Wednesday 22 June 2011

37: Friday 17th June 2011

From the Headmaster
This school year has been excellent. As our students depart for their vacations, it is good to reflect on their successes. We see some of these in the Awards Ceremonies that have taken place throughout the school, but we also see successes in team and individual sports, in music, in drama, in film, in fact, in countless activities that our students have participated in. Thank you to all who have helped make this happen.

As we have to do each year, we say our “goodbyes” to several members of staff. In doing so, we thank them for their hard work and dedication, and for contributing so well to our caring community: Frank Boothroyd (since August 2010), Neil Williams (2010), John Rowan (2009), James Taylor (2008), Ruth Colley (2008), Joanna Graham (2007), and Luke Roberts (2007). Included in this list are the following, who I have singled out, to say a very special thank you from all our community: Sally Nieto (1999), Patricia del Carmen Escobar (1981) and Anita de Guzmán (1978).

I take this opportunity to thank all our community for their support for the school and wish you all a safe and enjoyable vacation break. See you in August!


Primary News

Jubilee library
The Jubilee Library will be open in June, Monday 20th, 27th and in July, Monday 4th and 11th from 10:00am to 12noon. All children and parents are welcome to come along and use these facilities and borrow books to read at home.

End of term
It has been a very busy, exciting, fun and productive few weeks… term… year and we are all ready for a good long rest. The whole Primary team would like to wish you and your children a very happy holiday. We hope that you have time to relax and spend special, quality time with your families and we look forward to seeing the children back in school, rested, refreshed and ready for a new start on Thursday 18th August.


1st Grade Tour of San Salvador



5th Grade Graduation
 
Dates for your diary

Lower PrimaryThursday 18th August: First day of school

Upper Primary
Thursday 18th August: First day of school

ABC Digital Oscars


Secondary News

Thank you to everyone for a great end of term and for all the support we have received at school. We really appreciate the way we are able to work in partnership with you, our parents, and we look forward to continuing to do so next term. We hope you all have a good vacation and students use it productively to develop their interests in preparation for next year.

Farewell
At the Assembly on Friday we said farewell to Sally Nieto who is retiring, Joanna Graham who is returning to her native Scotland, Neil Williams who returns to the UK for family reasons, John Rowan who is moving to Colombia and Frank Boothroyd who stepped in to help at the start of the year and is returning to Canada.

LRC is open during the holidays
Please come and borrow books to read and use our facilities! It is open from 7 am to 3 pm except for the two weeks of annual holiday from July 20th to August 7th.

7th Grade Trip to the Zoo


Dates for your diary
Thursday 18th August: First day of school

Friday 10 June 2011

36: Friday 10th June 2011

From the Headmaster

Graduation for the Class of 2011
Grades 9, 10 and 11 represented the students in a well attended Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2011. Alumni Licda. Maria Teresa Angulo (ABC 1982) was the Guest of Honour (Chief of Administration for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - United Nations, Mexico). Seventy eight students received the ABC’s Graduation Diploma and the traditional awards were presented.



Improvements in traffic times
Thank you to all our community for achieving improvements in the drop-off and pick-up times this term. Even though we had many days when two grades were out on examination leave, there were many days when they were in school - and yet we have had a much better traffic experience at school.

The Madres Enlace participated in a survey which involved keeping a log of when they joined a queue (if there was one) and when they left the school, both when dropping-off and picking-up. This showed improved times ranging from a couple of minutes with the best times being shown at the Administration gate - the widening of the exit gate and preventing recirculation have been very successful measures.

Primary News

2nd and 3rd Grade field trip to El Boqueron
Pupils in 2nd and 3rd Grade have been studying a unit of work called ‘Active Earth’ and as a part of the unit visited the El Boqueron volcano this week. The children in 2nd Grade were fortunate to be there at the same time as the Minister of Tourism who was visiting the park to open new facilities such as a visitors centre and play area. The children, in addition to viewing the volcano crater and the surrounding area, were a good audience for this event and represented the school well.

Children in 3rd Grade enjoyed a quieter visit to the volcano and were able to study the crater and slopes carefully and spend some time in the new Visitor’s centre. In their Active Earth unit the children have been studying plate tectonics and how earthquakes and volcanoes are formed. We are very lucky to be able to visit volcanoes without having to travel too far.


3rd Aviles Assembly
Well done and thank you to the 3rd Grade Aviles team for their assembly this week on the Ancient Egyptians. This was our last UP assembly of the year and well worth waiting for. Through dance, spectacular props and prose the children shared with us the things that they have learnt this year in their History topic. Thank you to the children and staff for their hard work to get this assembly ready for us.


1st Grade field trip
The children in first grade are reaching the end of their unit of study ‘Hooray we’re going on holiday!’. They have enjoyed this theme enormously, as have their teachers! To round off the theme on Tuesday 14th June the grade will be going on a bus tour of the tourist sights of San Salvador to encourage them to understand that El Salvador too, has a growing reputation as a tourist attraction. From the bus the children will view the Basilica de Guadalupe, Cuscatlan Stadium, Salvador del Mundo monument, Gran Via and the Teatro Presidente. They will make a short stop at the Artisan’s market and return to school via the pupusería Rincon de Olocuilta. Thanks to the teachers for organising this trip which will help the children to consolidate some of the things they have been learning about.

Also in Grade 1; congratulations to Fernando Caballero and Jonathan Rodezno who won the English Spelling Bee and to Hector Himede who won the Spanish spelling contest.

Student Council Assembly
The Upper Primary Student Council representatives will present an assembly on Tuesday, June 14th.

Every grade level from 2nd through 5th Grade will present a different value from the ones studied throughout the year.

2nd Grade will present the value of Respect
3rd Grade  will present the value of Friendship
4th Grade will present the value of Responsibility
5th Grade will present the value of Creativity

Upper Primary Talent Show 2011
After a very difficult selection process, everything is ready for our annual Talent Show. More than 60 children will be taking part in this event giving our students the opportunity to share their talents in singing, dancing, acting and playing musical instruments with the ABC community.
Talent Show Performances:
2nd/3rd Grade Talent Show: Tuesday 14th of June at 10:00 AM – PAC
4th/5th Grade Talent Show: Tuesday 14th of June at 12:00 AM – PAC

UP Spanish department
The UP Spanish Blog will be ready for the holidays with interesting links for grammar, spelling and fun games.

We will have a list of reading books that we recommend for the children too!

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
Friday 10th June: Reports go home
Friday 17th June: End of Term, depart at 11am - No Play Room

Upper Primary
Monday 13th June: CAL 3 Reports go home
Tuesday 14th June: 2nd and 3rd Grade Talent Show, 10.00am
Tuesday 14th June: 4th and 5th Grade Talent Show, 12.00m
Wednesday 15th June: 2nd Grade Achievement Ceremony, 7.30am
Wednesday 15th June: 3rd Grade Achievement Ceremony, 8.30am
Wednesday 15th June: 4th Grade Achievement Ceremony, 10.00am
Wednesday 15th June: 5th Grade Achievement Ceremony, 12.00am
Thursday 16th June: 5th Grade Graduation, 9.00am
Thursday 16th June: 5th Grade Party, 5.30pm
Friday 17th June: Staff Talent Show, 8.30am
Friday 17th June: End of Term, depart at 11:00am - No Pass Club

Secondary News

Congratulations to the Grade 10 Students who finished their IGCSE Exams this week. They are going to Santa Leticia on Monday for some Pre IB introduction. Their results will be here at the start of August.

Graduation
It was great to see so many friends of the ABC at the Graduation ceremony on Thursday. It brings it home to us that the ABC is a growing family based on our shared values and aspirations.

Next week
The first two days of next week are normal school days following the normal school timetable. From Wednesday we have special cross curricular activities which can be accessed via the Class blogs for more details. Thank you for all your cooperation in participating in these activities. On Friday we finish at 12 noon when students should be collected.

Grade 9
From Monday Grade 9 are on Work Experience and they will be out of school until Friday. We will be monitoring their work experience and expect them all back in school on Friday morning. Congratulations to them all for the effort and enthusiasm they put into ABCMUN today when they had Sra. Carmen María Gallardo Hernández as a guest speaker.

Clearance Forms
All students have a clearance form which must be signed when they return their school books. If clearance forms are not signed and returned then reports will not be issued on Friday. Please check your son or daughter is returning their books and getting their clearance form signed.

Awards Assemblies
Our first Awards Assembly is on Wednesday for Grade 6, Thursday morning for Grade 7 and Thursday afternoon for Grade 8. The final Awards Assembly is for Grade 9-11 on Friday, We will be informing parents of students who are receiving awards by e-mail so you can be there but please note that all parents are invited.

ABC Stars
At each Award Assembly next week we will be celebrating a selection of students chosen as ABC Secondary Stars for their effort and achievements this year. We have chosen the following:

- Manuel Melendez (12): in recognition of achieving a perfect 10 in a Cal this year and being accepted into Harvard University
- Ramon Sanfeliu (11): selected to represent El Salvador in the International Math Olympiad in Amsterdam, Netherlands next month
- Mauricio Sifontes (8): Maths counts runner up in the Central American competition in February
- Daniel Garcia (6) and Amanda Obando (8): both selected to represent El Salvador in the Central American swimming competition later this summer
- Rodrigo Suriano: for setting a national swimming record in 50 m front crawl and 100 metres backstroke
- Fabiola Wollants, Carlos Villalobos and Marcela Garcia: winners of the ESEN Debating Competition in February
- Mariela Gutierrez (10): winner of the Millennium Scholarship
- Top IB point scorer in June 2010: Antonio Garaycochea
- Top IGCSE point scorer in June 2010: Maria Fernanda Arango (11)
- The whole IGCA team for their work on the environment in school and especially promoting the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)

Values T-Shirt Day
Many thanks to Sara Urbina, Danny Jazrawi and the Prefects and Mentors who organised the ABC Values T-shirt Day last week. It was good to see students wearing shirts promoting our values.



Hospital Bloom
One of our CAS groups is raising funds to help refurbish one of the floors at Hospital Bloom. Money was raised last week and their project is going very well. Thank you to everyone who has supported them.

Dates for your diary

Monday 13th June - Tuesday 14th June: Grade 10 Santa Leticia IB trip
Monday 13th June - Thursday 16th June: Grade 9 Work Experience
Wednesday 15th - Friday 17th June: Grade 11 IB Science project
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 6 Pompeii Day and Grade 6 Awards Assembly at 1 pm
Thursday 16th June: Grade 7 Awards Assembly at 7am. Grade 8 Awards assembly at 1pm
Friday 17th June: Grade 9-11 Awards assembly 7am
Friday 17th June: Reports go home and end of term at 12 noon

Friday 3 June 2011

35: Friday 3rd June 2011

From the Headmaster


Keep up with what is happening! Up-to-date news.
In a busy school it is difficult to keep up with all that is happening. We have redesigned some communication systems to make it easier to know the news and plan for the future.

Although we shall launch the system at the beginning of the next school year in August, we are able to try out some of the features now.

The new
ABC News Blog is the one place to keep up with what is happening. Entries in English or in Spanish will be posted as the more significant events happen.

The new-look ABC Weekly is published each Friday afternoon - and will be in
English and Spanish, will feature a summary of events that have happened, and will look forward to events in the week ahead.

And what about urgent or news “as it happens”? Then “Like Us” on Facebook on one (or all!) of our Facebook pages:
ABC Facebook - latest information about the ABC (events, school closure, reminders, etc).ABC Team Sports - the very latest scores, matches, cancellations, etc. Follow the competitions as they happen!ABC Learning Resources Centre - news about what is going on at the LRC including videos and student work.

Lost Property - claim lost items
As the year draws to a close, we shall be displaying items from our Lost Property cages. Please have your child go through these so that lost property can be claimed. At the end of the school year we shall be donating all items which remain.

Primary News



UP Family Days
The Upper Primary teachers and students hosted a very special celebration this week. All Upper Primary families were invited to come to their son’s or daughter’s classroom and shared a special time remenicing about happy family moments. They expressed their love and appreciation of being part of their family by singing songs, reciting poems, watching class movies filled with their family pictures.

On behalf of all the staff and all of our UP students, we would like to thank you for coming into school and spending few minutes with us.

Student Council
Thank you to the 11th and 12th Grade Student Government for sharing their experiences with our 32 Student Council members from Upper Primary.

They will surely remember all your advice and will work hard to continue being students with great character; promoting the school values as you have done in your school years.

UP Art exhibition
Primary Art Exhibition started on Monday and has proven to be a spectacular success among pupils through out school.



The huge variety of media in the Exhibition is staggering, it ranges from 3D sculptures to Still Life paintings. The Exhibition has also thrown focus on the creative process and we have tried to capture what pupils have learnt during Cal 3. Well done to all the artists!

4th grade is implementing the new International Primary Curriculum (IPC). Children have been expressing their ideas about how an artist was feeling when they created their piece.

This video is an example of their response to this task.


2nd and 3rd Grade trips
The second and third grade children will begin working on one of our IPC units called “Active Earth”. Through this topic the children learn about natural features such as volcanoes and earthquakes through practical activities which will make their learning process exciting and engaging. Fieldtrips to El Boqueron next week will provide the children with an opportunity to visit a real volcano and make observations which they will help them get the big picture of what the unit of study is all about and later to use this experience to build up their knowledge and understanding about the effects of volcanoes around the world.

Scholastic books for 3 to 8 year olds
A selection of books in English and Spanish will be available for purchase from the school shop from Monday 6th June.

Dates for your diary


Lower Primary
Tuesday 7th June: Pre-Kinder Slideshow, 7:00pm
Wednesday 8th June: Pre-Kinder Slideshow, 7:00pm
Friday 10th June: Reports go home
Friday 17th June: End of Term, depart at 11am - No Play Room


Upper Primary
Tuesday 7th June: 2nd Grade trip to El Boqueron
Wednesday 8th June: 3rd Avilés Assembly
Friday 10th June: 3rd Grade trip to El Boqueron
Monday 13th June: CAL 3 Reports go home
Tuesday 14th June: 2nd and 3rd Grade Talent Show, 10.00am
Tuesday 14th June: 4th and 5th Grade Talent Show, 12.00m
Wednesday 15th June: 2nd Grade Achievement Ceremony, 7.30am
Wednesday 15th June: 3rd Grade Achievement Ceremony, 8.30am
Wednesday 15th June: 4th Grade Achievement Ceremony, 10.00am
Wednesday 15th June: 5th Grade Achievement Ceremony, 12.00am
Thursday 16th June: 5th Grade Graduation, 9.00am
Thursday 16th June: 5th Grade Party, 5.30pm
Friday 17th June: Staff Talent Show, 8.30am
Friday 17th June: End of Term, depart at 11:00am - No Pass Club


Secondary News


Ring Ceremony Class of 2011
On Wednesday the Class of 2011 celebrated their coming graduation with the Ring Ceremony in the Auditorium. It was attended by parents, ex alumni, teachers and presided over by Mr. Hobson. It was wonderful to see so many people there, especially ex students and brothers and sisters to celebrate the achievements of the members of the Class if 2011.

Graduation Day Class of 2011Graduation is on Thursday 9th June. The ceremony starts at 5 pm but we require ABC students in Grades 9, 10 and 11 to be in school in full school uniform at 4.30pm in their tutor rooms. Grade 10 students who have their IGCSE Biology exam on Friday are not required to attend. All secondary students will leave school at 12 noon on that day.

World No Tobacco Day
We celebrated World No Tobacco Day on 31st May and emphasised to our students the importance of not starting to smoke cigarettes. We have been working with Adriano Bolanos on this campaign and we hope you will reinforce the message at home. Deciding to smoke is one of the worst decisions a teenager can make. Can I also remind you that students caught smoking on any school activity or outside school in ABC uniform will be suspended from school.

Grade 11 Art Exhibition in the PAC
There is an exhibition of IB Grade 11 Art which is superb and you are welcome to come and view.

Last Day of School and Final Reports! IMPORTANT
It may seem to be coming very quickly but the last day of school is in two weeks time. Please note school will finish at 12 noon on that day and reports will only be issued if students have returned all their books and had their clearance form signed. Please make sure your son or daughter gets organised and have their books ready to return. If the Clearance form is not handed in we may not be able to issue the report until August.

Awards Assemblies
Please check the schedule below and you are invited to the Awards Assembly for your son or daughter’s grade!


Parent Partnership Meeting
Don't miss our last Parent Partnership Meeting on Tuesday 7th June at 6:30pm in the PAC. Adriano Bolaños will be talking about "Knowing drugs, their effects and consequences" as part of our Drug Prevention Programme.

Don't miss our latest LRC newsletter

Dates for your diary
Tuesday 7th June: Parent Partnership Meeting with Adriano Bolaños, 6:30pm in the PAC
Thursday 9th June: Grade 12 Graduation Ceremony
Wednesday 15th - 17th June: Grade 11 Science project
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 6 Pompei Day and Grade 6 Awards Assembly at 1 pm
Thursday 16th June: Grade 7 Awards Assembly at 7 am. Grade 8 Awards assembly at 1 pm
Friday 17th June: Grade 9-11 Awards assembly 7 am
Friday 17th June: Reports go home and end of term at 12 noon.