RoundUp
Term 1 – 2nd Half | 2020-2021
Directors' Note
Dear Parents,
I think most of us will be glad to have got (nearly) to the end of 2020 and hope that the disruption and heartache that Covid-19 caused will soon be a distant memory.
Amidst the spring lockdown and the current partial one, we’ve all had to adapt to a different way of life. The restrictions we have endured have meant that almost all of the wonderful events TLC is renowned for, have had to be postponed and the life of the school community has looked very different this year. Amongst this though, let’s not forget how well we have come through this together.
I look at our staff and students and, despite the physical and psychological impact that this year has had on us all, we remain strong, committed to supporting each other and our personal and collective resilience bodes well for the future.
If the hope generated by the success of the vaccine trials translates into a relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions, we can look forward perhaps to a brighter version of what is called the ‘new normal’. What we are sure will come out of it is that all those things we took for granted in the past we will think more carefully about and we will hold dear, even the little things in life.
Laura and I earnestly hope that 2021 brings better times for all, we greatly appreciate all that each of you contribute to the unique and wonderful world that is TLC Private School and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Ian and Laura Wells | Directors
Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
We’ve finally reached the last day of the autumn term and the last school day of 2020. A year that we won’t forget for mostly the wrong reasons.
For me, this time of year is one for reflection. We have many different religions represented in our school and even those families who don’t celebrate Christmas can’t help being touched by the magic of the season. Whether you look upon the birth of Jesus as one of the greatest events in history or just a touching story that’s recounted annually to children across the world, we all need something to remind us that amongst the darkness of 2020 and the millions of deaths from Covid-19, there is hope with the development of vaccines and maybe a brighter 2021.
To Christians, Jesus is seen as the great light coming to earth to dispel the darkness that the people lived in. Whilst we celebrate his coming on December 25th, it’s not hard to see, every day of the year, in the people we are fortunate to share this wonderful school with, the shining light of hope, love and friendship.
Some of our families, sadly, are returning to their home countries for good over the next few days but they’ve told us that they’ll take a little piece of TLC with them and never forget how their teachers and friends made their time here in Cyprus special. We wish them well for the future. For those of us who will return in January, I hope that the Christmas season will have brought you cheer, hope and a time of love and happiness and that when 2021 arrives it will be a better one for all.
With heartfelt wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
David Lewis | Principal
Christmas Card Competition!
Winner of the TLC Secondary Christmas Card Competition 2020
Yasmina Kalotheou | Y10
Winner of the TLC Primary Christmas Card Competition 2020
Roza Konikkou | Y4
Runner up – TLC Secondary Christmas Card Competition 2020
Salome Bauer | Y10
Runner up TLC Primary Christmas Card Competition 2020
Iliana Gkounti | Y2
A Not so Silent Night with TLC
On Tuesday 15th December the music department presented an on-line concert “A Not so Silent Night with TLC”. Due to the Covid19 restrictions imposed by the government, it was impossible for us to stage any Christmas plays this year, but we simply couldn’t let the Christmas term pass by without some sort of musical display! Students from both secondary and primary submitted their video performances to be showcased on the night. Over thirty children sent in a variety of acts including singing, playing instruments, readings and drama. As well as individual performances, there were also a number of class performances to add to the variety.
A huge thank you to our students and parents who submitted videos and supported the event.
It was fantastic to see how much musical talent we have here at TLC. Well done everyone!
Ms Outram and Ms Clare
Four of our Year 12 students; Annie Lin, Lydia Wells, Nikoletta Antoniou and Louis Alexandre-Lobanov, recently completed the final part of their Extended Project Qualification by undertaking a presentation to a live audience on their projects. Topics as diverse as Sociology, Cosmology, History and Linguistics proved an education to all those in attendance which included parents and teachers. The presentations were lauded as being at least the equivalent of the popular TED Talks and were followed by intense questioning of the students by the audience which proved how well they knew their subjects.
The qualification is a new one for TLC Private School to offer our students and those who participated found the requirements of the qualification very challenging but equally rewarding. We were very proud of all four students and the quality of work they produced. Their grades have now been submitted to the examining board for verification and we look forward to receiving confirmation of the high grades they all deserve. In the new year we plan to work with the next cohort of students and are already looking forward to seeing the topics they choose.
Catherine Lewis | Head of Teaching and Learning
UNICEF World Children's Day
Mindfulness and Meditation
A day to reimagine a better future for every child.
Thank you Judy Lam (@KidsMeditationHub) for visiting Primary, the students thoroughly enjoyed the Mindfulness session celebrating UNICEF Children’s World Day.
TLC Library
Our Christmas book sale was another buzzing, fun filled event.
We believe there’s no better way to promote literacy to children and drive their imagination, than by introducing them to books they might never have found otherwise.
Michael Murpurgo was our featured author for the day and children were able to purchase two of his exciting stories for 4 euros.
We have also been able to stock up our Library with some popular, shiny new book titles!
Ms Matthews | TLC School Librarian
Reception Class - Festive Fun in Early Years
Our Early Years topic this half term was ‘Plants’ and the children learnt all about characteristics of living things, the parts of a plant and their functions, and what plants need to grow.
All of this got over shadowed last week though, when the elves snuck into Early Years one night and decorated the classrooms! The children entered school the next day to find trees, snowflakes, tinsel and fairy lights everywhere, and all their paintings were wearing Christmas hats! The children have been practising their pattern work by making three colour pattern paper chains and have developed their fine motor control (scissor skills and pencil control) by making patterned stockings to hang, as well as working very hard on their Christmas performance.
We have also been learning about how three of the children in the class celebrate the festival of Hanukah and all the different games, foods and traditions associated with this.
The Early Years class, staff and children, would like to wish everyone a very happy holidays!
Ms Toni
Year 1 - Imaginary Pets
In science, the year 1 students have learnt about the differences between birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and insects. They were challenged with sorting the animals into groups according to their features or diets. Next, they had to consider why some animals are kept as pets and others aren’t. The students had lots of fun designing their own imaginary pet and the snake was the most popular one as long as it wouldn’t eat them!
All students were proud to show the end result to their classmates and were very excited when they could take their new pet home.
Well done year 1!
Ms Miranda
Year 1 / 2 - Abstract artists
This term Year 1/2 have been learning about seasons and the weather. We have learnt about all different kinds of weather and had fun completing lots of experiments testing weather! We made rain gauges to measure the amount of rain in a week and we studied the sun, using chalk to measure how our shadows moved through the day. Here we are making and testing out wind socks. We learnt about the wind and we used our wind socks to find out what direction the wind was coming from and how strong it was. We had a lot of fun!
Ms Louise
Year 2 - We have been busy
In Year 2 this half term we have been learning about Remembrance Day. We wrote letters home from a WW1 soldier in English using powerful adjectives to describe feelings, and made poppies in Art. We have also enjoyed learning about money in Maths, and role-played a shopkeeper and customers! In PSHE we talked about who we can talk to if we are upset or worried, and made friendship hands and a worry box. In History we have focused on gunpowder, treason and plot – the people and events involved in the Gunpowder Plot, and we made firework paintings in Art. Science has been about animals including humans, and their habitats, and Geography has been all about the continents and oceans of the world. We are making Christmas and Hanukkah cards but they are still in progress at the time of writing. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from Year 2!
Ms Emma
Year 3 - Roman Chariots
As part of our history topic, the children in Year 3 have been making Roman chariots. Students in Year 3 had to use a range of materials and building techniques to create their models. Once the chariot was created, they had to paint their model using designs similar to those used by the Roman army.
Mr Lines
Year 3 / 4 with Ms Debbie
Science Sundial Making
Students learnt the combined skills of Maths, Roman numerals and Science movement of the sun linked to ancient forms of telling the time.
Students learnt the skill of comparing and analysing results from energy drinks and corrosion of metal, dairy and sugar substances.
Snowflake Art Time!
Students learnt the skill of origami snowflake making using simple paper and scissors technique.
English Drama
English drama and script writing of traditional fairytales. Students rewrote the script for their own versions of famous fairytales. They learnt the skill of intonation, prop and character making and performed superbly. Winners were 1st place, Mia and Jasmin. 2nd place, Nik and George, 3rd place, Buddy, Boris, Owen, Egor.
Ms Debbie
Year 4 - Anglo-Saxon Builders!
Year 4 travelled back 1500 years and became builders in their topic of Settlements this term. The children have been learning about where the Anglo-Saxons settled when they invaded England in the 5th and 6th century. The students designed and created their very own authentic Anglo-Saxon buildings modelled on authentic wooden clad framework. The models looked very realistic and some of the children even furnished the interior of their houses complete with stone and wooden furniture and log fires!
Mr Richards
Year 5 - Space, Secrets and Sadness
Year 5 have had a full on, fun-packed fantastic term! Having ended last half term on a high partaking in an Astronomy night with members from Paphos Astronomy Club where there was the opportunity to spot Mars, Jupiter an Saturn through the telescope, they have continued to add to their space knowledge with lessons about famous astronauts and how they fit into the space travel timeline.
In addition, they have conducted experiments based on the astronauts experiences in space. Practising their communication skills by building a basic shape with logo and relaying the information to their partner in order to replicate the shape. The students concluded that it was far more difficult than they expected. Year 5 have also been discovering the reason why astronauts experience “chicken legs” on returning to earth.
Fascinating facts that have been absorbed by the class are that some of the monkeys that were sent to space were called Sam, Ham and Miss Sam (no relation to our own Miss Sam). Valentina Tereshkova (the first woman in space) kept a secret about her mission for 30 years, ask a year 5 student for the reason!
Ms Wendy & Ms Sam
Year 6 - Exciting Times
Exciting times in Year 6 this term! We have advanced in leaps and bounds discovering the workings of a circuit. From planning a circuit on paper with scientific symbols to completing simple and parallel circuits using real life tools and battery packs. Taking our scientific learning even deeper- as well as taking ownership of our own learning journey – students were challenged to create their own ‘doodle bot’ by assembling a simple circuit to power their construction. The results were outstanding and clearly demonstrated the creativity and dedication of the class.
Our literature study has concentrated on ‘Wonder’ by RJ Palacio. Through this text we have been studying diction and literary devices culminating in the students designing an interactive book for themselves and peers to enjoy.
Well done to Year 6 on enthusiastically and confidently completing Term 1. Looking forward to even more interactive learning and interesting discussions after Christmas. Enjoy the holidays!
Ms Evie
Art Club with Ms Debbie
Students have been busy making Christmas decorations for the tree and creating a crowd of ladybugs, made from papier-mache.
Year 3 Christmas Art lesson
Students have been designing, constructing and decorating cardboard Christmas trees, students learnt the skill of blending and gradating paint colours.
Year 7 Remembrance Day
November 11 by Evelyn Scott Year 7
November 11
Remember those who fought for us,
And lost their lives in war
And not make the same mistakes
The ones we’ve made before
However, in these times of woe
Our soldiers stood their ground
For many that went into battle
Their way home could not be found
The symbol will shine bright red
To remind us of those heroes,
In the field where they lay
Is where the poppy grows
Looking to those who rest in heaven,
We’ll never forget November 11!
We Shall Remember by Aili Bielicki Year 7
Year 7 - Figurative Language
The Year 7s have been learning about Figurative language and have produced some beautiful posters.
Ms Valentina
Year 8 Drama | Moving Images
Year 8 have been studying ‘moving Images’ and how adverts use emotive language to persuade an audience to donate money to different charities
They also deepened their understanding of how adverts use persuasive and informative language to persuade an audience to buy their products.
They gained knowledge of how to use camera angles and music for effect and applied these skills to make their own persuasive adverts for T.V!
Ms Sarah
Year 8 Drama
From Page to Stage!
This term the Y11 and Y12 Drama students had an exciting opportunity to perform their IGCSE and AS Coursework at the Markideio Theatre.
The AS students have been studying Ibsen’s 1870 play ‘A Doll’s House’ and they have learned about this period of time in Norway and about the playwright and why he had to write an alternative ending!
IGCSE Students have been studying ‘Shakers’ by John Godber and Jane Thornton. They have enjoyed learning about life in England in the 1980s, how to use physical skills and mime and applying this knowledge to their performance.
All the students enjoyed using a professional theatre with the use of lights, sound and microphones to accomplish outstanding performances.
Well done!
Ms Sarah, Ms Outram and Mike.
Year 8 Drama
Year 8 Science Fertilisation and Dispersal
Students had to design a way of dispersing seeds away from the mother plant such as like gliders, parachutes, spinners, catapults etc.
Here are some of their 3D models!
Students produced posters on topics covered in Science on Food and Nutrition as well as Classification and Biodiversity.
Posters showcasing Food and Nutrition, present the nutrients required in our diets, the tests used to detect some nutrients, and describe how factors change the amount of energy we need. Posters produced showcasing Classification and Biodiversity, students interpreted scientific organism names, described how organisms are classified and explained the importance of biodiversity.
Ms Elena
Year 8 Drama
A level Art & Design
The introduction to the A’level course starts with an Art Skills Module, which builds a varied collection of observational work over a six week period during workshop style lessons. This year’s theme is ‘Denim’ with work consisting of experimental drawing, photography, mono-printing, painting and mixed media imagery.
An Art History Project runs in tandem with the Art Skills Module during self-study and as homework. The students research four main art movements; collecting images, information and recreating paintings before choosing an artwork to reproduce on a pair of jeans.
Artwork below produced by Annie Lin Year 12
Ms Zoe
Why School is a waste of time by Yasmina Kalotheou Y10
Most of us would have probably already read one of the wimpy kid books in our life. A story about a kid that’s relatable, funny and hates school. Greg, the main character, would always share his opinion and thoughts about the people, the teachers and the events in his life. Even though, I may have read all the books when I was younger, there is this one phrase that I will always remember. “One day middle school will end and become high school, after that it just becomes life. All those things you think are important now, won’t be anymore”.
Professor Perkins, a research professor of teaching and learning, Harvard Graduate School, claims that 90% of what we learn, is a waste of time. Yes, it is proven that the students whose school hours are longer are tend to be smarter and can outperform other students who spend less hours at school but in real life, you cannot get a job by revising from textbooks and knowing random facts.
If you ask someone “why do we have to go to school” they will give you the same exact answer. “To prepare you for the future.” But, are we really preparing the next generation for the future or are we just stuffing them with useless information and wasting their time? Things we must and take hours to revise for and then just forget about them a few days later. Yes, we must learn the basic things and yes, it is important but is it necessary to repeat the same things over and over again each year?
School is basically a competition between students to see who gets the highest grades. The higher your grade the smarter you are the lower the grade, well then you’re considered a failure, right?
Most of us can agree that every human is individual and unique but still, we are forced to sit in rows and memorise useless information like robots. The average school hour is 6 to 7 hours per day that’s a lot if you just expect a student to focus and remember everything that has been said during each lesson. Students aren’t actually focused, they’re thinking about things like “what’s for dinner tonight?” or “I wander how long till break?”. Us students, can very easily get bored and when we are bored we get distracted and do things like count the tiles on the wall.
You may wonder, how do you, prepare students for the future?
Students should be taught to use our knowledge and find links between the information we already know. Us, students should learn skills that bring out the uniqueness out of each one of us. This way we learn what we are good at, what we are passionate about. We all have different strengths and gifts but sometimes we need a little light to find them.
Winston Churchill, one of the most famous people of all time, managed to successfully lead England through World War Two. Now you may be expecting that Churchill was very smart and therefore a very good student but this is not true at all. From all of the different types of subjects, he was only good at English and History. He wasn’t good at Science or Maths and he was definitely not good with languages. He only managed to get in to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst with help of a tutor after failing his entrance examinations twice! But the reason he was so famous was not because he was a failure as a student, in fact, he had a lot of talent. He was good at persuading people to do things. Churchill knew how to use and manipulate the English language to encourage and convince his country that they will win the war by never giving up. This was his special talent.
So, does school prepare you for the future?
The simple answer is no, it doesn’t. Jobs that exist now will be replaced by artificial intelligence. Jobs in the future won’t be about what you know but about what you can do with your knowledge. People will be interested in having well educated people that are capable of critical thinking.
Robots of the future will already have access to all the information that we know and much more. Information that we took centuries to discover and learn will be transferred to a robot in a matter of minutes.
So why are we being taught the things robots already know?
Students get bored of learning in this robotic way, we are tired of learning the same stuff over and over again and we are fed up of worrying if we fail our exams. Albert Einstein once said “Creativity is Intelligence having fun. If you as a teacher, make the lessons more enjoyable, we as students, will discover the beauty of what learning really is. We will want to discover more about the world and we will be inspired to do things no one has ever seen before. This is what learning should really be because the most valuable lessons taught by school are things like social skills, self-worth and realizing your own potential.
Back to School Reminders
All TLC students are to return to school in winter uniform.
Many of you will have seen the government’s announcement this afternoon increasing the restrictions that apply to Limassol and Paphos in order to combat rising numbers of Covid-19 cases.
This will affect the operation of our school in the following ways:
- No team sports can operate for children under 18 until further notice.
- All after school activities are suspended until further notice.
- Masks must be worn by all secondary students at all times in school apart from when eating and drinking. This applies to arriving and departing school and all break times.
We appreciate your help in ensuring our school abides by the restrictions and keeps our students safe.
