Activities 2008-2009
Children the necessary support and guidance which will enhance their overall education as well as their personal and social development; we want to make sure that they are equipped with the right life skills, qualifications and practical knowledge to lead confident and healthy lives now and in the future. Our efforts aim at providing all students with a caring, secure, democratic, respectful and supportive learning environment to help them enhance self esteem and develop social skills, emotional security and academic achievement. Every student knows whom to approach if anxious or in difficulty and staff are encouraged to share important pastoral information with their colleagues to offer supportive action across the school. Records are kept; appropriate information is forwarded under confidential cover and medical records are forwarded as a matter of priority.
It is incredible how fast we have gone and how much it has been achieved so far this academic year.
It is incredible how fast we have gone and how much it has been achieved so far this academic year.
Democracy in action at the ES! Election Day for President and Vice-President of the school council
The new students have settled in their new school and, with the encouragement and support of their Form Tutors as well as peer mentors, prefects and other students and colleagues, they have adjusted to their new environment since Induction days early September.
We started the academic year by offering academic monitoring to those students who might not have had satisfactory results in last summer's external exams or whose performance at the end of last academic year revealed the need for more monitoring. At the same time, as individual members of the Pastoral Team, we have made ourselves available to all students who need to consult with us on academic and personal issues.
It was an exciting moment in September whenthe new pastoral centre at the far end of Lloyds was finally ready for us to move in. Floors had been sanded, walls painted and furniture retrieved from store. Nick Nicandrou and Ursula Pantelides moved in to their new offices and after a few hiccups with telephone and computer lines have settled in to organising material and seeing students in this historic and beautiful building. The facilities include a meeting room, sick bay, toilet and small kitchen. It is a privilege to work supporting students in a building which has seen generations of students for the past 70 years!
We are grateful to you for the support you have been giving your children since September; our cooperation is a motivating force which empowers the students to head towards success and general well-being
We thought you would be interested in getting details on some of the activities we have organised since September.
We started the academic year by offering academic monitoring to those students who might not have had satisfactory results in last summer's external exams or whose performance at the end of last academic year revealed the need for more monitoring. At the same time, as individual members of the Pastoral Team, we have made ourselves available to all students who need to consult with us on academic and personal issues.
It was an exciting moment in September whenthe new pastoral centre at the far end of Lloyds was finally ready for us to move in. Floors had been sanded, walls painted and furniture retrieved from store. Nick Nicandrou and Ursula Pantelides moved in to their new offices and after a few hiccups with telephone and computer lines have settled in to organising material and seeing students in this historic and beautiful building. The facilities include a meeting room, sick bay, toilet and small kitchen. It is a privilege to work supporting students in a building which has seen generations of students for the past 70 years!
We are grateful to you for the support you have been giving your children since September; our cooperation is a motivating force which empowers the students to head towards success and general well-being
We thought you would be interested in getting details on some of the activities we have organised since September.
Induction Days
Students and teachers get to know each other a little and student mentors help outThe first day at a new school can be very daunting for any young student. Induction day at the English School is a day when new students have the chance to come and familiarise themselves with the school and meet their new classmates. It is a day when the older students do not attend school, allowing the youngsters to develop feelings of confidence and ownership of the place that will become like a second home to them for the next seven years. The new students meet mentors, prefects, Form Tutors and Heads of Year. They also have the opportunity to explore and familiarise themselves with the geography of the grounds. Here are some comments from Nicoleta Kontopyrgou and Kalliopi Demetriou, who had first hand experience of induction day in 2008.
When we finally arrived there, my stress and agony were even greater. In a few minutes I was glad to see some familiar faces. I started feeling much better, just before they called us to the school's hall for the first welcome at the school. The head teacher welcomed us at school and told us about the day's programme. They finally put us in classes and we met our form tutor. I liked her very much. She was so kind and lovely. She explained to us everything we wanted to know.Finally schoolmates from second form came to show us the school premises. I enjoyed every minute!!
When we went into the class I felt alone again because I didn't know anyone. I sat with another girl who I hadn't met before. Our teacher started to explain to us about the school and the procedures. When she finished, some older students took us on a tour around the school. That moment English School seemed so big and scattered. I thought that I would never be able to remember each place!!! After that we had break. I sat on a bench and looked around. An older girl came and spoke to me. She knew some girls from my class and she introduced me to them. I started feeling better. We spent the rest of the day meeting each other!
We hope you will agree with us that Induction Day is a very important day in the life of a student!
We hope you will agree with us that Induction Day is a very important day in the life of a student!
Extended Induction and Integration activities
Following the two Induction days, our team organised some other social and fun activities to help integration for both students and parents:- An informal get-together for new parents in Years One, Two, Three, Four and Six. was held on the evening of October 7th. This new activity was held in the school quadrangle, under the light of the stars! We were plied with drinks and snacks and some of our senior students entertained us with classical music. Meanwhile, the prefect team gave out identifying badges to parents, with the class of their child, so it was an excellent opportunity for parents to meet the parents of their child's classmates and friends. The pastoral team, with Ms Kiliari, the Head Teacher, the Deputy Head Teacher, Heads of Year and Form Tutors were on hand to chat to parents , share information and answer any queries from families new to the school.
- A fun, team building afternoon at Kykko Bowling for Year 1 was organised on 25th September: "Eat and Play at Kykko Bowling Centre". The activity had the aim of extending the Induction Activities and enhancing integration among Year 1 students through the encouragement of team work. The teams were selected in such a way as to ensure groups were mixed, containing both genders and students from all communities. As well as giving the opportunity for students to get to know each other better, it was also helpful for members of the SMT, Form Tutors and Heads of Year to get to know their new students better. Judging from the reaction after the event, the activity was successful and an enjoyable afternoon was had by both the students and the teachers involved.
- A team building activity at Athalassa Park for Year 2 on 21st October
- Intercultural dialogue activities, like the mixed activity that 1 Green and 1 Red had at the beginning of December: I Green met to talk about Christmas and 1 Red talked about Bayram via a series of creative and fun activities in the lecture theatre. This activity was also an example of the effective ways different departments can cooperate for the well being of the students; in this case it was a joint task by the English and the PSHE departments.
Academic Monitoring
One of the key activities of the Pastoral team is the academic monitoring of students. If a student is achieving lower grades in a report than we would expect or has been issued by a member of staff with a special report, then the Head of Year may see that student.
Students are called to see the Head of Year in small groups or on a one to one basis. Problems are discussed and strategies suggested for improvement. Often parents will also be brought into the discussion of what can be done to improve a student's level of attainment. Decisions will be made with the student's involvement and passed on to Form Tutors , The Deputy Head and other relevant members of staff. All of this involves a lot of work and co-ordination, but many of our students appreciate the time that they are given and the concern that is shown by members of staff at the school.
The effect of Pastoral support on any one student is difficult to measure since there are so many things that influence the lives of young adults in our world. However we are convinced through experience and individual feedback that taking an active interest in the all round achievements of our pupils is a crucial and effective aspect of our role.
Students are called to see the Head of Year in small groups or on a one to one basis. Problems are discussed and strategies suggested for improvement. Often parents will also be brought into the discussion of what can be done to improve a student's level of attainment. Decisions will be made with the student's involvement and passed on to Form Tutors , The Deputy Head and other relevant members of staff. All of this involves a lot of work and co-ordination, but many of our students appreciate the time that they are given and the concern that is shown by members of staff at the school.
The effect of Pastoral support on any one student is difficult to measure since there are so many things that influence the lives of young adults in our world. However we are convinced through experience and individual feedback that taking an active interest in the all round achievements of our pupils is a crucial and effective aspect of our role.
Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE)
Another central part of our activities is PSHE. This year we have had two more colleagues joining the team-Ms Christina Papadopoulos, and Ms Alexia Haroutunian. Although time is a restriction for us, we have been able to explore a number of topics/issues specific to young adults, right across the year groups. Our teaching resources have been extended and updated. We have introduced some new books; the teachers are using supportive worksheets and audiovisual material, some of which purchased during the visit to the UK last year by one of the Heads of Year. We will continue to supplement our course materials with a wide range of sources.
We have already had a variety of special guest presenters, including:
We have already had a variety of special guest presenters, including:
- Ms Despo Hadjiloizou and a psychologist from the Cyprus Family Planning
- Organisation(on sex and relationship education for Year 3, 4 and 6)
- Ms Eliza Markidou (on Healthy diet and eating disorders for Year 2)
- Dr Michalis Taliadoros (on Men's Health issues, for Year 7 boys)
- Dr Dinos Mavromoustakis (on Breast Cancer Awareness and Cervical Cancer, for Year 7 girls)
- Dr Panos Economou (on Smoking, for Year 2)
We are also hoping to move into our new PSHE room shortly in order to re-establish our audio-visual facilities and create a permanent display area of students’ work, like the dialogue:
Pastoral Evening for all parents, October 2008
The evening was another opportunity to reinforce our belief that pastoral care is a partnership between parents and school.
This was attended by over 600 parents. the first part of the evening took place in the hall and included short role plays by junior students, a short play –Unprotected -by senior students ,a photo show of pastoral activities, talks by members of the SMT and the Director of the family Planning Association who gave the parents a few details on our sex education programme.
This was attended by over 600 parents. the first part of the evening took place in the hall and included short role plays by junior students, a short play –Unprotected -by senior students ,a photo show of pastoral activities, talks by members of the SMT and the Director of the family Planning Association who gave the parents a few details on our sex education programme.
Pastoral Evening for parents, in the hall
Based on drama workshops, the Drama Club presented the following short performances on the themes of Friendship, Diversity, Communication and Sex education:
- Four Year 2 girls, Ozde Zaim, Katerina Georgiades, Melissa Economou and Melina Kouyialis, presented some role plays on themes which we as pastoral team consider keys for healthy and happy school environment: Friendship, understanding and supporting the people around us. Simple dialogues and strong messages was our aim.
- The older members of the Drama team, Andrea Varnavides , Petra Koulia and Antonis Stylianou worked on a slightly different theme. The short play was about friendship among adolescents which may sometimes lead to unfortunate situations, even unwanted pregnancies. The performance gave our audience the chance to be informed of some of the topics we discuss during PSHE lessons.
For the second part of the evening, members of the SMT and all members of the extended Pastoral Team, Heads of Year and Form Tutors, gathered in the courtyards and canteen to meet and chat with parents.
During the social part of the pastoral evening for parents.
Participation in the London science Forum and Global Young Leaders’ Conference in the USA
The students who participated in last summer’s events gave lively presentations at assembly and shared their enthusiasm and unforgettable experiences with the students in the audience. This was followed up by a big number of applications from current Year 6 students who want to participate in the conferences next summer. During the next few days, three members of the SMT will select two small groups of students who will represent the school in next summer’s conferences; the selection will be based on references from the students’ teachers, from their letter of application and their performance at the interviews.
Guildford Forum and Davos World Economic Forum 2009
Once again our students expressed interest in participating in this high prestige conference organised by The British Council and held in Guildford, England and then Davos, Switzerland. This year, seventeen senior students submitted applications and two of our students, (there were only three semi-finalists throughout Cyprus) were selected as semi-finalists. These were Halide Bey (5 Jade) and Evangelia Andronicou (6 Green.)Unfortunately none of the Cypriot students were finally selected for the conference, this year but both Halide and Evangelia did incredibly well to qualify as semi-finalists. Congratulations to them both! This conference is open to students world-wide and has only sixty places!
COMMON ROOM COMMITTEE
The common room committee was elected at the beginning of the new school year and with much enthusiasm launched into a major project the repainting of the common room. The older murals in the common room were in need of sprucing up due to the large amounts of graffiti that had been added to them over the years.
A competition was held to design a new mural for this year’s student and a design by Petra Koulia 6G was chosen. It is a work of graffiti with a positive message inspired by the Peace Walls of many Eastern European cities which allowed messages of hope to be spread to the citizens of those countries.
A competition was held to design a new mural for this year’s student and a design by Petra Koulia 6G was chosen. It is a work of graffiti with a positive message inspired by the Peace Walls of many Eastern European cities which allowed messages of hope to be spread to the citizens of those countries.
Dialogue on the International Day of the Child
On Tuesday 18th November three students represented the school at an activity organized by The Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children Nicosia-Kyrenia. The activity took the form of a discussion on the theme of” children’s rights in the family environment”; students were representing a number of schools.
The three Year 4 students who took part were Anthoulla Phella, Gabriella Omorphou and Maria Antoniou . All had prepared well for the dialogue and contributed to the debate, impressing the organising committee. The activity is an annual event and each year a different theme is chosen relating to areas which directly involve the protection and welfare of children.
Participation of 15 senior students in the conference at the European University
Young people were encouraged to ask questions on themes like education in Cyprus, road safety and drugs. This event was under the auspices of the Head of the House. Quoting from one of the participants, Andrea Varnavides:
The three Year 4 students who took part were Anthoulla Phella, Gabriella Omorphou and Maria Antoniou . All had prepared well for the dialogue and contributed to the debate, impressing the organising committee. The activity is an annual event and each year a different theme is chosen relating to areas which directly involve the protection and welfare of children.
Participation of 15 senior students in the conference at the European University
Young people were encouraged to ask questions on themes like education in Cyprus, road safety and drugs. This event was under the auspices of the Head of the House. Quoting from one of the participants, Andrea Varnavides:
I was impressed both by the admirable initiative to give young people voice and let them be heard, and additionally by the various opportunities offered through the Conference; for example, the opportunity to have an insight into other people’s perspectives and problems, to exchange views and opinions with other students our age, and to be able to address certain authority figures directly….
Creations for charity in our library
Taking this opportunity, we would like to wish you all a Very Happy, Successful, Productive and Peaceful New Year! We look forward to working with you during the New Year with the same caring and cooperative spirit focussing our efforts on creating mature and responsible young people who use their full potential academically but who also respect and care for the world around them.
Best Wishes,| Antigoni Kiliari | Jim Lodge | Nick Nicandrou | Ursula Pantelides | Maro Polydorou | Caroline Reynolds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Teacher | Head of Year | Head of Year | Head of Year | Head of Year | Head of Year |
