News from 18th December 2014

News from 18th December 2014 News from last week of winter term. Message from the Principal Dear Parents and students What a wonderful way to end our first term with so many hard working happy faces, not to mention a song or two and the odd show here and there!

The hard work of a great many people has gone into building a school with purpose, high standards, high expectations and high support for our students.

This would not have happened without all of you.

At the end of our first term together I would like to offer my personal thanks to all of our parents who have been such a great group to work with.

The Parents Association for one have been truly incredible in what they have achieved. I can honestly say I have been humbled by what they have put together. Amazing job one and all.

The Chatter Box Café has been so successful (and delicious) I am considering making Fat Dads Football a twice weekly activity!

The Board has not yet taken off fully but this was entirely due to my daughter’s illness and I am sure that we will restart the work in the new term as the team has great potential.

All of our parents have been outstanding supporters of the school and have given us some great feedback.

On behalf of the teachers, the administrative and support staff, and my own family;

Thank you Mums and Dads for allowing us the privilege of working with your children. We will continue to do our very best for them.

Have a lovely holiday one and all.

Michael Embley

Message from the Head of Primary

I’d like to echo the message from the Principal this week.  We’ve had an amazing first term here at NAS Dubai and I couldn’t have wished for a better group of students, parents and colleagues.  It’s nearly impossible to choose just one or two highlights since opening, but I especially enjoyed the recent festive activities including ‘Eddie the Penguin’, the EYFS sing-a-long and the older students performing ‘A Christmas Carol’.  Your children have settled so well into the school and those tremendous achievements in performing arts are just part of the whole picture of excellence that is emerging across the school.  On an academic note,  the EYFS and primary teachers have just completed their mid-term reports, which will be released to you in the first week after the holidays.  We hope you will be impressed by your child’s academic endeavour and achievement; you will have a chance to discuss reports and any other issues with your children’s teachers on the 11th or 12th of January.

Next term we also look forward to the opening of several new primary classes as NAS Dubai continues to grow in popularity.  As well as new classes and teachers we are adding capacity in specialist areas.  After February half term our curriculum offer will include specialist music lessons for all our Nursery and Reception children, as well as Arabic ‘A’ classes for EYFS native speakers.  Alongside the rest of the school, Nursery and Reception will be swimming after February half term, since the pool will shortly be in full working order and the weather will be warming up again.

There will be so much to look forward to in the new term!  It only remains for me to wish you a peaceful and relaxing holiday, wherever you may be spending your break. Happy Christmas to those of you who are celebrating, and a prosperous 2015 to you and your families.  I look forward to seeing you all back in school on January 4th.

Elizabeth Lamb

Message from the Head of Secondary

During our celebration assembly our students received awards for outstanding academia, excellent work ethic, demonstrating a passion for learning as well as leadership across the school.

There have been so many outstanding moments this term I cannot pick one that stands out above the rest. Highlights for me have included our initial opening, the Ras al Khaimah trip, the school BBQ, the numerous thought provoking assemblies and celebration days and of course the amazing Christmas Fayre.

All of the above epitomize the “TEAM NAS” values we have come to expect with truly joined up values between parents, teachers and students, all of whom contribute to this outstanding learning environment. NAS will go from strength to strength.

Pease remember we return to school on the 4th of January to a Week 2 timetable.  We will be welcoming new students and families and with this our Year 8 students will be taking a key role in orientation and assisting with settling in.  We would also like to invite all parents to the New Parent Coffee Morning being hosted by Chatter Box Café and the Parent Association.

Have a safe and restful break.

Liam Cullinan

Sports Report

http://parent-dubai.nordanglia.com/api/schoollife/news/?view=Sports

Music Report

Kindly note that in the interests of streamlining the musical instrumental lessons at NAS Dubai the following providers will be offering instrumental tuition from January 2015.

The Music Box will offer piano strings, guitar, vocal and drums.

Private teachers will offer clarinet, saxophone, flute and harp.

In an effort to strengthen the provision of music lessons CMA will not be continuing at NAS Dubai however they will be offering classes at their venue in the Gold and Diamond Park after school.

Should children wish to learn an instrument not currently on offer, an outside alternative venue will be suggested. The child will then be placed on a wait list and contacted once a specialist teacher starts at NAS Dubai for the requested instrument.

All enquiries should be directed to the NAS Dubai music department via Miss Kieran Ballard-Tremeer (Kieran.ballard-tremeer@nainternationalschool.ae) which will then be directed to the appropriate specialist teacher.

Looking forward to a musical 2015

Kieran Ballard-Tremeer

Artist of the Month

Our artist of the month is Sophie Fox-Gmur MCA.

Sophie has worked really well to develop her painting skills and made great progress blending colours to create tone and texture. We can see the amazing results in her giant Malteaser wrapper.

 

A Christmas Carol

It’s not Christmas without a little Dickens, and it gives us good reason to get into the holiday spirit as we finish our first term here at NAS Dubai! I was absolutely overwhelmed by last night’s performance; ALL of the students really were ‘shining stars’.

When the students joined the Drama CCA, I was overwhelmed with their energy, enthusiasm and passion. Word soon got round and the group grew and grew. The students asked me if we could put on a show, and of course the answer was a big fat ‘Yes’!

Farah (Mrs. G), who was running the junior Drama group, also decided to climb on board and then the two groups merged and it was full steam ahead.

Between us, we thought about how we could explore original ways to retell this most familiar British classic to an international audience.  Thanks to Farah, the script was re-written and we were constantly discussing our ideas at break and over lunch. We scrutinized each character and painstakingly chewed over every last detail to ensure that it was the best it could be.  We tore chunks out of the script, examined characters and thought carefully about casting – only 9 weeks after our first meeting (and several drafts later), we dotted the ‘i’ and crossed the final ‘t’ and our script was complete…

The students bounded into every rehearsal, enquiring about props, costumes and make-up. I wanted them to appreciate that ALL areas play such an important role in a production. Each student wanted a responsibility and once again, I was bowled over with his or her commitment.

A huge thank you for all of your support this term. Parents that provided us with pizza during weekend rehearsals, helped us with the scenery and most of all share our vision that this is the best school in Dubai.

Dickens’ words remain as relevant today as they were when he took pen to paper well over a century ago. The true meaning of Christmas is a time for family celebrations and charitable giving.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year!

David Chambers put together a great montage of the show;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQ_nBqm-vg

Mrs. Mack

 

Have a safe and relaxing holiday.

NAS Dubai News Team