From the Director
It was good to see many of you at the Coffee Morning with Mrs. Portillo and myself and thank you for attending. I explained our AIP report at the meeting and will be following up on issues discussed. It was also nice to see many parents at the Grade 6 parent meeting last night.
I would like to inform you about some of our morning traffic issues. We have noticed a significant increase in traffic this week especially in the Admin Car Park. We are concerned there will be an accident unless we simplify the traffic flows at our busiest times. We are grateful to those of you who arrive before 6.45 and help reduce the later congestion when the French School parents also start arriving. Most mornings, prior to 6.50 am, there is generally a free flow of traffic towards the Panamericana from the exit to the Admin Car Park. However as we get nearer to 7 am the traffic generally becomes congested. We have consulted with various traffic experts and we have been advised that at times when access to the Panamericana is congested, we should not allow traffic to turn left which is often across two lanes of traffic and with drivers who are often agitated as they try to get to school or work on time. Consequently in the interests of safety we have authorised our traffic personnel to insist that cars turn right out of the Admin Car Park towards Plaza Merliot. We ask that all parents and drivers respect this if it happens. I would like to repeat that this is only at peak times and at the discretion of our traffic staff. If you arrive before 6.50 am you should not be affected. We hope you understand that it is our priority to ensure the safety of our community arriving at school safely. We are also looking at some other changes in the morning to make our car pooling drop off easier. I would like to point out that we would be very grateful if you could find someone to share with in a carpool. If you have three or more children to drop off you can enter by the gate before the Admin Entrance, which is also used by staff. This is an easier and quicker drop off. If you can carpool please do so and if you have 3 or more children to drop off please use this entrance.
We have been celebrating theatre week and I know many students have found the events stimulating! Many thanks to everyone involved in arranging this week and helping us mark the ABC value of Creative. We are continuing with a focus on being Creative next week, which I am sure you know is one of our CORE Values. There is a link to one of our seniors, Carmen Córdova being creative on a summer programme on the ABC newsblog. Congratulations Carmen. While I am congratulating students I would like to congratulate Andrés Figueroa, María Celeste Ayala, Rafael Mendoza and Daniela Castillo from the Class of 2018 who were awarded the ABC Millennium Scholarship in recognition of their high academic standards and their contribution to school life. They join Daniela Duran who was also awarded the scholarship for being our top IGCSE student in the recent Cambridge examinations.
We have an IPC Visitor in school looking at our IPC programme and how we are implementing it. We are looking forward to showing her our practices and she will also be doing some training.
I would like to wish you and your children a Happy Children’s Day for tomorrow. Our children are our future and it is important we invest as much time in them as we can! Enjoy tomorrow with them!
I would like to congratulate Andrés Carranza from the Class of 2015 who has recently completed his first year at Bates College. On graduating from the ABC he received a full scholarship and was recently named a Dana Scholar by the university, which is the highest honour they bestow on a first year student.
I would like to finish by reminding you that October traditionally marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as usual we will be participating in the month with information and fund raising activities. We know the future for cancer sufferers improves year by year and we want to play our part in ensuring this continues.
Primary News
Dear Parents and Carers,
The IPC is based on learning research and when our students are studying we are encouraging them to think about how they learn. We ask them to have a growth mindset; not saying ‘I can’t do this’ but adding “yet” to change their attitude. Saying ‘I can’t do this yet” is very different. 2nd Tutty’s assembly this week told us about some of the very famous people in history and the world today who have successfully overcome challenges to have enormous success. They also encouraged us all to have a Growth Mindset and when we have a challenge to adopt the power of ‘yet.’ It really is a good tip. We should not be afraid of failure it is part of learning. They finished the assembly with this quote from Albert Einstein. Well done 2nd Tutty - students and teachers.
On Monday the Salvadorean Independence assembly was very exciting... and noisy! It was thrilling to see all of the Primary school together celebrating this important time for El Salvador. The students looked great in their blue and white hats or sashes. We sang the National Anthem to start and everyone joined in very well. We had songs from the choirs, two dances from the Primary dance squad, speeches and the parade of the flags. Our students also made up a batucada group which played for all of our 800 students to come in and out, as well as for a song. They could be heard all over the campus. They must have been exhausted! We rounded off the assembly with a small group of teachers leading a popular traditional song and the students joining in with the chorus. It was a lovely cultural experience for us all. Thank you to all the staff who worked with the students to make the event a success. Please see the ABC Facebook page for photos.
On Tuesday we were delighted to welcome the local police to school. They were providing a very important service for us. As you know we have been promoting car safety for many years but at times with little impact. The police were here to check that everyone was using a seatbelt and to check that drivers were not using their phones or texting while driving - a very dangerous practice and responsible for many deaths worldwide. They did speak to quite a few people. They will be visiting to carry out the same checks from time to time so please put your phones away while driving or have the correct ‘hands free’ equipment and make sure every member of your family is correctly in a seatbelt or car seat.
Thank you to all those students who took part in the McLay fun run this week and remembered to bring your dollar. You can all run much further than me! All the money will go to a good cause and everyone benefitted from the exercise in school. Well Done! Grade 5 will be running at the Bicentennial Park next week.
Important reminder. Primary students are not allowed smart phones or tablets from home in school. We cannot monitor what they are accessing on these devices. Students may bring a standard phone which must be handed in to the secretary on arrival in school and collected at the end of the day. Smart phones and Ipads are confiscated and parents have to come and collect them.
Please note we will be carrying out Children’s Day activities later in the week next week after our IPC pre-accreditation visit. The LP will be having an entertainer on Thursday and UP will be having a non-uniform (mufti) day on Friday.
Best wishes,
Sharon Short,
Head of Primary.
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
October
Thursday 6th: Children’s day
Friday 7th: 1st. Gray assembly - 7:30am - PAC
Friday 7th: End of 1st Extracurricular session
Monday 10th: Start 2nd Extracurricular session
Friday 14th: 1st. Padilla assembly - 7:30am - PAC
Tuesday 18th: 1st grade Curriculum Night - 6:00pm - PAC
Friday 21st: 1st. Henríquez assembly - 7:30am - PAC
Tuesday 25th: Kinder Curriculim night - 6:00pm - PAC
Friday 28th: Prepa Ware assembly - 7:30am - PAC
November
Monday 31st - Friday 4th: Half term Holiday
Upper Primary
October
Wednesday 5th: 5th Spanish Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
Friday 7th: UP Mufti Day (Children's Day)
Friday 7th: Exit Point 2nd grade:Brainwave
Friday 7th: End of 1st Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY
Monday 10th - Friday 21st: UP Parent Conferences
Monday 10th: Entry Point 2nd grade:Active Planet
Wednesday 12th: 5th Navas Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
Wednesday 19th: 4th García Prieto Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
Wednesday 26th: 3rd Brenes Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
November
Monday 31st-Friday 4th: Half term Holiday
Secondary News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Theatre Week
This has been an exciting week in the Secondary with some wonderful performances from both students and professional companies in the school. Our students have been very lucky to have the opportunity to see performances which engage with issues affecting our school community in El Salvador and globally. Professional companies have performed two dramatic plays Los Mas Solos by Teatro Del Azoro and Natan El Sabio by Teatro Luis Poma. Please take time to follow the links to find out more about these two thought provoking pieces.
During break and lunch times there were also musical performances and opportunities to see our drama students presenting scenes from Raisin in The Sun and Death of a Maiden among many others. We have all enjoyed this creative week coordinated by the Performing Arts department, many thanks to Mr Joel Olwande and Ms Dee Leong for all their hard work.
Peace One Day Celebration
Last week we celebrated Peace One Day on Wednesday, 21st September in assemblies and through activities organised by our senior students. In our assemblies we focussed on what peace means for us in everyday lives and how we can all take individual actions to avoid conflict in our interactions with others. We hope that our students will reflect on the message that actions which can lead to someone else being humiliated or unhappy lead to conflict and we should all be involved in creating a community where this does not happen, either in school or through social media.
At lunchtime many students helped to create this year’s Peace One Day mural with their hand prints. Thank you to Diego Arevalo for creating and drawing the design for the mural and the rest of the team for doing such a good job in organising this and the teacher/student football match in the auditorium.
Student Health & Safety in Physical education
During PE lessons and after school training the students have opportunities to take part in contact sports such hockey and rugby. The PE teachers take every precaution in lessons by using soft balls, appropriate equipment and safety instructions to prevent injury. The school is investing in protective eye wear for the students to use during hockey lessons and we will ask students to bring gum shields if they wish to take part in practice games in addition to the drills and training exercises performed in lessons. Gum shields cannot be shared by students for health & safety reasons and must be an individual purchase. You can find gum shields in any Sport stores in town.
Thank you for your support in this matter.
School and PE uniform and socks
Please encourage your son/daughter to check his/her timetable the day before each day and make sure he/she comes dressed in his/her P.E. kit on the correct days.
For PE kit all students need to wear white ankle socks, proper trainers and a sport cap.
Chinese Mandarin Lesson Opportunity
Please contact the Secondary Office to sign up.
Secondary dates for your diary
October
Thursday 6th: Grades 9 & 11 Know your school parent & teacher meeting
Tuesday 11th: Grades 7 & 8 Know your school parent & teacher meeting
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