The British School Manila continues partnership with One Million Lights, and CAS Week

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On Monday 23rd May 2016, The British School Manila’s Year 4 students went on a visit to a rural community in Tagaytay to distribute 75 solar powered lights to 75 families. The visit had a notable effect on the students and staff who spent time with the community, donating one light each to a family. 

The solar panel lights donated by BSM make a real difference to the lives of people living without electricity. The amazing fundraising efforts of our Year 4 students, parents and staff throughout the year should be congratulated. The students raised funds from a stall they ran during the BSM Fete in May, as well as designing, making and selling Mother's Day cards. It is wonderful to see all of the hard work result in such a life-changing contribution.

Year 4’s activity is part of the BSM Service Learning programme and happens in the same week our International Baccalaureate students set out for Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) Week with the highlight on Bayanihan.

The common aim of all of BSM Service Learning projects is to let our students engage with an issue of global importance and to plan and initiate a project to tackle this at a local level. Our students collaborated with a range of NGOs and charities, as well as community members; these were all committed and equal partners in the various endeavours. The range and diversity of the projects that our students were involved in last week was remarkable: building chicken coops, refurbishing computers, certificating adult education, modelling and developing interview techniques, engaging in art and drama workshops with elementary children and refurbishing a tired playroom for young children in hospital. The locations ranged from Alabang to Quezon City, from Tagaytay to La Union in the Ilocos Region, to BSM. 

Results from the various projects underscore how the BSM student’s service learning goals are highly achievable and the truly life changing impact this can have on local communities. However it is not only the practical outcomes that we consider valuable, but also the partnerships and sense of community engendered by this BSM Service Learning initiative. The smiles, hugs and handshakes at the farewell moments were powerful; this experience will remain in the minds of many, for a long time. 

It was indeed a privilege to see our students reach out to the local communities and work with external providers, seeking to understand local needs and empower local stakeholders to develop their own solutions.

Read about our Bayanihan initiative

Read about our partnership with One Million Lights

Read more of our community service activities

Read more about our curriculum

Read more about The British School Manila

The British School Manila (BSM) is a highly regarded co-educational British international school established in 1976. The School is proud to uphold the high standard of the British education system and we take full advantage of our multi-cultural setting. We are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and also a member of The Federation of British International Schools in Southeast Asia and East Asia (FOBISSEA) and The Independent Association of Prep School (IAPS). 

At present 900+ students aged 3-18 are on BSM’s roll and 35 nationalities are represented. British children make up 33%, Filipino 22%, Canada 9% ,Australians 8% and American 6% of the total population.

BRITISH SCHOOL MANILA - Middle School Model United Nations Conference

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Last 15-16th of April 2016 was a time for British School Manila’s younger Model United Nations (MUN) students to shine and enter into research and debate about pressing national and international issues. MUN allows students with a passion for world affairs to not just expand their knowledge and understanding but also develop those key skills of articulating their understanding, speaking in public and applying their acquired knowledge.

Our students debated in a variety of topics such as the containment of the Zika virus, the consumption of fossil fuels, LGBT rights and the Question of Syria. There was even a sci-fi themed debate - as aliens had made contact with the Earth and a variety of proposals were put forward to deal with this new global development. These debates were issues that the students themselves voted to address during their conference. 

We now have some 200 students on average participate in MUN and we host a number of major events – these are student-led events that give opportunities for students to learn leadership and let their abilities flourish throughout the conference - which is another great aspect of the programme. 

MUN has now become a model we are using in the classroom and we would like to congratulate all of our MUN(ers) who have been involved over the past year.

The fact that our MUN clubs have grown exponentially for the last 4 years as we introduced the Middle Year MUN to Year 6 to 9 is something we are very proud of. The number of students who are expanding their understanding of others' thoughts, researching the values and attitudes of a particular country and presenting that country’s views in committee meetings and to a general assembly is amazing.

‘Bayanihan’ as a model for BSM’s service learning

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The British School Manila is justifiably proud of its commitment to service learning. The idea of developing students as global citizens is central to our vision and mission. We are looking for our students to leave us with skills that allow them to make sense of a rapidly changing world whilst also being able to contribute to making their world more peaceful, fair and sustainable. 

The Creativity Activity Service (CAS) programme is an integral part of the International Baccalaureate core programme and is in many ways the perfect realisation of the work we do with our older students. Our International Baccalaureate team recently completed the end of course CAS interviews with the current Year 13 cohort and it was clear to us that it was the service learning experiences that had the most resonance and impact upon the students’: personal, social, emotional and even moral development. The Year 13 students spoke eloquently and thoughtfully about their work with local schools, orphanages and hospitals. They talked about the work they had done, the relationships they had formed and ethical implications of the work that they were undertaking. The depth of reflection in evidence was confirmed by how often the discussions centred on poverty, inequality and individual responsibility.

This year we have had the opportunity to remodel the CAS programme to create more of these moments of epiphany. Our new approach, led expertly by Mr. Owen, is called “Bayanihan” from the Filipino word ‘bayan,’ which captures the spirit of community we see in Filipino culture and which we seek to mirror. The students have been encouraged to develop projects in line with their own passions and interests within broad categories such as ‘Health’, ‘Environment’ and ‘Education’. 

The strategic developments this year were framed following a successful and insightful pilot last year led by Mr. Owen in Tagaytay. This venture presented a group of IB Business Management students with a problem - ‘How can they use their business acumen to help develop a sustainable income for a group of 16 mothers’? It was a privilege to observe how the students worked together to empower a group of local women with great ideas to become successful entrepreneurs.

The projects this year are incredibly diverse. We have groups preparing “baby boxes” for maternity hospitals, building chicken coops, certifying language skills for adult learners, developing hydroponics systems and fixing computers to improve education in a community. The projects have many layers, with strong educational themes and all the projects focus on sustainability and the fostering of partnerships which we hope will be nurtured and maintained beyond CAS week in May.

One distinctive feature of the Bayanihan projects this year is the emphasis on independence; the projects will have staff mentors available but our students will be encouraged to take ownership, make decisions, assess risks and manage uncertainty as groups. This takes us back to our BSM vision and mission; these experiences will equip our IB students with the ability to reflect, to be resilient in adversity and to thrive with challenge. We look forward to sharing the outcomes with you later in the year. Written by Chris Jones, Secondary Deputy Head

Honour From Opportunity: A Scholar’s Journey

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Recently, a Civil Engineering student from Adamson University here in Manila, John Daryl Pitcheller was given the honour of presenting his ground-breaking research on PVC Waste at the International Conference on the Environmental Quality Concern (EQC) in the National Kaohsiung Marine University, Taiwan. 

In his presentation, entitled Waste Polyvinyl Chloride as Tensile Reinforcement to Asphalt Pavement, John Daryl proposed that instead of throwing away waste PVC materials, these should be recycled and used as an additive to asphalt to improve the tensile strength of pavements.

The conference panel, and delegates—from all over South East Asia—were impressed. Meanwhile John Daryl came back to the Philippines carrying new knowledge and experiences, not to mention new ambitions. 

"I was inspired to make a difference.” said John Daryl.

A recent university graduate, before attending Adamson University, John Daryl was a beneficiary of a British School Manila run scholarship programme which he views as being instrumental in giving him a chance to pursue his studies. 

“The British Education Inc.'s Scholarship Programme (BEI), run by volunteers from the British School Manila (BSM), really opens the door to a lot of opportunities to students like me,” he said.

BSM usually only supports scholars until they graduate college, but the school will often go one step further if they see an opportunity for one of their scholars to shine. 

"I did not know that the BEI programme would continue to support me attending this international event,” John said. 

“I was in my final semester when the conference took place and I had actually already graduated [last March 2015]. So I had little hope that Mr. Egan would approve my request, because this was not initially part of the contract. But eureka – the trip was all expenses paid!”

The ‘Mr. Egan’ that John refers to is the Vice Chair of the British School Manila Board of Governors, Mr Brendan Egan, who along with a handful of local staff volunteers from BSM run the BEI Scholarship Programme. The initiative, which is 100% funded by the British School Manila helps graduate students from Taguig's public schools reach their dream of graduating college, through the provision of a full scholarship to the college and course of their choice.

“A BEI scholarship covers full tuition for any specified course, at any specified college in Metro Manila,” said Mr. Egan when questioned. “All necessary books are paid for upon presentation of an official receipt, as is any required uniform. An allowance is also provided for snacks and transportation,” he continued.

John Daryl received the BEI scholarship after a rigorous selection process managed by volunteer staff from BSM. 

Volunteers from the school, such as Erwin Adevoso help candidates through the pre-screening process. "To get on the short list and be interviewed by the Committee, candidates are selected based on their credentials," says Erwin. "But we also want these young people to be able to communicate well with us." Erwin continues, "This is where I get involved, sitting down with each one, in an effort to calm their nerves and help them feel comfortable and ready to share their personal stories and why they need the scholarship, in some detail."

Before being accepted onto the BEI scholarship programme, John Daryl was hesitant to continue his tertiary education studies, as he was concerned about his parents' financial ability to send him to the college of his choice. He is an only child, but his parents also provide financial assistance to other relatives in the family.

John said, "When I was chosen for the BEI scholarship programme, it was a big help since it provided for everything. So I didn't have to do anything, except study. I just had to do my best." 

The BEI scholarship also entitled him to be given a fully-equipped desktop PC, so he did not have to rent computers to work on school requirements.

“It’s more than manna from heaven, because it isn't just a grant that comes to you monthly,” he said, recalling how the scholarship influenced his life. “I hope that BEI Inc. and the British School Manila will continue this kind of support for their scholars because it can impact them in ways a four-walled classroom can never do.

John Daryl graduated with Academic Merit last year, and recently passed the Civil Engineering Board Exams. He is currently happily employed.

#WeAreInternational ! BSM International Evening 2016: A Taste of Our Cultures

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A massive BSM thank you to everyone who attended International Evening on Tuesday 23 February. It was a truly wonderful event—a celebration of the best of the BSM community. From the delicious food from around the world, to beautiful performances from our students and parents, and the spectacular Parade of Nations with more participants than ever, plus a Marching Band, Majorettes and Festive Higantes, it really was a show stopper. 

Many people worked day and night to make it happen and it really showed on the night. We welcomed over 1,600 people to the biggest fund-raising event in the Service Learning calendar, and sold over 3,700 raffle tickets. We are hoping it will all help us to reach our fund-raising target of one million Pesos! We were overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and willingness to pitch in and make it such a great night for us all. Thank you Team BSM.

As well as everyone who came along to support our fund-raising event, we would like to extend a huge thanks to all of the parents, teachers, staff and students who worked so hard, both in the lead up, and on the night itself to provide us with such wonderful food, performances and Parade of Nations. We had our larger food stalls, catering for hundreds of guests, and our boutique food stalls with niche products. A great combination, with truly something for everyone. And hundreds of performers who have been rehearsing since January to provide us with spectacular entertainment. We really can’t thank you all enough.

The Food Stalls

The quality and sheer variety of food on offer was amazing. The lamb rolls and sausage sizzles at the Australia and New Zealand booth were a huge hit, as was the deliciously authentic Thai food, elegantly served by the Dusit Thani. The “Birthday Tea for a Queen” at the British Stall was a treat, with sandwiches, pies and sausage rolls alongside sweet bites including Victoria Sponge, Lemon Drizzle and Carrot cakes. The Japanese stall offered us beautiful sushi, ramen and takoyaki with their ever popular California Rolls, and even before the Indian stall could open, families were queuing up for their veg and non-veg dishes, including chicken makhanwala, mutton keema, samosas, dhal makhani and dosas. 

Korea offered us traditional bulgogi, pancakes, japchae, kimchi and fried chicken. China put on a feast, with dumplings, pork buns, spring rolls, gyoza, ki-kiam, shrimp rolls and boba milk tea, which proved very popular with our students. Spain brought their traditional paella to the party, with a huge tapas selection, including chorizo, gambas, croquettas, tortilla and delicious sangria. The buffalo wings of the USA ran out early, as did their cookies and Hershey chocolates. Traditional German treats including bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato salad and homemade pretzels were a welcome addition, as was the bacon and cabbage, smoked salmon, cheddar, Irish coffee mousse and Irish tipples at the Irish booth.

The Middle East and North Africa served up delicious dips, including hummus and zaalook with pita, France and Switzerland gave us raclette among other delicacies, Scandinavia treated us to meatballs, canapes, cake and traditional Schnapps, and even Italy was represented with a stall run by San Remo, serving pasta dishes to suit every taste. And last but by no means least, the beautifully lit Filipino booth gave us a treat from every corner of the Philippines. Roasted lechon, a Lumpia bar, Inihaw bar, salmon belly, noodles, pork bbq, pancit canton, pancit ivatan, dirty ice cream, Filipino desserts as well as buko juice!

The Performances

The dance performances on the night truly showed the diversity, and the talents of our BSM community. From individual performers singing the Philippine and British National Anthems, dancing the Flamenco and covering Ed Sheeran; to large scale group dances, including the Indian musical medley, which spanned dances from the whole country and from the very classical to a disco-themed Bollywood number, we enjoyed every moment. 

We also enjoyed learning the story of the Chinese Zodiac, a traditional German folk dance called Schuhplattler and a funky hip hop number from our primary students. The Haka was a real highlight of the evening, performed by a group of BSM students and boys from the Tuloy Foundation, as were the ballet numbers. We enjoyed a traditional ballet show, with dances from Russia, Spain, Hungary, Germany, America and Vienna, as well as a fantastic performance of “Swan Lake” and “Chariots of Fire” by a few of our Rugby Team. Pink tutus and varsity attire have never joined together to provide so much enjoyment to so many!

You’ve got to be in it to win it!

It was also a night of winners. The British Food Stall helped to bring the “British Bake Off” fun to our community event, with a competition for the best cake baked by teachers and students. A delicious chocolate cake took the crown for the adult cake and two of our Primary students shared the prize for their trifle and cupcakes. The Parade of Nations also provided the perfect opportunity to reward creativity. The costume competition gave the judges a tough task, but the 5 lucky winners this year, had beautiful outfits from their home countries of UK, Germany, Korea, South Africa and Russia. 

A few visitors to the event were lucky enough to be one of our top raffle prize winners. Our generous sponsors have provided GCs for stays in some of the most beautiful parts of the Philippines, including Atmosphere Hotel & Spa in Dumaguete, Dedon Island Resort in Siargao, Bamboo Private Island in Palawan, Nobu Hotel at City of Dreams, Rieseling Boracay Beach Resort, Coco Grove in Siquijor, Coco Beach in Puerto Galera, The District Boracay, Busuanga Bay Lodge in Coron and Buri Resort & Spa in Puerto Galera. Flights to Guam on Cebu Pacific, an overnight package at The Farm at San Benito and free dining at Cafe Curieux, The Peninsula Hotel and Fairmont Makati were among our other amazing prizes.

BSM Community does it again

Of course, none of this could have happened without our truly amazing Operations staff who worked almost through the night, and the rest of the support staff, teachers, parents and students who gave their time willingly to become Bakers, Food stall helpers, Bar Staff, Raffle ticket sellers, Parade helpers, Entry ticket staff, KidZone supervisors, and help the rest of us enjoy ourselves, while raising huge sums of money for Service Learning. 

A few individuals took on such large roles, they were almost given staff passes! These amazing BSM parents made the Parade of Nations such an amazing spectacle for us; kept track of everything to do with the Food Stalls, ensured our event looked beautiful, and ran the ever-popular PTA bar. We are very grateful to you all for the many hours you gave us.

Our very generous sponsors

Finally, we have a huge number of generous sponsors, who provided money, prizes and food, and helped to make sure that as much of the money raised on the night goes straight into the Service Learning Fund, and helping the Service Partners that we work with. Some came along on the night to support the event, which was great – and we hope helped to strengthen relationships between BSM and all of our partners. 

Where the money goes

All of the money raised goes towards supporting BSM Service Partners. The BSM International Evening in March 2015 raised an amazing 605,000 pesos. With this money we were able to fund our work with a variety of Charity Service Partners, including: 

• PCF, a charity providing education, food aid, fair employment and health care to the poorest adults and children in and around Manila. BSM worked with PCF throughout 2015 (50,000 Pesos)
• Financial and in-kind support to Makabata Schools Foundation, in Pasig. The school provides formal and non-formal (basic skills) education for street children and out-of-school youth (50,000 Pesos)
• One Million Lights Foundation, providing solar lights for off-grid communities (90,000 Pesos)
• The Fairplay for All Foundation, a charity working in Payatas, the largest dumpsite in the Philippines and home to half a million people. Their main projects include a drop-in centre, Payatas Football Club and the Fairplay cafe (10,000 Pesos).
• Stepping Stones Foundation, a school and learning environment for children and young adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. Year 10 students renovated the garden, and painted classrooms in their new facility (20,000 Pesos)
• School bags for disadvantaged children living in Panay Island, Visayas (40,000 Pesos)
• Financial and in-kind support (including the purchase of a projector) for Kids International Ministries, a charity that is based in Manila, but has a number of programmes across the Philippines, providing food, shelter, education and medical attention to at-risk children in indigent communities (40,000 Pesos)
• Building materials, expertise and manual labour for Tagaytay Central Elementary School during CAS week in May 2015. All Year 12 IB students traveled to Tagaytay, and spent 3 days working at the school to improve the teaching and learning environment (305,000 Pesos)

This year, our fund-raising total is an ambitious one million Pesos. With this money we hope to be able to make even more of a difference to the communities around us. 

The British School Manila (BSM) is a highly regarded co-educational British international school established in 1976. The School is proud to uphold the high standard of the British education system and we take full advantage of our multi-cultural setting. We are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and also a member of The Federation of British International Schools in Southeast Asia and East Asia (FOBISSEA) and The Independent Association of Prep School (IAPS). 

At present 900+ students aged 3-18 are on BSM’s roll and 35 nationalities are represented. British children make up 33%, Filipino 22%, Canada 9% ,Australians 8% and American 6% of the total population.

For more information and updates, visit http://www.britishschoolmanila.org , and 

http://www.twitter.com/bsm_1976.

Ebenezer Junior: British School Manila (BSM) KS2 Production

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The final week of Term 1 in British School Manila featured the Key Stage 2 extravaganza Ebenezer Junior, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. Combining both traditional elements and contemporary, the story unveiled the spirit of Christmas in all of us.

Excitement built as parents eagerly queued up outside on Tuesday evening 8th of December 2015. There was PTA-provided mulled wine, nibbles and Christmas props carefully arranged in the foyer area. Excitement grew further on entering the hall and there were many wows as parents saw the scenery and set up for the first time, feeling they may have walked into a West End production by mistake. It was really breath-taking. Carols rang out, the lights were dimmed, the fire glowed in the hearth, snowflakes sparkled and the stage and backdrop looked truly spectacular.

That was all prior to the show. The show itself matched the heights of the set. The singing was joyous and powerful, and quite rousing. The dances were a real joy and a wonderful way to round up and the children clearly loved performing them. Actors and actresses brought characters to life with clarity and purpose and all the children looked the part in their period costumes. Confident public performance is an important part of developing children’s life skills at BSM, and they worked hard rehearsing to reach this standard.

Ebenezer Junior was a truly wonderful production, one of those special BSM community events that roused the Christmas spirit. The cast sang ‘Charity’ as part of the show and Christmas is about giving. Our parents were very generous over the two shows in donating almost PHP 80,000 to our community service partners.

The British School Manila (BSM) is a highly regarded co-educational British international school established in 1976. The School is proud to uphold the high standard of the British education system and we take full advantage of our multi-cultural setting. We are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and also a member of The Federation of British International Schools in Southeast Asia and East Asia (FOBISSEA) and The Independent Association of Prep School (IAPS). 

At present 900+ students aged 3-18 are on BSM’s roll and 35 nationalities are represented. British children make up 33%, Filipino 22%, Canada 9%, Australians 8% and American 6% of the total population.