DP Newsletter December 2023

DP NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2023

FROM MR. ANDY - DP COORDINATOR Happy Holidays Diploma students and families!

What a fantastic start to the academic year! It’s been great to see our sport stars excelling in their fields, the artists performing on stage and our whole student body getting together to celebrate national day in style! We even managed to have a rain day this term, to make sure we covered all eventualities!

The Diploma Programme moves very fast and I can’t believe our Grade 12s are less than 6 months away from their final exams and the Grade 11s are starting their Extended Essay journey! We’ve had some amazing trips to the Louvre and the F1 track, with more in the pipeline as the Biology students will hopefully have a trip to Khalifa University’s Body Museum.

Mock Exams The Grade 12 Mock Exams will begin the second day back after the winter break and will last eight days. Students should sign in and out at the main gate, using their student IDs. Please do not enter through any gate other than the main one, as we will not be able to register you accordingly. The exams will begin on time, so do not be late.

Grade 11 AIM Meetings These will be held the first two weeks after the break – students should have completed their report reflection forms prior to meeting with their supervisors. Supervisors will be in touch after the holiday to arrange a meeting time.

Work/life balance The winter break is a time for you to catch-up on work, but also to catch-up on relaxing. It is extremely important that you balance your time wisely. You don’t want to start the new year behind, but likewise you do not wish to start it exhausted. Take time out, enjoy the company of your friends and family, but don’t let your studies nag at you: if you think you need to do some work, it probably means you do. If you haven’t seen daylight for three days, it’s probably time to take a walk outside. Make a schedule and keep to it. ys Diploma students and families!

Uniform All uniform clothing must be purchased from Zaks clothing shop or the second-hand uniform store on campus. PHE kits should be purchased from Magrudys. There will be no exceptions to this rule. Students should be well groomed, with a neat appearance and a well-maintained school uniform.

Main Uniform: DP shirts are white with black bands, purchased through Zaks.

DP trousers must be black. If not purchased through Zaks, trousers must adhere to the following guidelines: Smart trousers that are not shorter than ankle height. Leggings, sweatpants, jeans/coloured jeans, and oversized trousers are considered inappropriate and may not be worn.

Uniform shirts are to be worn at all times, even under jumpers, sweaters, and hoodies.

All buttons need to be done up appropriately.

Undergarments should not be visible.

Hoodies – to be purchased through Magrudy’s: DP students may wear solid black jumpers/ zip-up jackets with no logos DP Grade 12 may wear their class hoodies/jumpers.

Accessories/ Other: Hair should be neat and not of a distracting nature to the student or others.

Jewellery should be minimal and plain (no dangling earrings).

Items such as shaylas, belts and hair clips should be plain and compliment the uniform colours (white, grey, or black).

Headwear must be removed inside the buildings, excluding shaylas.

Make-up can only be natural foundation, eyeliner, mascara, and natural/ clear lip colour Footwear: Black, white or any combination of black and white are acceptable.

Open-toed shoes and shoes without full back are not acceptable.

Final decisions on what constitutes the proper uniform are at the discretion of the Head of School.

Reporting There are three report cards issued in Grade 11 and two in Grade 12; Grade 11 December, March*, June* Grade 12 December*, March* *Report card grades which appear on the students’ final transcript, along with Grade 9 & 10 Semester One and Two reports Communication ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION CLASS TEACHER

HEAD OF FACULTY

DIPLOMA COORDINATOR

HEAD OF GRADE

ASSISTANT HEAD OF SECONDARY (MS. CLAIRE)

PASTORAL COMMUNICATION ADVISORY TEACHER

Communication is of the upmost importance to us at Raha, therefore it is vital that students and parents follow the correct procedures when contacting staff.

I wish you all the happiest of holidays wherever you are and if you are celebrating Christmas I hope it is a very merry one for you and your families. Take care wherever you are and enjoy whatever you are doing. We all look forward to seeing you refreshed in 2024.

Andrew Tomlinson, DP Coordinator atomlinson@ris.ae Ms Rochelle Jaring, Assistant to the DP Coordinator DPC-assistant@ris.ae

FROM MR. WALTER - HEAD OF GRADE 11 Dear Class of 2025, You have made it through 2023! It is over, done, caput!

Though Halloween was at the end of October, the Scary Hours were in November. This is when the stress of the Diploma Program begins to kick in for most students, and the workload increases.

December and January are parts of the sowing season. The seeds are your Approaches to Learning and your DP course content. Read what you can read now. Study what you can study now. Getting ahead of of your course work over the coming weeks, will increase your levels of calm and satisfaction when it is time to reap the harvest. The harvest is when all your assessments start to pile up in the spring and then going into mock exams.

By now you should have all reached out and made proposals to teachers to become your Extended Essay supervisors. As of now, there are roughly 50 of you who still do not have supervisors. You are falling behind. Reach out now, because there may need to be a back and forth exchange before the teachers are inclined to accept.

Alas, school is not all studies and assessments. Be on the lookout for some updates from the senior class jacket committee coming soon. We are about to put together a senior class yearbook committee in the next few weeks as well. And YES, these committees offer students CAS experiences. Also, be on the lookout for the co-ed Raha Intramural Basketball League (RIBL) coordinated by our own Flavio Galatro. You all are invited to play, and if hoops are not your thing, then feel free to take on support roles to help the league run smoothly. CAS, CAS, CAS! Also, Alyazia and Clara M. have a very creative and stylish CAS project coming soon, and you all may want to hop aboard the Air Force 1's.

There is so much to do, and time keeps moving whether we doit or not Class of 25er's. So let's keep moving as well, but do take some time for some much needed relaxation over the winter break.

I look forward to seeing you in 2025.

Oh yeah, and I forgot to let y'all know ATTENDANCE SWEEPS ARE COMING!! school. Come to school on time. Go to all classes, and go on time!! YAYYYYYYY. See ya next year...

Mr. Walter Clarke wclarke@ris.ae Head of Grade 11

Come to

FROM MS. EMMA - HEAD OF GRADE 12 Happy Winter Break!

How is it already December? It seems like just a few weeks ago we were outside enjoying a lovely breakfast provided by the parent team. This term was a busy one filled with checking off key items for your IB diploma. Your Extended Essays should all be done, you are finished with some of your IAs and the TOK essay draft is in. Check, check, check! A well deserved break, if I do say so.

Winter is upon us, and as we revel in the cool weather, it is important to take some time to rest, recuperate and rejuvenate. In just a few short months, you will be donning graduation caps and off to the next big adventure.

It is important to get some rest over this break because when you get back it will be the final push. Operation Graduation will be our next phase!

Mock exams will begin as soon as students return from Winter Break. This is a great opportunity figure out your strengths and weaknesses before May. It is also a key way to help build endurance for these epic sessions of testing knowledge.

Attendance in the new year is key! Class time is an opportunity for you to practice, build key skills, and most importantly, receive feedback from your teachers of how to improve. Your attendance is your key to success.

We as DP teachers are here to support you! We are busy people too, so if a teacher owes you a letter of recommendation or if you had previously asked for something and have not heard back, do gently remind your teachers of such.

Here’s to a great 2024! See you in the new year!

Ms. Emma Zeiler ezeiler@ris.ae Head of Grade 12

UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS

University Course Structure is Changing!

The world is changing and so is the workforce to meet the needs of current and future needs of global society. Some universities are just carrying on as they have for several decades waiting for others to determine how they should change. The exciting phenomenon is that some universities are making changes and being innovative in their course structure. When it comes to innovation, I like to be at the front of the line, not the rear. Below are a list of trigger words and phrases that I would want to see in a courses syllabus to confirm my application. This list was compiled from numerous world universities.

- Mr. Brian

Cutting Edge University Course Structure: Multi-disciplinary approach Science as foundation and a practice-as-orientation approach Experimental learning program – allows student to plan what and how to learn Project-based learning in teams. Collaboration in teams.

Design and systems thinking (a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than splitting it down to its parts) – enabling systems change Hybrid courses, including joint (overseas college exchanges), double and concurrent degrees Interprofessional education beyond the traditional confines of a course or field (e.g. science) Exchange of diverse perspectives and ideas Cross-cultural competencies Immerse in global perspectives and world issues Digital literacy Regional impact experience projects (experiential learning programs) Design-thinking projects Links to industry Mentorship Disruptive innovations – need more interactive and student-oriented pedagogy to encourage active learning and adapt students’ interest and strengths to unlock their innovation potential

The University Team:

Mr. Brian Marshall bmarshall@ris.ae

Ms. Jennifer Leather jleather@ris.ae

Ms. Katie Bryant kbryant@ris.ae

FROM MS. ZAYNAH - EXTENDED ESSAY COORDINATOR Happy Winter Break!

All students should already have the subject and supervisor selected in the Extended Essay tab on ManageBac. Students should be currently working on their research questions with the help of their supervisors. The process continues with the main reading and research stage when students spend time on finding and analyzing several primary and secondary sources, winter break is an excellent opportunity to do this. After the break, we will hold the first formal reflection meetings with supervisors, and the students will be entering their Research Question (RQ) and first reflection on ManageBac, by March 2024. I will be sharing detailed information with the students about this meeting. I encourage students to review as many assessed samples as possible, and the subject-specific section on the EE website at this stage. There are direct links through MB, but feel free to contact me, and I’ll be happy to guide you.

Grade 12 Congratulations to all students who have completed their final Extended Essays! After mock exams, the essays will be checked, and reflection 3 meetings will be held before we get ready to send the essays to the IB. This was one of the largest tasks in the DP, and successful completion should be celebrated. In February, we will be holding the last formal reflection meetings, which will be followed by entry of reflection 3 by the students, supervisor comments and IB submissions, which will be the official ending to the Extended Essay process.

I wish everyone a restful, enjoyable break!

Zaynah Welcome, Extended Essay Coordinator zwelcome@ris.ae

FROM MR. GARY - CAS COORDINATOR It has been an incredible term for CAS at Raha with our amazing students undertaking a wide range of CAS experiences. Some highlights include the ongoing center of excellence providing tutoring to our MYP students helping them across all subjects. The Model United Nations are debating very topical global issues. Our Reem wellness health ambassadors are continuing their learning journey and will be implementing their programs in school in the new term.

Beach clean ups have been organized. The PYP color was supported by our CAS students. Our CAS students were in the PYP classrooms delivering practical sessions on plant biology. The annual students versus staff football match was a highly entertaining affair with the staff coming out 3-2 winners. This is only a small snapshot of the amazing CAS experiences that our Raha students are involved in. I would like to commend all students’ efforts thus far in the academic year and look forward to continuing to support them in 2024. I wish everyone a peaceful and happy new year.

Gary Kierans, CAS Coordinator gkierans@ris.ae

FROM MS. MARIA - TOK COORDINATOR For the past three months, both Grade 11 and Grade 12 have been deeply engaged in exploring various aspects of Theory of Knowledge (TOK).

Grade 11 focused on the Core theme of Knowledge and the knower, engaging in two Journal Entries and an intriguing introduction to the Mock TOK Exhibition. They further enhanced their learning with a productive visit to the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, meticulously selecting objects for their Mock Exhibition.

Grade 12 commenced their journey with the successful culmination of their Final Exhibition for the Raha Community. They then delved into exploring the final Area of Knowledge, the Human Sciences, through a TOK lens.

Moving forward, they swiftly transitioned to the May 2024 TOK Prescribed Essay titles, delving into the topics, engaging in thorough Essay Planning sessions, and preparing their 1600-word drafts for submission by December 6th.

Both grades exhibited exceptional dedication and insight during these months, showcasing their commitment to understanding the multifaceted nature of knowledge across different disciplines.

We take pride in their progress and eagerly anticipate their continued growth in TOK exploration.

Ms. Maria Antoraz Alonso, TOK Coordinator mantorazalonso@ris.ae

ADVISORS

GRADE 11 Maria Tomos

Nora Norris

Naeem Ashraf

Stephen George

Haid Mansour

Arisha Sevnarayan

GRADE 12 Peter Mahasela

Kareem Youakim

Aaron Ryan

Shiza Amir

Jade Harwood

Maria Casas