GPS Newsletter

Dear Parents

We had a great start back this week at GPS.  Everyone was happy to be back and settled very quickly.

FS and Year 1 went on a field trip to the local Fire Station and I am so proud to tell you that the station's personnel made a special point of saying how well-behaved and polite your children are.  Everyone had fun and really enjoyed seeing the water hose turned on.

Friday we all came in our house colours and held our "Open Ceremony" to kick off the Dubai Fitness and Health 30x30 participation.  Throughout November we will be holding special extra fitness events during the school day.  Everyone has a Fitness Calendar to mark down their exercise for the day and anyone who meets the 30 Day challenge will receive both house points and a special certificate.  We encourage you all to 'sign up' and meet the challenge as well.

We are now gearing up for a VERY busy time at school between now and the Winter Break.....

Save the Date: 

Tuesday 29th October - Shaolin Kung Fu Lessons (DFC activity) all classes 

Thursday 31st October - "Spooks and Sparkles" day (fancy dress)  

FS Makers Markers (all invited to purchase handmade Spooktacular wares)

 Friday 1st November - UAE Flag Day celebration 

Monday 4th November - Desert Vipers Cricket Lessons (years 2-6) DFC activity

  Assessment Week (Years 1-6)

Tuesday 5th November -  Building tolerance & cultural awareness - Diwali (in-school activity)

Friday 8th November - DFC Dress-up Day in your favourite sports/team clothing

Monday 11th November - STEAM WEEK - special projects and competitions

Wednesday 13th November - KITE Beach DFC activity FS, Years 1 & 2

Thursday 14th November -  KITE Beach DFC activity Years 3-6

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

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

Empathy is one of the most important social-emotional skills children can develop. It is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, and it plays a crucial role in forming healthy relationships, fostering kindness, and nurturing emotional intelligence. Teaching children empathy not only helps them connect with others but also lays the foundation for becoming compassionate and responsible individuals.

Here are some strategies for fostering empathy in children:

1. Model Empathetic Behavior

Children learn by observing the adults around them. If you consistently demonstrate empathy, they are more likely to adopt it as a natural part of their behavior. Show compassion in everyday situations, whether it's comforting someone who is upset or helping someone in need. When children see adults responding to others' feelings with care, they will begin to mimic that behavior.

2. Encourage Emotional Awareness

Help children recognise and name their own emotions as well as others' feelings. Ask them how they feel in different situations, and teach them the vocabulary to express those feelings. Understanding their own emotions is the first step toward understanding the emotions of others.

You can also use books, movies, or stories to discuss how characters might feel in certain situations. Ask questions like, "How do you think they feel right now?" or "What would you do if you were in their shoes?"

3. Teach Perspective-Taking

One of the key components of empathy is the ability to see the world from another person's point of view. Encourage your child to imagine how others might feel in different situations. For example, if they see someone being left out, ask, “How do you think that person feels? What could you do to help?”

Games and activities that involve role-playing can also be effective in helping children practice taking another person’s perspective.

4. Promote Kindness and Compassion

Acts of kindness help children experience the positive effects of empathetic behavior firsthand. Encourage your child to engage in small acts of kindness, whether it’s helping a friend, sharing with a sibling, or simply offering words of encouragement.

You can also set family goals around kindness, such as doing volunteer work together or making cards for people in need of support. These actions reinforce the importance of caring for others.

5. Validate Their Feelings

When children experience difficult emotions like anger, sadness, or frustration, it's important to validate their feelings. Let them know it's okay to feel upset and show them how to express those emotions in healthy ways. By acknowledging their emotions, you teach them to be more empathetic toward others who might feel the same way.

6. Practice Active Listening

Teach children the art of active listening by showing them how to give others their full attention when they speak. Encourage them to listen without interrupting and to ask questions if they don’t understand. This not only helps them connect with others but also shows that they care about what the other person is saying.

7. Address Bullying and Negative Behavior

It’s important to help children recognise when their behaviour might be hurting others. If your child engages in unkind behaviour, such as teasing or exclusion, use it as an opportunity to discuss how their actions impact others' feelings. Encourage them to think about how they would feel in a similar situation and guide them in making amends.

8. Celebrate Diversity and Differences

Empathy thrives in an environment where children learn to appreciate and respect differences. Expose your child to diverse cultures, perspectives, and experiences. This can be done through books, travel, or conversations about people who may have different life experiences than their own.

Teaching children to respect and understand others who are different from them is a powerful way to instill empathy.

9. Create Opportunities for Empathy-Building

Sometimes children need structured opportunities to practice empathy. Encouraging cooperative play, team sports, or group projects can help them learn to work together and consider others' needs. Activities that involve caring for animals or nurturing plants can also help them develop a sense of responsibility and empathy toward living beings.

The Long-Term Benefits of Empathy

Empathy is a life skill that helps children grow into emotionally intelligent and compassionate adults. Research shows that empathetic children are more likely to develop strong social skills, resolve conflicts peacefully, and show resilience in challenging situations. By nurturing empathy early, you’re helping your child build meaningful relationships and contribute positively to the world around them.

Empathy not only fosters kindness and connection but also helps children become better problem-solvers, team players, and leaders. In a world that often feels divided, the ability to understand and care for others is more important than ever.

A great welcome back from Year 3 this week. In Maths we are continuing addition and subtraction , focusing on with and without exchange. The girls have done such a great job in understanding the concept of exchanging for addition and subtraction! In English we started our new topic 'instructional texts'. This week we explored the features and looked at examples of good instructional texts such as recipes etc. Whereas for Science we conducted a investigation on 'Can people with longer femurs jump further?'. They started off with predictions and then measured each others 'femur' bone, once the data was collected they all took turns in attempting to jump the furthest. They then compared their results to their predictions and evaluated the investigation.  We then ended the week by starting our Dubai 30x30 fitness challenge !

Science Investigation on 'Can people with longer femurs jump further ?'. 

What we've done

‘The great aim of education is not knowledge but action’. – Herbert Spencer

What a fantastic week back at school full of learning following our midterm break!

In English, we kickstarted this week of understanding what pronouns are and rewriting sentences by incorporating them. In the latter part of the week, we started looking at persuasive writing and the purpose of this type of text. We looked at the features and annotated an example of a persuasive letter, identifying the features that we have learnt.

In Maths, we have continued our topic of addition and subtraction, however we are using column method with an exchange. The students have grasped the concept of ‘borrowing from the neighbour’ when subtracting with an exchange- very proud of them!

In Science, we have started our new topic of states of matter. This week we have been exploring solids, liquids and gases and the students can identify how the particles act in each state.

We ended the week with a fantastic start to the Dubai Fitness Challenge 30x30.

Please see above Ms Jan’s section for important dates; I will send reminders so please keep an eye out on Seesaw.

Have a great weekend!

                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 the

Arabic 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   

Fs:لقد كانت بداية رائعة للتدرب علي حفظ النشيد الوطني وتمرين الأطفال علي حفظ انشودة اهلا اهلا يا أصحابي أيضا قمنا بعمل مراجعة علي أنشودة الأرقام والألوان وعمل أنشطة علي ذلك.

Gr2:هذا الأسبوع، بدأنا بمراجعة الحروف وتحليل الكلمات لتقوية مهارات القراءة والكتابة. تعلمنا كيفية تقسيم الكلمات إلى مقاطع صوتية وفهم أصوات الحروف. كما بدأنا دراسة درس " ثعلوب ممثل بارع " الذي يعلّمنا قيمة الحكمة والتفكير الجيد. ركزنا بشكل خاص على حرف "الثاء"، حيث تعلمنا كيفية نطقه مع الحركات الثلاث: الفتحة، والضمة، والكسرة. تدربنا أيضًا على كتابة حرف الثاء بشكل صحيح في الكلمات والجمل، مما ساعدنا في تحسين قدراتنا على القراءة والكتابة. 

Gr4:راجعنا المهارات اللغوية السابقة، بما في ذلك التنوين وتحليل الكلمات وتطبيقه على الكلمات المختلفة، مما ساعدنا على فهم أعمق للغة وقمنا بدراسة أنواع الفعل (ماض - مضارع - أمر ). استكملنا درس "عالم الحشرات من حولنا “، حيث ركزنا على تحسين مهارات القراءة وفهم المقروء. قمنا بقراءة النصوص بعناية وتحليلها، وفهم الأفكار الرئيسية والتفاصيل الداعمة. كما تدربنا على استخراج معاني الكلمات من السياق واستخدام التفكير النقدي لتفسير الأحداث والشخصيات. كانت الحصة مليئة بالتعلم الممتع والمفيد. 

                                                                       Islamic A  /              الإسلامية للعرب

Gr2:تعلمنا عن قصة ميلاد الرسول صلي الله عليه وسلم من خلال درس "ميلاد الرسول صلي الله عليه وسلم "، حيث تعرفنا علي قصة رضاعته منذ طفولته المبكرة. ثم تكلمنا عن رحمه أبو هريرة ورفقه مع الحيوانات. كان الدرس ممتعًا ومفيدًا، وساعدنا على فهم مفهوم الرحمة والرفق بالحيوان.  

Gr4:  تعلمنا درس حسن الخلق، حيث قمنا بشرح الحديث الشريف وبيان المعني الإجمالي. كما ذكرنا أيضا من فوائد حسن الخلق في الدنيا ( المحبة والسعادة ) ومن فوائد حسن الخلق في الاخرة (تثقل ميزان العبد يوم القيامة  -الاجر والثواب )  تدرجنا الي بعض الاخلاق التي تثقل ميزان العبد يوم القيامة . كانت الحصة ملهمة ومفيدة للتحلي بالأخلاق الحسنة التي حثنا عليها قدوتنا محمد صلي الله عليه وسلم                                                                                                                            

                                                                         Arabic B /              اللغة العربية للناطقين بِغيرها

FS: It was a wonderful beginning to practice memorizing the national anthem and exercising the children to memorize the song “Hello, Hello, My Friends.” We also made a review of the song “Numbers and Colors” and created activities on that.
Gr1:   It was a wonderful start to our week as we began our lesson by practicing some Arabic phrases so the children can introduce themselves correctly with the characters Rashid and Noura (Hello, how are you? My name is..., which grade are you in?). We also had a fun time reviewing the colors and numbers the students mastered, and the alphabet song. We studied about the family, and the students learned the following words (family, my mother, my father, my brother, my sister). We also practiced writing Arabic letters with (Long vowels). 

Gr2:We did a wonderful review at the beginning of the week on the Arabic letters and the sounds of the letters with the short vowels (fatha - damma - kasra) and the long ones, as well as numbers, colors, and family members. We also solved the school book activities
Well done Year 2!

Gr3:It was a great start to our week, as we did a comprehensive review for the third-year students to remind them of the most important concepts they had studied. During the week, we learned Arabic numbers from 1 to 10 and colors. We also learned to segment Arabic words into phonetic syllables to improve writing, dictation, and reading skills. Well done, princesses of the Arabic language!

Gr4: We started our week with a strong review with the fourth-year students to remind them of the most important concepts they had studied during the past period. We learned how to conjugate verbs with pronouns and write simple sentences. I am happy and proud of all of you. Thank you for your efforts in learning the Arabic language.

Gr5:This week was different a lot. Students still quite lazy. So in grade 5 Arabic B we had a quick revision for the last topics they learnt we started our new lesson which is "walk around my school. 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:We learned new vocabulary related to the lesson "At My School" and added it to our vocabulary list. We were trained to use these words in sentences to enhance our language skills. In addition, we also studied the names of the sign (this -this) and did activities on them.

                                                                              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 our lesson with revision for what studied before to get ready for the new lesson which is Abu Hurrairah(R.A). 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 our lesson with revision for what studied before to get ready for the new lesson which is "Allah is the most kind".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 folloowed the lesson (good morals) hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)).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 followed this week studying the lesson the beginning of the call to Islam.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 followed this week studying the lesson( call of the people of at-Ta'ef). 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

Mr. Desoky, Ms. Gehad

Ms: Asmaa Elsherbiny   Arabic & Islamic Head  

It has been a busy and great week for everyone in our STREAM class as we start the second half term! The children at all levels have been busy building various structures made from recyclable materials for our UAE Culture and Heritage display. All projects are displayed in the school hallway beside the ICT room. 

 Have a lovely and restful weekend!

 Miss Janice