NURSERY GENERAL KG PRIMARY SECONDARY SCHOOL CLINIC

Thursday 21 May 2015 Issue 89

GENERAL NURSERY KG PRIMARY SECONDARY PARIS GENERAL NURSERY PRIMARY SECONDARY

Sunday, 10th June 2018 Issue 143

Recent Happenings STEM Best Practice Award

RIS Iftar

FS Graduation

Important dates for August/September 2018

DATE EVENTS

JUNE 2018

Sunday, 10 June Year 11 Graduation Ceremony, 9:00 am Dance Studio

Sunday, 10 June Year 1 Concert rehearsal, Sport Hall

Monday, 11 & Tuesday, 12 June Year 1 Concert, Sports Hall at 11:30—1:00 pm

Wednesday, 20 June Year 2 Annual Production

Wednesday, 20 June Parent Appreciation Day

Thursday, 21 June Nursery Certificate Ceremony

Thursday, 21 June Innovents Film Festival @ DIA

Thursday, 21 June Year 6 Graduation Ceremony

Sunday, 24 June Nursery Black and White Day

Monday, 25 June Art Competition - Innovents @ RIS

Tuesday, 26 June Secondary School Field Trip

Tuesday, 26 - Wednesday 27 June Year 3 rehearsal

Thursday, 28 June Year 3 Annual Concert, Sports Hall

DATE EVENTS

August/September 2018

Wednesday, 29 August Subject enrolment for Year 12 and Year 13

Sunday, 2 September Orientation Day for new students (Nursery to Year 13)

Monday, 3 September Regular lessons starts for Year 1 to Year 13 ( full day)

Sunday, 2 or Monday, 3 September Nursery & FS 2 Parent and Student Introductory meeting

Tuesday, 4 - Thursday, 6 September FS2 Phasing-in shortened hours, 7:40 - 11:00 am

Tuesday, 4 - Thursday, 13 September Nursery Phasing-in shortened hours, 8:00 - 11:00 am

Sunday, 9 September Regular lessons starts for FS 2 (full day)

Sunday, 16 September Regular lessons starts for Nursery (full day)

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents,

While school hours are a little reduced during the Holy Month of Ramadan and we make adjustments to our daily routines, mindful of colleagues and friends who are fasting, this has nevertheless been a busy month at RIS with some notable achievements.

This edition of SummaRISe is packed with news from across the school including the results from the 2018 STEM Best Practice awards where the RIS team did extremely well, to the individual achievements of our fabulous French team pictured below. Our students have also been extremely busy, particularly the Year 11s (and selected Year 10s) who have started their iGCSE examinations – a big step in their journey along their educational path.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the RIS Iftar evening at the end of last month. We had over 400 guests in school enjoying games and activities prepared by staff and an impressive array of dishes brought in and donated by parents and teachers. I was recently asked what made RIS unique and amongst many different positive qualities, the feeling of school and community came to the fore. This will be reflected in the new RIS Website which is currently under development and is something of which we can be extremely proud.

The Primary School leadership team will be changing over the summer with Ms. Susie McShane (Deputy Head FS2 and Early Years) leaving us to head up a new Innoventures Education school: Raffles Starters in The Springs. Susie has been instrumental in the development of FS2 and Early Years at RIS and in recognition of this, has been promoted to Head of Raffles Starters and Springs Nursery.

Mr. Gary Williams (Primary Deputy Head, Pastoral) will also be leaving us, although moving somewhat further afield. Gary has secured his first school headship position and will be taking over responsibility for an international school in Hong Kong. After 4 years at RIS, this is just recognition for all of Gary’s hard work and his contribution to the pastoral care of pupils in the school, contribution to the management of events and overall impact on the running of the school has been fantastic.

We wish Ms. Susie and Mr. Gary every success in their new ventures. Two new members of the leadership team have been appointed and they will be introduced to the school community in due course.

Further updates from me will be included in the next edition of SummaRISe, in the meantime, Eid Mubarak and I wish you a happy and successful month ahead.

Sincerely,

Tim Richardson Principal

From our MFL Department Congratulations to Maya, Zeina and Ilham on being successfully awarded DELF examiner status. This means our talented team are now qualified to run DELF examinations at RIS, an essential part of our accreditation as a DELF examination center. This No-vember, we will be hosting students from schools all over Dubai as they take these important exams. Well done and felicitations!

NURSERY GENERAL PRIMARY SECONDARY

Dear Parents, Grandparents and Extended Family,

Recognising the unparalleled role of assessments in outstanding teaching and learning, the Formative assessment process in our Nursery is ongoing and continuous, by observational methods that measure the steps children make against age-appropriate development milestones or benchmarks. The observations are holistic and provide an understanding of the students’ academic progress as well as their personal and social development. These evaluations have the impact of influencing differentiated planning for each child and the expectations of progress providing ongoing feedback to teachers, students and parents about how well the student is processing information, whether or not he understood the lessons and if he has mastered the material he is working with and whether or not he is ready to move onto the next step in learning.

As the materials in our classes have an in-built control of error, this gives the children immediate feedback on his progress. The control of error allows the child to self-assess and correct his mistakes and continue practicing without intervention. The child has control of his own learning, building self-esteem and self-worth along the way.

Our Casa teachers continue to consistently use formative assessments as part of the daily routine. Each student’s interest and progress are individually observed, assessed and recorded. Based on the Montessori Record Sheets the teachers plan the next step of learning, set targets for the children and check progress. Informal assessments during circle time and group discussions, through questioning by teachers, adds to overall view of the students’ achievement.

In the Nursery, Summative Assessment in our classrooms happens in the form of the 3 period lesson to assess a child after teaching a concept. The first period is the presentation of the concept to the child; the second period is the practice and follow up work the child completes; and the third period is when the child is checked for mastery of the concept taught. The 3 period lessons are consistently used, enabling the teachers to check how well the students are responding to their guidance. The practice period takes only minutes within the context of the lesson, or it can take days or even weeks before mastery is checked. By using this assessment system, the teachers understand their students’ strengths and weaknesses which can be addressed with the leveled self-correcting materials.

The development of the children is assessed through observations in all 7 areas of development. The 7 areas are organized into three Prime Areas and four Specific Areas. The Prime Areas are particularly important for promoting strong foundations for learning for 2-3 year olds and are further developed for the 3-4 year olds as they gain in competency. The four Specific Areas are gradually introduced into the programme as per the children’s individual needs.

1. Prime Area-Personal Social and Emotional Development (Self Confidence, Managing feelings and behaviour, Making relationships)

2. Prime Area-Physical Development (Moving and handling, Health and self-care) 3. Prime Area-Communication and Language (Listening and attention, Understanding, Speaking) 4. Specific Area-Literacy (Reading, Writing) 5. Specific Area-Mathematics (Numbers, Shapes, space and measure) 6. Specific Area-Understanding of the World (People and communities, The World, Technology) 7. Specific Area-Expressive Art and Design (Exploring and using media and materials, Being imaginative)

The Early Years learning environment we provide is specifically non-competitive, and eschews rewards and punishment in favour of encouraging the development in children of intrinsic motivation for learning. As our children get ready to move on to the next academic year, we hope that we have been able to instil in them self discipline and an intrinsic ‘love for learning.’ Once they have these attributes safely tucked into their being, the journey of school will continue to remain an enjoyable one.

Garima Kapoor Assistant Head Early Years

It is all about Reptiles in the Nursery!

Mindful reading in Nursery by students volunteers from Year 10

Our Year 5 volunteers read to the children during the month of Ramadan

NURSERY GENERAL PRIMARY SECONDARY

Dear RIS Community,

As one would expect, it is proving to be a very busy end of term and academic year. Firstly, I would like to recognise the Primary School’s achievements in relation to its STEM innovation. STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) teaching was introduced to RIS last September and has proved very popular among students. STEM supports broadening the study of engineering within each of the other sub-jects, and beginning engineering at younger grades. STEM education often uses new technologies to encourage interest in STEM fields. Earlier this year, RIS entered itself for the first STEM Best Practice Awards, and was shortlisted for the STEM Best Practice Summit 2018 finals here in the UAE on May 24th. As you may know, RIS was awarded first place in the Elementary section against all of the participating schools in the UAE. This is a great honour and testament to our school fully embracing the STEM practice. We are most grateful to our IT Head of Department Seema Vinod for providing the evidence in support of the school’s application, and for helping to showcase our students’ work. I would also like to publically thank the following students for presenting in front of the judges: Lukas Millican, 6A and Zulqarnain Ali, 4A.

At the time of writing this, we are just over halfway through the Holy Month of Ramadan. Logistically it is challenging to ensure all of our students who are fasting and those who are not are properly provided for – and I am most grateful to the Primary team for making this work. We are also most grateful to all of our parents and staff involved in organizing the RIS Iftar on May 29th. We received over 500 guests, about double the number from last year. A huge amount of effort went into the event – so thank you to everyone involved; it was a lovely way for people to get together and to celebrate this important part of Ramadan. Again at the time of writing, we are looking forward to the Innoventures Iftar on June 7th – this is a chance for all of the Innoventures staff to meet up and following Iftar to celebrate success across the group.

Naturally there is a lot of change ahead of us as the present academic year ends. Students will of course be graduating to new year groups – graduation ceremonies for FS2 have already taken place, and Year 6’s is planned for June 21st. We know that some students will be leaving RIS – and we wish them all the very best – as we do those staff who will be moving on. New students and staff will be joining us. We have focused a lot this year on improving the transitions students experience between years and phases, and between schools. We hope that this focus results in a seamless transition over the coming months.

I have written a lot in SummaRISe about the speed at which time has passed for me both this academic year and calendar year. It is astonishing to think that 2018 is over halfway through already. For those not used to working in schools, the often heard exclamation is about the length of the holidays! For those used to working in schools, we recognise the need for everyone to enjoy a long summer break especially – to re-charge batteries, take stock etc. At the time of writing with just four weeks of term left, it is hard to imagine how everything will get done – the remaining exams, graduations, performances, reports, end-of-year assemblies and after-school events, school self-review etc – but it will get done, and the summer will be a very well-deserved rest period for all involved! Whatever your plans are for the summer month – may you have your own respite periods!

I look forward to seeing you over the remaining weeks, and to writing again to you in the 2018/19 academic year. Edward Cooper, Head of Primary School

PRIMARY SCHOOL

K e y S t a g e 1 N e w s

Foundation Stage New “If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind?” Maria Montessori.

Towards the end of the year with just a few months to go we can observe how far the children have developed holistically. From the quiet, meek little ones they have blossomed into outspoken, independent individuals. This is evident from the academic work they do in class to the children independently dressing and undressing themselves for their swim class each week.

One of the highlights was the trip to Green Planet. The children enjoyed learning through their experiences. They were able to touch some of the creatures and understood what a rainforest would look

like. During character dress up day the children excitedly shared who their character was and which book the character belonged to.

The children of FS performed for their graduation and showcased their singing talent. They received their certificate of completion.

Year 1 New We are coming to the final stretch of this academic year. The children are all geared up having developed skills to make them flourish in Year 2. During the past couple of weeks, the children have been sitting their year end GL Math assessments. These assessments are based on the information and skills the children have learnt and developed over the year. The children have been continuing to work hard in all the area of the curriculum. In Math, the children have been exploring different Mental Math strategies to solve the mental math questions they are exposed to. In English, they have been learning to write a postcard to a friend, retelling a favourite Holiday they have been too. In Science, while doing the topic ‘Weather and Seasons’ the children explored how their shadows changed at different time of the day and worked collaboratively with their partners to measure their shadows.

To close this year the children will be performing for the end of year concert ‘Peter Pan’. They have rehearsed and have truly shown some great acting skills. The show timings and dates have been put up on the posters outside your child’s class. We hope to see you all there.

Year 2 New The Year 2 have had lots of exciting things going on at school. Year 2 have been very excited about their reading challenge set by Ms. Suzanne our Librarian. The children have loved reading and evaluating books they have read with their friends. We are very enthusiastic about the importance of reading at RIS. The children really enjoyed being able to choose the books they wanted to read and were motivated by their certificate they received at the end of their challenge! Well done Year 2!

We then had Literacy Day to follow the 30 books in 30 Days challenge. The children in Year 2 were so excited to dress up as their favourite book character and see what their friends had chosen to dress up as. The week coming up to Literacy Day we got the children excited about the book we choose ‘The Most Magnificent thing’ giving the children clues about which year two teacher would be reading to them and activities focused on the story. In Year 2 we were very creative, creating our own magnificent thing’.

In Moral Education, we have been reinforcing the importance of following the RIS ‘CORE’ values on a day to day basis. Each class in year 2, had a core value focus and they designed their own rock linked to this core value. Which you can find in the rockery in the year 1 garden. In mathematics we have been working on measuring length, mass, capacity. Year 2 have really enjoyed their Science topic, ‘habitats’ comparing and contrasting different habitats.

Susie Mcshane Deputy Head, Primary KS1

K e y S t a g e 2 N e w s

During the final stretch of this term, children are busy with their GL tests in English, Maths and Science. The children have been revising in class and have been well prepared by the teachers with giving revision tasks at home. This online test is an official KHDA test requirement for all schools following the UK curriculum. The children will be completing the tests in the exam hall under exam conditions. All teachers will be present to help with this process. I am sure the children will do very well as all tests will cover the year’s work that has been completed.

Congratulations to the ICT department for coming 1st place in the STEM awards for “best use of stem in a primary school” RIS beat 30 other schools to hit 1st place and was noted to have the best presentation in the final three schools. This shows what wonderful work is taking place in our school. Many thanks go to Ms. Seema Vinod who presented at the awards ceremony and put together a wonderful presentation. Please see the attached link which shows the excellent STEM work which is happening at RIS. Special thanks go to Luca from 6A and Zulquarnain 4A who also presented at the awards ceremony. They were a real credit to the school, and spoke with such confidence in front of a huge auditorium full of guests from other schools.

Link: \\jlinatoc\Assembly 2018\stem 2018

Year 6 graduation will be taking place on Thursday, 21st June at 9:30 in the Sports Hall. This is a wonderful occasion where we award all students for their hard work and efforts.

All Year 6 parents are invited to attend this prestigious event. This is the first time where the children will be taken off site for a trip to the indoor theme park- IMG for the remainder of the day escorted by SLMT and the Y6 staff and selected parents.

We wish our Year 6 the very best for their future endeavors whether it be continuing their education at RIS or elsewhere. They have been a wonderful asset to the school and have worked their very best this year in their Cambridge examinations. I know they will continue to work hard to excel even further during their Secondary education.

A special thank you to Ms. Wafaa, Ms. Heba for our annual RIS Iftar celebration. The events organised for the children were varied and enjoyed by all - these included a bouncy castle, a variety of sports, arts and craft activities, henna painting, and a traditional story teller who read to our children. I know all our families had a wonderful time and the food that was organized was of an outstanding quality.

I wish Ramadan Kareem for all our Muslim community at RIS and wish you a Happy Eid to follow. Best wishes for the rest of this Summer term. Jasmit Kang Deputy Head, Primary KS2

NURSERY GENERAL PRIMARY PRIMARY SECONDARY

The fast pace of the term is continuing. Over the past weeks the students have been continuing to work hard towards their external examinations, end of year exams and the GL assessments. Staff have been setting work regularly and running revision sessions, and students have been taking up the numerous offers of help and intervention. All of this support is aimed at ensuring our students have the best possible chances to succeed and to perform their very best in preparation for their future.

The Secondary students have received their Progress Check 5 which will give parents a good indication of how they are achieving and progressing. The year will then be summarized with an end of year report, which for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be written.

On Sunday, June 10th RIS will be celebrating the end of Year 11 with our students at their Graduation Ceremony. This event will be the culmination of their iGCSE courses and will give parents and staff the opportunity to recognize their achievements and efforts over the past 5 years. The ceremony is taking place at 9:00 am in the dance studio. Thank you to PaRIS for their support with this event.

Despite this focus on academic achievement the students have also found time to set up and organise our Ramadan Fridge. This is in support of a Dubai wide initiative where organisations and individuals focus on one of the key themes of Ramadan - giving. Each day we have had workers visit our fridge to take the donations given by the school community. Each day it has then been filled by the students and cleared out. In particular support has come from the Year 12 students who have travelled around Dubai collecting donations from companies, including Al Ain water. Thank you to the suppliers of the fridge and their kind donation of water, Broccoli Pizza and Pasta. We still have another week to go. Please keep your donations coming in.

Much of this part of the school year focuses on summarizing and assessing the learning of this current academic year , and focusing on moving forward in preparation for the next. In the coming two weeks Year 6 students will have another opportunity to visit the upper end of the school to meet staff and to ask questions about life in Secondary School. This is an incredibly exciting time for them and we look forward to welcoming them.

Finally to celebrate the end of the academic year the secondary staff have organized a trip to IMG World on Wednesday July 4th. The cost of the trip is 190Dhs. Letters are available from your child’s Head of Year. It would be great to get as many students as possible taking part and celebrating the end to a fantastic year.

The end of term is fast approaching but there is still much work to be done; GL assessments and end of term examinations in non-core subjects. Please encourage your child to keep working hard and focusing right to the end. Thank you for your continued support as always. Bryony Lynch Peter Rowlands Deputy Head Secondary School Head of Secondary School

SECONDARY SCHOOL

GENERAL NURSERY PRIMARY SECONDARY

M e s s a g e f r o m t h e H e a d o f S i x t h F o r m

Dear Parents,

With summer examinations coming to an end, it is the perfect time to focus on enrich-ment activities and careers for the sixth formers.

Work Experience Thank you to the wider community and PaRIS for supporting our work experience program for the Sixth Form. We are in the process of uploading all our vacancies online for our students to select and apply to. These can be found here: http://www.rafflesis.com/student-life/sixth-form/work-experience-mock-interviews/. Students will be interviewed over the month by their prospective employer and placements will be offered for the last week of term. A list of useful documents will also be made available online including practice interview questions. Volunteering During the holy month of Ramadan, RIS are hosting is Ramadan fridge. A team of Year 12 students have taken a lead or keeping the fridge fully stocked up – including on weekends when donations are few. Extended Project Students wishing to gain extra credits have had the opportunity to enroll onto the Extended Project Qualification. EPQ allows each student to embark on a largely self-directed and self-motivated project. Students must choose a topic, plan, research and develop their idea and decide on their finished product. This will lead to an AS qualification that is highly regarding by universities. Students will have the summer holidays to work on this. Careers Year 12 have had vocational guidance meetings with Ms. Pye. Discussions have started about university applications and life after Raffles International School. Students have been active on BridgeU looking at different courses on offer and any additional qualifications such as SATS and IELTS they may need to be able continue their studies in their country of preference. Wishing you all the blessings of the holy month of Ramadan. Leena Atkins Head of Sixth Form and Mathematics

S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l C o u n s e l l i n g D e p a r t m e n t

Ramadan and Mindfulness In the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world spend a lot of time reflecting on their lives. This is very much a time for introspection, when one takes stock of the past and plans ahead towards the future. “Fasting in the month of Ramadan is recommended in the Quran as it develops self-awareness, consciousness, and one can discover a multitude of meanings in thinking as to what that self-awareness and consciousness is for and why it is so important for all of us to take time to examine our lives in such ways” (Dr. Younus Saleem, Psychiatry UK, June 2017).

This form of reflecting, being in the present moment, can also be found through mindfulness, one of the more effective and current models of psychological therapy. This way of focusing, reflecting, and being present, helps us create self-awareness, be more in tune with our surroundings, and become aware of how rushed our lives have gotten. This is of course not limited merely to the month of Ramadan, but why not take the opportunity during this special time, to appreciate the present moment. Putting 10 minutes aside each day, for reflection or meditation, or 10 minutes aside for being outdoors or even 10 minutes for anything relaxing, would go a long way to creating a well-balanced life. Since we are truly living in a technological savvy era, there are Apps that can get you started.

Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app

GoNoodle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=O29e4rRMrV4

“For Muslims, Ramadan is all about taking these small steps but of course you do not have to be a Muslim to take small steps in the month of Ramadan. Actually, I would say that being part of the blessed month of Ramadan and benefiting from this great month of healing and reflection can help us all live our lives in a better way” (Dr. Younus Saleem, Psychiatry UK, June 2017). So, for our Muslim and non-Muslim families, why not develop a list of easy things you can do consistently to help with being more mindful in the long term. Nothing too big – nothing too hard – and nothing that takes too much of your day, just 10 minutes for only YOURSELF.

News from the Year 10 Mentorship / Leadership Group: This week the group tackled the issue of what they would consider, makes a good leader. Some attributes the group came up with are; being responsible, trustworthy, helpful, taking decisions through discussion, teamwork, being open and understanding, know when to guide, authenticity, be an independent thinker, wisdom and experience, be aware, caring, and share positivity.

The group also shared who their current “leadership role models” are; Oprah, Michelle Obama, Nelson Mandela, Parents, Princess Diana, and our very own Ms. Lynch.

When given a chance to lead discussions, the current English Debate topic came up, which the group named “Educating Teen Girls on how to be Safe”. This was a very heated debate, and the group leader did an excellent job in maintaining openness whilst staying in control of the agenda.

Next week the group will be leading Mindfulness sessions within our Nursery. I am so proud of all the members in this group. Upcoming Events: Leadership Workshop, for selected students in Years 9, 10, 11, and 12, Monday, June 25th, 2018, 7.45am – 10.15am. Parent Support Group, Tuesday, June 26th, 2018, 8am – 9.30am. Creating a Vision Board to round off the amazing 2017/2018 Academic Year. Please RSVP with priscat@rafflesis.com This will be a fun and creative workshop. Wishing you all a very mindful month of June. Prisca Toland Secondary School Counsellor