Dear GAA Families,

I hope that you are all well and enjoyed time with family and friends over the winter break.

As a school community, we had built upon a strong momentum last semester. Students were developing numeracy and literacy skills and engaged in meaningful class projects. It was encouraging to see students as active participants, connecting with teachers in the classroom and also in Athletics and in the Arts. The number of student activities outside the classroom (UAE National Day, Powder Puff games, choir performances, sport competitions, and much more) created excitement and brought us together as a learning community.

I am confident that we will return to the same vibrant and energetic environment soon, but in the meantime, we must remain resilient and optimistic and stay connected through our online platforms. Our school leadership, counselors, student council members are always available should you need any support.

It was not the way we wanted to start 2022, but let’s stay united as a school community and continue to share our learning to develop confident students with the skills and desire to make a positive impact.

I wish all parents and students a Happy New Year, full of creative and meaningful learning, and I look forward to welcoming you back to campus soon.

Warm Regards,

Robert Rinaldo

Head of School

Dear GEMS families,

As 2021 draws to a close, it gives me great pleasure to look back on what has been an eventful, fast-moving and above all successful year for our students, teachers and schools. We should all take great pride in how we have collectively managed the ever-evolving nature of the past 12 months, for we have once more demonstrated our resilience, dynamism, positivity and togetherness.

With support and guidance from our regulators and the UAE authorities, our schools have continued to be lively, engaging and safe centres of learning and discovery, aided by technology and led by our passionate teachers and education leaders. Our students have once again been the standout performers, achieving record-breaking exam results, displaying their inventiveness and imagination at every turn, and demonstrating their boundless capacity and potential. There is no greater reward than to see them flourish.

The UAE’s ‘Year of the 50th’ has also seen us participate in and contribute to landmark events including Expo 2020 Dubai and the country’s Golden Jubilee. Our schools have embraced these as once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for learning and a chance for the young people in our care to have a hand in shaping the future of the nation and the wider world. It has been wonderful to see them contribute their inspired ideas and projects around sustainability, technology, mobility and wellbeing, and to see them make their mark on such a high-profile global stage.

2021 has also seen GEMS launch TMRW, a major new EdTech product and platform that has the power to truly transform the education landscape for the better, opening doors for our students and ensuring no one is left behind. Every GEMS school is already hardwired into the TMRW ecosystem – in fact, many of you will already be familiar with keystone elements such as Phoenix Classroom – and as we further realise the potential of education in its fullest sense, our students will have access to ever greater learning opportunities.

I am also delighted to inform you that we will shortly be launching ‘GEMS For Life’, which delivers fully on our promise for lifelong guardianship of all our students through a suite of services that will support them throughout their lives in many, many different areas. The programme is now being finalised and will be fully launched in 2022, offering another great example of how GEMS Education takes care of our family of past, present and future students in ways that no other organisation can match.

Looking to the year ahead, I am sure you share my hope for a steady continuation of our journey out of the pandemic. As ever, we will place our students and their families first, and my promise to you is that GEMS will continue to deliver the highest quality education for all, ensuring the academic, extra-curricular and personal progress and wellbeing of the bright young generations in our care. We will also continue to listen to you and act on your feedback and suggestions – because we will always be strongest and most successful when we come together.

I wish you a restful winter break and a very happy and prosperous New Year.

God bless,

Sunny Varkey

Founder and Chairman, GEMS Education

This is a gentle reminder for our Community to notify the school in case a student is tested positive. Please email pre_gaa@gemsedu.com to activate school COVID-19 reporting procedure in line with Department of Health and ADEK Guidelines.

If you are child is unwell with symptoms to be able to attend online classes, please notify the divisional secretaries:

• KG & Elementary School: elemsecretary_gaa@gemsedu.com

• Middle and High School: secsecretary_gaa@gemsedu.com

Not only students, but staff at GAA is continuing to do amazing things. Here are some photos of our Faculty members:

Mr. Carlos Cotman, from our Secondary Science Department, and Mrs. Lamitra Cotman, from Arts Department, and their lovely little Jahara climbed Sigiriya, which is an ancient rock fortress located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka! What a climb it must have been!

Sigiriya is one of the most valuable historical monuments of Sri Lanka. Referred by locals as the Eighth Wonder of the World this ancient palace and fortress complex has significant archaeological importance and attracts thousands of tourists every year. It is probably the most visited tourist destination of Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya was designated as a world heritage site in 1982. Sigiriya is famous for it's palace ruins on top of a massive 200 meter high rock surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs and other structures.

The rock itself is a lava plug left over from an ancient long extinct volcano. It is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescoes), which are similar to those found at Ajanta Caves in India. It is generally agreed, however, that the Sigiriya Frescoes exhibit a uniquely Sri Lankan style. Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times.

It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees of the Buddhist Sangha.

Monday - Thursday: 07:30AM - 04:30PM

Fridays: 07:00AM - 01:00PM

As per updated requirements from ADEK, to enter school premises all visitors (including parents), aged 12 years and above, must present:

• Negative PCR test result not older than 48 hours

• COVID-19 Vaccination Records is required for visitors aged 16 years and above.

KG & ELEMENTARY (grades 1-5) STUDENTS

middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) STUDENTS

• January 11: New Family Virtual Welcome with Mr. Rinaldo at 5pm (New families who joined us 2nd semester, please check your inboxes for zoom link)

• January 14: Half-day, classes end at 12pm.

• January 17: expected return to face-to-face learning (subject to Abu Dhabi Government approval)

• January 25: Virtual Counselor Coffee at 10am.

• January 31: Secondary School Report cards sent by email.

• February 4: Elementary School Report cards sent by email.

• February 16: Virtual Junior Night at 5pm.