MEDICAL SOCIETY

Medical society, is for me, and I am sure for lots of other people, one of the best societies at NLCS Dubai. Throughout this year, medical society has conducted more than 6 differnt dissections, including, the heart, the eye and even the kidney. I have had the opportunity to deliver these dissection sessions allowing me to develop my own knowledge and passion for the subejct.

It has also supported student led lectures on a multitude of topics linked to medicine. I myself delivered a lecture on the nerves that coordinate the human body. Writing this paragraph led me to a fact that most of us may forget, we are one of the only schools in the whole word that gives their students the ability to embrace so many opportunities. A word to describe Medical society : “opportunity”.

In Medical Society, you will feel included, no matter your grade in the school or how good you are at scientific subjects. You will be bombarded with exiting and intriguing knowledge. There, you may find a hidden passion for science or medicine. You will feel cared about. You will build connections between the subjects of Chemistry and Biology and understand how deeply each of them are linked to each other.

Arthur Bremaud

Jayne Vickers, Head of Modern Foreign Languages

What would happen if we all spoke the same language? Would life be easier? Which language would everyone speak? These questions formed the focus for MFL subject week at the start of the academic year. The Languages Society held a heated debate on the central idea of a world with only one language, and the student-led assembly focused on exactly what would be lost if everyone did speak the same language. Luckily we have a wonderful range of languages on offer and a huge variety of mother tongue languages within our community, so the definitive answer from the student body was that a great deal would be lost if different languages ceased to exist. Alongside the assemblies, there were two wonderful lectures during MFL week. Dr. Csaba Szabo, from Nottingham University, spoke to Grade 10, 11 and 12 about language acquisition and what makes language learning interesting and useful. Mme. Choursoulidi gave an incredibly moving Nicholson lecture about British Sign Language and her passion for Sign Language in general. Lunchtime activities also took place in all four languages. The week began with German language celebrations, which included singing, dancing, quizzes and pretzels. Next came Spanish Day, with a Papel Picado (paper cutting) workshop, Zumba Dancing and singing. Wednesday was the turn of the French Department who shared a range of activities including quizzes, songs and meditation. The final day saw the Mandarin team set up in the Atrium with guest musicians playing traditional Chinese music as well as a whole range of games and activities such as Chinese Chess. It was an incredible week, students and teachers embraced everything on offer with enthusiasm and gusto.

Throughout this academic year, student leadership has flourished in the Modern Foreign Languages Department. At the end of the Winter Term, we thanked Emilia and Shirley for their successful leadership of the Languages Society. Soon after, Aarav and Hana were appointed as the new Co-Chairs. They made an impressive start and the Society ran a series of lunch time sessions, the most popular ones being on Esperanto, Minionese and the Korean language. Aarav spent time setting up a new programme for Senior School students to support Junior School students during MFL lessons. The selected Senior School students have been wonderful help for their MFL teachers and great role models for the younger students. Hana and Aarav have also held online meetings with Languages Society Chairs from other NLCS schools. With several new initiatives in place, we look forward to seeing the Society grow even stronger next year. Well done to all those involved in leading and participating in the Society this academic year.

Outside of the classroom, students have engaged in a plethora of MFL ECAs across Junior School and Senior School. Highlights have been ‘Spanish film studies’, ‘French reading club’, ‘Chinese novels’ and the student-led ‘German culture and media club’. We have also had some language-focused day trips. In November, the Grade 12 French students were delighted to have the opportunity to share a ‘déjeuner francophone’ together with their teachers as part of a cultural discovery prior to their mock examinations at La Cantine du Faubourg. It was a brilliant opportunity to taste some French delicacies and play some games, all in French of course! Meanwhile, to celebrate Chinese New Year, and to allow students to embrace Chinese culture, Mandarin students from Grades 10 to 12 visited a Chinese restaurant. Students applied their language skills and were immersed in the special atmosphere associated with Chinese New Year. At the end of the trip, students wrote their New Year wishes and hung them on a blossom peach tree to wish everyone a prosperous Chinese Year New. In addition to the restaurant trip, Mandarin students have also been involved in a pen pal activity. Twelve students in Grade 8 and Grade 9 participated in exchanging letters with students at Bromsgrove International School in Thailand. This initiative has provided a fantastic opportunity for students to practise formal letter writing in Mandarin. The German Department Bakery trip takes place in May and I am sure German students will enjoy this special opportunity to use their language skills in a professional environment and try their hand at baking a Brioche Bretzel! Another special addition to MFL extra-curricular activities this year was participating in a Dubai Inter-school Public Speaking competition in French and Spanish. Whilst we did not win any prizes sadly, the students involved made outstanding contributions and were fantastic representatives for NLCS. Asma gave a heart-felt speech in French about her passion, swimming. Teona spoke Spanish with an incredible fluency and accuracy describing where she has lived. Sannat gave an interesting and passionate performance in French about vegetarianism and Aarav amused the audience with a recitation in Spanish about his holidays and an encounter with a rather large bird! Well done to all the students involved for stepping forward to speak publically in a foreign language.

As another busy and exciting year reaches its end on the MFL corridor, it is time to reflect on everything that we have achieved. Well done to our Grade 10 and 12 students and teachers for successfully navigating their way through to the final exams! In the meantime, Grades 1-9 and Grade 11 made wonderful progress on their respective phases and programmes, studying a wide variety of topics and contexts.

Thank you to all the students and teachers for a special and memorable year in MFL! Gracias, Merci, Xiè Xiè, Danke.