Friday 30 January 2015

21: Friday 30th January 2015

From the Director

In what has been a difficult week I want to say publicly a huge thank you to the whole community for the support the school has received at this time. I do hope you feel you have been kept up to date with events and that we all understand the priorities for helping everyone move forward. The Parents Association have cancelled the party planned for Friday 13 February and we are planning a vigil on Wednesday 11 February to help members of the community share some time together with their families. More details of this event will follow.

We had a visit from Mr. Garry York and Mrs. Joan York this week. There will be a reception for them next Wednesday at 7 pm in the PAC. If you are a student from their era at school please contact Lissett Castro at school for your invite.

There are more details on the ABC Newsblog https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1003867901564949272#editor/target=post;postID=1239853321376889080



Prima
ry News

Dear Parents and Carers,

We had a wonderful morning with the Lower Primary Sports Morning and we hope to repeat the success for Upper Primary this Saturday. Please enjoy your child’s sports events and then stay for some family time with a picnic from home or purchase food and drinks from the vendors in school. For your picnic you need to bring blankets or rugs to sit on the ground. Adults can also bring fold-up chairs for more comfort. There will be a variety of additional activities for the students to have a go at, such as inflatables and Karaoke. We hope you will have a marvellous morning. 

Please read the information below carefully to confirm the times of events and what the students need to wear. Please note there will be parking in the Lyceo and Sisa on Saturday and additional security in the road.

Please bear in mind:
  1. Your child has to be in their classroom at school at 7:30am (Grades 2 and 3) and 9:30am (Grades 4 and 5)
  2. Children must come to school wearing their PE uniform (the traditional or the new one - we don’t mind!)
  3. Parents should also come wearing sportswear as they will have the chance to participate in an event.
The following caterers will provide food and drinks:

Finca San Ernesto:
  • Carne asadaAdults: 7oz imported steak accompanied by baked potato with butter and rosemary, sweet corn, chirmol $8.50Children: 4oz imported steak accompanied by baked potato with butter and rosemary, sweet corn, chirmol $5.00
  • Ceviche8oz Fish Ceviche $4.508oz Shrimp and squid cocktail in red sauce $5.50 
Pupusas 2 for $1.50
Crepe Lovers – savory and sweet
Artisan ice cream
Ice cream (Vanilla Spoon)
Fruit Paletas
Popcorn
Elote loco
Nachos with cheese
Jusivar (natural juices)
Churros

The school cafeteria will be selling drinks and snacks
______

The entrance assessments will be taking place on the 7th and 14th February. If you did not attend the prospective parents evening please make sure your child is on the school list for Pre K. Families will receive their invitations to attend very shortly.
_______

Second Grade will be having their camp in the school grounds on Friday the 5th february. They are very excited about this as you can imagine. 
_______

Please note the class assemblies that will be happening next week listed below. Soon we will be having the 5th grade camp and school photos.

I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow.

Best wishes,

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary 
February
Friday 6th: Kinder Suárez assembly, 7.45am in the PAC
Change of date: Kinder Francés Assembly is moving from the 13th to the 27th February
Saturday 28th: Spring Fair 

Upper Primary
January
Saturday 31st: UP sports morning and Family day 
February
Wednesday 4th: 3rd Pattenden Assembly, at 9.20 in the PAC
Wednesday 4th: 5th Molina Assembly, at 12.15 in the PAC
Saturday 28th: Spring fair 

Secondary News

Nothing shocks a school community more than a tragic event involving a young person. The support we all give to each other during this time will be the first step in the healing process. I have been deeply touched by how the ABC teachers and students have responded in such a caring and supportive manner. We have encouraged our students to express their emotions and we will continue to support them in the weeks and months ahead. 

Grade 10 and Grade 12 Mock Examinations
I am happy to report that the Grade 10 (IGCSE) and Grade 12 (IB) mock examinations are going very well. The feedback that I have received from the students has been incredibly positive and I have been pleased with how the students have conducted themselves. The mock examinations continue up until the end of next week (until Friday 6th of February).

Given the cold weather at the moment, the students sitting mock examinations have been given permission, for the duration of the examinations, to wear non-uniform jumpers/cardigans, so long as they are plain and dark in colour. In addition to this, girls are permitted to wear leggings or tights under their skirts or dark blue or black trousers (so long as they are not jeans).

Grade 6 & Grade 7 Parent Teacher Meetings - Tuesday 3rd February
Next week we have the Grade 6 and Grade 7 Parent Teacher Meetings. 

The Grade 7 Parent Teacher Meeting will start off with a presentation to parents in the PAC at 5.30pm. After the presentation parents will be able to speak to the subject teachers of their child in the Auditorium.

The Grade 6 Parent Teacher Meeting will not have any presentation and parents should go straight to the Auditorium at 5.30pm to speak to their child’s subject teachers.

Grade 8 IGCSE Options Evening/Grade 8 Parent Teacher Meeting - Thursday 5th February
Starting at 5.30pm next Thursday we have the Grade 8 IGCSE Options Evening in the PAC. The IGCSE Options Evening will detail the IGCSE programme offered at the ABC, covering which subjects are compulsory for all students and which subjects are optional. The presentation will also explain how IGCSEs are assessed and it will provide guidance on how students should go about selecting the optional IGCSEs. The presentation will be followed by Grade 8 Parent Teacher Meeting in the Auditorium.

Grade 11 IGCSE Certificate Presentation Evening/Parent Teacher Meeting - Tuesday 10th February
Please note that this event was recently rescheduled to Tuesday 10th February (from Thursday 29th January). It starts at 5.30pm in the PAC. The Parent Teacher Meeting will be in the Auditorium afterwards.

Grade 9 CAT4 presentation to parents/Parent Teacher Meeting - Tuesday 10th February
Please note that this event was recently rescheduled to Tuesday 10th February (from Thursday 29th January). It starts at 5.30pm in the ABCLT. The Parent Teacher Meeting will be in the Auditorium afterwards.

Grade 6 Parents CAT 4 Presentation - Thursday 12th February 
On Thursday 12th February Grade 6 parents are invited to a CAT4 (the UK’s most widely used test of reasoning abilities) presentation at 5.30pm in the PAC. The Grade 6 students recently sat the CAT4 assessments. The presentation will explain how CAT4 will support ABC in understanding our pupils’ developed abilities and likely academic potential. The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes and at the end individualised CAT4 reports will be distributed to the Grade 6 parents (containing the results for their child).

Kind regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
w/c 2nd February: Grade 10 and Grade 12 mock examinations (finishing on Friday 6th February).
Tuesday 3rd February: Grade 6/7 Parent Teacher Meetings (see above for more information).
Thursday 5th February: Grade 8 IGCSE Options Evening. Followed by Grade 8 Parent Teacher Meeting.
Tuesday 10th February (rescheduled from Thursday 29th January): Grade 11 IGCSE Certificate Presentation Evening. Followed by the Grade 11 Parent Teacher Meeting.
Tuesday 10th February (rescheduled from Thursday 29th January): Grade 9 Parent Teacher Meeting. Please note that the Grade 9 Parent Teacher Meeting starts off with a CAT4 presentation to parents in the Lecture Theatre at 5.30pm.
Thursday 12 February: Grade 6 Parents CAT4 presentation (see above for more information).
Thursday 19th February: ABC Values Parent Meeting with Napoleon Ardiya, 7pm to 8pm in the PAC.
Friday 20th February: Training day - school closed.
Monday 23rd February: Half term - school closed.

Friday 23 January 2015

20: Friday 23rd January 2015


From the Director

Please note that the school is currently accepting applications for places in Pre-Kinder next year. Children born between 1st July 2011 and 30th June 2012 are eligible for our Pre-Kinder class, please contact Estefanía Chacón for more information.

Congratulations to all involved with the Prom 2016 and Razzmatazz which took place this week. The Circus has become a tradition which our students enjoy and we are always open to suggestions for progress when appropriate.

The ABC is making plans for celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2021 and as part of that process we are collecting photographs and eyewitness accounts of interesting and important events. Do you have some photographs or some events you would like to recall and write to us about? Do you remember the first Circus? Do you remember the first time the ABC won a sports tournament or the first time we took IGCSE or IB exams? Do you remember when we first had our new tribes? Do you remember studying at or when we first moved to Santa Tecla? If you do can you write something about it and we would be very grateful if you have a photograph of any of these events and if you do would you mind sending us a copy? We want to collect copies of these memories and photographs before they become lost in time.

We are hoping to welcome Mr. York, our first Headmaster, in school next week and we are hoping he will have time to talk to some of our students during his visit. We will certainly be asking him for his memories and any photographs. I have one question I particularly want to have answered - when did the school adopt its motto “effort leads to success.”

I will see many of you at the Lower Primary Sports Day on Saturday morning.

Please take note that our school calendar for this year and for the coming school year 2015-16 is on our school website on the following link.

P
rimary News



Dear Parents and Carers,



The events across the school are happening thick and fast at the moment. As always our school is vibrant and full of life. Our Lower Primary Sports Morning is happening tomorrow. We look forward to seeing all our Lower Primary children and their families there. Here is the information that has already been sent to you:-

This year we are trialling a Saturday sports morning. We invite you to watch your child participate and afterwards we would like you to stay and share a family picnic. Usually a picnic is something that is brought from home and consists of cold food items. However, below you will see a list of caterers who will be selling food on Saturday 24th. For your picnic you need to bring blankets or rugs to sit on the ground. Adults can also bring fold-up chairs for more comfort.

Please bear in mind:
  1. Your child has to be at school at 7:30am (Pre-k and Kinder) and 9:30am (Prepa and Grade 1)
  2. Children must come to school wearing their PE uniform (the traditional or the new one - we don’t mind)
  3. Parents should also come wearing sportswear as they will have the chance to participate in an event.
The following caterers will provide food and drinks:



Finca San Ernesto:
  • Carne asada
    Adults: 7oz imported steak accompanied by baked potato with butter and rosemary, sweet corn, chirmol $8.50
    Children: 4oz imported steak accompanied by baked potato with butter and rosemary, sweet corn, chirmol $5.00
  • Ceviche
    8oz Fish Ceviche $4.50
    8oz Shrimp and squid cocktail in red sauce $5.50 

  • Pupusas 2 for $1.50
  • Coffee Cup – sandwiches
  • Crepe Lovers – savory and sweet
  • Artisan ice cream
  • Ice cream (Vanilla Spoon)
  • Fruit Paletas
  • Popcorn
  • Elote loco
  • Nachos with cheese
  • Jusivar (natural juices)
  • Sodas
The school cafeteria will be selling drinks and snacks.

The Upper Primary Sports Morning will take place next Saturday the 31st January and be in a similar format.

______


As mentioned by Mr Keslake above, the school is accepting applications for Pre-K now. We will be carrying out our initial assessments of new students over the next few weeks so please make sure your application is in. We do not like to disappoint our existing families and find our places have all gone when they apply later in the year. Our prospective parents evening is on the 27th January at 6.00 pm, where parents interested in joining Pre-kinder will learn more about the school, have a chance to see some classrooms and meet some teachers.

_______


Many of you will have seen our new sports kit. We have addressed some parent concerns about the white kit being heavy, the colours fading and getting very dirty. The new kit is much lighter and easier to keep clean. Please note that there is no obligation to buy the new kit at this point in the year. If you would like to buy it for the new school year in August that would be lovely.

_______

Please note the class assemblies that will be happening next week listed below.

I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow.

Best wishes,

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary 
January
Saturday 24th: LP sports morning and Family day 
Tuesday 27th: Prospective parents night - 6:30pm
Thursday 29th: Trip to Tin Marin Museum - Pre Kinder - 8:30am
Friday 30th: Trip to Tin Marin Museum - Prepa - 8:30am
Friday 30th: Kinder Quintanilla Assembly - 7:45am
February
Change of date: Kinder Francés Assembly is moving from the 13th to the 27th February
Saturday 28th: Spring Fair 

Upper Primary
January
Saturday 31st: UP sports morning and Family day 
February
Wednesday 4th: 3rd Pattenden Assembly, at 9:20 in the PAC
Wednesday 4th: 5th Molina Assembly, at 12:15 in the PAC
Saturday 28th: Spring fair 

Secondary News

New Secondary School Staff - January 2015
As mentioned in last week’s ABC Weekly, we are very pleased to be joined by four new members of staff in the Secondary School. Below are brief welcomes/profiles from our new colleagues:

Paul Andrew Hickey - Mathematics Teacher
I am Paul Hickey, originally from Hull in England but have lived the last four years in Valencia, Spain. I am a Maths teacher with a real passion for my subject but also enjoy sporting activities such as football and rugby in my spare time. 

I arrived in El Salvador in January and so far I have really enjoyed my time here, it is a beautiful country and everyone I have met has been very friendly. 


Raul Ernesto Martinez Osorio - ICT Teacher
Happy New Year! I feel great to share my experience and knowledge with students, and also learn from them. Teaching is what I love.

I have been teaching Science and Technology since 2003. I have worked with secondary and high school students at Colegio Highlands, Instituto Ricaldone and Colegio Santa Cecilia. 

In 2010 I worked with Ministry of Education and Microsoft to develop the first educational robotics program in public schools in El Salvador.

Graziella Elizabeth Monge - English as a Second Language Teacher 
My name is Graziella and I am excited to join the ABC team. I'm Italo-Salvadorian and I have lived in Italy and the UK before coming to El Salvador.

I have been teaching languages to adults and children in El Salvador for the past five years, privately, in academies and in schools.

I like taking pictures, reading books of different types in the original language, where possible, and I love travelling, learning new languages and teaching the ones I already know!

Andrew John Short - Mathematics Assistant 
I am joining the Secondary Maths Team as a Learning Support Assistant. I am from the UK and I am qualified in Engineering and I have an MBA. 

Recently I have come from Milan, Italy, where I worked at the International School in Milan. I also have strengths in behavioural sciences and counseling. 

I am looking forward to working with the ABC students and I hope to make a significant contribution to school life.

Class of 2016 - Circus
Congratulations to the Class of 2016 for their creative and energetic Circus performance ‘Razzmatazz’.

The audience was treated to an explosion of music, dance and imagery as the students presented a bizarre and dramatic alternate existence. 

Grade 11 IGCSE Certificate Presentation Evening - Thursday 29th January (followed by the Grade 11 Parent Teacher Meeting)
Starting at 5.30pm on Thursday 29th of January we have the Grade 11 IGCSE Certificate Presentation Evening in the PAC. Parents, students and teachers will be brought together to celebrate the achievements at IGCSE of our Class of 2016. After the event we have the Grade 11 Parent Teacher Meeting in the Auditorium.

Grade 9 Parent Teacher Meeting - Thursday 29th January 
The Grade 9 Parent Teacher Meeting on Thursday 29th of January will start off with a CAT4 presentation to parents in the Lecture Theatre at 5.30pm. All the Grade 9 students recently sat the CAT4 assessments (the UK’s most widely used test of reasoning abilities). Among other things, the presentation will explain how CAT4 will support ABC in understanding our pupils’ developed abilities and likely academic potential. After the presentation parents will be able to speak to the various subject teachers of their child in the Auditorium.

KS3 Disco
On evening of Friday 27th of February there will be a KS3 (Grades 6-8) Disco in the Performance Arts Centre (PAC). Further details, and tickets, will be available shortly. 

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Friday 23rd January: Circus performance
Monday 26th January - Friday 6th February: IGCSE and IB mock examinations
Thursday 29th January: Grade 11 IGCSE Certificate Presentation Evening. Followed by the Grade 11 Parent Teacher Meeting
Thursday 29th January: Grade 9 Parent Teacher Meeting 
Tuesday 3rd February: Grade 6/7 Parent Teacher Meeting
Thursday 5th February: Grade 8 IGCSE Options Evening. Followed by Grade 8 Parent Teacher Meeting

Friday 16 January 2015

19: Friday 16th January 2015

From the Director 


On behalf of the whole school community I want to wish you the very best for the coming year. I hope it brings all that you are expecting and that together we can achieve the very best for all our students. Today we are celebrating the twenty third anniversary of the Chapultepec Peace accords and the visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon highlights the involvement of the international community in promoting peace in our part of the world. It also shows El Salvador as a country determined to resolve issues through peace and negotiation. In the world we live in where violence is so often seen as a quick solution let us ensure our whole ABC community continues to look for peaceful and civilised solutions so that all our students grow up to understand the importance of peace and mutual respect. 2015 promises to be an exciting year and it starts next week with the Circus for the Class 2016 which I hope many of you will be able to support and I look forward to seeing you there. Happy New Year!

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to a new school term and best wishes for the coming year. I hope we will all be happy, healthy and successful in all we try to do. It has been lovely to see the students greeting each other after the holiday and fondly renewing their relationship with their teachers.

Thank you to everyone for your generous donations that make such a difference to the people, especially the children, who are less fortunate and struggling in our region. There will be more information and photographs on our ABC ROCs in Action blog please do have a look at the difference your contributions made.

Next week our sports mornings start. The Lower Primary Sports Morning and family day will be on Saturday 24th January. Pre-Kinder and Kinder will be participating in their sports activities from 8.00am (7:30am at their classroom) and when they have finished there will be family activities. We invite you to bring a picnic and there will also be food and drink items available for purchase on the day. The Madres Enlace are organising bouncy castles and other things for the children to play on and we hope we will all have a very nice morning together.

Prepa and Grade 1 will start their sports activities at 10.00am (9:30 at their classroom) and they will also be able to have a picnic and play after their events. We have arranged additional parking with SISA for this morning. We expect the event to finish by 12.30. As mentioned in the invitation that was circulated to you earlier this week, students must wear PE kit and have a change of clothes because some of the activities involve water. Please make sure you stay in the designated areas when watching the sports events. 

I know the idea of a picnic is new to some of you here, although it has been traditional for two or more centuries in the UK. Here is some information we copied from the internet to help you get the idea.

A picnic is an excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors (al fresco) usually on a blanket on the ground, ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance, usually in summer. Recorded descriptions of picnics show that the idea that a meal that was jointly contributed and was enjoyed out-of-doors, were essential to a picnic from the early 19th century.[1]

Picnics are often family-oriented but can also be an intimate occasion between two people or a large get-together such as company picnics and church picnics. It is also occasionally combined with a cookout, usually a form of barbecue.

On romantic and family picnics, a picnic basket filled with cold food from home and a blanket (to sit or recline on) are usually brought along. Outdoor games or some other form of entertainment are common at large picnics. In established public parks, a picnic area can include picnic tables

The traditional food eaten is rarely hot, instead taking the form of sandwiches, finger food, fresh fruit, salad, cold meats and accompanied by soft drinks.

The Upper Primary Sports morning will be the 31st January also starting at 8.00am and follow a similar format. 

Please see the schedule below for the upcoming class assemblies.

Best wishes for another wonderful term,

Mrs Short

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary 
January
Thursday 22nd: Sports Day Practice - all children to wear PE kit
Friday 23rd: Kinder Rampone Assembly - 7.45am - PAC
Friday 23rd: Trip to El Salvador International Airport - Kinder Quintanilla
Saturday 24th: LP sports morning and Family day 
Tuesday 27th: Prospective parents night - 6.00pm
Friday 30th: Kinder Quintanilla Assembly - 7.45am
February 
Saturday 28th: Spring Fair 

Upper Primary
January
Wednesday 21st: 3rd Brenes Assembly, at 9.20 in the PAC
Wednesday 21st: 4th Truscott Assembly, at 12.15.00 in the PAC
Saturday 31st: UP sports morning and Family day 
February
Wednesday 4th: 3rd Pattenden Assembly, at 9.20 in the PAC
Wednesday 4th: 5th Molina Assembly, at 12.15 in the PAC
Saturday 28th: Spring fair 

Secondary News

Happy New Year. I hope you have had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

This term starts with the much anticipated Circus and the IGCSE & IB mocks begin on Monday 26th January (continuing on to Friday 6th February).

This years’ Circus performance, from the Class of 2016, is entitled ‘Razzmatazz’ and the performances are next week - Thursday 22nd January and Friday 23rd January. Tickets are available from any member of the Class of 2016 and Secondary Office priced at $10 each.

New Secondary School Staff - January 2015
Please join the ABC Secondary School staff and students in giving a warm welcome to our four new members of staff in the Secondary School. We are very pleased to be joined by:
  • Paul Andrew Hickey - Mathematics Teacher
  • Raul Ernesto Martinez Osorio - ICT Teacher
  • Graziella Elizabeth Monge - English as a Second Language Teacher 
  • Andrew John Short - Mathematics Assistant 
Christmas Boxes
Last term’s Christmas Shoe Box Appeal was a massive success in the Secondary School with 220 boxes being donated by our students.

The local Santa Tecla orphanage Mi Casa, with children aged 5 to 17 years, received 14 boxes. Mi Casa has been the charity project for Class of 2018 since August 2012 and it is great to see the ABC students continuing to support these children.

Love and Hope Children's Home was created after outreach work in a nearby garbage dump discovered several children had no where else to live. Since that time, they have provided food, shelter, safety, education, and love to over 30 children. This organisation received 22 boxes.

Hospital Bloom (Corazones Solidarios), a not for profit organisation that helps the children and their families while children cancer suffers are receiving cancer treatment at the Children's Hospital, received 24 boxes.

140 boxes went to Techo. Also known as Un Techo para mi País, Techo is a not for profit organisation that mobilises youth volunteers to fight extreme poverty in Latin America, by constructing transitional housing and implementing social inclusion programs.

And finally, we wanted to make sure children in our immediate area received a gift at Christmas so we distributed 20 boxes to the children that wash car windscreens and collect money outside Plaza Merliot. 

A big thank you to everyone that contributed.

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but giving most” H Jackson Brown, Jr.

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Saturday 17th January: International Award Navigation Day
Thursday 22nd January: Circus performance 
Friday 23rd January: Circus performance
Monday 26th January - Friday 6th February: IGCSE and IB mock examinations
Thursday 29th January: Grade 11 IGCSE Certificate Presentation Evening (more details to follow). Followed by the Grade 11 Parent Teacher Meeting
Thursday 29th January: Grade 9 Parent Teacher Meeting (more details to follow)