5 minute read
l Message from The Head of Junior School
Message from The Head of Junior School
The term unfortunately started with enhanced Covid-19 restrictions in place meaning no ECAs, PE or Swimming for the month of January. However, the Junior School has certainly made up for this since the beginning of February with the students being involved in a range of events and activities.
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Students had the opportunity to take part in STEM week and there was such a buzz of excitement across the school. Each grade chose a global issue to inquire into, discussing the impact they have on our planet. Some of the highlights included exploring di erent natural disasters in Pre-KG, Grade 2 inquired into the rising sea levels, Grade 3 researched viruses and Grade 5 completed an oil spill challenge.
At the end of STEM week, students had the opportunity to design their own pavilion for Expo 2020. They thought about what would make their pavilion unique by considering what innovative features it would have, what technology there would be, and what world issues they would highlight and help to find a solution for.
Our academic societies have resumed with the Science Society taking it in turns to research and present on scientific topics of their choice, including presentations about sustainable wind energy, astronomy, and the adaptation of dolphins to their environment.
The Reading Society planned, organised and delivered an assembly to Lower School to launch World Book Day. This was positively received and shared an important message about the benefits of reading regularly. World Book Day is always a highlight and this year the range of book characters was impressive including Harry Potter, Where’s Wally, Cat in the Hat, Dog Man and Mary Poppins. The sta also fully embraced the day dressing up as Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood, Grade 1 as characters from Peter Pan and KG sta as crayons from the wonderful story ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’. Students also enjoyed a range of activities including recommending their favourite books to their friends, buddy reading with students from younger grades and creating their own stories to share.
House events have continued with Spelling Bee and the NLCS Talent show, which was an opportunity for students to display their talents through online auditions and live performances for selected finalists. Talents ranged from musical, drama, gymnastics, dancing, skating, motor cross and aerial gymnastics. A huge well done to all our finalists.
Student Council welcomed their new Grade Council Representatives into their role for term 2 (GCRs) who have been busy preparing for launching the ‘Trashion Show’ House Competition, which will take place in Term 3. The GCR’s have focused on the
finer details regarding the competition to make it a success, such as the platform used to launch the competition, deciding on the criteria for the winning outfits and creating examples to show students across the Junior School for inspiration.
The GCRs were also involved in Founder’s Day celebrations, recording a message to share with the NLCS Junior schools across the world.
Our International Day was an important event to appreciate each other’s cultures within our school community. It is important that the students understand each other's cultures in order to show tolerance, respect and above all embrace everyone’s similarities and di erences. It was wonderful to see the children dressed in their national clothing / colours representing their nationality and for us all to celebrate and embrace our culturally diverse community.
Sports Days for each Grade were staggered over several days in March. Students showed a real sense of team spirit, having the opportunity to take part in a range of competitive team events whilst earning points for their house and enjoying themselves! The ice pops donated by the Parent’s Guild were a welcome surprise for the students. Congratulations to the wining houses – Yibir for First School and Hafeet for Lower School.
Students across the school have been on trips this term. Pre-KG visited Miracle Garden as part of their inquiry into colours in the natural world, and followed this up with activities in class linked to the parts of plants using artistic skills to create plants. KG1 had a visit from ‘Posh Paws’ having first-hand experiences with a range of animals as part of their inquiry into living things, followed by a trip to Green Planet with a focus on plants.
KG2 visited Dubai Safari to enhance their knowledge of animal classification and were very fortunate to have a visit by the space company ‘Blue Origin’, to link to their scientific unit on the Solar System and they all composed a postcard to be launched on a mission into space.
Grades 1-5 have all visited an Expo main pavilion (Opportunity or Sustainability) and other country pavilions as part of a guided tour. Grades 4 and 5 also had an adventure day at Umm Al Quwain Marine Club. Students chose five activities from a range of activities on both land and water including climbing, archery, canoeing and ra building. I know they all thoroughly enjoyed their day.
It was a pleasure to welcome parents back into school for the student led conferences. I am sure you will agree it was a worthwhile and meaningful experience for the students. I hope you enjoyed listening to them sharing their learning with you too. We were so pleased to be able to celebrate Founders Day this year exploring the theme of success. Congratulations to both KG2 and Grade 4 for their presentation skills telling us more about the history and successes of NLCS over the years.
As we end our 2nd term of the year, I just want to say a huge thank you to our students. They all embrace life at NLCS completely and we are all proud of what they have achieved this term. Thank you too for your support from all sta in the Junior School.
