Dear GAA Families,

This is the last GAAzette edition of the 2022 calendar year. It has been a very busy and successful first semester, full of classroom achievements, sports, arts, and community building activities. We have seen outstanding student effort in the classroom, stage, field, and court. The return of athletic competition, student performances, student-led clubs and a renewal of the GAA Parent Association (GAAPA) sponsored events have brought a revived spirit of unity to campus.

Congratulations to all on your participation and contributions. Upon return from the break, I look forward to continuing our partnership in the good of our students.

Best wishes to the entire GAA community for a safe and peaceful winter break.

Regards,

Robert Rinaldo

Head of School

أَولياء الأمور الكِرام،

تحيّة طيبة وبعد،

اجتمع حكام الإمارات في ٢ من ديسمبر ١٩٧١ ووقعوا اتفاقية لتوحيدها وإنشاء دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة. وفي نفس التاريخ من كل عام يتم احتفال كل من هو مقيم ومواطن وزائر وتعم الفرحة ومشاعر الفخر في نفوس الجميع. وبمناسبةِ الاحتفال باليوم الوطني لدولة الإمارات العربيّة المتحدة، يوم اتّحادها العظيم. يطيبُ لنَا أنْ نرْفَعَ أسمى آياتِ التّهاني والتّبريكات لسموّ رئيس الدّولة الشّيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيَّان ونائِبِه وإخوانِه حُكّام الإمارات.

وبصدد هذه المناسبة احتفلنا في مدرسة أكاديميّة جيمس بهذا اليوم الّذي كرّسه التّاريخ عنوانًا للوحدة والصُّمود، فتزينت مدرستنا بألوان الفرح والسّعادة احتفالاً باليوم الوطني، ورُفعت أعلام الدّولةِ عاليًا ابتهاجًا، كما عَلت أصوات طلابنا الأعزاء تمجيدًا لهذا اليوم العظيم.

نظمت المدرسة حفلاً ضخمًا بمناسبةِ حلولِ الذّكرى الواحد و الخمسين من روح الوحدة لاتحاد دولة الإمارات العربية، وقد تضمن الحفل الكثير من الفعاليّات الّتي قدمها ونظمها طلاب المدرسة في الملعب للتّعبير عن حبهم وانتمائهم لدولة الإمارات العربيّة المُتحدة، بالإضافة إلى الكثير من الأنشطة الّني نُظمت في الملعب الّتي تُبيّن وتَشرح تُراث إماراتنا الحبيبة و تسعى لإحياء الهُويّة الإماراتيّة ونشرها، كالألعاب التّراثيّة،، الرّسم على الوجوه، عروض السيرك والصّقر، الأعمال الحرفيّة، ورش عمل للأطفال، والخيم التّراثيّة ، بالإضافة إلى الاستمتاع بالأغاني التُراثيّة ورقصات اليولا من قبل صقور مدرسة أكاديميّة جيمس الأمريكيّة.

واعتزازًا بتضحياتِ الشّهداء وتعبيرًا حيًّا عن تضامننا مع أُسَرهم، وقفنا على أنغامِ النّشيد الوطنيّ وقفةَ عزٍّ وشموخٍ إجلالاً وإكبارًا لتضحيات الشّهداء.

لعب هذا الاحتفال دورًا فاعلاً في توضيح عادات وتقاليد الشّعب الإماراتي للكثير من الطّلاب وأولياء الأمور، كما استمتع الجميع بارتداء الزّي الإماراتي ورُفع علم الدّولة في أجواءٍ من المرح والسّعادة. كما لا يسعنا إلا أن نتوجه بجزيل الشّكر والعرفان لكل من ساهم معنا في إنجاح هذا الاحتفال العظيم إن كان من خلال تقديم العون والدّعم لنا. وأخصّ بالذّكر هنا أولياء الأمور الكرام وطلابنا وأساتذتنا ومعلماتنا الّذين عملوا معنا يدًا بيد لإنجاح هذا العمل، فبمساهمتكم ودعمكم يتكامل عملنا.

أدام اللّه الأمان والأفراح عامرة في هذه البلاد.

كلُّ عامٍ وأنتِ عروس الكون يا الإمارات.

مع تحيّات مدرسة جيمس الأمريكيّة

نائب مدير المدرسة: سماح عوض

Dear GAA Parents,

UAE is one of the blessed countries that have earned success in a few decades. This shows the determination and hard work of the rulers who dream of it.

H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the man of wisdom behind it, who led this dream to come true. The fact can’t be denied that it was an arid piece of land that transformed into huge buildings with several nationalities living peacefully together.

The national day of UAE is celebrated on the 2nd of December every year. The people of UAE salute the father of the Nation, H. H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, on this day. “Spirit of Union” is the theme followed for several years.

We salute our beloved country as we celebrated the 51st anniversary of the establishment of the union that marked the beginning of a blessed march toward progress and development.

On this day, we remember the founders of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, his companion the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum and their brothers the rulers, who all met on 2nd December 1971, armed with their deep belief in their country and with a deep interest in the people, eventually led the birth of the United Arab Emirates and the onset of the country’s renaissance.

On the 29th of November 2022, GAA celebrated an extraordinary UAE National Day Assembly to commemorate this special occasion. We enjoyed a daylong National Day celebration with assemblies, a heritage fair, a Falcon and magic show, face painting, and lots of traditional foods and workshops!

Thank you to all for making our National Day an incredible community event. We heard many, many positive comments throughout the day from parents, students, teachers, and staff members- all proud and excited about the sense of community and celebration.

We would like to send out a massive Thank you to all of our parents, students, teachers, and staff members who Supported the school and celebrated this special day with us.

We wish you a great winter break!

Best Regards

Assistant principal to Head of school

Samah Awad

GEMS American Academy and the Athletics & Activities Department are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Camps International and Compass International to offer our students the opportunity to travel to exotic locations and share in amazing experiences while also being of service to communities in the areas they visit! Thank you for your feedback and ideas on how we can support the development of the students. Camps International and Compass International are organizations that have worked with schools across Abu Dhabi and the UAE and has already taken quite a few other schools on adventurous, community-driven, and language-based trips. We can’t wait to share with you what we have planned.

Our students will have the chance to travel to such places as:

• Kenya (Grades 6-8),

• Borneo (Grade 9),

• Tanzania (Grade 10),

• Cambodia (Grades 11-12),

• France (Grades 9-12),

• or Spain(Grades 9-12) during the first week of Spring Break, from Saturday, 25 March to Saturday, 1 April.

Please check your emails for more details on registration and payments for each trip. You can also find the registration forms below.

Admin Offices (Accounts, Admissions, Bus) will remain open during Winter Break from Monday to Thursday between 08:00-14:00 and Fridays 08:00-13:00.

All offices will be closed on December 23 and December 30.

• December 12 - January 1: Winter Break (No classes in session)

• January 2: Start of Term 2

• January 3: GAAPA Welcome Parent Coffee @8-10am, Parent Cafe and Used Uniform Sale

• January 7: Grade 12 Cap and Gown Photoshoot (including family pics)

• January 10: GAAPA Parent Coffee for Elementary (PreK-Grade 5) Parents @8-10am, Parent Cafe

• January 11: GAAPA Parent Coffee for Middle School (Grades 6-8) Parents @8-10am, Parent Cafe

• January 12: GAAPA Parent Coffee for High School (Grades 9-12) Parents @8-10am, Parent Cafe

• January 14: Grade 12 Cap and Gown Photoshoot (including family pics)

• January 21: Grade 12 Cap and Gown Photoshoot (including family pics)

• January 26-27: Aladdin Elementary Musical at GAA Auditorium @6-8pm

• January 27: GAAPA Used Uniform Sale

• January 27: Pizza Day by GAAPA

• February 25: International Food Festival