Dear Parents,
Hopefully you are enjoying this newsletter relaxing with your family at the start of a week’s break – have a great time!
It has been an excellent half-term.
Winter Uniform
Please note that when your children return to school, there will be a change from summer to winter uniform. If you need to purchase more uniform the shop will be open during the half-term week. See times here. Remember, if you purchase any item of new uniform there will be a 10% discount, up to January 2020. Old winter uniforms are still available in the shop.
Here is a reminder of exactly what the winter uniform consists of:
Foundation Stage/KS1 (Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2)
KS2 (Pinafore dress/Trousers) KS2 to Ks4 KS3 to KS4 (Skirt/Trousers)
Key Stage 5
Please support your child by ensuring he/she is wearing the correct uniform.
School Photographs
You will receive a further communication about this. Obviously the photos will look mixed this academic year because some pupils are still wearing the old uniform (this is completely acceptable until the end of June 2020), while many have purchased the new.
I am sure that anyway our pupils will look immaculate.
Charity Run
What an exciting event to end the term! Our Save the Children charity run on Thursday saw all our children dressed as requested, putting 100% effort into their running and remembering to bring their 3 euros. The total raised so far is €1.917,32. Thank you for your generosity, and thank you also to all the Primary parents who participated when I invited you to run. I did see cameras out when I was dressed in my sportswear – I do hope not to see photos being auctioned over the internet!
Richard
Those families who were with us last year will remember that we are approaching the first anniversary of the loss of Richard Fitzsimons. This is a sad time for all of us, particularly his family. May he be in all our thoughts.
Our next newsletter will be on Saturday 9 November. I look forward to seeing all our children back on Monday 4 November rested and raring to go!
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
We have been very busy this week in school with writing assessments and our very successful Fun Run on Thursday. It was later on Thursday that I was reminded of this quote:
“While we try to teach our children about life, our children teach us what life is all about”.
I’m sure any Parent who attended the Foundation Stage ‘Stay and Play’ afternoon on Tuesday can relate to that message. The eager chatter of three to five year olds enthusiastically explaining what they are doing and asking all sorts of questions is a reality check in itself. For example during our Fire Drill on Wednesday I walked out with a group of Nursery children as the alarm bell was ringing and this was the conversation:
“Why we going?”
“We going because of the alarma”
“Where the Llama?”
“Down the steps”
“How do you know?”
“Mummy told me”
So, if any Foundation Parents thought we had been entertaining different animals in school this week don’t worry, it was a Fire Drill!
Congratulations to our Primary House Captains:
Tarah Wandoren and Fraser Squires (Sevilla)
Panna Tátrai-Monostori and Max Todd (Cordoba)
Savannah Rodoni and Anatoly Praslov (Granada)
They began their duties as House Captains for the Primary School this week. They have been busy collecting the House Points and these will be announced during Monday 4 November assembly. The winning House children will wear their House T-shirts on Friday 8 November for a celebratory fun afternoon.
To conclude our IPC learning for this half term, the children from Year 2 to Year 6 will take home an IPC Home Task Booklet to complete over the holidays. The booklet includes questions and activities for the pupils to do and talk about with you as they work through it. The booklet should be returned by Friday 8 November. I ́m sure you will be as impressed as we are with the Knowledge, Skills and Understanding your child has attained over this half term. If you want to know more about learning in IPC please click here.
Thank you to the parents who attended the PTA meeting for the Christmas Bazaar preparations and to those parents who have signed up to help by completing the online form. The PTA Room will be open from 14.30 h every day from Monday 4 November and all parents are welcome to come along, help, have a chat and make new friends. Please remember to ensure your child is included in the Children’s Draw by donating bottles or chocolates when we return after the holidays.
Also a big thank you to all the parents who ordered books online with Scholastic Book Club. Your order means that we could give £180.38 to Aloha College and the Primary library to spend on books.
I hope that you all have an enjoyable week and I will see you on 4 November. And don’t forget to turn your clocks back before bed tonight!
Next week’s target is: THOUGHTFULNESS
Yours sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
Dear parents,
I love listening to students’ speeches when they apply for house captains, Pupil Voice representatives and head student positions. It is admirable to see pupils of all ages addressing a large audience with such eloquence and confidence.
Having the ability to communicate well is a key life skill. We cannot assume that all children will move from jumbled chatter in primary to suddenly knowing how to communicate well or maintaining conversations as adults. I strongly believe that this skill can be taught and school is the ideal place to learn it.
The term communication skills is very broad. It can refer to the ability to communicate, in written or oral form, different messages in a variety of situations and for different purposes. The ability to listen to, and understand, spoken messages is another important aspect covered by communication skills.
Students in all year groups, but particularly in Year 13, need to be aware of the importance of this skill. Strong communication is often implied or explicitly identified in every job description. Employers highly value people with strong oral and written communication skills.
I am not sure if you have ever heard of Speakers’ Corner. It has been a traditional site for public speeches and debates since the mid 1800’s when protests and demonstrations took place in Hyde Park, London. Historic figures such as Karl Marx and George Orwell were known to often use this area. Even today, on a Sunday morning, it is not unusual to find crowds gathering at Speakers’ Corner to listen to enthusiasts expressing their views on specific themes.
We have decided to run our own version of Speakers’ Corner in the Secondary School after the half term break. Our intention is to further develop those communication skills I was referring to earlier. We will select a theme every week and pupils or staff will have the opportunity to stand on our special speakers’ box and give us a brief talk on the chosen topic. Watch this space!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful half term.
Yours sincerely,
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
