Dear parents,
I hope you and your families are safe and well. It looks like the weather has turned slightly and at last we are enjoying some continuous sunshine.
Morning Drop-off
It has been brought to my attention that some parents of the school have actually been fined by the police for stopping cars on the road and letting children out. It appears that some Secondary pupils – without siblings – are being dropped off on the road, either because they are too early or to avoid parents having to drive onto the ramp, which of course is there for your children’s safety. Therefore I wanted to alert you to the fact that the local police are fining people and the school of course does not have any control over this.
The “Inner Critic”
The following short video was made in response to Mr Escobar’s newsletter from last week. It is about the inner critic in our minds and how it can paralyse creativity. The pupils devised, wrote and acted out their own powerful interpretation of this message. Congratulations to the following Year 7 pupils for this fantastic piece of work: Alejandra Ayora, Thomas Brouwer, Eabha Gilner, Savannah Rodoni, Fraser Squires, Jack Starrett
Extra congratulations go to Fraser Squires, who created the special effects and edited the whole piece himself. Please click the image:
Chocolate Enterprise Challenge
On Thursday 18 March Year 8 will present the annual Chocolate Enterprise Challenge. I look forward to seeing these entrepreneurs present their proposals and, indeed, to trying the chocolates!
New baby
Congratulations to Maria Galvez, our Human Resources Manager, who gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl, Lola.
Art Exhibition
Very shortly we will be sending you photos of the Art Exhibition produced by some Secondary pupils. I have never seen such an outstanding standard of work – it’s like visiting the Tate Gallery in London!
PE
Just to remind you all what wonderful facilities we have – every time I visit the Arts and Sports Hall there are students using our fabulous Olympic-size trampolines, and I am witness to their skills:
Primary School
Following World Book Day on 4 March our Primary children have been busy this week in the Library looking at pop-up story books.
Furthermore, just for you Secondary parents who may have forgotten what it was like when your child was this age, enjoy thinking back:
Have a lovely, safe and sunny weekend with your families.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Monday Video Assembly – Healthy Eating and Healthy Lifestyle
Attached is my very short weekly video which is shown to the children each Monday.
It is so wonderful when children tell me a little about themselves. Olivia from Year 2KED reported that she had never eaten soup at lunch time but this week, following my little assembly, she decided to try it and actually liked it. Well done! And Henry from Year 2 had a piece of broccoli and he asked for more as it is now his favourite vegetable! Well done children!
Children’s Work
Once again I have seen some lovely work going on throughout the Primary School this week.
Miss Lancaster’s class 4CLA had worked so hard that they had gained the most dojos in the whole school therefore being allowed to bring a toy for one day. India, Lily, Matilda, Ornella and Polina all brought cuddly toys! Well done girls and all of Miss Lancaster’s class.
In Year 5, they have really been enjoying their science challenges. Look, electrical circuits!!! Future engineers.
Punctuality
Please try and ensure your child is in school on time to start the day; children get very anxious if they are late despite the fact we never reprimand them for this as we know it’s not their fault.
Mother’s Day
Sunday is English Mother’s Day. So for all you wonderful, loving mums out there, I wish you a lovely day. Allow yourself to be pampered! Your children adore you!
Have a lovely, sunny, safe weekend.
March Personal Learning Goal – TO BE A COMMUNICATOR
Next week’s Aloha Value – RESPECT
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I love music! It transmits emotions, sensations and evokes memories. I have created different playlists that I listen to when I go for a run every morning. I start my day fully energised, motivated and positive. The combination of exercise and music is just amazing! I usually choose non-lyrical upbeat songs when I run. The other day I played a random playlist called ‘motivation’. All tracks on the playlist had narrative lyrics, which distracted me from my daily exercise routine. I ended up analysing the language and messages in most of the songs, instead of enjoying the fresh morning breeze and sunrise.
When we listen to music, we do not always focus on the lyrics. In fact, I think that lyrics sometimes play a slightly secondary role. We tend to enjoy the rhythm, or perhaps we really like the band or singer and do not pay attention to what is said. It can also be the case that the song is in a language that we do not understand, yet we still like it. Thus, it isn’t necessary to understand the lyrics of a song to understand its essence.
During my A-Level lesson the other day, my students used an expression that I had never heard before. When I asked what it meant, they explained that it comes from a rap song by a famous rapper who they describe as ‘legend’. They all laughed at me when I tried to pronounce the word out loud ( I am not cool enough!). My concern is that young people are growing up listening to music without questioning the message or language used. This, in my opinion, does not always inspire them to become responsible citizens in a global society.
Sweet but Psycho was one of the tracks I listened to whilst I was running. Although a book should not be judged by its cover, I am afraid that this title leaves nothing to the imagination! The song tells you the reasons why this girl is “sweet but psycho”. She might grab a police officer’s gun, rip off guys’ shirts at night and scream. The song also mentions several times that she is “hot” because, at the end of the day, ‘looks are what really matters.’The singer uses the term psycho more than 15 times, thus stigmatising mental illness, one of the most common health problems the world faces today. Am I being too apprehensive or do you agree with me?
Miriam, a student who graduated last year, wrote her Extended Essay on the impact that language, used in current songs, has on us. Miriam analysed the lyrics of different music genres such as reggaeton, rap, hip hop and trap and found a clear pattern: the lyrics of the majority of songs evolve around violence, sex, male chauvinism and physical appearance. It is very worrying to read, in her essay, that the songs with most explicit messages and foul language had millions of streams on music platforms.
I have learnt something valuable from this: I will never play a random playlist again when I go for a run!
I hope you have a good weekend.
Francisco Escobar
Head of Secondary
