From the Director
We are focusing on respect for the next two weeks and as part of that programme we have written to parents and students from the class of 2023 upwards. As a community we want us all of us to play our part in showing respect to ourselves, to each other, to our school and to the environment. I know that as a community we all recognise the importance of respect and helping the young people in our community develop respectful attitudes which will make their present and their future lives so much more rewarding and enjoyable.
We have been doing entry assessments for our Pre Kinder entry - the class of 2031 recently and as usual at this time we still have a few places available. If for some reason you want entry for your son or daughter into Pre Kinder in August 2015 please contact us as soon as possible to organise for an assessment. The assessments are friendly and simply designed to ensure your child is ready to start school.
The Bicultural Arts Festival started this week with some art work shared by students from all seven participating schools here at the ABC. Next week we will also be hosting the drama and dance festivals leading to the performances at the Teatro Presidente on Friday 6th March and Saturday 7th March. We hope to see many of you there.
Primary News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Tomorrow is our Spring Fair and we look forward to seeing you all there to give your children another wonderful learning experience and to have some fun together. You have received information concerning the time to arrive and the stalls will open at 9.00. We have arranged for parking at SISA and Liceo Francés.
Thursday 5th March is World Book Day, and here in Primary we will be marking this all next week (2nd to 6th March), with a special Book Week full of fun activities. We would like to ask for your help with some of the activities:
- Reading / Telling stories to the class: We would like parents to read or tell a story to their child's class each morning next week, at the start of the school day. Each grade has made specific arrangements. If you have any further queries please contact your class teacher.
- Extreme Reading competition: Take a photo of your child reading in an unusual place or time and send it to their teacher, by Friday 6th March. The most extreme reader from each grade will win a prize. (Please keep safe!)
- Bedtime Story Day: On Thursday 5th March the children will come to school in pyjamas and dressing gown (if they wish) throughout the day will be told stories by different members of the school community.
- Book Character Day: On Friday 6th March the children will dress up as book characters. There will be a parade and other related activities. The children need to bring the book the character is from. The focus is specifically on book characters, rather than popular characters from film or TV. Please be creative and make your costume together at home.
- Book Sale: The children will be visiting our book sale on Monday (Lower Primary) and Tuesday (Upper Primary). If they see a book that they would like to buy, they will make a note of it and bring the money to buy it - the sale will be here all week.
Thank you, we greatly appreciate your help!
The value we are working with at the moment is respect. It is very important that parents demonstrate respect at home in order to help our children develop this quality. Are we respectful to the people who help us at home or in the supermarket? Do we acknowledge people properly in the street? Please do your utmost to model respectful behaviour in the home an outside it.
Behaviour management at home has arisen in several of my parent meetings recently. I feel it is important for you all to note that hitting children at home, especially with something, is abusive, against the law and can cause long term emotional and physical damage. It also has very little long term impact on behaviour. There are much better ways of instilling clear and consistent boundaries for children rather than hitting them. This also applies to saying nasty and unkind things to children such as, you wish you had never had them or you will send them away. Plenty of studies show that parents who say cruel and unkind things to their children cause long term psychological damage and prevent children reaching their full potential. It also impacts on future relationships and the rest of their life. Children need to feel loved and secure in order to develop properly. This doesn’t mean they should be allowed to do what they like! We are preparing some short guidance and tips for managing behaviour at home which we will share with you when it is ready. In the meantime anyone with concerns can contact our Learning Support Unit for support and ideas.
Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead.
Sharon Short
Head of Primary
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
February
Friday 27th: LP Extra-curricular activities 2nd session ends
Saturday 28th: Spring Fair - all students to attend
March
Saturday 14th March: Summer Carnival 9am - 9pm
All week 2nd - 6th: Book Week
Friday 6th: Pre-Kinder Siri Assembly - 7:45am PAC
Friday 6th: First grade sleepover
All week 9th - 13th: Brain Awareness Week
Monday 9th: Pre-Kinder Carbajal Swimming Lesson 10.00 - 10.45am
Wednesday 11th: Kinder Quintanilla Swimming Lesson 11.00 - 11.45am
Thursday 12th: Pre-Kinder Cáceres Swimming Lesson 11.00 - 11.45am
Friday 13th: Pre-Kinder González Assembly - 7:45am PAC
Friday 13th: Pre-Kinder Siri Swimming Lesson 11.00 - 11.145am
Monday 16th: 3rd session extracurricular activities begin
Monday 16th: Pre-Kinder González Swimming Lesson 11.00 - 11.45am
Tuesday 17th: Kinder Rampone Swimming Lesson 11.50 - 12.35pm
Wednesday 18th: Kinder Frances Swimming Lesson 11.50 - 12.35pm
Thursday 19th: Kinder Suárez Swimming Lesson 11.45 - 12.35pm
Wednesday 18th: Convocatoria 6pm - 7pm
Friday 20th: Pre-Kinder Cáceres Assembly - 7:45am PAC
Friday 20th: 1st Grade Swimming Gala - 11am Big pool
Monday 23rd: Prepa Swimming Gala - 10am Small pool
Monday 23rd: Prepa Night Activity 4pm - 8pm
Wednesday 25th: Pre-Kinder Easter Egg Hunt Trip
Friday 27th: Pre-Kinder Carbajal Assembly - 7:45am PAC
Friday 27th: Last day of term - break for Easter
Monday 30th March - Friday 10th April: Eastern holiday
Upper Primary
February
Monday 23: Half term break, NO SCHOOL
Saturday 28th: Spring Fair - all students to attend
March
Saturday 14th March: Summer Carnival 9am - 9pm
All week 2nd - 6th: Book Week
Swimming Galas
Secondary News
Key Stage 3 Disco
The Key Stage 3 Disco has had to be re-scheduled from tonight (Friday 27th February) to Friday 13th March. Ticket sales were not sufficient by lunch time on Thursday (26th February) for the event to be viable.
We remain committed to staging the disco as we strongly believe that it is a positive way for students to enjoy themselves out of school hours and make friendships within the Key Stage 3 community.
We are hopeful that the ticket sales will be sufficient for the event to successfully run in two weeks time.
Please note that all tickets sold will of course be valid for the new dates. If your son or daughter can not attend on that Friday, money will be refund.
Bicultural Art Festival
“Unity is strength. When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Mattie Stepanek.
The Bi-cultural Art Festival, which after 16 years has become a tradition, is an explosion of creative diversity that covers different artistic disciplines such as Visual Arts, Photography, Music, Dance and Drama.
The key purpose of the festival is to bring together students from the different bilingual schools and, in doing so, produce a collective exhibition of artistic expressions.
All students who participate in the festival play an important role in the development of activities; including the planning, implementation and public presentation of the created parts. All this happens under the supervision of teachers specialised in different areas of art.
Respecting teachers’ privacy
It has come to our attention that some Secondary School students are taking an unhealthy interest in the social lives of their teachers. Some teachers have been photographed, without their knowledge, whilst enjoying their leisure time outside of school. Teachers activities and who have have been with have also been shared between students. This behaviour is clearly intrusive and disrespectful.
Furthermore, a small number of students have begun to use their phones whilst in school to take photographs of teachers and classmates. Again this is clearly unacceptable behaviour. Any students caught engaging in such behaviour will have their phones confiscated and the school may well require parents to come into school to collect them.
We would be very grateful if you would discuss the unacceptability of these behaviours with your child/ren.
Annual Leadership Conference of the International Schools
This week was the 10th Annual Leadership Conference of the International Schools. This project is a co-ordinated effort amongst local schools and the Leadership Centre at ESEN. This year a group of more than 100 students from the ABC, International Maya, and Panamericana School will be working together on the topic of Values Based Leadership and Innovation over the next two days.
Students are working on hands-on activities, presentations, discussion groups and interactive teamwork games that are designed to develop basic principles like respect, honesty, compassion, empathy and courage - all of which are fundamental to positive leadership. Yet, a leader must also have a flexible and creative mind to deal successfully with a changing world, and stay ahead of the trends, in other words, to become a trend setter. And, that is where innovation steps in.
For the ABC, the Conference is the culmination of a week-long agenda of activities focused on Leadership, where students from Grade 6 through to Grade 12 get involved in morning assemblies lead by the Head Students and where there are lunch time interactive teamwork activities lead by the new Prefects. With a little bit of guidance and encouragement, and the opportunity to reflect on importance of leadership traits in their personal lives, ABC students readily step up to the challenge!
Warm regards,
Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary
Secondary dates for your diary
w/c Monday 2nd March - Bicultural Arts Week
Saturday 7th March - Bicultural Arts Production
Saturday 7th March - Comité Católico: Grades 9, 10 & 11
Friday 13th March (rescheduled) - Key Stage 3 Disco, 6.00pm to 9.00pm in the PAC. Priced at $3
Saturday, 14th March - SUMMER CARNIVAL
Tuesday 17th March - Grades 6 & 7 Parent Partnership Meeting with Cal 2 Reports
Thursday 19th March - Grades 9 & 11 Parent Partnership Meeting with Cal 2 Reports
Tuesday 24th March - Grade 8 Parent Partnership Meeting with Cal 2 Reports
Wednesday 25th March - Indigo Concert
Thursday 26th March - Grades 10 & 12 Parent Partnership Meeting.
Friday 27th March - Last day of Term 2
Monday 30th March to Friday 3rd April - Easter break
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