Year 12/IB1

Having just sat their IGCSEs a mere few months earlier, the Year 12s made a phenomenal transition into their first year of IB. They were welcomed back with the official opening of the brand new IB Hub, equipped with everything they need to get through the year –including a social area, personal study spaces, meeting rooms, and more. We saw the rise of competition soon after, with the ensuing of spirited and creative campaigning for the positions of Head Girl and Head Boy which were ultimately claimed by Mimi Hassan and Yousef Al -Saudi, accompanied the newly formed, determined Student Leadership Team. Many students across the year group worked relentlessly to organize and contribute to a variety of initiatives, such as AutumnFest, the Festive Market and National Day. One of these events was the extremely memorable TEDx Youth event, featuring guest speakers as well as TED talks from our very own students. The Literary Soiree, too, provided an evening of insight and entertainment as students demonstrated their talents in writing and music. Each term ended with an exciting rewards day trip: Ski Dubai and MotionGate. There is no doubt that through all this, students bonded immensely throughout the year; we saw this especially during pyjama & horror movie night! Another memorable initiative was the psychology mentoring programme, where a group of enthusiastic IB1s used their experience with GCSE psychology to personally mentor and tutor Year 11 GCSE psychology students, helping them achieve their potential and enhance both their knowledge and passion for the subject. Speaking of passion, it was remarkable to see the amount of passionate students who joined the university societies, such as the Law and Politics society, Medical society, Commerce society, and more. Within these societie oped both professionally and perso skills, knowledge and interest An ex the fantastic CPR, First aid, and AED en by members of the Medical and ties Students also made imperative the next steps of their futures with th ty fairs that were ongoing for the fir We saw university representatives world take the time to visit the IB1s about their campuses, programmes quirements. This, alongside several taining to university applications, pe – as well as a financial literacy cours the year group with a solid found steps of their lives Progress was also made on the core components of the IB, particularly the Diploma Programme, with days such as C AS launch day and Extended Essay writing day The Group 4 project was another exciting and successful event where students got the chance to use their creativity, collaborative skills, and knowledge of the sciences to create presentations and displays surrounding the theme of the UAE’s mission to Mars. Culture and diversity, perhaps one of the most fundamental aspects of the DIS community, were embraced during International Day. And we can’t forget, of course, the international trips to Borneo and Switzerland that were truly once -in-alifetime experiences for all those who attended. All in all, the 2022-2023 cohort of Year 12s have made incredible progress both academically and personally, and are ready to take the next steps towards what will surely be extremely successful futures, for each and every one of them.

Year Learning Coordinator

Jordan Rawlins