Secondary Newsletter - September 2019

TERM 1 2019

SECONDARY

Important Dates:

SEPTEMBER 10TH SECONDARY MEET & GREET@ 6:00PM

NEWSLETTER

FROM MR. PAUL...

Dear Raha Community,

A warm welcome back to everyone from our Secondary Leadership team. We

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22ND RECOGNITION ASSEMLIES

have been busy over the past few weeks orienting our new staff and getting the campus ready for another successful year. This week we have enjoyed meeting our new students and families as well as seeing all of our fantastic returning

OCTOBER 1ST GRADE 6 & 12 THREE WAY CONFERENCES OCTOBER 9TH - 14TH MID-TERM BREAK NOVEMBER 12TH & 13TH SECONDARY THREE WAY CONFERENCES

students well rested from the summer break.

Our success as a school community will always be dependent on our ability to recruit and retain the highest quality teaching professionals and support staff. This year we welcomed back 95% of our Secondary staff who continue to grow and develop with the school. We have also added eight new specialist teachers to our teaching teams to better support our expanding Diploma Programme.

I’d like to take this opportunity to invite all of our Secondary parents to our annual ‘Meet and Greet’ on Tuesday September 10th from 6pm. Please have a look at the schedule below in order to attend the sessions relevant to each Grade level and meet all of us involved in the education and well-being of your children. I’m very much looking forward to seeing you then.

Best regards,

Paul Ede Head of Secondary. pede@ris.ae

TERM 1 2019

SECONDARY

Important Dates:

SEPTEMBER 10TH SECONDARY MEET & GREET@ 6:00PM

NEWSLETTER

FROM MS. NAOMI...

Dear Parents and Students,

At Raha well-being has an equal importance to academic successes. We strive

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22ND RECOGNITION ASSEMLIES

to build resilience, provide opportunities for personal growth and development, develop healthy habits and guide students to approach challenges from a global mindset. It is also important for them to feel empowered by their

OCTOBER 1ST GRADE 6 & 12 THREE WAY CONFERENCES OCTOBER 9TH - 14TH MID-TERM BREAK NOVEMBER 12TH & 13TH SECONDARY THREE WAY CONFERENCES

strengths. Ultimately, we are all working to help our students flourish.

As a school we are equipping our staff with approaches that will guide our students to take control of their own well-being. During staff induction week, teachers and assistants were introduced to the Positive Education framework.

Positive education approaches education in a proactive manner by providing experiences and opportunities for students to ‘flourish’ utilising their own virtues and strengths.

Throughout the year we will endeavour to incorporate the positive education framework through tutorials, moral education, pos@raha activities and whole school events.

Raha is a family and we are very happy you are a part of it.

Kind regards,

Naomi Clancy Deputy Head of Secondary - Student Wellbeing nclancy@ris.ae

TERM 1 2019

SECONDARY

Important Dates:

SEPTEMBER 10TH SECONDARY MEET & GREET@ 6:00PM

NEWSLETTER

FROM MR. VAUGHAN...

Dear Parents and Students,

In the Middle Years Programme we have much to celebrate from last year, and I

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22ND RECOGNITION ASSEMLIES OCTOBER 1ST GRADE 6 & 12 THREE WAY CONFERENCES OCTOBER 9TH - 14TH MID-TERM BREAK NOVEMBER 12TH & 13TH SECONDARY THREE WAY CONFERENCES

look forward to the challenges of sustaining and even eclipsing the high standards set in a number of areas.

In terms of external assessments, 23 students flew the Raha flag by participating voluntarily in the MYP’s on-screen examinations for the first time, and achieved many excellent results. In the Grade 10 Personal Project our sizeable cohort of 147 candidates averaged 5.30, which is 41% higher than the World Average of 3.76. This record level of attainment is a testament to the efforts of the students and the commitment of their supervisors (and of course our wonderful parent body!).

Renewing our focus on skill-development across the MYP, the spotlight from the outset will be on the ‘Core Skills’, particularly in Grades 6-8. We also look forward to the introduction of a new reading class initiative. Please ask your child about these aspects of their MYP experience.

One of my main goals is to maintain the positive, community feel in the MYP, even as we enter the year with 789 students enrolled, the highest in our history.

The fact that each class has 17-20 different nationalities represented highlights our truly international nature and is one of the main reasons behind Raha’s continued reputation as not only an outstanding school, but also a happy one!

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Parents as Partners sessions. The dates and location will be published shortly.

Kind regards,

Vaughan Kitson Deputy Head of Secondary - MYP Coordinator vkitson@ris.ae

TERM 1 2019

SECONDARY

Important Dates:

SEPTEMBER 10TH SECONDARY MEET & GREET@ 6:00PM

NEWSLETTER

FROM MR. ANDY...

Dear Parents and Students,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the whole Raha Community – Happy New Year!!! This promises to be the biggest (and best) year at Raha, with the

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22ND RECOGNITION ASSEMLIES OCTOBER 1ST GRADE 6 & 12 THREE WAY CONFERENCES OCTOBER 9TH - 14TH MID-TERM BREAK NOVEMBER 12TH & 13TH SECONDARY THREE WAY CONFERENCES

DP now over 250 students strong! If ever there was a testament to our success it is the ever growing number of students joining us in Grades 11 and 12.

The

Class of 2019 did exceptionally well, with our highest number of graduates achieving an incredible 94% pass rate (compared to the world average of 79%).

Our average grade was also more than two points higher than the world average (31.8 vs 29.7). I would like to use this opportunity to wish our graduates all the best as they travel far and wide to university. I am sure they will come back to visit and tell us of their adventures!

The current Grade 12s have a lot to live up to but I’m sure they are more than capable of rising to the challenge! The deadlines come thick and fast in Grade 12 and already we have seen eager students in the Study Hall cramming for their upcoming lessons. It is hugely encouraging to see so many returning faces from Grade 10 – never before have we had such an academically successful cohort and it will be exciting to see how these young men and women perform in the examinations in May, 2021!

As always, the DP is incredibly busy and I look forward to meeting with as many Grade 10, 11 and 12 parents and students on Tuesday, the 10th September, where I will be sharing the ins-and-outs of the DP programme here at Raha.

We have a couple of new faces in the Diploma team this year – Ms Aoife is taking over as ToK Coordinator, Ms Catherine will be helping Mr Brian with University applications and Ms Nicola has joined us as the Assistant to the DP Coordinator. They join Ms Muge, our Extended Essay Coordinator and the irrepressible Mr Carlos as always is guiding us through the CAS programme.

It certainly looks like it’s going to be a busy year!

As always, please come and visit us on the Mezzanine floor in G-Block, or send an email atomlinson@ris.ae

Kind regards,

Andrew Tomlinson Deputy Head of Secondary - DP Coordinator

SECONDARY SCHOOL MEET AND GREET We look forward to introducing our Secondary School Teaching Staff to you at the Meet and Greet.

At 6:00pm, the Senior Leadership Team will introduce themselves to all parents and introductions of our teaching staff will follow.

Heads of Grade and advisory teachers will accompany parents to the locations below:

Grade 6: Led by Blair Hoover and Scott Hunter in the Auditorium

Grade 7: Led by Lorraine Maher and Walter Clarke in Ellen Williams’ room G05

Grade 8: Led by Luke Clarke in Caitlin Rose’s room G04

Grade 9: Led by Matt Steel in Garry Hayes’ room H03

Grade 10:

Led by Jennifer Leather in the Black Box Theater

7:00pm – Personal Project Introduction with Vaughan Kitson and Kevin Potter 7:15pm – Introduction to Diploma Programme with Andrew Tomlinson

Grade 11:

6:30pm – Introduction to DP with Andrew Tomlinson and James Jones

Located in the DP Study Lounge, back mezzanine of the Arts Centre (Building G)

Grade 12:

7:45pm – The final countdown with Andrew Tomlinson and Christine Armstrong

Located in the DP Study Lounge, back mezzanine of the Arts Centre (Building G) (Grade 12 parents are welcome to arrive at 7:45pm and go straight to the DP Study Lounge if you do not wish to attend the introductions in the Auditorium at 6:00pm)