YOUR WEEKLY UPDATE ON ALL THAT’S GOING ON AT THE GULF ENGLISH SCHOOL
1st October 2020
WHOLE SCHOOL As we are settling into our routine, we have been exploring ways for our children to access healthy meals. We are pleased to inform you of a brand new initiative, amongst the first of its kind for schools in Qatar. We have partnered with Meiz, Qatar and Marriot hotel to arrange a food delivery system. You can order for your child using the Meiz mobile application and select from a variety of fresh, healthy meals which will be delivered directly to your child’s classroom.
As you will know, healthy food is essential for leaners to learn and perform effectively. We are regularly encouraging our learners to make sure they have breakfast every morning and now we can make sure they also do the same for their lunch. To register for this service, please follow the instructions in the email letter shared this week.
1st October 2020
BIN OMRAN Early years have settled well into the new school year. We are enjoying spending time in school together and getting used to the new routines. We are also having fun with our online learning and have been super at sharing our home learning on Tapestry.
1st October 2020
INFANTS
The Year 2 team have been so pleased to welcome back our students. The students have returned to class with enthusiasm and excitement, looking forward to the year ahead. It was terrific to how delighted they were to reconnect with friends. All students have quickly adapted to new routines and safety rules, and now take these in their stride.
In Maths, the students have been working with numbers to 100. They know that numbers can be represented using apparatus such as Base 10, Numicon and counters, as well as having an understanding of how these can be recorded in numerals and words. The students have also been learning how to partition 2-digit numbers using the part-whole model and place value chart. They are gaining confidence in using mathematical vocabulary to describe place value.
In Literacy, the students have enjoyed listening to and learning the story of ‘Zerrafa Girrafa’ using story mapping techniques and Talk for Writing actions. You can find the video of Mrs Lewis’s retelling of the story on Firefly; alternatively, you could ask your child to retell the story using the story map. Can they show you the action for the story as they retell it?
In Literacy, the students have enjoyed listening to and learning the story of ‘Zerrafa Girrafa’ using story mapping techniques and Talk for Writing actions. You can find the video of Mrs Lewis’s retelling of the story on Firefly; alternatively, you could ask your child to retell the story using the story map. Can they show you the action for the story as they retell it?
1st October 2020
JUNIORS It is hard to believe that we are now into our fifth week back at school! We have settled into a routine with our new 'Blended Learning' programme. Year 6 teachers, TAs and students have all worked together as a team, adapting to the new systems in place at our school. Although most of us in Year 6 are back working together in school, it is also great to see so many students engaging in our live online lessons every day. While we are working and learning online, we should follow some simple rules to keep us safe. We all need to be S.M.A.R.T. when we are online: S – Stay Safe - Do not give out your personal information to people you do not know or trust. Never share your log in details with others. M – Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Always check with an adult you trust. A – Accepting emails or opening files, pictures or texts from people you do not know or trust can lead to problems. R – Information you find on the internet may not be true, or someone online might be lying about who they are. Please make sure you check information before you believe it. T – Tell your parents or another adult you trust if someone or something makes you feel worried or uncomfortable. In Year 6, we have been using the internet to help us research our IPC topic, Space Scientists. We have been answering our topic’s ‘Big Questions’ such as, ‘Can you prove the Earth is a sphere?’, ‘Do we need the Sun?’ and ‘What is the Earth made of?’. Students and teachers have enjoyed this topic, and we are looking forward to seeing the exciting work the students produce next. Linking with this topic, we have been using the book ‘Hidden Figures’ as our focus in Writing. This book is about four women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes, like providing the calculations for America's first journeys into space. We have used the story to help us write non-chronological reports and job advertisements using persuasive language. Year 6 have made a great start to this new school year and have faced every challenge with a positive attitude. Keep up the fantastic work!
1st October 2020
SECONDARY The Business department would like to extend a warm welcome to our students, in this rather difficult phase of learning. Many students have expressed that they miss regular school life and that they look forward to a return to normality. In the meantime, we feel that the blended learning approach is working well with our pupils, however, we would encourage greater participation along with attendance. We stress the importance of joining the live lessons on time and active participation so that the learning experiences are more beneficial for all. In the coming week, intervention lessons will begin for Year 11 students and we aim to use these to target particular students who may have been struggling with courses in Year 10. These sessions will address shortcomings in subject knowledge and understanding, and are in place to guide the students on a path for improved attainment and IGCSE exam success. I would like to introduce new members of staff in the department who have joined us this academic year: Mr Joshua Shields is our new Travel and Tourism teacher and he is in charge of BTEC across the school. Miss Sabah Azam is our in Business Studies teacher; whom is working across both Key Stages 4 and 5. We hope that all students taking subjects within the Business department have already collected their course textbooks. If they are still missing any, it is important for them to inform their teachers or learning co-ordinators and collect them from the library. Bilal Ahmed - Acting Head of Business Faculty
1st October 2020
LIBRARY GES Library News Bin Omran- Infants- Primary- Secondary October in the Library Explore Online Resources Epic! Books The class code is HPR-7139 BookFLIX emea.scholastic.com
1st October 2020
CONTACT The Gulf English School PO Box 2440, Doha, Qatar Main School: Tel: +974 44578777 Main School: Fax: +974 44861256 Infant Unit: Tel: +974 44886791/90 +974 44886201/93 Infant Unit: Fax: +974 44876821
Email: info@gulfenglishschool.com
Website: www.gulfenglishschool.com