Al Sedra Newsletter 16

10th January 2019

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

10th January 2019

INFANTS At the Infant School, we have recently enjoyed our second ‘Book Week’ of the academic year.

The week was packed full of exciting book-related activities. All our children enjoyed the ‘Teddy Bears Picnic,’ basking outside in the December sunshine with their favourite ‘soft toy friends.’

We celebrated the winners of two ‘Book Week’ competitions at our assembly on Thursday and were royally entertained by 1MU’s performance of their favourite book, ‘The Grouchy Ladybug.’

Parents also took part in the week’s events, attending a special coffee morning to read with their children. We were also very fortunate to host the visit of Stephen Davies, a children’s author from the UK. He was a big hit with the children, visiting all their classrooms to work with them on a variety of creative writing projects.

10th January 2019

INFANTS In IPC Extension class with Miss Amanda, we’ve learnt that many of the stories that we enjoy today were influenced by stories passed down through the ages.

By studying older stories, such as fables and legends, we have become storytellers too!

We had fun using props to perform our own stories and we took it in turns to film them. It was interesting for us to see how our interpretation of the story compared to the real thing.

10th January 2019

JUNIORS The students in Year 3 had a fantastic week at the end of Term 1 which was filled with activities to inspire and encourage reading.

The week began with a visit from famous author - Stephen Davies. Not only did the students get to participate in an interactive workshop, they also had the opportunity to ask questions and receive tips on how to become a children’s book author.

The fun didn’t end there. A visit to the spectacular Qatar National Library followed and gave students the opportunity to explore and read books they might not have accessed previously. The following day, a group of secondary students came into classes to read and discuss the different books that the Year 3 students were reading.

The final activity was a ‘Reading Restaurant’.

Students were given a taste of different genres of books and were asked to review each book, identifying which ones they would like to read in the future. This also coincided with a book swap activity where students across the Junior School brought in a book that they no longer wanted, which could be exchanged for a new book.

The whole week was a huge success and revived the students’ love of reading.

10th January 2019

JUNIORS Ocean Pollution – Year 5 Service Learning Year 5 challenge you to become a WATER WARRIOR! For the month of January, Year 5 are challenging all students and staff to only use reusable flasks and water bottles at school. This is in order to reduce our plastic waste through eliminating plastic bottles used in school for 1 month. We are hoping this will lead to a longer term reduction of the plastic waste we produce as a school.

Why are we doing this? Because for our Service Learning this month, we are raising awareness of Ocean Pollution. Over 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the world’s oceans every year! We want to help reduce this as a school. Students in Year 5 and IB will be receiving a presentation from Doha Environmental Actions Project (DEAP) on the work they do to protect the oceans around Qatar and how we can help. There will also be the opportunity to take part in a beach clean-up trip in association with DEAP. Year 5 will also be reusing plastic bottles to create ocean themed artwork throughout the month, resulting in a large-scale project creating a 3D sculpture entirely from plastic! Students across all schools will be encouraged to consider ways in which they can reduce their plastic use and reuse plastic products to support the global effort to reduce ocean pollution. This could be as simple as taking your own shopping bags to the supermarket or not taking a plastic straw from a food outlet. Even small changes can make a big difference!

10th January 2019

SECONDARY MATHEMATICS Students from Years 7 to 10 have done very well in their end of term assessments, achieving some excellent levels/grades. The Year 11 mock exam results were very pleasing - almost 60% of the cohort attained Grades 9-4 (A*-C).

This term we are looking forward to celebrating Pi Day in the Mathematics Department. Key Stage 3 will be taking part in fun activities during the week and will be learning some amazing facts about the number Pi. Fun Fact: 169 is equal to 132 and its reverse 961 is equal to 312.

10th January 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