Principal’s Termly Update Dear Parents,
As we approach the summer holiday it is always good to reflect on the wonderful events and successes we have had at Raha this year. Some of the key moments for me have been the fantastic performances in The World Scholars Cup, Tournament of Minds, the UAE Teen Sports and Fitness Awards, the incredible productions of ‘Scoundrels and Scallywags’, ‘Rats’ and ’The Search for Odysseus’, being ranked in the top 10 schools in the UAE, hosting our first ever TEDx event, continuing to achieve so many targets on ‘Raha’s Exceptional Journey’ and last, but by no means least, being ranked as ‘Outstanding’ in our inspection in February, making us now the only K-12 school in the city with this high accolade! It has certainly been a busy and productive year. One which has seen Raha really put itself on the map within the UAE and the wider region. We are now heavily oversubscribed with student applications and we are becoming inundated with interest from teachers wishing to join us. This is a wonderful position for us to be in and we hope to be able to make a special announcement about Raha’s major expansion plans early next academic year – watch this space! I am very proud to be working with such an incredibly talented and hard-working staff. Everyone in school is so committed to the students and to the school’s continued improvement and success. This collective spirit makes for an ethos of all-round excellence. However, we could not do this alone. The support of parents, the wider community and of course our incredibly talented students is what makes the school the true success it is. We are a ‘big-school, small-family’ and the ongoing respect and culture of supporting student success is what makes this school truly exceptional. I would like to say farewell and thank you to all the staff who are leaving us this year to continue their careers in other parts of the world and I would also like to wish parents and students the very best as they move onto new countries and new adventures. I wish you all a wonderful summer holiday and look forward to seeing returning families in September .
Raha Graduates
The graduating class of 2018 is the largest in the school’s history. Ninety-one students graduated from Grade 12 and will be heading off to universities all over the world in September. As always, we expect our average scores to be well above the world average. We will see our students going on to attend universities in 24 countries, with over 60 (so far) gaining a place with their first choice university. Our 2018 graduation ceremony was a wonderful event and was made especially memorable by being able to share Iftar with all the families. Well done to our graduates, best of luck in the future, and keep in touch!
Summer Campus Works During the summer the school campus will be undergoing some of its regular maintenance and upkeep works. There will be considerable painting work inside many buildings, plus some general aesthetic works. We will also be creating two new classrooms and one new science class, within the existing buildings. This will help us cater to larger numbers of students in the Diploma Programme.
In addition, we will be replacing a significant section of interlocking (the outdoor flooring tiles) in many external areas and we will also be fully replacing all the water pipes below the surface to ensure we have a backup line, in case of future leaks, so we do not have to manage any further school closures.
School Advisory Board Applications We are fortunate to have an excellent SAB (School Advisory Board) at Raha, whose role it is to support the Principal in guiding the school forward. This year a number of key people are leaving the school and we are looking for replacement members. If you are interested in joining the SAB please email Rebecca Rouen (PA to Principal) at rrouen@ris.ae with a one page CV and 150 word covering letter. Please provide as one document in PDF by 1st September 2018. Following this, existing members of the SAB will shortlist the most suitable candidates for joining and if you are chosen, you will be asked to meet with members of the SAB for a short question and answer session. We look forward to receiving quality applications from across the school community.
Entrepreneurship Strategy There were many positive outcomes from our inspection in February. One of the stand out things for us was the key area for improvement which the inspectors came up with related to entrepreneurship: Develop an all school programme to promote further students’ entrepreneurship by: i.
conducting an audit of current provision, identifying any gaps and looking for examples of best practice in the school and beyond ii. ensuring the participation of all stakeholders in enterprise programmes, including parents and the local community iii. providing a linked programme of age-appropriate enterprise activities and experiences for all students. We know our students are future global leaders and business entrepreneurs and we have been treating this recommendation very seriously, as we know we can do a much better job of providing entrepreneurship activities for all our students. We have sought input from staff and students to put together a whole school strategy which promotes entrepreneurship and business leadership skills. This is a work in progress and we hope to have the document finalised early in September. This will be implemented immediately so that we can begin our journey with students. We are very much in favour of quality over quantity, so the programmes we are adding into the school year will be well integrated, with the aim of developing the right skills for business leadership as young adults. We will share this strategy early in the new academic year.
School Calendar As you all know the school calendar has been a major issue this year. It is normally submitted and approved by the end of February, but this year the MoE did not provide the calendar parameters until last month and since that time we have been in discussion with ADEK to approve the best calendar for our students. This has taken longer than expected but we now have an approved calendar, which is attached.
Outstanding results in Ministry Exams Congratulations to our students in Grade 12 who sat the Ministry exams in Arabic and Islamic on their OUTSTANDING results! Thank you to all the teachers who provided support in Arabic A, Arabic B, Islamic A and Islamic B. All of the students passed comfortably with almost all students scoring significantly above ADEK’s expectations of achievement. According to ADEK’s criteria, the results across all Ministry subjects is ’Outstanding’!
Staff Leavers It is that time of year again when we bid farewell to some of our staff. We wish you all the very best on your next adventure!
Aaron Vigar
Jennifer Geronimo
Abdelrahman Abudahak
Josephine Senior
Alexandra Trotter
Juan Muniz
Anthony Kent Watene
Karen Sheils
Belinda Carlton
Lisa Holden
Breean Townsend
Lorraine Elderd
Carmela McParland
Maheen Habib Nayany
Carmen Barrack
Melissa Day
Caroline Allan
Nigel Woods
Cassandra Walker
Nisreen Akawi
Craig Eldred
Noelyn Selvanayagam
Emma Carey
Radia Loulou
Gabriella Redinger
Sharon Thompson
Ilka Dr Emig
Skyler Todd
Janelle Meisenhiemer
Vallari Chavan
Javier Hernandez
Wai Winnie Wong
Jenna McLarnon
Sporting Successes
Grade 11 student, Sarah Alameri, represented the UAE at the 17th Asian Karate Cup and brought home the BRONZE MEDAL
Raha student, Jana, was awarded the Abu Dhabi Junior Female Cyclist of the Year Award U18 on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Cycling Club Awards
This term has seen many sporting highlights, including:
Raha had a successful evening at the UAE Teen Sports and Fitness Awards:
Raha International School - 3rd Place Fittest School in the UAE Raha Tri Team - 1st Place UAE Best Sports Team - Mixed category Mr. Jarrod Purdy - 1st Place UAE Best Male Coach in Schools Ms. Debbie Schreiber - 3rd Place UAE Best Female Coach in Clubs/Academies Hannah Schreiber - 2nd Place UAE Female Sports Inspiration of the Year (with a special mention) Kirtika Rungta - 3rd Place UAE Female Special Recognition for Martial Arts Amir Abusafieh - 4th Place UAE Male Special Recognition for American Football Pauline De Groof - 1st Place UAE Best Female Triathlete Roughan Gaetz - 3rd Place UAE Best Male Triathlete Kirtika Rungta - 3rd Place UAE Best Netball Athlete U14 Julia-Rose Bryce - 2nd Place UAE Best Netball Athlete U16 Lily Christiansen - 2nd Place UAE Best Female Football Athlete Sophia Kaissi - 3rd Place UAE Best Female Football Athlete
Sporting Successes Raha Raptors Cricket and Rugby teams played extremely well and made many improvements and won several games! This term, many of our Raptors teams participated in the ADISSA end of season tournaments: U14 Boys Basketball achieved 2nd place
U17 Boys Volleyball won 1st place
U12 Boys Badminton made significant improvements!
U12 Girls Volleyball achieved 3rd place
U9 Girls Basketball achieved 6th place
U11 Boys Basketball did extremely well!
This term has seen many sporting highlights, including:
U16 Girls Netball Team came first in the Taaleem Tournament
The Swim Squads did well in the end of season ADISSA Swim Gala:
Adie Noor Nazri– 1st – 50m fly, 2nd 50m freestyle
Natalie Heinser – 1st 50m fly, 2nd 50m freestyle
Bryce Schreiber – 2nd 50m backstroke
Aziz Baruno – 1st 50m fly, 2nd 50m freestyle
Chayton Small – 1st 50m free, 3rd 100m freestyle
Azim Baruno – 1st 100m freestyle, 2nd 50m freestyle
Sofia Henao - 3rd place 25m Fly
Christian Herfst - 2nd place 50m Backstroke
Sporting Successes Raha Primary Students participated in the first ever ADISSA schools Gymnastics competition on June 25 th. All the students did really well in their events and we hope to make this an annual competition involving more students throughout the school for next year!
Name
Score
Results Gymnastics Compeition June 25 Place Event
Rebekah Kitson
9.6
3
U7 Floor event
Amelie Hough
9.5
4
U7 Floor event
Ella Stockley
9.5
1
U9 Floor event
Grace Little
8.9
2
U9 Floor event
Vella Nissinen
8.9
2
U9 Floor event
Jeeun Ju
8.6
4
U11 Floor event
Penelope Davis
9.6
4
U7 Vault Event
8
1
U9 Vault Event
Lucinda Simms
7.8
4
U9 Vault Event
Natalie Dietzler
6.9
2
U11 Vault Event
Rebecca Simms
0.8
4
Lucinda Simms
0.8
4
Vella Nissinen
0.8
4
Jeann Ju
0.5
3
Grace little
0.6
4
Ella Stockley
Seat drop to feet - Trampoline Seat drop to feet - Trampoline Seat drop to feet - Trampoline Back Drop to Feet - Trampoline Set Routine Trampoline
Performing Arts News This year the performing arts has really shone! A big congratulations to all who were involved and a big thank you to all staff, students and parents who supported along the way.
The Search for Odysseus—Grades 9-12
Rats!—Grades 2-5
Scoundrels and Scallywags—Grades 6-8
Student Achievements Below are a few examples of excellent achievements by our students this term:
Students Prathap and Prahlad successfully competed in the International Finals of the MaRRS International Spelling Bee. Prathap finished Top 50, while Prahlad finished in Top 20! Prahlad was also awarded the 'Budding Star' Award.
Grade 7 Social Sciences organised a football game to celebrate the Year of Zayed and promote unity and teamwork.
Raha students participated in the Taaleem Holy Qur’an competition in Dubai, and they did an amazing job!
Grade 10 student, Mouza, represented Raha at a fashion show contest in Dubai and won first place with her abaya design
Osrah raised over 9,000Dhs for Red Crescent charities!
Muhammad Raihan G11, Islamic (B) – 1st place. Muhammad Ali G9, Islamic (B) – 1st place. Aziz Baruno G8, Islamic (B) – 2nd place. Haitham Ayyash G7, Islamic (A) – 3rd place. Ibrahim Shurafa G8, Islamic (A) – 3rd place.
Student Achievements Raha hosted the first ever Middle East Tournament of Minds (TOM) and our students performed extremely well! Three teams will travel to Darwin, Australia in October to compete in the International Finals.
Secondary Social Sciences Winner: Magnets Sponsored by Magnets
Primary STEM Winner: The Razor Raptors
Secondary STEM Winner: The Tournamentors