Good afternoon MS Parents,

We are finally back in the building for those who are choosing to attend. We are social distancing, washing our hands, but most importantly, we are learning in person. I am not sure who is happier, the students or the teachers.

With this, if your child is designated to attend on “A day” or “B day”, we expect them to attend school on that day. There is not an option to “stay home” on the day they are supposed to attend school. I will be sending out an email to all the “A Day” families, as well as the “B day” families, and if you want to designate to continue distance learning, please email me and let me know so are group lists are accurate.

Also, we ask that if your child is 12 years old or older, to please get tested on the days share by our PRE Ms. Fatma Chabanova. If a child’s testing date is off by a day or two it can impact if they are allowed on campus or not, and we may need you to come pick up your child.

We thank you for your support and look forward to discussing your child’s progress at our Parent Teacher conferences.

Scott Macdonald

Middle School Vice-Principal

Greeting GAA Family,

It is a pleasure to see so many of our students back on campus! I hope that you had productive conferences with your teachers this week. This round of conferences is especially helpful in determining student progress going into the last term. Carefully consider the feedback that has been received and use it to set goals for the rest of the school year.

Our next area of focus is to make sure all students are attending classes in the appropriate school uniform. The aim of our uniform is for students to present a neat, work-like appearance at all times and to take pride in being members of GEMS American Academy. In accordance with ADEK policy, the school’s uniform is compulsory and should reflect the school’s commitment to honor UAE traditions, culture and religion. The Secondary Administration may require a student to return home for the purpose of changing clothing if they are out of compliance with the dress code.

Course Selection

Over the past 2 weeks, students received course selection forms for the 2021-2022 school year. If you and your student have not completed these, please make sure you do so as soon as possible so we can begin our scheduling process. Students in grade 10 also received a link to schedule individual meetings with counselors and our IB Coordinator as part of the IB Diploma Programme application process. During the virtual meeting, course selections are reviewed and students discuss their chosen diploma type (American, IB, or American with IB courses). Parents are welcome to attend the meeting however it is not mandatory for them to do so.

Student PCR Testing

ADEK has mandated that students be tested on a bi-weekly basis for the remainder of the school year. Ensure students are tested accordingly so we can update their entry stickers according to the schedule below. Students will not be allowed to enter campus without valid PCR test results.

• Test Date: Wednesday February 24 Sticker Expiry: Monday March 8

• Test Date: Saturday March 6 Sticker Expiry: Thursday March 18

• Test Date: Tuesday March 16 Sticker Expiry: Thursday April 1

Upcoming Dates

We are entering the busiest part of our school year as we press to the finish line. Some important dates to keep in mind:

• IB Mock Exams March 7-18 (check Managebac for the schedule)

• Career Day March 25

• Spring Break March 28- April 13

Best,

Ms. Lumpkins

We remind parents of our safety protocols with regards to COVID-19:

• What if my child or a household member tests positive?

1. Notify school immediately by calling GAA's COVID-19 Hotline at 052 1048099 to enable us to activate appropriate response. Or email: pre_gaa@gemsedu.com

2. Keep your child and other GAA siblings isolated at home for at least 10 days and follow the instructions of Health Authorities.

3. Distance Learning will be enabled for your child.

4. Child will be cleared to return to school once they have 2 consecutive negative test results, submitting doctor's note and results to the school nurse.

• What's the Return to School protocol?

Positive case: They must show a Clearance Report from SEHA or their Health Care Provider confirming they are clear to return to school. This report shows the high-level history of the case including date confirmed positive, the 2 negative results and that the patient has completed the isolation period.

Contacts of the positive case: contacts must continue their 10 day home quarantine, even if they test negative, and are only allowed back in school after receiving 2 consecutive negative test results (approximately day 1 and day 8 testing).

We thank you for your continuous support.

Ms. Ghada's Foundation B students have made some wonderful videos, showing how they have developed a huge mindset in Arabic and how they are speaking Arabic confidently after a short time of studying it. This is huge progress in our students learning, that we should encourage and be proud of.

This is another all call for Virtual High School Career Day presenters. Career Day will be on Thursday March 25th from 8:00-11:00 AM.

We are welcoming both Zoom meetings and pre-recorded video presentations. So if you know someone who would be a good speaker for our students, but is unable to make it to Career Day due to a time difference or other commitment -please still ask them! We would need the video by March 19th.

Here are some guiding questions and a slides template that can be used for making a video. Both documents are open to anyone on the web. The videos do not need to be formal and any length is fine.

Please ask your friend or family member to fill out this Google Form so that I can keep track.

If you have any questions or suggestions for career day, do not hesitate to contact me at l.massman_gaa@gemsedu.com

Best of luck to these students in 13th annual Model United Nations conference at Dubai International Academy, taking place virtually March 5-8:

• Yahia Darweesh

• Aleezah Ahmad

• Rania Aziz

• Nabel Rodriguez Feo

• Alex Bejjani

• Vinay Krishnaswamy

We are excited to continue our annual tradition of hosting TEDx Youth at GAA. Although Virtual, due to safety restrictions, we are looking to hear from many speakers, who will share their views and stories about our ability to make a difference in this world.

This year’s theme is “The Ball is in our court” which is designed to stimulates individuals to take matters into their own hands, to make decisions, to take action, to take the initiative to begin the flame that passes down. The word “our” is to emphasize the importance of community and how change is achieved through the power of numbers. We believe this community takes enormous steps in the direction of interdependence and adaptability to maintain a harmonious relationship.

Stay tuned for more information!

Dear GAA Community,

Thank you for all the videos in mother tongue! Here are the compilations:

Welcome to GAA Secondary Library website! Your access to the library collection, research databases, learning resources and more!

SECONDARY LIBRARY WEBSITE

Please click the link for Secondary Library February Newsletter:

As the GEMS community, we understand that it is not just mere nostalgia that we associate our alma mater with, it is much beyond that. Our GEMS alumni across 80 countries are doing amazing things and we want to celebrate their successes every step of the way! Download and join the #GEMSAlumni App today by clicking on the links below:

Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…

App Store : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gems-alumni/id1496962338

• March 6 - Next round of student testing (for students aged 12 and above, attending face-to-face)

• March 7 - 18 - IB Mock Exams

• March 13 and 20 - Senior Cap and Gown Photoshoot 09:30 am - 03:00 pm

• March 21 - 25 - Secondary Spirit Week

• March 20 - TEDxYouth

• March 25 - Career Day for High School Students.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE GAA EVENTS CALENDAR

(please note, updated regularly)