From the Director
In my role as Director I am in a fortunate position to be able to see our school curriculum in action. Whether it is seeing our Pre Kinder students concentrating intently on their artwork or our Senior Students discussing their forthcoming examination there are so many aspects of an ABC education which shine through. Here at the ABC the common aspects of our education involve putting our values into action. We recognise the importance of developing creative, enthusiastic and resilient learners who have the confidence to define and solve problems. We see these traits as investments in their futures as our young people grow into a world where they will want to continue learning and responding to a rapidly changing world. I am always struck by the positive way in which our ex students take on challenges, after they have left school, and I can see evidence of the skills and confidence when they come back and visit school.
I would like to remind you that we have a couple of INSET training events coming up. School is closed on Friday 12th February and we are also closing early for Primary and Secondary students (except Grade 9 who have an empowerment afternoon) on Thursday 18th February for staff training time. These are important events for us to ensure our teaching team is working and planning activities together.
On a final note I want to apologise for a calendar clash which is coming up next month. On Saturday 20 February we have our Primary Spring Fair which all Primary students are required to attend and then the following Saturday, 27 February we have the Parent Association Summer Carnival. Originally they were further apart but the Parent Association had to move the Summer Carnival because of a clash with another event where we needed to share car parking space. We looked at many dates and tried to split these events but with curriculum preparation needed for the Spring Fair and the parking space needed for the Summer Carnival there were no other choices. I do apologise as I know they are both busy, potentially expensive events which children enjoy. We are going to plan to separate them into different terms next year to avoid this situation.
Have a pleasant weekend with your children.
Primary News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Tuesday was our Prospective Parents Night when the parents of children who are applying to the school visit and get a flavour of life in school. Attendance was high and there is a lot of interest in coming into Pre-Kinder. We have restricted our entry numbers as we believe that we would like to have slightly smaller classes and our entrance evaluations begin on Saturday. If you have not signed up for your child please do so immediately as we do not want you to be disappointed. Thank you to the school staff who stayed late again and made the evening such a pleasant success.
The Spring Fair is approaching. This year it will be held on the 20th February and as always it will be a lovely event for our Primary families. It will also be run and manned by the Upper Primary students and because this is an educational event all of Upper Primary are expected to attend and have the commercial experience.
Please note that it is at this event that all the lost and found items that have accumulated over the last few months are sold off or donated to charity. Please go and check both the primary and secondary cages for anything that might belong to your child, lunch boxes, bags, coats, shoes etc. If you need a key to access something, they are available from the school secretaries.
Following the very successful recent trip to Mammoth for Skiing and snowboarding residential trip, I would like to give you advance notice of some further trip information that will be coming out over the next few days (If it hasn’t already!). We will be writing to you about your last chance to sign up for the Costa Rica adventure trip which is open to Grades 4, 5 and 6. We will be writing to you to see who is interested in going on the UK trip in 2017, Grade 4 only,( next year’s Grade 5s) and we will also be letting you know about next year’s ski and snowboarding trip to Mammoth again, Grades 3, 4 and 5. Please keep an eye out for these letters and respond quickly. It makes trips very difficult to organise if families do not respond until the last minute.
The clown Fransortes, who has been a regular guest at our school for many years and delighted our students with his antics, has been admitted to hospital as he is most unwell. We would like to organise a collection for him to support him at this time of difficulty. We are proposing a ‘Paint your Face Day’ to this effect. On February 11th children are allowed to come into school with their face painted for $1. If you are not able to decorate their face at home we will be offering a face painting service in school for $1.50. All proceeds will go to help Fransortes. We look forward to seeing you all with your colourful faces.
Our secondary CAS students have organised another event for our students to enjoy. Take a good look at the poster and map below and tell your friends. We hope you have an enjoyable family outing.
Best wishes for a lovely weekend.
Sharon Short
Head of Primary.
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
February
Friday 5th: Kinder Quintanilla assembly - 7:45 am - PAC
Saturday 6th: Mini Fair
Thursday 11th: Paint your face day
Friday 12th School closed to students
Monday 15th School closed
Friday 19th: Kinder Carbajal assembly - 7:45 am - PAC
Saturday 20th: Spring Fair 9:00 am - 12 pm
Friday 26th: Kinder González assembly - 7:45 am - PAC
Upper Primary
February
Wednesday 3rd: 3rd Brenes Assembly at the PAC. 9.20 and 12.15
Saturday 6th: Mini Fair
Wednesday 10th: 2nd Aviles Assembly at the PAC. 9.20 and 12.15
Thursday 11th February - Paint your face day
Friday 12th School closed to students
Monday 15th School closed
Wednesday 17th: 3rd grade Spanish Assembly at the PAC. 9.20 and 12.15
Wednesday 24th: 5th Caceres Assembly at the PAC. 9.20 and 12.15
Friday 26th: Extracurricular Activities Session 3 Finishes
March
Wednesday 2nd March to Friday 4th March: 5th grade Camping, at the Portezuelo park
Secondary News
Dear Parents / Guardians,
Every year the ABC participates in The Central American Mathrelay and Mathcounts Competitions. This year the two day event is today and tomorrow (Friday 29th and Saturday 30th January). Good luck to the students from Grades 6, 7 & 8 that are competing and a big thank you to Mrs Bartimote, Mr Cañas and Mr Hodder Smith for organising the event and supporting the students.
Chinese (Mandarin) Classes
Starting next week (Thursday 4th of February), courtesy of the Taiwanese Embassy, the ABC will be offering Chinese (Mandarin) classes.
There will be two classes on offer:
- 2:10pm to 3:00pm: For ethnic Chinese students. The class will focus on reading and writing, starting from the basic 120 Chinese characters. Students will develop their reading and comprehension skills.
- 3:10pm to 4:00pm: For non-ethnic Chinese students. The class will focus on speaking and listening, starting from pronunciation, greetings and daily conversation.
Interested students should see Marielos Soto or Roxana Hall in the Secondary School Office ASAP to register.
The Grade 10 (IGCSE) & 12 (IB) mock examinations have been going on all this week and will continue until the end of next week. Please be reminded that during this time Grade 10 and Grade 12 students are permitted to wear non-school sweatshirts/hoodies.
Next week the uniform arrangements for girls remain in place due to the continued concern about mosquito spread infections. Please make sure that your child/ren use mosquito repellant before they come to school and that this is replenished during the day.
Next week (on Tuesday 2nd of February) we have the Grade 6 and Grade 7 parent teacher meetings and these will run from 3.15pm to 6.00pm in the Auditorium. The Grade 6 and Grade 7 students have been provided with booking slips and they need to make appointments with their teachers before Tuesday.
Next week is also (on Thursday 4th of February) the Grade 8 IGCSE Options Presentation & Parent/Teacher Meetings. This is an important evening for parents and students as we will be explaining the iGCSEs and the option process. The evening starts at 5.30pm in the PAC with the IGCSE options presentation. Students and parents will then go to the Auditorium to meet with teachers to discuss their progress. As explained above, students will be required to make appointments with their teachers.
The ABC Teleton campaign started on Monday (25th of January).
T-shirts will be on sale from next week and we will have a t-shirt/jeans day on Friday 19th of February.
All money collected by the Teleton team will help pay for medical equipment and the therapies of children at Funter.
We would appreciate it greatly if you would fill out the Parent Perception Survey when you receive it from the school. Your feedback is very important to us.
Santa Tecla Football Club - Life Skills Lesson, Monday 25th January
On Monday the Santa Tecla Football Club came to school as guests for our Life Skills session. This visit was promoted with the help of the parents of Manuel Alfaro, who is part of the Sta Tecla FC board, and Gerardo Funes.
The idea behind this Life Skills session was to motivate our young students to practice sports and to hear a bit about the experience of the some the Santa Tecla football players.
They spoke about the fact that the students need to be team players, that school should always come first and then any other interests that they may have, that they need to commit and be responsible in order to succeed as they will have to make sacrifices in life, with the good luck that our students already have the opportunity to study in a good school that will eventually open doors for them as they grow up to become successful outstanding citizens.
The team captain did mention the importance of eating healthy as when you are training this energy is the one that will help you resist when your body is under a lot of effort, to stay away from drugs and alcohol and to have a balance in their lives with respect to technology as he did say that he knew how much they love playing with their mobile phones, and the playstation, but that there is more to life than this electronical devices and that is practising a sport and becoming part of a team that can change their lives and fulfill their dreams.
A bit about the club:
The Santa Tecla football club is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Santa Tecla which competes in First Division.
In 2015, the club had its most successful period in its history under the guidance of Argentinian Osvaldo Escudero, were they won their first championship.
Ms Chávez
Grade 6 Head of Year
STEAM Fest
On Wednesday 16th of March the ABC will host its first ever annual STEAM Fest. This whole school event will be partnered with both Primary and Secondary Science Fairs, as well as Brain Awareness Week. It will provide a venue, not only for our school community, but for other schools and organisations around the country, at which to promote educational development and student innovation through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts and Mathematics) projects.
STEAM as an educational approach, focuses on the whole child, through inquiry, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration using Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. STEAM focuses on the learning process and provides students with learning opportunities to investigate, plan, and develop meaningful open ended projects.
STEAM Fest will provide opportunities throughout the day for students to participate in creative activity centres, view expositions and interact with presenters. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in submitting a project for exposition or running a creative centre, please contact Jennifer Garcia at jennifergarcia@abc-net.edu.sv.
Please visit our STEAM Fest Site to learn more.
Jennifer Garcia
KS3 ICT Teacher & Learning Resources Centre Coordinator
Kind regards,
Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary
Secondary dates for your diary
Friday 29th - Saturday 30th January: Mathcounts competition
Monday 1st - Friday 5th February: Black History Week
Tuesday 2nd February: Grades 6 & 7 Parent Teacher Meetings, 3.15pm Auditorium
Thursday 4th February: Grade 8 IGCSE Options evening, 5.30pm PAC then Auditorium
Monday 8th - Friday 12th February: Internet Safety Week
Thursday 11th February: Grade 8 exams
Thursday 11th - Monday 15th February: Business New York Trip
Friday 12th February: INSET Day for teachers (school closed)
Monday 15th February: Half Term Day (school closed)
Tuesday 16th - Friday 19th February: Grade 7 & 8 exams
Tuesday 16th February: Open Parent Partnership (Dr Guttfreund and Dr Barrios "Addictions in teens"), 6pm PAC
Thursday 18th February: Secondary school closes at 11:30am. Grade 9 'Stereotypes and labels' empowerment afternoon.
Friday 19th February: Teleton non-uniform/t-shirt day
Saturday 27th February: Summer Carnival 2016 (organised by the Asociación de Padres de Familia)
Monday 29th February: Grade 10 IB Options Meetings, 5:30pm PAC
Tuesday 1st March: Grade 12 Parent Partnership, 6pm PAC
Thursday 3rd - Friday 7th March: Book Week
Monday 10th - Friday 14th March: Music Week / Brain Week and British Science Week
Wednesday 16th March: Grade 6, 7 & 8 Parent Partnership, 6pm PAC
Thursday 17th March: Grade 9 & 11 Parent Teacher Meetings, 3.15pm Auditorium
Friday 18th March: Last day of Second Term
Friday 21st March - Friday 1st April: Easter holidays (school closed)
Monday 4th April: Back to school - First day of Third Term
Inceptia: A reflection on the ABC’s Circus
Last Thursday and Friday, the ABC was witness to one of its oldest and most anticipated events. The “circus”, as it has come to be affectionately called by the ABC community, is a show where Grade 11 unites to produce an amazing display of talent, skill and showmanship. This year’s “Inceptia” was no exception, as the class of 2017 transported us to a story based on a chemistry lesson gone slightly askew!
However, behind the flashing lights and costumes, the circus teaches our students more than just how to put on an excellent show. Inceptia was also proof of how we strive to put our ABC values into everything we do and not just inside the classroom.
From the moment planning for this event began, Grade 11 demonstrated what it was like to work as leaders and team players, embracing everyone’s opinion while being open-minded and making sure no one was left out of the decision making process.
In addition, the Class of 2017 also showed us the importance of being reflective and understood that traditions need to be revised and changed every so often, which is why this year, “Inceptia” added a “Pre-Show” the week before. This event was designed especially for younger children to attend and included Disney princesses, superheroes, face painting and many other activities that proved how their creativity resulted in a show that was both good fun and family friendly.
Finally, on the day of the show, the students’ put forth their best effort and their resilience throughout their rehearsals shone through the entire performance.
The ABC community would like to congratulate the Class of 2017 on an amazing show, we can’t wait to see what next year brings!
Grade 11 Student Reflections
“The best part of Inceptia weren't the lights or the costumes - it is that lingering sensation of belonging to something bigger than yourself, simply because you gave your best, enjoying success with the people that you love.” José Alfredo Medina
“Making history through team work, creativity and enthusiasm.” Paola Romero
" Success is enjoyed more when it is achieved as a team." Diego Daura
“An experience that unifies the whole prom.” Ernesto Alfaro
“A life changing experience.” Fernanda Sosa
“The love of the Class of 2017 family happens thanks to teamwork “ Ana Margarita Samour
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