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The Winchester Ghafs
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The Winchester Ghafs The Story So Far…
In December 2021, The National newspaper, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the UAE, announced a competition in which they asked UAE residents how the UAE has made their dreams come true. The prize was something really unique – a specially printed biodegradable The National newspaper with Ghaf seeds in it. There were only 50 of these newspapers manufactured. Mishal Faraz, Year 11, and Mir Faraz, Year 8, were lucky to win one of these rare, coveted newspapers. As the national tree of the UAE, the Ghaf tree symbolizes values like strength , resilience, determination, grit, tolerance, and wellbeing – these are ethos which The Winchester School, Jebel Ali exemplifies and lives by every day. On the 21st of March, which is the United Nations International Day of Forests, the Winchester SLT and students from FS to Year 13 got together to plant this special paper.
On May 10, the first sapling broke ground. After a school-wide poll, the little Ghaf was named Amal, meaning “HOPE” in Arabic.
On July 25, the second sapling made its appearance, and was given the name which got the second highest votes – Ilham, meaning “INSPIRATION” in Arabic.
2nd December 2021
Mishal Faraz, Year 11 and Mir Faraz, Year 8 with the winning newspaper.
21st March 2022
Students from FS to Year 13 and the Senior Leadership Team, led by our Principal, Ms. Meenakshi Dahiya, came together to plant the prized Ghaf newspaper. To see a video of the tree plantation, please scan this QR code.
10th May 2022
Amal breaks soil to the delight of the Winchester community!
25th July 2022 23rd June 2022
The Winchester Ghaf gets featured in The National
“The Ghaf tree symbolises so much about what the UAE stands for so it was great to see the whole school community get behind this project. We’re looking forward to watching it grow taller and taller — and it shows you can grow stronger despite whatever severity comes. It symbolises what we have been through in recent years and how we can survive with a positive energy in life.”
- Ms. Meenakshi Dahiya, Principal and CEO, WIN Jebel Ali, to The National
Screengrabs of the news report published in The National. To read the full report in The National, scan this QR code.
And now for the latest update!
On 29th November 2022, we organized a plantation ceremony for the Winchester Ghafs to plant them in their permanent places. Read on to know about an event full of smiles, happiness, and surprises!
There could not be a better way to celebrate the "��������������������������������" than have students and teachers from Primary as well as Secondary come together to lovingly plant our precious saplings. The ceremony was organized by Ms. Debbiejo Miranda, our Head of Wellbeing. There was amazing energy and indescribable exuberance in the air as excited students saw the ghafs being planted in their permanent places. Everyone took turns putting in the soil making it a beautiful collaborative effort.
