Week Thirty Three - May 27th 2021

#WeRGIS Weekly

From the Head of School's Desk

Dear Parents,

I hope that you are well.

A highlight of the week has been our superb Grade 5 Exhibition. Through a subtle re-working of schedules and a separation of classes across five days, we have been able to welcome parents to hear their children present their work. I have been so impressed by the depth of analysis and ambition from each class, with central ideas ranging from the power of dance, expression through animation, through to marine pollution and disability in sport. These young students and their teachers, along with Grade Leader Ms. Shonagh, should be justifiably proud of the effort and outcome.

Three older students also made us very proud this week. Rhea P, Samiksha S and Nidhika G painted a wonderful mural, directly opposite the secondary school entrance. The girls based their creative ideas on a representation of the IB learner profile values and the UN Sustainable Development Goal for Education. The mural was dedicated to Madam Mariamma Varkey (mother of our Chairman and grandmother of GIS parent Ms. Shirley Jacob) for her educational philosophy, kindness and selfless devotion to philanthropy. It was therefore an honour to have Ms. Shirley with us for the unveiling of the plaque next to the mural. Ms. Shirley complimented our students on their artwork and expressed her gratitude for the dedication to her grandmother, adding that Madam Varkey would certainly have aligned with the themes and values.

Last week I mentioned the visit from the Swiss Consul General. We are now planning for a visit from the Finnish Ambassador. The Finnish education system has made global headlines in recent years, so it should be an engaging visit for us and we are privileged to be the school selected. As I have said, the best schools look beyond their own walls and network broadly to elicit best practice. I would like to thank my GEMS colleagues, particularly Mr. Bramley, Vice President – Communications, for his support for this proposed visit.

Arabic reading has seen a boost recently, both in Arabic A and B, thanks to some innovative reading platforms offered to the students (‘Kam Kalima’ for Arabic A and ‘I Start Arabic’ for B). I have very much enjoyed handing out certificates to the most prolific readers and I thank the teachers also for their encouragement of students. The overall winners for Arabic A are Zaineb Z, Reda K, Fatima M and Chahine O; and for Arabic B, Moonkang C, Arad E, Diyanah S and Matteo F. Mumtaaz!

And finally, a polite reminder that the next parent survey comes out on Sunday 30^th May. We do hope that you have seen our focus on wellbeing, personalized learning, and student voice since the last survey. Your opinion really matters and I am also grateful that you responded to recent phone calls seeking your views. For your information, we were delighted by the recent news from the International Schools Database, which indicated that GIS had one of the highest ratings on their site (4.7 out of 5) from the reviews given. This will now appear on our own website, long with the reviews. We certainly aim to listen and keep improving, along with sharing the success of our GIS students, teachers and community.