Week Three - September 16th 2021

Secondary School

Yet another busy week is behind us!

Thank you to those parents who have already accessed the Curriculum Evening information shared this week. The link will stay active until Tuesday Sept 21^st, so if you have not done so already, we encourage you to take time to learn more about the educational journey your child(ren) are on at GIS.

We are delighted to advise that the Lounge & Studio areas on the Third floor were given a revamp this week for our senior students. The two spaces have been fitted out with furniture that supports our most senior students undertaking their CP and DP studies. The Studio is dedicated to silent study, while the Lounge allows small groups to collaborate and meet, in a more relaxed setting, when undertaking group work.

On that note, the IBO authorisation Manager, Ms Fiona Clarke, officially sent our CP certificate this week. We are so proud to be a Four Programme IB World school, where accommodating our students learning needs is our priority.

Correspondence has been sent home this week regarding the Goal Setting Conferences taking place from Sept 19^th to 21^st. Please do ensure that you have accessed the link to make relevant bookings for your children. Please note, these meetings are a chance for your child to discuss their goals for this academic year. There will be other opportunities later in the year for parents to discuss their child’s progress with teachers.

Last week parents were advised of the need to read and agree to the GIS Digital Citizenship Policy. If you have not done so already, can you please ensure that you complete this form. The deadline has been extended to Sunday Sept 19th.

It was wonderful that this week we were finally able to allow students to access outside space during breaks. While we are currently reliant on the heat index being below 40 degrees, as the temperature cools, we will be outside more often. Over the course of a week, a schedule has been created so that students have access to a variety of spaces, socially distancing in their year groups at all times.

I would like to congratulate our students, your children, on the excellent way they are conducting themselves since school has recommenced. Well done everyone!

Amanda Murphy

Head of Secondary

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Sunday 19th September Goal Setting Conferences (8-4pm)

Students in Grades 6-9 will not attend school (they should attend the PTCs)
Grades 10-12 will be in school, participating in an 'IB Core' day.

Monday 20th September Goal Setting Conferences (8-4pm)

Students in Grades 6-11 will not attend school (they should attend the PTCs)
Grade 12 students will attend lessons as normal

Tuesday 21st September Goal Setting Conferences (4-8pm)

September 26-30th MAP & CAT4 Testing

Secondary School Curriculum Evening

In case you missed it, the site that was created for the Secondary School Curriculum Evening can be revisited at your convenience by following this link.

“Many Ways to Read a Book!”

A huge thank you to our English team (and Mr. Joe Fuller) for overseeing the new literacy initiative at GIS. It is apparent that more kids have books in hand throughout the day and are reading for pleasure. This change in the MYP has had a noticeable impact on students!! The numbers of kids excitedly coming to the library before and after school as well to change their books is so heartwarming!

Bethany Wessel

MYP / DP Librarian

We are currently on the look-out for internship opportunities in Dubai-based businesses for our CP students to gain professional insight and skills. If you would like to offer internships or know of interesting opportunities that could suit our CP students that are specialising in Business or Creative Media, please reach out to our Career-related Programme Coordinator, Ms. Mariona Coderch Lopez, at m.coderch_gis@gemsedu.com

In an effort to accommodate the growing needs of our community, we are surveying parents to gauge the interest in offering Mother Tongue Classes for our students. These classes would be offered by an External provider and may operate during or after the school day. It is also important to note, that a minimum number of students are required for a class to operate and there will be extra costs associated.

Parents are asked to complete this brief survey no later than Thursday Sept 16th.

MAP_Letter to Families.pdf

From the Classroom

In Language Acquisition (French), Grade 6 students were learning to use a range of vocabulary and use accurate pronunciation (Criterion C, Strands i + iii) and synthesised their knowledge of both French and Maths together! They learnt numbers 1-20 and then challenged themselves to complete Math puzzles in French. They can now make their conversations even longer by asking people’s age, etc.

In Arabic B, Grade 6 students were learning to use a range of vocabulary about family and to use accurate pronunciation (Criterion C, Strands i ) through fun activities, such as Snakes Ladders, Ludo and Connect-4. Students have applied their learning by speaking about their families in simple sentences while playing these games.

Grade 6 were introduced to and instructed to research more about the Design Cycle. Students were presented with some high-order research questions to stimulate their thinking and research - for example:

Why is it important to study the design cycle?
How does the design cycle HELP in a Design project?

Students were asked to summarise their research and they presented their work in a variety of ways, including Google Slides, animation videos (using Powtoon) and websites.

Work sample

In Science, Grade 7 students investigated the solubility of sugar at different temperatures. They used their analytical skills to interpret the relationship between temperature and saturation point. They also researched the real life applications of solubility such as manufacturing of medicine, beverages, food industry, etc.

In DP Math, Tara is showing off her skills with a difficult differentiation question which was a past paper question with her first try and she suggested she show her skills to the class. Well done Tara!

Arnav is a risk taker coming to the board to share his knowledge of an introductory binomial theorem question about coefficients (the number before a variable or letter). Well done Arnav!

We encourage students to bring enough healthy food & water to school to keep them going throughout the day. Should your child need to purchase food, we ask that you pre-order through Slices (details below), as this assists with maintaining Covid regulations and prevents your child from having to wait in lengthy queues.

Slices offers various lunch options for students. A cashless system is implemented on campus. For further information on how to activate your account and to view menu options, click HERE.

Technical issues can be raised via https://slices.ae/contact-us/ or by emailing customersupport@slices.ae.

If you wish to make use of the Slices catering service, please note that:

Food orders must be placed in advance and will be delivered to the students' classroom (same-day deliveries cannot be honored).
It is advisable to place orders on a weekly basis . For examples, every Thursday, you may place your order for next week (Sunday to Thursday).
Visits to the canteen (to purchase snacks throughout the day) will be restricted. As such, we ask that families consider an appropriate quantity and variety of foods to sustain your child for the duration of the school day.
Students are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles to school, in order to reduce use of non-reusable plastics and to limit the need for students to leave the classroom (this is of particular note while social distancing restrictions are in place).

ATTENDANCE & EXITING SCHOOL EARLY

Parents are reminded that students need to be at school each day by 8:10 am. Should your child be absent for any reason, parents must contact gis_secondaryleaverequest@gemsedu.com by 9 am the day of the illness. You are asked to provide a reason for the absence. It is important to note that should a student be absent on the day of an assessment, it is the responsibility of the student to communicate with the subject teacher(s) in order to agree upon alternative arrangements for the completion/submission of work.

There has also been an update to the process surrounding students exiting school early. The minor changes are made in an effort to continue to ensure the safety of each one of our young people, we ask that should your child need to depart school prior to the end of the day, the following process be adhered to:

1. Where possible, parents are required to send an email the day before the intended early departure. This is to ensure that should the intended absence from class coincide with a planned assessment, relevant staff have been informed.

2. The email should be sent to gis_secondaryleaverequest@gemsedu.com

3. Parents need to advise who is collecting their child (e.g. parent/driver), the time of the departure, planned return time to school (should your child be returning), valid reason for the departure and registered parent contact number.

4. Should the parent approve of their child to leave school by Taxi/Uber, this needs to be mentioned clearly and put for review by the Head of Secondary.

5. Only when all of this information is received will an Exit slip be processed

6. Your child’s HR teacher will then be advised of the early departure via email

7. The stamped approved Exit Slip can be collected from the Secondary Secretary. In the absence of the Secondary Secretary the Exit Slip will be collected from either the Head of Secondary or Assistant Head of Secondary

8. Your child will need to pass the Exit Slip to security, without which they will not be permitted to leave