Mr Iain's overview

TERM 2 | 2018-2019

THE RAPTOR REPORTER

FROM MR. IAIN

Dear Raha Community,

It seems that I begin every newsletter by saying how incredibly productive the term has been, this term is certainly no exception! This newsletter is possibly the longest termly Principal’s newsletter that we have put together and it highlights so many events which have taken place. Not only has it been action-packed with events and activities, but it has also been full of accolades and celebrations.

The term began for many of the senior leadership team with our annual cycle of recruiting. I am delighted to say that we have our lowest turnover of teaching staff since we began recording this data. This demonstrates the positive dedication amongst the team and their commitment to Raha’s future. Our recruitment of just under twenty new teachers is almost complete and we look forward welcoming them at the start of the next academic year. We know they will be a wonderful addition to our community.

Some of the most memorable events for me have been the two exceptional performances from the Primary and Secondary students – ‘Once upon an Island’ and ‘Don’t Count Your Chickens Until They Cry Wolf’. As always, Mr Stephen and his team together with the students have surpassed themselves to bring the West End to Raha!

We also had our annual International Day, which is our biggest community event of the year. We estimate that the campus held about 3,500 people for the event and it was certainly an amazing celebration of the huge diversity we have at Raha. The food was as wonderful as always and the effort put into the various country stalls was incredible. There was a lot of fun rivalry between the countries which resulted in the event even better than before. A huge thank you to the Raha staff committee for all their efforts and our truly outstanding Parent Team for organising the event so very well.

We have been awarded many accolades this term and our students continue to perform exceptionally. We were delighted to be awarded IB School of the Year in the UAE by SchoolsCompared. This is a tremendous achievement to be recognised on a national level. We were also shortlisted in seven other categories and listed as finalists in the Art, Theatre and Performing Arts and Best School in the UAE categories. I am so delighted for everyone associated with this recognition.

Our students have participated in many competitions over the last term, including the following – World School Games, where we came 6th, Short and Sweet Drama Festival and Choirfest, where we got into the final of both, ITU triathlon, where we were the highest ranked school team. Our students also excelled, as they do each year, in the Taaleem Arabic Speaking Competition and Taaleem Quran Competition by coming first in virtually every category. There are many other celebrations to highlight, but this sample just shows how highly the school is achieving and developing its regional reputation.

We have introduced our new entrepreneurship strategy this year and to highlight its importance to us we have appointed a staff member, Mr George, as dedicated leader for entrepreneurship across the whole school. We are also extremely excited to announce that we will be opening internship opportunities in some of the best companies in Abu Dhabi to our students this summer as we roll out our first formal internship programme. We recently hosted a business breakfast here at the school with prominent figures in the business world to kick start the programme. They are looking forward to supporting this initiative to allow our students to gain the best experience in the world of work and to enable them to support their applications to universities. At the time of writing some of the finer details are not finalised, so I will update the community further on this project at the end of Term Three.

This newsletter would not be complete without a big mention for the Special Olympics. Not only did our students perform wonderfully as part of the opening ceremony but we also hosted three countries at school, who we will be supporting specifically during the competition: Barbados, Antigua & Dominica. The athletes all joined us in the week before the start of the Olympics, fresh of their long plane journey. It was a joy to see their excitement and to be part of this inspiring competition. We wish them the very best as they look to inspire the nation.

- Mr. Iain

SPRING BREAK REMINDER

A reminder that Raha will be closed for all students from 31 March - 11 April.

Classes will resume as normal on Sunday 14 April.

Admissions and Administration offices will remain open over the break. Office hours will be:

Sunday - Thursday 8:00am - 4:00pm

IMPORTANT DATES:

31 Mar - 11 Apr Spring Break

3 Apr* Isr’a Wal Miraj

14 Apr Term 3 Begins