We had a very exciting assembly last week where some aspiring leaders from Year 6 presented speeches explaining why they think they would make great house captains this academic year. The quality of the speeches was outstanding and it was very difficult for the students to choose who to vote for. After a tense week for all applicants, the winners were announced in this Friday’s assembly. A massive congratulations to all our new House Captains and we look forward to seeing what you will achieve this year.

We have also appointed our Primary Community Ambassadors this week. We were extremely impressed by all of the applications and Mr Akkari & Ms Maharjan found it almost impossible to select from the candidates during the interviews. They finally came to a conclusion and we now have our Primary Community Ambassadors for 2023 in place. Congratulations to the successful candidates:

Year 4

 Year 5

Year 6

We are now looking for our Year 5 play leaders for 2023. The play leaders from 2022 will be demonstrating what the role entails over the coming weeks and all Year 5 students are encouraged to observe them in the playground to gain a clearer idea of whether they would like to apply and also what the focus for their application letters are.

We are extremely excited about all the student leaders in the Primary section and we look forward to seeing them in role, setting the example of their peers. Congratulations to all of the candidates on presenting so well.

TBS sports teams have been in action again this week with the school hosting Premier School in the first round of the NISSA Sports League. In the Senior Boys football, in a hard fought and very tight game, characterised by some outstanding defending from both teams, TBS fought off late game fatigue and we secured a well deserved 2-1 victory.  In the Senior Girls basketball, despite a determined and disciplined performance, our senior team was beaten by a very strong Premier team which included  a Nepali national player in their squad. Both matches were well attended and I am sure the teams appreciated the vocal support from the stands. Thank you to all who stayed to watch.

Today we marked Mexican Independence Day with the leading linguists putting on a wide array of special culinary and cultural Mexican activities for our secondary students to enjoy. We played la loteria, solved Aztec puzzles, drank horchata, ate churros and tested our taste buds with red hot chillis! Lunchtime today also saw a well attended Key Stage 5 universities fair in the senior library, where 18 American universities presented their courses to our sixth form students.

World Scholar’s Cup Global Round. 18 Yetis recently went to Bangkok for a week for the World Scholar’s Cup Global Round, where about 3,500 students came together to compete academically. The Yetis challenged themselves in many different ways and were incredibly successful in their events.

During the trip, Ms Wong, Ms Fallon and Mr Jamieson were really impressed with how well the Yetis did, not just in the competition events but also in terms of making new friends from the other schools in different parts of the world, as well as taking care of each other and getting to know Thai history and culture. One of the highlights was setting up a stall to represent Nepal at the Cultural Fair. Our stall was so well received – visitors came for a quiz about Nepal and they could win a keyring or magnet from Nepal. They could take a polaroid photo with our students in traditional Nepali costumes from different ethnic groups. The Yetis have been amazing ambassadors for Nepal!

Here are some words from some of the students who were on the trip:

“I loved meeting all the people in the Cultural Fair and I felt really happy to represent Nepal!” – Sivani, Y11

“My highlight was the collaborative writing- coming up with the craziest and creative ideas to write up on prompts that are unheard of together with my teammates was extremely fun and enjoyable. Those 40 minutes writing felt like a mere 4 minutes that passed by so quickly because we had so much to say and write and express and unlike normal exam papers, there was no such thing as a limit to what or how we could express ourselves.” – Anuricca, Y13

“I really enjoyed making friends and communicating with different students. I also really enjoyed Scholar’s Bowl and the event days as it opened our mind to how actual debates work or what to expect when writing essays.” – Shrishti, Y9

“My highlight was the whole school qualifying!” – Jeongyoon, Y8

“I gained experience, medals, joy, and a trophy!” – Shah Zain, Y8

“I really enjoyed going to Ayutthaya and having Thai food.” – Mateo, Y9

After rounds of difficult competition, the Yetis all got several medals including silver and golds, with Shah Zain getting the 1st place in debating out of nearly 2,000 junior scholars! All six teams also qualified for the final event which will take place in the US in November; the Tournament of Champions. This is a huge achievement! If you are interested in knowing more about the event in Bangkok ask the following Yetis – they would be very excited to share their experiences with you.

Y8: Sahas, Shah Zain, Jeongyoon, Marion, Lilian, Line, Arianne, Yash

Y9: Victoria, Shrishti, Yajur, Mateo

Y11: Aarush, Sivani, Nele

Y13: Anuricca, Anushansa, Krishangi

A big hello to the TBS community!

My name is Barbara Freeman and I am absolutely delighted to be teaching Secondary music at TBS. My motto has always been that Music goes above and beyond the human experience!

This term we have a lot of exciting things that have been happening in the music department:

PAWS

The focus for all the year groups has been singing as it is something that all the students enjoy, bringing much joy, happiness and fun. Connecting with others makes this experience very positive and enriching, and it is wonderful to see a singing culture beginning to develop at TBS.

Year 7 PAWS

Students have been learning different rhythmic patterns using basketballs to Offenbach’s Can Can. They especially find it challenging passing the basketballs in time to the music!

Year 8 PAWS

Students have been learning drum routines using buckets to songs Pompeii and Believer. Similarly, they have also been learning the chord patterns to these songs on the keyboards and ukuleles whilst singing!

Year 9 PAWS

As featured in Yeti news a couple of weeks ago, students have been learning a very exciting drum routine using drum sticks and incorporating complicated rhythmic patterns in time to William Tell Overture.

CURRICULUM

In KS3 students have been learning music notation and rhythmic patterns and focusing on their ukulele and keyboard skills. Our Instruments of the Orchestra unit is being taught in Year 8 and it is also wonderful to see Year 9s singing and composing their own pop songs. In senior music, the emphasis has been studying set works and focussing on composition and performance.

Winter Showcase

So far the students at TBS have impressed us by their willingness to give everything a go and they have helped bring music to life at the school! Their persistence and enthusiasm is very inspiring and we look forward to continuing to work with them, especially for the Winter showcase which will involve all the KS3 children (PAWS performances) and will also include GCSE and A level music students. It will be a great show!

Aaryav Y5 came second in the U10 Golf tournament organised by Royal Nepal Golf Club in September. Well done Aaryav!