1

AL MANAHIL PRIVATE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S NEWSLETTER January/February, 2017

Issue No. 4

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther

The new term began on 8th January with a new lease of life and energy in both the students and the teachers alike. The New Year, with new hopes and resolutions was absolutely the right step to move forward to achieve the goals set forth for the year 2017. The year 2017 was announced as the “Year of Giving” by the President of UAE, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and this definitely will be the focus of Al Manahil Private School, during this year.

Accolades Seizing every opportunity to be a part of a competition is more important than winning itself. However, our students were obviously not satisfied in sheer participation but ensured that they secured the III place in the Arabic debate competition conducted by Al Ain Juniors School. Securing the third place was quite a task as the students had to compete against 27 other schools to secure its place in the competition. Al Manahil participated in the Maarthon conducted by MADAR International School in their 4rt “MADARATHON”. The race took place at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club on Saturday, 4th of February, 2017. Our school secured the 5th position from amongst 22 schools which is definitely a matter of pride and honour. Our students also participated in the School Soccer 2017 organised by Our Own English High School, Al Ain.

At this point we would like to thank the schools for inviting us to be a part of their events and we look forward to participating in many more such events.

Events January and February were months that brought happiness to the children as it had for them a plethora of events that definitely ushered in smiles on their faces – a time of fun, frolic – and of course one that would bring in joy in the lives of those dear ones who were less privileged than them. Professional Development: The year began with Professional Development sessions on various strategies and pedagogical practices like De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and Blooms Taxonomy. A training on creating rubrics was also a part of the learning for the teachers during this time. This will go a long way in impacting the classroom teaching and learning. Parent Teacher Conference: The second Parent Teacher Conference was held on 15th January, 2017 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It was a time for parents to meet with the teachers to discuss their child's performance after the End of Term Assessments and next steps to enhance their performances. Fire Drill: The second unannounced fire drill was conducted on 17th January, 2017, which

2

will prepare them for emergency situations. The procedure was followed and ensured that there were no gaps in following the procedure to ensure the safety of all at school, specially the children. Sustainable Schools Campaign: The students of Al Manahil participated in the third Sustainable Schools Campaign based on the theme “Reclaiming the Climate”. It was truly exciting to see our students connect with nature through activities and speak on its behalf. The Campaign was held at Al Salamat forests affiliated to the Bararri Forest Management due to its important role in ensuring environmental sustainability which is a habitat for many of the local plant species, such as Ghaf trees, Seder and a number of acacia trees. It was an event attended by over 50 students, to raise awareness about the issue of climate change and the damage caused by the daily practices that lead to global warming. It truly helped in promoting a culture of social and environmental responsibility among the students. KG Colour Day: To reinforce the spectrum of colours, KG held a Colour Day on 26th January, 2017. It was a fun day and great to see the children dressed up in various colours and also bring food that represented a variety of colours. Sports: The last week of January brought in a great deal of joy and excitement into Al Manahil. From 29th January to 2nd February, the school was bursting with energy and enthusiasm with the four houses (Air, Earth, Fire and Water) fighting it out to secure the top place by participating in a variety of events. Matches and races were held during the week and culminated in the 23rd Annual Sports Day of Al Manahil on 1st and 2nd February, 2017, for girls and boys respectively. This was followed by the Sports Day for the KG on 8th February and it was a real treat to watch the tiny tots participating with immense vigour and enthusiasm. The inaugural dance done by them got our feet tapping to the catchy beats. It was also very heart warming to see their parents come in to watch their little ones participate.

IGCSE Parent Teacher Conference: A Parent Teacher Conference, with focus in the IGCSE classes was held further to the I Mock Examination. The meeting was to guide students to achieve higher grades in their forthcoming IGCSE Examinations. It was a very worthwhile conference. UAE National Sports Day: This was celebrated on 16th February, when the whole school participated and celebrated the UAE National Sports Day. Boys and girls participated in different events like, Tug of war, Football, Volley ball, and also played some of the traditional games of UAE. International Day: This was one of the highlights of the month. The entire school geared up to showcase international mindedness not merely with food and flags of the different countries but also staged a variety of programmes that brought to light the rich culture of the various countries. Every child participated in the event. The students hand printed the flags of 30 countries on canvas and was displayed during the event. After the event the parents got to have a look at the corridors that were decorated with various artifacts of a few countries. This was followed by the Food Fest and both the students and the parents made a bee line for this. There were six stalls and each of the stalls sold a variety of foods of different countries. The proceeds of the sale will be handed over to Red Crescent keeping in line with the theme of the year which is “Year of Giving.” Coffee Morning: The first every Coffee Morning for the KG and Grades 1 and two were held during the last week of February. This was a time when the students showcased their learning through a variety of mediums such as skits, dances and presentations. Parents of Grades 1 and 2 also had an orientation on Assessment in the Primary. KG Workshop: A workshop on Enabling Environment for EYFS by Eri Akbar was held on 22nd January at Al Basma British School, Abu Dhabi, our sister concern. This was attended by

3

our KG teachers and am sure that this training will definitely benefit them in their teaching and learning process. Cambridge Training: Four of our teachers attended the face to face training conducted by Cambridge at Arab Unity School, Dubai. The teachers came back with updated knowledge in their respective subjects and am sure this will definitely help in them preparing the students for the IGCSE examinations. Reminders: Some of the students arrive at school as early as 6.15 a.m. Please note that the school gate will open only at 7.05 a.m. Please ensure that you drop your child only by this time to ensure that your child is not left unmonitored outside the school. Likewise please ensure that your child is picked up after school, not later than 2.30 p.m. It has been noticed that some of the students bring mobiles to school. Please note that no electronic gadgets are permitted unless specified by the teacher. Parents will be contacted for the same. If your child loses or misplaces anything please check with the Reception or with the Home Room Teacher. You are hereby requested to complete the payment of fees for the rest of the term. Please ignore if already paid. Please note that results of your child will not be declared if the fees are not paid. You are also reminded to go through our school web site and ensure that you go through all the policies of the school. The Arabic version of the policies will be uploaded in due course. Assessments: The Assessments are conducted at the end of term and the results will be announced when we resume for Term 3. Spring Break: Spring break will begin from 26th March to 8th April, 2017. Please note that school will resume after the winter break on 9th April, 2017.

Quiz Time: 1. What are the four kinds of vipers that are native to the UAE? 2. Who wrote the book “Rags to Riches – A story of Abu Dhabi”? 3. What is the boat that was used for pearl diving called? 4. Who is the youngest Emirati woman to fly the Airbus A380, who was in the news recently? 5. What is the national animal of UAE? Send in your answers to amps.alain@gmail.com on or before 10th March, 2016. The first person to send in all correct answers will be acknowledged in our next newsletter. Food Recipe – Eggless Chocolate Cake: Dry Ingredients: 1½ cup – Flour; 1 cup Sugar; ¼ cup Cocoa Powder; 1 Table spoon Baking Soda; ½ Tea spoon Salt Wet Ingredients: 1 Cup Water; 6 Table spoons (90 ml) Vegetable Oil; 1 Table spoon (15 ml) White Vinegar; 1 Tea spoon Vanilla Essence Sift together all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients to it. Mix well with a hand whisk. Bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

4

Photo Gallery

MADAR International School Marathon

Al Ain Juniors Arabic Debate Competition

5

Foot Ball Match – Our Own English High School

Parent Teacher Conferences

6

Sustainable Schools Campaign

Fire Drill

7

KG Colour Day

Sports Day – School and UAE National Sports Day

8

9

International Day

10

Coffee Morning – KG and Grades 1 and 2