At the time of writing, we're exactly three months away from the COBIS Annual Conference, our flagship event for Heads, Governors, Proprietors and Senior Leaders in British international schools. Yes, in three months' time we'll be sharing stories, meeting colleagues old and new, learning from inspiring high-profile speakers and reflecting on our buzzing sector in the shadow of London's iconic O2 dome. Booking opened for the event a few weeks ago and many colleagues have been quick to secure their place. Will you be joining us for the global gathering of British international schools?

January, as always, was a busy but exhilarating month at COBIS. You'll read below about the 2018 edition of The Source, our annual directory of companies and suppliers offering solutions to high-quality British international schools. Many schools have told me informally that this has become their go-to resource for acquiring external support for anything from recruitment to classroom resources to student excursions and sportswear. We've already seen nearly 3,000 downloads of The Source since it was published just over a week ago and we're delighted that its popularity amongst schools continues.

As you'll also read, COBIS student events and competitions are now in full swing for 2018 with many exciting upcoming competitions on the horizon. Our chairman Trevor Rowell recently attended the COBIS Student World Debate Competition in Dubai and shared with me the pride he felt after witnessing such a display of eloquence from the participating COBIS students who undoubtedly are destined for big things in the future.

Our Accreditation programme, The Patron's Accreditation and Compliance, continues to flourish with school visits taking place in Gibraltar and Morocco last month. Our Director of Accreditation, Peter Simpson, tells me that he's already taking bookings for school visits in 12 months from now – early 2019 -  so it's worth speaking to him soon if your school is ready to undertake a COBIS-led development and improvement journey.

That's all for now from me and the talented COBIS Executive Team – we hope you enjoy this month's edition of Connect.

Kind regards,

The draft programme for the 37th COBIS Annual Conference is now available to view online.

We are pleased to announce the following Keynote Speakers for this year's conference:

• Will Gompertz, BBC Arts Editor
• Natasha Devon MBE, Body Image and Mental Health Campaigner
• Lucy Crehan, Author of Cleverlands
• Professor Christian Van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology, University of East London
• Dick Moore, The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
• Tim Oates CBE, Group Director of Assessment Research and Development, Cambridge Assessment

Alongside our keynote speakers, delegates will also have the opportunity to take part in workshops, seminars, EdTech speed dating sessions, shoulder courses focussing on Safer Recruitment, Advanced Child Protection, and High Performance Learning, and much more!

Booking is now open. Will you be joining us in May for the global gathering of British international schools?

The Annual COBIS Supporting Member Reception was held on Friday 26 January 2018 at the Institute of Directors in London. The event was attended by over 90 representatives from 70 Supporting Member organisations and offered excellent opportunities for networking.

COBIS was delighted to welcome guests from English UK, China-Britain Business Council, UK Universities International and China Britain Talent Bank to this event.

Members of the COBIS Executive Team and COBIS Board were in attendance and both Geoff Gladding, Education Team Leader, Department for International Trade, and Leigh Webb, CEO of ISC Research, were formally introduced during the Reception. COBIS would like to thank colleagues at ISC Research for sponsoring our Annual COBIS Supporting Member Reception

The New Year has got off to a good start with two successful Compliance visits taking place in Gibraltar and Morocco in January 2018 with another 16 countries due to be visited before the Summer. 

A flurry of recent applications means that our visit schedule for Autumn term 2018 is now full and we are currently taking bookings for January 2019 onwards.

In order to ensure we can meet the needs of all our schools, we will be running new training sessions for both Peer Accreditors and Lead Improvement Partners this term.

With Compliance a minimum requirement for COBIS membership and our Patron's Accreditation scheme already recognised by FOBISIA and AISA, interested schools should book their visit now.

10 Questions gives you the chance to get to know members of the COBIS network a little bit better by asking them ten questions about their achievements, wishes and hidden talents! This month, we spoke to Madalina Postelnicu, Head of School at Pick Me Academy - one of the first schools in the world to successfully go through the COBIS Compliance programme!

1. Which living person do you most admire?
Sir Kenneth Robinson is the person that I most admire.

2. Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be a writer and a great motivational speaker.

3. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is being the mother of my amazing daughter.

4. Where would you most like to live?
I would like to live in Edinburgh, Scotland.

5. What is your favourite book?
My favourite book is 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effectively People' by Steven R. Covey.

6. What is your favourite £5 treat?
Ice Cream!

7. When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up? 
I wanted to be a teacher.

8. What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to travel and read.

9. What is on your bucket list?
Swim with dolphins.

10. What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
People would be surprised to hear that I plan to adopt a child.

Each month we will be showcasing alumni from any of our 270 schools around the world. COBIS students are doing amazing things and we want to showcase the talent of past students from our schools, in order to celebrate what they have achieved and to inspire the ­­next generation of students. 

This month we spoke to Nikol Chen who graduated from Haileybury Almaty in 2016. Today Nikol is studying Human Sciences at University College London.

Click below to read more about how Haileybury Almaty prepared Nikol for life in the UK and at university, as well as the different COBIS competitions she took part in whilst at school, and how she hopes to use her skills and experiences in the future!

The first ever International School Virtual Recruitment Fair for British-oriented international schools takes place this March, providing schools with an effective solution for securing final vacancies. 

The fair will be hosted by international school recruitment specialist and COBIS Supporting Member, TIC Recruitment, which has been supporting the international schools market exclusively for 12 years. It's an approach to recruitment that is already popular with many multinational corporations, including Amazon and Pfizer, because of the global, affordable and accessible platform it provides.

For two weeks from 17 to 31 March, teachers looking for new job opportunities will be able to access the event free of charge. All delegates will be pre-assessed to ensure they have the qualifications and skills required by British international schools.

More details on how to exhibit and to benefit from an Early Bird discount (until 17th February) are available here.

Urdang Academy, new Supporting Members this year, are proud to announce a fantastic line up of musical productions in February and March, performed by their 3rd Year Company.

The graduating class will perform in Sister Act, Jane Eyre, and Sweet Charity over the next three weeks, with the hopes of being spotted by an agent. Perhaps the next West End star of the future could be discovered!

Urdang is a lead supplier of performers in the Musical Theatre, Dance and Acting Industries, and offers workshops internationally and host summer schools and workshops in Central London and around the UK.

Looking to source educational resources & consultancy services in Nigeria? COBIS Supporting Member Infant and Toddler's Corner Int'l Limited provides the likes of Lego, Books, Puzzles, Educational DVDs, Toys, Indoor & Outdoor equipments from their flagship store in Port Harcourt.

With a focus on early childhood education, Infant and Toddler's Corner Int'l Limited is an organisation that provides educational resources and consultancy services for educators, organisations, parents and children. They have recently opened a flagship store at Port Harcourt Mall, Rivers State, Nigeria. 

Now into its fourth year, the makers of nightzookeeper.com bring you the world's most exciting free writing competition, where classrooms in over 30 countries work together to write as many stories as possible. 

Last year over 500 schools took the challenge, and more than 6 million words were written. All teachers have to do to get started is register for an account during February.

There are lots of fantastic prizes on offer both for classes and individual students for the writing that they produce. Inspire and motivate your students to write more and better than ever before this March by registering today.

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