l Message from The Head of Junior School

Message from The Head of Junior School

As we end the nal term of the year, I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you for your continued support this year.

This term the students have continued to impress me with their creativity and innovative air. This was very apparent in the ‘NLCS has Talent’ with so many outstanding entries. The House Competitions this term demonstrated this too through both House Poetry and House Music.

Grade 5 exhibition was again a highlight. The impressive work the students did to research their areas of interest linked to art (such as architecture, protest art and lm) and then to produce their websites is to be celebrated.

I have been so pleased that we have been able to provide our academic enrichment programme for Grade 4 and 5 this year. Those students involved in our academic societies have led whole school assemblies on such themes as ‘What is Art’ and ‘Endangered Animals in the UAE’.

Our Student Council have continued to lead initiatives across the Junior School. This term they encouraged all students to participate in “Random Acts of Kindness” during the Holy month of Ramadan. So many students participated and did such acts as holding the door open, tidying their room, sweeping the balcony or making food for a family member.

As always at the end of the year, it’s time to say goodbye to staff members. This year we say goodbye to 9 teaching staff as well as to Mrs Smith, Head of Lower School and Mrs Schmidt, PYP Coordinator. Both were founding members of the Junior Team and their contribution to the development of the school are to be commended. We wish them all well in their future endeavours.

Have a restful Summer Break. Keep safe and well.

We look forward to seeing our returning families in August.

Warmest wishes,

Emma Navin Head of Junior School

Whole School News

FOUNDER’S DAY

By Mr Chris May

After the last minute cancellation of Founder’s Day in 2020 due to lockdown in Dubai, we set about planning a socially distant, yet meaningful Founder’s Day for all to enjoy this year. It was clear we would not be able to welcome guests and families to our annual celebrations so we decided to take the celebrations to our wider community whilst maintaining the traditions and solemnity of the occasion. We created a lm of a full Founder’s Day service so the call went out for musicians, readers, poets and creatives to make this years celebration just as special as previous years. The old and new Big 4 made their video for our sister schools in London, Jeju and Singapore (with rather fetching daffodil themed masks) and the whole school geared up for one of the most important days of the school year.

We decorated the outside of the school with bunting, balloons and banners. Just as we were ready to celebrate the end of term and Founder’s Day, we, along with all of the UAE, fell silent to mourn the passing of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance. As part of our solemn duty and out of respect for the Al Maktoum family, the balloons, bunting and banners were removed and Founder’s Day was re-scheduled to open the Summer term with a celebration worthy of our inspiring traditions.

So, the rst day back after Spring Break, two weeks later than originally planned, our students came together (in their grade bubbles) and our community settled down on their sofas in their own homes to watch our wonderful 2021 Founder’s Day lm.

The theme for this year’s Founder’s Day was Environmentalism and Stewardship of Planet Earth. Mr Monaghan, in his speech referred to the global issues facing us all and how each and every one of us has the responsibility to not only be aware but also to take action so future generations can enjoy the bene ts that we have been fortunate enough to receive. In lessons, students were reminded of the overarching importance of sustainability and for our service, we adapted elements to re ect the passion that NLCS Dubai has for environmentalism. In the First School, students celebrated with a colour themed day, some beautiful artwork and of course their own lm with readings and poems.

Not only did the lms make the day feel as ‘real’ as possible but they will also serve as a historical record of the times we live in for future generations of NLCS Dubai students.

CHARITY By Mrs Laura Dunn

Congratulations to the newly appointed Charity Committee and to the Chair of the committee, Ananya, for their rst event which was the Ramadan Food Drive. This was an excellent opportunity for the whole community to come together to donate food to local workers. It was wonderful to see the sheer volume of non-perishable food items that were donated, which then provided food parcels for more than 700 workers. The Charity Committee has now planned a full calendar of events for the next academic year and they are excited to be introducing new initiatives, in addition to established events that will not only raise money, but also raise awareness of a variety of causes. This year, the Charity Committee will be working closely with the Big 4, and in particular the Global Awareness Ambassador. It is excellent to see a wide range of ages and grades involved in the Charity Committee with opportunities for leadership for all.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES By Ms Nicola Woodroffe

The Term 3 ECA programme commenced after Ramadan with an increased menu of exciting opportunities. Whilst the Grade 12s and Grade 10 had exams to contend with, over 300 G1-9 students were keen to embrace the new after-school opportunities in Art, Drama, Music and Sport activities, developing their passions and even acquire quali cations in this nal term. In the Senior School, the long awaited Drama and Musical Movement ECA inspired grade 6-9 students for the musical production next year. Meanwhile in Art students engaged in therapeutic Felt making, a traditional Maths club was complimented with a forward thinking new cryptocurrency ECA, discussing current events in the crypto and its impact Finance, Education and Medical research. Science Medics was also a popular new addition and an online rst aid quali cation was introduced to equip students’ rst aid skills, whilst the newly formed Senior School Eco-Committee, gained traction through NLCS family collaboration. In sport, the introduction of Handball captured most interest as students thoroughly enjoyed both learning this new sport and preparing for the Senior School inaugural House Handball competition.

The Junior School programme also expanded offerings and the Grade 1-5 took place in class bubbles. This provided class teachers the opportunity to develop relationships with other students through activities in art, creative writing and problem solving alongside popular sporting options of swimming, football, ball games and tennis. Overall it was sporting options which drew the most engagement as two hundred students across the whole school opted to pursue a more active end to the School day. Student engagement rose through the term and it was a delight to see so many students strive to maintain a broad and balanced education particularly the Grade 1 students.