This has been a busy term for the Global Campus at BIS Bratislava.

Read on for
information about the highlights so far and whats coming up!
Creative Writing Competition
We are delighted to announce the BISB winners of the Global
Campus Creative Writing Competition. We have a number of
winners in each category (Primary, Lower Secondary & Upper
Secondary) whose work will now be submitted to the Global
Campus for judging in the final. Students from across our family of
42 schools participate in this competition, with the winning entrants work being
published in our own Creative Writing Anthology. Our finalists have done extremely
well to qualify for the final: the judging was very difficult given the high number of
quality entries! We wish our young writers well and hope we can share news of their
further success in the future.
The final submissions will be judged by 3 well known authors. Primary entries will be
judged by Carnegie Medal winner and Guardian Childrens Fiction Award winner
Kevin Crossley-Holland. His award winning Arthur trilogy has been translated into
more than 25 languages and sold over 2 million copies! Our young writers are
certainly going to be under encouraging and expert scrutiny! Judging the Lower
Secondary Finalists is Barry Hutchison. Hutchison is another award winning writer of
books, screenplays and comics. He has published over 70 books since 2010! Our
final judge for Upper Secondary is author Rhiannon Lassiter who writes science
fiction & fantasy, horror and magical realism for juniors, teens and young adults. Her
first novel, Hex, was accepted for publication when she was only 19!
Our finalists are:
Primary

Lower Secondary

Upper Secondary

Ilay Arbiv

Chiann Yu Chen

Eric Nunez

Minho Ha

Jakub Fegyveres

Nadine Pheby

Ivan Krivosudsky

Karolinka Gogolakova

Josh Silverberg

Simon Mateas

Anna Sherman

Toby Marriott

Mollie Wilcox

You can read three of our entries at the end of this newsletter. We hope you enjoy
them!

We have 3 great teams participating in the Global Campus Global Debate League,
and have big hopes for all of them following Round 1. Our Primary team, Best of
Bratislava (known affectionately as BOB), defeated the Debate Vipers team of
International College Spain 8-6 in a well-researched and constructive debate on the
motion Rich countries should give money to developing countries to help them
develop clean energy sources. As proponents arguing for the motion BOB delivered
a particularly effective and concise Closing Statement, ending with two clearly
articulated final sentences: Its a global problem so we are looking for world-wide
solutions, rather than thinking about the needs of individuals. Remember, the futures
ours and we want to make a difference! (Jan Palencar, Year 6). Our Secondary
teams also did well. Our Lower Secondary team Bratislava I secured a decisive
victory over The Debateable Debaters of the British International School Charlotte,
arguing as proponents of the motion Using renewable energy can be a more
effective way of reducing poverty than fossil fuel energy. Bratislava I won 10-6
having secured 2 bonus points for their high quality posts. They face the debate
team of BIS Washington in their next match. Our final team Bratislava II were
unlucky to lose their first match by only 1 point! In a close debate against the
Tenacious Ten of BIS Beijing they put forward well researched and well written
arguments on the motion Developing countries should be forced to used sustainable
sources of energy, even if it is more expensive than fossil fuel. As with our other
teams, we went into Round 1 as proponents arguing in favour of the motion and
Barbora Smirinovas Closing Statement in particular is excellent in its summing up. In
Round 2 they will face BIS Charlotte to debate issues on health care.
We congratulate all our teams on their performances in Round I. Very few of our
students have had previous experience in debating in this manner and they have
shown both skill and hard work.

Lego Challenge
The fourth Lego Challenge (which can be found in both the
Primary & Secondary Technology areas) challenges
students to build a bridge with Lego which can hold 100
coins. Several of our students have already successfully
designed and built their bridges. Why not challenge yourself
and your children to do the same during Half Term?

Global Theatre Shakespeare Challenge

We recently launched the Global Theatre Shakespeare Challenge to both Primary
and Secondary students. If you have a budding thespian in the family, why not log on
to the Global Campus and find out more about this unique competition and
encourage your child to sign up and take part?

Under 8s Area
Following the success of the visit of Norman Jupiter Bear with Early Years and Key
Stage 1, our youngest learners continue to take advantage of the challenges on this
new area of the Global Campus. Year 2 have been participating in the Mini
Adventures, designing, building and flying their own kites. Working together in
teams, designing and redesigning, figuring out what works and what doesnt! and
persisting until they can get it right, our Young Engineers look as if they have been
having great fun! If you are looking for some fun activities for your children during
Half Term, why not log on to the Global Campus and check out Mini Adventures in
the Under 8s area. You dont have to be Under 8 to find it fun!

Curriculum Links
In both the Primary and Secondary areas of the Global
Campus you will find areas which are dedicated to
supporting and enhancing your childs learning. Each area
offers different activities, challenges and competitions in a
safe and secure online learning environment. These can be
used at home to extend learning in an area where your child
has a particular interest, or in school to complement our
existing curricula. For example, in Secondary at the moment
many students across Key Stage 3 and 4 have been
participating in the History Challenge, researching and
creating multi-media presentations on significant events in
Slovak history. Many students have shown great creativity in their approach and
have produced some excellent presentations on such diverse events as the Battle of
Austerlitz, the Velvet Revolution and the impact of Ludovit Stur on the development
of Slovak language. The best work from our students will be uploaded onto the
padlet on the Global Campus History area for you to see.

The Big Challenge

Last year we Made It Right. In 2014 it was the Water Challenge. In 2013, Dance
United us.
This year our Big Challenge, focusing on STEAM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) is to design and build a Rube Goldberg
machine.
The design competition element of this process has just ended, with our judges, Mr
Troy (Head of Science), Mrs Eastwood (Head of Secondary), Mrs Warmington (Head
of Primary) and Mr Farthing (School Principal) having the unenviable task of picking
the winning designs. We now move onto the Big Build aspect of the competition with
7 machines about to begin construction! We look forward to sharing our progress,
successes and failures with you!

Upcoming Events & Activities

Theres much more to come this term with the Global Campus. We have the Bucket
Drumming Challenge in partnership with the world famous Juilliard School and a
Visual Arts competition both nearly upon us. There are Maths Challenges, Language
Challenges and more! There is even a Parent Area which will give you more
information about the principles behind the Global Campus. You can log on to the
Global Campus anywhere in the world via our School Moodle. If you have questions
about the Global Campus, about how it works, what is coming up or how your child
can participate, please dont hesitate to get in touch.
And remember you can follow us on Twitter @bisb_global

Lindsay Conway
Global Campus Leader

The Global Campus Creative Writing Competition challenged our students to write
on the theme Be Ambitious in 500 words. Below, we share 3 of the excellent
entries we received from across the school by writers Toby Marriott, Jakub
Fegyveres and Eric Nunez. We hope you find them as interesting and thought
provoking as we did.

Thank You Ziauddin by Jakub Fegyveres (Year 7)

When a daughter arrived instead of a most-wanted son, was
Ziauddin distraught? No, he was thankful. When he was
weighed down by debt did he let himself collapse? No, he
stayed strong. When his daughter won the Nobel Prize, did he
boast? No, he was humble. When his school was in ruins did
he let himself be buried? No, he stayed ambitious.
This incredible man has gone through numerous tough and
unexpected ordeals. One of those horrible ordeals occurred
on the 9th of November 2012 when his only daughter was shot in the forehead by the
gruesome, bloodthirsty Taliban who disapproved of girls being educated. Malala
spent many weeks in intensive care and some extra time in rehabilitation. Thankfully
she survived and goes to school happily today. Additionally, he received many
death threats during his years in the Swat valley where the Taliban had absolute
control. Bravely risking his life many times, opposed to the Taliban in many ways (TV
campaigns, formal debates etc.) he fought for girls rights but, when Malala was shot
all this had to stop because the whole Yousafzai family was forced to move to the
bustling streets of Birmingham, U.K.
What if Ziauddin was not the courageous, ambitious and humble man that the world
knows and admires? Most of us would have crumbled under the weight of his life.
Did he crumble? No he stayed ambitious and thats why all the hard work paid off. If
you have ambitions; follow them. And Ziauddin had many.
Naturally, Ziauddin tirelessly pursued them. He wanted to make all the worlds
wrongs right. Already, he has stood up and said what he thought was correct which
has had a great positive impact on the worlds politics. Furthermore, he motivated his
daughter to be as ambitious as him, which is a great thing. Thats why Malala is as
famous as he is; thats why she has won the Nobel Prize and is the girl she is today.
Faith
The people of Pakistan are very faithful people, Ziauddin being no exception. He
believes that Allah has guided him through his biggest problems. As he has coped
with problems so well, it makes perfect sense. When the people in Swat get caught
in their houses while there is an earthquake, they pray. If they get into financial
trouble, they pray. Ziauddin is no exception. When Malala was shot, Ziauddin and
Thorpekai (Malalas Mother) prayed and prayed, requesting a miracle from Allah;
and a miracle occurred.

Thank you on behalf of the world Ziauddin Yousafzai for all the good you have done
as loving husband and supportive father. Im stunned seeing your heroic actions; I
stand speechless when I discover how faithful and courageous you are. Above all,
thank you for being the ambitious man that people look up to as a hero.

Life Is A Story: A Poem by Toby Marriott (Year 6)

Life is a story; it has a beginning, middle and end;
Your story will contain problems but those problems you
can amend.
Your story starts as a child, when you dont have a voice,
Your parents do the nurturing,
But later youll have the choice.
A story comes in genres,
Its your choice to make, you could be shy, scared or
ambitious and happiness depends on which you take.
In the middle of your story there is not just one path to take,
Live your OWN dreams; youre not a lemming for goodness sake!
Every story has ups and downs,
Dont be tempted to sit on the fence,
Grasp the nettle, be bold and brave, undefeated by turbulence.
Your story contains wonders,
More than anything you could dream; only you have to step out of your circle for
those wonders to be seen.
Your story has a villain,
And Im afraid that villain is fate,
Your villain strikes at unexpected times; sometimes early, sometimes late.

Your story will be sad; these times will be bad,

But theres only one thing to do, you have to show resilience and courage, and that
way youll get through.
In your story, live your dreams dont let your circumstances be a limit.
You can make the change you need if you keep an adventurous spirit.
You have control over your story, and in that your happiness depends,
Always believe in yourself, be ambitious until your story ends.

Dont Be Ambitious by Eric Nunez (Year 11)

A few months ago I was asked what is my ambition, what

do I want to do, hmmm, lets say in 10 years? And my
answer was: I would just love to have some waffles.
Now, this was obviously a joke, but there was a drop of
truth in it. For me waffles are a symbol of happiness.
See, all I really want is to be is happy. And I was told that
it wasnt ambitious enough. What? Me being happy isnt ambitious enough? This got me
thinking; why should I be ambitious? I went to the amazing place called the internet did
some research and this, Ladies and Gentleman, is what I found.
Being ambitious is necessary for happiness, people who are not ambitious are: dull, lazy,
conformist, dependent, boring, and lethargic And the whole point of life is to mean
something. To achieve something.
No! Trust me on this, you really dont need to be ambitious to be happy, it does not make
you dull, lazy, lethargic and definitely not boring. To be honest I really cant really tell you
what the purpose of life is; but if it is to achieve something great, 90% of us are useless.
Now remember, there is difference between having an ambition and being ambitious. Your
ambition can be to run a hotel, being ambitious would be to own a chain of luxury hotels and
being on cover of Forbes. I have met a lot of people who were rich, and people who made it
to the cover of Forbes; but the happiest person I ever met was Bohusko, from my dads
village. I have only met him twice, but I will remember him for the rest of my life
He was pushing his rusty cart uphill to get some firewood, as he did on daily basis. It was an
annoying, monotonous everyday task. But the way he was enjoying it was amazing: he was
having his first bite from a waffle over and over again. Happiness was radiating from him;
when he smiled at you, you could not resist and you just had to smile back. This was
impossible to fake - not that he had a reason to. But Bohusko was not ambitious. He worked
in a factory till his retirement. He never asked for a raise. He did not even get married or
have a child. But still he managed to have those waffles.
Look, if you really think that having one billion dollars is going to make you happy, go ahead,
but ask yourself why? If it is because of others, then I am sorry but making it wont make
you happy, because you base your happiness on the thoughts of others. They will always
see that your waffle isnt sweet enough. Someone will always think you havent reached far
enough, your wife is not hot enough, you are not rich enough. You should be the one
controlling your happiness. Because thats the only thing you can control.
I am not saying you should spend your whole life, living off government pay cheques, but do
what makes YOU happy and dont be afraid of what others think about it, because their
thoughts are only as powerful as you allow them to be.

Dont be ambitious; be you.