GPS Newsletter

Dear Parents

This week we installed our very own hydrophonic verticle garden for the children to grow their own food.  Our school has been sponsored by Binfold LLC which has provided us with the garden and plants for growing and Year 3 are the leaders on this very special project.  We are looking forward to our "salad party" on Monday as they have just harvested their first lettuce 😍

As part of the 30x30 DFC event we organised a fun trip to Kite Beach on Thursday for the older kids to promote wellness and fitness.  Soooo much fun was had by all!  Achievement certificates were handed out on Friday with some children receiving their first and some receiving their second!  A special well done to Mr Radhey who walked the most steps last week and Ms Nimra who walked the most this week.

We finished the week with a Book Fair to promote the fun of reading.  Children chose their books and we sat around enjoying ourselves in the garden.

As National Day celebrations are coming up soon, we will be getting in touch with you about dresses and sticks for the performances and we sincerely hope you can join us on this special day.  It will be held on Friday 29th November.... more details to follow.

Continuing our VERY busy time at school between now and the Winter Break.....

Save the Date: 

Friday 15th November - Book Fair in the garden (all invited)

Tuesday 19th November - UAE All Stars Cheerleaders visit to school

Wednesday 20th November - Parent-Teacher meetings

Thursday 21st November -  KITE Beach DFC activity Years 3-6

Friday 22nd November - Assembly on our value "Compassion" Year 2 (parents invited)

Tuesday 26th November - Camel Farm trip for FS & Yr 1

Wednesday 27th November - Camel Farm trip Yrs 2-6

Friday 29th November - National Day Celebrations (all invited - it was sooooo much fun last year!) 

Friday 6th December - FS Art Gallery Open at 11.00 am (all invited)

Thursday 12th December - X- Park trip (FS and Year 1)

Friday 13th December - Winter Festival and performance (all invited - singing mandatory 😁)

Have a lovely weekend

Ms Jan

Dear Parents,

We the teachers, strongly believe and encourage reading. In a digital age filled with distractions, fostering a love for reading in our children is one of the greatest gifts we can give. When children read for pleasure, they’re not only building important literacy skills but also discovering a lifelong source of joy, relaxation, and imagination.

Research shows that children who read regularly outside of school perform better academically and demonstrate stronger empathy and emotional intelligence. As parents, you play a powerful role in nurturing this habit. Here are some tips to help your children see reading as a pleasurable, rewarding experience:

1. Lead by Example: Children often emulate their parents' behavior. If they see you reading regularly, they'll be more inclined to pick up a book themselves. Consider having a family reading time, where everyone reads their own book together.

2. Create a Cozy Reading Space: Set up a small reading nook with comfy seating, good lighting, and a collection of books suited to your child’s age and interests. A special spot for reading can make it feel like a treat rather than a task.

3. Let Them Choose: Offer a range of books and let your child pick what they want to read. Whether it’s comics, fantasy, science fiction, or non-fiction, allowing them to choose fuels their excitement and sense of ownership.

4. Visit the Library or Bookstore Together: Making reading an event can be a fun bonding experience. Visiting a library or bookstore lets kids explore and discover new stories, series, and genres they may not have considered before.

5. Make Reading a Relaxing Part of the Day: Establishing a quiet reading time in the evening or before bed can help kids wind down and build a routine. A few minutes spent in a good book can become a cherished part of their day.

6. Discuss What They’re Reading: Ask about the stories they’re exploring, the characters they like, and their favorite parts. Showing interest in their reading choices reinforces that reading is a valuable, enjoyable experience.

7. Explore Audiobooks Together: Audiobooks can be a great way to “read” on the go or before bed, especially for reluctant readers. Listening together can spark conversations about the story and open doors to new genres.

Encouraging reading at home sets children on a path of curiosity, empathy, and lifelong learning. Let’s work together to make reading a joyful and relaxing habit for our children!

Hope the books you bought from today's book fair will be good to resource start during this weekend. Have a lovely weekend

Warmly,
Ms Jikku

Another busy but fun week for Year 3! This week has been filled with lots of learning, fitness and laughter. In English the children have started planning their write up on instructions and focused on ensuring they include all the key features on how to write a recipe for a milkshake of their choice. We started off by writing a set of instructions as a class and then they independently started planning their own. Where as in Maths we focused on estimation, the children focused on rounding the numbers up and down to the nearest 10's or 100's. Once they rounded the numbers up or down , they then calculated a rough estimate for the answers. The children did really well on rounding the numbers but as a class we will be practising using these to roughly estimate addition and subtraction sums. In Science we took a deeper dive into the 5 main food groups and investigated the importance for each one and how they benefit our health and nutrition. 

This week we were very lucky to have special guests from Binfold LLC who introduced us to the 'Smart Planter'. Year 3 got the privilege to become project leaders and will be in charge of the hydrophonic verticle garden in the school. This will allow all the children to grow their own food and take responsibility to ensure the vegetables are growing healthy.

The children also went on a school trip to kite beach where they partook in lots of fun sports activities for the Dubai 30x30 fitness challenge. They persevered in the heat and had lots of fun in the sun! 

We then ended the week with a lovely book fair, the children got the chance to explore a variety of books and enjoy reading what they purchased. 

School trip to kite beach for Dubai 30x30 Fitness Challenge!

Learning all about the 'Smart Planter' with our special guests!

Book Fair!

What we've done

Another productive work of learning, preparing for our markers market next week as well as National Day celebrations!

The children had a wonderful day at Kite Beach for the Dubai 30x30 and it was great to hear how much fun they had.

In English, we began to our Big Write by compiling our letter that we have planned and drafted which will be given to Ms Jan very soon! In Maths, we started our unit of multiplication and division.  We will be working on our mental math skills throughout this year. During Science lessons this week, we expanded our vocabulary but understanding how evaporation and condensation works. We understood boiling/freezing point of water and will start our experiment very soon!

We ended the week by purchasing books at the great Book Fair that was held in our school. If you have not already done so, please book a time slot with me for our parent teacher meetings next week between Monday-Wednesday.

Have a great weekend.

Another active week of keeping fit! Our mile walks continued with even more enthusiasm as Year 5 kicked off each morning with energy, powering through the mile walk. They had an unforgettable day at Kite Beach for the Dubai Fitness Challenge, where the children had a blast participating in cricket, volleyball, and a football session led by Manchester City coaches. The day wrapped up with a well-deserved lunch—fun, fitness, and fantastic memories all around!

In English, we began innovating the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The children focused on the setting, hero, and monster, and wrote the beginning of the story. In Maths, the children explored dividing numbers by 10, 100, and 1,000 and examined what happens to the place value when dividing. They also investigated the multiples and factors of numbers. 

As scientists, the children investigated which material was the best thermal insulator. They also looked at fair testing and the variables involved. In MSC, the children completed their Term 1 assessment. 

Lastly, I would like to sincerely thank you all for the thoughtful birthday gifts. I was truly touched by your kindness and generosity, and it made my day even more special.

                        السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

يسرني أن أقدّم نفسي لكم الأستاذة أسماء عبدالظاهر الشربيني، رئيسة قسم اللغة العربية في مدرسة الغاف. يشرفني التعاون مع فريق المعلمين المتميزين في المدرسة لتقديم أعلى مستويات التعليم في مواد اللغة العربية والتربية الإسلامية، بما يساهم في تعزيز الهوية الثقافية والدينية لطلابنا. نسعى دائمًا إلى تنمية مهارات الطلاب في القراءة والكتابة والفهم، وتعزيز قيمهم الإسلامية بما يتماشى مع رؤيتنا التربوية.

I am pleased to introduce myself to you as Ms. Asmaa Abdel-Zaher El-Sherbiny, Head of theArabic Department at Al Ghaf School. I am honored to collaborate with the distinguished teaching team at the school to provide the highest levels of education in Arabic language and Islamic studies, contributing to the enhancement of our students' cultural and religious identity. We constantly strive to develop students' skills in reading, writing, and comprehension, while promoting their Islamic values in alignment with our educational vision.
 

                                                              What did we learn? /    ماذا تعلمنا؟ 

                                                                 Arabic  A    /  اللغة العربية للعرب                          
الروضة: لقد كانت بداية رائعة للتدرب على حفظ النشيد الوطني وتمرين الأطفال على حفظ انشودة اهلا اهلا يا أصحابي أيضا قمنا بعمل مراجعة على أنشودة
الأرقام والألوان وعمل أنشطة على ذلك ثم استمعنا الي أنشودة أفراد العائلة وقمنا بعمل نشاط على ذلك.
:الصف الرابع: هذا الأسبوع بدأنا بمراجعة الحروف وتحليل الكلمات لتقوية مهارات القراءة والكتابة. تعلمنا كيفية تقسيم الكلمات إلى مقاطع صوتية وفهم أصوات ، الحروف. كما قمنا بمراجعة قصص الحروف حيث تعلمنا كيفية نطق الحروف مع الحركات الثلاث: الفتحة، والضمة
     :الصف الرابع: راجعنا المهارات اللغوية السابقة، بما في ذلك التنوين وتحليل الكلمات وتطبيقه على الكلمات المختلفة، مما ساعدنا على فهم أعمق للغة استكملنا درس "أحب الخير “، حيث ركزنا على تحسين مهارات القراءة والكتابة.
                                                                          Islamic A  /     الإسلامية للعرب                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            الصف الثّاني: قمنا بعمل مراجعة عن سورة الفاتحة ومولد النبي صلي الله عليه وسلم وأبو هريرة ورفقه مع الحيوانات.   واستكملنا درس الصدق طريق الجنة وفوائد الصدق. كان الدرس ممتعًا ومفيد
الصّف الرّابع: قمنا بمراجعة سورة العلق وقصة نزول الوحي وحديث حسن الخلق واستكملنا درس الايمان بالملائكة تدرجنا الي أسماء الملائكة وصفاتهم
                         
Arabic B /     اللغة العربية للناطقين بِغيرها                        
        

FS:It was a wonderful beginning to practice memorizing the national anthem, training the children to memorize the national anthem, and showing the children to memorize the song “Hello, Hello, My Friends.” We also performed review work on the song “Numbers and Colores” and did activities on that. Then we listened to the family members’ song and we had to do activities on that.

Gr1:An amazing beginning of the week. We reviewed the letters with short and long vowels, colors and numbers, and we did some activities. We also did a new lesson on the letter Ba (we practiced writing the letter in its different forms with short vowels) and writing some words (duck - door - penguin - girl)
(batat بطة- bab باب - bitariq بطريق - bintبِنت)
 

Gr2:Great start to Y2 week.   We reviewed writing and foundation skills. During the week we practiced writing skills that support spelling (consonants, long vowels), which in turn helped us develop reading skill. We also analyzed the words, which helped us have a deeper understanding of the Arabic language in the writing skill.
 

Gr3:It was a wonderful beginning to practice memorizing the national anthem, training the children to memorize the national anthem, and showing the children to memorize the song “Hello, Hello, My Friends.” We also performed review work on the song “Numbers and Colores” and did activities on that. Then we listened to the family members’ song and we had to do activities on that.

 Gr4: A wonderful start to the week for Y4. We reviewed writing and foundation skills. During the week, we practiced writing skills that support dictation (Skoun, long vowels), which in turn helped us develop the reading skill. We also analyzed words, which helped us have a deeper understanding of the Arabic language in the writing skill.
 

Gr5:In grade 5 Arabic B we had a quick revision for the last topics they learnt before. We started studying the lesson (in my hospitality). It was so funny as we started studying recognizing the Arabic letters students learnt the short and long vowels and, they started to  read comprehension skills through regular reading practice. We focus on enhancing their ability to understand texts and grasp the finer details of phonetic structures. Building up on the fore rules students learnt we are completing our work. students good at practicing and understanding and we can help them a lot. We also started this week learning the colors, numbers and everything about myself.
 

Gr6:A great start to the Y6 week. 

We completed a lesson in my school, listening to a text and analyzing it, solving worksheets, and reviewing writing and foundation skills. During the week we practiced writing skills that support spelling (consonants, long vowels), which in turn helped us develop reading skill. We also analyzed the words, which helped us have a deeper understanding of the Arabic language in the writing skill.

                                         Islamic B   /  الإسلامية للناطقين بِغيرها 
Gr2: In year 2 as we usually do we started greeting students  and teaching them how to reply to this greeting in Islamic it was so fantastic to start the new lesson which is( truthfulness). Then we went back to our lesson  Allah is my Lord and the meanings of the key words therein. We are working diligently and actively on reviewing Surat Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, with a focus on practicing surat al-fatihah, as we encourage students to review and practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery. We are currently discussing the pillars of Islam. We are keen to create an atmosphere of interaction and dialogue to simplify ideas and deepen students’ understanding of Islamic teachings. In the coming period, we will continue to build a deeper understanding of the surahs and verses through simplified explanations and activities that help students relate to their daily lives.
 

Gr3: In year 3 we as usual started with teaching students to greet others with Islamic greeting and to reply to it. it was so fantastic to start the new lesson which is nullifiers and purity ( Wudu'). We have reviewed Surahs Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, and we are currently working on memorizing and contemplating surat al-asr, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation. We studied the story of the revelation, which added a deep understanding of the meanings of the verses and made the students live with the moments of the revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. We use interactive activities and open-ended dialogues to simplify concepts and enhance students' understanding of the values ​​learned from the lessons, helping them to relate deeply to the teachings of their religion and apply them in their daily lives.

 Gr4:In Islamic this week it was fantastic to start our lesson with revision for what studied before , then we went back to our lesson. We started revising pillars of islam and pillars of Iman. We started the lesson (Belief in angels).We have reviewed Surahs Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, and we are currently working on memorizing and contemplating verses 1 to 12 of Surat Al-Alaq, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation. We studied the story of the revelation, which added a deep understanding of the meanings of the verses and made the students live with the moments of the revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. We use interactive activities and open-ended dialogues to simplify concepts and enhance students' understanding of the values ​​learned from the lessons, helping them to relate deeply to the teachings of their religion and apply them in their daily lives.
 

Gr5:It was so fantastic to start our lesson with revision for what studied before, then we went back to our lesson  we started this week studying the lesson (the strong believer). We also revised some important islamic concepts like pillars of islam and pillars of iman and prayers. We have reviewed Surahs Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, and we are currently working on memorizing and contemplating verses 1 to 10 of Surat alBuruj, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation. We studied the story of the revelation, which added a deep understanding of the meanings of the verses and made the students live with the moments of the revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. We use interactive activities and open-ended dialogues to simplify concepts and enhance students' understanding of the values ​​learned from the lessons, helping them to relate deeply to the teachings of their religion and apply them in their daily lives.
 

Gr6:it was so fantastic to start our lesson with revision for what studied before, then we went back to our lesson .we started this week studying the lesson ( loving Allah (s.w). We revised some important islamic concepts like resources of shari'ah, pillars of islam and pillars of iman and prayers. We have reviewed Surahs Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, and we are currently working on memorizing and contemplating verses 1 to 6 of Surat al-Ifitar, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation. We studied the story of the revelation, which added a deep understanding of the meanings of the verses and made the students live with the moments of the revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. We use interactive activities and open-ended dialogues to simplify concepts and enhance students' understanding of the values ​​learned from the lessons, helping them to relate deeply to the teachings of their religion and apply them in their daily lives.

Regards, Arabic and Islamic team
Mr. Desoky, Ms. Gehad

Ms: Asmaa Elsherbiny   Arabic & Islamic Head