Class of 2020
June 18, 2020
Contents From the Director
Saying Goodbye
4
3 From Kindergarten
8
From Elementary
10
Counselors Corner
From Secondary
12
7
Graduates
17
From the Director It has been an absolute pleasure serving as the Director of The KAUST School this year and I look forward to an amazing year ahead. I know none of us could have anticipated the challenges that this year presented, but I am proud of our students, teachers and parents for the dedication everyone has shown this year. Next year will also be challenging as we move forward during these uncertain times. We will continue to focus on our values of adaptability and innovation as we face the unknown together. We have an ambitious Strategic Plan ahead of us for the years to come and this is exciting work that will continue to move TKS forward. Sincerely, Dr. Michelle Remington Director of The KAUST School
I want to thank the teachers who dedicated years of service to TKS that will be moving on to new locations in the coming school years. You have all left an impact on the lives of the students and families here at KAUST and we wish you all the best as you take these next steps in your lives. Dr. Michelle Remington, Director of TKS
Counselors Corner As we near the end of the academic year, students are preparing to close a chapter in their lives and start a new one. One of the many ways to start a new chapter is to have healthy closure of the current one. Building a metaphorical RAFT can be a useful way to do so. RAFT was developed by Dr. David Pollock to help people transition in life journeys. RAFT is an acronym for the four stages of transition: Reconciliation, Affirmation, Farewell and Think Destination. Reconciliation - reconciling relationships with people. You may advise your child to move on in good terms with peers and resolve any conflict they may have had in a positive manner. Affirmation - acknowledging people who have had a positive impact. As a family, you may thank employees whom you frequently encounter at the supermarket. Also, you can show appreciation to the waiter at the restaurant because he always greeted you with a big smile. Farewell - saying goodbye to people and places. This is most likely a difficult stage but it is necessary to acknowledge the feelings your child might go through. Unresolved grief can cause stress in the future. You may take a drive or a bike ride to pass by your favorite places and talk about the wonderful memories shared in them. Think Destination- it is about looking forward and thinking of the future. As a family you can research about the new destination. Whether you are leaving KAUST or rejoining us, students are ending an academic year and that is a journey in itself. To end this journey on a happy note, you may wish to help your child purchase or make a thoughtful gift or card for a special friend to recognize their role in making this year memorable. By: Lujain Ahmed Alafif, Acting Middle School Counselor
from Tiany Hill, KG Principal Dear Parents, On behalf of Kindergarten, we would like to thank all of you for what has been a very unique school year. Your continued support as parents through all stages has been immensely appreciated. We have had an engaging year learning with you, both beside you and virtually. The success of this year would not have been possible without your perseverance, the dedication of our KG staff, and the determination of our children. Transitions can be very exciting while also challenging for children. emotions to manifest in different ways, including excitement, anxiety, In August, Kindergarten will look different than when we left it in March.TheTKS re-opening plan is developing and taking shape. The best thing that you can do as parents is to prepare your children for this is, talk to them. Please help them to feel comfortable with what we do know and understand that some things will change. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for what was a fantastic ďŹ rst year for me as a member of KAUST, an educator in TKS, and, most importantly, a learner in Kindergarten with the most inuential children and teachers. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our community. I would like to wish you all a healthy, happy, and safe summer break with your family. Warmest, Tiffany
Transitions can cause and fear.
Arts with
K3
K3 students are ďŹ nding ways art can spread to joy to others around our community through their distance learning. They created art to share their appreciate to everyone at KAUST Health!
By: Kathleen J. Hoffman, K3 Performing and Visual Arts Teacher
K2 Kids Connecting Online "I really liked doing it. I wonder if my other friends in the class are going to be in different one (Google Meet) next time. I like my friends. I really miss them and I like school." Isabel Hall (K2)
https://issuu.com/thekaustschool/docs/demographics_2018-19_for_web?e=23587344/65292788
from Jeff Woodcock, GES Principal The Primary Years Programme Exhibition In the final year of the PYP, students carry out an extended, in-depth, collaborative project known as the PYP exhibition. This involves students working collaboratively to conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or problems. Students collectively synthesize all of the essential elements of the PYP in ways that can be shared with the whole school community. Under normal circumstances, our grade five students would have shared their PYP Exhibition with the community in early April, at an evening open house. They would have also had the opportunity to invite other grades in the elementary school to visit their classroom to present their findings to our younger students. Our Grade 5 students began their Exhibition in-person, then took a break as we transitioned to distance learning. When we resumed, some students chose to continue with their original inquiries into issues or opportunities, and some changed based on the changing situation in the world and how they would work best as learners in an online setting. Our students have shown resilience, commitment to learning, and an eagerness to take action. On June 11th, the students began to share their learning journey and get feedback from our community. While last Thursday was the final day of Exhibition in the sense that our year is coming to a close, we know that many students will chose to continue their inquiries, continue to take action, and continue to advocate for action from others, which is why your feedback is greatly appreciated. Please follow this link to access the grade wide PYP Exhibition Padlet. From there you can visit each class. On each Padlet there are guidelines for feedback and a link to get back to the main page. We appreciate you taking the time to see our learning journey and we hope you might learn something, change your thinking in some way, or be inspired to take action. Jeffrey Woodcock
Distance Learning to ME It has been an unpredictable time for all of us over the past 11 weeks of Distance Learning. As our students have adapted to new ways of learning, take a look at this Padlet to see how they have shown their creativity and reflection skills in their final lesson of Art for this year. Students were required to reflect on their Distance Learning and consider items which represent what they have valued during this time. By: Linda Kent, Lower Elementary Visual Arts Teacher.
GES Distance Learning Musical Showcases During Distance learning, many GES students collaborated to produce a weekly virtual musical showcase where they sang and displayed incredible talents to our community. The showcases videos were supervised and created by GES Music teachers: Peter Diglin and Scott Ferrare and the posted weekly on Seesaw. If you did not have the time to check them or want to enjoy them again, you can see the showcases at the links below;
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10
from David Tigchelaar, GSS Principal Dear Parents, I would like to use this opportunity to express my appreciation of the role parents have played during Distance Learning. One of the difďŹ culties we anticipated during Distance Learning was a decrease in communication between all stakeholders as face-to-face meetings were no longer possible. We found that the communication with parents, however, remained very effective and positive. We regularly emailed with parents or spoke with you on the phone, many parents turned up at information sessions and you responded to surveys. The feedback and the questions we received helped us ďŹ netune our programme and our newsletters. Next year, the parameters will change again. We will go back into the building but it won't be the same as in the past. We will have to ďŹ nd new routines and need to continue receiving feedback from students and teachers on how effective our routines are. I look forward to continued collaboration with you next year. David Tigchelaar
Eagle Scout Project Michael Church wanted to make a difference during the virus pandemic by responding to the community’s need for facemasks. In line with President Chan’s initiative, KAUST HSE, and the KC3 Task Force purchased manufactured masks and distributed sewing machines and material to talented community volunteers willing to make colorful masks by hand. As his Eagle Scout Project, Michael responded to the need of sorting, packaging, and distributing over six thousand masks to more than 1,200 homes throughout KAUST. To accomplish this task, Michael organized a volunteer force of 25 individuals made up of Boy Scouts from KAUST Troop 13, TKS students, HSE staff, and dedicated members from the community. Michael had the opportunity to demonstrate leadership by coordinating and overseeing the project, which is a requirement in order to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout. He is grateful for Erik Talley, Ed Sedgwick and Nour AlSaleh from KAUST HSE, and the KC3 TaskForce who made this possible, and for their trust and support. TKS students: Louis Davidson, Adam Newns, Bruno Parisi, Hamza Khasawneh, Lourenço Gomes, Samuel Paterson, Uzayr Abu Samah, Paul Ekers, Yousef Abdelaal, Leon Thistle By: Michole M. Church, Student Support
Car Parade “Clap Out” for Gr 12 Students
Photos by :Reece Lennon Educational Technology Coach
TKS 2020 graduates