The Girls Qatar Shirburnian 2020 - 2021

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SHERBORNE QATAR S C H O O L

F O R

G I R L S

THE

GIRLS QATAR SHIRBURNIAN 2020 - 2021

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SHIRBURNIAN SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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OUR HISTORY

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ARABIC & ISLAMIC STUDIES

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FROM THE HEADMISTRESS

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STEM WEEK

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FROM THE PRINCIPAL

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FROM THE BURSAR

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PRE PREP

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RECEPTION

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YEAR 2

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YEAR 4

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YEAR 6

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PRE SCHOOL

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YEAR 1

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YEAR 3

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YEAR 5

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PINK AND GOLD DAY

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY WORLD BOOK WEEK

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM DAY MATHS WEEK

QATAR NATIONAL DAY

SFG GOT TALENT SHOW DRESS UP DAY PYJAMAS DAY

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OUR HISTORY

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SHERBORNE School is an independent boys’ boarding school re-founded in 1550 under a royal charter granted by King Edward VI. It has grown into a modern school of nearly 600 pupils and about 100 teaching staff. Surrounded by the bustling market town, the school attracts pupils from across the world.

Sherborne Preparatory School is an independent co-educational school for children aged 3-13 years. The school has a long and distinguished history and an enviable academic reputation as a feeder to many of England’s leading independent schools. As of April 2021 Sherborne Preparatory School has been part of Sherborne School.

Sherborne Qatar was founded in 2009 and is a joint venture between Sherborne School and Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Thani. Members of the Qatari royal family such as the Emir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, have attended Sherborne and Sheikh Abdullah and his wife Sheikha Amal have sent some of their sons there too.

Shirburnians follow a diverse range of careers at the highest levels and include diplomats, bishops, politicians, journalists, actors, poets and musicians.

Sheikh Abdulla was keen that Sherborne should join him in a partnership to bring to Qatar education opportunities and values that he had seen and liked at Sherborne. He says: “Ahmed our oldest son was transformed by Sherborne. The school’s approach helped him to discover different talents in himself and he was greatly nourished by the experience. We are extremely grateful for what a Sherborne education has given him. Sherborne has history, culture, discipline and a willingness to transform a child. That is what it did for our child and that is what we want to give to Qatar. We need to bring a more structured educational experience to our country. Qatar needs Sherborne’s culture, experience and tradition.”

Sherborne Qatar is a founding member of Qatar’s Ministry of Education & Further Education Outstanding Schools Initiative and is overseen by the Ministry’s Private Schools Office. Sherborne Qatar is a self-financed, not-for-profit school with its own Board of Governors, of which Sherborne School has half of the appointed membership. Our ethos, brand and educational standards are overseen by and aligned to Sherborne School.

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FROM THE

PRINCIPAL “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

These are the final two lines of the famous poem, ‘Invictus’ written by William Ernest Henley in 1875. The poem is probably most famous because of its association with Nelson Mandela, who is often quoted as saying that the poem helped him through the challenges he faced during his long imprisonment.

The poem was written whilst William Henley went through a difficult period of his life; in fact it was written whilst Henley was in hospital suffering from tuberculosis of the bone that eventually ended in him losing his leg.

William Hendy was facing adversity, presumably feeling isolated and alone whilst recuperating in a hospital ward of Victorian England. I would imagine many of us could sympathise with his feelings, following the difficult and challenging year we have all faced. I am sure many of us have felt either isolated or lonely during periods of lockdown and even as the schools started blended learning, it was not possible to fully socialise and integrate with our friends.

However, and this is the most important message I can deliver in this article: no person is alone within our strong school community. There are always people you can talk to if you need help and support or advice and

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guidance; you can chat to friends, senior pupils, Heads of House, School Prefects, your teachers, medical staff or the admin staff.

What we have all learnt over the past 18 months is that it is important to talk face to face, to have social and enjoyable interaction with colleagues and friends and, probably most importantly, with our families.

As a school community, we understand this has been a difficult time. We are here to support you but also to celebrate your successes, many of which are highlighted in this excellent Qatar Shirburnian magazine or were celebrated during online Commem.

We are looking forward with great excitement to the next few years as we expand our Group of Schools and give parents greater choice for their children’s education. This year we successfully opened a new Girls’ School, focusing on STEM subjects. Next year we relocate our Senior School to a new building at the Grand Zone, Mall of Qatar, with some quite exceptional facilities, which I hope many of you will be able to see for yourselves.

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Our next development is to enhance the facilities at Bani Hajer as we convert the school back into a Junior School (KS2) and then we intend to redesign the Al Rayyan site to best educate our EYFS and KS1 children.

At Sherborne, we look to take our pupils on an educational journey. Pupils start at Al Rayyan, in a small school, specifically designed for 3 – 7-year-olds, where each pupil is known, understood, and supported to develop and grow. Pupils progress to the Junior School at Bani Hajer, another small school, where you are encouraged to develop your personal interests, your areas of strength, your leadership.

Finally, you transfer to the Senior School where you are educated in an age-appropriate building, with facilities designed pupils of secondary school age, where you grow and develop until reaching the Sixth Form. Here, you will be treated like the young adult you have become on your journey through the Sherborne Family of Schools.

William Henley was resolute during his extended stay in hospital; he showed determination to be the master of his own fate, to be the captain of his soul, a worthy and commendable trait. However, we are not alone; we have friends to talk to, to support us, to guide us and to teach us.

I encourage every pupil at Sherborne to take every opportunity that is presented to you. Look at this review of the last academic year, at all we have managed to achieve over the last year and ask yourself what areas of school life do you wish to enhance, to improve, to challenge, and then, as a member of our school community, you can say;

“I am the master of our fate, I am the captain of our soul.”

Nick Prowse Principal & CEO

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FROM THE

HEADMISTRESS We have reached the end of the inaugural year of Sherborne Qatar School for Girls and goodness what an amazing year it has been! Starting a new school in the middle of a global pandemic has been a challenge but the staff of Sherborne Qatar are a resilient group and we have all risen to the occasion and already established the foundations of an excellent British Curriculum school for girls here in Qatar.

In September 2020 we started the school with 89 pupils in Pre School to Year 6 classes. The building completion at Al Ebb was delayed a little, and so kindly the Headmaster of Sherborne Qatar Preparatory School – Mr Nick Fawcett, allowed us to reside in his school. In January 2021, with now 112 girls and two form entry from Pre School to Year 1, we moved to our new building. With small class numbers and plentiful space we were lucky enough to be able to continue to offer full-time, in school education, despite being in the middle of a global pandemic. In April 2021, all schools were closed in Qatar and our pupils continued their education on remote learning programmes. However, live lesson teaching and daily pupil-teacher interaction kept our girls motivated and inspired until their return to school on the 30th May 2021. At the beginning of June 2021 we passed our first ever QNSA inspection; an incredible feat considering the school had only been opened in its true building for five months!

Daily routines are now fully established, the British Curriculum enhanced with STEM rich learning opportunities and the school has come alive with pupils’ work displayed, fantastic learning resources and evidence of a happy, productive working environment. Despite COVID-19 we have managed to enhance our curriculum by incorporating ‘themed days’ and ‘themed weeks’ such as: Random Acts of Kindness Day, Book Week, STEM Week, Environment Day (Green Day) and Outdoor Classroom Day. The girls from Year 6, and their class teacher Miss Jo, organised a ‘Pink and Gold Day’ and with the support of parents, raised money for Qatar Cancer charities. All these activities have further enhanced and supported our school values (Respect, Honesty, Kindness, Perserverance, Responsibility and Teamwork) and our learning dispositions (Confident, Reflective, Expressive, Aspirational, Thoughtful, Enquiring).

We have now established our Parents’ Representatives Group and our aim is to create a strong Sherborne Qatar School for Girls community, with a shared vision of providing the best gender neutral learning environment here in Qatar.

Our focus on STEM includes an education taught through enquiry based learning; the use of technology wherever possible; acquisition of additional skills through the use of our Maker Space, Virtual Reality Room, Discussion Room and Science Zones; and a focus on collaborative learning, innovative thinking and teamwork.

I have continued to be inspired and amazed by the competence shown by our pupils. They have changed schools, changed their teachers and friends, been through two lockdown periods and have had to adjust to a new style of learning during a worldwide pandemic……yet still they continue to come to school with

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happy, smiling faces and the motivation and tenacity to learn. COVID-19 has presented many challenges for society, the anguish of freedoms being restricted and curtailed, and in some cases the tragic loss of loved ones. Pupil well-being is even more important on our school’s agenda as we continue to care for, nuture and guide our pupils into the 21st Century.

COVID-19 has certainly changed life as we knew it but we must also focus on the positives that we have gained from the last few years. Our children are now more resilient, adaptable and self-sufficient. They are able to use computers, access digital packages, and are used to seeing their classmates and teachers on screens. We are more grateful for human interaction, open spaces, nature and our freedoms, and we have better realised the true value of family, friends and loved ones.

I am so proud to be the Founding Headmistress of this wonderful school and it is an absolute pleasure to work alongside such an amazing team of teachers, teaching assistants, administrative staff, support staff and educational leaders. We say goodbye to some teachers this year as they move onto pastures new and I thank Mrs Roberts (Reception), Mrs McCormack (Year 3) and Miss Ryan (Year 4) for their hard work and commitment in helping us in the first stage of building our incredible school.

We do not yet know what the academic year 2021-2022 holds for us, but we will welcome 29 new teachers, 11 new teaching assistants, 3 new admin staff and over 200 new pupils as we open our Senior Section of the school in August 2021.

Our pupils at Sherborne Qatar School for Girls are happy, energetic, well-disciplined, motivated and full of life. They have a love for learning and an eagerness to progress in everything they do.

I hope that you enjoy reading our first ever version of the SQSFG Shirburnian and that through the photos of your children and the commentary from the teachers you are able to pick up a little of what the QNSA Inspectors recognised as, ‘a very positive, happy, nurturing and collaborative learning environment’.

Kind regards and best wishes, Jane Goldsack Headmistress

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FROM THE

BURSAR Don’t expect only Happiness In your life There can be some dark times But rememberA Star needs Darkness to Shine The last year has been a real roller-coaster for all of us, with online and blended learning, exam cancellations and so on. The academic Year 2020 - 2021 will be a year which is remembered for a long time.

Whilst the pandemic has significantly disrupted educational provision, it has also provided opportunities for transforming pedagogy and finding new ways of teaching and learning, new ways of communicating with children and families and new ways of increasing overall pupil wellbeing. Despite the difficulties and uncertainties, we never compromised on the essential needs of our pupils. We ensured that effective modes of learning, technology, resources and facilities were available to fulfil all the needs of our teaching and learning.

Education is the movement from Darkness to Light This year we added to the Sherborne Qatar family of schools with the successful opening of the junior section of our new Sherborne Qatar School for Girls, at its brand new site at Al Ebb and with its focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) within the British curriculum. The senior section will open in the Autumn. We will also take the opportunity to enhance the range of choices at GCSE / IGCSE and A Levels.

This has been my first year at Sherborne and it has been an exciting challenge. I have received support from colleagues, parents and pupils and I have enjoyed my part in taking forward the legacy of our family of Sherborne Schools. I also thank Sharaka Holdings, for helping me to overcome any financial and operational challenges beyond our control.

I extend my best wishes to all this year’s leavers and a warm welcome to all who are joining the school.

Ashish Garg Acting Bursar

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It has been an incredibly successful year in the life of Sherborne Qatar School for Girls.

This academic year has seen a great deal of change and the school has made progress in many areas over the last 12 months. Each girl brings their own skills, experiences and values to our school and class and at Sherborne Qatar School for Girls we believe that real life, active ways of developing skills, fostering emotional and social understanding, give real meaning to learning. We recognise the importance and benefits of a curriculum that extends far beyond that of a classroom driven curriculum and nowhere is this more evident than in the Pre-Prep and Early Years.

Our classroom activities at the Pre-Prep focus on developing key skills; games and critical thinking projects encourage them to take risks in their learning, as well as promoting positive attitudes and dispositions.

The curriculum at Sherborne Qatar School for Girls is vibrant and creative that puts children at its heart. We believe that our curriculum provides an educational experience that excites children’s imaginations, inspires them to learn, extends their horizons, deepens their understanding and meets their intellectual and personal needs.

Our curriculum is delivered through imaginative enquiry-based topics which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of our children’s learning.

We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our curriculum provides lots of learning challenges throughout the academic year that will require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively across the curriculum.

Our wonderful indoor and outdoor area provide varied opportunities for learning. The Reception and Nursery classrooms open out onto an exciting and stimulating outdoor learning area, resourced with equipment that extends the Early Years curriculum.

Our teachers’ engagement supports children in their creativity, while also challenging them to think about why they chose to create something.

It also requires them to think through the challenges they solved in creating it and helps them become more confident in their problemsolving abilities. We believe that technology, when used effectively, offers many exciting ways to educate and inspire our girls.

At Sherborne Qatar School for Girls, we seek to teach children that learning is not just a formal activity they do in the classroom—it’s actually a lot of fun!

Helen Fawcett Head of Pre-Prep

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What a fantastic year we have had in Pre-School. The children have been enquiring and collaborating to become independent learners both in our indoor and outdoor classrooms. They have taken risks and created a passion for learning where they have developed friendships and shared ideas.

This year we have learnt a wide range of topics starting with our Nursery Rhymes where we listened and sang a wide range of rhymes and tried to find out who pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall. We talked about different professions and what job we would like when we grow up. Our favourite part of the Winter theme was retelling the story of ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear’ and learning about different animals that live in snowy areas. We then looked at animals that live under the sea and tried to imagine what it would be like to live there. We ended our Spring term learning all about plants and how they grow, which made us all curious about how we grow as well. During our Summer term we had the chance to listen to different versions of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and look at different modes of transport. Even though this was during our online learning, the children showed resilience, worked very hard and enjoyed their learning.

We also had the chance to take part and celebrate many special events including World Book Day, Qatar National Day, Winter Dress up Day and Maths Week.

It has been a very memorable year and the children have flourished on their journey to become happy and secure learners.

This year the children in Pre-School had the chance to be part of their first-class assembly. After listening to the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ they learned all about how plants grow and then looked at how we all grow as well. In their amazing performance the children retold the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ with actions which lead to a song about ‘Growing up’. The production ended with a big thank you to all the Mums for helping them grow and the children sang a beautiful Mothers’ Day song. It was a wonderful assembly filled with lots of love.

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I liked planting the seeds and watching them grow. - Najla Al Kaabi Me make a Daddy square. - Hind Al Buainain I can do it! - Aisha Al Naemi Look, we’re sharing. - Jana Hashim Thelma Three not make good choice. - Layan Al Raeesi I’m so fast! - Maryam Al Kubaisi

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Wow! What a brilliant, exciting, learning-filled year we have had in Reception. Things can be a little tricky when you are 4 or 5. You are learning so much about writing, reading, numbers, and all about the world around you. The Reception girls have not let this affect their enthusiasm and resilience, and we are so proud of each one of them.

Our year started at Al Rayyan and we read the story “Owl Babies”. We made artwork, songs, and learnt the story with actions. We then moved onto our Enquiry “Why am I super?”. We learnt all about superheroes and especially liked reading the story “Supertato”. We were so shocked when we came in one morning to find a crime scene in our classroom! What had the evil pea been doing now??

After the Winter Break, we were excited to move to our new building at Al Ebb. The delight on the girls’ faces as they saw all of our wonderful resources, classrooms and outdoor area was great to see. We have had so much fun learning in all of these areas; making, building, talking, writing, counting, painting, pretending, and lots more.

We were so excited to meet Miss Naveed and become two classes in February. The girls were very mature and settled into their new routines quickly. It was so great to have them in school every day!

Online learning has provided a challenge this year, but again the girls have adapted quickly. We have seen some wonderful work going on at home and we would like to thank all of our parents for their support.

We know that the Reception girls will continue to thrive in Year 1 and we wish them lots of luck.

Aysha Naveed and Katie Roberts

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“I love drawing and being an artist.” - Mila “I love reading because it teaches me everything.” - Fatima “I liked learning counting to 20 and back.” - Elyanna “I like reading books in the class.” - Joud “ Practising my letters and phonics on my computer and reading at home.” - Wadha “ I like phonics on my laptop.” - Hala

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What an amazing year it has been for Year 1! From Goldilocks coming into the school and causing chaos to the girls reporting on a great fire breaking out in London. There has been lots of exciting learning taking place and of course so many wonderful memories.

Autumn started by focusing on the girls building relationships with their new peers and sharing experiences of what life had been like during COVID-19 through our topic ‘My Covid Story’ and the story The Colour Monster. The girls enjoyed participating in a number of STEM activities based on colour, including creating a walking rainbow and using skittles to see how colours run! The girls then moved on to learning about different seasons, in particular Autumn and Winter in which the girls made pumpkin soup and made their own snow!

The girls thoroughly enjoyed learning about Traditional tales in Spring term where they read about Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and the Gingerbread Man. They were very keen to find Goldilocks as they discovered a crime scene in their classroom. There was porridge all over the floor, broken chairs and empty bowls! This inspired the girls to create wonderful writing pieces including WANTED posters for Goldilocks using adjectives to describe the scene. The posters were then displayed around the school to see if anyone could help find Goldilocks. Through Enquiry and STEM the girls discovered names and properties of everyday materials as they discussed similarities and differences of old toys and new toys.

In Summer term we began learning online. Despite not being in the classroom, it remained jam packed with lots of exciting learning opportunities taking place.

From baking bread to investigating whether Zog really did start the Fire of London, the girls had great fun learning new skills and topics. In Enquiry, the girls were particularly inspired by using their technology skills to ‘fly’ across the globe to London city in 1666 where they began comparing old London to London today.

ACHIEVEMENTS There have been many achievements in Year 1 this year, the biggest being how well the girls have handled the continuous changes and still managed to make the most of another unusual year!

Each girl in Year 1 has won the Star of the Week certificate at least once for demonstrating behaviour linked to our school values for which we are very proud.

Well done to Almahra Mohammed Alsaegh who thoroughly enjoyed the story of Little Red Riding Hood and created her own story jar with her favourite characters from the story, winning first place in KS1.

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What was your favourite activity or lesson this year?

‘When we made the shaker’ - Shaikha Al Malki ‘When we learnt to do the Times Tables in Maths’ - Maryam Al Mahmoud ‘When I learnt about Paddington Bear’ - Alanoud Al Thani ‘When we used pastel colours to colour our pictures’ - Amna Al Kuwari ‘When I did the talent show’ - Sara Al Sada ‘I like to learn about plants’ - Aisha Al Thani ‘I loved playing sports on Sundays’ - Shaikha Al Enazi

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We have had such an incredible Year in 2. Despite the many changes we encountered during this school year, the girls have shown amazing resilience and perseverance in their attitude to learning.

We started the Autumn Term off in the Al Rayyan Prep building. This was a time of getting to know each other and learning about the expectations and routines of the Girls’ School. Our first enquiry this term was called ‘My Covid Story’. We thought about the different emotions that COVID-19 was making us feel and used the story ‘The Colour Monster’ to help us. In our Art lessons, we linked our different emotions to different colours and learn all about primary, secondary and tertiary colours by mixing paints and adding them to a colour wheel. Our Enquiry in Autumn 2 was ‘What if you made a book all about you?’ We wrote letters to our grandparents asking them what life was like when they were young. In Art we drew self portraits and used a variety of different media to add colour. We learned all about the basic needs of living things and life cycles in Science.

We were all very excited to move into the brand new Girls’ School building at the beginning of the Spring Term. We enjoyed using our indoor sports hall for a wide range of P.E. activities including blindfold partner work, gymnastics and obstacle courses. Our Enquiry this term was based all around Paddington Bear. In English, we wrote exciting journey stories based on Paddington’s journey from Peru to London. Our Science topic was all about materials and we had great fun testing out the properties of different materials to see if they would make a good hat for Paddington. In Spring 2, our Enquiry was based around geography, climate and weather and we enjoyed looking at the differences in weather between Qatar and the U.K. In Science, we investigated living, once living and never been alive the basic needs of living things. We had great fun reading animal poems in English.

This culminated in us planning and writing some very descriptive animal poems of our own. We also enjoyed taking part in World Book Week and Maths Week this term.

During the first part of the Summer Term, our learning was held via online lessons and our focus was on plants and nature. We enjoyed learning about plants in our Science lessons and had great fun planting seeds, looking after them, measuring their growth and filling in tables with the data. In STEM, we really enjoyed finding out all about who Florence Nightingale was and the amazing way she changed hospitals for the better. We were all so happy to return back to school in Summer 2! We had some really fun events like ‘Outdoor Classroom day’, ‘STEM week’ and ‘Green Day’. In STEM and Science we learned all about habitats and minibeasts. We had fun surveying the minibeasts in our gardens, making bug hotels and cored apple bird feeders!

We had a lot of fun in our music lessons throughout the whole year with a number of enquiry related songs. ‘Hands Feet Heart’, ‘Materials Matter’, ‘Does it eat does it poop’ and ‘Incredible Insects’ to name just a few.

I feel so lucky to have been part of the opening of Sherborne Qatar School for Girls. I have continuously been amazed by the committed attitude to learning that each and every one of the girls in our class have shown. Good luck in Year 3 and keep up the hard work!

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This academic year was quite the roller-coaster for Year 3. It has been filled with plenty of fun filled activities whilst also presenting some challenges – as life does sometimes. We reminded ourselves everyday that “the capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice” – Brian Herbert.

Our first term began with writing and reflecting on our experiences in My Covid Story. We learnt all about the continent of Africa, researching some interesting facts about it and creating our own artwork that depicted life in Africa.

Spring term was warmly welcomed as it excitingly began with a new school campus, a new teacher, and new students. Our class size almost doubled and it was really thrilling to have so many new classmates to contribute to our lively lessons. Pink and Gold Day was thoroughly enjoyed as we dressed up in pink and made motivational cards for Year 6 to sell in support of breast cancer and children’s cancer. We had fantastic Maths Week and our competitive streak came out as we participated in Timetables Rockstars Competition. We got creative and presented our skills in the Talent Show, even though many of us did not make it to the final, we still enjoyed supporting our classmate, Reem who showcased her dancing talents. Our enquiry, we learned all about Ancient Egypt, the different continents, and oceans of the world.

We moved to online learning over the Summer term. Whilst we missed being in the physical classroom, it was exciting getting creative online – we are just about Microsoft TEAMS experts! We conducted research and learned all about the Stone Age. Life back then was a lot different to our modern lives today. We had our first virtual Outdoor Classroom Day. It was enormously exciting as we got the opportunity to complete STEM based activities – outdoors – taking lots of pictures and videos. We loved sharing our experiences with our classmates.

‘’I loved pink day to support Cancer and I loved the things the year six gave us’’ - Muneera ‘’I enjoyed World Book Day and I loved my costume it was a pirate’’ - Muneera “I loved Pink Day and the Charity Walk” - Alyaa “The Maker Space room was so much fun as we got to create new things” - Muneera “I loved the talent show as I got to sing and dance for everyone” - Aisha “I love my new school so much, Pyjama Day was my favourite” - Maryam ‘’ I loved all the new students who joined in September’’ - Muneera ‘’I love my teacher Ms.McCormack and I will miss her’’ - Muneera 37

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Year 4 have had such a successful year. The girls have developed many skills, overcome challenges and engaged in lots of fun and stimulating activities.

Our first Enquiry was The Romans, where we learnt about The Roman Army, battles in the Colosseum and weapons they used to fight. The girls had lots of fun designing and creating their own Roman Shield. The second half of the Autumn term was Rainforests, where we created salt-dough maps to show the different tropical rainforests in the world. The girls learnt about the life of tribes, the celebrations and rituals they have. We watched some videos of African tribal dances and one of the highlights of this year was definitely watching the girls learn and create their own African-inspired dance moves.

The Spring Term brought lots of excitement for us as we started in a completely new building and met some new friends too! The girls showed lots of enthusiasm for our new Enquiry - chocolate! We learnt about the history of chocolate and the exciting journey a cocoa bean takes to become a chocolate bar. In English, we read the story “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” a book that everyone in Year 4 was eager to read. The girls created character profiles, took part in class debates and wrote their own newspaper report. The girls came to know the story well and even created their own diary in the perspective of Charlie Bucket.

The girls were fascinated with the story and used their imaginative ideas to design and create their own chocolate room for Wonka’s factory. The second half of Spring Term we learnt about The Greeks and how they influenced our modern world today. The girls enjoyed learning and acting out a range of different myths as well as creating their own version of a myth in English.

Term 3 started with online learning as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. The girls in Year 4 adjusted extremely well, showing dedication to online lessons and completing the work set. I was extremely pleased with the amount of effort the girls put into online learning and proud of the independence they have developed over the school year. Our last term we learnt about The Vikings as both invaders and settlers. The girls carried out independent research on a Viking Longship and eventually designed and built their own. We also learnt about the Viking way of life, including their homes, farming and fashion. The girls had lots of fun during STEM week building their own Viking Longhouse. Outdoor classroom day allowed for a break away from computers for the girls and it was wonderful to see many pictures of the girls enjoying outdoor activities.

“It has been a pleasure to teach the girls in Year 4 and watch them grow, develop and mature as young ladies ready for Year 5” Holly Ryan

“I loved when we first entered the girls school, the new building was huge and it was so exciting” - Noor “I really enjoyed the first day when we could come in after online learning, it was so nice to be able to see friends again” - Mona “My favourite memory was when we created the layers of the rainforest display to go up in the classroom” - Majedah

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This has been a very memorable year full of new friendships, challenges and enquiry based learning. We started the year in a totally different building, with our topic ‘My Covid Story’ where the girls reflected on their experiences over the past year and learnt in detail about the different types of microbes that surround us. We acted out Edward Jenner discovering the first ever vaccine and took part in many experiments to discover different types of microbes. We also created art work using a range of materials to show our understanding of viruses, fungi and bacteria. The second half of the Autumn term enquiry was Australia, where we discovered the different areas and habitats within Australia, animals and the history of Australia, focusing on Aboriginal history and Colonisation. The girls enjoyed learning about Aboriginal music and artwork.

At the start of the Spring term we moved into our new school building (which was very exciting!) and our new enquiry – Space! We learnt about famous astronauts and how the race to space helped develop technology we now use everyday. Our English text was the Iron Man, about which the girls wrote newspaper reports and took part in a debate in role as characters from the text. Non-chronological reports were written about space using all of their knowledge learnt over the term. The girls were interested in famous female astronauts and enjoyed watching rocket launches. The highlight of the term was our class assembly, we got to share our knowledge and create songs, poems and artwork to support our theme of space.

The Summer term moved to online learning due to covid restrictions, the girls quickly adapted and became confident using Microsoft Teams and One Note, which I was very impressed by and showed great resilience. Our enquiry for this term was The Ancient Maya Civilisation, we began with the girls researching and presenting their own information about the Mayan’s. We developed our knowledge of coding and algorithms by designing our own games and characters, Year 5 enjoyed sharing this with one another. Outdoor classroom day allowed for a break from the computers, and we took learning outside for the day, the activities were STEM based. It was wonderful to hear the girls share their learning experiences and see the fantastic photos and videos they took during the day.

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‘It has been a fun year, I have enjoyed making new friends’ ‘My favourite enquiry was space, I loved learning about all the planets and the science experiments’ ‘My favourite day was Qatar National Day as we got to dress up and show the teachers our traditional dances and songs.’

‘I have loved all the artwork we have done this year, my proudest piece is the aboriginal art work.’

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“Anything is possible if you set your mind to it. No challenge is too difficult, and no dream is too hard. Go out and make things happen!”

- Sheikha Asma Al-Thani Year 6 have had such a successful year. The girls have developed many skills and have built a comprehensive understanding of the Year 6 Curriculum. Through our first enquiry, the girls took a trip back in time to World War 2. They learnt about the Second World War in Europe and why the Battle of Britain was such a significant turning point in British History. Learning about the timeline of events, such as the outbreak of the war, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the D-Day landings and the celebrations of VE Day. They researched the lives of ordinary people who faced the Blitz and how they coped with rationing and evacuation.

The girls had many opportunities to learn about key concepts like propaganda which required the girls to develop an awareness of evidence and how it can be used. They also took part in some great activities for example, role play and debate, cartoon annotation, graph analysis, asking questions and evaluating the BBC website.

Term two brought an exciting new chapter for the girls as they moved to Sherborne School for Girls in Al Ebb. After meeting their new teacher and having a tour of the building, they were keen to get started and make use of the new spaces available to them, especially the art room, virtual reality room and the maker space.

Frozen Kingdoms was our topic this term and it began with the girls experimenting how to make instant ice and instant ice cream! They went on to research the Polar regions, locating the Arctic and Antarctic and describing differences and similarities between the two areas. In English, the girls researched the explorer Earnest Shackleton and his 1914 expedition to cross Antarctica on his ship The Endurance. They each took on the role of a crew member and had a for and against debate discussing reasons to join the expedition or not. This followed with them writing a job application to Shackleton and a diary describing their time on the ship. I was so impressed with the girls’ ability to recall so many dates and facts. The term ended with the girls learning about ‘The Unsinkable 48

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Titanic’ and acting out a court room scene whilst trying to decide who was to blame for the sinking of the ship. We definitely had some future lawyers in Year 6!

The girls made plenty of use of the art room, painting beautiful ‘Kenojuak Ashevakart ‘style artwork as well as creating their own interpretation of the Northern Lights. It was such a busy term for the girls, but they still managed to enjoy Book Day, Maths Day, Pink Day, Pyjama Day, International Woman’s Day and even enter the SFG talent show!

Summer Term began with a volcanic explosion, as Earths’ Deadliest Hazards was the topic. Covid restrictions meant that the girls were working from home, however this did not stop the learning and they were challenged to design and make a volcano and make it erupt. This linked nicely with the girls writing adventure stories focusing on suspense, build up and descriptive dialogue. I was immensely proud of the way the girls adapted to online learning, they arrived to each live lesson on time, wearing their uniform and ready to learn, they are so resilient! Outdoor classroom day allowed for a break from the computers, and we took learning outside for the day. The day was STEM focused and the girls were given activities to keep them challenged throughout the day. It was wonderful to hear the girls share their learning experiences and see the fantastic photos and videos they took during the day. Pop art was our focus this term and even know the girls were at home they still created some fantastic artwork.

The year 6 girls are hardworking, confident young ladies with fantastic personalities, and it was a pleasure teaching them this year. I wish them all the success in year 7.

Joanne Harward

My best memory of year 6 was when was when we had pink and gold day, I loved it when we made things and sold them and how we raised alot of money for the people with cancer that needed help. -Haya I enjoyed dressing up and doing activities in WW2 day. - Haya My best memory of year 6 and Sherborne girl’s school was when we arrived because we had a tour of the school and saw all the best areas in the school like the maker space, art room and swimming pool.- Noora I enjoyed International Women’s Day because we learned about Sheikha Asma Al Thani who was the first Qatari woman to reach the North Pole.

- Noora

I enjoyed participating in the talent show with my friends, they encouraged me to join in and never be left out. - Amna I enjoyed learning about volume in maths, we made boxes and measured their volume using cereal, we were challenged to make a box with the largest volume. Alaa My best memory of year 6 is all the art we did together. - Moza I enjoyed coming to school in my pyjamas for pyjama day. - Moza My best memory of year 6 was making a mood board of everything that made me happy. - Fatha I enjoyed maths, I love maths as it is the best thing ever! -Fatha Algebra was the best thing I learned. - Aisha 49

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ARABIC & ISLAMIC STUDIES The art of language, Marhaba!

Sherborne Qatar School for Girls is our second home and we feel privileged to be part of the community and full of joy everyday as we make our way to school. Arabic is our ancient language, rich with culture and proverbs and sayings.

Arabic and Islamic studies at the Sherborne Qatar School for Girls follows the curriculum of the Ministry of Education. Our Arabic classes got off to a flying start this year. Our youngest girls in Reception and Year 1 received a gentle introduction to the language and have been learning the Arabic alphabet using flash cards, sound mats, games, songs and stories.

The girls KS1 and KS2 have also had a very successful year focusing on their reading, writing and spelling skills in Arabic. Pupils who have attended Arabic and Islamic studies lessons have worked hard throughout the year and shown respect for their teachers and enthusiasm for learning.

During our online learning, the girls showed a lot of resilience and worked very independently demonstrating our School Values. It has been a wonderful year full of laughter and joy.

Qatar National Day is a national commemoration of Qatar’s unification in 1878. It is celebrated annually on the 18th of December. At Sherborne Qatar School for Girls, we had a chance to celebrate Qatar in many ways. The girls and teachers all came to school wearing the Qatari flag colours and Qatar national attire.

In each of the classes they had a chance to create flags and listen to different stories about Qatar and the traditions they follow. The activities also included making a timeline dating back 15 years and made crafts about pearl diving. The girls proudly demonstrated their knowledge and support for Qatar.

We also had a competition to bring in 3D projects of famous places found around Qatar. The girls who took part were very proud to see their work displayed at the entrance of the new school. The projects were also used within our Qatar History lessons. A super job to all the girls who took place in this competition.

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“A tree begins with a seed ”

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PINK AND GOLD DAY On Thursday 4th February, the Year 6 girls held a ‘Pink and Gold Day’ to raise money for a cancer charity. The event planning began with a brainstorm of what they could do to raise money and how much they could price each item for.

Covid was an issue, so social distancing was a priority and any items made needed to be in plastic bags at least 48 hours before the event. The girls decided that they could make book marks, stickers and cards, as well as the pink ribbon that represents cancer awareness. They worked hard designing, making, laminating and cutting the items they were going to sell whilst still keeping up with their day to day school work. During the morning of the event, the girls decorated tables with balloons and ribbons and displayed their goods ready for their customers, they even remembered to put hand sanitiser on each table. The girls worked hard throughout the day and it was lovely to see all the primary children, dressed in pink and gold, enjoying buying the items and raising money together. We were so proud of the girls on that day, not only did they raise 4200 QAR for the charity but they demonstrated maturity, team work and compassion and made the day an amazing success. Well done girls!

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STEM WEEK

STEM week saw lots of opportunities to focus on helping the girls advance in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths. Creating understanding around STEM. Giving the teachers and children ONE WHOLE WEEK to explore the subjects and create and develop projects and designs was fantastic! It allowed the children to really get into each activity and see the relationship and links between different subjects.

During this week, the girls had hands on fun activities which might include: rocket making, making gloop, making catapults, building a Vikings house and many more creative activities.

Overall it was a wonderful and memorable experience that filled the children with excitement, wonder, confidence and questions. I am sure it is a week they won’t forget, and it is definitely one they still speak about regularly.

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WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY / GREEN DAY World Environment Day/Green Day is celebrated on the 5th June around the world. This is to help to raise awareness and to think about making our school more sustainable. The day will inspire the girls in schools to learn about climate change and how it relates to the buildings and spaces around us. Green Day is a fun way to learn about serious environmental issues. It was also to raise awareness of one of the 4 pillars related to the Qatar National Vision 2030.

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WORLD BOOK WEEK

World Book Week was a resounding success in which the school came to life through a number of story books, which were themed for each year group. Many of the girls brought in story jars and enjoyed dressing up as their favourite book character.

Our mission for World Book Week was to promote reading for pleasure, offering every girl the opportunity to listen or read an excited story and to become fully immersed in the story. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success. At Sherborne Qatar School for Girls we want to see more girls have a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them. Below shows what a fantastic week it has been and we hope to continue the excitement and enjoyment of reading throughout the rest of the school year.

There was a wide range of activities taking place throughout the week which have engaged and excited our pupils. Classes had the opportunity to listen to stories read by their teacher and through video different teachers from around the school. We saw our girls wearing pyjamas and enjoy stories with their friends and teachers.

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OUTDOOR CLASSROOM DAY Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to inspire and celebrate outdoor play and learning, it is a day where teachers celebrate with a special day outdoors for their class. Even though the girls were at home Distance Learning we still wanted to give them the opportunity to experience learning outside, as it has many benefits including: developing key skills for life, gaining a better understanding of the environment, enhancing engagement with learning and increasing physical and mental health. The day began with a Microsoft Teams meeting with the class teacher to explain the day and the suggested outdoor activities. An interactive choice board was shared with the girls, each activity was linked to a different area of the curriculum and had a linked video demonstration. Activities included: painting with ice, making a volcanic eruption, designing and building a bird feeder, making a treasure hunt with clues, exploring capacity, leaf rubbings and many more. The girls had a wonderful time carrying out their chosen activities throughout the day and were excited to share their learning experiences with their teacher and each other.

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MATHS WEEK As a school we celebrated Maths Week, our focus for the week was ‘Times Tables’. As a school we worked on developing our times tables knowledge and speed of recall. Year 5 created maths challenge posters which included mathematical questions for each year group to complete. The girls who completed the questions and shared their answers with Year 5 were awarded class dojo points. Year 5 were so impressed with Reception class’s effort they gave them extra points! We also took part in times tables quizzes, the girls had 60 seconds to answer questions, with the aim to beat their score next time. During Maths Week we also looked at different resources we use to help us understand different topics in maths.

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QATAR NATIONAL DAY Qatar National Day is a national commemoration of Qatar’s unification in 1878. It is celebrated annually on the 18th December. At Sherborne Qatar School for Girls, we had a chance to celebrate Qatar in many ways. The girls and teachers all came to school wearing the Qatari flag colours and Qatar national attire. In each of the classes they had a chance to create flags and listen to different stories about Qatar and the traditions they follow. The activities also included making a timeline dating back 15 years and made crafts about pearl diving. The girls proudly demonstrated their knowledge and support for Qatar.

We also had a competition to bring in 3D projects of famous places found around Qatar. The girls who took part were very proud to see their work displayed at the entrance of the new school. The projects were also used within our Qatar History lessons. A super job to all the girls who took place in this competition.

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SHERBORNES GOT TALENT SHOW This year we hosted the first ever Sherborne Girls Got Talent Show. It was an impressive event for all the girls to show-off their special talents. The Year 4 girls created fantastic posters beforehand to advertise the event and encouraged many girls to sign up. Throughout the school, many girls auditioned for the talent show and it was a tough decision for Mrs Fawcett to choose who to put in the final as she explained that all girls were “absolutely incredible!”

It was great to see lots of girls practicing for the event, some even during their lunchtime! The show involved lots of tremendous acts such as: singing, dancing, comedy, painting, gymnastics and many more. The final talent show was judged by Mrs Goldsack, who was overwhelmed with joy watching all the girls and seeing the amount of effort they each put into their acts.

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DRESS UP DAY

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PYJAMAS DAY 72

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SHERBORNE QATAR SCHOOL FOR GIRLS - STAFF 2020-2021

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