Blog, Podcasts - Page 3 - News Search

WIDA MODEL provides information about a student’s level of English proficiency (ability to listen, speak, read, and write), both in social and academic language. Social language is English used in everyday communication. Academic language is English used in association with school subject areas including: Language Arts, Mathematics and Social Sciences at all age levels.

Throughout the English curriculum at BCB, students are encouraged to be critical readers. But what is critical reading? According to The Writing Centre, critical reading is ‘reading that applies certain processes, models, questions, and theories that result in enhanced clarity and comprehension.’

The school has recently joined in with the puzzle of the week! It is an international maths competition to engage students, teachers and parents alike! The puzzles are designed to be accessible to all students from year 5 and up, and often our year 4s like to have a go.

"Olhos de cigana oblíqua e dissimulada. Eu não sabia o que era obliqua, mas dissimulada sabia…"

Science teachers are aware that experimentation awakens a strong interest among students at different levels of schooling. Students also tend to attribute to experimentation a motivating, playful, intrinsically linked to the senses. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to hear from teachers that experimentation increases the ability to learn, as it works as a means of involving the student in the topics that are discussed in theory lessons.

The term “number sense” was developed in the 1980s but began to be used more frequently during the late 1990s and early 2000s. There is some disagreement amongst academics on a clear definition but in essence it is the ability to recognise and identify numbers in many representations, manipulate them by composing and decomposing numbers and using this knowledge to solve mathematical and reasoning problems that are not bound by traditional algorithms.

“An intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings.” -- Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind (1983)

People that migrate (move) from the place where they live to a new place where they will live are known as migrants. Internally displaced people (people that migrate inside the country), internationally displaced people (people that migrate out to a different country), refugees (people that seek refuge, shelter), they are all types of migrants. Migrants, and migration, are as old as humanity itself. Migration is so common, and so present in our daily lives, that it’s very likely you know someone in your family who is (was) a migrant. My family, for instance, is made up of many migrants.

The Y11s only have about two weeks to prepare for their IGCSE exams. This is quite an interesting but also very demanding time for them - everyone remembers how stressful exams can be from back when we were in school ourselves.

Creative Thinking can be considered one of the most valuable and necessary skills in today's society. We all know how workplaces are constantly changing due to new technologies and ways of seeing things. With that in mind, Cathy Davidson estimated in her book Now You See It, that two-thirds of today's children will end up doing work that hasn't been invented yet. So, how can we teach and prepare our children for a future that we can't actually predict?

The behavioral policy makes sure that all our students understand that decisions and choices have consequences just like in the real world. We need to follow guidelines that are created to ensure students are safe, feel included and can focus on building positive relationships and achieving success in academics.

It is that time of year when Primary students in Year 6 look forward to transitioning into Secondary with students moving from both the CF and CJ Primary to a vastly different and strange new world …….or is it?

Technology is an innovation of humans and learning how to intentionally engage with Big Data, Machine Learning, and the Internet of things is an essential skill in our everyday lives. As smart devices and cloud connection become an increasing part of daily life on Earth, coding and programming is evolving from an optional field of study into a basic literacy.

Exercise makes us feel good – that’s well documented. But do you know why? Does it burn off stress? Reduce muscle tension? Or release endorphins perhaps?

When reviewing vocabulary during a speaking activity recently, one student used the phrase, “I put my fork and knife down.”  I recast the sentence saying, “So, you put down your knife and fork?”. “Yes, I put down my fork and knife.”, came the response. Why did this sound so odd to me and why was the poor student confused when I tried to explain that it’s knife and fork in English, in that order otherwise it sounds wrong? I believe a direct translation from Portuguese (garfo e faca) is partly at fault for the confusion, but English must also take some of the blame.

Our children’s safety is of paramount importance. When children are feeling safe and happy in their environment, this is when they thrive.

In the IB, students face what is possibly two of the most critical years of their lives. Small but consistent decisions they make now can unlock future opportunities that they may not even know exist yet.

One question I hear very often when I say I teach Music to Early Years pupils is, “How do you teach Music to such little children?”. I think this happens because there is a misconception that learning Music is only related to knowing how to read music notation or playing an instrument accurately. However, learning Music goes far beyond this. Music is inherent to human beings. It is a way of expressing ourselves. It is about emotional connection. It is about creativity and sensibility.

As we approach the middle of the school year, I’d like to take some time to explore what is happening within the mathematics department, in the classroom and with student’s at home.