Weekly Bulletin – 11Th -15Th April 2016
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TH TH deserves to be”. WEEKLYDavid BULLETIN Thornburg – 11 -15 APRIL 2016 ´ “April is a promise that May is bound to keep”. Hal Borland Dear Parents, I begin with my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Joana Liz who died during the Easter holidays after a long, valiant battle with cancer. The mother of two school pupils, Matilde (F6) and Manuel (F4) she was a wonderful mother, a wonderful supporter of the school in so many ways and a wonderful lady. I had the pleasure of working with her on the design of school publications such as our prospectus and Yearbook and she was a person full of optimism, creativity and hope. We are looking at ways of acknowledging her contribution to the school and I welcome feedback from you on how we can pay fitting tribute to this beautiful soul. Over the Easter break there was plenty going on in school. First of all we installed a new sound system in Teage Hall that will enhance assemblies, school celebrations and other gatherings. We also purchased a mobile sound system for use for events outside Teage Hall. These purchases and installations were made possible by the generosity of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) who funded this project. I thank them for their support of the school and may their donation bring much joy to our creative pupils. In addition, we have rolled out a comprehensive wireless system across the campus that is now more reliable, faster and with the capacity to host multiple users simultaneously. There are log-ins for pupils and staff as well as a facility for visitors to the site. I look forward to this facility enhancing the quality of teaching & learning across the school and enabling the use of portable devices in teaching. Finally our operations team has constructed a large storage area at the back of the sports hall corridor where we can keep large display blocks for school art exhibitions and presentations. On Wednesday and Thursday our four F12 IB Art students, Sam, Beatriz, Filipa and Jenny, staged their exhibition in the Sports Hall and it was a pleasure to speak to them about their work, creativity and inventiveness. My thanks to Miss Castro for curating this exhibition. More details are contained later. Our F11 CAS trip is underway in India and we are looking forward to hearing of their many adventures and achievements. In addition we have had pupils away at the Lisbon Sports Tournaments and had pupils involved in a Chess tournament in Efanor. We finished Term 2 with our Council of International Schools CIS Accreditation visit and we are now awaiting the formal report from the visiting team. This takes a number of weeks as it needs to be presented and approved by the CIS governing body. However the feedback from the visiting team was very positive. We will receive a number of commendations as well as recommendations and these will be incorporated into our new School Development plan. I would like to wish Peter and Adi Jones and their three children all the very best as they leave in September to begin a new chapter in their lives in Thailand. Dr Jones has been a great colleague and support to me and he has made a very positive contribution to our secondary school over the last three years presiding over record academic results. We are pleased to announce that Mr. Robert Hewett has been appointed Head of Secondary from Sept 2016 and he will visit the school in May to prepare for a smooth transition. Tom McGrath, Headmaster WEEKLY BULLETIN 11TH - 15TH APRIL 2016 PAGE 2 MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SECONDARY Dear Parents and OBS Community, This term will be my last as Head of Secondary at OBS. I have had a tremendous time in supporting and leading the Secondary Section over the last three years. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I do have some regrets about leaving. Nevertheless, I look back at my time with great fondness and a certain degree of pride; professionally I have learnt much from the superb students and staff of OBS, and personally my family and I have fallen in love with Porto and Portugal. Over the last three years the Secondary Section has grown from strength to strength. The newly appointed Head of Secondary, Mr. Hewitt, and the staff and students at OBS have a strong foundation to build upon. In particular, over the last three years I have ensured: Excellent results at IBDP and IGCSE; the best in Porto (and probably Portugal) and way above world averages An ethos of continual learning and international mindedness that is promoted through and beyond our curriculum Curriculum developments with Cambridge Secondary and the introduction of a broader curriculum with a greater variety of sports, more time for music lessons, the introduction of drama and computing Good teaching and learning across all curriculum areas with a greater emphasis on skills linked to the IB Learner profile including thinking skills and team work Effective assessment for learning has been promoted throughout the curriculum to ensure that all pupils are clear about their next steps in learning are Reporting and recording is regular, clear and formative Well-being has been promoted through a greater emphasis on tutoring and mentoring Co-curricular activities have been expanded upon and the student voice listened to Relationships within and through the community have been built upon through events, trips, CAS and sports. Monitoring, evaluation and performance management have been improved upon to ensure that the Section continues to strive towards excellence Many of these achievements were also recognized in our recent CIS visit and I am sure will be highlighted in the final CIS report that will be published within the next two months. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and professionalism of my teachers. This week is yet another excellent example of teachers going beyond the call of duty and beyond the classroom in ensuring children in order for them to gain a balanced education. As you will read in this bulletin and on http://secondaryobserver.weebly.com/ , pupils have been involved in revision sessions, CAS work in India, sports tournaments in Lisbon, a volleyball competition and exhibiting some amazing art. Although I may be leaving at the end of the term I am still aiming to develop a number of other key areas and will not relax until a week after our final IBDP 2016 results come through. Along with ensuring our F10 &12 students get the final support they may need for their final examinations, key areas we will be developing in the Secondary Section include: A development focus on collaboration and challenge A pilot ICT project in using iPads for teaching and learning with a view to developing a ‘bring your own device’ to school project next year A pilot of online homework schedule and support for student and parents We also look ahead to more events later in the term. We will have students taking part in an MUN conference, a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, live lounge, recitals, cultural visits, the IB Ball, Speech Day and not to forget BUGSY MALONE at the end of this month. I therefore look back and reflect on my time as Head of Secondary in a very positive light and very much look forward to another fantastic last term at OBS. Yours sincerely, Dr P Jones, Head of Secondary WEEKLY BULLETIN 11TH - 15TH APRIL 2016 PAGE 3 ROBERT HEWETT: HEAD OF SECONDARY DESIGNATE SEPTEMBER 2016 It is a great privilege and responsibility to have been appointed Head of Secondary at OBS from Sept 2016 and I am very much looking forward to this new opportunity and challenge. I am currently working as the Head of Secondary School at IBSB, in Romania, a co-education day school for 250 students. My professional career has spanned both industry, army and education. I started my career making solar cells for British Petroleum, before deciding on a career in the Army. I spent a year at Sandhurst before receiving my commission and then a further three years commanding troops with the Royal Engineers in the UK, Germany, Bosnia and Canada, reaching the dizzy heights of Captain before the end of my commission. I have also been a Civil Engineer, a Project Manager and a Scientist, but in 1998 I decided to become an educator. I started my teaching career in a large private school in Sao Paulo, Brazil after which I moved back to UK and taught at Gordonstoun School, a busy boarding college in the north of Scotland. This gave me a unique experience and understanding of how important caring and developing the child can be for their personal welfare and future success. Following this I took my first Headship at the British School of Beijing after which, I moved to my current position. I have had the opportunity to take on many roles in education primarily as a Science Teacher, but I have diversified into Outdoor Education and Trips Coordination, Head of House, Health and Safety Officer, Head of Pastoral Care, Head of the Sixth Form and now Head of Secondary. I also enjoy many outdoor sports including cycling, swimming, biking, canoeing, climbing and mountaineering. Many of these I have acquired professional qualifications in order to take students and adults on expeditions and adventurous journeys. I fully support a diverse and broad curriculum that includes extracurricular activities and learning outside the classroom. I have developed a number of programmes in experiential learning, expeditions and service projects which I believe help students develop into astute and caring young adults.