Week Thirteen - December 1st, 2023
Kim Conlin
Head of Primary
Dear Parents, Teachers, and Students,
I hope this message finds you well and filled with the same pride and joy that I feel reflecting on the past week at GIS.
🇦🇪 A heartfelt thank you to our incredible staff and the Emirati community for orchestrating a memorable National Day celebration last Monday. The cultural showcase beautifully highlighted the unity and diversity of our community. It was a testament to the rich heritage and traditions of our host culture.
Parent Session on Early Reading Skills: A special note of appreciation goes out to our dedicated Literacy Leader (Samantha) and Early Years Coordinator (Helen) for organizing and hosting an informative parent session on early reading skills. Your insights and guidance empower our parents to actively engage in their child's literacy development, fostering a love for reading from an early age.
KHDA Inspection and Community Strength: This week, we underwent the KHDA inspection, and I'm pleased to share that the early feedback highlights the strength of the learning taking place community, as well as the unwavering commitment of our parents, teachers and leaders. It's a testament to the collaborative efforts of our entire school community - a community that we take immense pride in being a part of.
Acknowledging teacher and TA commitment: A sincere appreciation to our dedicated teachers for their relentless commitment and hard work. Their passion and dedication create an environment where our students flourish and thrive. Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to our school's success.
Please remember that this Monday will be a school holiday, as we recognize National Day. It's a time to celebrate the rich culture and heritage of the UAE. We hope you enjoy this special day with your families, reflecting on the values that unite us as a nation.
Our incredible student leaders have organized a week dedicated to the essence of gratitude. It's an opportunity for our students to reflect on the blessings in their lives and express appreciation for the people and things that make a difference. Throughout the week, various activities and initiatives will highlight the importance of gratitude in our lives. See below.
Please note that following the National Day holiday, we have a four-day week before we embark on our winter break. It's a time for our students and staff to recharge, spend quality time with loved ones, and return refreshed for the new term.As we approach the end of term, some classes will be hosting end-of-term parties on the final Friday before the winter break (8th). Homeroom parents and teachers will be providing specific details about any parties taking place. It's a time for our students to come together, celebrate their achievements, and create lasting memories before the well-deserved break.
Have a wonderful National Day Weekend!
The Spirit of Gratitude week is intended to embody and synthesize what it means to be an IB student and truly, a balanced and caring person. There is no higher synthesis and embodiment of the IB than to bring light into dark moments. To bring hope and friendship into difficult moments. PYP student leadership has undertaken this initiative in order to bring a sense of community in a thoughtful and innovative way while integrating the school’s focus on literacy. Our PYP house leaders hope that students exit this week into the Winter holiday with a sense of sincere gratitude and a humble perspective in a world that certainly needs the light of children.
In this edition you will find:
Announcements / Reminders / Upcoming dates
Peek Into Learning
PYP curriculum resources
Absence Procedure
Whole School Calendar
Dec 4 - UAE National Day Holiday - No School
Dec 4-8 - Spirit of Gratitude (PYP)
Dec 8 - Wear White for Peace
December 11- Jan 1 - Winter Break
Jan 2nd - First Day of School
The purpose of the Connect Eds is to support our parent community with social, emotional, and academics for their children.
We have a plethora of knowledge and expertise in our Primary School Team, and they will provide practical information and strategies.
The parent community is an integral part of GIS, and we feel it is essential to make them part of our learning community.
We hope to see many of you at the Connect Eds, and closer to the time, we will send you more information on the ConnectEds in our Newsletter.
As part of the school wide focus, there is a big emphasis on creating ambitious readers. We have introduced reading buddies across the different grade levels to support and encourage a passion and love for reading. Our older students have been paired with younger grade levels. Students are assigned a buddy and will go each week to one of their classes to read together. The students are really engaged with their buddies and excited to read with them. For the older students it is an opportunity for them to read for a purpose, an audience and give them confidence to read to others. This will help them develop fluency, understanding and ambition to continue to develop their reading. For our younger students, they are provided with a role model to encourage their reading and are able to be part of reading with a purpose for enjoyment. More able students can be prompted to recognize letters or words and practice reading the book themselves when looking at the books with their older buddies, using pictures to help tell the story or information. Students are encouraged to ask and answer questions about the books as this is a key part of reading, that they are able to understand what they are reading.
You could try having a reading buddy at home for your child, it could be a sibling at home, neighbor, friend or even family member further away via online book reading. Developing a love of reading is vital to their continued development.
Parents have all received a notification to sign up for the Toddle platform. This is an exciting enhancement to our parent communication, and this year you will receive weekly updates through the Toddle platform.
This IB affiliated platform will offer opportunities for parents to remain up to date with their child's academic progress.
The below class pages will host resources for parents and will no longer have weekly messages. All information will be sent through Toddle, so please inform your class teacher if you have any trouble registering.
Drop Off (7:50-8:10): Parents PK-G1 drop in classroom
Drop Off: (7:50-8:10) Grade 2-5 through gate 8 or gate 4
Late: any student arriving after the national anthem must get a late slip at front reception/gate 4.
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Pick up (3:05 or 11:30 on Friday): PK-G1 pick up from classroom
Pick up (3:15 or 11:40 on Friday) Pick up through gate 8 or 4
*due to crowding at gate 4, we have allocated a safe space near the pirate ship for PYP students to wait for parents. During adverse weather or lengthy waits, students will be moved to the canteen. Follow up with with a parent or guardian will take place after 30 min. We appreciate parents effort to collect children in time.
Any absence (whether it is planned or unplanned ) must be communicated via email to the homeroom teacher and gis_primaryleaverequest@gemsedu.com by 8:00 AM. STS/bus users must also copy the STS manger on the email. vijesh.kumar@sts-group.com
A planned or extended absence beyond 2 days requires the completion of an absence request form.
Absence for more than 3 days requires prior approval if planned or a doctors clearance for illness related leave (in some cases a medical certificate is requested )
Parents are urged to schedule medical, dental and other appointments after school hours or during vacations.
A request must be submitted before a child can be released once in school for health and safety and reasons.
Filling in the form 24hrs in advance is expected where possible.
At the time of collection, please come to the Primary Reception at Gate 4.