Special edition: 2015 closing ceremonies

We would like to thank each of the families who formed part of our community this school year, which was full of challenges and new experiences. And another big thank you goes to everyone who contributed with weekly articles and photos for the 2015 editions of our School News.

This end-of-year edition includes all the closing activities of each section. We hope you enjoy your holidays with your families.

See you next year!

Primary Section

By Andrea Yara, Deputy Head of Primary Section

Years 1, 2, & 3

As a way to end this year’s activities in these three levels, our pupils shared with their parents what they have learned throughout the year in their “learning journey”. In each classroom, parents had the chance to listen to their children’s presentations and see what they have done during the last units of work. Our pupils showed great communication, inquiry and teamwork skills during this journey.

On December 1^st Year 1 pupils made their presentation; on December 9^th it was the turn of Year 2, and Year 3 presented their work on December 14.

Primary Section

By Andrea Yara, Deputy Head of Primary Section

Year 4: the end of the first stage

Pupils in Year 4 finished the International Baccalaureate’s PYP with an exhibition. This year, their work was based on a unit of inquiry called “How the world works”, and the central idea was “With great power comes great responsibility.” Each group chose a topic and worked on it starting from three questions which were designed on the basis of PYP concepts. During the inquiry process, the pupils displayed many of the skills and attributes from the Craighouse School pupil profile such as self-management, communication skills, respect, responsibility, effort, risk-takers, etc.

This six-week research work ended with a presentation made by each group to their families and members of the Senior Management Team. At the end of the exhibition, the children’s parents participated assessing their work. To finish the process, the following day the students reflected on their own work and made a self-assessment.

Middle Section

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Senior Section

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Once again, Craighouse School is a certified green school

After having obtained the “green school” certification for the first time back in 2011, this year we have received the same recognition from the National Environmental Certification System for Educational Institutions (SNCAE).

This programme is coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Education, the National Forest Corporation (CONAF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and its objective is to promote the incorporation of environmental variables in schools in three areas: teaching, school management and relationship between the educational community and the environment.

The system awards certification to schools that implement methodologies and/or strategies which are appropriate for their surroundings, and it distinguishes three levels: basic, medium and excellent.

Thanks to the systematic work of Ecocommunity, our school will now be certified for the following four years as a “green school”.

Congratulations to all members of our community for this important recognition.

Craighouse School pupil wins first place in poetry and illustration contest

On Thursday 26^th November the award-giving ceremony for the 2^nd Poetry and Illustration Contest took place, organised by the reading centre of Corporación Cultural de Lo Barnechea, Institute of Humanities of Universidad del Desarrollo and Fundación Mano Amiga.

Literature and illustration were the two categories of this contest, and participants had the chance to write poems and make an illustration for a poem chosen by them from a selection of three Chilean poets.

In the illustration category, Craighouse School pupil Matías Gutiérrez Fried from Year 9 D won first place. Matías made an illustration for a poem on human rights.

Congratulations, Matías, for this important achievement.

Primary Section organises reading competition

On Friday, December 11^th we had our 13^th reading competition in the Primary Section, which has been bilingual for the past three years.A select group of pupils from Years 1 and 2 had to read aloud and were judged for their speed, fluency and pronunciation.Congratulations to all participants.

Robotics pupils take part in regional tournament

By Cristóbal Quijada, Robotics Teacher

On November 28^th, the Lion Tech team from the Robotics extracurricular activity represented Craighouse School in the FIRST LEGO League Santiago 2015 regional tournament, held at Universidad Tecnológica de Chile, INACAP. This competition is known for its sporting spirit and its atmosphere of healthy competition.

The pupils had the chance to present their robot, which they had built as a group, based on an innovative project about the challenge “Trash Trek: Finding ways to use our rubbish”.

The team that represented our school was made up of pupils María José Carrizo (Year 6 G), Vicente Rojas (Year 6 A), Sebastián García (Year 8 B), Nicolás Bluhm (Year 8 B) and Sebastián Jana (Year 8 E).

The Ecocommunity executive committee meetings have ended

With the objective of maintaining the “green school” certification obtained in 2011, this year we created an Ecocommunity executive committee, made up of people from different areas of the community, so as to achieve this objective:

Our Headmaster, Mr Peter Lacey,

Mrs Verene Küpfer, from the Parents’ Association,

Mrs María José Cohen, from CARE,

Ms Josefina Beherán, representing the pupils,

Mrs María Jesús Casado, representing the teachers,

Mrs Heidy Chinchon and Mrs Pamela Dragas, educational assistants,

Mrs María Paz Saumann, from the Formative Area,

Mrs Soledad Valdés, Head of Social Projects and Experiential Learning, and

Ecocommunity coordinators: Mrs María Gigliola Falconi, Mrs Edith Casas and Sachy Bravo.

On Monday, November 30^th we had the final meeting of the year. During 2015 this committee held meetings every two months, where the Ecocommunity coordinators gave a report on what had been done so far, presented projects for the future and discussed new ideas for further improvements.

Under-14 COGS: super champions

By Karla Galán, COBS & COGS Manager

The story of our super champions dates back to the moment when Felipe Tapia takes charge of the under-14 category. In his own words, “it was a bit difficult because we had to overcome the fourth place obtained in the opening tournament and face the closing tournament in good spirits.

And it all came together perfectly. With a very large team, the unconditional support of Tatiana Lührs (delegate of the category) and the commitment of all the players, they began to improve their game and classified for the “long” mini-league.

We began our ascent with a clear objective: going as high as we could, and we got to the end of the closing tournament. The girls played a very tight match and won 1-0, and then moved to the super-finals against Universidad Católica. We played a very good game and won 4-2, after which we were crowned super champions of the national tournament.”

The players made their best effort, they were fully committed to the objective and they gave their all for the club and their team. Congratulations to all of them!

Culture tip:

Christmas concert by the San José de la Sierra choir, presided by Mr Juan Carlos Heymann, Craighouse School old boy.

CAS mission 2015

As is traditional, at the end of the year all pupils in Year 11 join the CAS mission, one of the most important milestones of the IB Diploma Programme. This year the mission took place in four rural schools of the central and southern areas of our country.

CAS allows pupils to strengthen their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience and collaboration.

Between November 30^th and December 4^th the pupils visited Nancagua, in the VI region, where they collaborated with the following schools:

- Year 11 A: Escuela Adriana Lyon F466, with their advisor Mrs Gloria Paredes and accompanying teachers Mr Cristián Guzmán and Mrs Evelyn Zúñiga.

- Year 11 B: Escuela Básica G n° 460, with CAS advisor Mr José Manzanares and teachers Mrs Ximena Navarro and Mr Esteban Calquín.

- Year 11 C: Escuela Ignacio Carrera Pinto G n° 459, with CAS advisor Mr Pablo Astete and teachers Mrs Paulina Saavedra and Mr Lysander Cruz.

- Year 11 D: Escuela Yaquil G N° 464, led by Mrs Lagos, Mr Francisco Hurtado and Mrs Olga Godoy.

Without a doubt, it was an unforgettable experience for all pupils.

Congratulations to the teachers for the outstanding job they did with the 2015 generation of Year 11.

Preschool end-of-year presentations

With the year coming to an end, the Preschool pupils put on a presentation for their parents.

On Wednesday, 25^th November the little ones from Playgroup made their presentation to their parents, and on December 2^nd and 3^rd children from Prekinder and Kinder enchanted their mums and dads with their shows.

Congratulations to the teachers who rehearsed with their pupils and helped the presentations to be a huge success.

Craighouse School community contributes with Ecocommunity

By Sachy Bravo, Ecocommunity Coordinator – Senior Section

Mrs Andrea Rendic, Educational Technology Teacher, together with her Year 5 pupils, realised that the school has very few bins for collecting different types of waste. To solve this problem, they decided to design various resources, considering the users’ needs.

For the Primary Section, they made containers from Tetra Pak packages, and in the Middle Section they built trolleys for carrying paper and containers for bottle taps.

In Senior, CAS pupils with support from Miss Sylvia Lagos designed containers for bottle tops, and together with Mr José Manzanares they designed to areas with plants and flowers for the section.

Father-son evening

By Loreto Urrutia, Psychologist – Formative Area

On Thursday, October 29^th Years 5 and 6 had their father-son evening, where they had a good laugh and shared games and experiences. Each father had the chance to make a deep connection with his son through games, conversation and reflection. There was a moment when they were reminded of how important they are to each other, and they discussed how they see one another, either in the process of growing up or simply being present, where fathers support and encourage their sons in their new challenges, while their relationship changes.

A big thank you to all fathers and sons for their commitment and participation.

Year 1 field trip 2015: Zoológico Metropolitano

By Year 1 teachers of Primary Section

In November, Year 1 pupils went to an unforgettable field trip to Zoológico Metropolitano de Santiago. This was a whole new experience in which children could see different animals and the place where they live. Their natural habitats were recreated, so children could appreciate animals’ behaviour in context and understand the way they interact with their environment.

As teachers, we felt delighted to see that our pupils had the opportunity to learn by visiting the different species at the zoo. Also, they showed important attitudes such as tolerance and respect. They proved to be real risk takers and inquirers who could answer their own questions and experience meaningful learning while having fun and enjoying nature. This was for sure an amazing experience that we will never forget.

“Growing together” day

By Gabriela Sierralta, Psychologist – Formative Area

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth (…).

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness.”

With the poem “On Children” by Khalil Gibran we began the “Growing together” day, for parents and children of Year 8. They had all been invited to a space for getting together, reflection, memories and celebration for the end of this stage and the beginning of a new one.

The activities included games in which everyone participated with a lot of enthusiasm. There were also moments for conversation with other families, where they shared memories of their years in Enseñanza Básica, and we finished with a very intimate and significant family reunion.

The travelling book bag has arrived in Craighouse School

By Katherine Vivar, Inquiry Centre – Primary Section

Among the activities organised by the inquiry centre, we have created the travelling book bag, a new strategy for encouraging reading.

The main objective is to promote reading habits in all members of a family, so that reading becomes a very special time to be together.

We invite you to gather around this book bag, open it and share its contents. With this initiative we expect to contribute to the awareness of the fundamental role of the family in the promotion of reading and to favour the development of reading habits in our pupils.

We hope you can be part of this adventure that has already reached several families in our community.

End of season: COGS big celebration

By Karla Galán, COBS & COGS Manager

The under-19 category worked hard under the supervision of coach Felipe Tapia, whose dream was for the team to be champions of the national tournament – a difficult task, but not an impossible one.

This year he had a group of players who were very motivated to reach their goal: winning first place. They were committed and responsible with the club and with the team.

And win they did, in the friendly opening tournament in a penalty shootout.

For the second semester, Felipe “Pipe” Tapia knew that the hardest task was to keep the players focused on the next objective: winning the national closing tournament and become super champions. In his words:

“We played to championships during the first semester, and we had to reach the finals, but we had to remain humble in order to round off our second semester. Our game grew and we managed to come second in the PWCC ranking, and with a difference of only one goal.

We had our first semi-final against PWCC, where we lost our first chance to reach the final game. But our objective was intact. We had our second chance playing against Manquehue. It was a very tight game, particularly at the end, where the other team had plenty of opportunities. We tied and had to go to penalties. History was on our side since we had won several penalty shootouts in the past. I was confident that we would win, and we did. With that, we managed to reach our first objective of the second semester: get to the finals.”

The under-19 final game also ended in penalty shootouts, which our team won 2-1. It was another title in a big year for our players, both in terms of personal experiences and teamwork. They now say good-bye to a year that gave them four titles: the Club Manquehue Friendly Opening Tournament, the National Opening Tournament, the National Closing Tournament and the Super Championship.

We are very proud of their humbleness and sense of responsibility, and of the respect with which they treated each of their rivals, always playing not only like a team, but more like a group of friends.

All together for the children in Kathmandu

Marianne Pollman, a Craighouse School old girl of the 2007 generation, is taking part together with her cousin in a social service project whose objective is to provide a home, education, clothes, food and health for twenty children who have been rescued from the streets of Kathmandu. Sundarijal Children’s Home is a project that began five years ago with its founder, Ram Hari, and which currently helps children who used to beg for money and food from tourists in the streets (www.s4ch.org).

Today they are building their own house – they currently have to rent a place – so that they can spend their money directly on the children. The house is almost ready with only a few details pending. That is why the website http://microdonaciones.hazloposible.org was created, with more information about the project and how to contribute.

Senior Section pupils choose their new Student Council representatives for 2016

By Sylvia Lagos, Student Council Advisor – Senior

On Wednesday, November 11 the Senior Section organised the elections for the 2016 Student Council. This year only one list was running for the election, which meant that they had to get 50% of the votes plus one in order to be declared winners.

This condition was finally met, and therefore the Student Council for 2016 is made up of the following pupils:

Josefina Beherán, Victoria Van Bavel, Pedro Pablo López, Daniela Benavides, Francisco Hola, Francisca González, Juan Pablo Beherán, Camila Holguín, Martín Henríquez, Edna Petrowitsch, Antonella Cartoni, Antonia Gil and Claudia Raggio. They will all be part of Years 9 to 12 in 2016.

Meeting: “opening and closing cycles”

By Marlen Figueroa, Psychologist – Formative Area

On Wednesday, November 11^th we held a meeting at school with more than sixty Year 12 pupils and their parents, where the idea was for each family to reflect on this stage that is coming to a close. They also had the opportunity to look to the future together, and to think about the contribution that each pupil can make to society in general and to their community.

The participants were very pleased with this meeting, since it allowed a conversation between pupils and their parents on topics which do not normally arise in their everyday lives.

Thank you to everyone who attended for your time and disposition.

Breakfast with Year 12 and Prekinder

On November 11^th pupils in Year 12 visited the youngest of the school in a meeting that took place in the Primary Section. The older students had the chance to meet and spend some time with the children who would later hand them a flower at the traditional Flower Ceremony.

The little ones were delighted to be able to hang out with the older pupils.

End of work practice

By Fernando Stevenson, Learning Educational Teacher – Formative Area

As we told you in previous editions, Daniel Foot, a Year 12 pupil, did his work practice at Hotel Sheraton Santiago from mid-June to early November, where he worked in the administration area, the restaurant and the lobby.

During that time, Daniel proved to be very proactive in the tasks assigned to him, and always willing to help his colleagues, with a showing good social skills with the hotel staff and guests. We are very grateful to the hotel staff for their willingness and support in our pupil’s development and work projections.

Pupils participated in poetry competition

By Denise Aleksander and Ken Mayne, English Teachers of Middle Section

This year for the first time, Craighouse School pupils entered the poetry competition held at St George’s School in October. The competition was very strong and it was a pleasure to listen to the children recite their choice of poems. Our students came well dressed and also well prepared for the competition. I was so pleased with their effort in front of an audience, for which they all received a certificate for their participation.

Although they did not gain a place in the finals, we are very proud of how well they performed and behaved on the day; they were a credit to Craighouse School. Congratulations must also go to the Year 5s who won a word finding competition during the break while the judges made their final decisions.

Well done, Craighouse Middle Section; a great effort for your first poetry recital competition.

Year 5: Sofía Contreras and Catalina Zilleruelo

Year 6: Sofía Messner and Francisco Lueg

Year 8: Valentina Scarabino and Elliot Zepeda

Pupils selected in the school chess national finals

By Carlos Valenzuela, in charge of the chess branch

On November 7 the school chess national finals took place in Colina, with over 150 pupils from all over the country. Craighouse School students Lorenzo Bevilacqua and Vicente Ramírez, both from Year 12, represented our institution with an outstanding participation. After seven rounds they were among the twenty best pupils of the tournament. Some of the students present are the best chess players in Chile, including members of the national team and part of the Chilean ranking.

Congratulations, Lorenzo and Vicente!

Pupils take their first communion

By Ana Luisa Vergara, Catholic Religion Teacher

On Saturday, November 7^th, in a very moving ceremony, one hundred pupils from our school participated in their first communion at Parroquia Madre María de Misericordia. The ceremony was led by reverend Aldo Coda, who referred to the fundamental value of all Catholics: keeping alive the presence of God and of faith, through mass and communion.

This important celebration was beautifully accompanied by the school choir, led by teachers Mrs Marcela Barrios, Mr Andrés Jeraldo and Mr Juan Pablo Del Despósito.

Two generations meet again: learning to ask

By Carola Roa, Inquiry Centre – Primary Section

Last month in the inquiry centre we welcomed Florencia Pinto, a Craighouse School old girl who is currently doing her fifth year of Medicine at Universidad de los Andes. During her visit, she had a very interesting conversation about the muscular and skeletal system with Year 4 pupils.

The children were delighted to listen to her and they were able to put their acquired knowledge into practice, regarding how to conduct an effective interview. After the presentation, each pupil asked questions about the topic and about Florencia’s experience at university, as well as her goals for when she becomes a doctor.

We all enjoyed this meeting. Florencia was extremely happy to return to the school and see her teachers and schoolmates, and the children had the opportunity to learn more about the human body, ask interesting questions and spend time with someone whom they see as a role model.

Craighouse School old girls among the one hundred leading women

On November 25^th the award-giving ceremony for the 100 Leading Women 2015, an event organised by El Mercurio and Mujeres Empresarias.

Among the list of women there were two Craighouse School old girls:

• María de los Ángeles Undurraga of the 2003 generation. She was recognised for her work in foundations. She is currently co-founder of Dale Sentido and Mujeres Moviendo el Mundo.
• Pilar Zabala of the 1989 generation. She was recognised for her work in the business world. She is currently the leader of Holding Pie de Monte, with participation in over forty companies.

Congratulations to both Old Girls.

Culture tip: string quartet

Miss Diana Brown, our dear Music Teacher from Primary, is very pleased to invite all members of our community to a chamber music recital offered by Cuarteto Giros. They will play pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn.

Cuarteto Giros is a string quartet which Miss Diana has been part of since 2007, together with Álvaro Carreño (violin), Valentina Maza (viola) and Violeta Mura (cello).

The recital will take place at Iglesia Luterana El Redentor, in Av. Lota 2330, Providencia, on Wednesday, December 9^th at 7 p.m. Entrance is free with a voluntary donation.