Dear Parents,
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend with your families. Only one more week until half-term! Please continue to send your child on time every day until Friday 26 at 16.00 h!
ECO SCHOOL
As you read this letter, some pupils led by our ECO Committee are busily helping to improve the environment by participating in a Beach Clean at Laguna Village in Estepona. So if you are enjoying a coffee anywhere near this venue, why don’t you collect a bin liner and lend a hand?
Thank you to all our parents and pupils for doing this, you are true ambassadors for Aloha College. Thank you to all the staff in attendance – you do us proud!
SAVE THE CHILDREN CHARITY
Next Friday put on your trainers and shorts and join us in our annual charity run. We ask that all our pupils contribute a minimum of €3 which will be donated to “Save the Children”. Details to follow next week.
The children will be given a drink when the run has finished, thanks to the organisation of the Interact Club, a group of our older pupils who are permanently raising money for charitable causes. Thank you to these pupils.
MEDITERRANEAN CUP
Our older pupils are busily training in football for a very big tournament to be held in Italy in a few weeks’ time. 20 pupils and 2 coaches will be travelling to Verona to display our Aloha talents. Congratulations to all pupils who have been selected. Keep training hard – I look forward to reporting back the results (no pressure!!!)
Thank you to Mr Toal and our new football coach Alejandro Avila for preparing our champions!
DEBRA
On Monday we welcomed 2 representatives to the Primary School assembly, where we presented them with a cheque from the school. Read more in Mrs Salmon’s newsletter.
NEW BABY
Congratulations to Miss Delaire (French teacher, Secondary School) who gave birth to a beautiful baby boy – welcome, Javier, to our world!
SECURITY
Please note for the security of your children the school gates will not be opened until 15.45 in the afternoons. Please do not complain to Fran the guard, he is only carrying out instructions.
BOTTOM CAR PARK
Just another reminder that the bottom car park is for the sole use of Foundation Stage parents.
The flow of traffic would be greatly eased if Foundation Stage parents could drop their children off at 08.50 and leave as soon as they are in class. Thank you – as always, this is for the safety of your children.
Enjoy your weekend, and watch out for those storms!
Yours sincerely,
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I hope that you and your families all enjoyed the long weekend we had due to the Dia de la Hispanidad with your families. Many children have told me that they did remember to read something extra in Spanish as part of my challenge; this is great to hear as we are actively encouraging children to regularly read in both English and Spanish.
I know that many of you are also using family time this weekend to take part in the Beach Clean-up at Laguna Beach in Estepona (weather permitting), I hope that you all have a lovely time taking part in such a worthwhile cause. Judging by the number of volunteers it will probably be the cleanest beach in Spain by Saturday evening. Of course I would have loved to have joined you, but today I am leading a teacher’s leadership training course.
Monday’s assembly was a proud day for our new Primary School Council members as they were awarded their badges. I look forward to hearing their suggestions for ways to improve their school experience when we meet. Congratulations to:
Y2 – Marcos Long Garcia, Alba Shechter, Kayleigh Fuller
Y3 – Olivia Nakpil Bueno, Maddie Verinder, Sofia Davison Violina
Y4 – Mateja Stefanovic, Carlota Hamdallah Recio, Angela Bahut Quevedo
Y5 – Alexa Leader, Matthew Sánchez Valenzuela, Nicolas Cergneux
Y6 – Akezhan Tatishev, Amanda Rosa Olmos, Oliver Alao-Gorman
Please remember that parents are always welcome to join us in our Monday morning assemblies. It is a great opportunity to see children share their learning and be rewarded for their achievements.
Last Monday we were also very proud to present a cheque on behalf of the whole college to Evanina and Charo from DEBRA (https://www.pieldemariposa.es), who work tirelessly to support children and families affected by Epidermolisis Bullosa (Butterfly children).
Next week’s target: THOUGHTFULNESS
Talk Homework: Why does cleaning a beach show that we are thoughtful?
Yours sincerely,
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I was delighted to read this headline in a magazine earlier this week:
‘Whatever the background or heritage, art forms move and inspire us, enrich our lives and teach us what it means to be human’
I have written in previous newsletters about all-round education, particularly about the importance of moving away from focusing only on exam results and also eliminating the misconception that arty subjects are less valuable than science-based ones. Governments all around the world are currently addressing precisely these two issues.
Cultural education plays a vital part in this. Studying arts subjects is a critical part of school life as this has a great effect on a child’s confidence and attitude to learning. Nowadays we are increasingly worried about the wellbeing of teenagers and there is no doubt that art lessons are the place where our children can express their thoughts, feelings, opinions and ideas.
I am proud to say that we, at Aloha College, are ahead in this respect. Our focus is on how children learn and not on producing top grades at the expense of everything else.
I can confidently say that when one develops a love for learning, results will follow.
Yours sincerely,
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
