From the Director
As this school year closes we have been celebrating the achievements of our students. Our school seeks to ensure we recognise and promote talents within the context of a high quality all round international education. I have seen so much evidence of this during the past two weeks.
Inevitably at the end of a school year there are staffing changes and new plans for the next year. I would like to thank all staff who are moving on and we said farewell to them in school today. However I do want to highlight particular long standing staff who are leaving this year after contributing so much to our school and our community for so long. I know in each case that they are sad to be saying farewell and we are sad to see them go. Marta Vasquez has completed 31 years as a teacher of psychology here and has inspired generations of young people into her area including many of our current LSU. Thank you Marta and we wish you a pleasant retirement. Karen Bradburn came to the school in 2002 and has made a difference in all the roles she has taken in. She and her family are moving to Spain and we will miss them as much as she will miss us. Thank you Karen. Andrew Murgatroyd is leaving after 14 years teaching Business and Economics to work in China. Andrew has contributed so much to sports and especially cricket in his time as well as inspiring future entrepreneurs. We thank him very much. I would also like to thank Lucila Gonzalez who has led the Secondary Art department for many years. She came to the school in 2003, has inspired many young artists and is leaving to pursue her own art career. I would like to thank her for all her work. I would also like to add my thanks to Mrs. Beneke who has been in charge of our Cafeteria for the last 17 years. We thank her for her flexibility and work.
We have decided to appoint a new position at school to oversee all our sports provision. This role will be an overall Athletics Director and I am pleased to announce that Ceci Hernandez has been appointed with exciting ideas for developing our sports and coaching programmes as well as overseeing developments in PE. Sara Suster will no longer be running the Team Sports programme but will be supporting the bilingual league and training of coaches. Ceci Hernandez will be overseeing our whole sports programme including team sports. I would like to thank Sara for her work with Team Sports as she moves towards retirement.
Please note that due to our renovations:
- Our admin entrance is closed until further notice. All visitors to school should come in through our main gate (next to SISA). Our school office will be open as regular.
- Our school shop will be closed from Monday 25th June to Friday 20th July - both dates inclusive. Uniforms will be sold from Monday 23rd onwards from 7:00 to 2:00pm (without closing at noon).
It remains for me to wish you all an enjoyable holiday with your children. I hope they will continue to read and reflect on the past school year while going done preparatory work for next year. I will see you on Monday 20 August. We start with a busy week so please go check and keep up to date with our calendar.
Primary News
Dear Friends, Colleagues, Parents and Students,
This is my last opportunity to write to you in the ABC weekly. I cannot believe that my last day in school is here. The year has flown by. I just wanted to let you know that it has been a privilege to work with you all. My husband and I have loved our life in El Salvador, especially the warmth of the people. We have made many new friends from all walks of life. The school is a fantastic education centre and it has been a joy to work with the children who are so open and responsive and the staff who are so dedicated and work so hard. I have treasured every moment here and cannot express how much we will miss you all. We wish the school and everyone who is part of it all the best for the coming year and hope to hear from you from time to time. We will remember our wonderful experience here and all the people who have been part of it for the rest of our lives. A great big thank you to you all.
Fondest regards,
Sharon Short
Congratulations to all of the wonderful talented children who performed in the primary talent shows. We are always amazed by the children, their dedication and maturity.
Thank you to the actors from Secondary who created and performed a wonderful play for our primary students based on Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The children were very engaged and found it very funny.
Today we say goodbye to Alan Macdonald, who has been teaching in Prepa for 2 years, he has been a great addition to our team both as a class teacher and as part of our IPC accreditation team. He worked hard to challenge the children to achieve their full potential and shared his early-literacy expertise with the rest of the Prepa team. We wish him success in his next school.
LP Uniform 2018/19
Pre-Kinder & Kinder: PE Uniform with white socks and trainers (not canvas sneakers like Keds/Toms), they can run in. They should have velcro unless they are able to do up the laces independently. The change of uniform in Pre-Kinder and Kinder has been made for its educational benefits.
Prepa & 1st grade: Boys: Guayabera shirt with blue shorts, black/navy socks and black/navy casual shoes with non-slip soles. NO SLIP-ON SHOES. On PE days - PE Uniform with white socks and trainers. Girls: Uniform Dress with white socks and black/navy casual shoes with non-slip soles. NO SLIP-ON SHOES. On PE days - PE Uniform with white socks and trainers.
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
August
Monday 20th - First day of school SY18-19
Upper Primary
July
Monday 23rd - SY18-19 Session 1 Extracurricular Enrollments starts today at 9:00am
Friday 27th - SY18-19 Session 1 Extracurricular Enrollments ends today at 12:00am
August
Monday 20th - First day of school SY18-19
Monday 20th - Extracurricular Programme starts
Please note Ana Gloria Mena and Edda Padilla are Designated Primary Safeguarding Officers
Secondary News
Dear parents and carers,
Our academic year draws to a close and we have much to celebrate and many happy memories and for that we must all be very thankful. Firstly, I would like to give my most sincere words of thanks and admiration to all our wonderful teachers and staff for all their effort and dedication. I thank each and everyone of them, not only for teaching our students but for going above and beyond in their dedication towards their education. You've all created not only students, but individuals with bright futures and potential to change the world. You are a great source of motivation and support for us all and you have helped in shaping and enriching their journey to make sure it is not only challenging but also fun-filled. I am certain I speak on behalf of our students when I say GRACIAS!
Secondly, I would like to thank the many parents who have supported the school this year. Parent partnership and mutual respect is vital to have a good understanding of our strengths and areas to work on and a vital aspect to enable the school to meet the needs and aspirations of our families and students. I hope we see even more parental support and involvement next year and I thank you in advance for supporting school policies.
I know you are all aware of the new extra curricular that the French department launched this year. They ran a professional course on Music Production with Shaka y Dres and I am so proud to be able to share it with the community: Video Very well done and we look forward to more!
The summer break is long and I appeal to you that you encourage your children to not just sit and let the time tick away. Help them to plan their time well. For those who will sit the IGCSE and IB exams next year, they need to study hard! For others, I hope they try some new things to challenge themselves. Motivate them to go outdoors and explore places they have never been to. They need to have fun with friends and family, and do something worthwhile. Above all, encourage communication, but in person and not just through screens and social media. Seize the day!
Please look at these photos from our Super Match: https://pe-sw-abc.blogspot.com/2018/06/our-traditional-super-match-2018.html
This time of year can be tough with all the goodbyes. This year, we are also saying goodbye to wonderful teachers who are sadly leaving us as you can see from Mr Keslake’s message above. Some have been here for just a short while, while others have been part of our community for a long time and are practically family. They have given greatly of themselves to the betterment of our school, and they deserve a HUGE thank you and we wish them the very best in their future homes and we do hope they keep in touch!
Have a wonderful and safe holiday,
Kind regards,
Natalia Cáceres Escalón
