SummaRISe - Issue 124

Thursday 21 May 2015 Issue 89 Thursday, 23rd March 2017 Issue 124 GENERAL GENERAL

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International Day

Year 3 Spelling Bee Competition

Nursery Art Exhibition

PARIS SCHOOL CLINIC

DATE

EVENTS

March Sunday, 26 March—31 March

Spring Break April

Sunday, 01 April—Saturday, 08 April

Spring Break

Sunday, 09 April

Staff and Students Return

Sunday, 09 April

Nursery Open Day

Wednesday, 12 April—Thursday, 13 April

Years 3-4 Camping Trip

Thursday, 13 April

Parent Appreciation Morning

Tuesday, 18 April

Open Day

Wednesday, 19 April

Year 2 Annual Concert

Thursday, 20 April

Year 3 Annual Concert

Sunday, 23 April

Al Israa wa Al Miraj*

Sunday, 23 April—Wednesday, 26 April

FS and Year 1 Artist Week

Thursday, 27 April

Parent Student Conference May

Monday, 01 May

IGCSE Examinations starts

Tuesday, 02 May—Thursday, 04 May

Nursery Field Trip

Wednesday, 03 May—Thursday, 04 May

Years 5-6 Camping Trip

Thursday, 04 May

Year 1 Annual Concert

Sunday, 07 May—Thursday, 11 May

Nursery Science Week

Sunday, 07 May—Thursday, 11 May

FS Field Trip

Message from the Principal Innovation: Significant Positive Change “Innovation and creativity are the lifeblood of learning. Schooling Redesigned summarises beautifully one of the OECD's most fascinating projects - an attempt to look at the DNA of innovation in schools. Using a global range of actual examples it describes the conditions that education systems have to create if children and their parents, teachers and communities are to feel confident and optimistic about the future. For teachers, the messages are inspiring. Education systems have to focus on enhancing teachers' capacity and motivation. Standardisation cannot do that. Its messages to the profession and its organisations are profound. Teacher unions are, can and should be at the centre of creating the conditions for innovation.”

John Bangs, Special consultant at Education International; Chair of TUAC’s international group on Education, Training and Employment Policy http://www.oecd.org/education/schooling-redesigned-9789264245914-en.htm A call to action has been issued: schools need to innovate. This statement is often accompanied by an assertion that teachers need to integrate technology as well as transform instruction. What does this innovation actually look like? In 2017, how will we define innovation?

According to The Oxford English Dictionary, innovate means "to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products." This definition fits nicely with what is being asked of teachers -- to integrate new technologies, practices, and concepts into the classroom. As teachers, however, we also have to ask the question: why? We need to ensure that these changes are to the direct benefit of our students. For that reason, I prefer Scott Berkun's definition: "Innovation is significant positive change."

In What Innovation Means, Berkun writes, "It's not the results that are necessarily innovative, but the way the group goes about doing its work." How a student leverages the available tools to support his or her learning may be even more innovative and impactful than the resulting product or event.

Consider a teacher who provides an article to her students via paper, as a PDF, and with a link. Her students can then use the tools that best support their learning of the associated content. Maybe they draw, type, or even talk into the PDF via an app. Perhaps they choose to actively read in their browser so that they can incorporate text-to-speech and leverage tools such as Clearly in order to save their notes across devices. Finally, think about the student who reads the printed copy, writes notes in the margins, takes pictures of those notes, and then curates them into Evernote so that they can be saved and shared.

At first glance, the act of reading an article may not appear to be innovative. And yet, by providing students with multiple formats and empowering them to take ownership of the process, the teacher supports not only their mastery of the content, but also their growth as independent students changing the way the group goes about doing its work.

How do you define 'innovation’? John Kao, author of Innovation Nation, responded with, "Innovation is the set of capabilities that allow for the continuous realisation of a desired future."

Plainly stated, each of us has the responsibility to be the innovators our children so vitally need to help them grow and leverage their strengths. Many educators feel that innovation is directly tied to use of cutting-edge technology. I have to disagree. I believe we need to think of these terms more as a mindset than any one tangible thing. There are high- and low-tech examples of innovation being leveraged on a daily basis to meet the needs of our students, staff and community. As teachers, being innovative in our planning, implementation and reflection must simply become "part of the job" no matter what our role is in working with children. Let us keep the focus on maximizing each day and working to become more effective and efficient tomorrow.

What mindset do we want to instill in our students when they leave our classes? What will truly prepare them for the evolving and increasingly connected, innovative real world? As teachers, perhaps it is our own role modeling that sets the tone for what happens in our school. One thing that any good teacher or Principal will not tell you is, "I have reached the summit. I cannot get any better than I am right now."

As we look toward the next term, I would suggest we can all agree we want our students to become successful learners who are capable of addressing complexity. We wish for them to gain the skills that will allow them to enact significant positive change. So for 2017 and beyond, our collective goal as teachers should be striving to innovate our projects, activities, and curriculum such that we empower our students to develop into creative, insightful, successful learners who are prepared to become leaders in their desired future.

May I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a peaceful and restful holiday.

I would like to thank the contributors from Edutopia https://www.edutopia.org/ for some of the ideas raised in this article.

Michael William Clack Principal

Farewell to Mr. Barrett Deputy Head of Primary

RIS Senior Leadership and Management Team

Message from the Counselling Department On the Sunday, 19th March 2017 the Counselling Department invited Jo Jewell, Parenting Educator, to speak on the topic of setting boundaries for children. The presentation was attended by over fifty participants and by the end of Jo’s talk, parents were leaving with smiles on their faces which is a lovely result.

The reason this presentation was organised was due to the Counselling Department receiving an increasing number of questions regarding how parents may affectively set boundaries in the home, or how to fairly set rules and regulations. There are many different perspectives on the answers that Counsellors can provide and hence the principal reason in asking Jo to enlighten all of us of these answers in a mindful way.

A summary of Jo’s talk:  Connect and Redirect – move your child from a stance of reactivity to receptivity and subsequently build a positive relationship with your child. Connect through touch, tone of voice, facial expressions, empathy and pausing. Redirect through exploring solutions, mindful words, planning, logical explanations and then move to effectively setting boundaries.  Boundaries – establish family values, be clear with yourself as to what the values are for your family.

With clear values, plan, explain, illustrate boundaries within these values and be concise in regards to what will happen if the boundaries are broken.  Self-care – extremely important for parents and caregivers to take time for themselves, as this will have a ripple effect in terms of calmness with their children.

If you would like more information regarding Jo Jewell’s parenting workshops, please do not hesitate to speak with the Counselling Department at Raffles.

Jacynta Hodges Head of Counselling

ICT@RIS Hackathon Twenty one Primary School students participated at the ‘Clarion School Innovation Hackathon”’ on Saturday, 11th March. It was a one day intense engineering challenge where teams were presented with a problem commonly found in the community. They had to work with professionals in the field of engineering, design or technology to come up with a solution. At the end of the day they presented their projects to students and visitors. The challenge was on ‘How can you encourage residents of Dubai to recycle their waste’. Our students came up with a wide variety of solutions which included – Reverse vending machine, robotic arm, Scratch games showing how waste can be recycled, waste kicker and electronic car to trap waste.

TechnoRISe We held our annual ICT event TechnoRISe on the Tuesday, 14 th March and Wednesday, 15th March.

Students from Years 2 – 6 displayed their ICT projects. Year 2 created digital stories with animation, Year 3 shared their knowledge of various subjects and topics through PhotoStory, while year 4 designed stop motion animation movies using various props. Year 5 created animation movies using Pivot stick figures and movie maker. Scratch games showing cross curricular links to mathematics, arabic, English, PE, science, art, Social Studies created by Year 6 students was enjoyed by one and all. Year 1 students documented their learning using Seesaw that was put up on display.

Secondary School ICT In Key Stage Three, students have been using a variety of different packages over the past few weeks.

They have used the Aurasma augmented reality app to encourage reading and literacy through ICT, creating virtual book reviews of their favourite books. They have used Pencil2D animation package to create animations on a variety of themes, working from the beginnings of a storyboard (again encouraging literacy and critical thinking) to a fully-fledged mini-animation. Finally, they have been doing independent research into a computer scientist or innovator who is slightly away from the mainstream, to encourage internationalism and diversity within ICT. Famous figures such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg were banned in favour of entrepreneurs and developers who were either from their home countries, not British or American, or women. Consequently, slightly less well known people such as Colette Roland; Pier Giorgio Perotto; Katherine Johnson; Ping Fu and Kathleen Antonelli were investigated and shared within the groups.

Over the mid term break a small team of PE high achievers attended the KHDA National Sports Day. Students from Years 3-8 took part in a variety of activities at KHDA headquarters. It was the first time RIS has attended the event, but it certainly will not be the last. Our children enjoyed all the opportunities and challenges the day had to offer. Alongside familiar sports such as table tennis and basketball, our students got a chance to try their hand at boxing, trampolining, golf, yoga, cross fit and a range of spectacular assault courses. As well as experienced leadership and coaching, the KHDA also generously provided healthy food and beverages throughout the day. A great time was had by all.

February and March saw our Annual Sports Day at RIS, with all events from Nursery up to Secondary a resounding success. From egg and spoon races, through to team games and athletics, all students took part in an age appropriate fun packed program of activities. The older children also enjoyed the added challenge of Inter-House competition as the Emirates (Red), Atlantis (Blue), Palm (Green) and Burj (Yellow) teams battled it out for top spot. The PE Department would like to extend a huge thank you to all the staff, parents and of course, students who helped to make our 2017 Sports Days so much fun.

Sports Team

Message from the Modern Foreign Language Department Social Responsibility and Innovation skills, Internationalism Creativity and innovation is the essence of teaching and learning including in the Modern Foreign Languages discipline. In Modern Foreign Languages, students are allowed to “experiment� on the language and find out for themselves what is right or wrong. Teachers facilitate them in discovering for themselves the language and communication tools available to get a feel of using and incorporating the tools, especially the technology, in their teaching and learning in the future.

In Modern Foreign Language, we develop the skill of high level thinking. Responsibilities for learning is shifted to students through approaches such as problem-based learning, where students play a major role in learning the new topic and this knowledge is later shared with those who may not have the opportunity to work on that topic yet. Through problem based learning, not only do the students become self-directed learners; they are also taught responsibilities, decision-making skills and leadership skills.

At Raffles International School, Modern Foreign Languages Department aims to be a vibrant, intellectually stimulating and exciting place to teach and learn languages.

We have developed and promoted Internationalism in Modern Foreign Language. Many activities organised throughout the year remind the students that they are part of a wider global community. Such activities include the International Day, French Breakfast and French Day, when students are given the opportunity to attend taster sessions and workshops in exotic languages.

Our students are engaged on many levels and we aim to make them global citizens who will be successful in building relationships abroad. In addition, this year, we offered Secondary students the opportunity to watch French movies as part of our activities week in January. So they can discover the country whose language they started studying in Year 3. Next year, we plan on offering students the opportunity to take part in exchange programs with some schools abroad, allows us to encourage students to study foreign languages.

Maya Yaghi Head Modern Foreign Languages

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“Montessori saw education as a means whereby children might develop their personalities so as to eventually achieve a mature and independent adulthood” (Mario Montessori, Education for Human Development) Dear Parents, Grandparents and Extended Family, The philosophy we follow in our Montessori classrooms is deeply rooted in the belief that a child must be free to explore and follow his own natural impulses, developing his/her knowledge of the real world.

Within our prepared environments in the Casas, our children experience freedom of movement, freedom of exploration, freedom to interact socially. We strive hard to help the children understand that they must not interfere in the work of others, so our children develop respect, a sense of compassion and empathy for others. As children develop, they become more socially aware, preparing to work and play in groups. The school’s closely linked Core Value of ‘Respect’ forms the basis of all social responsibility.

Maria Montessori had an innovative perspective regarding education. She did not look at a set of skills or a body of knowledge. Instead she focused on the development of the whole person over the course of gaining maturity.

Being socially responsible citizens of the world is what all of us want for our children. As educators and parents we want our children to make responsible decisions, to feel confident and to know themselves.

We want them to accept reality but at the same time to help make the world a better place. The fundamental foundation for this independence is laid at the beginning of a child’s life. In our environment, the little children are ready for lots of group work, and they thrive on organising the roles and responsibilities within it. Who will be the line leader? Who will feed the fish? What about assistance with an activity to a peer who needs help? Hours might be spent organising the rules and structure of the group. We work with the nature of our children, building in opportunities for group work rather than discouraging chatting and socializing. The concept of justice is an important one to this child. We have to allow him to explore what is right and wrong and be sensitive to his challenges of, “But it’s not fair.” or tattling-type behavior. A 3-4 year old is trying to work out the rules of society, and s/he may have many questions and need to discuss what s/he notices. An exploration of ethics help the children come to an independent concept of right and wrong for themselves.

The environment a child is exposed to, has clear bearings on the social or antisocial qualities that will be developed. “What the child achieves between the ages of three to six does not depend on doctrines but on a divine directive which guides his spirit to construction.” Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind.

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Therefore, as adults in our children’s lives we always aim to provide the right prepared environment to the child which stimulates his innate self, so that behaviour which characterises the social cohesion can be imbibed. Here we are talking about virtues such as compassion, sympathy, empathy, and solidarity along with an awareness of the consequences of one’s actions. Social Responsibility begins with the right environment and develops with constructive work. The time spent in the nursery within the Montessori framework will go a long way, because this is the embryonic period for the formation of character as well as society.

Garima Kapoor Assistant Head Early Years

Casa C practising for Sports day

Tiana makes an impession with the bubble -wrap during artist week

Ellinor enjoying reading a book

Peter works on 3D shapes with the Geometric Cabinet

Sand Play

Ghina working with the Sandpaper Numbers

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PRIMARY SCHOOL Dear Students of RIS, I write this as my final article for Summarise before moving back to the UK to live and work. When I joined Raffles International School some four years ago I was immediately struck by the warmth, friendliness and kindness of the students. I was impressed at the confidence students displayed in assemblies and the collaboration to produce shows such as the Annual Productions.

I have enjoyed working with you, and learning from you. I always looked forward to Wednesday mornings when I had the opportunity to address you about important matters. I will fondly remember the daily interactions and visits to your classrooms to help you in your learning and in building and maintaining strong friendships.

Some memories that will vividly stay with me are the International Days, National Days, the U10 Football Team, as well as the individual interactions where I have helped you in your learning journey.

As well as all the fun we have been focused on learning, in the last four years we have improved in every type of examinations – IBT, Checkpoints, TIMMS to name a few. To you they are just tests, but to us they let us know how hard you are working and well you are achieving.

I would like to congratulate you all for your hard work and wish the current Year 6 students the best of luck in your checkpoints. Remember, a test will help you understand some strengths and areas of growth but it will never define who you are, each one of you is unique with special talents.

To the parents of RIS I would like to extend a warm thank you for your support over the last four years. I genuinely believe RIS is a wonderful community and it has been my pleasure to be a part of all the successes the students have achieved. Our most recent trends in International mathematics and science study results show the progress of our students and are extremely pleasing, the staff and management of RIS are working incredibly hard to ensure students achieve their full potential and it is only with the wonderful support of our parents that such achievements are made. Thank you.

Best wishes for the remainder of the academic year, I do hope to remain in regular contact with the RIS community.

Matthew Barrett Deputy Head of Primary School

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FS2 News The past week has been a busy one for our FS2 children. It was amazing to see so many of you on International Day embracing and celebrating each other’s cultures. The school was buzzing with music and dance from all over the world. The wonderful aroma of all the different food items available to sample was a real treat. It was indeed an evening filled with fun, food, friends and family. A big thank you to all the parents who came to the classes to talk to the children about their country. The children’s knowledge was definitely enriched.

Last week the children were full of energy during their Sports Day. They showed off their sporty side displaying the wide variety of Gross Motor Skills they have learnt this year. Well Done FS2. We see future athletes in you. Thank you to all the parents who came along to encourage all the children, cheering them on and boosting their confidence.

Last week and in the couple of weeks to come, the children are looking at and exploring the different layers of the rainforest. They are learning about the different animals that live in a rainforest. They are learning about how the rainforests contribute to our Earth and the effects deforestation will have on the habitats of many animals as well as us humans.

The children are also learning many scientific aspects of the rainforest, such as evaporation, the water cycle and how animals camouflage themselves in order to survive. The children have had an amazing time losing themselves among the mountains of books during the book fair last week. They showed great responsibility when selecting a book to buy, handling their money and making their own purchase.

Last Thursday the children in FS2 participated in their very first Assembly, where they started their day with the National Anthem and a morning exercise. Mr. Clack briefly addressed them after which they watched a small video about collaboration. The children were very excited to come together for their very first assembly.

We look forward to seeing all the mothers on the Thursday, 23rd March for a special Mother’s Day performance.

Wishing you and your families a relaxing and enjoyable spring break.

The FS2 Team

Year 1 News “‘Giving” is making your people happy, and being kind to them” – His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum As we all know, this year is the ‘Year of Giving’ in the UAE. As mentioned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum there are many ways in which we all, adults and children, can contribute to this cause.

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We can give back to our environment by cleaning the beaches and deserts; caring for animals and trees.

Recycling is a great way to give back to the earth. The children have been sorting out paper and plastic in Year 1. We encourage parents to follow the same at home.

We can give back to society by volunteering our time for a few hours a week.

Giving can be in the form of a smile or a small word of kindness.

Circle of Culture has been a big success in Year 1. The children have been enriched in the cultures and traditions of their classmates’ countries. A big thank you to the parents for helping to make it amazing.

In mathematics, the children have been learning about time to the hour.

Most of the children can easily read analogue and digital clocks now. It’s time for you parents to now ask the children, ‘what’s the time?’

In English, the students were given the opportunity to explore and develop their writing skills in different categories such as writing non chronological report by finding facts about a given topic. We encourage you to read with your child daily and go over the sight words, to help the children gain confidence in their reading. By reading stories that are of their interest but challenging them to read beyond their reading level, you can challenge a young reader’s understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.

On a final note, the Year 1 team would like to wish everyone a relaxing and safe break wherever that may be and we look forward to a refreshing start after the break.

Year 1 Team

Year 2 News Many believe that Year 2 may be too soon to start learning about social responsibility. Many children find it overwhelming when we introduce broad concepts of social responsibility such as “Save the Whales” and “Clean up the World”. Children of 5 and 6 years old may find these concepts out of their reach. The responsibility of knowing what they mean but not being able to understand their role in aiding these issues can become frustrating for children of this age.

That is why in Year 2 at Raffles International School we are dedicated to starting with the child and the social responsibility they can take on in their immediate environment before tackling the bigger world issues. We encourage children to take on responsibility around the classroom for example, watering the plants, taking the recycling to the whole school recycling point, and tidying up their resources once they have completed an activity. We also encourage children to take on responsibilities in the school community like tidying up the litter after snack time, saving electricity by turning off the lights when we

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Leave the classroom and playing with children in the friendship stop.

We hope by doing this we will begin to open our students minds to how they can contribute innovatively to our collective social responsibility in the world and hope in turn this will spark their enthusiasm and intrigue into how they can further impact the world around them.

Year 2 Team

Year 3 Team Year 3 was busy completing their 6-week Assessment tests throughout the week. The students worked extremely hard and showed an eager attitude towards learning and achievement.

In English, they learned about Adventure stories and non-chronological reports. Students were introduced to different Information texts as well as the features involved in writing them.

In mathematics, the students have been producing superb work. They have been learning about mass and capacity. The students have been taught different strategies to solve mass and capacity word problems. A lot of practical activities were used for these topics to give students a better understanding of the concepts. Students have been measuring capacity in jugs, using a variety of scales to weigh objects around the class and playing card games in order to solve these problems. The main aim was to teach them conversion skills. The level of excitement has been amazing as students got to experiment with numbers in the thousands.

In science, students explored a variety of forces. A few experiments were conducted in the Science Lab where students had to test high and low friction using a force meter. It was interesting to hear the scientific discussions amongst students and to witness their enthusiasm and excellent collaboration within their groups. In Social Studies, Egypt and its Pharaohs have been discussed and researched.

Students showed a positive interest in this topic and a curious and inquisitive attitude towards Ancient Egypt was noticed amongst them.

Year 3 also had an exciting event last week as they got to visit the Book Fair in the main atrium.

Students were given the opportunity to explore a variety of books. We hope that they enjoy reading those books now on a daily basis and that they would share the stories with their friends.

On Thursday, 02nd March, the entire RIS community joined together to celebrate the annual International Day. Teachers, students and parents turned up in high spirits to embrace the evening by taking part in a variety of activities such as the flag parade, choir, Hip-hop dancing, support the stalls and try a list of different foods. Everyone had a marvelous time and is already anticipating next year’s event.

Year 3 Team

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Year 4 News Here in Year 4 we are bringing this term to an end with lots of busy activities. In English, we are continuing with our work on analysing newspapers and creating our own newspaper articles with some fun and exciting headlines. The children have worked superbly on their newspaper articles and this study has helped develop both their writing and comprehension skills. Introducing the students to newspaper has helped the read important information about the world we live in, helping to develop their social responsibility. It has been wonderful to see their level of engagement and enthusiasm as they become little journalists, developing their own sense of innovation.

In mathemtics, we have focused on measurement. The children have completed a wide range of investigation looking at the different measures of the objects and areas within our school environment. They have also become familiar with the different units of measurement and how we can convert them.

In science, the Year 4 students are working with magnets. During our study we are looking at how different materials have stronger magnetic properties than others, the forces of attraction and repulsion and where magnets are used in our everyday lives. We have investigated the role of magnets in recycling. The children are aware of how magnets separate recycling and non-recycling materials.

This subject allows the students to be continually aware of their responsibility in society to recycle with the aim to reduce global warming.

In Social Studies, we are continuing our unit of study on Ancient Rome which has been highly enjoyable. We have looked at many different aspects including the army, the clothing, the architecture and the Roman housing. This topic has helped the students develop an appreciation for history on an international level, learning about the different ancient groups all over the world. In Social Studies, we also continue to learn about one another’s culture during Circle of Culture lessons.

Students enjoyed the ‘TechnoRISe’ event which was organised by their ICT teachers and we saw some excellent creativity in their robots which were built with recycled material.

Year 4 Team

Year 5 News Internationalism is rooted in Year 5. We celebrate the cultures and diversity of the nation through the curriculum. Throughout the year we have celebrated being international through Social Studies topics, English book studies and we continue embed the Circle of Culture within our classrooms. International Day was a day to remember, where all children, families and staff gathered to celebrate. We are proud to be international.

In Year 5, we are driven by innovation. As such, we have challenged the children to complete a brand new project- to create their own inventions.

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At first, the children researched inventions that already exist including how they work and more importantly, the problem they solve. After this, they were able to identify their own problems in the world today such as finding time to clean and storage problems. Impressively, the groups collaborated and designed their own invention. Not only did they draw technical diagrams of their designs, but also presented these to the rest of the class. They were able to respond to the feedback from their peers to modify and develop their designs further in the final planning stages.

Most of the groups are now in the ‘building phase’ of the project and their enthusiasm and skillfulness is to be praised, as well as perseverance. They are very much looking forward to presenting their inventions, along with explanations of how they work during our Year 5 Innovative Inventors Expo next term.

Year 5 Team

Year 6 News As we approach the end of Term 2, there are a number of positives we can be proud of. Students have kept on top of things throughout by working on Checkpoint preparations, joining after school CCA’s and Edmodo groups. We have been refreshing Year 4 and 5 topics as well.

We have been working on completing Year 6 topics so that they can be reviewed and reinforced during the forthcoming break.

We are very impressed to see that many of our students have made encouraging progress in taking ownership of their work, prioritising and organising themselves for the school day. This is surely a great step towards transitioning to the Secondary School.

We will be uploading revision materials on Edmodo so that they are easily accessible to all during the spring break.

Year 6 also put up an outstanding IT fair “Technorise” to showcase their IT and presentation skills.

We wish you all a relaxing break ahead with family and friends.

Year 6 Team

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SECONDARY SCHOOL Social responsibility and Innovation skills, Internationalism As 2017 is the ‘Year of Giving’ in the United Arab Emirates, there is a constant need to provide our students with opportunities to volunteer and give their time, energy and efforts back to the local community. From Thursday, 16 th to Saturday, 18th March I was fortunate enough to take a small group of Secondary students to volunteer at the inaugural European Senior Tour Golf Tournament. Our students were given the responsibility of organising and managing the scoring, as well as supporting around the golf course with a variety of tasks. One of our students, Jonathan Arnaud, also had the amazing opportunity to caddy for J.P. Sallat (a French professional golfer) over the three days.

From my time spent with the students at Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, I witnessed a significant change in behaviour and attitude from which I see at school every day. Our students responded meaningfully to the challenge and demands of volunteering, and demonstrated a work ethic that I am incredibly proud of.

The ‘Year of Giving’ does not always mean donating money to charities, and through our day to day interactions with the students we try to encourage them to implement the RIS Core Values and other important virtues. Demonstrating the ability to collaborate and respect one other is all part of giving.

Saying “good morning, please and thank you” alongside other important manners is what we expect at RIS. RIS students volunteering at the European Senior Tour Golf event

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In other Secondary news, our Year 9 students are currently partaking in Cambridge Checkpoint Pre-tests. These tests are a great opportunity for our students to get into good habits and prepare themselves for the challenges of the real examinations in April.

The termly Secondary School Sports Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, 19th March and allowed all students and guests to congratulate the wealth of sporting talent we have at RIS. Personally, I have thoroughly enjoyed coaching the Secondary School tennis team and have watched them develop their technique, understanding of the game and physical fitness.

As always, if you would like to communicate with me regarding anything related to the Secondary School at RIS, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail, give me a call or stop by the office.

Ian Plant Deputy Head of Secondary

Year 7 News Here at RIS it is our aim that every student flourishes academically and as socially aware global citizens who reflect the RIS Core values. This week we have reiterated what this looks like in action by reinforcing our expected standards in terms of punctuality, responsibility and conduct both in and out of school. This includes adhering to the dress code, ensuring that arrival to lessons is prompt and re-emphasising the respect that should be shown to peers regardless of cultural and religious differences.

During Social Studies, we have also been thinking about the wider community both nationally and internationally in terms of those less fortunate than ourselves and what we can do to help in terms of giving and volunteering our time. I am proud to say that our students were more than enthusiastic about the charities we already support and came up with numerous fundraising ideas for the coming term and the next academic year.

In addition, we have also been preparing for Family Fun day, a great opportunity for students to explore and demonstrate their creativity and innovative skills, through team work and collaboration.

The students have been diligent in coming up with practical ideas for games that can be played and enjoyed on the day.

Year 7 Team

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Year 8 News One of the most important aspects of 2017 being the ‘Year of Giving’ is that it encourages social responsibility amongst the students. This year for Year 8 we have been focusing on the theme of what students can do to give something back to their community and to be aware of what their social responsibilities are. As a part of their UAE cultural studies, students in Year 8 have been planning community projects and working to raise money through family fun day. The creation and running of games on Family Fun Day has encouraged Year 8 students to be more responsible, to balance a budget and work as a team to raise money.

Additionally this has increased their skills of innovation, as each team has to compete against the others in order to raise money. Students are therefore forced to consider how they can make their games innovative, how they can be attractive to students and what kind of audience they are aiming at. These are key skills for students to learn as they plan for their future careers, as well as being a fun activity for them to do.

Year 8 Team

Year 9 News Last week in assembly we discussed Modern Day Slavery. This was part of a project led by CNN called #My Freedom Day. Factual statistical evidence was put to the year group about the number of people around the globe who are subject to modern day slavery and the money that is made from it. I think the results shocked us all and made us reflect on the abundance of opportunities and fortune that we are presented with in the UAE. Being socially responsible in our lives is one area that the students excel in. Helping others and being role models are skills which have been demonstrated by some of our Year 9 students; Krishiv Chadha in the Literary Soiree, Philppine Prats and Anneka Khan representing the girls basketball team, Hyunseok Yoo in the ‘pi’ competition, the Year 9 football team and finally the Year 9 students who volunteered at the International Golf tournament, Yousef Al Hlaiqawi, Jaindu Gunasekera and Luqman Ahmad.

Moving to the Spring Break. This is an ideal opportunity for your child to revise ready for their Checkpoint examinations. They have been given lots of revision materials from their teachers and access to online resources that they can access from home. Consistent, focused study each day will have a positive impact on their final grade.

On Saturday, 15th April the school is holding its annual Family Fun Day. The students have been busy preparing their games and stalls to entertain. Please support your child by attending and providing help if required. If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Finally may I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and restful break. I look forward to hearing all the different adventures from the students.

Year 9 Team

GENERAL

NURSERY

FS

Primary

SECONDARY

Year 10 and 11 News As you already know the year 2017 has been declared by the President of UAE H/H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as the "Year of Giving", following the conclusion of 2016 as the “Year of Reading”. To ensure its success the focus has been on three major themes: strengthening social responsibility in the private sector, promoting spirit of volunteerism and specialised voluntary programmes in all segments of society, and strengthening the concept of serving the nation in the new generations. Social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity like our school has an obligation to act for the benefit of the society.

As H/H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, giving is not limited to monetary donations but it is defined by the difference we make: in someone’s life, in a society, or in a nation. Our school is committed to support the international and local communities. Our ‘GIVE’ initiative (Gift of Innoventures Education) is committed to provide ongoing support to specific causes identified by students. Recently a team of volunteers traveled to Nepal to help build a primary school .

Last January students from our school volunteered to support Dubai Marathon and only last weekend students volunteered at the European Senior Golf Tournament.

Our Year 10 and 11 students are encouraged to consider others and to serve the community. This provides our students with the chance to develop skills and work alongside teachers and other adults in order to improve the school. Students can choose from a wide range of activities, including: sports coaching, peer mentoring, supporting administration staff, assisting in lessons and contributing to the school community through after school clubs or activities. We actively encourage our students to develop their social and emotional skills as well as their academic studies and experiences.

Year 10 and 11 Team