Dear Parents,
Welcome back after a warm-weathered Semana Blanca.
Coronavirus meeting
Yesterday we welcomed Amanda from Helicopteros Sanitarios who made herself available to meet with you all and answer any questions regarding the Coronavirus. I am delighted to see that you are obviously feeling a lot calmer, as there were 5 parents present, and 3 Board members. I look forward to school attendance being back to normal next week.
Thank you to Amanda on behalf of the parents.
The holiday period brought some outstanding success in Mathematics. Two teams represented Aloha College Marbella in Vienna at the ISMTF International Maths Competition.
As always the Aloha students were perfect ambassadors for the school, but this year we are delighted that their hard work in preparing for the competition brought great success. The Junior team of Ricardo Holmes, Timothy Kleimann and Arshia Farajollahi with coach Kerry Churchman achieved a respectable 21st place, with Arshia coming 7th overall in the individual competition. The Senior team of Ekaterina Borisova, Jieyi Yang and Ablaikhan Tatishev with coach Jenny Turner did even better, winning the trophy for 3rd place! Ekaterina came 8th in the individual competition, and also came away with a third medal for her place in the winning Sunday Chase (mixed school) team. The coaches are very proud of their outstanding achievements! Congratulations to both teams and thank you to Ms Turner (Head of Maths) and Miss Churchman for accompanying them.
Ski trip to Astún, Huesca, Spain
53 pupils from Year 6 to Year 11 visited Astún on a ski trip. All pupils had a great experience, improved their skiing and made many new friends. Thank you to Mr Toal and his team for leading this trip and well done to all our pupils who attended.
Football mascot
Henry Howard of Y1MTI had a lovely experience over half term when he was a Matchday Mascot for the Barnet FC versus Halesowen Town Cup match. He proudly showed me his certificate and autograph book which all the players had signed – well done, Henry!
Mr Fraser Sharp
Following Mr Sharp’s superb leadership in our recent production of Grease, he experienced the sad loss of his precious mum last week. The Aloha College family offers Mr Sharp its sincere condolences.
Uniform
I would like to remind students that if they have chosen to wear the new school uniform, it must be worn in its entirety, with the school tie and blazer. Shoes must be a smart, black formal shoe. No trainers/pumps of any sort are permitted, nor are brandings or logos.
I ask parents to support us in this matter.
Aloha student at international conference – Amani Husaini, Y9
I was thrilled today to listen of Amani’s experience at a 3-day conference in Vienna in February. Called the Zero Project (“for a world without barriers”) it drew together organisations from all over the world which are dedicated to improving the life of children and adults with special needs.
Amani´s mum was speaking on behalf of the organisation she runs in Dubai – “Manzil” – which provides vocational training for people with disabilities aged from 4 to 26.
As well as supporting her mum in this important mission, Amani was also at the conference as a student representative of Aloha College Marbella. Thank you, Amani, for representing us so proudly and for supporting such a very worthy initiative.
I wish you all a lovely weekend and thank you for all your support.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
Eco Club
Last term the Eco Club spent hours with Señorita Laura collecting plastic bottle tops and using them in a very creative challenge. They carefully and patiently selected the colours and sizes, placed them into shapes in a bid to share with us an important message about recycling.… At last we are very proud to show you the final result.
Year 6 Ski Trip
Congratulations to the Year 6 children who spent last week skiing in Astún, Northern Spain on their annual ski trip. Mr Toal tells me that the behaviour was excellent but the bravery award goes to Roberta Tye for her resilience and positivity following her injury.
Foundation Stage Science workshop
For the entry point of the new IPC unit ‘Change’ the Foundation Stage on Wednesday children had a special visit from the scientists in Year 8 and a ‘mad scientist’. They watched lots of experiments, observing all the changes they could see and especially loved the ‘Foaming Elephants Tooth’ experiment! The Reception children then took part in their own experiments with the Year 8 students and they enjoyed the special lesson very much.
NABSS Times Tables Rock Stars Competition
This week the children in Year 2 to Year 6 have been busy taking part in ‘́NABSS Rocks 2020’. In this times-tables competition, we are playing against other schools around Spain. Children have been busy on Times Tables Rock Stars answering as many questions as possible. Prizes will be awarded for the best players in the competition.
Call in & Collect postponed
For the time being this has been postponed. We will publish the new dates in the parent newsletter and the web calendar. Thank you for your understanding. This will be an opportunity for parents to come into school to look at their child’s learning environment just before collection time. The invites will normally be on a Friday from 15:30 to 15:50 h.
Handball workshop
On Thursday Year 6 children supported the PE department in leading a Handball workshop for all of the Year 4 children. This was a great way for the Year 6 children to develop their leadership skills in a variety of ways. The House Captains had specific roles of responsibilities focusing on using digital devices. The footage that they captured will be edited and created into an iMovie independently, ready to be presented to the rest of the school. Well done to everyone involved!
House Points Spring 1
Sevilla – 3339
Granada – 3278
Córdoba – 3276
The Sevilla children enjoyed a reward afternoon yesterday.
Aloha Value Focus – Next half term EFFORT
Personal Goal Target for March – MORALITY – Who helps us make the right choices?
Yours sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I remember as if it were yesterday; first day at school and I was waiting impatiently to find out who my maths teacher was going to be in Year 10. She entered the room confidently and, without even greeting the class, wrote: “Inequalities”. It was the best maths lesson I have ever had in my life!
Throughout my school years, I only had male Maths teacher until Year 10. I do not want to enter a debate about male and female teachers, particularly in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). However, I can proudly say that I am a maths teacher because of her! In fact, when I teach “Inequalities” to any of my groups, my mind goes back to the same classroom and I feel exactly the same excitement that I felt 25 years ago.
Coincidently, I recently read an article in a well known teaching magazine about another female school teacher who, 20 years ago, decided to develop her work in a school located in one of the poorest areas of Seville. This is an example of another woman who continues to inspire people. March is International Women’s History month so I thought it would be appropriate to write a few lines on this subject.
Ms Churchman, in the maths department, is looking at the impact women have had in STEM jobs. Are women equally represented in STEM careers? Are they as equally recognised for their work as men? In the US, approximately 25% of STEM workers are female and just 13% in the UK. Although more women are graduating from STEM degrees, the gender gap still exists as the number of men choosing STEM subjects is rising faster than the number of women. Only 20 women have won a Nobel prize in STEM subjects (excluding literature and peace) compared to 667 males.
While there are an increasing number of female academic role models on TV, there are very few compared to males. We can see this in series such as The Big Bang Theory where they usually have male academics.
I am delighted to see our young scientists at Aloha College Marbella, determined to change this trend!
I hope you have a nice weekend
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
