Friends of the SDIS community,

I am truly delighted to have been appointed as Principal of SDIS and I am very much looking for-ward to my move to Lisbon. As I think you are already aware, I bring experience of leading schools in the UK, the Middle East and Asia, and I am very excited at the opportunity to lead St Dominic’s.

I am moving to Lisbon with my husband, Robert, who is a retired accountant, although he has more recently been working as an examination officer /IB administrator in my current school. He is a passionate rugby player, coach and referee, and I know that he too will be keen to become part of the SDIS community.

Next year is likely to be a busy and challenging one, with CIS/NEASC/IBO re-accreditation as one of the major foci, and I am grateful to Jerry Singer and his team for the excellent work that has already gone into this. Jerry and I are in regular contact, and will remain so in the early part of next academic year, in order to ensure a smooth and effective handover. As the new Principal, I shall pay keen attention to the outcomes of the self-study and the visiting team’s report, as these should help me to understand the strengths of SDIS, as well the areas for development. I shall also be keen to listen to all our stakeholders, to give me a clear understanding of how the school is perceived, and to assist us in developing a vision and plan for the future.

I will be arriving in Lisbon in mid-August, and I shall spend the first couple of weeks sorting out accommodation and familiarising myself with the local area, as well as spending some time at the school, getting to know some key staff and familiarising myself with the school’s systems and procedures. I anticipate being settled in and ready to ‘hit the ground running’ well before the start of term on 5 September.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the school in April, and found students, staff, families and the Board to be very welcoming and supportive. I look forward to meeting more of you, and getting to know the SDIS community over the coming years.

Mrs Dinah HawtreeNew SDIS Principal


Grade 5

PYP EXHIBITION

Grade 5PYP GraduationGraduation is the biggest moment of your primary years. That one piece of paper can change your life forever. That paper is special because it shows your leaving in the PYP and entering the MYP. It shows you managed eight grades in Junior School.

Once you enter the MYP there is a big difference like no Golden Time, no house points, new subjects and languages and new teachers.

The Grade 5 2013 Graduation was amazing but sad because when we graduated, we all ran out and hugged each other. Some people were even doing a shuffling train! We were also sad because some of our friends are leaving, even Mr Sing-er. We will all miss the PYP but we have to move on to the next stage of our lives.

Cheyenne HerminioGrade 5 Student

Special Awards

PYP Student of the YearCarolina Pimentel Fontes

Shiell Award for Commitment to LearningMariana Madeira

Shiell Award for SportsmanshipCatarina Martins

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) Exhi-bition represents a significant event in the life of a PYP school and student, synthesiz-ing the Essential Elements of the PYP and sharing them with the whole school com-munity. As a culminating experience it is an opportunity for students to exhibit the at-tributes of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile that have been develop-ing throughout their engagement with the PYP. This year the exhibition unit took place under the Transdisciplinary theme Sharing the Planet. Students are required to engage in a collaborative, Transdisciplinary inquiry process that involves identifying, investi-gating and offering solutions to real-life issues or problems. The event stretched over a six-week period and culminated with an exhibition of students’ work on 8th May 2013.

The purpose of the exhibition is….

•for students to engage in an in-depth,collaborative inquiry

•toprovidestudentswithanopportunitytodemonstrate independence and respon-sibility for their own learning

•toprovidestudentswithanopportunitytoexplore multiple perspectives

•forstudentstosynthesizeandapplytheirlearning of previous years and to reflect upon their journey through the PYP

•to provide an authentic process for as-sessing student understanding

•to demonstrate how students can takeaction as a result of their learning

•tounite the students, teachers, parentsand other members of the school com-munity in a collaborative experience that incorporates the essential elements of the PYP

•to celebrate the transition of learnersfrom primary to middle/secondary edu-cation.

As one student summed it up:

“My favourite unit of inquiry was Exhibition.

It think it is a great thing to present because

you have six weeks to research, to organize

your research, put it up and just present it to

people you don’t know. For me the presenta-

tion part was the coolest because I was like

a teacher for three hours. I also liked it be-

cause it was a great chance to express your-

self about what topic you are interested in. I

really wanted to stay the whole process but

I missed two weeks of it because I went to

America. Exhbition, for me, was a very cool

life experience.”

Barbaros Cubukcu


We celebrated the academic and artistic achievements of our IBDP Visual Art students: Maria Rente, Diva O’Branco and Kiryl Lazanenka at the opening on Friday, 12th April, 2013. The ex-hibition held at St. Dominic’s reception and surrounding cor-ridors showcased the studio and investigation from the two years of study. The experience of sharing the exhibition at the school brought together both senior and junior schools, stu-dents and parents creating a warmth and positive exchange of ideas and activities. We congratulate our Grade 12’s and wish them all the best as they continue their journey in the arts; it has been a pleasure to see you grow!

Katie JonesHead of Arts

IBDP Visual ArtsExhibition

10 11EXIMIUS 2012-2013Term 3

In April of this year, we lived up to our name of “Inter-national School” and celebrated our internationalism in a memorable way. On Friday the 19th April we had a Junior School International Assembly and on Saturday 20th we held our International Festival here at school.

The assembly was an exciting precursor to the Interna-tional Fair itself. We were entertained by all ages, from Nursery and Kindergarten who performed Portuguese dancing, supported by Cristina Maravilha and Miriam Dio-go from Early Years, to an adult performance by dancers from the South African Embassy. The atmosphere was electric and built to a grand finale with Grade three leading us in a rendition of the song “Reach” by S Club 7. Thank you to everyone involved for a very special assembly.

The following morning found members of the PTA ex-ercising their building skills putting up canopies for our country stalls in the afternoon. Amazingly enough, thanks to everyone’s collective endeavour and a general spirit of cooperation, everything was ready for the celebrations to begin at 12pm.

Altogether there were twelve countries represented at our country stalls. The tables were laden with delicious food samples from these different countries. Where to go first, which delightful tastes to sample next, was certainly a dilemma for all!

Food tasting was not the only attraction, as several stalls also had posters, artefacts and activities for the children. What an enjoyable way to learn about other cultures! After lunch the afternoon entertainment began. Children along with family and friends found their way into the Old Gym to enjoy an hour of entertainment with an international fla-vour. Mr Musgrove opened the programme by reminding us about the new school Mission Statement. This was fol-lowed up quickly by a cleverly put together skit by the ASA Drama group who enacted a visual representation of the Mission Statement. The audience was then entertained by a variety of performers, including guest performers such as the Irish band and on campus performers such as soloist singers from the Junior School who amazed us with their versatility and talent. If that wasn’t enough, impromptu entertainment continued outside on the black pitch, when everyone who fancied got up and danced! What a fantastic atmosphere developed throughout the afternoon. Although we were scheduled to finish at 4pm, the revelries continued on to past 5pm.

A big thank you to everyone involved in the preparations for our International Celebrations. They were a tribute to the whole school, to the PTA and to everyone in the com-munity. It was indeed a memorable time.

Katherine Bradford EAL Junior School

INTERNATIONALDAY

12 13EXIMIUS 2012-2013Term 3

Library LifeII Writing CompetitionThis term I would like to highlight our already famous Writing Compe-tition. As expected, this year the entries increased substantially, not only because our students are true risk-takers, but equally thanks to the encouragement and enthusiasm teachers transmitted to their students. The quality of most of the pieces also improved, and that reflects how SDIS students can succeed at expressing their creativity and communication skills in such an active and positive way.

Our honoured panel of judges had a very difficult task while choos-ing the winners for the different levels and categories, which led to a tie in most of the cases. It was with great pleasure that the follow-ing winners were announced by the Library volunteers, during Jun-ior and Senior School end of year assemblies: Joana Freitas, Leonor Vicente and Leonor Ferreira won the PYP short story category; Dan-iel Fidalgo and Maria Vieira Almeida won the PYP poetry category; João Paulo Freitas and Saul Yu won the MYP short story category. Well done to the winners! Thank you to all the participants and to all member of the judge.

See you next year and keep reading!

Ana CasellaJunior and Senior School Librarian

Science During term 3, the Science department took Grade 7 students to the Science Museum and the Botanical Garden as part of their Activity day. The students learned about adaptations of different plants and had a great opportunity to play with some Physics experiments about electricity, waves, mechanics and sound.

During the months of May and June, Grade 4 students came to the Senior School to have fun Science lessons. They produced some ‘Elephant Toothpaste’, some yucky slime, X-mas trees made of silver filings. They also had the chance to burn different metals and see how fireworks work. It was a great opportunity to learn about Science and have fun at the same time.

Finally, in June Grade 11 Biology and ESS students participated in the Rocky shore field study, at Avencas beach. Later on, the other students were fully engaged on their Group 4 Project and build very interesting Rube Goldberg machines, which showed not only their personal skills but also their ingenuity.

Joana DominguesHead of Science

St. Dominic’s Reads!Summer is a great opportunity for the international learners at Saint Dominic’s to build their reading skills by doing some reading for pleasure. If you read the book of your choice for just 20 minutes a day, by the end of the summer holidays you will have completed 1,200 minutes of reading! Many students and teachers have already chosen the book they will be cracking open at the beach or on the couch at home.

Christian Vilanova, G7

Death Run, by Jack Hig-gins

Why did you choose this book? I chose this book because it is part of a series that I have heard is similar to The Hunger Games. I like to do this kind of reading in the summer because it is exciting and fast paced. I also like when a book is part of a series because there is something to read after you finish the first one. You really know the characters. Where do you like to read in the summer? I read wher-ever is comfortable. I like to stretch out on my bed and read a great book at home.

Mafalda Salazar, G11

The Rescue, by Nicholas Sparks

Why did you choose this book? I chose this book because I have read other books by Nicholas Sparks, and I have seen all the movies they have made from his books. The stories are roman-tic- it’s what every girl dreams about. I would read anything by this author! What do you like about summer reading? Summer reading is relax-ing, nobody is pushing you and you don’t have a test on it later. You just choose what you want and enjoy it.

Martim and Matilde Sal-gado Pereira, G2

Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, by Dav PilkeyPippa the Poppy Fairy, by Daisy Meadows

Why did you choose this book? Martim: I chose my book because it is funny and I like the characters. They always do something funny and work together to solve their problems. Matilde: I like this book because it is a part of a series. The characters use magic to make friends and solve problems.

Megan Adair, G7

Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke

Why did you choose this book? I have heard that this book is about a girl who makes the characters in the books she is reading come to life. That’s a really interesting concept to me, something I like to imagine. The book is part of a series some of my friends have read and I’m excited to read them this summer. What do you like about summer read-ing? Summer reading is chilled out and relaxing. I like to read by the pool or on the plane when I’m going on vacation.

Mr. Holden, G2 Teacher

The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger

Why did you choose this book? This is a book that I read when I was a student and it made a big impression on me. It’s been several years now since I read it last and I want to read it again to remember what I liked about it. The Catcher in the Rye has been something of a cultural touchstone and I want to know why.

Sofia Santos, G8

Desaparecidos, by Mi-chael Grant

Why did you choose this book? I like books that are about dystopias, a world that was supposed to be perfect but actually has a lot of problems. I’m also choosing to read a book in Portuguese, because I am taking the extended Portuguese literature class next year and I want to improve my reading ability. What do you like about summer reading? Summer read-ing sets you free to read anything you want. I like stories about people my age confronting chal-lenges and learning from them. I also like reading things that are fast paced and adventurous.

Ms Almeida, Senior School Portuguese Teacher

Negras Costas do Tempo, by Javier Marias

Why did you choose this book? I generally read everything I can find by this author. He writes in Spanish, but I read his works in Portuguese. I like the way the author explores events from dif-ferent perspectives and raises ethical and philo-sophical questions for the reader. What do you like about summer reading? I appreciate the time in the summer to enjoy novels on a personal level. I’m just reading the story and experiencing it, without thinking about how I might teach it to stu-dents. I just have more time in the summers as well, so I can read sev-eral chapters at once.

Sam Grant, G3

The Tighty Whitey Spider: And More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up, by Ken Nesbitt

Why did you choose this book? This year we stud-ied poetry, and I like the way that poems use de-tails to make a picture in your mind. I am the kind of reader who likes to use their imagination. I also like writing poems and I want to learn more about poetry so I can make my own poems.

Mr Mills, Senior School English Teacher

Amsterdam, by Ian McE-wan

Why did you choose this book? I have read other books by McEwan and I truly believe he is one of the greatest contempo-rary novelists we have. I appreciate the voice in his stories; it just invites the reader in. I also like the way he develops his characters, including de-tails of their less pleas-ant traits. The plots in his novels are well struc-tures and his writing is just generally very skilful. What do you like about summer reading? I read year round, so I wouldn’t say there’s anything par-ticularly different about summer reading. I don’t go to the beach to read and I don’t sit out in the sun reading. I suppose I enjoy reading on a train. It’s enjoyable to be on a train journey and keep yourself company with a book.

Ms Ali, English Teacher

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Why did you choose this Why did you choose this book? I really like Pride and Prejudice, also by Jane Austen. I’ve read it several times and it’s one of my favourites. I like these old Victorian dramas and I also like the way the resourceful and ingenious women always prevail. Where do you like to read in the summer? In the summer I like to find somewhere peaceful and quiet like the garden of my parents’ house in London. I like to sit back and bathe in the sun and enjoy escaping into the lives of the char-acters in my book. One of the things I like about summer reading is that you don’t have pressing deadlines and you can just relax and read all day.

Karen HerschlebHead of Language A

14 15EXIMIUS 2012-2013Term 3

Braga Habitat for Humanity was one of the best experi-ences I have ever done for CAS, it actually shows us how CAS can be an entertainment and learning activity. In this trip we do not only learn some techniques of how to build a house, we also have the opportunity to see that there is so much more in life than the actual things that we are used to. We have the opportunity to see how some families which experience situations more diffi-cult than ours manage to live and enjoy their lives. The fact that we had the opportunity to meet the family was in my opinion very helpful for us to understand their situation and the reason for this trip.

Our task was basically to make cement and put it on the walls of the house, there was an instructor there which taught us how to do this, specially how to make cement, which for some of us who had never done anything simi-lar, wasn’t so easy as it looked like.

Although the group consisted of people from different grades it was very “united”. Braga Habitat for Humanity is also an opportunity for students to know each other better than just the daily routine school-life, also, many friendships were made there, many experiences and funny moments will be remembered. I have to thank Mr. Jervis and Mr. Castillejo for having come with us and Ms. Ijzerman for having organized this trip.

Francisco Santana Guapo Grade 11

Community and Services

Habitat for Humanity

On Wednesday April 24 thirty three Senior School students, all “dressed for success”, headed to CAISL for a Model United Nations conference for Grades 6, 7 and 8 students from CAISL, St. Dominic’s, St. Julian’s, and OIS. For most delegates this was their first experience with MUN, but they represented their country assignments, and St. Dominic’s, admirably. In addition, two Grade 10 students, Daniel Abreu and Rosa Martins acted as Chairs during the conference. The delegates prepared prior to the conference with the assistance of teachers Sandy Ward, Rahena Ali, and students Gustavo Beirão, Leigh Bolwell, and Daniel Abreu. Mr. Saw-yer came to CAISL for the event.

Sandy WardMUN Director

JMUNJunior Model United Nations

What an incredible photography competition we had this year! We extended the entries to encompass the entire Senior School and our students rose to the challenge.

Home and Family Category Winners: Gabriella Hansen and Bella Miditshane

Nature and Environment Category Winners: Guilherme Beirão and Gabriella Hansen

Sport and Games Category Winners: Synne Korsgard and Diva Branco

Each of the category winners are offered a two day workshop with our judge and professional photographer Alexander Oliveira on Saturday 15th and Sun-day 16th June from 09:00-14:00.

And our over-all winner is Gabriella Hansen for her ‘Curious Kitten’ - Well Done Gabriella. Gabriella also receives a double work placement with Alex-ander Oliveira.

Paul Large

Photo Competition

16 17EXIMIUS 2012-2013Term 3

In the past January 28th the junior school celebrated the cross coun-try day. This activity is related to the unit of health related activities and children were very happy to celebrate a healthy lifestyle by run-ning.

Students had the chance to improve their level of performance during January in the Physical Education lessons, learning how to breathe, managing the effort, learning about the training principles and the way the different body systems work together during exercise. In the end of this unit we assessed the students’ cardiovascular resistance and 80% of them were in the healthy zone.

Grades 2 and 3 ran 1 km and Grades 4 and 5 ran 1,4 km. Once again, it was very interesting to watch them being very competitive with themselves, trying to beat their records at the cross country day. This year they were running, as well, for a qualification to the cross coun-try race in Algarve. This is a race against students from the other international schools and they were very excited for representing St Dominic’s in this event.

It was a day full with excitement and colour. We also had a House Group competition; each student had the chance to contribute with points to their house group. Dias finished in 1st place.

Our Junior School students achieved a very good level of performance in Algarve. Liliane Carvalheiro finished in first place and Frederico Hamann finished in 3rd place. The girls (Liliane Carvalheiro, Vera Cid, Inês Cid, Khanysile Mditshane, Sofia Zhang, Hannah Judd and Catarina Martins) got the 1st place in the teams’ competition

Ruben LimaPE Teacher

JS Cross Country

Tennis /Badminton ISSA TournamentHosting and Playing Experience

I had been participating in the ISSA tournaments for two years now and I thought that it was part of my duty to host someone this year, since I had already been hosted in many different countries and schools.

On Monday 20th May I met the two girls I was going to be hosting for the next two days for the first time. At 16:30 they arrived in one of our school buses into the main entrance of our school. I was supper nervous, since I didn’t know what to expect. Once I got to know them better, I realized that they were as nervous as I was so we started getting along straight away. The ISSA badminton tournament was very exciting and we got to meet many different people from different cultures and schools; it was also a great opportunity to make new friends and learn new things.

On the first day of the tournament we were all very anxious, but after a couple of games we started to relax and enjoy-ing ourselves. The second day was much better, because we already knew what to expect. Even though we ended up not coming in 1st place it was still an extraordinary experience, we worked as a team and most importantly never gave up.

All of our coaches supported us and helped us throughout the whole process, without them the whole tournament would have been possible. I would recommend anyone to participate in any school sports team, since it enhances your team spirit and friendship’s; even if you’re not the best player on the team you will still have an amazing time.

The last day of the tournament is always the hardest, but also the best, since we get to cheer for all our teammates that made it to the finals. When all the games are finally over and we are all supper tired, the worst part came along. After spending three days with the people you’re hosting you really create an amaz-ing bond with them, which makes it very hard to say goodbye. ISSA allows you to have a remarkable experience with people you wouldn’t normally hang out with; it also gives you the opportunity to coexist with people from different nationalities which is what our school as an international school is all about.

Carolina Jardim Gonçalves

ISSA Tennis 2013 SDIS in First Place In all the ISSA competitions this year, results wise, Rodrigo Rodrigues was the star performer of the year, winning the ISSA Boys Tennis tournament hosted by SDIS in May.

18 19EXIMIUS 2012-2013Term 3

Nursery and Kindergarten

PYP PRODUCTIONThe Early Years PYP Production on Sharing the Planet was a huge success! The students displayed great confidence and were real risk takers throughout the performance. It was an awesome journey as the students were engaged throughout all the preparations before the show. They worked very hard in this unit and thoroughly had fun exploring and discovering all about plants and mini-beasts, who share the planet with us. Congratulations to our Nursery and Kindergarten stu-dents for your amazing work!

Early Years Team

Grade 4 Residential Trip

SPLASH! I went down like a cannonball. A big wave went over the pool. It was warm and my body’s temperature was matching the water’s.

The water was shaking, making ripples nonstop. It was like it wanted to get inside my mouth. The water smelt like chemicals and it kept on going inside the side of my ears. I was floating on the top of the pool just like I was sleeping on the top of a bed. I stayed there floating for ages.

Everybody went to the baby pool to take a photo. Snap one photo, snap again and again. After the photo was taken everybody ran to the bigger pool. Miss Houillon said it was time to go back to the campsite; well at least we had so much fun!!!

Danie Fidalgo

When I Flew The KiteIt was windy at the beach, everyone was chatting to their friends. I was playing with the sand, suddenly a strong wind hit my face. My hair was going everywhere like crazy! Finally the wind stopped.

“Listen children”, said the teacher “we are going to have three groups! Group one is a sandcastle competition, group two is football and group three is kite flying.” I was hoping that I was in group one or three. The teacher started putting children in differ-ent groups. Later the teacher called my name: “You’re going to be in group…three!” “Yes!” I shouted, I went to my group and sat on the sand.

It has been years since I´ve flown a kite! I looked at all the kites, but I like the kite with a tiger on it. I flew it with Khanyi. The kite flew up in the air. I thought it wouldn’t go up because on T.V, kite flying looks like it needs days of practice. But it’s not that hard, we let go some of the string so the kite could fly higher. The kite soared through the sky.

We took turns to fly the kite; our kite flew above all the others.

Hui Ye

On the 4th, 5th and 6th of June, Grade 4 students had a two nights camping experience. Students wrote personal narratives when they returned to school. These are Hui and Danny’s experiences. Enjoy it!

Rua Maria Brown, Outeiro de Polima2785-816 S. Domingos de Rana, PortugalTel: +351 21 444 04 34 / 448 05 05Fax: +351 21 444 30 72Email: [email protected]

Summer ConcertOur 22nd Annual Summer Concert took place on Tuesday 25th June in the Old Gym. The programme consisted of a variety of popular and clas-sical music performed by our current and graduated students. It was a great way to end the school year!

Bard Core Shakespeare!For the CAISL Theatre Festival and also for a St. Dominic´s assembly, students presented Bard Core Shakespeare! a comic and irreverent look at five of the Bard’s most famous plays. After only a handful of rehearsals, these talented students had them “laughing in the aisles” as they performed excerpts from The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night´s Dream (and it´s hilarious play within a play of Pyramus and Thisby!), Romeo & Juliet featuring a romantic vocal solo, and a modern day version of Macbeth, complete with texting witches.