THE RAPTOR
REPORTER
THE RAPTOR REPORTER | Winter 2021
IN THIS ISSUE Message from our Leadership Term 1 Highlights
IMPORTANT DATES December 9: Last Day of Term 1 January 3: Term 2 Starts
WINTER BREAK REMINDER Admissions and administration offices will remain open over the winter break. Office hours will be: Sunday - Thursday 8:00am - 4:00pm Families should contact the school via email or by calling 02 556 1567 (Gardens Campus) or 02 550 5271 (Khalifa City Campus).
Look at the great learning this term!
From the Office of the Principal
FROM MR IAIN Dear Parents,
Dare I say that this term has begun to feel far
more normal than we have known in quite some
time?! The noise, the buzz, the laughter can be seen and heard in all corners of the school, and
it really does feel so good to see our students enjoying the vibrancy and energy which they had before Covid was upon us.
Our ability to educate has been enhanced with
the current rules and this is allowing teachers to
get back to a near normal style of IB pedagogy. We know the increasing sense of normality has a big impact on wellbeing and morale.
This year has seen a huge milestone in Raha’s lifetime with the completion of our
second campus. After four years of planning, designing and building, it was one of
the proudest moments of my career to finally cut the ribbon at Khalifa City Campus’ Grand Opening earlier this term. The growth in the Raha community has been
incredible over the past few years and this stunning new campus will continue to enable the thousands of families who apply to us every year to find spaces for their
children in the future. Our campuses may look quite different to each other but continuing the ‘big school-small family’ ethos and ensuring students love learning and feel happy and safe are the most important things to ensure a quality education. I am so proud of the teams on both campuses for working hard to
ensure there has been a smooth and seamless transition. We are now operating a
full two-campus model which feels like you are fully engrossed in the Raha way of life no matter which campus you are on.
From the Office of the Principal
As you know, next term will be my last at Raha and as each day passes, I seem to be continually thinking about it being the last time I will do or see something. This
time of the year in school, as we move into the festive break, is always special and is certainly something I will miss dearly. The search for my replacement is ongoing
and there is a substantial amount of work taking place in the background to ensure the right person is found. As soon as I have updates on this, I will let the community know.
It just leaves me to wish you all a wonderful winter break. For those of you who celebrate it – Merry Christmas – and for those who don’t, have a wonderful and relaxing holiday. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2022! Happy holidays. .
Yours sincerely,
Iain Colledge Iain Colledge
Executive Principal Raha International School
From the Office of the Principal
What an amazing term this has been as we officially
opened KCC with the completion of Phase 2. We are now a fully operational school from EY1 to Grade 8 and have 720 amazing students.
We are extremely lucky to have such a state-ofthe-art campus and both our students and staff
have enjoyed using our incredible facilities and resources. Swimming lessons have begun in our
three pools. Sports are taking place in our indoor
gyms and on our stunning pitch. Our Science Labs, STEAM and Robotics Room are bustling hubs where students are busy inquiring, experimenting and
creating. Finally with the change in weather, we are
delighted to see our learning seamlessly taking place both in and out of the classroom. The school is definitely a busy and thriving place of learning.
This term has seen us continuing to build our school community and creating an identity around what it means to be a part of Raha KCC. We have worked on the IB learner profiles, especially around creating a student community that is caring, balanced, and principled.
We are fortunate to have exceptional teachers who are dedicated to providing a worldclass learning journey for every child. They have worked tirelessly to ensure that our learners feel valued and have a sense of belonging in the classroom and the wider school.
We look forward to the year ahead as we continue to build our community and to help shape and grow our KCC students to be inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who contribute to a better and more peaceful world. We hope you enjoy the winter break,
and whether you are staying the UAE to enjoy the lovely weather or traveling abroad, take time to relax and spend time with your families.
Enjoy the break,
Nicola Neethling Nicola Neethling
Principal Khalifa Campus
From the Office of the Vice-Principal
The best way to start this off is to say a massive “THANK YOU!” for this term.
I think we can all agree that the transition from the onset of COVID until now has been challenging but
our Raha community continues to be incredibly resilient and supportive. The delight and enthusiasm
that we see from our students every day while things are moving towards a “new normal”, is
inspiring. We have had a fantastic first term with
Rocket Day and EY Expo events, beautiful National Day celebrations involving the whole school and
more moving and shaking than ever before thanks to our weekly Thunderous Thursday sessions. We are so excited for what is to come in Term 2.
I hope that you have had a chance to attend one of our Parent Team Meet and Greets. Our Parent Team is a wonderful extension of Raha to get to know our amazing community and
be a part of your child’s Raha journey. To see our parents back on campus has been fantastic, and it really helped us get back to that ‘Raha family’ feeling that we are so proud of.
Wishing everyone a merry and bright Winter Break. Rest up because we have lots of exciting things in store for our Raha community in the new year!
Best,
Kath Simms Kath Simms
Vice-Principal, Gardens Campus
KCC Grand Opening
Principal Nicola spoke about how KCC has grown and how much she appreciates the commitment, dedication and trust shown to get to where we are!
Principals Iain and Nicola cutting the ribbon! KCC is officially open!
First Day of School
Doesn't the first day feel so long ago? What a term it has been!
Mental Health Week
Secondary students and staff used Mental Health Week to learn more about mental health and how we can care for ourselves. Mental health is just as important as physical health!
National Day
How amazing was it to celebrate the UAE's 50th year together?
Both campuses had so much fun celebrating the nation!
Roxy's Speech at Expo Roxanna gave a speech on what it means to her to live in the UAE at the Aqdar Summit at Expo 2020!
Roxy practiced her speech in front her class first
The watch party on campus!
Osrah Dodgeball Staff and students at KCC and Gardens had a great time competing for their Osrah Houses!
Mr Iain means business, watch out!
We love a good game of Four Square!
Grade 4 TedX Talks
Grade 4 students became life coaches on the virtual stage! They spoke about mental well-being, rest, nutrition, and exercise!
Flag Day
Gardens and KCC came together to celebrate Flag Day with our community!
Grade 1 Expo
Grade 1 students did a wonderful job showing their home country traditions in their own mini-Expo as part of the Where We Are in Place and Time unit!
Thunderous Thursday
Primary students had a great time getting active this term and starting their Thursdays with some movement!
Interview with Mr Iain
Grade 1 learned about traditions this term and asked Mr Iain about Raha traditions. We heard a lot of valuable questions and gained lots of insight.
Rocket Day
Early Years had a wonderful time reaching for the stars on Rocket Day!
Raptor's Nest
Grade 11 students gave the Raptor's Nest a new look as part of their CAS projects! We love it!
Director's Festival
Grade 12 Theatre students put their directing skills to the test! They created a directing plan, rehearsal schedules and directed Grade 9-12 students!
Winter Concert Recording
Miss Caroline has been hard at work organizing over 200 students across both campuses for our Winter Concert. It will premiere Thursday, 9 December so keep your eyes peeled for these talented Raha students!
Term 2
We are looking forward to more fantastic teaching and learning next term. We are also so excited to welcome back the Colour Run!
Thank you for being part of our phenomenal Raha community and helping us have another amazing term.
See you in January!
THE RAPTOR REPORTER | WINTER 2021