This Sunday November 14th we will be checking new PCR test results for all students KG-Grade 12.

• For smooth entry to school, please make sure your child has a printout of the test result (SMS message or Al Hosn screenshot) to show at the Entrance Gates.

• If you missed free in-school testing of November 9th, please take your child to our designated testing center at Biogenix Lab Masdar City for free testing (school code KS-9086).

• Students aged below 12 and vaccinated students of all ages, must have PCR test result not older than 30 days.

Greetings GAA Community,

I hope all families took advantage of the opportunity to connect with your child’s teacher this week during Parent Teacher Conferences. I have heard from a number of teachers about the great conversations had around student progress thus far and how the school/home partnership can focus on next steps in your child’s learning this year.

I would like to pass on a few notes and reminders about upcoming events in the Elementary School.

PCR Results

• We will check your child’s PCR test results on Sunday morning

• Please ensure they are ready to show a printed copy of their results is a parent/nanny is not on hand to show the Alhosn app with results

• This is needed for your child to be able to enter the GAA campus

Kindness Week

• Please refer to the emails from the school about next week’s event to celebrate KINDNESS at GAA including:

• Wearing Orange on Sunday November 14

• Supporting children in the Great Kindness Challenge

• The Coin Drive to collect money to support Red Crescent initiatives

Book Fair

• November 21-25 in the Library

• More info to come from our wonderful Librarians next week.

National Day

• Monday, November 29- children will celebrate at school with socially distanced engagements to honor the 50th anniversary of the UAE

• Wednesday (Dec 1) & Thursday (Dec 2)- no school

Dress Down Days

• Sunday, November 14- Orange for Kindness

• Thursday, November 18- House Colours

• Thursday, November 25- Twin Day

• Monday, November 29- UAE National Dress/Colours

• Thursday, December 9- Backwards/Opposite Day

Have a great weekend!

Mike Hopaluk

Elementary Principal

Dear Parents,

I hope your week has gone smoothly. We completed our ADEK inspection last week, where we received high praise for our reading support and lessons. As partners in your child’s growth and learning, we appreciate all that you do at home to support reading.

Here are my top tips for reading at home with your children:

1. Try to share the love of the story or information. Don’t feel pressure to make sure all things are ‘right’.

2. What we read comes alive when we talk about it and react to what we read. Try to have conversations with your students more than quizzes.

3. Discussions about something you are reading should be in the home language to make sure it is a natural conversation and helps your child to expand their knowledge in English and their home language.

We have a quote in the book room of our Elementary that always sticks with me. I think it helps to explain what we all hope for our young readers at GAA: ‘Reading should be not presented to a child as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift’ - Kate di Camillo

Have a good week,

John O'Neill

Upper Elementary Vice Principal (Grades 3-5)

The children have been very busy and working hard these past few weeks in 1B! They have begun writing small moment story books in Writers Workshop and have learned how to add labels and speech bubbles to their illustrations. In our Unit of Inquiry, we have begun exploring celebrations around the world. Last week, we visited a surprise birthday party for our class mascot Rasheed the Lion! The class had lots of fun identifying and discussing the similarities and differences between Rasheed’s party and their own birthday parties! In between all of the learning, we enjoyed dressing up in Crazy pink outfits, in the colors of the UAE and in National Dress for Flag Day! Take a look at our pictures to see all that we have been up to in room 58!

This term for 4D has been filled with wonderings and reflections. As a community, we enjoyed identifying what kind of readers we are. Students are learning to reflect about what interests them and what really helps them to enjoy reading. We have been exploring and using Achieve 3,000 and students are inspired to increase their points as we strive to keep our title as top class in the school!

The area students seem most excited about this month though has been our unit of inquiry about-The Body Systems. We are wrapping our inquiry into how dependent we are on all our body systems and how they interact with each other. Students made their own skeletons from cardboard, they became responsible researchers and observed an experiment into how the digestive system works. Students enjoyed our coding lesson in Makerspace. We had lots of fun this month as we celebrated Pink Day and Flag Day. Here in 4D we are excited and enthusiastic to see what lies in store for us for the remainder of this term.

طلابنا مُـبدعون وَمُلهِمون،

قَامَ طُلابُ الصَّف الثَّالث بِأنشَطة مُتنوعة مِنْها قِراءة وكِتابة فِقرات مُتَعددة عَن أَدوات الفَصل وَأَنواعِ المُسابَقات والفُنون، وَأَبدَعَ الطُّلابُ بِتَصميمِ كُتيبٍ عَن أَنواعِ الفنونِ والفنانين وصَمَموا بِطاقةَ تَهنئَة وَقَاموا بِعرضِها فِي الصَّف.

وكما يبني طلّابنا في الصّف الرّابع جسر العلم والمعرفة بالقراءة اليومية داخل الصّف وخارجه، يكتشفون ويتعلّمون كلمات جديدة بِـقراءة نُـصوص متنوّعة من خلال استخدام مواقع الكترونيّة شَـيّقـة مثل "النير باد".

كما يقوم طُلّابنا بتطوير المحادثة باللغة العربيّة بينهم من خلال حواراتهم التي تعزّز القدرات لديهم والثّقة بالنّـفـس.

أمّا طلّابنا في الصّف الخامس فَهُـم مُتأمَّلون وَمُـفَـكّـرون، شَـغَـفُـهُـم تَـطويرُ مَـهاراتهِم التّعـليميّة مِن خِـلال التّعبير عن آرائهم وممارسة ما يتعلّمونَه في اللّغة العربيّة.

إليكم بعض الصور من إبداعات طلابنا في صفوف الثّالث والرّابع والخامس:

Our students are creative and inspiring.

Students in Grade 3 have carried out a variety of activities, reading and writing various paragraphs about classroom tools, types of competitions, and arts. Students made a booklet about types of art and artists, designed a greeting card and presented it in class.

Our students in grade 4 acquire their knowledge by reading daily inside and outside the classrooms. They strive to discover and learn new words by reading various stories on interesting websites such as “Nearpod”.

Our students also develop their Arabic language skills by conducting dialogues aimed to enhance their skills and build their confidence.

Our students in grade 5 are described as reflectors and thinkers; and they are passionate about developing their learning skills through practicing what they learned.

Here is the link for some pictures for grade 3, 4, and 5.

Here are some photos from Coding activities in Grades 4 and 5:

Prepare early for your winter break reading as the GAA Libraries is very much excited to bring you the first face to face Book Fair of the year with vendor Bookworm. There will be 2 locations of the Book Fair - one is on the 1st floor at Elementary Library for KG & PYP students and another on the 2nd floor for secondary students at the open area in front of the planetarium.

Book Fair will run from 21st to 25th of November from 7:30 am to 3:30pm.

Variety of books will be showcased! We look forward to seeing our GAA students there!

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to inform you that Stu WIlliamson photographers will at GAA on Saturday November 27 and January 15 to take school photos of our Full Distance Learner students, following COVID-19 safety rules.

This will be appointment-based to avoid crowding for the safety of our students: please click on this link to book your slot for one of the above mentioned dates: DL photoshoot booking link.

NOTE: These sessions are reserved to our Full Distance Learners. If your child, who is physically attending school, missed the school photoshoot of September and October, we will have an ABSENTEE/NEW JOINER PHOTOSHOOT on February 6 & 7. Please do not use the above link.

Stu WIlliamson will also be offering Sibling Photoshoot on another date, which will be communicated to families.

• November 14: Dance for Kindness for Elementary: Wear Orange Color!

• November 14-18: Kindness Challenge Week

• November 21-24: Little Wildcats Swimming Team Tryouts. Schedule Here

• November 25: Half-Day, school dismisses at 12.

• November 27: Distance Learner School Photoshoot

• November 29: UAE National Day Celebrations (students only). Dress Down Day with UAE National Dress or UAE Flag Colors.