Year 9

MRS SARAH NORAY

HEAD OF YEAR 9

Increased Opportunities for everyone!

This term has seen a return to many things that make BSAK the brilliantly vibrant place it is! We have seen an increase in the amount and range of sports students can be involved in, more House Competitions and the return of the School Show! It was brilliant to see so many Year 9’s auditioning and winning key ensemble roles in the cast. We are having a fantastic time rehearsing with them and I know they will contribute to making this a fantastic return to the BSAK stage!

YEAR 9 PE &

DRAMA AUDITIONS

STUDENT SUCCESS

POET LAUREATE

The Secondary English Department invited students to apply for the Poet Laureate positions for 2022/23, by submitting poems on the theme of Gratitude. From an impressive number of applications and an exceptional range of poems, we congratulate our KS3 Poet Laureate winner - Areej Fatimah 9PH. You can read Areej’s poem on page 20.

YEAR

REPRESENTATIVE

Congratulations to

Shaikha Al Hajeri

For securing the role of Year 10 Year rep for next academic year. Year 9 had the highest number of applications for this role and after reading through these strong applications and interviewing 3 of the strongest candidates Shaikha was chosen for the role. I know she will do a brilliant job and look forward to hearing her ideas.

ASSEMBLIES

BACK TOGETHER!

We have had the pleasure of hearing the talented Ava McPherson and Sara Sheikh sing, accompanied by the very talented Charu Jayavel on keyboards. We have been able to celebrate student success and reflect on important events such as Eid and the exam period.

We have also had the pleasure of being visited by lots of guest speakers from Sixth Form, notably this term, the introduction of our New Head Boy Vinuth and Head Girl Reem, whose inspirational speeches I know will have resonated with the Year group. My thanks to everyone who has made the return to live assemblies so stimulating.

YEAR 9 STAFF AND STUDENTS

THANK YOU’S, WELL WISHES & GOODBYES

First of all, a massive thank you to our six amazing tutors who have been on hand every day supporting and guiding their forms, delivering entertaining, thought provoking activities for them at every step. As a Head of Year, working with such a supportive team has made my job so much more enjoyable. Thank you on behalf of your tutor groups for all you do!

A special thanks to Ms Bienka who has recently welcomed a little boy Niko into the world. We wish her all the best and are delighted she will be back in the Year 10 team from September. A heartfelt farewell to Mrs McDonald who will be leaving sunny Abu Dhabi for the green hills of Scotland this Summer. We wish her all the very best and would like to thank her for all her work as part of the team.

Some more farewells to some of our wonderful students in this year group who are leaving us for pastures new! Shamma Al Romaithi, Taylor Anderson, Charlotte Brittan, Breah D’Arcy, James Gordon, Dominik Jordan, Thomas Reynolds, William Singleton and Miles Miller We wish you every success in your new schools. Please keep in touch.

EOY EXAMS &

CHANGES FOR YEAR 10

The Year 9’s conducted themselves in a manner which reflected their maturity and integrity over the exam period and should be proud of themselves for this. The process of preparing for and sitting end of year exams is a crucially important one in my opinion. It is an opportunity for us to teach the students resilience and allow them to prepare for what their all important GCSE and A Levels.

This preparation, we hope, will allow students to feel more confident and composed in the exam years ahead of them. For me, although the results are important, I feel more importantly that this preparation is a fundamental learning experience for them and one that will allow them to take ownership of their own learning moving forward.

GCSE’S YEAR 10!

I am excited to follow the year group on their GCSE journey and know that although it is a time filled with more pressure, it is also a time that students really enjoy their education and the freedom that choosing options gives them.

I know that with a mature, driven approach to their GCSE’s, Year 10 will be a fruitful year for them all.

TOP HOUSE POINT

SCORERS

We had joint winners in Year 9 this term. Well Done to Georgina Ramanayake and Mohamed Khalifa. Congratulations to you both.

WARNER BROTHERS

YEAR 9 TRIP

Thank you parents for all your support in this challenging year.

I look forward to working with you all again closely after the summer and wish you all a happy Summer break. I hope you all get some quality time away from work, to spend with the family.