The Eagle Beat
September 9, 2022
September:
15 StuCo's Character Day
15-16 5-10 year old fall writing assessment
16 Safety Drill – Lock Down
19-28 MAP Testing
30 SO Assemblies
October:
1 SAT 8 AM – 1 PM
4 PSG and Director Coffee 9AM
11 Pre-School Assembly 9 AM
12 PSAT 9AM
13 End of Quintile 1
13-14 Parent/Teacher Conferences – Half Day
17-21 Fall Break – NO SCHOOL
Director's Message
Dear BIS Families,
We completed our second full week of school. Yeah! The students are getting situated in their new classrooms and schedules. The sports and social activities are getting back in motion. We are having a great start to September!
To make sure your child arrives safely at school, I do want to review our school’s attendance process with you. If your child is absent, it is important that you contact the school. For pre-school and elementary students, please e-mail the homeroom teacher and Ms. Hatemi at natavan-hatemi@baku.qsi.org. For secondary students, please e-mail your child’s advisory teacher and Ms. Hatemi at natavan-hatemi@baku.qsi.org . If your child is absent and the school does not receive any communication on your child's absence, the school will call to verify the absence. This is our way of verifying that your child has made it safely to BIS.
We hosted the first Parent Support Group meeting this week. We had a great turn out. The parents discussed PSG roles and some possible future activities. They did leave with a plan to arrange this weekend’s playdate. Please look at the advertisement shared in this newsletter. In conjunction to the PSG meeting, I hosted my Director Chat. I reviewed the key components of QSI’s Mastery Learning. Attached is a link to the presentation: BIS Director Chat - Mastery Learning - Sep 2022.
Our school has been invited by Coca-Cola and other companies to help with a local beach cleanup. We hope BIS families will be able to drive out and support the local environment while enjoying some time together. More information on the event can be found below in the newsletter.
The BIS weekend youth sports program is returning! If you are interested in signing up your child, please review the attached advertisements in this newsletter.
I am seeking 2-3 parent volunteers to join a group of students to help review several new BIS Eagles for our school logo. QSI’s marketing department at headquarters has asked us to update our logo because the current Eagle logo design is very similar to a registered trademark logo. To model our Success Orientation of RESPONSIBILITY, we will be changing the logo. The parent volunteers will meet with volunteer students to review the various Eagle logos designed by the QSI marketing department. Please e-mail me at brian-garner@qsi.org if you are interested in participating. I will include you in the meeting session with the students.
If you have any questions regarding the above information, please do not hesitate in contacting me.
I wish everyone a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Dr. Garner
Our counselor, Mr. Lewis
AP Classes and 21st-Century Skills
When I started here in 2008 (before some of my current students were even born), AP Calculus was the only Advanced Placement course that had ever been offered at BIS, with 1 or 2 students a year enrolled. In the past decade, though, students have taken over 20 different AP courses. This year alone, well over half of our secondary students are currently enrolled in at least one AP course. This is an important development, as these courses are designed to emphasize the 21st- Century Skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. In an early assignment, AP World History students collaborated to try to place 34 historical events into chronological order. Yesterday, AP Seminar students engaged in collaboration, critical thinking, and communication as they tried to reach a consensus opinion regarding the United States’ student debt relief plan. This week AP Human Geography students exercised all four skills as they worked together to define the world region known as “the Middle East.” If you’ve seen the AP Studio Art hallway, you’ll have no question about our students’ creativity. I’m proud to be at a school that has been so dedicated about building an AP program and even prouder of the work our students have done in these classes. --Tim Ulrich
A Message from the PSG
Information about our Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum
Dear QSI Parents,
One of Quality Schools International’s core components is providing a positive, safe, and supportive environment in each of our schools. Quality Schools International (QSI) believes it is imperative that children have a safe and secure environment in which to develop, thrive, and be successful, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or cultural heritage. Because of this belief, QSI has adopted the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC). This curriculum is in alignment with the QSI Success Orientations and the QSI Child Safeguarding and Protection Policy.
QSI chose to implement KS:CPC because it is an evidence-based, best practice curriculum developed collaboratively with child protection experts, teachers, educational leaders, and other professionals. The curriculum was developed by the Government of South Australia Department of Education and has since been adopted by many international schools. We use the global version of the curriculum which is designed specifically for use in international schools.
The KS:CPC is a part of the school’s child safeguarding and protection plan to ensure the safety of our students. Each QSI school has a teacher-trainer assigned to the school who completed the KS:CPC Train-the-Trainer Workshop provided by the South Australia Department of Education. The QSI teachers delivering the program to the students will receive explicit training in the use of the curriculum by the school’s teacher-trainer.
The KS:CPC is predicated on two main themes which are presented through topics and activities of increasing complexity. The two KS:CPC Themes are:
Theme 1: We all have the right to be safe
Theme 2: We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust
The two KS:CPC Themes are explored through four Focus Areas, which are examined in growing complexity according to the age of the students. The four KS:CPC Focus Areas are:
Focus Area 1: The right to be safe
Focus Area 2: Relationships
Focus Area 3: Recognizing and reporting abuse
Focus Area 4: Protective strategies
We encourage parents to provide the classroom teacher with any information about your child that may be relevant to classroom lessons and discussions.
Please explore information for parents and caregivers at https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parents-and-families/curriculum-and-learning/early-years/keeping-safe-child-protection-curriculum-information-parents-and-carers
The courses are aligned as follows:
Ages 3-5 = Preschool
Years R-2 = 5-year-old through 7-year-old classes
Years 3-5 = 8-year-old through 10-year-old classes
Years 6-9 = 11-year-old through Secondary I classes Years 10-12 = Secondary II through Secondary IV classes
Please contact your school Director if you have any questions about the curriculum.
Yours Sincerely,
QSI Headquarters Child Protection Team
Student Consent Form
Saturday Sports are starting!
Lunch Menu for September 12-16
BIS Important Contacts
School phone number: +994 12 440 66 16
Director of Instruction: Katie Holmquist- katherine-holmquist@baku.qsi.org
Counselor: Michael Lewis- michael-lewis@baku.qsi.org
Business Manager: Parviz Hasanov- parviz-hasanov@baku.qsi.org
Secretary: Gunay Ibrahimli- gunay-ibrahimli@baku.qsi.org
Nurse: Sevda Kerimova- sevda-kerimova@baku.qsi.org
Security/Bus: Hayyam- hayyam-gadjiyev@baku.qsi.org
Lunch: Natavan Hatemi- natavan-hatemi@baku.qsi.org
Parent Support Group (PSG)
How do I stay informed about PSG?
PSG has a WhatsApp group that all parents are welcome to join. This group is used to communicate information as well as gather feedback throughout the year.
Please use the link below or the QR code to join the group.
Want to stay connected with BIS?
BIS WhatsApp Group
This group will be used strictly to communicate general information from BIS to parents. Announcements, updates, reminders, and the weekly newsletter will be sent via this group.
The group is set up as a one-way communication tool, so participants only receive messages but can not respond in the group. This allows BIS to communicate information without the distraction of numerous responses.
To join the BIS WhatsApp group, use the link below or the QR code.
Instagram Nametag
Baku International School
Email: baku@qsi.org
Website: baku.qsi.org
Location: Darnagul Qasabasi Str. Ajami Nakchivani Block 3097 (1.94 mi) Baku, Azerbaijan AZ1108
Phone: +994 12 440 6616
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qsi.baku