Dear Parents & Guardians

Thank you all so much for your diligence with monitoring your children’s health this week. We have been inundated with emails and calls seeking clarification regarding various scenarios associated with the current situation. To address some of the more common queries, please note:

• Should your child be considered a close contact (based on current DHA guidelines), you will be contacted from our clinic immediately.

• Unlike last year, current guidelines do not allow parents to choose that their child will access their schooling remotely. As outlined in last week’s newsletter, there are very clear requirements for students to qualify for remote learning overseen by KHDA.

While the beginning of the new year has been somewhat unpredictable, one thing that has persisted are the exams for our most senior students. Our Grade 12 cohort will sit for the trial examinations commencing on Monday. We know that they have been preparing for these for many, many months, if not years. Many families have endured the extra anxiety and grumpiness that goes hand in hand with a teenager about to sit exams that can dictate their future pathways.

One of our cultural pillars is ambition for all. We are well aware, and fully support, that success for each and every young person will be different. My personal ambition for all, is that every student genuinely tried their absolute best, that all suitable and appropriate support was deployed to assist them to achieve this best. Grade 12’s I, and the rest of the staff, wish you well – you can do this Class of 2022!

My questions to all of our other students, Grade 6 through to Grade 11, is, what is your ambition? What are you doing right now to help set yourself up for success in the future? Are you reaching out to your teachers when you were absent from class? Or did not fully understand something? Are you submitting your work on time? Are you completing your work to the best of your ability? Are you being proactive with regard to your learning? It is never too early to start this planning. Excellence is hard work!

It is for this reason, that we will commence our Grade 10 to Grade 11 transition process this week. Students in Grade 10 will participate in an online Information session with Ms Mariona (CP Coordinator) and Mr Adam (DP Coordinator) where they will hear about the subject groupings & offerings moving into Grade 11. This will be followed up by a ConnectEd parent session on Wednesday. We encourage all parents with students in Grade 9 and 10 to participate, where you will hear more about the move to senior school.

Finally, this week, we celebrate Arabic language Day. Thank you to Ms Amineh and her team, Jana Alballany and Mohammed Alnasrawi for the work dedicated to this important day. Arabic Language Day is normally celebrated in December while we are on winter break, hence why we celebrated it a little later than usual. Below you will find some further information regarding this event.

Best wishes to all of our families, please stay safe.

Amanda Murphy

Head of Secondary