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Week Twenty Five - March 10th 2023
Dear Parents & Guardians,
Welcome to the end of another week at GIS,
Last weekend GIS hosted the First Lego League Final. Thank you to our amazing facilities team and Mr Vikas for the effort put in to set the school up to host over 700 visitors onto our wonderful campus. Also, thanks to Mr Sujay for dedicating his weekend to work with our GIS team. The team benefitted from the experience, especially when it came to competing against much larger teams and they are ready to do it all again next year. Well done to all! We are very proud of your achievements.
Keeping our students safe and ensuring that they know what to do in an emergency is crucial in a school setting. Therefore, there was a lot of excitement on Monday when we ran a fire drill that incorporated the services of the Civil Defense. Students evacuated the building in an orderly and timely manner and were delighted when given the opportunity to see the Fire truck up close. Many got the chance to chat to emergency service crew members and were very appreciative of the work that they do.
On Tuesday Ms Meena organized a University Fair for students in Grade 9 to 11. Students and parents had the opportunity to chat to representatives from 34 different UK, European and US Colleges. It is essential that our students are exposed to as many different career opportunities as possible and I thank Ms Meena for the work that goes into organizing such an event!
On the same day, a small number of students had the opportunity to work with some representatives from NHL Standen in the Centre of Excellence. Students worked in teams to programme a ‘minibot’, (complete with lights and music) to maneuver around a given path. The visitors were very impressed with our student’s ability and enthusiasm.
Next week is Neurodiversity Week and in preparation for this, staff participated in a professional development session on Thursday afternoon. Thanks to Ms Hannah and Ms Annalisa for organizing the training session. As an inclusive community, we put priority in ensuring that our skills and knowledge, that assist in meeting the needs of all of our students, are regularly updated.
I would like to thank the staff who accompanied our Grade 12 students to Aquaventure so that the mandatory Group 4 project could be carried out. The project is a significant aspect of all Group 4 subjects and will ultimately add to their final results. Students enjoyed the change of scenery and being out of the classroom for a few hours.
Finally, this week, a reminder that Parent/Teacher Conferences are almost upon us. They will be online and please note that the meetings will take place after school on March 15, followed by all day on March 16 and 17. Therefore, there will be no school for Secondary Students on March 16 and 17.
Have a wonderful week.
Regards
Ms Amanda
Approved Uniform
Approved Uniform
MYP
- GIS light blue shirt, with school logo, fully buttoned
- Regulation dark grey trousers, shorts (boys) or skirt (girls)
- Regulation tie with school logo
- Plain black shoes or plain black trainers
- Black belt (when required)
- GIS jumper with school logo (optional)
- GIS zip jacket with school logo (optional)
CP/DP
- GIS white shirt, with school logo, fully buttoned
- Regulation navy blue trousers or skirt
- Royal blue tie
- Black shoes
- Black belt (when required)
- GIS jumper with school logo (optional)
- GIS zip jacket with logo (optional)
- GIS Senior years jacket (optional)
PHE
- GIS PE shirt
- GIS PE shorts
- GIS swimsuit
- Sports trainers with non-marking soles and heels
- GIS teamwear is permitted in PE lessons
Not Approved
Not Approved
MYP/CP/DP
- denim, leggings or sweatpants
- white/colored detail or laces shoes
- Hoodies (including www)
- Shoes/slides that have open toe or do not fully cover the foot securely e.g. crocs
- Items that are not official GIS uniform
PHE
- Leggings which are not plain black
IMPORTANT DATES FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS
March 13-17 Neurodiversity Week
March 14-16 School Production
March 15: Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs) 3:30 to 5:30pm
March 16 Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs) 8am to 5pm (*no school for secondary students)
March 17 Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs) 8am to 12:15pm (*no school for secondary students)
March 22 Ramadan Begins (tentative)
March 24 Last Day of Term | Term 2 Report Published
Ramadan Timings
Ramadan Timings
Monday to Thursday
Monday to Thursday
Friday
Friday
Secondary School ConnectEd Workshops
Secondary School ConnectEd Workshops
Term 1 Presentations
Term 1 Presentations
Term 2 Presentations
Term 2 Presentations
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.
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
February 20 - 24
G6
Lucy Lauwrens, Zain Shaikh, Anastasia Pisaareva, Dhunn Shah, Sami Aljaibeji, Amelia Dsouza, Anannya Rakendu
G7
Yassin El Sherif, Yassin El Nemr, Zahra Parambath, Maneli Ezabad¸Grayson Corbin¸Sara Saragangani
G8
Tobias Madsen, Alwy Badawi¸Mazin Bayoumi¸Alisa Kurilova¸Aminjon Gaibnazarov, Zaina Hewedi
G9
Yassin Elashafie, Ahmed Kamal, Aditi Balagopal, Reda Kherraf, Riti Paghdar¸Zina Ben Mousa
G10
Yazan Zidan¸Nigora Adulleava¸Alexander Dynkin, Sardar Said, Firoza Ajmal, Maxim Vyalyy
Advisory
Advisory
Grade 10
In celebration of International Women’s Day on the 8th March, students in Grade 10 Advisory class explored the theme of ‘embracing equity’. Led by Ms. Sian, students developed their own inquiry question and later sought to answer and share their ideas with the class.
French and Spanish
French and Spanish
Grades 6-10
MYP French and Spanish students have been developing their speaking skills, learning how to respond to questions on the spot! Here are some examples, Skittles - Speak the Rainbow where a student picks a Skittle from the bag and has to answer the corresponding question or the Dice task, a students rolls and has to answer the question. It’s really been encouraging students to think on their feet and develop their fluency and confidence.
Mathematics
Mathematics
Grades 6-10
To celebrate World Math Day , students completed in a online world math challenge and were able to use their math skills to compete against other students from across the world and compare results .
Barista Workshop
Barista Workshop
Grades 9-12
The students had a wonderful opportunity to learn the history of coffee and how to make an espresso and other coffees alongside learning some very interesting coffee art.
University Fair
University Fair
Grades 9-12
34 universities from around the world visited GIS on Tuesday 7th March; Students from Grades 9 to 12 got an opportunity to interact with them. The atmosphere was electric as students navigated from stall to stall exploring, enquiring and satiating their curiosity about subjects, courses and future destinations.
Professor Visit
Professor Visit
Grades 10-11
Two Professors from NHL Stenden in The Netherlands visited us on Tuesday 7th March and offered a 90 minute workshop on AI, Robotics and Ethical Hacking. Our students enjoyed it immensely, and there was a rather competitive spirit which saw the girls pitching themselves against the boys. We all know who won, right?
The Personal Project Exhibition
The Personal Project Exhibition
Grades 10
The Personal Project is said to be the culminating experience of the MYP and our students really put the spotlight on the IB mission statement this week.
“The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” (The IB mission statement)
Many students focused on making the world a better place.
“My personal Project aims to rebuild ocean marine life and encourages others to join me in creating a ripple effect” (Zara Syed).
As a Lebanese citizen, the ongoing electricity crisis in my country holds a personal significance for me… For my Personal Project, I am trying to design a wind turbine with built-in solar panels” (Serge Helou)
Serge Helou
Boitumelo Kganyago
Quinn Kaplan
Tala Yamak
Others focused on developing intercultural understanding and respect...
Manya Singh
Ella McCluskey
Ezra Dsouza
Abdel Badran
Regardless of the focus, one thing was absolutely clear, our students are IB students and the Personal Project is the culminating experience of the Middle Years Programme!
During the next weeks we will be sharing many of these incredible products with you through the newsletter. Each student brought something special and unique to this experience and once again I was struck by the vitality and passion of GIS students.
'Your Old Is Their New' Campaign (A UAE Ambassador Initiative)
'Your Old Is Their New' Campaign (A UAE Ambassador Initiative)
Secondary
Dear GIS Community,
Thank you so much for your contributions to the 'Your Old is their New' charity drive for the people in need. We thank you for the toys, books, clothes and accessories that have been donated in great condition. Your help has given great alms to the people in need across the world. Without your donations, we would not have been able to put a smile on their faces. We have taken your contributions, placed them into boxes for Red Crescent and from there, they will be transported to the underprivileged.
Let yourself take a minute to be thankful for all the privileges that you have in life, and appreciate yourself for having helped your brothers and sisters.
We hope to see more contributions and connections built together to create a strong community here in GIS.
Kind regards,
On behalf of the UAE Ambassadors
Iman Bint Faiz.
Grade 9
IDU Project Samples
IDU Project Samples
Moroccan Tour
Moroccan Tour
Sensational Saudi
Sensational Saudi
Secret Book Storage box (advertisement)
Secret Book Storage box (advertisement)
HydroFlo
HydroFlo
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.
Parent WhatsApp Groups
Parent WhatsApp Groups
Scan the QR Codes to Join
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.
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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