SummeRISe - Issue 102

89 Thursday, Thursday 25 February 21 May 2016 2015 Issue 102 GENERAL GENERAL

NURSERY

KG FS

PRIMARY PRIMARY

SECONDARY SECONDARY

GENERAL RIS International Day

PARIS SCHOOL CLINIC

IMPORTANT DATES

DATE

EVENTS February

Thursday, 25 February—Saturday, 27 February

Year 7—10 Camping Trip

Sunday, 28 February—Monday, 29 February

Book Week—Nursery

Sunday, 28 February—Monday, 29 February

Year 4 Art and Islamic Field Trip

March Tuesday, 1 March—Thursday, 3 March

Book Week—Nursery

Wednesday, 2 March

Secondary School Art Trip

Thursday, 3 March

Book Character Dress up—Nursery

Sunday, 6 March

Year 1 Mothers Day

Tuesday, 8 March—Thursday, 10 March

Emirates Literature Festival

Saturday, 12 March

PARIS—Family fun day

Sunday, 13 March—Thursday, 17 March

IT Week

Monday, 14 March

RIS Open Day, 9.00-10.30am

Wednesday, 16 March

Nursery Field Trip

Wednesday, 16 March—Thursday, 17 March

TechnoRise

Sunday, 20 March—Thursday, 24 March

Book Week

Thursday, 24 March Thursday, 24 March

PD Half day—noon dismissal—Council of International Schools Primary School Debate—JS @ CAS

Sunday, 27 March—Thursday,31 March

Spring Break

April Sunday, 3 April—Thursday, 7 March

Spring Break

Sunday, 10 April

Students and Staff Return

Thursday, 14 April

Purple Day—Nursery

Sunday, 17 April—Thursday, 21 April

Arabic Week

Sunday, 17 April—Thursday, 21 April

Field Trip—Turkey

Tuesday, 19 April

Nursery Open day

Message from the Principal Towards Excellence’ Academic Success and Infrastructure Development 2015-2016 Dear Parents and Students, I would like to share with you some of the developments that have taken place since the start of the academic year. In September, 2015 RIS received official confirmation from the Council of International Schools, granting candidate status for CIS accreditation. The report noted significant strengths such as: the highly visible Guiding Statements, well understood and supported by the entire school community and entirely compatible with the school’s chosen curricula; the pride shown by the school towards modelling its core values and respecting its wide diversity; the overall commitment towards creating a school-wide culture of internationalism and global citizenship and the school’s collaborative and purposefully engaged faculty who share a common commitment towards ongoing school improvement.

In November, 2015 I received formal notification from the KHDA that our application for a change in nomenclature from Grades to Years had been approved. This was excellent news and one of the key reasons for a change in nomenclature from Grades to Years was to align our curriculum with the British National Curriculum. In December, 2016 I received official confirmation from the CFBT Educational Trust that Raffles International School was recognised (accredited by the UK Department for Education) as a school meeting the Standards for British Schools Overseas. This judgement is endorsed by the British Government, quality assured by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and is valid for a period of three years. RIS is also an accredited member of The British Schools in the Middle East.

This month I was delighted to share with parents the fact that our students have attained assessment levels above both the Middle East and International Average Scale Score in English, mathematics and science. Looking ahead to August, 2016 we will embark upon the next exciting stage of our development with the opening of Year 11.

Since the last facilities and resources update and the Advisory Council update in October 2015 we have successfully constructed seven new classrooms and these will be furnished over the next few months (see photographs). As part of our continuous investment programme in school facilities, I am delighted to announce (subject to municipality final approval), the construction of a new multi-purpose/examinational hall and an additional large play area. This will commence in the next couple of months. Key aspects of this investment programme are to ensure the appropriateness of the premises and learning environment in conjunction with extending the quality and range of resources for effective teaching and learning. Specifically, our aim is to ensure the premises are of the highest quality with increasing the many specialist facilities that as far as possible, are appropriately designed to allow access for all.

Key developments and investments include: New Multi-Purpose/ Examination Hall and Outdoor Play Area New Classrooms: 7 new classrooms are completed to meet the growth of the Secondary School.

Basketball Hoops in Sports Hall New play equipment for Nursery Internal Painting : all classrooms/ common areas redecorated.

Pool shading replaced.

Pool deck and starting blocks: The pool outside deck work has been refreshed due to concerns on the anti-slip that required maintenance.  Extension of School Canteen: This is to accommodate students more comfortably for the academic year 2015-2016.  Compacting: Compacting of gravel in the Nursery, Foundation and Bus parking area in order to ensure a safe and secure area for dismissal of students as it covers any uneven land. This will now take place twice per year- due Spring break tbc.  AC Insulation: Rooms that had concerns on A/C water leakage are being reinsulated in phases.  Chiller Maintenance: New and improved chiller coils installed in the main chiller system to ensure better temperature control thorughout the school.  Wash Basins in Nursery, Foundation and Year 1.  Additional lockers for secondary students       

The importance of creating a positive school environment was notably outlined in an educational review in 2005.

‘There appears to be a strong link between effective engagement with staff, students and other users of school buildings and the success of environmental change in having an impact on behaviour, well-being or attainment. The ownership of innovation, in contrast to the externally imposed solution, appears to tap directly into motivational aspects which are key factors in maximising the impact of change. Changing the environment is ‘worth doing’ if it is done as a design process.

The causal chain between environmental change and changes in students’ attitudes, behaviours and achievements is a fairly complex one taking in issues of;    

Choice and autonomy in consultation processes Increased self-worth and morale for staff and students based on the investment of time and money in their ideas and their working space The ‘fitness for purpose’ of innovations for particular contexts The process of trialling, testing and embedding new practices shaped by environmental change.

These organic, locally governed processes of change and engagement are also necessarily dependent on a process of renewal: as staff and students move on, it is necessary to engage new cohorts in improving the environment in order to continue to reap the benefits’.

The Impact of School Environments: A literature review February, 2005 I will continue to update the RIS community regarding our progress in providing premises and facilities that are safe, pleasant and stimulating. In partnership, we are on an exciting journey, “Towards Excellence”.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and confidence in Raffles International School.

The next meeting of the Advisory Council will take place in March/April.

Michael William Clack Principal

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NURSERY

KG

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RIS

FS2 & Year 1 Sports Days Last week was the last of seven sports days hosted by the RIS PE department. The PE Department would like to thank the young children for their enthusiasm throughout both days. Secondly, all FS staff for helping the PE Department with each of the activities. Finally, we would like to thank PARIS for the oranges they provided for the young children. We look forward to next year and making sports days even better.

RIS U12 Football Team Last week history was made as Raffles International School progressed to the last 16 of the U12 Dubai Schools Cup against Dubai British School. Raffles took the lead when Ghalib broke through the opposition’s defensive line and bravely got a touch past the DBS keeper. Taeyeon Jin, who was man of the match, got the first of his three goals after a goalmouth scramble from a corner. Despite some good work and pressure from the RIS defence, DBS crawled their way back with two fantastic goals in the space of three minutes. The first half ended with the game level at two a piece. The second half started at a frantic pace with both sides creating some early chances before Taeyeon scored an opportunist’s goal with a low strike into the corner of the net from a well taken free kick.

Taeyeon completed his hat-trick when a corner kick caused some confusion in the DBS box. Taeyeon was on hand to guide the ball past the impressive DBS keeper to make it a 4-2 game to the RIS team. DBS pulled a late goal back to make sure a nervy few moments for the resilient RIS defence but they held firm to ensure that RIS defeated a team that was ranked two divisions ahead of them in the league. The final score was Raffles International School 4 – 3 Dubai British School.

Another tough encounter awaits as Bradenton Preparatory Academy will play host to our history making RIS team next in the last 16.

RIS U16 Basketball Team Congratulations to our U16 basketball win against Choueifat School. U15 Choueifat Basketball Team are Inter Choueifat Champions for the last two year. Raffles were up by two points with 12 seconds before the end of the game. Choueifat scored a basket and the game got tie 41-41. Only 5 seconds left and Tyano got the winning points and closed the game 43-41 for Raffles. Well done RIS.

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KG

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SECONDARY

What is Irlen Syndrome?

Irlen Syndrome is a neurological condition that affects how visual information is processed in the cerebral cortex. These sensitivities are caused by over-stimulation of visual neuron pathways, resulting in optical distortions, headaches, and fatigue during visual tasks (Wilkins, 1995, 2003).

KEY FACTS Irlen Syndrome Affects:  12-14% of the general population  46% of individuals with reading and learning difficulties  33% with ADHD  33% with autism  55% with head injury, concussion or whiplash Signs of Irlen Syndrome:  Students with the Syndrome find it difficult to concentrate when reading or to memorize what they have read.  They find the task of reading a page “full of text” to be extremely challenging and discouraging.  Quite often, they need to reread several times to understand the text.

These students have the potential to learn, yet the over-stimulation of the neural pathways caused by the sensitivity to light can interfere with the processing of visual information.

As many as one third of people diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) may suffer from Irlen Syndrome. Irlen Spectral Filters will eliminate attention problems for this group.

The Irlen Method is non-invasive and does not require the use of medication. In some cases, individuals wear Irlen Spectral Filters in addition to taking medication but may need less medication to stay focused and attentive.

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What can be done?

Allow time for the child to rest his eyes, which may reduce the frequency and severity of headaches and fatigue.  Allow the child to use a ruler or finger as a guide as they read.  Reading should be done from materials placed directly in front of the child. Children should not attempt to ‘share’ reading material.  Encourage and remind children to use the coloured overlay(s) in all subject areas in which reading occurs including mathematics.  For those children with handwriting problems, allow as much work as possible to be done on coloured paper, again a colour of the child’s own preference or a grey or beige.  An Irlen plastic overlay can be used over reading material, especially with white, high gloss paper and under fluorescent lights, when you find yourself overlay fatigued or when working for long periods of time under fluorescent lights. For more information visit: http://irlen.com/ 

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NURSERY

FS

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Dear Parents, Grandparents and Extended family, The highlight of the last fortnight has to be Artist Week. The children were packed with energy, enthusiasm and creative minds. From self-portraits, to Picasso’s cubist art, from painting with different mediums to Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, from Pollock’s ‘drip and splash’ technique to Matisse’s intricate patterns- the Nursery was in splendour. It is no secret that art is a great way to stimulate a child's imagination and encourage self-expression. This Artist week in the Nursery was a perfect opportunity to let the children’s creativity run wild. The children were introduced to the work and life of famous artists and then they became little ‘masters’ themselves. It was heart-warming to see the team of teachers and assistants so excited with the little ‘productions’ of their children. A big thank you to all the parents who came to see our Art Exhibition on the 11th February and made the event such a great success.

International Day was a feast for all the senses as well. Thank you for your contributions. The children visited the FS2 classes with a tour around the world. We are blessed to be part of such diversity - one of the many non-material things that Dubai gifts us with.

Our Recycling Planting project is taking shape. The Nursery play area has come alive with colour. Do take a walk around with your child and find his/her pot.

A special note of thanks is due to all the parents who came to read to our children during International Mother tongue week. While the medium of instruction in our classes remains English, the importance of our children to know their mother tongue cannot be underestimated. Language development already starts before birth, as this is when the child will hear the first sounds and associated emotions from his mother.

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From that moment onwards the development of emotions and thoughts will run through the mother’s language. Understanding the environment, the relationship with others, the development of thoughts, as well as concepts at a later age, all happen through the first language: the native language: the ‘mother tongue’. Children use this language to express thoughts and feelings. The mother tongue is therefore an essential instrument during identity development. Children will develop their relationships with parents, family members, extended family, friends but also with their past, future and own culture through the mother tongue.

The mother tongue is even more important to children growing up abroad as in Dubai where many of us are expatriates; it gives cultural stability and will teach them to react to changes more effectively. The mother tongue will also provide a foundation for managing other languages, as the learning of other languages will happen through the mother tongue. So please do use your mother tongue at home - it is a gift your child will use for life.

A gentle reminder for the parents: Kindly make sure that the Nursery is kept updated in case of any change in the contact details of the people who you have nominated for us to call in an emergency if we are unable to get in touch with the parents. Please also let us know if you plan to take your child out of school on holiday during the term. While regular attendance is mandatory to make sure progress and learning in the classroom, we do understand that sometimes it may not be possible for young children to attend school due to such family reasons.

Please also note that Monday, 29th February was the last date for re-registration of children who wish to return to the Nursery in September 2016 (applicable to children in Casa H and Casa G). Please come and see me if you are interested and have not already re-registered your child.

Garima Kapoor Nursery Coordinator

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FS

NURSERY

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

FOUNDATION STAGE/YEAR 1 NEWS Dear Parents, HOMEWORK HELPER This is a Homework Helper for parents. Here are some tips, ideas and vital information to make sure that homework does not become a headache for you and your child.

Things to remember: Homework is sent home on a Sunday afternoon.

Homework must be returned (completed) on a Thursday morning.

Homework is divided into sections – just enough for each day.

Do not complete all the homework in one day.

Create a quiet place where your child can concentrate.

We encourage independence, but please do assist when needed.

Homework should take between 10-15 minutes per day.

Sight Words: Learning to read is a big and sometimes frightening task for a child. There are different ways of reading words. One of those ways is to build a sight vocabulary of basic words that appear often in print. These frequently used sight words are words that need to be recognized upon seeing them. To help your child master these sight words, we will be sending home weekly lists for him/her to study. You will find the first set attached to this letter. In addition to the work we do in class, practice them with your child as often as possible. If you help your child mater these words and know them by sight, then they will be able to focus on the more important content words. Reading will be more interesting and more enjoyable as a result.

Reading: We use The Fitzroy Reading programme in FS and PM Readers in Year 1. If your child has been introduced to the readers by his/her teacher, please make sure that you sign the Reading Log every time your child reads – even if it is only a few pages.

You can also ask your child questions about the story or make predictions about what might happen on the next page.

Mathematics & English: mathematic and English homework books will not necessarily be covered in the classroom that particular week but will help with revision. Work will be done using the Montessori materials in the classroom with the teacher’s guidance.

Homework is an extension of the work done in class. Be firm, but kind. Help, but also allow your child to be challenged. I hope you enjoy spending quality time with your child doing homework.

Susie Mcshane FS and Year 1 Coordinator

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FS

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FS News February had been an eventful month for FS children. We had different events: Sports Day, Mathematics Fun Day, International Day and International Mother Language Day. Sports Day was a fun experience.

Children were delighted to take part in different activities organized by the P.E Department. It was very encouraging especially when children saw their parents cheering for them. The children were thrilled to see their parents and teachers participating.

In Mathematics Fun Day, children were exposed to various activities making mathematics a fun experience.

As we all know, we are fortunate to live in a place where we get to experience so many nationalities and their cultures. On International Day it was wonderful to see the school come to life and to give us a chance to be educated about where our friends come from. We shared the richness of different countries with the children and got the opportunity to have a glance at the culture, language, food, articrafts, and monuments of various countries.

For the very first time we celebrated International Mother Tongue Day. It was a pleasure to have a huge response from the parents wanting to come and read to children in different languages.

Thank you to all the parents who volunteered us in all the events for this month, and a wonderful experience for the children.

FS Team Year 1 News So much fun and so much learning during this part of the year. The first activity was Sports Day when the children enjoyed taking part in the different fun activities, specifically the obstacle race and the long jump. It was great to see so many parents cheering for their children. We also had International Day on Thursday, 18th February. It is hard to believe with all this fun we actually had time for learning. In science, we were doing the topic ‘Materials’; they enjoyed exploring different materials around them and were introduced to the concept of magnetic and non-magnetic, which gave them a better understanding of why certain objects are attracted to magnets and some are not. In Language, they have been busy being creative, writing about their experiences in their creative writing books. In mathematics, they are being taught simple addition, subtraction and number bonds.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that school uniform must be worn daily. Any jackets or jumpers that are not school uniform will be kept in the children bags for safe keeping. Please make sure all school uniform is clearly labeled.

Year 1 Team

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PRIMARY SCHOOL Dear Parents, There is much to talk about in this edition of SummaRISe. The International Day celebration held on Thursday, 18th February was enjoyed by the whole school community. This is one of those days in an academic year that parents come together to create a beautiful experience for our very international student population. The parade of nations with representation from over ninety nationalities was welcomed back by the school community and enjoyed by one and all. The culmination of the parade of nations filled each one of us with pride. The stalls and kiosk from over 45 countries, and 25 performances from student, parents and external providers added more to the multiple-culture saga full of colour, song, music, artifacts, clothing and cuisines.

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Egypt

Spain

We at RIS believe in promoting international -mindedness (global consciousness) by nurturing our students’ and school community’s capability to transcend limited worldviews and recognize in the richness of diversity a multiplicity of ways of engaging and interacting with each other. Interaction between students and the parent community of different ethnic origin is a delight within our school.

International Day, Circle of Culture and National Day celebrations are only some of the ways we nurture international-mindedness in the school community.

I would like to thank parents for their commitment of time and effort and for their dedication to RIS school community; this celebration was not possible without you. A special mention and appreciation would be in place, as you would agree, for Ms. Terese Viira, who tireless worked over many days to motivate parents, coordinate and give the school her full support.

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FS

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Continuing on the theme of international -mindedness, UAE Reading year 2016, and in respect of the International Mother Tongue language day on Sunday, 21st February, FS2 and the Primary school invited parents and grandparents to read to children in their mother tongue. In the course of three school days (21st -23rd of February) over a hundred parents read to children in more than 25 different languages.

Children came together in their linguistic groups and for the first time had stories read to them in their home language in school; children felt a sense of pride and joy. Many parents realized that their children were not as fluent in the home language as some others their age, that students responded to questions in home language only in the English language because of the lack of sufficient vocabulary, or that some children understood the story but had low oral skills or were sadly losing their home language.

The saying ‘you lose some to gain some’, fortunately does not apply in the field of linguistics. Research and cognitive sciences state that strong home language skills lay the foundation for a faster and effective acquisition of a second language, and that very young child can learn multiple languages at the same time and use them with native fluency.

I have also requested and suggested that each child donates a story book in their Mother tongue for the school library. Children may choose to read in their own language during library time.

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FS

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For the last few weeks, we have been working on getting parent volunteers to ‘LISTEN’ to students read.

To support this initiative, I have at each year level Parent Engagement representatives who are working hard to reach out to you to support our initiative. Parents who have an hour or more to spare on some days, please contact your Homeroom teacher or your parent representative - they will be delighted to hear from you.

Exercise books regularly go home every Thursday. Parents are requested to go through the work covered in school and give feedback on progress or share any concerns. Each exercise book in all core areas has a template attached for you to sign and communicate with the teachers. Please use this new line of communication on children’s school work and be a more engaged parent.

Year Six are busy preparing for the Checkpoint examination to be held in the last week of April. Parents play an important part in preparing children for their first major examination. Getting enough sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, having a fixed and uninterrupted time for homework and being engaged with school work are all ways you can support your children. When school and parents join hands and have a common goal of preparing and setting up our children for success, we have more secure and confident students.

Zeba Khan Head of Primary School Year 2 News We have been so busy with our learning in Year 2. We had a fantastic day on International Day and it was so much fun for all the children to explore and learn about different countries and cultures. We liked trying all the different varieties of food the most.

In Literacy, we are working really hard at developing our poetry skills by using rhyming words to try to create lines to our own poem. We have been focussing on the split digraphs a_e, e_e and i_e in phonics which all feature the ‘magic e’. We have been continuing to read many types of fiction and non-fiction texts.

In mathematics we have been learning about data; specifically using tally charts, bar graphs, pictographs and Venn diagrams. We learned how to interpret our data collection by answering questions and children worked with great enthusiasm.

In science, we continued with our topic about rocks. We reviewed the formation of the three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

Most of us can now name a rock and explain how it was formed. We have also thought about how we use rocks in our everyday lives. We learnt how weathering affects rocks by completing an experiment using sugar cubes. It was very exciting.

In Social Studies, we began learning about The Vikings; their day, life style, where they came from, how they invaded other countries and their skills and hobbies. We collected many interesting facts about The Vikings and we are going to extend this knowledge in the weeks to come…Excellent work Year2...Keep it up.

Year 3 News What a fantastic week we have had in Year 3. On Tuesday, we celebrated our successful Sports Day during our assembly. Our efforts and achievements were rewarded with cool certificates, the P.E. team were really proud of our endeavour. We have to say a big congratulations Emirates House, which scored the most points on the day. Judging by the pictures shown during the assembly, it was clear for all to see, that all House teams worked really well together and all deserve credit and acknowledgement.

The biggest event of the week was definitely International Day. There was a huge effort made by parents and pupils of the school to showcase their home countries. We had a wide range of food, song, dance and traditional clothing. The children in Year 3 showed a great interest in each other’s cultures and learned we learned to respect our differences.

Year 3 Team Year 4 News Year 4 students have had a busy week. All of us here in Raffles International School celebrated a wonderful International Day last week where we displayed great interest for one another’s home countries. Students enjoyed the variety of activities throughout the day along with all the tasty foods we got to taste. We were lucky to have some of our parents to partake in the fun as well.

In Social Studies, we are continuing with our unit on the Romans. We are still linking this learning to our English by developing our writing skills through character and setting descriptions in Ancient Rome. We have introduced the use of Nearpod which allows us to take a walk around some Roman settings (using our devices) to help inspire our descriptions.

In mathematics, we are finishing up on our topic of Time. We have completed some very practical activities on time and we can now solve word problems with the help of our calendars and clocks. We will now move on to the topic of Area and Perimeter.

In science, we are still working on the topic of Electricity. We have carried out a number of experiments allowing us to understand which different objects act as insulators and conductors. We have developed a very good understanding of different circuits and the elements required to make these circuits work.

Year 4 Team

Year 5 News Students have been very enthusiastic over the last few days. Year 5 begin to come to mark an end to their science topic of ‘How we see things’. Students have been able to carefully observe optical illusions, involve themselves into critical thinking by sharing their ideas through discussion. Students have been fascinated by the idea how things may appear as an illusion.

In mathematics, students have been learning to use a grid method to multiply decimals from 2-3 decimal places. Students have been able to check their answers using inverse of division and multiplication. Year 5 have thoroughly enjoyed being able to look at word problems, carefully reading and picking out keywords to ensure understanding in order to answer. Most students have been able to check answers to a division calculation with remainders using multiplication.

In Social Studies, students have been continuing to further extend their knowledge on natural disasters.

We have been learning about emergency relief organisations. Students have had the opportunity to carefully look at the American Red Cross. Particularly to learn about the variety of support it offers around the world to people who continue to suffer. Students have been able to share real life experiences and select a number of issues to discuss as a whole class.

Year 5 Team Year 6 News The last few weeks have been busy for Year 6. Some of the children took part in the Ecoventure camping trip and enjoyed the variety of activities that they took part in. We also had a Gifted and Talented Week across the year, where students with particular strengths in one subject took part in workshops for a day. The workshops were a great success and an enjoyable day for teachers and students. These students can now adapt these skills in English, mathematics and science and spread them around their class.

We also had International Day on Thursday of last week. As always this was a very successful day and a real eye opener to see how many different cultures are represented at RIS. The children took part in activities in the classroom which covered world languages, sports, music and dance. The flag parade was a colourful display of all the different nations of the school. They also visited various stalls around the school to learn about other cultures and taste some delicious traditional food.

The school is continuing to focus on reading this year and we are continuing with a number of initiatives to encourage children with their reading. Our parent volunteers are continuing to read in class and it is making a real difference. Any other volunteers would be appreciated. This week we also had International Mother Tongue reading day where some children were read a story in their own mother tongue.

Year 6 Team

ICT @ Primary School All our students are busy preparing for our annual TechnoRISe exhibition. This year we have planned to invite parents to get a firsthand experience of the technological skills of our students. Students of Years 2- 6 will be participating in the exhibition.

The preliminary rounds of the Inter class touch typing competition are well underway.

Progress of each class has been displayed. As always the winning class will be presented with a rolling trophy.

ICT @ Secondary School Year 7 Students attempted the Cambridge Next Step stage 1 sample papers. The modules included exploring documents (4278) and exploring images (4279). They have also started the preliminary phase of the immensely popular Interclass touch typing competition.

Year 8 Students used QR code reader to decipher information. They generated their own codes using Google Add-ons.

Year 9 Students used clipping mask to create an image and created an image clipping of their flag as part of their International Day cross curricular activity.

Year 10 Year 10 worked on In house cooperate style documentation and how to apply mail merge in document productions. They researched and discussed about the effects of emerging technology like 3D hologram, Virtual reality, and Quantum Cryptography.

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SECONDARY SCHOOL Message from the Deputy Head—Secondary School The rise of RIS Facebook This week has seen the re-launch of the Raffles International School (RIS) Facebook page. As a strong advocate of the use of technology to support learning in schools, I was delighted to take on the role of posting the Photograph of the Day and share with parents via social media. It is very clear from brief analysis of data that Facebook is an excellent channel for communication between the school and parents. This week alone our posts have reached over 5,000 people with 690 actively engaged in them. Through the Photograph of the Day feature, it is our intention to further promote the daily events that happen at RIS and help parents see their children in action on a daily basis.

When talking to children at the school about social media, it is very interesting to hear their views about the changing trends in the 21st century. It seems that Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and What’s App are the forerunners with teenagers of today, especially at RIS. Twitter, albeit one of my personal favourite social media forums, is quite clearly unfashionable amongst our students. Having sought the opinions of students, I would be delighted to hear the views of parents about our re-launch of Facebook and how we can continue to improve this page over the coming months.

Last week all Secondary students were involved in International Day. Through careful planning and design, I was once again delighted to watch how our students demonstrated the rich diversity we have at RIS. The parade of nations was particularly enjoyable and gave all of the students an opportunity to reflect upon the wide range of nationalities represented in our school. Another highlight of the day were the selection of Italian parents who performed three songs to a large audience in the atrium.

“Ben fatto” to all involved.

Inside the classroom our Year 9 students are working very hard in the lead up to their Mock Cambridge Checkpoint examinations which will take place next week. Additionally, all students across the Secondary school have been given the opportunity to participate in the Dubai Colour Symphony Project, which is part of Dubai Canvas, the largest living art festival in the Gulf Region. Students who choose to participate in this event, will have the opportunity to meet and interact with Neil Harbisson, the world’s first totally colour blind artist. More information about Neil and the project can be found at the links below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsj_LADL_Gg http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/culture/cyborg-artist-to-create-special-musical-piece-inspired-bydubai-1.1672930 Also this week many of our Secondary students will be attending the camping trip. I am delighted to be a part of this experience and very much look forward to working with the students in an outdoor adventure setting. For me, these type of opportunities are invaluable in the overall learning process of a child. 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

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Year 8 News Another exciting week for Year 8 saw the students dressing up for international day. We saw costumes form every possible nationality that showed a great deal of preparation and imagination to create. My personal favourite was Valeriy Spiridonov dressed as a Russian Cossack wearing traditional Cossack hat plus carrying a whip – which he assured me was only for show.

Students from Year 8 also took part in the flag parade showing the great variety of nationalities represented in Raffles International School. All students behaved admirably on the day, many of them helping out on stalls – and many more of them eating as much as they could from them.

This week students in Year 8 will be presenting their business proposals to the PARIS parents, and there are plenty of good ideas amongst them – all teams have of course sworn me to secrecy so I cannot reveal anything. All I can say is that they are sure to make family fun day very exciting indeed.

Year 8 Coordinator Year 9 and 10 News We are already in the last week of February and definitely the highlight of the last two weeks was the International Day. It was a festival of colours, music and culture which not only celebrated the rich mix of nationalities that we have at the school but also encourage the children to learn more about other cultures.

Continuing with the debates, last week‘s was time for 9C to challenge 10A. The topic was whether social media helps develop communication skills. Year 9C managed to convince both the judges and the audience that social media do improve communication skills. Best speaker was chosen to be Dana Shammout from 10A. Well done to all the participants.

A few students for Year 9 and 10 had an amazing opportunity on Monday, 15 th February to meet NASA astronaut Dr. Don Thomas who gave an inspirational interesting talk about his journey to become an astronaut and his experiences in space. The students who represented our school were Mete Bulbul and Lorenzo Terrone from Year 9 and Panagiotis Karamitsos and Mohamed Ishaq from Year 10 along with a few Year 7 students.

Year 9 and 10 Coordinator