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Council of British International Schools (COBIS): COBIS newsletter

August 2015 | COBIS Connect

COBIS
 

COBIS Connect - August 2015

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In This Issue:

1. Welcome
2. Dates For Your Diaries
3. School Member News
4. News from COBIS Schools Around the World
5. Professional Development
        • Forthcoming Conferences
6. COBIS Student Competitions and Events
7. COBIS Webinars
8. Supporting Member News
9. Contact Us


Welcome from Colin Bell, COBIS CEO

Dear Colleague,

With the summer holiday now in full swing, I trust that you are enjoying a restful and well deserved break. At COBIS Head Office, working on your behalf, we continue to be as busy as ever and I'm pleased to report that our office move to Russell Square in Central London is now complete.  Please note that the new COBIS premises provides the opportunity for our members to access our facilities and meeting space - further details to follow. Following our move, I would be grateful if you could update your records to reflect our new address:

 

COBIS
55-56 Russell Square
Bloomsbury
London
WC1B 4HP
UK
Tel: +44 20 3826 7190

During August, COBIS is also delighted to welcome three new colleagues to the COBIS Head Office team: 

• Monica Rude – COBIS Senior Professional Development Officer (maternity cover) - Start date 10 August
• Padma Sivapunniyam – COBIS Finance Officer - Start date 10 August
• Sakina Zafar – COBIS Academic Development Officer - Start date 24 August

I hope you will join myself and the COBIS Board in welcoming our colleagues to the team. Together, we look forward to building on the excellent work already achieved at COBIS, and growing our member services to the benefit of children and young people worldwide.

Finally, on behalf of the team and the COBIS Board, we look forward to working with you and to supporting and representing your organisation during the 2015/16 academic year and beyond.

Kind regards,



Colin Bell
CEO


Dates for Your Diaries

COBIS Student Leadership Weekend
9-11 October 2015
King's College Madrid, Spain

COBIS EYFS Conference
23-24 October 2015
British Embassy School Ankara, Turkey

COBIS/King's Group Professional Development Weekend
6-7 November 2015
King’s College Madrid, Spain

COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff
20-21 November 2015
The British School in The Netherlands, The Hague


    School Member News

    COBIS Head Office Moves to Russell Square

    We are delighted to have just moved into new premises in central London.  The new office will provide us with more space for our talented Head Office team to grow and the opportunity for our members to make more use of our facilities. As such, all correspondence should now be directed to our new offices in Russell Square:

    COBIS
    55-56 Russell Square
    Bloomsbury
    London
    WC1B 4HP
    UK
    Tel: +44 20 3826 7190
    (Temporary): +44 7599 609727

    Changes to School Senior Leadership Team for September

    Calling all COBIS Schools:  Please let us know of any changes to your School's Senior Leadership Team for the next Academic Year 2015/16.  This will enable us to update our records and welcome new Senior Leaders and Heads to their new schools in September.  

    Please email intern@cobis.org.uk or members@cobis.org.uk.

    COBIS Approved as a UKTI Trade Challenge Partner

    COBIS is proud to have been recently approved as a UKTI Trade Challenge Partner. UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) works with UK based businesses to help them increase their sales in international markets through exports. COBIS is delighted to receive formal recognition of the work we do with UKTI and we look forward to working with UKTI as a Trade Challenge Partner to help our members grow their presence overseas.

    COBIS Conference Delegate Bags to be Sent To Students in Africa

    The surplus delegate bags from our COBIS Annual Conference 2015 will be donated to a school in Moshi, Tanzania for use as student school bags. Richard Taunton Sixth Form in Southampton have kindly offered to take the 70 delegate bags with them on their community service trip next year. COBIS International Marketing Intern Amy Carter, who completed her International Baccalaureate Diploma at the Sixth Form in 2008, took part in the school development project in Moshi in 2007.  As part of the 2 year course, IB students at the college were given the opportunity to raise funds for a school development project and finally visit Tanzania to assist the community in building a local school (pictured). This formed part of the Community Service element which students must complete for their CAS as well as allowing them to develop a wide breadth of skills.  

    COBIS is delighted that the Sixth Form continue to return to the school and will be able to donate our delegate bags to the local community. We would like to thank Kerry Pringle, Head of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Sixth Form, for offering to take them to Tanzania next year. 

    Booking Open for ISC SEN Conference in November

    Delegates are invited to book their place for the tenth in a prestigious series of conferences aimed at SENCOs, Directors of Learning, Learning Support Teachers, Heads and SMT members. The ISC SEN Conference, taking place in London on 12 November 2015, is open to anyone who wishes to understand or improve the SEN provision in their schools. There will also be opportunities to network and benefit from the wide-ranging exhibition. 

    Please click here for more information and to book your place.

    Please note that COBIS also offer an online SEN forum providing the opportunity for colleagues in COBIS Schools to share information, queries, resources, advice and best practice relating to SEN provision in British schools overseas.  Please click here to access our forum.

    Successful International Schools Head Masters Golf Event Held at The Vale Resort, Wales

    Another very successful International Schools Head Masters golf event was held at the Vale Resort, Wales on 21 and 22 July. The event, which is sponsored by ISC ResearchTIC RecruitmentWarwick Mann InternationalWCBS International and supported by COBIS, marked the fifth year of the international golfing tournament held in the UK.

    This year, yet again, the golfers enjoyed fine weather and the courses played superbly. From a field of nearly 30 players, the winner was John Gwyn Jones from Panyathip International School, Laos with 30 Stableford points. Runner-up was Peter Barnard from Braeburn Mombasa International School, Kenya. Craig Blyth from Warwick Mann won the Sponsors trophy.

    The Team Prize went to John Gwyn Jones, Ian Morris from International School of Havana, Ian Rysdale from Global Schools Management and Andrew Seward from Warwick Mann International. Sir Gareth Edwards, a Welsh rugby legend, joined the group for early evening refreshments, presented the Team prize and gave an insight into his playing days versus the modern professional era which was greatly valued by the golfers. We would like to congratulate the winners and all those who took part.

    The event is staged every July in the UK and is open to Heads, Principals, Directors and senior managers from international schools. If anyone would like to be kept informed about future events, please email Tony Child at headsgolf@gmail.com. The next overseas event will be held in Qatar, March 2016. Provisional dates for the next UK event are 19-20 July 2016. Wednesday 20 July will be the Competition Day, with an optional practice day on 19 July.


    News From COBIS Schools Around the World

    Doha College Art Students Present Work To H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa

    Secondary Art students from Doha College had the privilege of discussing their work with Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums and an alumnus of Doha College at a special viewing at the Al Waab campus on 16 June 2015. The work is part of the Doha College annual Art Exhibition and featuring work produced by more than 50 (I)GCSE and A-level students.
    The Exhibition was officially opened by His Excellency the British Ambassador to Qatar Mr Nicholas and the Ministry of Heritage, Arts and Culture Director of Heritage Department Mr Hamad Almuhanadi. In his speech, Mr Nicholas Hopton said "I am greatly impressed with the standard of work on display and I am confident that these talented students face a bright future in their chosen fields.” Doha College Principal Mr Mark Leppard said the Year 12 and 13 students had once again demonstrated they were among the best in the region. “Our inaugural event last year was an enormous success and I am thrilled to see the students have again produced exceptional creative work across a range of media,” Mr Leppard said. “Doha College is committed to developing industry leaders able to support Qatar in achieving its national vision. We believe that creative skills, problem solving and idea generation techniques taught within the creative arts are key to the success of a number of business sectors." 

    100% Success for IB Students at St Paul's School in Brazil

    Students of St Paul's School, São Paulo, Brazil celebrated a 100% pass rate and excellent results in the International Baccalaurate Diploma. This year's cohort of boys and girls have done brilliantly and the school is especially proud of their 7 high fliers who scored 40 or more points from a maximum of 45. 

    The school is delighted with the successes of this year's cohort and are especially pleased of their students who have secured university places to be proud of around the world; USP, FGV and other Brazilian universities are amongst the list along with Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, the LSE and Bath in the UK as well as Berkley, Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown and New York University in the USA.

    We would like to congratulate students and staff at St Paul's School for their hard efforts and fantastic achievements.  To read the full report, please click here.

    Students from COBIS Schools Have Voices Featured on Listen To Us Song

    Over 33,000 students from schools around the globe, including COBIS member schools, have this year shared a common learning experience - mastering one of the vocal parts for a new song called Listen To Us. The song has united young people around the world as part of the Voices Around The World project. This is the third year of the project and has involved over 1,400 national, independent and international schools, including 300 international schools. Several COBIS member schools are featured on the CD including the British Embassy School in Ankara and Campion School in Athens.

    Listen To Us is available to download from iTunes and from the Voices Around The World website where you can also to find out how to participate in the 2016 project. On the Voices Around The World Facebook page you can also see feedback from some of this year’s participating schools. To read the full report from Anne Keeling, please click here.

    Head of Kaduna International School Running From Cairo to Cape Town for Charity

    The Headteacher of Kaduna International School in Nigeria, Joe Labuschagne, will take time out from education in July 2016 to run from Cairo to Cape Town for charity. His project will take him 547 days and he will cover 9 countries along the way (the school is supporting his venture and he will return to the post after he has completed the journey.)  He is raising money for Warwick in Africa, World Bicycle Relief and Wateraid, three crucial charities which improve children's lives and access to education.

    More details of the run, his team, the charities and more can be found on www.joelabuschagne.com

    We wish Joe every success on this incredibly charitable and inspirational project.


    Professional Development

    2015/16 COBIS CPD Calendar 

    The 2015/16 COBIS CPD Calendar includes a range of courses and conferences for:

    Please click here for a list of the high-quality professional development opportunities that COBIS will be running for the next Academic Year 2015/16. Booking is open for the conferences below:

    October 2015 

    November 2015 

    Forthcoming Conferences

    COBIS/King's Professional Development Weekend, Madrid, Spain

    6-7 November 2015
    King's College, Madrid

    Teachers and Teaching Assistants from Primary and Secondary Schools are invited to register for the COBIS/King's Group Professional Development Weekend, hosted by King's College, Madrid. Building on the success of previous Teachers' Conferences hosted by King's Group, this 2-day event includes a host of excellent speakers and workshop presenters. This year’s Keynote speaker is Mungo Dunnett who will be giving a plenary session on “The Changing Market: Current Issues in the International Education Sector”.  With over 30 educational experts, trainers and facilitators involved, the Professional Development Weekend offers something for everyone: School Improvement and Excellence, Leadership and Management, ICT and elearning, Coaching , Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness, Outdoor Learning, SEN, co-curriculum, etc. The programme also includes specific workshops in key subject areas in both Primary and Secondary: English, Maths, The Sciences, Humanities and Creatives and a number of highly participative, interactive ‘Spark Workshops’ for sharing teaching ideas amongst participants. We are confident that the weekend will prove to be professionally stimulating and will provide you with an excellent opportunity for development, networking and sharing best practice.  

    For more information and to book your place, please click here. 

    Accommodation: Delegates and exhibitors are responsible for booking their own flights and accommodation. A special hotel rate has been negotiated for delegates/exhibitors at the Hotel Via Castellana in Madrid.

    Single use rooms with breakfast: 80 euros + 10% VAT

    Double use rooms with breakfast: 90 euros + 10% VAT

    A free shuttle bus will be provided between the hotel and the school on the Friday and Saturday.

    In order to secure your booking at the special rate, please click here to complete the booking form and send it via email to the hotel: reservas@hotelviacastellana.com


    COBIS Student Competitions and Events 

    For an overview of the COBIS Student Competitions and Events that have taken place during the spring and summer term and to see what competitions and events will be taking place next year, click here

    Students from St George's International School Receive Award

    Students from St George's International School, Luxembourg were delighted to receive their award for 1st place in the COBIS Art Competition. The students, from Year 6, won the group category of the inaugural COBIS Art Competition with the theme "I live in this beautiful place..." An amazing 223 entries from 36 schools were sent in, depicting striking scenes from across the globe.

    The students were presented with their certificates and vouchers (pictured right in front of their winning masterpiece.) We would like to offer a huge congratulations to the students at St George's International School as well as all other winning schools. To see the list of winners, please click here.

    Student Competition and Events Dates For Your Diary 2015/2016

    Below are the proposed dates and deadlines for all COBIS Competitions and Events for the next academic year: 

    Autumn Term 

    Spring Term

    Summer Term

    Registration and Selection Process for Student Competitions and Events 2015/16

    Full details of how schools can register their interest in our COBIS Competitions and Events 2015/16 as well as the selection process will be announced in September 2015.



    COBIS Webinars 

    The COBIS webinar schedule for Autumn 2015/16 is available on the COBIS website here. COBIS has now delivered over 30 webinars on a range of topics relevant to all members of the school workforce. 

    Past webinar recordings are available in the COBIS Member Area. Should you require your login details for the Member Area, please contact Amy Carter.


    Supporting Member News

    Learn About How UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) Can Help You to Grow Your Business

    COBIS has recently been approved as a UKTI Trade Challenge Partner, working closely with UKTI to provide our supporting members with expert international trade advice and practical support. In order to provide our members with more information about the support available to them through UKTI, we have updated the COBIS website with full details here. Support available includes:

    A useful guide to the basics of exporting can be found on the UKTI website here.

    COBIS encourages our supporting members to look at the services available to them through UKTI. If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Friend – members@cobis.org.uk


    Contact Us

    If you have any comments or requests, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you.

    Colin Bell, CEO - ceo@cobis.org.uk
    Natalie Friend, Communications and Membership Officer - members@cobis.org.uk
    Amy Carter, International Marketing Intern - intern@cobis.org.uk
    Catriona Lawless, PA to Colin Bell - pa@cobis.org.uk
    Monica Rude, Senior Professional Development Officer (maternity cover) - cpd@cobis.org.uk
    Padma Sivapunniyam, Finance Officer -
    admin@cobis.org.uk

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    Stay Connected

    Telephone: +44 20 3826 7190
    (Temporary): +44 7599 609727
    Address: COBIS, 55-56 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 4HP, UK

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