Al Sedra Newsletter 2019 Issue 1

29th August 2019

We Are Ready YOUR WEEKLY UPDATE ON ALL THAT’S GOING ON AT THE GULF ENGLISH SCHOOL

29th August 2019

INFANTS Dear Parents, We would like to welcome you to the new academic year at The Gulf English School. Our teaching staff are looking forward to joining your children on the next step on their learning journey. Mr Steve Crellin, Deputy Head (Pastoral) and Ms Pamela Abbas, Deputy Head (Curriculum) are here to support your children and their teachers through the exciting year ahead.

This is my second year as Deputy Head at The Gulf English Infants School. I look forward to it being another challenging, exciting and rewarding year. I have been a teacher for a long time and understand the challenges faced in an academic year by staff and students alike. To this day, I still wake up every morning looking forward to the day ahead at school. I believe that teaching is the best job in the world and, in my role as Deputy Head, I am in the privileged position of being able to work with some of the most inspiring staff and wonderful children.

When I visit our classrooms, I see evidence of a mission in motion: a learning environment which is caring, motivating and supportive where

students and teachers strive to achieve their personal best on a daily basis. I sincerely believe that the children are central to all that we do and that all our efforts should continue to be channelled into providing the educational experience required to help them on their way to becoming responsible global citizens.

Following 8 years of successful leadership in England, I am looking forward to working within the Gulf English School community to help create and shape future leaders. I believe that the success of a school, in educating the youth of the future, relies significantly upon all those involved. With strong leadership and management, a fantastic and keen Infant team, and the support of our parents, I am confident that we will strive towards excellence. As a staff, we will continue to work in partnership to develop confident and well-rounded children, who are happy and well equipped to deal with the challenges of the twenty-first century.

29th August 2019

JUNIORS Dear Parents, We hope you have had an enjoyable summer and we are delighted to welcome you back to the new academic year in the Junior School.

We would also like to give a warm welcome to our new students and their families who have joined GES this year. We hope that you settle in quickly into the school routines and our school community.

We will continue to keep you updated through e-mails and SchoolBase so please continue to check these regularly for any information that will be communicated to you.

We look forward to having a wonderful year together.

Yours faithfully,

This new academic year brings with it new teachers, classmates and Deputy Heads in Key The Junior School Team Stage 2. We are delighted to welcome Ms. Olivia Rumah to the team as she joins us from the UK as Deputy Head (Curriculum) and Mr. Gary Shaw who has moved from last year’s role as Year Group Leader in Year 3 to become Deputy Head (Pastoral).

The timings for the Junior School remain the same as last year: Gates open for all pupils at 7.10 a.m.

School begins at 07.30 a.m.

School ends at 2.00 p.m except on Tuesdays when we finish at 1.10 p.m.

As always our excellent team of teachers and support staff have been preparing their learning environments for the first week of school and the school is looking amazing. It is our aim that all our students achieve their personal best at GES and we feel that the best way to accomplish this is when parents and teachers work together in partnership. The year ahead will be packed with a variety of activities, special events and celebrations and we hope that you will continue to offer your continuous support to make this year an exciting and memorable one for our students.

29th August 2019

HEAD OF PRIMARY Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome students and families to the 2019–20 Academic Year at The Gulf English School. My name is Carol de Jongh and I could not be happier or more proud to be the new Head of Primary. GES is a special place for many reasons, including our dedicated and talented staff, our dynamic students and supportive families. I have been a member of this community for nine years and I am anticipating this year to be full of wonderful, new opportunities for teaching and learning.

Our goal at GES is not only to provide a high-quality education for all students but to be a place that promotes fun, caring, safety and community.

Parents, carers and family members are essential to supporting the growth and development of our children. I encourage your involvement, input and participation as an integral piece of this school and its culture. I value your partnership and understand that effective communication between home and school is critical to our students’ success. I encourage parents to read the weekly updates, Al Sedra articles, Firefly notifications and school emails.

My door is always open and I answer my emails daily, however, I would encourage parents to always speak to the class teacher in the first instance.

This year we celebrate our 25th Anniversary at GES. There will be many opportunities to celebrate our successful past and look ahead to a bright, exciting future.

Kind regards, Mrs. Carol de Jongh

29th August 2019

SECONDARY A very warm welcome back to everyone in our Secondary School.

2019-2020 is going to be a very exciting year for us all. We are all so excited to have students back in our classrooms and hallways filling them with energy and enthusiasm. I am looking forward to positively engaging with the incoming students and continuing to work with our returning students to achieve their academic and personal best. This year we celebrate 25 years since the first class entered The Gulf English School. We are looking forward to continuing to serve the local and international community and build on the successful relationships that we have built over the past 25 years.

We are aiming to improve teaching and learning in the school and as a result improve examination results. It is so wonderful to be a part of a community such as ours where teachers, parents and students can work together and strive to build positive relationships that support growth both academically and socially. I hope that this year will be our best yet!

Miss Fiona Keery Deputy Head of Secondary

Welcome back to everyone in secondary!

After having a year away from GES I am back as Head of Secondary and feel like I have come home. I am excited for the year ahead, to meet with parents and students and hopefully together we can achieve fantastic things.

We have had some great success with external examinations in the summer and we wish all the students who graduated this year every success in the future. We hope that you drop in to visit us from time to time to let us know how you are getting on with whatever exciting venture you are on.

As a secondary team we will have lots of fun and engaging activities going on, not only within lessons but with extra-curricular activities too and we encourage you to get involved and experience new things as this looks great for future employers and universities.

We would like to welcome new students in all year groups but give a particular welcome to our new Year 7 and their parents. Please let us know if we can help you in any way to settle into your new school environment.

Here’s to a wonderful year!

Daniel Langfield Head of Secondary/Assistant Director

29th August 2019

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