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Many of you will be aware that the BSA offices have been relocated to Houston from our BSW building.  Ann McPhee, Vice President US Learning and Operations, WCL Group, announces the organisational changes.

 BSA Annoucement November 2009

An Update from Nursery Coordinator Joanne O'Grady

In Nursery, we follow the International Primary Years Curriculum (IPC) that promotes a holistic approach to learning through topic based play activities. Our activities are planned through the four strands which are Interdependence and Independence, Communicating, Exploring and Healthy Living. The range of activities recognises that every child has unique learning styles and play interests. With this in mind, we provide a differentiated curriculum that can be adapted for each child.

Children develop their skills by engaging in both child initiated and teacher directed activities both inside and outside of the classroom. Children have the opportunity to work individually to develop independence and in a group to promote socialisation. Most concepts are learned when children in Nursery are engaged in developmentally appropriate play. Both play and teacher directed activities lay the foundation for future learning.

Our current ‘Food’ topic enables the children to explore different types of food, listen to stories and songs about food, discuss their favourite foods, cook a range of different foods, print with a range of foods and learn about different foods from around the world.  If you have any questions about the Nursery curriculum or approach, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Food Glorious Food!

The Nursery classes recently went on a trip to the Whole Foods Market and saw lots of different foods and found out which foods give us energy and help us stay healthy. We also got to taste some of the foods and we all brought a bag home with some Whole Foods treats in.

To continue with our Food topic, we are learning the names of different foods, where they come from and also making a range of foods in class.

We have a café set up in Nursery which enables the children to take on different roles and act out the roles in context. When we read ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’ story, we really enjoyed acting out the story, making caterpillars with repeating colour patterns and we even made swiss roll caterpillars!

Get to Know Kevin Bowskill- Year 3 Nottingham Class Teacher and Numeracy Coordinator

After graduating from University in Ambleside (Lancaster University) I headed for the ‘big smoke’ of London. Four highly rewarding years teaching inner city primary children in Key Stage 2 (as well as being a specialist ICT teacher for a year) was enough before the lure of some sunshine became too much. 

A short trip across Europe landed me in Portugal, where I taught in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 as a class based teacher as well as coordinating the curriculum for the school.

Working in an international environment had been the challenge I had hoped for and has made me realise the importance of ‘Internationalism’ and how much this can have a positive impact upon children and their learning.

The next journey led me here to Washington DC with my wife Laura and my children  Ivy (22 months) and Edward (3 months) where I currently teach Year 3 Nottingham.

Click to view an updated staff list.

Smoking Cessation Counselor Coming to BSW

An update from Sarah-Jane Dennis, our Health Administrator... Just to let everyone know we have a smoking prevention/cessation counselor coming into school on Wednesday 18th November; she will be talking to the Secondary school, with the possibility of a further visit for a chat with the younger pupils later on.

After an initial presentation the goal of the program is to try to prevent children from starting to smoke and help those smokers who wish to participate plan, prepare and develop skills that will help them find their own success through the quitting process. This takes the form of six weekly meetings and is entirely voluntary.

Words of thanks from Chris Butler, Volunteer Coordinator -  A fabulous time was had by all at the 2009 BSW Fall Festival!

Our thanks go to Christopher Horton, who has captured all the fun in living color, now on display on our school website. Please click here to enjoy the photo gallery.

As with all events such as this, our success was due to the diligent work of a hundred sets of hands, and I wanted to thank as many as I can in this small space

- to every one of our devoted Class Reps, who keep us all informed, on schedule, and invested in our school community;- to every one of our parent volunteers who worked a stall, sold food and baked goods, applied weird hair color and painted faces, and in particular to those who worked the entire event without a break (there are many of you, and the fair's success in indebted to your conscientiousness)

- to our Nursery class decorating committee, orchestrated by the able and talented Sarah Scott, who holds the record for most tastefully decorated Fall Festival to date;

- to our Reception class prize committee, directed by Sofia Pagedas, who brought in a better grade of prizes than we have ever seen;

- to our multi-media contributors, the Jones-Platt family, who infuse the "fabulous" into the festival every year;

- to Celia Davies, Paulette McPherson, Fiona Pardoe, Tracey Queen and Maria Paz, who never once said, "No, we can't." A thousand thanks for that, and to all the teachers for their boundless good will.

- to the able-bodied set-up committee, who moved tables, hung posters and arranged cupcakes with good cheer and good will;

- to the "big kids" who lent their time, talent and "cool factor" to the festival effort, especially the hip-hop gang and the rock band;

- to the folks who were here all week to help, especially Meg Lubenova, Sofia Pagedas, Sarah Beale and Sue Baker;

- to the Fall Festival "grand dames," who advised, directed and supported this event at every turn - Kathy Ausubel and Denise Kloeden - with a special thanks to Denise for bringing the song and dance into our events, and into our lives

- and finally to Peter and Gayle, for the value they place on parent contributions and the love and support they lend to all our efforts.

Editor comment: .....And a big thank you to Chris Butler for a wonderful job of facilitating this complex event in a thoughtful, calm, and organised manner. Most appreciated by all! 

Gayle's Favorite Pumpkin Bread  2.5 - 3 cups sugar (adjust to taste), 1 cup vegetable oil, 4 eggs, 1 1/2  teaspoon salt, 1 16 oz. can of pumpkin, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 3 1/3 flour, 2/3 cup water. Dump all in a bowl and mix. Pour batter into 2 loaf pans (ungreased). Bake 350 degrees. 1 hour.

Share your favorite seasonal recipes. Send them to focusbsw@britishschool.org