School Bulletin 31 – 15th October 2021
UPDATES AND NOTIFICATIONS:
Learning Schedule for the week of the 18th to the 22nd of October:
| DATE | IN-PERSON LEARNING | VIRTUAL LEARNING |
| Monday 18th to Friday 22nd of October | Early Years, Primary, Year 6, Year 7, Year 9, Year 11 and Year 12 | Year 8 and Year 10 |
WEEK IN REVIEW: Week 31 saw our students celebrate Cultures Day in Early Years as well as the completion of Spirit Fortnight in Secondary. On Tuesday, Early Years students were invited to come to school in clothing or costumes associated with countries from around the world. Students attended School in a wide range of wonderful outfits, which led to an exploration of where these costumes originated as well as the cultures that they represent.
The second week of Spirit Week saw Secondary students participate in a number of activities including Wii tournaments, an art competition, various dress-up days, a ping-pong tournament and a baking competition. Spirit Week will close on Friday the 15th of October with the presentation of the Talent Show. We would like to thank the Student Council, as well as all other members of our Community who helped facilitate the various activities of the last two weeks.
IGCSE PHYSICAL EDUCATION: On Wednesday of this week, 15 Year 10 students became the first students in the history of the BSCR to take the IGCSE Physical Education exam. This new course, which we introduced at the start of 2020, requires students to study both the practical and theoretical aspects of sports science in order to develop ‘an understanding of the principles, practices and training that underpin improved performance, better health and well-being’ (Cambridge Assessment, 2022). The introduction of this optional course is part of our long-term strategy to strengthen our Physical Education programme and we look forward to more students completing this two-year course in the coming years.
SCHOOL MATHEMATICS: Congratulations to Agustin Mejía (Y5) and Kevin Brown (Y4) for scoring in the top 10% nation-wide in the first 2021 Primary Math Olympiad Colibri competition – well done! The second Colibrí competition will take place at BSCR on October 22nd from 8 am to 12 noon for our Year 4 to 6 Team. We wish you good luck!
Congratulations to Javier Gutierrez (Y12), Alvaro Barquero (Y12), Nicole Lipschitz (Y11), Carlos Shum (Y9), and Roberto Zúñiga (Y8) for earning a place in the 2021 Secondary Math Olympiad OLCOMA National Finals which will be held on November 15th and 16th. We wish you well!
Congratulations to Camila Gutierrez (Y9) for winning a bronze medal in the Panamerican Girl’s Mathematical Olympiad (PAGMO). It was held for the first time this year and 18 different countries participated. Well done!
Congratulations to Nicole Lipschitz (Y11) for earning a place on the Costa Rican National IMO team for the Iberoamerican Mathematical Olympiad. We wish you well!
PSAT – SATURDAY 16TH OF OCTOBER: Year 10 and Year 11 students who registered and paid to take the PSAT exam will be taking this exam on Saturday, October 16th in the Auditorium. Students should arrive at school at 7:45am. The test will begin at 8am and will finish by noon. Students should wear a mask at all times and should bring their own calculator, number 2 pencils, eraser and sharpener.
NATIONAL ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS: Congratulations to Emma Diaz (Y5) on being crowned runner-up at the National Artistic Gymnastics Championship, which was held on the 9th of October. Emma won one gold medal, two silver medals and one bronze medal.
SEXUALILTY AND AFFECTIVITY WORKSHOP: Last week, Year 11 and Year 10 students received a workshop on sexuality and affectivity by psychologist and sexologist Marianela Arias. The students had the opportunity to learn about this important subject and to clarify many of the doubts they had about it. Many thanks to everyone who made this event possible.
MENTORS 2022: After an intense decision-making period, which included both the teachers and the SDS Department, we are pleased to announce that we have appointed 15 new Mentors: María Jimena Segura, Jorge Moreno, Larissa Porras, Juan Pablo Quirós, Pedro Cortéz, Giulianna Salvo, Alejandro Ocampo, María Paula Solís, Sofía Morales, André García, Poppy Charnock, Valentina Sosto, Cristiana Rodríguez, Valeria Sanabria and Daniel Chen.
This year we received applications from 26 excellent Y11 students, which is why the decision was so difficult to make. Congratulations to those who were selected as mentors and to those who participated!
LEADERSHIP AND DESIGN THINKING WORKSHOP: On Tuesday 12th of October, the newly elected Mentors, the Student Council and members of the National Honor Society participated in two workshops: Leadership and Design Thinking. These workshops were virtual (from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm), so they required a great amount of effort on behalf of the participants who, despite their long day, had an excellent attitude and took advantage of the opportunity to learn about indispensable tools for their development as students, leaders and future professionals. We would like to thank university teachers Benjamín Vargas and Gabriela Tijerino (school parent) for their willingness to share their professional experience with the students.
PURA VIDA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FAIR – FRIDAY 15TH OF OCTOBER 1PM TO 4PM: The first-ever virtual nationwide 2021 Pura Vida University College Fair is just around the corner. This event will host 95 universities! Year 9 to 12 students are invited and will have time during their Friday, October 15th lessons to join the Fair. Parents and teachers are welcome too. Previous registration to the event is necessary in order to participate.
- All participants should REGISTER on the platform here: https://puravida.webifairs.com/form.php
- Before the event date, we recommend that participants watch the orientation video here: https://youtu.be/la0N8fLqfmMM
- Here is the FLYER to the event with all the participants
- Here are some recommendations to make the most of virtual college fairs
HEALTH AND SAFETY: Throughout this week, we have undertaken four emergency fire drills with different year levels to ensure that they are familiar with our emergency procedures. Any remaining students (Y1 to Y10) who have not yet participated in a practice evacuation drill will have the opportunity to do so next week.
