24: Friday 22nd February 2019

Words from the Director

In my view “resilience” is a vital ABC trait which requires both determination and priorities. It is very important that we understand our priorities particularly with respect to our hopes for our children and with respect to their hopes for the world they are growing up into. In my work, working and talking with young people, I get an insight into the sort of world they expect to live in and our responsibilities as parents and teachers to provide that world. All of us need to prioritize these goals and work with determination to achieve them. I hope the coming half term break will provide an opportunity for our families to do so.

Before we start enjoying the half term break we have a number of events this afternoon including the TEDEx event and College Cup football and volleyball at school. The boys U18 football team will be playing under our lights this evening at 7 pm. We also have a number of school trips including a Geography field trip to Iceland and our Model United Nations team to New York.

We are also sending out the link to our annual Parent Survey today. Please let us know what you think by completing it at some point during the holiday. You can access the survey by clicking on this link or through the message sent to your email. It should take you no more than 15 minutes to complete. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us and helps us make important decisions in the best interests of our community. 

At lunchtime today we said farewell to Sara Suster who has been a leading light in the development of the ABC sports programme for 39 years. She has developed our inclusive and supportive sports programme in line with our school values. The recognition of her contribution at school today was from our current students who are part of the generation of ABC students she has inspired. We also bid farewell to Eric Quijano after ten years of service to the ABC. Eric has worked tirelessly developing leadership skills and role modelling the attributes of a ROC. I would like to thank both of them for their work and contribution to helping the school deliver its vision and mission. 

I look forward to seeing your children back at school on Monday 4th March after a good break!

Words from the Head of Primary

It seems a distant memory since we started back after New Year. Now it is the mid-term break. This is an opportunity to reflect on what a great place the ABC is. I want to thank all of our hard work staff who put a lot of effort into our students at ABC. Not only are the children getting taller, but also for many they understand better the different concepts and experiences offered to them by their wonderful teachers! 

I hope you all manage to have a good break. If you are traveling, please do so safely. I look forward seeing you all back on Monday, March 4th

The Virtue we are focusing on is being RESILIENT. This is defined as "the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” The ability to bounce back or recover is important. A resilient child recovers from challenges, but they also learn from that experience.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Upper Primary and PE staff for a fantastic, well organized Sports Day held last Saturday. It was great to see children and parents enjoying the event! Prepa held their Night Activity on Wednesday and Grade 5 classes had their overnight camp on Thursday and Friday. Great to see classes using our community for learning.

When we return the teachers have a twilight inset which focuses on Guided Reading and is facilitated by our Literacy Coordinator Sue Dixon. We are hosting an expert in this field, Rachel Clarke (UK), who will be with us for the week.

Last weekend saw the Upper Primary students and parents compete for the honour of “Best Sports Tribe” in the Annual ABC Sports & Family Fun Day which was held on Saturday 16th February. With two sessions over the course of the morning, all of the children in Upper Primary had the opportunity to score points by taking part in fun events and relay races for their tribes. There were great performances from a lot of the children, too many to mention individually, with all of the running, catching, as well as the slip & slide events.

With 50 points for a win, 40 for 2nd, 30 for 3rd and 20 for 4th as well as double points for relays, the whole competition came down to the last race of the day. With only a few points separating the teams, it was going to go all the way down to the wire. All the Maya had to do was beat the Pipiles and Inca Tribe in their final event of the day and the trophy was theirs. The race was magnificent, the lead changed a number of times at the start and then coming into the home straight it was just a sprint to the end. The Maya tribe ran their hearts out and took the victory, with Inca’s taking a very close 2nd Place. Aztecas took 3rd place with the Pipiles tribe coming in 4th. It was sealed the 1st Place in the last event meant that they had done enough to secure victory. Maya’s had won the ABC Sports & Family Fun Day 2019.

Congratulations to all that had taken part, it was a fantastic day. Nearly all of the children leaving looked tired and had smiles on their faces which was all that could have been asked of a school event. 

Thank you to the PE staff that organised the event, as well as the UP Staff that supported the children to complete the activities. An event like this could not have happened without you. 

Steam Fest Logo Competition

All our Upper Primary students have been invited to participate in the Steam Fest Logo Competition. Students must submit their hand-drawn or digital designs to Mrs Sara Mena or Mr Josue Erroa in ICT by March 5th 2019. 

Good luck to our 5th grade students who left today to a great adventure camping in Portezuelo.

Student Council

We are very proud to announce we have appointed our new Primary Student Council. Congratulations to the new members:

Leilane Rivas Rubio (4th Williams) was selected to participate in the "Presidential Classic" in Orlando, Florida. She had the honour to represent El Salvador in this gymnastics competition. We are proud to share with our community that Leilane was able to bring 3 medals: 1 for Floor 7th place, 1 for Uneven Bars 7th place and one for

all around 9th place.

This is an important event where 15 countries competed at the ESPN arena a huge venue, which we are sure was very intimidating. It is clear that Leilane managed the nerves very well and did a great job. Congratulations!

The Prepa Night Activity took place on Wednesday 20th in school premises. With this activity we close our IPC Unit “Seeing the Light”. This was the first time our prepa children had the opportunity to experience a night in school. They had a great time doing searches with their torches and the night ended with a show of fireworks.

School will be closed for the half term break next week from the 25th February. Students return to school on the 4th March. 

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

FEBRUARY

Wednesday 20th - Prepa Night Activity 4.00pm - 8.00pm

MARCH

Monday 4th: Back to school 

Monday 4th: 4th session extracurricular activities, starts

Thursday 7th: LP Parent Reading Workshop

Tuesday 12th: Kinder Bonet - trip to La Granjita

Wednesday 13th: Kinder Rampone - trip to La Granjita

Thursday 14th: Kinder Suárez - trip to La Granjita

Friday 15th: Kinder González - trip to La Granjita

Saturday 23rd: Sports & Family day

Upper Primary

FEBRUARY

Monday 25th: Half Term Break starts

Thursday 21st: Grade 5 Camping Night

MARCH

Tuesday 4th: Back to school from Half Term Break

Tuesday 4th: Session 4 Extracurricular Programme starts

Wednesday 6th: Ash Wednesday Mass by Comité Católico - 2:15 pm - 3:30 pm - Auditorium

Friday 8th: UP Parent Reading Workshop

Friday 15th - Ice Cream for Praying Bear Campaign supporters (must wear bracelet) and Jeans Day for Tribe with Praying Bear highest sales.

Friday 15th - No MUSIC Extracurricular Activities due to Bugsy Malone Musical

Wednesday 20th - 4th Williams Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Wednesday 27th - 3rd Dixon Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Words from the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

Thank you to all the tutor team of our Diploma years for the work at the Learning Review Day and thank you to the parents who made time to join their children at this important event. It is always powerful to have a conversation between school, parent and child in order to best support our children. 

I continue to receive emails from parents sharing their thoughts regarding our proposal of banning mobile phones from our campus. We are going to send a survey to parents upon our return to gather some more data to analyse and take into consideration when we make our final decision. Thank you for your support!

ICELAND Geography trip 

Happy to report the group is doing well and you can follow their trip on Mr Kilford’s blog http://abcfieldtrips.blogspot.com/?m=1

ABC Bulldog Pride week

This week we have had a great time seeing the ABC Bulldog pride on display with so many students supporting the Student Council’s initiatives. On “University Monday” we enjoyed chatting with our students regarding which universities they wanted to go to or which college their parents attended. “Wacky Wednesday” had great support and below you can see the winners of the competition. “Throwback Thursday” was interesting - from Dinosaurs to vintage 50’s and 70’s glam and finalising the week with the celebration of our pride of being ABC with a football match between students and teachers with a great win by the teachers 5-1! The match was also very significant as Sara Suster and Eric Quijano both leave us today after so many years of incredible service and leadership! We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours and hope to see them at school for future events.

A huge thank you to Sebastian Avilés and his Executive team, as well as all the StuCo reps who have made this week so special and filled with fun for all of us. In particular I would also like to mention how wonderful it has been to see our StuCo Executive working closely with KS3 Student Ambassadors as part of their leadership training! This year they collaborated in all activities. Thank you! 

Photos of Throwback Thursday here: https://goo.gl/5ZNHhH

Photos of Wacky Wednesday here: https://goo.gl/NA4wTG

I look forward to seeing many of you at our second TEDxYouth event at the ABC tonight! It promises to be very interesting!

I sign off bidding Bon Voyage to our MUN delegates who leave to New York this week! I know they will make themselves and the school proud!

Have a wonderful week at home with family and enjoy a very well deserved rest.

See you all back on Monday 4th of March before 7.00 am! 

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón

Dates for your diary

February

Friday 22nd - Last Day of first half of term 2 and TEDxYouth@AcademiaBC - 4pm 

Monday 25th to Friday 1st March - Half Term holidays - school closed

Tuesday 26th to Tuesday 5th March - KS4/IB New York MUN Trip

March

Monday 4th - School reopens and IB Senior Music Recital, 5 to 7 pm PAC

Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th - Grade 6 Empowerment days - Camping night to Portezuelo

Thursday 7th and Friday 8th - Grade 8 Empowerment days - Camping night to Portezuelo

Saturday 9th - SAT examinations, 8 a.m. to 12 m.

Thursday 14th - School Musical “Bugsy Malone” - Matinee - 1:05 pm - PAC

Friday 15th - School Musical “Bugsy Malone”- all - 6 pm - PAC

Saturday 16th - School Musical “Bugsy Malone”- all - 6 pm - PAC

Wednesday 20th - Francophonie Day and IB Art Exhibition Opening - will be open to the public on 21st and 22nd - all day - PAC

Thursday 21st - Down Syndrome Jeans Day and Grade 8 IGCSE Options Evening, 4 pm - PAC

Tuesday 26th - Grade 10 IB Options Evening - 6 pm - Auditorium

Wednesday 27th - Grade 6 Parent Teacher Meeting - 6:30 pm - Auditorium

Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th - Multicultural Festival performance - 6 pm - Teatro Presidente 

23: Friday 15th February 2019

Words from the Director

As we approach our half term break it is a good time to reflect on the term so far especially as we are focusing on the ABC value of being reflective. Being reflective means being open minded enough to look at recent events with fresh eyes and to learn from the past. It does not mean being disappointed with your actions but rather looking at how you can do better going forward. For me this is an essential element of growing up as a young person and it is something we encourage in school. As adults too it is also very important along with the willingness to accept we made a mistake or got something wrong. In my experience young people are often much better at this than we as adults and we need to encourage them to continue being so. It is an ideal opportunity as we approach our break next week to reflect on 2019 so far. How can we use that experience to help make the rest of the year even better?

I have to add my congratulations to a number of excellent sports results this week especially for the U12 boys and girls basketball teams who had great performances during the week. On the subject of sport I want to remind all participants of the importance of respect in sport. We have seen it at a professional level with players not showing respect towards each other. We have high expectations of our sports players, coaches and parents in terms of always treating each other politely and appropriately. We would ask that if you see any evidence to the contrary that you report such incidents to Cecy Hernandez, her team or one of the school leadership team. This is an important area for us all to reflect on to ensure we are providing excellent role models for our students. 

I hope you all have a great weekend and look forward to seeing many of you at the UP Sports Day tomorrow.

Words from the Head of Primary

Voices Around the World- The ABC School is very proud to be part of a wonderful community of international schools around the world. As you know, one of our values is being Global or Internationally Minded. To support the development of this, we are going to be taking part in a big event called “Voices Around The World” (VATW), which allows students to be part of a global event and raise awareness of global issues like the human impact on the environment e.g. pollution and the care of natural resources, among others. This year, the song project is named What Kind Of World Are We.

We hope all of the Upper Primary students will take part in this large project of recording their voices, creating choreographies and making video clips for the song. This will be shared with VATW, who will put all the recordings and arrangements of many schools around the world together as a video. With one voice we can do our part in improving the World we live in.

If you want to know a bit more about VATW, please visit the web site:

https://www.voicesaround.com/home

Important: If you do not want your child to participate in the video recording, please let the school know by sending an email to either; Mr. Luis Diaz (luisdiaz@abc-net.edu.sv) / Claudia Avilés (claudiaaviles@abc-net.edu.sv) / Luz Elena Huezo(luzhuezo@abc-net.edu.sv)

We hope you can support this event and the children have the opportunity to try and make a difference to their community.

Sunhats for PE/Sport- As the Sun is getting hotter, we must ensure all our students are protected when they are outside. School policy states students MUST wear their school Sunhat when at PE and at Break time.

If students have lost their hat, they may wear another Sunhat for one day ONLY and a new Sunhat needs to be purchased as soon as possible from the Uniform shop. All Primary staff will be asked to monitor this and ensure EVERY STUDENTS PARTICIPATES WITH A SCHOOL SUNHAT.

We ask all Upper Primary students wear their school Sunhat for this Saturday’s (February 16th) Sports Day.Thank you for your cooperation in this important Health issue.

Some Upper Primary Students Trying to use the Cafeteria as a Bank!- I was informed this week by cafeteria staff some students are trying to get money from their identity card, which is only to be used to buy cafeteria food/drink!! I have asked the cafeteria staff to refuse their requests and to take names. 

We ask parents to reinforce the message that students are not allowed to ask for money from the Cafeteria! Thank you

1st grade had their Entry Point yesterday. This was an activity linked to the IPC Unit “We Are What We Eat”. Every child helped in the preparation of their meal: 1st Padilla prepared healthy carrots with cream cheese, 1st McNeil was in charge of the lemonade, which they made from scratch, 1st Henriquez prepared sausages, and 1st Quintanilla did a great job with the muffins they also made from scratch.

Our 5th grade students have created an amazing display of African masks. This project is linked to the IPC Unit AD 900 Masquerade. The children used a mixed media technique which could include: 3D, paint, etc.

Our traditional Upper Primary Sports Day will take place tomorrow Saturday, 16th of February 2019. During the morning the children will have the opportunity to take part in activities to score points for their school tribe. 

The times for this are as follows:

2nd and 3rd Grade 8:00am - 9:30am

4th and 5th Grade 10:00am - 11:30am

Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase food and drink at the event from the “Fairs to Educate” team.

Our 11th grade students would like to thank all Primary students who supported the Drop by Drop Fundraiser. Their aim is to provide access to clean disposable water to different communities in the municipality of Ahuachapan. Funds will be used to help build: a main water tank, with different secondary tanks in the different communities and the nearby school.

ABC Production of Bugsy Malone.

There will be two performances for parents on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th March - both beginning at 6:00 pm.

There will also be a matinee performance for Primary and KS3 students on Thursday 14th March at 1:00 pm.

Tickets are on sale from the Secondary and Primary School Offices and cost $3 each for the student matinee and $5 each, or four for $15 for the evening performances. We also have a very limited number of 'VIP' tables for the evening performances at $50 per table with 6 seats. I really do recommend buying your tickets early to avoid missing this highly anticipated event.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

FEBRUARY

Saturday 16th until Sunday 24th: Extras enrollment

Wednesday 20th: Prepa night activity

Friday 22nd: Pre-Kinder Carbajal assembly - 7:40 am - PAC

Monday 25th: Half term break

MARCH

Monday 4th: Back to school 

Monday 4th: 4th session extracurricular activities, starts

Tuesday 12th: Kinder Bonet - trip to La Granjita

Wednesday 13th: Kinder Rampone - trip to La Granjita

Thursday 14th: Kinder Suárez - trip to La Granjita

Friday 15th: Kinder González - trip to La Granjita

Saturday 23rd: Sports & Family day

Upper Primary

FEBRUARY

Saturday 16th: Upper Primary Sports Morning - 8:00am - 11:30pm

Wednesday 20th: Spanish Team Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Thursday 21: Grade 5 Camping Night - Portezuelo, Juayua

Monday 25th: Half Term Break

MARCH

Tuesday 4th: Back to school from Half Term Break

Tuesday 4th: Session 4 Extracurricular Programme starts

Wednesday 6th: Ash Wednesday Mass by Comité Católico - 2:15 pm - 3:30 pm - Auditorium

Friday 15th - Ice Cream for Praying Bear Campaign supporters (must wear bracelet) and Jeans Day for Tribal winners with highest sales.

Words from the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

I start this entry by thanking all the parents who have responded so positively to my request for opinions regarding our Mobile phone policy which, as I explained in last week’s entry, is under revision for next academic year. The more we find out about the potential harm these devices can bring to our children, the more determined we become to ensure we have a policy which is consistent with the adequate guidance and education which we must provide at home and at school. We will keep you informed of developments.

We know technology plays an incredible role in today’s educational experiences and as a school we were blown away with the talent and creativity on display at this years DVAs! Two fantastic evenings for everyone’s enjoyment and a wonderful celebration of student achievement. A great big THANK YOU to Mrs Jennifer Garcia and Mrs Silvia Serrano, along with the fantastic LRC and IT staff: Mr Raúl Martinez, Mr Rodrigo Alfaro, Ms Hilda Gómez, Melissa Hernandez, Judith Mendez and Hazel Jenkins, who put together yet another impressive event!

In an international education setting such as ours, we are always celebrating the importance of being Bilingual (or more!) and the global citizenship which comes with that advantage. This week, however, we took some time to reflect upon our mother tongue and identity. Afterall, “If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going.”(Maya Angelou) and this applies to our learning of any additional language. Seeing we are in the value focus of being “reflective,” I encourage you to reflect upon this at home with your children.

Assembly- International Mother Language Day 

Celebrating indigenous languages- From Mrs Rossi- HoD Spanish

Since 2007, UNESCO established February 21st as International Mother Language Day, to celebrate language diversity and to remember a police repression which took place in Bangladesh in 1952 against a group of youngsters who fought for recognition of their mother tongue, the Bangla language. Furthermore, UNESCO declared that 2019 would be the year of indigenous languages.

The ABC is not unaware of these global matters. And thus, a group of KS3 and KS4 students, guided by the Spanish Department, organised two assemblies where they showcased activities and reflexions related to this matter. The students explained the origin of this commemoration, there was a representation of indigenous languages from the United States of America, and highlighted the importance of the Náhuatl language in El Salvador, as the National Assembly declared February 21st as National Náhuatl Day.

To close the assemblies, our 10th grade students, Amy Villafuerte, Jubrán Castro Lemus, and María Jimena Castro adapted the text ‘La Nona’, and dramatised it using words in Náhuatl. Direction and writing was by Marco Molina, also 10th grade student. It was an excellent work which implemented our motto, “Think globally, Act Locally”.

Multicultural Arts Festival- advances

From Mrs Angélica Hernández- Head of Art Department

7 participating schools: Liceo Francés, Colegio Maya, Escuela Alemana, Escuela Americana, Escuela Panamericana, Colegio Internacional, and Academia Británica Cuscatleca. This year, 15 students from 8th grade participated in Art, and 2 students from 9th grade participated in Photography.

The workshops required concentration, creativity, and dedication for the students to complete their creative proposals in 2 days. The exhibition will be next Thursday 28th and Friday 29th March, 2019 at Teatro Presidente, where all the artistic disciplines will be integrated.

Group 4 Science project- Class of 2020

From Mrs Julie Emmerson- HoD Science 

On Thursday and Friday, the grade 11 students completed their group 4 science project. This collaborative project is part of their IB diploma course. The subject of this year’s project was reflection, an ABC value and part of the IB learner profile. Students worked in small groups on a scientific investigation of their own design. They began with reflecting on one of the following: an issue of global importance, a scientific investigation in class that they could extend with a different approach or simply an application of reflection of waves. The result was a wide range of imaginative investigations these included, recycling plastics into wearable materials, the effect of using sunscreens on a reaction involving light, soap making with recycled oils, using solar energy and water purity. At the end of the project, students presented their findings and wrote a final reflection on the process.

STUCO Spirit Week

Finally a reminder that next week is our ABC Bulldog Pride (Spirit) week. Please ask your children at home how they will show their ABC pride and ensure their costumes are appropriate to be worn at school. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón 

Dates for your diary

February

WEEK OF 18th of Feb- 22nd of Feb- ABC BULLDOG PRIDE WEEK!

Tuesday 19th - Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day

Wednesday 20th to Saturday 2nd March - Geography trip to Iceland

Friday 22nd - Last Day of first half of term 2

Monday 25th to Friday 1st March - Half Term holidays - school closed

Tuesday 26th to Tuesday 5th March - KS4/5 New York MUN Trip

March

Monday 4th - Back to school and IB Senior Music Recital, 5 to 7 p.m. PAC

Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th - Grade 6 Camping night to Portezuelo

Thursday 7th and Friday 8th - Grade 8 Camping night to Portezuelo

Saturday 9th - SAT examinations, 8 a.m. to 12 m.

22: Friday 8th February 2019

Words from the Director

As I reflect on this week I am reminded of the many things which make our community so special. I spent part of last weekend with a number of ABC staff, parents and students at the Mathcounts competition at the Escuela Americana. It was of course brilliant to see our teams do so well - winning the overall team competition and to see Diego Salguero win the individual event. We were very proud but it was even more amazing to be a part of a team working together and supporting each other. For me this is what the ABC is about. A team of people who care for and support each other in order to achieve the best they can. This theme dominated my week!

Yesterday for example I joined the Prekindergarten trip to the Jardin Botanico. I went primarily to do a security check but I also got to spend time with the children. It reminded me of being a father of 3 and 4 year olds seeing them appreciating the beautiful flora, spotting animals and birds as well as feeding the fish and turtles. They had an amazing time in a caring and supportive environment with ABC staff who were making the experience perfect - educationally and emotionally. In the afternoon I saw our U16 basketball team win the Bilingual league against Lamatepec. They worked in harmony as a team and duly deserved their success. It was a privilege to watch them.

Earlier in the week the parent partnership event was attended by more than two hundred parents covering ways to help and protect teenagers as they grow through adolescence. It was another example of how the ABC seeks to create opportunities for us to work together in order to achieve the best outcomes for our students. However it also reminds me that we can never be complacent and all of us must play our part. Children are inspired when adults work with them, support them and help them realise their potential. It needs all of us, every single one of us to be in the same page and supporting each other. 

We are taking our school photographs next week and the children should all be aware of when their photographs are taking place.

Words from the Head of Primary

Reflection- Our core Value being focussed on at the moment is Reflection. Reflection is what allows us to learn from our experiences: it is an assessment of where we have been and where we want to go next. ~ Kenneth Wolf

Reflection helps to:

• understand what you already know 
• identify what you need to know in order to gain understanding of the subject
• make sense of new information and feedback from your own experience
• guide choices for further learning

We encourage children and staff to use the power of Reflection to determine if something went well or not. Then through the type of questions below, think about how you could have done better or indeed give yourself a pat on the back for a successful outcome.

What surprised you today, and why?

What’s the most important thing you learned today? Why do you think so?

What do you want to learn more about, and why?

When were you the most creative, and why do you think that is?

What made you curious today? How does learning feel different when you’re curious?

When were you at your best today, and why?

Sports- Our traditional Upper Primary Sports Day will take place on Saturday, 16th of February 2019. During the morning the children will have the opportunity to take part in activities to score points for their school tribe. 

The times for this are as follows:

2nd and 3rd Grade 8:00am - 9:30am

4th and 5th Grade 10:00am - 11:30am

Children will also have the opportunity to purchase food and drink at the event from the “Fairs to Educate” team.

The Praying Bear Campaign has been a great success. Although we planned to sell them until the 13th March we must inform our community that ALL BEARS HAVE BEEN SOLD. 

Now all bears will be given to children who are being treated at Hospital Bloom, Hospital Pediátrico and Hospital de Santa Ana. All proceeds from the sales will go to Fundación de Epilepsia Infantil, Misionero por Jesús to purchase seizure medication for children who need it. 

It is important to mention that the Tribe with the highest sales will receive a special treat. On Friday 15th March Ice-cream will be awarded to all students who bought a bear and the winning Tribe will be allowed to wear jeans. All children must wear their bracelet.

Even at a young age, they are thinking globally and acting locally!

School Photos- Photo’s for the current school year 2018-2019 are being taken next week. 

Lower Primary school photos will be taken on the following dates:

Upper Primary school photos will be taken on the following dates:

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

FEBRUARY

Friday 15th: Pre-Kinder Siri assembly - 7:40 am - PAC

Monday 11th: School photos: Pre-Kinder Cáceres, Kinder González and Prepa Chadwick 

Tuesday 12th: School photos: Pre-Kinder Siri, 1st. Quintanilla, Prepa Kennedy, 1st. McNeil and 1st. Henríquez

Wednesday 13th: School photos: 1st. Padilla, Pre-Kinder Francés, Kinder Rampone, Prepa Pashley and Kinder Bonet

Thursday 14th: Pre-Kinder Carbajal, Kinder Suárez and Prepa Ware

Saturday 16th until Sunday 24th: Extras enrollment

Wednesday 20th: Prepa night activity

Friday 22nd: Pre-Kinder Carbajal assembly - 7:40 am - PAC

Upper Primary

FEBRUARY

Friday 8th: Extracurricular Enrollment for Session 5 starts - Online process

Friday 8th: Valentine Grams activity starts by Madres Enlace (1st & 2nd Break)

Monday 11th: School Photo for: 2nd Tutty, 2nd Avilés, 3rd Dixon & 3rd Navas

Tuesday 12th: School Photo for: 4th Guzmán, 4th Quijano, 4th Williams & 4th Molina

Wednesday 13th: School Photo for: 2nd Pineda, 2nd Walls, 3rd Segovia & 3rd Mena

Wednesday 13th: 2nd Tutty Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Thursday 14th: School Photos for: 5th Cáceres, 5th Linares, 5th Hernández & 5th Truscott

Thursday 14th: Coesal meeting 7:30 am (Students only)

Friday 15th: Jeans Day Drop by Drop t-shirt

Saturday 16th: Upper Primary Sports Morning - 7:00am - 12:30pm

Wednesday 20th: Spanish Team Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Thursday 21: Grade 5 Camping Night - Portezuelo, Juayua

Monday 25th: Half Term Break

Words from the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

This week was very busy in Secondary with Group 4 projects in Grade 11, Parent Partnership, Multicultural Festival workshops, Sports competitions and wins, Learning Review Day for G10 and more! Thank you very much to all the staff and parents who have supported these events. It has been wonderful to see such enthusiastic involvement from all!

Cal 2 reports for G10 and G12 are being published today via the iSAMS parent portal. If you have any questions, please contact your Head of Year. 

MATHCOUNTS

As you know last Friday and Saturday we participated in the Central America Mathrelay and Mathcounts 2019; Mr Keslake also makes a reference to it in his message this week but I would like to share a few more details with our community. 

Firstly, I would like to say thank you and congratulations to Mr Mario Cañas for leading and training our enthusiastic mathematicians in this great event! Here are some pictures and statistics of the event. 

Our students truly did shine and I was so proud to see them displaying our ABC values and needless to say, our School motto was clearly in action: Effort leads to success!

Here are the results:

TEAM EVENTS

MATHRELAY- 2nd place out of 41 teams

1. American School of El Salvador (Team A) 12 out 12 correct answers

2. Academia Britanica Cuscatleca (Team A) 11 out of 12 correct answers (fastest time 5 min 29 sec)

3. Village School (Guatemala) (Team A) 11 out of 12 correct answers

MATHCOUNTS - 1st place out of 63 teams!

1. Academia Britanica Cuscatleca (team A) 32. 50 points

2. Balboa Academy of Panama (team A) 29.75 points

3. American School of El Salvador (team B) 29.50 points

4. Academia Britanica Cuscatleca (team B) 29.oo points

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

In the Countdown round, 4 of our students were in the top 10 and 6 of our students made the top 20!

1. Diego Salguero No.1

2. Adriana Menjivar No.5

3. Guillermo Reyes N0.9

4. Marcos Narvaez No.10

5. Lucas Cornejo No. 12

6. Andres Reis No. 15

We look forward to the Mathscounts competition in Mexico. We know our team will once again shine! Best of luck and thank you for a great event!

PARENT PARTNERSHIP EVENING

Tuesday’s event had a great turn out from parents and it was fantastic to see parents discussing and working in partnership with each other. The more we can discuss issues of concern together, the more solid our message will be for our children and the safer they will be.

On online safety, here is a recommended source of guidance for keeping our children safe online. 

Mobile phones- the school is actively discussing the issue of the misuse of mobile devices and the impact of over exposure to online communication and content. We are now considering banning these on our campus totally and we are discussing with teachers and the Student Council regarding the advantages and disadvantages of this measure and would welcome any thoughts from parents regarding this proposal. Please contact me nataliacaceres@abc-net.edu.sv

School Photographs

Next week we will be taking the annual school photographs. Please ask your child to know when their individual and group photograph is being taken and we kindly ask for your support ensuring your child wears the correct school uniform. Thank you for your collaboration. The schedule of photographs can be viewed on this link.

CCAA University Tour at the ABC

The CCAA University Tour will be visiting Academia Britanica Cuscatleca on Wednesday February 13th @2pm, The universities visiting offer many academic programs of interest to our students. Please mark your calendars so you are able to attend this event! Parents and students are welcome to attend.

Benedictine College, Kansas

Emmanuel College, Massachusetts

Loyola University, Louisiana

Marymount University, Virginia

Our Lady of the Lake University, Texas

Saint Anselm College, New Hampshire

Saint Louis University, Missouri

Saint Mary's College, Indiana

Saint Mary's University, Texas

*It is compulsory for Grade 10 and 11 to attend from 2-3pm. Please arrange to be picked up at that time* 

The Praying Bear Campaign

We are excited to support the campaign organised by one of our 5th grade students - Rebeca Figueroa Díaz. The goal of this campaign is to raise funds to purchase anticonvulsants medication for less fortunate children who are being treated at Bloom Hospital, Paediatric Hospital and Santa Ana Hospital.

Bears will be sold in the Secondary school office from today until Wednesday, 13th March 2019. The cost of each bear will be $5.00. These bears will then be donated to the children at Bloom Hospital, in the hope that it will make them feel better during their recovery. The money raised will then be donated to the local Children’s Epilepsy Foundation, Misionero Por Jesus (MPJ), for the purchase of medication. 

It is important to mention that a sales record by tribe will be kept, which will be supervised by the Tribal Chiefs. On Friday 15th March an Ice-cream will be given to all students who purchased a bear. Also, the school tribe with the most purchases will be allowed to have a Jeans Day on that day. To prove a bear was purchased, ALL students must wear their bracelet. Please note that this campaign is completely voluntary and driven by students within Upper Primary and as the ABC Cares, we have all rallied behind her! We hope to have your support.

Finally, a reminder that our ABC Bulldog Pride week is coming up in 2 weeks. I encourage you to speak with your children regarding their outfits and we look forward to seeing all our bulldog’s showing their School spirit! 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres

Dates for your diary

February

Tuesday 12th - Secondary DVA, 7:30 pm PAC

Tuesday 12th & Wednesday 13th - Art Workshop multicultural- from 7:30 am to 2pm in Museo Marte

Friday 15th - Drop by Drop jeans Day

Tuesday 19th - Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day

Wednesday 20th to Saturday 2nd March - Geography trip to Iceland

Friday 22nd - Last Day of first half of term 2

Monday 25th to Friday 1st March - Half Term holidays - school closed

Tuesday 26th to Tuesday 5th March - KS4/5 New York MUN Trip

21: Friday 1st February 2019

Words from the Director

I would like to start by wishing our Mathcounts teams an enjoyable competition with many other schools from around Central America. I would also like to thank Bob Sinnett from the EA for continuing to promote Mathcounts throughout our region. Great job Bob! 

Mathcounts weekends remind us of Diego Mina from the Class of 2022 who sadly passed away recently. He was one of our Mathcounts stars and we witnessed a concert organised by his friends at lunchtime today to celebrate his short life. His parents were able to join us and we certainly appreciated the positive effect Diego had on so many lives. Thank you to everyone who participated and especially to the Class of 2022 for organising the event.

I hope you enjoyed reading our CIS report highlights celebrating the positive aspects of our school. The report also included a number of areas that we need to reflect on and use as a tool for school improvement. I will be sharing those discussions with our community and ensuring we consider how the school can continue to grow and prosper. The CIS visit has come at the end of my time at the ABC but I it is not meant to be a summative report on where the school is now but rather a report on where we could be going next. I intend to work with the school leadership team and Mr. Lang, the incoming Director to ensure we cover all those bases and that we discuss the way forward with the wider community. However I’d want all of us to recognise the great job that our staff and your children are doing on a daily basis showing that effort combined with a commitment to our ABC values does indeed lead to great things. Well done everyone!

The longer I work with young people the more I realise the importance of consistency and reassurance in their lives. It is important they see similar fundamental messages from all the people who care for them and are guiding their growth. It is why our school values are so relevant and why it is important that parents and school discuss issues together. It is also the reason why we hope many of you from fifth grade upwards will come along to our carousel of activities on teenage issues next Tuesday. Please make this event a priority and we look forward to seeing you there.

It was a pleasure to see the U16 girls football team lose last night. Traditionally sport is about winning! However last night I witnessed a committed team lose 5-1 to the EA and I was so proud of them. They are a relatively new team as unfortunately many of the girls only recently started to replay football again. At the start of the season they lost in of their games 14-0. So to rise from that start and end u as runners up in the whole event was amazing. Not only were they runners up but they competed superbly and with more good fortune could have done even better. At the end of the game they were exhausted but proud of their achievements. All of us watching were delighted to witness their performance. A little later last night our Varsity boys continued their Bilingual league season with another victory over the LF by 4 goals to 2. They have a 100% record this season in the Bilingual league which is excellent. I want to thank Ceci Hernandez and her team for their tireless work leading the ABC Sports programme. We have seen so many children playing sport this year and that commitment is lasting through the year. In our modern times with so many distractions it is really important we encourage our children to participate in teams and enjoy playing sport with each other. 

Please be aware that we are planning our school photos for the week beginning 11th February. There will be individual photographs as well as class photographs.

It is going to be a busy weekend here in school as well as for many if you. I hope you enjoy the weekend and have fun with your children.

Words from the Head of Primary

DVA Awards

The Academia Británica Cuscatleca is proud to announce the 10th ABC Digital Video Awards, the longest running, K-12 grade student video competition in El Salvador. This year we are proud to celebrate the life and work of legendary book comic writer Stan Lee; our theme for DVA 2019.

Primary nominated videos are picked by the teacher and classes, who get to vote to select the project that will represent their grade.

There are a total of 40 videos competing in 11 different sub categories.

We wish all our nominees good luck!

How do we select the winner?

The winner per sub category is selected by the school staff and students through a voting form sent by email. An email account with the school domain is required (@abc-net.edu.sv). This voting form will be available from the afternoon of Friday, February 1st. It will close on Sunday, February 3 at 6:00pm. 

Next week, the nominees will receive an invitation with all the information for the DVA gala evening.

COESAL- Centro de Orientación para la Sexualidad en El Salvador has begun the set of lectures for our 4th grade students and their parents. These lectures are part of our Lifeskills curriculum. It will cover topics related to physical and emotional changes the body undergoes during adolescence as well as its impact on their feelings, emotions, friends and family.

Second Session: 

Thursday 7th February 2019 - 7.30am Seminar (mother - daughter) 

Thursday 7th February 2019 – 7.30 am Lecture Theatre (father - son)

There will be a final session for students only on Thursday 14h February 2019 – 7.30am

Our students in 5th Linares had a thrilling experience practicing their mental strategies for addition and subtraction with Jenga and Battleship.

Drop by Drop- Our Grade 11 students would like to thank all students and their parents who supported their ‘Drop by Drop’ Campaign. This fundraiser aims is to provide access to clean, disposable water to different communities in the municipality of Ahuachapan. Thank you for participating in this good cause and helping the rural communities of El Salvador get clean water!

The children who bought the Drop by Drop t-shirt will have a jeans day on Friday 15th of February 2019

UP Sports Morning- The UP Sports Morning will take place on Saturday 16th February 7:30 a. m. till 12:30 p. m. Students will be participating in different activities prepared by the PE department as follows:

2nd & 3rd Grade 8:00 a. m. - 9:30 a. m.

4th & 5th Grade 10:00 a. m. - 11:30 a. m.

Children must come wearing their PE uniform, including their hat, and bring a bag with a change of clothes since they will participate in water activities and will get wet. Please ensure children have applied sunscreen prior to arriving for the event. There is also a parent event so come ready to join in!

Praying Bears is a charity organized by one of our 5th grade students and her team. The purpose of this campaign is to raise funds to purchase anti-seizure medications for children with limited resources who suffer from epilepsy. Soon we will provide further details and children will be able to purchase the bears in the Upper Primary halls during break and lunch times. 

Valentine Grams will be sold during break time and lunch time at the entrance of the

Upper Primary Jubilee Library from Friday 8th of February to Thursday 14th of February. The cost is $1.00

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary

FEBRUARY

Friday 1st : Kinder Gonzalez Assembly

Tuesday 5th: Field Trip Kinder González

Wednesday 6th: Field Trip Kinder Rampone

Thursday 7th: Field Trip Kinder Suarez

Thursday 7th: Field Trip Pre-Kinder

Friday 8th: Field Trip Kinder Bonet

Friday 8th: Kinder Bonet assembly - 7:40am - PAC

Friday 15th: Pre-Kinder Siri assembly - 7:40am - PAC

Wednesday 20th: Prepa night activity

Friday 22nd: Pre-Kinder Carbajal assembly - 7:40am - PAC

Upper Primary

FEBRUARY

Wednesday 6th: 3rd Navas Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Thursday 7th: COESAL 2nd Session meeting 7:30 am (mother- daughter/seminar room, father-son/Lecture Theatre) 

Friday 8th: Extracurricular Enrollment for Session 5 starts - Online process

Friday 8th: Valentine Grams activity starts by Madres Enlace ( 1st & 2nd Break)

Wednesday 13th: 2nd Hernández Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Thursday 14th: COESAL meeting 7:30am Seminar Room/Lecture Theatre (Students only)

Friday 15th: Drop by Drop jeans day

Saturday 16th: Upper Primary Sports Morning - 7:00am - 12:30pm

Wednesday 20th: Spanish Team Assembly - 8:15am & 12:20pm - PAC

Thursday 21: Grade 5 Camping Night - Portezuelo, Juayua

Monday 25th: Half Term Holiday

Words from the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

Remembering Diego Mina- Class of 2022

Today we were joined by Diego’s family as our special guests for a concert which his friends, with the help and support of their teacher Paul Valladares, put together as a tribute to celebrate Diego’s life and the lessons he leaves behind with all of us. Diego’s father also left us with a powerful message of love and being the best people we can be in our search for happiness. He reminded us of the importance of friendship, health and family. 

We will continue as a school community to raise awareness about children’s cancer with the help of Diego’s parents. 

This week we were very pleased to see the Student Council Executive team leading the Key Stage Assemblies. I am always in awe when I see examples of our great ROCs and how wonderful to see them working together and inspiring our younger students to make the most of their school and its opportunities and also develop in their own leadership by taking an active and enthusiastic part in the different student led campaigns and that way, be change makers in this world! The student council reminded us that it is important everyone respects the queue in the cafeteria, use their ID badges to make the queue run more smoothly and of course be responsible by putting their dinners plates in the appropriate venues as well as use the correct bins for recycling! 

We are coming up to our ABC Bulldog Pride Week- Feb 18th to Feb 22nd. Look out for the different themed days and participate respectfully!

MONDAY 18th Feb- UNIVERSITY DAY 

You may wear - A college t shirt, dress up as what you would like to study or the colour of the university you wish to attend. 

TUESDAY 19th Feb- TWIN TUESDAY 

Pair up with a friend or plan a costume you both will use. You may wear - Pants but no ripped jeans or mini shorts!

WEDNESDAY 20th Feb- WACKY WEDNESDAY

Dress as silly and mismatched as possible! DO NOT WEAR: PAJAMAS

THURSDAY 21st Feb - THROWBACK THURSDAY

Dress up as you used to when you were little or throw it back to the 70’s, 80’s and be groovy! Do not wear - your upper primary school uniform. 

FRIDAY 22nd Feb- ABC BULLDOG PRIDE 

Wear any school t-shirt from a past Jeans Day to show your pride for the ABC! 

“If we all do our bit, together we can make a major contribution!”

MATHSCOUNTS and MATHS Relays

Today we had MATHSCOUNTS team participate at the Escuela Americana and tomorrow they are competing again and we look forward to their great results! Good luck team and Thank you Mr Cañas and maths department for your all your work with the team!

Here is the team at the end of the first day! We look forward to tomorrow! 

COMING SOON! 

DVA Secondary Coming Soon! Do not miss out on the fun! Please join us on February 12th at 5.30pm in the PAC!

Please visit the LRC’s DVA blog post.

Mock grades G12/ G10

Our grade 10 and 12 students have gone through the process of receiving their grades for their international examinations. This activity required them to fill our a reflection regarding how well they prepared for these exams and hopefully has helped them set clear targets to achieve even higher results at the end of the year. These results will be discussed with parents at the upcoming Learning Review Days coming up. Please make a point of scheduling your appointment to discuss your child’s progress. 

Parent Partnership next TUESDAY!

We will hold three 30 minute sessions on these three very important topics next Tuesday. Parents will attend their session according to their child’s Grade. KS3 (G6,7 and 8) KS4 (G9 and 10) IB (G11 and 12)

We do hope you can join us! 

We will start at 6.00pm sharply in the PAC. 

Will be visiting Academia Britanica Cuscatleca on Wednesday February 13th @2pm, Students and Parents are invited! 9 Universities from the USA

Finally, Bugsy Malone tickets being sold now in the Secondary office, please support the school and purchase your tickets now. Do not miss out!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón

Dates for your diary

February

Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd - Mathscount competition at Escuela Americana 

Tuesday 5th - Parent Partnership Evening- Risky teen behaviours (all grades) - 6.00 pm, PAC

Wednesday 6th - Grade 10 Learning review Day, from 7 am to 4 pm (by appointment only) in LRC

Thursday 7th & Friday 8th - Multicultural photography workshops - from 7:30 am to 2pm in American school 

Tuesday 12th - Secondary DVA, 7:30 pm PAC

Tuesday 12th & Wednesday 13th - Art Workshop multicultural- from 7:30 am to 2pm in Museo Marte

Friday 15th - Drop by Drop jeans Day

Tuesday 19th - Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day

Wednesday 20th to Saturday 2nd March - Geography trip to Iceland

Friday 22nd - Last Day of first half of term 2

Monday 25th to Friday 1st March - Half Term holidays - school closed

Tuesday 26th to Tuesday 5th March - KS4/5 New York MUN Trip