Dear Parents,
“Be Kind” Week
Thank you for encouraging your children and providing them with odd socks on Tuesday. Despite the serious message behind it, the day brought a lot of laughter as pupils displayed the brightest array of coloured socks.
The most embarrassing moment of the day was when I stopped to fill up with petrol on the way home and couldn’t understand why I was receiving so much attention. A red dress with one pink and one maroon sock is not really considered “Marbella fashion”!
This was just one part of our “Be Kind” week, when many pupils have gone beyond their daily acts of kindness and care and have really excelled in their efforts to make someone happy. Thank you, Aloha pupils, you are the best.
Thank you to Miss Verinder who is coordinating all the activities.
Christmas Bazaar
I know you are receiving a stream of communications regarding this event, but I would ask you to please play your part in supporting it.
Thank you to the parents who have already donated bottles, chocolates and small gifts.
If any parent would like to donate a prize for the raffle, please don’t be shy. Enormous thanks must go to Mrs Galina Rass, parent of Sasha in Year 3, for already donating some wonderful new and exciting toys which the children will love.
Parents, please get involved in the preparation of this marvellous event.
With great sorrow
It is with great sadness that I share with you that 2 Primary children have been affected by the loss of their fathers recently. To those children, their mothers and their family, Aloha College Marbella offers its deepest condolences. Please keep them in your thoughts.
Food-tasting and survey
Some parents replied to our invite to sample our school lunches and have been busy providing us with feedback. A survey will be sent shortly to all of you to give your opinion on the food service provided for your children.
We will also be sending all parents a short survey to hear your opinion about what the school does well and what you think we might be able to do better. We value your comments to support us in continuing to make our school the best.
Parents’ Consultation Evenings
There has been excellent support for recent parent consultation evenings giving you feedback on how your child is progressing. It is important that parents attend these meetings.
Morning Drop-off System
Thank you for your supportive comments regarding the additional drop-off point in the mornings. Overall punctuality figures have improved dramatically.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
Congratulations to Year 2 for providing us with a very energetic reminder of ‘The Aloha Way’ of BEING KIND in their Monday’s assembly. They reminded us all that this is not just the way we should be in school but also with those less fortunate in the community.
This theme of community awareness continued when KS2 children were shown a video of the setting up of a school for homeless children in Tanzania called ‘Centre of Hope’, a project in which one of our parents Mrs Veronika Tye played an active part. In this spirit of kindness our children have been writing letters to these children to show they care.
Iana De La Paz Chikhacheva in 4ES deserves a special mention as the very next day she had produced an illustrated dictionary as in her own words “I wanted to help them with their English”.
Of course we are not kind for one week only so as a symbol of this all of the children have been writing kind messages on paper hearts that have become leaves on our Learning Tree. Children have also been painting ‘Be Kind’ pebbles to be placed under the Tree for the rest of the academic year. This was great fun and the younger children really enjoyed being helped by Y12 students. Many thanks to: Adriana Leon, Alexandra Chikhacheva, Alisa Polyak, Anastacia van den Broek, Angelina Tishchenko, Chantal Dominguez, Charlotte Marin, Chiara Giannullo, Danielle Murdoch-Smith, Evelina Stanikova, Francesca Piscina, Inez Adamovic, Izabelle Fedyanova, Jiaxin Ji, Lauren Heath, Majdouline Berrada and Michelle Giesbers.
As part of the BE KIND CAMPAIGN and to raise awareness of ANTI-BULLYING, on Tuesday 12 November we also held an ODD SOCKS DAY where children wear bright, wacky, odd socks.
IPC Years 3 and 4 (MP2) Reminder: children are learning about different types of materials. We will be using these for our IPC entry point next Tuesday and Wednesday. We still need materials please (not just fabrics). We would appreciate anything like old keys, coins, sea shells, broken costume jewellery, plastics, tree bark, string, rope, cardboard etc. 
Aloha Value Focus this half term – CARE
Personal Goal Target for November -THOUGHTFULNESS
Yours sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I am sure you have heard the story of the chained elephant. It encourages us to be brave and question those unconscious fears that have been with us for years. We sometimes tend to hold on to our negative experiences, stopping us from trying new things. I hope you enjoy reading this short story.
A very playful, curious, and funny child lived in a small town. His parents had a farm and he considered all animals to be his friends. The chickens, ducks, pigs, and cows were his playmates. He spoke to them as if they could understand him. One day, a gigantic circus arrived at their town. This little boy had never seen a circus before. Everybody at school was talking about it. They all said that they were going to go to the circus after school. They wanted to see how they put up the tent and how they set everything up for the big circus.
The child’s parents agreed to take him to the circus. The boy was very excited. He couldn’t sleep on Saturday night knowing that the next day he would see the show that interested him so much. As soon as the sun rose, he got out of bed. Time passed slowly until it was finally time to go.
The boy was so fascinated that, at the end of the show, he decided to go to the back to see the artists with their wonderful animals. He walked with his parents to the back of the circus and he saw that the animals were in cages. The elephant, however, was outdoors. The boy approached the elephant and saw that someone had chained one of its legs to a stake on the ground. The animal wasn’t moving at all.
The boy asked his parents why the circus people had chained the elephant. They replied, “So he doesn’t run away.” “So he doesn’t run away? He could run away if he wanted to!” replied the boy. For the boy, the chain and stake weren’t obstacles for the elephant. The boy then asked his parents, “Why doesn’t he run away then?” His parents shrugged their shoulders and couldn’t give him an answer.
The next day, he asked his science teacher the same question. She gave him a blunt response, “He doesn’t run away because he’s trained”. The child understood that although the animal was quite big now, it was once very small. When it was small, someone tied one of its legs to a chain and a small stake. The boy imagined how much the baby elephant probably fought to release the chain without getting hurt or getting into trouble.
The boy understood that the elephant didn’t realise how big and strong it was when it grew up. The elephant only remembered being a small elephant fighting against a chain and stake that wouldn’t budge. This is why, although it could now free itself, it no longer tried. To the elephant, the memory of that impossibility in the past was stronger than the real possibility of the present.
As Sergio Sinay says: “When attachment has no more reason than habit and there’s no purpose that gives meaning and transcendence, it’s time to let go”.
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
