Dear parents,
Welcome back after a break from all your children’s devices and I hope what was an enjoyable relaxing time with your families.
Whoever would have believed that Term 3 would start like this; however, we are all safe and well and that’s what’s important. Your children have all completed their first week of our new online programmes in Primary and Secondary, incorporating more live lessons which you were requesting.
Every effort has been made to listen to your ideas; however, professionally we have to ensure that what we are providing and how is in the best interests of all the children and therefore we are aware we may not please every family, I am sorry. Thank you so much for all the positive feedback regarding our efforts and also some very workable suggestions of how we can improve.
One of my brilliant teachers who will remain nameless phoned me in an anxious state this week, because her very small toddler had woken up in his cot screaming during her online lesson and wouldn’t stop. She was alone and the only way to soothe him was to sit him on her lap for the last 10 minutes of her lesson. The young class she was teaching loved the situation but she was extremely anxious that you the parents might not. I know you will be saying as you read this “the teachers are paid” and you are absolutely 100% correct. Anyway, the point of sharing this little story with you is that when parents sometimes say teachers and school don’t understand this situation, we do, because we are all in this together. So those messages of appreciation to my staff are gratefully received and again, I thank you for your kindness.
I have visited a lot of Primary school Google classrooms and have seen how hard your children are working and how well they have adapted to the new situation and technology. They are a marvellous embodiment of more than one Aloha value!
Your children (and you) have submitted some outstanding work. Once again I remind you that we are posting many examples on our school website and social media so please follow us.
KEEP MOVING, ALOHA FAMILY
I hope you are managing to join in your children’s PE lessons or, like me, are trying to take time after work to walk around the garden or pedal on your exercise bike, or unsuccessfully follow some of the Keep Fit video extracts on TV. Someone who is a little older than me, Captain Tom Moore, has become quite a famous figure in the UK. On 6 April at the age of 99 he began to walk lengths of his garden with his walking frame in aid of National Health charities and their works during the pandemic. His goal was to raise £1,000 by his 100th birthday. By 22 April he had raised over £28.2 million for the NHS charities.
Whilst we are not aiming to raise money for charity at the moment, the PE department have used this idea to promote Aloha College families’ fitness programme. Enjoy this video!
So let’s aim to make John o’Groats by the end of May if not before.
An example of the wonderful work of our whole school community – thank you, PE department.
HELP FOR DEBRA
Regarding our charity calendar, we do not propose raising any funds for the rest of this term as we are all well aware that everyone’s financial position has been adversely affected by the current situation.
However, many of you have told me how you have spent some of this time sorting out your wardrobes, tidying cupboards, emptying storage rooms. Please may I remind you that DEBRA, an international charity with a local base which we regularly support, does have charity shops which raise funds for children with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a group of genetic skin conditions that cause the skin to blister and tear at the slightest touch. Those born with EB have skin so fragile they are called ‘butterfly children’ – their skin is quite simply as fragile as the wing of a butterfly. Please, if you have had a clear-out of: clothes (washed), books, shoes, paintings, photo frames, toys, costume jewelry, decorative items, crockery – why not store them until we are all released to travel and take them to the Debra shops in Marbella and San Pedro. This would provide vital funding for the charity. You can find further information about the charity here https://www.pieldemariposa.es/en/
To finish my newsletter I have some wonderful news. Our ex-pupil Ramsey was advised yesterday that he is 100% cancer free. This news came exactly 4 years to the day since he was first diagnosed. For our staff, pupils and parents who know Ramsey, this is a cause of great celebration and we are absolutely thrilled for him, his mum Kay, his father Khalifa and his brother Max.
This weekend you will have an extra day’s rest from schoolwork as Friday is 1 May, Labour Day. Take advantage as there will be no more holiday until the end of the school year!
Have a lovely weekend – keep safe and keep moving!
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to a very different Summer Term as we continue with our Distance Learning. The classrooms may be different but our Values and Personal Goals remain the same. Just as in school we are looking for the following qualities in our children’s learning as they learn through Google Classroom:
Adaptability – Communication – Thoughtfulness – Cooperation
Morality – Resilience – Respect – Enquiry
When these targets were set before the start of the academic year little did we realise that our Primary School focus for May, which is the Aloha Value of Resilience and our Personal Goal of Adaptability, would be so relevant!
Resilience helps children navigate and deal with stressful situations and the COVID 19 lockdown will have had an impact. For the children in their learning this means “having a go” before asking for help, understanding that making mistakes is how we learn.
A good way to help with this at home during lesson time is to reinforce the following with your children “All things are difficult before they are easy” and encourage your child to add “YET” when they say they can’t do something.
I have seen a lot of this already taking place as I have visited a number or Google Classrooms this week. Don’t worry if I haven’t visited your child’s class YET – I soon will!
Weekly overviews and Summer Curriculum Outlines
Yesterday you will have received the Curriculum Weekly Overview for your child for next week (27Apr-1May).
On the Parent Portal you can also access your child’s learning for the next half term (Curriculum Outlines, Summer 1).
Many congratulations to our STARS OF THE WEEK:
NSCCU Viggo Heder, NSERI Alexander Precht
RCEMA Tyler Kemp, RCJST Evgenia Terekhova
1KED Mark Moiseev, 1MTI Theo Brunner-Duhon, 1LHO Carys Davies Isted
2LT Kenzo De León García, 2ARS Leo Apaydin, 2FFO Ana Giulia Sirejacob
3EK Ilya Dekker, 3JCH Max Wu, 3ESE Alfredo Fernández López
4ITA Fred Chamizo, 4ES Nikita Knezovich, 4SJD Nikola Iliev
5MAS Kai Santegoedes, 5ASH Sofia Kalkamanova, 5BWA Polina Pchelkina
6PSM Linnéa Anderson, 6WA Sasha Sergeev, 6CST Sasha O’Hayon Karlov
SPANISH STARS:
Srta Encarnita: Nursery Anthea Abad Carruana, Reception Elvira González Barrio, Y1 Jenna Wahlroos, Y3 Mija Sidorovic, Y2 Roxane Bourasseau
Srta Rosa: Nursery Milo Mason-Browning, Reception Daniel Estéban Roldán, Y1 Alejandro Fernández González, Y2 Noor El Houda Faouzi, Y3 Alek Yankov.
Srta Sylvia: Y4 Vega Reinhard, Y5 Elin Höglund, Y6 Roberta Tye
Srta Antoinette: Y4 Nikita Knezovich, Y5 Sandra Gajos, Y6 Victoria Goryachkina
Srta Ana: Y6 Yannat Essaid Ben-Yaiche, Y5 Mario García Eisele
Don Diego: Y6 Federico Tobal Koner, Y5 Olympia Sundberg Delgado
Don David: Y2 Samuil Iliev, Y3 Andrés Fay Pérez, Y4 Javier Aguilar del Río
Srta Laura: Y2 Kenzo De León García, Y3 Alfredo Fernández López, Y4 Martín de León García
Special PE Awards
Maia Rincón Tian RCJST – Always smiling when doing PE!
Lia Rincón Tian 2LT – Outstanding commitment to all aspects of PE!
Yohan Le Carvennec 5ASH – Outstanding commitment to sports-specific training!
Mrs Salmon’s Special Distance Learning Award
Mija Sidorovic 3ESE – Mija is going above and beyond with her work. She always hands it in, she attends every session and she completes her work to such a high standard. She is clearly taking her work as seriously at home as she does at school. Miss Selmes is very proud of her.
Inter House
Granada 822
Cordoba 728
Sevilla 573
Aloha Value – EFFORT
Personal Goal – COOPERATION
Yours sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I hope that you had a lovely Easter break even though it was very different to what we’re used to. My holidays were good ; I had time to rest, talk to my loved ones, try out new recipes and watch some movies. One movie, in particular, caught my attention. It has made me reflect on a subject that is prominent in all our lives: the freedom of choice.
The experiences and life of Andy, the main character in the film, remind me of the situation that we are in today. In a very short period of time, we have moved from having plenty of choices to very few. To some extent, Andy experiences something similar. From being a successful lawyer with plenty of money and a good position, able to do whatever he wants, he ends up having practically nothing, after being locked up in prison. Has Andy lost his freedom?
Andy is sent to the so-called “Hole” for two weeks, with no distractions. He doesn’t see daylight and cannot talk to anyone. When asked how those two weeks went, he replies happily that it was like being on holiday with Mozart. His inmates ask if he was allowed to take a record player with him, to which he replies: “the music was here” (pointing at his head and his heart).
It is true that we do not choose many things in our lives: they are simply given to us. We do not choose our height, the colour of our hair or our siblings. It also happens to Andy, who despite being innocent, is imprisoned and his life changes overnight. He finds himself in a new situation which he has not chosen.
We are going through something similar to Andy’s. What options do we have in a situation like this?
There is the option of not accepting reality and rebelling. Giving up is also an alternative that, although not as extreme as rebellion, leads us to sadness and despair because we settle for something that we do not want. Personally, I believe that the best option in this situation is to accept reality and embrace it as an opportunity to learn. Andy lived in the outside world and might never have understood his inner freedom if he had not been to prison.
When we don’t have the option to choose is when we have the option to accept. Accepting is choosing what, initially, has not been chosen. Only by accepting reality, we can hope to improve it.
I hope you have a good weekend.
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
