Welcome

What a great start to the school year we have had! While the pandemic still has us adjusting some practices, we are fortunate to be continuing with a robust learning program for all of our students. Not only does this learning program take place during the school day, but this year we’ve been able to roll out a comprehensive co-curricular program as well which takes place primarily after school. If your children did not get the opportunity to engage in these co-curricular activities for this first cycle, I encourage you to register for your SchoolsBuddy account and to be in touch with either Richard Davies in GSS, richard.davies@kaust.edu.sa, or Jorge Rodriguez in GES, jorge.rodriguez@kaust.edu.sa. If you’d like to get more information about our aquatics program, you can reach out to daan.sengers@kaust.edu.sa. Cycle 1 has been a huge success so far with 429 students participating in 34 different activities and clubs in GES alone. We had over 140 students express interest in the swimming program, and in GSS 353 students are currently participating in 35 activities across the co-curricular program areas of Health & Wellness, STEM, Creativity and Life skills, Leadership & Service. sports, the musical, and a variety of clubs and activities?

As was recently shared, The KAUST School (TKS) now reports to the Provost. This organizational alignment with the Academic Division of the University enhances opportunities for implementing certain goals in our strategic plan. In the upcoming Town Hall meeting on Monday, November 8, I will have the opportunity to share more information about the exciting projects that TKS is working on this year. While we have much to celebrate, we are particularly excited about the new internship program in the high school, the new STEM enrichment program in GES, and the implementation of the Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop model in KG and continuing up through grade 8. All of these changes are a result of the goals of our strategic plan.

In the strategic plan 52% of our goals are related specifically to our academic learning program, 25% are focused on well-being and 23% are focused on engagement. I am pleased to report that 90% of these goals are on-track or ahead of schedule while the remaining 10% are future goals that will be introduced in the coming year. Already a quarter of our goals are in the implementation stage which means as parents you’ll start to see and feel some of these changes. You may see a slight difference in curriculum in areas such as math, English and secondary science as we have now begun to implement our new standards to complement the IB framework. Your children may be enjoying new course offerings, the expanding co-curricular offerings, and/or the focus on social and emotional learning. You will continue to see more growth and opportunities in the coming months and years as more of our work moves into the implementation stage.

None of these positive changes would be possible without the incredible dedication of the TKS faculty and staff. These enhancements have come because teachers have used data and adapted the curriculum and instruction where needed. They have stepped forward to offer their expertise in areas outside of the classroom to support the co-curricular program. Our learning leadership team has taken responsibility for ushering through many of these changes and have supported our teams each step of the way. I am truly in awe of everything our faculty and staff do to inspire our students and enhance their learning each and every day.

Warm regards,

Michelle Remington Director of The KAUST School

Director’s Letter