Dear Parents

I write this week’s newsletter editorial from a chilly Astana. I am here, to paraphrase a British idiom as a gamekeeper turned poacher, as part of a COBIS Patron’s Accreditation team. COBIS schools, like BIST, must be re-accredited every 5 years and the accreditors are always volunteer serving princi-pals or senior leaders from other COBIS schools. As BIST will undergo our re-accreditation in May 2019, it is a very useful insight into how this form of ac-creditation works on the ground. It is also a good way to compare how another similar school works and perhaps borrow their good ideas.

The chilly weather in Tbilisi is approaching and we remind parents to ensure children are sent to school appropriately dressed. It is important that the children still go outside at break and lunchtimes to get some fresh air, but they do need to be warmly dressed.

Thinking about being warmly dressed, please con-tinue to bring in unwanted clothes for our COATS collection. This is for children, but if you have adult clothes, these can be passed on to Caritas for cloth-ing the elderly.

Last week’s Health & Fitness celebration was a great success and the students enjoyed learning about the issue, but also getting in some extra physical activities.

BIST NEWS

John Lennon

14th November 2018

UPCOMING EVENTS…

. 16th - Primary Assembly (parents welcome!). 17th-18th - Secondary students volunteering at C.O.A.T.S. Charity Drive. 23rd - School closed for St. George’s Day. 26th - Start of Language Rotation 2 for KS1 students. 28th - Parents’ Coffee Morning 8.30-9.30am. 30th - Primary Assembly (parents welcome!)

. 7th - Primary Assembly (parents welcome!). 12th - Christmas Counts Early Years and Key Stage 1 show 2.45pm (all welcome!). 14th - Christmas Carol Concert 1.30pm-2.30pm - all welcome!. 14th - School ends for Winter Holiday 2.30pm

. 9th - Start of Term 2. 9th-18th - Year 11 Mock IGCSE Examinations

“When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I wrote down ‘happy’.”

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY

From 19th to 30th November 2018, BIST students will be participating in the Mangahigh & COBIS Maths Challenge. Mangahigh is a digital maths competition that encourages children to take learning outside of the classroom. The children will have access to games and chal-lenges that reflect their learning in the classroom. Prior to the challenge start date, children are wel-come, and encouraged, to practise on this site.

MANGAHIGH

Physical Education (PE) class outside with Primary students during BIST Health & Fitness Week.

BISTBILISI@BISTbilisi www.bist.ge

Mr. Stephen Priest Principal

Mr. Daniel ComarKey stage 4 Coordinator

Ms. Erin McRaithHead of Primary

Mr. James MillerKey Stage 3 Coordinator

Ms. Tumika SthapitHead of Administration

Ms. Tatiana TrofimchukAdmissions Officer

Mr. Alex TimmisDirector of Studies

Ms. Tamuna SkhiereliReception Desk Manager

Ms. Sophie KasrashviliPA to the Principal

DODGEBALL COMPETITION!

CLASSIC POETRY UNIT

Due to high demand for the bus service, BIST has added a new branded Micro Bus to our fleet. There are spaces available now on several bus routes both morning and afternoon. To request placement on the bus, please complete this form. Please contact Ms Sophie if you have any questions.

Year 6 students are learning about classic poetry this term, reading and discussing classics written by Robert Louise Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Robert Frost. Last week students also read and responded to war re-membrance poetry in honour of Remembrance Day. They read the The Soldier by Rupert Brooke and In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. Students are looking forward to reading Shake-speare in the coming weeks and staging a perfor-mance from the Shakespearian Drama Mcbeth. The class is excited to portray complex characters and to design props for the performance.

We remind all parents of the need to inform school about the medical reason for any absence. Children do have the annoying habit of passing germs from one to another and we do try to monitor illness so we can inform other parents and offer reassuring advice with regard to common childhood illnesses. To do this we do rely on parents supplying information about the type of ill-

ness their child may have.

ILLNESS AND ABSENCE

Primary and Secondary marathon of Dodgeball inter-house competitions is in its final weeks. BIST Head Girl and Boy have been working very hard to organise these games during lunch time breaks. BIST students from all houses have participated enthu-siastically and embraced the competitive spirit of these inter-house games. Teams are motivated to win and earn the most house points for their house. Primary teams will have their semi-finals next week to determine those moving on to the finals. In Second-ary the final Year 7 & 8 Pumas VS Leopards will take place this week and Years 9, 10 & 11 final is planned for next week when Leopards and Tigers battle to win and earn house points.

NEW MICRO BUS