It's Carnaval Time!

One of the annual festivals that is always looked forward to by both pupils and staff at Sierra Bernia is Carnaval!

It is a time for dressing up (no school uniform for a day!) and a great opportunity to do some different things at school.

This year we had a wonderful display of food sculpture and some Salsa dancing.

As well as our annual Carnaval Parade. With the theme of Cowboys and Indians there was definitely a sense the Wild West around Sierra Bernia for the day!

Swimming Gala!

One of the most enjoyable events in our annual calander in the school swimming gala. This year was no exception and a wonderful day was had by all who took part at the open air pool in Alfaz.

The pupils were divided into teams and, once again, Kirill in Year 9 showed his leadership qualities by powering his Red team to yet another outstanding victory.

Kirill is Russian and his motivational style is very simple yet very powerful. He was overheard coaching some of the younger pupils with the following gem:

"You want medal?" The two year 3's said "Yes" Kirill then replied with a simple "Then win"! It worked - they did! Perhaps we should get him to manage the woeful English football team!

This was a thoroughly enjoyable day and well done to everyone who competed so splendidly.

School Prize Day

With the school year nearing an end it was time to look back and celebrate all the great achievements of the pupils at Sierra Bernia.


So, on Thursday 24th we arrived at the Casa de Cultura in Alfaz for our annual Prize Day.


Mr Duncan Allan, school owner, set the tone for this wonderful celebration by reminding pupils that school is about preparing for the future. His opening address was followed by Years 7 and 8 reading poetry in English, French, and Spanish.


Each class then performed something to show the work they have been doing, and individuals received prizes for their attitude and achievements throughout the year.


In addition to the individual awards, every pupil received a certificate for successfully completing the school year.


This was truly a celebration of all the great work that happens at Sierra Bernia School and there were certainly some emotional tears of pride from the parents who supported the event so well.

Sports Day Awards Ceremony

At the end of an exciting day all the pupils came together for our Sports Day Awards. The event was won by the Red Team who were led brilliantly by Kirill from Year 9.

It was wonderful to see the way the way the older Team Captains worked with their younger team members to lead and inspire them. A big congatulations to Kieren, Josh, Michael, and of course Kirill, for providing such a great example.

There were special awards for individual performances too. The girl's award was shared by Tanja (Year 2) and Sylvia (Year 3) and the boys award went to Alex (Year 4).

The day was a massive success and a special thanks must go to Mrs Letchford who organised the whole event.

Sierra Bernia Sports Day!

Friday 18th June saw the whole school attending the Polidesportivo in Alfaz for our annual Sports Day.

This is a really fun day where four "house" teams compete against each other to be crowned champions at the end of the day.

Everybody has the opportunity to gain points for their team and, although it is always good to win, the real fun is just in taking part.

Many parents and friends came to add their support to the day as the pupils went through a variety of sports events, both serious and fun. I'm not sure there is currently an Olympic category for "Egg and Spoon" race!

Enjoy the photographs of our future sporting stars in action!

Pirates Of The Caribbean!

After four intense weeks of rehersals, Sierra Bernia School's Summer production came to a wonderful climax at the Casa de Cultura in Alfaz del Pi on Wednesday 19th May.

What a wonderful show it was! With children from reception through to the exam class taking part it really was a "whole school" event.

Congatulations to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible and a special thanks to Pascalle and Victor from Street Wise Productions for making it all possible.

The Pirates Are Coming!

There is great excitement building within the school as we prepare for our annual music and drama production - this year based around "The Pirates Of The Caribbean"! Here's a quick look behind the scenes at rehearsals .....

Watch Your Heads - King Henry Visits Sierra Bernia!

Year 4 took us all back to Tudor times with a wonderful assembly on the life and times of King Henry VIII.

You remember? Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived! And that was just his wives! Tough times for a king's wife in those days!

Ahh! I can't watch! This was how to divorce your wife Tudor style!

This was a full production with wonderful costumes and great acting shown by all.

The Hall was filled with parents and friends of the school, who all thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.

Congratulations to Mrs Sweet and all the Year 4 pupils (plus guests) that made this such a thrilling assembly.

World Maths Day!

Wednesday 3rd March saw the whole school throwing its collective mental muscle behind World Maths Day.

This is a truly amazing world-wide competition with children from all parts of the globe competing against each other in a series of graded mental maths challenges.

Everybody had great fun throughout the day and there were some great results from many of our pupils.

If you look carefully you can even see Mr Allan, School Director, having a go!

The day was made possible by the re-launch of our Computer Suite which handled the work load really well.

Our thanks go to Mrs Letchford who organised and set up the whole day.

Special congratulations go to the following pupils:

Name (Year) Number of correct answers

Kirill (Y9) 7210
Ahmar (Y4) 4782
Maksim (Y5) 4023
Alex (Y4) 2911
Daniil (y7) 1328
Faye (Y4) 1043
Maite (Y7) 827
Lucas (Y1) 806
Dylan (Y8) 747
German (Y10) 695

And finally... A quote from the World Maths Day Site. "World Maths Day is all over! Congratulations on a new World Record! 1,133,246 students and 56,082 schools from 235 countries have united to set a new world record by correctly answering 479,732,613 questions."

Brilliant!

Stop Press! Year 4, 5, & 6 Visit Costa Blanca News

As part of our literacy studies this term, years 4, 5 and 6 have been learning about various aspects of media and journalism. On Friday, they consolidated their knowledge with a trip to the Costa Blanca News offices where they were escorted round by the Editor James Parks.

The children spent an hour questioning the Editor and asking a range of challenging and interesting questions about the history and production of the paper before being given a tour of the offices. The children spoke to some of the journalists on the news desk and looked at how the both the news paper and website are edited and maintained on a daily basis then went downstairs to the print room to see how a newspaper is printed.

Some of the children took a real interest in the running of the paper and were keen to show the Editor some of their own work. Jack, Joe, Matthew and Laurence of year 5 and 6 presented James Parks with a copy of the school news letter they had produced and Ella gave him a news article on the Trojan Horse she had completed over the weekend. The children's work certainly impressed the Editor and he will be keeping his eye on a couple of budding reporters who caught his attention.

As the latest edition of the Coasta Blanca News was out that day, each child was given their own copy of the newspaper to take away with them and the children also had their photo taken outside the offices and with the editor himself!

So watch this space and look out for the next generation of journalists and editors coming for our very own school!!!!

Upper School Games at The Club Personal Fitness

To get the new school year games lessons off to an exciting start the pupils of Yrs 7, 8, & 9 were taken to The Club Personal Fitness, a private fitness facility situated a few minutes from the school.

Here they were put through their paces by Lynn Cowley, owner of the centre, who showed them how to use the gym equipment safely. She then took the pupils through a short program that taught them the main components of fitness - strength, stamina, and flexibility.

The final part of the session was a coached swimming session with Mrs Letchford in the centre's pool.

The afternoon was thoroughly enjoyed by all pupils and we will look forward to repeating this at various intervals throughout the year.

Back To School!

Today was the moment the summer ended for the pupils of Sierra Bernia School and a new term began!

Everyone seemed pleased to be back and start the serious business of work all over again! Several new pupils have joined the school for the start of this term and we all welcome them to the school.

Along side regular lessons this year we have a full programme of extra curricula activities. If you're feeling musical there are guitar and recorder classes; dance classes for the more energetic; along with table tennis and chess!

A parents newsletter will be out in the next week with news of all our programmes and activities.

School Prize Day - Thursday 25th June 2009

One of the most looked forward to events in the Sierra Bernia School timetable is the annual Prize Day. This year we were able to celebrate the achievements of so many pupils with awards being presented by the mayor of Alfas, the director of education, and Mr Duncan Allan, owner of the school.

It is sometimes easy to forget all the hard work from pupils and staff in the hussle and bussle of daily school life. The Prize Day gives us a special time to step back and really recognise just what has been achieved throughout the year, and congratulations go to eveyone who received a certificate or award this year.

This year's event was especially marked by some great "performances" from each of the junior school classes. This was appreciated and enjoyed by all parents present.

This was a very happy day and a real celelebration of the very best of Sierra Bernia.

Annual Swimming Gala - 19th June 2009

On a Friday 19th June pupils from Year 3 through to Year 11 gathered at the open air pool at the Polisportivo in Alfas Del Pi for our annual swimming gala. The event was taken very seriously by all competitors as they swam to raise points for their respective teams.

Once again the Blue Team triumphed, ably captained by Yr 9 pupil German Voss.

After the main events were over the pupils were able to enjoy some relaxing general swimming under the supervision of the Polisportivo staff.

This was a great day for all concerned and the behaviour of the pupils throughout was outstanding, bringing comments of commendation from the centre.

A massive well done to our champions in the Blue Team and all who took part in the gala.

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