Dear Parents,
I once again thank you for your generosity regarding our charity day last Friday, raising an amazing sum of 2.328.37 Euros. This money will be sent to the agreed charity of “Australian bushfire”.
Here is a link if you wish to know more about Aussie Ark.
Secondary School X Country
I am proud to announce that Aloha College Marbella are the International Schools Cross Country Champions for the second year in a row.
Dedication, drive and determination along with some real class from our athletes made for a really positive group, who gave their utmost in every race. Behaviour and attitude were, yet again, superb. Congratulations to our super-fit team for bringing back the trophy!
Our talented pupils
I always learn something new about my pupils every day. After reading a reference from Mr Heath, Head of English, for a pupil in Year 11 (who wishes to remain anonymous), I invited the pupil to my office. I always knew he was an able writer but I never knew in depth about his overwhelming passion for Creative Writing and Poetry.
Some of the pieces of work he has written are absolutely amazing. To listen to him talk about his love of writing was very moving. I respect his decision not to name him in this letter, however I cannot promise I won’t shout it from the rooftops when he produces his first book!
Model United Nations Conference
Thank you to Mr Kemp, Humanities teacher, and Ms Corral, our Librarian, who at the end of January accompanied our children to the Model United Nations Conference in The Hague.
This is the largest conference of its kind and Aloha College students did not disappoint! Across five gruelling days, our seven delegates debated with students from all over the world, wrestling with some of the most pressing and complex problems our planet faces. Most importantly, our students made connections with like-minded people from a range of countries and backgrounds. It was a very successful trip which really showcased the expertise and resilience of our MUN students. Enjoy a complete report in Mr Escobar’s letter. Congratulations to our pupils!
Baby News
Congratulations to Ms Kate Freeman, Primary teacher, who last week gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Francisco. We welcome you, Fran, into the Aloha community.
Golfing prowess
I would like to congratulate Christian Porter-Lourdon (Year 7) who won the Aloha Golf Club 2019 junior annual ranking order of merit. This is a prestigious golf competition played throughout the year in a series of ranking competitions with order of merit points awarded according to positions in each tournament. Christian continually strives to get better and better – well done, Christian!
School nurse: Sara
Please remember Nurse Sara’s role is to deal with children who are sick or who have an accident during the school day. Some children are arriving with injuries from the weekend and coming to Sara to act as a doctor. Sara is not employed as a substitute for your child’s doctor. Thank you for your support on this.
Value of respect
Another polite reminder: As you are aware one of our five values of the school is Respect. I sadly need to bring to your attention the lack of respect from some people towards Fran, our security guard, who is here to carry out his job.
Most of the time Fran is your hero as he kindly gathers your children from the ramp and helps them into your awaiting car. Fran works very hard to ensure the safety of the children and to reduce the queue as much as possible at these busy times. I know that many of you will be shocked to hear that some parents show a serious lack of respect towards Fran when he asks them to move along the ramp if their children are not there, to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. Some people just ignore him. Some people simply refuse to move on. Please can I politely remind you that Fran is there to do his job and in order to be efficient for the children we need to respect and support him. Thank you in advance for this.
Please enjoy a lovely weekend with your families.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
As we all know children are naturally curious which is why at ACM Primary we provide a wide variety of opportunities to nurture this curiosity. To do this it’s important to encourage children to ask questions and develop the skills they need to answer these questions. Please see the link next to this week’s Personal Goal below and encourage your children to ask these questions outside of school to broaden their understanding of the world around them. I’m sure that you will find some of their answers very interesting, we do in school!
Year 3 Assembly
Year 3 performed an amazing assembly all about scientific `Forces´. They entertained the audience with songs and dances about the forces of gravity and friction. 3ESE also showed a video which they produced in Digital Learning with the support of Mr Mulligan. Year 3 clearly demonstrated a lot of knowledge and skills in their IPC learning. As our Star Wars dancers said in their finale, `May the Force be with you!´.
International Schools STEM
On Tuesday a group of Year 4 and 5 children enjoyed an interesting day of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities at Sotogrande School with Miss Fox and Mr Mulligan. The children took part in various challenges mixed with other schools. These included using specific software to design a 3D model, designing and constructing a wind powered machine and using Google Earth and recording software to create a video of places they would like to go. A great day was had by all the children who worked cooperatively, and made new friends.
Foundation Stage Stay & Play
Thank you to all parents who came along on Thursday afternoon.
PSHE Info Meeting for all Primary Parents
We are delighted to invite all Primary parents (FS-Y6) to an information meeting where Alison Harris, a consultant speaker and author from the Jigsaw programme, will explain the importance of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) programme. You will be shown the content of the curriculum for this term. There will also be time to ask any questions you may have. The meeting will be held on Friday 14 February at 15:00 h in the School Hall. I look forward to seeing you all there.
St Valentine’s Party for Y5 -Y6 children
The Secondary School InterAct Club is organising a St Valentine’s Party for Y5 -Y6 children in the School Hall from 16:00 to 17:30 h on Friday 14 of February. Entrance will be €3.00 which includes games, music, prizes and one drink/snack. Tickets can be bought on the day at 15:50 h from the covered area and they can change into party clothes at 15:50 h. The money raised from this year’s event will go in aid of Triple A, Marbella, as part of the ‘Be Kind’ to creatures campaign.
Wild Hair Day Friday 14 February
Next Friday all Primary children are invited to come to school with crazy hair styles to show that we care again as part of our ‘Be Kind’ to our planet and the wildlife that inhabits it, especially those that are endangered.
Aloha Value Focus this half term – Honesty
Personal Goal Target for February – Enquiry – Ask questions like a scientist (link)
Yours sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
Aloha College Marbella was invited to take part in the 52nd annual Model United Nations (MUN) conference in the Hague last week and we were fortunate enough to be able to create a team of exceptional delegates to represent Burundi on seven committees. What better place to work together to make the world a better place than The Hague, the city of Peace and Justice? Home to dozens of international organisations, as well as the Dutch government and Royal Family, it is a truly global city and a fitting location for the biggest MUN conference in the world.
MUN promotes and embodies international mindedness in many ways. Not only did our students have to engage with delegates from all over the world, but they also discussed issues with truly global reach and significance. Across five intense and busy days, the delegates lobbied, collaborated and sometimes clashed with their new colleagues with a focus on resolving issues rather than on competing over them.
Among the dozens of issues which were discussed by the delegates was the problem of disputed sovereignty. Our delegate Majdouline Berrada (Year 12) gave a powerful opening statement to her committee which highlighted Burundi’s own chequered history and drew parallels with contemporary areas of dispute, notably Western Sahara. Adriana Léon, sitting on the Budget and Financial Committee was heavily involved in drafting and redrafting resolutions on complex economic issues, including the financing of initiatives to stabilise central Africa. The two Human Rights Committees offered delegates a timely opportunity to discuss issues as diverse as discrimination against the Roma (traveller community) to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Our delegates on these committees engaged with these issues and more with great insight and humanity.
Our Head Boy and Ambassador for this conference, Emilio Hadjisotiriou said: “What struck me most about THIMUN was the sheer number of people from different countries who attended. It was truly amazing to see how people can come together to write resolutions on a common issue. Moreover, what was impressive was the sense of unity in the debates; even though some delegates didn’t agree with the stance of others, they commended their effort in writing resolutions and voted based on that, rather than whether they liked the person or not.”
Mr Kemp, Aloha’s MUN Director, was filled with pride for our students at this conference. They were not only articulate and perceptive, they also all showed a deep commitment to social justice and to the cause of international cooperation. This conference opened on the day the world commemorated the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. What a stark reminder of the importance of bodies like the UN and of the crucial role our students will have as the leaders of tomorrow in ensuring that it continues to work for a better world.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Kemp and Ascensión Corral for accompanying the group and looking after them so well during the week.
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
