Director's Newsletter
A weekly update on recent activities and upcoming events
Directors Message
Dear parents,
I would like to thank all parents that have been in contact with me recently to discuss their child’s learning journey at Ajman Academy. I welcome these meetings and as you will see in the notes below I am opening my door to any parent that wishes to speak to me directly, every Wednesday from 1.00 PM – 3.00 PM. Please contact Ms. Zeina on 06 731 4444 to make an appointment.
We remain focused on our commitment to providing an outstanding learning environment in the classroom. This week, we are joined by Ms. Elly Tobin from Consilium Education, an International Educational Consultancy service. Further details on how they are assisting us are outlined below.
I have also included a review of the report provided by Incyte following their first visit with us last week. I will continue to keep you up-to-date on our ‘Inspire to Teach’ project.
Thank you also for your feedback for the Primary Parent Teacher conferences. This will enable us to improve further. I hope that you have all had a chance to look at the curriculum documents on our website. Shortly these will be followed by our learning ladders which will enable you to track your child's learning. Our focus on educational standards and quality of learning and teaching with a special focus on critical thinking, empowering students to become confident and happy learners is evidenced by the successes of your children.
In order to help us keep you informed and involved, and also with an aim to partner with our parents in helping us with your child's learning, please do volunteer to join our Parent Support Group. We are looking for representatives from each year level. They meet with me weekly - we are presently looking for volunteers to help us in the Library! Please email our PSG President, Rana on ajacpsg@ajmanacademy.com
It has been a busy week for all our students at Ajman Academy, and I hope you enjoy reading our news - and please provide me with feedback about the Director's Newsletter.
Consilium Education
This week we have been joined by Elly Tobin, an EAL consultant from Consilium Education based in Birmingham, in the UK. Elly is the Principal of Joseph Chamberlain College and the Director of the College for International Citizenship. Elly has worked extensively overseas, and has held senior leadership roles both in the UK and overseas. She is a founder director of the International Writing project which she delivers in a variety of locations around the world each year. Elly sits on a number of UK college committees and chairs the Sixth Form Colleges International Committee in the UK. With over 30 years of experience in education from kindergarten through to adult learning, she is also an experienced presenter, guest speaker and educational consultant specialising in language acquisition, EAL, leadership, management and curriculum development.
Specialist consulting areas are:
Teaching for excellence in Learning Outcomes
Language acquisition
EAL for specialists and non-specialists
Leadership development across the school
- Curriculum monitoring
Incyte International: Post visit analysis and update
Last week we commenced work with Incyte International on a project to raise the quality of teaching and learning to a sustainable high quality.
The consultants spent four days with our senior leaders and the teachers who had been identified for this programme. Here are the strengths they identified:
- Teacher/student relationships were a key area of strength and led to the culture in each of the classrooms being learning ready.
- Teachers had a good level of understanding and knowledge of the age groups they were teaching.
- Teachers generated excitement and enthusiasm - ensuring students were eager to learn.
- The design of activities was ability appropriate and this led to good quality of challenge and learning for students with a range of abilities.
- Teachers ensured that they had time to support those students who needed additional support which meant that the progress of their learning stayed at a good pace.
- A good range of resources were used to help support and stimulate learning.
- Opportunities were provided that enabled the students to make choices as to what they would like to learn and at what level of challenge.
At the end of the four days, the whole team came together to discuss what they had gained from the experience and what key things they would like to look at developing as a team, over the next few weeks. At the end of the discussion, the team agreed on the following key essentials that they can focus on, so that when they are observing others in the team they knew what they would be looking out for in each other’s lessons and what they could discuss at the meetings following the lesson observations.
- Develop a wide range of activity options for students that will enable the range of needs in the class to be met.
- Create ‘I can’ learning statements for students across a range of expectations within the concepts being taught to help the students to understand the journey they are on, to self-assess where they are on it and what their own personal next steps should be.
- Take opportunities to build on the prior knowledge and learning of the students and to take advantage of surprising learning statements from the students to help direct the purpose of the lesson.
It was agreed that Kerry Smith would drive the Primary programme and Peter Ross would drive the Secondary programme in-school and they would both take the initiative on organising meetings and observations and the group discussions over term two. We look forward to sharing our progress as we continue working with Incyte.
Contact Details
Email: school@ajmanacademy.com
Website: www.ajmanacademy.com
Location: Ajman - United Arab Emirates
Phone: 971 6 731 4444
Facebook: facebook.com/ajmanacademy
Twitter: @twitter_ajmanacademy
Updates from our Arabic and Islamic Departments
مسابقة القرآن الكريم
بعد أن أعلن قسم التربية الإسلامية في مدرسة أكاديمية عجمان عن النسخة الثالثة من مسابقة القرآن الكريم تحت شعار ( اقرأ وارتق) أبدى أكثر من خمسة وستين طالباً رغبتهم في المشاركة بالمسابقة، وقد قمنا هذا العام بتحديد أربعة مستويات للمشاركة في المسابقة، كل مستوى مخصص لصفوف محددة سلفاً، بحيث يكون المتنافسون متقاربين في العمر، لذا نرجو من أولياء الأمور تشجيع أولادهم على المشاركة في هذه المسابقة، عسى أن يلحقهم الله بمن قال عنهم النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام: (خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمه)، وللتذكير فإن موعد المسابقة سيكون في الرابع والعشرين من شهر أبريل القادم.
قسم اللغة العربية في المدرسة الثانوية
ضمن نشاطات قسم اللغة العربية في مدرسة أكاديمية عجمان، نظّم طلاب السنة التاسعة ندوة تحت عنوان ( التعليم ،ثم التعليم ) وقد أشار الطلاب في ندوتهم إلى أهمية التعليم وأنّه من الأسس القوية لبناء مجتمع متعلم متقدم ، منوهين إلى أنّ التعليم هو الثروة الحقيقية التي لا تنضب، وأنّ الأمم القارئة هي الأمم القائدة. وقد أشرف على الندوة مدرسة المادة لطيفة حموش بحضور رئيس القسم تيسير القضاة.
طلاب الحادي عشر
أبدى عدد من طلاب الحادي عشر رغبتهم في دراسة برنامج اللغة العربية (IGCSE ) كلغة أولى، وهو برنامج دولي صُممّ لتطوير قدرة المتعلمين على التواصل بوضوح ودقة عالية، حيث يتعلم الطلاب في هذا البرنامج كيفية توظيف مفرداتهم اللغوية، وتنمية مهاراتهم الكتابية ، والاستخدام الصحيح لقواعد اللغة العربية . ويمكن للطلاب الناطقين بغير العربية التقدم لهذا الامتحان كلغة ثانية .
Parent Surveys
Thank you for taking the time to complete our recent survey requests. We truly value the information you have provided.
Our wish is that your experience with us goes above and beyond your expectations. Your recommendations allow us to continuously grow and improve! We welcome your feedback at any time.
Dubai Duty Free Tennis tournament
On 20th February a selected group of girls attended the Dubai Duty Free Tennis tournament. A professional tennis coaching session for pupils had been organised upon arrival. Two of the professional women’s tennis players met with the students, encouraging them to participate in sports, signing autographs and taking a group picture with them all. To conclude the day, the group went to Centre Court to watch the first match of the day. Our students thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
AJAC Student Sports Achievements
Dubai Chinese Karate 1st National Championship
IFK Chinese Karate 1st National Championship took part in Dubai last Friday 17 February.
Ajman Academy was represented by FS2 student Isabella Corrales and PY2 students Juliana Corrales and Helena Klinger.
The students took part in various competitions, achieving outstanding results in their age groups:
- 2nd place Kata: Juliana Corrales
- 1st place Karate: Helena Klinger
- 1st place Karate: Isabella Corrales
Congratulations to them and all the best in their training!
Kata World Guinness Record Attempt
Ajman Academy students PY2 Juliana Corrales and Helena Klinger took part in the Kata World Guinness Record attempt.
The students joined thousands of participants at the Dubai Police Officers Club on Thursday 16 February to perform the Kata.
Congratulations to both girls and best of luck in the results, which are to be communicated by the committee within a month.
PY4 - PY6 Sports Day
We completed our annual Primary sports days on Tuesday, 21st. The day was full of fun and excitement. All students from PY4 - PY6 participated in events that included races, jumps and other fun activities. The event closed with a medal ceremony. Congratulations to the house team Scorpions for scoring the highest points.
Upcoming sporting events are as follows:
- A group of students will be taking part on the J.P Morgans Dubai Tennis Championship on 20th and 27th February
- iGCSE PE girls will take part on Sharjah Ladies Club Neon run on Friday 24 February
- EISSA Athletics Championship at Sharjah English School on Thursday, 2nd March
Directors Office Open Day
Parents are invited to open office hours EVERY Wednesday. This is an opportunity to meet our Director, Dr. Tassos and ask questions that you may have. Please RVSP to z.rabbat@ajmanacacdemy.com
Wednesday, Mar 1, 2017, 01:00 PM
Directors Office Ajman Academy
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Secondary Afternoon Tea
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017, 11:30 AM
Ajman Academy - Ajman - United Arab Emirates
INTI Malaysia University visit
Session to include:
- application process
- scholarship scope
- visa procedures
- IELTS requirements
- lifestyle in Malaysia
Visitors are: Mr Kumara and Ms Vanjana Mahajan (Futures Abroad)
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017, 11:00 AM
Ajman Academy - Ajman - United Arab Emirates
Primary Parent Information Session - Science
Tuesday, Feb 28, 2017, 08:15 AM
Ajman Academy - Ajman - United Arab Emirates
Literacy Week
Sunday, Feb 26, 2017, 08:00 AM
Ajman Academy - Ajman - United Arab Emirates
Arab Educational Conference
The Educators Trust and Leader Centre from Saudi Arabia visited Ajman Academy on Wednesday, 1st February. We were delighted to welcome many delegates from the Saudi Woman's Business Council and honoured to have been presented with an award for our effective contribution in the Arab Educational Conference with their goal being 'A Happy School is the way for the future'.