Embedded Files
Week Forteen- November 30th 2022
Kim Conlin
Head of Primary
Dear PYP Parents,
It was a short yet powerful week! Thank-you to everyone who came out to celebrate National Day with us on Monday. Also a huge thank-you to the parents, staff and students that contributed to make the National Day celebrations a success. We hope you all have a wonderful UAE National Day holiday.
Next week is our last week of term and we have many fun activities planned with a lead up to the winter break. A big community event will take place after school on Thursday December 8th from 3:30-6:30. Everyone is welcome and please stay after school to enjoy music, food and games/activities with your children. There will be normal dismissal procedures this day and all PYP children must be accompanied by an adult to take part in winterfest. Any bus riders not taking the bus home (parent will meet them at school) must follow the usual procedures of emailing the homeroom teacher and STS.
Next week PYP will have a different theme each day to raise the fun and school spirit as we head into the winter holiday. Please see below for the theme on each day.
Please note that there are no GIS ECA's after school next week.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend.
National Day Celebrations!
National Day Celebrations!
We had a great day celebrating our host country and home at GIS on Monday November 28th. Thank you to our Emirati families for helping us celebrate and thank you to the UAE for being the beautiful country we call home!
Newsletter at a Glance
Newsletter at a Glance
In this edition you will find:
Announcements / Reminders / Upcoming dates
Peek Into Learning: UAE Connections
Primary Pages - link to Grade and Class pages
PYP reminders and resources
Absence Procedure
Whole School Calendar
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming Dates
Dec 1st and 2nd -School Holiday
December 5th - 9th - PYP Spirit Week (see flyer below)
December 5th - 9th - No ECAs
December 8th - GIS WinterFest (afterschool- community event)
December 9th- Last Day of School before Winter Break
January 2nd - First day of school from Winter Break
January 6th- Term 2 ECA information shared
Announcements and Reminders:
Announcements and Reminders:
A Peek into Learning: UAE Connections
A Peek into Learning: UAE Connections
This week we celebrated UAE National Day at school. Students have celebrated through their in class learning and our whole school celebration. On Monday, students from Pre K - Grade 12 , parents, and teachers joined together to watch our whole school performance on the field. There were speeches and Quran recitals from some of our Emirati students. Some of our PYP students were joined by high school musicians to perform the National Anthem. A group of male students performed the Al Ayyala, a traditional Emirati dance performed at weddings and other celebrations. The female performers from PYP joined together to perform the Khaleeji, which is commonly referred to as the hair dance.
In class students have been continuing their celebration of the UAE while making connections to other areas of learning. Grade 2 used recyclable materials to create famous UAE landmarks. Grade 1 found out about different transportation used in the UAE including boats made from traditional materials used for fishing. In Islamic students made posters to celebrate the things they love about the UAE. In Art students created different pieces including landscapes and collages of UAE artifacts.
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
Page updated
Report abuse