This week is dedicated to Thanksgiving and to the holiday drive. NHS students will formally kick this off on Monday during assembly and on Thursday morning High School students will go around all classrooms to pick up the donations (toys and food) and will put the boxes together for the donation. This is a great experience and we can’t wait to express our gratitude and support others. Please refer to Director Heide’s letter.

Semester 1 exams
HS Semester 1 Exams start on Friday, December 14th. Here is the schedule.  

Fiestas de Quito
Students have their themes and will have 6 and a half hours to practice for their skits.  They will have auditorium time during the week of November 26th with final presentation for the High School on Tuesday December 4th. 

Thank you,
Fred Bordaguibel 
Rector de Secundaria

We look forward to a week of reflecting on gratitude and giving thanks. The photo attached to this week’s newsletter is of MS students on an art field trip. It is an example of many things for which I am grateful - the wonderful, passionate teachers at AC, the kind students in the MS, the vision we share to make learning experiential, the inclusive community we embrace, and the parents who are there supporting all that we do. Thank you, and have a most enjoyable week.

Counselor’s Corner - Aubrey Jordan
Thank you to so many of you who made it to our Parent Workshop last week on Unpacking Bullying and Being an Upstander. It clearly is an important issue to us all, as seen by the large turnout and lively conversations which arose from the questions we posed. If you were not able to attend, you can find the slideshow here. It includes tips on how to model Upstander language for your children, foster empathy, and engage your children in conversations surrounding bullying. This month in Cougar Time we have been providing the same language and definitions to students, to allow them to see the power they have to stand up for themselves and others. 

I hope to see many of you at the Parent Learning Morning: Current Realities, Current Approaches on November 26th. There is a fabulous lineup of workshops featuring some of our MS faculty!

Holiday Drive Reminder
Here is a summary of what we are asking you to donate. Please choose which situation applies to your family and read the instructions. Your donation is voluntary.

1. Families with one child at IMAGINE or Academia Cotopaxi: Toys: We ask that each Cotopaxi student bring one new toy. The suggested value for the toy is between $15 - $20 value. Each student should bring a toy suitable for a child their age. Please DO NOT gift-wrap any toys since we have an activity to create gift bags. The drop off point for toy donations will be the student’s classroom.
2. Families with more than one child at IMAGINE or Academia Cotopaxi: Holiday Box: We ask that each family of Academia Cotopaxi with more than one sibling provide a holiday box. Here is the checklist of items that make up the holiday box; these are items that comprise a basic meal. Please bring the items in a box and feel free to decorate the outside of the box. Boxes will be available at the division offices if needed. We ask that the oldest member of the family bring the box to their mentor classroom.

Please note that each Academia Cotopaxi/IMAGINE family is not required to bring more than 1 donation; for example, if a family has students in PK and in Grade 8, the family would only need to bring in a holiday box, not the toy AND the holiday box. If you as a family wish to donate more, your generous donation will be well received by those in need.

Dates: Drive runs from Monday, November 19th to Thursday, November 22nd (before 10 am). - Bring your donations to school on these dates.

With kind regards,
Sheryl

Sheryl Gruber
Middle School Principal
sgruber@cotpaxi.k12.ec
(593-2) 382-3270 ext. 2001

"We are responsible for being informed global citizens who understand and affect positive change."
 

This week, we focus on gratitude, ending with a beautiful expression of this sentiment at our annual Thanksgiving Holiday drive and assembly.  I want to strongly encourage you to not only contribute with your donations, but that you consider joining the visits to one or both of the locations.  Zumbahua is located in a beautiful Andean area where life is lived in dramatically different ways than what we experience.  How wonderful for our students to learn about other cultures and ways of life in experiential ways.  Visit will take place on Saturday, December 1.  Families will leave Cotopaxi at 8 a.m.  The second location is the Venezuelan refugee center that is hosted by Nuestros Jovenes.  The visit to this location will take place on Saturday, November 24.  This center does present a challenging social reality that is witnessed in our city.  It is another opportunity for your family to learn about social issues.  Please complete this form if you are interested in attending. 

And then, we have an opportunity in house for you to learn about issues that impact our community of learners.  I hope to see many of you at the November 26 parent learning morning.  

Please stay tuned for an invitation from our Spanish department to engage in learning about our host city.  You have the opportunity to make learning palpable for your children and we want to invite you to engage in representing your appreciation for this amazing city symbolically.  We will exhibit your representations during our Quito celebrations. 

Inquiry Corner
At our PYP Assembly Grade 2 students will showcase their learning on how our actions impact local and global communities.  The presenters are Global Contributors who have found a problem, gathered data, created solutions, and measured their impact at our school.

During this week ask your child what they learned from our Grade 2 Global Contributors.  How will we think of trash in our world from now on?  What actions can we take to make the world a better place in terms of trash?

Thank you Grade 2 for inspiring each of us to become Global Contributors in Principled and Caring ways!

Paola de Pereira
Elementary Principal
 

Dear HS Community,

I wish you all a great week. Busy times ahead of us with Thanksgiving drive coming up, Fiestas de Quito and semester 1 exams. Lot of work and everyone is here is to support our students.
Have a great week everyone.

Grade 10 IB and College Counseling Information Night
Our first International Baccalaureate and College Counseling night will be Monday, November 19th from 6-8pm in the Auditorium. This will be for parents and students and will be about one possible path for students to take as they enter 11th grade. Please let Brian Voeller (bvoeller@cotopaxi.k12.ec) know if you have any questions.  

Concerts this week
We have 2 concerts this week. Our Band and Orchestra Concert on Tuesday night (6-8 pm) and  our Piano and Choir Concert on Thursday night (6-8 pm). We are allow looking forward to those two great events.

SEMESTER 1 Exams
They are scheduled between December 14th and December 19th. Make ups for students that are sick and can’t make the original exam on the 19th and 20th. No early exams will be given.
Exam Schedule is HERE 

Fiestas de Quito
Students have picked their themes and order of presentation for the Fiestas de Quito Assembly on September 13th. 

Grade 10: History
Grade 11: Character
Grade 12: Traditions
Grade 9: Legends

The Assembly is scheduled for December 4th at 1:30 p.m. in the Auditorium. This year, students will have six and a half hours to practice their 10 minute presentation. We can’t wait to see them :-)

QISSA Games
Tuesday, November 13: QISSA Girls JV & Varsity Volleyball - Cotopaxi @ Americano

Fred Bordaguibel
High School Principal

If you need a conversation starter at home, ask your child what s/he is learning about during our Exploratory FLEX sessions. Students had the opportunity to sign up for anything from chess to crochet to movie making, and more! During November students are sampling these activities and developing themselves as lifelong learners.

MS Quito Days
You all should have received an email from your child’s Spanish teacher regarding parent involvement in Quito Days. Please refer to this document to sign up. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s Spanish teacher.

Concerts
We are looking forward to much musical entertainment this week! The Band and Orchestra Concert is on Tuesday, November 13 at 6:00pm and the Piano and Choir Concert is on Thursday, November 15 at 6:00pm. Both shows are open to all AC families!

I look forward to seeing you at one of the events.

With kind regards,
Sheryl

Sheryl Gruber
Middle School Principal
sgruber@cotpaxi.k12.ec
(593-2) 382-3270 ext. 2001

"We are responsible for being informed global citizens who understand and affect positive change."