Dear Parents and Friends of RWA,

The academic year is now well underway and the ASAs are about to start. We have seen some well-attended and very positive Parents Information Sessions for both primary and Secondary Schools

and I am delighted that, for the most part, parents have commented that this has been the smoothest start for some years. The usual quibbles about students being in the ‘right’ class, or the ‘right’ set are being managed and the dust is settling. PARIS has held its first General Meeting of the year and I was pleased to see the LT getting full. I am looking forward to the time when

we will need to move into the Dance Studio or gym for the PARIS GM! Next PARIS meeting will also be attended by the Head Boy and Girl, so that they can answer parent questions about their developing role. It was good to be able to share with parents the new interim reporting frequency and report format, with the focus on student progress as well as attainment. This will enable parents to see how our teachers and Homeroom Tutors track student learn-ing on a 6 -8 week cycle. This will help students be more accountable for their learning. Parents will also find that failure to submit homework assign-ments in the SS and behaviour infractions will be communicated to them more quickly and regularly than previously. I am hoping that we shall do the same when giving praise and commendations too. You will see in this edition of FORWARD references to the on-going Radisson Blu Box Appeal and International Peace Day, celebrated by a first-class student-led Assembly last week. This will be a year when student empowerment and accountability will become a key feature of life at RWA. I also visited the last week to see just how important it is for students to develop hands on computing using a range of devices to access information, analyse data and present conclusions

Thursday, 10 October 2013 Issue 25

General

Primary School News Events & ASA School Clinic

Sports Activities Secondary School News

E– Team 27 August 2015 [2015-2016] Issue 59

Message from the Principal

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

17 September 2015 [2015-2016] Issue 60

Parent IDs – I am pleased to note that the number of UAE ID cards and driving licenses deposited by parents when dropping off and picking up children is reducing steadily. How-ever, it is important to emphasise that it will soon be necessary for each parent and responsible adult visiting the school for drop off and pick up MUST be able to show a valid ID card, especially once the school’s security

lockdown procedures are finalized and applied. The saturation rate now is just under 70% but this needs to be 100%before the CIS visit at the end of October. Please contact Andrew Johnston, andrewjo@rwadubai.com for assistance. Parent driving, parking and child safety – It is always the case at this time of year that I share my deep concerns with the parent body about how irresponsible some can be in how they drive while in the parking lot, or indeed in the surrounding roads while seeking a place to park. I have reports of the following: Illegal parking in front of resident’s driveways Abusive language and intimidation by those challenged by these residents 4x4 vehicles mounting the pedestrian pavement/sidewalk to gain access to the lot or leave it,

endangering pedestrians and other vehicles Continued double parking in areas where notices clearly prohibit it Excessive speeds through the parking lot Pedestrians with children weaving between cars and not using the designated walkways I am sure that this list is far from exhaustive. I have requested neighbours and those who are victims of such violations to report such incidents with photographic or digital evidence to the police and also to the school so that we can pass on such evidence to the authorities, including the police and the RTA. I realise that the vast majority of parents are law-abiding and caring citizens who genuinely put their children’s and other parents’ children’s safety first. Our community thanks you. However, those that choose not to be as responsible are not being consistent with our school values of achievement/collaboration/integrity/respect/responsibility. The example that we as parents and educators set our children are critical to their own development. How we drive and how we park – and the consideration we show to pedestrians, neighbours and other road users demonstrate to our children the kind of people we are and how we would like them to be.

Best wishes

Julian Williams Principal

Message from the Principal *Contd.+

Parent ID Card Statistics as of 10-Sep-15

HouseHolds

Response received

from fami-lies

Families with print-

ed cards

Families left to do id

cards

1389 922 922 467

Percentage 69% 69% 35%

Dear RWA community and friends, The start of the academic year has been extremely smooth and it has been great to see our returning as well as new students settling very quickly into routines and expectations, eager to make the most of their learning time. Huge thanks to our parents and teachers for helping children to have a successful start to the year.

I would like to thank those parents who attended the ‘Open House’, the ‘PYP Curriculum Information sessions; and the ‘Arabic B information sessions’ held recently. I hope you found these sessions valuable and now have a better understanding of the curriculum, learning and teaching methods, expectations and the plans for the academic year and also how you can assist and support your child with their learning. If you still have questions or need clarifications, please do not hesitate to come and see me or any of our PLT members during the upcoming ‘Coffee Mornings’. I would like to take this opportunity to bring to your attention a few pertinent administrative matters: Morning start time: A huge thank you to everyone for adapting so well to the new timings of the school year. It is great to see the majority of students in class ready to start class at 7:50 am. Please remember that access to the classrooms starts from 7.30am. If you arrive before this time, we kindly ask that you wait to supervise your child as teachers are not expected to start before 7:30am. Registration begins at 7:50am. If children are unavoidably late, please report to the main reception to be marked in as late, before coming to the classroom as quietly as possible. Pick up and Dismissal: All KG2-Grade 5 students are required to be collected directly from the classroom at 2:30pm and KG1 students at 1:15pm by authorized persons only or the school bus. Should you wish to make any alternative arrangements, you must inform your child’s class teacher or the primary school secretary Ms. Jennifer Bondoc in writing. Students will not be handed to anyone other than the authorized persons without a written note due to safety reasons. Contact details: Please ensure we have your up to date contact details in school. This is crucial if we need to contact you in an emergency. School Uniform: We expect students to adhere to a high standard of presentation through a compulsory uniform. Wearing of the correct school uniform, including hat, is compulsory. We have a ‘no hat no play policy’. Please remember to clearly label all items with your child’s name so that lost items can find their way back to their owner. The school uniform details are available in the Parent – Student Handbook and on the school website. We request you to read and adhere to the standards and expectations. Thank you. Primary School Information and Newsletters: We endeavour to send as many communications as possible to parents, via the FoRWArd newsletter, monthly curriculum unit newsletter as well as weekly emails from teachers. In addition to the above, parents are also requested to check the Edmodo each week for homework and curriculum related matters. Parents are also asked to regularly check the planning calendar on the school website which has the dates of upcoming events. We would welcome any suggestions on how to further improve our communication with parents.

Continued on page 4

Message from the Head of Primary School

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

CIS Accreditation and IBPYP Evaluation visit: The 2015-16 year is particularly an exciting and busy year for us, especially for the primary school. We are currently finalising our CIS Self- Study reports and preparing to host the Council of International Schools (CIS) Accreditation visit during the first week of November. You will be notified of the developments and the findings of the Self-Study in the next newsletter. We have also begun our PYP Evaluation self- study process, in preparation of the IBPYP Evaluation visit in May 2016. A PYP Evaluation survey, for the Self-Study will be sent out shortly to parents. The Self-Study will involve all parts of our school community: teachers, parents and students. We request all parents to take full advantage of this survey and provide us with their valuable, honest and timely feedback that will help us further improve our PYP programme and practices.

It is my desire, along with my leadership team, counselor, faculty and staff, that this year be an excellent one for you. If you need to meet with any of us please, do not hesitate to contact us. We suggest that parents call first to schedule an appointment before coming in so that you will not experience any delays. Dr. *Mrs.+ Armeena Tabassum Head of Primary

Message from the Head of Primary School *contd+

A reminder from our Parent and Student Handbook:

Parents are requested not to include pork products in their child’s snack or lunch box. Children sometimes share food and this can compromise the religious customs and obligations of Islamic students.

Who is the PYP Coordinator/Dean of Studies at PS RWA? An enthusiastic greeting coming from the PYP Coordinator/Dean of Studies, I hope everyone is enjoying their return back to the school schedule and are not missing those lazy summer days too much. I am quickly introducing myself. I am Nick Gastaldi and I am the PYP Coordinator/Dean of Studies for the Primary School. My role is to help ensure students are getting a high quality education that focuses on the needs of the individual student. I will be communicating some ideas, plans and concepts here in the Forward most issues. These will be focused on helping the RWA community better understand why specific types of learning or different events are taking place. I hope to meet with parents as well because it takes students, parents, teachers and community to truly make a child’s education experience rich and meaningful. Sincerely,

Nick Gastaldi

PS PYP Coordinator / PS Dean of Studies

From the desk of the Primary School PYP Coordinator/

Dean of Studies

Edmodo-Classroom Communication Tool In 2015-16 we will be using Edmodo in all primary school classrooms; its purpose in different grades will vary. Below explains this approach:

KG1–Grade 2: Used as an online classroom for the teacher to share content (photos, messages, etc.) with parents. Each student will still have an account but they will not be using these. Grade 3-5: Edmodo is used as an online classroom with all students having an account. Additionally, parents can have an account where they can ‘follow’ all of their children on the site.

Parents Joining Edmodo As mentioned, in the upper grades (Grade 3-5) parents can create an account on Edmodo and ‘follow’ their children (in the lower primary it is only the parents using it). To sign up as a parent, please read this link (to see how to access the students’ parent code read this link).

Edmodo Content and General Communication Edmodo will be used for all whole class communication (in the transition towards Edmodo teachers will still email their newsletter each week until January). Teachers will also post any messages relevant to the whole class, as well as photos from the classroom and school trips. Specialist teachers are also on Edmodo and these teachers will also be posting content. Please note that all individual communication between parents and the teacher will either be through email or face-to-face, not Edmodo. Also, we encourage that all ‘commenting’ on Edmodo by students and parents remain positive; if you have particular concerns about a matter this should be raised with the teacher either face to face or through email, not on Edmodo. If you have any questions about Edmodo, please send these to your class teacher who will forward these onto me if they are unable to address them.

Damien Marshall Head of Digital Learning

Message from the Head of Digital Learning

News from KG2

During ‘Tuning In’ to the central idea ‘Living things grow, change and relate to each other,’ the children explored and discussed what living things were, what it meant to grow and change and how they related to each other. They then went onto exploring what the transdiciplinary theme ‘Who we are’ was all about. They discussed where they are from, who their friends are and what they like to do most.

They conducted an experiment to inquire if seeds would grow in tissue instead of soil and presented their results by a human graph. The children, who thought that their seeds would not grow in tissue, soon discovered that seeds do not just grow in soil but also in tissue with water!

This is just the beginning of our journey of learning together in KG2A. As the year progresses, there will be many more memorable learning moments for the children as they inquire, experiment, find out and go further in their learning!

Zulekha Khan KG2A Teacher/Team Leader

Welcome to the new academic year at RWA!

Children in KG2A have settled in class, met old friends and started to make new friends. It has been a pleasure to observe how quickly and responsibly the children have settled. They have also been exploring their environment, meeting new teachers and adapting to a slightly longer day.

We started our first Unit of Inquiry “Living things grow change and relate to each other’

News from Grade 1

There were some very excited grade ones arriving at their new classroom doors at the beginning of this

academic year. Some were terribly nervous, but already risk takers, greeting their new teachers with a

smile!

These grade one children have already settled well and are bonding with their classmates and making new

friends. Hard work has begun in earnest and much learning is happening inside and outside the classroom.

They are terribly excited at being able to choose library books from the ENTIRE downstairs area now and

most are also ecstatic at getting homework for the first time!

The new grade ones love their play area, enjoying the challenge of the climbing wall and climbing frames.

The grass area is a favourite, where they can run freely! They are now looking forward to when it cools

down and they can play outdoors for both break times.

Meet ‘The Spirited Second Grade Crew’!

The Grade 3 students are truly enjoying the start of the new academic year!

In English, students have been introduced to

narrative writing. They are inquiring into the

important elements of story writing. Students

have thoroughly enjoyed watching and analyzing

the story “Lily’s Purple Plastic Pocket’ and are

now getting prepared to write their own story.

In Mathematics, the level of excitement has been

amazing. Students have created their own

number bonds and are completing Mental

Maths questions using strategies taught in class.

Our Unit of Inquiry is on, ‘Relationships maybe

effected by communicating perspectives’.

We have completed some exciting activities including making cultural shields, having open-ended discussion

on conflicts and using the Kelso choice wheel. We look forward to our field trip to Sheikh Mohammed Cen-

tre for Cultural Understanding at Bastikya in the month of October.

Well done, a great start to the year Grade 3.

Summer is over and we ‘The Spirited Second Grade Crew’ have set sail on our new voyage into a new academic year with enthusiasm and energy. Our team is comprised of professional, talented and committed multi-national teach-ers. We all are in agreement that children lay at the heart of what we do – and we will surely give our best to ensure this! Whether it be to strengthen mathematical concepts, nurture essential language skills, excite inquiry or other skills in specialists areas, ‘The Spirited Second Grade Crew’ will be ever watchful to guide and motivate our young sailors on this their learning voyage!

The Crew as seen in our snap shot from left to right are: Gemma Quirolo , Jean Umesh, Katie Teahan, Nikhat Ali, Emma Brick, Dawn Nash and Josephine Aranui.

News from Grade 3

The School is off to a great start! Students have busily been exploring their studies and newly made friends. The complex environment of a school only runs smoothly if there is a team working together to get things accomplished. The grade four is one such team. Let me introduce our fantastic team.

4 A – Mr. Paul Downes 4 B – Mrs. Maria Oreagba 4 C – Mr. Maxwell Aranui 4 D – Ms. Rebecca Reider 4 E – Mrs. Yolanda Maccallum & Team Leader 4 F – Mrs. Ayesha Altaf 4 G – Mrs. Arjumand Khalil Ahmed

Our enthusiastic children have already dived into their first unit of inquiry- “Where we are in place and time” with our central idea being “Historical and current events can empower individuals”. The children have taken learning into their own hands and have come up with some brilliant information. We had our parents information evening in which we shared our goals. Even though we may not

always have the same ideas our goals are generally the same. We all want what is best for our students. We want them to learn, to be successful and to be happy. Together we can accomplish these goals. Ms. Dia, our school counselor, has done a fantastic job talking to students about her job and sharing their feelings with her. She does all of this with an unflappable smile and caring. We have started the year with a big bang and look forward to numerous events in the coming days and months. Stay tuned in for more news to follow.

News from Grade 4 Team

Dear Parents of Grade 5 & 6 Students,

Following on from the successful school trip to Beijing last March, the RWA Modern Foreign Language

Department is pleased to offer ALL Grade 5 & 6 students the opportunity to attend a trip to Shanghai, China in

March 2016. The trip will be organised through a very reputable company called Travelbound, which has 27

years of experience in educational travel. Limited spaces are now available on our Grade 5 & 6 trip to

Shanghai. Some basic details of the trip:

•4 star hotel accommodation

•All meals included

•Return Emirates flights to Shanghai

•Learn how to cook Chinese food

•Attend a local Chinese school for an afternoon

•Watch a world-famous acrobat show

•Have a lesson in Chinese calligraphy

A special information session presented by a Travelbound representative will be held on Tuesday, September 29

in the Dance studio at 6:00pm to give more information regarding the trip and to answer any questions you may

have. This will be a great way to learn more about the trip.

See you there!

RWA - Trip to Shanghai – 2016

Dear Parents and Guardians, What a busy 3 weeks it’s been! I am sure you’re all looking FORWARD to a couple of days off next week with the upcoming Eid celebration – more on that later. The last few weeks have seen students very busy indeed. A number of students have been involved in some benchmarking assessments (required by KHDA) and your children, as usual, have responded brilliantly to these. Their attitude and resilience towards even the slightest of change to their normal routine is outstand-ing. Staff and support staff have been hard at work with finishing touches in and around the school. The new Mathematics rooms are looking great! Children have commented on the improvements to the school and I am very proud of all the positive feedback I am getting from students, staff and parents. We held a fantastic ‘Peace day’ assembly last week for students. It was great to see such a large event devised, set up and run so well by our students. The event culminated in the taking of a special photograph to commemorate the event. A large number of our students wore blue to mark the day and hundreds of students from Primary and Secondary our very own Peace pledge. As expected, our students behaved very well indeed when we marked the occasion with a moments silence and reflection. It was a very humbling occasion. Another highlight of last week was our parent information sessions. These were delivered by our grade leaders to a very well-informed group of parents. They asked some very good questions of our staff about a number of issues surround school life. These ranged from bus arrangements after school, to the plan to report on ASA’s in the near future. The sessions were minuted and parents were emailed a summary of the meetings. If you didn’t receive this email, we don’t have your up to date contact details!! We have plans for more of these throughout the year. I would like students to attend the next sessions and have a chance to respond directly to parents with things from their point of view. The sound of student voice at RWA will be deafening by the end of the year! All that’s left for me now is to wish you all a restful and peace break. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you all in the very near future. IS there something that you would like to write about or report on to you? Please contact me and let me know if there is. I’d be happy to write to the wider community on any issues you feel passionately about. With kind regards, Giles Mongare Head of Secondary School

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

Message from the Head of Secondary School

5 days, 2700 students, 40 countries all in one place competing against each other for just one goal...... To Celebrate the festival of Learning. Our scholars hard work, commitment dedication and team work was reflected throughout the event in various challenges. They displayed true sportsman spirit whether it was for cheering up for the best debater or for a performance at the talent show. RWA Team made us proud by not only winning medals but also one team making it way for the Tournament of champions. RWA's Senior Team was represented by Jeremy Williams, Shikhar Chaudhary and Abhishek Ashok has made the school proud by qualifying for the Tournament of Champions to be held at the Yale University in November. Abdullah Al Shirawi made us proud by leading the UAE contingent at the Flag bearing ceremony. Abdullah Al Shirawi, Faisal Qureshi and Saher Kapadia have made their way to the ToC for the Junior category. Please find below our students achievements at the Global Round.

With kind regards,

Almas Qureshi and Daniel O’Sullivan World Scholars Cup Mentors

Please see the photographs on page 15

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

World Scholars Cup Global Round 2015-Kuala Lumpur

Junior Qualified for the Tournament of Champions

(Yale University): Faisal Qureshi, Abdullah Al

Shirawi, Saher Kapadia

Top Scorer from School: Faisal Qureshi

Best Debater(Gold Medal): Faisal Qureshi

Top Team for Scavenge Hunt(Gold Medal):

Kasper Nagels

Team Debate(Silver Medal): Kasper Nagels,

Mohamed Tabib, Faisal Qureshi

Top Honor Medal(Science): Abdullah Al Shirawi

Da Vinci Award: Sahar Kapadia

Senior Qualified for the Tournament of Champions

(Yale University): Shikhar Chaudhary, Jeremy

Williams, Abhishek Ashok

Top Scorer from School: Jeremy Williams

Debate(Individual, Gold Medal): Jeremy Williams

Individual Writing(5th Position, Gold Medal):

Jeremy Williams

Collaborative Writing(Gold Medal): Jeremy Wil-

liams, Abhishek Ashok, Shikhar Chaudhary

Team Debate (Silver Medal): Jeremy Williams,

Abhishek Ashok, Shikhar Chaudhary

Debate(Individual, Silver Medal): Siddharth

Chaudhary

Da Vinci Award: Vinita Chaudhary

Top Scholar Middle East(First Position): Jeremy Williams

RWA contingent at the World Scholars Cup Global Round 2015-Kuala Lumpur

Siddharth Kurien; Vinita Chaudhary; Ibrahim Qafiti;Saher Kapadia; Umar Khan; Shreya Rajmohan Pillai; George Platt; Abdullah AlShirawi; Nandini Garg; Tabib Mohamed; Faisal Qureshi; Kasper Nagels;

Ria D’Souza; Fayzaan Saeed; Carolina Fonseca; Shikhar Chaudhary; Abhishek Ashok; Jeremy Williams

World Scholars Cup Global Round 2015-Kuala Lumpur

Photographs

Almas Qureshi and Daniel O’Sullivan World Scholars Cup Mentors

Staff Introduction

Hello everybody, welcome to the new and returning parents. My name is Maria Sayyed, have joined the Raffles family this year as the secondary school Economics and Business teacher. I have been in this country for more than 15 years and into the teaching profession since the last twelve years, teaching primary and secondary students. I have done my Masters in Economics from the University of Bombay. Before joining RWA, I was at Scholars International Academy for four years as the Faculty head of Mathematics and Business Studies. I have also worked in Abu Dhabi as a secondary school math and science teacher. Teaching is a passion and I look forward to come to school to interact and impart my knowledge to my students. I have always been a friend and a mentor for my students, and I look forward to have the same relationship with the students at RWA. Looking forward to an incredible and

happening new academic year.

As Head of RWA’s Secondary School English Department, I would like to welcome all new and returning students (and parents) to the school for the upcoming academic year. This is my second year as Head of Department and my fourth year at Raffles World Academy. There are many exciting events to look forward to this year in English, with lots of theatre productions showing in Dubai as well as the School’s annual Literary Soiree and the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. Six new enthusiastic and experienced teachers have joined our department this year and for the first time we are offering IBDP English B to our students. I am always just an email away if you need to contact me regarding English in the Secondary School.

Lindsay Thomas -Head of English Department

Hope you all had a great summer and welcome back to the 2015-16 new academic year. As we are stepping into the new academic year, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our team. We are called the performers, expressive and creative people in Raffles World Academy. Yes, you got it right. We are called the Expressive Arts (EA) Department. The teachers in EA are committed to the development of your child’s creativity and skills in the arts. We not only want our students to enjoy the subjects, but also to think and act like an artist and designer. We believe that in today’s globalized world, people need more arts than ever to express themselves and connect with people to understand individual differences and cultures. Through the expressive arts subjects, your child will understand the importance of expression and learn a universal language in order to reach out globally.

We aspire to make learning a life-long experience for your children. We believe that this is only possible in collaboration with all the stakeholders of the RWA community. We would like to hear your valuable suggestions and look forward to working with you and your child in the new academic year. Please get in touch with us at:

Sangamesh Rajeshwar – Head of Expressive Arts (HOD) – SangameshR@rwadubai.com Anna Hamer – Drama coordinator – Annah@rwadubai.com Farah Ardakani –Visual Arts Teacher – FarahA@rwadubai.com Morna McDonald – Drama Teacher – mornam@rwadubai.com

Sangamesh Rajeshwar -Head of Expressive Arts

Staff Introduction

I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself as this year’s Head of Grade 8 and express my excitement

about working with your children for forthcoming academic year 2015/2016. Please note that if you ever

have any comments, questions or concerns, I am available via email (colinn@rwadubai.com). Also below is a

list of our grade 8 form tutors who will meet your students on a day to day basis and who are also happy to

help with any questions or quires you may have.

Form tutor for Grade 8A Girish Kumar Mishra Girishm@rwadubai.com

Form tutor for Grade 8B Patricia Anne De Felice patriciaf@rwadubai.com

Form tutor for Grade 8C Cathy Byrne CathyB@rwadubai.com

Form tutor for Grade 8D Lee Bruce Porterfield leep@rwadubai.com

Form tutor for Grade 8E Maria Sayyed MariaSa@rwadubai.com

Form tutor for Grade 8F Morna McDonald mornam@rwadubai.com I welcome questions or comments, and am looking forward to a great year!

Colin Thomas Nicholson-Head of Grade 8

On behalf of the Secondary ICT Department, it is truly my pleasure to extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to you all as we

begin the 2015-2016 school year at Raffles World Academy. We have a strong ICT team committed to giving

our students a range of relevant skills and an understanding of ICT that will prepare them for the increasing-

ly competitive technological world. For the first time we are introducing IGCSE Computer Science to our

students. My name is Almas Qureshi and I will be entering my fourth year at Raffles World Academy and tak-

ing over as Head of Department. I look forward to meeting you during the course of the year.

Almas Qureshi-Head of ICT

I would like to introduce myself Stephanie Carte as Head of Physical Education department and Physical Education teacher. We have a strong PE team here at RWA who are experienced in the following sports. Football, Basketball, Netball, Rounder’s, Swimming, Rugby, Tennis and Badminton. Boys PE lessons are led by Mr. Hatcher and Mr. Williams and the Girls PE lessons are led by Miss Carte, Miss Greenaway and Ms. Van Nieuwenhuizen In addition to this I introduce Mr Tony Azoulay( Dean of Studies and PE teacher) who will be delivering the I.B standard level PE FOR GRADE 11. Building on our sporting success from last year we are well under way with trials for this terms Dubai schools sports league in the following sports.

Boys under 12 football ( Mr. Simon Williams – coach)

Boys under 14 football ( Mr. Cathal O coach)

Boys under 18 football ( Mr. Hatcher)

Girls all ages netball (Miss Cornelia Susanna Van Nieuwenhuizen and Miss Greenaway)

Girls all ages football (Miss Carte)

Boys under 16 basketball (Mr. Williams)

Boys under 18 basketball (Miss Carte)

Girls under 16 basketball. (Miss Mairead Courtney)

Boys under 18 volleyball team (Mr. Abdul Latif)

Boys and girls innoventures swim squad (All PE staff coaching)

Boys and girls innoventures athletics) All PE Staff coaching)

On behalf of the PE team we wish you a very healthy and exciting year ahead. Thank you for your continued support. If you wish to contact me please email stephaniec@rwadubai.com

Stephanie CARTE-Head of Secondary Physical Education

The month of September has a lot in store both for our school and for the Innoventures Education group as a whole. Building on the success of last year, Innoventures Education will continue with events that include all Innoventures Education students. We have put together a long list of exciting “Innovents” that all IVEI students will take part in. These Innovents are already in full swing.

During this month we will focus on two main Innovents:

Box Appeal: Our RWA students are currently collecting the 12 items needed that will go in a shoe box that will then be distributed to the labourers working on the construction sites around the UAE. Each form class is working hard to try and

hit the target of 500 boxes for our school. The deadline to return the filled boxes is September 30.

Peace Day : Never has Peace Day been so appropriate with the numerous negative images filling our screens every day. On September 16, RWA will join all IVEI schools to celebrate Peace Day. On the day all students and staff will wear blue shirts and will attend a number of assemblies and talks. We will all be signing a pledge to “choose peace over war” on the day.

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

The after school activities will start on September 20. Please refer to the list of dates below to stay in the loop of

what is next in the registration process:

Colin Scicluna Events and GIVE Coordinator/English Teacher Innoventures Education

News from the Events Corner

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

Comments Dates Who Does It Involve

Reason

Outside providers come to school for payments and registration

14/15 September 2015 12:20-3:30pm in Flag Atrium

All Paid ASA’s

First day of ASA’s Semester 1 20 September 2015 All

All ASA’s cancelled 22-25 September 2015 All Eid and Arafat holidays

All ASA’s cancelled 1st October 2015 All IBICUS Workshop

Our IVEI student coordinators working

hard on the Innovents ahead

Our IB CAS volunteers getting ready to fill, count and deliver the boxes

Students at RWA celebrated Peace Day on September 16. On the day students attended assemblies,

signed a peace banner and sang songs.

Peace Day @RWA

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITY SCHEDULE FOR 2015/2016

Changes/ Events Cancellations/Dates

Date/time ASA’s Involved Reason

ASA blurbs to be uploaded by staff 27 August, 2015 All

ASA registration site open for parents 3rd September 2015, 6pm.

All

Outside providers come to school for payments and registration

14/15 September 2015 12:20-3:30pm in Flag

Atrium

All Paid ASA’s

ASA registration site to be closed for parents

10 September 2015, 10am

All

First day of ASA’s Semester 1 20 September 2015 All

All ASA’s cancelled 22-25 September 2015 All Eid and Arafat holidays

All ASA’s cancelled 1st October 2015 All IBICUS Workshop

No ASA’s in Primary School. Secondary School ASA’s to go ahead as

normal.

4th October 2015

Primary School Paid and teacher led ASA’s

Professional Develop-ment for Primary School

Staff

All ASA’s cancelled 14 October 2015 All Hijri New Year

No ASA’s in Primary School. Secondary School ASA’s to go ahead as

normal.

29 October 2015 Primary School Paid and teacher led ASA’s

PTC’s in Primary School

All ASA’s cancelled 11 November 2015 All Whole School PTC’s

All teacher led ASA’s cancelled. Paid ASA’s to start at 1:15pm.

12 November Teacher Led ASA’s in Primary and Second-

ary School

Whole School PD

Last day of semester 1 ASA’s. Football and swimming paid to contin-

ue.

30 November 2015 All except football and swimming

Secondary School Examinations

ASA Attendance sheets due from staff in soft copy

9 December 2015

All

All ASA’s blurbs to be uploaded on ASA site

15 December 2015 All

ASA registration site opens for parents 7 January 2016, 6pm All

ASA registration site closes 14 January 2016, 10am All

Outside providers come to school for payments and registration

18/19 January 2016 from 12:20-3:30

All Paid ASA’s

First day of semester 2 ASA’s 24 January 2016 All ASA’s

Please feel free to email me with any questions at colins@rafflesis.com

Changes/ Events

Cancellations/Dates Date/time ASA’s Involved Reason

/Dates Date/time ASA’s Involved Reason

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITY SCHEDULE FOR 2015/2016

Changes/ Events Cancellations/Dates

Date/time ASA’s Involved Reason

No ASA’s in Primary School. Secondary School ASA’s to go

ahead as normal.

14 February 2016

Primary School ASA’s

Primary School PTC’s

All ASA’s cancelled 25 February 2016

All International Day

All ASA’s in Primary School Sports Hall to be moved or cancelled. See end of February 2016 newsletter

for details.

13-17 March 2016

All ASA’s taking place in the Pri-

mary School Sports Hall.

Primary School Musical

All ASA’s cancelled 16 March 2016 All Secondary School PTC’s

All ASA’s cancelled 27 March – 9 April 2016

All Spring Break

All ASA’s in Primary School Gym cancelled

27 April 2016 All ASA’s in Pri-mary School

Gym

TEDX

All ASA’s cancelled 21 April 2016 All IBICUS

No ASA’s in Primary School. Secondary School ASA’s to go

ahead as normal.

24 April All teacher led and paid ASA’s in Primary School

Primary School PD

All ASA’s in Primary School Sports Hall to be moved or cancelled. See end of March 2016 newsletter for

details.

Changes/ Events Cancellations/Dates

24 April till June 21 2016

Date / Time

All ASA’s in Pri-mary School

Gym

ASA’s Involved

IGCSE and IB exams

Reason

Last day of semester 2 ASA’s 19 May 2016 All

ASA attendance sheets due in soft copy

26 May 2016 All

Dear Parents and Students,

This month we will be participating in the Radisson Box Appeal. The purpose of this noble activity is to collect essential items that will then be distributed to the labourers around our construction sites in the UAE. The list comprises around 13 items and includes pieces of clothing such as a T-Shirt and a hat. Boxes will be available for collection form your child’s form teacher starting from September 7 and should be returned to the form teacher by September 30. A list of items will be attached to each empty box for you to use. Thank you in advance for supporting this great event. The Year Ahead - In the table below you will have a summarised version of all whole school activities during the forthcoming months. If you wish to help, please contact your PARIS representative. The PARIS group is created by the parents of Raffles who wish to help the students in the school in their day to day lives. They can be contacted at moucinha64@yahoo.com or at agata26@fastwebnet.it.

EVENT DATES AT RWA— 2015/2016

From the Events Corner

Event Date Box Appeal Project 1st September – 30 September, 2015

Peace Day 16 September, 2015

IVEI SCI FEST 4 -9 October, 2015

Pink Day Mufti Day in Secondary School 15th October, 2015

IVEI Anthem Recording 18-22 October, 2015

IVEI Musical Soiree 29 October, 2015

Interact Run 5th November

National Day Mufti Day in Secondary School 19th November, 2015

Pink Walk with Burjuman at Zabeel Park 6th November, 2015

GIVE Walkathon 19th November, 2015

IVEI Quran Recital Competition 19-23 October, 2016

IVEI Academic Olympiad 25th November , 2015

UAE National Day 26th November , 2015

IVEI X Factor 27th January, 2016

IVEI Literary Soiree 10th February, 2016

International Day Mufti for Secondary School 18th February, 2016

International Day 25th February, 2016

IVEI Athletics Meet 28th February, 2016

IVEI Chess Competition 9th March, 2016

IVEI MUN For Grades 4 and 5 17th March, 2016

IVEI DIAMUN 17-19 March, 2016

IVEI Debate Contest For Primary School Students 24 March, 2016

IVEI TEDX Youth 27th April , 2016

Terry Fox Run 14th April, 2016

Environment Month April 2016

IVEI Recycling Fashion Show and Sculpturing Competition 13 April , 2016

Recycling Fashion Show 28th April 2016

Art and Photography Competition 1-31 May, 2016

IVEI Debate For Secondary School Students June 8-9, 2016

IVEI Film Festival 15 June, 2016

Many parents have a hard time deciding if their kids are well enough to go to school. Can your child still participate in school activities? Having a sore throat, cough, or mild congestion does not necessarily mean a child cannot be active and participate in school activities for example PE and swimming lessons.

Quick and easy guidelines for students sick days

OUR CONTACT DETAILS: 04-4271376/04-4271366—Mobile number: 055-9644812

Email: jinanec@rafflesis.com

To send or not to send to school

Primary General Secondary Events-ASA School Clinic

Send to school Do not send to school

Light common cold: light runny nose, occasional cough, itchy throat

Fever : students can come to school if fever free for 24 hours ,with no fever reducing medication

Fever (37.7 degrees Celsius and above) Green sticky nasal discharge

Severe wet cough Chest pain

Difficulty breathing Bad throat (strep throat)

Light stomach discomfort Vomiting Diarrhea

Severe stomach pain

Controlled Allergies (food or others) Severe allergic reactions requiring hospitalization

Itchy skin : dry skin/ non complicated eczema Skin rash due to an infectious disease (measles, scarlet fever, Hand, foot and mouth ...)

Itchy eyes ( no thick discharge) Stye (not infected)

Pink eye, not treated conjunctivitis, thick discharge

Tired/sleepy Bad sleep due to sickness Bad jet lag

Cast (sprains, fractures...) Using stretchers or wheelchairs

Fresh painful sprains or fractures

Treated Head Lice (school clinic to approve) Head lice, live nits

Bronchial Asthma under control on treatment Asthma attack with wheezing

Controlled Diabetes Mellitus Uncontrolled/ very high or low blood sugar

Controlled seizure on medication Status Epilepticus (uncontrolled, untreated Seizure, difficulties breathing)

Light bumps and bruises Serious head injuries (concussion)