Week Thirty Three - May 27th 2021

Secondary School

After a busy week of exams for G9 to G11 students, we now turn our focus to the upcoming PTCs on June 8th from 2:00pm to 8:00pm. Grade 9 to Grade 11 parents will received the link to book appointments today (it may have already been published by the time the newsletter goes live). Please note the time and day of the PTCs - there is no disruption to the school day for students on this day as the appointments will run from 2:00pm and this is after the dismissal of students on a Tuesday. Grade 6 to Grade 8 students' PTCs will take place a little later and the PTCFast link for these appointments will be released on June 10. We are continuously reviewing all of our processes at GIS and PTCs at the school have evolved as our school has grown. We have made the decision to split them in this way for the end of your appointments in an attempt to balance our appointment availability a little. We moved G9 - G11 a little earlier mainly to support with discussions about important transitions in the upper school grade levels.

We had our final chance to say farewell to our class of 2021 this week as the students arranged an end of year dinner for Grade 12 (and Grade 11) students to attend. Seeing young adults graduate from the school is one of the most rewarding aspects of working in secondary school. A significant proportion of this graduating class have spent all or most of their secondary school education at GIS so it is no surprise at what wonderful young adults we send out into the world this year with this class.

Exam week was a great success for grade 9 and 10 students this week. The experience of sitting exams is extremely important for upper MYP students as they transition towards studying DP subjects. The students were professional in their approach to the exams and we hope that reflections in coming weeks about how well they prepared, how they approached the exams and their outcomes are all valuable ones as they continue to develop as learners.

It was my pleasure to visit some of the grade 5 exhibitions this week. It really is a testimony to the quality of the IB education on offer at GIS when I listen to the 10 and 11 year old students speak passionately and knowledgeably about their journey through the exhibition process. The grade 5 students really do look ready for the next step in their educational journey and I know that secondary school teachers are going to be very impressed next year when they join grade 6.

Finally, we welcome the IB into the school (well virtually) next week as we get the chance to showcase our own learning journey as an IB school. It has been a rewarding and fruitful process as we prepare for this journey as we have been able to take stock and reflect on just how far we have come in such a short period of time. The secondary school is only really five years in earnest and whilst this may feel like a lifetime in Dubai terms, we are still a very young school. That being said, the outcomes of our students are well beyond where we would have expected when we planned for the last five years. We are so proud of our school and can't wait for the IB to visit us and see what we have achieved since their last visit.

Exam postponed in Grade 10

We had to make the hard decision to reschedule G10 exams on Wednesday this week. This was not an easy decision and unfortunately, it was also one that was made very late. The main factor for this was the impact of the scheduled vaccination run for our school. Our decision to postpone came as a result of an influx of information from DHA as the week went on and much of this information was at the end of the working day as the DHA reflected on how the vaccination processes had operated that day.

We know that students had prepared well for these exams and we are keen to ensure that the outcomes are used to inform decisions, discussions and future learning. To have so many students miss the exam because the vaccination window had been moved to the school day felt unfair and we wanted to ensure that all students had the chance to complete their exams.

The postponed examinations fro G10 students from Wednesday (Individuals & Societies and Science) will now take place on Sunday 30th May.

COVID 19 reminders for all families

Travel declaration and return to school after spring break

All families should have received a link to the GEMS travel declaration form from GEMS. Please complete this to indicate if you are traveling or not.

If you are intending on traveling during the break please ensure that your child has completed a PCR test and received a negative result within 48 hours of returning to school.

Students should come to school fully prepared for socially distanced education:
- 1. A well fitted mask - if the mask is constantly slipping then it should be replaced. The disposable masks remain the ideal mask for school
  2. Sanitizer - this is available in school but we do suggest that students carry their own in addition
  3. Food and water - we still prefer students to be self sustaining rather than purchasing in school. We do have handsfree water stations in school so water bottles can be refilled
If your child is ill, they should stay home
- 1. We understand the pressures of missing school and we appreciate families that are committed to ensure their children attend school regularly but students must stay away from school if they have COVID related symptoms
  2. In most cases, this will only be for a day or two. If symptoms persist beyond this time then a PCR test would be advisable and at that point, we can provide remote access to learning
DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IF YOU ARE AWAITING PCR RESULTS
- 1. If you have to have your child tested for any reason then we ask that you please do not send your child to school while awaiting results
Provide GIS Medical Alert (GIS_MedicalAlert@GEMSEdu.com) with any and all information related to your family and COVID as soon as possible
- 1. This really helps the school to manage to widespread impact of individual cases on other students.
  2. Delaying information by even an hour can be the difference between 2 or 3 students having to isolate and 6 to 10
IF YOUR CHILD IS IDENTIFIED AS A CLOSE CONTACT TO A POSITIVE CASE, THEY SHOULD BE IN ISOLATION
- If a person is considered to be a 'close contact' of a confirmed positive case of COVID19, they are placed on isolation from school
- If they are on isolation, they should not be socializing and should be isolated

We are excited to share that our students are invited to participate in the Global Social Leaders Summer of Change. It is being delivered by Future Foundations and supported by the Wellington Leadership and Coaching Institute!

This opportunity is open to 11-17 year olds. The programme aims to; develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students’ need today to thrive in and shape their world; nurture wellbeing; and develop the skills to implement real social action challenges and projects, and learn about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The price per individual student is £220.

A Q and A Webinar is being offered for Students and families that may be interested on Wednesday 2nd June 2021 at 8am and 3pm BST (you can access the details of this via the button below this news item.

Some key dates for consideration are:

First Programme

Registration & Payment Deadline 27th June

Course Dates 12th July – 16th July

Challenge: 30 Days of Action 17th July-15th August

Celebration: 13th September

Second Programme

Registration & Payment Deadline 11th July

Course Dates 26th July – 30th July

Challenge: 30 Days of Action 31st July-29th August

Celebration: 14th September

Where?

This programme will be delivered online via ZOOM.

Who

Young people from all around the world aged 11-17 years old.

Application

You will need to register them online, or they can register themselves with your consent, by going to the following website in the button below this news item and clicking ‘registration’. Following registration further information will be shared with participants and parents direct. By joining this programme, you will give your child the potential of an opportunity of a lifetime.

If you have any questions prior to registering, please contact the GSL Team direct by emailing - gslcatalyst@future-foundations

Q&A webinar information

To register

SCOPE: Build the Planet

The purpose of ‘Build the Planet’ - An International Inter-School Competition - is to empower students with high levels of environmental awareness to work collaboratively towards achieving the sustainable development goals. This aims at stimulating creative thinking skills and expressions of the generation to come.

If you would like to participate in this exciting opportunity, please register via the link below by Sunday 30th May:

To register

SCOPE___Build_the_Planet_2021.pdf

GIS Community Calendar - subscribe by clicking

Upcoming Key Dates

May 30th - MYP Service as Action Experience Submission Deadline

June 3rd - Grade 10 MYP Completion Dinner (**TBC and more details to follow)

June 8th - Grade 9 to Grade 11 PTCs (2:00pm to 8:00pm) School as normal on this day

June 10th - PTCFast published for Grade 6 to Grade 8 parents

June 13th - June 17th - MAP testing

June 23rd & June 24th - Grade 6 to Grade 8 PTCs (8:00am to 4:00pm) Students not in school on these days

June 29th - Secondary School Awards Evening

June 13-17th

Links to key guidance and study resources are included in the adjacent letter. Families are encouraged to thoroughly review the information provided to ensure that students are prepared for a smooth and successful testing experience.

MAP Testing_Letter to Families.pdf

Don't be fooled - Ab Initio is no walk in the park

It is a common misconception that Ab initio languages in the DP are easier courses that the B SL or HL options. This could not be further from the truth. Ab initio students are expected to get to almost the same level of proficiency as their B language SL counterparts - what makes this harder is they only have two years to do this (when the SL students have been studying their language for years!)

Mr Dexter shared this great initiative from some of the class of 2021 as they spoke to the DP1 ab initio students about what it takes to succeed.

So nice to see the graduating students still giving back to GIS simply for the good of their peers.

Smiles4Zayed website goes live

Why not head over the website and take a look at how you could get involved and see all the wonderful work that the team have been up to.

Smiles4Zayed website

Peer tutoring

Peer remains available for all students and the founder of the project has further developed the process to make it more personalized and easy to manage.

If you're a student that would like some support from an older student in one of your subjects then click on the button below and find a tutor that fits your needs

If you're a student that thinks that you could support someone else in a subject that you have a strength in, why not sign up as a peer tutor

If you're a parent and would like to consider this for your child then take a look at the platform and give your child a nudge in our direction!

PEER TUTORING PLATFORM