Monday 21 November 2011

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

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