Friday 29 April 2016

30: Friday 29th April 2016

From the Director

I have just come back to my office following the most amazing performance of Aladdin this afternoon. It was a magnificent show and I want to congratulate everybody involved. There are more shows this evening and tomorrow and you can still buy tickets at school and space permitting you can also pay at the door. If you can, please come along and support them. You will have a great time. 

This morning saw the arrival of the Class 2016 for their final day of classes. They start their IB exams on Monday and we wish them well. I am looking forward to the school community sharing their success at the graduation on Thursday 9th June.

This week an exabrit from the Class of 2011, Fernando Mejia has been talking to students about the Somos Fernando campaign. Fernando has talked about his father who is in need of a kidney transplant and how we are trying to raise funds to help pay for the operation. He is also raising awareness of the importance of a healthy life style and of drinking plenty of water in order to protect your kidneys. It's an important message and great to hear from someone we remember so well when he was a student at the school. We are all proud of his efforts to support his father and make people healthier. You can support the campaign by buying a raffle ticket with some amazing prizes or by buying a T shirt through school. We will be sending details of these to you by email. The school is having a T shirt Day on Friday 6th May to show our support for this campaign. Please join in if you are able to.

Last week we had one of our early closure days to allow for staff training to take place. Following a review we have seen that these days are awkward for parents and although we have one more in May we are planning to replace these five half days with two full training days next year. We hope this will work better for most parents.

I would like to wish the U16 Boys football team further success on Monday when they play in the final of the Bilingual league. They have already had an amazing season and it is great to see some of them already playing in the Varsity team. 

As a final point I would like to remind you of our forthcoming community protection programme for our children. Our focus will be working together as a community to protect children from the internet which will only be effective if we all work together. The dates are as follows and as a community that cares and wants to protect its children we are asking ALL parents in these grades to attend.

Class 2025 and 2026 (2nd / 3rd grades) - Wednesday 11 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2023 and 2024 (4th / 5th grades) - Thursday 12 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2021 and 2022 (6th / 7th grades) - Tuesday 24 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2019 and 2020 (8th / 9th grades) - Thursday 26 May at 6.30 pm

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Thursday afternoon I had the privilege of watching the first performance of Aladdin in the PAC. It was a great show with lovely scenery, stunning costumes and really talented singers and dancers. If you have not got a ticket yet I really recommend it. There are shows Friday and Saturday at 7.00pm. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a terrific job well done. (I am going again on Saturday I enjoyed it so much.)


Last week I attended a conference for Latin American Head Teachers and I have to say it was very worthwhile with excellent speakers and workshops relating to school improvement. I am however very pleased to be back in school and working with you all.

Can I reiterate, it is not appropriate to take your children out of school for holidays and it damages their education. We know that the brain learns through making connections to previous experiences and learning. When your child misses a great chunk of school time it really damages their progress as when they return they are unable to make those connections and move forward.

Thank you to the Prepa parents who came to see the children’s work at their exit point this week. I know you were impressed with all that the children had done as they recorded their ideas and learning. We had budding artists, talented builders and designers and enthusiastic writers all contributing to a wonderful display. 

I came across this interesting home design a few days ago!

The Pre-K demonstration swimming classes were also very successful especially as the children were working with a different instructor. Their usual swimming teacher Mr Eduardo Chandiere has been absent for an operation and Mr Oscar Lima, the head of Primary PE, has stepped in along with members of his PE team to ensure the lessons still took place. Well done to all the children who were involved and who already demonstrate confidence and ability in the water.

Today the School Council made the final presentation of the clean water dispenser to the school in Zaragosa. The 16 students accompanied by Ms Avilés and other members of school staff were able to hand over the machine which is fully installed and the 500 bottles of water. It is great to see a school community effort come to fruition.






Have a lovely week ahead.

Best wishes,

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
April
Friday 29th: Extra-curricular activities - 4th session finishes
May
Tuesday 3rd Lower Primary Olympics entry point
Wednesday 4th: Pre-Kinder Rampone and Francés trip to Pizza Hut Las Cascadas
Thursday 5th: Kinder Suárez visit La Granjita
Tuesday May 10th Mother’s Day. School closed
Wednesday 11th: Kinder Carbajal visit La Granjita
Friday 13th: Kinder González visit La Granjita

Upper Primary
April
Friday 29th: Primary extra-curricular classes - 4th session finishes
May
Monday 2nd: Primary extra-curricular classes - 5th session begins
Tuesday 3rd: 5th Grade Field Trip to Tin Marin
Wednesday 4th May Upper primary Olympics entry point.
Tuesday May 10th Mother’s day. School closed.
Wednesday 11th: Online community protection project - 2nd and 3rd Grade: 6:30 pm
Thursday 12th:Online community protection project - 4th and 5th Grade: 6:30 pm
Friday 13th: 3rd Grade Camping 
Friday 20th: Upper Primary students go home at 11:30 am
Wednesday 25th: IPC 2nd Grade-Feel the force- Field Trip to Tin Marin 
Friday 27th: 4th Grade Camping

Secondary News

The Last Day for Grade 12 - Friday 29th of April
For teachers the last day of school for Grade 12 is a day of mixed feelings, it is a bittersweet time. The last day for each senior class is a milestone in our careers as teachers and, contrary to what students may feel, we are left with many fond memories. In later years, when news of a ex-student comes to the attention of the Staff Room, teachers will take pleasure recalling having taught Student X and sharing those memories will snowball accounts of other students in that grade and provoke questions like “how is Student Y?” and “have you heard what Student Z is doing now?”.

The last day for teachers is also a proud and rewarding day as we send students off to new pastures, with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed and tackle life’s challenges. That said, things aren’t quite over yet! The Grade 12s still have the IB examinations to sit over the next month or so before they can truly celebrate completing their time here at the ABC.

I hope the Grade 12 students will be able to look back fondly at their time at the ABC. Today’s experience - with the Last Entrance, the final assembly and the traditional flinging themselves into the pool - will surely be added to their mental scrapbook of happy times at the ABC.

The British comedian Paul Merton once said, “My school days were the happiest days of my life; which should give you some indication of the misery I've endured over the past twenty-five years.” Ignoring the last part of the quote (!), school days are deservedly some of the happiest days of our lives. I am sure many Grade 12s are not convinced this will be the case, but with time they will see this to be true. 

Close friendships have been formed amongst the Class of 2016 and I hope these remain for many years to come. 

In respect of this the Last Day for Grade 12, I am keeping my section brief this week and I leave you with some pictures from today.


Warm regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Monday 2nd May: IB exams start for Grade 12 students
Monday 16th May: Cultural Diversity week
Wednesday 18th May: Grade 9 exams start
Thursday 19th May: ABC Digital Video Awards (DVA) event
Friday 20th May: End of IB exams for Grade 12 students
Friday 20th May: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 8 'Ethical and moral choices' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5.00pm).
Tuesday 24th May: Class 2021 and 2022 (6th / 7th grades) Community protection programme for our children. Is for all Parents, at 6.30 pm
Thursday 26th May: Class 2019 and 2020 (8th / 9th grades) Community protection programme for our children. Is for all Parents, at 6.30 pm
Friday 27th May: End of Grade 9 exams
Monday 30th May: Health Awareness Week
Tuesday 31st May: Thanksgiving ceremony for Class 2016
Thursday 2nd June: Moving up day- 5th Grade to 6th Grade and Parent Partnership meeting “Secondary Induction” 6.00pm PAC
Friday 3rd June: Moving up day - 5th Grade to 6th Grade
Friday 3rd June; Class 2016 Headmaster's Reception
Thursday 9th June: Class 2016 Graduation Day and Graduation Ceremony at 5.00pm Auditorium
Friday 10th June: End of IGCSE exams for Grade 10 students
Monday 13th June: Grade 6 and Grade 7 Award Assembly; Lap of Honour at 7.00am; Logros Event at 6.00pm PAC
Tuesday 14th June: Group 4 Science project 
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 8 and Grade 9 Award Assembly
Thursday 16th June: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Award Assembly and CAL Report issued for Grades 6-9 and 11

Friday 17th June: Last day of School Year

Friday 22 April 2016

29: Friday 22nd April 2016

From the Director



I would like to start this week by reminding you that today is Earth Day and all of us should be talking to our children about the importance of this day for the protection of our planet especially for the young people. I am always delighted to see how children care about their environment with a passion that we as adults can learn from and it is important we build on and encourage this passion. Please go to our News blog to see some pictures of ABC students taking part in various Earth Day activities.



As I mentioned last week we are organising events to launch a community protection programme for our children in line with our safeguarding policies. I am giving you advance notice of these dates so you can ensure they are in your diaries as we are expecting all parents to attend. Our focus will be in protecting children from the internet as an ABC community and this will only be effective if we all work together. The dates are as follows:



Class 2025 and 2026 (2nd / 3rd grades) - Wednesday 11 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2023 and 2024 (4th / 5th grades) - Thursday 12 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2021 and 2022 (6th / 7th grades) - Tuesday 24 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2019 and 2020 (8th / 9th grades) - Thursday 26 May at 6.30 pm

We have a couple of part time or temporary positions we are seeking to fill at school which may suit members of our wider community. We are looking for an Admin Assistant to work with the Business Manager. If you think you know of someone who is interested please ask them to contact us via admin@abc-net.edu.sv.

I would like to encourage you to visit our newsblog where we have postings about recent World Art day activities and our Lower Primary swimming lessons which many parents came to witness.

Can I please remind you that we will be promoting the Somos Fernando T shirts through our community next week to support the campaign by the family of Fernando Mejia who is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. We plan to help all of us be more aware of protecting our vital organs, including our kidneys and to encourage organ or blood donations. We will send out more details at the start of next week.

I do hope you enjoy the Lower Primary Sports Day goes well tomorrow and it will be followed by the book launch of Valentina and the Magic Garden. Unfortunately I will not be attending this launch as I am currently attending a Latin American Heads Conference in Santiago de Chile.

Good luck to everyone involved in Aladdin preparations next week. I am looking forward to the shows coming soon. Please get your tickets.

Finally I would like to invite any community runners or joggers who would like to run with fellow community members to contact James Merry at school via the email abc-runners-abc@abc-net.edu.sv

Primary News

Many thanks to the swimming teachers for sharing the demonstration swimming lessons with Kinder parents this week. We had some lovely feedback from parents who now have a real idea of how swimming is taught and also how their child is developing.

We have enjoyed seeing so many parents in school for our Maths Workshops. They have been very successful and we thank all those parents who attended.

2nd Elisa’s assembly was a great success and the children worked really hard to create such a wonderful event for us...well done!
The Lower Primary Sports Morning and Family Day will take place tomorrow, the 23rd April. All Lower primary students are expected to attend and, of course, we hope you will come along and support them. There will be food vendors and other activities for the students to take part in, either before or after the sporting events. Thank you to the Sports team for organising the PE aspect and the Madres Enlace for organising the food and other activities. We hope you will all have a special time together.

 

On Saturday after the Sports morning Valentina y El Jardín Mágico/Valentina and the Magic Garden will be launched in the PAC at 12:00 pm.

The school production of Aladdin will start next week! On the Thursday 28th April afternoon performance (3.00pm) Primary students will have priority. Tickets bought in advance will be $8 per person and tickets bought at the door will be $10. There is a special group deal, 4 tickets bought in advance for $25, but on this particular Thursday primary students can see the 3.00pm performance for $5. Students must be supervised by an adult and some class teachers are making arrangements with their class to be that supervising adult. Please check with your child about their class arrangements.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
April
Saturday 23rd: PK & Kinder Sports morning and Family Day 08:00 - 09:30 am
Saturday 23rd: Prepa & 1st Sports morning and Family Day 10:00 - 11:30 am
Monday 25th: Pre-Kinder Siri Swimming lesson - LP pool - 11:15am-12:00pm
Tuesday 26th: Pre-Kinder Rampone Swimming lesson - LP pool - 11:15am-12:00 pm
Tuesday 26th: Pre-Kinder Siri and Cáceres trip to Pizza Hut Las Cascadas
Wednesday 27th: Kinder Quintanilla visit La Granjita
Wednesday 27th: Pre-Kinder Cáceres Swimming lesson - LP pool - 10:30-11:15am
Thursday 28th: Pre-Kinder Francés Swimming lesson - LP pool - 10:30-11:15am
Friday 29th: Extra-curricular activities - 4th session finishes
May
Wednesday 4th: Pre-Kinder Rampone and Francés trip to Pizza Hut Las Cascadas
Thursday 5th: Kinder Suárez visit La Granjita
Wednesday 11th: Kinder Carbajal visit La Granjita
Friday 13th: Kinder González visit La Granjita

Upper Primary
April
Tuesday 19th: First day for sign up Extracurricular term 5
Tuesday 26th: Last day for sign up Extracurricular term 5
Friday 29th: Primary extra-curricular classes - 4th session finish
May
Monday 2nd: Primary extra-curricular classes - 5th session begins
Tuesday 3rd: 5th Grade Field Trip to Tin Marin 
Wednesday 11th: Online community protection project- 2nd and 3rd Grade: 6:30 pm
Thursday 12th:Online community protection project- 4th and 5th Grade: 6:30 pm
Friday 13th: 3rd Grade Camping 
Friday 20th: Upper Primary students go home at 11:30 am
Friday 27th: 4th Grade Camping

Secondary News

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Aladdin - Thursday 28th of April to Saturday 30th of April
The much anticipated production of Aladdin is rapidly approaching. If not done so already, please purchase your tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.


As part of the build up to the Aladdin production, on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week we are holding an Agrabah Market. The market will take place in the LRC garden at lunchtime both days and will be full of fun activities, Aladdin souvenirs, music, dancing and much more.

 

We will also be offering special Agrabah lunches (the deadline for purchasing these was today - Friday 22nd of April) on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Grade 7 Empowerment Afternoon - Thursday 21st of April
On Thursday afternoon the Grade 7 had a great time during their Empowerment Afternoon. 

Thank you to the Grade 10 students that helped at the event (you were all fantastic), thank you to the Madres en Lace for supplying refreshments and thank you to Victor Hugo for photographing the event (some photographs of the event are below and there are many more on the grade blog).




Examinations
We are now in examination season. The Grade 11 examinations started this week and will continue until the end of next week. 

Next week we have the first iGCSE examinations (for some Mathematics students) and the iGCSE examinations start for all students in the w/c Monday 2nd of May. The IB examinations start for all Grade 12 students on Monday 2nd of May. 

As stated previously, we start the Grade 10 (Thursday 28th of April - last day) and the Grade 12 (Friday 29th of April - last day, finishing at break time) Study Leave next week.

There will be a special final assembly for Grade 12 on Friday 29th of April (Period 3) and we have a event for Grade 10 on Wednesday 27th of April. The PE department (led by the Head of Secondary PE Ana Cecilia Hernandez Caceres), Mrs Forsyth (Head of Grade 10), Mr Merry (Assistant Head of Grade 10) and the Grade 10 students have organised a series of fun activities during Period 4 on Wednesday - including handball and a toboggan water game. Competing in tribes, the students, and staff, are certain to have a great time. Thank you to everyone involved in organising and running this event.

Earth Week and World Earth Day (Friday 22nd of April)
The students have been engaged in various activities this week as part of Earth Week and on Friday we supported World Earth Day. World Earth Day is an annual event, started in 1970, to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It is now celebrated in more than 190 countries. 

Earth Day 2016 is themed ‘Trees for the Earth’. Over the next five years, as Earth Day moves closer to its 50th anniversary, the aim is to plant 7.8 billion trees.

The Apprentice
As part of our University Guidance and Careers Programme, we organise an activity called ‘The Apprentice’, which provides an important opportunity for our students to further develop their academic vision and professional plans. The activity involves students in Grade 9 -who will do a week long internship at a company/institution from June 6th through to June 10th- where they will carry out tasks related to a professional field they envision as a possibility for their future. 

We would like to know if any parents in our school community are able to facilitate an internship opportunity for any of our students; we prefer to send from 2 - 8 students to each location. We will place the students at their internships according to their vocational interests, and to that purpose we asked students to list three career options. 

We expect a full day of work to last 8 hours (including one hour for lunch), between the hours of 7am and 3pm - unless a different schedule has been previously agreed on due to the nature of the institution (i.e. 8am – 4pm). 

The students will be responsible for punctuality, attendance, and their performance. And, we trust that parents will help them meet these expectations. Also, we want the students to reflect upon this experience, and this will be done via a survey, and a group discussion about lessons’ learned, during the week after. 

Please, let us know if you can facilitate a work experience at your places of work, or through a fellow colleague, by contacting ericquijano@abc-net.edu.sv. Your support will be greatly appreciated. 
Eric Quijano
National School Director
University Guidance & Careers

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Kind regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Tuesday 26th April: IGCSE exams start for Grade 10 students
Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th - ABC Secondary Musical 'Aladdin'
Thursday 28th April: Last day for Grade 10 (normal classes)
Friday 29th April: Last day for Grade 12 (early finish)
Monday 2nd May: IB exams start for Grade 12 students
Monday 16th May: Cultural Diversity week
Wednesday 18th May: Grade 9 exams start
Thursday 19th May: ABC Digital Video Awards (DVA) event
Friday 20th May: End of IB exams for Grade 12 students
Friday 20th May: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 8 'Ethical and moral choices' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5.00pm).
Tuesday 24th May: Class 2021 and 2022 (6th / 7th grades) Community protection programme for our children. Is for all Parents, at 6.30 pm
Thursday 26th May: Class 2019 and 2020 (8th / 9th grades) Community protection programme for our children. Is for all Parents, at 6.30 pm
Friday 27th May: End of Grade 9 exams
Monday 30th May: Health Awareness Week
Tuesday 31st May: Thanksgiving ceremony for Class 2016
Thursday 2nd June: Moving up day- 5th Grade to 6th Grade and Parent Partnership meeting “Secondary Induction” 6.00pm PAC
Friday 3rd June: Moving up day - 5th Grade to 6th Grade
Friday 3rd June; Class 2016 Headmaster's Reception
Thursday 9th June: Class 2016 Graduation Day and Graduation Ceremony at 5.00pm Auditorium
Friday 10th June: End of IGCSE exams for Grade 10 students
Monday 13th June: Grade 6 and Grade 7 Award Assembly; Lap of Honour at 7.00am; Logros Event at 6.00pm PAC
Tuesday 14th June: Group 4 Science project 
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 8 and Grade 9 Award Assembly
Thursday 16th June: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Award Assembly and CAL Report issued for Grades 6-9 and 11
Friday 17th June: Last day of School Year

Friday 15 April 2016

28: Friday 15th April 2016

From the Director

In the recent survey sent to all parents there was a very pleasing response which showed that we see our ABC Community as strong and effective. I believe our community is a fine example of how people can work together with a common goal and I have always felt very positive about this community. There are of course moments of disagreement between individuals but ultimately we all work together with a shared determination to provide a community for young people to grow up safely into responsible outstanding citizens. In this spirit I am asking for your help as a community to something which we see as a real threat to our community - the open access to the internet as children are growing up and the way it can disturb them. We have talked about this previously at various parent partnership meetings but following recent news from other parts of the world and from advice received from professionals here we feel we need a huge community response to protect our children. By a community response I mean the whole community and that includes ALL parents. We recently had a Class 2022 parent partnership meeting and less than thirty parents were present. I am using this as an example and I do understand that people have busy lives but if we are going to act as a community to protect our children we need to have 100% attendance. The idea is to meet in double year groups from Grade 2 to Grade 9 in the schedule outlined below to (i) understand the issue (ii) discuss your concerns and (iii) work out an action plan for protection and further meetings. These sessions will need your input as well as your attendance and on behalf of the whole community we are asking ALL parents to make themselves available for these sessions which will last only one hour. We plan to start with children as young as we think necessary to help prevent problems emerging as these children grow older. We feel that beyond Grade 10 we can work with the children through school and our regular meetings but we would be happy to arrange sessions for these year groups as well if parents would like that support. The sessions we currently have planned are:

Class 2025 and 2026 (2nd / 3rd grades) - Wednesday 11 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2023 and 2024 (4th / 5th grades) - Thursday 12 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2021 and 2022 (6th / 7th grades) - Tuesday 24 May at 6.30 pm
Class 2019 and 2020 (8th / 9th grades) - Thursday 26 May at 6.30 pm

On Saturday 23rd April we have a young authors book launch in school in the PAC. It follows the Lower Primary sports event and we hope many of you will come along. There will be dancing and entertainment as well as an opportunity to find out more about the book.

As I recently mentioned we are supporting a campaign to raise awareness about organ donation and helping a member of our community, Fernando Mejia raise funds for a kidney transplant. The main focus of our campaign is to encourage people to donate blood or organs as well as to encourage children to look after their kidneys. We will be having a Somos Fernando T shirt day on Friday 6 May to help raise awareness and funds. It is an important issue for us to raise awareness about.

Can I please take this opportunity to remind you that you can see our car park screens at your leisure via the school website and there are items of interest from last week on the newsblog including our celebration of World Art Day today.

We have been informed this week that it is very likely there will be a national holiday on Tuesday 10 May to celebrate Mother's Day and therefore school will be closed. 

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

I have enjoyed the chance to see the Prepa students swimming this week. It is amazing that they can all swim so well at such a young age. Normally half classes attend the lessons but for demonstration purposes the whole classes have been together and we can easily see they are ready for the big pool both in their skill level and the space required to fit them all in! The FS swimming lessons are coming up very soon and I look forward to seeing how the younger children are getting on.

Today we celebrated World Art Day in school with many special activities. Ms Roxana Flores our art teacher also arranged a special set of activities for classes to be involved in throughout the day. Art is very important. It enriches our lives, allows us to express ourselves in a positive manner, is therapeutic and creates a very special ambience in any room. Today was a great opportunity to celebrate its value.

IPC entry points and activities. Please ask your children if they did anything special this week? We have had ice sculptures, fractions with pizzas, popcorn making and many other activities throughout the school, not to mention some wonderful assemblies!

The Upper Primary Sports Morning and Family Day will take place on the 16th April (tomorrow). All Upper primary students are expected to attend and of course we hope you will come along and support them. There will be food vendors and other activities for the students to take part in, either before or after the sporting events. Thank you to the Sports team for organising the PE aspect and the Madres Enlace for organising the food and other activities. We hope you will all have a special time together. Lower Primary it will be your turn next week!

On Thursday 21st April next week we have an early closing day for Upper Primary school staff to work together across grades and ensure progression and development in our planning and expectations. There were some issues with the traffic when secondary students left school first so this time the Upper Primary students will be leaving at 11.10 am before the secondary students. If there are younger siblings in Lower Primary they can be taken at the same time but Lower Primary are not part of the early closure on this occasion.

The school production of Aladdin will start at the end of the month and at the Thursday 28th April afternoon performance (3.00pm) Primary students will have priority. Generally for the other performances, tickets bought in advance will be $8 per person and tickets bought at the door will be $10. There is a special group deal, 4 tickets bought in advance for $25, but on this particular Thursday primary students can see the 3.00pm performance for $5. Students must be supervised by an adult and some class teachers are making arrangements with their class to be that supervising adult. Please check with your child about their class arrangements.


On Tuesday 26th April and Wednesday 27th April before the productions, there will be an exciting Agrabah Marketplace set up. There will be items on sale from 50cents to $2. Face and hand painting for $1 and a special menu that can be preordered. Please keep an eye open for more information coming out together with the order forms.

Please make sure your children are wearing the correct shoes (not trainers)for school. All shoes both girls and boys should have a fastening; buckle, velcro or laces - if they can tie them themselves. Slip-on shoes are dangerous, allowing the foot to slide forward and cramp the toes or slopping on and off as the children walk causing tripping accidents. Our students are very active in school and slip-on shoes are not suitable for running and playing. Please make sure they are the correct colour too!

Have a great weekend

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
April
Monday 18th: Kinder Suárez Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:15-10:00 am
Tuesday 19th: Kinder González Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:45-10:30 am
Wednesday 20th: Kinder Carbajal Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:45-10:30 am
Friday 22nd: Pre-Kinder Francés assembly
Saturday 23rd: PK & Kinder Sports morning and Family Day 08:00 - 09:30 am
Saturday 23rd: Prepa & 1st Sports morning and Family Day 10:00 - 11:30 am
Monday 25th: Pre-Kinder Siri Swimming lessons - LP pool - 11:15am-12:00pm
Tuesday 26th: Pre-Kinder Rampone - LP pool - 11:15am-12:00 pm
Tuesday 26th: Pre-Kinder Siri and Pre-Cáceres trip to Pizza Hut Las Cascadas
Wednesday 27th: Pre-Kinder Cáceres Swimming lessons - LP pool - 10:30-11:15am
Thursday 28th: Pre-Kinder Francés Swimming lessons - LP pool - 10:30-11:15am
Friday 29th: Extra-curricular activities - 4th session finish
May
Wednesday 4th: Pre-Kinder Rampone and Pre-Kinder Francés trip to Pizza Hut Las Cascadas

Upper Primary
April
Saturday 16th: UP Sports Morning & Family Day 
2nd Grade and 3rd Grade from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
4th Grade and 5th Grade from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Monday 18th: 3rd Quijano Assembly from 9:20 to 10:05 a.m. and from 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday 19th: Sign up for extracurricular term 5
Tuesday 26th: Last day for sign up extracurricular term 5
Wednesday 20th: 2nd Elisa Hernández Assembly from 9:20 to 10:05 a.m. and from 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Friday 29th: Primary extra-curricular classes - 4th session finish

Secondary News

Dear Parents / Guardians,


‘Keeping our Children Safe’ Grade 6 Parent Partnership - Tuesday 12th of April
On Tuesday we had the ‘Keeping our Children Safe’ Grade 6 Parent Partnership. Disappointingly the event was poorly attended, but those that did attend were very positive about the information shared. 

Whilst transforming the way we interact, and providing access to in-depth knowledge and enabling us to express our creativity, the internet and mobile communication technology also poses new risks. Misuse of the internet and mobile communication technology are challenges facing all schools and society in general. Rather than alarming parents, we sought to point out the possible dangers and to give parents the tools to work with us to help our youngsters avoid putting themselves at risk to start with.

We encourage all parents: to be aware of how their children are interacting through, and using generally, the internet and mobile communication technology; to have very open conversations at home regarding the use of the internet and mobile communication technology (along with establishing their usage and behaviour expectations); and, to encourage their children to let them know, and if necessary inform the school as well, if they have concerns.

Sending your children to the ABC should mean that you trust us to deal with issues. Any concerns / issues relating to internet and mobile communication technology misuse, or otherwise, need to communicated to us in a timely manner. Tell us your concerns immediately and encourage your child to speak to us straight away if there are issues. We also need parents to have confidence that we do take action.

Finally on this topic, I would like to share with you one slide from Ms Chavez’s section of the presentation on age restrictions for social media platforms:
These age restrictions are given for good reason - to protect our youngsters until they have the maturity to consistently make appropriate use of such mediums.

World Art Day - 15th of April 
As part of the celebration of International Art Day, we invited a special guest, artist Rafael Flores, who will offer a live demonstration of painting with aerosols for our students. 

Rafael Flores is a Salvadoran artist renowned internationally for his multiple art exhibitions in different countries around the world. Considered as the first Salvadoran artist to create works of art using aerography based on cosmic and magical realism.


Important Fact: The celebration of World Art Day on April 15th commemorates the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, painter, anatomist, architect, paleontologist, artist, botanist, scientific, writer, sculptor, philosopher, engineer, inventor, musician, poet, and town planner.


Mrs Gonzalez 
Head of Art

Early Closure and Grade 7 Empowerment Afternoon - Thursday 21st of April
Please be reminded that on Thursday 21st of April the school is closing early for staff to plan the curriculum. At 11.30am Grade 6 and Grades 8 to 12 will depart and the Grade 7s will remain in school, along with the Grade 11 students that have kindly volunteered to help. The Grade 7 students will have lunch between 11.30am and 12.00pm and then the activities will run from 12.00pm to 5.00pm (with a break towards the end of the afternoon). Thank you in advance to the Madres en Lace for their support.

Grade 7 parents please make the necessary arrangements for your child to be collected at 5.00pm on this day. 

As mentioned in previous ABC Weeklies, on the empowerment afternoons students should come to school wearing their PE uniform, with proper sports shoes. They should also bring with them a towel and a change of clothes. 

And finally...next week the Grade 11 internal examinations start (from Tuesday 19th of April to Friday 29th of April). Grade 11 students have been sent an examination timetable and have been told that they are not required in school during this examination period unless they have an examination.

Kind regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Friday 15th April: World Art Day
w/c Monday 18th April: Earth Week
Tuesday 19th - Friday 29th April: Grade 11 exams
Thursday 21st April: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 7 'Assertiveness and independence' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5.00pm).
Tuesday 26th April: IGCSE exams start for Grade 10 students
Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th - ABC Secondary Musical 'Aladdin'
Thursday 28th April: Last day for Grade 10 (normal classes)
Friday 29th April: Last day for Grade 12 (early finish)
Monday 2nd May: IB exams start for Grade 12 students
Monday 16th May: Cultural Diversity week
Wednesday 18th May: Grade 9 exams start
Thursday 19th May: ABC Digital Video Awards (DVA) event
Friday 20th May: End of IB exams for Grade 12 students
Friday 20th May: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 8 'Ethical and moral choices' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5.00pm).
Friday 27th May: End of Grade 9 exams
Monday 30th May: Health Awareness Week
Tuesday 31st May: Thanksgiving ceremony for Class 2016
Thursday 2nd June: Moving up day- 5th Grade to 6th Grade and Parent Partnership meeting “Secondary Induction” 6.00pm PAC
Friday 3rd June: Moving up day - 5th Grade to 6th Grade
Friday 3rd June; Class 2016 Headmaster's Reception
Thursday 9th June: Class 2016 Graduation Day and Graduation Ceremony at 5.00pm Auditorium
Friday 10th June: End of IGCSE exams for Grade 10 students
Monday 13th June: Grade 6 and Grade 7 Award Assembly; Lap of Honour at 7.00am; Logros Event at 6.00pm PAC
Tuesday 14th June: Group 4 Science project 
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 8 and Grade 9 Award Assembly
Thursday 16th June: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Award Assembly and CAL Report issued for Grades 6-9 and 11
Friday 17th June: Last day of School Year

Friday 8 April 2016

27: Friday 8th April 2016

From the Director



It has been a busy first week back but great to see everyone quickly back to work. This term is going to include a number of important events not least our Olympic celebrations and sports day but also Aladdin which is being produced at the end of this month. We also have a young children's book launch by one of our parents Dra. Carolina Ciudad Real and her daughter Valentina on Saturday 23 April in the PAC at 12 noon after the primary sports event. Everyone is invited.


Later this term we have a series of very important events which are part of our campaign to provide community protection from the more dangerous aspects of the Internet for our students. This campaign will need the support of all our community including YOU our parents. We will be exploring Internet concerns and dangers and how we can protect our children on the Internet together, as a caring community. We will provide times and dates next week but we will be insisting that all parents attend because we cannot provide community protection unless the whole community is involved.

Please take note of our concerns over uniform and lateness as explained in the Secondary section below.

I would also like to thank so many of you for answering our recent questionnaire. It was very positive but does show us areas we need to work on to ensure we provide the best possible experience for all our children. I would like to make the point that if you do have personal concerns that you raise those directly with senior staff rather than through surveys. We always want to know any issues you feel you need to raise rather than waiting for a survey to do so. I hope you all have a pleasant weekend with your children.

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to you and your children after what I hope was a lovely holiday for you all.

On Monday we started the term with our Olympic Assembly in the auditorium. Each class in Primary was raffled an olympic discipline for them to find out about, ready for our upcoming unit of work on the Olympics. We had a batucada band and all the countries flags displayed, as well as a video presentation of some of the highlights of the last Olympics. The children were very excited to find out which sport they would have. Later in the week we allocated the competing countries that the classes would represent. Now every class is set up in preparation for the Entry Point on the 29th April. The Olympic advertisements have already started appearing in the media so our students should have a much better idea about what is going on when the real event arrives in August.


Demonstration swimming lessons for some of our Lower Primary classes are taking place over the next few weeks. Please see the dates below and come along to see your child in action in the pool. 

On Thursday 14th April it is the first Grade 5 transition meeting with the Secondary school. It is an opportunity for you as parents to think about the process that your child will shortly be going through. A chance to be reassured that we all know what we are doing and that your child will move smoothly into their new school arrangements. We strongly recommend that all parents attend even if you have already had a student move into secondary and we look forward to seeing you all there.
The Upper Primary Sports Morning and Family Day will take place on the 16th April. All Upper primary students are expected to attend and of course we hope you will come along and support them. There will be food vendors and other activities for the students to take part in either before or after the sporting events. Thank you to the Sports team for organising the PE aspect and the Madres Enlace for organising the food and other activities.

The school production of Aladdin will start at the end of the month and at the Thursday 28th April afternoon performance (3.00pm) Primary students will have priority. Generally for the other performances, tickets bought in advance will be $8 per person and tickets bought at the door will be $10. There is a special group deal, 4 tickets bought in advance for $25, but on this particular Thursday primary students can see the 3.00pm performance for $5. Students must be supervised by an adult and some class teachers are making arrangements with their class to be that supervising adult. Please check with your child about their class arrangements.


Please note that we do not like large amounts of cash in school. Any amount over $15 should be paid directly to the caja by parents or should be sent in as a cheque. We cannot expect our students to be responsible for amounts larger than this. It is placing too much responsibility on their young shoulders. Neither the school nor the student can be held responsible for money lost if parents decide to take this risk.

We are very pleased to announce that Walking for Water raised $1,376.40, which enables us to buy the water machine for the local school, Colegio Zaragosa. We are also very grateful to a parent who made a personal donation of $80 to the fund. Some of our students will be accompanying Ms Aviles to the school when the machine is installed to present it to them, along with the 500 water bottles that were donated by Embotelladora Electropura. Well done to all the students who took part and thank you to the families and organisations that supported them.

It’s good to be back. Have a great weekend.

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
April
Monday 11th: Art week
Monday 11th: Prepa Taylor Swimming lessons - LP pool - 8:10 - 8:55 am
Tuesday 12th: Prepa Ware Swimming lessons - LP pool - 8:10 - 8:55 am
Wednesday 13th: Prepa Gray Swimming lessons - LP pool - 8:10 - 8:55 am
Thursday 14th: Prepa Watt Swimming lessons - LP pool - 8:10 - 8:55 am
Friday 15th: Kinder Quintanilla Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:00-9:45 am
Friday 15th: Pre-Kinder Siri assembly - PAC 7:45 am
Monday 18th: Kinder Suárez Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:15-10:00 am
Tuesday 19th: Kinder González Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:45-10:30 am
Wednesday 20th: Kinder Carbajal Swimming lessons - LP pool - 9:45-10:30 am
Thursday 21st: Pre-Kinder Rampone - LP pool - 11:15-12:00 pm
Friday 22nd: Pre-Kinder Francés assembly - PAC 7:45 am
Saturday 23rd: PK & Kinder Sports morning and Family Day 08:00 - 09:30 am
Saturday 23rd: Prepa & 1st Sports morning and Family Day 10:00 - 11:30 am
Monday 25th: Pre-Kinder Siri Swimming lessons - LP pool - 11:15 -12:00 pm
Wednesday 27th: Pre-Kinder Cáceres Swimming lessons - LP pool - 10:30-11:15 am
Thursday 28th: Pre-Kinder Francés Swimming lessons - LP pool - 10:30-11:15 am
Friday 29th: Extra-curricular activities - 4th session finish

Upper Primary
April
Monday 11th: Art Week
Wednesday 13th: 2nd Grade Spanish Assembly from 9:20 to 10:05 am and from 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm
Thursday 14th: 5th Grade Parent Partnership - Looking Ahead 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Saturday 16th: UP Sports Morning & Family Day
2nd Grade and 3rd Grade from 8:00 am to 9:30 am
4th Grade and 5th Grade from 10:00 am to 11:30 am
Monday 18th: 3rd Quijano Assembly from 9:20 to 10:05 am and from 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm
Wednesday 20th: 2nd Elisa Hernández Assembly from 9:20 to 10:05 am and from 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm
Friday 29th: Primary extra-curricular classes - 4th session finish

Secondary News

Dear Parents / Guardians,

I hope you have had a relaxing and enjoyable Easter.

Uniform 
I have always been impressed at how proud the majority of ABC students are to wear their ABC uniform. Our students value that the uniform is recognised by the wider community and therefore displaying, through wearing their uniform, that they are part of the ABC. 

A school uniform teaches students to dress smartly and to take a pride in their appearance. Research also suggests that a school uniform (and wearing it in full and correctly) can improve learning by reducing distraction, sharpening focus on schoolwork and making the classroom a more serious environment.

Please support the school by making sure that your child is dressed correctly each day; this includes wearing the PE uniform only when it is a PE day (if not done so already, please check on which days your child has PE - noting that we have a two week timetable). Students should also not be arriving at school without a tie, in inappropriate trainers, wearing makeup or nail polish (girls) or with facial hair (boys).

The Secondary School Office will contact parents if a uniform issue cannot be corrected (if this is the case we will expect parents to bring in the correct uniform item or items) or if uniform issues persistent. After the second uniform offence, and each time thereafter, students will receive a Friday detention. 

Lateness
Attending school regularly, and on time, has a positive impact on learning. Research shows that attendance and punctuality are the single most important factors in school success. Furthermore, we need to set a positive pattern for the future; attention to attendance/punctuality is vital preparation for our students for their future adult life. Being on time helps students develop a sense of responsibility, along with respect and responsibility towards others.

Being late to school means that students don’t get off to a good start and aren’t in a positive frame of mind - students may then fail to make the most of their learning opportunities. Respect is a core value at the ABC and lateness displays a lack of respect; it also undermines the importance of school and the value of education. On a practical note, being late also means students may miss morning notices, resulting in confusion and possible missed opportunities. Being late also disrupts teachers and the learning of the other students.

We have been addressing (and will continue to do so) the problem of lateness amongst a significant minority of Secondary School students. Recently we introduced a sanction that after every third late to school, in any CAL period, students and will be given an after school detention on a Friday. Please support your child’s education by ensuring that they arrive at school in plenty of time each and every school day.

Aladdin
The school performance of Aladdin is rapidly approaching. To avoid disappointment please purchase your tickets as soon as possible.


Grade 6 Parent Partnership - Tuesday 12th of April
We are hosting a Parent Partnership meeting for the parents of the class of 2022 entitled "Keeping our children safe." As Pastoral team, our priority is the well-being of our students and we have designed this meeting specifically to deal with important issues which we know affect the healthy emotional development of youngsters today. 

The aim of our Parent Partnership programme is to encourage and establish an open conversation between parents and the school in order to offer the best support and guidance to our students.

We would like to have full attendance for the meeting and we look forward to seeing you next Tuesday 12th of April, at 6.00 pm in the PAC.

If you require translation into English for the meeting, please contact nataliacaceres@abc-net.edu.sv

Kind regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
w/c Monday 11th April: Art Week
Tuesday 12th April: Grade 6 Parent Partnership, “Keeping our Children Safe”, 6pm PAC
Thursday 14th April: Grade 5 Parent Partnership, “Looking Ahead”, 5:30pm PAC 
Friday 15th April: World Art Day
w/c Monday 18th April: Earth Week
Tuesday 19th - Friday 29th April: Grade 11 exams
Thursday 21st April: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 7 'Assertiveness and independence' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5pm).
Tuesday 26th April: IGCSE exams start for Grade 10 students
Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th - ABC Secondary Musical 'Áladdin'
Thursday 28th April: Last day for Grade 10 (normal classes)
Friday 29th April: Last day for Grade 12 
Monday 2nd May: IB exams start for Grade 12 students
Monday 16th May: Cultural Diversity week
Wednesday 18th May: Grade 9 exams start
Thursday 19th May: ABC Digital Video Awards (DVA) event
Friday 20th May: End of IB exams for Grade 12 students
Friday 20th May: Secondary School closes at 11:30am - Grade 8 'Ethical and moral choices' empowerment afternoon (11:30am-5pm).
Tuesday 24th May: Grade 9 and Grade 11 Parent Partnership
Friday 27th May: End of Grade 9 exams
Monday 30th May: Health Awareness Week
Tuesday 31st May: Thanksgiving ceremony for Class 2016
Thursday 2nd June: 5th Grade to 6th Grade and Parent Partnership meeting “Secondary Induction” 6pm PAC
Friday 3rd June: 5th Grade to 6th Grade
Friday 3rd June; Class 2016 Headmaster's Reception
Thursday 9th June: Class 2016 Graduation Day and Graduation Ceremony at 5pm Auditorium
Friday 10th June: End of IGCSE exams for Grade 10 students
Monday 13th June: Grade 6 and Grade 7 Award Assembly; Lap of Honour at 7am; Logros Event at 6pm PAC
Tuesday 14th June: Group 4 Science project 
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 8 and Grade 9 Award Assembly
Thursday 16th June: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Award Assembly and CAL Report issued for Grades 6-9 and 11
Friday 17th June: Last day of School Year