Week Twenty Two - March 1st, 2024
Kim Conlin
Head of Primary
Dear GIS Primary Families,
It was wonderful to see so many community members attend the GIS International Day last Friday. At GIS, we are privileged to have such a diverse and vibrant community. It is the cultural richness brought by each of you that makes our school so unique and special. A special thank-you to all the parents involved in setting up booths, preparing activities, sharing delicious food, to raise cultural awareness and celebrate the diversity within our community. I want to extend a special thank you to the GISPA for their outstanding organization of this event.
Litfest is just around the corner, with a week full of exciting activities aimed at promoting and celebrating the joy of reading! Did you know that "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go"? This famous quote by Dr. Seuss beautifully encapsulates the profound impact that reading has on a child's development. Reading not only expands their knowledge but also sparks their imagination, fosters empathy, and cultivates critical thinking skills. Litfest is about creating an environment where reading is celebrated and cherished. Through various activities, workshops, and reading sessions, we aim to instill a lifelong love for reading in our students, empowering them to explore new worlds and perspectives through the pages of a book.
You won't want to miss the musical next week that is put on by some of our secondary students. The program runs 3 nights, March 5,6,7 with doors opening at 6:00. Tickets can be purchased online through GEMS Connect.
Please find below the school revised hours during the holy month Ramadan.
Have a wonderful weekend.
In this edition you will find:
Announcements / Reminders / Upcoming dates
Peek Into Learning
Student Life Updates
Student Spotlight
PYP curriculum resources
Absence Procedure
Whole School Calendar
Mar 4-8: GIS Lit Fest
March 6th - Pjs and bedtime stories for PK-KG2 parents/students
March 6th - Connect Ed for parents
March 7th - Primary School Dress Up - Alice and Wonderland Theme
March 6th - ConnectEd - Grade 5-6 Transition
March 8th - Welcome Ramadan Morning Celebration
March 9th - Projected Beginning of Ramadan
March 19th - GIS Community Iftar!
The Primary Lit.-Fest 2024 will be 4th-8th March. On World Book Day (Thursday, 7 March) There will be a fun Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with everyone dressed a little crazy, after a whole Primary School Alice in Wonderland read-aloud. Thank you to Ms Louise or librarian and everyone else who has organzied this wonderful week.
ONLY for PK-KG2 students
Mainly for KG2-G2 parents
Overview of Lit Fest for the Week
There have been 2 recent competitions our school took part in.
GEMS Jumeriah Collage: Omar Kandil-(G2), Reham Ibrahim (G3), Mashal Khan (G3), Mohamed Ibrahim (G4), Jouri Masri- (G5).
Omar Kandil- G2 won in this competition and will be honoured on Wednesday, February, 2024 by Her Highness Sheikha Fatema Bint Hasher Bin Dalmouk Al-Maktoom on Jumeirah College stage.
Horizon International School: Cady Ashour (G2), Kinda Ashour (G2), Omar Kandil-(G2), Mashal Khan (G3) , Reham Ibrahim (G3), Kinda Ashour (G4), Mohamed Ibrahim (G4), Jouri Masri (G5), Amna Makani (G5)
Mashal Khan 1st position
Mohamed Ibrahim 1st position
Omar Kandil 3rd Position
We're thrilled to announce an exciting addition to our newsletter: a new column featuring insights from our students in the Gems International School (GIS). Authored by the students themselves, this column will spotlight their leadership initiatives aimed at fostering global citizenship, international mindedness, and intercultural competencies within our school community. These self-initiated activities exemplify the spirit of student agency, showcasing how our students actively engage in shaping a diverse and inclusive environment. Stay tuned to learn more about the impactful contributions our students are making to our shared journey towards global understanding and cooperation.
Mind, Body & Spirit Week 2024
Mind, Body & Spirit Week 2024, hosted on February 19 - 23, was a wonderful PYP celebration of the whole self. As inspired student leaders, the house captains designed each of the week’s activities. As such, students were able to take part in a variety of activities focused on three themes: mind, body and spirit. During “mind’ day, students tested their thinking skills while participating in some light-hearted trivia while earning house points for their teams. “Body” day saw students waking and shaking as the PYP participated in an early morning workout with our PYP house captains. “Spirit” day saw students entering into a digital poster design competition centered around the theme, “GIS community through identity, memories and inclusion.” We are looking forward to many more student-led initiatives that help to uplift and engage! (written by House Captains)
Over the past few weeks, we've introduced four of our GIS Learning Principles.This week, we would like to begin a weekly focus on the IB's Approaches to Learning. This week, we look at how communication skills are embedded in our teaching. Collaborative projects and activities are at the core of our learning in school, where learning experiences are designed to enhance our young learners' abilities to express themselves clearly, listen actively, and engage constructively with others. This week Grade 3 students explored the world of ancient communication, comparing it with modern methods to appreciate the evolution and impact of communication on society. Through these hands-on experiences, our aim is to nurture confident and articulate communicators, laying a strong foundation for the development of other essential ATL skills. Elsewhere, Grade 2 demonstrated their collaborative skills in experiencing their Unit of Inquiry learning about simple machines, working as a team to communicate effectively to achieve goals. Communication is an integeral part of life, and developing this skill will always be embedded within our inqiry approach at GIS.
This week we would like to shine a spotlight on Safiya in grade 3. On February 9–11, 2024, she joined an international rhythmic gymnastics competition "Queen Cup" was held in Dubai. Safiya performed two routines: free hand without apparatus and with a ball. Among participants born in 2015, Safiya won 1st place with a ball routine and 3rd place without an apparatus routine.
Congratulations Safiya, we are so proud of you!
We love to hear about our student's accomplishments outside of school. If parents would like to share significant celebrations, please send a photo and relevant information to the PYP office. pypoffice_gis@Gemsedu.com
SAVE THE DATES for our future Connect Eds
The purpose of the Connect Eds is to support our parent community with information related to 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 for times, locations and the facilitators.
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.
----------------------------------------------------
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.