Friday 2 June 2017

35: Friday 2nd June 2017

From the Director

As this school year comes towards its end it is natural for us to reflect on the successes of the school year. I know that all of us as parents and teachers have those successes which we can celebrate with our children and we will be doing our celebrations over the coming weeks. Some of these will be at Awards Assemblies which will be celebrating our school values and we will also be having our traditional Lap of Honour on Monday 12th June. On that evening we will also be inviting parents of our sporting and other successes to a brief reception hosted by the Board of Governors.

We had a very successful CIS visit last week and it is clear that the ABC is working in line with the highest expectations of international schools around the world. As a school community we will be working on CIS related issues over the coming year. It should be a very interesting time as we reflect on the issues that are relevant to our school and our community.

The Exabrit Community will be together this evening at the Headmaster’s Reception as part of the induction process for the Class of 2017 into the Exabrit community. On behalf of our whole community I want to remind all of us of our responsibilities as exabrits to show our students how to live ABC values and to act as ROCs in the outside word. I hope everyone who attends will enjoy the Headmaster’s Reception and will work to ensure we set a great example for our graduating class.

I am pleased to announce that Natalia Caceres will be Head of Secondary for the coming school year. Our previous Head of secondary, Virginia Caitlin is doing well with her treatment but is still not well enough to return to fulltime work. I would like to thank Virginia very much for all she did in the time she was with us. I am confident Natalia will do a great job with all our support!

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Primary News

Dear parents and carers,

The Latin Music Night last Friday was a real pleasure to attend. The atmosphere was vibrant with the music. The students performed admirably and those of us who stayed until the end danced and danced to the excellent band. We had a great evening. We need to thank all the parents who brought their children along and stayed to enjoy the event as well as all the staff who organised and supported it. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Monday evening we held the transition meeting for the parents of our Grade 5 students who are moving on to Grade 6 next year. Thank you to all the parents that attended this important meeting. We hope you and your children feel well supported for this next step.

Thursday the 8th June is the Transition Meeting for Grade 1 parents. It will be a chance to see your children’s teachers for next year and to learn a little bit more about Grade 2. Your children will be moving from Key Stage 1 into Key Stage 2 and there are some different expectations and of course some similarities. Please come to the PAC for a prompt start at 4.00pm.

The talent shows are fast approaching please ensure your children are already perfecting their acts!

In the next few weeks we will have our ‘Effort Leads to Success’ and ‘Moving On’ assemblies when we recognise the qualities and progress of our students. Please make a note in your diary and remember that only two family members can attend. We simply do not have space for the four classes and more adults than that.

Read with your children.
Here is a little article on the importance of parents reading with their children. Take a look and see what you can do over the summer holidays.

Have a restful weekend.

Sharon Short
Head of Primary and a Lead Safeguarding Officer.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary 
June
Wednesday 7th - Kinder Suárez and Kinder Rampone - trip to Maya Country Club - 8:30am
Thursday 8th - Kinder Cáceres and Kinder Quintanilla - trip to Maya Country Club - 8:30am
Thursday 8th 4.00pm Grade 1 transition meeting - 4.00pm in the PAC.
Friday 9th - Talent show
Friday 9th - Extra-curricular classes - 5th session finishes
Friday 16th - LP reports go home
Friday 23rd - Last day of school

Upper Primary
June
Thursday 8th: Transition afternoon: Parents Class 2028 PAC 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Friday 9th: Last day of extracurricular term 5
Monday 12th: 2nd Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly 7:30 - 9 am PAC
Tuesday 13th: 3rd Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly Assembly 7:30 - 9 am PAC
Wednesday 14th: 4th Grade Effort Leads to Success Assembly Assembly 7:30 - 9 am PAC
Friday 16th - UP reports go home
Wednesday 21st: 5th Grade Moving on Assembly 7:30 - 9:30 am PAC

Secondary News

Dear parents and carers,

This week started off with the excitement of welcoming our Grade 5 students into Secondary School in their Transition days, where they had the chance to experience two full days with us. I am happy to say that they were very positive and are now very much looking forward to joining the “big” school in August! I have to say a big thank you to our Grade 6 Student Ambassadors, who did a superb job looking after them and also in their job as ‘Campus tour guides’ on Monday evening at our Parent Partnership event. I know the parents of Grade 5 were impressed with how well they did.

These transition days mark the start of the end of this Academic year and it reminds us how important it is to do all we can to ensure we are ready for the challenges ahead. Whether they be Grade 12 going on to university, Grade 10 moving into their IB Diploma programme, Grade 8 preparing to start their first International Certification course (IGCSE) and of course facing a new set of teachers and peers next academic year, each change requires a lot of reflection and preparation to make the best of our opportunities. 

The school will also be facing changes which is the nature of all International schools; some leaving staff, some new staff joining us next year, as well as some teachers taking on different roles. I am happy to announce the new posts for next academic year so you can start to become familiar with them.

Ms Carmen Chávez will continue as Head of Year 6 but she has joined our Leadership team as “Pastoral Coordinator.” She will work closely with the team of Heads of Year and LSU. 

The HoY team for next year will be: 
  • Grade 6: Carmen 
  • Grade 7: Nick Gale
  • Grade 8: Jacqueline Soriano
  • Grade 9: Iryna Sydoruk
  • Grade 10: Duncan Ware
  • Grade 11: Scott Depooter
  • Grade 12: Colin Hogan
Mr Colin Hogan will continue as Head of Year 12 but he has joined our Leadership team as ‘IB Coordinator for the IB years’. Mrs Sandra de Leon will be Assistant to IB Coordination and will work closely with Mr Hogan and Lissett Castro and the IB team. Mrs Karen Bradburn will move from a Pastoral Head of Year position, to an Academic role as Head of the Maths Department. 

We are fortunate to have talented and caring professionals dedicated to the wellbeing and positive development of our students and I know I speak on behalf of Mr Hall, our Secondary School Deputy Head, when I say we are very much looking forward to working together next year!

From LSU Coordinator Lic Raquel Zepeda, PhD Candidate.
The Learning Support Unit's mission is to enable students to experience success in the diverse areas of their educational journey. We strive to promote their well-being and empower them in accessing our curriculum and values.

We are aware of how the demands increase throughout our academic program, as well as the social and emotional demands our students experience in their daily lives.

To meet the needs of our students, the LSU has grown to incorporate highly qualified and trained specialists to provide support to our students in specific areas of their development in school. 

KS3 (6th - 8th)
Socio-emotional support, Counsellor- Lic. Alexandra Novoa, M.A

KS4 & 5 (IGCSE and IB DP years)
Socio-emotional support, Counsellor - Lic. Claudia Menéndez

All Secondary (6th - 12th)
Learning Support - Lic. Flor Arévalo, M.A.

From Mrs Maria Eugenia Rossi- Head of Spanish Department 
The Spanish department congratulates the winners of the poetry competition "Los poetas de la paz". The jury's decision was very close and hard, as all of the entries were amazing. We invite you to visit the LRC where you can read all the participating poetry in the seventh edition of this contest.

First category (KS3)
1st place: Sofía Carpio's "La paz"
2nd place: Ximena Truscott's "Guerra de paz"
3rd place: José Antonio Quesada's "La llegada de la paloma blanca"

Second category (KS4- IB):
1st place: Julie Espinal's "Poema dedicado a la paz"
2nd place: Madelline Alvarenga's "Paz entre sinónimos"
3rd place: Anaik Chacón's nameless poetry

We encourage you to keep participating and writing in the different literary competitions.

From Ms Gonzalez- Head of Art Department
We recently participated in the second "Diseña tu Mochila" competition, organized by TOTTO El Salvador. Isabella Portillo Medrano, one of our sixth graders, participated and was was on the winners. As a reward, they gave her a diploma and her design will be part of the designs they sell locally and abroad. The ABC community, as well as the Arts Department, is very proud of this excellent student.

Congratulations Isabella!


Finally I would like to invite you to join us at our end of year Achievement Ceremonies. We invite all parents to participate as we strongly believe in celebrating each other’s successes and we know that all our personal achievements have received help and support from others. Please make a note of the dates and times in your agendas. 

Monday 19th - Grade 6 - 7 am 
Monday 19th - Grade 7 - 8:15 am 
Tuesday 20th - Grade 8 - 7 am 
Thursday 22nd - Grade 9 - 8:15 am 
Thursday 22nd - Grade 10 - 7 am 
Tuesday 20th - Grade 11 - 8:15 am 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warm regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón

Secondary dates for your diary
June
Wednesday 7th - Grade 9 MUN Day - annual Model United Nations day 
Wednesday 7th - Class 2017 Thanksgiving and Ring Ceremony - 6pm
Monday 12th to Friday 16th - Grade 9 Work Experience
Monday 12th to Saturday 17th - CUBA MUSIC TRIP
Thursday 15th - Water Day for Grade 6
Wednesday 21st - Secondary school Talent Show - 10:30am PAC(open only to students)
Thursday 22nd - Class 2017 Graduation Ceremony - 5pm Auditorium
Friday 23rd - Secondary School Supermatch - 8:15am Field & Auditorium
Friday 23rd - Final Secondary School assembly - 10:30am Auditorium
Friday 23rd - Last day of school - Students leave at 12m

No comments:

Post a Comment