From the Director
I hope you enjoyed the half term break last weekend and took time to catch up with your family lives! I would like to thank many of you for replying to the Annual Parent Survey and we will of course be considering your comments and feedback. The survey was very positive in many respects but I would again like to make the point that if you have a concern regarding school it is important you contact us directly so we can investigate individual situations. We can guarantee confidentiality in such communication. As a school and a wider community we are determined to work with you to ensure all our children grow up in a safe and secure environment both in school and at home.
Our school value at the moment is Resilient and we have been working on the theme of developing resilience. Research shows it is one of the most important attributes for a child to develop. In order to become more resilient you need to be encouraged and not afraid to get things wrong first time. The essence of making mistakes is that they are a good thing when we learn from them. It is also good to see other people’s mistakes and learn from them too. It helps us realise that we do not always get something straight away but we need to be resilient in not giving up until we find a solution we are happy with. I often think that resilient goes alongside being resourceful because if you are resourceful you are able to think of new ways to tackle a problem which may be more successful. I think this is a big part of being resilient. It does not just mean trying the same old method which failed in the past! This can be a difficult lesson for young people to learn but all of us need to work to help our children become resilient learners and resilient people.
We have a busy few weeks coming up. Next Friday we will be celebrating STEAMFEST in school which is a culmination of creativity and ideas for resolving challenges be they local or global! We also are in full swing preparing for the Bicultural Arts Festival with performances at the Teatro Presidente on Thursday 16th (Drama and Dance) and Friday 17th (Music and Choral) March. The Art Exhibitions will be on display both nights as well. All ABC parents are invited along with the other bicultural schools participating in the event. I am looking forward to seeing many of you at these events.
I hope you have an enjoyable weekend with your children.
Primary News
Dear Parents and Carers,
On our first day back we were all go with our Maths day.The teachers put a lot of time and energy into creating fun and valuable maths activities for the students; ranging from scavenger hunts to the famous Potato Olympics. I saw and heard some excellent Mathematical learning going on. Here is a report from our Maths co-ordinator Ana Navas.
Math Day
Our school celebrated Maths Day on the 1st of March. The day was filled with engaging and fun activities; from easy, hands-on maths activities to more advanced games and puzzles.
Children showed great enthusiasm in participating in various activities such as, making 2D and 3D shapes, the Potato Olympics, counting numbers, riding tricycles, telling the time and many other unforgettable tasks.
All the activities helped to improve learning in the whole Primary section. It created opportunities for building an awareness of concepts and developing positive attitudes towards mathematics.
Today is Teleton Day. Thank you for your support of this worthy cause. We are hoping to break our own record for funds raised this year. The students looked very colourful in their teleton T-Shirts and wrist ties. I have also seen a lot of water bottles and other items around the school. Well done to everyone who contributed and to our staff and students who have been involved in the orders and distribution.
Tomorrow is our Upper Primary Sports and Family morning. We are looking forward to welcoming all of our students to perform and compete for their tribe in this annual event. Refreshments will be available and games for the siblings to play on will also be present. Our teachers give up their weekends to be there, we expect you all to join us and have a great time together.
We have had more incidences of students being exposed to inappropriate material on the internet at home again this week. Please take away your children’s internet and phone access until you are present and ready to supervise with vigilance.
Over the long weekend Kinder parents were able to take their children’s beautiful portfolios home. These portfolios take hours of teachers time to prepare. Some teachers are working long into the evenings to get them ready with full comments or explanations of the developmental learning that is taking place. I am sure all of our parents have expressed their gratitude to the teachers involved.
Next week is Music week and our music teachers have prepared some interesting additional activities for our students and on Friday it is the school STEAMFest. This year our grade 5 students will be exhibiting in the PAC and the rest will be exhibiting around the Primary school. We really enjoy the chance for our students to share their learning with the other children. They can explain about their process and the failures along the way that lead to their current success.
Many of our students will be performing at Teatro Presidente for the Bicultural Arts Festival, the week after next. All students and parents are welcome to see the performances. Tickets will be available from the secretaries.
The Primary Fair is on the 18th March. It is one of the highlights of the Primary Year and raises funds for educational scholarships. Please make sure you have sent in your decorated and filled jar if your child is in Upper Primary. We look forward to seeing you there.
Our Book focus is also coming up - get ready to read!!
Best wishes,
Sharon Short
Head of Primary and Safeguarding Officer
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
March
Friday 3rd: Teletón day- Jeans Day
Friday 3rd: End of 3rd extra-curricular activities session
Monday 6th: Start of 4th extra-curricular activities session
Tuesday 7th: Kinder Quintanilla trip to La Granjita - 8:00 am
Wednesday 8th: Kinder Suárez trip to La Granjita - 8:00 am
Thursday 9th: Kinder Cáceres trip to La Granjita - 8:00 am
Wednesday 15th: Kinder Rampone trip to La Granjita - 8:00 am
Friday 17th: Pre-Kinder Carbajal assembly - 7:45 am - PAC
Saturday 18th: Primary Fair
Friday 24th: Pre-Kinder González assembly - 7:45 am - PAC
Friday 31st: Pre-Kinder Siri assembly - 7:45 am - PAC
Upper Primary
March
Saturday 4th: UP Sports Morning & Family Day
Monday 6th: Start of 4th Extracurricular Term - PRIMARY
Wednesday 8th: 2nd Lawrence Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 PAC and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
Saturday 18th: Primary Fair
Wednesday 22nd: 3rd Sullivan Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 PAC and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
Wednesday 29th: 2nd Spanish Assembly 9:20 - 10:05 PAC and 12:15 - 1:15 PAC
Secondary News
It was a pleasure to see so many parents at the IB Options Evening yesterday. We have placed the presentation by Mr. Keslake on the ABC parent website on this link. We would also be grateful if you would complete the feedback form sent after the event so we can try to improve the evening for the Class of 2020 next year!
Our Cal 2 reports for Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 will be issued next week. As with Cal 1 these are issued on line through the students iSAMS accounts and your son or daughter will be able to share them with you. We plan to have our iSAMS parent portal in operation by the end of the next Cal so provided you have signed up you will have access to their reports on your own devices. We will be sending more information on this process in due course.
We are celebrating the Arts in the next few weeks, starting with Music week next week and leading on to Book Fortnight. A huge thank you to the Performing Arts department for organising activities for next week. We will also be celebrating International Women’s day and making a special emphasis on women authors. We would like to support this at home as much as possible, encouraging your son or daughter to read and appreciate the Arts in general. They may be inspired in taking part of the PAD extracurricular activities in future.
We have been celebrating Brain Week as part of our Resilience value. I would like to remind you briefly of some of the ways that we as parents can help our children develop their brains!!
- It is important teenagers get plenty of sleep - 8 hours or more - so please help them get to bed and sleep on time! They should not spend their sleep time chatting to friends or surfing the internet!
- The brain responds to positive messages - try to be positive and supportive and constructive with negative comments or criticisms explaining your point rationally
- The brain needs challenges and activity rather than hours of watching TV or videos! Sme video and computer games are good for the brain but do not allow them to overdo it
- Drink plenty of water and eat healthy food
- Talk to your children and engage them in conversations where you value their opinions!
Grade 11 International Award students will be joining Mr Merry and Mr Garcia for a three day camping trip in El Pital. Here they will be challenged by climbing the peak and camping in what will be fairly cool conditions. All equipment has to be carried by the students including food and cooking tools and they will also be learning how to navigate on their own. The International Award challenges students in many ways and the expedition phase is perhaps the most arduous, where they will have to display many of the Values the School strives for. They will set off Saturday morning and will be returning on Monday. Talk to your son or daughter about this exciting programme and encourage them to participate!
Finally we are happy to welcome back our Japan trip students and staff and report that they had a very enjoyable and rewarding experience!
We are pleased to announce that on Tuesday 7th of March, we are hosting the Catholic Universities Tour from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Parents and students are welcome.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Natalia Cáceres Escalón
March
Monday 6th - Grade 8 IGCSE Options & Parent/Teacher meetings - Auditorium, 4:30pm
Thursday 9th to Monday 13th - HACIA Democracy trip to Panama
Friday 10th - ABC STEAMFEST
Saturday 11th - SAT test, 8 am
Monday 13th to Friday 17th - Bicultural Arts Festival Week
Tuesday 14th - Grade 12 IB Art inauguration day
Thursday 16th - Bicultural Art Dance and Drama Performance
Friday 17th - Bicultural Art Choir and Music Performance
Tuesday 21st - Parent Partnership Meeting on Internet Safety
Wednesday 22nd - Grade 9 and 11 exams start
Friday 24th - 1er festival gastronomique-culturel Francophone
Friday 31st - Grade 8 Art Trip to Bicentenario (San Salvador) and end of Grade 9 and 11 exams
April
Saturday 1st to Saturday 18th April - Business Department Trip to UK and France
Sunday 2nd - Bicultural Music Festival
Friday 7th - Last day of Term two
Monday 10th to Friday 21st - Easter holidays, school closed
Monday 24th - Back to school to first day to Term three
Wednesday 26th - Last day for Grade 12 students in classes (proper working day)
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