Now that regular school hours have resumed, I am impressed to see that so many of our students are arriving on time, which is crucial to their education. I am particularly impressed that one student, Yalda A (G8), welcomed others to the school, as Ms Romien does most mornings, by playing the piano in the reception area. Yalda played so beautifully that she received a Commendation from me. You may recognize the piece of music, if you have seen the film ‘Amélie’! 

To continue the theme of talented students promoting the arts, Ms Terri, our secondary school librarian, has praised all the students involved in Poetry Week. Grade 11 members of the Writers’ Club, and the Link Magazine, have entered Grade 6 and Grade 7 classes to deliver poetry workshops and activities. Well done to all and thank you. 

We are very proud of our Grade 12 students, who have done so much for the school and modelled the school values so well. Their attitude has helped create the positive and warm environment at GIS. They enjoyed an emotional final official day at school on Wednesday 19th and our students and parents ensured that their ‘Senior Walk’ was memorable, applauding them throughout, on their symbolic departure. Of course, they now undertake their IB examinations and I wish them all the very best for this final hurdle. I look forward to speaking to this year group at Graduation. 

This week I was invited to give a presentation at the German Emirates Club ‘Business Breakfast’ on the theme, ‘The Future of Education in the UAE’. It was a privilege to represent GIS, alongside educationalists from the nursery, higher education, and online sectors. 

Finally, I also look forward to seeing our families at the GIS Spring Carnival on Saturday. Our GISPA team has worked very hard on this event and it promises to be a lot of fun. One point to note please: the event finishes at 7.30pm sharp and all students need to be collected by this time. The school gates will be closed by 8pm. 

Kind regards, have a good weekend, and hope to see you on Saturday .

This week we held a number of sport squad trials across the week. It was great to see big numbers at all trials and we look forward to seeing how our squads do in the upcoming DASSA season.

On Wednesday we had our annual student vs staff basketball game, which was organized by our student sports committee. In what was a very close match the staff finished on top AGAIN. Although they did benefit from having the U19 boys captain John K on their side. This was John’s last game before his upcoming World Exams. He has been an outstanding servant for the Jaguars over the past number of years and we wish him every success in the future.

We had our first fixture of the term on Thursday afternoon when the U15 boys cricket team welcomed Safa Community School for their first game of the season. GIS opted to bat first and racked up a score of 120 runs from 10 overs. In what was a very close and entertaining game the boys emerged narrow victors with a 120-118 win. We look forward to see how this team progresses for the remainder of the season.

Community Celebrations

Congratulations to G11 student Nour M, who continues to impress in the world of fencing. Nour recently represented Tunisia in the World Championships in Bulgaria after qualifying as one of 178 fencers from around the world.