Metropole News
Bulletin 02 16-17 | GEMS Metropole School, Motor City, Dubai
From the Principal
Firstly, I would like to thank all the parents who have recently given their time to attend a number of parent functions over the past six weeks. Parents' Council meetings, Digital Media Workshops, the Arabic Strategic Review meeting and most recently the Arabic and Islamic Parent Teacher meetings.
It has also been an extremely busy term for our students with secondary sporting competitions well underway, Primary Camps, Primary Shared Learning experiences, Project Fairs to name but a few events.
Arabic & Islamic Meeting
Following the reorganisation of the Arabic and Islamic Department in recent weeks, the school held a series of well-attended “Meet the Teacher” afternoons for parents. During these meetings the teachers introduced themselves, then outlined how they will be working with the students in the coming weeks and months.
These meetings were set up in response to the consultations that the SLT has had with Mr Omar Succour, who is chairing our Arabic & Islamic Support group. We are glad so many parents could make it and are grateful for the positive feedback you gave us following the meetings.
KHDA Inspection
This year as most of you are aware we will have our first KHDA school inspection. To date, we have not yet been notified as to when they will visit our school. Parents will be notified in due course.
School Mission
Over the course of the past 4 weeks, the school has been collating data in order to revise our School Mission. I would like to thank the parents, the Parent Council, our students and teachers for taking part in this process. The outcome, which should be available shortly, will be displayed in all classrooms and more importantly at the front of the school. The aim of the renewed mission is to enable all stakeholders in the school to know, understand and love the mission. Through this articulation, the school will aspire to live its mission.
Foundation Stage Happenings
KS1 Fun
Internet Safety Video
In Key Stage 1 we love Digital Media. We know the world is changing and evolving around us and we learn skills to help us understand the technology around us! We know the internet is a busy and exciting place. It helps us to learn and allows us to see the world around us. We have been learning that the internet allows us to communicate with people around us and because we don’t know those people we must learn how to stay safe online. Have a look at the video we have created to give advice on internet safety. You will also see some of the amazing digital learning that is happening in KS1!
"Junkbot" Year 2
Year 2 have been learning to be robotic engineers and innovators and have designed toy robots for the FS children. Have a look at photos from the Robot Olympics that we held in school on Wednesday to showcase their amazing work! There were some wonderful and whacky designs. Some robots were programmed to race fast in a straight line and some were programmed to spin around. All of them were fantastic and we even had some robot races!
KS2 Update
STEAM Carnival, GEMS Winchester 2016
A Metropole team of five Year 6 learners took part in the STEAM Carnival on 23rd October, where they competed against four other GEMS schools. The team consisted of Muneer Bawadikji, Faiz Siddiqui, Sarah Farrell, Dania El Sharkawi and Momoore Oshinaike. They had to build, program and debug a Lego Wedo 2.0 robot. The teams had access to all the parts they needed and were told to construct a robot that would be able to draw a Spirograph. With less than two hours to complete the task they had to build a working robot without plans, program the motor to turn two axles that controlled a movable arm and a rotating base. The team showed excellent engineering and programming skills and were ultimately placed first in their division. CONGRATULATIONS!
Project Presentations
Over the past 3 weeks there has been a buzz in the KS2 corridors as the first projects for the year arrived at school. There has been a plethora of presentations, discussions and sharing of ideas which have been enjoyed by parents, students and teachers alike. Well done KS2, the projects are amazing and a lot of effort has gone in to them.
Year 4 Green Planet
The Year 4’s visited Green Planet. It was a fantastic trip and the students really enjoyed consolidating all their learning from their Rainforest theme. The students went on a real life journey through the layers of the rainforest to see which animals lived in each layer. What fun!
Congratulations Lukas
Congratulations to Lukas Ellis (6E) who recently had success at the KIBSONS / DASSA SCHOOLS X- COUNTRY SERIES 2016-17. He came first in his age group! Great job Lucas.
STEAM Carnival Winners
Congratulations to Muneer Bawadikji, Faiz Siddiqui, Sarah Farrell, Dania El Sharkawi and Momoore Oshinaike who recently won the STEAM Carnival at GEMS Winchester School.
KS2 Shared Learning
I would like to thank our parents who gave of their time to attend the recent Shared Learning mornings with their children. It is great to see our parents celebrating our children's learning journey.
Secondary News
Girls Football Team
We are delighted to have our first girls football team. Congratulations to the U14 squad on their 0-0 draw against GEMs International School. This is the first year Metropole have entered a Girls Football Squad into the School league and for some of the girls this match was their first ever competitive game of football. The girls worked really hard to ensure they secured a point for the league!!! Player of the match was awarded to Angel Garcia from year 9, well done!!!
Boys Football Team
The under 16 boys football team have won their last two DASSA league games. They beat Greenfield 2-0 last week and played well again last night and managed to beat Nord Anglia 1-0.
Dubai Design District – Gifted and Talented Trip
On the 25th October pupils from the gifted and talented cohort (Years 7, 8 and 9) attended the second edition of the Global Grad Show, the world’s largest exhibition of graduate work focusing on design and innovation, which took place recently at the Dubai Design District. The students enjoyed visiting the exhibition which has tripled in size this year with 50 leading universities, 30 countries represented and 145 thought-provoking projects. The Student Tour included other design exhibitions such as ABWAB, Iconic City: ‘Cairo Now! City Incomplete’, ‘20 icons of French design.'
Dubai Design District – GCSE Art Trip
GCSE Art students visited the Dubai Design week giving them the opportunity to discover and engage with artists, designers and craftspeople. They got to talk to graduates that had been selected to exhibit their designs and look at ways in which we can use art in future careers. This was a great experience and served as a rich introduction to the design scene in the UAE.
Fashion and Textiles ASA
This week in Fashion and textiles ASA we have been finished off our lino printing and started with Batik. Students started on paper using water colours to paint over their wax, and then progressed onto fabric and dipped them in fabric Dye. Students are preparing for a competition based on the title journey and have selected blues and purples as our colour theme. We are using the ‘journey of learning’ and aim to produce two kimono garments exhibiting our weekly samples. We will keep you updated on how we get on.
Basketball
The basketball squad played 4 games this term winning 1, drawing 1 and losing the other 2 by very narrow margins. The boys have grown and started to show their experience playing in the DASSA league. Kevin Cameron has led the team this term and has shown terrific leadership skills. Jeophardy Kariaga has scored the most points this term for the team and has earned player of the tournament for MTS. I look forward to working with the team in Term 2, well done boys!!
Virgin Radio Visit
Virgin Radio came to visit the Secondary Students as part of their 20 schools in 20 days challenge. They played some of our students at basketball, with our students beating them and winning a morning in the virgin radio studios!
2016 Year of Reading
Thursday morning will be used for READ instead of LEAD in a push to recapture the culture of reading among our students. Parents are encouraged to assist by giving their children access to different books, at either the library or a bookstore. Below is a link parents could follow to see a few of the 100 best books for teens, as chosen by Time magazine.
Have Art ... Will Travel
Teacher for the Month for September, October and November
Teacher of the Month for September - Natalie Roelofz
A letter from the Foundation Stage Pedagogical Leadership Team ... “We have nominated Natalie for Teacher of the Month for September for her commitment to the positive ethos of the FS environment, her willingness to volunteer for extra responsibility (such as Health and Safety Officer, Risk Assessment Representative, Safe Guarding Representative, Events and Excursions Leader for FS and Outdoor Learning Coordinator for FS). Natalie has implemented a Garden Competition initiative which has mobilized parents to become involved in the development of the FS outdoor area.
Despite all of these additional commitments, Natalie is devoted to providing her students with imaginative and engaging lessons, through which they are making good progress in their learning. She shares her time and practice with her peers, and is always the first to volunteer her help or offer support. Natalie is dedicated to the school, has a positive impact upon everyone she encounters and you can’t leave her classroom without a smile on your face.”
Please join me in congratulating Natalie on her well-deserved award.
Teacher of the Month for October - Kylie Wilson
A letter from the Foundation Stage Pedagogical Leadership Team ...“Kylie has been nominated for this award, as she has been an outstanding innovator and she is constantly researching and collaborating to find new initiatives that will enhance pupil engagement, while she delivers 21st century teaching and learning.
Kylie has been developing QR codes into the Year 1 curriculum, liaising with Mr Nithin, Mr Sam and the KS1 Leaders and will be leading a professional development training to Key Stage 1 staff to share her expertise and innovation to enhance teaching and learning in Key Stage 1.
The most admirable quality is that Kylie does this for her own personal development, for the benefit of her children and to improve teaching and learning in Key Stage 1. She never seeks acknowledgement or praise for the work she is doing.”
Please join me in congratulating Kylie on her well-deserved award.
Teacher of the Month for November - Julie Dalgetty
Julie has worked tirelessly in her new role to ensure all students are given the best opportunities to progress and develop, whether it is by supporting their individual needs with individual targets or giving them opportunities to extend and challenge themselves. She has developed core opportunities for our students to develop their skills through the LEAD and Skills in School programme and works tirelessly to ensure every student benefits from these opportunities.
Julie will always put the needs of the students above her own and takes her time to get to know them individually and be a core support for those that need it most. She has acted like a counsellor for all the students in KS3 and KS4 and for this we are very proud. In the absence of a school counsellor this has been a huge undertaking.
She is the only Assistant Phase Leader who is teaching and manages to juggle the roles, not neglecting the needs of her students in PE and skills in school. She liaises closely with the Ace and ELL, as well as meeting with parents to help support the development of our students.
Julie is always positive and always tries to spread her positivity throughout the school. She is always looking for ways to give our pupils new opportunities and is leading the way with the school’s futures program. The value she is adding to our pupils and our school community is outstanding.
Please join me in congratulating Julie on her well-deserved award.
Natalie Roelofsz - Teacher of the Month - September
Kylie Wilson - Teacher of the Month - October
Julie Dalgetty - Teacher of the Month - November
Common Sense Certification - Digital Media by Sam Lloyd
The beginning of this year had been a busy and successful month for the Digital Media Department at GEMS Metropole School. We celebrated our first Internet Safety Week with assemblies, poems, raps, songs and videos about staying safe online. Pupils from the Foundation stage up to Key stage 4 took part in a range of informative and creative actives to engage with online safety.
As a by-product of this and many of the other activities which take place in our classrooms and through LEAD we were awarded the Common Sense Certification. This certification recognises our efforts in teaching digital literacy and citizenship to young people and engaging the entire school community in this important discussion. This recognition is provided by Common Sense Education, part of an international non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of children and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. GEMS Metropole School is one of the more than 100,000 schools across the world that use Common Sense Education's ground-breaking education resources. As a result, our students are better equipped to navigate the digital world and use devices for learning.
Finally, one member of our department, Najat Chaker, was awarded the prestigious Digital Educator badge for the work she had been doing in coordinating a number of different internet safety events around the school.