KG & Elementary

KG SECTION FOUND IN DROP DOWN MENU

Message from our Elementary Principal,

Mike Hopaluk

Good Day GAA Families,

While we sure wish our halls and classrooms were filled with students and teachers this week, we appreciate the hared work that families and teachers have done as we were forced into Distance Learning.

Teachers have been tested again this week and with a final ADEK Inspection in the next couple days, we hope to be open again on Wednesday, November 25. Continue to be on the lookout for updates.

Next Wednesday (B Day) and Thursday (A Day), we will celebrate UAE National Day by wearing the colors of the UAE Flag and/or Emirati national clothing. Unfortunately, we will not be able to celebrate as usual on the field, but I am looking forward to seeing how we can honor this wonderful country we all live in.

Finally, please remember that next Thursday, November 25 is a half day, with students being dismissed at 12:00pm. That is a great day to wish any American friends you may have a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’.

Have a pleasant weekend,

Mike Hopaluk

Elementary Principal

email: esprincipal_gaa@gemsedu.com

News from Ms. Tiffany Pulci

PYP Coordinator

What is an IB PYP School? Part 1

Regardless of location, size, or make-up, an IB PYP School strives to develop an internationally-minded person. The mission of the IB is:

To develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people.
To create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To encourage students worldwide to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

In order to create internationally minded people, PYP schools seek to foster learner profile attributes that lead to this mindset. Learning engagements and school activities are designed to promote and foster these traits in students. The learner profile traits are:

Inquirers - I am curious and know how to discover answers to many of my questions. I love to learn.
Thinkers - I use my thinking skills to make good choices and solve problems.
Communicators - I understand and share ideas in more than one language.
Risk-Takers - I try new things, love to explore, and confidently share my experiences.
Knowledgeable - I explore big ideas that are important. I know and can do a lot of things.
Principled - I am fair and honest. I can make good decisions about what is right and wrong for me.
Caring - I am concerned about others people’s needs and feelings. I believe it is important to help others.
Open-Minded - I am comfortable with differences. I welcome and respect other people’s points of view and ways of doing things.
Balanced - To be healthy, it is important for me to balance the needs of my mind and body.
Reflective - I think about and discuss my learning, skills, and products.

You can help out by noticing and naming these traits when you see your child displaying them. When you cook something new for dinner you can say, “We’re going to be risk takers tonight and try something new.” When your child has a conflict you can say, “Let’s be thinkers, how could we solve this problem by using our thinking skills?” The more these traits are named, the more familiar students will become with them.

Also, if you see your child displaying these traits, take a picture! We would love to display them in the school. Send pictures to t.pulci_gaa@gemsedu.com

News from Grade 3F

Mr. Christopher Schulz

Transitioning from grade 2 to grade 3 is a big jump both academically and socially. After all, in grade 3, students are now part of the upper primary school. Students are expected to be more independent, be risk takers, and begin thinking critically about different transdisciplinary themes and how they can take their learning from the classroom and apply it to the “real world.” All of these changes put a lot of pressure on stress on students and teachers. To minimize the impact of these strains on our daily lives, 3F has been practicing a lot of different approaches to combat stress.

3F incorporates five-minute classroom workouts that allow students to lift their mood, combat lethargy, and gives them a chance to refocus their attention. Students also take brain breaks and complete “It is not a…” drawing activities where students take the beginnings of an obvious shape or item, and then think outside the box to draw whatever suits their fancy. This gets them to challenge the status quo, gives them greater perspective, and helps them learn adaptability.

Finally, 3F got together with 3B and Lower Primary Librarian Mrs. Thompson and participated in the Dance for Kindness. After practicing a fun dance and completing various kindness themed activities that raised awareness for the importance of practicing kindness, the two classes met in the gym and followed Mrs. Thompson as she led the students through a fun dance.

Dance for Kindness 2020.mp4

News from Grade 5D

Ms. Heather Clayton

This year, 5th grade is proud to host a full-time distance learning class, 5DL. Together, we have learned to navigate the web and numerous sites to help our learning. Flipgrid! Padlet! Google Classroom! SeeSaw! Zearn! And more! Students have met the challenge of distance learning with enthusiasm.

Each week, students are tasked with completing assignments on Zearn and Achieve3000 and SUPERSTARS are announced. So far, our top Zearn Superstars (based on time spent) have been Fatima T., Saimah, and Abdullah M. For Achieve3000, this changes weekly based on progress. Students also have a full workload of Math, Literacy, and Unit of Inquiry, among other classes, too. 5DLers have been working (and improving!!) on the Approaches to Learning, with a major focus on self management skills in order to get all of their work done to be successful.

But 5DL isn’t all work! We also have fun! So far this year, we have gone on a virtual field trip to Disney World, participated in Kindness Challenges, Dance For Kindness, enjoyed special guests (like Mr. John and Mrs. Kirby!), virtual recess, and special dress days. Coming up soon will be a 5DL Talent Show (via Flipgrid) and a special interview with Mama Clayton so students can ask questions about the type of student Ms. Heather was when she was their age.

News from Grade 1-2 UAE Social Studies

Knowledge is a light and this light can shine anywhere and under any condition.

In UAE Social Studies subject, students learn the lessons online, however, we can say with pride, that they have achieved and still achieving high levels of knowledge and skills. Students in grades 1 and 2 participated in many curricular activities, celebrated virtually the UAE Flag Day and they prepare to celebrate – also virtually next week – the UAE National Day and Commemoration Day.

ال عِ لِ مِ نِو رِ وِ هِذا اِلنِ و رِ يِِ مِ كِ نِ أِ نِ يِ شِ عِ فِي أِ يِ مِكا نِ وِتِ حِ تِ أِ يِ ظِ رِ فِ، وِن حِ نِِ

في مِا دِة اِِلتِ ربي ةِ اِل وِطني ةِ نِِ سِتطي عِ أِِ نِ نِقو لِ بِ كِ لِ فِ خِ رِ أِ نِ اِلتِ لاميذ –ِِِ مِ عِ أِنِ هِ مِِِ

ي تِِ عِ ل مِو نِ اِلما دِة عِ نِ بِ ع دِ ِ قِ دِ حِق قِوا وِما زِالوا يِِ حِ ق قِو نِ مِ سِتِ وِيا تِ عِالية مِ نِِ

ا لِ مِعا رِ فِ وِا لِ مِهارا تِ. لِق دِ قِا مِ اِلتِ لاميذ بِِ اِ لِ مِشا رِك ةِ عِ نِ بِِ عِ دِ بِ اِ لِع دِي دِ مِ نِِِ

الأ نِ شِط ةِ اِِ لِ مِ نِ هِ جِي ةِ وِأ حِيوا اِ لِ مِنا سِبا تِ اِ لِ وِ طِن يِ ةِ كِي وِ مِ اِِ لِعِ ل مِ ، وِه مِ يِ سِتِ عِ دِو نِِِ

لِ لِ مِشا رِك ةِ عِ نِ بِِ عِ دِ أِ يِضا بِ إِ حِيا ءِ يِ وِ مِ اِل شِهي دِ وِا لِي وِ مِ اِل وِ طِن يِ.

Click Here for Pictures and Videos

News from Ms. Jennifer Thompson

PYP Librarian

Grade 1 students are learning about some of the different celebrations and traditions celebrated by people all around the world for their current How We Express Ourselves Unit of Inquiry. In Library class, we wanted to show students that you can celebrate reading, too! Last week, students dressed up as storybook characters for our lesson time. They brought in storybooks to go along with their costumes. During our lesson, we played a collaborative reading celebration game in which students had to discuss story elements of the books they are currently reading with a partner. At the end of the lesson, students took home a reading goody bag. All of the grade 1 students had a wonderful time!

Dear Parents,

Please click on the image for updates about PYP Library Services. Important information about taking books home is included.

Kind Regards,

Your PYP Librarians

Message from K-12 Arabic Studies Director, Ms. Samah Awad

Dear GAA Parents,

As you may already know, 18 December marks UNESCO’s World Arabic Language Day. This important day falls during our schools’ winter break, so we do not have the opportunity to celebrate it fully.

This year, we will be launching a GEMS Reads in Arabic campaign to celebrate this day – by starting the build-up on Wednesday, 18 November, a month ahead of World Arabic Language Day.

During the campaign, all students in our primary schools will be receiving free access to over 700 digital children’s books in Arabic via the platform Little Thinking Minds, in addition to an exclusive 25% discount from Kalimat Group on all Arabic children’s books.

Access to Little thinking Minds- please check the attachment for the steps.

Kalimat Publishing: 25% discount for all GEMS students to use when order from our website https://www.kalimatgroup.ae/en/about_us/

Use the code to avail the discount: GEMS2020

Terms & Conditions:

Code is valid from Nov18 - Dec18
Discount is only valid on physical book purchases (not valid on merchandising items, ebooks and audio books)
Discount code cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts or promotions
Other terms and conditions may apply

Campaign Title: #GEMS_READS_IN_ARABIC #جيمس_تقرأ_بالعربية

Campaign Duration: 18 November 2020 to 18 December 2020

We would like to encourage all of our students to take a part of this campaign to celebrate the World Arabic Language Day, and to help our kids improve their reading skills.

Please be sure to share with us pictures to share it on our social media pages to encourage all of our students to be part of the challenge.

GAA students can effectively use 3asafeer platform during this campaign.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any question or inquiry

Sincerely,

Samah Awad

Director of Arabic studies KG- G12

أولياء الأمور الكرام،

تحيّة طيبة وبعد،

القراءة تبني العقول وتساهم في تطور الأمم والشعوب، كما قد يعلم البعض 18 ديسمبر هو اليوم العالمي للغة العربية بحسب منظمة UNESCO.

وقد أطلقت حملة جيمس تقرأ بالعربية احتفالًا بهذا اليوم ابتداءً من يوم الأربعاء 18 نوفمبر ولمدة شهر.

خلال هذه الحملة، سيحصل طلبة المرحلة الإبتدائية في جميع مدارس جيمس مجّانًا على 700 كتاب رقمي للأطفال من خلال منصة المفكرون الصغار بالإضافة إلى خسم بقيمة 25% على جميع كتب الأطفال باللغة العربية من دار النشر" كلمات".

كيفية استخدام المفكرون الصغار – يرجى الاطّلاع على الملف المرفق للحصول على الخطوات.

دار نشر كلمات:

25% خسم لجميع طلاب جيمس عند شراء الكتب عبر الموقع التالي: https://www.kalimatgroup.ae/en/about_us/

يرجى استخدام الرمز التالي للحصول على الخسم: GEMS2020

الأحكام والشروط:

الرمز صالح من 18 نوفمبر إلى 18 ديسمبر.
الخسم يشمل الكتب المطبوعة فقط (لا يشمل المشتريات الأخرى أو الكتب الإلكترونية أو الكتب المسموعة).
لا يمكن استخدام الرمز بالتزامن مع عرض أو خسم آخر.
تطبق الأحكام والشروط الأخرى.

كما ستتضمن المبادرة قراءة قصص بشكل إلكتروني حصريًّا لطلاب جيمس من قبل مؤلفي كتب أطفال إماراتيين وعرب.

تجدون في ما يلي تفاصيل الحملة ويرجى تشجيع الطلبة وأولياء الأمور على المشاركة باستخدام النشرات المدرسية وقنوات التواصل الاجتماعي، الخ.

عنوان الحملة: #جيمس_تقرأ_بالعربية #GEMS_READS_IN_ARABIC

مدّة الحملة: 18 نوفمبر 2020 إلى 18 ديسمبر 2020

نرجو منكم تشجيع طلابنا على القراءة والمشاركة بحملة جيمس تقرأ بالعربيّة والاطلاع على التّحديات المرفقة الّت يمكن لطلابنا القيام بها ومشاركتنا صورهم لننشر حملة دعم القراءة باللغة العربيّة الّتي تبنتها جيمس.

يستطيع طلاب أكاديمية جيمس تفعيل منصة عصافير خلال مشاركتهم بهذا التّحدّي.

نرجو منكم عدم التّردد في التّواصل معنا في حال وجود أي سؤال أو استفسار

مع تحيات قسم اللغة العربية

مديرة القسم

سماح عوض

GEMS Arabic Reading Challenge_Primary School.pdf

Little Thinking Minds_School Registration & Access_Arabic & English.pdf

Montegrappa English v2.mp4

Write a letter to express what you want to say to a book character! The key to a good letter is not only in the words and tone you use, but also in the penmanship, the choice of paper, and most of all, the feeling it evokes in its recipient!

How to Enter:

On a single side of an A4 sheet of paper, write your letter to one of your favourite characters from a book with your best handwriting.
The word limit is 200.
Entries should be handwritten using a fountain pen or any other type of ink pen, such as a rollerball or ballpoint pen. No other mediums allowed.
Complete all sections of the online entry, attaching your scanned handwritten letter as a PDF.
Entries can be in Arabic or English.
You should submit under the appropriate age category (Primary: Ages 9 -13 and Secondary: Ages 14 – 18), which relates to your age on 22 November 2020.
Participants must be residents of the UAE.
The deadline to submit your letter is 22 November 2020.

Click here for more details!

Enter the competition here.

YEARBOOK 2020-2021

ORDER FORM 2020-21.pdf

We can all agree that this year is very unique and our lives are very different than before.

The 2020/2021 yearbook will have a very personal feel to it and will capture the craziness of this school year.

Due to safety restrictions and considering that number of our students are still on full distance learning, we will not have Stu Williamson take student formal photos at school this year. In case things change, we may schedule the photoshoot for March 2021.

This is where we need our Parents and Students' help:

For KG/Elementary, we ask that parents send a recent picture of their child doing anything they like, eating, playing, exercising... clear face and good lighting.
For MS/HS, we ask that students send us a selfie, that can be funny but appropriate.

Homeroom and advisory teachers will reach out to their students/parents shortly with details. We hope to get the photos before the Winter Break.

Let's make a delicious lemonade out of the lemons, so generously given by 2020!

If you didn't get your copy of Yearbook 2019-2020, it is still available. Contact Ms. Fatma, Parent Relations Executive, at pre_gaa@gemsedu.com for payment details.

WORLD KINDNESS DAY CELEBRATION AT GAA

For the past two years, the upper elementary students have participated in Dance for Kindness. This has been a wonderful event to promote a kindness culture at our school that coincides with World Kindness Day. This year KG and Elementary celebrated on Sunday, November 8 (A day students), and Monday, November 9 (B day students).

Here is the video with highlights:

Dance for Kindness 2020.mp4

November 25-26: KG and Elementary Dress Down Day. Theme: UAE National Day Celebration
November 26: Half-Day. School dismisses at 12. Secondary Dress Down Day. Theme: UAE National Day Celebration
December 1-3: Commemoration Day and National Day: NO SCHOOL
December 10: Half-Day. School dismisses at 12:00.
December 13 - January 2: Winter Break
January 3: School Resumes

VOLKSMARCH!

We would like to invite GAA staff, students, and family to the Grand Mosque this coming Wednesday November 25 for a Wellness Wednesday Volksmarch in order to help promote fellowship, wellness, fitness, and Wildcat pride! It is a nice public track with breathtaking views of the Mosque.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact: