SummeRISe - Issue 97

89 Thursday, 26 November Thursday 21 May 2015 Issue 97 GENERAL GENERAL GENERAL

NURSERY

KG FS

PRIMARY PRIMARY

SECONDARY SECONDARY

PARIS SCHOOL CLINIC

GENERAL Orange Appeal—Mums who share

Beach clean-up

Walkathon

IMPORTANT DATES DATE

EVENTS DECEMBER

Monday, 30 November Tuesday, 01 – Thursday, 03 December Tuesday, 08 - Wednesday, 9 December Wednesday, 09 December Thursday, 10 - Saturday, 12 December Friday, 11 - Friday, 18 December Tuesday, 15 December Wednesday, 16 December Thursday, 17 December Thursday, 17 December Friday, 18 December - Saturday, 02 January

Martyrs’ Day National Day Nursery Field Trip RIS Open Day - 9:00 - 10:30 am Cambridge World Schools Conference No school for students on Thursday, 10th December Ski Trip Primary and Secondary Reports FS2 Winter Concert Nursery—End of Term Reports End of Term and dismissal for Winter Break - Full day school Winter Break

JANUARY Sunday, 03 January

Students and Teachers Return to School

Sunday. 10 January

Football @ RWA U12, 14, 16

Thursday, 14 January

Orange Day—Nursery

Thursday, 14 January

Year 3 Field Trip

Monday, 18 January

FS 2 Field Trip

Monday, 18 January

RIS Open Day

Tuesday, 19 January—Thursday, 21 January

FS 2 Field Trip

Thursday, 21 January

Nursery Sports Day

Sunday, 24 January

Cross Country at DIA U8-U18

February Monday, 01 - Thursday, 04 February

Year 1 Field Trip

Tuesday, 02 February

Tennis @ CAS U8,9,10,11

Thursday, 04 February

Pink day—Nursery

Tuesday , 09 February

Mathematics Day FS 2

Wednesday, 10 February

Nursery - Open Day

Wednesday, 10 February

Art Trip - Year 4 - Year 6

Thursday, 11 February

Art Exhibition—Nursery

Thursday, 11 February

Camping - Year 4 - Year 6

Sunday, 21 February

Basket Ball @ DIA U12,14,16,18

Thursday, 25 February

PD half day—Noon dismissal

Sunday, 28 - Monday, 29 February

Book Week—Nursery

Sunday, 28 - Monday, 29 February

Year 4 Art and Islamic Field Trip

Message from the Principal

The UAE Vision for Education and the National Agenda The United Arab Emirates Vision 2021 has education as its foundation, both explicitly and implicitly. Vision 2021 includes aspirations for citizenship, a spirit of entrepreneurship, enhanced educational attainment, and a knowledge based economy driven by innovation, research, science and technology. The realization of these aspirations requires a world-class education system, responsive to national needs and aligned to international standards.

UAE School Inspection Framework, 2015-2016 p.7 UAE National Agenda Education is a fundamental element for the development of a nation and the best investment in its youth. UAE Vision 2021

In 2014, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE National Agenda as an extension to achieve the UAE Vision 2021 in time for the UAE Golden Jubilee Celebration. The UAE National Agenda covers the sectors of education, health, economy, police, housing, infrastructure and government services. Education is a particularly important focus of the UAE National Agenda as it includes eight objectives that should lead the UAE to being among the most successful countries in providing world-class education. These objectives target important areas in education related to students, teachers and school leaders.

PISA: to be among the 20 highest performing countries in PISA Completion of high school education: to ensure that 90% of Emirati students complete their high school education High skills in Arabic language: to ensure that 90% of Grade 9 students develop high skills in Arabic language Highly-effective school leadership: to ensure that 100% of public schools have highlyeffective school leadership

TIMSS: to be among the 15 highest performing countries in TIMSS Attending pre-primary: to ensure that 95% of children in the UAE attend pre-primary education Highly-quality teachers: to ensure that 100% of schools have high-quality teachers University foundation programme: to ensure that no students need to join the university foundation programme.

Only when school leaders embrace the UAE National Agenda targets will the UAE make further improvements, eventually celebrating in 2021 by being among countries that provide world-class education.

By working towards these objectives, we will take actions to make our school a high-performing educational institution in the UAE, where students achieve similarly to those in the best educational systems in the world. http://www.vision2021.ae/en/national-priority-areas/first-rate-education-system

Please note the above content is taken from The UAE School Inspection Framework, 2015-2016 p11.

RIS to host Global Cambridge Schools Conference and International Recognition, 2015 Education fit for the future: planning for a changing world Dear RIS community, I am delighted that in three weeks’ time, RIS will host the Global Cambridge Schools Conference. This conference will focus on how teaching, assessment, learning spaces (real and virtual) and leadership will need to evolve in order to enhance student learning in the future.

The aim is to provoke discussion about what schools and teachers can do to improve professional practice, and to provide ideas that teachers and school leaders can take away with them.

Questions that will be considered during the conference include:  How can new media and digital technologies be best used to support student learning?  How will assessment for learning practice develop?  How will the role of the teacher change?  What will high stakes summative assessment look like in the 2020s and what are Cambridge's plans for computer-based testing?  What will curriculum look like in the 2020s? Will it be disciplinary or interdisciplinary?  How can schools develop students equipped for future study and the workplace who are confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged?

The greatest value will come from Cambridge teachers reflecting on what they hear in light of their own experiences, and sharing this with others. Something especially powerful and worthwhile occurs when teachers from so many different countries and contexts reflect on professional practice. Guest speakers include: Dr Tony Little was Headmaster of Eton College from 2002 until August 2015. He has been President of the International Boys' School Coalition, Chair of WLSA (an organisation which connects schools in China with the West) and a governor of a number of state and independent schools.

Professor Gordon Stobart is Emeritus Professor of Education, Institute of Education, University College London. He was a founder member of the Assessment Reform Group which has promoted Assessment for Learning internationally.

Dr. Veronica Boix Mansilla is a Principal Investigator and Steering Committee member at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she leads the IdGlobal Project and chairs the Future of Learning Institute. Veronica teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has taught the University of Buenos Aires. She serves as an advisor at a variety of institutions including the Asia Society, Association of American Colleges and Universities and Council of Chief State School Officers amongst others.

This is a wonderful opportunity for RIS and we look forward to welcoming some 300 delegates from around the world.

On a separate note, I would very much like to extend my sincere appreciation to students, staff, parents, PARIS, the Board and all members of the RIS community for their tremendous hard work and support in the lead up and throughout our joint inspection DSIB/ BSO. Whilst at this stage I am unable to share with you the detailed feedback, I am confident that we have built on our strengths, addressed areas of development and have clear goals ahead in our journey ‘Towards Excellence’. In, sum we are a good school with some outstanding features and this is recognised by the KHDA and I am confident that RIS will soon be officially recognised as a British Schools Overseas.

Michael William Clack Principal Please note that as per the school calendar and previous editions of SummaRISe, apart from student official guides/ hosts, Thursday, 10th December will be ‘no school’ for students.

Eco – Committee News We would like to thank all students and parents for taking part in the ‘Box Appeal’ campaign this year. This was a great way to get involved with our community and support the construction workers in Dubai. Because of your help we were able to collect 260 boxes.

The Eco – Committee participated in the Dubai Municipality’s “Clean up the World Campaign”. The aim of the campaign was to spread awareness on global community concerns for the environment and how each individual can make a positive contribution to a cleaner and healthier world. The Eco – Committee are currently working on creating recycling centres throughout the school with the support of the Art Department.

The students in Years 2, 4 & 5, took part in the initiative “Beati – My environment because I want my world” by Imdaad. The activity was designed to train our future generation to begin recycling and preserve our environment. Parents please continue to encourage your child to bring in their reusable water bottle and continue recycling at home. We appreciate your time and continued support.

Hello my name is Faryal Saeed and I am the Learning Support Teacher for Year 3 and Year 5. I have a Bsc in Mathematics and Computer Science from University of London and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) , King’s College London. I also have Qualified Teacher Status(QTS) from UK. I am currently undertaking a Special Education Needs Coordination – Postgraduate Certificate Course (NASENCO) - Masters Level with Leeds Beckett University (UK).

I am from London but have lived in the Middle East for around eight years. I have sixteen years of hands on SEN experience and have worked in various settings in UK, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. I believe that all children with special needs just need a little help, a little hope, and someone who believes in them. I have always been passionate about ensuring all children achieve their full potential and especially for special needs so they can be a valued part of society. Towards this aim, I stay connected with classroom teachers, family members and other specialists involved with SEN. I regularly advise individuals and institutions on applying best practices and innovative techniques.

On a more personal note, I am an outgoing person and enjoy travelling, cooking and reading.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Room: S027 (Second Floor) - Email: faryals@rafflesis.com

RIS TS R O P S Football The football playoffs are set for this week to determine who makes the finals for the Dubai Football Leagues.

U9s finished fourth in the West Division after a very close game against Jumeirah Primary School finished 3-2. The boys will now play RWA to decide if they make the finals in December. Well done to Jose Maria Romero on a great performance last week and a superb goal by Muhammed Rahimberdev who scored one of the goals of the year by putting the ball in the top right corner.

U10s finished third overall with recent games against GEMS International School, Al Khail. The boys and Alicia produced the best performance of the year to win 3-1. Dontaine had an outstanding performance who worked extremely hard and competed for every ball. The Captain, Liro led the team by scoring twice in the game. Mohammad scored an additional goal to ensure the team stayed top of the league.

Amru played well under pressure and defended every ball. Alicia played for the boys team for the first time and was unlucky not to score on two occasions. Well done to all involved and we wish them well on Wednesday against Raffles World Academy.

U11s finished the highest by two recent victories against GEMS and a fantastic victory against RWA. They have played against Emirates International School in the 2nd division playoffs on Tuesday, 24th October.

Matteo, Federico and Maktoum produced some great attacking and defences performances in the last two games. Well done to all.

Swimming Team Esme, Leila and Maya took 3rd place in both the Medley relay and the freestyle relay beating CAS well in both relays.

U14 Boys Tommaso, Andrey, Lorenzo and Micheal placed 2nd in the Medley relay and with the addition of Giovanni in the freestyle relay the team finished second. Their display showed the team’s strength against some very talented RWA and DIA swimmers. Well done to all swimmers in a very successful Gala finishing overall 3rd place with DIA getting first and RWA 2nd place.

We had twenty eight primary students that competed in forty nine of 25m races and relay at The Nord Anglia International School “Sprint Gala”

Luca Volani

Suus Van Dam

U12 girls relay team: Julie, Suus and Philippine IVEI Secondary Swim Gala- DIA U12 Girls Suus, Phillippine and Julie picked up 3rd place in the Freestyle relay. Suus also placed 2nd place in the very challenging 100m IM and 3rd in the 50m Butterfly.

U12 Boys Filippo, Berik, Luca and Alex had an excellent opening race in the 100m Medley where they had a very close finish with DIA and placed 2nd place by a 100th of a second.

Luca went on to get Gold in the 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly and 50m Backstroke, swimming superbly all day. Luca finished with a very close race in the 100m IM with again a 100th of a second separating the 2 swimmers and Luca finishing second place.

Luca was RIS’s only Gold medalist of the day. Well done.

Alex also picked up second place in 50m breaststroke. All U12 boys competed very strongly all day and achieved 3rd place in the Freestyle relay.

U14 Girls

Round 1 – Year 3 to Year 6

Stand out Performers:

3rd Place overall out of six schools participated

25m Butterfly – Y5 - Matteo V. - 2nd place

3 x 2nd place individual race

25m Backstroke – Y3 – Akos – 2nd place

2 x 2nd place relay

25m – Breaststroke – Y4 – Maria – 2nd place

7 x 3rd place individual

4x25 Medley Relay – Y4 girls – 2nd place

3 x 3rd place relay

4x25 Medley Relay – Y5 boys – 2nd place

10 x 4th place individual 1 x 4th place relay

Walkathon – Beach Run On Thursday, 19th November we had our annual beach run which was dedicated to raising funds for our GIVE foundation. All students have been busy collecting sponsorship with Daniyal Awan from 3A raising over 1,800AED. All students walked from RIS to the beach and took part along Umm Sequim beach beside the iconic, Burj Al Arab. Well done to all of those who raised money and took part in a great event.

Basketball U16 Boys Well done to the U16 team that stayed top of the Dubai League by beating Dubai College—DC 50-45 RIS Summary of Game: We started the first quarter a bit slow but we ended up by twelve points at the beginning of the second quarter. Half time we were leading by twenty points having our best player Tyano on the bench with four personal faults. Giovani took over and led the team to a fourteen points difference at the end of 3rd quarter. Two minutes left and we were leading by eight with Tyano and Giovani out for five personal faults.

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Dear Parents, Grandparents and Extended family, The way that children learn is a wonder in itself. You may find your child’s teacher drawing your attention to a particular skill that your child has been focusing on, or one that as teachers, we feel the need for them to focus on. Simply put, this stems from the Montessori philosophy which believes in ‘Sensitive periods’ in a child’s life. According to Montessori, from birth until about the age of six, we seem to learn from our environment without any conscious effort. Young children become skilled at numerous activities without formal instruction. They may not even be aware that they are learning. According to supporters of the idea of sensitive periods, this occurs because it is very easy for children to acquire certain abilities during a specific sensitive period. Also, once a sensitive period is passed, the development of the brain has progressed past the point where that particular ability can be easily absorbed. After this, the ability must be formally taught, it will take a great deal of effort to learn and will not be as readily acquired by the child.

Sensitive periods in the first three years of life Age range

Sensitive period

0–3 (peak at 3)

a strong urge to use all the senses to explore the world

0–3

an intense interest in spoken language

0–3 (peak at 2)

a love of order and routine

2–3

an interest in precise controlled movement 2½–3½ a

2½–3½

a fascination with very small things

The sensitive periods of this phase ebb and flow. The love of order and routine, for example, peaks at about the age of two when the need to orient the self in the world is at its most intense. A toddler’s tantrum is interpreted by Montessori educators as a response to something perceived to be out of place or a familiar routine disrupted, in other words, an assault on the sensitive period for order. Toddler tantrums illustrate just how intensely young children experience this sensitive period when it is at its peak.

Moving on to another important point in the interest of our children’s safety and food regulations.

Kindly check the expiry date of the juice, yoghurt, milk, cheese and other products when you pack your child’s snack bag.

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DAY!

It has been noticed that sometimes a product is already expired when it comes to school and this can lead to the children falling ill. Please check the expiry date when packing your child’s snack.

During Pick up and Drop off times, the utmost priority of the teachers is to ensure that the children are safely handed over to you. Hence we would like to request all parents not to have long conversations with the teacher at the class door. This can lead to a distraction and the teacher will not be able to give you her undivided attention. All teachers have a DID day in case of any issue or concern that you would like to discuss with them. Kindly make an appointment for the DROP IN DID day or you may choose wait on one of the Nursery benches till all the children have gone home and then the teachers will be more than happy to talk.

In keeping with the joyous celebration for UAE’s 44th National Day, the curriculum in the classes this fortnight will be focused on the UAE, its rich culture and the city we live in, Dubai. We will talk about the national symbols of the UAE, the seven Emirates, the leaders who have given vision to the country and aspects of food and tradition.

A big thank you is due to all the parents who have contributed their time and resources towards making our celebration in school a success. The Nursery is already in the process of creating the UAE National flag with our tiny handprints. Please come and visit the Festive area outside the Nursery Office.

Garima Kapoor Nursery Coordinator

Chef Vijay (Kavya’s dad) visiting us during our community helpers topic

I am learning colours

Blue day

Working Together

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FOUNDATION STAGE/YEAR 1 NEWS Dear Parents, As the beautiful Dubai winter weather is upon us, I would like to send a gentle reminder regarding the school policy relating to sickness.

Please do not bring your child to school if he/she has the following:Fever Diarrhoea Skin rash Sickness/tummy pains Please remember to email your Homeroom teacher if your child will be absent from school. This year H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the UAE National Agenda, education is one of the sectors which falls into this agenda, 2 of these objectives are as follows:Attending Pre-Primary: To ensure that 95% of children in the UAE attend pre-primary education.

Highly-quality teachers: To ensure that 100% of schools have high-quality teachers.

We did very well in our inspection this year in many areas; the above points fell into these categories. As you know we cater for 550 families in our early years with attendance at 95%, well done parents.

Consistency in school attendance reflects well in the progress of your childs education.

We have ongoing training sessions throughout the year with all our teachers and CRA’s to maintain and moderate best teaching practices so the children get the best education.

We have National Day coming up; we are all very excited to celebrate the 44 th year of the seven Emirates becoming one. It has been wonderful seeing the parent body getting involved and helping out with this important event.

Please read on to see what the children have been doing in the early years.

Susie Mcshane KG Coordinator

FS2 News “The Greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence”. Maria Montessori They children are demonstrating an increasing confidence and independence in choosing and performing their Montessori activities. They enjoyed learning about different topics such as “My city, my Dubai” whereby they learned many interesting facts about Dubai. The children also learned about plants and actively participated in the planting day.

In addition to classroom activities, the children had the opportunity to attend the field trip and spent half a day at Al Jalila Centre where they learned about the different activities of the centre including arts and music; all relating to the UAE.

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FS2 Team Year 1 Walking down the Year 1 corridor few days back, I could not help but smile as I overheard a constructive discussion between two Year 1 children as they stopped to admire the display board outside. The board was filled with colours of different food items classified into different food groups. I wished I could be a part of the conversation between these two children, to listen to what they had to say about healthy eating. All I heard was a sentence; “my mum gives me healthy food to school, I am healthy.

The quality of our fully equipped science environment both in the science laboratory and in our Montessori classrooms, helps these little minds wonder, discover and explore through play, equipping them for life, stimulating ideas and cognitive development. Our students can relate the topics they are learning to their daily lives and experiences; this goes further to guide them as they construct their world based on their experiences and their learning.

Research has shown that science is important in early childhood as it forms the basis for future scientific understanding and also build important skills and attitude for learning (National Research Council, 1996).

The goal of science is to understand the natural world through scientific inquiry. In Year 1 we provide an opportunity for the young inquiring minds to critically think, discuss, and find answers to scientific questions. This reflects in our science themes for this term such as growing plants, living and growing, healthy eating, and my city my Dubai and the list goes on.

Recently our children explored their creative side at the Al-Jalila Cultural Centre. They had an opportunity to participate in a talk show hosted by Pearl Radio, where they were interviewed about their knowledge of the UAE. They were very excited to put a face to their favourite show host ‘Bunny’.

The children are looking forward to celebrating National Day with their friends, and dressing in their best outfits and exploring food from the UAE. We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy National Day. Year 1 Team

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dear Students and Parents, Students of RIS have enjoyed a huge range of extracurricular activities in the last two weeks, culminating in the celebration of the UAE National Day. The importance of these experiences cannot be underestimated, as students cultural understanding develops so too does their tolerance of others and the acquisition of increasing levels of respect among peer groups. The students and staff have delved into a deeper knowledge of anti -bullying practices to further embed the learning around such areas. During the KHDA / BSO inspection week our students were commended for their interactions and personal development; we are proud to have a community of well-mannered students striving to improve. Please make sure students attend school in the correct school uniform - black shoes on non-PE days and the regulation school jumper / sweater must be worn.

RIS is proud to host the Cambridge World School’s conference on Thursday 10 th – Saturday 12th December. This conference will focus on how teaching, assessment, learning spaces (real and virtual) and leadership will need to evolve in order to enhance student learning in the future. We welcome teachers from across the globe as well as three keynote speakers to the school including Tony Little, the former Headmaster of Eton College. Opportunities such as this conference for our staff emphasize the commitment RIS has to lifelong learning.

Healthy lifestyles continues to be a drive at RIS with students having more opportunities than ever to engage in physical activities and adopt healthy eating habits. One such habit is the importance of a nutritious breakfast, prior to starting school each day and we encourage all students to begin the day in the right way by adopting such habits. These healthy habits link to one of our core values - Responsibility. Being responsible for our health and well-being has dramatic effects on our performance in a range of areas including our academic achievement.

Last week the students in Years 4 -6 took part in the ACER IBT examinations in English, Mathematics and Science. These tests are benchmarked internationally and provide the school with detailed information of a student’s strengths and areas of growth as well as providing additional insight into how we, as a school, are supporting our student’s learning to move, ‘’Towards Excellence”

Matthew Barrett Deputy Head Primary School

Year 2 News Year 2 had a great week full of loads of fun and interesting activities and learning. In Mathematics, following on from our work on 2D shapes, we learned about 3D shapes and their properties. We made 3D shapes using Blu -Tack and tooth picks.

In English, we were learning about fables and how they can teach us lessons about life. We read ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’. Then, some of us planned and wrote our own fable. There were lots of interesting ideas. We have also been focusing on adjectives and how we can use them to make our writing more exciting.

In Science, we have been learning about how everything in the world is some kind of ‘matter’. We performed several experiments on the three states of matter using the scientific method. We looked at how heating up and cooling down solids, liquids and gases can cause these states to change and how mixing different states together can have very interesting results. The experiment on mixing baking powder and vinegar was very exciting and the children enjoyed working with their new friend ‘Sammy the Snowman’.

Year 2 Team Year 3 News Year 3 were busy actively discussing Anti-bullying in school throughout the week. A talk was held during which the children discussed what bullying is. The children made wonderful Anti-bullying posters with powerful messages which were displayed throughout the school.

Year 3 also had a very informative and fun presentation on Road Safety. The children learned the meaning of road signs, the importance of seatbelts as well as general road safety rules. They were encouraged to remind parents of the rules also.

The children then drove their own cart, throughout the “town” created, following all the rules and road signs previously learned.

They earned their very own driving license at the end. In English, Year 3 students learned about rhyming couplets and different types of poetry. In Mathematics, students learned how to tell the time. Lots of clock-work took place, with students showing a keen interest in mastering this topic. In Science, a review of the senses took place, including an experiment about smell. In Social Studies, students became historians, exploring the history of Dubai and comparing Dubai now, to Dubai in the 1970’s.

Year 3 Team

Year 4 We had a wonderful day in Year4 on book character dress up day. While the teachers of Year 4 dressed up as Willy Wonka’s the children blew us away with some fantastic costumes. On the day we spoke to the students about the importance of reading and we encourage parents to place an emphasis and importance on it at home too through the use of our reading logs.

In English, we have focused on describing a setting and creating an atmosphere as well as describing characters with attention to both physical characteristics and personality traits. We have also completed a lot of work based on newspapers where we have been busy creating our own articles based on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The students have been very creative with some wonderful headlines and paragraphs.

In Mathematics, we are working on different strategies and word problems in multiplication and division. We are encouraging students to continue to practice their times tables at home as often as possible.

In Science, we have moved onto habitats. Within this topic students have the opportunity to discover and learn about a variety of animal habitats. We have looked at many different animals and researched ways that these animals adapt to their habitats. As an introduction to the topic, we gave the students a range of ‘I can’ statements based on the topic e.g. “I can research an animal found within the U.A.E.” This helped students to understand their learning journey and what they are expected to have achieved by the end of the unit.

In Social Studies, students are learning about the U.A.E. We are looking at the seven Emirates of the UAE and the different characteristics of each one. Students have done many class activities related to U.A.E such as, culture and clothing. The students from the UAE have been very helpful and happy to share their knowledge and experiences of their home country with their class mates.

Year 4 Team Year 5 Students are busy learning about persuasive text. We started learning about advertisements and how they affect people. The students made their own advertisement for Raffles International School. They also made a travel brochure persuading people to come to UAE linking it to the Social Studies topic on UAE. In Science, we are learning about evaporation and condensation with the students doing a lot of experiments in class and in the Science lab. We found different liquids evaporate other than water and also at different temperatures.

In mathematics, students have begun their topic of measurement and are closely learning about estimating and measuring weight. Students used objects in and around the classroom to first estimate and then choose the correct unit of measurement to find its weight. We did enjoy the walkathon on the beach and are also looking forward to celebrating the UAE National Day. Year 5 Team

Year 6 News Its been a busy two weeks in Year 6. Last week we had our KHDA/BSO inspection.

The students did extremely well showcasing their skills and talents. They did a great job representing the school in a positive way. On Thursday, 19 th November we had our Beach Run by the Burj Al Arab. The students raised money to support the school’s GIVE foundation and raised funds for a school in Nepal. All students did well running against their peers.

In English, the children have been working on their persuasive writing leaflets that were based on their Nessie Theme Park. They used imperative (bossy) verbs and boastful language to persuade others to attend their park. Ask them to play the “Ring Ring” game with you.

In Science, students explored ways of caring for the environment. They explored different ways of conserving the resources on earth and researched alternative sources of energy. They also used technology to present their findings on Think Link, Padlet or Prezi.

In Mathematics, we have been looking at measurement and using our conversions skills. Children have practised their skill of multiplying and dividing using 10’s, 100’s and 1000’s. Children worked in groups to solve a Tarsia puzzle as well as figuring out how long it would take them to crawl to the Mall of the Emirates from school. A little over three hours for some in case you are wondering.

United Arab Emirates celebrates the 44th UAE National Day on the 2nd and 3rd of December. On Thursday, 26th November RIS is partaking in its National Day celebrations. Students will come to school dressed in the UAE national dress or in the colours of the UAE National Flag. There will be activities, assemblies and art and craft related to the UAE. Happy 44Th birthday UAE. Year 6 Team Primary School Student Council News ‘Kids Who Share’ The school has initiated the collection of oranges for “Kids Who Share’ in conjunction with “Mums Who Share” once again this year.

The Primary School Student Council is actively involved in this cause and is working on the campus to ensure the smooth collection of the oranges. A Year 6 parent has volunteered to organize the delivery to the sites. This also ties in with the core values of the school, Care, Commitment and Responsibility. Oranges collected are sent to workers at construction sites at different times during the year.

Two collections have already taken place on Thursday, 22 nd October 2015, and Wednesday, 18th November 2015. We look forward to the next collection on Wednesday, 9th December 2015.

ICT@Primary School Our students have been working on three important modules of the Cambridge ICT starters- namely Communication, Research and Control and Sensing. The applications used were MS Paint, MS Word, animation through abcyy.com, Photostory, 3D cubes, Thinglink and Scratch programming language. Taking into consideration the UAE National day most of the assignments were based on UAE themes. Samples of some of the work are given below.

Year 5 –Link to Interactive images

Year 2 Poster

http://bit.ly/1Ia89Wz http://bit.ly/1NL1fZz http://bit.ly/1Ia8dpi http://bit.ly/1NL1hRl

Year 6- Padlet http://bit.ly/1PJvHct

Primary School Art In the Primary School, during Art lessons students have been learning about the Formal Elements of Art (line, shape, pattern, tone, colour and texture). They have enjoyed putting their creative minds to work and designing colourful patterns that incorporate all the formal elements.

Students paint canvases to promote recycling Primary and Secondary after-school Art Club students collaborated with the Environment Committee to paint canvases for the recycling centres. A total of four canvases were painted to promote and clearly highlight the 4 recycling centres around the school. As a team, students brainstormed and sketched out their ideas, and used a combination of paints and oil pastels to add bright colours. What a fantastic way to create art for the environment.

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SECONDARY SCHOOL Message from the Deputy Head—Secondary School Last week was incredibly busy with our school joint inspection from the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau and British School’s Oversees teams. This process is highly valuable on the journey of school improvement and gave us all an opportunity to demonstrate the progress we have made over the past year. It was a refreshing week in which our students and teachers were able to show and tell our visitors the developments that have been made and future plans that are in place on our journey, ‘Towards Excellence.’

This week our students have taken the International Benchmark tests in English, Mathematics and Science. These tests are important to help us measure our student’s achievement and progress against other schools in the Middle East and internationally. They also help significantly in supporting the students in our core subject areas. We will share the results of the tests with students and parents upon receipt of them from the Australian Council for Educational Research.

On Thursday, 26th November, RIS will celebrate the UAE National Day. Secondary School students will be involved in a range of activities including “The Seven Emirates” display work, watching and discussing a National Day video, watching and participating in performances and songs, sharing a wonderful Arabic feast and displaying their Art skills on a graffiti wall. All of these opportunities will encourage our students to use a range of skills across a common theme.

I am delighted to announce that the U-16 RIS Boys Basketball won the Dubai League last week. The final game of the season was against Dubai College in which the boys won to secure the title. Taking into consideration the average age (and height) of our team, compared to the schools we have competed against makes this an even more incredible achievement. Congratulations to all players and Coaches Lambrias and Teodorescu. Long may their success continue.

Many of our students continue to be awarded Core Value certificates in assembly, which clearly demonstrates their excellent attitude to learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Students also continue to lead their own assemblies and present their ideas in the Lecture Theatre every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning. Parents are more than welcome to attend Secondary School assemblies.

Three of our students also displayed their outstanding musical talents at the Classical Music Soiree held at DIA on Monday, 16th November. The three girls named themselves KFC for the event – The Korean Fantastic Classics. Well done to Gaeun Kim (8A) – Cello, Byeolyi Yun (7C) Piano and Haneul Yun (8A) – Violin.

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 ianp@rafflesis.com

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Year 7 News “Bullying is for bulls, be human”, were the wise and witty words from Dr. Samineh I. Shaheem, our guest speaker last week. During Anti-Bullying week it has been both inspiration and encouraging to witness Year 7 pupils collaborating effectively in order to get this message across to the masses. It is a testimony of the will to do what is right for the right reasons, and that is the satisfaction of knowing that we are making a difference by striving to make Raffles International a school where all pupils are happy, caring and confident individuals. As you go about the halls this week be sure to take a look at some of the wonderful displays the pupils have created to tackle bullying once and for all.

7C and 7B should also be commended for their thought provoking assembly this week, which enabled us all to consider what bullying really is and how our actions may affect those around us.

Last week’s Core Values Certificates were awarded to the following students for demonstrating the following characteristics: Collaboration: Insuh Lee Integrity: Sara Hassan Asad Hasan Abdulwahid Respect: Hissa Mohammed Almehairi Responsibility: Seif Eldin Kadous Keep up the great work Year 7 Year 8 News Year 8 students have had a busy but successful few weeks in their studies. The inspectors from DSIB and BSO attended many Year 8 classes and were impressed with their subject knowledge and progress in lessons.

Last week marked Anti-Bullying week and students participated in a competition to design their Form class doors for the occasion. Assemblies this week were also focused on anti-bullying. Ms Botha’s class Year 8C delivered an excellent and informative assembly including a presentation, poem, sketch, comic strip and poster display on the topic. Students also attended a whole secondary assembly on anti-bullying delivered

by Dr. Samineh Shaheem (Cross Cultural Psychologist) ensuring students know who to turn to if they need to speak to someone.

In Science, they learned about the structure of the human respiratory system and the processes involved in breathing. As part of this Biology topic, students planned and conducted investigations to improve their scientific enquiry skills. They also used ICT to develop their research skills and to gain deeper knowledge of the human respiratory system.

In Art, students are working on a National Day project. They are designing and painting an Aboriginal style painting using the colours of the UAE flag.

French, was very hands on, as students were looking at clothes and planning a fashion show.

In Humanities, Year 8 students studied about urbanisation throughout history and in modern times, using Manchester as a city that grew rapidly before declining in the early twentieth century and is currently experiencing a modern regeneration. They also looked at other examples around the world.

In Mathematics, Year 8 students have been working on angles. The have been trying to prove as to why angles in a triangle sum to 180° and applying their knowledge to solve angle problems.

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Year 9 & 10 Another couple of weeks have gone by and we are already in the last week of November. Students were quite busy recently as there were a lot of things going on in school in the last couple of weeks.

During the KHDA/BSO joint inspection, students had the opportunity to show to the inspectors all these wonderful things they do in class. Some of the students even met with the inspectors to discuss academic issues and school life in general. Also there are a lot of preparations going on for the National Day celebrations where each class has been assigned a specific topic to prepare and present. At the same time, students have been preparing for their IBT exams, in English, Mathematics and Science.

Last week’s Core Values Certificates were awarded to the following students for demonstrating the core values of our school: Shayaan Hashmi (Year 10A) Noud Van Dam (Year 10B) Vasilia Gainanshina (Year 9A) Shahd Tarik Saleh (Year 9B) Mete OsmanBulbul (Year 9C) Here are some tips for successful study habits for students to apply to all of their classes: Try not to do too much studying at one time.

If you try to do too much studying at one time, you will tire and your studying will not be very effective.

Space the work you have to do over shorter periods of time. Taking short breaks will restore your mental energy.

Plan specific times for studying.

Study time is any time you are doing something related to schoolwork. It can be completing assigned reading, working on a paper or project, or studying for a test. Schedule specific times throughout the week for your study time. [http://www.how-to-study.com/study-skills-articles/study-habits-of-successful-students.asp]

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ICT@ Secondary School Year 7 Students learnt to find information from Google maps like direction, distance between places, traffic conditions and various route options. They created personalized Maps where they plotted important places related to the History of UAE. They added description and images related to the places marked. It was enjoyable to see students use shared maps to pin their place of birth and discuss the importance of each place marked.

Year 8 Students generated 3D shapes using Google sketch up. They rotated and extruded an image using push pull tool and orbit tool. Students created various model using this application.

Year 9 Students created and manipulated images using various tools in Adobe Photoshop. They cropped and blended two images using lasso tool and used cloning to replicate image in a layer. They recolored images using the brush tool. They recreated flowers using UAE National flag colors.

Year 10 Students created a master slide using presentation software. They learnt about RFID and generated shapes using MSW Logo commands. They learnt about various storage devices and its application.

Art Club In Art club we were asked by the ECO Committee to paint a canvas for the canteen to encourage students to recycle food. We all stared by brainstorming ideas and making designs for the final canvas.

We worked from pictures provide by Mrs Azhar and ideas from our imagination. After this we discussed each other’s ideas and selected the best ideas and came up with a final design. After this we had to agree on a slogan as this would be the key feature of the canvas, this was difficult as there were so many suggestions to choose from.

We first started by sketching the design onto the canvas, we took it in turns to draw, this was to ensure that all the drawings were in proportion. We then selected our colours and started to paint. We divided the canvas into section and we each painted a different section. Once the canvas was painted it was outlined in black pen and finishing touches were added.

We had fun drawing the different fruits and foods. The Final piece looks marvellous, we love how it turned out and we enjoyed working as a team and making something that will encourage the school to ‘Think Before u throw’

Elyour 7B, Safa 6B, Nathalie 7B, Nazneen 6D, Sofiya 6D, Chlo 6C, Babiker 7A, Elyor 7B