Try your hand at measuring

Many parents have asked us for help when measuring objects - this activity from the BBC is quite a nice one for you to try.

Football in Dubai

It is not just all fun in school - life in BISAK extends across the Middle East.  Two weekends ago, three Year 5 students played as part of a BISAK Under 11 team in Dubai.  The team only had the bare minimum of seven players, so despite winning their group on the first day and qualifying for the Cup group, exhaustion caught up with them and they eventually finished third overall.  Well done to Mohammed, Alexi and Matthew - we're still waiting for their version of events so that we can add it to the blog here.

I have had a great year so far- I have just come back from the football tournament in Dubai. The trip was exciting and fun.  I was heading to Bahrain airport and I was the most excited boy on earth. We were all worried because one of our players had been sick and we thought he would not come. Luckily he was fine and we all got on the airoplane with Mr Ashford and Mr Leak.

When we arrived in Dubai we had our own bus to take us to the Premier Inn where we stayed. I shared a room with Basil and Angus and we all went to sleep to make sure we were able to play football the next day.

Our first match on Friday was against Rashid Boys School and we lost 4-1 which made us sad. We all tried even harder in our next 3 games and we won them all. We were at the top of the league at the end of the first day and we were very happy but tired.

After all our hard work we had a treat when we went to the Mall of the Emirates which was good fun.

We qualified for the Cup section of the tournament which was on Saturday. We played another 3 games and we won one friendly match but lost the other 2 cup games. We came 3rd in the  tournament. We did win the Respect Award for sportsmanship which made us very proud.

I had a wonderful time.

Matthew Gair 5S

In the meantime, we are setting a caption competition: we'd like to know what you think Mohammed is thinking about Alexi's flamboyant celebrations in the first picture above, or what it is you think Matthew has seen and is pointing at in the second picture.  Post your captions as a blog comment below.

Finally, well done to Mrs. Joseph, who is our first parent to post a comment on the blog when she was answering Valerio's maths puzzles.  Come on parents, we'd like to see more of your comments posted!

The best thing about school this week

My favorite thing I’ve done this week is the math problems, not only because I’m good at maths but also cause I like it. The math problems are hard, challenging and brain teasing. They’re challenging and really make my head work, which to me is a really good thing. The best thing about maths (word) problems, that they keep and keep on going and on some sheets there are lots of problems.
Try these two,
1. Make 24 out of 8, 4, 1 and 5.
2. Jane uses half of her money on a teddy. Mark uses a quarter of his money on a toy car. John uses 379 dollars on a laptop. Jane Mark and John, have 1008 dollars in total after spending it. How much did they have before spending their money?
By Valerio 5S

What I think about Year 5 so far

Year 5 is great so far because Mr. Suter is a funny and fantastic teacher (fantastic is Mr. Suter’s favourite word). In year 5 you get to do lots of experiments that you didn’t do in year 4. For example we tested sound, and we put a buzzer in different materials.

In year 5 we get too much HOMEWORK!!!!

We get to watch interesting videos about geography and history which we didn’t watch in year 4. I have better friends in year 5 than in year 4. We get different after school activities in year 5 like adventure service challenge.

I like being upstairs better than being downstairs and year 5 is upstairs. In year 5 we get to go on school trips to Greece.

By Sophia 5S

In year 5 we are learning about fractions, proper and improper fractions, mixed numbers and equivalent fractions in Maths.This is very fun for me because Maths is my most favourite subject in the world.
On literacy we are learning about Dick King Smith. He is a very famous children’s book author, his most favourite farm animal is a pig. He has a dog named Dodo. In our class we are reading one of his books called Harry’s Mad.
Then in History we are learning the Victorians. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Also we are comparing the differences between poor and rich.
Last but not the least Science my 2nd most favourite subject in the world. We are learning about sound and what materials can sound go through. We even had an experiment about this.

These were my top 4 subject I was discussing about hope you enjoyed it.

By: Kush Juyal

Class: 5S (Mr.Suter)


I like math because Mr suter makes it fun.
My tables are useful because it helps me in my division.

Science is fun because we normally do experiments.
English is fun because we do story openings.
So that’s why I like year5


By Muneeb and thank you.

Shopping (and all the rest)!

Apologies for the blog blackout last night – we literally did have a blackout! We’d just finished typing the blog and were in the process of transferring it to the site when a power cut hit the whole of Tolon! We did try posting this morning but things weren’t quite back to normal on the internet front. Sorry if you missed us!

We did get a chance to catch up on all the messages you’ve been sending us. Daniel, Iman didn’t break her ankle, she’s just sprained it, but thanks for your concern. Hi Laila! Fatimah – despite the plaster, Iman has been shopping like you wouldn’t believe so I’m sure there’s something in her goody bag for you! Mr Suter misses you all too, Tiara – he hopes you’re being good for Mr Whitaker. Civene misses you too Tala. Tamara, it’s hard enough to get Azfer to make sure he stands at the front so we can see him, we can’t concentrate on getting him to look at the camera too! Ahmed, we’re sure it is quiet without Amr, even if Mrs Churchill seems to think you are all noisy too – remember, we’ve got him here with us. Mrs Gikas, we’ve had souvlaki only once, but we have had lots of other wonderful food too. And yes, Mrs Williams was cold on the boat, but that was as we were on the top deck on the way home and it was a little windy. Finally, the only danger of any plates breaking on our Greek night were as heads landed on the table as people fell asleep! Keep the comments coming, it’s great to know you’re following our progress.

This morning we threw our windows open to the sound of the waves lapping at the hotel steps and watched the sun rise over the mountains. Jealous? You should be – it was spectacular. There was a general reluctance to leave Tolon – so much so that Azfer hid his room key in his pocket so that we wouldn’t have to depart! Eventually we set off on our way, heading for the theatre at Epidauros. We’ve been lucky on our trips – we have had two guides, Anna and Rebecca, who have been giving us running commentaries on the bus and around the museums and ancient sites. In fact, Anna was very flattered to be told that she was the nicest Greek person that one of the boys had met – even though she hails from the north of England! Rebecca is Greek, and regaled us with tales from Greek mythology all through the journey. If you don’t know anything about Epidaurus, it’s a theatre that seats 14,000 and has absolutely amazing acoustics – Rebecca ripped a piece of paper at the bottom and it could be clearly heard at the top, without any technical gadgets in sight. Abdullah was slightly confused by the whole acoustics thing – he stood at the top and shouted down, wondering if he could be heard at the bottom. We blame the teachers! We tried to encourage Amy to sing to us from the stage – bear in mind some of the most famous names in ancient and modern Greek theatre have performed on that stage – but in the end Mr Suter stepped up with Ben and they sang “Morning has broken” to the enthralled crowds. We sense Nurse Eileen cringing even from here reading that!

From there, we travelled to Mycenae, home of Agamemnon, the King who led the Greeks to Troy – Mr Whitaker’s class should know all about that. We visited a beehive burial tomb and then the main citadel, with its massive fortified stone walls and impressive lion gate. The views were spectacular, and we could see why its location had been chosen. We could almost imagine the amassed ranks of Greek ships assembling before embarking for Troy. Well, the teachers could – the children discovered lots of natural darts growing in the grass and had great fun firing at each other! We were slightly concerned for a while when Mr Suter went to explore a set of steps leading down into a dark narrow passage and didn’t come back for a while – well, Mrs Williams wasn’t that concerned as when Mr Suter emerged, she already moved everybody on!

We lunched in Mycenae on stuffed tomatoes, Greek salads, oven baked lamb and potatoes and ice cream – absolutely delicious. We’ve had two cooked meals each day, each of three courses plus salads, so it’ll be diets all round when we come back.

The catch word for this group has become “shopping” – we’ve never known anything like it! We no longer say “cheese” when posing for the camera but “shopping!” Even a brief photo stop at the Corinth canal became a frenzy of commercial activity! After a snoozy journey back to Athens, we dumped our bags in the hotel and went for a walk to Athens’ flea market – at one stage we had to go back as we thought we’d lost Mrs Williams, only to discover that the shop had run out of enough carrier bags to carry all the goodies she’d bought! We know one mum did tell the group to be sure to leave something behind for other tourists, but we’re very sure that they didn’t – the children will be coming home with twice as much stuff as they arrived with (Mrs Williams four times as much!).

So that’s it – we’ve finished our touring and tomorrow all that remains is to pack up and head off to the airport. We’ve had an absolutely wonderful time, and the children have been an absolute credit to themselves and the school. We’ve enjoyed every minute, but we suspect that we’ve a few children looking forward to a big hug from mum and dad tomorrow evening. Max has perhaps summed it up best: “I’ve been in BISAK for seven years, and this is the best five days I’ve had in that time.” What more can we say?

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…

Time is flying by – it’s hard to believe that here we are ending day 4 already, and that we’re starting our journey home tomorrow! We’ve moved on from Athens and are staying tonight in the Hotel Tolo in, not surprisingly, Tolo. We’ve had a busy day, but first, our Greek night last night.

We were collected from our hotel and after a short drive, dropped off for a stroll through the area known as the Plaka (the area around the Acropolis and the oldest part of Athens). Despite exhortations at every opportunity to stop for the shops, we continued on to the O Geros Tou Moria restaurant (The Old Man of Morias). We were treated to a selection of traditional Greek starters and main dishes, and at regular intervals were entertained by Greek dancers. No one from our party was brave enough to venture onto the dancefloor, although Azfer looked worried at one time when he was coming back from the loo and got caught between them! It was a very entertaining evening, not least for the fact that at least three of our party couldn’t keep their eyes open…..to start off…, it got progressively worse as the night went on with the children dropping like flies. We almost stole the show as we became the center of attention. Time to go!!! Angus was asked this morning if he enjoyed the night. “Yes” – and after a pause “Did I miss many courses?” For the record, Angus, it was two you missed (main and desert).

Today has been fantastic. We started at the National Archaeological Museum where Mazyad has set a new photographic record – 150 photos in seven and a half minutes! Or to be more precise 1 ½ rooms. He was surprised when his batteries ran out towards the end of the visit. Some of the artefacts were simply outstanding, and any amount of photographs would not do them justice. We spent about an hour and a half there, before moving on to the Greek War Museum. We didn’t tour the whole museum, just a privately sponsored wing where a serial weapons collector had donated his collection to the museum. What was interesting was a gun that had been owned by a previous Greek Prime Minister, Andreas Papandreou – it was given to him, according to the display card, by the Kuwaiti Royal family, but in fact had the Saudi Arabia coat of arms on it.

We then left Athens, and moved towards thye Peloponnese and a small village Isthmia for lunch. Our restaurant was located immediately adjacent to the start of the Corinth canal (aka, Isthmus) and we were treated to the sight of the bridge sinking under the water to allow a ship to pass through. Myrna enjoyed rescuing fish trapped on the bridge when it reemerged after the ship had passed. Lunch – mousaka and yiouvetsi (oven baked veal and risoni pasta) – was delicious.

We spent an extremely pleasant afternoon then wandering the streets of Nafplio (the first Capital of Modern Greece) a small seaside town dominated by an imposing Venetian citadel. Sadly, we didn’t get up to that (Iman might have struggled on the 853 steps, not to mention the teachers) instead we split into small groups for a bit of souvenir hunting. When tired of that… OK, the girls never tired of that, and actually weren’t seen all afternoon after entering the first shop. The boys strolled along the sea front, and were fortunate to come across Fantastic Freddy from Alaska, a tightrope walking street entertainer, who certainly appreciated his instant audience. Clement enjoyed being on his shoulders on a unicycle, and Angus, Bassil and Max were willing participants in a magic trick that went badly wrong – through no fault of their own.

We now safely ensconced in our hotel. The sea is lapping on the beach at the back door, and we look out of our balconies across, as Mr. Gikas said, “a million dollar view.” Mountains and islands – simply spectacular. Of course, the children are more interested in looking across he road at the gift shop, but sadly that was shut before we’d finished our dinner!

Tomorrow is our last day of touring – we’re off to the theatre at Epidaurus, and then the ancient citadel at Mycenae… but that’s all to come!

For a bit of a laugh: on the 2nd morning when climbing the Acropolis, Mr. Gikas carrying Iman piggyback and Jenna walking using the crutches, a guide approached Mr. Gikas and asked where we were from. When told Saudi Arabia, he asked “Are you a special needs school?”!!!!!!

On top of the world (well, Athens)…

Today we hit perhaps the most iconic symbol of modern day Athens – and ancient Greece. The Acropolis. Wow! But more of that in a moment…

We had a lie-in this morning, and we’d like to say that the children looked refreshed, but the long sleep left them looking even more disheveled than they did last night before retiring! We did have our own bit of drama last night – poor Iman took a tumble on the boat and twisted her ankle. With a swelling the size of an egg, she got an extra bit of sightseeing with a visit to a very efficient Greek hospital. Fortunately, nothing was broken (despite the reports we’ve heard back from Saudi!) although she does have a cast on and is using crutches to assist her!

Talking of eggs, great achievement this morning. Amr was a little perplexed as to how to eat a hard boiled egg – he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it! He did say he wanted one like Mr Suter’s, but he was actually eating a fried egg at the time. Watch out for more cookery lessons on our curriculum!

And so to the Acropolis. As soon as we sighted it, cameras were clicking away, although wallets were also taking a hit as the first path side vendors selling some kind of toy also proved a great attraction. We were slightly worried that Iman might not be able to make it to the top, but had a practical solution – Mr Gikas and Mr Suter took turns to carry her, piggy back style, up to the top. And to think that if Iman had taken a donkey ride on the islands yesterday she would have had to pay €10.

Our guide Rebecca explained all about the Acropolis, and all the surrounding ancient monuments we could see. The children proved eager to capture all on film – one particular hole in the rock held great attraction, until Mr Gikas explained that it was an extremely recent one and probably the product of renovation work!

But it is stunning on the top. The views themselves are breathtaking – you could almost take yourself back in time and imagine the horror the Athenians felt as they saw the Persian fleet in the distance on the blue sea. Old and new buildings merge with stunning effect and you peer down over the Athenian rooftops. The photos don’t do it justice, but you’ll get something of an idea of what it’s like.

From there we visited the new Parthenon Museum, where the original remains of the porticoes and frescoes are displayed. Mr Suter felt somewhat under pressure with all the references to the Elgin Marbles being held in the British Museum in London and not returned – Max wanted to know why didn’t we organize a trip to London for our ancient Greek history so we could see more of them! The joy of this museum is that all the artifacts are not hidden behind glass, but are out of display – but with a plethora of accompanying security staff. “Don’t touch” seemed to be a phrase that our students didn’t really grasp – we certainly attracted a lot of nervous attention from them.

From there, we returned via the Olympic stadium – Mazyad wanted to know why we couldn’t go in and try to whisper up to the audience, but was soon put right that we’ll be able to do that at Epidauros in the theatre there – he was a day or two too soon! A rooftop lunch looking out over the city followed – we’ve been blessed with the weather again and once more the sun has been shining high!

We move on tomorrow, but are out for a Greek folk night tonight. The girls are putting on all their finery – the boys are claiming that spraying themselves with smell wells will have just as good effect as showering and putting on clean clothes! Your laundry bills won’t be too high this month when they return! More anon when we get to Tolon!

Antio yah tora!