The Panther Perspective

GEMS United School Monthly Newsletter

5th Edition

Tracie Landry

Librarian

Dear GUS Community,

Read with US is fast approaching. This year we have lots of fun-filled reading-centered activities planned for students, teachers, and families. But before we give you a taste of the upcoming activities and events, let’s first answer the question, “Why is reading important?”

The Internet sends us an endless stream of information about new exercise regimes and the impact of screen time, emotional well-being, and getting enough sleep. What if I told you one thing could help improve all of those things and make you an all-round better person?

It’s reading! Besides the obvious benefits of increased vocabulary and knowledge, reading is linked to improvements in memory and focus, writing, and critical and analytical thinking, all contributing to an enhancement in brain function. Emotionally and socially, it can provide motivation, make you more empathetic, bring joy, reduce loneliness and stress, and improve your sleep! It allows you to discover yourself and the world around you, and worlds as yet unknown. And when you take advantage of your library - it’s the best form of FREE entertainment!

So start reading now. Read alone. Read aloud. Listen to an audiobook as a family.

Join us during READ WITH US week March 8-11 for Buddy Reading, the House Read-a-thon, the Book Swap, Book Character Day, and many more events. See the flyers below for more information about the week and the specific events.

What are you waiting for? A better you is only a book away.

Check out what’s available at the GEMS US Library

CALENDAR & ANNOUNCEMENTS

News & Announcements

  • Planning for the 2020-21 Academic Year. If we haven't heard from you, please share your feedback as we begin planning for our teachers and programs for the upcoming year: Elementary Survey and Secondary Survey
  • Grade 11 & 12 Under the Stars Prom tickets go on sale beginning this Sunday, Mar. 1st during HS lunch. This year's prom will be held on Friday, April 17th from 7:00-11:00pm at the Waldorf Astoria on the Palm and tickets cost 400dhs/per person.
  • We will host an Elementary Learning Support Workshop this coming Tuesday, Mar. 3rd from 8:45-9:45am in the staff lounge. This is a great opportunity to learn more/new strategies to help support your child at home in reading, spelling, and/or motor skills.
  • High School Student Council is hosting a GR9 & 10 Under the Stars themed dance this Thursday, Mar. 5th from 6-8pm. Attire: semi-formal.
  • Elementary & Secondary Winter MAP results will be available in PlusPortals for you to view on Thursday, Mar. 5th.
  • Read With US week - Sunday, Mar. 8 - Wednesday, Mar. 11th. See the section below titled, Literacy, for all of the special activities each day.
  • GR5 field trip to OliOli on Sunday, Mar. 8th.
  • The Elementary 2nd Trimester ends Thursday, Mar. 5th. Report cards available via PlusPortals on Monday, Mar. 9th.
  • Elementary Maker Morning Monday, Mar. 9th. Join US at 8am in the quad for some fun creative activities!
  • Optional Elementary, PreK-GR5, Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) will be held on Tuesday, Mar. 10th from 2-6pm. Secondary PTCs will be held Tuesday, Apr. 21st.
  • There will be a Secondary Coffee Morning on Tuesday, Mar. 10th 8:45-9:45am in the staff lounge to discuss new graduation requirements/pathways directed from Ministry of Education.
  • Our Middle School Student Council is hosting their annual Camp-out on Wednesday, Mar. 11th from 6-9pm. The cost is 10dhs and activities include: tie-dye shirt making, karaoke, fort-building, Capture The Flag game and a movie. Tickets will be sold during MS lunch. If you would like to help us and provide baked goods or sponsor some pizzas, please email Ms. Hansen at k.ayoubhansen_gus@gemsedu.com.
  • There will be NO SCHOOL for students on Thursday, Mar. 12th for Teacher Professional Development. All classes will resume on Sunday, Mar. 15th and this will be a B Week.
  • Grade 1 Field trip to Oli Oli on Thursday, Mar. 19th.
  • There will be a GR5 writing celebration on Sunday, March 22nd from 8:45am- 9:30am in the classroom.
  • Watch the magic of My Little Mermaid come to life in our Secondary Musical coming Mar. 22-24th. Tickets cost 35dhs and can be purchased from our Receptionists starting Sunday, Mar. 1st.
  • Our grade 1 students would like to invite their parents to their Writing Celebration on Tuesday, Mar. 24th from 12:30-1:30pm.
  • The end of March marks the beginning of Spring Break. Students will release from classes at 12pm on Thursday, Mar. 26th and Spring Break will officially be held Sunday, Mar. 29th - Thursday, Apr. 9th.

LITERACY

Read with US

March 8 - 11th

Please See the poster for all of the activities we have lined up for this year's Read With US week. This is an all school initiative (Pre-K-GR12). Our literacy team has organized a wide range of fun dress-up opportunities, reading events and a fun book drive. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy!

JEWELS OF KINDNESS

Tell US how your child exhibits core values of compassion, kindness, respect, helpfulness and empathy. Share your story and let's build a stronger and kinder community together. Kindness is contagious!

Write US at :

Jewels Of Kindness Recipients

The students highlighted below are nominated by family or faculty and recognized by the school as children learn best when there is close collaboration between home and school on core values.

Wissam Hammoud – 2A

Wissam is kind, respectful, helpful and very friendly with everyone including students, parents, teachers, staff and security. He always finds a way to help others. At home, Wissam cares for his siblings even though they are much older than him. He also helps cleaning up his room, organizing his laundry and preparing his sandwich and lunch box in the morning. He is very independent! Keep up the good work Wissam!

Giulia Tricamo – 5B

In September Giulia decided to cut her very long hair and donate it to an association we found on the internet called LOCKS FOR HOPE (a program of Friends of Cancer Patients). This is a great example of providing empathy and being helpful to those in need who are facing difficult challenges. Thank you for your kindness and compassion Giulia!

Mohammad Ali Mohammad - 6B

Mohammad exemplified what it means to be a Jewel of Kindness during our International Day event at GEMS US. In his role as a Student Ambassador, Mohammad was the first person to arrive and support the parents who were setting up their booths and he was instrumental in helping collect tickets and hand out “passports” to our visitors. Thank you Mohammad for going above and beyond to support this important event.

MUSIC

The Little Mermaid - Secondary Musical

The cast and all of the ancillary members of The Little Mermaid production have been diligently preparing and toiling to present a spectacular production for you and the entire family to enjoy. This year’s musical will be held Sunday, Mar. 22 through Tuesday, Mar. 24th beginning at 6:30pm. Tickets are on sale for 35dhs and can be purchased from our Receptionists.

Invite the entire family and invite your friends. This is a production you will not want to miss! Stay tuned to our social media channels for a sneak peek at this year’s cast.

SENIOR BREAKFAST

Celebrating Seniors

The United Parents, along with the unyielding support of the 12th grade parents, came together to host a special breakfast for our Seniors, marking 100 days before graduation. The days are speeding by and before we blink, this group will be walking down the aisle in their caps and gowns marking a long-awaited milestone and begin a new chapter in their young vibrant lives.

We look forward to watching them persevere and push through these last couple of months and we are eager to celebrate their success.

Thank you to everyone who supported this celebration from bringing food, to a top-notch photo booth and all of the set-up and decorations!

COLLABORATING

Experts in the Building

By: Tara Frost

This week, Mrs. Frost and Ms. Singleton teamed up to bring some high school writing experts to C-Block to coach 4th graders through the writing process. Teams met for the first time and looked at areas of strength, development, and identified some next steps. They also took some great selfies and had a lot of laughs! We can’t wait to team up again as we begin constructing our informational websites so we can share our learning with the world!

DISCOVERING

4th Grade Archeological Trip to Mleiha in Sharjah

By: Rachel Cook

4th grade students had an amazing experience at Mleiha, as they traveled back in time, to learn about fossils at one of the oldest archeological areas in the UAE. Students searched for and FOUND fossils that dated millions of years ago. They also learned about ancient stone-age tool making with flint stones and students were able to both find and keep a sample.

Our 4th graders also learned more information about the different eras of early civilization (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Pre-Islamic) and had the opportunity to visit the Umm an-Nar Tomb.

Before concluding the trip, students made fossil casts of their own to bring home. It was a great day of learning!

PANTHER SPORTS

Secondary DASSA Track and Field Team Championships

This Monday, Mar. 2nd GUS is hosting a large secondary track and field championship event. Come cheer on our Panthers to victory and please wish our student athletes good luck heading into next week's competition!

American University of Dubai School Sports Challenge

By: Mr. Willis

The AUD School Sports Challenge is a very large and exciting sports event we participate in year after year. There were over 20 schools from across the UAE. It reminded me of a mini-Olympics in the way the events were organized. Teams competed in volleyball, swimming, track & field, football (soccer), and basketball. At any given time, there were simultaneous tournaments in every sport. We participated in the basketball and soccer tournaments.

In Boys Basketball, we were separated into five divisions of four. Our boys won 1st place (undefeated) in our division, but we didn't surpass the playoffs. Our Varsity Girls Basketball team placed third overall and our Boys Soccer made it to the semi-finals, but lost out to ISC. Overall, all of our athletes gave a tremendous amount of effort and supported one another, and I am proud to be a fellow Panther!

It was an amazing experience for our students, and I’m looking forward to next year with the hopes of even greater success!

Varsity Girls Volleyball

Well done to our Lady Panthers who brought home a win this week against Repton. They played exceptionally well and beat our opponent two out of three sets. Congratulations ladies!!!!

Liam Kirwan, Athletic Director

For any questions regarding sports training, games or events, please email l.kirwan_gus@gemsedu.com

COUNSELOR CORNER

Helping Teens Manage Change

For middle and high school students the only constant is change. They begin this wonderful transitional stage called adolescence at about age 13, and research tells us that it carries on until age 25. Buckle up parents you have a long way to go yet! Teenagers are going through physical changes connected to puberty, changes in brain development called pruning and myelination, and also the changing nature of relationships. If you are interested in learning more about the changes in brain development click the link above to a video by Dr. Dan Siegel, author of a fantastic resource connected to adolescent development; Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain.

Recently our secondary students have been made aware that the middle and high school will close after the 2020-21 school year and GUS will continue as a K-5 school. This is an unexpected change and understandably our kiddos are talking about what comes next, who is staying and going, where are they going, and what does that mean for my friendships. I’m sure you are hearing the same at home. Relationships at this stage of life are VERY important to teenagers, more important than classes or schools, and often more important than parents….which can be very difficult for mom and dad. Rest assured this is a perfectly normal part of adolescence and they will appreciate us in the end :). In the meantime we need to work together in support of our teens and understand that everyone manages change in a different way and that is okay.

In response the counseling team is working closely with teachers and SLT to support our middle and high school students. Next Tuesday we will have a workshop assembly with our middle school students to address their social and emotional needs connected to the topic of managing change. We hope to follow up with a similar assembly with our high school students. Our goal is to open the door for further conversations.

In the meantime, some tips for helping teens manage change:

  • Acknowledge emotions: Teens will have a range of emotions when dealing with change and that is okay. Let them experience the emotion without judgement.
  • Change creates information needs: Teens have questions and it is important that we listen attentively and do our best to provide as much information as possible.
  • Focus on the core: In the midst of change we can rely on things that give us stability and strength; family, faith, friends or perhaps a creative outlet.
  • Reflect: When have you experienced change in your life before and what coping mechanisms worked for you. Leverage your strengths.
  • Shift Perspectives: With change comes opportunity for new growth, new experiences and new relationships.

Thank you for partnering with our counseling team as we support our teenagers manage the wonderful world of adolescence. If you have questions or we can be of any help please don’t hesitate to reach out to Matthew or myself.

UNITED PARENTS

Popcorn Tuesday this coming Tuesday, Mar. 3rd. Looking forward to seeing all those eager friends who love their popcorn!

We hope you have enjoyed all of the fun events that have taken place so far this year.

Spring is quickly approaching and there are still more events to come. Our next events will be the Spring Blowout and family Game Night. More details to follow as the event dates draw near.

EVERYDAY NEEDS

February - April 5th Menus (Gr. 5-12)

Located on our GEMS US website under the Parents tab; you can also click here - February - April 5th Menus

We also offer a live cooking station daily. Please see the details below for the weekly menu. Cost is 15dhs per meal.

Slices Registration

Want to register for Slices canteen services? Click the parent Sign-Up link below.

Absences

When your child is ill or will not be attending school, you will need to inform the school about your child's absence to the following GEMS US staff member:

Please include your child's name, grade & section along with a day of expected return (if known).

For extended absences , please complete the absence form and return to the appropriate staff member noted above for approval by the Principal.

To view your child's report cards, grades (Gr. 6-12), MAP results and CAT 4 (for applicable grades), visit our Plus Portals login page (Secondary). Elementary families need to login at Plus Portals login (Elementary)

Your user name is your registered email (each parent has a separate account) and your password is specific to your requirements.

You can select "can't access your account" to recover/reset your unique password. If you need assistance, please contact Suja at s.vijayakumari_gus@Gemsedu.com

GEMS EDUCATION

GEMS Music Hub - Term 2

Is your child interested in playing an instrument or taking vocal lessons? Look no farther. See below for more details.

Interested in applying for the FAB GEMS Credit Card?

Contact Mr. Mohamed Abdul Wajeed at 050-6167137 or Mr. Jijesh K 052-7575967 to learn more about the GEMS FAB credit card. Alternatively, you can email mohamed.faisal@bankfab.com

Have you downloaded GEMS Rewards?

Don't miss the opportunity to save! Download the app today from the App store or Google Play and begin saving today.

There are many discounts on food, entertainment, beauty and attractions and you can apply for the GEMS FAB credit card to save on tuition and apply for the the GEMS Ambassador program at your fingertips.

FOLLOW US

School

GEMS United School - Dubai Sports City

Parent Community

GEMS US Community chat & GEMS US Marketplace

School

gems_gus

Sports

us_panthers

Music

gemsunitedmusic

School

gems_gus


GEMS United School Website

Visit our website to review information regarding the school calendar, news and for our student & parent handbooks.