Dear Parents,
What a lovely day yesterday supporting Sarah Almagro in our charity day. I am proud to announce that, due to your generosity and kindness, we raised € 3,836.10, which will be presented to her next week. Thank you to Miriam, Nacho, Asay and Carlota, and to all those who coordinated a great day.
It is Aloha tradition that in January we ask you the parents to nominate in writing any proposals for a valid recognised charity which we can support later in the year. Please submit your written proposals by email to elizabeth.batchelor@aloha-college.com or in paper format in a sealed envelope to the main office by Friday 22 February. All recommendations will be carefully looked at by a small committee and the chosen one, or indeed two, will be published in March. Thank you in advance for your support on this matter.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
I am absolutely delighted to report to you that the Secondary School Drama Department led by Mr. Fraser Sharp, is busily preparing a performance of the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.
The story depicts the personal growth and development of an orphan nicknamed Pip – I will not tell you more, but invite you to attend on Tuesday 19, Wednesday 20 or Thursday 21 February at 18.00 h, in the Arts and Sports Hall. Tickets (€5) will be available from the administration office. It is a real challenge for our students to perform so please support their hard work and attend one of the evenings. I am so proud of their efforts.
LOVELY END TO MY WEEK
As I visited some of my Primary classes a Reception child asked me what the “strange things” at the bottom of my shoes were. When I looked down I realised he meant my heels. He asked me why I had those and he didn’t. My reply was that it makes me bigger and taller so I can look at all of my 850 children and look after them. He said that they were a good idea and that he would tell his mum he didn’t need them.
I love these inquisitive, challenging, innocent conversations which make me always grateful to have the best job in the world.
Have a lovely weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
It has been a huge pleasure to welcome three students from the University of South Wales into the Primary School this week. Miss Cerys, Mr Morgan and Mr Jonathan are final year students who have achieved their QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) and are here to research professional practice in their chosen subject. This is a first for Aloha Primary and will take place for the next three weeks. Existing staff have embraced the opportunity to share their expertise with newcomers to the profession and discover some of the latest strategies in return.
Miss Kate (Head of Early Years) has been visiting a Primary School in the UK this week also undertaking educational leadership research. Miss Liz (Head of Curriculum and Key Stage 1) will be doing likewise next week at an International School in Belgium. All this research highlights excellent practice that teacher themselves never stop learning whether they are newly qualified or old like me!
The learning opportunities for children outside of school were highlighted this week as both Y5 and Y6 visited Planeta Explora as part of their scientific IPC studies including inertia and nuclear reaction. Maybe one of these pupils has been inspired to work for NASA or become a nuclear scientist.
It was rewarding yesterday to experience the genuine feeling of support for Sarah Almagro Villarejo in our Charity Day. The older pupils especially were able to reflect upon the impact of losing limbs and how fortunate many of us are to be healthy and agile.
It is wonderful to see that the sun has returned and so I wish you a lovely weekend.
Next week’s target: COMMUNICATION
Talk Homework: What is your favourite learning and why? How can you use this outside of school?
Your sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
I recently watched a short film called “The legend of the scarecrow”, which made me think about the meaning of generosity and whether we are born generous or learn to be.
We all know that scarecrows are created by humans to protect the fields from birds. In this short movie we see a different scarecrow, one that wonders why it does not have any friends and why birds fly over its head but do not want to be anywhere near it.
The scarecrow tries its hardest, without success, to get the attention of the birds by providing them with food. One day, a blind crow lands by its feet in need of help and the scarecrow does assist the crow until it is recovered. The short film shows that generosity is embedded within the scarecrow despite being created for a completely different purpose.
On the subject of generosity, I have to boast again about our wonderful students and what they do for others. A group of four Year 12 students (Miriam, Nacho, Carlota and Asay) decided to make a special CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) project, focused on someone really close to our local community. As we all know, Sarah Almagro is going through a very tough moment and needs our help to get better and bring back her normal life as soon as possible.
The students organised a non-uniform day yesterday for the whole College to raise money for Sarah. They have also invited a guest speaker who will talk to some students on 1st February about Sarah’s illness and how it can be prevented. We are all delighted about the response we have had from students, staff and parents on this project.
Generosity, whether innate or acquired, is one of the most important values our children can have. Either way it must stay with us forever.
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
