ses newsletter-february 2013

www.sharjahenglishschool.org

Sharjah English SchoolSharjah English SchoolVolume 4 : Issue No. 3 - February 2013

Trips, themed days, activities, clubs and much more!

http://www.sharjahenglishschool.org

http://www.sharjahenglishschool.org

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ContentsFrom The Principal’s Desk 3

Primary NewsPrimary News

News From The Primary School 4

Foundation 1 visit Sharjah Science Museum 5

Playground Leaders 5

Foundation 2 visit Sharjah Science Museum 6

Year 1 trip to Sharjah Science Museum 7

Class 4O - Abstract Painting 8

Year 5 Victorian Day 9

Year 6 Go Back In Time 10

Secondary NewsSecondary News

What’s happening in Key Stage Three 11

Science News 12-13

Secondary Christmas Show & Year 11 Geography Field Trip 14

Star TV Quiz 15

International Award Updates - Trailblazers 16

Netball Kit 17

Junior Sport Leadership Award 18

SES Dive Club 19

Secondary PE 20

News from the Mathematics Department 21

Whole School NewsWhole School News

Mohammad Khan 22

A Note From Our Nurses 23

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From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Parents and Friends,

As parents are no doubt aware, the school has again been hit by a tragic and un<mely death. There is a note elsewhere in the newsle?er here about Mohammed Khan of Year 10, who died suddenly over a recent weekend. His peers in Year 10 and the students as a whole are to be commended for the maturity and dignity with which they dealt with this terrible loss.

I would like at this <me to pay a huge tribute to the school staff who most closely dealt with suppor<ng and counselling the students in the days following Mohammed’s death. The form tutors, Mr. Paul Jelinski and Mrs. Shireen Razvi, were tremendous, as were Mrs. Julie Oakeley and Mrs. Mary Smythe. Thanks also to Mr. Darren Cowan, the Key Stage Head.

Any school or organisa<on is going to be judged by its ability to respond to such sudden and tragic events; I think staff at SES have proven yet again how excep<onal they are. A personal thanks to all of them.

The school inspec<on is pending. I have no<fied parents that this is scheduled for March 3rd, 4th and 5th. There will be four inspectors in the school during those days, carrying out a rigorous and searching examina<on of the school and its provision. All aspects of teaching and learning, management and governance are up for scru<ny. Staff have been working tremendously hard to ensure our preparedness, and we hope that it will be an opportunity to validate and celebrate much of what we do and what we have achieved as a school.

The inspec<on is not an obligatory one – Sharjah does not yet have an established school inspectorate like the UK model. I have opted to put the school through this process as part of our efforts to guide the school forward in its developments, as well as to measure ourselves against the standards of top Bri<sh curriculum schools throughout the region and world. The process will be an informa<ve one and marks an important stage in our maturity as a school. We will be repor<ng back to parents on the feedback received.

Thanking you for your con<nued support.

John Nolan

Principal

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Term two has got off to a busy start. Educational visits have taken place to The Sharjah Science Museum, where pupils can gain hands on experience to support their science topics.

The KS2 60s Theme Disco was a great success, with pupils and staff dressing in up all sorts of amazing outfits for the occasion. “DJ Joe” was found spinning the discs, or should it be docking the iPod these days?

We have also had the privilege of Australian National Swimmer, Rachel Goh, visit Primary to promote swimming within the UAE before the International Swimming Championships being held in Dubai. Rachel talked to the pupils about her training schedule and the importance of exercise in every day life.

New clubs have started this term. Arabic, Calligraphy, Code Computer Class and Cross Stitch have all been added to the long list of popular and exciting activities on offer after school.

Instilling responsibility and leadership into our pupils is an important element in school pastoral development. We have class monitors and line leaders in class. Furthermore, we provide the pupils with peer contacts whom they may talk to if they have a suggestion or problem. Elections were recently held where pupils had to give a speech to their year groups on why they should be elected to the role of a Student Councillor. The Head Boy, Kamran and Head Girl, Rae came to assembly to make the formal announcements.

I am delighted to congratulate the following pupils; Chantelle El Sayegh, 3O & Jamie Kavanagh, 3G.Zenia Zeina Al-Amad, 4G & James Passey 4GEllen Dowling 5G & Aziz Chassebi 5GAnjali Menon 6O & Shevyn Buhary 6G

Over the coming term, the councillors will meet regularly to discuss pupil suggestions and also to plan for charity events. Look out for more information on this in Communicator.

New Team Captains for Term 2 have also been appointed. Well done to:Burton - Cris Clive & Amy StoreyDoughty - Zaki Youcef & Lexi PetherbridgeLawrence - Amal Surmawala & Harish Menon

House Points are announced each week in assembly as part of our promotion of positive behaviour and rewarding good work. The points are also displayed on the board in Central Area as a reminder to pupils to always try to do their best!

Wishing you all a happy term,

Nan McKeownHead of Primary

News from the Primary School

Mr Wolfy’s Nursery Rhymes

Following the visit to Primary by children’s author, Ian Whybrow, we had great fun making a movie clip and trailer for Mr. Wolfy’s website. Please use the links below to watch and enjoy!

http://youtu.be/ZGs8yLM4Ll8

http://youtu.be/-bub6HYlBPA





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Foundation 1 had their first outing this week. We went to the Sharjah Science Museum. We had a great day out and we learnt many different things. After a short bus ride we arrived at the museum and the guide took us to a laboratory. It was the first time some of us sat on high stools. We felt very grown up. The lady in the laboratory taught us all about tame and wild animals, how they walk and what their skin looks like. We played fantastic games and we touched real crocodile skin!

After that we went to the play section and enjoyed the slides and the role play area. The last activity was the best. We watched a bubble show. The lady taught us how to make bubble mixture. Then we were invited up to the stage and one by one we had a turn being inside a bubble. Even Mrs. Sonja had a turn!

Foundation 1 visit Sharjah Science Museum


Play Ground Leaders (PALS)Selected Year 6 pupils have now all passed their 12 week course in leadership. Throughout the course they learnt about how to communicate, lead and improve physical activity around the school at lunch times. Each PAL team now has a lunch time in which they lead other pupils in lunch time activities, introducing fun games and making sure everyone is enjoying lunch time. Well done to all the PALS and keep up the good work!

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Foundation Two visit the Sharjah Science Museum

It was an action packed morning as Foundation Two were taken around the Science Museum and allowed to explore the many activities that went on there.

The children had great fun watching hot air make a balloon rise, putting a human body back together, looking at a skeleton, seeing x-rays of various animals, using mirrors to make a body disappear, leaving just the head showing, making shadows, looking through microscopes and more!

We were then shown how big bubbles can get and everyone had a go at being inside a huge bubble, making bubbles and watching the bubble show.

There was also an informative animal show where children discussed wild and tame animals, looked at various skins, learned about what different things we get from animals, listened to the noises of different animals, made puzzles and sorted plastic animals into wild and tame.

We finished the session with a little play in the role play area at the museum before coming back to school for our snack!


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Year One trip to Sharjah Science Museum

Year One have been learning all about space and the planets. As part of their learning they visited Sharjah Science Museum to learn more about space and how things work.

They learnt all about the moon and found out that it is covered in craters! They found out that the craters are caused by asteroids. They found out how lots of different things work by investigating for themselves in the interactive display area. They learnt about different types of animals and sorted them into different categories. They did lots of fun things here, including making a light bulb work with pedal power, creating patterns using sand and walking on sloping floors!


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Abstract Printing

Class Four Oryx have been producing some perfect printing in their art lesson this week. Using polystyrene tiles the children carved relief work designs, based on abstract patterns, to represent hot and cold. Using a cross-curricular approach, we have been studying the idea of temperature in science.


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Our Victorian Day was a huge success! The children came in some fantastic costumes and participated in a variety of Victorian style activities. We had, ‘At School in Victorian Times’, where children practised traditional handwriting styles and sketched. Then they made Victorian Christmas cards. In Music they sang Victorian carols and during PE they exercised to typical Victorian drills. Finally, we enjoyed a Victorian Feast and played ‘Parlour /Party Games’.

Year 5: Victorian Day


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Year 6 Go Back in TimeTo consolidate learning at the end of the Humanities Topic about life during the times of the Ancient Greeks, Year 6 participated in various activities and spent the day imagining life as it was in the past. Great temples were designed as well as clay tablets and mosaics produced. The Greek theatre came to life as myths and legends were re-enacted and our athletic runners were victorious in the Ancient Olympics Games. Another highlight was the magnificent feast and the tables which groaned with Greek delicacies!

It was a day of fun and laughter and brought our learning to life!


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News from the Secondary School

What’s happening in Key Stage ThreeHello, just a brief update on what has been going in Key Stage Three over recent weeks and what to expect in the near future.

The Form Awards are still as competitive as ever with new champions crowned in the final assembly before the winter break. 7AE took the spoils with a significant advantage of merits over their rivals. Well done to Mrs Eagan and her students for their commitment and attitude in earning those merits in class.

On the topic of rewards we will be introducing new accolades to motivate our students to achieve. These will include 100% attendance for the term and ‘Student of the Term’ awards, given to the pupil who receives the most votes from staff. The criteria for this is not purely academic, but what SES teachers consider to be a role model for other pupils.

This term has seen new range of extra curricular clubs on offer during break and after school. Key Stage Three have the opportunity to take part in 34 clubs offering a diverse range of learning opportunities, challenge and, most importantly, fun. The commitment to these clubs by Key Stage Three pupils has been commendable, with many students attending clubs almost daily.

In the Personal, Social and Health Education lessons our students have been covering topics such as How We Learn, Healthy Eating, Leadership and Public Speaking. Year 7 can look forwarded to studying current issues in the news and Year 8 will develop their public speaking. An important module for Year 9 will begin shortly, studying various careers and the qualifications needed to enter those professions. This is scheduled in the light of the Year 9 students selecting their GCSE options in March.

Each day I walk around and can not help but notice the huge amount of effort put in by our students across the board in all subjects. The historic war trenches that the Year 9s have made in their History lessons grab the attention of anyone walking by with their level of detail and overall appearance. Well done!

Ed MosleyKey Stage Three Head

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Year 11 CellsIn Year 11 this week we have been making Edible Plant Cells!

The students had to make them for homework and then they brought in the results.

Special Mention goes to Taya Chase and Kristina Sergeeva. Taya made a lemon cake complete with Nucleus, Ribosomes, Mitochondria, Cell Wall, Cell Membrane and Vacuole. It was also Delicious!

Kris made a jelly plant cell with all structures present and also used a cunning means of showing a vacuole by removing some jelly!

Science News


Year 7 AdaptationsYear Seven are currently learning about habitats and adaptations. Mr. Brain’s class were set homework to choose their favourite animal and research the creature’s adaptations and explain how they help the organism survive there. Students produced posters which were all of a high standard and showed a wide variety of life. However, one piece stood out from all the rest.Aleen Anderias of form 7SO made a scene over two days that describes the features and habitat of the White Tiger.

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Science News


AS Chemistry Burning Alcohols

“No problem, I can do this with one hand” Laura Hennessy

Featuring: Laura Daniel, Hajira Habeeb, Laura Hennessy, Maya Ibrahim, Hyung Seok Kim, Mikhail Kononovich, Adim Rabee,and Raaed Sheibani.

Year 12 Chemistry expertly conducted a GCE assessed practical to “Investigate the combustion of alcohols” using Calorimetry. They burned 4 different alcohols and used them to heat water and used their data to calculate the standard enthalpy of combustion for each one in order to try and find a pattern.

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Geography Field TripOn the 23rd January, twenty two Year 11s went on a field trip to Jumeriah in Dubai to collect data for their Geography controlled assessments. The reason for the visit was to analyse the aCracDons of the area for tourists.

Students were separated into small groups and had a variety of things to do relaDng to their study. They carried out quesDonnaires, did traffic and pedestrian counts, completed environmental surveys (to guage aCracDveness to tourists) and recorded a land use survey along the shopping area on the sea front.

As expected, the behaviour was impeccable with many of our students showing their maturity in the way they carried out their study. A big thank you to all involved. Our young people are a real credit to the school and have helped spread our reputaDon outside of Sharjah.

Very well done!

Darren CowanHead of Geography


Secondary Christmas Show at the Coral Beach Resort

The penultimate day of last term saw a suitably festive occasion at the Coral Beach Resort in Sharjah. The Secondary Christmas show involved a cast of 93 – over one third of all students in the secondary school.

Performances included a number of items by students of Mrs. Lis. The students sang beautiful solo and duet pieces, including several of the more traditional Christmas carols. The choir sang some old favourites, along with two new numbers not done at SES before, ‘Wonderful Christmastide’ and ‘Stop the Cavalry.’ The Advanced Singing

Group performed the ancient ‘Gaudete’ carol, one original song written specially for the show ‘Joyeux Noel’, and ‘Lonely This Christmas.’ We were particularly pleased Elvis himself was available to help out the ASG in the latter number and we’d like to thank him for taking the trouble to fly all the way to the UAE. All the choir songs were

accompanied by the ever reliable Christmas Band, who had frequently come into school at weekends to rehearse.Many thanks to the students for all the hard work they put into the show and to the many parents who supported them.

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Star TV Quiz 2013!

70 Schools: 900 Students = 450 teams of 2: 30 questions!

On the 22nd of January twelve of our Year 9 and two of our Year 10 students took part in the Star TV Quiz held at the Indian High School in Dubai. Schools from all over the UAE came to participate.

There was a wide range of questions: Nobel Prizewinners, Sport - Cricket and Man Utd, Films, Science, History, TV, Music and even Gangnam Style. Some of the questions seemed very tough.

Unfortunately, none of our students made it through to the next televised round this year but I am sure it was a valuable experience for all of them. They were very patient when things overran and they represented the school in an exemplary way.

Roger Doyle


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Trailblazers

International Award Bronze Expedition

With rucksacks ful l of survival gear, six enthusiastic teams set off on their first hike of the year on Sunday, 27th of January for an overnight camp in Wadi Asimah. The aim was to eventually

cover a distance of 22 kilometres.

Despite the unvarying nature of the landscape the teams soon became adept at selecting the right paths and identifying where they were on their maps.

7am on Monday morning found them busily creating their route cards and making hurried breakfasts in an effort to meet their departure deadlines.

The weather was perfect with the night time temperatures dropping to 18 degrees Celsius. The bonfire provided some extra warmth, and, of course, the campers had an opportunity to roast

marshmallows and melt chocolate biscuits.

At night time, in particular, it was great to be away from the lights of Sharjah, as we had a gorgeous view of the night sky and its stars. In the

depths of the Wadi we encountered several small farms, occupied by shepherds and their goats and sheep.

Fitness levels play a vital part in the overall

enjoyment of the trek but it is important to note that the students grappled with a mixture of excitement and anxiety as they faced the difficulties of working in teams, sleeping outdoors

and cooking their own food, with the added complication of having to remember how to use their compasses and navigate in unfamiliar terrain.

We admire their bravery and applaud their success.

Well Done Everyone!

Marie Byrne


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Netball Kit

The new netball kits have finally arrived and have helped the SES netball teams get off to a winning start. So far both the Under 14s and Under 16s teams sit at the top of the Dubai Netball League, not losing a single game.

The netball team would like to say a massive thank you to the two sponsors who made the dream of new netball kit come true. Firstly, thanks to GulZainer, who kindly paid for the Under 16s new kit and, secondly, to Magic Planet, who kindly sponsored the Under 14s kit. Because of these two companies the girls are able to feel and look like proper netball teams and this will help them grow from strength to strength.


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Junior Sports Leadership Award

The Year 10s since have been parDcipaDng in the JSLA leadership qualificaDon since September. Throughout the unit, they have been learning about what makes a good coach, about becoming a leader and developing many lifelong skills. Last week all pupils had the final assessment, in which they had to teach the Year 5s and 6s for an hour. Then, to finish off, they had to organize and run a big tournament. The morning went extremely well with all pupils showing brilliant leadership and team work skills.

Well done to all the Year 10s who have now been awarded JSLA leadership status; your hard work has paid off.


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SES DIVE CLUBOur first pool training session for the Open Water PADI certification took place January 31st at the Pavillion Dive Club at Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Our instructors, Elena and Jimmy, were absolutely wonderful and the students were thrilled with the whole experience. Phrases such as, "This is so cool!!" and "This is awesome!!" were expressed by each and every student. We all appreciated the luxurious locker rooms, hot showers (with led light details) and the complimentary toiletries at the end of our training session. Ready to go home, we jumped back on the bus, with cold drinks to refresh us, as we chatted excitedly about the afternoon adventure we had just experienced. All of us can not wait until next week for Pool Training #2.

The students who are currently taking the PADI will be fully certified to dive by the middle of March. I am currently taking applications for the next batch of students to start their certification process in March. I encourage all students who are interested to give me their applications as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Also, any students who currently have the Open Water PADI and need to do a Rediscovery Lesson or who would like to take an Advanced PADI course should contact me this week, as I will be arranging courses for this term.

I hope to see you in the SES Dive Club soon!

Mrs. Bernier-Kawash


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Secondary PEIn a bid to develop the provision of basketball in the UAE, the Dubai based sports company, MPAC, visited Sharjah English School and ran a basketball taster session within the PSHE lesson. Coaches from the USA, Jordan and Thailand delivered a skills circuit covering the basics of basketball and finished off playing a game of students versus coaches, where the visitors demonstrated their flare, superior handling skills and, of course, slam dunks!

MPAC is aiming to establish a partnership with Sharjah English School by setting up a basketball academy. More information regarding the academy will be released as soon as the last few details have been finalised.

International swimmer, Rachel Goh, came to visit Sharjah English School prior to swimming in the World Series at the Hamden bin Mohammad bin Rashid Complex. ‘Gifted and Talented’ students and the swim squad were invited to meet Rachel and ask her question about her swimming schedule, diet, traveling opportunities and how she copes with the hours of training. It was a great opportunity for the students to have an insight into the life of a full-time athlete.


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Maths Problem Of The Month

The answer will appear in the next issue of the newsletter.

The solu/on from last month is:Rota<ng the triangles gives the congruent shape.

(See below)

The problem for this month is:A4 paper

An A4 sheet of paper is such that if you fold the paper in half (fold parallel to the width), you will get a rectangular sheet of paper (an A5) which is similar to the original A4 sheet.

Given this fact, find the ra<o width : length

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News from Mathema/cs Department

GCSE Examina/on results

CongratulaDons to all the Year 11s who took the MathemaDcs examinaDon last November. This was an early entry, six months before they were due to sit the exam.

Well done to Georgina Liu, Shruthi Manivannan, Adam Bates, Adam Master, Ibrahim Salama, Natacha Jegge, Megan Lambert, Sanil Chopra, Dae Young Kim, Haydn Main and John Wilkie – all of the group achieved A* grades.

Achieving 100% A*in any class is impressive, especially so with candidates entering early. The students now have the opportunity to begin AS Maths in Year 11 and to acquire a full A Level by the end of Year 12.

CongratulaDons to Mr Hartridge on guiding the group to this success.

Forthcoming events

Year 9 students will be taking part in the Intermediate MathemaDcs Challenge on Thursday, 7th February.

World Maths Day is on the 6th March

Pi Day returns on March 14th (start planning your baking now!)


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Mohammad Khan Year 10

Our school has been devastated by the very unfortunate death of Mohammad Khan, a popular and well-loved student in Year 10. Mohammad collapsed and passed away very suddenly during the weekend. Though he had a cardiac condition, Mohammad had been managing his health very successfully and his tragic death was most unexpected.

His friends and teachers at the school will remember him very fondly, as a quiet and dignified young man. He was mature and insightful beyond his years. He excelled at his academic work, especially in Maths and ICT. Recently, he had been a proud member and a leading light in the Geek Club and he was generous in offering his time to help others with his computing skills. Everybody speaks of Mohammad’s dry sense of humour and of the quality of his friendship with so many of his peers. Students will remember him with affection. Once their sadness has lifted a little, they will also be able to appreciate the fact that they knew him and enjoyed his wonderful company. Our SES family was richer for having him with us.

We offer our heartfelt condolences to Mohammad’s parents and to his sisters.

John Nolan

Whole School News and Information

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GUIDELINES FOR KEEPING SICK CHILDREN HOME FROM SCHOOL

The following guidelines may be helpful for you when making the decision to send your child to school or to keep him/her at home.

Please keep your child at home from school if he or she:• Has been vomiting or had diarrhoea during the night. Your child should not

return to school until 24 hours since their last episode of vomiting/diarrhoea.• Has a cold with fever, sneezing or coughing and a persistent runny nose• Has an oral temp of 38 degrees or higher. Your child should be fever free for

at least 24 hours before returning to school. (Without taking fever reducing medicine).

• Has a severe sore throat.• Has a pink bloodshot eye with yellow or green discharge.• Has just begun antibiotics. Any child with a contagious condition such as

strep throat must be taking the medication for 24 hours before returning to school

• Have lice or nits, until treated and free of nits.• Has a rash all over his/her body. A child with a suspicious rash should only

return to school after a diagnosis has been made.

Keeping a sick child home prevents the spread of illness in the school and allows your child to rest and recover.

A Note from our Nurses

Please do not send your child to school if they are showing any signs of sickness. Please help the medical team keep Sharjah English School as germ free as possible by following these guidelines.

Kind Regards,

Mary Smythe and Rita DatinguinooSchool Nurses

Nut free school

There are students in school who have severe, life threatening nut allergies. In an effort to make the school environment as safe as possible for them we would like to remind parents that Sharjah English School is a nut free zone.

Please ensure that no nuts or nut products are put into your child’s lunch box. Always read the labels on pre packaged snacks as they sometimes have hidden nut products in them. Many health and cereal bars contain nuts so please check before putting them into the lunch box. In some homes the lunch boxes are prepared by maids/helpers so please share this information with them.

Whole School News and Information

ses newsletter-february 2013

Documents

primary school

visit sharjah science

science news

science topics

following pupils chantelle

year groups

school pastoral development

class monitors