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Week Twelve - November 18th 2022
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Dear Parents & Guardians,
Another busy week came and went since I last wrote to parents.
The last of our Week Without Walls trip returned from the USA on Tuesday evening. I would like to personally thank the accompanying teachers for ensuring that our students had a wonderful experience while on this trip. Ms Sangita, Ms Hoda, Ms Rena, Ms Meena, Mr Vikas, Mr Chris, Mr Mahedi and Mr Cameron dedicated themselves whole heartedly to the students while they were away from home and I know that their efforts have been appreciated by parents and students.
We have extremely talented students in the secondary school, but this week I would like to highlight the accomplishments of two amazing swimmers. Chris Dufra and Shayna Katra have recently had a lot of success in the pool. Chris qualified for the Swedish National Championship coming up in December. He swam in the 100m & 200m backstroke; 100 m freestyle and 100m butterfly and qualified for all of them! We wish Chris well for his upcoming trip to Stockholm.
Shayna Katra recently took part in the FINA World Series Cup in Berlin, representing Lebanon. This experience allowed Shayna to compete against Olympians and to work on improving her personal best times. Shayna has been representing Lebanon since she was 12 and trains for 14 to 24 hours per week. Keep an eye out for Shayna in future Olympics!
A very big thank you to Ms Anrie who accompanied some of our students to this year's SCOPE. This event aspires to provide a platform for students agency and student voice in support of Climate Action. The conference wraps up today, so we wish our participants well.
Thank you to those parents who attended the MYP ConnectEd session this week. Ms Sandy, our MYP coordinator, ran an extremely informative session on MYP Assessment and Reporting. Parents that attended left with a much clearer understanding of assessment and reporting in the Middle Years.
We would also like to thank the Grade 6 parents who chatted to Simon, Nic, Harry and I at the GISPA Coffee morning yesterday. It was a glorious day and the café courtyard was a perfect venue to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. GISPA have organized a Coffee morning on a weekly basis, so do make sure you join us soon!
Enjoy your week ahead.
Amanda Murphy
Head of Secondary School
SCOPE 2022
The StuELT House Committee is continuing the 'student of the month' initiative from last year where the committee award students who've collected the most house points in a month. Today, Ms. Amanda presented the winners with their certificate and elevator passes for their achieviment - well done all!
Monash University School of Engineering talk. Thank you Ms Meena for organising!
Slides, crocs and other such footwear are not to be worn to school
Slides, crocs and other such footwear are not to be worn to school
WWW hoodies are not to be worn at school from Monday 21st November.
WWW hoodies are not to be worn at school from Monday 21st November.
Week Without Walls (continued)
IMPORTANT DATES FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS
December 9 Term 1 Report published | End of term 1
Secondary ConnectEd Schedule
Secondary ConnectEd Schedule
ConnectEd Presentations
ConnectEd Presentations
Keeping Our Children Safe Online
Keeping Our Children Safe Online
Digital devices, such as smartphones and tablets, make online platforms and content easily accessible. And, while there are many benefits of seamless accessibility and connectivity, there are also many potential risks - to the health, well-being and even the safety of young people - that must be considered by young people themselves, as well as by parents and schools. Technological advances are faster than ever and new online platforms are released at a rapid rate, making it challenging to effectively monitor and control (for their own well-being) the online activity of the young people in our care.
Young people will, at times, seek out and/or be inadvertently exposed to inappropriate online content. If and when this is the case, it is important that they feel comfortable and confident to disclose and discuss the matter with trusted adults. While banning smart devices may not be practical (or desirable), implementing agreements around device usage (for instance) is a healthy and productive approach to online media balance and safety. There are a number of useful tips and strategies available to support healthy and well-informed approaches to media use. Please take some time to explore the E-safety: Parent Guidance, which has been created to support GIS parents in this regard.
GIS Student Voice
GIS Student Voice
Last year, the amazing Student ELT launched the Secondary Student Hub for secondary students. This is an ongoing collaborative project between the Student ELT, Inclusion Team & Grade Leaders.
The Secondary Student Hub will remain the students access point for the new social groups and peer mentoring, as well as signing up for the already established peer tutoring programme.
Students will also be able to find links to ECAs, student voice initiative, counsellor referral forms, mindset matters and homeroom information. We are really proud of the work that the Student ELT have put in to this so far and look forward to seeing their expansion of the site.
*Students must be logged into their gemsisak gmail account to access the site.
Parent WhatsApp Groups
Parent WhatsApp Groups
Scan the QR code(s) to join our
Scan the QR code(s) to join our
Grade Level Parent WhatsApp Groups
Grade Level Parent WhatsApp Groups
From the Classroom (and beyond)
From the Classroom (and beyond)
Jaguars Updates
Jaguars Updates
Throughout the year, you will be able to review information about the week's sports results and scorers, in addition to action photos, match reports, sports news and much more on our Jaguar Sports website.
Throughout the year, you will be able to review information about the week's sports results and scorers, in addition to action photos, match reports, sports news and much more on our Jaguar Sports website.
Language Stars of the Week
G6
Lucy Lawrens, Ishana Sane, Moutaz Duwaji, Talia Hany, Vedant Rajpurohit¸Omar Malkawi & Maatrika Shaw
G7
Christian Bendstan, Adam Elbeyaly¸Zahra Parambath¸Mohammad Almandalavi¸Asma Sameer & Foteini Fasoula
G8
Andre Sousa, Ashaz Aslam, Vlad Ghergescu, Fredrika Klintell, Lois Benschop & Victoria Saintpierre
G9
Yassin Elashafie¸Ayla Fardifand¸Peniel Gebreyesus, Tia Sarrouh & Omar Alsamarai
G10
Ayaan Abbasi¸Ezra Dsouza¸Sardar Said¸Muhammed Moeen, Chahine Ouchari & Leonardo Patane
Week Without Walls
Week Without Walls
Museum Trip
During www we visited many different cultural sites in the UAE which taught us a lot about the history and heritage of where the UAE started. We walked A LOT but at the end it was so worth it and we all look different at the UAE now. The trip was enriching in many different ways and we created a stronger bond with our peers. We visited the AlShindagha museum and Museum of the future which was probably the highlight of the trip and all of us would encourage those who haven’t visited yet to go and see for themselves.
Week Without Walls
Week Without Walls
Paris, France
Students set off on an adventure to one of the world’s most historic and beautiful cities. Students discovered history with a visit to the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge and the Sacre Coeur cathedral. They inquired into the different art styles the city has seen from classical art and sculpture in the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay to a modern street art tour of Montmartre as well as beautiful Impressionist artists such as Monet’s famous Waterlilies. They also saw the new, modern side of the city with a trip up the huge (56 stories) Tour Montparnasse to see the city at night in all its glory. Interspersed were French lessons which afterwards they practiced their language skills to buy their own lunch!
Week Without Walls
Week Without Walls
Challenging Adventure (RAK)
Students in grade 6 and 7 embarked on an adventure in the RAK mountains. Staying in tents with friends and engaging in challenging (and sometimes scary!) activities was loads of fun! Some of the highlights included: Traversing the Iron Way, rock hopping and squeezing through tiny tunnels, abseiling down a steep mountainside, finding prehistoric sea fossils in the wadi, visiting the village ruins of the Habsi tribe, and solving problems in teams. Many of us overcame mental challenges, proving to ourselves that we are capable of more than we think! We even conquered our fears of spiders at night (yikes!). The trip was loads of fun, and we also learnt a few great camp songs. Who could forget “David-Hassel-Hoff….running down the beach..aah!!”?! Thanks to all staff who supported the trip, and well done to the students who grew in confidence and intelligence through all the activities.
Week Without Walls
Week Without Walls
SCAFA
During our WWW trip to the School of Culinary and Finishing Arts( SCAFA), students had a busy week ahead of them learning what life is like as a chef! Led by Chef Alisha, students learned many new recipes and technical skills and were able to enjoy their delicious creations at the end of a hard days work. The week was rounded off with a MasterChef competition, which was won by Lea Al Beainy in G7, and a trip to the Movenpick Hotel JLT, for a special tour of the hotel kitchens with the Head Chef. The delicious cupcakes at the end of the tour were an added bonus!
Week Without Walls
Week Without Walls
Tareeqi
An entire week where we said goodbye to our timetables and our formal lessons. Students engaged in an array of activities to extend their learning beyond the ‘walls’.
We went to Emirates Bio-Farm to explore different horticultural practices that include sustainable practices.
This week was a busy one with students taking up job roles around school as a day in the shoes of community helpers. Amber- Grade 9 was a Reading Teacher to KG1C students, Reyansh- Grade 9E was a Newspaper Journalist, Arshia- Grade 7E was the Barista’s Assistant at Slices Cafe and Kirill-8D was the PE Teacher Assistant for KG 2 students.
Morning Drop-off and Pick-up Arrangements
Morning Drop-off and Pick-up Arrangements
Morning Drop-off
Morning Drop-off
Students are to be dropped off between 7:50 - 8:05am.
Students are to be dropped off between 7:50 - 8:05am.
Homeroom begins at 8:10am, following the UAE national anthem.
students are considered late if they arrive to class after the anthem.
Dismissal
Dismissal
Monday to Thursday: 3:15pm
Friday: 11:40am
Please arrange for students to be collected promptly after dismissal. Secondary students are not permitted to gather inside the Main Reception or Slices Cafeteria while awaiting collection. They may wait in the adjacent courtyard or the outdoor area at the front of the school, being careful not to block doorways.
*Parents may enter the school campus via Gate 4, Gate 6 and Gate 8.
Useful Links
Useful Links
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School meal processes
Email bus Services
Travel declaration form
Secondary School Handbook
Parent Portal for fee payment, updating details etc.
Email IT support (password reset etc.)
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