BIS Abu Dhabi Times

PRINCIPALS WELCOME

BIS ABU DHABI TIMES

I am delighted to share the Term 1 edition of the BIS Abu Times for the 2022-23 academic year containing all the latest news from The British International School Abu Dhabi.

As my first term as Principal comes to a close, words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the amazing welcome I have had from the whole community. It is such a privilege to be the Principal of what is quite frankly a remarkable school. This term’s magazine shows just a snippet of how much has been going on and how evident the passion our teachers have to give students every opportunity possible.

It has been fantastic to have our parents back into school, I have had so many opportunities to meet them at our coffee mornings, Pinktober event, Parent Workshops, National Day and even when they have just been enjoying a coffee in The Hub. I have been amazed at how many opportunities and events there have been this term and what a busy school it is.

There have been so many highlights this term, and National Day was no exception, what a fabulous day celebrating the 51st Birthday of the UAE together as a community.

The joy on the Nursery children’s faces, as

they decorated a cookie, the delight as students enjoyed the Bungee Jump, the squeals from the camel rides, the applause from the student performances, the amazing Arabic activities, the fabulous shopping opportunities and the stunning staff fashion show, the activities were endless. Putting events together on this scale is not easy and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents, staff and students involved in creating such a fabulous day for us all to enjoy.

There has been much learning this term, and not just for our students, it has been a pleasure to welcome parents into school to have the opportunity to learn how we teach and how to support children at home at our many parent workshops. Our students have been dissecting hearts, excavating archaeology sites, smashing it at chess, abseiling down buildings, sensational superheroes, amazing athletes, theatre stars; the list goes on as you will see as you turn the pages.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a peaceful winter break and a healthy and happy new year, I look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 2.

Liam Cullinan Principal

The Modern Foreign Language Department is always looking for ways to encourage students with their languages and broaden cultural perspectives as well as becoming risk takers. Learning a language is not just about words and communication but people, cultural diversity and understanding.

Monday 26th September was European Day of Languages, and BIS Abu Dhabi used the opportunity to celebrate all languages and the linguistic diversity within the school. Students discovered all kinds of facts about

BMI University Fair

In October BIS Abu Dhabi hosted the BMI International Universities Fair.

Year 11 - Year 13 students and their parents had the opportunity to learn about overseas courses and study abroad options with over 30 universities from 8 different countries in attendance.

It was fantastic to organise this in-person event in school again and witness all students engage enthusiastically to explore the different options universities have to offer.

European Day of Languages

different languages around the world. In addition to this, some bilingual and trilingual students helped put together a tongue-twister competition. A number of these students along with a few teachers, recorded a tongue-twister in their native tongue to share with the other students. There were tongue-twisters in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Hungarian and Mandarin and throughout the secondary corridors, lots of different languages and laughter could be heard.

Years 7-11 then practised the tongue twisters and were invited to enter a tonguetwister competition by uploading one in a language that was not their first language. It is always great to have an opportunity to celebrate how diverse the community is at BIS Abu Dhabi.

The Year 12 Psychology students have been exploring different sampling techniques this term. These are used by real-world psychologists when conducting research on human behaviour to collect a sample of participants from the target population.

The knowledge of these techniques will not only help the Higher-Level students when completing their Paper 3 exam at the end of Year 13, but all students will choose one of these techniques to collect their very own sample for their experimental IA (course work) at the end of Year 12.

Year 13 Chemistry Investigation

This term, International Baccalaureate (IB) Chemistry students have been busy gathering data collection for their Internal Assessments (IA).

Students came up with their own research questions and practical methods relating to Chemistry and collected data to analyse to help conclude and evaluate their research. They collated their own data through experiments, and secondary research, and helped each other when needed.

The Internal Assessment (IA) is a critical part of the IB Chemistry curriculum, and it is worth 20% of the student’s final grade. It is crucial for students to make sure their practical experiments are completed to the highest quality to attain outstanding results!

Well done and good luck to all the students who are working really hard on their IB Diploma.

Year 12 Psychology

During the month of October, BIS Abu Dhabi celebrated Black History Month. The students were emersed in learning linked to their existing topics and delved into influential and inspirational Black People who have shaped the world in various ways. The month was also dedicated to how to make our world better. Students discussed issues around equality, diversity and fairness. Classes discussed a variety of questions such as:

“Why is it good to be different?”

And “Is the world fairer today than it used to be?”

The questions generated discussions, not just with students, but also with staff about the rich diversity of BIS Abu Dhabi and the curriculum taught.

There were impressive displays of work around the school, showcasing students’ knowledge.

Some classes specifically focused on one person, whereas others allowed the students to select their inspirational person and allowed them to explore their life. Students enjoyed visiting the libraries to select and read inspiring and educational texts from black authors.

As was said by Thurgood Marshall on recognising the importance of every human being:

“In recognising the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”

Year 3 Archeologists

Phonics Workshop

Year 3 have become archaeologist’s this term. They have been using tools to complete a mini excavation. After finding hidden artefacts, they observed, analysed and recorded their findings just like a real archaeologist would.

This was a fantastic opportunity for the children to develop their science investigative skills as well as having a lot of fun!

Year 6 Scientists

This term, Year 6 have had two science lessons to remember. They have been learning about the circulatory system and spent some time making blood and dissecting hearts. In the first lesson, students used yellow food colouring and water to represent plasma, red food colouring and Cheerios to represent red blood cells, marshmallows/cotton wool to represent white blood cells and raisins to represent platelets.

The students then covered their blood with a balloon and inserted a straw which represented the heart and the pulmonary artery. It was great fun, and the students especially enjoyed the moment when they pumped the balloon and saw their homemade blood squirt out of the straw! In the next science lesson, they became surgeons and dissected a sheep’s heart.

It was a fantastic experience for all involved to deepen their understanding of the human heart and how the circulatory system works. First, the students filled the atria with water and were amazed to see the valves closing.

They made an incision with their scalpel and sliced through one of the coronary arteries to open the heart and view the right ventricle. They then sliced open the left ventricle and explored the strength of the tendons inside. Some even poked their finger through the aorta to identify where the blood leaves the heart to make the journey to the rest of the body. It was an incredibly rich learning experience for them to have a real heart in front of them after learning all the parts and functions in the classroom using diagrams and videos.

Year 13 Never Miss a Beat

Year 13 IB biology students had the opportunity to dissect and observe the intricate workings of the mammalian heart, during their lessons this term. Students were able to see the inner workings of the valves and how each of the ventricles is specifically adapted to perform its function.

This topic is part of the human physiology unit, essential and underpinning knowledge of all students aspiring to work in the medical and related fields.

Lesson 32

Lesson 32 is an exciting new initiative in BIS Abu Dhabi’s Year 7 and 8 curriculum. With the change to the school day, there was the perfect opportunity to look at the subject offering and add some interesting new topics and ideas.

In this lesson, students rotate through 6 topics chosen by a teacher as an area of expertise that is not taught in typical schools. This has allowed the delivery of electronics, the study of the science behind the climate crisis, a look at sustainability alongside Nord Anglia’s global goals as well as many other brilliant initiatives.

It has been fantastic to see the great work produced by students as they grapple with these new concepts.

Young Leaders Conference

BISADs first ever Young Leaders Conference took place in September! It was a hugely exciting day with over 120 Secondary students getting involved in a wide range of leadership activities including Peer Reader, Peer Assisted Learners, Sports Leaders, Leaders in MUN, Language Leaders and Peer Mentoring.

The students learnt about the skills and qualities needed to become successful leaders and were given an intensive workshop in their preferred leadership area.

The teachers were so proud to see so many students applying for a position at the conference and putting themselves forward to be leaders. It was truly an incredible day full of discovery and inspiration.

The Young Leaders have since continued with their chosen programme of leadership and are supporting other students at BIS Abu Dhabi in their fields. Watch this space! There will be lots of exciting developments on this programme to come!

This term, FS2 parents have enjoyed two informative workshops.

A Read Write Inc (RWI) Phonics Workshop and Get Ready to Write Stay and Play.

During the Get Ready to Write session, parents had the opportunity to play alongside their child as they develop their coordination and writing skills both inside and outside of the classroom. Parents were also shown activities where language skills are developed.

Getting funky with phonics and Ready to Write in FS2

In the second workshop FS2 students introduced their parents to the RWI phonics scheme and parents learned all about how phonics lessons are taught at BIS Abu Dhabi.

Parents then joined their child in their classroom to complete some phonics activities. There was some great feedback from parents, who left with lots of ideas for how they could support their children at home.

The children were really excited to have their parents join them!

Education Perfect BSME and international language competitions: BIS Abu Dhabi strikes again!

In November, the students at BIS Abu Dhabi took part in the annual ‘Education Perfect International Language Championship’ and the ‘Education Perfect BSME Language championship’. Students were motivated to showcase their linguistic knowledge in Arabic, French, Spanish, German, and an array of other foreign languages, as they competed to defend their world title as reigning champions.

513,124 questions answered, 200,900 points earned, and 746 hours spent as a collective illustrates the dedication and diligence that BIS Abu Dhabi students exhibited over the course of the three days. And the results quite simply speak for themselves: The school came...

• 1st in the Global Scoreboard in both competitions and 2nd overall in average point per student behind the Jeddah Prep and Grammar School.

• 1st in the United Arab Emirates.

• 1st in Category Ranking.

• 1st in Arabic (globally and locally).

• 1st in Italian and Maori.

Mrs. Hasan’s Year 9 and Year 8 Arabic groups as well as the Year 9 French group of Mr. Déposé achieved over 10,000 points. Not forgetting the Year 12 Spanish Ab Initio group, who contributed a further 10,000 points (with only 9 students!).

Students were also awarded digital certificates for their efforts after gaining 300 points (Credit), 500 (Bronze), 750 (Silver), 1000 (Gold), 2000 (Emerald) and 3000 (Elite). Special mention must go to Rayhan in 9D and Dongha in 10B for achieving the prestigious ‘Elite Award’ with a global ranking of 46th and 61st respectively. Congratulations also go to Ahmad in 12B, Aadi in 8D and Samuel in 12B for securing a well-deserved Emerald Award. BIS Abu Dhabi also had a host of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Credit Award winners and many points from both Primary and Secondary. Everyone contributed to yet another successful campaign.

Competitions such as these allow BIS Abu Dhabi students to be inspired to do their best. Through using technology at school, the teachers strive to engage and challenge students in the most forward-thinking and dynamic ways possible. Will BIS Abu Dhabi make it in the top 3 best schools three years in a row? Find out next November!

MEET OUR GRADUATES

Most of the elite universities worldwide value academic rigor and the IB Diploma most certainly does not fall short in that category. This, along with the other valuable skills like time management that the IB Diploma taught me has not only helped me in securing my admission, but also will be essential during my time at university.

Aniruddh, Class of 2022

The University of California San Diego (UCSD), Computer Science

The IB Diploma makes sure that the student not only develops academically but they also develop as a person, as they are able to gain new experiences. For example, Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) is a mandatory part of the IB Diploma Programme, and I am extremely glad that it was because it allowed me to discover many new interests and allowed me to grow as a person. When applying to a university, academic performance will always be a principal factor that is considered by the university, but it is the non-academic experiences and achievements that can set a student apart from the rest.

Dale, Class of 2022 University of Adelaide, Mechanical Engineering

I believe that completing the IB Diploma Programme played a large role in my acceptance to Boston University as they recognised the rigorous nature of the programme. The IB Diploma Programme is much more internationally renowned than other programmes, which was also appealing to the university admissions officers as it shows a sense of ease within a multi-ethnic group of people. Also, at university, I will gain credits for all three of my Higher-Level courses, meaning I will be able to graduate early because I will not have to take as many classes as others to complete the course.

Maxwell, Class of 2022 Boston University, Economics

Completing the IB Diploma taught me a lot about life balance, but whilst still making sure I worked hard. I completed a lot of extracurricular activities for the Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) element of the Programme that supported my application and made me stand out from the crowd. I also learned important writing skills from completing essays and internal assessments which I know will be essential during my time at university.

Safa, Class of 2022 Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Medicine

Did you know there are many amazing benefits to learning Nursery Rhymes?

Nursery Rhymes are a fun and easy way to support children’s speech and language development, help with their physical and social needs, and help build important foundations for literacy skills.

Throughout the Nursery Rhyme Week this term, students in Nursery learned different rhymes and completed a variety of activities. The students sang the rhymes they had learnt throughout

Nursery Rhyme Celebration Day

the week on stage for their friends. To celebrate the end of World Nursery Rhyme Week, students came to school dressed as their favourite Nursery Rhyme characters and performed the rhymes for their families. The students really are shining stars in Nursery!

University Fees talk

On Tuesday 11th October we welcomed Kate Raison, the Director of UK Study Options, to BIS Abu Dhabi to talk to parents about University Fees in the UK. Determining whether students are eligible for home fees rather than international fees at UK universities is a highly complex issue which affects many of the expat families within the BIS Abu Dhabi community.

Kate explained some of the factors that determine the fee structure and gave some general advice with respect to building up a portfolio of evidence to argue the case for ‘home status’. Ultimately though, every case is different.

Parents found the talk extremely helpful as it cleared up many myths around the topic.

HOUSE DAY

On Thursday, 27th October the whole school came together for an incredible BIS Abu Dhabi House Day! It was wonderful to see all the students together, making new friends and learning skills across Art, STEAM, P.E, Languages and Humanities related to the theme of the FIFA World Cup and international cultures.

Well done everyone for such an incredible day and a special congratulations to Elm who were the House Day 2022 winners!

Year 2 Warner Bros Trip

This term, Year 2 visited Warner Bros World, Abu Dhabi to finish off their topic “What’s Your Superpower?” with a POW! CRASH! and a BANG! At the park, they met the superheroes they have been reading and writing about and got to work as reporters for the world-famous newspaper ‘The Daily Planet’.

The children used their descriptive vocabulary and super recall skills to give an eyewitness account of the incident they saw in Metropolis. Later on, the children were real risk-takers as they rode on the rides.

Art & Photography Trip to Apple

On Tuesday, 4th October GCSE Photography and Fine Art, and Art & Design students had the opportunity to go into The Galleria Abu Dhabi to attend an Apple Workshop. The workshop focused on how to take interesting portrait photographs, using the latest Apple technology. The students also had the opportunity to photograph interesting shots around the city, which they will use for their GCSE projects.

This is what Mahra from 10B had to say about her experience: “In Art GCSE, we are currently doing a project looking at Architecture and the Urban Environment. We need to take photographs of ourselves for this project as we will use these to make our own original artwork later. Before we went to the Galleria Mall, we received a Photography brief from Miss. Funnell to give us an idea of what aspects we should take pictures of during our trip and how to take interesting shots. We were able to capture Abu Dhabi through our own lenses, taking our time whilst getting a range of pictures of the buildings, signs, street furniture, surface patterns, and reflections in different scales and perspectives. We tried to get the most captivating angles.

Our Apple workshop session was also brilliant! In this Portrait Photography session, we had the opportunity to not only learn how to take pictures of our subjects from interesting angles, experimenting with different poses, props, and techniques but to also do it from their latest iPhone.

We were challenged to take our pictures in black and white, which meant we had to put extra effort into the composition and details of our pictures, making our subject stand out as the ‘star of the photo’. We were given certain themes, which had us trying to come up with creative concepts behind our images, a few of these themes were: ‘Stretching’, ‘Framing’, ‘Album Covers’, ‘Pointing’, and ‘Telling a Story’.

Everybody had great fun and took some excellent photos. These will be helpful skills for one of our future units on Portraiture, which we will do later in the course. Overall, the trip was a great opportunity for Photography and Art students to learn more about how to take great photos and use technology well.”

Chess Champions

On Thursday, 13th October BIS Abu Dhabi was very proud to host the Abu Dhabi Schools Chess Tournament.

BIS Abu Dhabi, Brighton College, Cranleigh, Repton, Amity and BSAK entered the tournament, with some incredible talent on show. All players were kind, friendly and showed excellent sportsmanship.

The results were:

1st place BIS Abu Dhabi with 50 points

2nd place BSAK with 41 points

3rd place Cranleigh with 37 points

The next day our Principal, Liam Cullinan had a meeting with the Chess Team and their teacher Mr. McLoughlin to congratulate them and discuss their success and future ambitions and goals.

A massive congratulations also goes out to Zirui, BISAD Chess Team member who played some fantastic chess but was absent for the team photo. Well done to everyone involved!

Model United Nations (MUN)

BIS Abu Dhabi students have been working collaboratively during their MUN CCA.

BIS Abu Dhabi’s junior and senior MUNers have been working together on writing position papers and opening speeches ready to present in a mock MUN debate.

Students in Years 6-13 have been discussing and planning together for the topic ‘Creating a sustainable future through sustainable energy.’ There have been some fantastic examples of research and the opening speeches on Tuesday, 4th October were exemplary.

Year 6 and Year 7 North Star Activities

Year 6 and Year 7 have made incredible memories this term participating in the activity days run by North Star. Monday, 25th October was not a usual Monday morning!

As one group abseiled, others launched sponges at each other, some were brave enough to scale a fish whilst another group took part in team building.

For the ‘Trebuchet’ activity they were split into two teams. Each team worked together to build a catapult. Once built, the fun began… wet sponges were given to each team to put in their trebuchet and fire at their opponents. It was a welcome cool down after their hard work moving wooden beams and tying knots.

Another activity was ‘Wilderness Survival’. Each group was given a fish which they had to cut, gut, wash, wrap in foil and cook on the fires they had started themselves. When the fish was cooked, they tucked in, and many students were curious enough to eat the eyes!

The students then enjoyed a delicious BBQ, and toasted marshmallows by the campfire. The students still had tremendous amounts of energy for the campfire songs and danced around following the actions while the sun went down.

The Year 6 students headed home for the night whilst the Year 7 students set up camp at school. The following day students started off with ‘Raft Building’, where they learnt to tie different knots and worked as a team to build their rafts. They had a brilliant time racing each other across the pool on these and everyone was laughing, especially when they slipped or dramatically jumped into the water! After a quick snack it was time to head up to the roof to abseil!

The courage that every student showed to have a go and stand on the edge of the building was outstanding. Those who were brave enough to lean back and take their first step down the roof felt a fantastic sense of achievement when they reached the ground and high fived their friends.

The smiles on the students’ faces in the photos say it all - they had an absolute blast that is sure to be a highlight of their time at BIS Abu Dhabi.

On Thursday, 13th October the Year 1 team had the pleasure of welcoming parents back into school for the first showcase of the year.

The students had been learning all about toys for the first half term which culminated in creating their very own Toy Museum.

The students designed and created a toy of their choice using junk modelling materials, carefully choosing the most appropriate material for their toy. They were so excited to show off their creations to their parents, it was a truly magical morning.

This term the students in Year 2 had an actionpacked superhero-themed dress-up day. Throughout the day, the children took part in a wide range of superhero activities to kick-start their way into their new topic: “What’s Your Superpower?”.

At the beginning of the day, the children learned of some shocking news that Mr. Cocker, Head of Primary, had been kidnapped by the evil villain ‘Cyclone’! Superhero, ‘Grammar Man’ asked for their help to find out where he was being hidden. The students had to solve a range of puzzles and clues hidden in their classroom and play areas in order to discover – he was hidden on the roof!

Year 1 Toy Museum

Year 2 Superhero Day

The students thought about what superpowers they would love to have as well as which superpowers they already have. Thankfully, BIS Abu Dhabi has lots of super-kind, super-focused and super-curious students, so thinking of superpowers was easy!

UAE Flag Day

On Thursday 3rd November BIS Abu Dhabi celebrated Flag Day. It is a celebration of the unity and the remarkable achievements of this young country. Reflection of what the flag stands for; justice, peace, tolerance, power and moderation. The country stands as one at one moment in time.

The leaders of the UAE use the flag and Flag Day to unite the country and to reinforce the expectations that people should live by in the UAE. The treatment of the flag itself, direction about the materials allowed in its construction, its size, how it is to be flown and the handling of it all set an expectation that the flag and what it represents, should be valued and respected.

All staff and students attended the raising of the flag ceremony. Mansour, a Year 9 student, raised the flag at 11 am before students sang the National Anthem and Mrs. Fatima Qadoumi presented information regarding the flag. Students also completed some activities about flag day in their classes.

Al Wahda Football Club Partnership

Under the lights of the famous Al Nahyan Stadium, BIS Abu Dhabi students spent the evening providing the pre-match and halftime entertainment for thousands at the Al Wahda Vs Al Nasr, UAE Pro-League fixture last month.

Before the game, our Under 12 football team played a fixture against the Al Nahda local school and girls from Years 3 and 4 were the mascots for the teams, leading the players out onto the pitch.

The first half ended 0-0 despite the raucous support given to Al Wahda by BIS Abu Dhabi students and at half time students from the school’s Under 16s football team took part in a penalty shoot-out in front of the nearly 5,000 crowd.

The BIS Abu Dhabi presence must have brought out some fortune for the Al Wahda team as they finished the game 4-0 winners and have since gone on to beat Al Ain and Sharjah to rise to the top of the league –BIS Abu Dhabi really does work wonders!

A wonderful evening was had by all and BIS Abu Dhabi families are welcome to visit the Al Nahyan Stadium for all their home games this season with complimentary tickets. Ask at school reception for further details.

National Day

What a fantastic day celebrating the 51st Birthday of the UAE!

Throughout the afternoon, families and staff enjoyed bungee jumping, camel and pony rides, face painting, henna tattoos, cooking decorating, fabulous food and some amazing student performances. There was a souq with a wonderful range of shopping opportunities. It was so good to be able to put on the event once again and get the whole community together, a real highlight of Term 1. Thank you to all the parents involved in organising such a fabulous day.

Orientation Day

On Thursday, 25th August we welcomed the BIS Abu Dhabi community to school for Orientation Day.

Parents had the opportunity to meet with teachers, finalise admission matters, arrange a place on school buses, purchase secondhand uniform, meet with local external providers and chat with our HR team regarding any job opportunities. Students also had the opportunity to meet their new class teachers and peers.

It was wonderful for the community to have the chance to get together before the start of the new academic year.

We were delighted to welcome so many parents back into school at our Year Group Coffee Mornings at the start of the term.

They were a fantastic opportunity for parents to come along and meet other parents from their child’s year group and some key staff members.

At 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month, all students and staff commemorated Remembrance Day with a 2-minute silence. During this silence, the BIS Abu Dhabi community reflected on those who have served and given their lives in service to their country.

Remembrance Day or Poppy Day is a memorial day observed since the end of the First World War to remember the members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty and all the people effected by the war. WW1 formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

Remembrance Day

Kindness Day

Kindness Day saw all students and staff coming into school looking bright and beautiful in yellow - the colour of kindness. Music greeted everyone as they entered and there was even a morning DJ set by some of the secondary students to mark the start of the day! Beautiful yellow decorations were placed around the school to make it feel extra special.

Students handed out kindness postcards to their teachers and friends. Staff and students carried out random acts of kindness after spinning the interactive kindness wheel to sprinkle some extra sparkle to the day.

Primary students were greeted with a Random Acts of Kindness Checklist where they had to tick off all the acts of kindness that they had done that day. Some classes made thank you cards to give to the wider community such as hospital staff, refuge collectors and home security and they decorated their windows with kindness messages.

Secondary students enjoyed an outdoor ‘Kindness Rocks’ concert at lunchtime and there was also the launch of the BIS Abu Dhabi Kindness Day music video! Scan the QR code to watch it.

All in all, it was a magical day!

BIS Abu Dhabi is committed to offering in-school classes for parents to allow the school to be a place of learning and enjoyment for everyone, not only students. This term they offered free CCAs for parents in Arabic Language and Islamic Culture.

Arabic language lessons took place every Monday between 3pm – 4pm and parents learned the basics of Arabic, both spoken and written.

Islamic Culture classes took place every Tuesday between 3pm – 4pm, and covered communication, understanding of religious matters, and increased knowledge of Islam.

Look out for more parent CCA options next term.

Nursery Stay and Play and Read and Relax

Nursery students were very excited to welcome their families into school for two workshops this term.

Parents joined their children for the very first Physical Development Stay and Play session of the academic year. Students and adults worked together to complete a range of exciting activities designed to develop and strengthen their gross and fine motor skills.

It was lovely to see so many smiling faces as parents got to experience their child’s learning experience first-hand.

For the second workshop the children in Nursery welcomed their

parents into school for a ‘Read and Relax’ session. They snuggled and shared their favourite stories together before going on a hunt outside to find where their favourite characters were hiding. What an amazing way to share a love of reading together.

Reading is an excellent way to develop communication and language skills. It helps children build their imaginations, exposes them to wider world experiences, teaches them new vocabulary and so much more. Why not snuggle up and share a story with your child at home?

In October the BIS Abu Dhabi community hosted a very successful PINKTOBER Coffee Morning in aid of Breast Cancer.

The event included educational talks from Mediclinic, on Breast Cancer Awareness and prevention strategies, testimonials by incredibly strong cancer survivors, and fun events including a raffle draw, catwalk, nail station, and henna tattoos were also on offer!

The highlight of the event had to be the generous charitable contributions by wonderful parents, students, and staff. These donations will go a long way in helping cancer patients, supported by the Friends of Cancer Patients Foundation. Some of the volunteers also contributed by donating handcrafted giveaways and delicious baked goods.

A huge thank you to the parent volunteers as well as to the fabulous PINKTOBER

Coffee Morning sponsors, your support is much appreciated in making the event such a success.

Be sure to check out BISADNetwork.com for some special offers that were kindly donated that you will not want to miss out on!

Parents Wellbeing Workshop

This term has seen the start of our parent well-being workshops. The first one focused on the BISAD Diploma and was a great opportunity to share why the BISAD Diploma is such an important part of the core learning experience offered at BIS Abu Dhabi and how it helps prepare students comprehensively for the future.

Parents were able to take part in some collaborative activities focused on BISAD Diploma student evidence and what a Bronze, Silver or Gold level submission could look like for each of the nine categories. There was also time to answer questions and explain how the expectations differ from Year 1 to Year 11 for students, as they progress throughout school and their developmental journey.

The second workshop was on promoting Resilience and parents joined a discussion on the psychological and emotional factors that impact children’s ability to bounce back from personal, social and academic obstacles. Parents were invited to attend the ‘Promoting Resilience’ workshop to learn various strategies on boosting children’s ability to overcome challenges and develop their strengths.

IB Theatre

Year 12 IB Theatre students have been experimenting with light and shadow effects this term. Students have been considering creative ways of using lighting to enhance a piece of staged theatre.

Iris Reinhold, Year 12 student said “I’ve enjoyed using lighting in a collaborative way. The collaborative element of the workshops has allowed us to experiment with new and innovative ways of telling a story. I’ve particularly enjoyed playing with shadows. Physics in Theatre!”

Juilliard Visit

It was a very busy two-day visit with Jennifer running parent workshops, designed to introduce to parents the aims and objectives of our collaboration with Juilliard and for them to experience for themselves the ‘Juilliard Approach’ through an experiential workshop. Feedback from parents was extremely positive, with many commenting on how the experience of a Juilliard lesson has deepened their understanding of the relevance and impact of subjects such as Drama, in the curriculum throughout the school.

In addition to the parent workshop Jennifer taught lessons to students in Year 9 and Year 10, observed Drama specialists teaching Juilliard lessons, ran professional development workshops for Primary staff and met with Senior Leadership and Drama leads to plan and put in place targets for Drama this academic year.

Jennifer Shirley, Juilliard Drama Specialist visited BIS Abu Dhabi this term.

The BIS Abu Dhabi community gained so much from Jennifer’s expertise and look forward to welcoming both Music and Dance specialists throughout the coming year.

Paper Birds Theatre Workshop

This term the Drama department welcomed Paper Birds into school. Paper Birds are an internationally renowned theatre company known for creating and performing original pieces of Theatre. Over two days Year 9, Year 10 and Year 12 Drama and Theatre students took part in a series of workshops, designed to introduce students to the devising elements of theatre and give them the opportunity to work with industry professionals. It was an amazing experience for all involved, including staff.

“I’ve always loved drama, so Paper Birds was an excellent opportunity for me to improve my skills. We were taught about improvising and the main thing I took away from the workshop was that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Drama is about embracing imperfections and working with them. I’m considering drama as a GCSE option, so this workshop was really helpful for me.”

– Lily Year 9

Back with a Splash

Monday, 3rd October saw the return of the first Abu Dhabi International School Sports Association (ADISSA) swim gala hosted by BIS Abu Dhabi.

BIS Abu Dhabi’s very own Team Falcon Primary Swim Squad, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi and Brighton College Abu Dhabi produced some outstanding swim performances throughout the evening.

BIS Abu Dhabi swimmers have been training extremely hard since the start of the year, and as a result were delighted to finish in jointfirst place with Cranleigh.

The PE department would like to say a massive ‘thanks’ to the BIS Abu Dhabi community that came to watch the young swim stars. The atmosphere around the pool was fantastic!

Go Team Falcon!

“I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 hours working with paper birds, it was a great opportunity! They taught us some new skills that we could apply to our own performances such as layering, improvisation, and using our creative skills. It was also fun and exciting at the same time!”

– Aiza Yr9

Triathlon

This year was the school’s largest participation with 243 registered athletes from Year 3 – Year 12. Over 30 secondary volunteers helped in the swimming pool, and transition zones and gave guidance on the course. Over 55 staff volunteers marshaled the event and the Community Group supported the distribution of race numbers and sponsored the refreshments in the goody bags.

All athletes participated in swimming, cycling, and running. The course varied in distance depending on the year group. Each athlete crossed the finish line and was awarded a participation medal. Every athlete gave a dedicated performance, especially on the cycle route pedaling against the wind. The run is always the toughest part, but each athlete arrived at the finish line to a supportive crowd of parents, clapping and cheering every athlete. Congratulations to all involved.

Where are they Now?

What made BIS Abu Dhabi special for you?

I found BIS Abu Dhabi to be a special school in lots of ways, the diversity in the school was amazing and I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to grow up in such an environment. The teachers at BIS Abu Dhabi are also amazing, and I look back on my time with the school really happy and grateful to have had teachers who invested their time into us as students. I know with a great deal of certainty that I would not be where I am now without the entire team of staff at BIS Abu Dhabi who helped me get into Oxford and now my current Internship Role.

Which school club, activity, trip, or project inspired you the most? A go-to answer to this question would be the schools Tanzania trips which are incredibly moving and powerful experiences that definitely helped me recognise my own position in the world and that we all have a responsibility to engage in the world and look out for one another, the project that has most likely had an even greater impact on me was my CAS for the IB Diploma. While challenging during the pandemic, I used CAS as an ‘excuse’ to try out a whole range of new activities that I had never done.

BIS Abu Dhabi Graduate Class of 20

DANIEL QUINN

I took part in beach, 10k runs and scuba diving, but then on the other side of the scale I wrote a cookbook with some of my friends, I taught myself to knit and tried to learn more about the arts in Abu Dhabi. CAS was an amazing outlet that allowed me to do all sorts of amazing things and feel guilt-free about my time because it was required for my Diploma. Moving forward it’s given me a sense of taking every opportunity and I’m still trying new things all the time.

What is the most important lesson you learned at BIS Abu Dhabi?

The most important lesson I was taught at BIS Abu Dhabi is probably that if you consistently work towards your goals then you can reach them, I never planned on going to university and I now study in a university that’s at least 20 times older than the UAE. My dad loves to pull out the old school reports from when I was younger and say ‘look, your teachers said you are ‘nice but dim’,’ a phrase he still says a lot about me. But I always kept working even when I didn’t do very well and slowly but surely my work improved. It’s not all about studying every night the week before the test, its about participating in classes, doing your homework, and learning from your mistakes, and slowly but surely the work improves, and the mistakes become less frequent.

What ambitions did BIS Abu Dhabi inspire in you?

After 5 years of my books all saying Be Ambitious constantly, I like to believe I am in fact ambitious. School has taught me to reach for my goals and if at first, I fail spectacularly then I should keep on going. I never have too much of a set plan for where I’m going but I now I want to go as far as I can in life, while knowing I want to go to work in sustainability the field is so broad that I could really do anything, and I didn’t get the first, second or third internship I applied for, but now I’m working and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. The future is far from certain, but I have hope that with the experiences from BIS Abu Dhabi, university and placements that I’ll find myself a future I enjoy.

Which university and degree did you choose, and why?

I study Geography at the University of Oxford, I would say that I didn’t pick it as I wasn’t even planning on applying until about two days before the deadline, but as my life’s philosophy has become you miss every shot that you don’t take. I never thought I’d go to university and now I’m studying the number one Geography course globally. While Oxford is extremely challenging, I am enjoying the experience and as ever making the most of the opportunities it can give me and I’m now the vice-captain of rowing in my college.

Trust me when I say I don’t think any of my teachers at BIS Abu Dhabi would have expected that from me.

How did the IB Diploma help your experience at university?

The IB Diploma has certainly made the transition to university much easier, the IB Diploma is really challenging but it provides you with not just the skills required for writing essays but the breadth of knowledge is vital when you discuss topics and I would say the IB Diploma prepares you better for balancing numerous priorities, debating and thinking critically as compared to A-Level students, plus it’s really great because if you are not sure what you want to study at university, like I was, then It helps keep your options for university courses open and university staff, while taking your course in as a factor do recognise the IB as a really good programme.

What has been your proudest moment since graduating?

My proudest moment since graduating is probably quite basic, one night after going out for dinner with some friends we were walking back and a fullon storm started, after dashing home and getting back into college I just realised that the life I was living was really beautiful and that I’m incredibly happy with the life I’m living, friends I have and how I’m doing with work and my career. It could have been quite a small moment but that evening I realised just how happy I am that everything in my past had happened to get me to this moment and I was incredibly proud of where I was in life.

What are you doing now?

Right now, I’m two weeks into an eight-week internship with a major engineering consultancy, I’m working as a Whole Life Carbon Assessor which basically means that I am helping calculate the embodied carbon in property developments and working with developers to bring that down and make buildings more sustainable. One of the more specific side projects I am currently working on is a way of streamlining data collection so efficiency is increased that can allow us as a company to reduce the time it takes to complete this assessment to about a third. Thanks to Mr. Gildroy for teaching me how to use Excel because right now I am incredibly grateful for that. But my role has also allowed me to live in the first home I’ve ever found myself in, and I’ve got used to the fact I’m in a city where I basically know no one and need to meet new people and try loads of new activities. Plus, I genuinely love my job right now.