Year 9

MRS SARAH NORAY HEAD OF YEAR 9

It has been a very busy start to the Autumn term and we have wonderful, open minded students in BSAK Year 9 and in order for us to be the strongest team, it is vital that every member of a team reflects complete respect for one another every day.

It is a key BSAK value and something that will shape them as individuals into the strong, open minded, confident young men and women we know they can be when they step out into the world outside of BSAK.

PINK DAY

& ODD SOCKS DAY

Pink Day was a great success and Year 9 really showed their support for the cause with some brilliant outfits! It is always important to acknowledge why such events are happening. Breast Cancer is something that affects a huge number of people everyday and we took time out of the day to think about this cause and the origins of Pink Day and the rationale behind it.

It was lovely to see so many colourful, unique, wild socks on Odd Socks Day. The event is part of a wider message about Anti Bullying. The uniqueness of the socks is a symbol of how unique we all are and how we should celebrate our differences and appreciate that our society is more colourful as a result of this.

Wellbeing continues to be a huge focus within the year group as we take steps to move back to ‘normal’ in school. As well as movement sessions inside and outside the classroom during registration and MELS, students have also recently had the opportunity to discuss what is important to them in regards to Wellbeing. The TEDtalks they have produced demonstrated some really mature thought and gave us lots of ideas of how to further promote positive wellbeing across the school that we will most certainly take on board during the course of the Year ahead.

TASTER

DAY

Of course a huge focal point for Year 9 this term has been the important GCSE Options process that has

begun. Students have been given many opportunities to think about their possible choices and discuss the process with myself and the Year 9 tutor team. They have also been given time to research Career paths they may be interested in and the subjects that may help them on this journey. The taster day in November was a really successful day and from speaking to students, helped to consolidate the choices they made in the Straw Poll. Staff were really impressed with the enthusiasm of the Year group who conducted themselves brilliantly to get the most out of the day.

Well Done To Them All!

GCSE

OPTIONS

Next term, options choices continue to be an important point of focus for the Year group. To assist them in the lead up to their final decisions at the end of February, we will have a virtual GCSE Options evening on 11 January as well as parents meetings.

Myself and tutors will also be there every step of the way to help guide students to make the best choices for them.

NATIONAL

DAY

The approach of the 50th Anniversary of the UAE has been a time of reflection for me and the fifteen years I have lived in this beautiful country. We are very lucky to live in this vibrant place and I hope you were all able to mark this wonderful moment in the UAE’s history during the National Day holiday, through watching the fireworks, attending the EXPO or just spending time with our nearest and dearest.

On Sunday 28th November, BSAK marked this special date in a variety of ways. The students looked wonderful in their National dress and were the perfect audience for the National Day performance ‘Voices Past and Present’ in the Secondary Theatre on the day. It was such a fitting way to mark such a big turning point for the UAE and for me personally, was an incredibly emotional day seeing audiences back in the Theatre once more. It was such an honour to be able to mark this event with the return of live Drama performance at BSAK. As an audience, the Year 9 students conducted themselves with huge maturity and respect whilst watching and they should be very proud of themselves. We hope they enjoyed watching the performance and that it gave them an opportunity to reflect on their own time in the beautiful U.A.E.

We hope they enjoyed watching the performance and that it gave them an opportunity to reflect on their own time in the beautiful U.A.E.

WINTER BREAK

Will provide students a much needed break, to have time to relax with their families after an incredibly busy term. It is also a useful time to reflect on the successes of their first term in Year 9. I hope they come back in January, re-energised, so they may continue to demonstrate what an amazing year group they truly are. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, safe travels to those who are away and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all those celebrating.