BULLETIN No. 33 – 27th of October 2023

 
Upcoming Date

 
General
 
Art Mural
The Art Department would like to invite parents, students and staff to take a look at the two new  Art Mural on display in Early Years to celebrate the biodiversity of Costa Rica. Thank you to Teacher Nidia for the lovely artwork. Photo
 
Yearbook 2023
This year parents have the option of purchasing a printed Yearbook by making an advance payment of 30,000 colones via our shopping cart on our website. For production reasons, the deadline for payment will be Monday 6th of November. Yearbooks will be delivered during graduation week (NB, IB, Year 5 and Early Years 3) and the first week of December (for the rest of the learning community). If you are not interested in purchasing the printed version, the British School will provide the digital version free of charge to the whole community, which will be available for download on during the first week of December. Please click on the following link to order a physical 2023 Yearbook: Yearbook Link
 
2023 Christmas Project
The British School of Costa Rica is happy to announce the traditional Christmas 2023 Project, which aims to help organizations that ensure the well-being of children in vulnerable situations in different parts of the country; some of them you can find out about in our website – Christmas Project 2023 (link below). Over the next week, labels will be distributed with the information of the boys and girls who will benefit from your generous contribution. Gifts will be received during the weeks of November 13 to 24. The goal this year is to collect 670 gifts. Likewise, families who do not wish to collaborate are urged to return the labels to their form teachers so they can be reassigned. We hope that the entire school community joins this beautiful initiative! Christmas Project Website
 
Uniform Expectations 2024
Following on from this week’s Parent Council meetings, we would like to reiterate that the published uniform requirements for 2024 are mandatory for all students.  Any student who attends School in clothing other than those detailed as part of our official school uniform will be subject to consequences as defined in our Discipline Policy.  We are aware that Tonka currently has some supply issues with regard to both official leggings and shorts.  However, we have been reassured by Tonka that they already have the material and are in the process of manufacturing these products.  As a result, parents should be able to purchase these items from the end of November onward.  Please note that Tonka will be closed between Thursday the 21^st of December and Monday the 8^th of January.
 
Parent Council
We would like to express our gratitude to each of our Parent Representatives both for their participation in this week’s Parent Council meetings and also for serving in the role of Parent Representative throughout the year.  Their role in serving as a communication intermediary between the parents and the School’s Administration has been greatly appreciated.  The minutes for this week’s meetings can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Early Years Parent Council – Meeting Minutes
Primary Parent Council – Meeting Minutes
Secondary Parent Council – Meeting Minutes
 
New Campus Update
The project for the new campus continues to move forward.  At the drawing level, they are 50% ready to finalize the   plans designed by the structural engineer. The other plans by the electro-mechanical and architectural engineers are ready and waiting to be presented to the CFIA.
 
Parallel to the progress of the plans, we are processing permits for the Road Study, which we also have to present   to the CFIA.  The street in front of the property is registered as a national road and, for this reason, we are being asked for several additional studies.
 
At this moment we are at the second level of additional studies that have been requested, which are i) a more detailed plan of the drainage of rainwater and slopes and ii) a pavement design study for extensions.
 
Also as part of the Road Study, we need to make several changes to the plans before we can present them to the CFIA. All these changes will prevent us from further delays when it comes to approving the plans.  However, so far every time we define details that an agency requests from us we have to verify them with several other agencies to be sure to meet all the requirements (with Firefighters, SETENA, structural and more).
 
Parallel to this work, we are already looking at the costs of materials, investigating several construction companies in order to advance with other stages such as the financing part and companies that provide services related to construction.
 
Primary
 
House Basketball Finals
This week, the House Basketball finals have been taking place. We have had some very close and exciting games and the students have continued to act in an exemplary manner as they support all the House teams.
 
House Flash Mob Contest
On Monday of next week, we will be having a House Flash Mob dance contest. The students have been rehearsing in their Houses over the past few weeks and we will all see their final performances on Monday. We will post sections of the performances on Class Dojo.
 
Cyberbullying
We would like to ask for parental support to discuss the issue of cyberbullying with your children. Any child that posts a negative comment or image about another child or adult on social media may potentially be accused of cyberbullying.  This is a topic that we, as a School, take extremely seriously and immediately follow up on any reported concerns. Cyberbullying, as a topic, has been discussed at School and it will continue to be reinforced throughout the year.  As a result, any additional support that can be provided from home will also be greatly appreciated.
 
Induction Fair for Year 5 Parents
This week we welcomed Year 5 parents, who had the opportunity to learn a little more about the Secondary School. First parents had a general meeting in which we were able to clarify many doubts and give them some advice on how to face the changes that are coming.  After this our Year 5 parents visited the different secondary classrooms where they were able to talk with teachers in charge of each subject and learn about the different contents and methodologies we use to achieve high quality learning. Parents also had the opportunity to chat with the 2024 Mentors and ask them about their life as students. It was a very beneficial morning for everyone. We thank each of the Year 5 parents who participated in the activity and wish them a year full of success and joy as their children move into the Secondary School.
 
Secondary
 
English Department Creative Writing competition
We would like to congratulate all the students who took the time to write, proofread and submit their entries for this year’s Creative Writing Competition.  We loved seeing their command of the language and the original ideas in all of their writing and we are looking forward to reading next year’s entries.   You can find all their entries in the English Department site.
 
Our winners this year are:

• Year 6-8 category: Sofía Isabel Martínez Munive (Year 7B)
• Year 9-10 category: Andrea Soley Year (Year 10A)
• Year 11-12 category: Ankit Patel (Year 11B)

Honourable mentions were also awarded to: Lucía Madrigal (Year 6B), Nina Brohl (Year 7B), Constanza Donato (Year 7B), Anelena Pino (Year 10C), Andrea Arias (Year 10B) and Renata Quesada (Year 11D).
 
Visual Arts Exhibition
Congratulations to the Year 9 IGCSE Visual Arts group for the wonderful exhibition on display on Secondary School Bridge. The display showcases their excellent Artwork on the theme ‘Amongst the Foliage’. The IGCSE students were encouraged to work independently from direct observation on the theme. They explored a variety of different media and techniques and artists to inspire their final compositions demonstrating their understanding of visual language.  Congratulations to Sally Fung, Marcella Patel, Sofía Travisany, Isabella Maffioli, Mariana Pérez, Melissa Muñoz and Lucía Sáenz.  Photo
 
Year 6 MEP Exams
This week, our Year 6 students are going to present the mandatory MEP national exams.  A separate letter has been sent out by “Google” mass-mailing to Year 6 parents with details of the arrangements made and procedures to be followed.
We wish all our participating students the best of luck but, at the same time, we are confident that their skills and understanding will lead them to great achievement in these examinations.