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Week Eight - October 21st 2022
Dear PYP Parents,
It is hard to imagine we have already hit midterm! This is the time of year, with a large period of time given to dig into some of the more complex concepts at each year level. Teachers have also been very appreciative of the time you gave at parent teacher conferences to share insights of your own child, which helped them understand each of their students more holistically.
We were excited to have the first assembly yesterday (5E) where we welcomed parents (posit covid restrictions). Well done to 5E for sharing their learning about body systems in a creative way! With an ongoing focus on social skills, our PYP counselors have also been running student assemblies on Thursdays to focus on relationship building.
Please join us this Wednesday for the parent connectEd to learn more about the inquiry approach to learning. As an IB world school we are constantly designing and reflecting on pedagogy and view parents as co-learners in the process. Ms Helen and I attended the global leadership conference in the Hague during the parent/teacher conferences and were given the opportunity to network and learn together with IB school leaders across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. We are fortunate to have the IB network to support our ongoing development as a school and community.
Thank-you to GISPA for highlighting and advocating for women/girls health this past Thursday. It was fun to see the community dressed in pink to raise awareness and the popcorn and treat sales were for a great cause. Monday, we have parents with Indian nationality or heritage leading on Diwali celebrations before school. We also invite our community to wear traditional Indian dress or bright colors to celebrate.
Have a wonderful weekend and see you all next week!
Ms Kim Conlin
Head of Primary
Newsletter at a Glance
Newsletter at a Glance
In this edition you will find:
Announcements / Reminders / Upcoming dates
Peek Into Learning: Grade 1
Primary Pages - link to Grade and Class pages
PYP reminders and resources
Absence Procedure
Whole School Calendar
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming Dates
Oct 24th- Diwali (dress in traditional Indian clothing or bright colors)
Oct 28th - Dubai 30x30 starts
October 31st - Costume dress up (dress in fun, creative costumes)
November 1st- Men's Health (wear blue accessories with uniform)
November 3rd- UAE Flag Day (dress in flag colors)
November 7th-9th- Grade 4 Week Without Walls Trip
November 7th-10th- Grade 5 Week Without Walls Trip
November 9th-10th- Grade 3 Week Without Walls Trip
November 21-25th - IBT Arabic Assessment G3-5
November 28th - UAE National Day Celebration @ GIS
Announcements and Reminders:
Announcements and Reminders:
A Peek into Learning: Grade 1
A Peek into Learning: Grade 1
Grade 1 have been learning about Who We Are, they were guided by the central idea 'An individual’s choices impacts their wellbeing.' They explored their daily habits, how their wellbeing can be impacted the choices they make and how they can make better lifestyle choices. Students inquired into their sleeping routines, the foods they eat, their exercise routines, relationships with others, mindfulness and personal hygiene.
As part of their learning it was great to involve our school community, the school doctor talked the students about health and hygiene and this week we had a group of parents came in to support learning through a series of mini workshops including:
Yoga, meditation and breathing
Healthy eating habits
Sports injuries
Physical activity and workout
Take a look at the video below to see what they got up to in their sessions.
to check your child's class page
to check your child's class page
Primary Class Pages
Primary Class Pages
Check out for weekly class updates
Curriculum Overview Site
Curriculum Overview Site
Information for new/starting families
Information for new/starting families
Overview of communication platforms (PYP)
Overview of communication platforms (PYP)
GIS Primary Handbook 2022_23.docx.pdfPrimary Handbook 2022-2023
Primary Handbook 2022-2023
Drop off and Pick up
Drop off and Pick up
Parents PK-G1 drop/pick up in classroom (through gate 4,6,8)
Grade 2-5 drop/pick up either gate 4 or gate 8
Late/Tardy: any student arriving after the national anthem must get a late slip at front reception/gate 4
My child will be absent
My child will be absent
Email your child's homeroom teacher before 8am so that he / she can mark their absence as excused.
Complete an absence form for an absence of more than 2 days and submit to PYP office or homeroom teacher on the child's first day back.
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 )
My child will leave during the school day (exceptional/unavoidable cases only)
My child will leave during the school day (exceptional/unavoidable cases only)
Email the gis_primaryleaverequest@gemsedu.com and your child's homeroom teacher 24 hours in advance to ensure your child and their leave slip are prepared in advance.
At the time of collection, please come to the Primary Reception at Gate 4.
Keeping our community safe with Covid-19 Protocols: if your child is a close contact or receives a positive test result please inform: gis_medicalalert@gemsedu.com
Key Contacts
Key Contacts
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