14: Friday 9th December 2016

From the Director 

I would like to start by saying how much I enjoyed the Upper Primary Christmas celebration last night. It was such an optimistic event. Our children are looking forward to Christmas with their families and it is wonderful to provide an opportunity to show that we as families together are also looking forward to it. I do think we underestimate the importance of family time for our children and they need to see us sharing their hopes and joys. It certainly happened last night. We still have six days of school until the end of term and I want to remind everyone that these days are important and we expect full attendance at school through to the end of term. Please take careful note of the pick up arrangements for each part of the school for next Friday.

At this holiday time I do not want to dampen the spirits but I have a responsibility to remind us of past holiday seasons which have not been so joyful. We must make sure we learn from the past. On a number of occasions we as a community have had to deal with accidents caused by people drinking and driving after holiday celebrations or parties. This might be adults, parents driving alone or with their families or even older students. Please can we all give the same message. It is never safe to drink alcohol and drive a car and we as adults must set that example for young people to follow. If your son or daughter goes to a party at this time of year please do not allow them to drive home but take time to go and collect them. We are clear to our students that they should not be drinking alcohol at their age but we are aware that outside school and at parties it may occasionally occur. Please be a vigilant parent who knows what your son or daughter is doing and take time to ensure their wellbeing so that if they make a mistake it does not have terrible consequences. We as a community must work together to ensure their safety as well as educating them. I am writing this message to all parents because even if your child is young you are still part of our community and are responsible for helping and protecting all members of our community.

Finally, please take a look at our news blog and our Facebook page, where we will be posting the story of Katherine Valladares, the daughter of one of our IT technicians. Katherine was the recipient of one of the many scholarships we award, using the funds collected during the Christmas and Spring Fairs. This past weekend, she graduated from Secondary school and we are extremely proud of the way our community comes together to help those who need it. We truly hope stories like Katherine’s encourage you to attend events that benefit our scholarship fund, as they are a great way to show our children there are many ways we can help others year round, and not just during the holiday season.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the events coming up next week. In the meantime I hope you have a great weekend.

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all the students and their families who came to the Upper Primary Christmas Concert last night. It is an event that has a tremendous atmosphere with the students giving their all and singing their hearts out for our enjoyment. They had been working for weeks in their music lessons, the grade singing lessons and more recently in the classrooms to learn the words and perfect the melodies and parts. It demonstrates their and your commitment to the school when we all dedicate our time to attend. The songs were in English and Spanish so it was also a bilingual evening. Of course none of it would happen without the hard work of our school staff. Mr Christopher Hall having an overview and keeping us all on schedule and in order, Mr Luis Diaz with his musical expertise bringing the best out of the students, Mr Paul Valladares working on the technical support with the microphones, backing music and all the sound and lights in general, Ms Vilma Rodriguez was videoing, Ms Roxana Flores and Ms Sandra Rivera from the Primary art department supervising the decoration of the stage, not to mention the work of the classroom teachers and assistants that you know so well. This year we added in a teacher’s song which was well received and we rounded off the evening with, what is now becoming traditional at this event, ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’ and ‘Feliz Navidad’ which was sung by everyone with great gusto. The evening was also enhanced by the Food Fair that was provided by the Upper Primary Madres Enlace. A big thank you to them all for the wonderful selection of delicious foods for everyone to taste and enjoy. I heard many compliments about what was available and one or two positive comments about the orderly queue as parents waited their turn. Well done parents, that was good modelling for the students to follow. We all feel that it was a great way to ‘kick off’ the Christmas seasonal events.

Talking of which, we have Santa’s Festival and the Lower Primary shows next Wednesday the 14th of December. We have been delighted with the jars that have been brought in, with their beautiful decorations and enticing contents. The tombola will be very popular as usual I am sure. All proceeds go to the school support staff scholarship fund. I have overheard some of the classes rehearsing for the shows and I can see that everyone is putting in a lot of effort again to create an enjoyable event for students and parents alike. The stalls at the fair will generally be run by school staff and there will be plenty of food vendors to keep everyone topped up for the evening.

The Whole school musical evening on Thursday will be the final event open to parents and it combines our Lower Primary Choir, the Upper Primary choir, the Secondary choir, the teachers and all the musicians in what will this year be a very contemporary Christmas event. It is called POP Christmas and should hit many of our favourites.

On Wednesday 5th Truscott performed a very mature look at the book ‘The War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo for their assembly. They considered the impact of World War 1, how it started, the conditions and looked at the statistics regarding the tragedies that occurred. They produced their own video clips to include and all spoke very clearly. Well Done 5th Truscott.

This week I have received all of the students posters for the Learning Definition poster competition. I will be judging them over the weekend and announcing the winners in the UP assembly on Monday and to the LP classes individually. The school council has also arranged a vote for our symbols for Knowledge, Skills and Understanding.

This is the last week for the charity collections. Thank you all for your contributions. The Upper Primary shoe boxes should be in by Tuesday and the Lower Primary Toy collection also finishes soon so that there is time to wrap the toys as presents. Our staff personally deliver them so we know they get to those in need. Any child who attends this school is so much better off than many of those in our local community. I feel very proud of the generosity of spirit that pervades the school at this time of year.

Please make sure you look at the whole school calendar on the website in order to be aware of upcoming events. The dates are provisionally set at the beginning of the year so you can look ahead to get an overview of what is coming up.

The leaving times for next Friday have been well publicised and we have asked Madres Enlace to let you know as well. There will be no excuses for children left in school. Please make sure you have arrangements in place now for your children.

Wishing you a busy but enjoyable week ahead.

Sharon Short

Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

December

Friday 9th: Lower Primary reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:10 - 6:50 pm PAC

Wednesday 14th: Early departure PK 11:00 Kinder 11:30 Prepa 12:30 1st 1:00

Thursday 15th: Last day of Team Sports - continue in January 9th, 2017

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP (with UP siblings) children leave at 11:00 am

Upper Primary

December

Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

The rest of UP at 11.30am

Secondary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to thank the ABC community for the warm welcome it has shown me during my first term as Head of Secondary. It has been an intense time for me as I have had much to learn but the support I have received has made that a very enjoyable experience as well. I am especially grateful to all the Secondary students who make coming to school every day a real pleasure. We have the occasional difficulty to sort out but it has always been with a genuine desire to improve and reflect ABC values. 

I am looking forward to seeing many parents next week at the Family Christmas lunches and I hope you will also be able to join us for the Christmas Concert on Thursday which should be a very enjoyable event with lots of opportunity to join in the singing.

Please note that the Secondary students must be collected at 12.pm on Friday when school closes.

So thank you all and I hope you enjoy your Christmas and New Year celebrations and have a good holiday.

Virginia Catlin

Head of Secondary

ROC Merits

Congratulations to all the students who enjoyed a cupcake today to recognise their award of a ROC Merit. They looked delicious!

GEOGRAPHY

Parents are invited to attend the Sustainable Business Fair (formerly known as the "Coffee Fair") outside the LRC during lunchtime (12.20-12.40) on Tuesday. Please all do come along and see the businesses the students have put together and taste some samples of the food and drink products. You and the whole school will have the opportunity to vote for the best product/business of the day. We will also be taking donations for the Grade 8 charity and your help and support would be much appreciated

And the winners of the Dragon’s Den competition were:

SPANISH

Our Spanish department has welcomed Laura Patricia Quinteros who is undertaking a Masters in teaching Spanish Language B. For her final project she needs to observe master classes in Language B and therefore requested our collaboration. The Spanish Department is honoured by this recognition of the level of our Language B programme.

SPORT

Congratulations to Ivana Salome representing El Salvador at the Central American Athletics meet where she was placed second as a member of the 4 x 100 relay team. Well done.

CAS PROJECTS

A team of grade 11 students are promoting this movie premiere and selling tickets to our community to collect funds for HOPAC (Cerebral Palsy Home). They will be grateful for your support.

Secondary dates for your diary

Monday 12th December12.30pm - Grade 6 Family Christmas

Tuesday 13th December 12.30pm - Grade 8 Business Fair followed by Family Christmas Wednesday 14th December - Grade 10 IGCSE Geography fieldtrip to Santa Ana volcano 

Thursday 15th December - 12.30pm - Grade 7 Family Christmas & ABC Pop Christmas Concert - 6pm PAC - $1 for charity

Friday 16th December - Last day of term, Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January - First day back to school

13: Friday 2nd December 2016

From the Director 

This is the time of year when parents of potentially new students need to be registering for a place in the coming school year. We have a limited number of places including in Pre-Kinder where we want to keep our classes small and very personal. If you, a member of your family or friends are thinking of their children joining us they need to get registered as soon as possible. This includes if you want your child to join the Class of 2032 and please be aware that if this class is full we will not be allowing entry to the class for Kinder. My advice is for your child to join Pre-Kinder and benefit from a prolonged experience of our values, learning English and settling into our way of learning and life.

It is always a pleasure to welcome an education visitor into school to share thoughts about how we can develop our school. This week Joe Terrasi from the Positive Coaching Alliance spent three days in school looking at our sports provision. Joe looked at all aspects of our sports programme, including Physical Education and Team Sports. The school leadership team and myself all spent time with Joe and we listened carefully to his thoughts and feedback. He was hugely impressed with us as a school in terms of our values and promoting a positive attitude. He is also showing us how to develop key areas of our school in terms of promoting sporting excellence. Sporting excellence means that children show commitment, take their sport seriously and have fun as part of a team. It also means they take pride and have a positive experience with their coach and their parents. Joe is proposing a model where we work with coaches, students, parents and school leaders to make this work. He started this process with parents at a meeting this week which was attended by some parents. Joe’s message was clear for parents. Your role is to promote life lessons through sports. Lessons which will help your child grow into a responsible outstanding citizen - learning about respect, commitment, teamwork and the joy of participation leading to success on the field and in their lives. Our role is to provide a safe, secure, positive environment where children grow as athletes with a commitment to their team and their coach. We need to help children celebrate their sporting achievements and use them as a springboard for success in all aspects of their lives. We have a three year partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance and are very excited at the prospects of better integrating our sports programmes into school and seeing even more success in the sports arena.

Anabella Soto, our Communications Officer in school is sending a brief survey for you to fill in order to help her identify our communications needs as we move forward. Please take some time to fill it in as your ideas are important to us.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend with your children. I am sure everyone is already starting to get excited a Christmas approaches. 

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to everyone who supported the Mix and Match day. We received many books in English and donations to the value of almost $350. Another great contribution by the ABC students. We have received a lovely lot of jars for Santa’s Fair Tombola stall and the shoe boxes are beginning to collect in the Primary offices. It gives me such a proud and warm feeling to see what we can achieve when we all work together. The Secondary Shoeing campaign is currently underway so if you have any shoes that you no longer need please send them in and there are ‘Christmas grams’, another seasonal tradition in the school, available from the library staff. Thank you for all the contributions so far.

Last Friday Grade 2 had the annual overnight camp. The teachers slept under the stars and the students were in the tents. This gives teachers better monitoring options! Everyone had a great time, although it was tiring for students and staff alike. With the pool party, the outside movie and the scavenger hunt they were all ready to sleep. We would like to thank those parents who helped and prepared a delicious dinner and of course our own Grade 2 staff for organising it all.

The Upper Primary Christmas concert will take place on the 8th of December. The students are already rehearsing their parts and their songs. Last year was the first year we had the concert and it was a resounding success. We are hoping to repeat that this year. Please make sure your children know all the words to their special songs. We sometimes find they fade a bit after the first verse.

On Wednesday the Primary School Council met with Joe Terrasi the sports advisor visiting the school. He said it made his day when one of our second grade representatives was able to explain a growth mindset to him. He was a very impressive speaker and the students were reluctant to leave him after their session was over. They had so many interesting and appropriate questions. One of the concepts he shared with them was the ‘flush’. I won't tell you what it is but if it filters back to you through your children please take careful note. 

Please keep a careful eye on the school calendar and the upcoming events. I would like to give you early warning about the school closing, as always on the last day of term, at 11.00 for Lower Primary and 11.30 for Upper Primary. Please make sure all your friends know. I really do take a dim view of negligent parents who leave their children sitting here until almost 2.00pm.

Enjoy the last couple of weeks of school. We do have many exciting events planned.

Best wishes,

Sharon Short

Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

December

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular session
Thursday 8th: Prepa trip to the toy shop in Súper Selectos

Friday 9th: Lower Primary reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:15 - 6:40pm PAC

Thursday 15th: Last day of Team Sports - continue in January 9th, 2017

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP (with UP siblings) children leave at 11:00am

Upper Primary

December

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY

Wednesday 7th: 5th Truscott Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC
Thursday 8th: UP Christmas Concert 6.00pm

Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

The rest of UP at 11.30am

Secondary News

BOOK WEEK

As we approach the end of term, the pace of life in Secondary continues to be very busy. This week we have been celebrating Book Week with a variety of fun activities and competitions to remind us all of the joys of reading. One of these was a competition to design a book cover, an illustration for the front and a ‘blurb’ for the back. This is just one of the delightful entries by Khristy Zhang from 6d.

DRAGON’S DEN

Over the past couple of months the whole of Grade 8 have been working hard in an exciting cross- curricular project within IT and Geography. This project involved students taking on different roles to plan and create their own sustainable businesses in preparation for a big fair outside the LRC to showcase their products. This will be held for students to attend at lunchtime on Tuesday, 13th December. 

This week during the presentation finals (called the Dragon’s Den), we saw some of the business ideas come to life. We saw examples of solar powered lighting solutions for houses, healthy alternatives to your normal drinks and even an app to cut down procrastination from work. After the presentations, each group received valuable feedback from our panel of judges. Using this feedback, the students will now reflect on their ideas to get ready for the big fair! We are all looking forward to see what the final creations will look (and taste) like.

A successful Sustainable Project so far.... Well done Grade 8! 

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

Congratulations to the Marketing Competition Finalists who all made very impressive presentations of their business ideas to a panel of judges last week. I was delighted to be a member of that panel and was very impressed by both the quality of their products and the work the had put into their presentations. The final decision was very difficult but the the places were 1st Churritop, 2nd Sushi Burgers and 3rd Shake House

Positive Coaching Alliance

As Mr Keslake described, the school welcomed Joe Terassi this week to look at our sporting provision. During that time he held a session with many of our Tribal Chiefs on leadership in sport and how they could support positive coaching values with their teams and support each other as a team of leaders. We enjoyed the session very much and the students had many questions for him at the end of his talk.

Secondary dates for your diary

Friday 2nd December - Senior Christmas Family Day

Monday 5th December - IB Group 4 Science Project

Tuesday 6th December - IGCSE Award Ceremony for Grade 11 Parents - 6:30pm PAC

Thursday 8th December - Grade 7 Art trip to Casa Blanca, Chalchuapa

Thursday 8th & Friday 9th December - Grade 10 IGCSE Art mock exam

Wednesday 14th December - Grade 10 IGCSE Geography fieldtrip to Santa Ana volcano 

Thursday 15th December - ABC Pop Christmas Concert - 6pm PAC - $1 for charity

Friday 16th December - Last day of term, Christmas holidays

Monday 9th January - First day back to school

12: Friday 25th November 2016

From the Director 

As Christmas comes nearer we are all gearing up for our annual celebrations and festivities. I know that especially for our children Christmas is a wonderful time of year. A time of hope and optimism, when all of us but especially children look forward to family time and to everyone being happy together. I have to admit I am looking forward to seeing my children return to El Salvador for Christmas. As adults I think we sometimes forget how important quality family time is for children. 

I also would like us to use Christmas as an opportunity to help other families create a happy Christmas for their families and to provide for children who do not have their own family. We are hoping all our children will be able to provide a shoebox of gifts for a child like them who otherwise would not be enjoying a Christmas gift. Wethink this helps our children understand how they can share the spirit of Christmas with others who are perhaps less fortunate than them. Class teachers and Heads of Year will be contacting you about details for providing these shoeboxes.

Primary News

Dear Parents and carers,

Guy Fawkes night was another great success. It is probably my favourite event of the year. We asked the UP students who had gone along in assembly on Monday morning and they all put their hands up. We asked who had a great time and they all put their hands up again - so it seems I am not the only one! I was very proud of the choirs who sang, the batucada group and the primary dance squad. We have a lot of talent and enthusiasm here in Primary right now which is great. Thank you to all the teachers who worked with the students to help them reach a good standard. Thank you too to parents who supported as well. We have also asked the students for their ideas about anything they think was missing from the event. We have had a request for milkshakes. If you think that there was a little something that would have made the event even better for you if it had been included please do let me know via email. I also made some lovely purchases at the Fair in the auditorium. You may know someone who would be interested to sell their wares next year. Keep them in mind.

I currently do two early morning car park duties in school each week. Although many of our drivers are really expert at handling the situation, we still have a few drivers who have a complete lack of awareness and block up the drop off points by not pulling all the way forward or taking forever to get the children out of the car. Please have your last minute conversations as you come along the road, gather the bags together as you come through the school gate and hand over any money before you leave the house. Some students take ages sorting out these things.

On Tuesday we had the Prepa Curriculum Night. There were six short presentations about various areas of the curriculum including maths games, writing through play, storytelling using props, Spanish reading, music and games you can play in your car. However, the main focus of the evening was food in lunchboxes which include excessive amounts of sugar. We were astounded by our research findings and the impact such a poor diet has on learning and the ability to focus on learning. So, our request was for parents to look at labels, to think carefully when shopping, and to encourage children to eat healthier food. Remember the guidelines say that 19 grams of sugar per day is the recommended allowance for a 5-6 year old child. Additional to this, your child needs on average, 11 hours of sleep per night. Quality sleep occurs when a child goes to bed in a quiet, dark space. No TVs, no iPads or tablet devices, no phones, no computers. They should not have had access to any form of technology during the hour before they go to sleep. We hope these reminders will have a positive impact on your family and that you will see the benefits in the future. Thank you, as always, for your support!

Have a great weekend.

Sharon Short

Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

December

Thursday 1st: Pre-Kinder and Kinder Extracurricular activities, sessión 3, sign up

Friday 2nd: Prepa and 1st grade  Extracurricular activities, sessión 3, sign up

Friday 2nd: Prepa Taylor assembly 7:30am PAC

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular session

Friday 9th: Lower Primary reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:30 - 6:30pm PAC

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP (with UP siblings) children leave at 11:00am

Upper Primary

November

Friday 25th/Saturday 26th: 2nd Grade Camping

Wednesday 30th: 4th Guzmán Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

December

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY

Wednesday 7th: 5th Truscott Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Thursday 8th: UP Christmas Concert

Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Secondary News

Secondary Sports Day

On Thursday afternoon the whole school was outside for the finals of the inter-Tribal Sports Day competitions. It went very well and congratulations to all those who took part, not only in the finals but all the games that took place in the run up to the day. The Tribal Chiefs did a great job in helping to organise the day and in leading their Tribes out to the pitches. Next year we hope to be even more ambitious. The overall placings for the day were:

1st place Pipiles

2nd place Incas

3rd place Aztecs

4th place Mayas

Drama Group Performance of Subtext

This was an excellent production, enjoyed by all who saw it. The quality and maturity of the performances was impressive and did justice to the humour of the script. The comic timing showed by these young actors had the audience laughing throughout the piece. I am now looking forward to another opportunity to see them in action and can heartily recommend them to you in the future.

We hope you will be able to support the campaigns that the Secondary students are running in these final weeks of term, in particular the Recycling Competition and the Christmas Shoe Box Campaign.

Important date for your diary, come and enjoy a mixture of performance and opportunities to join in and singalong to some Christmas favourites such as Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Feliz Navidad

ABC Christmas Celebration 2016 - POP CHRISTMAS!

Performing Arts Centre 

Thursday, 15 December 

6:00 - 7:30 pm

For the entire ABC community

Entrance: $1 tickets (for charity)

Refreshments: Refreshments sold before and after the concert

Victor Saade is part of the class of 2003 at the ABC. After his graduation that year, he started studying Business and Management and after that he went to a variety of European countries like Switzerland, Italy, France...and so on to learn about cuisine and flavours. His basic idea was always to set up his own business as either a cafe or a restaurant...so with this idea in mind he started with this "Sucree" place in 2011. After facing and overcoming a variety of obstacles (briefly explained in the talk yesterday) the business improved a lot in such a way that his father increased the support including the acquisition of the facilities where the business is nowadays.

What I particularly enjoyed the most was that he supported my idea of success to be explained to my students...meaning that in the school motto "effort leads to success", the word effort has a very high weighting.....as shown in the attachment.

Carlos Cabeza

11: Friday 18th November 2016

From the Director 

As I write this letter we are all looking forward to the traditional Guy Fawkes party tonight. This is a community event in the sense that it is produced by the community for the community. It has been amazing to see all the hard work that has gone into the shows and providing a fun, safe environment for our students to have fun. I hope you enjoy the event and that you go away feeling proud of our community and especially our students who contributed to the whole event.

I am delighted to report that we have just received the PAES results and they were better than last year with 97% of our students achieving the Highest category. We are so proud of the way they juggled their PAES examinations alongside the demands of their IB diploma. Well done Class of 2017.

Next week we are focusing on one of our core values which is ethical. Many of our students have been working producing ways of reminding us how to be ethical. In particular the IGCA team have been looking at REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE as part of our ethical response to the needs of our planet and sustainability. I hope we are all able to listen to this message and that at home you can help our students by reinforcing these important principles.

I hope you all have a pleasant weekend with your children.

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we had a very exciting entry point for our Grade 1 students on Tuesday when they went to the circus. Some of our enthusiastic and talented parents got together and practiced some very entertaining routines for the children to watch. Including sawing a lady in half! The costumes were fabulous, the children were enthralled and really enjoyed the whole experience, from the ticket booth and finding their seat, to the popcorn and being volunteers for the acts. These parents were great role models for the students and great team players. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated.

Thank you as well to those parents who came into school for the maths workshops. The students love to show you what they are learning and it helps to keep you up to date with current maths teaching strategies. It is very important that you show your appreciation of your child’s efforts in these events and model being interested and engaged by watching closely and asking questions. Students learn so much from you their parents and being in school is a great opportunity for you to send a positive message about school.

It has been British Week this week and we have all given a thought to the ‘old country’. Some classes have been looking at British food or British songs and of course it was Remembrance Day, last week. It will culminate tonight with the Guy Fawkes night event starting from 5.30. I do hope to see you all there.

International mindedness and our value Global are a vital part of the education process. We need our students to be aware of the world around them and to be able to cope with it. Our charity programmes work well with our motto of ‘think globally act locally.’ Today was our non-uniform day in support of the CAS students project to collect workbooks for students in school. Education resources are a worldwide problem for many, but we can make a difference here in El Salvador. There are several charity donation letters coming out at the moment. The Lower Primary decorated and filled jars for Santa’s Festival on December 14th, the UP Shoebox campaign will be starting soon as well as the LP toy collection, another CAS student non-uniform day to collect reading books with English text and one for the tombola prizes for Santa’s Festival. All money raised goes to a good cause and at this time of year we particularly like to support those around us. Please contribute as much as you can and enjoy the process with your children.

Best wishes for a great week.

Sharon Short

Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

November

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Evening 5:30pm onwards

Friday 18th: Prepa Macdonald assembly 7:30am PAC

Tuesday 22nd: Prepa Curriculum Night 6:00pm PAC

Friday 25th: Prepa Butler assembly 7:30am PAC

December

Friday 2nd: Prepa Taylor assembly 7:30am PAC

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:30 - 6:30pm PAC

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Upper Primary

November

Wednesday 23rd: 4th Spanish Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Friday 25th/Saturday 26th: 2nd Grade Camping

Wednesday 30th: 4th Guzmán Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

December

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY

Wednesday 7th: 5th Truscott Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Thursday 8th: UP Christmas Concert

Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Secondary News

DON’T MISS ALL THE FUN AT THE GUY FAWKES & CHRISTMAS FAIR

Drama Production

On Wednesday the Drama Club will be giving two performances of a play on the very relevant theme of social media. They have been working very hard in rehearsals and are looking forward to the performances. Please come and support our thespians, a good audience is the best reward!

Environment Week

Next week sees the start of a focus on the environment. I am sure we would all like to live in a world without the blot of litter on the landscape as well as the more serious consequences of an accumulation of waste products such as non-biodegradable.

 plastics.

The IGCA team are launching this focus with a Tribal Recycling Competition so please start collecting these items.

Christmas Shoe Box Campaign

Next week we will be joining the Primary Section in launching this year’s annual campaign to provide Christmas presents for children who may not otherwise receive any. We are asking ABC students and their families to fill ordinary shoe boxes again this year.

Please include at least one each of the following: (All items should be new)

• An item of new clothing to fit the age range you have chosen
• A new pair of socks
• Tooth paste and a tooth brush
• Candles
• Cookies
• A toy

As well as any other article you wish to include such as colouring pencils, stickers, scissors or special things that a child may enjoy at Christmas.

Further information will be included in a letter to all parents.

Guy Fawkes & Christmas Fair

Finally, we are looking forward to seeing you all this evening to enjoy musical performances, Spooky Cellar, Christmas shopping, and of course, the fireworks! There will be three musical shows at 6, 7 & 8 p.m. with two firework displays during the intervals.

Secondary dates for your diary

November

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Night & Christmas Fair, 5.30 - 8.30 p.m.

Wednesday 23rd: Drama production, Subtext. Performances at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Thursday 24th: Sports Day

Friday 25th: Jeans Day for Grade 7 & 8 only to support Corazones Solidarios

10: Friday 11th November 2016

From the Director 

It has been excellent for me to be back in school today as I have been out of the country this week visiting another British international school in Chicago. I was there as part of a Council of International School (CIS) accreditation team. As I hope you are aware the ABC is a member of CIS which means we are recognised as a school which meets their international standards and that we teach our students in a safe supportive environment in preparation for an internationally minded future. The visit helped me realise that we have so much to be proud of in our school but also of the importance of all of us working together to achieve the educational experience we want for our children.

We are hoping to see a huge community turn out for Guy Fawkes night next Friday. Please do come along and support this very British event,have some fun with your children and do some Christmas shopping. Many of our students will be running activities in support of their community projects. We would like to say a big thank you to all the students and families that supported the Colour Run last Friday. We raised over $3,000 for various Save the Children projects which will improve young people's lives here in our country.

We have been marking Remembrance Day in school this week with poppies which in Britain are a reminder of the end of the First World War which ended exactly 98 years ago today. We have used this celebration to remind us of the joy of peace and to help launch British Week next week. You can see some information on our Remembrance Day assembly on our news blog. Our Guy Fawkes party will mark the end of British Week which must not be missed!

I hope you have a great weekend.

Primary News

Dear Parents and carers,

I hope you all had an enjoyable week with your children and that everyone in the family is rested and ready for the run up to Christmas. 

Today is Armistice day in the UK. Armistice Day is commemorated every year on November 11 to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. The date was declared a national holiday in many allied nations, and coincides with Remembrance Day and Veterans Day. We wear poppies to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom in the two great wars.

We have had 3rd grade out on a trip to the Palacio National this week and 4th Grade camped out overnight last night. The students really benefit from these experiences outside of school and we thank you for your support for the things we arrange.

Next week we have the Pre-Kinder curriculum night. A chance for Pre-Kinder parents to learn more about what their children are learning in school and how to support them in their development at home. The recent Grade 1 and Kinder evenings have been a delight and I am very proud of the achievements of our staff and very appreciative of the time and effort they put into these events.

We will be taking school photographs next week of the class and individual ones. Class teachers will let you know when their class is scheduled so you can make sure your child is wearing their best uniform on the day. The same rules as always apply, hair tied back if long, no jewellery and sensible plain dark shoes with a fastener.

On the 18th of November (next Friday) it is the first of a series of non-uniform days for good causes. For this particular one we are asking students to bring in a new school notebook in exchange for wearing their own clothes to school. This event has been organised by a group of our grade 12 CAS students and the notebooks will be donated to a local school. There will be a bake sale on during the day as well and this is all on the same day as the Guy Fawkes night event that Mr Keslake mentions above. It means that there will be no need for the students to get changed when they get home and we hope you will all be coming straight back for an enjoyable and exciting evening.

 

The second non-uniform day has a bit of a twist and we will be calling it ‘Mix and Match day’. We will be asking the students to come in patterned clothes, the more clashes the better. Stripes with floral, dots with checks, whatever combination they can come up with. This is also a CAS day and the students have prepared a letter to explain everything which will be with you shortly. 

Finally Lower Primary students only will be having a non-uniform day in preparation for Santa’s Festival. Once again we will be having a tombola stall and we will be asking students to bring in a clean decorated jar refilled with new items that any other child would be glad to receive such as small toys, lego, goodies to eat, jewellery, colouring or art equipment, hair decorations; just think about what your child would like to find and pop it in there, including Christmassy items. The letter explaining will also be out this coming week. Please keep an eye open for the detailed information. 

We have another busy week ahead. Please check the school calendar and the dates below and have a good weekend.

Sharon Short

Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

November

Monday 14th - Thursday 17th: School photos

Thursday 17th: Pre-Kinder Curriculum Night 6:00pm PAC

Friday 18th: Non-uniform day bring in an exercise book.

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Evening 5:30pm onwards

Friday 18th: Prepa Macdonald assembly 7:30am PAC

Tuesday 22nd: Prepa Curriculum Night 6:00pm PAC

Friday 25th: Prepa Butler assembly 7:30am PAC

December

Friday 2nd: Prepa Taylor assembly 7:30am PAC

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:30 - 6:30pm PAC

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Upper Primary

November

Monday 14th - Thursday 17th: School photos

Wednesday 16th: 2nd Avilés Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Friday 18th: Non uniform day - bring in an exercise book.

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Evening 5:30pm onwards

Friday 18th: 3rd Grade British Bake Sale

Wednesday 23rd: 4th Spanish Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Friday 25th/Saturday 26th: 2nd Grade Camping

Wednesday 30th: 4th Guzmán Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

December

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY

Wednesday 7th: 5th Truscott Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Thursday 8th: UP Christmas Concert

Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Secondary News

Colour Run fundraising

Well done to the Prefect Team who did a fantastic job organising the Colour Run on the last day of term. They all worked hard to prepare for the day and special thanks to the Head Girl and Boy, María Fernanda Arteaga and Eduardo Portillo, and also Mr Merry and Ms Cáceres, for their tireless efforts to make the day such a success. Students from Primary and Secondary sections had great fun running the gauntlet of coloured flour and water as they struggled to complete the challenge. Altogether the impressive sum of $3.045.68 was raised for this very good cause. To finish off the event all those who completed the most laps were entered into a raffle for the prizes. The lucky winners were:

1st Place - Kiefer Coolidge Johnson G10

2nd Place- Kyle Farrel Depooter G9

3rd Place- Emilio Moreno G12

United Nations Week

The run was preceded by a special assembly to celebrate United Nations week which included an interesting reading of Little Red Riding Hood by students and teachers from Primary and Secondary in 21 languages. We also welcomed Mr Franklin Perdomo, Programme Development Manager for Save the Children in El Salvador, to the assembly to give a presentation on the work of Save the Children in El Salvador.

British Week

This week Mr Hall has been delivering assemblies on the significance of today, Remembrance Day. Poppies have been available in school for students and teachers to wear in remembrance of the casualties of the Great War and subsequent conflicts.

On a lighter note the cafeteria is also serving its special British Week menu offering dishes such as Shepherd’s Pie and Chicken Tikka Masala. We look forward to celebrating the end of next week with you all at the combined Guy Fawkes and Christmas Fair on Friday. 

Once again the Student Council will be offering a ‘Spooky Cellar’ to provide scary fun for all.

Thank You to Exabrits

This week we were grateful to Paola Amaya and Gabriela Rivera who came into school to help with an EC Business Marketing Project and an in-class Business Marketing Project, both being run by the Business Department. We are lucky to have such a talented pool of ex ABC students who are willing to contribute to the education of their successors. If any other Exabrits would be interested in sharing their expertise in any way we would be happy to hear from you.

Maths Relay

On Wednesday Grade 6 students took part in a competitive Maths Relay as a revision exercise and to prove that Maths Is Fun! The students competed over a course of different Maths skills in the Tribal Teams.

Congratulations to Pipils who were overall winners.

Sport

We would like to thank you all for all the support provided for students taking part in the Juegos Estudiantiles. Academia Britanica Cuscatleca was awarded by INDES, Instituto Nacional de Los Deportes 1st place ​for most participation in the 55 Juegos Estudiantles por el Departamento de La Libertad. Well done to all the students involved and thank you to the coaches for all their hard work and support.

Arts at the ABC

Music

During Thursday morning’s assembly on Remembrance, students and teachers were treated to a performance of Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s opera, Dido and Aenaeus. This was sung by Ms Dee Leong, Head of Music and Performing Arts accompanied by a string quartet. Thank you to the performers in the string quartet, Sofia Castro on Violin 1, Gabriela Quiusky on Violin 2, Savannah Leavitt on Viola and Mr Jorge Medina on Cello who provided an inspiring start to our day.

Drama

Please make time to support drama students who will be offering two performances of the play Subtext on Wednesday 23rd November in the PAC.

In Tyler Dwiggins’ play Subtext, we ‘roll the dice’ through social media: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp etc using mediums like mobile phones, tablets and laptops to unravel the stories of teenagers and how perhaps, being hooked to this trendy culture might have dire consequences. In the end, the questions our audiences must ask themselves are, what would the world be like without social media? Is posting a perfect selfie or making a relationship ‘Facebook official’ a chance worth taking?

The cast and crew are eager to thrill you on the 23rd November at the PAC with two shows. One at 3:00pm and the other at 6:00pm. 

Students, parents, teachers, friends and the El Salvador community are all welcome. The shows will be free, however, there will be a charity box to donate an amount towards one of the school’s charities. 

Art

Ms Lucila González, Head of Art and Muralist, has been invited to take part in a national event celebrating art in Central America. She has been working on her piece during the half-term break and is working during the evenings of this week to complete the work. The finished work will be launched on the 15th November at the Exposicion y del II Encuentro de Muralismo y Arte Publico Latinamericano. El Ministerio de Educacion y La Universidad de El Salvador UES.

School Photos

School photos will be taken throughout next week. The schedule for the week has been shared with students who should ensure they are prepared for the time slot allocated to their form.

Secondary dates for your diary

November

Saturday 12th: Geography IB Fieldwork Trip

Monday 14th: School photos will be taken during this week

Tuesday 15th: Grade 10 & 12 Parent/Teacher Meeting, 4.30-7 p.m.

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Night & Christmas Fair

Wednesday 23rd: Drama production, Subtext. Performances at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Thursday 24th: Sports Day

Friday 25th: Jeans Day for Grade 7 & 8 only to support Corazones Solidarios

9: Friday 28th October 2016

From the Director 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday period. I hope you have received your copy of the ABC Yearly for last year and enjoy looking through it. It certainly does bring back some happy memories. 

We have had a wonderful UN Week with celebrations of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) with Save the Children and our Colour Run. We had a guest speaker from Save the Children to celebrate the work we are doing with them. I would like to say a big thank you to all the prefects who helped so much with the UN Week events end especially the Colour Run on Friday. They really are excellent role models and we appreciate their effort and work. If you would like more information on the SDGs please have a look at our ABC Newsblog which has a simple guide. In the same way that we worked to help El Salvador meet the MDGs we want to play our part to ensure the SDGs are a success. We believe we can use them to help our students understand their responsibilities to a sustainable future in a safer and happier world. 

I would also like to thank the sponsors who helped make the Colour Run possible by contributing drinks, flour, food or activities to support the event: Riso ComColour, Alpina, Industrias La Constancia, Destroy It, Dreamland, Shaws, Crepe Lovers, Kempo Lions, TCS, La Prensa Grafica and Canal 21 and 33.

We have sent home some traffic guidelines today which we are also posting on the Parent page of the school website. It is vital we all act in a safe manner during our morning drop off and afternoon pick ups to ensure the safety of all our children. Please read them and ensure you understand what is expected of you or your drivers at these times.

Please note we will be celebrating British Week the week after we return and that culminates in our Guy Fawkes Party on Friday 18th November to which you are all invited. Please make a note in your diary.

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all those students who purchased a kit and took part in the Colour Run for ‘Save the Children’. I hope you enjoyed it and were not too messy when you got home! All funds raised will be helping a very good cause. Thank you too if you chose to wear your jeans and contributed a dollar to these causes.

Over the next week your children will probably not have the same exposure to the English language as usual. Although Spanish is very important, we do need our students to understand that if they do not speak in English their language skills will decrease. So “use it or lose it’ is our reminder to all our students. Please encourage them to read an English book as well as a Spanish one or chat to someone in English whenever possible over the holiday.

Last week I mentioned that we were concerned about the contents of lunchboxes and the damage too much sugar can do. This week I am still talking about food. Please make sure your children have breakfast before they get to school in the morning. We have had many of our older Primary students complaining they are hungry as soon as they get to school and then when we investigate we find out that they were not given breakfast at home. Breakfast is a very important meal and children cannot learn if they are focussed on their hunger pangs! A breakfast that includes protein is best.

This week we have asked our students to vote on a simple definition of ‘learning’. We asked the students to tell us what they thought learning was and then took their ideas and compiled them into three potential definitions. The students have been voting for their favourite all week. I am very interested to see which definition wins. The IPC defines learning as ‘the staged process of extending and consolidating our neuronal constellations as we acquire knowledge, develop skills and dispositions and deepen our understanding.’ I think you will agree that is a bit tricky for the students but they have included many of the same elements. 

Thank you to all the parents who attended the excellent Kinder curriculum night. They are so great it really is a shame if you miss them. Please parents remember that it is very impolite to be using your phone for anything other than filming the presentation. You need to focus on what is being shared in order to really understand, just as your children need to in school sometimes. 

Our Primary staff are very tired this week as are the students. We are all looking forward to a rest. Please do not fill up your children’s week with pre-planned activities but let them play with their toys and make a mess at home for some of the time. I hope you all have a lovely week together. 

Sharon Short

Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

November

Monday 31st - Friday 4th: Half term Holiday

Monday 14th - Friday 18th: School photos
Thursday 17th: Pre-Kinder Curriculum night

Friday 18th :Non -uniform day bring in an exercise book.

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Evening 5:30pm onwards

Friday 18th: Prepa Macdonald assembly 7:30am PAC
Tuesday 22nd: Prepa Curriculum night

Friday 25th: Prepa Butler assembly 7:30am PAC

December

Friday 2nd: Prepa Taylor assembly 7:30am PAC

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:30 - 6:30pm PAC

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Upper Primary

November

Monday 31st Oct-Friday 4th Nov: Half term Holiday

Thursday 10th/Friday 11th: 4th Grade Camping

Monday 14th - Friday 18th: School photos

Wednesday 16th: 2nd Avilés Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Friday 18th: Non uniform day - bring in an exercise book.

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Evening 5:30pm onwards

Wednesday 23rd: 4th Spanish Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Friday 25th/Saturday 26th: 2nd Grade Camping

Wednesday 30th: 4th Guzmán Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

December

Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY

Wednesday 7th: 5th Truscott Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC

Thursday 8th: UP Christmas Concert

Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm

Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am

Secondary News

Student Leadership

On Saturday our leaders of the future spent a very productive morning at school taking part in Grade 11 Empowerment Day and the Student Council Training Day. Mr Quijano and a team of G12 Prefects lead the activities of the Empowerment Day and Mr Keslake, Mr Hall, Ms Caceres and Ms Catlin lead the workshops for the Student Council. Our Student Council are a really splendid group of young people who are committed to the development of the ABC. All of us leading the workshops were very impressed by their maturity and sense of purpose. Some of the ideas and strategies that developed as a result of the morning’s activities will be developed by the StuCo during the coming year.

We would also like to thank our keynote speaker for the day, ABC parent Ms Paola Barragan, for generously giving of her time. Ms Barragan spoke to the students about her experiences working with UN and USAID funded projects around the world and provided food for thought on the leadership issues of putting vision into practice in difficult circumstances.

Remembrance

The week after half term we will be remembering those who have lost their lives in the many conflicts of the twentieth and twenty first centuries. We will have poppies in school for students and teachers to wear in remembrance and Mr Hall will be talking to students about the history behind the poppy appeals in assemblies that week. Remembrance Day is marked on the 11th day of the 11th month when, at 11 a.m. in 1918 the guns fell silent on the Western Front of the Great War. Unfortunately the world has continued to suffer many conflicts since then and the poppy has come to symbolise all war dead, not just those of the First World War.

FUND RAISING CAMPAIGNS 

Cancer Awareness

On Friday October 21st, ACTUA had a fundraising campaign, Pink Nail Friday. During this event, the total money collected was $36.00. Overall, the October Awareness Campaign has collected $238.85. This money collected will total $274.35. Hopefully, by the end of this week, we will be able to donate 25 free mammograms, at the Cancer Institute, for women who are not be able to afford them. 

On Wednesday this week it was WE WEAR PINK. Students and Secondary Staff, male and female,wore pink shirts and jeans in order to support Breast Cancer. 

This weekend there is the SUNDAY AVON WALK, we are inviting you to participate with staff members and the ABC family to walk around Santa Elena, in front of the American Embassy. The event starts at 7:00 am, pets are allowed to come. We hope to see many of the ABC family there supporting this worthwhile cause.

Colour Run

The Colour Run is taking place today, Friday, following on from our assembly celebrating the United Nations. The funds raised will go to support work done by Save the Children in El Salvador. We would like to thank the sponsors who have contributed to this event:

Destroy It; Riso ComColour; Alpina; Industrias La Constancia; Kempo Lions; Crepe Lovers; TCS; La Prensa Grafica; Canal 33; Canal 21; Shaw’s; Dreamland.

Sports News

Congratulations to the Grade 9 boys who qualified for the final of the LV Juegos Estudiantiles Futsala. The game took place at Colegio Nazareth earlier this week. They were unfortunate to lose this final but should be proud to have advanced so far in the competition. Well done to: Rodrigo Melara, Rodrigo Ágreda, Ricardo Vásquez, Peyman Esmaeili, Andrés Hernández, Andrés López, Roberto Berganza, Matteo Cabrero, José Águila, Sebastián Avilés.

Next week is half term holiday and we wish you all a restful break.

Secondary dates for your diary

October

Friday 28th: End of First Half Term and Colour Run

Monday 31st: Start of week long half term holiday

November

Saturday 12th: Geography IB Fieldwork Trip

Monday 14th: School photos will be taken during this week

Friday 18th: Guy Fawkes Night & Christmas Fair