From the Director
Hello everybody. I'm going to be very short this week and I’m going to be very clear. As soon as we have word from the Ministry of Education that we can open school fully, we fully intend to do so. We’re in very regular discussions with them and they know that is our ambition.
That’s why, in fact, we’ve devised next year’s Secondary timetable to be able to transition directly without change from hybrid into being fully open.
In fact, consider this: for the entire time that we’ve been in hybrid our entire Kinder, Pre-Kinder and Prepa classes have been fully open, with 100% of children in school, every day, playing and learning very safely in their bubbles, together.
I’m proud of the fact that throughout this entire hybrid period, we haven’t had one case of in-school transmission of Covid as far as we are aware.
If we have to be in hybrid in August, please also know that we are enhancing that provision, especially in Secondary, where all subjects will be offered in school. The full curriculum offer will be available as if we were open normally.
The day timings will be better arranged for your convenience so that we have a single dropoff and pickup arrangement at the beginning and end of the day. I hope that’s very clear, I hope you can all look forward to being back together in our normal school in August.
Have a great weekend everybody.
Stephen Lang
Director
From the Head of Primary
Hybrid August 2021
I believe I caused some confusion with my letter sent earlier this week! Please be reassured that our priority is getting all students on site full-time in August, if it is safe to do so. However, in preparation for all situations, we are ensuring that we have a highly effective hybrid system in the event that MinEd and MinSal tell us to continue under the same restrictions. I have noticed that there are still a high number of COVID-19 cases in our community, luckily we have had no cases in-school in Primary and just two short disruptions due to suspected cases. We are also looking at how we can safely improve our hybrid programme to offer more in-school services if possible. We will inform you of any changes in the week before school starts in August.
Some Key Points:
The school day will be a little longer and aligned with Secondary so there will be only one drop-off and one pick-up time for parents. Children will be dropped off in the morning and collected at lunchtime. Class groups will not be mixed, however all classes will get a new class teacher.
All students in Lower Primary (Pre-Kinder to 1st Grade) will be offered full time / daily provision
If the restrictions and risks are similar to the current situation, then all students in Upper Primary (2nd-5th Grade) will be in school every other week on a Cohort X / Y week system
We will continue with our flexible uniform policy for as long as we are online, however the Bulldog Store will be open over the summer holidays. Please visit the portal to see exact opening dates and how to get an appointment / make an order.
Thank you to all parents who have been sending their feedback to us on our current hybrid system. If you would like to offer any feedback, please use this form.
PSHE Consultation
In August we will begin our parent consultation to explore how best we can adapt the English National PSHE (Personal, Social, Emotional, Health) Curriculum to our local context. PSHE is a subject that usually has one period a week in the timetable, it was previously called Life Skills. I will soon be sending you more information about the PSHE curriculum before the end of term. In the meantime I would like to inform you of the dates and times of the consultation sessions:
Monday 23rd August 2021 5pm: PSHE for Pre-Kinder and Kinder
Tuesday 24th August 2021 5pm: PSHE for Prepa and 1st Grade
Wednesday 25th August 2021 5pm: PSHE for 2nd to 5th Grade
If you would like to collaborate in these sessions then please complete this FORM. The sessions will be in both English and Spanish.
Hybrid Filming
This week we have been making a film for our community about what hybrid mode looks like at the ABC. We hope to share it with you soon, as we know many of our parents miss being able to visit our campus and experience our provision first hand.
Steamfest
Today or next week your child will bring home a cardboard box. Inside the box your children will find a range of resources for our 2021 Online STEAM Festival 14-16th June. STEAM stands for the integrative learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. The boxes should not be opened until Monday the 14th at 8am when children will have their first online
session with their current teacher.
Online students can pick up their boxes from PAC carpark on
Tuesday 8th at 4:00 - 5:00 PM for PK - 1st
Wednesday 9th at 4:00- 5:00 PM for 2nd - 5th.
If you cannot come during this time you can make an appointment with a Primary secretary to pick your child’s box up at a time that suits you.
Moving Up Sessions
The last day of in-person classes is Friday the 11th June. On Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th at 9am all children will have sessions with their class teacher for next year. You will receive a letter with this information on Monday 14th.
Return Library Books & Resources
Please can you have a good look at home for the following resources. You can send them in with your child or leave them at the gate with security.
Any library book that was borrowed before May 2021
Any reading book / reading folder
Pre-Kinder: Big Storybook, Numicon, Clock
Kinder: Numicon, Clock, Number Fan, 10 Cubes
Prepa: Numicon, Clock, Number Fan
1st Grade: Storybook, Dienes 10s and 1s, Cuisenaire Rods, Clock, Number Fan
2nd Grade: Reading Book, Dictionary, Atlas
3rd Grade: Reading Book, Dictionary, Atlas, Thesaurus
4th Grade: Reading Book, Dictionary, Calculator, Thesaurus
5th Grade: Reading Book, Dictionary, Calculator, Atlas
Dates for your Diary
PRIMARY
J U N E
Wednesday 2nd - Padre-Hijo 5to Grado/ Charla COESAL - (6pm-7pm)
Wednesday 2nd - Madre-Hija 5to Grado/ Charla COESAL - (6pm-7pm)
Friday 4th - Cohort X will take Steam Fest boxes home
Monday 7th - Week ‘Y’ Hybrid Plan
Tuesday 8th - Pre-K to 1st Grade Permanent online children may collect SteamFest box-White Benches/PAC (4:00-5:00 pm)
Wednesday 9th - 2nd to 5th Grade Permanent online children may collect SteamFest box - White Benches/PAC (4:00-5:00 pm)
Friday 11th - Cohort Y will take Steam Fest boxes home
Monday 14th - All students online
Monday 14th- Primary Reports will be sent home
Monday 14th - Steam Fest (through 16th june)
Tuesday 15th - All students online
Wednesday 16th - All students online
Wednesday 16th - Last day of school
Thursday 17th - Father’s Day
Tuesday 22nd - Teacher’s Day
From the Secondary Leadership Team: Mr Kilford
As with any typical year, the end of the school term is packed full of activities, events and celebrations. Today, we have closed the CAL cycle for the year. We are analysing student academic achievements and asking staff for recommendations for awards in preparation for the final CAL reports and achievement ceremonies (see more information about these below). We are so proud of how our students have continued their education and persisted throughout a year of change and challenge.
Returning to school in August.
We are fully prepared and ready for a full reopening in August if the government approves such an opening. Unlike some other international schools, we are equally fully prepared for hybrid reopening and have been working hard on our contingency plans for this eventuality. Our plans are designed to allow the smoothest of transitions and mean that:
In both full in-school and hybrid learning models, all students in all grades will come in for all their subjects. In hybrid, this will be on a Cohort X / Cohort Y basis similar to the current one to ensure we meet distancing requirements in classrooms.
There will be no morning/afternoon separation; this means there will be a single morning drop-off and single afternoon pick-up for all students across both Primary and Secondary - we hope this makes transport much easier for parents.
When we transition between hybrid and full in-school learning, there will be no changes to teachers, subjects, classes or sets
If you haven’t yet had a chance to read Mr Burdett’s letter outlining the plans for August that was sent to you earlier this week, you can do so here: English / Spanish.
Key upcoming events
Below we would like to outline and explain some of these key events and celebrations coming up over the next couple of weeks.
Talent Show Talented ABC students will have the chance to take to the virtual stage in the annual talent show, taking place on Tuesday 15th June.
Achievement Ceremonies All of the achievement ceremonies for this year will be held online on the last day of term (Wednesday 16th June). The exact timings and a link to join the online ceremonies and celebrate students' successes in each grade will be sent to you, at the latest on Monday 14th June. They will also be available via the Whole School Calendar on our website.
Senior Exit and Graduation We have an exciting week coming up with the end of term Grade 12 events. Grade 12 students and parents can find more details in an email sent by Mr Lang earlier this week about who can attend what and when.
iSAMS Reports
The end of year reports will be published to students and parents via the iSAMS portals at the dates shown below:
Grade 10 and 12 - Thursday 10th June
Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 & 11 - Monday 14th June
Please download your reports in PDF format to your devices if you would like to access them over the summer holidays. On Sunday 20th June, iSAMS will be closed for maintenance and preparation for August. You will be informed when iSAMS is back open for students to check their timetables for the new school year.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Grade 9 and 11 students will be attending Parent Teacher Conferences on 14th and 15th June. Conferences will be spread across both days for both year groups. This is a great opportunity for parents to meet with teachers midway through the IGCSE and IBDP two-year programmes, and to strategise towards a successful second year in these programmes. The relevant documentation has been shared with students and parents. Students will need to make their own copy of the appointment sheet and arrange meet times with their teachers, as we have always done in the past. Students can then share their personal copy of the appointment sheet with their parents.
We are aware that students in the current Grades 6 and 7 have not had the chance to meet subject teachers this year. As you may have read in Mr Burdett’s letter sent earlier this week, we had plans to do these in the summer term but the government’s decision to allow us to reopen in hybrid meant we were faced with a difficult decision, and we decided to prioritise the in-school learning experience for students rather than suspend lessons for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Rest assured, we will prioritise these year groups early in the next academic year.
From the Learning Resource Centre - STEAM Fest and more!
The LRC ends the year as it as acted throughout - full of activity! The STEAM Fest 2021 Exhibition has launched online and is a showcase of the creativity and action that ABC students have undertaken. You can see the exhibition in full here (remember you may need an ABC login for full access) and you can read more details on the ABC blog here:
https://abc-lrc.blogspot.com/2021/06/steam-fest-2021-has-launched.html
You may also be interested to hear how our LRC team, led by Mrs Garcia, continue to be at the forefront of professional development for librarians across El Salvador. They led and participated in workshops as part of the Salvadoran Library Association's Cultural Week, sharing their enormous expertise with others about how they have worked to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, and how we are very strongly positioned to come out of this crisis. It is pertinent reminder that, as a result of the ABC’s decision to not pause our activities but to continue learning throughout the pandemic, not only have students continued to learn but also our teachers. You can read full details on the LRC blog here:
https://abc-lrc.blogspot.com/2021/06/workshop-overcoming-challenges-of.html
-------------------------
Dates for your diary
SECONDARY
June
Monday 7th to Friday 11th - Cohort Y - Grade 6, 7, 8, 9 Hybrid. Grade 11 - At home online. Extended Essay focus.
Monday 7th - School Mock Court Project (ends)
Monday 7th - Class 2021: Acción de Gracias, virtual event
Tuesday 8th - Group photo and short Graduation practice
Thursday 10th - G10 & G12 Reports Published on iSAMS; Class of 2021: Graduation Ceremony, 4pm
Friday 11th - Senior Exit
Friday 11th - Grade 10 virtual Awards Ceremony, 10:35am & STEAM Fest - winners announced
Saturday 12th - Grade 10 Picnic, 9:30am Field and Class of 2021: Graduation Dinner
Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th - All Secondary grades online
Monday 14th - Grade 9 and Grade 11 PTC online all day
Tuesday 15th - ABC Secondary Talent Show online - 1:50pm
Wednesday 16th - End of year assemblies and is the last Day of School Year 20-21
Thursday 17th - Father's Day (school closed)
Friday 18th - First day of summer holiday (school closed)
No comments:
Post a Comment