I’ve probably pictured this mo-

ment in my head since I was

10; I still haven’t wrapped my

head around the whole idea of

having my first book published.

Writing has been more than a

hobby or activity to me; it’s

sort of become something I

have to do everyday, like eating

or sleeping. That’s what makes

this book launch even more

amazing for me.

When I was asked what got me

into writing, all I could think of

was “words”. I really love

words; the way they fit togeth-

er and how the right words

can touch a person, how they

transform and sometimes heal

whoever reads them. Not that

BILLABONG STUDENT PUBLISHES HER FIRST BOOK

A P R I L 2 0 1 3

http://bhisfocus.blogspot.com/

I was much a reader myself to

begin with; but soon after I start-

ed writing my grade 5 English

teacher, Mr. Brown, told me I

was good at it, and I that actually

inspired me to read more.

Having my work published has

been a dream since I was 10, and

so when this chance came along I

seized the opportunity as soon

as I was told that this could be

made possible. I had spent two

weeks with my grandparents and

my brother, Yunus on Maathoda,

where Yunus and I went to these

uninhabited islands. My cousin

told me a ghost story about one

of these islands and once I heard

that Dead in the Water came to

life.

Dead in the Water is about two

siblings who get stranded on

an island along with a super-

natural force that haunts them

as they try to find a way to get

off the island. If you want to

find out what happens I would

really love if you could buy my

book.

Primary teachers col-

lect peas and dodge

paper landmines for

professional develop-

ment day

By Ms. Fazla Abdul Khaleel

On the 18th of April, the

Primary School academic

staff had their profession-

al development session

focusing on "Posi-

tive Communication for

Positive People". The

session was conducted

by Ms. Rita D'Souza, Di-

rector of Operations and

Training from ‘People Pro

trainers and consultants’,

India. The session was

interactive, fun and hands

on. Mr. Matthew narrow-

ly avoided losing a leg

after triggering a paper

landmine during one of

the group activities.

Teachers enjoyed them-

selves throughout the

team-bonding exercises

and also gained insight in

positive communication.

Article by Hanani Aslam - Author of Dead in the Water

Grades 1 & 2 were able to

show off their physical skills

during the annual sports day.

The ceremony began with a

wonderful display as the stu-

dents launched a mass of blue,

red and yellow balloons (these

colours representing the three

teams) high into the sky.

Games prepared for the sports

day included football, relays,

river crossing, basketball and

bowling. And it was not only

the children and teachers who

took part. The parents also got

involved and competed against

each other in a few games (much

giggling from the parents and

teachers ensued).

As the fun-filled afternoon

turned into evening, the learn-

ers entertained the crowd with

a charming and lively perfor-

mance led by Ms. Maria Teresa.

Finally it was time for the re-

sults. Well done, team Yellow!

Congratulations on your win.

However, no one left empty-

handed. All learners received

certificates for their efforts

which were presented to them

by the BHIS Chairman, Mr. Ab-

dul Rasheed.

Good luck to Grades 3, 4 & 5 in

June when they participate in

their own sports day!

SPORTS DAY GIVES YOUNG STUDENTS AN AFTERNOON OF FUN

P A G E 2

“Don't limit a

child to your

own learning, for

he was born in

another time.”

- Rabindranath

Tagore

As you all know, we had

our sports day on the 4th

of April. It was an amaz-

ing day with many chil-

dren receiving lots of

medals. Now, lets move

on to what we did on

the sports day! Every-

body came in their

house coloured t-shirts

and all the houses stood

in front of the house

captains. We then com-

The team members were

not sad, but proud, be-

cause BHIS went to the

semi-finals for the first

time. We would like to

thank our dear coach

and manager, Tom Sir

and Csaba Sir, for their

guidance and for motivat-

ing us throughout the

tournament. We would

also like to thank our

dear teachers, parents,

the chairman and the

rest of the management

team for their support.

menced the sports day

with a parade. After this,

everybody stood in front

of our chief guest, Mr.

Abdul Rasheed. It was

then time to start the

events! There were activi-

ties including sprinting,

the relay race, tug of war

and many more! After all

the events we had the

awarding ceremony, with

Equality landing in 1st-

place! This was the best

sports day we ever had at

Billabong!

The Milo International Bas-

ketball Tournament began

on April 10th. Billabong High

International School played

the opening match straight

after the opening ceremony.

We played against

Ghiycasudelin School. We

lost with 30 points to

Ghiycasudlin and 10 to us.

The next match we played

was with Lale’ School. We

won with a fantastic 24

points to 5. The next match

we played was with Jam-

aluddin School. This game

was much tenser than the

previous one as the scores

were closer. However,

through great determination

we won with 16 points

against 15. We went to the

semi-finals and played with

Iskandar School. Unfortu-

nately, we lost with

Random Fact

Fourteen billion

pounds of garbage,

mostly plastic, is

dumped into the

ocean every year!

Students push themselves to the limit for sports day

By Aishath Luyoona, Mariyam Zaina, Raba Ismail & Ainy Niyaz (6-B)

16 points to 12. We were

just 4 points away from

getting into the final. We

had played well throughout

the match, and for a major-

ity of the game we were

ahead. However, towards

the end Iskandar got the

upper hand and slipped

past us. The whole tourna-

ment ended on April 25th.

Billabong team reaches semi-finals at basket tournament

by Aishath Luyoona & Ainy Niyaz (Grade 6-B)

Welcome to the Student Gallery

P A G E 3 A P R I L 2 0 1 3

This month we have some phenomenal artwork to show you created by the

secondary students. Please look through the blog to see more beautiful pieces

of art created by our incredibly talented young learners.

The Great BHIS Short Story Competition

In April, students and teachers were given the task of writing a short story

using only SIX words. Below are some examples of the top work created for

the competition.

The complete list of stories can be found here on the blog.

‘Revenge shatters all that you love.’

‘Travelled through time to erase myself.’

‘Slept in his arms. Bones remain.’

‘So called free country, psychological prison.’

Her only friend, an imaginary friend.

Follow us at:

http://www.facebook.com/BillabongHighInternationalSchool

https://twitter.com/Billabong_High

https://twitter.com/Billabong_High

If you would like to provide any feedback, please contact Mr.

Dinesh Bakshi at principal@billabonghigh.mv

Izu has been awarded one of only two 2 year scholarships offered to Maldivian

students to attend the Red Cross Nordic United World College in August.

There are twelve United World Colleges all around the world, attended by stu-

dents from over 80 different countries, who study the International Baccalaure-

ate syllabus, originally developed by the founder of the first college in Wales.

As part of the selection process Izu had to go through three rounds, starting

with a written application. From there Izu was chosen with 19 other students

to attend a two day camp where candidates participated in team building activi-

ties and a number of presentations; Izu did his individual presentation on

“Insults”. Only ten candidates then went onto the third round; an interview

with a panel of five judges.

Izu is very excited to be given this opportunity, but he is also nervous. He hopes that his success will inspire

other Billabong students to also apply for this scholarship, so they too might experience this once in a life-

time opportunity.

However, before Izu heads off to Norway in August he will be travelling to Pittsburg in the USA in May.

There he will be attending the South East Asian Youth Summit with young people from Nepal, Sri Lanka and

the Maldives. During this three week cultural exchange Izu will take part in leadership development and will

get to experience many of the sights of Pittsburg and Washington DC.

EVENTS AHEAD May - Netball tournament May 9th - Children’s day

P A G E 4 A P R I L 2 0 1 3

Editor-in-Chief

Mr. Matthew

Secondary

Editors

Ms. Reena, Ms. Fortune,

Ms. Sophia, Ms. Sharon

Primary Editors

Ms. Mariyam, Ms. Carol

A good professional development workshop boosts the individual’s productivity, rein-

forces his belief in his profession and also helps in enhancing his occupational education.

Professional development is essential for every individual as well as for organizations.

Mr. Suresh Appavoo, Associate Professor from Dominican University of California and

Fulbright scholar working with IIPD Maldives, was our resource person for the profes-

sional development day.

We secondary teachers were looking forward to the workshop as the topic was IN-

TERACTIVE TEACHING.

Dr. Suresh had planned the workshop very well, by splitting it into sessions each lasting

for about one and half hours. All the sessions were activity based, that gave us insights

into our own learning styles as well as our teaching practices. We also discussed the

challenges that a teacher faces on an everyday basis and how we can help resolve those

challenges.

Overall the workshop was informative, interesting and thought provoking. We thank

the School Management , Principal and Vice Principal for organizing this workshop for

us. By Ms. Reena Francis