November Newsletter Eng - Swans International School

 November
Remembrance Day Assemblies
Primary
Swans Primary School shared their thoughts on Remembrance Day by holding their
own Remembrance Day Assembly. The children lit a remembrance candle, sang a
beautiful Remembrance Song and wore their poppies with pride. A one minute
silence was held at 11o´clock. Prior to the assembly the children had discussions
both in class and assemblies about the significance of the poppies to prepare them
for the day. Over 400€ was raised for The Royal British Legion.
CONTENTS
Year 3 trip
Halloween
Mount Toubkal
La Concha
Interhouse football
Secondary On Friday 8th November, Year 9 students presented an assembly about
Remembrance Day and World War One. They explained the terrible
conditions soldiers faced on the front line and also the Christmas truce of
1914 when German and British soldiers exchanged gifts on
the battlefield. The origins of the Poppy, as the symbol of
remembrance, were explained, and a war poem, Flanders Fields, by John McCrae was read
out. Students and staff were encouraged to buy poppies at the front desk to raise money for
the victims of war and their families. The students that presented the assembly were:
Megan Holland, Lilia Stenger, Jesper De Jonge, Brandon Lee, Salim Rabhi, Katya Patsvald,
Vanessa Brogsitter-Finck, Rebecca Frismodt and Niko Moffatt.
It’s a girl!!
Congratulations to Miss Catherine and, of course, Dave, who became proud parents of baby Carys Anne,
who was born on November 13th. Both parents and baby are doing fine! :-)
December dates for your diary
4th No Swimming and ICT for Year 4 and Year 5 at Secondary due to exams
13th am Key Stage 2 to attend dress rehearsal of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
13th 1pm-4pm Christmas Fair at Secondary
16th Final assembly 9.30am for children only
16th Choir performing for the elderly in San Pedro (2pm provisional time)
17th Reception Nativity performance 9.30am
19th Key Stage 1 Christmas performance 9.30am Last day for Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1
20th Key Stage 2 Christmas Performance. Children to arrive at 11am.
Christmas concert at 12pm school closes at 2pm.
Primary Parents Visit to Swans Secondary
We would like to invite Primary parents to Swans Secondary so that you can see the facilities we have to
offer and have lunch in our dining room. If you would like to visit the Secondary school, please pass by
the office to make an appointment with Miss Cris or Miss Susanne.
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Botanical Gardens
Year 3 had a wonderful day out at the beautiful Botanical Gardens in
Malaga.
We went on a nature journey, experiencing different trees and plants
from around the world. Our knowledgeable guides told us many
interesting facts and stories, including that of the ‘Secrets Bench’ and ‘The
Legend of the Dragon Tree!’
We also enjoyed a tasty picnic, a hilarious puppet show and we even
made a lovely pinecone water feature to take home.
Overall, we had a fantastic time!
From Croatia With Love
Junk Art in Year 5
Reading is all about going on a journey and seeing
the world through someone else´s eyes, and so too
was the library´s International Bookmark
Exchange, which concluded this month, when
winners were presented with beautiful homemade
bookmarks all the way from Croatia. The school
there also sent a wealth of wonderful information
about themselves, which is on display in the
library for all students to enjoy.
Inspired by abstract art and Pablo Picasso, the
pupils of year 5 created their own 3D “junk” vase of
flowers. Debbie Pea (former parent and teacher) an
interior designer, came to work with each class to
produce their own abstract sculptures. Every child
brought in any unwanted items from home and then
in small groups built the sculptures around a
chicken wire frame.
The creative buzz this
generated and teambuilding development were
valuable learning outcomes in this collaborative art
task.
Year Four Making Chocolate
In Year Four we have been learning all about chocolate! Amongst other
things, we have learnt what the features of a chocolate bar wrapper are.
After designing our own wrappers it seemed only right to make our own
chocolate bars to go in them! In groups we tasted a range of possible
ingredients before making our final decisions. We chose from cherries,
apricots, sultanas, marshmallows, popcorn and biscuits. We were then able
to add our ingredients to melted chocolate before pouring it into moulds
and leaving it to set in the fridge. Next we wrapped our bars in our carefully
designed wrappers.
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Talent Show
The Swans Annual Talent Show is always eagerly awaited by students and staff. This year there was more
than a dozen acts, totalling more than 28 participants, showcasing many different talents. Most were
involved in singing duets and solos, although there were also two groups of dancers, a drummer, a
pianist, and a duo consisting of a pianist and a juggler! All tested a lot and was a close competition for the
amount of talent they had. Many acts, and over an hour
later, the judges: Mr Christian, Mr Rob, Miss Katie and
Miss Leslie retired to meditate on the verdict. Although
it was difficult to make, their decision was very well
received by all. In 3rd place was Alex Tawil , for his
exceptional drum solo , in 2nd was Isabel Brogsitter-Finck
for her version of Nina Samone’s classic, Feeling Good'
but the winner was Jessica Newton singing a stunning
composition of her own, 'Who Are We Now'. All in
attendance had a fantastic afternoon and congratulations
must go to all involved, especially the Year 12 students
who organised the event.
María Not Bravo Year 12
Year 5 Home Learning Project – The Holiday Show
The Holiday show has been the topic in year 5 for the first half of the autumn term. In geography, pupils
looked at the differences between Brazil and Spain and the negative and positive impact of tourism. In
music we studied cyclic patterns and call and response from Africa. In
art we looked at abstract art and how Picasso has influence tourism in
Malaga. By looking at all these strands we were encouraging the
children to have a more international outlook. Rather than set weekly
homework the children we given a home learning project to cover the
whole half term. This project was based on Blooms Taxonomy of
Learning and involved a range of multiple intelligences. As the exit
point for the topic the children exhibited their projects in school and
then peer assessed each other’s projects with two stars and a wish.
Duke of Edinburgh International Award
Next month we will be starting the Duke of Edinburgh International
Award for Year 9 and 10 students. The International Award is a
challenging programme of activities for young people, which encourages
personal discovery, self-reliance and responsibility through four areas: Service, Skills, Physical
Recreation and an Adventurous Journey.
The International Award is a prestigious achievement recognised by Universities around the world. It
complements the CAS activities of the IB Diploma Programme which students complete in Years 12 and
13 and develops skills which will be valuable in later life and which we would like all our students to
display. For more information visit the International Award website at www.intaward.org or speak to
Mr. Newton.
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Halloween celebrations
Every year the children at Swans look forward to our Halloween
celebrations. On Thursday 24th October, it was the eagerly
anticipated Key Stage Two
Halloween Disco. It was a
very spooky affair with all
the
children
wearing
fantastically
ghoulish
costumes. Year 12 students
from the Secondary school
organised a ghostly ‘pass
the parcel’ as well as the
traditional apple-bobbing.
The same evening, there
was another disco, held at the secondary school and also
organised by Year 12, for Years 6 and 7. Another gruesome
soiree was attended by many, and all appreciated the efforts
of the staff and students responsible for the evening.
The following day was one of the highlights of the Primary
school year – the Halloween assembly! As is tradition, Miss
Karen told a spooky Halloween tale, this year all about the
mystery of the ‘skeleton money’. After this, the children sang
some Halloween songs before joining in with the staff to do
‘The Timewarp’!
Primary InterHouse
Football Tournament
Swans Primary School held
their first 'Inter-house Football
tournament' for children in
Key Stage 2. There was a
fantastic atmosphere on the
pitch and from the supporters.
During the girls tournament
there were an impressive 26
goals scored! Well done to the
Canary boys and girls who
won both tournaments.
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Mount Toubkal (altitude 4167m)-Atlas Mountains, Morocco-October 2013
At the end of October I was part of a group of intrepid adventurers who
signed up to The Rifcom Toubkal Summit Challenge, a charity fund raising
event.
The promotional literature asked a pre-event question, “What to expect?”
The answer left me feeling challenged but re-assured, “to climb Mount
Toubkal is to bag one of the world´s monumental summits, a challenging
ascent through beautiful alpine terrain”
However, the pre-event training recommended various weekend
mountainous experiences, running up and down the Gibraltar steps (try
it!) and a daily pulse raising work out of longer than 30 minutes. We
needed muscular endurance and the capacity to function at altitudes up to
4200metres! I did it all: swimming training 3 to 5 times weekly, running
on the beach (and slowly finishing the Marbella 10km charity run on Sept
1st), cycling to and from school ,walking uphill to school in new boots
carrying a progressively heavier pack and walking everywhere!
All this led me to believe this was going to be a HARD physical challenge
and it was! On the first day we walked 12km with a vertical climb of
1460m from summer to winter, to a mountain refuge (at 3207m) where we
spent the night resting (sleeping was difficult and facilities minimal) and
becoming accustomed to the altitude!
Up at dawn the second day and out into the wind and snow, I started to have my doubts( I know now
that most of us did) as to my ability to reach the summit in such adverse conditions and dressed in ski
gear! Well, we made it after a slow vertical climb of 960m and a distance of only 6km, in what felt like a
lifetime of just getting one foot to go in front of the other!
The photo opportunity was
over in a minute as the
weather worsened and we
ran or staggered off the
summit marker! The
recorded weather was a
temperature of -14C with
winds of 60kph and ice
precipitating onto us and
onto ground already
covered in snow and ice.
The ascent was the hardest
thing I´ve ever done,
physically and mentally,
and the descent not much
easier due to the climatic
conditions and terrain of
scree and huge boulders.
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Mount Toubkal (altitude 4167m)-Atlas Mountains, Morocco-October 2013
Cont...
I felt then, and I feel now, an enormous sense of pride in my
achievement and am privileged to have met so many
wonderful people who came together as a team and
supported each other in this challenge. Thanks particularly
to the excellent leadership Khalid, our Moroccan based
guide, and Matt Butler.
On the third day, after a stormy night in the refuge, we
walked back down into summer! I then experienced a
further life affecting event, a visit to an NGO project, the
Tiwizi association; an opportunity to see what can be done
in poor communities with education and sustainable
development and how WE can help, not just by raising
money but by DOING!
After a delicious lunch in the project´s schoolroom, we listened to a talk given by the founder, who had
the vision to see that the education of girls and the empowerment of women in such communities is vital.
He told us, that before anything was possible in his village´s case, he had to get water piped to the village
so that his sisters, daughters and mother no longer had to carry on their traditional role of collecting
water FOR 4 or 5 HOURS OF EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES! You don´t have time for school when that
is your role. Now many of the girls (and boys) go to school and learn skills we take for granted. They
also learn to cultivate and market special crops (saffron) to bring income in, keep bees , sell honey and
provide hospitality for visitors and school groups who help them with hands on projects and enjoy
holidays in the area; another way of helping sustainable development in these communities.
Rifcom is working to share these visions by building and developing equally sustainable projects in the
Rif Mountains. It is run by local volunteers committed to making a real difference to their neighboring
communities living within our sight and yet in poverty. Please visit Rifcom.org for more information and
to see if you could help.
As I write this I know that as a group we raised 18000 Euros (or more as contributions are still arriving)in
sponsorship and this will be spent on providing a 2 room primary school for a remote village in the Rif
mountains.
Making face to face contact with a really needy
community was very rewarding and beneficial to me.
As a school we are hoping to start working with some
of these projects; hopefully, our first involvement will
be during this academic year when a small group of
CAS (IB students), lead by our IT expert Jero, will
travel to Beb Bered secondary school to install
computers donated by Swans. I am visiting this school
and meeting the Headmaster this weekend in the
village (as well as helping paint a medical centre!) as
part of my continuing commitment to help the many
people in the world who are much less fortunate than
us.
Anne Smyth. 22/11/13
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Maths Olympiad
On Thursday 14th November, there was a Maths Olympiad in Laude
International School. Swans took 5 students starting from Year 7 to Year 9.
These were: Esther Neville Year 7, Cedric Cleymans Year 8, Javier Larrain,
Carlos Casado and myself, from Year 9.
We arrived at Laude at 9:45am and we had refreshments before the
competition. At 10am, we started on the first challenge. We divided into
groups between schools. My group was called Hypatia, after a female
Greek mathematician.
For the first task, we took turns going into a room and memorizing shapes
with blocks and diagrams. Then we went back to our table and described
the shape to the rest of our group without using our hands. We had to do
10 shapes in 40 mins. My team got ahead in the first challenge with 55
points. The next one was answering 10 maths problems. They were really
hard. My team got 6 out of 10 right in 40 mins.
After that we had a 15 min break, while the organizers from Laude prepared some buzzers for the next
challenge. After it had been set up, we lined up behind some tables in our team. The game was, if you
knew the answer to the question the organizer asked, you clicked the button.
Each year group had different questions. You had a paper and a pen to work out the hard questions
but most of them were easy. For example, one of the questions was: “Hypotenuse, Opposite and…” and
the competitors had to click the button when they knew the answer and say “Adjacent.” The thing was,
if someone else pressed the button before you, your buzzer didn’t work until someone put the power
on again. Our team also came first with 80 points. In total we had 195 points.
For the last challenge, we had to make a poster. It was assessed by the creativity, the mathematical
content and how effective it was. In the end, we came 5th in that challenge and earned 50 points.
We finished first with 245 points, and were awarded a medal.
It was an excellent experience, both fun and challenging. I would love to take part in it again next year.
Wakeskating Competition
On November 7th, I went to Barcelona for an important
Wakeboard/Wake skate competition. It was the Spanish
championships 2013; it was in Castelldefels, near Barcelona.
I achieved 1st place in the Wakeskate junior category, which is
between the ages of 10 and 20 years old.
My main competitor was my friend Jordan, we ride together so
we progress together, and we have more of a friendship than a
rivalry. It was a 3 day event, the first day was practice, the
second day was qualifiers and the third day was finals.
The thing that I enjoyed most was day 3- the finals, this was
because there was no rivalry but just motivation.
The thing that I found most challenging was to stay calm before my run.
I will try and keep my title for next year by practicing more and more.
Ruben Ortiz Year 10
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Fund raising for the Philippines
In order to raise funds for those affected by the recent typhoon in the
Philippines, the Primary School held a
cake sale and both schools held Mufti
days. The events were well supported
and a grand total of 1900€ has been raised
to help the affected area.
As ever, many thanks to all those who
sent in cakes, your support is invaluable.
Well done to the Year 5 Doves for
organizing the cake sale at such short
notice.
Swans La Concha Climb
On Saturday 9th November, a group of participants, including students, parents and teachers, took part
in a climb to the top of the La Concha Mountain. The group age range from 10 to 60 and included staff
from both the primary and secondary school. In total there was of 40 participants, stretching out over a
half a kilometre. The distance of the route was
approximately 15 km.
Despite the cold weather, things started to warm up
as we walked up the mountain. The whole journey
lasted a total of 8 hours, including a 3 hour ascent
and a 2 and a half hour descent. When we got to the
top, we discovered some spectacular views, which
we observed for a while, before being faced with the
daunting task of going back down.
After the climb everyone was extremely tired.
Happily, there were no injuries or problems and,
overall, it was a great day for all who took part.
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