Dear GAA Community,

I hope that you and your families are well. We are quickly approaching the end of the school year, with our High School graduation ceremony scheduled for Thursday, June 27th. As we move into the month of June we are also planning for KG, grade 5, and grade 8 promotion ceremonies. It is important to recognize these milestones in a student’s educational career and also an opportunity for us to reflect on the purpose of education and our responsibility to prepare students for the future.

A major effort this school year has been to examine our teaching and learning principles around four important intervention areas;

• Well-being

• Preparing for the future

• Personalized learning

• Student Voice

As we continue to define the importance and meaning of these areas, and to track progress made in a quantitative and objective way, we want to hear from you.

On Sunday May 30, we will launch our second parent survey of the school year. Your feedback as always is valued, and taken into consideration as we continue to provide rigorous and relevant learning opportunities with a focus on building relationships. I encourage you to be on the lookout for the survey in the coming weeks and take the time to share your opinion and view.

Lastly, I want to announce a slight change to our June calendar. On June 10th we will have a half day of school, with a 12:00 pm dismissal. During the course of the past two school years, all of us have had to adapt and be flexible with the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. Our teachers have had to make adjustments and demonstrate incredible resiliency and creativity, facilitating on campus, virtual and hybrid learning opportunities. On the afternoon of June 10th, we will have a half day school in-service activity to recognize their work and accomplishments. Please add this change to your calendars.

I ask that you continue to take all health and safety precautions and thank you for your continued support.

Best Regards,

Robert Rinaldo

Head of School

ADEK has requested our school to add students' GAA emails to the eSIS website (student information database). If parents object to adding their child’s email to eSIS, please inform our Government Relation Executive (GRE) Razan Maoued by May 26 at r.maoued_gaa@gemsedu.com

The events of 2020 and 2021 have presented many obstacles for musicians across the globe. These obstacles have presented opportunities to rethink traditional music education and embrace the technologies that we are privileged to have at our fingertips.

Students at GAA have embarked on a project to collaborate in recording music whilst in a combination of full distance and blended learning. The result is one of the greatest concert bands the school has heard, yet they have never played together.

Armed with a click track, a mobile phone voice recorder app and a set of headphones; the high school concert band has systematically practiced and recorded individual parts of Paul Lavender’s arrangement of some of composer John Williams’ greatest works under the musical direction of our Secondary School Music Director; Dave Holland. Entitled John Williams in Concert, our John Williams in (Virtual) Concert has allowed for a valuable insight into the recording process of session musicians and served as a relevant experience in overcoming barriers to artistic collaboration in a pandemic.

Using the studio facilities at GAA, Mr. Holland and a team of Digital Music students have collated the recordings, treated and presented them as a combined work. Aided by a touch of digital wizardry and an instrumental hand from one or two faculty members; this work is presented as part of the virtual Secondary School Arts Festival for 2021.

Four months in the making, 5:30 mins in length, 62 audio channels, 3,500 individual samples and over 50 editing hours; we invite you to enjoy John Williams in (Virtual) Concert, arranged by Paul Lavender.

On May 19 at 13:15 Mr. Dave Holland, and his Grade 10 students Nabel and Mathilda were interviewed by Dubai Eye 103.8 Radio at the Lunch with Lloyd program. Here is the full interview:

• May 22 and May 23

• June 1 and June 2

• June 12 and June 13

• June 22 and June 23

Location: G42 Laboratory at Mafraq Hospital - Shakhbout City - Al Mafraq - https://goo.gl/maps/VqoLBirQAn43JCzP6

School Code: KS-9086

Timings: 08:00am - 10:00pm

• May 27: Half-Day, school dismisses at 12pm. Dress Down Day with the donation of 5AED. Elementary Theme: Book Character Day.

• May 27: Senior Graduation

• June 10: Half-Day, school dismisses at 12pm

• June 15-17: KG2 Promotions

• June 17: Grade 5 and Grade 8 Promotions

• June 30: Last day of school. Half-Day. School dismissed at 12.