Week Twenty Nine - March 18th 2022

Secondary School

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Secondary Curriculum Information

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Diversity Week was celebrated across the school this week. It is a week such as this that highlights the strength of our outstanding community. Students in the Secondary School participated in a wide range of activities where the focus was on understanding difference, accepting difference and celebrating all of our differences! The spotlight was on mental health awareness and understanding the different aspects of neurodiversity. Special thanks to Ms Isabelle and Ms Diana and her team that ensured the week went well. Also, special mention must go to the students who helped raise awareness of our diversities. Well done in particular to our Grade 11 Shana Neves who based her CAS project on this important topic by making multi-coloured wristbands and distributing them to our community to highlight awareness of diversity. Outstanding effort Shana!

This week was also a significant week in the life of our PE department. With the lifting of many restrictions, more and more sporting events are taking place. This week we held the Secondary Swimming Gala across two days. What an amazing display of talent we have! I was blown away by the determination and energy of our students. Thanks to our student coaches, Kabir & Ali, and the PE team for making this day possible.

We also have a large group of students from Grades 6 to 12 represent GIS at a DASSA athletics competition at Sports City. Student success continued, making it to the podium! Again, our PE Team were very proud of our athletes. They represented our school with pride and determination. Congratulations to all involved.

Recently we have been focusing on how our school uniform is worn by some students. We understand that students may be rushing in the morning and unintentionally wear the incorrect shoes, or forget to put on their tie. Having students practice their organization skills by ensuring their uniform is prepared the evening before could be one way to prevent this. Wearing a school uniform creates cohesion, removes peer pressure and encourages professionalism to say the least. We would like to thank parents for their support in ensuring that students have the correct uniform items on hand each day. Your ongoing support is very much appreciated.

Stay safe and best wishes

Amanda Murphy

Head of Secondary

Welcome Ramadan 2022

Ramadan is much more than a fasting period; it is a holy month rooted in culture, faith and history. Across the globe, Muslims mark this time with vibrant celebrations that are unique to their region and passed on through generations. Celebrated by millions of Muslims worldwide, Ramadan is observed every year during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Taking place for approximately 30 days – depending on the sighting of the new moon – it marks the month that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH in AD 610. One of the five pillars of Islam and mandatory for all adults and healthy Muslims, the holy month is marked with shared traditions such as fasting, charity and prayer, reflection, and practices that vary from culture to culture. GIS will celebrate the ‘Welcome Ramadan’ event on Monday, 11th April 2022, in the front reception. This event will include inshAllah decorations, Islamic songs, a calligraphy stall, and a performance by grade 6 students, who will be singing ‘Ramadan is Here.’

Ramadan Timings

*Students may be on campus from 8:10am

Monday - Thursday

Friday

You will begin to notice a gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions as we receive permission to do so. Thermal camera's have been removed from school entrances. Social distancing, masks, vaccinations and limited access to school facilities remain in place. We will continue with the same protocols for entrance and dismissal gates for the time being. An important update last month is the discontinuation of remote learning by KHDA. Any student accessing remote learning school sessions must provide the necessary medical documentation and the school must submit a report on their behalf to avoid fines. Please understand that GIS does not have authority to permit remote learning without KHDA approval. Regular processes apply for students that will be absent from school (shared at the end of the newsletter). For more information on how to apply for exemption to on campus learning, contact our clinic at GIS_MedicalAlert@GEMSEdu.com

Diversity Awareness Week

We are pleased to include some highlights from our students on what they have learnt during Diversity Week. Thank you to all students for taking part in the videos - Saeed, Reda, Jolie, Loyan, Fayroz, Yeva and Foteini

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Exciting news! GIS to become the first school in the UAE to offer the prestigious Embry Riddle Aeronautical University program in Grade 11 and 12.

We are proud to announce the launch of new IB Career-related Programme pathways at GIS for our incoming Grade 11 cohort. As you know, we currently have 23 students enrolled into our IBCP Business and Creative Media pathways. Students enrolling into Grade 11 for 2022-23 will also have the possibility of choosing the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Dual Enrollment Program at GIS. Through ERAU, students will be able to specialize in Aeronautics and Aviation or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Students will also be able to specialize in Business combined with either of the two previous pathways (Business with Aeronautics and Aviation or Business with STEM).

Given GIS’s current Center for Aviation, Aeronautics and Space provision for MYP students, it was a natural step to develop our students’ passion for Aeronautics, Aviation and STEM in their last two years prior to university. We know that many GIS families have either personal or professional connections to the aviation industry in Dubai and hope that these pathways enable our students to continue this legacy.

ERAU’s history goes back over 90 years and is currently one of the most prestigious aviation and aeronautical universities in the world. ERAU currently offers a wide variety of science-related programs that range from Applied Science, Aviation, Business, Computers & Technology, Engineering, Space and Security, Intelligence and Safety, amongst others. If you would like to learn more about ERAU, please visit their website here.

In the meantime, we would like to invite you to join our ConnectEd session in collaboration with ERAU this coming Wednesday, March 9th at 11.00 am. During the session, you will learn details about the program and you will have the chance to ask burning questions.

Support During A Time of Crisis

Counselors Article - Supporting your children (and yourself) in times of crisis March 2022.pdf

Upcoming Dates

Feb 28th - March 25th GIS Sports & Health Month

Mar 12th GIS Expo (3-7pm)

Mar 14-18th Diversity Awareness Week

Mar 25th Last day of term 2

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January 12th - Keeping a Big School Small

January 26th - DP/CP Pathways

While we work to make this available via YouTube, please access this session recording by logging in with your child's gemselearning credentials.

Our Student Voice

Make sure to check out our Website and Instagram!

@gis_elt

@gis__thelink

GIS SPORTS & HEALTH MONTH

The Sports Committee is very pleased to announce the upcoming Sport & Health Month which will take place during March. This event is in collaboration with the House Committee, which means that there will be many opportunities for students to win house points! Sports & Health Month will be packed with fun activities, some of which will even let you work collaboratively with other students as a team. You can check the Sports & Health Month Calendar and make sure to sign up for the team events, inter-house basketball and dodgeball tournaments, by filling out the google forms linked below before the 25th of February.

Inter-house tournament sign-ups:

Basketball: Link to the form

Dodgeball: Link to the form

60km Challenge: Link to Sign-Up

Take a look at this presentation for more detailed information regarding Sports & Health Month and the respective activities. We wish you a good day and an enjoyable break!

Cigdem Kavcar

Head of Sports Committee

This week, the amazing Student ELT launched the Secondary Student Hub to the MYP students during Advisory. This is an ongoing collaborative project between the Student ELT, Inclusion Team & Grade Leaders.

The Secondary Student Hub will be the students access point for the new social groups and peer mentoring, as well as signing up for the already established peer tutoring programme.

Students will also be able to find links to ECAs, student voice initiative, counsellor referral forms, mindset matters and homeroom information. We are really proud of the work that the Student ELT have put in to this so far and look forward to seeing their expansion of the site.

THE PERSONAL PROJECT

In the Personal Project Grade 10 students have the opportunity to showcase the skills they developed throughout the MYP. They have to choose something they want to learn about and decide on a product to create. Our Grade 10 students have now completed their products and what they have done is seriously impressive! We hope to be able to host an exhibition later on in the year to share their wonderful work with the whole community, but I would like to give you a sneak preview of some of their work over coming weeks.

Ms Sandy

Ghadi inspired a friend to get fit and created a video to share that experience.

Pre-order Food Through Slices

Students are encouraged to bring a packed lunch to school - particularly while COVID-19 restrictions are in place - as it ensures that they are able to eat and drink as required throughout the school day.

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

Food deliveries will not be permitted from external restaurants/catering services.
Food orders must be ordered through Slices in advance by completing this GOOGLE FORM.

Orders for following weeks must be placed by 10am each Friday.
Orders must be placed in advance for the full week (Monday to Thursday).
Same-day orders/deliveries will not be possible.

Food orders will be delivered to the students' classroom.
Students will not be permitted to visit the canteen in order to purchase water or snacks throughout the day.

Please consider an appropriate quantity and variety of foods to sustain your child for the duration of the school day.
Students are encouraged to bring sufficient water with them to school to sustain them throughout the day.

From the Classroom (and beyond)

Please find results, scorers, action photos, match reports, Sports News and much more on our Jaguar Sports website

You can also read reviews of the latest GIS sporting action via the GIS PHE site, curtesy of our Head of Sports Committee, Cigdem Kavcar

The Championship Series tournament organized by All India Tennis Association (AITA) was held in Altevol - Alexander Waske Tennis University, Ahmedabad. It was a learning experience for GIS student, Sumer Methi, who returned to match play after a gap of 8-9 months. While he had to play the qualification matches before he could appear in the main draw, Sumer eventually had a good run in the tournament. He played a total of 6 matches including the finals, where he lost in a gruelling and intense match that spanned more than two hours.

Participating in this tournament has helped Sumer better understand his strengths and, most importantly, his areas for improvement. His overall India ranking in U14 Boys will also improve as a result of this experience. Congratulations Sumer!

Kabir Kantharia is a Creative Media student, who his honing his skills and producing content for the GIS community to enjoy. This week, we are featuring his latest production, featuring the recent PYP Swim Gala.

Great job, Kabir!

Swim Gala Final.mp4

Stars of the Week!

Zahra Parambath, Pranary Mathur, Sultan Alqaizi, Christian Bendtsen, Armaan Kazani, Josephine Roux, Asma Sameer, Adem Zhukov, Tobias Madsen, Lucjan Zielinski, Tamara Algebori, Alexander Rushika, Elizabeth Orlova, Zaineb Zouaouni, Maitreyi Singh, Aadit Chandrani, Wassel El Hallak, Layla Sakkal, Areka Fatima, Suhani Kothari, Rawan Alsaeed, Nurilham Bin Ramlan, Takara Suzuno, Chahine Ouchari, Ernesto Silva, Lina Badawi, Marta Severa Reales, Nilma Al Moneer, Xuanru Meng, Nima Klintell and Aarnav Pillai.

Design & Technology

Design and Technology Students, alongside other subject students, apply their design thinking skills to solve the real-world problem-solving challenge organised by the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. Students have undergone a rigorous process to solve the challenge and are almost ready to present their solutions to judges on 8th April. Please wish our participation students good luck:

Abaan Syed Shaharyar; Arnav Sanghi; Ziad Hewedi; Priyasha Sharma; Sophia Ouchari; Olivia Ronnemaa; Cigdem Azra Kavcar; James Chami; Laiba Abbasi; Carl Makhlouf; Ayse Ece Ozgoren; Luna Al Hammouri; Yuheng Yang

Team 1

Cigdem, Priayasha, Olivia,and Abaan have banded together to create the group called CREO, which is a latin word that means to create. We decided to tackle the challenge given by Schneider Electric to design a smart home that harnesses the power of technology to enable sustainable, personalized and connected living because as we move into the future where climate change is a growing problem that can affect the daily lives of anyone anywhere, designing a smart house that focuses on energy efficiency and environmental care will reduce the risks of climate change and transform us humans into environmentally caring and intelligent.

Team 2

Our challenge is to design a potato chip product, for our client ‘Hunter Foods’. One that can be enjoyed all over the world ‘with universally appealing flavors and a stand-out visual language”. The required guidelines for this challenge, is for us to:

Have a universal flavor, appealing to people in all countries.
A stand-out packet design, with a powerful visual identity, ensuring that the product is recognizable and stands out in market shelves.
An attractive and practical package.
A product guided by the Hunter’s Gourmet brand promise, “Better for You” snacks.
Must be vegetarian.

Students concluded and presented their research work on Materials from extraction to disposal and manufacturing process. Students challenged themselves in groups to choose from various materials like Timber, Metals, Plastics, Glass, Composites, Alloy, Fabric, Scales of production and manufacturing processes involved. Students demonstrated their in-depth knowledge acquired during the research and tackled difficult questions asked by peers after their presentations.

Digital Design

Over the past few weeks, grade 10 students acquired the skill set of Java Coding while exploring the different libraries to calculate the exponent and power of numbers. This week, students applied their learning of Java programming to the challenge of creating a Login Page, Dashboard, Calculator and Area of geometrical shapes using coding.

Mathematics

Riti Pagdar has performed superbly in the recent Kenken International Championship of the UAE. Out of a massive national competition pool, Riti ranked 16th and achieved a certificate of excellence from Kenken.

Kenken involves solving Math logic puzzles and is quite similar in structure to Sudoku. The primary difference is that Kenken requires mathematical operations to produce certain target numbers in specific ‘cage’ arrangements. This is a fantastic achievement, and we hope Riti inspires many more to take part in these brain-gyming challenges!

Arabic

Grade 7 are doing their unit reflection. They are writing their stories about traveling to their home countries.

Drama

Grade 7 students have been busy getting creative in Drama with their performances of Scenes from a Quarantine! We can all relate to one of the characters that are represented in these skits… the person who thinks quarantine is going to be easy. The person whose life changed overnight. The person who thinks hairdressers are an essential service. The person who just wants to use class meetings to talk. A huge amount of planning and preparation went into creating and performing these skits. Take a look at some of our highlights below!