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
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