Principal's Letter August 2018
GEMS New Millennium School, Al Khail
UBUNTU: I Am because We Are
Dear NMS families,
We eagerly await to welcome our students back to school on the 2nd of September 2018. I believe that most of us had a refreshing summer with memorable vacations, lots of laughter and enjoyment.
Some of our families, including a few staff members who hail from the Indian state of Kerala, have had a harrowing experience with the floods that engulfed most parts. We are thankful to the rulers of UAE and many philanthropists from this nation, who acted on the situation immediately by sending in huge donations.
The Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, Dr. Sunny Varkey donated AED 5 Million to aid the flood relief efforts in Kerala. Quoting Mr. Varkey: “The UAE Government has underlined its support to Kerala through the formation of the special committee. We are making our humble contribution to the committee for supporting the rescue and rehabilitation work in Kerala, my home state.” Our students also rose to the situation by joining the donation campaign organised at the school. Many families have generously contributed relief materials, which we will send to the Emirates Red Crescent Society by 27th August 2018, to be sent across to Kerala.
Some of our staff who hail from Kerala have reported that their homes have been safe and have had narrow escapes from the water entering their homes. We are thankful that all our staff have been safe in this situation. It is remarkable to note that despite airports shut down and road travels rendered unfit for use, our Keralite colleagues have taken road trips to other cities in and around Kerala from where they could fly out and have resumed work on time. Their commitment to work and the ‘never give-up spirit’, will always be on record.
This brings me to share the catchword for the new term:
It is UBUNTU. It has a connotation to South Africa and implies: I Am, because, We Are.
NMS is a school that all of us are so proud of and ‘each of us’ take that pride as individuals because of the collective power of ‘us’.
UBUNTU: I Am, because, We Are.
The months of April, May and June of the school year 2018-2019 witnessed stupendous achievements by the NMS community, including:
1. The excellent results secured by the 1st batch of Grade 10 students
2. The 1st interschool NMSMUN, with Advait Joshi from Grade 10 as Chairperson, over 130 participants from 10+ UAE schools and a completely NMS students' led event
3. Launching Grade 11 and Pre-KG (record high number of enrolments in Grade 11 and an additional section in Pre-KG for September)
4. Renewed format for Student Leadership, with introduction of new portfolios and every Grade 11 student assuming a leadership role
5. Introduction of new staff positions: Guidance Counsellor (Ms. Sumaya Jinos), Head of Innovation (Ms. Masha Nazeem), Head of Students' Personal and Social Development (Ms. Nafisa Ali).
The summer was spent productively by our students, as we know from the various posts on our social media.
KHDA's 8 week streak inspired many students in Dubai to engage in creative pursuits.
The best were recognized by the KHDA and we are extremely proud of 2 of our students, Mila (Grade 5) and Milan (Grade 1), who engaged in recycling activities and were selected as winners for the 1st week of August.
Congratulations to the students and their proud mom, who is a staff of NMS, Mrs. Elena Ermolina.
Grade 11 students engaged in internships including Medeor Hospital, RAK Medical College and UAE's Artificial Intelligence programme at Dubai Future Accelerators.
We are now raring to go into the next term, to do more and achieve more with our students.
Please read on to know more about the summer projects that are now completed and value-add for our students, and other initiatives that will inspire and motivate the entire NMS community even as we all eagerly await the new term.
Wishing you all success this new term.
Kind regards,
Fatima Martin
Anand Lahoti, Grade 10 student and Editor-in-Chief of The NMS Gazette
Hello there! I am Anand Lahoti, the chief editor of NMS Gazette! I have recently moved from Singapore to Dubai.
I have represented my Singapore school in various sports events like athletics, basketball and many more. I have set a national record for Shot Put under sixteen category.
I am a poet and my work has been published into many of my previous school magazines.
I am fond of public speaking and have leadership capabilities. I was nominated as the house captain of Hibiscus(Red) house in my previous school.
I have only one goal in my mind, which is to work for Google. That’s been my dream since I was ten years old.
NMS Gazette is conceptualized to be a school newsletter, which has wide reach among the local community. Parents, Staff and Students are invited to contribute to this newsletter.
The email address is newspaper.gnms@gmail.com
Finally, here is the link to the online newspaper: www.nmsgazette.tk
Do also follow us on Instagram - @nmsgazette
We count on your support to make The NMS Gazette a huge success.
Sincerely,
Anand Lahoti
New Creative Spaces @ NMS! #Inspiration #Excellence
مكتبة ثانوية Maktabat Thanawia
مكتبة صغرى Maktabat Sughraa
The Champions Club: Junior School Gym
# 8 week streak, A KHDA initiative
KHDA recognizes 2 students from NMS as winners of the #8 week streak, for the 1st week of August.
Mila, Grade 5, with her award winning recycled project
KHDA announces Mila and Milan as winners on Twitter
Milan, Grade 1, with his award winning recycled hedgehog
Tulika Rawat, Grade 5, was the youngest judge on the panel at Emirates Intelak Idea Lab.
Aditya Poduval, Grade 11 student attended the space and rocketry camp offered by NASA and the UAE Space Agency. During the weeklong camp, he learnt more about space, including designing and creating his very own rocket. Congratulations Aditya.
In Conclusion
We are also excited to watch the Annual Production 'Ahlam - Believe In Your Dreams'.
With all this and much more, let's welcome September 2018.
Remember, the catchword is 'UBUNTU'.
I Am, because, We Are.