SummeRISe - Issue 104

89 Thursday, Thursday 2421 March May 2016 2015 Issue 104 GENERAL GENERAL

NURSERY

KG FS

PRIMARY PRIMARY

GENERAL

TechnoRISe 2016

SECONDARY SECONDARY

PARIS SCHOOL CLINIC

IMPORTANT DATES

DATE

EVENTS March

Thursday, 24 March

Primary School Debate—PS @ CAS

Sunday, 27 March—Thursday,31 March

Spring Break

April Sunday, 03 April—Thursday, 07 March

Spring Break

Sunday, 10 April

Students and Staff Return

Thursday, 14 April

Purple Day—Nursery

Sunday, 17 April

Parent student conference

Monday, 18 April—Wednesday, 20 April

Check Point

Tuesday, 19 April

Nursery Open day

Wednesday, 20 April

Nursery—Dubai Drums

Thursday, 21 April

Parent student conference

Sunday, 24 April—Thursday, 28 April

FS and Year 1 Artist Week

Sunday, 22 April—Thursday, 28 April

Spain Field Trip

Sunday, 24 April—Thursday, 28 April

Science Week—Nursery

Wednesday, 27 April

Year 2 Concert

Thursday, 28 April

Year 3 Concert

May Wednesday, 04 May

Al Israa wa Al Miraj*

Sunday, 08 May—Tuesday, 10 May

Annual Production

Tuesday, 10 May

RIS Open Day

Thursday, 12 May

Brown Day—Nursery

Sunday, 15 May—Wednesday, 18 May

Year 1 Field Trip

Sunday, 15 May—Thursday, 19 May

YLE Testing

Sunday, 22 May—Thursday, 26 May

Cambridge Progression - PS&SS

Message from the Principal School of Hearts ‘We’ve been thinking and talking a lot about happiness and wellbeing in education recently. We believe that positive education has the power to inform education policy and transform hearts’.

KHDA February, 2016 Dear RIS community, As we break for the holidays, I am delighted to share with you a number of recent initiatives to gauge general well-being and happiness at our school and some initiatives to specifically address the personal and physical well-being of our students and environment.

WHY SCHOOL CLIMATE MATTERS A growing body of research shows that school climate strongly influences students’ motivation to learn and their academic achievement, as well as teacher job satisfaction and retention. When school members feel safe, valued, cared for, respected, and engaged, learning increases. Schools that provide students with supports to meet these basic developmental needs allow them to grow socially and emotionally and avoid problems in addition to helping them achieve academically. Without these conditions being met, efforts to improve academic achievement and behavior and discipline, will invariably fall short.

CREATING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE Fostering a positive school climate must be a shared mission, created and sustained by school administrators and staff, students, and parents, and supported by the community. It must be an integral part of school improvement plans in order to have a positive and sustainable effect. Too often, fragmented solutions are implemented, are marginalized in the school, and improvements are short-lived. In order to achieve meaningful and sustainable improvements, schools must have a clear sense of their vision and goals and common commitment to achieving them. Schools also need to understand the barriers to learning that their students experience beyond the school and address those barriers before students can achieve and thrive.

WestEd.org https://www.wested.org/resources/a-climate-for-academic-success-how-school-climatedistinguishes-schools-that-are-beating-the-achievement-odds-report-summary/ Over the last month, I have been very keen to assess the general well-being of our children and all students were addressed and then surveyed regarding their feelings. The main findings are below and overall demonstrate a very positive response rate to the survey. They also highlight some areas where more work needs to be done and I have asked the Student Councils and Year Coordinators along with the SLMT to look at various ways that we can address these concerns and move forward making sure that we are constantly looking at ways to improve the personal, physical and environmental well-being of our students.

GENERAL

NURSERY

KG

1.

Stron gly agree

2.

Agr ee

3.

Disagre e

4.

Stro ngly disagr ee

I understand and like the core values of RIS.

262

150

8

3

I like the school motto and mascot

238

148

32

3

194

218

9

0

186

194

32

2

240

134

31

9

Questions

1 2 3 4

I am making good progress in my work.

I find the work I do interesting.

I can join in a good range of extra-curricular activities (for example, clubs, music, drama, 5 sport, ICT art).

6

SECONDARY

PRIMARY

The teachers help me to learn.

The teachers give me individual help when I 7 need it.

The work I am given to do out of class helps 8 me to learn.

I am encouraged to do things for myself and to 9 work independently.

1 (If applicable) I am making good progress in 0 improving my command of English.

I am given the chance to take on responsibility 1 (for example, librarian, prefect, team captain 1 and Student council representative etc).

1 The school listens to students’ views and 2 responds to them.

Y e a r

W h o l e S c h o o l Y e a r

304

109

1

2

224

172

24

0

193

178

28

11

187

193

25

4

256

143

18

1

164

156

61

28

156

187

60

10

204

173

30

11

219

165

22

4

201

173

34

8

184

133

71

28

203

125

72

19

187

162

45

26

1 I like being at this school.

9

268

121

14

11

2 The school is well run.

0

255

1 Teachers show concern for me as a person.

3 1 Teachers monitor my workload.

4 1 There is an adult or senior student I can turn 5 to if I have a personal difficulty.

1 Teachers are fair in the way that they give 6 rewards and punishments.

1 Teachers treat student equally.

7 1 The school deals with any bullying that occurs.

8

4 t o Y e a r 1 0

138

17

5

%

Total No. of Respo nses

1& 2

3& 4

% 1& 2

3& 4

412

11

97.4

2.6

423

386

35

91.7

8.3

421

412

9

97.9

2.1

421

380

34

91.8

8.2

414

374

40

90.3

9.7

414

413

3

99.3

0.7

416

396

24

94.3

5.7

420

371

39

90.5

9.5

410

380

29

92.9

7.1

409

399

19

95.5

4.5

418

320

89

78.2

21.8

409

343

70

83.1

16.9

413

377

41

90.2

9.8

418

384

26

93.7

6.3

410

374

42

89.9

10.1

416

317

99

76.2

23.8

416

328

91

78.3

21.7

419

349

71

83.1

16.9

420

389

25

94.0

6.0

414

393

22

94.7

5.3

415

GENERAL

KG

NURSERY

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

In February, I received an invitation from the KHDA for RIS to participate in a new initiative, ‘School of Hearts’ the first ever survey to measure students' happiness at school in Dubai. Participating schools will be invited to take part in happiness workshops and three members of staff attended the launch party this week.

Survey results are now available at Dubai overall results are published here: https://www.khda.gov.ae/en/publications https://www.khda.gov.ae/en/schoolofhearts What’s next?

KHDA will be nominating selected schools to be part of the Dubai delegation at the Festival of Positive Education in Dallas, Texas (USA) from 18-20 July 2016. More information about this festival can be found here: http://ipen-festival.com/. http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/most-dubai-students-happy-khda-2016-03-20-1.624673 http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/education/khda-launches-school-of-hearts-initiative-1.1667031 We all want to live happy and fulfilling lives and we want the people we love to be happy too. So happiness matters to all of us. Together we can build a vibrant, happy, caring and purposeful community and one that is certainly moving, ‘Towards Excellence’.

Vice Principal and Assistant Head Dear RIS community, I am delighted to announce that effective, September, 2016, Mrs Zeba Khan will take on the role of Vice Principal (Whole School) and Head of Primary School and Mrs Susie McShane is appointed, Assistant Head, Primary School. Both colleagues have a wealth of experience and are highly respected by the entire RIS community. I very much look forward to working with my colleagues and making sure that our school goes from strength to strength. Please do join me and congratulate Mrs Khan and Mrs McShane on their new appointments.

Mrs. Zeba Khan

Michael William Clark Principal

Mrs. Sussie Mcshane

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Message from the Dean of Students

KG

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

Congratulations to the students who successfully competed in the KidZania Brainiac Competition and came in first place. On Friday, 11th March 2016 our students competed against thirty-three other English speaking schools. They answered questions based on academic knowledge in English, mathematics, science, geography, and general knowledge. Students from Year 4 to Year 7 competed in four different rounds to reach the finals. They practised for two months at home and in school. They showed dedication and commitment and deserve the title of Grand Champions. The students received a grand winner trophy and a prize of AED 20,000.

Congratulations, RIS is proud of their achievement.

Gary Williams Dean of Students

Arabic A Department: “Participates together” The Arabic A Department had the honours to host an innovative workshop under the title: “How I teach Arabic at home” where the Head of Department gave a brief presentation about the importance of Arabic language and ways to enrich the vocabularies and the attainment of our students at home.

Teachers also related their experiences with parents. Parents have requested for more such workshops to be held in the future. The Arabic A Department is motivated to hold more of these workshops in the future.

Ahmed Al Ansary The Head of Arabic A Department

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KG

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

Dear FS2 Parents, As you may know, in November 2015, post the BSO inspection, KHDA approved the nomenclature change from a grade system to a year system. Due to this change our Y1 class is now an integral of the Primary School. As such, please be informed that Y1 will have the uniform changed to Primary School uniform 2016-2017.

Your cooperation in ensuring that Y1 children come to school dressed in the complete Primary School uniform would be appreciated.

Best wishes and enjoy the Spring break.

Mrs. Zeba Khan Head of Primary School BOOK FAIR 2016 Happiness quotient

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FS

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

Dear Parents, Grandparents and Extended Family, Spring time is ‘Spring Cleaning time.’ So this Spring, while tidying up the house take your little one’s help and invite him or her to share in family ‘work’ and responsibilities.

Keep the equipment simple, like a hand-operated whisk or an apple corer or a carrot peeler. Allow spills that is the only way they will learn. Try to keep the work at the height of your child and there will be less mess.

Another thing children enjoy is loading the dishwasher. This can be a sorting activity they can sort the cutlery or arrange the bowls, plates. Teach them to be careful and they will follow with precision and care.

Show them how to re-cycle waste. Separate the plastic, paper bins etc. and let your child empty it out.

We have been ‘Cleaning the Windows’ in class. Use their skills and make them proud. Allow your child to clean mirrors and glass doors.

Positive communication with teachers and childcare providers Through our final term, this begins in April, please keep meeting your child’s teacher on her Drop in Days.

Be familiar with what your child is doing on a daily basis so you can have meaningful conversations with your child as well. Sharing problems from home gives teachers the news and facts that are vital to how she cares for and relates to your child. Even something that may seem small, like letting the teacher know if your child has had a bad dream, if he or she has been has not been sleeping well.

It is extremely important for parents to get to know their child’s teacher. A positive relationship is based on clear and honest communication between parents and their child’s teacher. It is always suggested to be approachable and make it possible for teachers to talk to you about difficult topics such as discipline.

Tell them about your family and your child’s interests outside of the classroom or nursery environment.

Naturally, share in confidence, if there is major turmoil at home such as separation, sickness or a trusted nanny leaving.

Last but not the least, read your child’s communication book and stay updated with the Communicator.

Often important notices are put on both these, which will help you stay in touch with what is going on.

Thank you for a great Term 2 and we look forward to a wonderful Term 3.

Garima Kapoor Nursery Coordinator

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FS

NURSERY

Bayane learns her colours sensorially

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

Our toddler take care of their plants

Exploring Pointillism

Book week related Practice Life exercise

Fun and Friends

Decoding a puzzle—building on the analytical skills

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FS

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FOUNDATION STAGE/YEAR 1 NEWS Dear Parents, During our Mother’s Day celebrations this year, P.A.R.I.S put on a Bake Sale in the Atrium. Thank you to all the parents who helped make this a success; the children loved the cakes and had the opportunity to test their buying skills as they visited the tables to purchase a cake. The children have just been introduced to currency and value in mathematics; so not only did they enjoy eating the cakes they enjoyed using their skills taught in class in a real life situation.

Thank you to all the P.A.R.I.S members who gave their spare time to support this event. If you would like to be part of our Parent Association please contact Ms. Georgina on georginaalfardan@hotmail.com.

P.A.R.I.S have also been busy decorating the PARIS Garden. If you would like to use this garden during differences in dismissal times, it is located between the Main Atrium and the Year 2 area.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and safe Spring Break. Please use this time to encourage your child in Year 1 to use the Study Ladder as revision of work. Please read to your child daily and give them plenty of opportunities to explore reading in difference texts, ie: roads signs, shopping centres and cereal boxes.

We will see you all on Sunday, 10th April 2016.

Susie Mcshane Coordinator

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PRIMARY

SECONDARY

FS2 News The essential thing is to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality.” - Maria Montessori The growing levels of independence and concentration are now well reflected through the way the students enter the classroom. They come with a mindset for which Montessori material to select and are now able to work consistently for a longer time. Over the period they have become confident in choosing work that reflects their personal goals, and it has taught them how to facilitate their peers along the way.

Over the past few weeks we have been exploring the topic of seasons. The children have enjoyed describing the changes in weather that occur during each season and how the changes that occur through the seasons affect plants and animals. We are looking forward to the Author Christina Fernandez visiting school to read her book “The Desert Tale” and Book Week where the children will enjoy exploring the book chosen for their class.

Thank you parents for taking the time to help the children with their homework. Many of the children have proudly shared their knowledge of sight words and their penmanship skills. Please continue to assist them at home in this area. We are grateful for your support.

With this note, the FS Team would like to wish you a happy Spring Break and a safe trip to those who are travelling.

FS Montessori Team Year 1 News The time has come where we bid adieu to each other for a short while. The Spring Break is upon us.

Over the past two weeks, the children have been busy exploring a lot of physical science, predicting and recording their results. They have had a super fun time doing so and have learnt a lot along the way.

Family Fun Day was a blast. It was amazing to see so many of you in a casual setting, and it helped us to get to know the families a bit better.

This past week, the children have had a very successful fire drill. They have completely understood what needs to be done in case of a fire.

We have had an author come visit us and the children are now very keen on becoming authors too.

During the book fair, it was interesting to see that the children were now able to independently select books of their own level. Keep up the great reading.

It would be amazing to see these little authors and readers come up with a journal of what they have done over the Spring Break. Have a restful and fun break.

Year 1 Team

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FS

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dear Parents, Over the last two weeks we celebrated students ingenuity, creativity and innovation with the TechnoRISe event. Students across the school were able to share their expertise using technology to create interactive videos and games for parents and peers to participate in. The event was a huge success and we would like to thank the ICT department and all participating students for the effort that went in to making it a celebration of technology.

Technology is now a daily part of our lives, it is up to us to ensure it is used as a tool to support and help us, not something that we are held captive by. Turn off the alert on your email and set your phone to only download emails when you request them. If possible, log out of social media at specific times and days in the week to allow full focus on family life. At school we utilise technology in the classrooms to support learning in a structured way; we teach students to become increasingly independent in researching content using technology and these learning skills will stand students in good stead as they progress through the school and into higher education and their working life. Some view technology as a distraction from exercise, however the rise of wearable technology to analyse fitness and exercise shows the possible harmony between technology and keeping fit.

We would like to thank the Secondary School students for running the Family Fun Day - it was a wonderful event that all enjoyed and the entrepreneurial skills on display by the students was a good model for our Primary students on how dedication and application can lead to success. Well done.

Matthew Barrett Deputy Head of Primary School Year 2 News It has been a very busy few weeks in Year Two both in and out of the classroom. In English, we continued reading different Julia Donaldson stories including ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’. We focused on character comparison, preferred setting and dilemma resolutions. We had great fun changing parts of the story, such as the ending.

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PRIMARY

SECONDARY

In mathematics, we were measuring all sorts of objects around the room using non-standardised methods as well as metres and centimetres. We spent time estimating and counting in units such as cubes, hands and feet. Following this, we knew we wanted more accurate measurements so we moved on to using rulers and metre sticks. The students will also measure household items over the coming weeks.

In science, we have been learning about electricity, focusing in on its forms, dangers and also simple circuits. Through self-discovery, we realised the necessary components for a simple circuit and also investigated different ways that a circuit can be incomplete. We found static electricity intriguing and were busy checking what materials attract from static electricity and what materials repel.

Our TechnoRISe exhibition was a great success. We had groups of 4 or 5 students presenting a BEEBOT project for the parents and interestingly, there were both English and Arabic displays. Following this, we had a chance to explore the KS2 computing projects and were lucky enough to play many games and learn many new things about computer programming.

With a change in the weather, Family Fun Day was postponed but when it finally took place on Saturday, 19th March it was a huge success. The children very much enjoyed the chance to ‘splat’ the staff here in Raffles.

Year 2 ‘Parents Read Aloud’ continues on a weekly basis so moving forward into the final term, we welcome more parent volunteers to the classes.

Year 2 Team Year 3 News Year 3 was busy completing their 6-week Assessment throughout the week. The students worked extremely hard and showed an eager attitude towards learning and achievement.

In English, they learned about Myths and Legends. Students were introduced to different Myths and Legends from the past as well as the features involved in writing them. Students were also encouraged to take part in the RTA writing competition. The topic was: “Life as a journey.” The stories will be assessed and the student with the best written story, will win a prize.

In mathematics, the students have been producing superb work. They have been taught different strategies to solve addition as well as subtraction word problems. A lot of practical activities were used for these topics to give students a better understanding of the concepts. Students have been rolling dice, using the Diene blocks and playing card games in order to solve these problems; making use of different methods such as carrying with addition and borrowing with subtraction. The main aim was to teach them regrouping skills. The level of excitement has been amazing as students got to experiment with numbers in the thousands.

In science, students explored the properties of different materials. A few experiments were conducted in the Science Lab where students had to test the flexibility and the hardness of different materials. It was interesting to hear the scientific discussions amongst students and to witness their enthusiasm and excellent collaboration within their groups. In Social Studies, the three R’s (reuse, reduce and recycling) were introduced and discussed. Students showed a positive interest in this topic and a caring and concerned attitude towards Global Warming was noticed amongst them.

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Year 3 also had an exciting event as they visited 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 Saturday, 19 March, the entire RIS and their families joined together to celebrate the annual Family Fun Day. Teachers, students and parents turned up in high spirits to embrace the day by taking part in a variety of games, support the stalls and try a list of different foods. Everyone had a marvellous time and is already anticipating next year’s event.

Year 3 Team

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 connected with our text, ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’. The children have worked superbly on their character investigations and comparisons as well as developing their debating and reading skills. We have written diary entries expressing characters emotions and we have also created some fun and exciting ‘Wanted’ posters. It has been wonderful to see the level of engagement and enthusiasm while studying the text with Roald Dahl again being a popular choice amongst many.

In mathematics, we have focused on co-ordinates and angles. The children have completed a wide range of exercises looking at the different co-ordinates of objects and places on maps. They have also become familiar with different types of angles and how we can identify certain angles. Our final mathematics focus is decimals where we will introduce the decimal within place value.

In science, the Year 4 students are working hard on our unit on 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.

In Social Studies, we are continuing our unit of study on Ancient Rome which has been highly enjoyable and linked very well with many of the activities completed in English and mathematics. We have created stories in English based on Ancient Rome and in mathematics we have solved negative numbers word problems also based on Ancient Rome.

Testing the strength of magnets

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. Students and teachers also had great fun in this year’s Family Fun Day. Year 4 Team

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Year 5 News Year 5 are working very hard and also enjoying different events happening in school. Our topic in social studies, has been natural disasters which the students have thoroughly enjoyed. They produced some fantastic natural disaster power points and then presented them to their peers. The students were able to feedback to each other some strengths and areas of development and what they enjoyed the most about each other’s presentations.

In English, we have been learning about recounts which also include newspapers. Watch out for our display boards as you will be able to see a lot of work on this topic.

We recently hosted our annual TechnoRise and there were some amazing videos and games produced by the Year 5 students. The students worked either in groups or individually to create various programs and animations.

To watch them present their creations to other students in the school was entertaining. It was a wonderful experience for the students and ensures that our Raffles students are ready for an ever evolving IT world. Well done to all the students for their hard work and producing such amazing presentations.

Year 5 Team Year 6 News Well done to all Year 6 pupils for their wonderful endeavours throughout Term 2. The major event that took place since the previous Summarise edition was the excellent TechnoRise exhibition that took place on Wednesday, 16th March. Parents and teachers were extremely impressed with the quality of ICT software/presentations that Year 6 pupils produced. There were a number of excellent individual winners however, all pupils should be congratulated for their excellent efforts with this.

We have spent the last few weeks working hard to complete the remaining topics within each subject, giving us just enough time for important review work in our final week. Well done for the excellent academic efforts throughout this term and subsequently, the tremendous progress we have seen across all subjects.

Congratulations must also go to those pupils from Year 6 who took part in the ‘Brainiac’ competition organized by Ms. Beata. The team of pupils competed against thirty three other schools across Dubai and were successful in winning the title of Grand Champions. This title was a true testament of their hard work and dedication to their academic development and all the preparation that went into the competition.

Parent engagement continues to be important part of learning in Circle of Culture programme. Students have learnt interesting facts and have gone on virtual tours of countries like Poland and Germany and many more.

Looking towards the next term, we have the very important dates of Check Point examinations within Year 6; taking place on 18 th, 19th, 20th April. Of course, the end of term break is a time for relaxing and recharging the batteries but we would encourage all pupils to maintain some level of reading, writing and revision in order to prepare as best they can for the examinations.

Teachers have informed their class of what revision they expect to be completed for English, mathematics and science respectively and we hope that everyone will spend some time going over this material.

On a final note, the Year 6 team would like to wish everyone a relaxing and safe break wherever that may be and we look forward to seeing you well refreshed after the break.

Year 6 Team School Hearts School staff attended the 'school of hearts' professional development dialogue at the KHDA, presented by Dr. Meagan O'Malley of Wested.

A percentage of our students recently completed the survey on school climate and the results will be used to create meaningful dialogue in our continued drive 'towards excellence'.

Matthew Barrett Deputy Head of Primary School

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FS

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SECONDARY SCHOOL Message from the Deputy Head—Secondary School A time for reflection As we reach the end of a long term, there is plenty to reflect upon across the Secondary School.

Most recently was the success of Family Fun Day. Three months of hard work in the classrooms preparing games and learning about business concepts through the Young Apprentice Project, our Students and teachers certainly rose to the challenge and provided a wonderful array of entertainment for the RIS community. Throughout the day, students, parents and family members enjoyed a wide range of activities including Beat the Goalkeeper, a bouncy castle, a barbecue, Nerf Battles and perhaps most notably, Sponge the Teacher. Family Fun Day was organised in collaboration with the Parents Association of Raffles International School (PARIS). PARIS gave incredible support in the organisation of the event and provided our student groups with the initial investment of 200AED to start up their businesses. They also provided delicious food and refreshments throughout the day as well as sourcing excellent raffle prizes for the lucky winners to enjoy. All in all, Family Fun Day was a huge success and I sincerely thank everyone for their contributions. The Secondary students very much look forward to participating in this event again next year.

There has been much to celebrate over the past twelve weeks in the Secondary School, both inside and outside of the classroom. Secondary students have been involved in International Day, a university/ career fair, debating competitions, football matches, camping trips, Dubai Canvas, guest lectures, KHDA What Works, IGCSE information sessions as well as many IVEI competitions/events such as athletics, chess, X-Factor, DIAMUN, Literary Soiree and basketball. Our performance in International Benchmark Tests has been a major success, with many of our students outperforming other students across the Middle East region and internationally. Without question, we are building strong foundations for future success and have a very exciting journey ahead.

As we enter the final week of school, our Year 9 students are edging ever closer to their Cambridge Checkpoint Examinations in English, mathematics and science. These examinations will be taken on 18th, 19th and 20th March. I wish all the students the very best of luck and am sure all of their hard work, study and dedication will be rewarded with very good results. Our Year 9 students are also in the process of finalising their IGCSE choices for the next academic year.

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.

I wish all students and parents and safe, relaxing and enjoyable Spring Break.

Ian Plant Deputy Head of Secondary

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Primary

Family Fun Day

SECONDARY

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Year 7 News It’s been a jam packed term full of fun-filled events and of course academic success. Let us take a moment to reflect on our amazing achievements and look forward to the road ahead. Well done, Year 7, on attaining excellent IBT results across mathematics, English and science; if this is a snap shot of things to come then we are expecting great things. Congratulations are also in order for the winners of the Brainiac competition, two of whom were from Year 7, Rami Hamzeh and Khalid Meshal Alkadeeb.

Family fun day was a huge success and I must commend Year 7 for the effort that they put in to making it an enjoyable day for all. They worked tirelessly week by week to ensure that their games were ready to played.

One of the highlights of the term has undoubtedly been the weekly debates, one of the new initiatives, to encourage the development of our core values. I have been particularly impressed by the way Year 7 have risen to the challenging by diligently researching their given topic and taking the time to apply a range of persuasive techniques in order to express themselves effectively.

As we move into the new term, let us keep up the good conduct and the good work. Remember, there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

Year 7 Team Year 8 News Last week saw the final of the Year 8 debate competition, where 8C narrowly beat 8A on the subject of whether junk food should be made illegal to children. 8C were able to win the motion against the idea by persuading the audience that a world without Starbucks or McDonald’s would be a very sad world indeed. The best speaker of the debate was Simran Paul, who spoke against the motion with a good mix of emotion and factual argument. Well done to all the competitors throughout the term, they have improved greatly and faced the scariest audience of all – their fellow Year 8.

Year 8 also contributed massively to the family fun day on Saturday, finally showing their games to parents and friends of the school. A great time was had by everyone - especially when it came to the ‘sponge the teacher’ game. A great turnout was ensured by the hard work of all, both students and secondary staff alike.

A special thanks as well on behalf of the students to the year 8 form tutors – Maya Yaghi, Phil Jones and Lynette Botha for all their hard work throughout the term and their support for each and every one of their students.

Year 9 and 10 News A lot has happened since the last edition of the newsletter. The highlight was the Family Fun Day which was once again a great success.

A huge well done for the students who participated either by preparing activities or helping out for the day to run smoothly and a big thank you to all of you who have attended and supported our students.

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Primary

SECONDARY

The celebration of the International Day and the Sports day, our unforgettable camping trip in Ras Al Khaimah, the pleasing results of the IBT tests and the Checkpoint Mock examinations, the auditions for productions and talent shows, the participation in Dubai Canvas festival and the inspirational talk by NASA astronaut, our weekly debates, the first afternoon activities run by students and the Masterchef competition which was also organized by students.

I am sure I have missed things but you can see that it has been a busy time. Students have always too much to do but it is good to be busy and be given many of these opportunities. Next term will be just as busy with our focus on the Check Point tests coming up for the Year 9 students.

I would like to wish you a lovely and safe Spring break. I look forward to seeing you all next term.

Year 9 and 10 Team