THIS - Newsletter - September 2021

NEWSLETTER September 2021

Welcome Back!

MESSAGE FROM THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Ian Rilnaldi, Head of Elementary Welcome back to all of our Hamilton community.

We hope our existing, new, and prospective families had a wonderful vacation and are excited about the year ahead. We are delighted to invite our students back to school full-time, onsite, five days a week, fully complying with all MOEHE guidelines.

For me, in terms of student progress, the end goal can only be truly appreciated when the starting point has been identified, with lessons being planned to meet a student's individual needs. Rarely have I met a parent who believes otherwise; rarely have I spoken with a parent who has not had this experience at Hamilton.

Hamilton has built an outstanding reputation across Doha for amazing teaching, state-of-theart facilities, clear and transparent parent communication, and an inclusive approach to personalized learning. As we start our third year, we are well placed to continue to grow and succeed, without ever compromising on quality.

Our students are always at the forefront of our thinking in everything we do, no decision is made without them in mind. The effective triangulation between school, parents, and students, provides the platform for us to succeed.

Since last academic year, we have had student growth in all-year groups and have now opened up to Garde 9. We have recruited excellent academic and non-academic staff members to support our team and have clear, strategic plans in place to ensure we continue to develop to meet the needs of our students and community. Our goal of providing high-quality, holistically enriching experiences for your child, will always be prioritized. I visit classrooms regularly to give students congratulatory stickers (we should never forget the impact of the little things on our little people. When I asked the teachers to decide who would receive it this week, many teachers said, “I just can’t decide, they have all been amazing”. Their responses are a testament to the high standards we set and the care and support our teachers offer. They really do know your child and will support them to meet their academic and non-academic mini milestone on a daily basis.

When parents ask “why is Hamilton the best school for my child?” it is hard to answer, as it is very much dependent on how you interpret ‘best’. For us, ‘best’ is measured in the way we deliver truly ‘amazing learning experiences. Our world-class facilities provide a superb backdrop, but what goes on inside the classroom, we believe, sets us apart. Our curriculum and personalized teaching strategies enable our students to make the progress they deserve.

In the unusual period of time, we all find ourselves living in, we will ignite each student's passion, purpose, and potential, ensuring your child experiences school life as they deserve to.

Rebecca Gough, Head of Secondary

Our Secondary School has expanded this year and we are very excited to be able to open Grade 9 for the first time. Our Grade 6, 7, and 8 students continue to experience a truly international curriculum using the very best of the US Common Core Standards. In Grade 9 our students and teachers are excited to be introducing the High School Diploma this year.

Our first week back in school has been packed full of amazing learning opportunities. Following an induction program early in the week, students have then been introduced to some of their subjects through a carousel of projects and lessons.

Our wonderful STEM team has challenged the students to apply a range of scientific, mathematical, and technological knowledge in order to create a working model of a rollercoaster and a stage set for a concert. The students have demonstrated great passion and enthusiasm for these tasks – we certainly have some future designers in our midst!

The Arts team introduced the students to Cuban music and culture with a Spanish song, accompanied by a variety of musical instruments. They have also been refining their performance skills through Performing Arts games, learning how to use their voices within performances, and igniting their creative flair.

Without the Physical Education team, students have had the opportunity to build relationships, improve their communication skills and learn about important aspects of nutrition, health, and physical fitness. They have also been introduced to some aspects of sports technology and created their own sportswear and logos.

We hope that all of our students have been inspired in a variety of aspects of school life this week. It has been lovely to see the excitement and joy when I have visited classrooms and I look forward to many more exciting learning opportunities throughout the year.

FIRST DAY BACK Hamilton saw a very successful first day of school! As we opened our doors to a new school year, the corridors were vibrant, students set about finding their classroom, meeting new teachers and classmates, and reuniting with old ones.

We look forward to an engaging, exciting, and enriching 2021/2022 academic year filled with amazing learning. Stay tuned for regular updates on your child's progress.

EARLY YEARS Our KG2 students have been taking part in various activities based on a popular book called " The Gruffalo".

They explored their creativity and drew their own interpretations of the story, made Gruffalo masks and worked together to create a large Gruffalo display. Our KG2's furthered their learning by writing some adjectives and sentences to describe the Gruffalo.

ELEMENTARY Our Grade 1 students enjoyed making a beautiful frame for their beginning of the year photo.

They were excited to take them home and show their families. The activity was used as a time to reflect on them starting a new grade.

Our Grade 2 students enjoyed working on their "about me" cubes. They were able to share their ideas about what makes them so wonderful. They also thoroughly enjoyed making origami animals, while follow instructions and creating beautiful paper animals.

In Grade 3 they have been thinking about all of the ingredients necessary to create a successful year in our ‘Recipe for Success’ activity. They thought carefully about important qualities such as determination, enthusiasm, passion, and resilience before mixing them all together into a successful potion. Our students enjoyed discussing the amazing qualities they will demonstrate throughout this year.

As part of Grade 5's "All about me" topic, students were set the task of designing their own personalized coat of arms. They then created their designs from clay using a range of clay molding techniques. Students displayed creativity and perseverance to complete their designs.

SECONDARY Our wonderful STEM team has challenged the students to apply a range of scientific, mathematical, and technological knowledge to create a working model of a rollercoaster and a stage set for a concert. The students have demonstrated great passion and enthusiasm for these tasks.

ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES Street Child United Thank you to all members of the Hamilton community who took part in the Street Child United 15,000km challenge at the end of the last academic year. Although we fell short of our target of moving 15,000km it was wonderful to see so many families getting involved, and raising awareness of this charity in the process.

For our new families, Street Child United is the International Schools Partnership's chosen charity. The organization aims to raise awareness of the lives of street-connected children as well as aiming to help these children to improve their lives. This year we are so excited that the Street Child World Cup will be coming to Doha in March 2022! This is where teams of streetconnected children from all over the world will descend on our city to take part in a football competition. This will give these children the most amazing opportunity to connect with others, but also to speak to important leaders about how to help street children.

As an ISP school, there will be opportunities for all members of our community to get involved in volunteering and supporting the competition. We will also be hosting over 450 delegates at The Hamilton International School for one of the days of their visit. Watch this space for more information about how we will be supporting this charity and how you can get involved.

Bus services Our fleet of school buses is provided and operated by Mowasalat, a semi-governmental company with a student-friendly transportation service. This is why we have chosen them to provide safe and reliable transportation to our students.

We encourage parents to download and fill the Bus Application Form from the Hamilton School transportation website, fill it up and email it to transport@this.qa. The service is offered on a first come first serve basis and is dependent on the availability on the bus route.

The fleet presently comprises of ten buses, with a 15-student capacity as per government COVID-19 control measures. We strive to offer quality, reliable school transport services to increase ridership and reduce the number of private cars at drop-off and pick-up times.

Enrollment for transportation is on an annual basis however, students may enroll at any time during the school year, depending upon space availability. The school bus transportation fees are invoiced and payable on a tri-annual basis (3 times in a school year). Fees are due within the first day of service. September, January, and April will be the collection months.

UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Refer A Friend We recognize that parents and friends are the best ambassadors for our unique style of learning and community-minded environment. To thank you for every friend that you refer to Hamilton, you will receive a QAR 1,000 as reward this can be credit to use towards any school related cost or cashback by end of the academic year. Contact the Admissions Team for Terms & Conditions - admissions@this.qa ENQUIRE NOW