21: Friday January 31st 2020

From the Director

It has been a very busy time at school this past week. To name just a few of the events and activities of the past few days:

- Spring Fair review

- Board Sports sub-committee meeting

- Board Finance sub-committee meetings

- Full Board meeting to look at how we can afford the exciting developments we have planned for next year

- Ongoing interviews with great teachers who would like to join us next year. We have already made three excellent appointments and, once I have a fuller picture, I will share some details with you here

- Planning meeting to prepare our forthcoming literacy INSET

- Ski Trip review

- Ongoing admissions assessments for our Pre-kinder class next year (numbers of applications appear to be rising, I am pleased to report)

- Crisis Committee meeting

- Production of a new school promotional video (which I will share with you soon)

- Grade 9 Geography field-trip

- Head of Primary interviews- two great internal candidates vying for the role across a wide range of selection activities yesterday and today. I will be collating the results shortly and will let you know the outcome here next week

- Mathcounts competition (we came 2nd out of 21 teams today with more competition continuing tomorrow)

- Whole-staff Safeguarding training

- Ongoing Bilingual League fixtures

I am so proud of the energy and enthusiasm that colleagues and students alike have shown throughout all of these activities and so many more that I am unaware of. I think we all deserve a restful weekend!

On a sadder note, I have to let you know that our fantastic Head of Secondary, Natalia Caceres, has very recently accepted to be the new Director of the International School of Andalucia in Sevilla, Spain commencing August 1st 2020. I am sure we all join in wishing Natalia all the very best in her new role and agree that she will make an excellent international school Director.

Please know that Natalia and I have been in close contact since before Christmas about the possibility of her taking a Director's role at the end of the academic year and that she has had my full support throughout the selection process.

Of course, we will lose a great deal of skill, experience and institutional knowledge when Natalia leaves but we are a robust and long-established learning community with tons of talent and experience so we must remain self-confident about the journey forward towards our goals. Remember, as well, that it is here at the ABC that Natalia has garnered the experience and honed the skills that have so impressed a very good international school in Spain so we should, likewise, take confidence from that.

We will celebrate Natalia's tremendous service to our community over the past 22 years more fully later in the year but, for now, I would like to say, "Huge thanks and many congratulations, Natalia!"


From the Head of Primary

Our ABC Ski Trip

4th, 5th and 6th grade have just returned from our 5th ABC Ski Trip.

The most obvious success from the ski trip is that the children have learnt a skill, or improved upon a skill which they had previously learnt. In order to do this, they needed a specific environment… a mountain with snow. Every child on the trip goes through a learning process with skis or a snowboard, regardless of ability. This process requires constant feedback and encouragement from teachers, ski teachers and peers. Despite skiing or snowboarding being an individual sport, learning and improving is very much a collaborative effort which stresses the process of learning, particularly if it is a child’s first time. A good example of this is; the most competent skier in the group will always ski last. This person needs to be aware of everything going on in front of them and have total control if anyone makes a mistake. Much like a pack of wolves the leader will bring up the rear to ensure the safety, cohesiveness and direction of the others in the pack. Another example is if someone falls while skiing the group will stop to help that person to get back to their feet and review what happened. The group teach each other. The person who falls will benefit from the group’s knowledge, care and understanding. This means everyone will benefit from the group knowledge as, believe me, we all fall from time to time no matter how experienced! 

The immediate feedback loop which occurs in learning to ski or snowboard mirrors the learning process in the classroom, but with more immediacy. For example; when learning to stop, on a pair of skis, you push your heels out and toes in. You point the front of your skis together and put weight on the inside of your feet to pressure the inside edge of the skis into the snow, if you cross your skis you fall down. This might happen once or twice, but quickly the brain forms new neurons. Neurogenesis occurs, the brain has grown and developed through learning something new! To consolidate the newly formed pathways we repeat the action and strengthen the new network of neurons. Over the course of the trip, our students learnt many new skills. All of this led me to speculate…. How many new neural pathways were created during our ski trip?

Having said this, I do believe the ski trip to be so much more than just learning new skills. As a values-driven school, for me, the ski trip demonstrates that we are fulfilling our mission statement perfectly:

“To change the world by building Responsible Outstanding Citizens through our commitment to a holistic values-based learning experience”

I believe an example of something which happened on the 2020 trip perfectly illustrates this: A family were staying down the corridor from us in the hotel. One day towards the end of the trip the father knocked on my door. He asked about where the children were from and was very interested in the trip and its value. He proceeded to tell me how kind, gracious, independent and friendly the children had been. Every day they would hold the door for him, this would say good morning, they were polite and always asked his children how they were.

At school, we hold our values-driven education with esteem and pride. Seeing the children exhibit these values in public; in a completely new environment, a different country no less, made me proud to be ABC!!

We will be releasing information about the 2021 trip in March, thank you to all the children and parents for your support!

Nick Ware


Taking risks in play

According to British Education (The British Association for Early Childhood Education), every time you see your child head towards an activity that makes you anxious try Outdoors and Active Common Sense Top Tips:


Focus on the positive aspects of risky outdoor play – the physical skills children can practise, the excitement, the connection with natural materials and the ‘real world around them, developing strength, co-ordination, agility and body confidence.


Evaluate the hazards honestly: is this activity genuinely risky? How likely is it that a child will get hurt? How serious could the injury be? If potential injuries are minor (cuts and grazes), or unlikely, then the benefits will probably outweigh the risks.


Build confidence by using positive language. If your language is fearful (don’t go there / do that; come down, its too high; that’s dangerous) children will develop anxiety, not confidence. Say instead, “show me how careful you can be” or “where do you think your foot can go next?” and ask them to talk you through their decision-making.


Make time for physical play. Accidents often happen simply because we are in a rush, and lose concentration. Give children plenty of time to play. Being generous with your time is one of the most important things you can do to help children become more active and more body confident.


Apply common sense; risky outdoor play has always been an integral part of childhood, and the biggest risks to children are in their own homes and travelling in vehicles, not on the playgrounds.

This week the Upper Primary section were given a musical treat with a performance from the UP and LP choir accompanied by the Primary Rock Band. Playing a number of hits including ……, the children had fun performing to friends and teacher during the lunchtime performance on Wednesday. 




Cooperative Learning in Upper Primary

Cooperative learning is a form of active learning where students work together to perform specific tasks in a small group. Cooperative learning involves more than students working together on a Maths, English or an IPC task. It requires teachers to structure cooperative interdependence among the students. These structures involve five key elements which can be implemented in a variety of ways.

It develops:

Positive interdependence: children "sink or swim together." This can be achieved through mutual goals, division of labour, dividing materials, roles, and by making part of each student's assessment dependent on the performance of the rest of the group.

Individual accountability: This can be achieved through mutual goals, division of labour, dividing materials, roles, and by making part of each student's assessment dependent on the performance of the rest of the group. Group members must believe that each person's efforts benefit not only him- or herself, but all group members as well.

Face-to-Face interaction: Important cognitive activities and interpersonal dynamics only occur when students promote each other's learning. This includes oral explanations of how to solve problems, discussing the nature of the concepts being learned, and connecting present learning with past knowledge. It is through face-to-face interaction that members become personally committed to each other as well as to their mutual goals.

Interpersonal and small group social skills: In cooperative learning groups, students learn academic subject matter (task work) and also interpersonal and small group skills (teamwork). Thus, a group must know how to provide effective leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict management.

Group Processing: After completing their task, students must be given time and procedures for analysing how well their learning groups are functioning and how well social skills are being employed. Group processing involves both task work and teamwork, with an eye to improving it on the next project.

This term, children in Grade 5 have been working collaboratively using the Jigsaw method in a range of subjects i.e. Maths, IPC, Spanish and English.

This technique is useful because it offers structure to investigative learning, demands individual responsibility and stresses cooperation rather than competition. This technique can be used whenever the material to be learned can be divided into segments, and where no one segment must be taught before the other.

Example Lesson

An example of this might be where the class are studying Natural Disasters and Human Displacement. The teacher prioritises four areas of research: 1) Volcanoes and volcanic eruptions, 2) Wildfires, 3) Displacement caused by volcanoes, 4) Displacement caused by wildfires

Children work in Home groups first.





Areas for research:

Volcanoes and volcanic eruptions

Wildfires

Displacement caused by volcanoes

Displacement caused by wildfires
Children are then given guiding questions and specific links to help them with their research.
Once they have completed their research, they go into Expert groups – all the 1s come together, all the 2s and so on.

The expert groups discuss their learning, and agree on the main points of their material i.e. Displacement caused by wildfires. They can learn from each other, adding to their original notes.



After sharing information in Expert Groups, children return to their home groups, taking it in turns to share what they have learnt about natural disasters and human displacement.

Finally, each group can work on their final presentation about Natural Disasters and Human Displacement.



You can learn more about the Jigsaw method by watching the video below:

https://youtu.be/euhtXUgBEts


Book of the Week
The Missing by Michael Rosen




Michael Rosen often writes about his family, including his parents who were of Jewish heritage. In recent years he has traced back what happened to their relatives during World War II and describes his journey movingly in a way that is accessible to children and will encourage them to ask questions about history and explore the past of their own families. Michael Rosen links the situation of refugees in World War II to the plight of refugees in the world today and this comes over particularly strongly in some of the poems which are interspersed throughout the book.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
February

Thursday 6th: Prepa Night Activity - 4:00-8:00pm
Friday 7th: INSET for staff - No school
Saturday 8th: Baby Bulldogs - Physical Development
Monday 10th: Prepa Isley (Diamonds) and Prepa McNeil (Stars) Curriculum Morning - 7:30-8:50am.
Tuesday 11th: Prepa Chadwick (Pineapples) and Prepa Gordon (Penguins) Curriculum Morning - 7:30-8:50am.
Wednesday 12th: Prepa Isley (Pearls) and Prepa McNeil (Rockets) Curriculum Morning - 7:30-8:50am.
Thursday 13th: Prepa Chadwick (Watermelons) and Prepa Gordon (Monkeys) Curriculum Morning - 7:30-8:50am.
Thursday 13th: Pre-Kinder trip to Jardín Botánico - 8:30 - 11:45am
Friday 14th: Kinder Francés and Kinder González assembly - 7:40am - PAC
Thursday 20th: Pre-Kinder and Kinder Sports evening - 6:00-7:00pm
Friday 21st: Pre-Kinder Suárez assembly - 7:40am - PAC
Monday 24th - Friday 28th: Half term break - no school

Upper Primary
February

Wednesday 5th - 4th Williams Assembly - 8:15 am & 10:55 am - PAC
Friday 7th - Session 4 Extracurricular online enrollment
Friday 7th - INSET for staff - No school
Monday 10th - Valentine Grams sale starts (until Friday 14th)
Wednesday 12th - 3rd Truscott Assembly - 8:15 am & 10:55 am - PAC
Thursday 13th - COESAL meeting for Grade 5 parents - 7:30 am - 8:30 am - PAC
Tuesday 18th - COESAL father/son meeting for Grade 5 - 7:30 am - 8:30 am - Lecture Theater
Tuesday 18th - COESAL mother/daughter meeting for Grade 5 - 7:30am - 8:30am - PAC
Wednesday 19th - 2nd Pashley Assembly - 8:15am & 10:55am - PAC
Monday 24th - Half Term Holiday

From the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

Our Grade 10 and Grade 12 students had their Mock exams results this week and there were great successes as well as identification of areas for improvement. This is exactly what MOCKS is all about: setting targets and reviewing the skills needed to be successful in the May examinations. It is very important that our students do not miss school so we can take advantage of every learning opportunity afforded to them. We wish them all the best!

Mathcounts is here! A HUGE thank you to everyone involved in making this event a reality. The Maths department has truly gone above and beyond in their commitment and enthusiasm putting together this wonderful event. In particular, Ms. Escapini for leading the coordination and Mr. Cañas for leading the training but I know they would agree that it takes a whole team to pull it off! Our school has been on display to visitors from 21 schools from all over Central America and our students have been an example of ROCs helping them out. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable event for everyone! I am very much looking forward to the exciting final speed round tomorrow (Saturday 1st of Feb) here are the ABC!

I hope to see many of you there supporting our Bulldogs!

Please save the date for next Tuesday 4th of February for this important Parent Partnership evening. Also, there are various parent/ teacher and Learning Review days coming up so please do check the calendar and make your appointments with our staff. These conversations truly help in knowing and understanding our children’s development and progress. Finally, empowerment days are coming up. A lot of work goes into these events and I know you will not want your child to miss out on the opportunity to work as a team and develop their leadership skills. Please do make a point of responding before the deadline as we will not accept signing up of students after the set deadlines for safety purposes. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support.




Have a wonderful weekend.

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón
Head of Secondary School




Dates for your diary
January 2020

Friday 31st and Saturday 1st February - Mathrelay and Mathcounts Central America, ABC Auditorium and Field, from 7am to 2:30pm

February

Tuesday 4th - Parent Partnership meeting “The Big Disconnect” 6.00pm - PAC
Friday 7th - Staff INSET Day - school closed for students
Monday 10th to Sunday 16th - ICT Silicon Valley Trip
Tuesday 11th -Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day in LRC all day (by appointment)
Thursday 13th - 7th Grade - Parent Teachers meeting - 4:00pm, Auditorium
Thursday 13th and Friday 14th - Grade 8 Empowerment trip
Tuesday 18th - Grade 10 Learning Review Day, all day in LRC (by appointment)
Wednesday 19th - Grade 7 empowerment Day
Friday 21st - Grade 12 Family Day
Friday 21st to Sunday 1st March - Art trip to Europe
Monday 24th to Friday 28th - Half Term holidays, school closed



The sports world began this week with sad news, one of the best basketball players in history passed away accidentally. We want to honor his memory and remember him as a model of tenacity, discipline and high achievement, through one of his most famous phrases: “The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win.” Kobe Bryant


This Semester is full of sports competitions and activities in school, the Sports days for Primary will be held in the evening in March and the Secondary Sports day will be on March 5th. Students will have the opportunity to spend all day competing and building great memories among their Tribes.





ABC Athletes had a busy week competing at the Bilingual League, to read more about this week’s Sports events, please visit our Instagram and Facebook pages.

20: Friday January 24th 2020

From the Director

I hope and trust that you are enjoying the drip-feed of “Did you know that….?” pieces that celebrate the many tremendous strengths of our school and the achievements of our students and teachers that perhaps you were not aware of until now.

As you know, we choose the IB Diploma as our curriculum for our graduating students in their final two years at the ABC….but do you know why?

The IB Diploma is very prestigious, often being referred to as the “Gold Standard” in school graduating curricula

The IB Diploma is offered at almost 5000 schools around the world in more than 150 countries

Research shows that:

IB Diploma graduates in the United States (US) are significantly more likely to attend a ‘selective’ or ‘highly selective’ institution compared to the average US college-goer.

In the UK, they are more than twice as likely to attend a top 20 university than the average A level student.

On average IB Diploma graduates have lower drop-out rates and achieve better degrees than students who studied other curricula at school

On average IB Diploma graduates have slightly higher earning potential after university

The IB Diploma is accepted at over 2000 universities world-wide including all Ivy League colleges in the US, all of the so-called “Russell Group” of top universities in the UK as well as Oxford, Cambridge and LSE

The IB Diploma is very academically rigorous and, as a result, many US colleges offer credits to IB Diploma graduates with good scores

The IB Diploma offers a broad and balanced curriculum comprising;

The study of 6 subjects to include Maths, English, Science, a humanity and a foreign language (the choice of the 6th subject is free)

The Core- an extended essay, a CAS portfolio (Creativity, Activity, Service) and Theory of Knowledge

A clear commitment to developing an international mindset

The IB Diploma is quite simply the best school graduating curriculum on offer anywhere in the world….but don’t just take my word for it….

“IB is well known to us for excellent preparation. Success in an IB programme correlates well with success at Harvard. We are always pleased to see the credentials of the IB Diploma Programme on the transcript. GPA is not nearly as important a factor in university admission as the IB Diploma. If a student has to choose, choose the Diploma over protecting the GPA.” Marilyn McGrath Lewis Director of Admissions, Harvard University
“Send us prepared students a la IB. . . It is the ‘best’ high school prep curriculum an American school can offer.” Marilee Jones, Former Director of Undergraduate Admission, MIT

“Diploma Programme students are well-rounded, multifaceted, multi-skilled and have studied in depth. They have good time-management skills. They score higher than students in other national systems, and the IB score is worldwide the same measure.” Hrilina Lock, undergraduate admissions manager London School of Economics (LSE), UK

Have a great weekend!

From the Head of Primary

The INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP FAIR was a great success this year. We had a gorgeous warm day and blue sky in the morning. The Fair was full of activities, joy and enthusiasm, which brought many benefits to our students. This was an educational experience where children worked hard at their stalls but also had a lot of fun.

We would like to thank all parents for participating and supporting this Fair. A big thank you also to everyone who sent their jars to make our Tombola another success.

If you want your child to come into Pre-K in August please make sure you have signed up with Estefania Chacon so that your initial placement is confirmed.

Pre-K admission evaluations began this week in which we will start to evaluate the children who are hoping to join the ABC in August. They will spend time undertaking evaluations with our staff so that we can observe their social/language skills and independence. It is an important time for them as they start to make friendships, some of which will last for a long time as well as starting their journey towards being ABC ROCs. The community spirit and sense of being part of a team is a vital part of our community-based education. To see their awe and wonder as our youngest learners explore their environment, acquiring skills and following their curiosity and interest. It is a passion and a sense of fulfillment which we want our children to maintain throughout their lives. These skills are built on through our academic curriculum to develop the skills and attitudes needed to excel as our children move towards the Bilingual IB Diploma. These experiences and this learning journey frame our children for the rest of their lives. We look forward to welcoming them.

Correct School Uniform- It is expected that all students come to school in their correct school uniform. A number of our students are coming to school in brightly coloured tops, which do not meet the school’s uniform policy. We kindly ask that parents ensure their child/children wear the correct uniform including wearing the school jersey or school hoodie.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.



Book of the Week
We Travel So Far … by Laura Knowles and Chris Madden



Animals and birds from around the world briefly describe their migratory journeys in an economical and poetic language which weaves and winds across the page, the text pointedly placed to suit each spread. Each journey is different in terms of length, seasons, terrains travelled. Detailed data about the water, land and air migration of animals can be found at the end of the book.

From the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

As you know, this past Monday 20th of January marks the remembrance of the life and teachings of the great Martin Luther King Jr, and I would like to focus my message this week on this.

Although Dr. King stands out as the civil rights champion for racial equality, in reality, he was much more than that. He actively opposed the US war in Vietnam, he supported workers’ rights to demand better conditions and treatment and demanded economic fairness for poor Americans of his time: black and white.

At the ABC we like to refer to his teachings as much of what he fought for, continues to be relevant to social change and justice for all today. It is important that we establish these conversations with our young people, at school and home, as like he said “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This includes our children and community. His teachings go beyond race, culture and faith. It is about building together the community and world we want to live in which honours and respects true brotherhood. Half a century after the end of legal racial discrimination, we continue to be exposed to harsh inequalities around the world and in our very own “beloved community.” When talking to our young people we need to encourage the reflection of the fact that bullying, unkind words, excluding behaviours, lack of care to each other and our environment and turning a blind eye to mean behaviour and words, are all a part of this. These are examples of inequality and injustice which each and every one of us must do all we can to eradicate.









From Mrs. Garcia- LRC Coordinator
Please read about the exciting changes coming to the LRC. Some have already begun!

You can read more on this in their blog here.

Redesigning our Spaces

At the LRC we often find ourselves redesigning and re-purposing our spaces to fit the growing needs and interests of our community. We are currently working on creating a dedicated 3D Centre, which will house our growing collection of 3D printers, 3Doodler printing pens as well as laser engravers and cutters.











Have a wonderful and restful weekend,

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón
Head of Secondary School


Dates for your diary

January 2020

Friday 31st - Grade 9 Geography Coursework Fieldtrip
Friday 31st and Saturday 1st February - Mathrelay and Mathcounts Central America, ABC Auditorium and Field, from 7am to 2:30pm

February

Tuesday 4th - Parent Partnership meeting “The Big Disconnect” 6.00 pm. PAC
Friday 7th - Staff INSET Day - school closed for students
Monday 10th to Sunday 16th - ICT/ ITGS Silicon Valley Trip
Tuesday 11th - Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day in LRC all day (by appointment)
Thursday 13th - 7th Grade - Parent-Teachers meeting - 4:00 pm, Auditorium
Friday 14th - Grade 8 Empowerment Day trip, in El Encanto Country Club
Tuesday 18th - Grade 10 Learning Review Day, all day in LRC (by appointment)
Wednesday 19th - Grade 7 Empowerment Day
Thursday 20th to 1st March - Art trip to Europe
Friday 21st - Grade 12 Family Day
Friday 21st to Sunday 1st March - Art trip to Europe
Monday 24th to Friday 28th - Half Term holidays, school closed





We are very proud to announce that the Premini BKB boys team obtained the Championship at the Bilingual League and that the ABC Swimming team is leading the Bilingual League circuit of competitions.



This coming week the Basketball Cadet boys team and  Varsity Basketball girls team will play the semifinals at the Bilingual League and the Athletic juvenile team is competing at the Bilingual League. To stay informed of the games schedule, visit the Whole school calendar on our website, you are welcome to come and cheer for our ABC athletes!

The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital. Joe Paterno, Football

To read more about this week’s Sports events, please visit our Instagram and Facebook pages.

19: Friday January 17th 2020

From the Director

Those of you who have passed through our Reception area recently have hopefully seen our new Mission Statement, of which much more in due course! Suffice to say, it is pretty ambitious. And why shouldn’t it be? 58 years ago on Monday a 43 year old New Englander was inaugurated into the highest office in the United States; here is what he had to say:

“Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens:

We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom -- symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge -- and more……

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this Administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,"² a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.” 

John F. Kennedy


From the Head of Primary

Spring Fair- A reminder that the Spring Fair is tomorrow morning, starting at 9 am. All our wonderful children and staff have been busy preparing for this great event. See you there!!

Arctic Days- Sometimes in this lovely tropical climate, we have a cold morning or two. On these occasions, the Senior Management team(Director, Head of Secondary, Head of Primary) decide whether or not to call an Artic Day. We do try and make the decision before 6 am. When an Artic Day is called the children can wear their own warm clothes. They are not expected to wear rainbow or bright colours, logos or pictures on their clothes. Everything should be plain and dark in colour. We do have jogging bottoms in the school shop and also the school ‘hoodies.’ We would prefer students to be wearing these and so if you haven’t got these already perhaps you should get them as they will be handy to have around.

Safety First- In school, we try hard to be prepared for any emergency by having regular evacuation practices. It is great to see our children behave responsibly and are doing the right things! We hope we never have to test ourselves in a real emergency but it is good to know we are organised if such an event should occur. We also practise lockdown procedures in the very unlikely event that an undesirable person has come onto the campus. We are able to shut off the inner campus completely and teachers move the children out of sight, lock the classrooms and switch the lights off. This gives the appearance that no-one is there. Once again we do not expect to need this procedure but we are prepared for any eventuality.

Book of the Week
Small in the City by Sydney Smith




The winter cityscape as the snow falls increasingly fast and furiously is beautifully evoked in the pictures as a child traverses the urban environment, interpreting it from their own perspective. The understanding that the child is searching for a diminutive companion who may be lost and vulnerable in the city is slowly and subtly revealed. A sensitive and beautiful picturebook from the illustrator of the award-winning Town Is by the Sea .

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
January

Saturday 18th - Spring Fair


Upper Primary
January

Saturday 18th - International Friendship Fair - 7:30pm - 12:00pm
Wednesday 22nd - 5th Navas Assembly - 8:15am & 10:55am - PAC



From the Head of Secondary

Dear parents and carers,

At the start of a year, it is always good to take a moment to reflect upon the past and future. What do we want to achieve in this new year? What would we like an opportunity to change or improve in? What do we want people to say about us? How do we define ourselves? What are we proud about? What impact do we want to create in the world and others? This week we have had to, unfortunately, deal with some issues regarding attitudes and lack of respect to others and I wanted to take this opportunity to include a topic which I encourage you to discuss at home. Discuss your family’s views regarding this topic and reflect on how we teach our children to “be the change they want to see in the world.” It is also important to help our children to reflect upon the blessing and privilege they have in attending an international school where we have the opportunities to learn from people from all cultures, creeds, races, ethnicities and truly understand what it means to be a global citizen. The respect and value of all human beings and the true belief in equal rights and equal responsibilities is in our core values as a community.



PARENT PARTNERSHIP- 4th February, 6.00 pm PAC

Please make a note in your agendas for next Tuesday 4th of February at 6.00 pm in the PAC for our PARENT PARTNERSHIP which will be focused around the impact of technology in your people’s social skills, specifically the dependency of teenagers on mobile devices and social media. We work very hard at putting together these events and opportunities for you to get together and discuss issues of significance to our children’s healthy lifestyle choices and we truly hope you can take some time in your busy schedules to join us.

Class of 2021 - Group 4 projects

For the past few days, students have been working on their Group 4 projects. This involved working with students from different science groups on a scientific investigation. The topic this year was based on their IB ATL thinking skills, with the title ¨Rethink¨. Students have come up with creative research and experimental ideas, some exploring and re-thinking current scientific experiments and others re-thinking the way we are tackling science on a global scale, for example, wildfires. Research ideas have been planned, presented and evaluated, and students have demonstrated great enthusiasm and reflection throughout the process. Well done G11s!

Click on the link to see photos of these projects:
PHOTOS GROUP 4 PROJECT CLASS 2021

Finally, we would like to remind all the community about our standing with regards to VAPING.

Please read this poster carefully as this is the final warning against this behaviour. It is necessary to understand that we are serious about this topic and we refuse to give up on this as we are absolutely convinced of the harm it causes to young people. We truly hope all parents take a stand against this, including at home and parties, and you do not allow young teens to vape and cause harm to themselves.



I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón
Head of Secondary School



Dates for your diary

January 2020
Tuesday 21st to Friday 24th - Grades 7 and 8 Exams
Friday 31st - Grade 9 Geography Coursework Fieldtrip
Friday 31st and Saturday 1st February - Mathrelay and Mathcounts Central America, ABC Auditorium and Field, from 7am to 2:30pm

February

Tuesday 4th - Parent Partnership meeting No.2 - for Secondary
Friday 7th - Staff INSET Day - school closed for students
Monday 10th to Sunday 16th - ICT Silicon Valley Trip (TBC)
Tuesday 11th -Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day in LRC all day (by appointment)
Thursday 13th - 7th Grade - Parent Teachers meeting - 4:00pm, Auditorium
Thursday 13th and Friday 14th - Grade 8 Empowerment Days trip
Tuesday 18th - Grade 10 Learning Review Day, all day in LRC (by appointment)
Wednesday 19th - Grade 7 empowerment Day
Friday 21st - Grade 12 Family Day
Friday 21st to Sunday 1st March - Art trip to Europe
Monday 24th to Friday 28th - Half Term holidays, school closed

18: Friday January 10th 2020

Dear ABC Community,

I am pleased to report that the Shoebox Campaign at the end of the past term was a success. We managed to raise a little over 500 boxes that made Christmas a little sweeter for many underprivileged children. I would like to let you know that the boxes were distributed in different communities. Some members of the ABC will deliver part of the boxes to patients of the San Rafael Hospital. The Tecleños de Corazón Foundation and the Montesión Nuevo Amanecer Foundation, put together celebrations and gift giving opportunities throughout different communities in Santa Tecla and Ahuachapán. Thank you to everyone who contributed for reaching out and supporting some of the neediest people in vulnerable communities. Also, thank those who helped us deliver the boxes. Below are some photos, because these images express more than a thousand words ever could.

Wishing you a happy and successful 2020.

Ana de Cabrera
National Programme Director




From the Director

Happy New Year everyone. I trust you all had a vibrant but restful holiday and feel refreshed- excited by, and ready for, the new year (and decade) that lies ahead.

Huge thanks to all of you who took a little time to fill out the traffic/school drop-off survey; I already have 518 responses, which is fantastic! I do assure you that the results will be considered very carefully by both the Senior Management Team and the Board, as we discuss solutions to our current traffic challenges in the mornings.

Please can I encourage you to spread the word regarding Pre K admissions. We are currently accepting applications and running assessments to help us understand our potential new learners better. I must say that I believe our Early Years provision here at the ABC is truly world-class so do encourage your family and friends to strongly consider us won’t you.

And now a little sad news….. Mr. Nevan Bridge, Head of Primary, will be leaving us at the end of the academic year when his contract comes to an end. These kinds of situations are a feature of our international school paradigm where colleagues are generally on quite short, time-limited contracts but it is always, nevertheless, sad to have to say goodbye to valued colleagues. Mr. Bridge will, I know, continue to put his heart and soul into leading our primary school, as he has done since he first arrived here. We will celebrate Mr. Bridge’s achievements and contribution to our community more fully later on in the year but, for now, I felt it important to let you know how things stand. Likewise, as soon as I have news of Mr. Bridge’s replacement, I will let you know.

Finally, the turn of a New Year is traditionally a time for honest self-reflection and perhaps new pledges and commitments towards self-improvement. Bookstore shelves groan under the weight of their innumerable self-help guides but essentially, self-improvement comes down to the choices we make at almost every point in every day. Here is the poet, Robert Frost’s take on it:

The Road not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


From the Head of Primary

Welcome back! I hope everyone managed to enjoy the three week holiday. The children and staff have returned refreshed and ready to continue their teaching and learning journey. ABC is a busy school with many learning opportunities for your children. It is wonderful to see our students taking advantage of these opportunities.

As part of the teaching and learning process Assessment is vital for teachers to understand where each child is at compared to the objectives being taught. Assessment takes many forms- observations, conferences, one on one talks, quizzes, group work, homework and much more. We also believe that with evidence, teachers make Overall Teacher Judgements about what a student’s strengths are and what areas to work on.

Assessment has several purposes. It helps teachers plan learning programmes geared to the needs of their students. It gives the students an idea of how they are going and what their next Learning Steps will be. It ensures parents receive reports that indicate how well your child is doing and what support can be given at home. It gives management an understanding of the trends of achievement for each Grade, gender and whole of Primary. And it gives information to the Director and Board of Governors so they can make resourcing decisions that support teaching and learning.

In December we ran the Shoe Box Campaign in Primary. This wonderful initiative has enabled the ABC to make a big difference to the lives of many children this past Christmas. The boxes were given to less fortunate children, who without our help, may not have received any presents this Christmas. A HUGE thank you to everyone who contributed to this amazing kindness.

Book of the Week
Rabbit & Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habits By Julian Gough
Illustrated by Jim Field




Bear wakes up from her hibernation early to find snow on the ground and meets the grumpy and rather self-important although apparently very knowledgeable Rabbit. Bear soon starts to learn about gravity, avalanches, why rabbits eat their own poo… Rabbit has surreptitiously stolen Bear’s Winter food hoard but his survival instincts don’t extend to easily escape when a wolf appears. Bear’s intervention and generous nature lead to a lasting friendship between the pair as they contemplate the snowy landscape from the mouth of a cave and consider creating a companion for their Snow Man.

Dates for your diary

Lower Primary
January

Saturday 11th - Open morning
Saturday 18th - Spring Fair

Upper Primary
January

Saturday 18th - International Friendship Fair - 7:30pm - 12:00pm
Wednesday 22nd - 5th Navas Assembly - 8:15am & 10:55am - PAC


From the Head of Secondary



Happy new year to all of you and welcome back to school!

I trust everyone had a great holiday and is ready to come back and give their best this new term. It has been a great week seeing all of our staff and students back in school and the campus buzzing with activity! I must thank all of the people who supported our Christmas basket for Maintenance staff campaign as well as our shoebox campaign in December! It was such a wonderful demonstration of gratitude and solidarity which is what our ROC community is about!

At the end of last term we announced the Class of 2021’s Head Prefect team and I am happy to share this news with the community. The selection process was very difficult with so many talented and incredibly insightful students applying to the role. In the end, the following team was appointed.

Head Prefects: Luciana Molins, Senji Shibata

Deputy Head Prefects: Daniel Figueroa, Daniela Guerra, Jubran Lemus

I know they will also be supported by the whole community and our Temporary Prefects are now carrying out their duties in their selection process which will continue throughout January. More on this soon.

This is a shorter, albeit, busy term! Please keep a close eye on our school calendar to ensure your children do not miss any days of school. Our Grade 10 and Grade 12s, in particular, have had a focused start as they are in their MOCK exams period. We wish them all the very best and remind them that the purpose of these exams is to see the areas they are excelling in and look for areas where they need to continue working hard to improve in order to achieve their best results in their international examinations.

Grade 7 and Grade 8 will also have their exams this term and again, we need to work together to remind them that these are important for their learning journey. Our students need your support at home so please do be vigilant for opportunities to help them; above all, please remember that we are here also to help so do contact us if there is anything we can support you with.

Finally, once again I need to ask for your support in ensuring your child abides by school regulations in terms of attendance and punctuality as well as uniform expectations. The usual areas- facial hair, shoes, nail varnish but especially the length of shorts and skirts. Your Head of Year will be in touch with you regarding this.

Please take a moment this weekend to go over the calendar dates and add them to your agenda so you can join us in our up and coming parent-teacher meetings, Learning Review Days and of course our Parent Partnership evening,


Have a wonderful weekend,

Kind regards,

Natalia Cáceres Escalón
Head of Secondary School


Dates for your diary

January

Tuesday 7th to Friday 17th - Grades 10/12 Mock Exams
Tuesday 21st to Friday 24th - Grades 7 and 8 Exams
Friday 31st - Grade 9 Geography Coursework Fieldtrip
Friday 31st and Saturday 1st February - Mathrelay and Mathcounts Central America, ABC Auditorium and Field, from 7am to 2:30pm

February

Tuesday 4th - Parent Partnership meeting No.2 - for Secondary
Friday 7th - Staff INSET Day - school closed for students
Monday 10th to Sunday 16th - ICT Silicon Valley Trip (TBC)
Tuesday 11th -Grade 11/12 Learning Review Day in LRC all day (by appointment)
Thursday 13th - 7th Grade - Parent-Teachers meeting - 4:00pm, Auditorium
Thursday 13th and Friday 14th - Grade 8 Empowerment Days trip
Tuesday 18th - Grade 10 Learning Review Day, all day in LRC (by appointment)
Wednesday 19th - Grade 7 empowerment Day
Friday 21st - Grade 12 Family Day - Lunch for students and Parents Class of 2020
Friday 21st to Sunday 1st March - Art trip to Europe
Monday 24th to Friday 28th - Half Term holidays, school closed




Sports practices started this week, we are preparing our athletes for this semester, which is full of Tournaments and Competitions. Semifinals and finals for the Basketball Bilingual League are right around the corner and the Football Bilingual League will resume next week.

It is important for all athletes to purchase their Sports uniforms, the second period to order them is from January 13th to January 31st, information related to this matter has been sent in an email.