BSA Bulletin

Annual Newspaper of the British School of Amsterdam BSA Bulletin A Letter from the Principal. Chairman of the Board of Governors awarded an M.B.E For enquiries telephone 020 6797840 or visit www.britams.nl Third Edition — July 2006 Photographs taken by and reproduced with permission from Ms. A Seveno-Weideman seveno@planet.nl Inside this issue Dear Parents, The end of the academic year is fast approaching, and once again the school has experienced a very successful year. There have been achievements on both personal levels and as a school as a whole—there are too many to mention in this short space but I would like to offer my congratulations to Mr. K. McCarthy the chairman of the Board of Governors who was awarded an M.B.E for his services to British education in the Netherlands in the Queen’s New Year Honor’s List. Mr. McCarthy joined the Board of Governors in 1992 when his daughter was a pupil at the school and has continued to serve as Chairman until today. We are very grateful for his continued loyalty and support to the school. If you have children at the Middle School you will have noticed that the extension to the Middle School is well underway. The architect’s impressions show you how the school will look from the outside, internally the new extension includes two Third Edition — July 2006 additional laboratories for science and ICT, a large music room with individual practice cells, a design technology studio, a library with study units and additional classrooms. The extension is due to open in September and we look forward to offering such facilities to your children. Preparations to offer IGCSE have been completed and Pupils in Year 9 have now selected their options and will start their coursework in preparation for the IGCSEs that they will sit in 2008. Thank you for your support to the school, M.W. G. Roberts Shake, Rattle, Roll Martin Waddell Charity Week, 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Page 1 A Nursery Rhyme Christmas—Nursery A Christmas Journey—Year 1 Photo Shoot Photo Shoot The Snowman Band Year 2 Xmas Around the World Year 4 Our Day Out Key Stage 3 The School Choir The King’s Birthday Cake Reception Humpty Dumpty Year 4 and 5 Field Trip Field Trip Year 6-9 Shake, Rattle and Roll! Shake, Rattle and Roll are probably the noisiest visitors who have ever visited the British School of Amsterdam. Jim Bernadin and Paul Whittington, who make up the musical duo, came to the Nursery and Infant School on Wednesday 29th September and to the Junior School the following day. Both days began with a hilarious show involving jokes, juggling, audience participation and fantastic music all played on percussion instruments. Children heard the marimba, drum kit, cowbell, snare drum, whistles, maracas and many, many more percussion instruments played at super high speeds. The music ranged from Spanish marimba melodies, to military marches to beautiful Brazilian tunes. Some children were chosen to have a go at improvising on the drum kit. Mrs. Boyle, Miss Rowley, Mr. Handisyde and Mrs. Rogers also bravely had a turn at improvising. After the shows the classes all took turns to have a music workshop with Jim and Paul. Here they practised various rhythms using first their bodies and voices and then using the instruments. Everybody got to have a turn and the results were amazing. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed Shake, Rattle and Roll and we hope to arrange another visit in the not too distant future. Children at the Junior and Infant Schools taking part in the music workshops. Third Edition — July 2006 Page 2 Author Visit—Martin Waddell. In October the children at the British School celebrated ‘Book Week’ and all their literacy lessons throughout the week focused on different book related activities. The children at the Nursery/Infant School made a class book each while the Junior school studied a particular book and ran a book cover competition. At the end of the week, the author Martin Waddell came to visit and read to the children and talked about his books. The children at the Nursery/Infant School loved him reading some of their favourite books which he has written, these included Can’t you sleep Little Bear?, Farmer Duck and The Pig in the Pond. At the Junior school, Martin Waddell told the children all about his life and work as an author. The children got to ask him questions about his books and the children in Year 4 who had been researching authors on the internet were able to impress Martin Waddell by showing him how much they knew about him. He read books to each year group and talked more about each book, for example all the different Quacks in Farmer Duck…….everyone had great fun joining in with these. Gruiten Project The ‘Gruiten’ tour bus visited the children at the British School of Amsterdam, in association with the Gruiten Project. This national project is designed to promote healthy eating in children and to combat obesity which is becoming a growing problem in society today. In particular, the project aims to encourage children to eat at least two pieces of fruit each day. Speakers explained the importance of healthy eating to the children and encouraged them to take part in the project. As an incentive, all the children were presented with a special lunch box which is designed especially to allow fruit to easily fit. Third Edition — July 2006 Page 3 Charity Week The children, parents and staff at the British School of Amsterdam have always generously supported any fund raising events at the school and this term proved no exception. In response to the two world disasters that sadly occurred in the Autumn term, namely Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Pakistan, and in continued support of the BBC’s Children in Need, and the ‘Sisters of Charity ‘in Amsterdam the school organized a Charity Week during November and as a result raised almost €10,000. Different events were organized in each school. In the Middle School, the children ran cake, toy and book sales. They organized a book swap and took part in a sponsored spell. Pupils paid money to have their hair braided and to wear silly make up. In the Junior School the children covered an outline of Mr. Handisyde’s head with coins, made € job boxes in school and earned a euro for every job they did at home. They took part in a sponsored silent read and made cakes for a cake sale. In the Infant School children covered an outline of Pudsey Bear in coins, they took part in a non-uniform day. They made cakes and sold them at playtimes. Just as the children in the Junior school they made € job boxes .At the end of term, collections were made at the end of each Christmas production and all money raised was donated to the chosen causes. BBC Children in Need Children raised money by selling tickets to win a Pudsey. Sinterklaas "Zie ginds komt de stoomboot uit Spanje weer aan. Hij brengt on Sint-Nicolaas, ik zie hem al staan. Hoe huppelt zijn paardje het dek op en neer, hoe waaien de wimpels al heen en al weer." Sinterklaas paid a visit to all the children at the British School of Amsterdam on Monday 5th of December. He was welcomed by their singing of traditional Dutch songs and was entertained by some children at the Junior school who played musical pieces for him. Sinterklaas was accompanied by two ‘Bonte Piet’, who threw handfuls of pepernoten and helped to hand out presents for everyone. Sinterklaasje, bonne bonne, bonne, What is written in Sinterklaas’ book? Third Edition — July 2006 Page 4 A Nursery Rhyme Christmas - Nursery Dear Father Christmas….. Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall……. Little Bo Peep... There was an air of anticipation and excitement in the Nursery/Infant School hall as proud parents waited for their children to perform their Christmas Production ‘A Nursery Rhyme Christmas’ for the second time this week. The Nursery production involves careful planning on a large scale. It is by no means easy to ensure that every child (many of whom are only 3 years old and have been in the Nursery for just one term) has a part to play as well as a costume and a hat! The parents were not to be disappointed, the production, as always proved a huge success. At the start of the performance the children posted letters to Father Christmas, expressing their Christmas wishes. All the children asked Father Christmas for a character from different nursery rhymes. The elves personally delivered the letters to Father Christmas and then set about making all the toys in the toy factory ensuring that all the wishes were granted. The Nursery children had all chosen the toys they wanted to play and were dressed up as characters such as Spiders, from ‘Incey Wincey Spider’, mice from ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’ and soldiers from ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ etc. The children obviously enjoyed the opportunity to perform on the stage and danced and sang with great enthusiasm and thoroughly entertained the audience. Twinkle Twinkle... The Finale—We wish you a merry Christmas….. Father Christmas. Third Edition — July 2006 Page 5 A Christmas Journey - Year One The children in Year One this year re-told the traditional Christmas story of the Nativity by combining two tales—’Humph the Camel’ and ‘The sleepy Shepherd’ . Humph the grumpy camel normally shows not the slightest interest in anything. However, to everyone's surprise and delight, when he meets the new-born King he just can't contain his excitement and joy! The sleepy shepherd lives up to his name, he cannot stay awake for anything, he even falls asleep counting his sheep. However as the story unfolds, he does at least discover that Christmas is definitely worth staying awake for. The children and staff had obviously spent a long time preparing for the production from learning the script, the songs and the dances to the more ‘behind the scenes’ organisation including the costumes and the painting of the scenery. All the hard work most definitely paid off. The children gave a wonderful performance of which they should be very proud. The children looked splendid in their costumes and the dance with the ‘illuminated wands gave the most magical effect and left everyone feeling the spirit of Christmas. A Christm as Journey - Y ear One Star of Wonder. The shepherds watched their flocks by night. Bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh. 1,2,3,4,5 sheep Third Edition — July 2006 The Finale Magical Dancers Page 6 Photo Shoot! Third Edition — July 2006 Page 7 Photo Shoot! Third Edition — July 2006 Page 8 The Snowman Band - Year Two Year 2 pulled out all the stops and amazed us all with their wonderful performance of “The Snowman Band”. They filled the hall to bursting point with proud parents, brothers, sisters and friends. The story built up with a range of people young and old enjoying the activity of building a snowman. Each time the snowman was left with a musical instrument. Towards the end of the performance, there were 8 snowmen, each with a different musical instrument and hey presto, we had our very own “Snowman Band”. Jack Frost used his magic dust to bring them alive and play their instruments for us all. A rather beautiful sun in a stunning costume then warmed us all, but sadly melted the snowmen who had melted the hearts of the audience. With all the heat generated by the cheering and clapping of the appreciative audience, I’m amazed the snowmen didn’t melt earlier! Can’t wait for the next snowfall in Amsterdam… Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!! ‘Sadly, the sun melted all the snowmen.’ ‘Jack Frost bought the snowmen to life.’ Third Edition — July 2006 Page 9 Christmas Around the World—Year Four The children in Year Four performed ‘Christmas Around the World’ to a packed and highly appreciative audience at the end of the term. The children took the audience on a lively trip around the world and explained on their journey how Christmas is celebrated in different countries. Children danced the flamenco, showing how Christmas is celebrated in Spain, Christmas in Hawaii was spent on the beach. A Chinese dragon dance illustrated how the festival is celebrated in China and American children showed the audience how to ‘Rock and Roll’ and had many parents dancing on their feet. The message throughout the production was clear, that whether you actually celebrate Christmas yourself, regardless of where you live in the world and how individuals choose to celebrate it, Christmas is a very special time of year for some people. It is a cause for celebration, a time for giving and a time for reflection. The children in Year Four put on a great performance and thoroughly entertained the audience. They acted and sang with great confidence and obvious enjoyment. The costumes and scenery all added to the overall effect - a performance to remember and to be proud of! Celebrations around the world from Hawaii to Spain, from India to Africa. Third Edition — July 2006 Page 10 Our Day Out- Key Stage 3 Pupils in Years 7-9 performed ‘Our Day Out’ at the end of the Autumn term. This play, by acclaimed writer Willy Russell, was first seen on BBC 2 in 1977 and has now been specially edited for use by schools, colleges and groups. Sad, humorous and true to life it tells the story of some underprivileged school children who are taken on a day’s outing by their teachers. The children boisterously rampage through a roadside café, a zoo, Conway castle and a beach. A joyous celebration of the joys and agonies of growing up, but also a sharp pointer to the depressing present and future, for a day out is as much as these children can expect. What the cast had to say…... I was one of The Bored Girls and I was always saying “It’s boring, it’s really boring, it’s blooming boring!” Even after the play was over, I kept on saying it during the school day for fun! The play was based in Liverpool and the students in Key Stage 3 played the parts of children in the Progress Class at a school. Mrs Kay, their teacher, organises a trip to Conway Castle, calling at Chester Zoo on the way. Mr Briggs is sent with them to keep an eye on Mrs Kay and to make sure the kids behave. The play last year was The Bluez Brothers. We sang along to a CD and people thought that Key Stage 3 children can’t sing like Key Stage 2 children. In fact, in Our Day Out we did all the singing ourselves. I think the props were good too, like the fake cigarettes, the candyfloss and the kiss-me-quick hats. The cast performed very well, but I want to say thank you to Miku for reminding me of my lines – I almost forgot them because I was so nervous! Junghwa Lee 9AL Third Edition — July 2006 Page 11 Our Day Out - Key Stage 3 When we first read through the script, I thought it was a good story, but I didn’t think it was going to turn out successfully because some people didn’t learn their lines. When the performance started we were all very nervous and I nearly forgot the lines. I was playing “a kid” and by the time it was my turn to speak I wasn’t that nervous. I think our production of “Our Day Out” by Willie Russell was very good – it was the best play ever. I especially liked the fact that we did it together.—Kan Nagahata 8FM The School Choir—Carols at Christmas The British School of Amsterdam school choir sang carols under the Christmas tree at the Hilton Hotel and in the Begijnhof church during the lead up to the festive season. They were well received at both venues and as always, sang exceptionally well under the direction of Mrs. Cowie the choir mistress, Mrs. Reynolds and Miss M. Kennedy who accompanied the choir on the piano. Visitors at the Hilton hotel were encouraged to join in with some of the more familiar carols, and many did so, although not everyone sang in tune! There were also solo and duet flute performances which everyone enjoyed. Third Edition — July 2006 Page 12 The King’s Birthday Cake—Reception For the next act, please welcome…… The children in the Reception classes performed the ‘King’s Birthday Cake’ to a packed and very appreciative audience at the end of the Spring Term. The King’s Birthday Cake was written and composed by Mrs. Stout, the music director at the school and was originally performed at the British School in 2001. Some of the original cast remain at the school and are now in Year 4! The story is set in the Royal Palace. The King wakes up on the morning of his birthday looking forward to his day ahead - a day filled with party games, entertainment, presents and of course, most importantly—a cake fit for a King. However, in all her planning the Queen has forgotten to organize the cake, so hurriedly rushes to the Royal bakers and orders one post haste. However it will take at least four hours to mix the ingredients, to bake the cake and to decorate it, so the Queen has to stretch out the entertainment until the cake is finally ready. The King gets a little impatient waiting for the cake but the wait is certainly worth it because it looks fantastic and it is delicious. The children gave a fantastic performance, they had all learnt the words to the songs and sang beautifully, they dance with obvious enjoyment and delivered their lines with great confidence. A special thank must be said to everyone who helped with the costumes, they were absolutely stunning. Windmills from Amsterdam The Cast The Royal Bakers Third Edition — July 2006 Page 13 Humpty Dumpty—Year Three As the lights went down, the audience applauded the arrival of the Year Three actors as they took to the stage for their annual spring production. The show, “Humpty Dumpty – was he pushed or did he fall?” was based upon a court case to discover who, if anybody, was responsible for the historic fall of the great egg! The show was a singing and dancing ‘eggstravaganza’ enhanced by ‘eggcellent’ costumes kindly created by a talented group of parents and a bright, colourful backdrop that was also the work of some kind volunteers. The children rose to the challenge of live performance and entertained the audience with their singing, acting and comic ad-libs. Besides Humpty himself, there was an agHumpty Dumpty. Was he pushed or did he fall? ing judge, Little Jack Horner, Jack and Jill, The Duke of York and his Brigade and many other familiar nursery rhyme characters all brought to life to help tell the tale of what turns out to be a tragic accident. The show was enjoyed by all and demonstrated the hard work of all those involved in the production of this memorable show. After two performances to a packed hall the children hung up their costumes for the last time. If only it was so easy to pack the songs away too – the teachers all agreed they just wanted to be able to wake up without singing “We are fine organic sheep, we belong to little Bo-Peep!” Third Edition — July 2006 Page 14 Year Four and Five Field Trip Staff and children from Years Four and Five had a fun packed visit to ‘De Peelhaas’ in Ysselsteyn in Noord Limburg. The weather was kind all week and the facilities at the camp were amazing (despite having to do all the washing up!) Full use was made of the huge field and woodland areas both for structured activities and during free time. On the Monday evening the children enjoyed a sports tournament including volleyball, rounders, a blind fold ‘Night line’ walk and the unusual Peel Golf (something like crazy golf through the woods with a clog on the end of a wooden stick.) On the Tuesday the children visited a Bell museum, a Nature museum, a Planetarium and Observatory and also went on a woodland walk. Just when they were thinking the trip couldn’t get any better, Wednesday bought them to the Toverland theme park, where there really was something for everyone. Evenings were as funpacked as the days with an orienteering activity, a Cluedo ‘Whodunnit?’ mystery, Bingo and Beetle games as well as a talent and karaoke evening. The year Five children also took advantage of staying an extra day and took a trip to a war and resistance museum and had a quiz evening. A video record of the week will feature in the school’s end of year exhibition. A provisional booking has been made for next years camp: week commencing Monday 7th May 2007…….. See you there. The blind folded ‘Night Line’ walk The Bell Museum Third Edition — July 2006 Page 15 Middle School News School Camp Years 6-9—Nautilus Sailing Camp Years 6 to 9 went in June to Kerkdriel near Den Bosch to Nautilus Sailing Camp. There pupils had the opportunity to sail, canoe, climb, go on a zip wire and skate. They had to work in teams to build a raft to sail across a short distance of water—some rafts were more sea worthy than others and though most pupils made it to the other side, some rafts sank and the pupils had to be rescued by launch. In addition to this, they went on a long walk by the river Maas and took part in a games circuit which included a gladiator game and a bungee-run. They also worked in teams against each other to build a tower out of beer crates. Great fun! Spelling Bee! On Friday 30th June the first ever Spelling Bee Final was held at the Middle/Secondary School. Heats were held within the form groups in Years 4 to 9 and the finalists took part in a nail-biting competition held in the Middle School Hall. In the preliminary heats, words were spelt from a list of about 300 words which the children had had the opportunity to learn in the weeks leading up to the final. The final round involved spelling words which were unknown to the competitors. After a very tense round, the winner was Mayuko Mikogami in 6RC. Her prize was a set of cinema tickets for 4 people. We would like to congratulate Mayuko on her success and look forward to next year’s competition. Well done to everyone who took part. Accredited Centre From September 2006 we will move for the first time into Key Stage 4. Children in Year 9 have made their options selections and will begin their courses of study leading to IGCSE examinations in June 2008. The School is now an accredited centre for both Cambridge University examinations and Edexcel examinations up to Advanced Level. You will have noticed that work is in progress for the new extension to the Middle School. Log onto the BSA Middle School weblog to watch how the building is progressing. The new building is on course to be in use in September. The school looks forward to offering new and exciting facilities to its pupils. Cathedral School Chelmsford On 27th June the children from the Cathedral School in Chelmsford in Essex visited us again. They were in Holland for their annual summer camp. During the morning they performed some pieces from their forthcoming summer production, Midsummer Night’s Dream. The children in Years 7,8 and 9 put together a Crazy Sports programme for the second part of the morning for all the Year 5 and 6 children at the school and our visitors. We hope they will visit us again next year. In the coming year we will maintain links with the Cathedral School through a shared weblog and then next summer the “e-friends” will get to meet each other. Third Edition — July 2006 ‘Joseph’ Years 5 and 6 have been working very hard on their production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. All the Key Stage 2 teachers have been working hard too to make this the most ambitious production ever. Special thanks are due to Mrs van Akker for the hours of time that she has devoted to producing the costumes and props and to other parents who have contributed to making Joseph a success. Children on the climbing wall— Year 6-9 camp. Page 16