Development and Communications

Development & Communications

The Development and Communications Office organised various institutional events in virtual mode with the aim of keeping the community together during the lockdown.

Some important events that bring together our whole community, such as Family Day, could not be held but thanks to the flexibility of some measures it was possible to celebrate our Founders’ Day on the day corresponding to the traditional Church Service, with a very limited participation of authorities and staff, and in full compliance with the protocols. The whole celebration was broadcasted live, highlighting diverse artistic performances of our students (choir, band, extracts from plays and concerts) and the Former Pupil Award was presented. In addition, the school coordinated Founders’ Week, a week of activities organised by the member institutions of CASA, Comunidad Ampliada San Andrés.

Despite the circumstances, the Fund Development area achieved very good results in their fundraising events. All donations from the Campaña Solidaria de Emergencia COVID19 (Emergency Solidarity Campaign) were managed in coordination with RedSA and the Fundación para el Desarrollo Comunitario San Andrés (FDCSA: Foundation for Community Development). In order to provide financial assistance to families, actions were carried out to strengthen the Scholarship Fund through individual monthly donations and funds raised from advertising in The Thistle Yearbook. Our traditional Golf Tournament was replaced by an innovative Solidarity Auction in virtual format and with the special collaboration of former pupils Patrick Wilson’59 and Alejandro Spinelli ’87. It produced record proceeds for this event, surpassing 1,000,000 pesos. We also worked on the organisation of ONE NIGHT@THE RIVER, a special event that took place in drive-in

cinema format where we shared a tour of the artistic activities carried out by our students during the year. A close relationship was held with the Lenders of the Préstamo San Andrés, with updates and different follow-up actions that were carried out to inform the progress of the Campus San Andrés project.

From the Alumni office, various initiatives were launched with the aim of keeping our Alumni community together and in touch with the different school projects. The pandemic restrictions did not allow us to carry out the traditional cohort reunions that are held every year, and instead we coordinated meetings with Class Representatives and meetings with activities led by our alumni: cooking classes, yoga, talks on different topics of interest, among others. Through the San Andrés LIVE programme, we had the opportunity to learn about how and where former students live in different parts of our country and abroad, enriching our community and motivating others to participate. The Alumni Office had special participation in the coordination and management of donations for the above mentioned COVID19 Emergency Solidarity Campaign and in the call for alumni to participate in the series of talks and meetings within the framework of the Life Long Learning Center (see full report of Alumni on page 74).

The Communications area worked on the setting up of the new Handing platform. The entire database was migrated and training on its use was carried out for key users from our staff. As every year, support was provided to all sectors of the school for the management of mass mailings, design of

flyers, communications in networks, etc. In particular, we worked in close collaboration with the academic sectors to improve spaces for dialogue with our families at a time of change and adaptation to new work settings, all of which were of great impact on the entire educational community. The relationship with APESA and Room Parents was intensified at every educational level with the aim of improving and optimising communication with families. Three Parental Surveys were carried out with the purpose of receiving feedback during the remote teaching scenario and after a brief Return to Presence (Vuelta a la Presencialidad: VaP). The results were analysed and shared with families and staff, and were used to introduce adjustments and improvements in the teaching-learning process. Regarding publications, The Thistle and Annual Report yearbooks were produced and all the school’s digital platforms (website, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube) were kept up-to-date and especially active. An Admissions video was made to support and encourage the attraction of new students in a context where we could not coordinate actual visits to our venues. Faced with the needs of posters in response to the biosafety protocols, the design and implementation of the COVID19 signage was carried out and informative videos were filmed to present the lay-out of our facilities when receiving our community in the Return to Presence (VaP).

During 2020, a new logo and branding of the Lifelong Learning Center (LLC) was created to align the Lifelong Learning San Andrés (LLSA) identity with our educational community. The LLSA was created within St. Andrew’s Scots

School as a home for continuous learning. Within the framework of a competency-based school, the LLSA offers a space for all members of the community with the aim of continuing to develop competencies and skills for the 21st century. Motivated and transformed by the COVID19 pandemic and, depending on the needs detected to accompany the changes promoted by the knowledge society, various speakers -some of them, former students- were invited to present on themes related to the six programmatic areas at LLSA: Education & General Knowledge, Community & Parenting, Personal Growth, Workplace & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Music, Sports & Health.

We especially thank all staff, alumni, families, donors and volunteers who accompanied us during this very singular year, where, thanks to the work of all, we continue to strengthen our San Andrés community.

Eliana Mocorrea

Development and Communications Director