School Bulletin 4 – 17th of February 2023

Upcoming Dates 
 

 
Whole School
 
Parent Council Meetings
Our first Parent Council Meetings of the 2023 academic year are scheduled for next week.  Please let your Parent Representative know if there are any issues of general concern (i.e. not specific to a year group or a few individuals) that you would like to be raised at these meetings.
 
Replies to Our Emails
We hereby request once again that parents do NOT reply to the “info” general school address but instead follow the instructions given in our email communications and reply to the address provided in the text.

Celebrating the Achievements of our Learning Community
Throughout the year, many of our students participate in a range of tournaments and competitions in a diverse range of areas – sport, music, art and drama being just a few examples.  As a Learning Community, we are very proud of our students and would like to celebrate their achievements, regardless of whether they occurred in school or outside of school, whenever possible.  As a result, if there is a particular achievement that you would like to share with the BSCR Community in the coming weeks and months then please let us know via the email address – academics@bscr.ed.cr
 
Uniforms for Clubs
When a student is enrolled in an extra-curricular club they are still required to attend school in the regular school uniform. Students will then be provided with an opportunity to change into the appropriate clothing for their chosen club once classes end.  The one exception to this is on days when students have regular PE classes as they are permitted to wear PE uniform on these days.  Please note that students will not be permitted to participate in extra-curricular clubs if they do not bring the appropriate clothing to change into.
 
Friendship Day
On Tuesday of this week, our Learning Community celebrated Friendship Day with a range of activities.  These included a giant heart shaped balloon construction, the use of a bubble machine, sending messages to friends and a number of learning activities throughout Early Years and Primary that focused on ‘what makes a good friend’.  This was a great day of ‘school spirit’ with many wonderful examples of students demonstrating how they can be the best friend they can be.  Please visit Tapestry, Class Dojo or our social media pages (Facebook and Instagram) for photos of the day.
 
“Caja” Communications
Parents who need to contact Sandra Madriz, from the Caja, can do so by e-mail at smadriz@bscr.ed.cr or by cell phone at 8782-2796.
 
Extra-curricular Activities
We would like to thank all members of our Learning Community who have signed up for one or more of our extra-curricular activities.  During the next two weeks, we will be finalising the enrolment in each of the different clubs. If new places become available, we will proceed to refer to the Waiting List of each club, which is based on the time of enrolment. Once this process is completed, a new enrolment link will be sent next week to parents with details on the Extraordinary Enrolment period, which will be enabled from Monday 27^th of February to Wednesday 1^st of March.
Please note that the payment process for extra-curricular activities will be coordinated by the School’s Financial Department through Sandra Madriz. If you have any questions about any aspect of our Extra-Curricular Programme, then please write to clubs@bscr.ed.cr.

Primary
 
Year 5 Camp
On Friday of last week, all of Year 5 returned from their three-day camp experience at La Montaña Camp. While they were there, they participated in a range of activities focused on team-building, leadership, responsibility and Independence.  Throughout the camp the students were excellent role models for the BSCR as they took part in the many challenging activities including hiking, high ropes courses, mud runs, mountain biking, archery and keeping their shared bedrooms tidy!  We would like to thank the three Year 11 students that joined us on the trip as camp counsellors: Camila Gutiérrez, Diego Araya and Raquel Rodríguez.  All three were exemplary as counsellors for the Year 5 students and we greatly appreciate their willingness to volunteer for this challenging role.
 
Recordatorio para padres de Early Years – Taller virtual
Les recordamos que el 23 de febrero a las 8:30 a.m. las psicólogas de SDS estarán ofreciendo el taller virtual “Súper paternidad, potencia tus habilidades parentales para el 2023”. Les adjuntamos el link de la video llamada para participar dicho taller: https://meet.google.com/tuh-xpes-hoz
 
Secondary
 
Digital Citizenship
This week, students in Years 6 to 10 received their first lessons as part of our new Digital Citizenship Curriculum.  Over the year, all students will receive six classes during form time that focus on: Media Balance & Wellbeing, Privacy and Security, Digital Footprint and Identity, Relationships & Communication, Cyberbullying, Digital Drama and Hate Speech and News & Media Literacy.  To find out more about this curriculum please click on the following link: Digital Citizenship

Respuestas a Nuestros Correos Electrónicos
Solicitamos una vez más que los padres no respondan a la dirección institucional “info”, sino que sigan las instrucciones dadas en nuestras comunicaciones y respondan a la dirección proporcionada en el texto, gracias.
 
After-school Tutoring
We are pleased to offer the following tutorials on a weekly basis, free of charge, for the designated Secondary students between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm.  Students are asked to inform the relevant teacher at least 24 hours in advance if they wish to take advantage of this opportunity.
 

 
International Mother Tongue Day
On Tuesday of next week, our Secondary School will be celebrating International Mother Tongue Day with a number of activities aimed at celebrating the language diversity that is present within our Learning Community (we have students that represent more than 15 different mother tongue languages!).  Secondary students will have the opportunity to participate in different activities during their language classes on this day, while all students and staff will have the opportunity to learn about the different mother tongue languages in our Community during lunchtime.  Primary and Early Years students will also be celebrating the multilingual nature of our community in the coming weeks as we prepare for our International Fair on the 4^th of March. 
 
SAT 2023 – (Year 11 National Baccalaureate and Year 12 students)
The first SAT this year is on Saturday, March 11^th, 2023 at the school. The registration deadline is Friday, February 24^th (International SAT Dates 2022-2023).  The test costs $103 and should be paid for online. The test will be digital from now on.  We recommend that students who register for the first time to take this test coordinate a meeting with Ana Lourdes Baumgartner, University Counsellor to complete the registration procedure.  The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is a standardized test, administered by The College Board that many universities around the world, but especially in the United States, take into consideration as either a requirement or as an optional part of the university application process.  Should you have any question please contact Ana Lourdes at abaumgartner@bscr.ed.cr. For more information, please click on the following link – SAT Practice and Preparation Information
 
Summer Programmes (2023) for High School Students
The past Thursday, interested students from 9th to 12th grade received information from a representative of NSLC (National Student Leadership Conference), an organization that offers pre-college enrichment summer programmes.  These programmes are designed to give students an insider´s perspective on future careers as well as experience life on campus at US premier universities while also developing leadership and team building skills.  They also offer scholarships to which students need to apply before March 15. If you are interested in having your 9^th to 12^th grade student participate in NSLC or other summer programmes, and you would like more information, please contact Ana Lourdes Baumgartner (abaumgartner@bscr.ed.cr) who is our university counsellor.