Primary Newsletter
A look back at what has happened in November 2019
MESSAGE FROM OUR PRIMARY PRINCIPAL - MS. SANDRA KELLEC
We would like to congratulate our students and families on another great month of learning in the classroom and around the school.
As a school, we are working hard to set higher expectations for our students in reading and mathematics. As a result, strategic plans have been put into place and additional instruction time has been added to the schedules for these two areas of learning.
Reading books are more visible throughout the school and mathematics practice is expected every day at home to support student learning in the classroom.
During November, our students also remembered the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.). This was demonstrated in a creative display of body calligraphy and multiple languages used in the retelling of the story of the ‘Owner of the Elephant’.
You may have also noticed that we are further encouraging all students to be at school every day, except when ill, and to arrive on time no later than 8:00 AM. Letters have been sent to families as reminders and awards are now in place for the class or grade level with the best attendance on a monthly basis.
Unfortunately, we are still noticing that on Thursdays some parents are requesting to take their children out of school before dismissal, ahead of the weekend. Please be aware that absence on Thursdays results in students missing their weekly spelling and mathematics assessments, leading to lower marks on overall progress over the term.
We are extremely excited about our Pre-KG school this year. For parents that have started your children at the school this year, your decision is a crucial influencer for future success in school. Social and emotional development, fine and gross-motor skills and academic readiness activities help students to make a smooth transition to Kindergarten.
This month has also been filled with several UAE initiated activities and contests for students, such as the Arabic Reading Challenge, the National Bullying Prevention Week, Expo 2020 Young Innovators, World Children’s Day, and the World’s Largest Lesson in partnership with UNICEF’s Sustainable Developmental Goals.
Our young leaders often start taking action for a better world by becoming members of the Student Leadership Association. At Ajman Academy, our young leaders, take part in various school improvement activities as well as sharing their experiences with school visitors (e.g. CIS: Council of International Schools).
I would also like to congratulate three of our Grade five boys who were chosen to go to the next level of the Emirates Young Scientists Competition finals with their “Waste-Free Lunch program.” Such experiences build confidence and encourage excellence in Science studies, irrelevant of winning the final prize.
As a school, one of the greatest things that we can do is to share our experiences with others in our community both locally and internationally. We do this through workshops, parent open days, expert visitors, conferences and collaborative learning projects.
Please read the submissions by our Assessment Coordinator and Technology Integration Specialist to learn about some of the things we have learned and shared with others.
In closing, I wish each of you a wonderful National Day vacation and express our thanks for your continued support.
Sandra Kellec
Primary Principal
A message from our PYP Coordinator, Ms Rachel
We are busy in school, promoting regular reading with your children, and we appreciate the time spent by parents with home reading.
Reading a story at bedtime is also a really powerful routine that has many benefits.
· Adults reading to young children before they sleep is a lovely time to bond and share stories with your child
· It settles them into sleep
· They learn lots of new words
· Did you know that children aged 6-7 should be learning 6-8 new words a day
· Knowledge of vocabulary in your first language assists with learning a second language
· Love of books promotes life long learning
In school, we have created extra class time for reading in the upper grades and more class time for the RWI phonics programme in lower grades. We are working hard to improve further our levels of reading in English and also the understanding of texts. Supporting your children with stories at night, whatever their age, really helps their progress in school.
Each class is full of books from the library and related to the unit of inquiry.
We are giving the children a lot of new vocabulary matched to their studies and encouraging them to develop and use the language in both their discussions and their written work.
We are also working hard to raise levels of achievement in maths.
We have implemented a new programme which is UK based but also fits with our philosophy of inquiry. Teachers are carefully tracking the progress in maths, and we hope that you can see the evidence of this in your children’s maths books, Seesaw and their personal assessment folder.
KG2 Number Bonds
Grade 5 Graphs
We hope you continue to enjoy the unit of inquiry assemblies and gallery walks which allow the children to share their learning with you while also developing skills of communication, organisation and personal research.
A message from our Arabic Coordinator, Ms Karima
السادة الأفاضل أولياء الأمور الكرام …
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
استخدم الطلبة في كافة صفوف المرحلة الإبتدائية اللغة العربية للاحتفال بعيد المولد النبوي الشريف خلال شهر نوفمبر.
كما تم الإعلان عن مسابقة تحدي القراءة باللغة العربية حيث اشترك عدد كبير من طلبتنا في هذا التحدي، وبهذه المناسبة نود حث أولياء الأمور على مساعدة أبنائهم/بناتهم وتشجيعهم على القراءة.
كذلك قمنا في أكاديمية عجمان بتفعيل تطبيق ” كتبي“ وهو منصة قراءة رقمية ممتعة وتعليمية تحتوي على أكثر من ٩٠٠ قصة مصورة باللغتين العربية والإنجليزية، لدعم تطور الطلبة في مهارة القراءة والفهم باللغة العربية حسب عمر ومستوى الطلبة، يمكنكم تصفح التطبيق مع أطفالكم من خلال استخدام معلومات الدخول الخاصة بكل طالب/ـة.
يتمكن المتعلم من خلال هذا التطبيق من ربط قراءته بالوحدة البحثية والأنشطة الصفية من خلال "التقييم التكويني" حيث يقوم الطلبة في رحلتهم التعلمية بتساؤلات عديدة ويشاركون أقرانهم في العمل التعاوني عن طريق التقييمات ( الذاتي، الثنائي، الجماعي) كما يستمتع الطلبة في دروس وحدة البحث من خلال المشاركة وعرض أعمالهم أمام الزملاء.
Message from our Islamic Teacher, Ms. Rania
On the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (peace be upon him), Ajman Academy students performed the story of ‘The Owner of the Elephant’, to show God’s protection of the holy house of worship for Muslims, (the Kaaba in Makkah) and its importance in Islam.
The students showed their love of the Prophet by forming his name, Muhammad (peace be upon him) with their bodies. They raised banners with the Prophet’s name in five different languages to show international-mindedness.
At the end of the activity, the whole school recited a supplication for this special celebration.
Special Activity in remembrance of the Prophet Muhammad’s (p.b.u.h.) birthday
A message from our Pre-KG Grade Leader, Ms Clare
In Pre-KG children are learning to strengthen their social and emotional development while engaging and playing in a vibrant atmosphere. Observing and documenting a child’s work and performance over a year allows the teachers to accumulate a record of the child’s growth and development. With this information, teachers can begin to plan appropriate curriculum and effective individualised instruction for every child.
Children learn they can accomplish tasks and make decisions without the help of their parents. All children in AJAC Pre-KG have begun their journey to becoming little leaders, following the mission and vision of the school.
Attendance: Did you know?
- That when students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for the future.
- Absences add up! Missing just 2 days a month means a child misses 10% of the school year.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
We have noticed that on Thursdays over November there has been a 10% difference in attendance due to absences (some being illness related) and requests for early leaves.
Parent Partners, please support us by having your children attend school unless they are ill. Your support helps us in educating your children to their highest potential.
A message from our Science Coordinator, Ms Sam
I am proud to share the success of the following Grade 5 team of young Scientists; Salman Thamer Almuhairi, Ahmed Mohammed Alalili and Saleem Wael Alyan.
They were chosen to go to the next level of the Emirates Young Scientists Competition finals with their “Waste-Free Lunch program.”
This is a great achievement, as they were one of only 600 projects, which went through to the next stage. They attended at the Zayed Education Complex in Sharjah on Saturday, 16th of November and presented their project to two judges from the MOE.
Although they were some of the youngest attendees, it was mentioned about how well they composed themselves when presenting their project, as well as how informative they were about their project.
They positively represented Ajman Academy; however; the team did not make it this time to the next stage in the competition.
I want to thank the boys, as well as their parents for all of their effort and hard work.
A message from our Student Leadership Coordinator, Ms Sarah-Jane
Agents for Change
The AJAC Primary Student Leadership Association is an integral part of the school community. This term, members of the Student Leadership Association focused on being “Agents of Change” within the school. The task the Student Leadership Association had was to find creative and effective solutions to the challenges that their peers face.
They were asked to reflect on the current PYP Learner Profiles of ‘Caring’ and ‘Principled’, and see how they could apply them during the school day, and in the community. By being the example, the Student Leadership Association members hoped to impart the characteristics of the Caring and Principled profiles to their peers. The Student Leadership Association members were able to demonstrate various key attributes of the PYP profiles with great success; they became ‘Agents of Change’ by showing how easy the profiles can apply to day-to-day life.
A message from our Primary Assessment Coordinator, Ms Emma
The GL Education hosted a whole series of different seminars and workshops to help get the most out of data. Ajman Academy was fortunate to have one of the workshops on campus on Thursday, 21st November 2019.
The session was attended by 22 delegates from different school all across the Northern Emirates. The workshop was divided into two sessions. The first session was based on CAT4 and was designed to support those new to CAT4 testing in understanding how assessment data and reports from CAT4 can be used effectively to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. The second session was about data triangulation which provided practical guidance in how to develop a holistic approach to assessment throughout the school.
Neil McRae conducted the workshop from Personal Best Learning, Singapore.
A message from our Technology Integration Specialist, Ms Kerry-Lee
As we progress into the academic year, the shift in the culture of technology integration has become a natural and effective action that has immersed itself into classrooms as well as academic and learning environments. Building links between our IB framework, International Mindedness and Curriculum with technology, allows lessons to provide content and experiences that dives into the more in-depth learning process; with an abundance of resources to support the innovative and explorative process.
Ajman Academy is very fortunate to be in partnership with Abdul Chohan, the Director of Think Simple, whose support and highly sort-after guidance and experience is working very closely with our SLT and Technology Department. This is in pursuit of developing policies to develop further opportunities for all students to receive a learning experience uniquely designed for every individual student. With a continued emphasis on quality learning, supporting our staff with necessary skills and CPD to deliver technology integration at its peak of expectation, we have made a concerted effort to curate opportunities for staff to excel.
As a result, CPD opportunities for coaching and mentoring will be provided by 5 APL specialists who will be in school on December 10th, where they will be present with teachers and students during academic teaching time to provide expert advice and support that will be personalised through this experience.
We look forward to the journey technology is making through the school and the elevation of teaching and learning it will provide through its foundation.