Dear parents,
This week started with the exciting news of Anatoly Praslov, Year 7, winning the Spanish nationals in karate. He demonstrated some kata moves in my office and, quite honestly, I was scared!
Congratulations, Anatoly, you did Aloha College proud. I look forward one day to seeing you in the Olympics! Thank you for sharing all your knowledge – I learnt so much.
Sisterly love
I am the baby in my family of 3 sisters. My middle sister is the executive Headteacher of 3 Secondary schools and 1 Primary school in the UK. My oldest sister, now retired, was the Business Manager of a large Primary school in the UK. On Saturday afternoons we get together on Google meet and spend at least an hour talking about teaching, learning, children, and education in general. I really enjoy sharing our school’s accomplishments with them and comparing who leads the best school. Of course I am always the winner! I listen and learn – even at my age I am still a learner! We then spend another half hour just laughing about anything!
Another point I am making here is the importance of our family connections. No matter how far away from our families we live, we should keep the communication flowing. Enjoy your families always.
Karol Willmer – Music teacher
Although the end of term has not yet arrived, I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank-you to Mrs Karol Willmer.
Most parents of Secondary pupils will know Karol as our previous Head of Creative Arts Department. She took early retirement in June 2018, planning to enjoy more time with her husband and family. The following academic year, the Music teacher left us in December and, despite all our efforts, we were unable to appoint a suitably-qualified replacement. We therefore asked Karol to come out of retirement and return to teach our children. With all her previous passion she has done just this. She is an amazing teacher, dedicated and committed. I just wanted to thank Karol publicly for her service to our school, as “once again” she will retire at the end of this month to enjoy time with her family, as planned. Thank you, Karol.
We have appointed another excellent Music teacher who will join us in September from a very good school in Dubai.
Road safety
One Primary parent has asked me if I can remind you all of the dangers of dropping off your children on the road. Please be careful, this road gets busy!
I wish you and your families a wonderful weekend.
(There will be no Parent Newsletter next weekend as you will all be enjoying the San Bernabé holiday on Friday 11 June – SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED)
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Your children keep me young!
This week Alejandro Fernandez Gonzalez in Year 2, Miss Kate’s class, demonstrated to me how to sword fence! He recently took part in the San Roque International Fencing Tournament (following strict Covid protocols) and received a certificate of participation and a trophy. Congratulations Alejandro!
Year 6
I have been so proud of our Year 6 pupils who have returned to their classes with gusto following their transition days in the Secondary School. They are so mature and diplomatic and when I ask them if they prefer Primary to Secondary, their answer is always “We are very excited to go to Secondary but we love our Primary School!” Lovely traits to have.
Thoughtfulness
This week Honey Holmes (5SJD) made me two beautiful tasty biscuits which I shared with my friend Susan. A big thank you, Honey, they were delicious!
She was accompanied by her friend, Dina Gzouli, when she brought them to my office.
Children’s Work
Scarlett Zagozdzon from Year 5 in Miss Dickie’s class displayed some excellent Maths work this week – it even challenged Mr Escobar’s mathematical brain!! Miss Dickie is also very proud of Laura Windhagauer and Lana El-Rais’ work as they spent a lot of time at home completing some lovely Maths revision. Well done girls!
Martina Gonzalez, Navia Moreno and Zoe Carbajo from Reception, Miss Janine’s class, have been learning in Spanish about what measures we can take to protect ourselves from the sun’s harmful rays. I am sure they will be telling their mummies and daddies what to do when they go to the beach this summer!
Also in Janine’s class, Cataleya created a house with a sun with a note attached explaining how much she loves her Mum, Dad and brother.
In Miss Emma’s reception class there has been some amazing independent writing, in particular by Manuel Méndez. Well done, Manuel!
Do you remember having one of these as a child? Milo Mason-Browning’s kaleidoscope will bring back memories for lots of us – thank you for sharing your lovely creation with us, Milo.
Early Morning Drop Off
Once again can I remind all parents that if you bring your children to school earlier than 8:40 h you need to stay with them until the gates open. Some children are being left very early without supervision. Like you, we want your children to be as safe as they can be.
Fun Days
As you have been informed or will be soon, we have agreed a special event for each year group. All trips or activities will follow our strict Covid guidelines. The children are very excited and we hope they will have a great time!
Feria Day Celebration – Thursday 10 June
Message from Don Diego:
““Due to our current Covid situation, we are unable to celebrate Feria Day in our traditional Aloha manner. However, as Head of the Primary Spanish Department, I and the whole Spanish team want to create a festive atmosphere to celebrate this special day together with the children. When they arrive at school on Thursday 10 June they will be accompanied by lovely flamenco music and the celebrations will continue throughout the day while continuing to follow our strict protocol. If you wish your child to wear any item of traditional Spanish dress e.g. an Andalusian hat, a fan, flamenco earrings, a sash, a flower, this would be lovely to see! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me”.
I have a lovely red flower to wear in my head!! 🌹
We would like to remind parents that the school will be closed on Friday 11 June.
I hope you have a lovely weekend with your families.
June’s Personal Learning Goal – TO BE REFLECTIVE (THINKER)
Next week’s Aloha Value – HONESTY
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
Gerardo, our lab technician, sent me an email earlier this week with a photo attached. It was a letter written by Albert Camus after winning the nobel prize. Here it is:
Dear Monsieur Germain,
I let the commotion around me these days subside a bit before speaking to you from the bottom of my heart. I have just been given far too great an honour, one I neither sought nor solicited. But when I heard the news, my first thought, after my mother, was of you. Without you, without the affectionate hand you extended to the small poor child that I was, without your teaching and example, none of all this would have happened. I don’t make too much of this sort of honour. But at least it gives me the opportunity to tell you what you have been and still are for me, and to assure you that your efforts, your work, and the generous heart you put into it still live in one of your little schoolboys who, despite the years, has never stopped being your grateful pupil. I embrace you with all my heart.
Albert Camus, 19 November 1957
In this letter, Camus recognised the impact that his former primary school teacher had on him. Isn’t it wonderful? We all feel happy when someone expresses their gratitude to us. Few things are more important in life than showing gratitude!
The term gratitude comes from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. It is an appreciation of what a person receives, be it tangible or intangible. Research shows that gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with feeling happier. It helps people feel more positive, relish good experiences and build strong relationships.
When I think about the things I am grateful for I normally go for the very general things such as my family and friends. I never focus on anything specific. For example, instead of saying ”I am thankful for my job”, I could replace it with “I am thankful for being able to sit here and write this newsletter while I look at some of the photos and students’ art work I have in my office” (this thought has suddenly put a smile on my face!).
I encourage you, your children and our staff to take a gratitude challenge, which consists of writing three things each day for which you are thankful. These should be specific, not general. Let’s see if there are any positive results by the end of the month!
I hope you have a nice weekend and thank you very much for reading my newsletters.
Francisco Escobar
Head of Secondary
