Message from the Associate Principal 08-28

I hope you have had a chance to engage in our events so far, whether this has been our Orientation Day, coffee mornings, curriculum meetings or just popping into The Hub. The changes to the building are helping to communicate our intent of being ‘world class’ – if you look at our reception area, the new Creative Technology Zone and obviously the auditorium you can see we are moving forward. In the curriculum this year, we intend to broaden our offer to students so that they have more pathways. Indeed, we begin this journey now as many new students embark on our BTEC Business Studies route, and start Design Technology as a subject in some Secondary year groups. In a few weeks time, we will break ground on our innovative Eco Edventure build project. We are moving forward and we are adding value. As a school leader, I understand that my role as a custodian who is privileged to serve this community, is to leave the school in a better position because of the work that I and others in the school do. I am excited about the year ahead and the team we have built to achieve our ambitions. 

This week has flown by. Some highlights for me have been seeing students reconnect with those they haven’t seen since last term. Families and friends meeting again excited about being together once more and about what lies ahead. Hearing conversation such as, ‘‘What will my new classes be like? What trips are we going on? When are the CCAs starting? What competitions are we getting involved in? What options did you take for IB/GCSE?” Students and staff are buzzing with positive energy and I want to wish them all the very best as we aim to make this year more successful than the last. Certainly a challenge when you consider that we are one of the few schools to be outstanding in both ADEK and National Identity inspection ratings!

I also want to extend a warm welcome to our new families who have joined us. Please know we have all been in that position of being new to the UAE and our school, rest assured that BIS Abu Dhabi is known for its sense of community. People will reach out and connect with you, so please do come along to our events and you will soon be wrapped up with the kindness that pulses through our community. Please ask anyone anything – there are no silly questions in our community, and we are all here to help. 

I know getting to our wonderful school has pushed the patience of us all this year. I don’t want to dwell on the car park, but I will always be honest and transparent with you. It is a challenge and one that we can all help to improve. There is a great phrase I learnt many years ago ‘worry about the things you can control, not the things you can’t’. We may not have won the argument about the design of the car park or been able to get our way with how many entrances and exits there are. However, we can control how we use it on a day to day basis. We can help the flow of traffic by not stopping and disembarking on the one way routes, we can be considerate in letting others get out of the car park space or give way to each other to help the flow of traffic. Please don’t go the wrong way, drive over pavements and stop on crossings. It takes a village to raise a child and the safety of our children is in all our hands. We are only as good as our weakest link. I also want to reassure you that we are looking at ways we can help, taking your suggestions under consideration, and hope to implement some more changes in the near future. 

So to end this week’s newsletter, I want to say welcome to our new families, welcome back to our existing families and here’s to a great year ahead!

Alan Cocker

Associate Principal

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