FORWARD - Issue 100

General

Primary School News Primary

Secondary School News Secondary

Issue Issue 25 100 59 14 December [2017-18] 27 August Thursday, 2015 [2015-2016] 102017 October 2013 Issue

Events & ASA Events-CCA

School SchoolClinic Clinic

Winter break

Sports Activities

E– Team

17 December 2017—6 January 2018 students and staff return on 7 January 2018

Christmas around the world organized by PARWA

Primary

PARWA members along with Management Team of RWA

PARWA has had a wonderful start to the year with events such as Wild Wadi, the Artists palette and an Emirati bake sale to support our amazing Emirati community for UAE national day .

The year culminated in our Christmas around the world with our own childrens and parents choir entertaining us with a festive performance.

Here are highlights of this event.

We look forward to even more activity in the new year. Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous 2018 Parents Association Raffles World Academy [PARWA]

Photographs on page 3

Christmas around the world organized by PARWA

Primary

General

Secondary

Primary

Events-ASA

School Clinic

The Primary School Student Council The Primary Student Council serves as a governing body for all students .It acts as a voice for student body in communication with faculty and staff and is composed of students from Grade 4s and 5s.

Purpose The purpose of the Student Council is to:  provide an opportunity for pupils to voice their opinions and offer suggestions in relation to many aspects of school life.  discuss issues relevant to our school and encourage and promote initiatives from the pupils.  offer an opportunity for all pupils to voice their opinions on proposed changes and thereby play a very significant role in improving our school.  act as a channel of communication within the school organization, between pupils and between home and school.

Primary  encourage pupils, and thereby their parents, to organize events central to the life of the school.  provide an opportunity to raise funds for charities or for our School Fund.

The Council has an important role to play in the organization of: 

Open Days

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Talent Shows

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Special occasions i.e. opening of school extension, new library etc.

Special presentations

Through our Student Council we hope to give our pupils a more active role in the organization of our school and ensure they are listened to and respected for their ideas and concerns. It involves the students in many of the decisions that are made regarding the day-to-day running and management of Raffles World Academy. Discussions in classes and at Council meetings help to develop social and learning skills in many areas including speaking and listening, problem solving, brainstorming and the decision-making process.

Topics that come under discussion at Student Council meetings may include the following : 

school rules

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friendship

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making yard a happier place

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behaviour and discipline

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lunchtime games and activities 

students’ yearbook

green issues

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vandalism

Homework club

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health and safety

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homework

school uniform

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fundraising

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Art club

In addition to their role in communicating and problem solving, the Student Council acts as an agent for school news, as journalists and reporters through the publication of the Student Council Newsletter. It is hoped that this makes school news more child orientated and more interesting for all concerned. The Students Council has been instrumental in the many exciting and positive changes that have taken place in our school since the PS Council’s inception in 2014. We, at Raffles World Academy, are very proud of the role played by our students in developing our school and believe that we achieve a more pleasant and vibrant learning environment, as a result.

Highlights to date: Since the beginning of the year till now, the Student Council has played quite an active role in helping out with the various events happening at school. Some of them include the following activities:      

Promoting the Box Appeal and helping out with the boxes Discussing the National Agenda with the Advisory Council.

Conducting Student /parent survey in order to find the issues at school and then discussing how the issues can be resolved Talking to the parents during the Open House .

Participating in the Dubai Clean up Drive along with the Eco Team Helping Out with the National Day Assembly

React VS. Respond – Written by Nicole Schwarz, Parent Coach with a License in Family Are you a yeller? Do you criticize? Overreact? Maybe you ignore, walk away or throw up your hands in frustration.

Or…do you inquire? Invite discussion and problem solving? Make space for big emotions?

As we strive to have strong positive relationships with our children, it’s important to remember to Respond rather than React.

Reacting means that you meet your child’s emotionally-charged behavior with your own emotionally-charged reply. They are yelling, so you enter the conversation by yelling. They are screaming and having a tantrum, so you work hard to quiet them down and “get over” their fussing.

Responding, on the other hand, gives your child permission to express their big emotions, ideas and feelings without criticism, shame or guilt. If your child is upset because something doesn’t seem fair, you let them be frustrated and express empathy. There’s no need to change your mind or try to fix the problem.

THIS IS NOT EASY Primary This is really tricky concept for a lot of parents. You are definitely not alone if you struggle in this area. Responding can feel ineffective, passive or too permissive at first.

In the long-run, however, the payoff is fantastic. Your children learn that it is safe to express their thoughts and feelings, they trust that you will help them process big emotions, and you may feel less pressure to intervene right away or change your mind.

If you’re a “react-er,” it may take time for this to become more natural. That’s ok. As you go through your day, look for times to respond rather than react. If you slip-up and react, give yourself permission to try it again. It’s not a sign of weakness to say, “Wait, what I meant to say was…” Let your children know that you are not perfect either!

“In the love of UAE” Song For the UAE National day this year, RWA community have produced an original song for the occasion “In the Love of UAE”. The song was premiered in the National Day Celebration and it is written, composed, produced and directed by: Mr. Fadi Elias, Mrs. Aliaa Abou Touyour and Mr. Radwan Al Krad. Performed by the talented primary school students.

Primary

The song is a gift of appreciation from our 85 nationalities’ community to the UAE, for its hospitality, religious tolerance, and generosity.

Guests of honor at the premiere included Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Mrs. Poonam Bhojani, members of the KHDA and our Board of Directors.

You can listen to the song on youtube : “In the Love of UAE” or on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKT9_hwFNPU

Christmas around the world

On Thursday, Raffles World Academy was alive with the smell of Christmas. Students arrived to the hustle and bustle of our PARWA parents setting up their countries’ stalls in the main atrium decked with their traditional foods and décor. Pupils and parents in our international community were all delivering their countries festive foods, both home made or specially delivered to their stalls, ready to Primary receive our students throughout the day.

Such delight was seen on our childrens’ faces as each class passed through the atrium, tasting and learning about the culinary delights of Christmas. Mince pies and Christmas cake, lebkuchen and stollen, pandora and pannettone, gingerbread, jalebi and mathri, candy canes and sausages rolls to name but a few…

Our festivities continued with an international musical concert where we were treated to festive songs performed by our German and Spanish mother tongue pupils, Maelys singing in French, our parent choir and our student choir, the Raffles Trebles, singing carols.

What an exciting day it was! And when the stalls were cleared away, the food safely tucked away in delighted tummies, and everyone had gone home, there was a distinct air of excitement reminiscent of the famous poem… “ ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was heard, not even a mouse.”

Caught Reading

We have introduced a new reward system at break times and lunch times to encourage our students to read more. When a student is ‘caught reading’ they are awarded a special token which they place in the Caught Reading box. At the end of each month we will select one winner to receive a special prize.

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It has been an absolute pleasure to see the students fostering their love of reading, and it seems to be spreading like wildfire – more books are being taken out of the Library and books from home are also being shared and swapped in classrooms!

News from the Sports Coordinator : Mr. Danny Danny O Reilly Term 1 was very busy for the primary school students of RWA. There were numerous sports teams on offer for the students to try out for. New sports such as Aquathon proved hugely popular and this was reflected in the results of their competitions. RWA continues to strive to cater for all students and the addition of training teams for tag rugby & tennis so that they are ready for competition in term 2 will surely assist in the students development, so a big thank you the teachers who offered this to our students. The PE staff see these sports teams as an extension of what they do in their lessons, so for so many students to be turning out and being successful for these teams it really does show how hard everyone is pulling for the students to achieve their highest potential.

Each coach has provided a small summary of their squads and how well they did so please read them and enjoy the special talents of the students in our school here at RWA. Term 2 will be just as busy for our students and a number of new sports will be on offer, these include: Primary

 Basketball (Grade 3, 4 & 5 boys and girls)

 Netball (Grade 3, 4 & 5 girls)

 Athletics (Grade 2, 3, 4 & 5 boys and girls)

 Swim Squad (Continues in term 2)

 Tag Rugby (Continues in term 2)

 Tennis (Continues in term 2)

 Aquathon (Continues in term 2)

 Cross Country (Continues in term 2)

Trial dates for these sports will be posted on the primary school PE notice board located in the main atrium and also the notice board outside the PE office. If your sports team is continuing in term 2 please see your coach and ask them about your training times.

Grade 4 & 5 Aquathon This year saw the impressive start of our RWA Aquathon team for grades 4 and 5. The new sport was a complete success resulting in two 1st place medals, a 2nd place medal and the rest of our team placing top ten. Our squad worked really hard during all their training sessions, practicing their 100m swim and lengthy 1.6k run as well as meticulously figuring out their quickest ways and tactics for the transition stage. We look forward to the outstanding two competitions and remain optimistic that we will earn enough points to take home the school trophy.

A special mention to the medal winners, Kenza grade 5SD and Marijn 4RC (1st place) as well as Theo 5MM (2nd place).

Grade 4 & 5 - Tag Rugby Although there has not been a competition to prepare for in term 1, there has been some brilliant progress been made by the students who have been training. This will be a great an advantage for the students as they will be competing in a tournaments in term 2. Students who have made the squads have made impressive progress in learning some of the fundamental skills needed for rugby and in particular touch rugby.

Well done to the following students who have made the team and the very best of luck to the team in term 2: Michael (passing and running with the ball)

Joey (creativity and passing)

Izumi (speed and movement)

Walid (speed and defending)

Yousef Andrew (running with the ball and (passing and defending) defending) Primary

Sammy (passing and creativity)

Omar (passing and defending)

Lucia (passing and positioning)

Pavlos (defending and movement)

Tareq (passing and defending)

Izak (passing and creativity)

Aryan (defending and movement)

Kyan (defending and positioning)

Mohammed (catching and passing)

Ibrahim (defending and positioning)

Grade 2 Boys Football Although the first semester has flown by so fast, our grade 2 boy’s football team have gained a huge amount of experience by competing in football games against some quality opposition. This is the first year our wonderful and committed sports department have made competitive football available to grade 2. The purpose of this was to give these students the opportunity to take part in a team environment, learn basic football skills, and enjoying with friends.

The grade 2 boys’ team was selected on a trial basis and the players that showed promising talent were: No matter the results, the boys showed wonderful commitment and support to their team mates, always playing with a smile. Hopefully, their experience will benefit them as they go forward to try out for the grade 3 team next year.

Aimal - 2KO

Joackim - 2KO

(Creative midfield – An eye for a pass!)

(Lone striker – The hardest job of a footballer - Strong and fast)

Luke - 2SM (Tough tackling defender, great strength to hold off the opposition

Mohammed 2DN (No nonsense defender who always gave 100% effort)

Adam - 2KO (Honest, hardworking and great attitude)

Karem - 2AN (Tough tackling defender that never backed out of a challenge)

Malakai - 2JU

Zuhayr - 2JU

Yahya - 2DN

(Goalkeeper – Super fast reflexes – Made some wonderful saves to keep us in games)

(Played in every position – showed his versatility, talent and commitment)

(Another tough tackling defender who can pass the ball out of defense confidently)

Grade 3 Boys Football The boys have done an outstanding job in the first term of football. We played with heart and spirit and most important went out and gave 100% in each game with outstanding level of sportsman ship. The boys were committed and showed up to all training and games. We had some very good results and can’t wait to see the progress over the summer and into grade 4. Over 30 boys trailed for the team and Mr Solomon ended up picking 12 of the most talented players. Congratulations to the boys for their hard work and effort in football.

Adrian

Hursh Outstanding goal keeper and wonderful attitude towards the Primary game

Captain and record goal scorer

Ilyas

Abdulaziz

fearless at the back

quick and a real football brain, some excellent goals.

Adam F

Syrian

Nevin

Zein

outstanding defensive player, saved countless goals

First time player, most improved during the term

great attitude, always tried his best

learning more each session, some strong defensive games

Ali

Eduardo

Andre Excellent passing skills and movement.

Good movement and dribbling outstanding dribbling skills and skills. scored individual goal of the session at JESS

Grade 4 Boys Football The u10 Boys football team have had a rollercoaster of a season in the DAPSA Blue Central League. The team finished 5th out of 6 teams in the league but, this doesn’t quite tell the whole story.

With a goal difference of 11 for and 12 against the team was one of the highest scoring in the league however, despite dominating every match in attack, the difficulty was keeping the goals out!

Primary

The first match against Rashid, who eventually finished below us, was a stern wake up call to the importance of both learning and applying defending techniques. The boys who have shown fantastic commitment to training all season really dug in and practiced hard. The response was strong, led by the team captain Marijn, they had a narrow loss to eventual league winners Horizon in a game that once again was dominated by RWA.

The following games against Safa and EIS encapsulated the topsy-turvy season, losing 3-1 and winning 5-0 respectively! With only one game to go, and finally one big win in the bag, the team’s commitment to games and training remained fantastic with strong attendance at the extra lunchtime sessions with Coach Jordan from Go-Pro. The Grade 4’s rounded off the league with probably their best performance of the season against a strong RIS. They were unfortunate to lose narrowly 3-2, with another two fantastic goals from the Grade 4 top goal scorer Gabriel Mateos.

This left only the Innoventures Tournament hosted by RWA on our home turf. The whole event felt like a graduation for the team who were desperate to finally put it all together and perform well. A fantastic victory against RIS and a draw against DIA set up a tense final which ended 2-2 in the most dramatic of fashions with 2 long range goals for both teams, in extra time, to set up a penalty shootout. On home turf, with the sun going down it was down to our superstar goalkeeper Sarp who produced the goods to help the team defeat DIA and claim the IVEI Tournament Champions Trophy 2017!

Grade 5 Boys Football Season This semester seen our experienced grade 5s battle out another term of football. A wonderfully committed team who just love to play football, it was an absolute pleasure to coach these boys. Commitment is one thing but the willingness to listen and act on the feedback given is another remarkable trait entirely for a grade 5. Two wins, Two very close last minute losses and a draw was unfortunately not enough to make the finals this year which only seen first place compete which was disappointing for this bunch of students, most of whom have been playing together for RWA boys football since grade 3.

Rayan

Michael

Saeed

Mohammed

Safe hands, hard working

Committed defender, goal of the season winner for his halfway line goal versus Rashid School for Boys

Strong, composed, committed

Tough in the tackle, worked tirelessly

Primary

Muaz

Izumi

Jaden

Theo

Energy, commitment

Skillful, pace

Clever on the ball

Energy, worked tirelessly for the team

Kacper

Ethan

Joseph

Everything you would want from a captain: Strong, loves to pass the ball, eye for goal

Worked ever so hard on the wings, calm on the ball

Top Goal scorer overall, one of the toughest jobs to play on your own up front but did so brilliantly

All in all at the end of another season the boys have made progressions both as a team and individuals which is the most important thing overall. I hope they continue to play as much football as possible and keep their hunger and desire to improve. Well done.

Grade 2, 3, 4 & 5 Tennis During term one we practiced tennis twice a week. On Sundays we had the beginner group and on Tuesday we had the intermediate players. The beginner group started out as 12 players but at the end of the term we had 22 players who wanted to play tennis.  They started with different ball skills, then practiced the

forearm and moved on to the backhand.  They players enjoyed the lessons and there was a big

improvement.  The intermediate players also practiced all the different shots and did the serve as well.  They also played doubles and learned how to score.  I hope to see you all again next term.

Grade 2, 3, 4 & 5 Cross Country

Primary

The RWA Cross Country team have trained tremendously hard this term, working on their pacing techniques and testing their stamina over long distances. The first competition was held on 11th December at Rashid School for Boys. 25 students from grades 2-5 competed against 30 schools from across Dubai, running over distances of 1km and 1.6km. The team were extremely successful at their first competition, with 4 students coming in the top 30 positions out of 250 and all students completing the race with very good times.

We look forward to the upcoming competitions in the New Year and hope to see the teams talents shine through on sports day!

Grade 2, 3, 4 & 5 Swim Squad This year, the Primary Swimming Squad have had a fantastic start with all swimmers showing outstanding commitment and attitude to training. We have over 60 members in the team dedicating there time to morning and afternoon training.

Congratulations to all the swimmers who have taken part in the DAPSA swimming league, so far this year. The squad have been promoted to Division C, which means that we are competing against much stronger opponents this year, including teams from Repton, Horizon International, GEMS Wellington, GEMS Royal Dubai and EIS Meadows. This being said, the efforts of the swimmers has been rewarded with some fantastic results and times.

Our first gala was a Repton School for The Top 4 Gala where 4 girls and 4 boys from each year group compete in individual heats and team relays.

Special mentions go to:   

Margherita for winning the Grade 3 Girls 25m Backstroke heat Kacper from winning the Grade 5 Boys 25m Butterfly heat Kenya for winning the Grade 5 Girls 50m Front Crawl heat

Our second gala was at Horizon International School for the relay gala where girls and boys competed in teams of 4 in a variety of races including the quick fire squadron relay which is 8x25 meters – a site to definitely see. Well done to all the swimmers who participated in a competitive relay for the first time, you did exceptionally well.

Well done to the whole team and we look forward to upcoming successes in training and future galas.

A massive tank you to Coach Matt at Speedo for all his hard work this term.

General

Primary

Secondary

Events-CCA

School Clinic

News from the HOD-Physical Education : Ms. Stephanie Carte Under 19 Boys Basketball The Under 19 Boys Basketball team have had a great season despite a difficult start in the DASSA league. 2 defeats in the first 2 games to strong sides from Dubai College “A” and GEMS Wellington made qualification for the Cup in the later stages of the term very difficult. The boys however remained focus and set a target of winning the Plate competition.

4 consecutive victories over Dubai College “B”, Nord Anglia, Dubai British School and Jumeriah College set up a Plate final against Greenfield Community School, with RWA clinching a 60-54 victory. An excellent performance from the teamPrimary who held on and defended excellently against heavy offensive pressure from Greenfield, particularly in the last period.

On the way to the final the boys have worked tirelessly in training focusing on fitness, offensive plays and strong defensive organisation, all of which had a positive impact on the court. Special mention goes to captain Michal Dudzinski whose leadership was key to our success this year and also to Emre Tosun whose magnificent 3 point shooting was a consistent feature throughout the season, with an impressive personal tally of 56 points against Nord Anglia.

A second place finish in the IVEI Basketball tournament in December capped off a great season for the team.

With 7 of 9 students on the team currently in Grade 11 and therefore still eligible for the squad next year, we look forward to next season were we hope the students can build on their success this year and push on to challenge for the Cup!

Squad: Michael Dudzinski (Captain) Emre Tosun Riccardo Provosio Ege Aksoy Intsar Khan Ibrahim Alkhatib Juan Sandrino Ammar Naji Daryl Tan Coach Mr. Cunningham

Under 16 Girls’ basketball

Primary

The under 16 girls got off to a flying start beating DIA 45-23.

With only one loss in the group stage it was to be a promising season for the team. Captain Fanny Svensson and Ludovica scored the majority of the points during the season through their excellent attacking and lay-up skills. The season came to a finish with the team coming 9th out of 30 schools in Dubai and second in the IVEI competition hosted by RIS. Congratulations to all the girls who represented the stallions this year. We look forward to next year’s competition.

Squad: Mafalda Cordoso, Polina Mordziuk, Tanisha Sawarthia, Dana Mohamed, Jaheel Celimen, Ludovica Ticali, Fanny Svensson , Ria D’souza, Kiera Mcdrmot ,Tatianna Thomas, Lea Khalid , Dhritti Dhameja, Shahzara Malik , Isabela Pogere Coach Miss Carte

Under 19 GIRLS Basketball The Under 19 Girls Basketball team have had a fantastic season despite a difficult start in the DASSA league. 2 defeats in the first 2 games to strong sides from Dubai College “A” and Dubai British School made qualifying for the cup very difficult. The Girls soon turned it around after several hours of practicing and expert coaching from Petar at Beyond Basketball. The girls went in to win their last 3 games.

The girls worked tirelessly in training focusing on fitness and defensive organisation, all of which had a positive impact on the court. Special mention goes to captain Tessa Bijil whose leadership was key to our success this year and also to Kali McDermot whose defense was solid all year.

A First place finish in the IVEI Basketball tournament in December finished off a great season for the team. The under 19 girls team are now ranked 9th out of 30 schools in Dubai. We look forward to next season were we hope the students can build on their success this year and push on to challenge for the Cup! Squad: Bruna Cordoso, Emma Thomas, Tessa Bijil, Parmis Mehdiyar, Kali Mcdermot, Taqwa Tabib, Emilie Panizutti, Teona Milunovic, Lina Gustman

Under 14 Boys Football Review The Under 14 Boys Football team have faced some stiff competition this year in the DASSA league. Competing in Division 2 for the first time, RWA got off to a flying start with a resounding 3-0 victory over Nord Anglia. A 1-1 draw against Deira International followed leaving RWA tied 1st in the league.

However, we suffered defeats in our remaining games against very strong sides from English College, Sunmarke School, DESC and GEMS Silicon Oasis resulting in an overall disappointing season and a low league finish in what was a very competitive league.

Primary A second place finish in the IVEI tournament added some gloss to the season however the students know that more commitment and dedication in their performances in training and matches is required if we are to challenge at this higher level. We have some talented footballers and with greater application as well as learning from the experience this year, we will come back stronger next season and more determined to succeed.

Squad: Jan Dlugosz (Joint C) Mohammed Foudeh Khaled El Sayed (Joint C) Dan Zakaria Kevinh Seiny Lucas Perez Sayed Eriba Hamad Al Saeed Zaid Hussaini Ayush Sathish Rolf Bijil Akshay Ashok Magnus Esmann Arthur Van Hauw Marwan Kadri Riccardo Di Bella Omar Khatib Coach Mr. Cunningham

Secondary Swim Squad The Secondary Swimming Squad have had a fantastic season in the DASSA Division 3 League, competing regularly against Dubai English Speaking College, Nord Anglia School, GEMS World Academy and Bradenton Preparatory Academy.

All age groups (Under 12’s, Under 14’s, Under 16’s and Under 18’s) have delivered fantastic results and times throughout the galas especially in very closely contested races and this has been rewarded with the team achieving two 3rd place finishes overall.

Similar success was achieved at the Innoventures Swimming Gala, hosted by Dubai International Academy. The team came 2nd overall, beating Raffles International School and Collegiate American School. Honourable mention goes to Navid Adelzadeh for winning the Under 14 Boys 50Meter Backstroke race by a considerable margin. The level of performance has been incredibly high and all swimmers performed exceptionally well over the course of this swim season– Well Done Team!

A special thank you to Speedo who helped coach the RWA squad for the second year running.

Under 18 Girls Football The Under 18’s girls had a fantastic season in the DASSA league this year. Although the results did not always go in the girls favor the team did however grow each game and learn a lot about team work, friendship and hard work while playing together. The league was very competitive and our team always fought hard no matter what the result was with some outstanding performances from Wilma, Emma and Lara throughout the season.

Primary

The commitment showed this year has been outstanding by all involved and gives us a great foundation to work on for next year. Overall the girls can be proud of their achievements throughout the league. COACH MR NICHOLSON

IVEI Competition Dates 2018 Sun Jan 14, 2018

3:30pm – 5:00pm

IVEI Secondary Netball @ RWA

Sun Feb 4, 2018

8:30am – 2:00pm

IVEI Athletics@ SPORTS CITY

Thu Feb 22, 2018

3:30pm – 5:30pm

IVEI Cross Country @ DIA

Sun Mar 4, 2018

3:30pm – 4:30pm

IVEI Volleyball @ CAS

Sun Apr 15, 2018

3:30pm – 5:00pm

VEI Secondary Basketball U12 and U14 Girls @ RIS ; Boys @ CAS

Sun Apr 22, 2018

3:30pm – 6:00pm

IVEI Secondary Badminton Boys and Mixed @ DIA Girls @ RWA

Sun May 6, 2018

3:30pm – 6:00pm

IVEI Table Tennis – U11 @ RIS, U12, U14 , U16 and U18 @ RWA and RIS

DASSA Athletics Date 2018 

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Sunday, January 21, 2018 - 4:00pm Boys Athletics Jumps Night – Location TBC

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Sunday, February 4, 2018 - 4:00pm Girls Athletic Jumps night – Location TBC

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Monday, February 19, 2018 - 8:00am DASSA Athletics Div 2 – SPORTS CITY

Tuesday, March 20, 2018- 5:00pm DASSA Athletics finals (Selected students only) Sports City

DASSA Cross Country 2018 

MONDAY, JANUARY 15TH 2018 - MONDAY, JANUARY 15TH 2018 - 4:00pm ROUND 2 DASSA Individual Cross Country – RASHID SCHOOL

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Tuesday, February 6TH , 2018 - 4:00pm ROUND 3 DASSA Individual Cross Country – RASHID SCHOOL