Friday 17 June 2016

37: Friday 17th June 2016

From the Director 

I would like to start by thanking all members of the ABC community for your support and encouragement over the last year. I know our students feel that support and it contributes enormously to the success of all we do. We have enjoyed reflecting on the successes of the year but even at this time of year we should be looking forward. Looking forward to a summer of family time but also thinking about opportunities to develop the interests and talents of your children. Looking forward to next year and ensuring we all approach it in a positive mindset. Our students need to approach their studies with interest and determination and we as parents and teachers need to encourage their active engagement in their learning. We can help achieve this over the holiday by building positive attitudes and reassuring our young people that next year will be even better if they are more actively involved and more positive. 

As you are probably aware we have just completed the first year of our school development plan and we will be sending a report home at the start of next school year. I do however want to report that we have had a successful year but we do want to work on certain areas and we will be explaining those in more detail when we reopen in August. We will be contacting you the week before school reopens to confirm details but please note the dates for next term are on the school calendar. We look forward to seeing you on Monday 22nd August for the start of the new term.

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Where has this year disappeared to? It has flown by, filled with activity. All of our tired staff and students are certainly ready for the break.

The feedback we had about the ‘Effort Leads to Success’ assemblies was generally very positive from both parents and students. We were so glad to have the opportunity to celebrate the year together and some of the achievements that all of the students have made. The grade 5 ‘Moving On’ Assembly was also an extremely nice opportunity for the grade 5s to celebrate their time in Primary. Thank you to everyone who attended and our very best wishes to all the grade 5 students for next year when they switch to secondary.


More students than ever took part in the Lap of Honour. It is great to see that so many of our students participate successfully in so many events. We have a very broad range of skills in school.

Many of you will have noticed that the South Wing of the Lower Primary Quad has been closed off this week allowing the preparation for the remodelling of the classes to start a few days early. The students and staff in LP coped very well with the changes to their routine. In fact I suspect many of the students didn’t really notice. It was all so well organised by the LP team and with plenty of learning opportunities.

There will be a summer camp for the first four weeks of the holidays. It has been advertised for a while but if you missed it please contact sarasuster@abc-net.edu.sv.

A final reminder that grade 3 boys will be wearing shorts next year and no ties.

We say ‘goodbye’ to Mr Hayward, Mr Pattenden, Miss Watt, Miss Marsh and Mrs Elida Martinez. We wish them all the very best in their new posts and hope they will stay in touch.

Staff will be in school a week before school starts preparing for the year ahead so if you have any last minute queries we will be contactable.

Thank you on behalf of all our staff for the many generous presents and all the good wishes. We all wish you the very best of holidays and look forward to seeing you again on August 22nd.

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
Return to school 22nd August

Upper Primary
Return to school 22nd August

Secondary News

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Achievement Assemblies
This week was a time of celebration, as we celebrated effort and success in the Grade 6, 7, 8 , 9, 10 & 11 achievement assemblies. These assemblies are some of the most important events on the school calendar. Opportunities like these to applaud both effort and achievement should be a vital endeavour for any school. 

As well as celebrating students’ successes. The key message was that education, in reality, is learning every day; and, any day in which have you truly learned something is never a day wasted. Students were encouraged to try their hardest - not only in their education, but throughout life in general. 


Congratulations once again to all of the award winners. That said, each and every student in the Secondary School has faced challenges this year and every student has achieved success at various times.

Talent Show - Tuesday 14th of June
Thank you to all the talented students that took part in the Secondary School Talent Show on Tuesday. Students and teachers were treated to some superb entertainment. A special thank you also to Mr Godiah for organising the event and for his entertaining compering of the event.

Just one of the many amazing acts.

Grade 10 Induction
The Grade 10 IB induction programme continued this week. The week’s programme has included a university visit, introductions to the different elements of the IB Diploma, team building activities and sessions on yoga & meditation.


Photographs from Tuesday’s team building activity

Group 4 Science Project - Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th of June
The Grade 11s completed their Group 4 science project which is part of their IB Diploma. The topic this year was resilience which links in with our current ABC value. 


Projects ranged from the resilience of natural dyes to washing, to how different shampoos affect the resilience of human hair.


Julie Emmerson
Head of Science

Farewell
As is often the case in large international schools, the year ends with us having to say farewell to a number of colleagues:
  • Jo Bartimote - Head of Mathematics, Grade 11 Tutor
  • Jonathan Brown - Physics / Science Teacher, Grade 12 Tutor
  • Janet Deane - Biology / Science Teacher, Grade 11 Tutor
  • Natalie Gowman - Head of Grade 8, Biology / Science Teacher
  • Gillian Gregory - History Teacher, Grade 8 Tutor
  • Sarah Harrison - Deputy Head Curriculum
  • Edward Hodder Smith - Head of Grade 12, Mathematics Teacher 
  • Shirley Hooper - English Teacher, Grade 11 Tutor
  • Chris Martin - Head of English, Grade 12 Tutor 
  • Prudence Meggitt - English Teacher, Grade 10 Tutor
  • Shari Nixon - English Teacher, Grade 6 Tutor
  • James Rombout - Head of Grade 9, History Teacher
  • Manjit Virdi (left in March 2016) - English Teacher, Grade 11 Tutor
  • Catrina Walters - ITGS / Film Studies Teacher, Grade 9 Tutor
  • Silvana Winters - Head of PE (left in December 2015)
All these teachers have made a massive impact on the students, and their colleagues, here at the school and will be sadly missed. I also want to thank and acknowledge all the dedicated and committed ABC teachers.

This is also my final year here at the ABC and I look forward to fresh challenges as the Headmaster of a secondary school in the Middle East. My wife Gill, my daughter Emily and I are excited by this opportunity, but we leave behind many dear friends. We will take with us many fond memories of our time here. We have found the people of El Salvador some of the kindest, most helpful and welcoming people we have had the pleasure to meet.

I wish everybody health and happiness for the future and I hope you all -staff, students and parents- have a relaxing and enjoyable summer. 

Kind regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Return to school 22nd August

Friday 10 June 2016

36: Friday 10th June 2016

From the Director 

I would like to begin by sharing my congratulations to the Class of 2016 who celebrated their graduation last night. I would like to reiterate my closing words. We are an academic school with high standards and a proud record of achievement in the international arena. We celebrated some of those achievement last night as we will with our IB and IGCSE results in the summer. These successes are very important to us but so is our community and our support for our young people. The ABC has to work as a caring community that unites around our values providing a safe educational environment for young people. We want to see them go out into the world, like the Class 2016, as responsible outstanding citizens making positive differences wherever they go. I would also like to thank Gabriela Andino from the Class of 2001 who was our guest speaker at the graduation event last night and she reminded me of all that is positive about Exabrits and their ability to change the world. As a final note on the Graduation we did have an illness during the event but our nurse and medically trained parents were available to help and I am pleased to say that the person who was unwell is doing fine this morning. 

In terms of our community I would like to report back on the Community Protection Evening which we held last Tuesday. This event was organised in response to parental requests following the initial meetings earlier this term. We talked about how parents can remain in control of their children’s laptops, tablets and devices to ensure they do not overuse them or use them to surf inappropriately on the internet. It is possible for you to set limits and controls if you have administrator rights on your children’s devices rather than simply handing them over to them. Our ICT team was also available to provide technical help and then we followed up with a very informative session about maintaining strong relationships with teenagers so they will come and talk to you when they face a problem. The feedback from the parents who attended was very good although the turnout was not high! We recorded the event and it is available for you to watch on our youtube account. You should be able to see the event on the following link. We will also be adding some other resources on a Community Safeguarding Link that we are putting on the frontpage of the school website.

As many of you are aware we have screens in our car parks with information for parents who are dropping off their children. If you do not manage to see all the messages please note they can also be seen from the Calendar and Events tab on our website so you can check them at your leisure each day!

We have an exciting week coming up and I hope to see many of you at the various events we have planned. It is our final week of term next week and I hope all of you are looking forward not only to a summer holiday but also next school year. Over the summer we will be running our ABC Summer Camp and details are available from school.

I hope you all have a very pleasant weekend. 

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

We had our talent shows this week both Upper and Lower Primary. I admire any student who can get up on the stage and perform but I was very impressed with the quality of the performances in both sections. The presenters in the Lower Primary show also did an excellent job of introducing the acts. Well done to everyone who participated, to the music and dance teachers for organising the shows and the ICT team for managing the sound and lights and streaming or videoing the performances. The videos will be shared shortly.

Another spectacular event in the Primary Calendar was the Olympic exit point our official Olympic closing ceremony. It started with a full Parade around the field, led by the Olympic flag carried by some 5th Graders, our primary dance squad, and then jugglers and stilt walkers followed by every class carrying their flag and sport banner as well as some of our teachers on their bikes. As we approached the auditorium we went through giant bubbles and passed the school Batucada band. A lot of suitable pomp and ceremony! We were visited by local professional Basketball players , who played a quick match with our U10 basketball team. The dance squad did a wonderful performance with ribbons and we finished by putting out our Olympic flame. Please see the PE blog for all the photos. Thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of such a memorable event.

We have boxes on site at the moment to collect school equipment that the students have finished with. If your child has finished with any pencils, colours, rulers etc. Please encourage them to put them in the box.

On Monday morning we will have our ‘Lap of Honour’ when we celebrate those students who have participated in sporting and other activities throughout the year. Those students who have been part of the Team Sports clubs and teams, students who have been part of the choir and orchestras, students who have represented the school in competition or a show such as the Bicultural Festival should all come to school that day in their t-shirt or costume. We would also like to recognise participants of individual sports such as gymnastics, karate, squash and tennis and athletics and those students who were part of the DVA awards have their T-shirts that they can wear. The Lap starts at 7.00am so students should be in a little earlier on Monday. If a student qualifies for more than one section we would prefer they chose something where they represented the school as their first priority but otherwise they have a choice who they align themselves with.

There are several school outings next week we expect all students to attend. All trips have a risk assessment and are carefully vetted. If the reason your child cannot go is financial please speak to the class teacher and we will see if any help can be given. If your child does not go on the trip they are still expected in school. 

Please note that the first and last weeks of school are a very important time for our students when their achievements are recognised and when they have a chance to reflect on the year past and set goals for the coming year. We do not expect students to be off at these times. In fact we take a very dim view of families prioritizing other things over schooling. It is a legal requirement that students are in school and by law we have to report students who have insufficient attendance. In the first weeks of term friendships are renewed, class routines established and last years key points quickly revised to ensure that students can continue forward positively from the word go. When students miss these times they start the year on the wrong foot and some of them take weeks and weeks to recover academically and socially. PLease make sure your children are in school at all times unless ill.

Next week we have our ‘Effort leads to Success’ assemblies for grades 2 to 4 and the ‘Moving On’ assembly for grade 5. PLease see the schedule below and support your child. The invitations have already gone out and entry tickets for the events provided.

Our final school week is upon us and I know many of our teachers are exhausted, as are the students. I know that you will express your appreciation to all our staff for their hard work. I don’t know if any of you have looked after 25 or more children for a day but to do it every day and make sure they learn as well, takes a very special talent. It does make a difference to them when they know that all they have done has been recognised. 

Best wishes,

Mrs Short

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
June
Friday 10th: Lower Primary reports go home
Friday 10th: Extra curricular activities end
Monday 13th: Kinder González and Kinder Carbajal trip to Maya Country Club - 8:30-12:00m
Tuesday 14th: Kinder Quintanilla and Kinder Suárez trip to Maya Country Club - 8:30-12:00m
Thursday 16th: Prepa trip to Cinemark - Gran Vía - 9:15am - 12:15m
Thursday 16th: First grade trip to Maya Club 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
Thursday 16th: Last day of School - School closes at normal times.

Upper Primary
June
Friday 10th: Primary extra-curricular classes - End of 5th session 
Friday 10: Upper Primary reports go home
Monday 13th: 2nd Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 
Monday 13th: 3rd Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday 14th:4th Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday 14th: 5th Grade Field Trip to Atlantis 8:00 a.m.- 2:30 p. m. 
Wednesday 15th: 5th Grade Moving on Assembly 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday 15th: 3rd Grade Trip to Atlantis 
Wednesday 15th: 2nd Grade Trip to Dreamland
Thursday 16th: Last day of School - School closes at normal times.

Secondary News

Dear Parents / Guardians,

This week we had the final iGCSE examinations for Grade 10 (Economics Paper 1 on Thursday and Music Paper 1 today). These examinations brought the ABC examination season to an end - much to the relief of students and teachers! 

This week saw one of the highlights of the school year, the Graduation Ceremony. What a great event it was and what a lovely way to mark this milestone in the education, and lives, of the students from the Class of 2016.


This week has also been an exciting week for our Grade 9 students who have been on work experience. The feedback that I have had has been very positive. I hope the students have enjoyed the experience and that in some way it has helped crystalise their career plans.
Pre-IB Induction Course 2016
That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” – Neil Armstrong (1969)

On the 6th of June, the Grade 10s returned to school after their IGCSE exams and took their own “giant leap” into the IB Diploma. The Pre-IB Induction Course gave students a small insight into the core elements of the IB Diploma; the Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS. This year, the Grade 10s were welcomed to the IB by the current Grade 11s who helped them gain a deeper understanding of the expectations of the IB Diploma Programme, and to help them settle quickly into life as Seniors.


The programme involved an action-packed and informative schedule of activities which allowed the Grade 10s to develop skills such as team building, problem solving and stress management. They were also given the time to focus on specific subjects. Students attended ‘Taster Sessions’ in their IB subjects where they were given the opportunity to ask questions about what it is like, for example, to study Biology or Business Management or French.

I would like to thank the Grade 11 students and ABC teachers for their involvement in the Induction Programme and for making sure it all ran like clockwork.
Ciara Gillespie
IB Coordinator

Lap of Honour - Monday 13th of June
On Monday we invite students that have been involved in a sports team, sport or other event (academic, musical, dramatic or other) to be part of the Lap of Honour. The Lap of Honour is a celebration of the vast array of this year’s achievements by our students. We encourage all our students to pursue a sport or interest, whatever it may be, that they enjoy. There are many ways, and many times this academic year, that each of our students has shone and has done something to be proud of. Recognising and celebrating achievements is an important part of life and work here at the ABC. Students should feel good about their achievements and feel happy to be recognised publicly.

The teachers in charge of the activities / events that are part of the Lap of Honour have been in contact with the students concerned. If students are invited to more than one activity/event then we have asked them to decide which they want to support in the Lap of Honour.

Students are asked to wear the relevant event t-shirt / sports wear on this Monday (and then remain in these clothes for the remainder of the day). 

University Search and Application Process - Parents & students of Class of 2017 
On Tuesday June 14th at 6.00pm we will be holding Part 2 of the information session entitled ‘University Search and Application Process’. Parents and students of Class of 2017 are strongly encouraged to attend as we are certain it will provide information that will prove helpful in the application process. Part 2 of the session will focus on applying through UCAS (UK) and the Common App (US); we will also be answering any questions that you might have before the start of summer holiday.
Maria Eugenia de Vides
University Guidance Counselor

Awards Assemblies
Please be reminded that next week we have our awards assemblies (see details below). 

Monday 13th June: 
11.25am to 12.20pm - Grade 6 Awards Assembly (followed by, 12.30pm to 1.30pm, Grade 6 Family Day Picnic).
12.55pm to 1.50pm - Grade 7 Awards Assembly (followed by, 2.00pm to 3.00pm, Grade 7 Family Day Picnic).

Wednesday 15th June: 
11.25am to 12.20pm - Grade 9 Awards Assembly.
1.05pm to 2.00pm - Grade 8 Awards Assembly.

Thursday 16th June: 
8.15am to 9.10am - Grade 10 Awards Assembly.
9.10am to 10.00am - Grade 11 Awards Assembly.

As stated in a few weeks ago, we invite parents of all students in a grade to attend these events as we feel that it is important to collectively celebrate student achievements. 

I look forward to seeing you at these celebrations next week.

Kind regards,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Monday 13th June: Lap of Honour at 7.00am
Monday 13th June: Grade 6 and Grade 7 Awards Assembly at 11:25am; Grade 6 Family Day Picnic-Lunch at 12:20pm (Grade 6 students leaving with Parents at 1:30pm) and Logros Event at 6.00pm PAC.
Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th June: Group 4 Science project (Grade 11) 
Tuesday 14th June: University Search and Application Practicum (Invitation open to parents and students in Grade 11), 6.00pm to 7.30pm
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 8 and Grade 9 Award Assembly
Thursday 16th June: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Award Assembly 
Thursday 16th June: CAL 3 Reports issued for Grades 6-11
Thursday 16th June: Last day of School Year (normal finishing time)

Friday 3 June 2016

35: Friday 3rd June 2016

From the Director 


I would like to begin by giving more details of our Community Protection event next Tuesday at 6.30 pm which falls under our safeguarding umbrella. Our aim on Tuesday evening is to provide practical help and guidance for you to help protect your son or daughter from internet addiction and abuse. The event will start with an explanation of internet protection at school and how you can protect your home as well as a range of devices. You will find out how to install free protection as well as protection which can be bought. We will include phones, tablets and laptops and you can bring your devices if you would like some practical help or advice. The evening will be followed up with a brief session advising you on maintaining positive relationships with tweens or teens so that they talk to you about internet issues or concerns before they make a poor decision on the internet. This event is open to all parents across the school but especially for parents of children from Grade 2 upwards through the secondary school.

As we approach the end of the school year I would like to make a couple of points and reminders for next year. The first point relates to our safeguarding concerns with respect to the internet and children having unrestricted access. From August 2016 we will not be allowing students in Grade 6 to 8 to bring a smart mobile phone to school. We are concerned at the access such phones give to children and the concern that they share inappropriate material with each other. This is a continuation of our current no phone policy in Grade 5. We will provide more details at the start of next year but please be aware that smart phones with internet access will not be allowed at school up to and including the class of 2021. We know from talking to parents that many of you share these concerns and we suggest you also review your child’s use of smartphones at home and during the coming holidays.

In terms of next year can I also please make a number of points regarding the presentation of our children. We rightly take pride in our appearance as a school and I would like to ask for your support in ensuring your child has the correct uniform including the correct shoes and is dressed before arriving at school! We do not expect boys to arrive without their ties already tied. We do not expect girls to arrive without proper ankle socks. We do not expect children to arrive wearing their PE uniform on a non PE day and we would like your help as parents and proud members of our community. Please can you ensure your child has the correct uniform in place for the start of school again in August.

Our car drop off and pick ups have been much quieter these last few weeks with the classes of 2016 and 2018 on exam study. We are however aware that with the recent new fast food outlet and the opening of the new court opposite school in the summer that this is going to become more complicated. We are contemplating changing the rules for the top car park so cars can only leave in one direction. This would mean all cars going right towards Merliot and then accessing the Panamericana by 17 avenida which will soon have traffic lights making the access safer. We are considering trialing this in the last week of term and see how it might work and anticipate any problems which it may present. We will still allow cars to approach the campus from both directions but there will only be an exit towards Merliot thereby avoiding increasing the congestion near the new fast food restaurant and court building. As always we appreciate your support as we look to try to improve the drop off and pick up for all parents. I would also like to remind all parents of the need to be polite and courteous with our traffic personnel who are trying to ensure a smooth flow in what can be difficult situations. Please remember our ABC values at these times!

The ABC is teaming up with the Positive Coaching alliance next year to work on a number of areas to develop our sports programmes in line with our school values. We are excited at this development and if you are interested please check their website http://www.positivecoach.org/. One of their people will be visiting us at the start of next year.

I hope to see many exabrits at the Headmaster’s reception taking place this evening - please remember to bring your invitations!

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

We had a star visitor in Primary this week, British author and teacher Tadgh Bentley came to school with his wife and worked with the whole school. He shared his book ‘Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups’ with many of our students and ran character design workshops with Grades 4 and 5. He also ran two workshops with our staff after school so he had a very busy two days! He was very informative and charming and the students really liked him and learned a lot. We are arranging to have this book available for students to read in school.


The Talent Show auditions took place this week. One or two children were not fully prepared and forgot their routine or their words but everyone tried very hard and we are sorry that not everyone could be included in the final event. Unfortunately due to time factors we can only have about 16 acts per show. Those who have been selected for the final shows have now been informed and these are taking place next week. Please support your child to be the best they can be. Well done again to everyone who took part and good luck to the finalists.

The Olympic Exit point will be on June 8th and we are all looking forward to the event which will round off the Olympic unit with a closing ceremony to rival the one in London last time. Well maybe not quite, but we hope the students will get some of the feel of success and celebration of a unit successfully completed.
We have several end of year trips coming up. Our visits are approved by an independent security expert now and no children should not be allowed to go due to security concerns. I will be expecting 100% attendance for these. Please ensure that the payments are made as soon as possible.

The Effort leads to Success and Moving On end of year assemblies are taking place in the last week of term. A very important occasion when all students get the chance to celebrate the year and some of their personal achievements. Please note the dates and times below and be on time to encourage your child. This year we are able to invite two family members for every student. 

Yesterday and today the Grade 5s, as part of their transition process, spent the day in Secondary school. They all seemed to be very ‘smiley’ after the experience so I am assuming all went well. I will ask them a bit more about it next week.

The rest of Primary had their moving up time this morning and met their new teacher (providing they are already in school). Some teachers will not arrive until August of course. Once again the students seemed to enjoy their time in a different class and are ready for a change in the next academic year.

We submitted our video for ‘Voices around the World’ and here is the reply that we had to Mr Diaz the Upper Primary music teacher.

Dear Luis,

What a great video and great singing! It is very clear that an incredible amount of work has gone into making this - please pass on all of our thanks to the staff who helped AND well done to you for pulling it all together. As for your students please tell them - we think they are ALL recording superstars! I have just sent the video through to our studio so that some of it can be included in the final mix video.

Well done Mr Diaz and the rest of the team who worked so hard to put this together and to the students for learning the song and creating the actions. 

Please remember my notices from a few weeks ago. 
  1. Students in Primary will not need pencil cases next academic school year. The school will provide day to day resources such as pencils and pens. Students will still need good quality items for homework and projects at home.
  2. School shoes must have fastenings not be slip-ons and this will be enforced from August.
Please note our libraries are collecting books back for the summer. They may have been borrowed by either students or parents! Books that are not returned may need to be paid for. You should have been notified about this by email yesterday. Please hunt the books down and return them before the 16th June. Thank you.

Here is a picture of some prepa students working with Mr Bentley in the LP library.

Have a lovely weekend.

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
June
Tuesday 7th: Pre Kinder trip to Jardín Botánico - 8:30-11:15am
Friday 10th: Lower Primary reports go home
Friday 10th: Extra curricular activities ends
Monday 13th: Kinder González and Kinder Carbajal trip to Maya Country Club - 8:30-12:00m
Tuesday 14th: Kinder Quintanilla and Kinder Suárez trip to Maya Country Club - 8:30-12:00m
Thursday 16th: First grade trip to Maya Club 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
Thursday 16th: Last day of School - School closes at normal times.

Upper Primary
June
Wednesday 8th: Whole Primary School Exit Point The Olympics
Thursday 9th: 4th Grade Trip to Atlantis
Friday 10th: Primary extra-curricular classes - End of 5th session 
Friday 10: Upper Primary reports go home
Monday 13th: 2nd Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 
Monday 13th: 3rd Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday 14th:4th Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday 14th: 5th Grade Field Trip to Atlantis 8:00 a.m.- 2:30 p. m. 
Wednesday 15th: 5th Grade Moving on Assembly 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday 15th: 3rd Grade Trip to Atlantis 
Wednesday 15th: 2nd Grade Trip to Dreamland
Thursday 16th: Last day of School - School closes at normal times.

Secondary News

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Student Council President and Vice President Election Results
On Tuesday we had the Student Council (StuCo) President and Vice President Elections and approximately 60% of the Secondary School students turned out to vote. Congratulations to Jose Eduardo Monterrosa on being appointed President and Daniela Villalobos on being appointed Vice President. 

5th Grade to 6th Grade Induction Days - Thursday 2nd of June and Friday 3rd of June
This week the Grade 5 students visited the Secondary School for two days. They met their Grade 6 Form Tutors, had a variety of lessons and took part in special assemblies and activities. Thank you to everyone that made this event such a success.



Pictures from the Grade 5 Transition Days

Grade 9 MUN Day - Friday 3rd of June
Today (Friday the 3rd of June) the whole of Grade 9 participated in the annual Model United Nations Day. The event was planned and run by the students of the school’s MUN Debate Team and it gave the Grade 9 students a chance to participate in several debates. 

Below are a few photographs from the opening ceremony: 



University Search and Applications Grade 11 - Monday 6th of June
Please be reminded that this Monday (Monday June 6th at 6.00 pm) we have the first of our university information sessions, entitled "University Search and Application Process", for the parents and students of the Class of 2017. 

If you have any questions please contact our University Guidance Counsellor María Eugenia Díaz-Nuila de Vides.

Work Experience - w/c Monday 6th of June
As part of our University Guidance and Careers Programme, we organize an activity called The Apprentice, which consists of a week long professional work experience that 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 an internship at a company/institution from June 6th through 10th, where they will carry out tasks related to a professional field they envision as a real alternative in their future. 

This Professional Work Experience Week has been a tradition at the ABC for about a decade, and it is an example of our school working “in partnership with our parents and our community to provide a high quality, values based education which promotes international mindedness and develops both academic ability and the full potential of all of our students”, as our mission instills and promotes. We have placed our students at many institutions based on academic interests; these include law firms, hospitals, hotels, television stations, newspapers, education centers, and many businesses providing a full range of services and products. The students have been assigned a mentor at each location who will guide and educate them about the inner workings of their places of work. The students will be responsible for punctuality, attendance, and their performance; and, we trust that parents will help them meet these expectations. 

Experience has taught us that this activity proves fruitful for our students and adds focus to their academic purpose. In the past students have expressed reflections, the likes of:

“It was incredible to observe surgeries, and an unforgettable experience.”

“I have been an athlete all my life, and I found out how national and international events are organized. It made me understand all the work that goes with organizing a competition; it is not a simple process.”

“What I enjoyed the most was that in my department everyone knew each other and acted like a family that needed to work as a team to be able to manage all that needed to be done.”

We want the students to reflect upon this experience academically, professionally, and in a personal way; and, achieve the full potential of all of our students. We believe this is one step in that direction. 
Eric Quijano
National School Director
University Guidance & Careers

Graduation Ceremony - Thursday 9th of June
We are busy preparing for next week’s graduation. As well as being attended by the graduating grade (the Class of 2016) we are also expecting the attendance of Grade 10 (the Class of 2018) and Grade 11 (the Class of 2017) students. 

The Secondary School will finish for all grades after Period 5 (at 12.20pm) next Thursday to allow staff and the students from Grades 10 & 11 to prepare for the Graduation Ceremony. 

Grade 10 and Grade 11 students will then be expected to return to school for 4.30pm and should go to their tutor rooms (where they will be met by their Form Tutors). The ceremony will then run from 5.00pm to approximately 8.00pm. 

Lost and found 
We have a large number of unclaimed items in the Secondary lost and found cage. Please encourage your child/ren to check the lost and found cage before Friday 10th of June for any misplaced items. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity in the last week of term.

I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

All the best,

Stephen Spicer
Head of Secondary

Secondary dates for your diary
Friday 3rd June: Class 2016 Headmaster's Reception
Monday 6th June: University Search and Applications Grade 11 (Invitation open to parents and students in Grade 11), 6.00pm to 7.30pm
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 
Tuesday 14th June: University Search and Application Practicum (Invitation open to parents and students in Grade 11), 6.00pm to 7.30pm
Wednesday 15th June: Grade 8 and Grade 9 Award Assembly
Thursday 16th June: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Award Assembly and CAL Reports issued for Grades 6-10 and 11
Thursday 16th June: Last day of School Year