www.sharjahenglishschool.org

Sharjah English SchoolVolume 2 : Issue No. 1 - October 2010

SES isFirst impressions in Foundation

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From The Principal’s Desk 3

Primary News 4

Friendship Bench 4

E-Safety At SES 5

Foundation News 7

News From The Secondary School 8

Graduating A Level Class 8

Celebrating GCSE Success 8

Own An SES Tree! 9

2010 - 2011 SES Student Council 9

Maths Problem Of The Month 9

Spanish Club 10

Visiting Illustrator - Sonia Loeng 11

Summer Concert And Art Display 12

Whole School News 15

Dates For Your Diary 16

Contents

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From the Principal’s Desk...

Dear Parents and Friends,

I am delighted to welcome you to the first full newsletter of the new school year. Though we have only been back for six weeks, it already seems a very full year; how busy everybody has been will be evident from the following pages.

The concept of service for others has always been an important feature of life in SES. We are delighted at the number of students always prepared to take on responsibility for making the school and community a better place. Amongst the roles that students have been volunteering for recently have been those of student council representatives, prefects, sports marshals, house captains etc. Throughout primary and secondary there are also our continuing charity commitments, and there are plenty of examples of service to the community undertaken as part of the International Award. The commitment which the children show in these roles is exemplary.

I would like to apologise to parents hoping to avail of the swimming facilities and the new partnership with Desert Sports Services that the pool was out of use for the first weeks of school. There has been some major work on upgrading the equipment there and hopefully this will ensure that we are no longer hampered by issues relating to poor water quality or poor maintenance. The new programme is an exciting venture and we are delighted that it is at last properly under way.

With the weather cooling, there will be a number of camps and desert trips occurring between now and the end of term: Year 5 has the Desert Safari, Year 7 and 8 are heading to Dibba, and there are social camps and International Award expeditions planned for the older students. We hope these all prove enjoyable, as well as fulfilling their function of creating cohesion and greater solidarity amongst year groups and of permitting participants to try out activities and skills not covered in the mainstream school curriculum.

We can report that work on the new building is still on target; many people have already expressed their surprise at how quickly it is progressing. There has been virtually no disruption to the smooth running of the school. We will keep parents updated on developments.

The PSG have been busy as always; thank you to all the new volunteers who showed up for the coffee morning at the beginning of the month and offered to help in various capacities. With the Christmas Fayre fast approaching there will be plenty to do. I cannot stress too much how valuable the work of the group is and how worthy of support.

Thanking you for your continuing support and involvement,

John NolanPrincipal

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News from the Primary SchoolAs   many  of   you   will  be   aware,  we   have   had  a   series   of   curriculum  meetings   this   term  with  the   view   to  keeping   you,   the  parents,   fully  informed  as   to  what   your   child  actually  does   in   school!     These   have   been  successfully  run  and  I  hope  the  parents  who  attended  gained  valuable  insight  and  were  reassured  that  the  correct  answer  to  the  question  “What  did  you  do  in  school  today?”  is  definitely  not  “Nothing!”  The  staff  are  also  looking  forward  to  meeting  parents  at  our  Parent  /Teacher  Consultation  Afternoons.  Please  make  sure  you  have  returned  your  appointment  slips.    

Enjoy   the   Primary   section   of   this   newsletter   where   you   will   see   articles   about   ‘First   impressions   in  Foundation’,  our  new  Friendship  Bench  and  important  information  from  the  Year  Twos  re  E-­‐Safety.

Just  over  a  week  ago  the  primary  staff  and  children  said  and  sang  a  very  sad  but  extremely  fond  farewell  to  Mrs.   Adib,   or   Zina   as   she   is   better   known!   Zina   was   such   a   popular   fixture   in   Primary   that   it   was   a  bittersweet   assembly  but   one   filled  with   lots  of   laughter  and  happy  memories.  Zina  was   left   in  no  doubt  that   she   will   be   missed   but   that   her   SES   family  wish  her   all   the   very  best   in   her   new   position  and   look  forward  to  her  visits  in  the  future.    

As  you  can  tell  we  have  hit  the  ground  running  at   the  beginning  of  the  year  and  the  pace   is  hotting  up  for  the  rest  of  what  promises  to  be  a  spectacular  term!  

 Miss  Jenefer  Race  -­‐  Primary  Headteacher

Friendship  BenchWhen  the  present  Year  3  children  were  in  Year  2  they  did  a  reading  comprehension  about  a  new  playground  which  had   a   “Friendship  Bench”   in   it.     In   the  discussion  which  followed   this   task   one   of   the   children,   Jessica   Lewis,  thought   it  would   be   a   good   idea   if   S.E.S.   had   one   as   it  would  have  been  easier  for  her  to  have  found  new  friends  when   she   was   a   “new”   girl   in   the   school.   The   children  then   decided   to   present   their   idea   to   Miss   Race   who  patiently   listened  to   all  the  reasons  for  it  to  be  a   feature  of   the   playground.   They   drew   their   “ideal   bench”   and  exchanged   ideas   on   materials,   monitoring   its   use,   ideal  positioning   etc.   Miss   Race   thought   it   was   a   super   plan  and   the   year   group   then   put   the   idea   forward   to   the  School   Council   with   her   approval.   Again   the   School  C o u n c i l   w e r e   e n t h u s i a s t i c   a n d   l a s t   w e e k  ………..finally……….   a   really   splendid-­‐   looking    FRIENDSHIP   BENCH   arrived   in   school   to   lots   of    “oooooooohs”   and   “aaaaahs”   from   the   children   at  Assembly!We  have   to   say   a   huge  thank   you   to   our  Head   Boy  and  Head  Girl,   Scott  and  Mintaka,   for   their  wonderful  efforts  in  bringing  this   to   fruition  and  for  the  gracious  way   they  presented   it   to   the  children   from  the  6th  Form.   The  girl  who   started   the  ball   rolling   was   asked   to   sit   on   it   first!  Well  done  Jessica!  

Everyone!   Please  keep  these  ideas  coming  for  improving  your  school.  It  really  is  important  that  we  get  your  input!  

Remember  YOU  ARE  THE  SCHOOL!    

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News from the Primary School

Keeping up to date with technology - E-Safety at SESIt can be a tough job keeping up to date with our children these days. Just when we thought we were doing OK and could set the video recorder, along comes the internet. Suddenly we have a new piece of technology, new language and new challenges! Technology can feel intimidating. While it’s possible that many children may have better technical skills than you, children still need advice and protection in using this new tool. After all, you can teach your children the importance of wearing a seat belt in a car without understanding how the car engine works!Here at school, we believe it is vital to teach children about how to be safe on-line, and using new technologies. The risk element of using new technologies is often determined by behaviours rather than the technologies themselves. Children at Sharjah English School are encouraged to develop their own set of safe and responsible online behaviours from a very young age as, ultimately, this will provide the best defence for keeping them safe online. Continuous e-safety education is essential for all learners, providing an awareness of issues and risks, and strategies for dealing with them. At SES we use different methods to deliver such education depending on the age group. So the delivery of e-safety messages for younger children at Key Stage 1 will be very different to e-safety messages delivered at Upper Key Stage 2 and beyond.

A great example of this work has been completed by Year 2. They have been creating posters with some wonderful designs to help get the message across. Take a look at the photos accompanying this article.If you were unable to attend our recent e-safety meeting for parents, there are still notes available to read on our website. Below are some smart tips that we share with all the children in school. They were developed especially for children aged 8-14 years, but are relevant for all age groups.

• SAFE - Staying safe involves being careful and not giving out your name, address, mobile phone number, school name or password to people online.

• MEETING someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent's/carer's permission, and only then when they can be present.

• ACCEPTING e-mails or opening files from people you don't really know or trust can get you into trouble - they may contain viruses or nasty messages.

• RELIABLE - Someone online may be lying about who they are, and information you find on the internet may not be reliable.

• TELL your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried. If you have further questions or enquiries about e-safety, or would like further information, please contact Mr. Smithard.

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News from the Primary School

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Foundation News

Jolly PhonicsOn Wednesday 29th September the Foundation Stage teachers hosted a Jolly Phonics Workshop for the parents.The workshop was intended to offer the parents of the children in the Foundation Stage an insight into how we teach Jolly Phonics. Our emphasis was on demonstrating how learning is fun at school and we also shared some fun and creative ideas to try at home. We hope that the workshop was informative.

Foundation Here We Come!

Foundation, here we come! We know we'll have lots of fun. Lots of things to make and do. Reading, writing, counting, too.

Foundation, here we come! We know we'll have lots of fun.

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News from the Secondary School

Graduating A Level ClassWe would like to congratulate last year’s Year 13 group on their excellent A level results. All have been offered university places in the courses of their choice. We wish them every success in the future!

Student Course Institution

Bayan Abu-Saad Interior Design University of Glamorgan, Cardiff

Lucca Ferrari Mining Engineering University of Exeter, Cornwall

Soroya Grayston Geography Environmental Management University of Bradford

Eimaan Jawwad Economics and Politics University of Edinburgh

Andrew MacDonald Computer Games Technology Abertay University, Dundee

Jack Sparkes Golf Management UHI Millennium Institute, Inverness

Alex Tadros Archaeology and Anthropology The University of Wales, Lampeter

Linda Walker Art Foundation Central St Martinʼs College of Art & Design, London

The Secondary School celebrated some outstanding GCSE results this year. 84% of students got five A’s to C’s, including Mathematicsand English. This represents a substantial achievement by UK national standards.

Celebrating GCSEs

Particularly impressive were the students who scored A or A* in all their nine subjects; well done to Rosalie Croxford, Rohit Siroya and Sonam Chopra.

A special mention to Savaa Pronin who went one better and got nine A* grades!

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News from the Secondary School

Own an SES Tree!

The ‘Going Green Club’ is running a tree planting campaign over the next couple of weeks. The aim is to help the environment by planting more trees around the school which in turn will provide more shading and make our school look even better.

Parents, staff and friends of the school are invited to sponsor a tree at a cost of only 65 dirhams. The trees are flame trees which are quite common in the UAE; in the cooler months once they have matured they bloom with a vibrant orange flower, hence the name flame tree. You will be given a certificate once you have bought the tree with a number indicating where your tree is planted. Parents might like to buy a tree on behalf of their children, or sponsor a tree as part of someone’s birthday or Christmas gift! Your child will be invited to help plant the tree and it is hoped they will take an interest in its well being. What is extra special is the fact that you can come back in the future and see how well the tree is doing and know you have left something that will remain with the school for years to come.

Thank you for helping SES become even Greener!

The Going Green Team

Note: by the end of its first week, the programme had acquired sponsorship to plant over 50 trees!

A4 PaperAn 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 sheet) which is similar to the original A4 sheet.

Given this fact, find the ratio width: length

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

Student  Council  2010-­‐2011We’re  pleased  to  welcome   all   the  new  members   to   the   student   council!    Gabriel   and   Josephine   from   Year   7,  Russell  and  Lily  from  Year  8,  Samantha  and   Kristian   from   Year   9,   Ankara   and  Zoran  from  Year  10,  Carmen  and  Lakwin  from   Year   11   and   Edric   and   Angharad  from   Year   12   were   elected   by   their  peers   to  represent   their   year   group  this  year.    2010  is  looking  to  be  a  big  year  for  the  student  council  -­‐  we  are  currently  trying  to  establish  a  charity  link  with  an  orphanage   in  Malawi,  work  on  getting  the  school  and  students  involved  with  events  in  Dubai  and   Sharjah,   bring   the   primary  and   secondary  students   closer   together,   and  help   students   solve   issues  around  the  school.

Maths Problem Of The Month

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News from the Secondary SchoolSpanish  Club  continues  to  take  place  on  Monday’s  from  3:00  to  4:00  pm.Further  details  available  from  Sylvia  Ferrari  -­  050  7696813

Spanish  Club

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News from the Secondary School

Visiting IllustratorSonia Loeng, a leading UK book illustrator, visited Sharjah English School and conducted a superb series of workshops with students in Years 7 and 9. She introduced the students to the characteristics of manga and anime art, which she has used to provide illustrations for dozens of published books.

Her energetic and engaging approach really enthused the students and they were soon producing their own drawings in her style, as well as analysing her technique in books such as her manga version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

Sonia finished a fascinating and very stimulating visit by signing copies of her books for a very appreciative group of budding manga artists.

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

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Whole School News and InformationSummer Concert and Art Display 2010

The annual summer concert and art display took place in the last week of summer term.

The music featured a large cast of students from both primary and secondary. Ensembles appearing in the first half of the show included the guitar group, string group, flute group and woodwind supergroup. There were also a number of solo and small group pieces.

During an extended interval the audience then had the chance to view the excellent display of work produced by this year’s GCSE and A Level art students, many of whom were also performing in the concert.

The second half of the show began with a joint performance by the secondary orchestra and senior singing group, before continuing with some dance and movement items. These included a display by Year 5 gymnasts with musical accompaniment by the Year 11 rock group. The evening concluded with the joint primary and secondary choirs sending us away for the summer holiday in a rousing fashion!

SES may be a small school, but it has no shortage of talent to draw on in the arts!

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Whole School News and Information

Photographs courtesy of Mr. Jorge Ferrari

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Whole School News and Information

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Mrs. Zina Adib, who has worked as Admissions Secretary and Arabic Receptionist at Sharjah English School for over twelve years, has recently departed. Mrs. Adib will be well known to all parents, as she has been the first point of contact with the school for so many of our past and present families.

Zina has had a major impact on the school, liaising with the Ministry of Education and doing translation amongst many other important functions. Her humour and personality will be sorely missed by all her friends and colleagues throughout the school. We wish her all the best in her endeavours as she takes on a new job in Dubai.

We welcome Mrs. Mesaa Ajina, who joined us at the beginning of the month; she will be taking over Zina’s duties.

Whole School News and Information

Vacancy for School ReceptionistThe school is currently seeking to appoint a receptionist for the secondary school. The ideal candidate will have experience dealing with the public and answering telephone enquiries; there will also be general secretarial duties, and stationery / stock ordering responsibilities. Applications or enquiries should be sent to applications@seschool.ae

We would also like to thank Mrs. Julie Jenkins, who has occupied this role, for her contribution to the school.

Half Term BreakThe school will be closed from Sunday 14th November through to Thursday 18th November; this will cover the period of Arafat Day and the Eid Al Adha Holiday. Classes will recommence on Sunday 21st November.

Poppy  AppealPoppies   will   be   on   sale   from  Sunday   24th  October   to   Thursday  11th   November.   The   money   from  the   collec?on   goes   to   the   Royal  Legion  Benevolent   Fund   for   those  who   have  been   badly   affected   by  various  conflicts  over  the  years.

Learning an Instrument at SESSES is fortunate to have a wider instrumental teaching programme than any other school in the northern emirates, and is also proud to be the ABRSM music grade exam centre for that region. Tuition is available on: alto sax, bass guitar, cello, clarinet, classical guitar, drum kit, electric guitar, flute, oud, piano, recorder, tenor sax and violin. Although some of these instruments are now ‘full’ for the term, there will be vacancies in January. Parents who would like their son/ daughter to learn an instrument should collect an application form from primary or secondary reception. Please note that, in most cases, our teachers require new students to be in at least Year Three before they begin lessons, and for some instruments they need to be older than that.

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Dates For Your Diary

October 2010October 2010Wednesday  27th Year  10  and  Year  11  Parents  /  Teachers  Meeting

Thursday  28th   KS4  Camping  Trip

November  2010November  2010

Monday  1st Primary  Parent  /  Teacher  Meetings

Tuesday  2nd Primary  Parent  /  Teacher  Meetings

Wednesday  3rd   Year  7  Camp  to  Dibba

Friday  12th  -­‐  Saturday  20th Half  Term  Break  (Inclusive  of  Eid  Break)

Monday  15th Arafat  Day    *to  be  con)irmed

Tuesday  16th Start  of  Eid  Al  Adha  *to  be  con)irmed

Monday  22nd Year  9  Parent/Teacher  MeetingsSecondary  Ski  Trip  Meeting

Wednesday  24th Year  8    Camp  to  Dibba

Monday  29th Year  6  Taster  Day  in  Secondary  School

December  2010December  2010

Thursday  2nd National  Day  Holiday

Sunday  5th Dress  Rehearsal  for  Nativity

Monday  6th Nativity  Morning  Performance

Tuesday  7th Islamic  New  Year  Holiday  *to  be  con)irmed

Wednesday  8th Nativity  Evening  Performance

Friday  10th Christmas  Fayre

Sunday  12th Key  Stage  Two  Concert  -­‐  Evening  Performance

Monday  13th Foundation  Concert  -­‐  Day  Performance

Tuesday  14th Foundation  Concert  -­‐  Day  Performance

Tuesday  14th School  Carol  Singing

Wednesday  15th Carol  Singing  at  Hotel

Thursday  16th Last  day  of  Term  One

January  2011January  2011

Sunday  2nd Term  Two  Starts

Don’t  forget  to  check  the  school  

website  for  the  weekly  bulle5n  for  

updates  and  further  informa5on