The house leaders, captains and teaching staff have worked very hard this year to develop a fun and challenging programme of house events for students.

Competition between houses has been tight, no more so than on Sports Day, and the levels of participation and enthusiasm shown by BIST students has been very pleasing to see. I’m sure I speak for most staff and students when I say that we are all eagerly awaiting this Fridays Talent show. House captains have been working extremely hard over the last few weeks to get this event organised – don’t forget to thank them if you get the opportunity!

As a school, we are always looking to improve in all areas. The house competition programme is no exception. We would like your feedback on the following:

• What do you think has been the best house event this year? Why do you think it has been so successful?
• Which house events would you like to see repeated next year? Any events that you do not think worked so well and shouldn’t be included next year?

• Could any of this years house competitions be improved in any way? How?

• Do you have any ideas for new events or activities that could be included in the house events programme next year?

For those of you not already familiar with the latest phenomenon in online social networking, Twitter is a personal news and updates service for friends, family, and co–workers. It allows you to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question:

“What are you doing?”

At Bromsgrove International School, we believe that Twitter is a great way to keep you up to date with the schools latest news and events.

You can have short school message updates sent to you by SMS, Email or RSS allowing you to keep fully up-to-date with goings on at BIST.

To get started and an ideas of Twitter is, view the schools ‘Twitter’ home page at:

http://twitter.com/bistonline

If you already have a Twitter account, you can find the schools page by  logging in and searching for ‘BISTonline’

If you do not currently have a Twitter account, why not register and start Twittering so that your friends and family can see what you are up to? It’s easy to learn and a lot of fun.

You can learn more about Twitter and sign-up for an account at:

http://twitter.com/

Here are a few ideas to get you started …

• Go to the Twitter website and register an account. You can then update the world with a short message each day / week / month about what you are doing.  Think ‘Status updates’  on Facebook but better!

• Search for your friends on Twitter and recieve their news updates on your own Twitter page or SMS / email.

• Subscribe to the schools Twitter page and get the latest information on news and events at BIST to your inbox or mobile phone

Although September might seem a long way off, your teachers are already busy making plans and generating ideas for the next school year. It’s no easy task making sure that all school trips are equally fun, challenging and most of all, educational! That is why we are asking for your help…

Few would dispute that this year trips have been a huge success with both staff and students having a great time. Whether it is a residential trip such as Year 8’s visit to Chantaburi, or a day trip to the Science museum with Year 9, the feedback that we have received from students has been overwhelmingly positive.

We would like to know:

• Have you been on a trip this year that was particularly good fun? What did you enjoy most about it? What were your most memorable moments?

• Where would you like to go on a school trip next year that we currently do not go to? Remember, your suggestions should be fun, challenging and educational.

• Any ideas for good day trips in and around the Bangkok area? Maybe somewhere you have been with your family or friends that you really enjoyed…

• What was your favourite activity – the Treasure Hunt, Maths Relay race, Crystal Maze, Famous Mathematicians competition, the Tutor Quiz or the assembly?

• Have you any ideas for future Maths weeks – any events that you’d like to see happening?

The website is based on a simple formula:

Small actions   X   Lots of people   =   BIG CHANGE

The website suggests 130 small things that you can do to change really big things.  It could be doing something for the community like shopping locally, something for the environment like avoiding plastic bags, or something for you, like learning to paint, sing or speak Spanish…

We would like as many BIST students as possible to sign up to the website and pick an action you feel passionately about or that interests you. Try to follow it and encourage your friends and family to do likewise!

Student Voice would love to hear about what action you have chosen in order to create a better world around you. Using the comments section below:

• Tell us about which action you have chosen and why
• Tell us how you are getting on with your action
• Keep us up to date with your progress in terms of persuading others to do likewise.

http://mail.bromsgrove.in.th

Students now have their own Bromsgrove email addresses that will allow them to share information and documents with each other, as well as their teachers, faster and easier. In addition to email, the new system also provides a real-time chat facility, an online user area and your own personal planning calendar to make sure you don’t miss those important homework deadlines or examination dates.

This is only one of many new initiatives aimed at making BIST a leader in the use of technology in schools. Don’t forget to keep an eye on this blog to learn more about new technological developments at BIST.

We would like to hear what your opinions are with regards to the new communication system.

Are you happy and confident using it? Would you like more training in your ICT lessons or are you already a communication wizard?

• What features do you like about the new system? What will you use most? Any features that you do not think you will use?
• Any questions about the new system? How to do something with the new system that you are not sure of… ask here!
• What would make the new system better? What additional information would you like to be given?

Please post your comments below.

 One of the factors that make Sports Day at BIST such an enjoyable day is the variety of sports and activities for students to compete in. We would be interested to hear students’ views on Sports Day this year. The following areas are of particular interest to us:

• What sports events were particularly enjoyable? Which events were not so good?
• Any ideas for new sporting events to be included in Sports Day 2010?
• Do you think the day could be better organised in any way? How?
• Any particularly good memories of the day that you would like to share with others?

 Please post your comment(s) below.

‘Student Voice’ is an online platform that allows BIST students to express their ideas, views and opinions on a variety of different current school issues. School articles will appear regularly and all students will be encouraged to post a comment or reply underneath the article, although this is not compulsory. 

It is hoped that Student Voice will help to facilitate communication between staff and students over the school issues that really matter. Teachers will write articles on issues where student input is particularly welcome. This may be a request for views or ideas on a school issue, or simply a reflection on a school event that has taken place. Once published, students will then be able to comment directly on the article, with their response going instantly online for both staff and students to see.

We hope you will find a lot of useful information here over the coming months, and see this section as a useful place for expressing your feelings on the school issues that matter to you. If you have any ideas for articles or anything else you would like to see here, please let us know by commenting below.

ICTsupport@bromsgrove.in.th