BOS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2016

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Baku Oxford School

WWW.BAKUOXFORDSCHOOL.COM E-MAIL: [email protected] TEL: +99412 4041330 FAX: +99412 4041329

Baku Oxford School Winter Newsletter 2015 – 2016 Academic Year

Dear members of the school community, “Encouraging an environment of

mutual tolerance, respect and Happy New Year and welcome to the understanding among all cultures in winter issue of the Baku-Oxford School meaningful and engaging learning newsletter. Many things have happened opportunities while developing a global since the autumn issue, so please read perspective.” through the following pages to keep yourself informed of previous and We will now discuss how we are meeting BOS Celebrating New Year. upcoming events. our own definition as an International School and how we can further develop I hope you enjoyed all the Christmas our academic and pastoral programmes to productions just before the break and a big greater effect in this area. thank you to all those who took part in the activities and helped to organsise them. As a gentle reminder, can parents please The children enjoyed themselves keep to the communication policy sent out immensely. previously. This means communication with staff via e-mail not by phone and Page 1 At the end of this month a joint contacting the individual subject teachers CIS/NEASC team will visit the school to directly not through the homeroom see if we are ready to move forwards with teachers. In an emergency, you can accreditation. This will form a major part contact the divisional head secretaries of the school improvement programme who can pass on a message. If you require and help us to embed the school mission another copy of the policy, please request and vision as we move into the future. one from divisional head secretaries, or Related to this has been the creation of the refer to the parent handbook on the school’s definition of internationalism website. /interculturalism. The school community has come up with the following definition: Alexander Simester Principal Baku Oxford School

BOS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2016

Every Friday we gather together for an assembly. It is my favourite part of the week in which we celebrate the students’ achievements, both academic and personal. Many of your children will have come home with a ‘Star of the Week’ certificate, stating what they have done to be the class star. Every child will receive a certificate this year for their unique qualities and achievements.

Early Years Foundation Stage

Happy New Year! Welcome to our Early Years winter newsletter, we hope you enjoyed the winter break and spent time with family and friends.

In recent weeks I have had the opportunity to observe the children’s learning across Early

Years and I have been very impressed by the students’ engagement and eagerness to learn. The children have been working extremely We were so excited to showcase the students in hard in their recent topics; Nursery have the New Year concerts. It was lovely to see so engaged in many activities to learn the colour many of you in the audience and the children names. Foundation 1 students have made lots did a truly fantastic job, I hope you were as of patterns and enjoyed painting wild animal proud as we were. We look forward to seeing prints. Foundation 2 took a journey round the you at future events throughout the year. school to find out about all the jobs in our school community.

Last of all, please ensure the children are in their classes before 9am. Students coming in after this time disrupt the lessons and the learning of other children. Each morning the children enjoy circle time and review what they

have learned, for our early years students it is Our activities programme has been a huge the most important part of the day. success, we were able to add a wider variety of activities which we have complimented this Ms Clare Ranns semester. Head of Early Years Foundation Stage

BOS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2016

6 divided we fall” and Mrs. Al-Admani, The spirit of this time of the year is to spread Primary School News mother of a new student Al-Bandari in Grade peace, love and joy and our children

3 made a presentation on their family’s home expressed this in abundance throughout the

Happy New Year! country of Kuwait. Thank you Mrs. Al- week. Every morning groups of children The second half of the first semester was Admani for your valuable contribution to our greeted us singing a whole host of Christmas extremely busy for Primary students. It was a understanding of Kuwait and our developing songs from around the world. Some even time of active learning, celebration, building sense of respect for other nation’s people, offered special candies and delicacies from childhood memories and not a little fun! The customs, history and culture. their countries. The happiness and true joy on essential ingredients of good Primary parents’ and visitors’ faces was priceless, learning. It was also a time for many whole setting them on their way with a huge smile school activities where senior and junior and a warm heart. students shared their learning and cooperated wonderfully across a number of academic disciplines. This enhances and secures the feelings of Baku Oxford School truly being a “family” where we share and celebrate each other’s success and older, more experienced students act as role models for the younger members of the BOS family. In addition, it gives us opportunities to showcase one of our core values, namely promoting interculturalism and internationalism. We opened with a whole school project of Modern Languages Week On the final day many parents, family and Humanities week (12th-16th October) friends of the school came into school and During this week a very attractive and wherein students from Grade 5 and the enjoyed scintillating dramatic and musical informative display was mounted in the Secondary students shared their knowledge performances put on by groups of children vestibule as a tribute to the additional of History, Geography and Social Studies from across the Primary School. We were all languages taught to our students from Grade with Grade 3 and Grade 4 students. My amazed at how talented our children and 5, namely French, German and Spanish. personal favourite was the Statues project teachers are! Santa Claus made his annual Children from each of the language groups organized by Mr Jay wherein Grade 7 visit to BOS and rewarded the youngest sang songs every morning, some even students shared their understanding of the children in school with a gift before returning dressing in National costumes and flying the lives and achievements of the various famous to the North Pole to complete his preparations national flag. For their final activity, Grade 5 people depicted in the statues on the second for the New Year! students together with High school students floor with our Primary children. made a variety of dramatic and musical presentations in each of the focus languages. The students who were able to attend these in the large auditorium were fascinated with the linguistic abilities of our Grade 5 students!

Field Trip

On Tuesday December 15th Grades 4 and 5 were addressed by Mr Fuad Akhundov, the most prominent local historian who made a At the end of Humanities week, we also highly interactive presentation in support of celebrated Azerbaijan Independence Day. the Day of Solidarity of Azerbaijanis The main event was an assembly prepared by Worldwide on Dec 31st on the architecture of Grade 5 and Ms. Lala the History teacher The winter festivals season began with Old Baku, famous people in the country’s where we were presented with a short history Hallowe’en/ Winter Celebration on Friday history and landmarks in the development of of Azerbaijan and its struggles for 30th October. Ms. Ilaya and Ms. Ismat Baku. A very talented storyteller, Mr Fuad independence as well as the significance of worked very hard organizing a whole host of kept his audience spellbound as he brought the colours and symbolism of the Azerbaijan fun activities for the Primary students all history alive through his telling of multiple flag. Although this was a celebration of the undertaken in a superb spirit and amongst stories of the real people of Baku and how host country, foreign students were also amazing decorations around school courtesy their actions shaped the country we know encouraged to think of their own flags, of the administration. As one toured the today. As a newcomer to Baku I was also symbols and histories. We closed with a Primary school scenes of pumpkin carving, extremely impressed as to how much local better understanding of and increased respect costume parades, face painting and the like history our children already know as was for our host nation-Azerbaijan. would be seen. Although this only took up demonstrated by their always correct answers half of one day in the school calendar it was to Mr Fuad’s questions! rd Friday October 23 was International something that the children will remember United Nations Day and again we assembled for weeks and month to come! We are now all looking forward to an equally as a Primary School to learn more about the exciting 2nd semester of fun and great origins and work of the UN on its 70th The pièce de résistance of winter festivals of learning! anniversary. During the assembly, Mr. Buck course was to be the final week of the together with selected teachers presented a semester and our wonderful culminating Lawrence M. Buck short play based on an Aesop Fable activities for Christmas and The New Year. Head of Primary School illustrating the idea of “UNITED we stand, BOS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2016

We enjoy speaking Spanish! 20:00 selling elegant and memorable

Middle School News hand-made sculptures and sculptural Modern Languages Week at BOS compositions to send all funds to the Monday 30th, November to Friday 5th disabled children of Baku, children with December, BOS celebrated the 4 leukemia and cancer. This is the point of languages being taught in the Modern the international Pedagogy of Baku- Languages Department. All classes Oxford School: The Pedagogy of participated in Russian, German, Compassion and Tolerance. Spanish and French activities that Baku- Oxford School! You are great!” involved investigations, intercultural classes, food tasting, art and music. International journalist. Head of Workshop for Middle School Azerbaijan Diaspora in Latvia- Faiq Some of the highlights over the 5 days students at the University of Safarov. were: Languages

Grand Opening of the Week: BOS On December, 5th Middle school community enjoyed live music, national students under the supervision of costumes, poems and much more… German Teacher Tamilla Mammadova successfully participated in a workshop «Kinder Uni”(University for kids) organized by Azerbaijan University of Languages and the Embassy of Germany in Baku. BOS student Murad Nurullayev won 1st place in the competition on Environmental issues. New Year Assembly

On December 18th the Secondary School, celebrated the amazing work that our children have undertaken this Another morning at BOS started with year. There were individual awards for French cuisine and music. some outstanding achievements and class awards for ‘Attitude to learning ‘. Well done to all of our children who have individually made such a massive contribution to everything that has gone on in school this semester. The assembly ended with a song and Charity Fair at Park Bulvar presentation, performed by talented girls from grade 8. Baku-Oxford school's Pottery club " Be Happy" participated at the Charity Fair held by The Rotary Club Baku in Park The presentation of Grimm’s brothers Bulvar on December 6th, 2015.Children Fairy-tales by 6th graders. of Baku-Oxford School sold their pottery products and all proceeds went in support of disabled children and orphanages.

Baku-Oxford School’s student Kamilla Tuayeva interviewed guests at the Fair. One of the guests an International We are very proud of you and look journalist, complimented our students’ forward to another outstanding half of work. the year.

“This Exhibition-Sale of children's Jamila Chiragzade creativity in one of the most beautiful Head of Middle School places in Baku - complex "Park

Boulevard" - it increased my respect to

Baku-Oxford School. Students spent their Sunday from early morning till Page 4

BOS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2016

High School News

enjoyed the experience and we will BOS Sport News World Bank-financed Judicial continue to update the community on our Modernization Project The Silk Road Activities Association future fixtures and successes. (SRAA) organized a Football and As part of the World Bank youth Volleyball tournament for students from enlightenment program, The World Bank member schools. The SRAA is a organized practical sessions and invited collaborative community of international BOS MUN club students to witness how schools, which organizes and hosts the World Bank contributes to the academic activities and sport competitions development of the country. As part of this with the focus on developing physical, initiative, BOS students had the intellectual skills, sportsmanship, and

opportunity to visit Yasamal District emotional well-being for students of all Court house. BOS students had a very nationalities in Central Asia, the Caucasus The next SRAA event, Basketball will interesting excursion where they learned and Eastern Europe. how the Judicial system works and also take place in February at TISA (first week, TBA) and Tbilisi, Georgia (18-20) participated in a trial and increased their vocabulary with the specialized terms and the school will be participating in like: verdict, defend, case management, both events. Parents are encouraged to advocate, judge, court, appeal, acquittal, support their children participation. guilty, jail, imprison, accuse, innocent, court case, etc. Sporting regards, John A. Otanwa

Model United Nations Conference in Barcelona The tournament was co-hosted by Baku BOS MUN club students participated in Oxford School (BOS) and The the Third BCNMUN, a Model United International School of Azerbaijan (TISA) Nations Conference in the NH Collection at the TISA Sport facility, from November Barcelona Constanza Hotel, on November 19-21 2015. A total of eight international 26, 27 and 28, 2015. Our students actively schools participated in the 3 day participated in the following forums: tournament. Two schools from Tbilisi in Security Council (United States of Georgia (QSI Tbilisi and New School America), General Assembly (Bulgaria Tbilisi) also took part with one team- QSI and Romania), International Peace and Ashgabat from Turkmenistan also

Security (Norway and Cambodia), and participating. The remaining schools were made up of schools from Baku, in ECOSOC (Croatia and Sudan). Azerbaijan, and they include; The International School of Azerbaijan (TISA), Baku Oxford School (BOS), Baku International School (BIS), Caspian Associated (Caspian) and the British School in Baku (BSB).

BOS MUN club students:

Huseyn Akhundov Croatia IPS Rustam Asadov Norway GA Ibrahim Mirzayev Norway IPS BOS fielded 5 teams and participated in 7 Emil Revin Romania GA events during the tournament. These Rasul Samimi Sudan GA included; 1 Junior Girls Football Team, 2 Orkhan Aghasiyev USA SC Junior Boys Football Teams and 2 Senior

Nazrin Rustamzade USA GA Boys Football Teams. One team Gumbat Aliyev USA ECOSOC participated from each category in the Alina Farmanova USA IPS Volleyball event. All students thoroughly

BOS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2016

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL Additionally, over the course of the start DEVELOPMENT of the year, teachers have also undergone AT BAKU-OXFORD SCHOOL training courses in:

ESL in the Mainstream, Language in Learning across the Curriculum:

http://www.unlockingtheworld.com/progr

ams/teaching-esl-students-in-mainstream- classrooms

Teaching young children in English in multi-lingual contexts: To help the school reach its mission and http://www.unlockingtheworld.com/progr vision and to drive the school forward in ams/teaching-young-children-in-english- self- improvement, we have been in-multilingual-contexts undergoing a programme of teacher development courses to improve student Using i-pads in the classroom: learning. Part of this was an important 3- day training session with renowned http://www.azteachers.az/atdc-home.html teacher trainer Steve Garnett from IGCSE and A level training: Dragonfly Training about differentiated learning: http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and- qualifications/cambridge-secondary- http://www.dragonfly-training.co.uk/in- 2/cambridge-igcse/training-and-events/ school-training

http://www.dragonfly- training.co.uk/trainers/dragonfly

Over the course of the next few years we hope to be able to further improve to enable us to provide the best International

This was well received by staff and we education for students at Baku-Oxford School to support further study both in will now be following up so that we implement this over time in all Azerbaijan and overseas. classrooms.

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