News from Baleares International College

For those parents and guardians who have had children with us for some years, the Baleares International College House System is a familiar feature of school life but for some parents it might be new.

The idea behind the House system is that there is a vertical and even split of the children, young and old in each of the four Houses. A sense of inclusion and engagement in a common enterprise can have academic benefits as well as social-emotional ones and the whole school House system was developed to promote a positive and inclusive culture at Baleares International College. The system is designed to create a caring and supportive environment where all students are welcome and valued and can demonstrate loyalty allegiance while contributing to the success of their House.

The benefits of the whole school House system include:
· The system is inclusive of all learners and includes sporting, academic and artistic endeavours.
· Promotes positive self-esteem , self-identity, belonging, integrity, teamwork and pride amongst all students.
· Peer support to help promote positive mental health.
· Promotion of student responsibility and student voice, cooperation, communication and leadership skills. Skills valued for job applications and better preparation for future employment.
· Constant and consistent encouragement for students to achieve their best.
· Develop a common goal between school staff and students.

These Houses compete against each other in a friendly environment. We trust the senior students in each House will look out for the younger ones enabling the seniors to benefit by learning leadership and organisational skills themselves. When a child joins BIC he or she becomes a member of a particular House along with all the staff in the school.
The aim for all the students in the school is to build up points for their Houses by earning as many “House points” as they can every day, every week and every month and also by playing for their House teams against other House teams at sports and in competitions.
The Houses have House captains which form part of our student leadership team. They have additional responsibilities, are involved in presenting in assemblies and planning and motivating their Houses in events.

BIC Sa Porrassa
BIC Sa Porrassa has experienced a complete relaunch of the House system naming the four Houses after four inspirational figures from history who demonstrated the values that we wish our students to show; Sir Nicholas Winton, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Galileo. Deputy Head of Secondary at BIC Sa Porrassa Mr Fitzpatrick said - “Every part of our school culture now flows through the lens of the House system; if the image calls to mind Harry Potter being assigned to Gryffindor, that’s not far off the mark.”
We have appointed four brilliant House leaders at BIC Sa Porrassa who will ensure that there are a variety of House competitions on offer for all students. They are;

Parks House represented by House leader Miss Xidakis
The Parks team values are: resilience, be passionate about everything we do, work as a team across the whole school, be competitive but display good sportsmanship too and to envision big and challenge ourselves. ‘We chase perfection in order to achieve excellence’.
I am looking forward to working very closely with all members of team Parks.
Miss Xidakis

Galileo House represented by House leader Miss Turley
Galileo is often referred to as the ‘father of modern science’. Values which I want to instil in our students are a love of learning, curiosity and discovery. Also Galileo did not just accept what he was told. He asked questions and why and how things were happening. As a result he has helped shape our understanding of the universe.
Miss Turley

Roosevelt House represented by House leader Miss Mayes
Roosevelt House is named after Eleanor Roosevelt. She was married to Theodore Roosevelt who was president of America during World War II, and she acted as First Lady. After the war finished and her husband’s unfortunate passing, Roosevelt went on to do some great work with the United Nations, fighting for human and civil rights worldwide. One of my favourite quotes from her is ‘you must do what you think cannot be done’. The values We stand for in Roosevelt House are strength, determination, resilience, positivity and standing up for what you believe in.
Miss Mayes

Winton House represented by House leader Miss Florey
Nicholas Winton and his colleagues risked their lives to save over 600 Jewish and minority children from being sent to concentration camps during the Nazi expansion in Europe. He is an excellent role model for our children. He was courageous and resilient when the odds were against him and he worked with his friends and family as a team to achieve greatness.
His actions were born out of pure kindness and an absolute belief that everyone deserves a chance at life.