Thursdayth21 May 2015 Issue 89 Thursday, 10 May 2018 Issue 142 GENERAL GENERAL
NURSERY
KG PRIMARY
PRIMARY SECONDARY PRIMARY
SECONDARY SECONDARY
PARIS SCHOOL CLINIC
Recent Happenings Hag Al Laila - Assembly
Nursery Concert
RIS at DIATECH
DATE
EVENTS
Sunday, 13 - Monday, 14 May
Secondary School Music Production rehearsal
Tuesday, 15 May
Secondary School Music Production
Tuesday, 15 May Wednesday, 16 May
CCA’s finish - Term 2 Ramadan starts*
Thursday, 17 May
Literacy Day, FS2—Year 6—Book Characters
Sunday, 20 - Thursday, 24 May
Nursery Science week
Monday, 21 May
Year 4 Science Event
Tuesday, 22 May
Year 5 Science Event
Wednesday, 23 May
Year 6 Science Event
Wednesday, 30 May
Staff PD Day
Thursday, 31 May
Holiday
to
JUNE 2018 Sunday, 03 June
FS 2 Graduation rehearsal
Monday, 04 June
FS 2 Graduation, 8:00 - 10:30 am
Tuesday, 05 June
FS 2 Graduation, 8:00 - 10:30 am
Sunday, 10 June
Year 11 Graduation Ceremony, 8:00 am Dance Studio
Sunday, 10 - Tuesday, 12 June
Year 1 and Year 2 Concert rehearsal, Sport Hall
Wednesday, 13 June
Year 1 and Year 2 Annual Concert, Sports Hall
Wednesday, 20 June
Parent Appreciation Day
Thursday, 21 June
Innovents Film Festival @ DIA
Thursday, 21 June
Nursery Certificate Ceremony
Thursday, 21 June
Year 6 Graduation Ceremony
Sunday, 24 June
Nursery Black and White Day
Monday, 25 June
Art Competition - Innovents @ RIS
Tuesday, 26 June
Secondary School Field Trip
Tuesday, 26 - Wednesday 27 June
Year 3 rehearsal
Thursday, 28 June
Year 3 Annual Concert, Sports Hall
Message from the Principal Dear Parents With the Holy Month of Ramadan just around the corner, I hope the changes to timing and other arrangements for this time are now clear. As part of our observances for Ramadan, I am delighted to invite parents and pupils to our school Iftar on Tuesday 29 May. The school gates will re-open from 5:00 pm and there will be activities to keep children occupied while parents and staff set up the Iftar breakfast ready for sunset around 7:10 pm. Please come along if you can – admission is AED 10 or a plate of food to share. All proceeds will go to GIVE/Dubai Cares. This year, schools have received a very clear directive from KHDA regarding school timing for the month. We are expected to have the campus vacated and the gates closed by 2:00 pm. Please could I ask for your support in ensuring all pupils are safely collected by that time at the very latest. Thank you. While our school day may be reduced, there is no shortage of action in the coming few weeks, starting with the RIS Secondary Sports Awards dinner this Friday. As a gala event to recognize the efforts of our players and coaches over the course for the year and individual performances, it promises to be a real celebration. Science becomes front and centre later this May with nursery and Primary Science Weeks. Some parents may already be aware that DSIB inspection Reports for all Dubai schools were released this week, ours is available here, and one of the recommendations from the visiting team was to enhance ‘enquiry during exploratory and independent work especially in … science’. Individual or small group projects are a great way to do this and embed the scientific skills we want to develop in all pupils. To parents who have supported their children with these projects, thank you, your guidance is appreciated. As you can see from our monthly calendar here, June is dominated by graduations – FS2, Year 11 and Year 6. These are a celebration of the end of one phase and looking forwards to the start of the next one in September. Although there is some sense of ‘end’ attached to these, please bear in mind that the school year ends on Thursday 5th July. Formal assessments will continue right to the end of June. School resumes for all returning pupils on Tuesday 4th September. Best wishes for the coming weeks and to those observing the Holy Month: Ramadan Kareem. Sincerely, Tim Richardson Principal
GENERAL
NURSERY
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
Dear Parents, Grandparents and Extended Family, “Summer's Here, Summer's here! Another year of school is at an end. We've learned a lot and grown a lot and made a lot of friends.” - Unknown The above sums up this month…It is hot and work in the classes is at its peak, with laughter and joy providing a rainbow-coloured backdrop to the hot summer days. I find myself at a loss of words as we approach the end of the year. Our little butterflies are fluttering with excitement and confidence, and it is heartwarming for the Nursery team to watch. What a fortnight it has been. The children have been busy working as we carry on with our Montessori work cycle of activities during this last term. It is an amazing experience, watching the children working peacefully and independently with a range of materials. Children have developed a good sense of order and it is a pleasure to watch their love of work and concentration during the Montessori work time. “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say that the children are now working as if I did not exist” (Maria Montessori) In the coming weeks, we will begin assessing the children who are moving from Nursery to FS in September. This will be done in a casual, non-intimidating way in the Nursery itself so that we are able to work on the areas where the children need support before the academic year ends. The teachers may get in touch with you in case they feel the need for you to provide some reinforcements at home. Please read on for some of the most important things you can do to get your child ready for next academic year:
Encourage a love of learning. While Foundation stage may be your immediate focus, you're really laying the foundation for lifelong learning. It is more important for your child to enjoy learning than to master facts and figures. Nurture curiosity, encourage questions, support critical thinking and model being a learner yourself.
Help your child get along well with others. Much of school -- and life -- involves relating to and working with those around you. Children, who can share, play well with peers and resolve conflicts are starting the game ahead.
Support self-control and planning skills. Young children are just beginning to learn crucial self-regulation and executive functioning skills. Child development experts call this internal “air traffic control”-- and it is key to success in school. Even such young children have to manage a lot of
information, avoid distractions, and carry out plans. Help your child practice remembering a sequence (after breakfast, we brush our teeth, put our shoes on and go to school), curbing impulses (grabbing other children’s toys) and adapting when things do not go as planned.
Talk and read … a lot. One of the strongest predictors of later success in reading and other school subjects is early vocabulary - and oral language skills in general. Talk to your children, use challenging words, describe what they mean, read to them, play word games, make up nonsense rhymes and stories together, teach listening skills, listen to them, sing songs - anything that emphasizes language.
Boost independence. Foundation Stage (or even the 2nd year of Nursery) is a big transition into a world of strange adults and peers. But there are lots you can do at home to set the stage: Teach children to fetch and put away their things, remember what they brought to school or carried with them and to carry out basic routines independently. Garima Kapoor Assistant Head Early Years
Nursery Concert
Purple Day
Zelie 'reads' to her friends in class!
Our 'Activity based' topic of Mammals drew a lot of participation from the children
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NURSERY
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SECONDARY
PRIMARY SCHOOL Dear RIS Community, At the time of writing we are expecting the Holy Month of Ramadan to fall on either May 15th or 16th. Having spent ten years in total in the MENA region I know well the excitement for many children leading up to this most important event in the Muslim calendar. RIS students are very well-versed, via their Islamic Studies lessons, in the significance of Arabic and many of our older Primary children will be joining their elders in fasting. Naturally, children – especially – also get excited because of the breaking of the daily fast and the opportunity for friends and family to come together. I have very fond memories of being invited to many ‘Iftars’ in Alexandria, Doha, and Abu Dhabi when I lived there. We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to share with you our school Iftar on May 29th. Fasting is perhaps most commonly associated with the Christian and Muslim faiths. However, many other cultures and religions around the world fast throughout the year, including Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Jainism, and Hinduism. While the duration, practice, and specific reasons differ, all fasts have the similar goals of showing sacrifice and cleansing oneself. In thinking about Ramadan and fasting I discovered the non-profit “Cultural Awareness International” program, which provides free resources to help culturally diverse organisations learn from each other. Celebrating Ramadan in an international school like ours is very much an opportunity to learn from others. When I first worked overseas in Qatar, I was provided with very little information about Ramadan. I ended up walking around one Friday afternoon eating a bar of chocolate in broad daylight and wondering why an irate man was hooting his car horn and waving his fist at me. I only realized why later on. We do our best to much better ‘educate’ those new to the region about the do’s and don’ts in order to respect those who are fasting, and to remember that most of us are guests in the UAE. RIS is currently being adorned with decorations to ‘mark’ the beginning of Ramadan. Once again we are most grateful to Ms. Wafaa and her team for their efforts here. With Ramadan falling right in the middle of exam season, and just as the temperature in Dubai really heats up there are challenges for students and staff fasting. We wish everyone a safe, peaceful, and reflective time. Best wishes, Edward Cooper Head of Primary School
Key Stage 1 News Dear Parents, In Foundation Stage 2, Science Week was an exciting experience for the children. They started their week by working on an experiment in their classes, exploring and formulating a hypothesis. The week progressed as they continued to observe their experiments and ended it by displaying their conclusions. Other classes were invited to visit as the children displayed their findings with pride. Our little scientists seemed excited as they predicted, explored and observed throughout the week. They continued asking a lot of ' how and why' questions which shows that their inquiring minds are beginning to evaluate and think critically. The students were proud to display their experiments and happily shared it with their parents as they ended a week of investigation. Apart from being little scientists, they continued their learning journey while working with more advanced Montessori materials. The Early Years Room continues to offer invaluable experiences of learning through play. The FS2 students appear to be more mature by playing amicably with each other and working collaboratively in groups. The children are getting comfortable in initiating play and resolving conflicts with their peers independently. This demonstrates remarkable progress. 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 also 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. They had a field trip to “The Green Planet”, where children were thrilled to look at the rainforest animals up close and were amazed to learn about their unique qualities. It was a wonderful experience for all of them. They are also learning many scientific aspects of the rainforest, such as evaporation, the water cycle and how animals camouflage themselves in order to survive. Swimming lessons are a huge success with all the students. The lessons have been taking place once a week. The children have been introduced to moving safely in and around the pool area. They are also showing more independence while changing and maintaining their swimming kits. We could not be more proud of our young learners in FS. “All our handling of the child will bear fruit, not only at the moment, but in the adult they are destined to become.” Maria Montessori
Another week has gone by filled with fun activities and learning in Year 1. The children are so confident and independent in their work. We are seeing readers, authors, mathematicians and scientists in the making. In Mathematics, the children are exploring the unit - Mental Math, working on different mental math strategies, to support their development it speed and recalling math problems. In English, the children are working on enhancing their story writing skills by adding descriptive words to describe the setting and ensuring their stories are made up of a beginning, middle and end. In Science, the children are learning about ‘Weather and Seasons’ exploring the four seasons, the clothes we wear during the seasons and exploring different experiments like ‘rain in a jar.’ The children enjoyed the field trip to Kidzania, they enjoyed taking their learning of using money into a real like environment. Next week we will be celebrating ‘World Book Day’ and we look forward to seeing the children come in dressed in their favourite book character outfit. We will be doing a recycled project, kindly send recyclable things like bottle caps, bottles, small cardboard boxes and newspapers.
The Year 2 children have had an exciting past two weeks. As part of their science topic, Plants and Animals Around Us, they’ve visited the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. The children learned about varied aquatic environments and interacted with a diverse range of marine life. They also attended a conservation program at The Ocean School, where they learned about various conservation principles, which built awareness and inspired action to protect, promote and preserve our planet. The children also had lunch at the Rainforest Café, which linked beautifully to the rainforest habitat, which they studied this week in science. The children took part in Science week. Each class performed their own experiment and then rotated to the other classes to learn about their experiments. All their hard work was displayed in the stair atrium. In English the Year 2s have been working extremely hard on up-levelling their sentences and on writing non-fictional texts. In mathematics they have been working on multiplication and on counting in 3s and 4s. They have also been introduced to division this past week.
Please visit our Facebook page for more pictures to Like and Share. Susie Mcshane Deputy Head, Primary KS1
Key Stage 2 News Year 3 have been very busy lately- both in and out of the classroom. Year 3, along with the rest of Primary School, enjoyed a lovely presentation on Hag Al Laila learning about the Islamic traditional celebration. They enjoyed the sweets kindly donated by PARIS. They are also very excited for the upcoming field trip to Kidzania on the 13th May. The trip aims to develop the children’s independence and their ‘real world’ experience. Year 3 enjoyed great success in the “Trash to Treasure” competition- with 4 children receiving awards. The students created some wonderful projects- including a Burj Khalifa and a Garden of Eden. These endeavours are really good for developing the student’s creativity and 21st century skills. Within the classroom, the children have had a great time exploring 3D shapes in depth, as well as angles, lines and symmetry. It is great to see so much prior knowledge and to delve deeper into the topic. Year 3 students are becoming quite adept at writing information texts now and have produced some interesting, engaging reports. STEM class continues to be a highlight for the students. They enjoyed engineering lego clocks while playing attention to lines and angles created. Also, the students transformed into botanists this week, exploring our Raffles gardens, comparing and contrasting different leaves. Many other discoveries were made, including snails, ladybirds and grasshoppers. Year 3 students have started BYOD - with great success. As our world advances technologically, it is important to incorporate IT in our classroom. The BYOD allows children to utilize their own devices in a school setting, under the supervision of a teacher. The students are proving themselves to be very responsible with tablet use and teachers are ensuring safety of use as well as appropriate time spent using devices. The Year 4s have been acquiring knowledge through hands on learning and the use of ICT within our lessons. In Mathematics, we have looked at the nets of 3D shapes by folding and gluing existing nets to construct 3D geometric solids and designing nets of our own. We have formed a clear understanding of the relationships between 2D and 3D shapes.
In Science, we have been investigating sound and how it travels. We have studied both volume and pitch and created our own ear protectors by using recycled materials. Children have made the connection to the real world, identifying when we might need to protect our eardrums in sports and leisure activities. We have explored the fantasy world of Ronald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in our English studies. We have used our imagination and used the strategy of ‘show don’t tell’ to create vivid descriptions in our writing in order to engage our readers.
Year 5 has returned to the classroom after a fantastic trip away with Challenging Adventure. Those who went on the residential agreed that it was an exciting experience full of opportunities to learn new skills and have the chance to go back to basics with no devices! They got to spend a day doing water activities like paddle boarding and dragon boating, and the rest of the time was spent on land. A few examples of the land based activities were treasure hunts and building fires. In English the students have been continuing their novel study of ‘There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom’. Linking the novel with Science and the topic of Shadows, students had to create shadow puppets and perform a play using a script they had written. They then took the opportunity to learn how to write letters, formal and informal, putting themselves in the shoes of a character from the book. Time is always of the essence and so we have been studying it in Maths as part of our unit on measurement. Building on prior knowledge, students have been working around the clock realising that if they study now, they will have an easier time in Year 6. Year 6 are busy preparing for their graduation and we look forward to celebrating their achievements after the Year 6 examinations. Year 6 are to be commended for their performance in the annual concert ‘Aladdin’. They are working on topics of geometry and studying world war 1, examining cause of the war and linking it to their novel study “Friend and Foe” by Michael Murpurgo. Year 6 also are spending two days in Secondary School as part of the Transition. They are being familiarised with the day to day working of the Secondary School, timetables, subjects and form tutors. A gentle reminder that we will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday, 17 th May. We look forward to seeing all the children dressed up as their favourite book characters. Jasmit Kang Deputy Head, Primary KS2
STEM Awards 2018 At RIS we provide our students with all opportunities to stimulate 21st century learning. We promote learning through doing, observing and making inferences. STEM lessons provide our students the opportunity to become collaborators, scientists and researchers. Our school had been shortlisted as one of the 17 top schools that had the best STEM program in the UAE. The STEM awards team visited our school to see STEM in action in the classrooms and in the STEM labs. The selection was then narrowed down to the top 3 schools. Raffles International School was selected as one of the top 3 finalist for the STEM 2018 awards in the Elementary Section. A well-deserved achievement. Seema Vinod Head of ICT Department
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NURSERY
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PRIMARY SECONDARY
SECONDARY
SECONDARY SCHOOL The pace in the Secondary School has definitely increased in the past two weeks. The students are busy preparing for their end of year assessments and external examinations. They are well focused and prepared. As they go through the next few weeks it is important for them to maintain this and to keep communicating with their teachers should they require further assistance. The summative assessments for the current students also remind us that we need to prepare for the next year. Last week the current Year 6 parents were invited to attend an introductory meeting from Mr. Rowlands and Ms. Lynch. During the presentation, parents were given information on the day to day running of the Secondary School. The presentation can be found on the school’s website. This week, the Year 6 students visited the Secondary School to experience what it is like to be in a Secondary lesson and to meet some of the teachers.
The sports teams have been competing in the DASSA leagues. This term the teams competing have been the swim squad at Hamdan Sports Centre in the DASSA finals. The U16 basketball team have had a fantastic first season together. Under the direction of Mr. Clements they have developed into a formidable force. Recently the sports teams were presented with a mascot by PARIS. Our falcon has yet to have a name! The Secondary students are currently voting – details to follow in the next edition!
This Friday evening, the successes of the sports teams will be celebrated at the first Secondary School Sports Dinner. The PE team and the Secondary sports leadership team have organized a buffet for students, families and friends to attend. Tickets are available from the leadership team at AED 60/each. The buffet starts at 6pm at RIS.
Year 9 students had the opportunity to take part in a trip to Orbi at Mirdiff City Centre. 50 students and staff experienced 4D cinema documentaries and hands on learning activities based on different animals. These included the mountain gorilla, meerkats and marine life in the deepest oceans. In one exhibit the students got to feel what it was like to experience temperatures of -15 degrees centigrade. A big change from our weather here. In the cinema we were showered with rain and in the gorilla exhibit students got to smell a gorillas armpit!
At the start of this week the Secondary School leadership team, Year 11 and some Year 10 students, ably assisted by Ms. Rai organized the Teacher Appreciation Afternoon. During the celebration Secondary students performed songs, guitars drums, recited poems and impersonated staff! Thank you to all those involved. It was amusing and well received.
Ramadan is fast approaching. With this in mind please remember the change in timings. During Ramadan lessons will continue to run as normal but will be shorter. Curriculum content will continue to be covered and learning will continue to happen as we have GL assessments and some internal examinations after Eid. Provision will also be made for fasting students to have their break and lunch times in the lecture theatre. The Secondary School leadership team have organised a Ramadan fridge to be placed at the front of the school. We kindly request donations from the RIS community of sealed drinks and fruit for those needing to break their fast away from home. Thank you for your support with this initiative. Thank you for your continued support. Bryony Lynch Deputy Head Secondary School
Peter Rowlands Head of Secondary School
D I ATe c h - 2 0 1 8 RIS students participated in the Innoventures DIATech competition held at the DIA on 26th April, 2018. All 4 schools of the group participated in this competition. RIS were placed 1st in Movie making and 3rd in Website Designing categories. We were also declared overall 1st. Runner up. Congratulations to the winners. 1st Position: Movie Making - Adulrehman Rizwan (8C), Mohammed Rizwan (9A), and Inam Zia (9C) 3rd Position: Website Designing - Safa Ahmed(9B), Meryem Amandurdyyeva(8A) Seema Vinod Head of ICT Department
Secondary School Counselling Department Talk on Mental Health A big thank you to Lighthouse Arabia, Kate Minosora, who came in to talk about the importance of Mental Health. The American Psychiatric Association defines Mental Health as effective functioning in daily activities resulting in:
Productive activities (work, school, caregiving) Healthy relationships Ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity
When we think about good Mental Health we must also consider our emotions (joy, anger, sadness, fear, love, disliking and liking). Difficult emotions do arise, and Kate Minosora shared various coping mechanisms which lead to a healthier way of dealing with our feelings. Warning signs that our Mental Health might be at risk are: Mood changes Emotional outbursts, such as anger Withdrawing from family and friends Issues with concentration, low motivation Deterioration in functioning Sleep or appetite change, fatigue Feeling indifferent, feeling worthless, excessive worrying
What we can do: Sleep time: Take 15 minute naps Don’t read on blue screens before sleeping Bring back the old-fashioned alarm clock Drink soothing tea Aromatherapy Cool Room 16-18 C
Connecting Time: Cell phone stack Schedule time to be with friends Make an effort to stay in touch
Play Time: Unstructured play Go to Bounce Play sports Join a team
Physical Time: 3x30 minutes a week of exercise Yoga 10k steps and 12 flights of stairs Walk while waiting for appointments Yoga
Downtime: Turn off the phone Make time to do nothing Sit on a beach Sit in your garden
Focus Time: Turn off notifications Eliminate interruptions Rigid schedule of the day Deep breathing, Mindfulness
Time In: Mindfulness Meditation Wheel of awareness Journal Writing Therapy
Investment Time: Put tools in your toolbox Helpful coping skills
Wishing you all a wonderful week, and please do come see me if you have any questions or concerns. Our next Parent Support Group meeting will towards the end of June. We are currently working on an exciting topic that will hopefully be a great ending to the academic year. Prisca Toland Secondary School Counsellor
Message from the Head of Sixth Form As part of the careers programme and as part of our wider curriculum, we would like to develop opportunities for students to complete work experience. This will form a valuable part of their future career consultations and contribute to their university and further employment opportunities. We hope to conduct work experience in the week commencing 1st July 2018, or for longer periods throughout the summer which can then also be in their home country.
We are looking for your support to provide a suitable opportunity and experience for one of our students. The work experience undertaken must take place within the Emirate of Dubai and be unpaid. It must be safe and represent a challenge for the student. The experience, skills, knowledge and contacts made should enhance their prospects of applying to university. Undertaking real life work experiences must include opportunities for them to grow. At the end of the period of work experience we will ask employers to write a short letter of recommendation/report on the student. This will contribute to our tracking and will form part of the reference we provide when students apply for university. If you would like more information or would like to offer a placement, please do not hesitate to contact me: leenaa@rafflesis.com Thank you for your continued support. Leena Atkins Head of Sixth Form