Al Sedra Newsletter 2020/21 Issue 19

4th February 2021

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

4th February 2021

WHOLE SCHOOL As we approach another assessment week, our teachers are preparing our leaners so that they can demonstrate their understanding so far. With assessments being such a crucial part of the learning process, we are able to better support our learners and fulfill their needs. Our teachers go through a meticulous process to analyse the assessment data so that they have a better understanding of individual gaps and put in place the best support. This process is part of our continual effort to ensure every learner is able to achieve their personal best. Parents can also support at home by ensuring their child has a healthy routine and prepares appropriately. It’s important for children to eat and sleep well so that they can perform their best on the day of assessment.

We received the government guidelines this week, to reduce the coronavirus spread. We would like to reinforce these messages to support the national effort as a school community. We have been very pleased so far with the community cooperation and in doing so, we have been able to ensure the safety of our learners and teachers. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of working together and remain confident that this will continue to be proven.

4th February 2021

INFANTS As we continue with blended learning in Term 2, I have been so proud of how well the children have adapted to the "new normal" in school in terms of social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing their masks. This shows how resilient the children are but also the importance of routine and structure in their lives. With the disruption the pandemic has caused, it is really important to implement a healthy routine and structure that includes a good sleeping pattern, healthy eating and keeping active. We have spent some time talking to the children about these topics and have encouraged them to have conversations with family at home.

With the next assessment week coming up, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some healthy lifestyle tips for the children's readiness.

Sleep Children aged between 3-5 years old require between 10-13 hours sleep every night, children aged 6-7 years old need between 9-11 hours sleep every night.

A bedtime routine that includes turning electronics off at least 1 hour before bed and going to bed at the same time every night helps children get ready for sleep.

Lack of sleep can reduce the immune system causing children to be more prone to picking up infections and reducing their ability to concentrate.

Healthy Eating Children should be eating a varied diet with lots of fruit and vegetables whilst reducing their sugar and fatty foods intake. Fast foods have been proven to reduce a child's academic ability due to sugar crashes causing an inability to concentrate. Encouraging a healthy diet will help maintain a healthy immune system and improve their ability to concentrate whilst completing their school work.

Physical Activity Children should be physically active at least 60 minutes every day, including running and jumping, to build strong muscles and strengthen bones. Whilst continuing to remain safe, it can feel challenging to stay active; however, there are many great YouTube channels, such as PE with Joe, which can be done in the home to keep your children active.

Thank you for all you do, and I hope that you all stay safe and healthy whilst we continue to navigate these challenging times.

Nurse Kathryn

4th February 2021

JUNIORS How Can Parents Manage Children’s Screen Time?

“It’s more important than ever for us to put structures and schedules into our days and to those of our children to ensure a healthy, balanced lifestyle.”

The key is to monitor and moderate. Here is some guidance on how to help children achieve a healthy balance of screen usage: Schedule your day. Create a daily plan for online work with breaks to relax and connect with each other to maintain structure. Bedtime routine is very important.

Communicate with the experts you know. Ask teachers to recommend online and offline educational activities for your child.

Be selective about content. Use trusted sources for positive, informational, and useful content.

Use media together. Watch a movie together and discuss the story with children. Monitor what older children are viewing and what they are learning.

Sleeping for learning How much can you learn when you're tired?

Sleep plays a vital role in children achieving their full potential at home and school. Sleep deprivation can have a huge impact on a child’s physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

New research has proved that not getting enough sleep (or sleep deprivation) can have a negative effect on a student's performance at school.

Please ensure that your child is getting 8- 10 hours of sleep every night. More sleep could mean better exam results!

Family activities suggestions for next week.

Build a fort. Use whatever is available such as pillows, seat cushions, blankets and stuffed animals to build a fort. This requires imagination, as well as basic concepts of building design.

Make sock puppets and stage a show. Making characters with old socks, recycled buttons and fabric scraps is an exercise in creativity and design. Producing a puppet show develops children’s communication, public speaking and performance skills.

Prepare a meal. Cooking teaches children the importance of following instructions as they use recipes that emphasize the concepts of measurements and time. They can start with the basics such as cooking a potato in the microwave or boiling an egg.

Build model airplanes. Making model planes requires concentration and hand-eye coordination, while offering incentive to learn the history of types of planes and the science of flying. Younger kids can start with folding paper airplanes from paper bags, magazines or newspapers.

4th February 2021

SECONDARY When some describe school subjects, they tend to place the ‘creative arts’ and ‘sciences’ on opposite ends of the spectrum. However, this is far from the truth – creativity and science are synonymous with each other.

I shall speak of two great embodiments of this concept: When Leonardo Da Vinci is mentioned, many immediately think of the Mona Lisa, but his work in physiology and science should be thought of just as greatly. He developed our understandings of our muscle, bone and tendon structure, even detailing what can be interpreted as early flight mechanics of birds. He further developed this into primitive airplane designs. These immaculate thoughts only came to be because of Da Vinci’s refusal to be bound by this ‘creative or scientific’ mindset.

Another great man of this mindset was Ismail Al Jazari, the inventor of the first automatic mechanical clock – also known as the Elephant Clock. Al Jazari studied various cultures and admired their arts and heritage, integrating a part of each nation he discovered into his greatest invention.

The elephant represents the Indian and African cultures, the two dragons represent Chinese culture, the phoenix represents Persian culture, the water work represents Greek culture and the turban represents Islamic culture.

We can learn from these great men and implement the integration of art and science into our daily life, for creativity drives innovation, and innovation favours the bold. As Da Vinci said “Study the science of art.

Study the art of science. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.”

4th February 2021

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