l Senior School News

Senior School News

HOUSE COMPETITIONS By Mrs Georgia Ward

House Competitions have begun the year with a varied and interesting array of events and experiences. It has been fantastic to watch competitions return in their full capacity and for students to be able to try themselves out and represent their House in sports, art, and music. Events have been challenging and competitive with students supporting their Houses and showing their true house spirit.

The year began with Mr. Tomasik hosting the annual House Quiz, which included rounds of subject speci c questions, pointless answers, and familiar faces. Javi beat the rest of the Houses to become champions of this rst competition. This was followed by House Debating where all four Houses played each other in a round robin style tournament for both the Junior and Senior competitions. The top two teams then played one another again in a nal. The Junior nal was won by Hafeet, who beat Yibir by 142 points to 118 and the Senior nal was won by Yibir, who beat Javi by 142 points to 131. Javi took the trophy overall as they scored the highest points throughout the competition to become champions for the second time.

House Football was the rst sporting competition of the year and took place over a series of lunchtime games. Students cheered on their houses from the sidelines and all year groups were able to take part and represent their House. The overall winners were the undefeated Javi team once again.

House Photography this year was themed around 'Orientation in Space and Time'. Photographs have been displayed in the Gallery and show just how open to interpretation the theme was. Each house was judged on ten entries and the overall winners of the competition were Hafeet who gained the most points from the three judges. We were delighted to watch House Music in which all Senior School students took a role in the House Song. This led to a sprint to the Term one nish line and an opportunity for houses to pick up double points in this competition. Good luck to all four houses in House Music and term two competitions starting in January.

What a start! Javi won the rst House Competition of the year, House Quiz and ever since then, students are believing that ‘Everything is possible’. This rst term has been full of inspiration, drive, collaboration and kindness. Javi students are proud of their achievements and their character strengths is evident around school.

House Debate was a real highlight. A tough week saw the Javi Debating Team constantly sharpening their pencils ready for battle as they prepared their arguments ready to re. As the week went by, the leadership and communication was impressive and their oratory skills just got better and better. A second win was a real turning point for the Javi House and seemed to have been a catalyst for the House Spirit and sense of cohesion.

With con dence high, House Football was a trophy that was enjoyed by all. Teams across the grades, both male and female worked for each other and scored our third trophy of the term.

It has been a fabulous term, the students have embraced the normality of an NLCS Dubai school, full of curiosity, passion, leadership opportunities and unique learning experiences. As we end the Term with House Music, it always amazes me, the talent that resides in the school. Whatever the outcome, to watch Javi perform on stage and see the students give it their best effort will round off the year perfectly.

Term one of 2021 has certainly been a busy one for Jais House. To welcome so many new faces was a joy and I am so proud of the way in which existing students have helped our new colleagues assimilate into student life at NLCS Dubai. The reaction to having a house space for the rst time was also wonderful to see with all grades using the space well for both learning sessions and also for relaxing time at lunch. In terms of house competitions, Jais have not won any this term (yet) but have acquitted themselves well in all events.

As we work towards the culmination of the term with House Music I would like to thank all who have entered, put themselves forward and stepped up for the team. Moving forward, I want to see more of the House getting involved in the myriad of opportunities coming up in term 2. In January we welcome even more members to the house and I know they will be made to feel part of the big bear family. Finally, I would like to wish everyone a restful and peaceful winter break and I look forward to lots of fun and competitions next term.

This term Yibir have once again shown that they are ‘ready for anything’, working together as a team across grades to plan and prepare for a variety of House competitions. It was wonderful to see students play in House Football, in which we came a close 2nd to Javi. House Debating was also a highlight, and although we didn’t win, it was excellent to see students stepping forward and trying themselves out in a new area. The rst win of this year for Yibir was for the House Endurance Challenge, a huge well done to all students for their hard work and determination to win this competition.

House Music preparations have been well under way this term and the excitement is building towards the nal. It is amazing to see the breadth of talent within Yibir, from students designing the logo and poster, to the directing and choreography skills of the 6th form students. A special thank you to all students who have performed as soloists and to the musicians who have played for the House song. It has been a joy to see the whole House collaborating and having fun.

Wishing Yibir every success for the remainder of the academic year!

It has been a wonderful rst term for Hafeetians at NLCS Dubai, as we are now starting to re-connect and rebuild relationships within the House across all Grade Levels. "The Strength is in Our Pack" is so important to our identity as a House and being able to work and collaborate together again has been fantastic! House Debating is always an area of strength for the Mighty Hafeet - with our Junior Team being undefeated in their section, and the House coming second overall. Some brilliant research, writing and debating skills were in abundance across all grade levels.

It is wonderful to see students' creativity alive and well through House Photography. So many students submitted interesting and thought-provoking entries, and Hafeet took their rst victory of this academic year coming out in rst place - particular mention to Nishka Nanani in G12 who had the highest scoring entry in the whole competition.

Working together on House Music at the end of this busy term has been an absolute joy, and we cannot wait to share the footage of the beautiful performance they have created together.

Performing Arts

By Mrs Jennifer Durston

It has been wonderful to see the Performing Arts back in full swing at NLCS Dubai. Students have been incredibly enthusiastic to ‘tread the boards’ again with over eighty students working hard in rehearsals for ‘Bugsy Malone’.

To continue the theme of the 1920’s where the decadence of the party scene was something to behold, we held an evening soiree, showcasing the most colourful and eclectic in uences of the time. Just think of Stravinsky, Betsy Smith, Al Jolson, Caruso, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin’s Silent Movies, Salvador Dali, Dadaism, Metropolis, Hot House Jazz, gangsters and prohibition,… the list goes on. In the Junior School Grade 3 students performed a magical rendition of the much loved J.M Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’.

Students also had the opportunity to watch live theatre when S4K performed their hilarious touring production of ‘Aladdin’. House Music once again proved to be a highlight of the term with all students embracing the opportunity to sing and play for their house.

Reading Buddies

By Mrs Katy Younge

At NLCS Dubai we encourage friendships across grades and the family feel that this creates was clear to see in this week’s rst ‘Reading Buddies’ session. The library was buzzing yesterday, as grade 11 students supported grade 6-8 students with their reading, helping them learn new vocabulary and discussing the novels they have chosen for wider reading. Grade 11 students, who were trained how to read with younger students last academic year, are enthusiastic about the opportunity that ‘Reading Buddies’ provides for them to support their school community and share their love of reading, while the younger students are really excited having this extra time and support to enjoy reading. Studies have shown that peer mentoring can make a signi cant affect upon progress and reading frequently is linked to progress regarding reading ability, so we have high hopes for the value that this initiative will add to the school community and especially our readers.

Our Grade 11 Buddies said: Siraj: “I am keen on Maths and Physics, and I would attribute both of these to my passion for reading. I enjoyed reading Atlases and Encyclopedias when I was young and have become an avid reader, who can’t stop reading. I have joined reading buddies so that I can help other students gain passion for reading, so they can help themselves expand as readers and as students.”

Jose na: “This school has really helped someone like me (who used to not like reading) develop my love for it and now enjoy it. I hope I can show my love of reading to younger students and show them the beauty of it as well.”

Sherly: “The reason I choose to do reading buddies is because I came to Dubai in Grade 6 and I understand how hard is to start in a totally new environment. I want to help the younger students and give back to school.”

Yasmina: “When I was younger I wasn’t a very con dent reader however with the help of older students and teachers, English has now become one of my favorite subjects and I’m currently studying it at a higher level.”

Ilyes: “I've been at NLCS Dubai since 8th grade, and I'm extremely grateful for the love of learning my teachers have given me and want to share that passion.”

MFL Week

By Mrs Jayne Vickers

MFL week focused on the theme of ideas being ‘lost in translation’ from one language to another. Mrs Vickers launched the week with an interesting assembly about the history of translation and the importance of guarding against the overuse of online translation. The Languages Society continued on the theme in the student led assembly on Thursday, providing fascinating examples of ‘untranslatable words’, such as the German word ‘Schadenfreude’, the French verb ‘Flâner’ and the Spanish word ‘Sobremesa’. The Society also shared some fun foreign language tongue twisters that our teachers had tried to perfect across the week. During Senior Societies, Mrs Kanyerezi gave an inspirational lecture based on her Master’s research about ‘ways to prevent student anxiety during spontaneous use of target language’. She provided vital tips to the students on how to manage anxiety before a speaking assessment. On Monday, everyone made an effort to converse in Chinese, with bursts of ‘Nihao’ lling the corridors. At lunchtime on Tuesday, students signed up for a range of language activities, including karaoke in Spanish, puzzles in German, making bookmarks in Mandarin and meditation in French. The week continued with bursts of super Spanish on Tuesday, followed by fantastic French on Wednesday. In form time, students held activities to teach their mother tongue. It was pleasing to see the students learning more about each other and sharing their language and culture. Thank you everyone for a wonderful week! Gracias, Merci, Xiè Xiè, Danke.

Arts Week

By Mrs Rebecca Michaels

This week highlighted the many advantages the act of drawing has on us as human beings, our understanding of the purpose of drawing has been confused and kept it from being seen as a tool for learning above all else.

Our school community took part in The Big Draw festival through a variety of different activities organised for lunch and form times. This year’s theme of #makethechange acknowledges sustainable and successful living is equally about how we interact with the world around us; it’s about kindness shown to nature and our natural world but also kindness shown to each other. Students learned about contemporary young leaders, explored markmaking to music using unusual drawing materials, responded to Inktober and used their drawing skills to create pink portraits to raise awareness of Cancer.

Economics Week

By Mr Angus Graham

Our Economics subject week started in style with Mr. Graham’s lead assembly on why we ‘can’t stand losing’ from a deeper Economics perspective. In our Sunday societies slot, Mr Zeraiki who is a banker with HSBC, offered us some interesting insights into how the world of banking is evolving in a rapidly changing world economy. He elded a number of interesting questions from our students and the one about the threat of cryptocurrencies to traditional banking models was particularly thought provoking.

In form time we had the Politics, Philosophy and Economics mega quiz with a grand total of 42 questions. The students enjoyed showing off their knowledge in a number of areas. Mr Wood in his lunchtime lecture offered a fascinating insight into the huge loss of welfare involved in the exchanging of Christmas gifts. Apparently not everyone wants a pair of socks with a reindeer motif !

Perhaps the highlight of our week was the Grade 11 versus Grade 12 Great Debate on ‘This house believes that environmental sustainability is a hindrance to economic growth’. Our senior students certainly are a talented group of debaters and there were some great oracy skills on display. Mr. Snape’s fascinating Nicholson Lecture on the relationship between the Japanese psyche and economic decision making in Japan brought our Economics week to a close.

We are indebted to all who supported us in the preparation and facilitation of this hugely enjoyable subject week.

SOCIETIES By Mr Alistair Wood

Term 1 has seen the Senior Societies programme return almost to normal with the recommencement of having our guest speakers deliver their talks in person. We have been very fortunate this term to welcome a very talented group of individuals from a wide variety of different professions. Our offering so far has had a slightly more artistic avour with a number of speakers with backgrounds in the creative arts. Dr David Tully from Middlesex University gave a fascinating talk about storytelling and the lm media, Professor Sophie Boutros from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School for Communication at American University spoke about her journey from being a Biology undergraduate to making music videos and award winning feature lms, and interior designer. Photographer Mrs Leal Goncalves shared some excellent advice of how to take better photographs. Away from the creative side, the world of business took prominence with a talk on leadership by consultant Mr Matthew Lewis and Mr Chaker Zeraiki, Head of Global Trade and Receivable Finance at HSBC gave an absorbing address on the importance of banking on nance for today and the future. As the end of term approached the Mathematics and Medical societies provided hosted two very different speakers. Professor Alberto Gandol from NYU Abu Dhabi explained the role of percolation and probabilities in our lives whilst Dr Nadia Dabbagh, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist who wrote the Dubai Mental Health Strategy, gave a wide ranging and insightful talk into the work of a psychiatrist.

Whilst there are too many speakers to name in this short report, we are thankful to all of those who have contributed especially our parent volunteers. It is vital that students are exposed to a diverse and broad spectrum of ideas, professions and thinkers if they are to be the ones to make the connections between them in the future and so we are grateful for the time and effort that our speakers have taken to prepare for their lectures. We look forward to even more speakers in 2022!