Dear parents,
Firstly, may I thank you once again for the support of your children. I cannot believe we are in October already!
This week some Year 3 pupils came to share their Spanish classwork with me. Harry Blomberg told me that he was “happy, happy, happy” to be in this new school. He was at Swedish school before, he says.
Thank you, Harry!
Our School community
Please welcome Miss Carmen Delgado Guerra, our School Nurse, who joined us in September.
She complements beautifully our caring Aloha community.
María Rodríguez (Year 7) said on Wednesday “I love the new nurse, she is very kind.” Carmen has certainly been kept very busy but it is great that she is here with her professional skills to guide us through this difficult period of time.
Drop-Off
After I boasted last week that the police had congratulated us for the smoothness of our drop-off system, they did make a request yesterday. They would like those parents who pull up at the top entrance, to ensure they do so as near to the kerb as possible so cars can still pass.
Uniform
The children look really smart in the new uniform. Please ensure that you have also purchased the new PE kit, as this is part of our dress code. Also, please remember that, except for PE days, trainers are not to be worn; footwear should be plain black shoes.
We are all aware that long hair is very much in fashion; however this must be tied back, not left loose.
New children
I am spending some time at the moment meeting all new children. They all appear to be happy and settled and have shared with me some funny stories about their previous schools.
Thomas told me that at his previous school in Muscat, Oman, they had 3 swimming pools but there were at least 30 children in a class!
Year 7 Chromebooks
I watched part of a wonderful English lesson this week where Year 7 were engrossed in correcting their marked homework, using their Chromebooks. They looked so mature and so skilled, I thought I had walked into a class of university students! Well done to all our Year 7 pupils who have settled into Secondary school life so well.
Miss Bronagh’s PE class
I felt very energised earlier this week when I walked past Miss Bronagh’s PE class. The children were enjoying every minute of a hip hop warm-up and it reminded me of years ago when I could jump about like them – those were the days!
Have a wonderful, restful, safe weekend
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
In my Monday morning assembly last week I talked to the children about our Aloha value of CARE. I asked them to show they care by asking each other if they are ‘OK’, or by giving an extra ‘wave’ or ‘Air Hi Five’ to all of their class groups. These small gestures have added to our teaching team focus of building the children’s self esteem and positive mindset. We may not be able to assemble together but our community spirit is not lost. Next week we will be focusing upon the Aloha value of HONESTY and distinguishing between facts and opinions when making choices.
Each month we choose one of our 9 Personal Learning Goals and we chose Respectful as the Goal to start the year. Children were asked to demonstrate that by being Respectful we aim to:
- Treat everyone the way we would like to be treated
- Recognise and accept that we are all different
- Be considerate of others’ space and their things
- Share and not waste resources
- Look after our environment
A huge congratulations to everyone for trying hard to demonstrate this but especially those mentioned below who have been awarded their certificate for going ‘above and beyond’ in their year group.
ACM September’s Personal Learning Goal (Blossom) Award for Being Respectful
FS1, > Luca Edwards NSERI
FS2, > Arran Crossland RCEMA
KS1, YEAR 1, > Adhara Abad Carruana MTI
KS1, YEAR 2, > Mina Tobal Agier GLA
KS2, YEAR 3, > Sonya Anakhasyan JCH
KS2, YEAR 4, > Santino Mcavoy ITA
KS2, YEAR 5, > Lea Hazout SJD
KS2, YEAR 6, > Freya Horncastle CST
Don’t forget to log into Google Classroom to watch your child’s class teacher video posted every Friday. It is a window into your child’s learning that we love to share with you. Enjoy!
Thank you once again and I hope that you have a lovely weekend.
Talk Homework – Think of three facts about yourself that you would like to share
Aloha Value – HONESTY
October’s Personal Learning Goal – TO BE ADAPTABLE
Yours sincerely
Kathryn Salmon
Headteacher, Primary
kathryn.salmon@aloha-college.com
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
On my way home on Thursday, Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word by Elton John was playing on the radio. The title of this song made me think. Let me explain why!
The first word I heard when I set foot on British soil was “sorry”. My English, at the time, was awful so I could not quite understand why an apology was used so frequently. At my school in England, my friends would apologise when, for example, it rained or when the food at the canteen was not great. Why would an apology be needed in those cases?
My parents always taught me that an apology was needed when something serious had happened and that the best way one could show remorse was by not repeating the same thing again. British idiosyncrasies slowly kicked in and apologising became second nature to me. It is amazing how one adapts to new contexts. I had a very worried mother at one point when I began saying “sorry” after I sneezed!
The origin of the word can be traced to the Old English sarig meaning distressed, grieved or full of sorrow but nowadays people use the word more casually and in different ways. Many of us go through our days saying “I’m sorry” for the smallest things. We do it , as I explained earlier, when we run into someone, when we forget to give up our seat for the elderly on the bus, when we forget to bring something we had promised our friend.
I am not saying that apologising frequently is necessarily wrong, but I believe that it has to be done consciously and truthfully. Therefore, if we are able to say sorry when it comes to the smallest things, it is essential that we also do it with the people closest to us, the ones we love most and when we have done something that warrants an honest apology.
I would like to finish with a question for you to consider:
If you say sorry but do not mean it, but the person you are apologising to thinks you are genuine, does it still count?
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Francisco Escobar
Headteacher, Secondary
