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Message from the Head
Dear Parents and Guardians, I hope you have experienced a wonderful week. On Saturday nearly 90 people including students, members of staff and parents met to begin the climb up La Concha. I am thrilled that the weather cleared to provide an ideal climbing day. The team spent 20 minutes at the summit and safely descended. I would like to congratulate all of the members of the team and specifically mention Marcus Ryser who managed the venture in a dog suit with 25Kg on his back to raise money for the Adana dogs home and also Kate and Mateo from P6 who were the youngest members of the team. Thank you to Mr. Gibson for his time, energy and contribution to our community. We are all eagerly awaiting his next challenge! On Tuesday we hosted the latest session of the Parent Ambassador training. The PAs learnt about the Kindred Project, Boarding, Global Citizenship and IT provision. After half term we will be running a number of sessions on key areas of the school for all parents of the school community, beginning with a session on Connected Learning. I will lead this session and I will be announcing shortly the date and time. We will also run future information sessions on areas such as the Kindred Project and Boarding to allow you to come and find out more! On Wednesday and Thursday we hosted the D2 parents’ meetings. Firstly, I would like to thank all of those parents who attended. Our 3-way triangle between Students, Teachers and Parents is essential to maintain and support our students to produce their very best! The meetings allowed teachers to give verbal feedback on the mock exams, suggest points of action and share development plans. Running in parallel on Wednesday, the D2 theatre students shared their exam pieces with an appreciative audience. Once again the support for this small and intimate event was very much appreciated. Based largely on this audience feedback, the D2 theatre students will begin their final written assessment. I would like to make mention of SIS netball team, who participated in their first ever match on Wednesday and won. Thank you to Miss Jordan and Ms. Davies who have worked hard to get netball into our activities programme. On Thursday we hosted an Apple Lighthouse event. 40 educators from around Andalucia came to SIS to see how we use technology to enhance teaching and learning. I must say it was a first for me, as I introduced the event in Spanish!! Student ambassadors toured our visitors around the school, answering questions and talking about their own learning. Our visitors were blown away not only by our IT provision and use of IT in the classroom, but on the behaviour, confidence and knowledge of our students and student ambassadors.
Traffic continues to be an area of strain for parents. We have applied to the local council to increase the number of parking places available. In the meantime, we would value everyone taking collective responsibility to manage the situation by using all the drop off space available past the entrance to the school, using the turning opportunities at the roundabout after the gate to La Reserva, by not doing U-turns anywhere near the school and not stopping in the middle of the road to collect students. By working together we will make the whole experience better and safer for the whole community.
Finally as the half term approaches, may I remind you of our upcoming music event SOTOROX the CASBAH!!! With 124 performers, next Thursday is shaping up to be an event like no other you will have seen at SIS. Merchandise and tickets will be on sale at the gate all next week. All proceeds go to the Kindred Project. I wish you a peaceful weekend. Kind regards Jak Kearney
  
Whole School News
Día de AndalucíaOn Friday 19th we will be celebrating El Día de Andalucía in our school. Students will be offered a typical Andalucian breakfast and “tapas” for lunch. During the last two periods of the day Secondary students will learn about Andalusian traditions and art, through fun games and workshops. Students should come dressed in white and green or the typical Andalucian costume.
Parents are invited to come and join us in the Theatre at 13:00 to taste some traditional tapas/Spanish cuisine and enjoy some flamenco music. If you require any further information please contact the Spanish department through the following address rruiz@sis.gl La Concha Challenge In total 86 SIS students, parents and staff including our friends from Hogar Betania set off at 10am on our mission to climb La Concha. Over 50 school students participated, the majority of whom were from the San Roque Campus, and they were superb, showing great patience and teamwork through their long journey to the top. Fortunately, as the group arrived at the summit the clouds parted to reveal glorious views over the Istan lakes and back towards Sotogrande. One student who particularly needed a rest was Marcus Ryser (D2) who had climbed the whole mountain in a dog suit, carrying 25 kilos in extra weight! This was all done to raise money for the local Adana Animal centre. A fantastic effort for a fantastic cause. Congratulations everyone on such a memorable experience.
Message from Marcus Ryser I would just like to say a huge Woof-woof thank-you to all my sponsors, as a result of your generosity I have raised X€ for Adana animal welfare charity. A massive congratulations to our SIS netball team for the school’s first ever netball match. A friendly mixed team game with Swans turned in to a wonderful win for Soto with a score of We had one injury to a P6 student, Izzy, with a sprained wrist still went on to say “It was a great experience “.
SotoROX the CASbah
Bella Sträuli Music Theory Classes The Music department is pleased to announce we will be offering group Music Theory classes, starting after half term. Please click on this link for full details of the new classes. Photography Competition for P5 – D2 students This competition & resulting exhibition form part of the Red Red Shoes theatrical experience taking place in April. SIS Career Convention On April 15th we will be holding the fourth SIS Career Convention. This will take place in the Gym with the Secondary student body attending from 2pm to 5pm. Parents will also be invited to attend the event, and there will be an opportunity for parents to present on specific careers, in addition to the stalls for a number of related businesses. If you would like more information please contact jmungles@sis.gl and/or if you wish to participate, please complete this form. FORM LINK Jason Mungles
Did you know? The next open meeting of the PTA is on TUESDAY 16th FEBRUARY at 9am in the Cantina. We will hear about the proposals for school expansion, meet the new Kindred Project team and be updated on other initiatives such as First Aid courses for parents, Parents’ Networking evening and various information sessions being offered by the school. The Teenage Brain  Many thanks to all the parents who attended last Monday’s session with Kelly Lewis-Cole, our school psychologist, talking about what exactly is going on in the adolescent brain, and a special thank you to Kelly for her time and a very informative and reassuring talk! In response to parental requests, we will run the session again in March in the evening. On Tuesday 8th March we will hold the talk in Spanish and on Monday 14th March in English. Both sessions will be at school, start with drinks at 6:30, and the talk will start at 7pm. We hope that this will be the first of many sessions run by Kelly, and we need your input to decide on what topics should be covered.Drop-in Coffee Morning – 17th February Next Thursday, 17th February, we will hold a second Drop-in coffee morning in Pasteleria Okay in Pueblo Nuevo from 9am onwards, with conversation this time in Spanish.
Assist Exclusive for Assist members! New SANITAS Health Coverage
It is now possible to contract through the school two different types of health insurance available to the staff and to the families of SIS. If you are interested in signing up for any of these two policies, please contact Frederic: frederic@assist.guide The Kindred Project News Dear Friends, I have great pleasure in introducing you to the new Kindred Project team members: Jessica Shaw-Roberts, Jamie Templeton and Natasha Gold-Sacker, who along with me and all the students, teachers and parents directly involved in KP, will work on making our new Strategic Plan for 2016-2019 a reality. Jessica has worked as a midwife in Manchester, Natasha has been a parent at SIS for over 12 years, and Jamie has worked in renowned British media. Their enthusiasm and experience will be a huge contribution to our day-to-day work. Please join me in giving them a warm welcome as KP members. You can keep up to date with our activities by following us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheKindredProject/
Kind regards, Valentina Stirling. Ecuador 2016 Expedition The Kindred Project is delighted to announce the launch of this year’s Expedition to Ecuador! We are very excited with this new venture we have embarked on and are really looking forward to seeing our students in action! The Expedition is open to 14 students from M4 to D2. For more details or to request the Expedition brochure please contact Valentina Stirling on info@thekindredproject.gl
P3 have enjoyed Two Experiential Trips in Two WeeksThe impact of experiential trips cannot be underestimated! On Tuesday P3 were out of school again. This time they visited Tarifa town, island and beach to deepen their understanding and make the connections between physical geography and settlements. Whilst in Tarifa they were able to use the mapping skills that they had learnt during their previous unit to navigate their way around the town. By the end of the trek they ended up standing at the most southerly point in Europe. To end the great day they enjoyed a picnic and playing on the beach.
 Internal Football TournamentThe students from P3 to P6 would like to invite all parents to the 2016 Primary Internal Football Tournament on Wednesday 17th of February for P3 & P4 and Thursday 18th of February for P5 & P6 from 9.30 am to 12.00 pm at El Río polo fields, Sotogrande.
We are delighted to announce that deVere finance, who sponsored our successful U11 Italy Champions, have agreed to support this internal house competition. During the event they will be providing a Cava Brunch and the opportunity to discuss possible financial investment solutions through their expert and individually tailored services. Please join us for a glass of cava, whilst you watch your child perform and enjoy sport in a friendly atmosphere with our football partners deVere finance. Link to find directions to Santa María Polo Club, El Río, Sotogrande: Film, popcorn and Spanish! Dear parents, on February 19th primary P3-P6 students, will have the opportunity to practise Spanish in a very different environment, away from school. We have organised a film session in Los Barrios, to be followed by a great hamburger meal with friends in Burger King. If you would like to reserve place for your child, please email saviles@sis.gl or ijimenez@sis.gl. Places are limited! Printing Workshop
Margaret O’Farrell introduces printing processes to primary staff. The aim of this session was to facilitate access to our expanding art room facilities by art teachers at primary level. The introduction focused on how print techniques can be tailored for primary needs and also gave teachers a chance to expand their own creative processes. Basketball Congratulations to the SIS Basketball players who represented the school so well at a recent tournament held at Swans International School. Many thanks for the coaching expertise and help from Ben Walton & Pedro Marín. Guido Castro excelled as a tournament referee. Well done everyone and many thanks to Swans International School. UKMT Challenge Last week, on Thursday the 4th of February, 20 students from M4 and M5 participated in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust Intermediate Challenge competition. Congratulations to all participants for their willingness to represent our school. Well done! Big Thinkers M1 students have been given a task…to outsmart their nemesis in the “Big Thinkers” Balloon Debate. At 2:00pm on Wednesday February 17th, 8 students will battle to the bitter end in the final of the 2016 Big Thinker.
Since Christmas, M1 students have been studying and practising a range of persuasive tricks and techniques as a way of staying safe in the balloon. They have researched, planned, written and edited their ideas to produce powerful words of wisdom. At the beginning there were 50 Big Thinkers. On Wednesday the 17th there will only be 8…the finalists, who will compete in the theatre. Come and see who will be the winner of the 2016 Big Thinker Nemesis Challenge. Arts News Serena and Molly Thank you to everyone who came to support the D2 Collaborative Project performances of ‘Serena’ and ‘Molly’ on Wednesday 10th of February.
Red Red Shoes Rehearsals for Red Red Shoes have been underway since October, however we would like to take this opportunity to recognise our 30+ cast of incredibly talented and committed M1-D1 students. It is a joy working with you all on this challenging, extremely relevant and inspiring production. Not so long to go now and it’s really beginning to take shape. Watch this space for a show opportunity that no one is going to want to miss!!
M4 Individuals and Societies guest speaker – “Countries where women are dying to have a baby.” Last Monday, we were fortunate to have Jess Shaw Roberts come into a humanities class to discuss disparities in global health care with a focus on maternal and infant mortality. During the discussion Jess made geographical comparisons between maternal mortality in the developed and developing world and the main reasons for this. Jess is an experienced and passionate midwife and she fascinated the students with her examples and knowledge, for example did you know that 1 in 12 women in Chad will die in pregnancy or childbirth? It was clear that many of the complications that arise during pregnancy and birth should be preventable, often with quite simple methods. Sadly, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa lack the infrastructure, resources and training to deal with these issues. Some of the reasons for high maternal mortality are obvious and include poverty, poor sanitation and access but there are also many other factors that were more surprising to learn about such as life style choices, cultural traits and gender inequalities. It was a fascinating discussion and will greatly support the students in an upcoming simulation on working for UNICEF in Niger and trying to develop effective strategies to combat these issues
Boarding House News Boarding House News The boarders’ incredibly busy weekend started early; on Friday, we had the very grand opening of the new weekly ‘Boarder’s Bakery’ activity. Cupcakes were made, decorated and eaten by all… utterly delicious! On Saturday, it was an early start as the boarders made up over a quarter of the participants for the La Concha Challenge. All had a thoroughly inspiring and exhausting day but there was little time to rest, as on Sunday there were more activities to participate in…
First up was a trip to El Rio to play football. If you are interested in joining the boarders for a kick around each Sunday, do send an email to boarding@sis.gl for timings. After football, there was a cinema trip and meal in Puerto Banus. The Boarders LOVED the film, The Revenant, though a few did think it was too long! |
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