GPS Newsletter

Dear Parents

Boy time is flying!  Can you believe it's been 3 weeks since coming back from break? !?!?!  It was a great week this week with Years 2-6 going on their heritage trip to the Shindagha Museum.  Thursday we gave the vaccinations to those who needed them (the children were so brave) and their records have been updated.  On that note I would like to remind all parents that it is essential that we keep our records up to date for all children and this includes copies of any vaccinations that have already been given.  If you have any questions, please contact the school.

To mark the International day for Autism we all dressed up in unique and different outfits.  The children talked about what makes us different, what makes us the same and the danger of labeling people through words that can have different meanings to different people/culture. 

Save the Date: 

28th April - Arabic & Islamic External Assessment week

7th May - FS & Yr 1 trip to The Mohammed Bin Rashid Library 

8th May - E Games field trip (Yrs 2-6)

13th May- FS & YR 1 trip to Mirzan Factory

1st June - External Reading Assessment week

24th June - FS Graduation and end of year concert

25th June - FS & YR 1 trip to Pizza Express

1st July - End of School 

Have a lovely weekend

Ms Jan

Dear Parents,

Ghaf School, the Proud Partner of Autism Awareness Month

We’re All Different – And That’s Amazing!

 This April, our school celebrated Autism Awareness Month with a spirit of kindness, learning, and inclusion. It was a time to recognize that everyone is unique — and that’s something to be proud of!

Our students took part in some truly meaningful activities. We had a special awareness session led by our Inclusion Lead, where we learned more about Autism and how people experience the world in different ways. We explored how some may prefer quiet spaces, communicate differently, or need extra support — and how we can be understanding and inclusive friends.

One of the highlights of the month was a beautiful visit from Determined Stars Learning and Therapy Centre. Our students had the opportunity to interact with the children from the centre, showing empathy, kindness, and genuine joy in making everyone feel welcome. It was a wonderful reminder of the power of connection and acceptance.

We also had a fun and colorful “Dress Up Unique” day, where students expressed their individuality through creative and quirky outfits! From bold colors to wild patterns, it was a celebration of being yourself — no matter what that looks like.

Inclusion isn’t just about Autism. This week, we also talked about other kinds of differences — like physical disabilities, learning styles, cultural backgrounds, and even the different ways people communicate and express themselves. We learned that every person brings something special to our community.

We are so proud of our students for participating with enthusiasm, for being supportive friends, and for always showing kindness and respect to others. You are what makes our school such a warm, welcoming place.

Let’s keep celebrating our differences and practicing inclusion — every single day!

Have a wonderful weekend

Ms Jikku

This week, our classroom was filled with the delicious theme of chocolate! The children explored where chocolate comes from and learned some of the key steps in how it's made. Inspired by this, they used their imaginations in writing to invent their very own chocolate-making machines—describing what they create and how they work!

In science, we explored changing states of matter. The children investigated how chocolate melts by selecting different heat sources such as the sun or a hairdryer. Each group labeled their chocolate pieces and chose their own method to melt them. After observing the results, we discussed which melted the fastest and which method was most effective. We even placed one melted piece back into the freezer to observe how quickly it returned to a solid!

In math, we’ve been having fun with numbers up to 20 through songs, rhymes, number writing, ordering activities, and games—helping us deepen our number sense in an interactive way.

In phonics, we focused on the sound /air/, exploring it through games and activities that help build our reading and spelling skills.

This week in Year 2, our young mathematicians explored fractions, learning to identify unit and non-unit fractions and how to find the whole when given a part. In English, we enjoyed sequencing key events from The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, helping us understand the beginning, middle, and end of a story. In Science, we investigated how to recycle materials, sorting items into different bins such as paper, plastic, metal, and glass—an important step toward caring for our planet. The highlight of the week was our exciting trip to the Shindagha Museum, where we learned all about Emirati culture, traditional life, and the importance of heritage in shaping the country we live in today! We ended the week with lots of smiles and colour during Unique Outfit Day.

Another fun and exciting week for Year 3! This week in English, the children explored playwriting by working together to draft a script based on a scene from The Firework Maker’s Daughter. They began by creating a storyboard and then collaborated as a class to write part of the scene. In Science, we conducted an exciting investigation to discover how the distance of a light source affects the size of a shadow. The students made predictions, carried out the experiment, and reflected on their findings. In Maths, we kicked off our new topic on fractions, where the children learned about numerators and denominators, and practiced comparing fractions using images and symbols. A highlight of the week was our wonderful trip to the Shindagha Museum, where the children behaved beautifully and learned so much about Emirati culture. They even experienced an underwater VR journey to watch pearl divers in action! We wrapped up the week with a vibrant and fun-filled ‘Unique Outfit Day’—the creativity was amazing, and everyone looked fabulously wild! 

This week, we continued our journey through fables by exploring The Eagle and the Turtle. The children enjoyed analysing the characters and uncovering the moral of the story: don’t let pride cloud your judgement. We had some great discussions about how this lesson can be applied in real life! In maths, we’ve been diving into decimals and place value, with a focus on understanding hundredths. The children used place value grids and number lines to build their confidence in recognising and working with decimal numbers. They’ve made fantastic progress! Our science lessons were filled with excitement as we conducted a sound experiment to investigate how vibrations create sound. The children used different materials and tools to observe sound waves in action – a fun and hands-on way to bring the concept to life!

This week, we also had the wonderful opportunity to visit Shindagha Museum, where they explored the rich heritage and traditions of the UAE. From learning about Emirati daily life in the past to discovering traditional crafts and stories, the children were fascinated and inspired by the local culture and history.

Well done Year 4- keep up the fabulous and hard work! 

What a busy week it has been!

On Wednesday, Year 5 visited the Shindagha Museum and learnt a great deal about the UAE’s rich traditions and culture.

In English, we continued reading The Last Bear and began writing a newspaper report about the moment April Wood first spotted the bear.

In Mathematics, we continued our work on decimals. The children are making great progress and are beginning to round decimals to the nearest whole number and to one decimal place with growing confidence.

As Scientists, we conducted a water resistance investigation and observed the effects of water resistance on different types of origami boats.

In MSC, we wrapped up Unit 6, which focused on learning about money. The children explored the concepts of saving, budgeting, and spending.

Just a reminder: Our Makers’ Market Bake Off & Bake Sale is coming up at the end of April! Students are invited to get creative in the kitchen and bring in their homemade baked treats to sell and share. Whether it’s cookies, cupcakes, or something totally original, we can’t wait to enjoy their delicious creations and celebrate their efforts!

It’s been a jam-packed and exciting week for Year 6! Our highlight was the trip to Shindagha Museum, where we explored Dubai’s rich heritage and deepened our understanding of the past through hands-on exhibits and engaging storytelling.

Back in class, preparations are well underway for our upcoming Makers’ Market at the end of April. The students have been busy planning, designing, and getting creative – we can’t wait to showcase their brilliant ideas!

In English, we’ve continued reading The Boy at the Back of the Class, sparking thoughtful discussions and developing our comprehension skills. We also collaborated on a shared leaflet, practising persuasive writing techniques and working as a team.

Maths has kept us on our toes as we mastered adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals. The children have worked hard to tackle these new challenges with confidence.

Our Science lessons have been hands-on, too! After completing our yeast experiment, we wrote up our findings in a scientific report. We also ventured outside to observe local plants in their natural environment.

In Humanities, we’re wrapping up our topic on coasts, exploring erosion, landforms, and how people interact with coastal environments. Meanwhile, in MSC, we’ve begun reading Book 3, diving into new themes and discussions.

Well done, Year 6 – a fantastic week full of learning and discovery!

                       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 للعربية                       
الروضة:كانت بداية رائعة لهذا الأسبوع، قمنا بمراجعة الدروس السابقة (حرف الألف – حرف الباء) وراجعنا أنشودة  حروف اللغة العربية،وتدربناعلي  كتابة حرف ( ت ) وتلوينه وعمل بعض الأنشطة  المختلفة  لتمييزه  حرف التاء في أول ووسط وآخر الكلمة أصوات حرف الباء القصيرة ( تَ - تُ – تِ)  
الصف الثانية: كانت عملية تعلم رائعة هذا الأسبوع، قمنا بالعديد من الأنشطة والمسابقات الصفية لرفع مستوى الفهم والقراءة لدي طلابنا وقد استمتع الطلاب بالتنافس فيما بينهم ، وبدأنا اليوم درس (حرف الغين) من خلال قصة ( غراب لونه أبيض جميل)
        : الصف الرابع : كان أسبوع ممتلئ بالعمل الرائع ، قمنا بإنهاء قصة حلا تجعل حياتها أحلى ، وبدأنا درس ( أسلوب الإستفهام ، وأسلوب العطف ) من خلال نص قراءة وقمنا بتحليل النص وتدربنا على استخراج اسلوب العطف ، ووضع أسئلة باستخدام أسلوب الإستفهام ، كما قمنا بحل تدريبات كتاب نشاط الطالب وحل أنشطة وتدريبات مختلفة في دفتر الطالب.

                                                   Islamic A  /     الإسلامية للعرب                                

                                                                                                                                                                                          :الصف الثاني بدأنا درسنا كما تعودنا دائما بتحية الإسلام و تعليم الطلاب كيفية رد السلام, قمنا بمراجعة شاملة على السور التي تمت دراستها سابقا بدءًا بسورة الفاتحة , الإخلاص , الناس, الفلق , الشرح وسورة العصر ثم انطلقنا في درسنا الجديد و هو (البر حسن الخلق).

                                                                                                                                                                                          : الصف الرابع: في هذا الأسبوع كانت بداية رائعة حيث استطاع الطلاب ان يراجعوا معي جزءًا كبيرًا مما درسوه في الفترة السابقة من سور القرءان الكريم بدءًا من سورة العلق, البينة , الطارق و سورة الغاشية إضافة الى بعضًا من قصار السور بعدها انطلقنا كالعادة في درسنا الجديد الذي هو(التعاون سر النجاح).

   
                                            Arabic B /     اللغة العربية للناطقين بِغيرها               
FS:  what a great start we did this week. We had many classroom activities and competitions to recognize some of the Arabic letters. We completed the lesson on the letter (ب) and learned about its different shapes and sounds

y1:It was a great start to the week.  We completed the lesson on the letter (ح) and learned about its different shapes and
sounds ( حَ - حُ -حِ - حْ - حا - حو -حي). We learned new words and used words in the context of short sentences . We did a coloring activity for the letter (ح) and practiced writing sentences and using new grammar rules.
y2:It was a great start to the week.  We completed the lesson on the letter (ز) and learned about its different shapes and sounds ( زَ -زُ -زِ- زْ -زا - زو -زي). We learned new words and used words in the context of short sentences.We learned new words and used words in the context of short sentences through the story (Pomegranate and Giraffe) . We did a coloring activity for the letter (ز) and practiced writing sentences and using new Arabic grammar.
We will begin the ABT assessments next week.Kindly ensure that each student brings their iPad and charger,
if necessary.

y3: This week was so funny and wonderful. So in grade 3 Arabic B we had a quick revision for the last topics they learnt .We continue our lesson which is “Fi ghorfat al-musiqa”. We learnt new form of the verb with he, she and you. 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.

y4:It was a great start of the week. We conducted many classroom activities and competitions to improve our students' reading level. The students enjoyed competing with each other. We reviewed previous lessons and the most important rules we learned. We completed the lesson on the (halat At-taqs), compared the weather conditions in the four seasons, and completed the activities and exercises from the book.

y5:This week was different a lot we had a dictation. So in grade 5 Arabic B we had a quick revision for the last topics they learnt we started our new lesson which is “Ibn al-Haytham”. We learnt new form of the verb with he, she and you. 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.
y6:It was a great start to the week. The students completed the lesson on The Seven Wonders of the World and began exploring the most famous landmarks around the globe. They searched for information online and, with the teacher’s support, wrote simple sentences and a short paragraph in Arabic about each site. The students enjoyed completing related activities in their notebooks. We also started our new reading text "The Great Wall of China", where we explored the meanings of key vocabulary together.
We will begin the ABT assessments next week.Kindly ensure that each student brings their iPad and charger,
if necessary. 

                                      Islamic B   /  الإسلامية للناطقين بِغيرها
y2: 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 our lesson with revision for what studied before to get ready for the new lesson which is(Righteousness is good character). Then we went back to our last lesson My prayer is the light my life 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-fil, 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.
y3: In this week we, as usual, started with teaching students to greet others with Islamic greeting and to reply to it. It was so fantastic to start our lesson with revision for what studied in the week before to get ready for the new lesson which is (Allah, the Almighty creator). We have reviewed Surahs Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, and we are currently working on memorizing and contemplating surat ash-sharh and surat al-Qadr, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation.
y4:In Islamic this week it was fantastic to start our lesson (cooperation is the secret behind success).We have reviewed Surahs Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq, and we are currently working on memorizing and contemplating verses of surat al-Bayyinah and surat al-Ghashiyyah, 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.
y5:It was so fantastic to start our lesson with revision for what studied in the week before, we started this week studying the lesson (kindness) .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 of surat al-fajr, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation.
y6:It was so fantastic to start our lesson with revision for what we learnt in the week before, then we went back to our lesson .we started this week studying the lesson (the Friday prayer and the prayer of the two feasts). 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 of Surat An-Nazi’at, as we encourage students to practice them at home to enhance their memorization and mastery of their recitation.  
  Regards, Arabic and Islamic team
Mr. Desoky, Ms. Basma

Ms: Asmaa Elsherbiny   Arabic & Islamic Head