Friday 9 December 2016

14: Friday 9th December 2016

From the Director 


I would like to start by saying how much I enjoyed the Upper Primary Christmas celebration last night. It was such an optimistic event. Our children are looking forward to Christmas with their families and it is wonderful to provide an opportunity to show that we as families together are also looking forward to it. I do think we underestimate the importance of family time for our children and they need to see us sharing their hopes and joys. It certainly happened last night. We still have six days of school until the end of term and I want to remind everyone that these days are important and we expect full attendance at school through to the end of term. Please take careful note of the pick up arrangements for each part of the school for next Friday.


At this holiday time I do not want to dampen the spirits but I have a responsibility to remind us of past holiday seasons which have not been so joyful. We must make sure we learn from the past. On a number of occasions we as a community have had to deal with accidents caused by people drinking and driving after holiday celebrations or parties. This might be adults, parents driving alone or with their families or even older students. Please can we all give the same message. It is never safe to drink alcohol and drive a car and we as adults must set that example for young people to follow. If your son or daughter goes to a party at this time of year please do not allow them to drive home but take time to go and collect them. We are clear to our students that they should not be drinking alcohol at their age but we are aware that outside school and at parties it may occasionally occur. Please be a vigilant parent who knows what your son or daughter is doing and take time to ensure their wellbeing so that if they make a mistake it does not have terrible consequences. We as a community must work together to ensure their safety as well as educating them. I am writing this message to all parents because even if your child is young you are still part of our community and are responsible for helping and protecting all members of our community.


Finally, please take a look at our news blog and our Facebook page, where we will be posting the story of Katherine Valladares, the daughter of one of our IT technicians. Katherine was the recipient of one of the many scholarships we award, using the funds collected during the Christmas and Spring Fairs. This past weekend, she graduated from Secondary school and we are extremely proud of the way our community comes together to help those who need it. We truly hope stories like Katherine’s encourage you to attend events that benefit our scholarship fund, as they are a great way to show our children there are many ways we can help others year round, and not just during the holiday season.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the events coming up next week. In the meantime I hope you have a great weekend.


Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all the students and their families who came to the Upper Primary Christmas Concert last night. It is an event that has a tremendous atmosphere with the students giving their all and singing their hearts out for our enjoyment. They had been working for weeks in their music lessons, the grade singing lessons and more recently in the classrooms to learn the words and perfect the melodies and parts. It demonstrates their and your commitment to the school when we all dedicate our time to attend. The songs were in English and Spanish so it was also a bilingual evening. Of course none of it would happen without the hard work of our school staff. Mr Christopher Hall having an overview and keeping us all on schedule and in order, Mr Luis Diaz with his musical expertise bringing the best out of the students, Mr Paul Valladares working on the technical support with the microphones, backing music and all the sound and lights in general, Ms Vilma Rodriguez was videoing, Ms Roxana Flores and Ms Sandra Rivera from the Primary art department supervising the decoration of the stage, not to mention the work of the classroom teachers and assistants that you know so well. This year we added in a teacher’s song which was well received and we rounded off the evening with, what is now becoming traditional at this event, ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’ and ‘Feliz Navidad’ which was sung by everyone with great gusto. The evening was also enhanced by the Food Fair that was provided by the Upper Primary Madres Enlace. A big thank you to them all for the wonderful selection of delicious foods for everyone to taste and enjoy. I heard many compliments about what was available and one or two positive comments about the orderly queue as parents waited their turn. Well done parents, that was good modelling for the students to follow. We all feel that it was a great way to ‘kick off’ the Christmas seasonal events.

Talking of which, we have Santa’s Festival and the Lower Primary shows next Wednesday the 14th of December. We have been delighted with the jars that have been brought in, with their beautiful decorations and enticing contents. The tombola will be very popular as usual I am sure. All proceeds go to the school support staff scholarship fund. I have overheard some of the classes rehearsing for the shows and I can see that everyone is putting in a lot of effort again to create an enjoyable event for students and parents alike. The stalls at the fair will generally be run by school staff and there will be plenty of food vendors to keep everyone topped up for the evening.

The Whole school musical evening on Thursday will be the final event open to parents and it combines our Lower Primary Choir, the Upper Primary choir, the Secondary choir, the teachers and all the musicians in what will this year be a very contemporary Christmas event. It is called POP Christmas and should hit many of our favourites.
On Wednesday 5th Truscott performed a very mature look at the book ‘The War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo for their assembly. They considered the impact of World War 1, how it started, the conditions and looked at the statistics regarding the tragedies that occurred. They produced their own video clips to include and all spoke very clearly. Well Done 5th Truscott.

This week I have received all of the students posters for the Learning Definition poster competition. I will be judging them over the weekend and announcing the winners in the UP assembly on Monday and to the LP classes individually. The school council has also arranged a vote for our symbols for Knowledge, Skills and Understanding.

This is the last week for the charity collections. Thank you all for your contributions. The Upper Primary shoe boxes should be in by Tuesday and the Lower Primary Toy collection also finishes soon so that there is time to wrap the toys as presents. Our staff personally deliver them so we know they get to those in need. Any child who attends this school is so much better off than many of those in our local community. I feel very proud of the generosity of spirit that pervades the school at this time of year.

Please make sure you look at the whole school calendar on the website in order to be aware of upcoming events. The dates are provisionally set at the beginning of the year so you can look ahead to get an overview of what is coming up.

The leaving times for next Friday have been well publicised and we have asked Madres Enlace to let you know as well. There will be no excuses for children left in school. Please make sure you have arrangements in place now for your children.

Wishing you a busy but enjoyable week ahead.

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
December
Friday 9th: Lower Primary reports go home
Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:10 - 6:50 pm PAC
Wednesday 14th: Early departure PK 11:00 Kinder 11:30 Prepa 12:30 1st 1:00
Thursday 15th: Last day of Team Sports - continue in January 9th, 2017
Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP (with UP siblings) children leave at 11:00 am

Upper Primary
December
Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home
Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm
Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am
The rest of UP at 11.30am

Secondary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to thank the ABC community for the warm welcome it has shown me during my first term as Head of Secondary. It has been an intense time for me as I have had much to learn but the support I have received has made that a very enjoyable experience as well. I am especially grateful to all the Secondary students who make coming to school every day a real pleasure. We have the occasional difficulty to sort out but it has always been with a genuine desire to improve and reflect ABC values. 

I am looking forward to seeing many parents next week at the Family Christmas lunches and I hope you will also be able to join us for the Christmas Concert on Thursday which should be a very enjoyable event with lots of opportunity to join in the singing.

Please note that the Secondary students must be collected at 12.pm on Friday when school closes.

So thank you all and I hope you enjoy your Christmas and New Year celebrations and have a good holiday.

Virginia Catlin
Head of Secondary

ROC Merits
Congratulations to all the students who enjoyed a cupcake today to recognise their award of a ROC Merit. They looked delicious!

GEOGRAPHY
Parents are invited to attend the Sustainable Business Fair (formerly known as the "Coffee Fair") outside the LRC during lunchtime (12.20-12.40) on Tuesday. Please all do come along and see the businesses the students have put together and taste some samples of the food and drink products. You and the whole school will have the opportunity to vote for the best product/business of the day. We will also be taking donations for the Grade 8 charity and your help and support would be much appreciated

And the winners of the Dragon’s Den competition were:


SPANISH
Our Spanish department has welcomed Laura Patricia Quinteros who is undertaking a Masters in teaching Spanish Language B. For her final project she needs to observe master classes in Language B and therefore requested our collaboration. The Spanish Department is honoured by this recognition of the level of our Language B programme.

SPORT

Congratulations to Ivana Salome representing El Salvador at the Central American Athletics meet where she was placed second as a member of the 4 x 100 relay team. Well done.


CAS PROJECTS
A team of grade 11 students are promoting this movie premiere and selling tickets to our community to collect funds for HOPAC (Cerebral Palsy Home). They will be grateful for your support.

Secondary dates for your diary
Monday 12th December12.30pm - Grade 6 Family Christmas
Tuesday 13th December 12.30pm - Grade 8 Business Fair followed by Family Christmas Wednesday 14th December - Grade 10 IGCSE Geography fieldtrip to Santa Ana volcano 
Thursday 15th December - 12.30pm - Grade 7 Family Christmas & ABC Pop Christmas Concert - 6pm PAC - $1 for charity
Friday 16th December - Last day of term, Christmas holidays
Monday 9th January - First day back to school

Friday 2 December 2016

13: Friday 2nd December 2016

From the Director 


This is the time of year when parents of potentially new students need to be registering for a place in the coming school year. We have a limited number of places including in Pre-Kinder where we want to keep our classes small and very personal. If you, a member of your family or friends are thinking of their children joining us they need to get registered as soon as possible. This includes if you want your child to join the Class of 2032 and please be aware that if this class is full we will not be allowing entry to the class for Kinder. My advice is for your child to join Pre-Kinder and benefit from a prolonged experience of our values, learning English and settling into our way of learning and life.

It is always a pleasure to welcome an education visitor into school to share thoughts about how we can develop our school. This week Joe Terrasi from the Positive Coaching Alliance spent three days in school looking at our sports provision. Joe looked at all aspects of our sports programme, including Physical Education and Team Sports. The school leadership team and myself all spent time with Joe and we listened carefully to his thoughts and feedback. He was hugely impressed with us as a school in terms of our values and promoting a positive attitude. He is also showing us how to develop key areas of our school in terms of promoting sporting excellence. Sporting excellence means that children show commitment, take their sport seriously and have fun as part of a team. It also means they take pride and have a positive experience with their coach and their parents. Joe is proposing a model where we work with coaches, students, parents and school leaders to make this work. He started this process with parents at a meeting this week which was attended by some parents. Joe’s message was clear for parents. Your role is to promote life lessons through sports. Lessons which will help your child grow into a responsible outstanding citizen - learning about respect, commitment, teamwork and the joy of participation leading to success on the field and in their lives. Our role is to provide a safe, secure, positive environment where children grow as athletes with a commitment to their team and their coach. We need to help children celebrate their sporting achievements and use them as a springboard for success in all aspects of their lives. We have a three year partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance and are very excited at the prospects of better integrating our sports programmes into school and seeing even more success in the sports arena.

Anabella Soto, our Communications Officer in school is sending a brief survey for you to fill in order to help her identify our communications needs as we move forward. Please take some time to fill it in as your ideas are important to us.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend with your children. I am sure everyone is already starting to get excited a Christmas approaches. 

Primary News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to everyone who supported the Mix and Match day. We received many books in English and donations to the value of almost $350. Another great contribution by the ABC students. We have received a lovely lot of jars for Santa’s Fair Tombola stall and the shoe boxes are beginning to collect in the Primary offices. It gives me such a proud and warm feeling to see what we can achieve when we all work together. The Secondary Shoeing campaign is currently underway so if you have any shoes that you no longer need please send them in and there are ‘Christmas grams’, another seasonal tradition in the school, available from the library staff. Thank you for all the contributions so far.

Last Friday Grade 2 had the annual overnight camp. The teachers slept under the stars and the students were in the tents. This gives teachers better monitoring options! Everyone had a great time, although it was tiring for students and staff alike. With the pool party, the outside movie and the scavenger hunt they were all ready to sleep. We would like to thank those parents who helped and prepared a delicious dinner and of course our own Grade 2 staff for organising it all.

The Upper Primary Christmas concert will take place on the 8th of December. The students are already rehearsing their parts and their songs. Last year was the first year we had the concert and it was a resounding success. We are hoping to repeat that this year. Please make sure your children know all the words to their special songs. We sometimes find they fade a bit after the first verse.

On Wednesday the Primary School Council met with Joe Terrasi the sports advisor visiting the school. He said it made his day when one of our second grade representatives was able to explain a growth mindset to him. He was a very impressive speaker and the students were reluctant to leave him after their session was over. They had so many interesting and appropriate questions. One of the concepts he shared with them was the ‘flush’. I won't tell you what it is but if it filters back to you through your children please take careful note. 

Please keep a careful eye on the school calendar and the upcoming events. I would like to give you early warning about the school closing, as always on the last day of term, at 11.00 for Lower Primary and 11.30 for Upper Primary. Please make sure all your friends know. I really do take a dim view of negligent parents who leave their children sitting here until almost 2.00pm.

Enjoy the last couple of weeks of school. We do have many exciting events planned.

Best wishes,

Sharon Short
Head of Primary

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
December
Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular session
Thursday 8th: Prepa trip to the toy shop in Súper Selectos
Friday 9th: Lower Primary reports go home
Wednesday 14th: Christmas Shows 3:15 - 6:40pm PAC
Thursday 15th: Last day of Team Sports - continue in January 9th, 2017
Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP (with UP siblings) children leave at 11:00am

Upper Primary
December
Friday 2nd: End of 2nd Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY
Wednesday 7th: 5th Truscott Assembly 9:20-10:05 PAC & 12:15-1:15 PAC
Thursday 8th: UP Christmas Concert 6.00pm
Friday 9th: Primary Reports go home
Wednesday 14th: Christmas Fair 3:30pm - 7:00pm
Friday 16th: Last day of term 1 - all LP & UP siblings children leave at 11:00am
The rest of UP at 11.30am

Secondary News

BOOK WEEK
As we approach the end of term, the pace of life in Secondary continues to be very busy. This week we have been celebrating Book Week with a variety of fun activities and competitions to remind us all of the joys of reading. One of these was a competition to design a book cover, an illustration for the front and a ‘blurb’ for the back. This is just one of the delightful entries by Khristy Zhang from 6d.

DRAGON’S DEN
Over the past couple of months the whole of Grade 8 have been working hard in an exciting cross- curricular project within IT and Geography. This project involved students taking on different roles to plan and create their own sustainable businesses in preparation for a big fair outside the LRC to showcase their products. This will be held for students to attend at lunchtime on Tuesday, 13th December. 

This week during the presentation finals (called the Dragon’s Den), we saw some of the business ideas come to life. We saw examples of solar powered lighting solutions for houses, healthy alternatives to your normal drinks and even an app to cut down procrastination from work. After the presentations, each group received valuable feedback from our panel of judges. Using this feedback, the students will now reflect on their ideas to get ready for the big fair! We are all looking forward to see what the final creations will look (and taste) like.

A successful Sustainable Project so far.... Well done Grade 8! 

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Congratulations to the Marketing Competition Finalists who all made very impressive presentations of their business ideas to a panel of judges last week. I was delighted to be a member of that panel and was very impressed by both the quality of their products and the work the had put into their presentations. The final decision was very difficult but the the places were 1st Churritop, 2nd Sushi Burgers and 3rd Shake House




Positive Coaching Alliance
As Mr Keslake described, the school welcomed Joe Terassi this week to look at our sporting provision. During that time he held a session with many of our Tribal Chiefs on leadership in sport and how they could support positive coaching values with their teams and support each other as a team of leaders. We enjoyed the session very much and the students had many questions for him at the end of his talk.

Secondary dates for your diary
Friday 2nd December - Senior Christmas Family Day
Monday 5th December - IB Group 4 Science Project
Tuesday 6th December - IGCSE Award Ceremony for Grade 11 Parents - 6:30pm PAC
Thursday 8th December - Grade 7 Art trip to Casa Blanca, Chalchuapa
Thursday 8th & Friday 9th December - Grade 10 IGCSE Art mock exam
Wednesday 14th December - Grade 10 IGCSE Geography fieldtrip to Santa Ana volcano 
Thursday 15th December - ABC Pop Christmas Concert - 6pm PAC - $1 for charity
Friday 16th December - Last day of term, Christmas holidays
Monday 9th January - First day back to school