From the Director
I hope you all have a good half term holiday and we will see you all back at school on Tuesday. I would like to remind you that we have an early closure day on Thursday for Upper Primary and Secondary School. Students will be going home early as one of our INSET Afternoons to promote the quality of our learning environment in school. All students from Grade 1 to 12 will be going home between 11.15 and 12 noon. We will be sending more precise details to each Grade next week.
We have been working on the zika situation at school, ensuring we remove opportunities for mosquito reproduction and we feel we have been very successful. This has included reducing watering, checking gutters and ensuring water does not gather for periods long enough for mosquito larvae to develop into adult mosquitoes (2 - 3 days). We will continue to monitor next week but our plan is to be in a situation where it is safe to return to normal school uniform for girls and younger boys on Monday 22nd February. We are also looking at developing uniforms which are better suited for times when we have concerns over mosquitoes.
I look forward to seeing you at the Primary Fair next weekend.
Primary News
Dear Parents and carers,
The face painting days were a great success and we raised well over $900 for Fransortes. We are making arrangements to hand over the money to him very shortly. A big thank you to all the children who took part or made a donation and especially to those secondary students who took time out of lessons to come and paint hundreds of primary faces. They did a wonderful job and worked extremely well under the pressure.
Last Friday Grade 4 spent the day at Alicante. They linked it to their myths and legends unit and shared the day with a professional storyteller and covering their faces with white clay. All the students had a very worthwhile experience and were looking worn out when they arrived back to school.
Please ensure your internet at home has parental controls and do not let your children have internet access unsupervised. the computer tablet or phone should always be used in a communal area so that sites visited can be easily monitored.
CAS students will shortly be running another project. This time to support an institution that works with the mentally ill. HOPEC. We will be asking students to bring in specific food items shortly. Further details to follow.
The Spring Fair is Saturday 20th February, next Saturday. It will be a lovely event for our Primary families. It will also be run and manned by Primary students and because this is an educational event all of Upper Primary are expected to attend and have the commercial experience. Thank you for the tombola jars that have already arrived in school. They are very attractive and contain quality items. Thank you too to those families who have sold all their raffle tickets or have donated prizes when requested. They are a big contribution to the money we raise for our cause, supporting the education and career prospects of support workers in the school.
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. If it has a name it will be left on the tables outside the administration offices.
Please keep an eye open for Spring Fair news and reminders.
Remember today was a training day for staff and Monday the school is closed. Enjoy the long weekend.
Sharon Short
Head of Primary
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
February
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
Friday 12th School closed to students
Monday 15th School closed
Wednesday 17th: 3rd grade Spanish Assembly at the PAC. 9.20 and 12.15
Saturday 20th: Spring Fair 9:00 am - 12 pm
Wednesday 24th: 5th Caceres Assembly at the PAC. 9.20 and 12.15
Friday 26th: Extracurricular Activities Session 3 Finishes
Secondary News
Dear Parents / Guardians,
The Grade 8 internal examinations started yesterday (Thursday 11th of February) and continue next week. Next week we also have the Grade 7 internal examinations. When not in examinations the Grade 7 and Grade 8 students will be in lessons as usual either continuing with their studies (for creative carousel subjects) or preparing for their upcoming examinations.
Business Management/Economics New York Trip - Thursday February 11th to Monday February 15th
A group of 15 curious and enthusiastic Business Management / Economics students from Grade 11 & 12 headed off to New York - the world's business capital - for a fun, learning experience on Thursday. They will spend the weekend in the heart of the Big Apple and see for themselves first hand how one of the largest city economies in the world operates. They will visit the biggest, the brightest and the most innovative, they will see pieces of history and glimpses of the future, they will see the most vibrant business headquarters and visit the machine that makes the world of shares spin round - we might even visit Trump Tower.
Over a period of 3 days, and braving the below freezing temperatures, the trip will include visits to the United Nations headquarters (where economic and political decisions that affect the entire globe are made), we will hear about the origins of the American economy as visualised by their founding fathers in the Alex Hammond Tour, see the NYSE and hear about the origins and effects of the 2008 financial crisis. Added to that we will visit some of the outstanding tourist sites - to not only soak in the culture, but also to experience the efficiency of attractions that deal with thousands of visitors every day. We plan to visit the Statue of Liberty, the Rockefeller Centre, the Natural History Museum and to take in a Broadway show. As exciting as all this is, I suspect the greatest impact might be experiencing the thousand of little things that make New York the amazing city that it is.
Andrew Murgatroyd
Head of Business and Economics
As mentioned in the previous ABC Weekly, next week all parents are invited to the Open Parent Partnership on "Addictions in teens" by Dr Guttfreund and Dr Barrios (Tuesday 16th of February at 6pm in the PAC).
As explained above by Mr Keslake, lessons in the Secondary School stop at 11:15am on Thursday next week (Thursday 18th of February) for teacher planning. The Grade 9s, however, will remain in school until 5.00pm for their 'Stereotypes and labels' empowerment afternoon.
The Grade 9s will have their lunch break between 11.15am and 12.00pm. Lunch is kindly being provided by the Madres en Lace. Following an introduction, the afternoon will consist of three core activities based on the theme of stereotypes and labels. The day will end with a reflection.
Grade 9 students should wear their PE kits on that day and they should also bring along a towel and change of clothes (they are likely to get very wet at some point in the afternoon!).
Please make sure that transport is arranged for 11.15am for Secondary students in Grades 6-8 and 10-12 and for 5.00pm for the Grade 9 students (when the empowerment event finishes).
Finally, on Friday next week we have the Teleton t-shirt/jeans day (for students that have bought a Teleton t-shirt). In addition to buying a t-shirt, students can also support this worthy cause by buying a bracelet or squeeze bottle, and/or by donating money.
All the best,
Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary
Secondary dates for your diary
Thursday 11th - Monday 15th February: Business /Economics 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 (11:30am-5pm).
Friday 19th February: Teleton non-uniform/t-shirt day
Monday 22nd & Tuesday 23rd: Bicultural Schools Art Festival
Wednesday 24th - Saturday 27th February - IB Geo Antigua, Guatemala trip
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
Tuesday 1st - 5th March: MUN New York trip
Thursday 3rd - Friday 7th March: Book Week
Thursday 10th - Monday 14th March: Music Week
Monday 14th March: Brain Awareness Week and British Science Week
Grade 6 'Friendship and teamwork' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5pm).
Wednesday 16th March: SteamFest 2016
Wednesday 16th March: Open Parent Partnership “Netiquette” 6pm PAC
Thursday 17th March: Grade 9 & 11 Parent Teacher Meetings and Cal 2 Reports, 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
Monday 11th April: Art Week
Friday 15th April: World Art Day
Monday 18th April: Earth Week
Monday 18th - Thursday 28th April: Grade 11 exams
Thursday 21st April: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 7 'Assertiveness and independence' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5pm).
Thursday 28th April: Last day of school for Grade 10 & 12 students
Monday 2nd May: IB exams start for Grade 12 students
Saturday 7th May: Spiritual retreat for Grades 9 to 12 students (Comité Católico ABC)
Monday 9th May: IGCSE exams start for Grade 10 students
Monday 16th May: Cultural Diversity Week
Thursday 19th - Friday 27th May: Grade 9 exams
Friday 20th May: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 8 'Ethical and moral choices' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5pm).
Thursday 19th May: ABC Digital Awards, 6 p.m. PAC
Monday 30th May: Health Awareness Week
Tuesday 31st May: Thanksgiving Ceremony for Class 2016
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