News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 a International Insight Edition 32 Weekly Bulletin Important Dates + GEMS GIS Review: GEMS will be performing a review of GIS on 24th May to 26th May. + PE PIE: Our next PIE will be on the subject of Physical Education. It will be held on the 25th May from 6 ~7pm in the Cafeteria. See page 3 for more details » KG Garden Centre Field Trip: KG2A and B are visiting Dubai Garden Centre on Wednesday 27th Mat from 8:15-11:30am. KG2E will be visiting Dubai Garden Centre on Thursday 28th May from 8:15-10:30am. » Grade +5 Movie Matinee: On 28th May, we will be hosting a movie matinee for Grades +5 at 3:15pm in ‘the Multi Purpose Hall. The movie will be Hotel For Dogs! » MYP Talent Show: MYP Talent Show will take place on 28th May from 6:00-7:00pm. » MYP Movie Night:MYP movie night_will be on 28th May from 7:15-8:45pm in the MultiPurpose Hall. The movie will be Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. "Autism Awareness Coffee Morning: On Sunday 3st May GIS will be hosting an Autism Awareness Coffee Morning at Tiam in the Conference Room on the First Floor. Please see page 2 for more information + House Spirit Week: House Spirit Week will be running from Sunday 31st May until Thursday 4th June. » KG Garden Centre Field Trip: KG2C and D are visiting Dubai Garden Centre on Sunday 31st May from 8:00-11:00am. KG2F and G are visiting Dubai Garden Centre on Monday tst June from 8:00-11:00am. + MAPS Spring Session: MAPS Spring session will be from Monday 1st June to Thursday fith June. + KG Swimming Gala: The KG Swimming Gala will be taking place on Wednesday 3rd June. . Whe and MYP Swimming Gala: The PYP and MYP Swimming Gala will be taking place on Thursday 4th june. RAMADAN TIMINGS: 8:30am -1:30pmNews from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 a International Insight Dear GIS Parents, “As part of the Autism Awareness Kampalan, students from all around Dubai will participate in the official launch of the 1 AM DIFFERENT JUST LIKE YOU' campaign! #iCarelmAware” As part of the campaign, Autism Awareness, the children will engage in @ Guinness World Record attempt. The record is to create the longest painting of children’s self-portraits holding hands to represent their own uniqueness and give them opportunity to express their creativity There are two levels of educational awareness materials that will be delivered to our school. The materials are’ Education Pack for Early Learning ( a story about little girl Rosie who has Autism) Education Pack + Video (BBC Feature on Autism) for Primary and Secondary ( an interactive session with the children about what they learnt from the video and what they can do differently to be more understanding and inclusive) Kindly view the presentation to give you a clearer idea of the campaign GIS in collaboration with the campaign will host two assemblies for our students and a coffee morning for parents The campaign will be launched at GIS on Sunday the 3 of May 2015 The first assembly (KG1 and KG2) will take place on Sunday 3+" of May at 8:00am The second assembly (Gt G8) will take place on Sunday 3# of May at 9:00am Both assemblies will take place in the MPH at GIS and are for students only! You are cordially invited to our “Coffee Morning for Parents” on the same day at 11:00am in the conference room on the Ft floor. Looking forward to see you with us on this day “| AM DIFFERENT JUST LIKE YOU" Best regards, Mrs. Hala Goussous MuasherNews from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 Parent Information Event: Physical Education! a International Insight Next Monday evening st6pm the Physical Education department wil be showcas- ing student learning in PE PYP students (Grades 2-5) will discuss and demonstrate how they have been taking charge of their own learning in the swimming pool MIYP students in G6 will lead parents through @ coaching session that thay de- signed and developed as a group as part of their football skills unit. MYP stu- dents from G&-8 will present their Athletics Journals and invasion games of their own invention, Due to the logistical constraints of this PIE it will not be repeated at Bam the fol- lowing day as other PIEs have been, Monday 25th May at 6-7pm in the Cafeteria will be the only opportunity. We hope to see you here!News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 a International Insight i: Letter from the Principal / Dear Parents, As we complete another week | thought | should communicate to you how pleased and delighted I have been the last two weeks with some of the efforts that | have seen students and staff making. Last week we had two Parent Information Events on the subject of Humanities. These events are some- thing that we have introduced this year and are designed to qlve you, the parents, an insight into what goes on in the school. They are organised by Mr. Gary Craggs, oné of our Assistant Principals, and the teachers, and are delivered by the students The two PIEs that we had last week were on the subject of Humanities and it was great for me to see students explaining to parents how they had created a city using Google SketchUp, or discussing with one another why a city should be constructed in a particular way, bearing in mind its culture and ethos. Grade One chikiren had created a model of a city and were able to explain what they had done and why, making sure that Mr. Chris understood co-ordinates by asking me how I would get from one building to another! MYP students held a high-level and entertaining formal debate during which they discussed whether of not Julius Caesar was a hero or a villain In duliton, |, together with al the teachers here, was showered with atts on a daly basis last week because it was Teacher Appreciation Week. A huge ‘Thank You to all the wonderful members of GISPA who co-ordinated all of this. They managed to round everything off by preparing a meal for all of us last Thursday, GISPA do 2 wonderl Job in the school and are very much at the hear of working with the staff and students to create a proper school community of parents, students and staff. Their work is very, very much appreciated by me and all the staff - thank you GISPAlNews from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 a International Insight cs Letter from the Principal This morning | had the privilege of attending two great music concerts, They made me feel very proud of the students and staff, not to mention the wonderfully appreciative audience that we had. Well done to all the children! As I sdid at the end of the first concert, which was for KG and Grade 1, one of the very best parts of my job isto see the smiles of pride on the faces of parents as ther chittren perform to the very best of their abilities. Your children are able and talented; it is our job to nurture this ability and talent on your behalf and on behalf of your children. On the corridor wall outside my office there is a small poster which says, "A good criterion for measur- ing success in if isthe number of people you have made happy” Your children made Us al happy today arid. your children and you, through GISPA, made Us happy last Week. | am made happy every day buy every smling face see as | walk around the school, itis the smile of a student, a parent or a member of stat | wish you all happy family tme over the weekend and look forward to seeing you all next week as we continue on our journey together to achieve the very best that we can on behalf of all your children Many thanks and best wishes, Christopher McDermott Principal / CEO24 = |nternational Insight = News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 MYP Newsletter Good afternoon all, Thank you once again to those parents and students who were able to help with the IB |MYP research this week. Dr Saeeda Shah has spent two days in school helping to re- view the MYP in the context of being based in Dubai. The results of this piece of work will be available later in the ueer. This week there has been a lot of fantastic learning happening around the school, with students partici- pating in the KHDA drama review, concert practices, and biome sales in the Grade 6 science class. This week also officially marks the start of the Art celebration, which will run until June 1. Carolyn Mason Parker Assistant Principal / MYP CoordinatorNews from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 a International Insight The World Scholar’s Cup Team would like to thank all GIS families who purchased a house t-shirt as part of our school-wide fundraiser. T-shirts will be delivered to home- room teachers on Sunday, May 24° If you did not order a shirt this time, we will offer another t-shirt sale next fall. Cheers! “opin an Dear Parents, We would like to thank all of the families who celebrated and expressed thanks for our teach ers last week. From the sweet treats, flowers, fruits, notes and cards as well as our teachers lunch, we were able to come together in a great show of support for our wonderful teachers They were amazed and delighted at the sentiment behind the week and we were asked count- less times to pass on thelr tharks to the GIS parents As anew school we are still building the school spirit and developing our school community but last week showed that we have made great progress and so we thank you for your incredible support and co-operation, not only during Teacher Appreciation Week, but also for the other events we have had this Wear Warmest regards, Your GISPA TeamInsight = News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Last Wednesday, we were invited to participate in the KHDA Award Ceremony for What Worked and Test4Good. Our role was to be Masters of Ceremony in a creative and unconventional way. 13 children from MYP attended dressed up in all sorts of costumes. They gave other participants appreciation riobons, then played around the sucitorium looking for envelopes with the awards, or for the winners to guide them to the stage. It was a wonder ul experience for them, theu took rss by performing in front of 500 people, 2s well as being flexible and adjusting to all the last minute changes. KHDA was very pleased with out perticpation and we hope we this isthe begining ofa long term colabor ation between ‘them anda International Insight = News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 On Sunday, May 17th, the girls visited DAA for thelr fist jasketball match. The girls all played hard defense and were able to earn a shut-out, not allowing any points to be scored against them. They played well 2s a team and were able to record 20 points for a victory of 20-0 over DAA. Well done girls! From left: Cadhla McGuinness, Shauna McGuinness, Lily-Rose Fleming, Amaliye-Bonu Suleymanova, Fathima Nazrin Naranath, Jana Heialy, Roos Oude Kotte & Coach: Heather Kea ‘Dear GIS Community, At the beginning of term, | embarked on a Community Service Project to increase awareness of ‘ube | Diabetes and to complete a S0km Dke ride to alge money for research into finding a cure y ntl aim was te raise 1900 AED, however with the help of the generous GIS community, my local community and my parents’ social media networks, the final tally was 815133 AED. GIS families donated a huge 2703 AED and two community members Tycho Lammerse and Ms Car-. oline Renaud even gave up their Friday morning to ride the 50km with me. To one and all a huge THANK YOU for your encouragement and kind support. Nicholas :)News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 Meet our new teachers! Hi, my name is Niamh Redmond and | am from Dublin, Ireland. Im delighted to be joining the KG 1 team at GIS Al Khail this September. [hold a degree in Art and Design and have successfully completed both a Higher Diploma in Primary Education from Hibernia College, Ireland as well as a Graduate Diploma in Education from Dublin City University, | have been teaching kindergarten ina small private school in Dublin for the last 5 Years and have previously lived and taught in Melbourne, Australia. | believe it is a privilege to teach children in their early school years and | strive to instil lifelong love of learning in my students as well as a confidence in their own abilities. | aim to create a colourful, stimulating classroom to engage and motivate the children in thelr learning and develop the creativity imagination and curiosity. love to travel and ex- petience new places and am really ooking forward to exploring Dubal and the UAE with my wusband when we arrive a International Insight Hello everyone, my name is Sana Rathore and | am thrilled to be joining the Gis community this September am from England and genved a 8A inManace- ment from the University of Sheffield. | found my passion for teaching follow- ing a year of work experience in an independent grammar school. | pursued my passion by completing a Post Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Studies with Early Years Professional Status and Professional Development from the University of Huddersfield. Following this | completed my PGCE at Manchester Metropolitan University, Whilst working at a Primary School as a Year 1 Teacher | completed my Masters in Education from Manchester Metropolitan University. During the past six years [ have been lucky enough to work across several Year groups, which | believe has enabled me to better understand a child’s progress. As'a result I have learnt many skills including, working with Children of aiferent abilities, supporting and nurturing the emotional needs of children and provide chikren with extra-curricular activities, | thoroughly en- Jou working with children and take great pleasure and pride knowing that | am scaffolding their learning so that. they will one day be the very best that they can be. In my spare time | enjoy travelling and have been fortunate enough to experience my own adventures in countries including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Jor- dan and America. | am now looking forward to this new adventure in Dubai Hello. GIS Community. My name is Kalravi Oza and | am, really excited to jin the Grade 2 Team at GEMS International School this September. My col- leagues would describe me as a caring, committed and creative team player. | am blessed to be in a profession that gives me the opportunity to shape and nurture young minds by providing an engaging, challenging and enjouable at- mosphere to learn. Ihave earned my Bachelor Degrees in Science and Educa~ tion from The University of Mumbai in india and | also have a teaching certtifi- cation from the Universty of Cambridge in the UK| have gained a wide renge Of knowledge in multiple curricula, inciting IE-PYP and ICSE. I have been working in the field of education for over twelve years and have enjoyed each teaching opportunity at various international schools in Malaysia and India Whilst teaching remains my first passion, | also enjoy hiking and trekking, watching moviés, and socializing to rejuvenate me. | enjoy exploring new plac- e8 and experiencing different cultures. Im really looking forward to the ad- venture that awaits me in Dubai and I hope to make a positive and lasting re- lationship with the GIS Community3} International Insight News from GEMS International School- Al Khail Thursday, 21May 2015 How did we ” do this year? Check your email for the year-end GEMS Parent Survey Shorter & faster to complete... Only © questions! Ba UR q ce VAS a0)