A New School Year Begins at the LRC

The first week of the new school year has brought a wonderful energy to the Learning Resource Centre (LRC), with students from different year groups returning to explore, discover and connect with new ideas.

Our Year 6 students have already begun borrowing books from the LRC, including both our newest arrivals and titles from our existing collection. Graphic novels have been particularly popular, along with books about sports especially football! It has been exciting to see students exploring the shelves, following their interests and discovering books that spark their curiosity.

For our Year 12 students, this is their final year of school. In a fun reminder of their primary school years, some have arrived carrying backpacks featuring their favourite childhood characters.

At the LRC, we want to support every stage of this journey. Whether students are looking for a novel to enjoy, information for a project, inspiration for an idea or a reliable source for research, we offer a wide range of print and digital resources to support their learning.

From a graphic novel to a research database, every resource can be a starting point for discovery.

Welcome back to the LRC your space to read, explore, question, create and learn.

Design Technology at the LRC: From Ideas to Prototypes

This year, we have introduced a new subject to the curriculum at Academia Británica Cuscatleca: Design Technology. As part of this addition, we have made some changes and created a new learning space on the second floor of the LRC. This larger and more suitable classroom, Design Tech, provides a better environment for our students studying this subject as it allows for specialised spaces and equipment needed for the DP subject. 

We are still working to finish equipping the space with additional furniture and specialised materials and resources, which will further enhance students' learning experiences.

We also continue to offer Design from 6th to 10th grade, and students in 9th and 10th grade do either Product or Digital Design. 

After receiving instructions from their teacher in the new Design Tech classroom, the 10th Grade students moved to the Makerspace in the LRC to learn more about hinges and connections through a rapid prototyping session.

Here is a glimpse of this learning experience, in which our students put their creativity, critical thinking and design skills into practice as they develop and test their own basic cardboard prototypes.

We invite you to watch the video and enjoy the photographs from this activity on Flickr.

10th Grade Project Design — Rapid Prototyping of Hinges and Joints.

10th Grade Digital Design Class

Our Grade 10 students have been getting creative as they design and build their own Smart Pet Feeders. The goal? To use technology to make caring for pets a little easier and more efficient.

From their first sketches to their working prototypes, students have been combining design, coding, electronics, and problem-solving. They’ve been using Tinkercad, 3D printing, laser cutting, micro:bits, and electronic components to turn their ideas into something that actually works.

Along the way, they’ve had to ask themselves some real design questions: What does a pet really need? How can we make feeding reliable? Is our design practical and easy to use? They’ve tested their ideas, solved plenty of problems along the way, and made improvements based on what they discovered.

It’s been great to see them learning by doing, working together, and bringing their ideas to life!

Take a look at the photos below to see them in action.

At the ABC, we continue to create spaces that inspire our students to design, create, experiment and turn their ideas into reality.

Title: Lights, Camera, Action! Stars, Strikes and Satellites at the 2026 Digital Video Awards

 

What do roaring footballs, satellites, and school-produced laser-cut acrylic trophies have in common? They were all part of the incredible universe that was our 16th Annual Digital Video Awards (DVA) last Thursday night! 

The goal was to channel the global excitement of the upcoming FIFA World Cup alongside the awe-inspiring recent achievements in space travel while celebrating excellence in ABC student audio-video work.

The DVA has been celebrating our students' incredible creativity and storytelling through video and audio production for 16 years now, but this year felt especially magical. The energy in the room was electric as we gathered to honour the best primary and secondary video work of the year. 

Big Laughs with Maths and Mr. Keslake

Keeping the energy sky-high all night was our fantastic host, Mr. Keslake—who kicked off the evening in style by sprinting onto the stage as a football sailed by mid-air!

Mr. Keslake, known for his great love of mathematics, made sure it was an incredibly fun and lively night for everyone. He managed to pepper the evening with an infinite number of math jokes, which added a whole new dimension to the night! 

A special night deserves special prizes. This year, we went all out by custom-making our own First Prize Trophies out of sleek, modern, laser-cut acrylic. They looked absolutely stellar under the stage lights! Thank you, Mr. Padilla, for designing and producing them.

The most anticipated recognition of the evening were our headline awards. The Best Director Award—affectionately named the VHS Award—holds a very special place in our hearts. It is named in honour of our brilliant alumnus, Victor Hugo Salazar, an outstanding former student and director who continues to inspire our community. Together with the Movie of the Year, these trophies represent the pinnacle of student filmmaking at our school.

A massive congratulations to all of our incredible nominees and the talented creators who took home a custom trophy this year:

Primary & Middle Years Programme (MYP) Winners

• Best Primary Scratch Animation: Space Race – Arianna Saca, Rebecca Naomi Seraphim, & Thea Isabelle George

• Honourable Mention: Emilia Rodríguez Bravo, Alexandra Victoria Campos, & Tariq Farir Pineda Bukele

• Best MYP Animation: Bullying – Alana Funes, Valeria Saade, & Joseph Amaya

• Best Minecraft Walkthrough Video (8th Grade Design): The Haunted Theme-Park – Felipe Tobar, Mateo Ruíz, Juan Diego Guzmán, & Carlos Rivas

• Best Primary Short Film: Going to the Moon – Arianna Cevallos, Marianna Búcaro, Fernanda Patiño, & Valentina Handal

• Best MYP Short Film: SEEN – Jeanette Mejía, Lucia Borja, Elena Atanacio, Lourdes Zeledón, & Ileana Ramírez

IB Diploma Programme (DP) & Headline Winners

• Best IB DP Documentary: Entre Lo Nuestro y Lo Nuevo – Mia Guevara & José Galo

• Best IB DP Short Film: Dissonance – Juan Ortega, Naima Albarrán, & Alberto Argumedo

• The VHS Best Director Award: Juan Pablo Ortega Munguía

• Movie of the Year 2026: Twisted – James Lin

...and that's a Wrap!

The night concluded with a bang or two, as all of our nominees crowded onto the stage for a giant group photo, surrounded by a sudden cloud of stage smoke and a shower of party poppers. It was the perfect celebration for such a hardworking, elite group.

A massive thank you to the DVA Committee, our incredible organizers, assistants, parents, and everyone who came out to support our student filmmakers. The bar has been set incredibly high for 2027.

Please check out our Flickr album to view all of the fun media from the evening.