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.
- 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
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.
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
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,
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.
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.
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