Dear Colleague, October is the month when we ask schools to share their stories for the COBIS Annual Research Survey, run in association with GL Education. The survey is designed for school members and it helps COBIS develop a deeper understanding of our growing global family of schools, as well as the British International Education sector as a whole. School members who complete the survey will have free access to tailored reports for use by Senior Leadership Teams and Governors. In a busy life and to save time, schools which have previously filled out the survey will have many relevant details pre-populated. All school members should be in receipt of their unique login details. If not, please contact Fiona Rogers, Director of Professional Development and Research (cpd@cobis.org.uk). Please note that the survey closes on 4 November 2016.
The registration process for the COBIS Games is now open! Both the 2017 Primary and Secondary COBIS Games will hosted in the U.K. The Primary Games will be hosted in the beautiful countryside grounds of Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, whilst the proud sporting city of Sheffield will host the Secondary Games. Further details are available on our website, plus this is where you can register your student team. More good news. The COBIS Student Leadership Weekend was recently hosted by King's College Madrid. A multitude of great photos and videos from this event are available online. The King's Group in Madrid are also hosting the forthcoming COBIS Professional Development Weekend. Additionally, October sees Byron College in Athens host the COBIS Early Years Conference. With delegates travelling to Europe from Africa, Middle East and as far afield as Venezuela, these learning events will be rewarding and memorable for all. Thank you in advance to our generous host schools. Like your school or organisation, COBIS is committed to safeguarding. Therefore, a reminder to both schools and supporting members to access the online Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) that COBIS is licensed to operate. Following internal review, recent improvements have been made to the system. For the benefit of all users, the process is more efficient and streamlined. Further details can be found on our website or by e-mailing dbs@cobis.org.uk. This service is open to all COBIS members and non-COBIS members worldwide. That's it from me. I'll leave you to enjoy the October COBIS Connect. Kind regards, | COBIS ANNUAL RESEARCH SURVEY | The COBIS Annual Research Survey 2016 is now live! All COBIS Schools are encouraged to submit responses by 4 November 2016.
The survey is an ongoing project that helps COBIS develop a better understanding of our growing global family of schools, as well as the British International Education sector as a whole. The results of this survey support lobbying activities, inform planning for future CPD events, and help facilitate increased school-to-school networking, communication and support. To view the results of last year's survey, click here.
If you have not received your login details to access the survey, please email Fiona Rogers on cpd@cobis.org.uk | COBIS is delighted to announce that Kai Vacher (Principal, British School Muscat) has been appointed as a Director of COBIS.
Kai was a candidate for election at COBIS´s recent AGM in May 2016, and following the appointment then of candidates John Bagust and Dawn Akyurek, was the candidate next listed in the poll. Kai replaces Peter Simpson on the COBIS Board. At the recent COBIS Board meeting on 1 October, Trevor Rowell, COBIS Chairman, gave sincere thanks to Peter Simpson for his outstanding contribution as a Director and warmly welcomed Kai to the Board. | HAVE YOUR SAY ON EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY IN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS | The new International Education Research Panel (IERP) which is researching the use of education technology in international schools, invites COBIS member schools to participate in its first survey.
IERP is a collaboration of two leading research organisations; The International School Consultancy (ISC) and the National Education Research Panel (NERP). The survey includes questions regarding impact of education technology on student performance, staff usage, and parental engagement.
All international schools that participate in the research will receive a free, detailed report of the results.The survey takes no more than five minutes to complete and ends on 21 October 2016 so complete your survey today. | COBIS/KING'S GROUP STUDENT LEADERSHIP WEEKEND | More than 30 students from COBIS schools took part in the 3rd COBIS/King's Group Student Leadership Weekend in Madrid in October.
The students, most of whom hold leadership positions in their schools such as Head Boy or Girl, had an unrivalled opportunity to participate in interactive sessions with trainers and motivational speakers. The sessions focussed on personal branding, public speaking skills, creative problem solving and more. They also enjoyed a sightseeing tour of Madrid, a delicious tapas lunch, and a murder mystery evening! More photos and updates can be seen on the Kings Group twitter page.
COBIS would like to thank colleagues at King's Group for making this event a success.
The staff at COBIS Head Office sent their encouragements and wishes for a fantastic event in a video message shown over the weekend. | RECENT VISITS TO THE COBIS HEAD OFFICE | Graham Michelli of Schoolwear International UK recently delivered another batch of COBIS flags to our Head Office in Russell Square!
Graham is pictured above with Colin Bell, Jamie Ralph and Natalie Friend of COBIS. | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT and EVENTS NEWS | COBIS EARLY YEARS CONFERENCE AND COBIS/KING'S GROUP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEEKEND | Two excellent COBIS conferences will be taking place, 28-29 October 2016.
We look forward to welcoming delegates from around the world to Byron College, Athens for the Early Years Conference and to King's College, Madrid for the Professional Development Weekend. | COBIS SPRING CONFERENCES | Check out the range of COBIS CPD events taking place in the spring term.
There are conferences focusing on: - EAL in International Schools - Trips & Fieldwork Leadership - Reaching Excellence (CPD) - Wellbeing - Visual Arts
Details of the following COBIS Conferences can also be found on the COBIS website: - Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff - Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff; and - PAs and School Secretaries | COBIS FOUR-DAY MIDDLE LEADERS' COURSES | Colleagues are invited to register for the four-day Middle Leaders' Course, Leading Learning from the Middle, or the two-day Stepping Up to Senior Leadership Course.
These courses will run in the spring in Athens, New York, Stavanger, and Dubai. | 36TH COBIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE | The 36th COBIS Annual Conference will take place at the InterContinental London O2 in Greenwich, 6-8 May 2017.
The theme for this year's conference will be Transformations. Schools and Supporting Members will shortly be invited to submit proposals to deliver seminars and workshops as part of the conference programme. | REGISTER NOW FOR THE COBIS GAMES! | Registration for the COBIS Primary and Secondary Games 2017 is now open. Dates and Locations: - The 2017 COBIS Primary Games will take place at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, UK from 11-13 April 2017. - The 2017 COBIS Secondary Games will take place in Sheffield, UK from 19-21 May 2017.
For more information including student eligibility and details of the lottery draw, visit the COBIS website. | COBIS STUDENT WORLD DEBATE COMPETITION | Registration for the COBIS Student World Debate Competition is now open for students in KS4 and KS5. The competition will take place 3-5 February 2017 at the English International College in Marbella, with the option to attend 1-5 February and visit some local sights, organised by the school.
A maximum of 14 schools can take part in the COBIS Student World Debate Competition 2017. Schools that hosted in 2015 (British School of Bucharest) and 2016 (The Edron Academy, Mexico) are automatically allocated a place. The remaining 12 places will be allocated using a lottery draw, which will take place on Monday 31 October 2016, with all registered schools entered. The closing date for registration is 27 October 2016 at 12:00 BST. | COBIS ART COMPETITION NOW OPEN! | The theme for this year's Art Competition is Transformations. Students from EYFS to KS3 can enter now at cobis.org.uk/art. Schools can submit three entries in each category so we encourage you to run an internal competition and then enter the top three to the COBIS Art Competition. The categories are: - Early Years and Foundation Stage - Key Stage 1 - Key Stage 2 - Key Stage 3 - Group Entries The closing date for this competition is Wednesday 5 April 2017. For inspiration from last year's winning entries, please visit the COBIS Flickr account. | CALLING ALL POETS! THE COBIS POETRY COMPETITION IS NOW OPEN! | The COBIS 2017 Student Poetry Competition is now open with the theme My Country; How I See It. Students are invited to write a poem, in 40 lines or less, on the country they identify with and their perspective on it.
Schools can submit three entries in each category so we encourage you to run an internal competition and then enter the top three to the COBIS Student Poetry Competition. The categories are (as of 1 January 2017): - Category A: 10 years and under - Category B: 11-14 years - Category C: 15-19 years All entries must be received no later than Friday 17 March 2017.
All entries will be reviewed by a panel comprising educators, children's authors and international publishers.
For inspiration from last year's winning entries, please go to page 64 of the September 2016 World Student Magazine. | WORK AS A CLASS TO ENTER THE COBIS PRIMARY CREATIVE CHALLENGE | COBIS has once again partnered with COBIS Supporting Member, Oddizzi to put on the Primary Creative Challenge.
This year's challenge is based around "Life Lessons" and provides KS1 and KS2 students with a voice to tell us what they think they should learn! The whole school community can get involved, with students asking teachers, support staff, other year groups and parents what they think it is important for children to learn in today's world.
Enter now at cobis.org.uk/pcc. | EXEMPLARY NQT PRACTICE AT BRITISH SCHOOL IN TOKYO | Congratulations to The British School in Tokyo - one of only 20 schools, and the only international school, to have received a letter from COBIS Supporting Member ISTip in recognition of their exemplary NQT practice.
For more information about NQT induction in COBIS Schools, visit the COBIS website. | DOHA COLLEGE IS OFFICIALLY A GREEN ECO-SCHOOL | Doha College has become the first school in Qatar to be awarded an Eco-Schools Green Flag from the Foundation for Environmental Education. The school's Eco Committee and staff officially hoisted the Green Flag to mark the occasion in a ceremony held at the school recently.
The Doha College Eco Committee included 30 students from across all secondary year groups and was led by Senior Prefect, Kane Bastick. The themes chosen by the school included paper recycling, plastic recycling and litter reduction.
A number of projects were implemented including recycling bins throughout the whole school, a plastic bottle greenhouse, litter picking programmes, participation in the Earth Cup Challenge and most importantly the incorporation of environmental issues into the curriculum for all students. | ST PAUL'S SCHOOL AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES | Pupils and teachers from St Paul's School in Brazil were excited to volunteer at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
Isabella Castilla Russo Corrêa, a pupil in the Upper Sixth at St Paul's, was delighted to be an event service team member in the Maracana precinct. She helped out with the athlete's parades in both the opening and closing ceremonies and was lucky enough to be able to talk to some of the athletes. Isabel was proud to be a part of the workforce community that helped to put on "the best Olympics the world has ever seen!"
Mrs Andrea de Luca Cunha, senior PE coordinator, was a volunteer in the athletics events at Engenhão stadium, getting to watch Usain Bolt win three gold medals! Mr Claudio Zsigmond, campus manager, was an official in the sprint canoe event on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lake, responsible for the backup timing system of all the races. | ST GEORGE'S FORMALLY CELEBRATES THE OPENING OF THE ZINNEN BUILDING | On Friday 23 September St George's International School Luxembourg welcomed over 240 guests into its new Auditorium to celebrate the inauguration of the new Zinnen building.
Dr Barkei, the Principal, introduced the ceremony and spoke of how St George's is a testament to the generous and consistent support the school has received from the City of Luxembourg and the Luxembourgish Government. St George's was very privileged to have the Luxembourgish Mayor, Mme Lydie Polfer, and the Minister for National Education, Mr Claude Meisch to formally open the new Zinnen building by doing the honours of cutting the red ribbon.Special guests also included the patron of the school and British Ambassador, Mr John Marshall and Mr Peadar Carpenter, the Irish Ambassador to Luxembourg.
| NEWS FROM COBIS SUPPORTING MEMBERS | FINALSITE SPOTLIGHT ON THE NEW COBIS WEBSITE | Since 2012, COBIS has partnered with Finalsite to provide the COBIS website. Finalsite recently featured the new COBIS website and redesigned COBIS Connect newsletter in a blog post on their website.
The Finalsite development team carefully ensured that the new COBIS website accurately represented the COBIS brand. The different sections of the new website are much more clearly signposted and navigation is an easier task overall.
The team at Finalsite stated that they are looking forward to many more years working with COBIS in support of international British Education not only through this website partnership but also through attending various conferences that support COBIS around the world.
| OPPORTUNITIES IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR IN BRAZIL, COLOMBIA AND MEXICO | Tune in to a Department for International Trade webinar, delivered by the Education Team in the UK and Education Officers in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico!
This webinar will provide an overview of current Education opportunities in these markets, and in specific sub-sectors such as English Language Training (ELT), Technical and Vocational Education (TVET), Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and In Classroom Technology (ICT).
Through this webinar, the team will provide UK companies and institutions with an overview of the key areas and projects by private sector and government in their markets. The team will explain upcoming Department for International Trade events and strategy to promote the UK education sector in these LatAm countries.
| EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SUCCESSES IN CHINA | The move into a new era of technology in Chinese schools is being supported by a number of British technology specialists including COBIS Supporting Member WCBS.
WCBS participated in an Education is Great trade mission that visited Beijing and Shanghai to present details about the bilingual information management solutions WCBS is already offering to some schools in China. "Smart technology significantly impacts on students, and helps schools to focus on every single student and their learning success," Tim Berry, CEO of WCBS, said.
Furthermore, as a result of exceptional growth in its business, WCBS has announced an expansion of its senior management team. The new team will allow WCBS to continue to meet the evolving requirements of the market. | DOUBLE FIRST RECOGNISED BY THE QUEEN AT CELEBRATION EVENT | COBIS Supporting Member Double First Ltd celebrated its 2016 Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade in September, in recognition of its export growth since 2008.
Double First Ltd - an education software company - was successful in its bid for a Queen's Award, the highest official award available for UK businesses, due to its exceptional levels of export growth in recent years, most significantly in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions, with sales to international schools now comprising in excess of half of its total activity. | ONE MILLION STUDENTS INVITED TO JOIN EXPLORERS ON A JOURNEY TO MOUNT EVEREST | In 2017, explorers Mark Wood and Matt Dickinson will attempt to summit Everest with a mission to connect with over one million students - to live-stream broadcast from the highest mountain into 8848 classrooms around the globe.
Through the use of cutting-edge cameras, 3D projections and satellite communication technologies our explorers will take one million students with them on this journey of modern exploration. Their journey and ascent will be shared through 360-degree immersive reality technologies. The explorers will also deliver a highly crafted climate change focused education program with the support of Skype in the Classroom, the Microsoft Education platform and Lonely Planet.
Mission 8848 will inspire the next generation to engage with and understand the impact of global warming on our struggling planet, and perhaps one of those students will forge a solution for the future. | |
COBIS CPD AND EVENTS 2016/17 | COBIS Conference For Early Years
Athens 28-29 October 2016 | COBIS/King's Group Professional Development Weekend
Madrid
28-29 October 2016 | COBIS Programme for Middle Leaders (CPML)
Various locations
October - March 2016 | COBIS Conference for Senior Managers, Middle Leaders, and CPD Leaders
Cairo
3-4 February 2017 | COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff
Lisbon
10-11 February 2017 | COBIS Conference for EAL Staff
Bucharest 16-17 February | COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries Brussels 24-25 February | COBIS/Youth Sport Trust PE and School Sport Conference
Coventry
28 February 2017 | Stepping Up to Senior Leadership Course Athens 4-5 March 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course Athens 4-7 March 2017 | COBIS Conference for Trips and Fieldwork Leadership
The Hague
17-18 March 2017 | COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff
Tokyo
27-28 March 2017 | COBIS Wellbeing Conference Dubai 14-15 April 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course
Dubai
16-19 April 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course
New York
18-21 April 2017
| COBIS Safer Recruitment Course
London
6 May 2017
| 36th COBIS Annual Conference
London
6-8 May 2017 | Advanced Child Protection Course
London 9 May 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course
Stavanger
26-29 May 2017
| COBIS Primary Creative Challenge
OPEN NOW!
Closes 3 March 2017 | COBIS Young Scientist Film Awards
Launching Soon
| COBIS Student Poetry Competition
OPEN NOW!
Closes 17 March 2017 | COBIS Art Competition
OPEN NOW!
Closes 5 April 2017 | COBIS Student World Debate Competition
Marbella
3-5 February 2017
| COBIS Medical Review Schools Conference
Doha
4-5 February 2017
| COBIS Model-UN Conference
Bahrain
10-11 March 2017
| COBIS Primary Games
Buckingham
11-13 April 2017
| COBIS Secondary Games
Sheffield
19-21 May 2017
| COBIS Senior School Music Festival
Murcia
26-28 May 2017 | COBIS International Summer School
TBC
| COBIS World Student Magazine
Available to read NOW!
Click here to find information on writing for the next edition | COBIS SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS | COBIS Disclosure and Barring Service
Helping your school to recruit safely
Contact dbs@cobis.org.uk for more information | COBIS Consultancy Service
Offering support to schools, commercial organisations and private investors globally.
| COBIS Diploma for International Teaching Assistants
Giving International Teaching Assistants the knowledge, skills and understanding to work effectively alongside teachers whilst maximising learning opportunities for children. | Modern English School Cairo
Accredited Member | Jumeirah College Dubai
Accredited Member | Dubai British School Jumeirah Park
Member | Brighton College Bangkok
Candidate School | Embassy International School Krakow
Candidate School | Brit Academy Rosu
Candidate School | Kheireddine Tunisian International School
Candidate School | NEW COBIS SUPPORTING MEMBERS | Sing Up
Curriculum Resources and Publishers | GCSEPod
Curriculum Resources and Publishers
| ClickView
Curriculum Resources and Publishers | Life Unltd
Consultancy and Professional Development | Congratulations to the Accredited schools below who recently had a successful BSO inspection! | We accept submissions from both schools and supporting members for the COBIS newsletter, Connect.
Please read our editorial guidelines before making your submission.
All submissions for the November Connect should be sent to: intern@cobis.org.uk
by 1 November 2016. | |
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| If you have any comments or requests, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you. | By Telephone: +44 20 3826 7190
| COBIS Head Office, 55-56 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 4HP, UK | |
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