November Newsletter - British International School

NOVEMBER 2012
Forty Fifth Edition
BISI COMMUNITY
NEWSLETTER
GUIDING STATEMENT OF
THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ISTANBUL
The British International School Istanbul provides a caring
international environment, fostering cultural diversity. Individual
students achieve their full academic potential, inspired to become
lifelong learners and responsible citizens of the global community.
YOUR COMMUNITY!
YOUR NEWS!
1
Message from the Pre/Primary School
November News from the Pre and Primary School
November was an action packed month!
Our themed Coffee Mornings this term have included an introductory meeting with the PTA in September, a discussion about Internet Safety in October, and this month we held a seminar to inform the Year 5 parents about Space Camp. As an annual event, the
Year 5 children fly to Izmir to discover the wonders of Space Camp there. Beth, a representative from Space Camp Izmir, came to
visit us and informed the parents of the programme that the children will be following. On 7 December, Meltem Budak, one of our
parents and an experienced counselor, will hold a talk on ‘Transition and Cultural Issues’; we hope you can attend.
Every year, the PTA set the bar higher when it comes to Halloween! Sandra Watson led a team of mums at the Zekeriyakoy Campus,
and Suzy Karaoglu at the City Campus to decorate the green gym/ hall as a scary Haunted House! As you entered you had to crawl
on hands and knees over green wet slime! The children had great fun dressing up in their costumes on such a hot day. A huge thank
you goes to the PTA for spending so much of their time creating the Haunted House for our children; it is much appreciated. Also,
thank you to the PTA for supplying the ‘trick or treat’ sweets. We hope you enjoy the photos!
The PTA continued our whole school community ‘Recycle, Reuse and Renew’ theme for the year by holding a Second Hand Book
Sale; thank you to Eveline and her team of mums for organizing this event.
International Week was filled with colour and excitement again this year! The Zekeriyakoy children continued their learning through
our highlighted subjects this year of Science, DT and ICT, with the question posed; ‘How has Science helped our World?’ Each year
group investigated an invention that has helped people in less fortunate circumstances than our own. The week culminated in an assembly where the children had to vote for the most useful/ cost effective invention. The City Campus children enjoyed a talk on Divali, and one of our Governors, Tim Sladden, came to talk to the children about the United Nations. The week culminated in photographs taken in country groups. The PTA organized an amazing Food Court again this year! They not only cooked delicious food for
the children to sample, but also decorated a classroom in the flags of their country and artefacts from their country too! Under the
super guidance of Fleur Van de Brees and Suzy Karaoglu, thank you PTA for your sensational support!
As part of our commitment to our Guiding Statements, that we are ‘lifelong learners’, we have selected five Saturdays over the year
to train all staff on Basic First Aid. The first Saturday was allocated to this month. Dr Gulcin Tamo, from the Aktuel Company, delivered an effective day’s seminar on basic first aid training. It was both enjoyable and informative.
Our Whole School Community Charity Committee was very busy this month. We delivered letters to all parents, asking them to vote
for our shortlisted international, national and local charities. Miss Fox presented the shortlisted charities to all Primary students at an
assembly this month. The Secondary students discussed and voted for the charities within their PSHE lessons this month. ‘Charity
Water’ was selected for our international charity this year, ‘Kacuv’ for our national charity this year, and ‘local schools’ were selected again as our local charity this year. Thank you to Andrea Kreetz, Head of Zek PTA Charity Committee, and Suzy Karaoglu, Chair
of PTA City Campus for supporting this initiative.
The Winter Bazaar will raise money for the above charities. Each Wednesday, we have asked the children to bring in an item/ prize
for the Winter Bazaar as part of our Wacky Wednesdays; dates being 28 November, 5 December, 12 December and 19 December.
On these Wednesdays, the children can come to school in their own clothes and we have a Wacky theme for each Wednesday:
Wacky Ties/ Socks/ Tights, Wacky Hair Day, Wacky Opposites Day, and Wacky Sports Day! The Winter Bazaar will be held on
both campuses on Thursday 20 December. On this day, you are welcome to pick up your child from their class at 13:10 and visit the
other classes where there will be gift stalls organized with a festive theme. Children are also allowed to wear their own clothes on
this day, with a festive theme. The PTA have volunteered to organize another Food Court for the Winter Bazaar in the Green gym;
please contact Fleur Van de Bree if you can help!
And finally, we have been out and about again in Istanbul this month. The Reception classes visited Miniaturk, Year 1 classes visited
Zekeriyakoy and Yenikoy to investigate how houses are built as part of their topic, and Year 6 visited Santral Istanbul.
Enjoy our November Newsletter!
Amanda Ilhan
Pre and Primary School Deputy Director
Richard I’Anson
Pre and Primary School Director
2
Alkent Campus— Year 2
We have been looking at Poetry in Year 2.
We have enjoyed reading lots of different poems and getting our tongues in a twist with some tongue twisters.
We have found lots of different patterns in the poems we have read and used these to write some of our own
poems.
We used adjectives to make list poems about meeting unusual creatures coming to school. We also used
alliteration and number patterns to write a poem about a trip to the zoo. We all loved being poets and we
hope you enjoy reading some of our poems!
Alkent Class 2G and 2P.
3
Etiler Campus—Year 5
Etiler’s Trip to the Military Museum
On Wednesday, 17th October all Year 5 Children went to the Military Museum in Istanbul.
In the Museum they displayed all the weapons and equipment they used in the First World
War. The display was so awesome. We saw Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at his class room and his
school reports. He was sitting on his desk putting his hand up to ask a question and Ataturk’s
friend sitting near him putting his hand up to ask a question as well.
In the next room there were Ottoman swords and
also a giant size mirror with a golden lion’s face on top.
We also saw a model of a submarine, a helicopter
and a jet fighter plane. There were also models of
the ottoman clothes, which they wore during the
1820 till the 1940s. Those ottoman clothes are so
beautiful, for a moment we thought that there were
real diamonds attached to them.
In the next room there was armor they used to put on horses and camels. We didn’t
know that they used to even put armor on animals!
Finally in the last room were machine guns. They were taken out from the First World
War after everybody had left the war. The man said that “the guns were very sensitive so
do not touch them”. He also said that the machine guns weighed about 65 to 70 kilos.
We all were happy to see this and got a lot of knowledge by this museum. :))
By - Manan Mittal Year 5H
*******
The military museum was the best museum I’ve ever been to because they show you objects from the years when
Ataturk lived, including his school reports and photos of him and his class mate!.
It’s really educational for people who want to know about old weapons and armor. The best part was when me and my
friends saw a 10 barreled gun, there were also a 4 barreled canons too!
I totally recommend it to everyone.
By Ferdi Helvensteijn
4
Etiler Campus - Diwali Celebrations
DIWALI at the CITY CAMPUS
As part of the International Week celebrations, the city campuses celebrated the Indian festival of Diwali . Diwali is the biggest festival in India
and is also called the Festival of lights. This year Diwali was on November 13th thus timing its entry very close to the International Week at
school!
The festivities started with all classes doing art work ranging from making lamps, colouring, word puzzles, design patterns etc with a Diwali
theme. The whole school then came together in the colourfully decorated Primary Hall for a presentation on the story about Diwali and
how it is celebrated in India.
Of course no Indian celebration is complete without some Bollywood
music & dance! Tvisha Mehta from Year 3 enthralled the school with
her Bollywood dance of Jai Ho! The traditional Indian Sweet of Barfi
was then distributed to all and each child received an Indian designed
bookmark to help them remember about Diwali.
Back in class , all the children had an opportunity to dress up in traditional Indian wear and have their photos taken.
It was a wonderfully joyous celebration put together by the Indian
mothers and the PTA , with enthusiastic support from the teachers,
staff and students.
Happy Diwali and may it bring us all Success, Prosperity and Happiness!!
Ambiili Ramachandran
City parent
5
Remembrance Day
On Friday 9th November 2012, the Year Six at our City Campus, represented the British International School at the Remembrance
Day ceremony held at the Haydarpaşa Cemetery in Istanbul. Also in attendance were William Bradley, Helen Kiran, Nikki
Dereboy (Year Six Class Teacher) and myself.
Remembrance Day commemorates all the soldiers who have given their lives in the service of their respective Nations.
Richard I’Anson
Reply to ‘In Flanders Fields’
Read by:
Students of the British International School Istanbul
Oh! sleep in peace where poppies grow;
The torch your falling hands let go
Was caught by us, again held high,
A beacon light in Flanders sky
That dims the stars to those below.
You are our dead, you held the foe,
And ere the poppies cease to blow,
We'll prove our faith in you who lie
In Flanders Fields.
Oh! Rest in peace, we quickly go
To you who bravely died, and know
In other fields was heard the cry,
For freedom's cause, of you who lie,
So still asleep where poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.
As in rumbling sound, to and fro,
The lightning flashes, sky aglow,
The mighty hosts appear, and high
Above the din of battle cry,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below,
Are fearless hearts who fight the foe,
And guard the place where poppies grow.
Oh! sleep in peace, all you who lie
In Flanders Fields.
And still the poppies gently blow,
Between the crosses, row on row.
The larks, still bravely soaring high,
Are singing now their lullaby
To you who sleep where poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
The laying of the wreath
- John Mitchell
The reading of the poem
6
Etiler Campus—Halloween
Halloween article:
Halloween was as spooky as always here in Etiler!
The children took part in incredibly creepy activities; creating bat mobiles and Shakespearean poetry, reading
a spooky story and feeling gruesome body parts!
The PTA built a monstrous haunted house and scared everyone from the preschool to Mr Malik!
A frenzied feast of cookies and cakes were provided for the little monsters to gorge on. The whole campus
had a ghoulishly great time!
Fulya Esen
A Halloween feast for all!
Watch out!
A frightful bunch here to great you!
Emre the undead!
Spooky singing with Mr.Lawson
Terrifying Lunes
A friendly Vampire!
7
Halloween at BISI
Halloween Traditions at BISI
Students at BISI took a break from books and pens on Friday 5th November to celebrate Halloween.
The primary pupils from Year 1 through Year 6 were having a real day off from ordinary student life. The students got into the Halloween spirit with costumes such as
skeletons, ghouls, witches, cats, headless ghosts, and vampires. Some classes watched
Halloween movies and some played games.
Even the haunted house was successfully opened and as always, it was ran by the
PTA (Parents Teacher Association). For some students, this was a nightmare, but
for others, it was as enjoyable as a stroll through the park.
A student from Year 1, Deniz Kafkasli announced, “I saw some Year 1’s coming
out of the haunted house crying. I was terrified by the thought of how scary it was
in there, so I stayed out. I knew that under no circumstances would I go in there!”
One primary student from 6F, Mete Karabiyik, stated that the spirit of the haunted
house was extremely exciting and scary. He commented that this year’s haunted
house was more active than the previous one.
All the students had a spooktacular time.
Reported by Kaan Kafkasli
8
9
Whole School International Week
10
11
Zek Campus—Year 2
Round The World With Barnaby Bear kicks off to a great start!
In Year 2, just after International Week, we start to Follow Barnaby (2L) and Bernadette (2G) Bear on their
travels with the students through their countries. Each child chooses one of their nationalities or the country
they feel most attached to and spends time with their parents learning some basic facts about it. On a set date
we group the countries into continents, one or two countries are presented by the children.
The presentations vary according to the children. On Thursday, the 15th of November this year’s presentations got off to a great start with UK. Ella, Yasmin, Georgina and Polly each talked about different aspects of
the UK, with their parents acting as assistants. It was a great team effort and yet each presentation was totally
individual. Everybody saw the flag, learned about geographical aspects, famous people, places to see in London and tasted scones and jam tarts. Photos were taken with our travelling bears. Feeling full of culture and
information, we went to our own classrooms to reflect upon what we had learnt.
We will be visiting a country or two every week until March. This year we have presentations from every
continent except South America - and Antarctica, of course… though we are still hoping for a volunteer penguin.
Year 2
12
Zek Campus—Year 5
The children in Year 5 have been busy learning about Atatűrk this term. They have been finding out why
people still consider him such an important man, 74 years after his death. The children found out that many
of the laws and changes Atatűrk made are still important today. For example if Atatűrk hadn’t changed the
Turkish alphabet our lessons with Hatice Hamin would be very different! If Atatűrk hadn’t given women
more rights that are still important today such as allowing women to vote and encouraging girls to go to
school, then we might not have some of the teachers in school such as Miss Gonca and Miss Nursena. If Atatűrk hadn’t organised and fought in the Turkish Independence War, then would we be here at BISI?
The children from both Zek and Etiler visited the Military Museum and Naval Museum to learn more about
the changes Atatűrk made to the armed forces. The children even visited the classroom that Atatűrk studied
in while at military school. They had a lovely time and enjoyed the guided tour from Oman Bey who took
them back in time to before and during the Ottoman Empire as well as during Atatűrk’s time as the first
President of Turkey.
Unfortunately the 10th November (the day Atatűrk died) was on a Saturday this year so we didn’t have our
remembrance assembly in school. However some of the children listened out for the sirens to start the
minutes silence to remember Atatűrk. Ecehan in 5F did manage to go to a remembrance assembly at a Turkish school and even met someone who was alive during Atatűrk’s reign.
Rebecca Fox
Alex at school with Ataturk
Looking at an old car some people
stopped to sketch it
Etiler boys in the weapons room!
Zek Boys in the Naval Museum
13
Girls looking at one of the oldest artefacts
in the museum
Zek girls getting a bit too close to the
arrows!
Zek Campus—Year 6 - Vampire Light Poems
Vampire Lights by Erin Ceşmeli
Vampire lights flash in the night,
Why is the oven white?
It’s a vampire light.
The coffee machine is without sight,
It’s vampire is on the site,
The computer has some mites,
It’s logo looks like small apple bites,
The electronic household infected with small vampire light,
Ohh, my gosh all the nights are bright !
Vampire Lights by Thomas Watson
Lurking in the corner, sucking at your juice;
There sits a vampire light, tightening the noose.
Seemingly harmless, definitely charmless
But intent on much abuse.
Some know how to fight,
Others know these will bite.
But most don’t feel fright,
Unaware, they think it’s just a light.
14
Vampire Lights by Pietro Magaldi
The sight of a vampire light,
Makes you get a sudden fright.
When your energy bill rises,
You know they have struck.
Vampire lights feed on energy,
Gobbling it all up.
They always suck up more energy,
Just like a whirlpool.
Once you turn them off,
They will wail and screech for eternity,
Begging you for the energy that they depend on,
Craving forever and ever.
Vampire Lights by Lashyn Bakatjan
Vampire lights are dangerous!
They ‘suck your energy’ and eat your money.
If you leave then on,
Those creepy tiny things will come
And they’ll invade the whole house.
So keep those ‘blood treating’ vampire lights off
And you’ll be a lot safer and richer.
Just unplug it!
But if you forget, on your bills you’ll see a lot of money.
Keep them off and you’ll have fun.
But if you don’t, at night when the full moon comes up’
You’ll hear a little squeaking sound and you’ll get sucked!!
15
Message from the Director of Secondary
November 2012 has been an important month for me and for the school for reasons that wouldn’t appear in
the pages of this newsletter if it wasn’t mentioned here.
About twenty-one months ago the school started out on the long process that will (I hope) eventually culminate in the award of Accredited School Status from both the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). We started with a questionnaire which was
sent to all sections of the community – parents, the Board of Governors, students from Year 5 upwards and
the staff. That questionnaire gave us a snapshot of the community’s view of the school at that time. Since
then an awful lot of work has been undertaken by many people to produce a report, or to be more exact twenty-five reports, covering every aspect of the school’s operations. Some one hundred and fifty thousand words
have been written and about eight gigabytes of documentary, photographic, video and audio evidence have
been put together to show how the school works.
As I write, all that information is sitting on my computer (and for safety’s sake several other places as well).
This is the month when all this information finally comes together before being sent to CIS and NEASC.
Now the bulk of the work has been done, recommendations have been made; there have been changes in our
working practices and in our operational procedures at all levels. The school is improving and this process of
accreditation will continue to drive change and improvement over the years to come.
The next stage in this process is the visit by twelve people representing CIS and NEASC in the first week of
February. They will have read our report by then and they will be coming into to the school to make sure that
we are doing what we claim in our report, they will be looking at the teaching and learning that goes on here,
they will be looking at our operations, how we work and why we work the way we do. They will look at every aspect of the school and compare their observations with the report so many people have worked on and
they will, ultimately, decide whether we are worthy of the coveted Accredited School Status or not.
At this moment, I am sat in my office with all this work sat on my computer and on the 1 st of December the
reports will be transferred to flash drives and sent to the various members of the visiting team. I cannot help
but think of the amount of work that has been put into this by so many people from all sections of the community; the auxiliary staff, every member of the teaching staff, my fellow members of the Senior Leadership
Team, many of our parents, our students, the Chairman and all the members of the Board of Governors, everyone has played their part in getting us to the stage where we are ready to invite outsiders into the school to
judge us.
And we are ready now.
And that is why this month is important to me and to the school.
And I want to thank everyone for the part they played, however small or however large. The part you played
has helped to improve our school!
Thank you.
William Bradley
Director of Secondary and Principal of Zekeriyakoy Campus
16
Secondary - Humanities & International Week
Humanities and International Week
Biffins versus Muffins in the Great Business Snack Sale
Kaan (Oak) risks all in Millionaire
Jae (Cedar) and David (Maple) for 500 GBP
Mr Marais asks an easy question
Mr O’Hara points out what’s wrong
Staff and students put on national dress
Food and drums on International Day
Year 8 visit Aya Sofia for some architectural history
17
Stockbroker simulation board
Humanities and International Week
COUNTRIES AND LEADERS BOARD QUIZ
STOCKBROKER SIMULATION
Year 8 and year 12 Geography students worked
diligently on their homework projects to produce
some spectacular displays for the Humanities
week. The year 8 students selected a country of
their choice and then prepared an in-depth study
of their chosen country. The variety of displays
included colourful maps, diagrams and pictures
from a selection of exotic and not so exotic
destinations.
50 students took part in the 2012 Investment simulation.
This year the students had the opportunity to invest B$
1000 in shares, commodities and currencies. The student
were able to invest in Apple, Microsoft, Euros, British
pounds, oil, wheat, etc.
The year 12 Geographers chose to produce a
display of World Leaders. They carried out
research to find out about the background,
achievements and ambitions of a range of current
leaders from the world of politics, diplomacy and
sport.
At the end of Humanities KS 3 form groups were
given a quiz based on the information displayed
throughout the week.
Mr Cole
BUSINESS SNACK CHALLENGE
During the humanities week at BISI, we as the
business class in Year 12, wanted to raise money
to give to a charity, to help the less fortunate
people in our world. For this reason, our class of 7
people divided up into two smaller groups. Each
group carried out a step-by-step plan to
successfully sell something, and so make profit
and raise money.
We spent days deciding on what to sell, how to
get the starting products, how to advertise our
products, how and when to sell our goods and
also carrying out questionnaires to gather
opinions. At the end, one group decided on selling
waffles and sandwiches. Meanwhile, they also
sold coffee and flavoured tea to anyone who
desired it. Their ‘mini-business’ was called ‘Bizim
Bakkal’.
On the other hand, the ‘Biffins’ group decided to
sell muffins of special flavours. By the end of the
sales, both groups achieved their targets – we
received way more money than the total amount
we invested to make our goods. In other words,
both teams made a big profit, and used that to
donate to a charity for a good cause.
Elif Gultekin (Y12)
At the end of the week the students had to sell their
portfolios and this year our top investor is Sven Koksal
from Year 11, he managed to make B$ 58, 88 profit on
his portfolio. Sven opted to invest his money in the
commodity wheat, this was a sound choice. Well done to
all of our risk takers.
Mr Bosman
PSYCHE TEST AND SEE THE SHRINK
The psychology department started the week with a
display of visual illusions, dream interpretations and
unusual phobias (did you know that, ironically, the fear of
long words is sesquipedalophobia. Even more bizarrely it
is sometimes referred to as
(hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia!).
We also had mock, drop in 'see the shrink' sessions
where students completed assessments on their current
or future relationships and ways to make them healthier.
Mr O’Hara
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE
The Humanities Week assembly this year saw our three
house teams face Mr Somers, the Regus, in Who Wants
to be a Millionaire.
First up, representing Oak was Jae Chang. Using his
lifelines early in the contest Jae survived the initial
questions with a little help from the front row of Oakers.
Coming on strong in the second quarter rounds Jae took
Oak up to £16,000.
David Davutoğlu and Maple followed but could not match
Oak’s success faltering on a difficult history question
testing his knowledge of South American dictators.
Our final contestant, Kaan Varol and Cedar House,
stumbled embarrassingly on a question about BISI
teachers but recovered well to take his team to £6,000.
Congratulations to Oak House for winning and thank you
to the house team representatives for being brave
contestants.
Mr Somers
18
Secondary—Maths
Secondary School – Mathletics Challenge
It is indeed a pleasure to announce that 10 of our students at BISI have been awarded the Bronze Certificates
in the Mathletics Challenge which was an online event. The challenge took place over two days-the 6th and
the 7th of November, across schools in Europe, with each day focussing on a different element of mathematical skill and knowledge.
Although every student in the Secondary was enrolled for the Mathletics, it was not made mandatory, in order
to allow students to explore and enjoy Mathematics on their own. This means that students have done Mathematics at home or during the breaks at school and achieved these results.
A big thank you to parents for encouraging your kids in taking part in the event.
The awardees are :
7I
Su Hyoun Lee
Ayush Ranjan
7S Harshavardhan Shanthamurthy has won 2 Bronze
JI yeon Lee
7B Zahirul Azhab
Mourad Kanafani
Year 7 Accelerated Mathematics students – Budding scholars of BISI
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8B - Alyssa Jones
9S - Berke Turkay
11T - Ramon Klomp
The European Maths Challenge
is an official lead-up event to
the World Education Games
happening on 6th March
2013.The warm up session for
this begins on 1st February. We
look forward to the same kind
of enthusiasm and more from
our dear students!!!
12 I - Vasily Rashkovich
“Creativity blossoms out of a free and fearless mind”.
From Team Mathematics at BISI
20
Secondary—JMUN
Junior Model United Nations 2013 Hisar Conference
8 – 12 September 2013
During Humanities Week students from BISI attended the
Junior Model United Nations Conference held at Hisar
School in Göktürk. Representing the United States, our
delegates spent four intensive days defending America’s
environmental policy and addressing this year’s theme,
‘Saving the Environment’.
The conference began with the opening ceremony. This
year Hisar’s huge auditorium was filled to capacity with
approximately 600 delegates from over thirty schools
based in Turkey, Paris, Luxembourg, Munich, Thessaloniki, Cairo and even Alabama, USA attending. This year
guest speakers included Robert Stern, a US attorney and
lead mentor of the Junior International Court of Justice,
and Ömer Madra, founder of Açık Radyo and lecturer in
International Relations and International Law at Istanbul
Bilgi University. Moreover, BISI’s role within the Turkish
MUN community was significantly enhanced this time as
we proudly fielded four Chairs and co-Chairs who sat authoritatively on the main stage during the proceedings.
Vishwesh Shah and David Davutoğlu in-charge of the
Business and Energy Committees, Chris Schmitz helping
to lead Health and Carmelo Konmaz jointly directing the
Historical Committee, which this year re-enacted the Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919 after the First World War.
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Secondary—English Department - continued
After the ceremony our delegation separated into their respective committee rooms. From this moment onwards our
students were left on their own. Special mention must be
given to our newest delegates Tem Muller and Tommaso
Danna, who overcame their first time fears and plunging
themselves whole-heartedly into the spirit of MUN life.
Completing ice-breakers and introductions our delegates
were eager to start Friday morning saw our ambassador,
Lieke Blanken bravely delivering her speech to 300 delegates. Her mention of Hurricane Sandy and Obama’s recent
re-election were timely, though her words expressing the
US’s commitment to the environment was met with some
opposition in the auditorium. Back in committees students
began drafting resolutions and lobbying for support. Akanksha Shah, Serra Peker and Virginia Maddison proved excellent lobbyists, each at the centre of crowds seeking their approval on the issues at hand. Away from the committees,
Berke Türkay and Sophie Schmitz led the US in the Security
Council threatening the room with their power of veto first
on the volatile situation in Yemen and second discussing the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the Historical Committee, the
Treaty of Versailles was redrafted under the watchful eyes
of President Woodrow Wilson In a separate room, Ji Won
Min, representing UNESC fought for the protection of the
Arctic Circle from militarization and development. All committees were supported by Wiebe Willemsen’s wonderful
presentation about the USA.
On Saturday evening many of our delegates let down their
hair at the party. Benjamin Bedoni, Tommaso and Serra
Akıncı seemed ever-present on the dance floor, Tem enjoyed
the unlimited candy-floss while Mariam Zara went missing
for a while but was later found in the midst of the partying
crowd. On Sunday we witnessed Mariam and Selin Dolay
present resolutions and ask questions in the plenary session
and several of the Chairs commented on the skills of our
school’s delegates throughout the conference.
I’d like to congratulate all chairs and delegates for their hard
work and conduct during the conference, while extending a
big thank you to our advisers Miss Lewis and Ms Holly Garner for giving up their precious free time to help manage and
organize the event.
Robert Somers
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MUN FAQ
What is MUN?
MUN stands for Model United Nations. MUN conferences simulate the real workings of the United Nations and provide a fantastic opportunity for students to develop a wider understanding of the world, to
build communication and public speaking skills and to form lasting friendships with students from all over
the world. In short, MUN gives students the chance to apply research and communication skills in an active setting. It can be a little scary at first, but most students go on to love it.
Do I have to do a lot of preparation before the conference?
Yes, you should. The conference actually begins at least two months before. Students commit to MUN by
joining either the Friday afternoon activity or after-school club. Here, you will prepare for the topics, learn
about MUN procedure and choose your committee room. Also, you’ll have to research your topic independently at home. Those students who under-prepare always under-perform. Joining MUN involves real
dedication.
Do I have to pay for conferences?
Yes. Conferences can last up to 5 days. All food and resources are provided for the duration. On average
conferences can cost between 80 and 200 EUROS. In addition to the conference fee we sometimes organize a bus from school at additional cost.
What happens in a conference?
Lots. Mostly, you are based in the committee room. Here, you are the sole representative of your nation
among 25-30 other nations and organizations. The aim of the committee is to draw up resolutions, or policies outlining the direction the United Nations should take in a particular matter, i.e. climate change; disarmament; equality etc. As a delegate of your country you must try and influence the resolution in the way
that best suits your country. You influence others through lobbying for their support. You can build alliances, send messages, mediate or dominate the floor. You can ask challenging questions, humiliate, encourage and support others, too. You spend up to two days in the committee rooms debating the issues following the MUN style of open debate.
When you become more experienced you can join the International Court of Justice as a judge or an advocate. You can nominate yourself to be ambassador and give an introductory speech to the General Assembly. You can role play a famous person in the Historical Committee. You can join the Press Team producing newsletters of the daily events. When you are really experienced you can apply for a chairing position
putting you in-charge of a whole committee room.
Lastly, there’s the party: two hours of loud music, raucous dancing and food.
How many conferences are there in a year?
We try and go to 2 junior and 2 senior conferences each year. We tend to choose Turkish based locations,
but MUN operates internationally and depending on interest the school sometimes travels abroad.
If you have any more questions concerning the MUN programme at BISI, please direct them to the advisors: Michael Tarbuck, Fiona Lewis, Holy Garner or myself.
Robert Somers
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Secondary—Sports
Istanbul Schools Sports League
Football Tournaments @ IICS
Tuesday 30th October
The Junior Girls Team played with 3 other Istanbul schools: MEF International, Gateway Academy and the International Community
School.
The team played for the first time on a full size field in a 11 a-side
tournament.
The girls had a great day
full of fun, with lots of
stories to be told.
Results:
IICS 2
MEF 2
IGA 1
BISI 2
BISI 1
BISI 0
Thursday 1st November
The Senior Girls played at the same venue again, an 11 aside. There were 6 schools in total on the day with Robert
College and Uskudar American joining the senior league.
BISI finished in 3rd place with a very successful end to the
day.
Results:
IGA 6
RC 0
UAA 1
BISI 1
BISI 3
BISI 3
The senior squad then travelled to Gateway school on Friday
16th November for a friendly
fixture.
This game resulted in a 1-1
draw. An excellent game with a
very motivated BIS team.
Congratulations!
Sandra Scotland
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Whole School—Teacher Appreciation Day
November 24 is Teacher's Day in Turkey. It was dedicated to
teachers by Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk thought and stated that “new
generation will be created by teachers”.
Teacher Appreciation Day was celebrated in the Zek campus with
the Zek PTA members and Auxiliary staff laying on a fabulous
spread of delicious food in the staff room, for the teachers to enjoy
in their break time. This spread included dishes from various
countries and a rather large cake baked by our very own pastry
chef!
A big thank you to all of you who helped make this day a special
one for our teachers, who really do deserve appreciation.
Helen Kiran
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IGCSE Awards Assembly
IGCSE Award Ceremony
On Wednesday 14th November our Year 10,
11 and 12 students gathered with parents
and guests for a heart-warming event in our
community; the IGCSE Award Ceremony.
Our quest speaker Mrs Maren Boham, also
a parent at our school, gave an inspirational
speech on her experiences in life.
During the ceremony the IGCSE students
were honoured for their great results
achieved in the International Certificate of
General Education of June 2012, and were
presented with their official certificates
from Cambridge.
The occasion was a moment for students
and their parents to reflect with pride on
their achievements during the exams and a celebration of their contribution to the school community throughout their time in Year 10 and 11.
The achievements of the BISI students in the IGCSE examinations of June 2012 were truly
inspirational, showing what hard work and good effort can accomplish.
The Director’s Award for 2012 was awarded to Christopher Schmitz.
Joy Bosman
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Visit from the Netherlands
On Tuesday 20th November the Elde College (VWO 6 TTO) from Schijndel in the Netherlands paid a visit to
Zek campus.
The students from the Elde College met up with our IB students form Year 13. All students took part in a
workshop about communication and leadership styles. They were asked to comlete a number of activities,
also there was time for all the students and staff to share their IB experiences.
It was a very successful afternoon, hopefully we can put this mini exhange on next year's calendar.
John Bosman
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Winter
Bazaar
TRY
N
E
E
e!
FRE veryon
for e
Date: Thursday 20th December
For further information
Time: 13:30-15:30
please contact:
The Primary Student
Councils and Miss
Amanda for Zek and
Mr Richard for Etiler
In the Primary School
building
Come and join in the fun and show
your support! There will be lovely
items on sale: Jewellery, books,
knitted goods, PTA Food Court,
festive cards and much more. See
on
the
other side
for
details.
Second Wacky Winter
Wednesday
Wednesday 5 December
WACKY HAIR DAY!!
full
STUDENTS and PARENTS SCHEDULE
on the day.
Come to School in your own
clothes with a festive theme!
Please collect your child from their
classroom at 13:30 and have a fun afternoon doing some festive shopping and
seasonal games!
Please send in items for our Tombola stall for
this Wacky Wednesday: new felt tip pens, new
cosmetics, new bathroom accessories, new small
statues/ decorations,
new board games.
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What will be at the Winter Bazaar?
Below is a list of stalls that will be at the Winter
Bazaar:
Greenhouse Books
J
a
r
Jamboree
Tombola
Biscuit decorating
PTA Food Court
Handmade cards
Winter raffle
Santa’s Grotto
Reindeer game
Secret Santa
WACKY WEDNESDAYS! Own clothes and...
28th November Wacky Socks, Tights Ties
5th December Wacky Hair Day
12th December Wacky Opposites Day
19th December Wacky Sports Day
We Need your help!
Please donate raffle prizes for our Winter
raffle! Can your company donate…
A dinner for two
A lunch for two
DVD/ Ipod/ Phone
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-
A fun and festive party for Children under 10 years of age to attend with parents. We will have games, crafts workshops, music and maybe even a vis- it from
Father Christmas…
The party will be held at:
The British Consulate, Mesrutiyet Caddesi, Beyoglu, Istanbul
Please purchase your tickets online at: http://www.bccistanbul.org/
event-registration Tickets are
15tl for adults, 5tl for children
and include a free drink.
If you have any questions then please email xmas@bccistanbul.org
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DIRECTORS OF SCHOOLS
Amanda Ilhan
+90 212 202 7027
Pre School & Primary School Deputy Director
amandailhan@bis.k12.tr
Richard I’Anson
+90 212 257 5136
Pre School & Primary School Director
richardianson@bis.k12.tr
William Bradley
+090 212 202 7027
Director of Secondary and Principal of
Zekeriyakoy Campus
williambradley@bis.k12.tr
Tuba Guven
+90 212 286 7375
Director of Admissions
registrar@bis.k12.tr
Helen Kiran
+90 212 202 7027
Head of PR/Communications
communications@bis.k12.tr
Find us on
www.bis.k12.tr
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