Dear parents,
I hope everyone is safe and well. The Year 13 IB pupils have almost finished their public exams. The ones I spoke to seem relatively happy with their performance. The IGCSE and A-level pupils still have a way to go! Once again, good luck to them all.
It was nice to start the week with some lovely feedback on our new school App – Manu our Communications Officer, who launched the initiative, was pleased with the praise – thank you.
Mental Health Awareness
I am sure you are aware that this week is Mental Health Awareness Week, with an emphasis on connecting with nature. None of us is superhuman, we all need to look after our mental wellbeing as well as our physical health. Pupils and staff have been sharing some interesting facts and information regarding this issue. Miss Thompson contributed with a wonderful video for the Secondary pupils which showed how some Aloha staff – teachers, maintenance staff, cleaners and kitchen staff – take care of their mental health. Statistics tell us that mental health issues have significantly increased during these unprecedented times and we are making sure that we continue to support our students on such issues.
End of the academic year
Sadly, because of the Covid restrictions, we will be unable to hold our traditional end-of-year whole-school Graduation and Awards Ceremony. We do have plans for our Year 13 pupils and their parents as they officially leave our school to embark on new adventures.
We will also be celebrating our Year 6 pupils’ transition from the Primary School to the Secondary School at the end of this academic year. Year 6 and Year 13 parents will be informed of our plans separately.
Please note therefore that the last day of term will be Thursday 24 June. Teaching and learning and some additional activities will continue until that date, so no early holiday bookings please!
Absorbed in reading
What a wonderful sight when I looked out of my window this week and saw Year 7 quietly enjoying reading.
Talking about reading, Sasha in our Reception class (just 5 years old) read some very difficult text to me this week. Brilliant, Sasha, and thank you.
International Nurses’ Day 2021
On Wednesday it was Nurses’ Day, we thank our nurse Carmen for all the work she does for our children in school.
I receive so many wonderful messages from you the parents. Thank you for your kindness. One message this week which I shared with all the staff, and was greatly appreciated was:
Take care, stay safe and have a lovely weekend with your families.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
As you will have seen from the Covid Weekly Update yesterday, on Monday we sadly had to ask one Primary class and the teacher to self-isolate fro ten days. Most of the children are busy working online with their teacher. I am popping into their Google Classroom to say hello and see how they are doing. They all seem happy and are looking forward to their return next Friday. We all miss you, children.
Another great week of children’s success both in and outside the classroom. The week started in its usual way with my weekly online assembly which reinforces one of our values. The children were delighted to see one of my dogs again – Barney – requiring a haircut!! They are looking forward to seeing him next week all clean, white and fluffy again!!!
Our Aloha Value this week was EFFORT and I have seen plenty of that going on this week.
Year 5 children were learning how to long jump this week – just look at their skills – it was like watching future Olympians.
Our Valeria Bermúdez López De Lacalle in Year 5 was so proud of her excellent Maths work this week and so were Miss Dickie and I! Well done Valeria.
Talking about future Olympians, look at Jasmine Katebiyan (3ARS) who competed last week in the championship of the Federación Andaluza de Gimnasia in San Pedro de Alcántara. Her team took 3rd place! She demonstrated with Lian Rincón Tian how to do the splits so easily!!
We always love learning about the children’s activities outside school too. Congratulations to James Robb (4CLA) who won a wrestling competition on 7 May. This is what he said about his victory: “I had 4 fights in category 36/40 kg. It was very hard but interesting fights and very challenging.I lost the first fight but three others I won and still got 1st place. I trained and worked very hard to get this victory. I keep training and I want to achieve more trophies and medals.”
EYFS – Next Tuesday 18 May you may see lots of superheroes around school – they are our Nursery and Reception children who will be dressing up as their favourite characters.
We are planning lots of exciting events for all your children before the end of this summer term. These include different activities for different year groups, of course still maintaining our Covid protocol. We will notify you of each event nearer the day, but this is advance notice: if you are planning an early holiday before our official last day of term, your children might miss out!!
Year 6 children will be moving from the Primary section to the Secondary at the end of this academic year. So watch this space to see what experiences are awaiting them.
As we are unable to do our traditional annual Graduation and Award Ceremony on Friday 25 June, the last day of this academic year will be Thursday 24 June for all pupils.
Enjoy what looks to be a beautiful sunny weekend with your families.
May Personal Learning Goal – TO BE ETHICAL
Next week’s Aloha Value – RESPECT
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
‘Nature’ was the theme to celebrate Mental Health awareness week. It was wonderful to see students taking part in an array of activities such as playlists in Music, growing your own plants in Science, creating eco shoes in Geography and writing about getting lost in Nature in English. In the assembly yesterday, Sophia Unger and Charlotte Marin (Year 13) shared tips and advice on stress with exams and Alisa Polyak (Year 13) spoke about her own mental health journey.
There was a workshop for our Year 12 students on managing exam stress and anxiety. The prospect of examinations can be an overwhelming and worrying experience for many, so as a College we aim to try and support our students and give them the relevant tools they need for handling these situations. The students were given some practical tips for helping to deal with anxiety, including breathing exercises and mindful meditations.
Year 10 and Year 12 students were also invited to take part in a lunchtime yoga lesson.
I would like to share with you some examples of what our students and staff have done to support mental health awareness week.
Science: growing your own plants
Art: Landscapes drawing
Positive affirmations on the mirrors in the girls’ bathrooms
English: Year 7 class reading outside
Staff connection with nature
Francisco Escobar
Head of Secondary
