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.
- 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.
- 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
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