Words from the Director
I cannot write to all of you without thanking you for the kind messages this week. Our focus now is completely on the year ahead and doing the very best for our children. We have a number of important welcome back meetings this month and I look forward to seeing you at them. Please check your calendars.
As you will be aware we have had Pauline O’Brien from the Council of International Schools (CIS) visiting us this week to help with the recruitment of a new Director in August 2019. She explained the recruitment process to parents at a meeting last week and collected ideas for the sort of Director the ABC is looking for. The process will involve candidates visiting the School, probably in early November for final interviews. We will keep you posted on the process and representatives of the parents will be involved in the final selection process although the final decision will be taken by the Board Selection Committee which I am also going to be a member of. I have confidence that Pauline and CIS will help us find an excellent candidate.
As many of you will know the School will receive a visit by a team of educators from CIS in November 2018 for reaccreditation. Prior to that visit we have to submit our Self Study next month. We have been working on that Self Study in School over the past year and we are ready to share our findings with parents so you can comment and add any relevant thoughts. We plan to go through the report domain by domain. At present we have ten domains we would like to share with you. Domain C is Curriculum, Domain D is Teaching and Learning, Domain E is Student Welfare, Domain F is Staffing, Domain G is Premises and Domain H is Home school Partnership. We plan to hold these meetings from 7 to 8 am each morning on the following dates. If you would like to attend please register your interest by clicking on the link beside each domain. Please do volunteer if you can as we want to hear your voice.
Domain G (Premises) Wednesday 29 August (Link)
Domain E (Student Welfare) Friday 31 August (Link)
Domain F (Staffing) Monday 3 September (Link)
Domain H (Home School partnership) Tuesday 4 September (Link)
Lower Primary Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Wednesday 5 September (Link)
Upper Primary Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Thursday 6 September (Link)
Secondary Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Monday 10 September (Link)
As announced last week we have a new Athletics Director and Ceci Hernandez has made a great start to the Sports year. Many students have signed up for after school clubs and we are expecting you as parents to help maintain their commitment to their chosen activities. We will be sending a contract home with each of them this week for you to sign with them.
Please come along and support the Class of 2020 Circus INOBLITUS next Thursday and Friday.
Finally I would like to welcome back the Class of 2019 for their final year. We expect it to be an amazing year leading to success on the IB Diploma next May. We have agreed that the Class will be allowed to wear a school approved hoodie and this privilege will be allowed for all Seniors in future provided the hoodie has been approved. It is a simple way to celebrate being a Senior which hopefully will encourage them to work together and support each other this year.
Words from the Head of Primary
Dear Parents and Carers,
School is now back and running as normal, it seems as if we have never been away. Children are back in their classes with smiling faces and an enthusiasm for learning, getting used to the new routine and having fun with their old friends. Teachers are getting to know their new students and very busy preparing their lessons. We have a wonderful team of teachers and support staff, who are committed to giving all our children at ABC many opportunities to learn and experience new things. However, we cannot do it alone so developing positive relationships with parents and community is vital. This ensures a partnership that will last as long as your child is at school.
‘Effort leads to Success’ is at the heart of what makes this school successful because we put in the effort to ensure children are valued, respected and cared for.
On Tuesday we sent home the new car park entry passes for Primary, please make sure you have got yours, it is very important. If you need an extra one, you can purchase them in the Primary Offices, with Deysi Lopez or Claudia Aviles. They are $1.00.
On Monday we held our Welcome Back to School Nights for Pre Kinder and Kinder.
We thank all the parents who attended. Teachers were pleased to meet everyone and did an excellent job explaining to them how the class is organized, what the daily routine is and them answering all the questions parents had.
The rest of the grades will have their Back To School Nights in the next two weeks. We look forward to meeting all parents.
Please check the dates below.
Class assemblies are starting September. The LP assemblies are on Friday at 7.30am and there are two opportunities to see the UP ones on a Wednesday, at 8.15 and 12.20. First Padilla will have the honour to open the year on Friday 7th September.
In UP the HCB is a very valuable tool of communication between the school and parents and it also contains information regarding drop off and pick up hours, Pass Club, the IPC process of learning, homework, school expectations and different school policies, rules and guidelines. The school values and learning goals can also be found there. Please make the most of it. LP will be receiving reading folders home in a few weeks.
Regarding dates, you can always check them on line using the Whole School Calendar in Google or the Main Dates for the current school year which can be found in the school’s website. www.abc.edu.sv
Extra Curricular Activities have started this week. All children who signed for a Club can now stay after school. Please check the dates and times when the Clubs meet in the letter of invitation you received two weeks ago from Ms Luz Elena Huezo.
Reminder:
Pre-Kinder & Kinder start at 7.30am
Prepa & First start at 7.15am
Dates for your diary
Lower Primary
September
Thursday 6th - Prepa and First Grade Back to School Night 6pm
Friday 7th - First Padilla Assembly
Friday 14th - INSET Day school closed
Monday 17th - School Closed
Friday 21st - First Henriquez Assembly
Friday 28th - First Quintanilla Assembly
Upper Primary
August
Tuesday 28th - Grade 2 and Grade 3 Welcome Back to School Night - 6:00pm - 7:30pm- PAC
Thursday 30th - Class of 2020 Circus - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Friday 31st - Class of 2020 Circus - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
September
Tuesday 4th - Grade 4 and Grade 5 Welcome Back to School Night- 6:00pm - 7:30pm - PAC
Words from the Head of Secondary
Dear parents and carers,
It has been a great week in Secondary welcoming everyone back and getting back into the swing of things! Our new students and teachers are settling in well and although we are still under construction in some areas of the Secondary school, it has been wonderful to see how our community has adapted and is working together to ensure excellent lessons are being delivered. Thank you!
It was great to see the class of 2019 coming in on Monday for their “Last First Day of School.” Thank you to the Madres Enlace for organising the Senior lunch! We wish our students the best and most wonderful year ahead!
We are so looking forward to the class of 2020 Circus “Inoblitus” Please come along and support the class; I am sure we are all in for a real treat! Tickets are being sold in the secondary office and also can be purchased from any Grade 11 student.
PARENT PARTNERSHIP
School and parents working together to foster the success of their students is vital and it is even more effective when parents also work in collaboration with each other to achieve the success of the community in which they are growing up in. Communication is the key.
Parents and school have a common goal: to ensure the best and healthiest educational experience possible for students. When we communicate with one another, we are able to work together towards this common goal. Technologies like texting and e-mails have made communication more efficient but there is always a need for personal connection face to face. The purpose for our Parent Partnership sessions are to provide opportunities for communication with one another to ensure that we do all we can to have our students' needs met, be they physical, emotional or intellectual. We know that the best academic success is a direct outcome of meeting these needs.
The format we are trying out is to offer the topic to all parents and to then split up into children age groups for the workshop aspect of the evening.
With this in mind, we ask that you make a note in your agendas now so that you do not miss these three sessions which we are offering this year.
Understanding the world our children are growing up in
The Mask You Live in- for parents of Boys: Tuesday 6 Nov 6-8 p.m.
Miss Representation- for parents of Girls: Tuesday 13 Nov 6-8 p.m.
Sex and Relationships Education
Tuesday 5 February 6.00 - 8.00 p.m.
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
Tuesday 2 April 6 - 8 p.m.
We are also looking forward to ACTION JACKSON who is coming to us from London in September to work on a motivational programme with our students. More information of this will be shared in future weeks. He will be offering a session for parents on Wed 12th September. We hope to see you all there!
We finished off the week with our Extra Curricular Fair where students had the opportunity to sign up and see what activities are on offer this term! Please speak to your children at home and encourage them to get involved! We will publish information on all the activities for you soon!
I look forward to seeing Grade 9 and 10 parents at the Know Your School information meeting on Monday 27th, at 7.00 am in the PAC and Grade 7 and 8 parents on Tuesday 28th at 7.00 am in the PAC.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Kind regards,
Natalia Cáceres Escalón
Head of Secondary School
Dates for your diary
August
Monday 27th - Grade 9 and 10, Know Your School morning - 7:00am, PAC.
All Extracurricular activities begin
Tuesday 28th - Grade 7 and 8, Know Your School morning - 7:00am, PAC
Thursday 30th - Grade 11 (Class of 2020) CIRCUS - 6:00pm, Auditorium
Friday 31st - Class of 2020 CIRCUS - 6:00pm, Auditorium
September
Saturday 1st - Grade 12 PAES Mock exam 2 - 7.00 am- 12.00m
Monday 3rd - Grade 11 first day back to school and IB induction
Wednesday 5th - Grade 11, Know Your School morning - 7:00am, PAC
Thursday 6th - Grade 12, Know Your School morning - 7:00am, PAC
Monday 10th - Civic week
Wednesday 12th September- Action Jackson session for parents 6.00pm- 7.30pm PAC
Friday 14th - School closed for students- INSET day for staff
Saturday 15th - National holiday - Salvadorian Independence Day
Monday 17th - School closed
Friday 21st - Peace One Day
Saturday 29th - Grade 12 PAES Mock exam 4 - 7.00 am- 12.00m
ABC Sports
It has been amazing to receive our kids in sports; students are happy to get back to their PE lessons and also happy to stay after school to practices. We are pleased to see the football pitch and courts full of enthusiast athletes. We hope that more students join sports next week.
Aligned with our school philosophy, next week athletes and parents will receive the “ Sports Participants Contract” which is a commitment that we expect our students-athletes follow.
Our archery team will compete next Friday August 31st at the Juegos Estudiantiles Nacionales, our best wishes to our Bulldogs archers
