16: Friday 9th December 2011

From the Headmaster

Donation from the Guy Fawkes Event

It is pleasing to report that we have been able to donate a cheque for $542.38 to Hospital de Niños Benjamín Bloom. These are the proceeds of the sale of sparklers and a donation of $300 from the Students Council Spooky Cellar from the Guy Fawkes Event.

Last week of term

The last week of term has many events in it - please consult the ABC’s calendar for what is on. I would also remind everyone of three of our core values: Respectful, Considerate and Responsible - particularly at crowded times and in slow vehicle lines. Please park in the areas assigned by those controlling traffic.

I take this opportunity of wishing each and all our community a very happy festive season and look forward to having everyone back safe and sound in January.

Stop Press! Winners of the Secondary School Founders’ Cup - the MAYAS! Congratulations!

Primary News

Monday UP assembly

Monday’s assembly was a tribal assembly in Upper Primary. The tribal chiefs each spent a few minutes telling their tribes a little about themselves and about how they see their role in the school.

3rd Guzman assembly

The children of 3rd Guzman presented an assembly this week on the Hindu festival of Diwali. They told us the story of Diwali and explained how people in India and other Hindu’s around the world prepare for this festival of light. 1st Grade children were given a special invitation to the assembly as they are learning about different celebrations in their IPC unit.

Christmas tour

The Upper Primary choir and recorder group, violinists and singers from the Secondary school have completed a tour of shopping malls in the last ten days to bring our ABC Christmas music to parents and shoppers. Many thanks to the pupils for giving up their evenings to perform and to the parents involved for being such a good taxi service and audience. Special thanks to Mr. Santamaria for all his hard work to prepare the children for this event.

This term’s Tribal winners

On Monday the children in UP will find out which tribe has won the competition this term for the most tribal points. The winning tribe will be permitted to have a non-uniform day on Thursday 15th December.

Swimming Champions

The Academia Británica Cuscatleca won second place in the country.

Christmas shows and Santa’s Festival

We look forward to welcoming you to our annual Christmas show and fair on Wednesday 14th December. The LP children have prepared some wonderful Christmas presentations for you and UP have been busy preparing games, food and entertainment. We are also expecting Santa to drop in for a visit. We hope to see you there too.

UP Founders cup sports morning

The ABC Founder's Cup sports competition 2011 for Upper Primary will take place on Friday 16th December from 7.30am to 11.30am. Students must wear their PE uniform and their school cap. We will be competing in tribes.

School closes for Christmas

School closes for the Christmas holiday on Friday 16th December.

Children in Lower Primary should be picked up at 11.00am.

Children in Upper Primary should be picked up at 11.30am.

Upper Primary Blog

Do visit our Upper Primary Blog. You will find a collection of slideshows of all the Upper Primary events. The last few entries include photos of the Upper Primary Musicians and Singers at the Guy Fawkes event and at the Christmas Tour. You will also see photos taken at both Achievement Ceremonies. Become a member and receive a notification when a new entry has been added.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

Friday 9th December: Reports sent home

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas Shows

Friday 16th December: School breaks for Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes

Upper Primary

Friday 9th December: Founder’s Cup

Monday 12th - Friday 16th December: Festival Week

Wednesday 14th December: Santa’s Festival, 3:30 - 6:30pm

Friday 16th December: Last day of Term - students will go home at 11:30am

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes

Secondary News

Next week

Although next week is the final week of term normal activities continue including Team Sports and extracurricular. We finish at 12 noon on Friday and respectfully ask if students can be collected at that time and we wish you all a very happy holiday. Please note we reopen on Monday 9th January at the usual time.

Cricket Tour

A group of Grade 11 and 12 students with Mr. Frost are touring Mexico this weekend on the latest international competition for the El Salvador cricket team. We wish them all the best of fortune. They return on Tuesday.

Head Students Selection

We are currently going through the selection process for our new Head Students and we hope to announce the new Head Students next Friday. We do want to publicly thank Sara Urbina and Danny Jazrawi for their excellent work over the last twelve months. They certainly proved to be excellent choices.

Grade 10 and 12 Report Cards meeting on Monday at 5.30 pm in PAC

Please note this very important meeting for Grade 10 and Grade 12 parents and students. You will have the opportunity to talk to all your son or daughter’s teachers for advice on preparation for the coming Mock Exams in January 2012. Please come with your son or daughter if you can!

Headmasters Good work blog

There have already been some really exciting pieces of work on this blog. Please check them and see what some of our students are doing.

Award Assemblies - next week

The timetable for the Award Assemblies on Thursday are as follows. We will be awarding HM Roll of Honour as well as ROC Merit Awards and talking about some of the successes already this year. All assemblies are in the PAC and parents are invited!

7.00 Grade 6

7.45 Grade 11 and 12

8.30 Grade 7 and 8

9.15 Grade 9 and 10

Dates for your diary

Monday 12th December: Cal 1 Reports issued for Grade 10 and Grade 12 at Parent Teacher Meeting in PAC at 5.30 pm- 7.30 pm

Thursday 15th December: Award events for Grades 6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12

Friday 16th December: School breaks up for Christmas holidays. School closes at 12 noon.

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and starts at 7am

15: Friday 2nd December 2011

From the Headmaster

Coffee with the Headmaster and Board Chair

Parents are cordially invited to a “coffee with the Headmaster and Board Chair” which will take place on Thursday 8th of December at 7:10 am to 8:00 am. So as to have an appropriate setting and not waste resources, please let us know your intention of attending by clicking this link.

The Founders Cup - parent and alumni teams required!

The Founders Cup is competed for in three phases this year. The Community Phase will be held on Saturday 10th of December from 8:00 am to 12 noon at the ABC. It is open to our U-18 student teams as well as to staff, coaches, parents and alumni teams. If a parent or alumnus would like to participate by forming a team OR wishing to play in a team, please contact our Team Sports Coordinator Sara Suster before the end of Wednesday 7th of December (sarasuster@abc-net.edu.sv).

The Secondary Founders Cup phase will be on Friday 9th of December and the Primary one will be on Friday 16th of December.

Flu inoculation

We shall be arranging a new round of flu inoculations for those who wish to have this - please look out for the written permission slips which will be going home very soon.

Reminder: Drop-off and pick-up for 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade tomorrow, Saturday, via the Administration Entrance only (and Ramp Entrance for Staff and Car Full).

Primary News

2nd Grade trip to San Diego Beach

Last Friday the second grade children went to San Diego beach to release turtles and clean the beach. It was a lot of fun! The children learned about the importance of taking good care of the environment and animals in danger of extinction like the turtles. Right now, second graders are beginning to develop an environmental awareness and hopefully they will make a difference when they grow up.

Monday assembly

This week’s Monday assembly was an Art assembly where a movie was shown about Art from its beginnings to post modernism. The Art teacher spoke about the importance of recycling and how we can make beautiful artwork with these materials. The students were very attentive and curious throughout the whole assembly. In the end, they were reminded that all children are artists and needed to continue working and enjoying the Arts.

Cal 1 Achievement Ceremonies

Congratulations to all of the children who received awards in this week’s Achievement Ceremonies. Awards were given to children who achieved well academically this Cal but also to children who are always punctual, who always do their homework and also to children who have made a notable effort in a variety of subjects. The ceremonies were very well attended by parents.

3rd Grade Money and Trade Unit

The children in 3rd Grade have been learning about enterprise this week. As part of their IPC unit Young Entrepreneurs each class has set up a small food producing business. The children have written a business plan, have created commercials, been shopping and today they will prepare and sell food to other pupils in the school at break time. Each child has invested $2 in their business; if they do well and the business makes a profit today this will be shared amongst the investors. If they make a loss… this will also be shared. In their geography, history, science and technology lessons for the next few weeks the children will be learning about money and trade around the world in the past and present, what makes a successful product and how businesses are run.

Primary Christmas Tour

The annual UP choir Christmas tour begins this evening at the Galerias shopping mall at 6pm. Next week the choir will be singing at Plaza Madero on Tuesday evening and La Gran Via on Wednesday evening. We are delighted that this year some of the children from our LP choir will be joining the UP children to sing at La Gran Via on Wednesday evening at 6pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

Saturday school for 2nd, 3rd and 4th Grade children

Children in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades will be in school tomorrow (3rd Dec) to make up the work they missed earlier in the school year when the school was closed as a result of the heavy rains. The children will be following their normal Thursday timetables as these are the curriculum areas that we need to make sure are fully covered before the end of term.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

Friday 9th December: Reports sent home

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas Shows

Friday 16th December: School breaks for Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes

Upper Primary

Thursday 1st - Friday 9th December: UP Choir Christmas Tour.

Wednesday 7th December: 3rd Guzmán Assembly. 10:00 - 10:40am in the PAC

Thursday 8th December: Carols by Candleight. 6:30 - 7:30pm in the PAC

Friday 9th December: Founder’s Cup

Monday 12th - Friday 16th December: Festival Week

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas Fair. 3:30 - 6:30pm.

Friday 16th December: Last day of Term. Students will go home at 11:30am

Secondary News

British quiz

It is not too late to win a London 2012 Olympics mascot. We are accepting entries to the British Quiz until Monday morning at 9 am.

Cal 1 reports

In all Grades except Grade 10 and 12 these reports were sent home on Thursday. Please ensure you have collected them from your son or daughter and have returned the signed copy to school.

Grade 10 and 12 Parent Teacher meeting

We are handing out Grade 10 and 12 reports at a Parent Teacher Meeting on Monday 12th December starting at 5.30 pm in the PAC. We expect all Grade 10 and Grade 12 parents to be there to discuss Cal 1 reports, possible IB Options and the work that needs doing in preparation for the Mock exams in January 2012.

Nominations for Head students

We are looking for students in Grade 11 (Class of 2013) to nominate themselves to be the new ABC Head Students. There will be a selection process over the next two weeks but at this stage we are looking for students who think they might be suited to the position.

Thank you Sara and Danny

As we start the search for new Head Students we must say a huge thank you to Sara Urbina and Danny Jazrawi who have been magnificent Head Students and role models to their peers and younger students over the last twelve months.

Dates for your diary

Monday 12th December: Cal 1 Reports issued for Grade 10 and Grade 12 at Parent Teacher Meeting in PAC at 5.30 pm- 7.30 pm

Thursday 15th December: Award events for Grades 6-8 and 9-12

Friday 16th December: School breaks up for Christmas holidays. School closes at 12 noon.

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and starts at 7am

14: Friday 25th November 2011

From the Headmaster

Board of the Parents Association

The Parents Association had the annual general meeting on Thursday 17th of November and a new board has been elected. I speak for all our community in thanking the outgoing Board for their contribution to the well-being of our community. We look forward to continuing the excellent relationship that we have had with the Parents Association and in continuing to work so well with them.

The Parents Association Board consists of:

Manuel Alexander Portillo: President

Gerardo Funes Durán: Vicepresident

José Luis Molins: Treasurer

Beatriz Eugenia Alvarenga de Miguel: Secretary

Carlos Guerrero: First Director

Edgar Avilés: Second Director

Gracia de McCormack: Director (General Coordinator of Madres Enlace &

Secondary)

Claudia Saca de Gallegos: Director (Upper Primary Coordinator)

Patty de Lima: Director (Lower Primary Coordinator)

Any comment or request for information can be made to the Parents Association secretary: apf@abc-net.edu.sv

ABC Artists Exhibiting their Sculptures

Congratulations to eight IB Visual Arts students who have exhibited at the Liceo Frances’ Sculpture Exhibition. Their work made an big impact at this professional artists’ exhibition, and they were awarded a Special Mention by the judges. An excellent achievement!

Well done to Celina Milla, Paola Soundy, Paola Garcia, Alejandra Garcia, Alejandra Burke, Maria Emilia Naranjo, Fatima Safie and Eugenia Ochoa.

Primary News

Monday Assembly

This week we enjoyed a lovely comedy called, "Columbus, a trip at any cost", interpreted by the children in 2nd Quijano. We thank the children for their effort and dedication and the parents for their support.

Dreaming of Disney

Thank you very much to all involved in this year’s Primary production Dreaming of Disney. The children and the staff worked very hard to bring this performance together and it was much enjoyed by parents and friends as well as by the performers themselves.

1st Grade exit point

First Grade had a blast last Friday at Benihanas. It was amazing to see how fast the chefs prepared and cooked the food in front of us. Children were engaged as they were invited to have a go themselves at tossing an egg and catching it on the palette knife. We were advised not to try the fire volcano at home which we were amazed by. What a finale to our IPC unit on Food "We are what we eat".

Footprints from the past - Entry point

The 2nd Grade children had a Jurassic experience last Friday! The second grade corridor was turned into a jungle and the children discovered some fossils in the sandpit. Our young palaeontologists also watched a movie where they learnt how dinosaurs became extinct. It was lots of fun! All the children in the Primary section of the school enjoyed going back in time as they visited our jungle and fossils site.

2nd Grade Trip to Turtle conservation project

As a part of their work on their current topic the staff and children of 2nd Grade are off to San Diego beach today to visit the turtle conservation project, release some of the newly hatched turtles into the sea and to help our local environment by clearing some of the litter from a section of the beach.

Mission to Mars - Entry point

Our Entry Point for Mission Mars was to get the children to imagine that they were space cadets who would be embarking on ‘astronaut training’. As the children’s commanders, we welcomed them to the Space Academy and discussed with the children the qualities and skills that we expected to see in the ‘astronauts’.

We worked with the specialist PE teacher to come up with a range of physical activities for the children to undertake. In total, we had ten different physical activities for the children to do. Each activity was designed to test specific skills, including agility, strength, balance, stamina and hand-eye coordination. The year group was then split into ten teams and each team took turns to have a go at doing each activity. The Entry Point made it clear to the children that if they wanted to go to Mars, they would need to work effectively as a team to complete the various challenges that had been laid out. The Entry Point ended with the instructors praising the efforts of the children and accepting them as ‘recruits’ at the IPC Space Academy.

2nd Padilla assembly

The children from 2nd Padilla presented an assembly this week telling us what they have discovered already from their work on Dinosaurs. The assembly was based on an adventure story which the children have been reading about two children who were magically transported back in time to when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. The Grade 2 children shared their knowledge with us confidently and with enjoyment.

Prepa Lima assembly

Thank you to the teaching staff and children of Prepa Lima for their assembly this morning in which, disguised as news broadcast from ABC news, the children shared their knowledge about countries in Asia which they have been finding out about. The children spoke up very confidently and clearly. Well done everyone!

Prepa Exit Point - Who am I?

Parents of children in all of the Prepa classes were invited in to classrooms this morning to spend a short amount of time working with their children and consolidating the learning which they have been involved in this term. We are very pleased to have been able to involve parents in a number of Primary activities this term.

3rd Grade Camping

The third grade camping trip takes place this weekend. I am sure that all the children will have a great time and enjoy the activities which have been organised for them. Watch out for photos in next week’s newsletter.

Christmas Tour

The Upper Primary choir will begin their annual Christmas tour of local shopping malls on Friday 2nd December. The children will be singing a medley of Christmas songs at Galerias at 6pm. All parents and friends are welcome to come along to support the choir.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

Friday 9th December: Reports sent home

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas Shows

Friday 16th December: School breaks for Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes

Upper Primary

Wednesday 30th November: CAL 1 Achievement Ceremony 2nd and 3rd grade 10.00am – 10.40am PAC

Wednesday 30th November: CAL 1 Achievement Ceremony 4th and 5th grade 12.00am – 12.40am PAC

Thursday 1st - Friday 9th December: UP Choir Christmas Tour.

Wednesday 7th December: 3rd Guzmán Assembly. 10:00 - 10:40am in the PAC

Thursday 8th December: Carols by Candleight. 6:30 - 7:30pm in the PAC

Friday 9th December: Founder’s Cup

Monday 12th - Friday 16th December: Festival Week

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas Fair. 3:30 - 6:30pm.

Friday 16th December: Last day of Term. Students will go home at 11:30am

Secondary News

Parent Partnership Meeting

We have a very important meeting with parents of all grades on Tuesday to discuss issues relating to adolescents and how to ensure they grow up safely. On Tuesday we will be discussing smoking, alcohol and drugs with the help of Adriano Bolaños who works with our students on these issues.

British Quiz

We have sent the Secondary British Fortnight Quiz to all students and we are encouraging students and families to work together to answer the questions. One submission is allowed per family. Answers can be sent directly by email to Roxana or Marielos or handed in on paper to the offices. We will be announcing the winner on Monday 5th December and the winning family will receive an official London Olympics 2012 mascot!

Cal 1 Reports

These will be going home next Friday for Secondary students in Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11. These reports and the CUM count towards 25% of the final CUM for the year. We need you and your son or daughter to discuss their report carefully and ideas for improvements. There will be parent teacher meetings for most grades soon after school reopens next term to discuss Cal 2 progress.

Last week of term

On Monday 12th December we will be holding a Parent Teacher Meeting for Grade 10 and 12 students to hand out reports and discuss mock preparations.

On Thursday 15th December we have Award assemblies at the following times:

7.00 Grade 6

7.45 Grade 9/10

8.30 Grade 11/12

9.15 Grade 7/8

Please note that school closes at 12 noon on Friday 16th December.

IGCA Campaign

Our IGCA group in school has asked all Secondary students to help with our 3R campaign. The campaign is to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and the video they have made is on Youtube so you can watch it.

They are asking that all the school community tries to recycle as many cans, glass and plastic bottles and paper as possible. Please send these items into school so that we can recycle them through our school recycling programme. Thank you for your support.

Student Council

The Student Council Presidents for Grade 6, 7 and 8 received their badges in our assembly yesterday. They are Diego Behrens, Carlos Velásquez and María Fernanda Hernández. We expect them to do a good job in representing the views of their grades in the Student Council

Peace One Day

As you may be aware we have been supporting the goals of Peace One Day for many years and last week some members of our Student Council had the opportunity to talk to the founder of Peace One Day through Skype. His name is Jeremy Gilley and he asked for our help in spreading the message of Peace One Day to other schools and other young people in El Salvador in preparation for the next Peace One day in September 2012.

Dates for your diary

Tuesday 29th November: Parent Partnership Meeting 6.30 pm PAC for parents of all grades

Friday 2nd December: Cal 1 Reports issued for Grades 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11

Monday 12th December: Cal 1 Reports issued for Grade 10 and Grade 12 at Parent Teacher Meeting in PAC at 5.30 pm- 7.30 pm

Thursday 15th December: Award events for Grades 6-8 and 9-12

Friday 16th December: School breaks up for Christmas holidays. School closes at 12 noon.

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and starts at 7am

13: Monday 21st November 2011

From the Headmaster

Well attended Guy Fawkes Event a great success!

Thank you to all the different organising teams for providing an excellent Guy Fawkes Event. There was something for everyone from the scariest Spooky Cellar, through an excellent bazaar, to music, dance and excellent food - topped off with the bonfire and a wonderful fireworks display.

Although fun was an important goal, the event also has the following objectives:

• to enjoy a community social event,

• to raise funds for the Burns Unit of Hospital Bloom,

• to provide a venue for the CAS market,

• to celebrate a British tradition,

• to provide a showcase for school performance talent,

• to have students learn about the safe use of fireworks (sparklers),

• to enjoy a professional fireworks display, bonfire.

Dreaming of Disney

The Upper Primary production is on this week - please see the Primary News section for important ticket information - obtain your tickets beforehand since we have a maximum capacity which we will not exceed.

Primary News

2nd Grade IPC Exit Point

On Friday November 11th children in second grade had their exit point activity for the IPC lesson “Different Places, Similar Lives”. The exit point was on the theme of Remembrance in countries around the world. The children had the opportunity to teach and guide their parents in a project related to the Japanese Obon Festival. Parents and children made a Japanese paper lantern. Later on we all went to the big swimming pool where we took the opportunity to honour and remember people who had passed away by releasing their lanterns in the pool. It was a very special and thoughtful occasion.

Second Graders, parents and teacher had a great time!

Student Council Assembly

Mr Fastiggi and the Primary Student Council have really worked hard this year as class representatives and have consulted the children throughout Upper Primary over a number of issues. Children reported to the Student Council that there was not enough equipment for them to play with at break times. In response to this Mr Fastiggi and members of the Student Council took money from the Primary budget and went shopping. They returned to school with lots of equipment such as skipping ropes, toys for the sand box, soft balls etc. They have also organised for a variety of games to be painted on the corridor. On Monday the Student Council presented an assembly to the children in UP telling them about the equipment and how and when it should be used.

The children have had lots of help from Mr Fastiggi and also from the Secondary Student Council and, in the future, Primary and Secondary Student Councils will be working together. There will be a rotation system, whereby a different Secondary Student Councillor each week will come to the Primary meetings to ensure that the Primary children’s voice is heard alongside that of their secondary colleagues.

Prepa Curriculum Night

Parents of children in the Prepa classes attended their curriculum night this week and it was certainly very different! An alien (sometimes known as Miss Pashley) guided parents through a variety of tasks in English and Spanish reading, writing and number work so that they could see how the children in school learn and how parents can help their children at home with these activities. It was a very spectacular and memorable evening. Thank you to the staff for the time taken over the preparation of this presentation, I know it was enjoyed and appreciated by parents.

A reading workshop for Primary parents will be held in term 2.

LSU assembly

Staff from the LSU, and some of their friends, presented an assembly this week to our UP classes on being strong enough to say “No” when you feel that something that other children are involved in is wrong. It was a good message and I feel sure that the children were able to relate well to the role plays which were performed.

4th Hernandez assembly

The children of 4th Hernandez presented an assembly this week on eating healthily. This is definitely a major theme both in assemblies and in school this year and it is having an effect! Thank you to the teaching staff and children of 4th Hernandez for reminding us of the importance of eating well if we want to have a long and healthy life.

Prepa Castro assembly

Well done and thank you to the children and staff of Prepa Castro for their lovely assembly this morning based on the story from China called Tikki Tikki Tembo. The children spoke and sang clearly and confidently. A great start to a Friday morning.

Guy Fawkes Night

All children in Primary have been talking about firework safety with their teachers this week and the older children have also been learning about the story of Guy Fawkes. Ask them what they know!

Dreaming of Disney

The Upper Primary production of Dreaming of Disney will be performed in the PAC on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th November from 7.00 - 8.30pm. The children and teachers have been working on this since the beginning of this term and it promises to be a wonderful performance. Tickets are on sale in the UP and LP offices - $5 per adult and $3 per child. Please be aware that ticket numbers are limited for health and safety reasons and that once the tickets are sold there will be no more printed.

Parties after school

The school guidelines state that staff in Primary will not allow children to go home after school with someone other than the parent or driver, without the parents’ consent. If you are having a party, or your child is attending a party, after school and will be collected by someone other than yourself please let Claudia Aviles know so that we know that all of your children are safely accounted for.

Congratulations Alejandro Apóstolo

Congratulations to Alejandro Apóstolo for obtaining the title of subchampion playing doubles during the CONTECA tennis tournament, which took place our country and gathered participants from Panamá, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador.

School for parents

We had our second school for parents on Wednesday. It was a well-attended event and parents really enjoyed it. We will be hosting our next session in March 2012.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

Wednesday 23rd & Thursday 24th November: Primary Production - Dreaming of Disney, 7:00 - 8:30pm in the PAC

Friday 25th November: Prepa Lima Assembly, 7.20am PAC

Friday 9th December: Reports sent home

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas Shows

Friday 16th December: School breaks for Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes

Upper Primary

Wednesday 23rd November: 2nd Padilla Assembly, 10:00 - 10:40am in the PAC

Wednesday 23rd & Thursday 24th November: Primary Production - Dreaming of Disney, 7:00 - 8:30pm in the PAC

Friday 25th - Saturday 26th November: 3rd Grade Camping, Friday 3:00pm - Saturday 10:00am

Wednesday 30th November: CAL 1 Achievement Ceremony 2nd and 3rd Grade, 10:00 - 10:40am in the PAC

Wednesday 30th November: CAL 1 Achievement Ceremony 4th and 5th Grade, 12:00 - 12:40pm in the PAC

Secondary News

Guy Fawkes and British week

We want to say a big thank you to everyone who participated in the Guy Fawkes event on Friday including the musicians and singers but also to the Student council for the effort they put into the Spooky Cellar where money was raised for the Hospital Bloom.

British Week Quiz

We will be completing British week with a quiz which we will be sending home on Wednesday for parents and students to complete together and return to school by Monday 28th November. There will be a British prize for the winners!

IGCA Group

Our Global Citizenship group are celebrating November as “Recycling Awareness” Month in which many activities will take place and we would like all staff, students and parents to get involved in promoting recycling awareness at school and at home.

Some of the activities that will take place are the following:

Trashion Show and Sculpture Competition

Students can bring a product to school on Monday the 21st November made only from recycled items and it will be entered in the Trashion Show. They can also make a sculpture from recycled items for the Sculpture Competition.

Recycling competition

All Secondary school students are being asked to compete in a recycling competition to see who can bring in the most items for recycling and the winners will win a pizza lunch for their tutor group. We want this to include an effort from families at home to start recycling more items. We especially want cans, glass containers, plastic containers and newspaper.

Parents Partnership meeting - Internet safety

Thank you to all of you who attended this meeting. The Internet is a fantastic resource and makes so many things possible but as parents you also need to know how to ensure your children are safe on line.

Cal 1

Cal 1 is either closed or about to close for all year groups and reports will be sent home over the next few weeks. Please note we have parent teacher meetings next term and these are on the school calendar as well as in your Parent Guides which were sent out at the start of the year. We will arrange a meeting at the end of term if your son or daughter has a failing condition or if we are concerned about some aspect of their report. Otherwise we will expect you to discuss the report with your son or daughter’s teachers at the parent teacher meetings.

Mocks: Advance Warning

Please note that the Exam Cal for Grade 10 and 12 starts at the end of January 2012 and students should be starting to do some preparation for them!

Grade 10 Options

We are asking Grade 10 students to think seriously about their possible options for the IB Diploma and to think in particular about the Higher Level choices they might take. They should be discussing this with you as well as with their teachers. We are explaining how the options work and the importance of achieving good IGCSE grades in subjects they want to study at Higher Level.

Dates for your diary

Friday 2nd December: Cal 1 Reports issued for Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11

Wednesday 14th December: Cal 1 Reports issued for Grade 10 and 12

Thursday 15th December: Award events for Grades 6-8 and 9-12

Friday 16th December: School breaks up for Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes