SZPAG October Newsletter - English

OUR MISSION

The Sheikh Zayed Private Academy aims to honor the past and educate for the future by developing confident, responsible and caring young people of integrity who are well educated and prepared to meet the challenges in an ever changing world.

Principal’s Letter

Dear parents,

What a wonderful month October has been The students are both refreshed after the midterm break, but also very established in school routines. This means that the next few weeks allow for really accelerated learning to take place across the school.

And of course, despite all the wonderful enrichment and Parent in Partnership events that you will read about in this newsletter, learning is what schools are all about

Working with you, motivating and engaging students in a happy school, is what the SZPAG does so well. Our excellent teachers work relentlessly to guide and support your children to reach their full potential, both academically and as a well rounded young person. Students are encouraged to commit 100% to their studies, but also to take risks and understand that making mistakes is part of both growing and learning.

As part of my Quality Assurance processes, I visit very many lessons in school; across all ages and all subjects My purpose is to monitor the level of learning taking place and ensure consistently high standards for all students. It is the part of my job that gives me the most happiness as I get to sit with students, observe and watch their learning and question them about school. It helps me to identify the things we do well and what we could do better. It helps us plan for where the school should go next and strategize about the next steps in its development

I expect all of my Senior Leaders to visit classrooms every week It makes sure we all have a shared vision about the provision in our school and collectively take responsibility for the education we provide. It also makes us accessible to students who know that they can approach us and talk to us about any worries or concerns they may have. And ultimately, it means we know and understand our school and remain highly focused on providing the very best education we can, for all students, at all times

Yours in education

Carolyn Bailey

Principal

EARLY CHILDHOOD

We hope that you and your children had a wonderful midterm break, spending time together and creating lasting memories. The weather is now perfect for the children to be outside playing and enjoying themselves. Staff are all back in school and feeling energized and excited to be back after their break.

PE

We are very pleased to announce that we have a introduced a ‘PE Class of the Week Award.’ This is awarded by Miss Marian to students from KG1 Grade 1. The award is designed to encourage the children to follow instructions as a whole class and to work together as a team The winning class receives a certificate and keeps the special Sports Bear and trophy in their class for the week. The winning class photographs are displayed in the gym

Pre KG

We are so proud of our Pre KG children and how they have settled back into school after the break. They were so excited to see the teachers and the friends that they have made. The children have been working hard to improve their hand eye co ordination and strengthen their fingers. There are many activities in the classes such as threading beads, picking up objects with large tweezers, painting and craft activities to support with their fine motor development.

Pre KG

The children had such fun at their Prince and Princess Day to celebrate their first month in school. They really enjoyed dressing up and making special sandwiches to celebrate how hard they have worked and how well they have settled into class.

KG 1

KG1 have been learning all about the letter ‘t’ they have learnt to write the letter ‘t’ and find objects that begin with ‘t’. For show and tell they bought in objects from home that begin with ‘t’. To celebrate all their hard work, they invited their favorite teddy bears to spend a day in school with them. They had lots of fun showing their teddy bears all their hard work.

Science

In KG 2 the children have been learning about plants and what plants need in order to grow.

Math

In math they have learned about length and reinforced their learning in various ways. Look at the fabulous tall towers they have made and the long trail using the block

KG 2

In class children are chosen as the reporter to report on the learning that has taken place. At the end of the session they share the learning with the rest of the class. This helps them to focus on their own learning, assess their progress and comment on the learning of their friends. It is also an ideal opportunity to practice speaking to an audience and develop their presentation skills.

Grade 1

The children read the story ‘My Mouth is a Volcano’ and they learnt that it was important to wait their turn to speak and listen to other people. Afterwards in their science lessons, they mixed vinegar and baking soda together with food coloring to make their own volcanoes.

Grade 1

To celebrate the end of the “Talk for Writing” unit in Grade 1, the children had an Eric Carle Day where they could come to school wearing their own clothes. The children participated in a variety of art and science activities to celebrate their learning and to foster a love of reading and writing. In their Arabic lessons they listened to his stories in Arabic

After School Clubs

Our grade 1 children are enjoying their after school clubs. Our budding artists are having fun painting flowers. In Lego club, the children are designing their own models and then building them. Our linguists are enjoying learning Spanish and are able to ask your name in Spanish.

Working in Partnership with Parents

We have had several workshops where we have shared the curriculum with the parents. Parents were very excited to attend a workshop to learn more about the Pre KG curriculum and how the children learn in school.

Our workshop on using technology at home was very informative and parents were very interested to know how to keep their children safe when using apps on line We have published these videos on our You Tube channel so you can watch them at your leisure.

Pink Day

The EC building was awash with different shades of pink at the end of last half term. Children were able to wear pink to school and make a small donation to support women’s health. The children, as a special treat, were able to bring a healthy snack to eat for morning break. Thank you for all your support in making this event a huge success.

Academic October’ springs to mind when I think about what has been taking place in school. We are really driving academic standards with the teachers ensuring that the children are challenged in their lessons. During my weekly Head of School picnics with the winners of the week from each grade, the children are always keen to share their learning and what they enjoy in their lessons. They tell me that they absolutely love to be challenged and extend their learning! Engaging our children in challenges allows them to build their capacity to be resilient. Learning at a young age that they can overcome obstacles, learn from their struggles and mistakes, truly lays a solid foundation for success in later life. Challenge is the key to a growth mindset, with the use of the powerful word ‘yet’, the children tell themselves on their learning journey that they ‘can’t do this, yet’. Our teachers look to facilitate challenge throughout their lessons across the curriculum, nurturing the children to have a go and see what they can achieve, pushing them to reach their true potential.

Parent Book Looks

It was wonderful to welcome so many of our families to your children’s classrooms on Tuesday 11th October to share your children’s work with them at our very first book look event. We welcomed over 150 parents to the school, which was amazing, and your support was very much appreciated. Post COVID we have made a conscious shift from completing and posting most of the work on Seesaw, to the children re using notebooks.It is important that the children improve their writing stamina and handwriting skills, so over the year you will be able to see how these are developing. You will have noticed the presentation and marking codes in the front of their books, so the children understand the expectations when they complete their work and how to respond to teacher feedback.

Our teachers mark in pink and the students respond in green pen to extend their learning.It was lovely to see the children talking about their work and explaining the different learning objectives that they have been working towards in their lessons with you all.It is a real skill when children can articulate what they have been doing, know the progress they have made and what they are working to achieve. They loved to share their successes and where they have learned from their mistakes, which is an incredibly important part of the learning journey. Please don’t worry if you missed this book look, you will be welcomed back to school to attend the next one in the next half term.

MAP IT Parents in Partnership Meeting

Thank you to all the parents who attended the MAP Assessment parent meeting on Wednesday 12th October During this meeting parents were able to develop a better understanding of what MAP assessments are, how we use them at SZPAG and how to read their child’s MAP reports Parents also had the opportunity to practice MAP activities that their children work on every week during their MAP IT Monday sessions Some of our Grade 5 students acted brilliantly as the teachers and worked with parents to explain the different centers and support them with the different activities Be on the lookout for your child’s MAP report which will be sent home in the last week of this term

‘Pinknic’

What an exciting end to the ½ term! The children were a vision in pink as we raised awareness of looking after ourselves and living a healthy lifestyle on Pink Day.Prior to the picnic, the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, relaxation time and sleep were discussed during assembly. The children loved the whole Elementary school ‘pinknic’ on the field during their extended breaktime on Friday 14th October.There was a sea of blankets and pink food as the children truly got into the spirit of the theme. Thank you for the donations made to our ‘Helping Hands’ program to support underprivileged families and people of determination with financial, medical and educational support.

Spotlight on Grade 2

This term the Grade 2 students have been busy explorers! They went on a treasure hunt around school linked to their learning about ‘Pirate Tom’ and his adventures in the ocean. Using Talk for Writing strategies the students created their own narrative stories based on this adventure.The students practiced being problem solvers with math problem stories. They relished the opportunity to create their own problem stories and share with their classmates. The Grade 2s have also been measuring objects around the classroom with strings, cubes and other objects that helped them understand that measuring is the repetition of the same units. Their science lessons have been filled with fun model building of landforms and discovering why landforms may change shape! All activities this term have aimed at fostering collaboration and engaging learning. As they continue to be explorers the Grade 2s are excited for their field trip in November where they will widen their exploring in Umm Al Emarat Park.

Spotlight on Grade 4

There has been lots of amazing learning happening in 4th Grade!

Throughout the first term’s theme ‘Dream It, Design It, Live it’ our 4th Graders have worked hard on not only their learning, but also their attitude towards learning. This year, we are developing their independence and autonomy as learners whilst ensuring they remain curious, creative, and resilient. Critical thinking skills have been developed through learning about metacognition in reading and modelling problem-solving in math whilst nurturing creativity through descriptive narratives in writing and engineering practical activities in science.

The exciting new Singapore Math program has provided stretch and challenge as the children have revised and explored multiplication and division.

After researching the global issue of water scarcity in science, the children designed and created their own water filters which they then presented to the class.

In ELA, the children have considered narrative storytelling in both their reading and writing, through considering new descriptive techniques like ‘show not tell’, exploring character traits that they could use in their own writing, and developing story arcs that keep the reader engaged and excited about the children’s writing.

Math in action modelling division and making multiplication flashcards.

Math in action modelling division and making multiplication flashcards.

Math Focus

This month the students have dedicated their time to learning number bonds in Grade 2 and times tables in Grades 3, 4 and 5. Students have been using array cards to help support their understanding of the times tables. It has helped them understand the numbers and how many are in each group. This month has also seen Grade 2 begin measuring objects using non- standard units of measure. They have found objects in their classroom and learnt how to measure in a straight line making sure there are no overlaps.

Scientists at work creating water filters

at work creating water filters

Math Focus

We have also had great fun re introducing Numbots and Times Table Rockstars. With the launch event on Math Heroes Day the students explored number sentences they could make with their outfits as well as enjoying activities including competing against the other classes in their grade. All students were excited to have the opportunity to beat teachers around the school with their Times Table scores!

Encouraging students to take some time to use Numbots, in Grade 2, and Times Table Rockstars, in Grades 3, 4 and 5 will support students in continuing to develop fluency in their number bonds and times tables.

We are excited to welcome parents to an introduction to the Singapore Math program on the 16th November at 1:45pm, further details will follow closer to the time.

Science Focus

We are all Scientists in Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Girls!

What makes us Scientists? In class: we ask questions, observe, solve problems, carryout experiments and investigations, and share our findings with others. Take a look at what we have been doing…

Science Focus

Grade 2 have been busy exploring how water and wind changes the shape of the land They headed outdoors to investigate which surfaces absorb water and made links to how this is relates to the flash flooding that sometimes happens in the Wadis in the UAE. They worked collaboratively to explore the process of erosion on a smaller scale.

Grade 3 got creative when they applied their knowledge and understanding of acquired and inherited traits to create their own monster!

Grade 3 got creative when they applied their knowledge and understanding of acquired and inherited traits to create their own monster!

Science Focus

Their latest triumph involved researching, designing, and building a filter to clean dirty water. The students worked diligently through the engineering process and the results were impressive!

Grade 5

Grade 5 have been focusing on the process of photosynthesis. They have studied the vocabulary, developed, and used models to show their understanding. They learned how to create testable questions and have used this knowledge to plan and implement their own investigation. Inspired by what they have learned, some Grade 5 students have chosen to extend their learning outside of class time, seeking to find imaginative and creative ways to represent what they have learned. Bravo Grade 5- you truly are role models!

Finally, it has been wonderful to see how many children across Elementary that have already completed the optional STEM homework challenge! If your child is interested there is still time, the due date is not until the 31st October.

ELA Focus - Guided Reading

This term, the students have all been taking part in Guided Reading groups with their teacher as part of Daily 5 This important time with their teacher is always noted as one of the students’ favorite times of the day. During guided reading sessions, students study new books, develop their reading skills and increase fluency. This approach has yielded fantastic results and students are constantly progressing. While guided reading is taking place with a group, the rest of the students get the choice between reading to themselves, reading to someone else, working on words or working on writing Students are constantly becoming more responsible for their learning by taking ownership of what they will do during Daily 5. We have seen an incredible development of student autonomy and focus during these sessions, and teachers are clearly promoting and encouraging a love of reading among their students. Students are enthusiastic and engaged while reading. Some classes are on their way to reading 100 books already this term!

Big Write

Every term, all the children in Elementary get to show off their narrative ‘story writing’ skills by taking part in the Big Write! This is where all the students in Elementary get to write on the same theme. All grades have been studying narrative texts in Term 1, and this was an excellent way for them to showcase what they have learned so far. For our first Big Write this year, the students were shown an engaging hook in the form of a video clip to write a story about what happened when a science experiment bubbled over. There were lots of very creative and varied stories written, and students’ narrative writing skills were truly impressive! The positive impact of the Talk 4 Writing approach is evident in the students’ constantly improving writing skills. We feel that we have lots of budding authors here in SZPAG!

Parent Teacher conferences

We offered a blended approach for the parent teacher conferences this term, where we offered the option of face to face or online on different days. The teachers, including the specialist teachers were very pleased to meet with so many of you to discuss your children’s progress and further develop the partnership between home and school. We thank you for the time that you spend consolidating and building on the work that we do in school Listening to your children read, supporting them with their phonics or practicing their multiplication tables really does make a difference to their confidence in accessing their lessons.

Parent Teacher conferences

Through our weekly assemblies the children have been learning about the My Identity Values and Learner Agency areas that we are focusing on each month. The Value for October was ‘Responsibility’ and the Learner Agency was ‘Leadership’.With our newly appointed Student Council members, we discussed the responsibilities that they have representing their class and we identified what makes a good leader. We are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the My Identity Passports that each child will have to exemplify how they have best demonstrated the school Values and how they have been agents of their learning.

Technology Focus

We had a fabulous start to the school year in Grades 2 5. The children have been using fun educational apps like Times Table Rockstars, Numbots, Razkids and Edmentum to support their learning in all grades. Grade 2 have been focusing on getting the children used to the iPads during their iPad slots in the class. They have been using them during their Daily 5 and during MAP IT Monday. Grade 3 have been using their iPads to write book reviews. Grade 4 has used Clips in Science to explain the engineering process to their classmates and Grade 5 have been using their iPads during their math lessons and during their early morning work too.

In Elementary we had our ‘Digital Safety Week’ the week beginning of 26th September. The children had great class discussions on how to be safe online and learnt all about how to protect themselves online. All the children then wrote a way that they can be safe on the internet and shared that tip with their class.

Ms Simone has taken on the Unified Robotics lead and we are looking forward to her team competing this year.

Student Council

The Elementary Student Council is now meeting actively each week after school on Wednesdays. Ms Sarah and Ms Kerry are the teacher advisors.The pictured student council members were voted into their positions as council members by their classmates. The council members represent their classes by sharing information and bringing information to our group. Our goal is to bring student voices to the leadership of our school and become role models to our classmates and the Elementary School. By sharing our ideas, time, and efforts, we hope to help make SZPAG Elementary the best it can be.

External Assessments

CAT4 for Grades 3 and 5

The students in Grades 3 and 5 sat their CAT4, Cognitive Abilities Test, after the half term break. It is an assessment that is designed to help students and their teachers understand how they learn and what their academic potential might be. It assesses how students think in areas that are known to make a difference to learning. The CAT4 results help teachers decide about the pace of learning that is right for a student and whether additional support or challenge is needed. The ‘4’ part relates to the four batteries involved in the assessment; thinking about shapes and patterns (Non Verbal Reasoning), words (Verbal Reasoning), numbers (Quantitative Reasoning) and some questions are answered by mentally generating and transforming visual images (Spatial Ability).

External Assessments

PASS Grades 2 5

The 20 minute PASS (Pupil Attitudes to Self and School) test was taken by all the Elementary students. PASS is an assessment that supports pupils’ wellbeing in learning.It is incredibly important to focus on the social and emotional wellbeing of our students and PASS helps schools identify barriers to learning, by focusing on how a student feels about themselves, their engagement with the curriculum, and their feelings about school.Using the data collected will lead into our well-being and assembly program and support the lessons that our Social Councilor, Ms Ashley, will teach in class. Teachers will always look to ensure that their students are confident, ready and motivated to learn.

Secondary Newsletter

What an amazing half term it has been in Secondary School. I would like to thank all of our students, parents, and teachers for a great collaborative effort in helping our girls settle back into school life.

As I walk around our school, I see so many focused, active, happy students who are working hard on their learning. I hope you enjoy reading an overview of just some of the things that we have been doing in October.

Parents in Partnership Events

This month we were delighted to welcome parents back into school. These events shared information on the curriculum and assessment in Middle School and the curriculum and graduation requirements for High School. It was a pleasure to see parents again, answer questions, and hear your feedback and positive school experiences. We look forward to inviting you into school again next term.

Pink Day

On Friday 14th of October, we celebrated Pink Day within the secondary. Students celebrated by wearing pink, bringing food to share for our Pink nic, and donating money to charity. Pink Day was a wonderful celebration of health, friendship, and generosity.

Numeracy and Literacy Egg Hunt

Ms. Amanda, Ms. Kathleen, and the Senior Student leadership team were busy hiding eggs around the school grounds. Each egg contained a literacy or numeracy puzzle students had to solve during their break and lunch. Students enjoyed searching for the eggs and deciphering the clues, which helped them to improve numeracy and literacy skills, have lots of fun, and earn epraise points and prizes!

Reward Events

SZPAG Secondary is proud to have hosted this year’s first Reward Event and welcome students as honored guests. This event celebrated our outstanding students and the positive start they have had to the year. Students and staff were excited to attend our SZPAG cinema, where they enjoyed watching a movie, eating snacks and popcorn, and just enjoying time with their friends.

Pinning Ceremony

We hosted a special event to formally celebrate the beginning of the Grade 6 journey and welcome them to the Secondary school. In this event, the Grade 12 students passed a pin to each Grade 6 student symbolizing passing on their legacy to the younger students. This is always a very emotional event, and we were so proud to see the Seniors passing on the responsibility of the Secondary School to the new Middle School students.

Student Council

This year’s Student Council members have been elected. Council members were selected by their class after delivering a speech outlining why they felt they should be on the student council. We elected our President: Lamya Al Mheirbi, Vice President: Alyazya Al Hamed, and Secretary: Rawdha Fahed Al Mazroui 10C. Well done to everyone who put themselves forward for consideration. The student council will work with Ms. Nazmieh to plan and organize events throughout the year.

Knowledge Centre

The Knowledge Center has reopened during break and lunchtime to students possessing a library pass. Students who have collected enough ‘Caught you Reading’ epraise points have been enjoying the calm solitude of our beautiful library and escaping into their books.

Progress Meetings

After half term, we welcomed parents back to school for our termly progress meetings. This event was hosted face to face and an online Teams event to accommodate everyone’s needs. The meeting was an opportunity for parents to discuss their daughter’s progress and attainment within each subject and gain insight into areas she might need where they may need to focus their attention further. It was an excellent opportunity for parents to put a face to a name and meet their daughter’s outstanding teachers.

Speakers From NYU

Grade 12s listened to speakers from New York University who talked them through early entry requirements and how to apply for university via the Common Application. This was an excellent opportunity for students to have their questions answered and see what New York University offers.

External Examinations

SATs began in early October with a very high turnout of over 100 students as G11s and G12s demonstrated their skills in English and Maths after months of practice and revision. G12 students have also began their EmSATs for this year with their English Exam, which has gone very well. All Freshmen students sat the PSAT9 at the end of the month, in order to begin preparing them for SAT in Grades 11 and 12.

What’s happening in Math?

Our math teachers have been working hard to help prepare students for the SAT and EmSAT, embedding practice into everyday lessons as well as running an SAT/EmSAT Prep ECA on Tuesdays! Students have also been working very hard to improve their maths MAP skills by completing extra math during their Homeroom. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the math department has been instructional sharing videos that help to target specific IXL skills This extra IXL has allowed students to earn valuable epraise points and improve their MAP Skills. Finally, many of our students are beginning exciting Maths projects! Our Grade 11 students are beginning a Real Life Maths Projects looking at buying cars and calculating the depreciation of their values over time using Exponential Decay Models. Grade 9 students will be exploring real life examples of linear functions by gathering data online, investigating foreign currencies, and analyzing slope of the linear functions they create. Grade 10 students will be applying polynomials to real world scenarios and factoring and solving to interpret results.

An update from PE

There has been lots of creativity in PE the last few weeks. Across a variety of activities, students have had the opportunity to express themselves.

The Middle School, in particular, has been fantastic fun. For the first time in SZPAG, they have been designing a cheer routine. It is safe to say all members of the PE staff have been shocked, thrilled, and awe struck by the ability of our younger students to create, collaborate, and push past their comfort zones to create a new and dynamic learning environment. Students focused on their ability to coordinate and communicate with others. They problem solved and found solutions that led to highly successful assessment grades.

An update from PE

The High School has been focusing on its new take on the PE curriculum this year and engaging in various wellness performances. Students are experiencing new activities that they can continue once they move on to college and also later in life. They have focused on their fitness, their flexibility, and their well being. Students are noticing physical weekly progressions and discussing these advances in relation to their overall health.

SZPAG Reward Event

A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to present to you this issue of our school’s newsletter in such a remarkable month that witnesses the memory of the Prophet’s birthday; a memory that brings hope to the hearts and revives faith in souls.

In this issue, we will take you on an exciting journey of knowledge and special activities that brings happiness to your hearts as you watch students expressing their joy in school.

Best regards, Jacky Boulos Head of Arabic

"Arabi" program is one of the enrichment programs launched by the Sheikh Zayed Academy for Girls at the beginning of the current academic year that aims to enhance the basic skills of the Arabic language. Grade 9 students carried out several activities that show their passion and love for the Arabic Language, such as practicing the art of debate and dialogue, writing daily tweets on various topics, writing paragraphs and summaries of the biographies of prominent figures that have a great impact on society, practicing the art of impersonation, and conducting read alouds of various books and stories within the international fluency standard in reading.

“

” Program:

Program

We also continue to carry out our fun activities in "Arabi" program in KG and elementary schools, and we work towards enriching lessons with a variety of stories and writing tasks to support the reading, writing and speaking skills.

The UAE Ministry of Education has launched the 7th session of the EmSAT standardized tests- EmSAT Achieve for grade 12 students for the academic year 2022 2023, to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively participate in the modern knowledge based global society. Students must pass the tests to be admitted into one of the graduate programs in UAE higher education institutions/universities. Therefore, the school is working to provide its students with the support needed to prepare them for the exams through offering weekly afterschool/ remedial classes during which we aim to strengthen their grammartical, spelling and rhetorical skills in addition to their comprehension skills. All a student has to do is to focus and commit to attending these lessons to reinforce her skills.

Language (IBT 2022):

The International Benchmark Tests (IBT) are designed to evaluate and assess students’ proficiency in Arabic in order to give an international benchmark of their performance against the performance of students from other participating countries around the world and in the Middle East region. Students will be able to see their intrinsic abilities and potential for learning and identify their strengths and weaknesses on skills and concepts related to their grade level. The test will also help them clarify concepts, which makes it very valuable as a remedial instrument. Teachers of the Arabic Department are offering support to students by making them practice this test’s skills during .lessons

TheEmiratesStandardized

TheInternational

Learning Centers:

Learning centers play an important role in KG, as they are based on the child’s self-learning and learning through discovery and experience, which was found to be the most useful for a student in receiving information at this age as it gives him confidence and makes him selfdisciplined, independent, and responsible. In the system of units, we allocate centers that are carefully prepared based on standards that support the educational process, including the digital learning center, the theater center, the artistic expression center, the writing center, the reading center, and the cognitive games center, so the student learns to read and write with new educational methods that are far from boring which in turn enhances his/her experience and knowledge.

ParentEventontheArabicCurriculuminMiddle andHighSchool:

SZPAG seeks to communicate with parents and involve them in the educational process. Thus, an orientation meeting was scheduled to introduce parents to the school curriculum and the assessment process followed in the three Arabic subjects. In addition to that, they were introduced to the educational platforms that are supervised by the Arabic department and used to enhance Arabic language skills. There was also time set for questions and inquiries regarding the learning and support methods used in the department.

ParentTeacherConferences:

Due to the great role that parents play as the main supporter of the educational process, the parent teacher conferences were held from 24 27th of October for students in KG Grade 12 Both options of face-to-face and virtual meetings were available These meetings are a great opportunity for parents to be informed about the academic development of their children as well as the social and behavioral aspects. They are also a great opportunity to meet teachers and get to know them better.

TheProphet

s Birthday:

The prophet was born, so the creatures shined bright And the world smiled and praised The angels carried the good news to the whole world That was happy and hopeful

This religious occasion has been linked to the national identity to promote the value of the month of October in “My Identity” program which is (Responsibility). On this occasion, the students wrote messages on Padlet to express their love for the Prophet [PBUH]. They also memorized some hadiths, prepared brochures, and wrote short stories.

We thought about what we can offer to our beloved prophet on his birthday, so our dear grade 6 students designed cards expressing their love for the Prophet

IslamicEducation Department

Students in grades 2-5 celebrated the Prophet’s birthday through various segments that they performed. They also made a presentation on the life of the Prophet [PBUH], sang a song for him, and expressed their love for him by writing phrases of love and appreciation.

IslamicEducation Department

The Prophet’s birthday was celebrated by middle and high school students who participated in the Prophet’s Birthday competition where the top three winners received certificates of appreciation.

ReinforcementoftheResearchand InvestigationSkill:

students in Grades 6 and 7 are applying the skill of research and investigation in social studies. This skill helps develop their self confidence and independence, increases their enthusiasm towards the learning and teaching process, and allows them to think and innovate. They are also applying the skill of text analysis which enhances the skills of reading, comprehension, analysis, and reasoning.

SpokenEmirati/ EmiratiDialect:

Dialects are part of the heritage of countries and preserving them is the duty of all the different generations The more these generations are keen to use dialects in speaking and protect them from any distortion that may affect them with the passage of time, the more the belonging is to the homeland and the pride is in the heritage of the ancestors and the national identity.

The Emirati dialect is considered one of the rich dialects that includes an abundant vocabulary. The richness of this dialect goes back to its first formation that was done by merging a number of dialects from the east, west and south of the Arabian Peninsula

Therefore, students in grades 6 and 7 designed an interactive electronic dictionary entitled "The Emirati Ramsa", which means the Emirati dialect. It includes more than 500 words in the local Emirati dialect and the equivalent in standard Arabic with a picture of the word. The dictionary was done in the alphabetical sequence of letters, as students relied on multiple references such as dictionaries of the Emirates dialect, parents, grandfathers, grandmothers, and relatives This enhances the connection with the local environment, helps promote the national identity, and reinforces the skill of speaking Standard Arabic.

EnhancingtheSkillofProblemSolving:

Problem solving is one of the higher order thinking skills, and in order to enhance this skill, students in grade 9 were taught the skill of problem solving in UAE social studies, as we asked them to find a solution for the problem of unemployment in the Arab world in light of the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic. Students gained new knowledge in this subject after researching and reading many articles about it.

UsingTechnologyintheEducationalProcess:

Students used technology in the lesson entitled "My Environment is My Responsibility" to apply what they learnt about the importance of the ozone layer in protecting earth from sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.

UnifiedSchools

We are delighted that SZPAG continues to be part of the Unified Schools program. Ms Simone, the homeroom teacher of 5E is overseeing this for our school this year. In November we are organizing an event to celebrate World Kindness Day as a part of this is showing respect and tolerance to all

Parentsin Partnership

You will have received an email from Ms Carolyn along with an accompanying booklet introducing our ‘Parents in Partnership’ initiative. There are many events contained within this that would be valuable for your attend to better understand how we operate in school and thus how to support your child at home. The Inclusion would love to see you at some of these events in the coming year.

Digital Safety Week

As you all know staying safe online is critical. To this end we ran our digital safety week during the last week of September. Through presentations and discussions, the students were reminded of important steps they can take to keep themselves safe on the internet. The poster below shows just some of these. Please do speak with your children about how to stay safe rather than block all their access. Ultimately, we are wanting our students to become responsible users. One thing is certain and that is the internet is not going away and so the better we equip them in how to protect themselves whilst on line the better equipped they will be for their future lives.

iOS Design

Ms Rana Subhiyeh is recruiting students to take part in the iOS Design challenge. Sandooq Al Watan in partnership with Apple Distinguished Educators, will be launching the iOS Design Challenge. Students will be invited across the UAE to design an app prototype that promotes tolerance in society. Students have the opportunity to attend workshops to build their skills throughout the year. These workshops are led by Apple certified trainers, covering core topics that are essential for successful app design. Students do not need to be a coder to take part in this Challenge. The project will encourage designs from students who will be future artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers. Everyone is welcome!