#02 Newsletter The English School - Bogotá

A l u m n i N e w s l e t t e r

December 2023 - February 2024

Dear Alumni of The English School,

Welcome to the second edition of the “Once TES, Always TES” Newsletter

We hope that you have been enjoying a prosperous 2024 so far and that you have stayed up to date and engaged with the many different events and activities that have been occurring at The English School

This edition includes some interesting dives into the past, as well as celebrating the present and looking ahead to the future, including stories from alumni, teachers and an introduction to a new feature called “TES Networking ” , which we hope will have a great impact on building community connections.

As always, we invite you to keep in contact with your TES family so that we can grow together; open to exciting new opportunities but retaining our essence and traditions that make us uniquely “English”

We also want to share with you the March edition of the Rector’s Vlog dedicated to TESMUN, that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and features some of our TES alumni. Click here to watch it.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Newsletter!

Best regards,

Adam Bennett Head of School and Rector

T E S T E S

LEGACY LEGACY

TES LEGACY

YAMILE GALVIS

My time at The English School has been wonderful I have shared with many students who are now great professionals and whom I remember with great affection. I have also learnt a lot from them because, in this profession, you have the joy of being part of a great learning community with whom you share values and experiences, but above all, you get to know valuable human beings who raise the IB community's learning profile very high to the world.

I would especially like to highlight the Class of 2012, with whom I shared six consecutive years as their Year Coordinator, and I wish them all the best.

To those who were passionate about studying chemistry or chemical engineering or medicine and today understand the importance of this subject in their lives. To all the alumni who had the great opportunity to study in this beautiful institution, I wish you all the best and may you remember that The English School was and will be your home

Kind regards to all of you,

Yamile Galvis

T E S T E S

TODAY TODAY

Community Day

ALUMNI ALUMNI

STORIES STORIES

GIANNINA SANTIAGO, CLASS OF 2000, SHARES HER STORY

Thank you for the invitation to share my story as a TES Alumni with the TES Community.

My name is Giannina Santiago Cabarcas. I am a TES Class of 2000 alumni and joined the school as a student in early 1991 to finish Grade 3 after moving from my hometown of Barranquilla to Bogotá I am mum to two extraordinary children – Arianne (10) and Lukas (9) - who, until very recently, were also TES students and who just moved to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where I have been living for the past year and a half because of my work.

After graduating from TES, I studied Finance and International Relations at Externado University in Bogotá, followed by a Master's degree in International Affairs, where I focused primarily on International Law and Conflict Resolution under a joint degree between Externado, Columbia University in New York and Sciences Po in Paris, which somewhat led me to my current line of work. I am an International Negotiator, and I have worked as a Negotiator for Colombia, Latin America and most recently, the presidency in the negotiations of most of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements under the United Nations System, including notably the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement In this context, for the past 18 months, I have been working for the United Arab Emirates’ Presidency of COP28 – the shorthand name for the UN Annual Climate Conference – that finished mid-December in Dubai and for which I served as Senior Negotiations Advisor to the Presidency

I always say that the type of professional that I am was defined by the time at school and not my time at college “ ”

ALUMNI STORIES

When I was at TES, I didn’t think I would end up working in what I do today. Or maybe I did, but certainly, a different version of the story I knew I wanted to see the world, look beyond my own country and work hard for the world and not just for me I was very small but had a wider sense of purpose I wanted to be an astronaut, since I figured it was the only work job that would allow me to “ see the world”! So, all my IGCSE and IB preparations were in HL Sciences and Math paired oddly with courses in Geography, History, Spanish and English Literature Regardless of deciding, in the end, that a career in Engineering wasn’t for me, the intense work of such a demanding set of choices at school left me a legacy that I carry with me today: the world and life aren’t just about one thing; we are not onedimensional The literature lover can be a scientist, just as much as the diplomat can see the beauty in mathematics as much as in music and art.

My greatest memories of TES have to do with the teachers, who saw my potential, supported me through very tough times as I dealt with mental health issues, and taught me the very valuable lesson of truly understanding what the word “extraordinary” means. They taught me that it was OK to be unusual, to stand out in the middle of a crowd, to speak your own voice even if it was dissonant with the rest, to believe it can be done even if it seems impossible, that the only thing that makes something impossible is not to try at all

“Do everything you do with passion and commitment because, in those two things, you find the path to excellence”

Wherever I have gone professionally after school, I have always told people that I went to The English School; I even put it on my CV, and I always say that the type of professional that I am was defined by the time at school and not my time at college TES taught me self-discipline, self-worth, and the value of all types of knowledge, making me a well-rounded individual

Based on my experience, my advice to all the TES graduates is to be humble and aware, aware of all the opportunities life affords you – both the good and the bad – because in all of them, there is something to learn Be grateful, be honest, be kind Do everything you do with passion and commitment because, in those two things, you find the path to excellence.

One of my saddest moments recently was when I had to write a letter informing the school that my children were no longer going to be attending since they were moving to the UAE After serving on the Board of Directors for the Fundación Educativa de Inglaterra for 4 years, I can say that I knew and know the school, but more so how much I love it When I departed as a mother, I wrote: “Thank you for not only making me but my children how we are Wherever we go, we shall always be TES ” That will forever be true I trust that, as you grow away from your TES years, you manage to also grow this love in your hearts.

Photo taken from: Revista Semana

House System

By

Andrea Suárez

The House System has become a tradition at TES for a few decades. I personally had the chance to be part of it through my journey at this incredible school. This system represents unity, team work and a sense of community among students, families and teachers.

The House System has had different names throughout the years, always related to something important or with a special meaning. At first, the houses were named after great civilizations, such as the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas, which represented the power and strength of those ancient civilizations. Based on that, the idea was to empower students and the TES community with the special characteristics of the Mayas, the Aztecs and the Incas.

Later on, and as a way of opening up to other perspectives, the houses were named after the 4 elements, referencing nature and the importance of taking care of each of those elements These also represented different ideals, as students had to understand the power of their element,

its role in nature, but more importantly, that, even though they are different, one element cannot work without the other one Those ideas would be seen as unity and as a sense of community at TES. Another interesting characteristic of this system was that every member of the same family that belonged to TES was part of the same house.

It encouraged students to work together and compete in a safe environment

ALUMNI STORIES

Going back in time, I remember the day when we were assigned the house of which we were meant to be part It was back in 2000 or 2001 when my parents were asked to buy the t-shirt and accessories representing the house where I (and we as a family) belonged At that time, the House System had different names from the ones we have nowadays. They were based on the 4 elements: Water, Air, Earth and Fire; mine was Air It was amazing; it was a whole new concept for us at school, and it was exciting because the first Harry Potter movie was released in the same year or the year before, so for us as students, it was like we were replicating the movie.

I remember there were competitions that would give points to each house For example, the best Halloween costume, the house that earned more points during a Sports Day or academic competition like a spelling bee or a math contest; or the best costumes and parade during “Día del Idioma”. So, although students were competing for their house to win at the end of the school year, it encouraged students to work together and compete in a safe environment, leading to acquiring skills that would be helpful in the future

The uniform was one of the most important elements to show the house where a student was part of In my case, for example, we used to wear a tie, which initially was navy blue with “TES” written in red. However, when the House System was brought back to school, the tie was changed, and instead of being navy blue, it had some stripes with the colour of the house (Air= Grey; Water= Blue; Fire= Red; Earth= Black) Additionally, we had a different t-shirt to wear only during special sports activities or events. Those T-shirts also followed the colours of each house It was a great experience, and I remember it with great joy.

ALUMNI STORIES

Nowadays, the houses have been renamed again, but this time after powerful animals with specific characteristics that are meant to empower students in the different activities at TES. The four houses are Lions (brave, leaders), Unicorns (great ambition, courageous), Dragons (clever, powerful), and Phoenix (hard workers, resilient). Each house is represented by an image of the animal and a colour: yellow for Lions, red for Dragons, blue for Unicorns and black for Phoenix In my time, the uniform had a different tie (to be used with the daily uniform) and a t-shirt (only for special sports events) Today, students wear a specific T-shirt with the colour and image of the house as part of their PE uniform They also have the chance to wear a hoodie with the image of the house with both uniforms.

It is amazing for me to be back at school as a teacher and be part of one of these incredible houses. I am a Lion! And to see how my kid wears his uniform and the colour of his house (also Lions) with great joy and pride This is what houses represent to the school community: They give us a sense of belonging

The House System at TES is a great sample of unity, respect, solidarity, teamwork and a sense of community that every school member carries with pride and joy