Friday 27 January 2012

20: Friday 27th January 2012

Primary News

4th Grade exit point
As part of our exit point, we have been making video diaries. Children have been asked to imagine that they are either on the way to Mars or are on Mars already. They were given the brief to work in groups to make a video diary of their ''Mars experience'', telling their families back on Earth all about their travels to Mars. Some of the experiences were filmed on the space craft and others on the surface of Mars! The videos were shown to all of the children in UP during assembly on Monday and can now be see on the Grade 4 blog.

2nd Mena assembly
Well done and thank you to the children and staff of 2nd Mena who presented a great and very informative Australia Day assembly this week. The children shared some very interesting information about Australia with us and spoke up very clearly. It certainly made many of us want to go and visit!

4th Molina assembly
The children of 4th Molina took us on a tour of the Solar System during their assembly this week. They had some really interesting information to share with us and presented the facts clearly. The assembly concentrated on the planet Mars as the children in Grade 4 are just coming to the end of their IPC unit - Mission to Mars. Maybe we have a future astronaut amongst the children in Primary, they are certainly showing an enthusiasm and interest in learning about space.

2nd Grade exit point
The Second Grade children have enjoyed learning and working through the IPC unit “Footprints from the past”. During their exit point today they had a chance to become palaeontologists and teach first grade children some of the knowledge and understanding that they have developed throughout the unit. The children also experienced the excitement of discovering a dinosaur fossil and writing their own dinosaur comic book. It was another great day!

4th Grade camping night
This weekend is the first 4th grade first camping night. Our 4th Grade teaching team has planned many fun and learning activities to make sure our students have a wonderful experience. Our camping night will allow students to bond away with each other and their teachers away from the demands of technology and other distractions. Camping by nature is relaxed and less structured than everyday life.

The night includes pupusas for dinner, team building games, a treasure hunt and a movie night under the stars. The children will also take part in a rally, crafts and other fun activities. Our children will be given the opportunity to watch the stars and planets using real electronic microscopes guided by professionals from El Salvador observatory. They will learn more about the moon and stars. At the end of the evening students will sleep in comfortable tents on the school field. Staff are assigned to look after each camper so that students have a great time and feel safe and secure.

COESAL for 4th Grade children and parents
This organisation will soon begin a set of lectures for our 4th grade students and their parents. These lectures will cover topics related to physical and emotional changes the body undergoes during adolescence as well as its impact on their feelings, emotions, friends and family. We understand that for many families this is a very sensitive topic, this is why we believe it is necessary to be prepared and to encourage better dialogue at home between the children and their parents.

Although this series of lectures involves an additional cost of $15, we believe they will promote the necessary environment for healthy dialogue between parent and child and we look forward to see many of you on the days of the lectures.

The program will include four sessions as detailed below:
  • First Session: Wednesday 1st February 2012: 7.00 am or 6.00 pm PAC (Parents only) 
  • Second Session: Wednesday 8th February 2012 - 7.00am or 6.00pm PAC / Lecture Theatre (Mother/Daughter and Father/Son) 
  • Third Session: Wednesday 15th February 2012 – 1.45pm PAC / Lecture Theatre (Students only) 
  • Fourth Session: Monday 20th February 2012 - 7.00am / Seminar Room (Parents only) Jubilee building second floor
Parent workshops
Just a reminder that parent workshops (Grades Prepa to 5) will take place all next week at 7.15 am in your child’s classroom. You should have received a letter from your child this week with dates for each class and an attendance slip for you to return to school. We are looking forward to seeing many of you in classrooms bright and early for some advice from our teachers on helping your child to become a skillful and enthusiastic reader.

5th Grade trip
5th Graders are going on an educational trip to Joya de Cerén and San Andrés next 3rd February. This trip relates to our IPC Unit "Settlements".

The Children will be investigating what a settlement is, why people in the past chose to live here and this will help them later to compare and contrast with other settlements in our city and in other places around the world.

1st Grade sleepover
Grade One, at the Academia Britanica Cuscatleca, are looking to their exit point for their topic on Celebrations. This will take place in school, as part of their Sleepover experience Grade One take part in each year. The children will be experiencing four different Celebrations - most of which have a night time theme. At the Hawaiian Luau they will wear grass skirts, make floral garlands, hoola and limbo amongst tiki lamps. For Chinese New Year they will learn about the story behind the festival and experience the dragon dance performed by Chinese students, as well as receive lucky money! For Diwali they will be making group Rangolis and clay diva lamps to place in front of classroom doors. The Superhero training course will help the children to celebrate Superhero powers and the powers we all have at a human level. Before bedtime, the evening will come to an end with a walk round the school to enjoy the festive lights in full, the stars in the nighttime sky and a bonfire with songs and marshmallows to toast!

PE uniform
A reminder about the PE uniform: we have been checking the ABC Cap in our PE lessons this week and we have noticed there are still some students who do not have it. The cap is part of the uniform and next week it must be worn complete. We would also like to remind you to mark the cap with your child’s name. Caps are being sold at the ABC School Store.

ABC Olympic Opening ceremony
Please write this date in your diary - Friday 20th April.

On this day all of the children in the Primary school will be taking part in an ABC version of the Olympic opening ceremony at the Cuscatlan Stadium. As part of the International Primary Curriculum which we follow, all of the children will be working from units related to the Olympic Games during the summer term and our opening ceremony will be the entry point. It promises to be a fantastic morning and, of course, parents and friends will be invited to attend.
Watch this space for more news.

Jeans Day
This coming Thursday 2nd February, the children who bought the Teleton t-shirt can wear jeans and their t-shirt. The children who do not have the shirt must wear their regular uniform. Thank you those who supported this campaign.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
Monday 30th January: 1st Grade Parent Workshop from 7.00 to 8.00am, in each teacher’s classroom.
Tuesday 31st January: Kinder Tenorio Assembly from 7.20 to 7.50am, at the PAC
Friday 3rd February: Kinder Flores Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC
Friday 3rd February: 1st Grade Sleepover from 4pm through 7.30am of Saturday 4th of February 2012
Monday 6th February: Prepa Workshop from 7:15 to 7:45am, in each teacher’s classroom.
Friday 10th February: Kinder Suárez Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC
Monday 13th February: Pre-Kinder Sports Day 10.00am
Tuesday 14th February: Kinder Sports Day 10.00am
Wednesday 15th February: Prepa Sports Day 10.00am
Thursday 16th February: First Grade Sports Day 10.00am

Upper Primary
Wednesday 1st February: COESAL School for 4th grade parents. At the PAC. 7.00 am and 6.00pm
Wednesday 1st February: 3rd Grade parent Workshop. In 3rd grade classrooms. From 7.00 to 8.00am.
Thursday 2nd February: 4th Grade parent Workshop. In 4th grade classrooms. From 7.00 to 8.00am.
Friday 3rd February: 5th Grade parent Workshop. In 5th grade classrooms. From 7.00 to 8.00am.
Wednesday 8th February: COESAL School for parents (Mother-Daughter / Father-Son). At the PAC. 7.00am and 6.00pm.
Wednesday 8th February: 3rd Navas Assembly in the PAC. 10.00 - 10.40am
Wednesday 8th February: 5th Garcia Prieto Assembly in the PAC. 12.00 - 12.40m
Wednesday 15th February: 2nd and 3rd Grade Spanish Assembly in the PAC. At 10.00am
Wednesday 15th February: 4th and 5th Grade Spanish Assembly at the PAC. At 12.00m
Wednesdy 15th February: COESAL School for Parents/ 4th grade studens. At the PAC/Lecture Theatre. From 1.30 to 3.00
Monday 20th February: COESAL School for parents/ 4th grade students. At the Lecture Theatre. From 7.20 to 8.30am
Wednesday 22nd February: 2nd Moore Assembly at the PAC. at 10.00am
Wednesday 22nd February: 4th Taylor Assembly at the PAC. at 12.00m
Wednesday 22nd February: Catholic Club - Ash Wednesday at the ABC Auditorio. At 1.45pm

Secondary News

IB & IGCSE Mock exams have started and continue for Grade 10 and 12 all next week. Please make sure your son or daughter know what time the exams start and that they are at school in good time for the examinationa

Bicultural Schools Leadership Conference
The Conference started today and continues tomorrow at ESEN Campus. The Opening Ceremony took place in school today with an opening speech by Dra Vanda Pignato.

Teleton & jeans day
On Thursday we are celebrating the national Teleton campaign and hope your son or daughter will support the campaign by buying a Teleton T shirt for the jeans day on Thursday 2nd February. We also hope that your son or daughter is able to raise funds to support the campaign by collecting small amounts from their family and friends.

MathsRelay and Mathscounts Events
Please note the El Salvador round of Mathcounts and MathRelay are taking place at the end of next week. We are hoping to defend the title that we won last year. Good luck to all involved.

PT meeting for Grades 9 and 11 next Tuesday
There is a full parent teacher meeting in the PAC next Tuesday at 5.30 pm. You will be able to talk to all the teachers of your son or daughter but if you are asked specifically to meet one or more teachers please prioritise these meetings.

Dates for your diary
Friday 27th and Saturday 28th January: Bicultural Schools Leadership Conference
Tuesday 31st January: Grade 9 and 11 Parent Teacher meetings PAC 5.30-7pm
Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th February: MathsRelay and Mathcounts Events
Friday 17th February: HALF TERM
Wednesday 29th February: Grade 10 and 11 Careers Day.
Thursday - 1st March: IB Options Evening (Grade 10 parents and students)

Saturday 21 January 2012

19: Friday 20th January 2012

From the Headmaster

Recruiting Teachers for the ABC
Obtaining the best teachers for the school is one of our prime goals. At this time of year we undertake a recruiting process involving advertisements, agencies, interviews and references. At this moment I am in London carrying out interviews at two major international teacher recruitment fairs as well as our own process in between. We always obtain references from previous and current employers as well as those obtained by agency procedures. 

The ABC competes with the best schools around the world at these fairs but we are confident in obtaining excellent teachers for our school.

Parents Helping Team Sports
Reminder of the next meeting of parents helping Team Sports which will take place on Monday 23rd of January at 5pm in the Performing Arts Centre.

Primary News

UP Sports Days
This week has seen some very hot and very energetic UP sports days! The PE team is to be commended for their organisation of these events which all ran very smoothly, tested the children’s sporting skills and which were thoroughly enjoyed by the children and by those parents who were able to attend. Thanks also to the teaching staff whose help, on the day, is invaluable.

The final results are:

This year we have also awarded Tribal Points to the teams as well as a trophy, these will all contribute towards the final total of tribal points for this term and the special reward for the winning tribe!

5th McCall Assembly
Thank you to the children and teaching staff of 5th McCall who presented their assembly this week on Making Changes. The children reminded us that January (named after the Roman god Janus) is a time for looking forward but also time to reflect on the past. Many people choose to make new year’s resolutions in January and, as the 5th Grade team pointed out, our UP school traits and values - creative, considerate, responsible and respectful - are an excellent place to start when trying to decide upon your own new year’s resolutions.

Kinder Quintanilla assembly
The children of Kinder Quintanilla helped to remind us, in their assembly this week, about the importance of recycling. With the help of some recycling heroes the children explained in words and songs what we could all do to help the planet by reducing, reusing and recycling. It was lovely to hear our children speaking up so confidently and clearly. Well done everyone.

Reading workshops for parents
Workshops for parents which will help them to help their children develop and enjoy reading at home will take place from 7-15 - 7.45 am as follows:

1st Grade - Monday 30th January
2nd Grade - Tuesday 31st January
3rd Grade - Wednesday 1st February
4th Grade - Thursday 2nd February
5th Grade - Friday 3rd February
Prepa - Monday 6th February

More details will be sent home in a letter early next week.

Money and Salvadorean History
This week in Spanish we will be learning about the history of Salvadorean currency. With this topic we are backing the new IPC curriculum and at the same time, opening the doors to Salvadorean history for our students.

Prepa Keep Fit classes
I have a few more spaces available for Prepa Keep Fit Club on Mondays from 1-1.50pm. We have fun and are being healthy at the same time! Please contact Rebeca Martínez if you would like your child to join us. Ms Simone

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
Monday 30th January: 1st Grade Parent Workshop from 7.00 am to 8.00 am, in each teacher’s classroom
Tuesday 31st January: Kinder Tenorio Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC
Friday 3rd February: Kinder Flores Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC
Friday 3rd February: 1st Grade Sleepover from 4pm until 9am Saturday 4th
Friday 10th February: Kinder Suárez Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC

Upper Primary
Monday 23rd – 27th January: Spanish Dept Meet Parents. By invitation only.
Wednesday 25th January: 2nd Mena Assembly. In the PAC. At 10.00am
Wednesday 25th January: 4th Molina Assembly. In the PAC, At 12.00pm
Friday 27th - Saturday 28th January: 4th Grade camping night. At the ABC Campus. From 4.30pm (Friday) to 10.0am (Saturday)
Tuesday 31st January: 2nd Grade parent Workshop. In 2nd grade classrooms. From 7.00 to 8.00am.

Secondary News

This week is Leadership Week
We have a range of activities planned for next week with the help of our student leaders, Mr. Quijano and our HNC team we will be looking at a variety of leadership issues including leadership in El Salvador which led to the Peace Accords being signed 20 years ago. At the end of the week we will have some visiting speakers who will be talking to Grade 9 and 11 as well as all the students attending the ESEN leadership Conference. If you are interested in your son or daughter from Grade 8-11 attending the Conference please get them to contact Mr. Quijano in school.

CIRCO SINERGY
Congratulations to the Class of 2013 for the excellent performance on Thursday and Friday. I am also pleased to report that Isabella Guirola who was unfortunately injured in one of the rehearsals looks like she is going to make a swift recovery.

Info about the OLYMPICS
As you will be aware the London Olympics are a major event this year and we are working with the El Salvador Olympic Committee to promote the spirit of the Olympics in school.

Parents Partnership meeting
Thank you to all the Grade 6-8 parents who attended last weeks Parent Partnership meeting. We hope you found it useful and we would be interested to hear of other topics you might like us to discuss at a future event.

Parent-Teacher meeting 6-8 next week
We have a Parent Teacher Meeting for Grade 6-8 on Tuesday from 5.30 pm. We are moving the venue to the Auditorium where we will have more space. At this meeting you will have the opportunity to talk to your son or daughter’s teachers and to find out how they are doing in Cal 2.

IB and IGCSE mocks start this week: Wednesday for Grade 12 and Thursday for Grade 10. Please note that during the Mocks Grade 10 and 12 students only need to come in to school for their exams but must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of an exam. They may leave after their last exam of the day but cannot leave between exams.

Dates for your diary
Monday 23rd January: Leadership Week in school
Tuesday 24th January: Grade 6-8 Parent Teacher meetings, AUDITORIUM 5.30-7pm
Wednesday 25th January: IB Mocks Start for Grade 12
Thursday 26th January: IGCSE Mocks Start for Grade 10
Friday 27th and Saturday 28th January: Bicultural Schools Leadership Conference
Tuesday 31st January: Grade 9 and 11 Parent Teacher meetings PAC 5.30-7pm
Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th February: MathsRelay and Mathcounts Events
Friday 17th February: HALF TERM
Wednesday 29th February: Grade 10 and 11 Careers Day
Thursday 1st March: IB Options Evening (Grade 10 parents and students)

Friday 13 January 2012

18: Friday 13th January 2012

From the Headmaster

Information - just a click away!
The i-Com link on our website takes you to a whole range of information about what is happening at the school. At the start of 2012 it is a good idea to remind ourselves that the “Parent” tab on the i-Com page has a vast range of information. Want to look at the Homework timetable? Contact information? The internet safety guidelines? All this and much more is available. If there is something that you would like to find out about and it is not there - please contact us!

The ABC has many blogs to describe its activities and the work done by students. These are easily found on the Blogs tab and the latest postings appear on the blog integrator on the i-Com page. Here is a link to the latest student produced magazine.

Parents Helping Team Sports
Thank you to all those who attended the meeting yesterday - and to those who wrote in expressing an interest in helping. Those attending participated with enthusiasm and put forward important ideas, as well as wanting to help with the Team Sports activities. Thank you for interest and help for the programme which will benefit our students.

Following on from the points of the meeting, we invite you to the next meeting which will take place on Monday 23rd of January at 5pm in the Performing Arts Centre. This meeting will start the work of the various support groups.

Primary News

LP Prospective Parents evening
Our evening for prospective parents was very well attended and enjoyed. The parents of our PK children for next academic year (graduating class of 2027!) heard Mr Hobson and teachers from our Pre-Kinder classes talk about the academic and moral values of the school and about the curriculum used in our Early Years classrooms. Parents were then offered the opportunity to visit the Pre-Kinder classrooms and to get to know the staff and one another.

LP music assembly
The children in Lower Primary were treated to a special music assembly this week. They were introduced to and listened to a variety of musical instruments playing the music from the story of Peter and the Wolf by visiting musicians.

UP Sports Days next week
Sports Days for children in Upper Primary take place on the field next week.
2nd Grade - Tuesday 17th January
3rd Grade - Wednesday 18th January
4th Grade - Thursday 19th January
5th Grade - Friday 20th January

All of these events place take place between 10.00 and 11.30am and parents are very welcome to attend. Children are free to go home with their parents after their event.

Please make sure that your children are wearing the correct PE uniform for sports days, including their ABC school sports cap, and they are wearing plenty of sun block.

Workshops for Parents
Following on from the success of our parent workshop in maths last year we will be having further workshops for parents this term and next. This term we will be concentrating on reading and specifically on how parents can help their children at home to practice and develop their reading skills. These workshops will be led by your child’s class teacher in their classrooms and will be at 7.15am for just half an hour. A letter with more detailed information will be sent out to parents next week.

Annual Spring Fair to become an Olympic event!
As 2012 is an Olympic year and the games are to be held in London, in the summer term all pupils in the primary school will, this year, be following the IPC unit about the Olympic games. In addition to the knowledge, skills and understanding which are the academic requirement of this unit we are also planning some exciting events and special days which we will write more about in the newsletter later this term. One change however that we would like you to know about well in advance is that of the transformation of our usual Spring Fair event into an Olympic Summer Fair which will be held on Saturday 19th May and promises to be a fun and exciting new venture. Funds raised at this event will, as in the past, be donated to our in school charities.

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
Education involves the learning and teaching of knowledge, skills and understanding. Your child will be developing these three areas of learning throughout their years at school. These areas make up the Learning Goals for our IPC units.

1. They will be learning knowledge facts that we think they need to know:
This is information that we know is true and the way we answer a knowledge question will be either right or wrong. For example: Paris is the capital of France. That’s knowledge.

So, at the end of the school day, when you talk to your child about their learning, here are some ways to talk to them that might help you both:

When your child says they’ve learned some facts in school, say ‘Wow. Tell me what you know about that.’ This is how you help your child learn knowledge.


2. They will be learning skills:
Finding out how to do things. Skills are practical and can be described as ‘being able’ to do something. For example: being able to tie shoe laces, being able to read a map, being able to perform an operation. There are skills within every subject that children study at school; from maths to art to history to science to music. Skills take time to develop and as we learn, we learn skills in small, progressive steps.

When your child says they’ve learned how to do something in school, say ‘Wow. Show me how to do that.’ This is how you help your child learn a skill (don’t forget they might be at the very beginning stage of learning that skill. No one can master a skill overnight. In fact it takes 1000’s of hours of practise to truly master any skill. That’s why being patient and encouraging practise of any skill is so important).

3. They will be learning understanding:
Developing a sense of the meaning behind why we know and do things. Understanding involves a combination of accumulated knowledge, practised skills and reflection over time.

When your child says they now understand something, say ‘Wow. Talk to me about that.’ This is how you help your child develop a deeper sense of that understanding (again, your child will be at the very beginning stage of that understanding. But the more you can both talk about understanding something, and the more your child expands on the related knowledge, and relates this to personal experiences, they will start to make many connections, hence helping them gain a better understanding of things.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
Friday 20th: Kinder Quintanilla Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC
Friday 27th: Kinder Tenorio Assembly from 7.20 am to 7.50 am, at the PAC
Monday 30th: 1st Grade Parent Workshop from 7.00 am to 8.00 am, in each teacher’s classroom

Upper Primary
Tuesday 17th: Sports Day 2nd Grade at the Football Field. From 10.00 to 11.45am
Wednesday 18th: Sports Day 3rd Grade at he Football Field. From 10.0 to 11.45am
Wednesday 18th: 5th McCall Assembly at the PAC. At 12.00m
Thursday 19th: Sports Day 4th Grade at the Football Field. From 10.00 to 11.45am
Friday 20th : Sports Day 5th Grade at the Football Field. From 10.00 to 11.45am.
Monday 23rd – 27th: Spanish Dept Meet Parents. By invitation only.
Wednesday 25th: 2nd Mena Assembly. At thePAC. At 10.00am.
Wednesday 25th: 4th Molina Assembly. At the PAC, At 12.00m
Friday 27th - Saturday 28th: 4th Grade camping night. At the ABC Campus. From 4.30pm (Friday) to 10.0am (Saturday).
Tuesday 31st: 2nd Grade parent Workshop. On 2nd grade classrooms. From 7.00 to 8.00am.

Secondary News

Grade 11 Circus
We hope many of you will buy tickets and support the Grade 11 Circus on Thursday and Friday night. They have worked very hard and I am sure it will be a fun event.

Parent Partnership Meeting and Exam week
On Tuesday we have a Parent Partnership meeting on Getting Organised as part of the help we are offering parents to support the preparation for the Exam week later this term. This event will be especially useful to parents of students in Grades 6-8. Please remember the Exam Cal counts for 25% of the final grade for the year.

Grade 10 and Grade 12 Mock Exams
It is less than two weeks to the start of the Mock Exams and students should be busy preparing for them. These exams are very important and need good preparation. We are working with the students in school, but they also need to work hard at home.

Leadership
The week starting 23rd January we are celebrating Leadership Week. we will be having some visiting speakers and some of our students will be participating in the Leadership conference at ESEN at the end of the week.

Parent Teacher meetings are coming up at the end of this month. Please book the dates in your diary and come and talk to your son or daughter’s teachers

Dates for your diary
Monday 16th January 2012: Grade 10 IGCSE Art Mock Exam 12 - 4 pm
Tuesday 17th January 2012: Grade 10 IGCSE Art Mock Exam 12 - 4 pm and Parent Partnership Meeting: Getting Organised, 7:30pm PAC
Monday 23rd January: Leadership Week in school
Tuesday 24th January: Grade 6-8 Parent Teacher meetings PAC 5.30-7pm
Wednesday 25th January: IB Mocks Start for Grade 12
Thursday 26th January: IGCSE Mocks Start for Grade 10
Friday 27th and Saturday 28th January: Bicultural Schools Leadership Conference
Tuesday 31st January: Grade 9 and 11 Parent Teacher meetings PAC 5.30-7pm
Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th February: MathsRelay and Mathcounts Events
Friday 17th February: HALF TERM
Wednesday 29th February: Grade 10 and 11 Careers Day.
Thursday 1st March: IB Options Evening (Grade 10 parents and students)

Friday 6 January 2012

17: Friday 6th January 2012

From the Headmaster

Welcome Back!
We are looking forward to our second term which starts on Monday 9th and hope that all our community have had a restful and enjoyable break. We had a very busy end of term in December and a particularly enjoyable set of Primary Christmas Shows supported by Santa’s Festival - remember to click the i-Com link on our website for recent ABC photos, videos and blog posts.

Team Sports Programme seeks parent support
The ABC Team Sports Programme supports our mission to provide a healthy physical development and develop our values and traits. For over five years we have worked together with the Escuela Americana to develop the Bilingual Leagues and many tournaments between schools.

Could you help the programme? We are seeking parent support groups for the programme and individual disciplines - if you are interested in helping the school, please come to an exploratory meeting on Thursday 12th of January from 7am to 8am, in the Performing Arts Centre (please park in the Emergency Car Park).

Places for next school year
Pre-Kinder has been our normal entry point to our school programme. In previous years, we have maintained a very small number of openings in Kinder. Please note that we are offering places in Pre-Kinder for this month (January 2012) from our waiting list which will in effect fill the Kinder places for next school year. This is because we note the difficulty that students who enter into Kinder have in assimilating into our programme without the sound basis of having been in Pre-Kinder. We will continue to maintain a few Transient Student places as before. Please note that the deadline for application for August 2012 places is the end of this month for Pre-Kinder and the 30th of March for the rest of the school.

Primary News

Christmas shows and Santa’s Festival
Well done and thank you to all of the staff and children involved in the Christmas shows and Santa’s Festival at the end of last term. The afternoon/evening was very successful and there was a great atmosphere around the school. Many thanks too to all of the parents who came along to support us and their children. We hope that this was the beginning of a very special holiday season for all of our school families.

Start of term 2
Term 2 begins at 7am on Monday 9th January. We look forward to seeing all of the children back in school on that day; rested, refreshed and ready for the next part of this year’s learning journey.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
Monday 9th January 2012: School reopens and back to classes
Thursday 12th January: Prospective Parents meeting 6.30pm - 7.30pm

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

Secondary News

Happy 2012 to all Staff and Students
We are looking forward to seeing all our students safely back at school on Monday and would like to wish all students and parents a happy and successful school year. It is always a good time to think about making positive changes in our lives and we hope many of our students will use this opportunity to reflect on the remaining two terms of this year.

Mock Exams
Grade 10 and 12 have just over two weeks until their Mock exams start and they should be revising and preparing for the exams which start on Wednesday 25th January for Grade 12 and Thursday 26th January for Grade 10

Head Students and Temporary Prefects
Congratulations to the new Head students, Alexia Jimenez and Javier Monterrosa from Grade 11 who have recently been appointed as our new Head Students. Initially they will work alongside the current Head Students, Danny and Sara.

Any Grade 11 student who wants to be a temporary prefect for the coming term needs to inform Roxana in the school office either in person or by email before Monday 16th January 2012.

Extracurricular and Team Sport activities continue as normal this week

Congratulations to the students who participated in the Cricket Tour to Mexico at the end of last term. It is clear that the years of practice and dedication of many students has led to the team being able to compete on the international stage. Well done to all involved.

Parent Teacher Meetings
Please note we have meetings coming up for grades 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 later this month. These meetings provide the opportunity for you to discuss the progress your son or daughter is making in Cal 2. We hope all parents will attend these very important meetings.

Dates for your diary
Monday 9th January: School reopens and starts at 7am
Wednesday 11th January: Grade 10 IGCSE Art Mock Exam 12 - 4 pm
Thursday 12th January: Grade 10 IGCSE Art Mock Exam 12 - 4 pm
Monday 16th January: Grade 10 IGCSE Art Mock Exam 12 - 4 pm
Tuesday 17th January: Grade 10 IGCSE Art Mock Exam 12 - 4 pm
Monday 23rd January: Leadership Week in school
Tuesday 24th January: Grade 6-8 Parent Teacher meetings PAC 5.30-7pm
Wednesday 25th January: IB Mocks Start for Grade 12
Thursday 26th January: IGCSE Mocks Start for Grade 10
Friday 27th and Saturday 28th January: Bicultural Schools Leadership Conference
Tuesday 31st January: Grade 9 and 11 Parent Teacher meetings PAC 5.30-7pm
Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th February : MathsRelay and Mathcounts Events
Friday 17th February: HALF TERM
Wednesday 29th February: Grade 10 and 11 Careers Day.
Thursday 1st March: IB Options Evening (Grade 10 parents and students)