th 21 May 2015 Issue 89 Monday, 04Thursday September 2017 Issue 130
GENERAL GENERAL
NURSERY
KG FS
PRIMARY PRIMARY
RIS Staff Induction August 2017
SECONDARY SECONDARY
PARIS SCHOOL CLINIC
Re-sit exams
Wednesday, 30th August 2017
New students’ orientation
Wednesday, 30th August 2017
Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha *
Thursday, 31st August to Sunday, 03rd September 2017*
Semester 1 starts
Tuesday, 05th September 2017
All students return
Tuesday, 05th September 2017
Hijri New Year *
Thursday, 21st September 2017*
Parent Student Conference (Afternoon sessions)
Sunday, 22nd October 2017
Half Term Break for students (excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 29th October to Thursday, 02nd November 2017
Staff Professional Development (No students - excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 29th October to Tuesday, 31st October 2017
Nursery Staff Professional Development Wednesday, 01st November 2017 (No students) IBT exams (tbc)
Monday, 20th to Thursday, 23rd November 2017
Martyrs Day
Thursday, 30th November 2017*
Prophet’s Birthday
Friday, 01th December 2017*
UAE National Day
Saturday, 02nd to Sunday, 03rd December 2017*
Dismissal for Winter Break
Thursday, 14th December 2017 (no noon dismissal)
Winter Break for students (excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 17th December 2017 to Saturday, 06th January 2018
Staff Professional Development (No students - excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 17th to Tuesday, 19th December 2017
Winter Break for Nursery Students
Wednesday, 20th December 2017 to Saturday, 06th January 2018
Students and teachers return
Sunday, 07th January 2018
Semester 2 starts
Monday, 05nd February 2018
Half Term Break for students (excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 11th to Thursday, 15th February 2018
Staff Professional Development (No students - excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 11th to Tuesday, 13th February 2018
Nursery Staff Professional Development Wednesday, 14th February 2018 (No students) Half term break for Nursery
Thursday, 15th February 2018
Parent Student Conference (Afternoon sessions)
Tuesday, 20th March, 2018
Dismissal for Spring Break
Thursday 22nd March 2018 (no noon dismissal)
Spring Break (excluding Nursery)
Sunday, 25th March – Saturday, 07th April, 2018
Nursery Spring Break
Sunday, 01st April – Saturday, 07th April, 2018
Students and teachers return
Sunday 08th April 2018
Al Israa wa Al Miraj *
Thursday, 12th April 2018*
Cambridge Checkpoints Examinations
Sunday, 15th April to Thursday, 10th May 2018
Staff Professional Development (No students)
Thursday, 19th April 2018
Examinations
Sunday, 13th May to Monday, 28th May 2018
Ramadan starts*
Wednesday, 16th May 2018*
IGCSE Examinations
April to June 2018
Half Term Break for students
Wednesday, 30th to Thursday, 31st May 2018
Staff Professional Development (No students)
Wednesday, 30th May 2018
Examinations (in school)
Sunday, 03rd June to Monday, 25th June 2018
Parent Student Conference (Afternoon sessions)
Thursday, 07th June 2018
End of Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr *
Thursday, 14th – Sunday, 17th June 2018*
Students’ last day
Thursday 05th July 2018 (no noon dismissal)
End of Semester 2
Thursday, 05th July 2018
* This calendar is subject to change in line with School KHDA/Government requirements Islamic Holidays are subject to the lunar calendar
Message from the Principal Dear RIS Parents and Community, A very warm welcome back to school and to the new academic year 2017- 2018. I am truly honoured to be the instructional leader of such a wonderful school community. My vast and varied experience has made me appreciate that as a school we cannot stand still but must seize the exciting opportunities ahead and as a community stay true to our vision and core values, and committed to our journey, ‘Towards Excellence’. Our wonderful student community is our biggest strength. Students of over ninety different nationalities are exemplary in the way they seek to learn from one another. I have worked in and been dedicated to the field of education for over twenty years, ten of which have been spent in various positions at RIS. In the span of my career, I have gathered expertise and experience in a wide range of areas, both in public and private education in Canada and in various parts of the Middle East. Having worked in a diverse range of education environments, I am excited to be able to bring new ideas to the role of Principal and to continue working alongside both the parent and teaching communities. The pace of our development towards being an ‘outstanding’ school continues to be steady and sure. As a community we continually r e fl e c t on how to move forward effectively and focus on areas of progress over the next twelve months. We are an inclusive community and believe that our role as educators is to unlock the potential within every child. We are also continuously innovating whether in the classroom learning, co-curricular activities or class management techniques. This is the reason why we have added ‘INNOVATION’ as a school’s core value.
Over this year, I look forward to meeting you and your child/children. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any support to you. Best wishes for a successful and happy year. Yours faithfully, Zeba Khan Principal I am happy to introduce our new members of the Senior Leadership Management Team. Please join me in welcoming them and I am sure they will have your support as they settle down in their new roles and positions.
Peter Rowlands has joined Raffles International School as the new Head of Secondary Peter has taught in four different continents, the majority of his time in New Zealand and The United Kingdom. His previous position was the Head of the Secondary School at the International school in the Seychelles. He has a strong background in the sciences, having a Physics degree and worked in Science and Technology fields as a teacher.
Peter says his philosophy is one where students are given a wide curriculum, one where everyone can shine in their own speciality. The students need to feel challenged to do their best and to know that failure is a way of life and we learn from it to become stronger. Peter went on to say that at Raffles we have outstanding facilities, a dedicated team of professional teacher, and wonderful students. The school has a strong family and community ethos and each student and their development is important. Peter is looking forward to working with parents to ensure that every student has opportunities to grow and develop together.
Mr. Edward Cooper has joined Raffles International School as the new Head of Primary Edward has led schools in four continents - Africa, America, Europe and Asia. Over the course of his 20 year educational career, he has worked in the public, private and PPP (public-private-partnership) sectors helping to improve both primary and secondary schools.
Most recently Edward supported a group of independent primary schools in London in an executive head role whilst leading his own school to inspection and accreditation success. He has also recently trained and worked as a school inspector in the UK, and prior to that in the Americas. Commenting on his new role, Edward stated: “I am honoured to be entrusted by Innoventures to lead the large Primary phase at RIS. I am very excited to work for a highly reputable all-through school, which has a clear commitment to continuous improvement. RIS has come a long, long way since it was founded ten years ago, and as a school we are clear and invigorated about the journey ahead of us.
“I very much look forward to developing the relationships with all members of the RIS community, Innoventures, and with our external partners so that we can achieve our goals. Improving the outcomes for pupils at RIS is our top priority, and one that can only be achieved through a concerted, collaborative effort on the part of all stakeholders.”
Staff have been busy over the induction days to get classrooms ready, plan interesting and engaging lessons and are looking forward to welcome new and returning students and families. New staff members are excited to be at RIS and I am confident they will be given the time and support to know your children and be their teacher this year. There is much to look forward to in this academic year. We will introduce Moral Studies, Ministry of Education prescribed curriculum, and continue to offer UAE-Social studies as per ministry requirements. We are excited about our two new STEM labs where Year 3 -Year 9 students will be able to explore, investigate and analyze concepts and skills in the core areas of Science and Mathematics. RIS Secondary School opens Year 12 this year, with students starting AS/A level courses. We have also added to our Mother Tongue programme and will begin to offer German and Hindi native language programme, in addition to Russian, Spanish and French, across all phases of the school. We believe that the partnership between parents, students and teachers is central to success and creating a positive learning community. Our school community of teachers, support staff, students and Parents’ Association (PARIS) welcome you warmly. We encourage you to participate in the Parents’ Association and be involved in the many activities at school, particularly PVRP (Parent Volunteer Reading Programme), the parent-led UAE National Day and International Day celebrations which are social highlights of the year.
Cambridge Checkpoint Results Our 2017 Cambridge Checkpoint results in Year 6 have again shown an upward trend – exceeding our 2016 results in English, Mathematics and Science. Our Year 6 teachers must be commended for their hard work and our students’ achievements celebrated. Noticeably, 61% of our Year 6 cohort achieved between a 5 and 6 point score (the highest band), meaning that RIS is “Very Good” by national standards. In addition, 59% of our students achieved between a 5 and 6 point score in English Writing, meaning that RIS is “Good” by national standards. Cambridge Checkpoint data is invaluable for us in setting our whole school and subject-level yearly objectives. Our big focus this year will be on continuing to improve attainment in numeracy and literacy (especially Reading and Usage).
Year 11 IGCSE Results Raffles International School Secondary students, staff and parents celebrated after receiving an impressive set of GCSE results which were well above the UK National average. It is highly pleasing to be able to report that RIS continues to go from strength to strength. These excellent results for the first cohort of IGCSE students also add to the already impressive IBT and GL scores which were also in the year. It is therefore, highly pleasing to be able to comment that RIS continues to go from strength to strength when comparable benchmarks are used: 82% A*- C 56% A*- B 20% A*- A
An outstanding achievement when compared to the UK national average of 66.9% in 2016 and other British curriculum Schools in Dubai. In addition 20% of examinations sat were A* - A, thus confirming that our high ability students are being consistently challenged. Particular mention to Ananyaa Rodricks, Jules Mario and Mohamed Ishaq for attaining A* and A in the majority of their subjects. Each of these students demonstrated that consistent hard work and effort reaps its rewards. These results are extremely impressive and they are a true reward for both the hard work of our students and the high quality teaching at RIS. A large number of staff across a range of subjects have been robust in tackling the IGCSE’s this year. These impressive results clearly indicate the high standards of RIS and demonstrate what our students are capable of. Many students have exceeded their target grades, achieving strong passes in subjects such as Maths, with 74% and English with 71% of entries achieving A*- B. We are thrilled with the achievements of these wonderful young people. They have worked in a determined fashion and have now successfully harvested the fruits of their labour. While their academic success is showcased today, we also recognise the considerable contribution they have made to RIS life through the arts, sports and IT. The school also offers its thanks to all the staff and parents for their support and contributions. Such successes will secure students’ futures, and will see them well in the next phases of their lives.
Senior Leadership and Management Team 2017-2018
Middle Management Team 2017-2018
Raffles International School Team: 2017-2018
Raffles International School would like to extend a warm welcome to our new staff members
Sorcha Deffew Year 2 Teacher
Lucy Joynson Year 2 Teacher
Michelle Melody Year 3 Teacher
Claire Ferguson Year 5 Teacher
Christa Haire English Teacher - SS
Ciara Dorgan English Teacher - SS
Fayhaa Khatep Arabic Teacher
Reehan Kamamji Islamic Studies Teacher
Shaiq Mohammad Islamic Studies Teacher
Phillipus Gerber Year 5 Teacher
Lee Hamilton PE Teacher
Mei Ling Mandarin Teacher - PS
James Maguire Mathematics Teacher - SS
Ilham Najibi French Teacher - SS
Darine Rabah Mathematics Teacher - SS
Martyn Humphries Science Teacher - SS
Prisca Toland Counsellor
Eoin Brennan Business Studies Teacher - SS
Emma Keady PE Teacher - SS
Jaya Hada ICT Teacher - SS
Infrastructure and Resources 2017-2018 Like every year, this year as well, RIS has taken the opportunity to upgrade the school facilities during the summer break. The facility enhancements have been carried out to enhance the learning experience of our students. Below is the list of enhancements: 
Stem Lab for Primary and Secondary School: To provide students of Primary and Secondary the knowledge based on the idea of educating them in four specific disciplines - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
AHU filters: To enhance the ventilation and cooling system of the campus.
Emergency Exit signs: There has been an increase in exit signages around the campus to help students, staff and parents identify the emergency exits in an event of fire.
Sports Hall storeroom shelving: To provide appropriate storage for the PE related equipments that will have better control and help in identifying the items quickly with proper access.
Internal Painting: Fresh coat of paint to the interior walls of the school in order to keep up the aesthetics of the school.
Blinds in classrooms: To reduce the heat level for /FS/Year 1 classrooms that have direct heat through the glass window now have blinds.
Track and Square pitch markings for Year 3 play area astroturf: To enable PE to use this area effectively for their lessons.
Compacting: The sand parking area has been compacted to create a hard surface for school parking.
Additional cubicles in swimming pool changing rooms: Additional areas in the changing rooms that will support as a dry changing room keeping in mind religious sensitivities. Drain trays for shower station: As a health and safety hazard this will drain the water from the shower directly restricting it to spread thus avoid any slip.
IT Enhancement All enhancements are made with a view to improve the learning experience of our students. The RIS tech department support the academic team to integrate technology into lessons. Specific enhancements in technology made over summer include: Upgrading and adding of desktop, laptop, iPad, Apple TV, Projectors, iPad trolley, laptop trolley, etc.
Two STEM labs to integrate technology with other subjects
Additional kits to boost the robotics program
Upgrade to latest software like Windows 10 and Office 2013
Enhanced existing software by adding additional services
Mother Tongue Programme at Raffles International School 2017 - 2018