Craighouse School recognises outstanding PSU pupils performance from the 2014 generation
As is tradition, on Friday, March 6th we had a ceremony to recognise pupils of the 2014 generation who achieved high scores in the university-entrance exam, PSU.After the ceremony, the pupils and their parents were invited for coffee with the school heads and heads of department.
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Pupils took part in the Stanford Honors Academy in January
Six Craighouse School pupils participated in the 2nd Stanford Honors Academy organised in Chile by Eduexplora, on January 5th – 16th at Campus Campus Casona de Las Condes of Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello.
They took the following courses:
* Josefa Sánchez Clark: Bioscience/Biotechnology
* Sara Elisa Mandiola Tsang: Creative writing
* María Gracia Gundermann Olate: Creative writing
* Catalina Villa Justiniano: Creative writing
* Laura Emilia Mandiola Tsang: Creative writing
* Tomás Aldana Rameau: Logic & Problem Solving
These courses were run in English by teachers from Stanford University, all of whom hold doctorate degrees. There were also two other courses, Innovation & Creativity and Games Design.
But not only did our pupils enjoy a unique academic experience with cutting-edge topics and interactive, dynamic teaching methodologies; they also had the opportunity to spend time with students who shared similar interests, from twelve other schools in Santiago.
Congratulations to our pupils for their participation. |
Senior Section commemorates International Women’s Day
By Sócrates Aguilera, Head of the Social Studies Department
Craighouse School has been commemorating this day for around ten years, but this is a world-wide tradition of over ninety years in support of equality, justice, peace and gender development.
There have been many different approaches to this celebration. Sometimes the terms “commemoration” and “celebration” have been used, and in this case we can use either, depending on the meaning we wish to convey. It is a commemoration because we remember the tragic event of 1911 when more than 140 immigrant women workers died in a fire in the Triangle factory in New York. But it is also a celebration of all the victories won by women throughout the years.
At Craighouse School this is also a time to reflect on the progress made so far, to demand further changes and to celebrate the courage and determination of women who have played a key role in the history of their countries and communities.
In class, and particularly during the assembly of March 9th, Marisol Barañao and I discussed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic document signed by 189 governments twenty years ago, which set the agenda for materialisation of women’s rights in the world. We accepted the UN Women’s invitation to spread the motto “Empowering women, empowering humanity: Picture it!” and we joined all those people from around the world who also agree with the commemoration of this conference held in 1995.
During the assembly, Macarena Castillo, an Art pupil who is working on the topic of gender showed us some graphic pieces that speak for themselves on the theme of “violence and discrimination against women”. Based on a deep reflection, she made us realise how women tend to be part of this discrimination against themselves when they try to look beautiful by conforming to the beauty standards imposed by today’s society.
The world has seen many changes as a result of intense social demands. Let us not forget that in Chile the first constitution that addresses the social rights of people – both men and women – dates only as far back as 1925. Ten years later women won the right to vote in municipal elections, and in 1949 the right to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections.
Recalling our history and the importance of the Beijing declaration, María Camila Holguín and Matías Spollansky, members of the Student Council, discussed the meaning of March 8th and what the community should do to improve the conditions of women in our society.
It can be fun to satirise how difficult it is to change old-fashioned mentalities of some people who don’t understand what gender equality is, and teachers Catalina Garri and Francisca Yunis did a hilarious job representing that attitude. We all laughed when we saw how backward views still exist, and how some people state that women should stay home, serve their husbands and condemn any manifestation in support of parity in society.!!
We also want to take this opportunity to thank the Year 11 pupils who put on a musical presentation with Silvio Rodríguez’s “Quién fuera” during the assembly.
Voice: Nicolás Mutschler
Guitars: Constanza Pérez, Felipe Bodelón, Tomás Pérez
Keyboard: Nicolás Court
Bass: Nicolás Picó
Drums: Thomas Hockley
Each year, the International Women’s Day acquires a new dimension and becomes a focal point of all activities in support of women’s rights and their participation in the political and economic worlds. We must continue to demand changes and celebrate all acts of courage and decision of ordinary women who have played a major role in the history of their own rights. |
A reflection on women
By Macarena Castillo, pupil of Year 11 B
My general topic is “Violence and discrimination against women”.I did my first research in 2014.
The main idea was to show domestic violence and how women who suffer from it try to hide it. Many people believe that situations like this only happen in poor areas, but the truth is that it is very common in wealthy neighbourhoods. It is not as visible, because upper-class women are afraid of being judged and rejected, and of having to leave behind the comfort to which they have grown accustomed.
Therefore, the kind of woman I depicted in my project is not physically abused but rather a wealthy woman who pretends to lead a perfect life.My work is divided in two. The left side represents what this woman shows to the rest of the world – perfection. The chains around her neck look like necklaces, and from this side nothing would make you suspect that in her private life she is the victim of domestic violence.
To add to this image of perfection I wanted to play with words and made it look like an Italian high fashion magazine called “Moschino”. I also used a magazine cover to show how women are used as objects in advertising. In contrast, the right side shows what society and the people around this woman don’t see: the necklace is actually a chain being pulled by someone from the other side. Her life is not as perfect as it seems; behind everything she pretends to be hides someone who controls her, abuses her and discriminates against her. That is why the word “machismo” appears there. I wanted to depict the person on the right with one hand only, which I painted using grey tones to make that person seem tougher and stronger, but I didn’t want to show the whole person because it’s not the one who has to face everyone else, who has to hide her injuries and her pain; this person lives life with no worries. We often see situations like this but we ignore it or pass judgement on it for different reasons.
Art is a way to represent this type of situation and make other people realise what is going on. Today, when we commemorate International Women’s Day, we must point out that being a victim of abuse, sexism and gender discrimination have nothing to do with the society we live in, and that many women suffer this as part of their everyday lives. Violence and discrimination against women are not only physical, they can also be psychological. This is another aspect I wanted to represent with my work: how women feel psychologically pressured by our society to hide what they are going through. |
Training in the context of diversity and differentiation
By María Paz Saumann, Head of the Formative Area
On February 26th we had a training seminar for all teachers of the school, within the context of diversity in the classroom and how we can support our pupils within the school.
There were two panels, and each teacher chose which to attend in view of their interests and needs.
The panels were the following:
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder:
Contributions from neurology and neuroscience
Speakers:
a) Dr Francisco Aboitiz, biologist from Universidad Católica, PHD in Neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles.
b) Dr Rául Escobar, neurologist with a degree in Paediatric Neurology from Universidad de Chile and University of Texas, in Dallas. Head of the Paediatric Neurology Programme at Universidad Católica and associate professor of Paediatrics and Neurology at UC.
- Anxiety disorders and depression in children and adolescents:
A reality in the classroom
Speakers:
a) Dr Esperanza Habinger, from Universidad Católica, paediatric and adolescent psychiatrist, with a certification programme in Biological and Evolution Bases of Psychiatry at UC. Member of the board of directors at Sociedad Chilena de Trastornos Bipolares, working in the private clinical field of the specialty.
b) Verónica Díaz, clinical psychologist from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, MA in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Dialectics from Universidad de Los Andes. |
Pupil begins professional practice
By María Paz Saumann, Head of the Formative Area
On Wednesday, March 11th, Daniel Foot, Year 12 pupil, began his professional practice outside the school, at Diego Velásquez Hotel in Providencia.
This hotel belongs to Alex Pacci, a Craighouse School parent, who kindly offered Daniel this opportunity so that he could live a unique experience as part of the working world. |
Reflection on our Educational Project: searching for commitment
By María Ignacia Vélez, Head of Human Resources
As a way of doing transversal activities that aim for an alignment of all areas of the school, Human Resources organised a reflection day on the school’s Educational Project. We believe that teachers with a deeper knowledge of this document can understand the beliefs of Craighouse.
With this purpose in mind, on Tuesday, February 24th all teachers and members of the Educational Support Area were invited to reflect on academic and formative issues.
We thus begin the training plan that seeks to help everyone become committed to our school’s philosophy. |
Canadian embassy visits Craighouse School
By María Isabel Sánchez, Head of Communications
On Wednesday, March 11th, we welcomed Mrs Brenda Wills, First Secretary (Commercial) of the Canadian embassy, who accompanied Mr Rodrigo Fuentes, Central Coordinating Principal of the Toronto District School Board.
During this first visit we learned of their interest to connect pupils in Ontario with students from other cultures and languages, and to establish relationships of cooperation and collaboration with schools where diversity and inclusion are key features. In this context, our Educational Project is aligned with educational systems of developed countries, considering not only diversity and inclusion but also differentiation, teaching centred on pupils’ learning, the observation of teaching practices and assessment for learning.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is the largest, most diverse school board in Canada. They serve more than 246,000 students in 595 schools throughout Toronto, as well as over 160 thousand pupils in continuing education programmes for adults. Their mission is to help all students to reach high performance levels and acquire the knowledge, skills and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society.
Source: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/AboutUs.aspx |
Culture tip: “El Hombre de La Mancha”, the musical
Teatro Municipal de Las Condes is currently showing “El Hombre de La Mancha, el musical”. Directed by Jesús Codina and with Álvaro Gómez in the role of Don Quixote Daniel Farías as Sancho Panza and Romina Valdivia as Dulcinea, this 3-hour play (with a 15-minute interval) recreates the most important passages of the classic by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra.
Av. Apoquindo 3300 – Las Condes
www.tmlc.cl |
Reminder: Circulars on SchoolNet
SchoolNet is the platform where parents can find information about their children (marks, annotations, infirmary visits, library loans, tests, etc.). There, you can also access all circulars sent by the school. If for any reason you are not receiving circulars in your e-mail, please check SchoolNet under “Comunicaciones”.
“Ruta Literaria”: where two languages meet
We are very pleased to present Craighouse School’s new literary magazine, founded in 2013 by Senior Section pupils and the Spanish and English Departments.
“Ruta Literaria” is the place where members of our community can read and publish literary and non-literary pieces of writing, such as stories, poems or opinion pieces.
In this second issue, we publish outstanding work produced last year. Please visit http://issuu.com/rliteraria/docs/ruta_literaria.
After a magnificent participation, the Chilean field hockey team, known as the diablitas, lost to Canada in the World League 2, currently being played in Ireland.
In the last match against the Canadian team, the Chilean players coached by Rony Stein (our hockey coordinator) were unable to move forward, and lost in penalty shootouts 5 to 4.
Congratulations to the players, specially to our former pupil, Sofía Filipek.
On Wednesday, April 8th our school will host the traditional Open Day to receive all families who are applying for a place at Craighouse School for Prekinder next year.
As every year, we will receive families who are interested in educating their children at our school. These families value our Educational Project and its values, and share our attributes: family-oriented, caring, respectful of diversity and proactive.
By Cecilia Nestler, academic coordinator – Primary Section
In the context of the connectivity brought about by modern technology, our Prekinder pupils had an amazing opportunity: using Skype, they contacted Babidibu nursery school in Colombia.
The children talked about food and their routines at school. They asked each other questions and sang a song together.
Without a doubt, this is a very important event for our children’s education, since it offers them a different perspective and puts their learning in a global context.
By Carola Roa, librarian – Primary Section inquiry centre
Every morning, between 7.30 and 8 a.m., we invite all pupils to the inquiry centre to play games and take part in quizzes through researching maps and books about different places in the world. This week we are focusing on continents, countries and capitals.
It is a wonderful opportunity for the children to inquire, work in teams and discuss different interesting facts. We hope more children come and enjoy all these activities with us.
Come and join us!
Six Craighouse School pupils participated in the 2nd Stanford Honors Academy organised in Chile by Eduexplora, on January 5th – 16th at Campus Campus Casona de Las Condes of Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello.
They took the following courses:
* Josefa Sánchez Clark: Bioscience/Biotechnology
* Sara Elisa Mandiola Tsang: Creative writing
* María Gracia Gundermann Olate: Creative writing
* Catalina Villa Justiniano: Creative writing
* Laura Emilia Mandiola Tsang: Creative writing
* Tomás Aldana Rameau: Logic & Problem Solving
These courses were run in English by teachers from Stanford University, all of whom hold doctorate degrees. There were also two other courses, Innovation & Creativity and Games Design.
But not only did our pupils enjoy a unique academic experience with cutting-edge topics and interactive, dynamic teaching methodologies; they also had the opportunity to spend time with students who shared similar interests, from twelve other schools in Santiago.
Congratulations to our pupils for their participation.
By Sócrates Aguilera, Head of the Social Studies Department
Craighouse School has been commemorating this day for around ten years, but this is a world-wide tradition of over ninety years in support of equality, justice, peace and gender development.
There have been many different approaches to this celebration. Sometimes the terms “commemoration” and “celebration” have been used, and in this case we can use either, depending on the meaning we wish to convey. It is a commemoration because we remember the tragic event of 1911 when more than 140 immigrant women workers died in a fire in the Triangle factory in New York. But it is also a celebration of all the victories won by women throughout the years.
At Craighouse School this is also a time to reflect on the progress made so far, to demand further changes and to celebrate the courage and determination of women who have played a key role in the history of their countries and communities.
In class, and particularly during the assembly of March 9th, Marisol Barañao and I discussed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic document signed by 189 governments twenty years ago, which set the agenda for materialisation of women’s rights in the world. We accepted the UN Women’s invitation to spread the motto “Empowering women, empowering humanity: Picture it!” and we joined all those people from around the world who also agree with the commemoration of this conference held in 1995.
During the assembly, Macarena Castillo, an Art pupil who is working on the topic of gender showed us some graphic pieces that speak for themselves on the theme of “violence and discrimination against women”. Based on a deep reflection, she made us realise how women tend to be part of this discrimination against themselves when they try to look beautiful by conforming to the beauty standards imposed by today’s society.
The world has seen many changes as a result of intense social demands. Let us not forget that in Chile the first constitution that addresses the social rights of people – both men and women – dates only as far back as 1925. Ten years later women won the right to vote in municipal elections, and in 1949 the right to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections.
Recalling our history and the importance of the Beijing declaration, María Camila Holguín and Matías Spollansky, members of the Student Council, discussed the meaning of March 8th and what the community should do to improve the conditions of women in our society.
It can be fun to satirise how difficult it is to change old-fashioned mentalities of some people who don’t understand what gender equality is, and teachers Catalina Garri and Francisca Yunis did a hilarious job representing that attitude. We all laughed when we saw how backward views still exist, and how some people state that women should stay home, serve their husbands and condemn any manifestation in support of parity in society.!!
We also want to take this opportunity to thank the Year 11 pupils who put on a musical presentation with Silvio Rodríguez’s “Quién fuera” during the assembly.
Voice: Nicolás Mutschler
Guitars: Constanza Pérez, Felipe Bodelón, Tomás Pérez
Keyboard: Nicolás Court
Bass: Nicolás Picó
Drums: Thomas Hockley
Each year, the International Women’s Day acquires a new dimension and becomes a focal point of all activities in support of women’s rights and their participation in the political and economic worlds. We must continue to demand changes and celebrate all acts of courage and decision of ordinary women who have played a major role in the history of their own rights.
By Macarena Castillo, pupil of Year 11 B
My general topic is “Violence and discrimination against women”.I did my first research in 2014.
The main idea was to show domestic violence and how women who suffer from it try to hide it. Many people believe that situations like this only happen in poor areas, but the truth is that it is very common in wealthy neighbourhoods. It is not as visible, because upper-class women are afraid of being judged and rejected, and of having to leave behind the comfort to which they have grown accustomed.
Therefore, the kind of woman I depicted in my project is not physically abused but rather a wealthy woman who pretends to lead a perfect life.My work is divided in two. The left side represents what this woman shows to the rest of the world – perfection. The chains around her neck look like necklaces, and from this side nothing would make you suspect that in her private life she is the victim of domestic violence.
To add to this image of perfection I wanted to play with words and made it look like an Italian high fashion magazine called “Moschino”. I also used a magazine cover to show how women are used as objects in advertising. In contrast, the right side shows what society and the people around this woman don’t see: the necklace is actually a chain being pulled by someone from the other side. Her life is not as perfect as it seems; behind everything she pretends to be hides someone who controls her, abuses her and discriminates against her. That is why the word “machismo” appears there. I wanted to depict the person on the right with one hand only, which I painted using grey tones to make that person seem tougher and stronger, but I didn’t want to show the whole person because it’s not the one who has to face everyone else, who has to hide her injuries and her pain; this person lives life with no worries. We often see situations like this but we ignore it or pass judgement on it for different reasons.
Art is a way to represent this type of situation and make other people realise what is going on. Today, when we commemorate International Women’s Day, we must point out that being a victim of abuse, sexism and gender discrimination have nothing to do with the society we live in, and that many women suffer this as part of their everyday lives. Violence and discrimination against women are not only physical, they can also be psychological. This is another aspect I wanted to represent with my work: how women feel psychologically pressured by our society to hide what they are going through.
On February 26th we had a training seminar for all teachers of the school, within the context of diversity in the classroom and how we can support our pupils within the school.
There were two panels, and each teacher chose which to attend in view of their interests and needs.
The panels were the following:
By María Paz Saumann, Head of the Formative Area
On Wednesday, March 11th, Daniel Foot, Year 12 pupil, began his professional practice outside the school, at Diego Velásquez Hotel in Providencia.
This hotel belongs to Alex Pacci, a Craighouse School parent, who kindly offered Daniel this opportunity so that he could live a unique experience as part of the working world.
By María Ignacia Vélez, Head of Human Resources
As a way of doing transversal activities that aim for an alignment of all areas of the school, Human Resources organised a reflection day on the school’s Educational Project. We believe that teachers with a deeper knowledge of this document can understand the beliefs of Craighouse.
With this purpose in mind, on Tuesday, February 24th all teachers and members of the Educational Support Area were invited to reflect on academic and formative issues.
We thus begin the training plan that seeks to help everyone become committed to our school’s philosophy.
By María Isabel Sánchez, Head of Communications
On Wednesday, March 11th, we welcomed Mrs Brenda Wills, First Secretary (Commercial) of the Canadian embassy, who accompanied Mr Rodrigo Fuentes, Central Coordinating Principal of the Toronto District School Board.
During this first visit we learned of their interest to connect pupils in Ontario with students from other cultures and languages, and to establish relationships of cooperation and collaboration with schools where diversity and inclusion are key features. In this context, our Educational Project is aligned with educational systems of developed countries, considering not only diversity and inclusion but also differentiation, teaching centred on pupils’ learning, the observation of teaching practices and assessment for learning.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is the largest, most diverse school board in Canada. They serve more than 246,000 students in 595 schools throughout Toronto, as well as over 160 thousand pupils in continuing education programmes for adults. Their mission is to help all students to reach high performance levels and acquire the knowledge, skills and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society.
Source: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/AboutUs.aspx
Teatro Municipal de Las Condes is currently showing “El Hombre de La Mancha, el musical”. Directed by Jesús Codina and with Álvaro Gómez in the role of Don Quixote Daniel Farías as Sancho Panza and Romina Valdivia as Dulcinea, this 3-hour play (with a 15-minute interval) recreates the most important passages of the classic by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra.
Av. Apoquindo 3300 – Las Condes
www.tmlc.cl
Summer holidays are now a distant memory, March is here and school has begun. We would like to extend a warm welcome all our families, specially the new families that are joining the Craighouse School community.
This is our third year on the new campus, and we would like to emphasise the invitation to actively participate and to be part of your school: you can make use of the facilities, and at the same time enjoy the surroundings and everything that has an impact in our pupils’ educational development and learning.
Last year we informed the community that in March 2015 our pupils would have new playgrounds, and we are now honouring our commitment. The deadlines set for the work were respected and we were able to receive our pupils with rubber floors, “baby football” and volleyball fields, benches, stadium-type stands, as well as wooden parrones covered with stretched canvas providing big shady areas.
There is one of these playgrounds in each section, and we are sure that they will become some of our pupils’ favourite places.
We firmly believe that as adults we must act as role models for our children. Therefore, we want to remind parents that they must respect all traffic signs inside the campus. The right hand lane going down, in front of the main entrance, is to be used exclusively as a drop-off and pick-up zone. From 7.30 to 8.30 a.m. the south side of the plaza at the end of the main access is to be used exclusively as a traffic lane. Only after 8.30 a.m. can it be used as a parking area.As 8.20 a.m. approaches, there are more cars in circulation; therefore, please use the parking areas below the Primary Section which are open from 7.30 to 10 a.m.
Our community is slowly beginning to take over different areas of the school. We love to see how every morning parents visit the Craig Break coffee shop at the quincho and enjoy a nice cup of coffee while waiting for the rush hour to end.Some of them even use this time to work on their computers, taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi available there.Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday from 8.10 to 10 a.m.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 to 6.30 p.m.
Weekends (depending on scheduled activities).Please note that on Thursday, March 12th and Friday, March 13th the coffee shop will remain closed because there will be a special activity for pupils at the quincho.Thank you for your understanding.
By Dr Mimi Bick
Since 2008, Craighouse School has been accredited as a full IB school, which means that the International Baccalaureate Organisation certifies that we can carry out all three programmes at school.
The International Baccalaureate Organisation is constantly checking the implementation of its programmes in schools. In the case of the PYP (Primary Years Programme), a little over a year ago we had the visit that takes place every five years from IB representatives, who made a detailed observation of the implementation of the PYP programme in the Primary Section. The report they later made included comments, recommendations and issues to be dealt with. During 2014, we made an internal analysis of these issues, which were discussed, decided on and adjusted for the implementation of the programme. Then, it was our turn to send evidence in December 2014.
We are proud to say that we received a reply from the International Baccalaureate Organisation confirming our status as an IB school and declaring their satisfaction with our progress, encouraging us to keep up the good work.
For the MYP (Middle Years Programme) we have scheduled a massive training course for the additional professional development of a large number of teachers in the MYP programme. Teachers from Years 5 to 10 will attend this course, which is organised by the Chilean Association of IB Schools in May 2015.
We are very pleased that our request to the IB to offer workshops in Spanish at Craighouse School this year was well received. After the June and July holidays we will have our teachers attending professional development courses led by professionals specifically trained and assigned by the IBO.
The workshops “Inquiry in the MYP” and “Creation of inclusive classrooms: providing access to all MYP students” are considered official on-site workshops.
For the DP (Diploma Programme), as from March, the academic coordinators have been uploading our pupils’ first internal assessment tasks to the IB platform and sending others via courier to the different examiners in various parts of the world. In other words, our Year 12 pupils (and their teachers) came back from the holidays counting the weeks for their IB-DP exams, which this year will begin on May 4th.
From March to May, these pupils will be investing a lot of effort and study, and we will support them constantly so that they obtain the best results during the May examinations.
On March 3rd the coaches and trainers of the national rugby team announced the official list of players who will take part in the URU Cup 2015 in Montevideo.
In this team, led by coaches Paul Healy and Mark Cross (our Senior sub-section head), we find Craighouse School old boys, current COBS members: Manuel Gurruchaga, Basilio Díaz, Javier Richard, Manuel Díaz, Matías Nordenflycht, Óscar Triviño and Ítalo Zunino.
The “Cóndores” travelled to Uruguay on Saturday, March 7th where they are playing the following matches: on Sunday 8th against Jaguares (4.30 p.m.), On Wednesday 11th against Charrúas XV (6 p.m.) and on Saturday 11th against Pumitas M20 (3 p.m.).
We wish them all great success!