Ms Alison Colwell, Principal

Dear families,

It was joyous to welcome so many of you to the Awards Events today, and to see and hear of the wonderful success and achievements of our students in this, the most extraordinary and challenging of years. At this time of the term, I look back on the year, reflect on our progress as a school and a community, and look ahead to future developments. As ever, I was filled with pride and humility when I thought about all the fantastic teaching and learning that has gone on across the school, despite the restrictions and the masks, all the fun and exciting inter-House activities and competitions, the sporting events, the themed weeks, the trips. I applaud and acknowledge the tremendous work of all the staff and the resilience, adaptability and commitment of all our children and young people. And I extend a warm and genuine note of thanks and appreciation to all of you, who have given myself and the school such support over the year. Thank you.

It is customary if sad to say farewell to staff at the end of term. We have already said farewell to Kriss Kunningham who is now enjoying his paternity leave, having welcomed baby daughter Ayla into the world. We are very sorry to say goodbye to Cath I'Anson, who was with us this year on a temporary basis as we adapted to the class size restrictions of COVID. She has been an absolutely fantastic teacher to Year 2 and a great colleague - we hope this will not be the last time she works with us! We are also very sorry to say farewell to Ms Roberts who is moving to our sister school in San Agustí. We also say farewell to Bernard Gilman.

In addition, it is not just our school but our profession that is losing two exceptional teachers to retirement. Janet Florey has been a tremendous teacher and member of staff over the last two years, temporarily leading the English team whilst we searched for a fantastic new leader (who we found in Ms Austin), and teaching English exceptionally well. I would like to offer my own personal thanks to her for all the help and support she has given me.

It is with a sense of occasion in addition that we say farewell to Pauline Coley, who has been at the school since 1987. We are sorry to see her go and know that over those years she has touched the lives and the hearts of hundreds of children and young people who will remember her forever. Pauline has also been heavily involved with charitable work in the school, and we will miss her a great deal. We wish both Janet and Pauline a happy and relaxing retirement.

And to end on a happy note, last week Ms Compton and husband Vicente welcomed baby Vicente Juilio into the world, mother and baby are doing well and we send them all our love and best wishes.

Alison Colwell

Principal

Ms Alexandra Tomlinson, Head of Secondary

In this week´s newsletter, I complete the second installment of last week´s ´Bucket List: 50 activities to do during the summer break´.

The bucket list is for our secondary students (and there are lots of these that our primary students can do, too), to check off and complete during long, lazy days!

Take photos of yourselves doing this and email them in to Ms. Tomlinson during the course of the break and we will put together a display of students completing their activities, for the autumn term.

Good Luck!

26. Identify some Mallorcan flora and fauna: Sea squill, the Spanish dagger, wild asparagus, Dwarf palm...https://viagallica.com/baleares/lang_en/flore_et_faune_baleares.htm

27. ...and some trees: Carob, Cypress, Pomegranate, Pistachio mastic

28. Get into bird watching and visit the best parts of Mallorca to see them: https://birdfact.com/spain/sites

29. Adopt a dog or cat! http://www.sos-animal-mallorca.org/en

30. Climb a tree: https://www.qualityunearthed.co.uk/blog/climb-trees/

31. Host a Murder Mystery. Either buy and download: https://www.hostamurdermystery.co.uk/ or get some ideas for free here: http://trevor-hopkins.org.uk/mystery/

32. This one´s for parents, too - the great British tradition of car treasure hunting! https://treasurehuntdesign.com/sunday-afternoon-car-treasure-hunts/

33. Get fit with the UK lockdown fitness sensation, Joe Wicks. Of course! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ

34. Geocache: https://www.geocaching.com/play

35. Follow in the footsteps of the Year 7 and Year 9 trips this Monday and visit the Caves of Drach: http://www.cuevasdeldrach.com/en/

36. Complete the ´Ruta de Arqueologia Mallorca´: https://www.click-mallorca.com/blog/actividades/paisaje/ruta-arqueologica-mallorca/

37. Go on a sunset hike or a night walk - bring torches!

38. Science experiments to try on your own: https://lemonlimeadventures.com/awesome-science-experiments-for-older-kids/

39. Do your own laundry! Sort clothes into piles and ask for help if you have never used a washing machine before. You will be glad you learned before you head off to university!

40. Solve a Rubik´s cube

41. Make a big piece of art on a canvas for your room

42. Create your own summer reading bucket list with Penguin´s summer reading guide: http://summerreadingguide.com/

43-48 Enter these writing competitions:

49. Be you. Love you. Write out your own bucket list of 50 things that you love about you and your life.

50. Rest. Stare at the sky, a tree, a flower, the sea, trees, mountains for 30 mins or as long as you like!

Mr John Barter - Head of Sixth Form

Positive thinking + Positive Actions = Success

Last Saturday night, I was pleased to attend the Year 13 Graduation, along with many of my colleagues and a range of family members. It was a wonderfully positive event for our last formal goodbyes; the venue was excellent, food and staff were wonderful. Due to the on-going restrictions, we ate outside; the rain made a couple of attempts to dampen spirits, but it failed miserably as we were all so determined to have a great time! Well done to the Year 13 students who put the event together.

Year 12 (our new Year 13) have been back in full flow of learning and preparation for exams in 2022, with a full programme of lessons; these continue until Wednesday 30th. The only exception will be our University Focus Day on Monday. On the day we will be visited (virtually) by Hult International Business School, which has campuses in London, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Dubai and Shanghai; a representative of the university will lead a session on what students should think about when applying to university and when writing their personal statements. This week, the A Level psychologists were ‘visited’ by Leiden University in Holland; one of the most prestigious places in Europe to study psychology. It offers degrees delivered in English. Over the summer, we want the Year 12s going into Year 13 to be actively thinking about their post-BIC plans as we will need to make a rapid start on the application process in September.

As this is the last newsletter of the year, it seems appropriate to reflect on the highlights of the year just gone. I am particularly proud of the fact that we will have gone a whole year with face-to-face teaching. On the first day in September, I asked the students to commit to doing all the right things to ensure we could keep their learning within school. They have done it wholeheartedly and with positivity, acting as great role models for the younger students; we have all agreed that learning is most fun when we do it together. This communal commitment to high level learning looks set to have an excellent impact on the grades this summer. I am also proud of the Sixth Form teachers, who have worked so hard to enable our brilliant students to get the grades that match their potential. All have gone beyond the call of duty to ensure big smiles on the 10th August when the grades are published.

Other events that will stick in my mind are:

1. The Revision Conference for Year11, 12 and 13 last December; the commitment of the Sixth Formers also rubbed off on their younger peers and has given us the impetus to introduce vertical tutoring this coming September. They all showed there is a real value to sharing ideas and experiences.

2. The days when the Year 13 students received their university offers; it was just a lovely experience to share their joy with them.

3. The introduction of our BIC Broadcasts, with parents delivering thought-provoking sessions to our Sixth Form that stretch their thinking beyond their A Level work. We hope to continue this next year, so if you or a friend would be willing to offer a 20-30 minute session on a topic of your/their choice, followed by student questions, please do contact me.

4. The student response to the introduction of the International Project Qualification; I was hoping for a small cohort of 2 or 3 to start us off on this non-obligatory qualification, so I was blown away to have 11 students attend the opening focus day.

5. The hugely positive response from external students to the possibility of joining BIC’s Sixth Form; it shows that we are heading in the right direction and that word is travelling. I would like to thank you, the parents, for the part you are playing in the sharing of these positive messages.

Enrichment and fun will be the central elements of our improvements to the coming year. Hopefully, Covid restrictions are much reduced and we will have the chance to do many more different activities with the students. I really do want these final two years of the students’ education to be the best two of their school years; times they will look back on with fondness.

So, thank you all for your support this year. I wish you a fantastic summer, full of fun and memorable experiences. See you all in September!

John Barter

Head of Sixth Form

john.barter@balearesint.net

Key Dates to Remember - Secondary Summer Term Events

DateEvent
Monday28th JuneYears 7 and 9 - Porto Cristo Caves - All day Trip
Monday28th JuneYears 8 and 10 - Hidropark Alcudia - All day Trip
Monday28th JuneYear 12 - ´Focus on University´ Day
Wednesday 30th12:20pm - Early collection from school
Wednesday 30thYear 7 German ´Level 4´ novel, school sleepover
Wednesday 30thLast Day of School

Whole School House System news

Congratulations Parks for an excellent year. You have all displayed wonderful teamwork and dedication. I was very impressed to see such great sportsmanship on Sports Day and I was proud to hear you cheering for each other. Thank you to every student who has worked hard, entered competitions and earnt House points for our team. I am extremely proud of you all for working collaboratively as a team and what an acheivement - this year’s overall winning team. A huge congratulations; you all deserve it.
Miss Xidakis, Head of Parks House
Congratulations Roosevelt for another fantastic term. Seeing you all compete with such pride and win Sports Day really was one of the highlights of my school year! You have all had a great year, I am so proud of you all. Thank you for all of your hard work and for earning all your House points - we have had some fantastic achievements - academic, sports and in competitions. I have really enjoyed being your Head of House this year, getting to know you all and working with you all. I also want to say a particular thank you to all our House Captains who have done a fantastic job. Have a lovely summer and I look forward to continuing our great work next year!
Miss Mayes, Head of Roosevelt House
Congratulations Galileo for a fantastic year and for being the winning House for term 3! It has been a strong end to the year which I know will carry on into next year. Thank you to every single student for winning as many House points as possible and for getting involved in the exciting House competitions that have run this year. I am so proud to be the leader of such a wonderful team. I have been so impressed with you all this year and I have loved getting to know you all. I know next year is going to be fantastic. Well done, and I hope you all have a great summer
Miss Turley, Head of Galileo House
Congratulations Winton for an amazing year. You have done the Winton name proud this year working as hard as you can and competing with enthusiasm and courage. You have each played a part in Winton's success this year whether through excellent classwork and homework, competitions or Sports Day. You should all be very proud of what you've achieved. I am so looking forward to September- I know we are going to have a fantastic year next year too. Have a wonderful summer!
Ms Florey, Head of Winton House

House Points Totals Update - Term 3

WintonGalileoRooseveltParks
871930887928

Overall total House Points

WintonGalileoRooseveltParks
2744262427922881

The Duke of Edinburgh Award

Our 5th outing of the term and we are really seeing groups bond and attitudes fortifying. This week students went to Finca Publica Galatzo near Es Capdella where they could improve map reading skills while trying to recreate photos from specific features. Groups were afforded more freedom than before and full use of walkie talkies was made as independence is a key feature of the award. We truly have some wonderful young people in our group and the positivity that they are displaying is exactly why myself and Mr Kingston-Bray love exploring our natural environment with them.

My favourite moment came from the fantastic Ava in Year 10. When her group was deciding between two routes to ascend the nearest peak, one on a clear path - one that needed clambering over rocks and an uncertain destination. She took the reins and shouted, ‘Yeah, we could go that way which is straightforward, but let’s go this way... as it ‘just looks more fun’!’

And that is the DofE in a nutshell, follow your heart with fearlessness and positivity.

Thank you to everyone involved so far - I can’t wait to share with you what we have planned for next year…

Alan Sparks

English Department news

This term, 7I have been demonstrating all the knowledge and skills they have gained over this year in producing their own epic poems based on the longest epic poem in Old English, Beowulf. Please see a sample of the students’ brilliant poems below!

Humanities department news

Creative writing is a wonderful way for students to re-cap key learning and deepen their understanding of topics. Year 10 are writing stories set in 1920s and 1930s America. They were given a choice of settings but had to mention at least 3 case studies that we have learnt this year. I was not surprised to find that gangsters and prohibition were popular choices. But many also wrote about the difficulties people faced after the Wall Street Crash. The pictures below show students hard at work.

Languages department news

The Year 7 students in Ms Rodríguez’s class have done some fun invitations for a Vampire party, using the near future tense,

Successful Spanish project with Roncalli school in New Zealand!

Year 10 students Théo, Manu, Julius, Amber and Jasmine prepared a presentation about Mallorca to help some students from Roncalli School in New Zealand with their Spanish assignment.

Mr. David Hines, their Spanish teacher and myself organised a zoom call last Monday at 9.00, ten hours later down under, so we could all meet and enjoy both projects.

It was such a success that we are going to stay in touch to plan more projects together and a possible exchange.

Performing Arts department news

After a fantastic year in performing arts this year for all students, this week we are focussing on the work of 7B. Students have been learning about rhythm patterns and structures and created their own body percussion performance using what they have learned - we can see them practising below!

I also want to take the opportunity to thank all students in creative arts, drama and music for all their hard work this year. I have loved seeing all your creativity, your progress and what you have created. I look forward to seeing your talents develop further next year!

Science department news

What a delight it has been to work with your children this year. It was so very difficult to pick the highlights of the year. Thank you to the science department who have worked hard to put practical science at the forefront of what we do. Have a wonderful summer. We are all looking forward to making more memories in science together next year.

Sports department news

As you will have read about in last week's newsletter, last week was our BIC Olympics Week. During the week, students from every part of the school took part in over 30 different events that took place to score points for their House. At the time of writing last week's newsletter, the events had not finished and you can see below a selection of images from the events that took place on Friday, the athletics.

The competition was incredibly close right through the entire week with each House winning different events in different Year groups. Going into Friday's athletics events it was all to play for. A huge congratulations to Roosevelt House who ran out as overall winners of the Olympic Week. The overall scores are below.

  • 1st - Roosevelt - 75 points
  • 2nd - Parks - 57.5 points
  • 3rd - Winton - 54 points
  • 4th - Galileo - 47 points