b'The NewsSenior School Issue 15 The British School of AmsterdamThe Senior School Wellbeing WeekDuring the first week in February, the The Spring term has been as Senior School held a Wellbeing Week, drawing attention to the importance of busy as ever and it has been great connecting, talking and listening to others.to see pupils take full advantage of This marked Time to Talk Day on 2 February which is a mental health awareness day organisedthe many opportunities to continue by two UK-based charities - Mind and Rethink. The Learning and Wellbeing Committees in the Sixththeir learning beyond the classroom. Form and Year 11 coordinated a wide variety of activities during this week. Each form was given the challengeto create a poster, highlighting the need to reach outin times of need. There were some inventive postersThe Spring term has been as busy as ever and it has been greatand they are now displayed around the school.to see pupils take full advantage of the many opportunitiesDuring the assemblies, we were fortunate to be to continue their learning beyond the classroom. joined by Frederieke Vriends, who is the Director The Ski Trip in January seems a long time ago, but our Year 8 and 9of Mind Us, which is a youth mental health charity,founded recently by Queen Maxima. Frederieke talkedpupils started the term on the slopes of Verbier in Switzerland. Full dayson the mountain, a range of evening activities and keeping on top ofto the pupils about what we mean by mental healthschoolwork is not easy but the pupils rose to challenge and had a greatand the importance of listening to each other.week. Additionally, this term, our Sixth Form Biology and Media pupils, We also held a non-uniform day in conjunction as well as our Year 11 Science and Geography pupils have participatedwith an after-school screening of the Disney in academic field trips; our Key Stage 3 pupils visited Poki to get anfilm, Inside Out. In the movie, each emotion is a insight into computer games development; and our Year 8 cohort havedifferent colour and so each year group was asked explored the microscopic world at Micropia with the Science team.to dress in their corresponding colour. During this In school we have enjoyed to an array of creative treats, with a veryday, 500 was raised and donated to Mind Us.pleasant evening of our GCSE and A level Art pupils showcasing their work at their exhibition, two YMBSA music recitals and the exciting premier of the BSA Battle of the Bands. Fourteen bands competed head-to-head to be the BSA champion; it was a fantastic event!Book WeekPupils have also been developing their leadership skills as our student leaders and prefect teams have been helping to promote, organise and support staff at a range of school events. From House competitionsOn the week of Monday 27th of Februaryto GCSE/A level Options Evenings, Book Week to career talks, pupilswe celebrated Book Week in the Senior School.across the school have proven themself to be great leaders, excellent ambassadors and superb role models for our younger pupils. TheKicking off the programme were a host of wonderful submissions Spring term is going to be finished off in style with the Eco Studentto our Xtreme Reading competition, which asks pupils to take Leadership Team raising money for WWF and Plastic Whale.photos of themselves reading books in challenging situations. Pupils MEDIAMATIC VISIT were reading upside down, in racing cars, while rock climbing, With so much going on this term not all our events have madeon trampolines, or even in two places at once. The winner the deadline for publication, so we look forward to celebratingwas Lukas Fedorencikas in 8.2, reading on a military tank.them in a bumper summer edition next term. A big thank you to pupils and staff for all their hard work this term andTeachers recommended their favourite books to pupils and pupils thank you to our parents for their continued support. learned about the neurological benefits of reading. A Book Swap shelf Finally, as our Year 11, 12 and 13 pupils will be soon sitting their GCSE,was opened on the ground floor for pupils to freely exchange novels. AS and A level exams, we would like to wish them all the very best. Online, pupils from all year groups contributed to a forum on a range of cross-curricular questions about words, books and literature. For Enjoy the Spring holiday and we look forwardexample, how much would the BFG weigh? In what languages have to an exciting Summer term! the most books been published? What has been the most dangerous book in history? Pupils invented words, asked each other about their MR CHRISTIAN NICOLSON MR GARETH EVANSfavourite fantasy worlds, and argued about whether a monkey could in ACTING CO-HEAD ACTING CO-HEAD fact type the works of Shakespeare if given an infinite amount of time.SKI TRIP TO VERBIER c.nicolson @ britams.nlg.evans @ britams.nlXTREME READING CHALLENGE Overall, a stimulating book week and we are looking forward to the next.14 15'