Foundation Stage School Updates

FS provision continues to spark the imagination and wonder of the children. The specialist rooms have been further devloped to ensure seamless continuous provision for the young children. Further staff training at the end of half-term has supported some great learning ahead of us in this half-term.

Primary School Updates

We welcome our students to our new 'permanent' locations on the ground floor as we have now allocated specific rooms to all the classes in Key Stage 1 and 2 including a specialist rooms such as Art, Music, Library, Arabic and Islamic rooms as well as core subject provision.

Sibling Collection of Primary students

We have listened to the feedback from Parents and have agreed for Key Stage 2 children (Year 3 - Year 6) to be collected by siblings. A form will be e-mailed to all Parents of Key Stage 2 who have a direct sibling in Secondary. Further ID and a physical signature will be required to enable this collection of Primary students given the safeguarding risk involved.

Secondary School Updates

This week Student council selection will take place. This will help empower students in providing a voice in shaping their student experience at ASCS. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Student enrichment is having a major boost this week. All of this week students from Years 7 to 10 will experience an Expo Live initiative with Project You who have been working with partners from The Executive Office. The Zayed Pioneer Series can be seen below:

In line with the UAE National Agenda Parameter, all students in Dubai are required to take specific benchmark tests prescribed by the KHDA. The UAE National Agenda continues to be one of the most important strategic initiatives introduced by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and ruler of Dubai to steer us to work collectively to improve the quality of education across the country. To attain this, yearly benchmark tests are administered intended to monitor student and school progress towards the Strategic Objectives outlined in the UAE 2021 Vision.

These tests are to be administered at school under formal exam conditions and will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of Students’ potential and progress in key subjects.

Please note that these tests are mandatory and some have associated fees which are to be borne by the parents as indicated in the Parent-School Contract and school fee policy. Exam fees will be applied in the next fee collection.

Cambridge Primary Checkpoint tests skills and knowledge at the end of Years 4–6 of the curriculum for English and Mathematics and Years 3–6 of the curriculum for Science. Each learner receives a statement of achievement and a diagnostic feedback report, giving schools invaluable information and parents extra trust in the feedback they receive.

The test will also help students transition smoothly to the Cambridge Secondary 1 curriculum in Year 7.

Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint Examination is a first step towards preparing for IGCSE classes. Cambridge checkpoint is designed to help students who are beginning courses leading to IGCSE. Students will learn from the checkpoint tests, which parts of the subject they are good at and which part they need to make extra effort in .This information will help them to achieve better results in the future.

The checkpoint examinations in English, Mathematics and Science are scheduled in April, 2020.

GL Assessment Progress Test Series that is designed for use year-on-year, supporting us in identifying current levels of attainment against the national average, and tracking pupils' progress.

The Progress Test Series comprises of:

• Progress Test in English (PTE) - a test of pupils’ technical English skills (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and reading comprehension.

• Progress Test in Maths (PTM) - designed to assess pupils’ mathematical skills and knowledge.

• Progress Test in Science (PTS) - assessment of pupils’ science knowledge.

The assessments are administered to all students from Year 1 to Year 10. These assessments will provide reliable and accurate profiles of individuals, ideal for monitoring progress over time and tracking individual pupil progress.

PISA Based Test for Schools (PBTS)

Following the success of PISA as the world’s largest survey of students that assesses students’ performance in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy the OECD has now introduced the PISA-Based Test for Schools.

PBTS complements the main PISA study by making results more accessible to a wider audience and empowering local educators and schools locally. The relevance of the tool to local educators is its link to PISA's international results, published every 3 years.

The PISA-based Test for Schools is based on the main PISA assessment frameworks, but the assessments are different. Please note that participation in the PISA based test is mandatory for all students in Year 10.

The KHDA views these assessments as extremely important and urges all Schools and Parents to encourage their students to perform to the best of their ability.