News for 15th January 2015

Message form the Principal 

Sporting ups and downs featured heavily again this year with the Netball teams winning hard fought games and also losing a game. We say "well done girls" for both the experience of the win and the loss. It is an important part of growing that one does not always get everything handed to you on a plate. The girls though came back undaunted and will dive into their next match with that same spirit. This is a lesson in life and a valuable one. That is not to suggest that winning with good grace is not also an important skill and no doubt the ladies continued success up to and after this point stood them in good stead. Once more “Well done ladies”.

Many parents will have noted that we have been inundated with new families visiting the school.  I would like to assure our current families that our standards for entry and our promises (class size for example) will not and have not wavered. We entered into a very solemn "contract" with our families. We will not get everything right, I will not get everything right, but we will, we hope, get most things right most of the time, where we don't we will work to make it right. We do not take our current standing for granted and believe that it is earned every day.

A slightly serious note I know but…sometimes it's worth saying.

Have a superb weekend

Michael Embley

Head of Primary

We’ve concluded yet another very busy week at NAS Dubai.  It was lovely to see so many of you at parents evening!  I didn’t get to speak to you all, but those I did manage to spend time with had nothing but positive feedback about how well the children have done throughout the past term.

On Sunday, the regional coordinator from North Star came into school to give a presentation to the parents of Years 5 & 6 who will be going to the outdoor education camp in Dibba at the end of this month.  The trip is for 3 nights over 4 days and will be full of outdoor activities, fun and games.  Thank you for your enthusiasm and positivity regarding this opportunity.

On Thursday the whole of Year 6 took part in a trip to the Nestlé KitKat manufacturing factory, giving the children the chance to learn about the history of chocolate and present day production and manufacturing in the UAE.  By all accounts, the trip was a great success and we look forward to seeing the photographs on our Facebook page.

I will be travelling to the UK next week on a recruitment drive in search of more quality teachers for next year.  I will be back in school on Sunday 25th January. 

Have a great weekend!

Elizabeth Lamb

Head of Secondary

Thank you to all parents who attended the parents evening on Sunday, the feedback regarding reports and my teachers was outstanding; I have passed on your kind words to all the teachers.  This week the theme in secondary has been the environment and our school council will be sharing their ideas with the rest of the secondary school about how we can look after our local environment. 

On Sunday we have our second parents evening for the rest of Year 7, I look forward to seeing you all and discussing the achievement of your children. 

Meanwhile have a restful weekend.

Liam Cullinan

Sports

On Tuesday afternoon the U12 and U14 NAS netball teams both travelled to Greenfield Community School for their first league matches.

The U12 game was extremely close throughout with the score remaining tied at 1-1 for the first two quarters. In the third quarter GCS went ahead 2 goals to 1. The fourth quarter proved to be action packed with end-to-end excitement. NAS leveled the score to 2-2 but then GCS came back with a quick response to make the score 3-2.

The NAS team’s hard work was then rewarded with another goal to bring the score to 3-3. GCS were again quick to take back the lead with another goal. NAS fought hard and their determination again enabled them to bring the score level at 4-4. The score remained that way and it looked like NAS would be heading home with a respectable draw in their first ever league match until Nina Docherty scored her final shot of the game to bring NAS a 5-4 win.

The positive attitude and team work ethic shone through and parent support undoubtedly contributed to the win. Clemmie Silverwood again put in an excellent performance and was voted player of the match by the opposition.

Congratulations girls from your very proud coach and thank you to our team of parent supporters! – Miss Duffy

U14s vs GCS (away)

NAS Dubai’s U14 performed well today against a strong Green Community School team. The first two quarters saw GCS creep ahead with a 7 point lead. Some changes at halftime and NAS Dubai crawled back points and held GCS scoring almost 1-for-1 after some great interceptions in the mid court area. In the end the overall strength of GCS proved too tough for our girls to overcome on this occasion. Final score 11-3 to GCS.

A fantastic effort from our players, displaying excellent team spirit throughout the whole game.

A great game girls, well done!

Miss Emma Noonan

U11s vs Uptown (home)

The NAS Dubai U11 netball team played Uptown School at home yesterday. In the first quarter both teams played well defensively but eventually Uptown took the lead with the first goal. In the second quarter both teams moved the ball well around the court and at half time the teams had drawn with three goals each.

After a few position and player changes the NAS team played a great second half with some fantastic shooting. By the final whistle the score was 9-5 to NAS Dubai. Player of the match was awarded to Lina Janssen, who played goal shooter for the match.

Well done!

Mrs Ruth Jena

Next week there is an U11 netball game at home on Tuesday vs GWPS and an U11 netball tournament at Repton on Thursday.  As all CCAs start next week it will be a very busy week in PE!

Upcoming events

Tuesday 2oth January

7:45am – 8:30am

HSK Workshop for Parents in R1-13 (Mandarin room)

Students taking Mandarin have the opportunity to sit a worldwide recognized and externally assessed test to measure their proficiency in Chinese.  The workshop will has been designed to give parents a better understanding of the HSK test, its content and to learn practical strategies to help your child at home.

For more information please email Mrs. Chiara Gilpin on Chiara.gilpin@nainternationalschool.ae

Thursday 22nd January 2015

8:15am – 8:45am

EYFS Phonics Workshop for Parents in EYFS MPR R0-43

A workshop designed to help parents understand phonics, their place in our curriculum and how to help your child learn them!

If you wish to attend please rsvp through this link

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nas-dubai-eyfs-phonics-workshop-tickets-15350544893

Class Reps

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who attended the Class Rep meeting on Tuesday morning.

We have had a number of volunteers however we are still short of people for various classes.

If you missed the meeting, would like to know a little more about the role or would like to volunteer please do not hesitate to email me on bekky.britton@nainternationalschool.ae

The role can be as big or as small as you like!  One of the best ways is to share the responsibilities between a few of you.  The job description is available through the parent portal in documents.

I will be at Chatter Box Café on Sunday from 7:45am to 8:30am if you would like to sign up or ask any questions.

Thank you to everyone who signed up to help with the PA, we will be contacting you soon!

Kind regards,

Bekky Britton

Head of the PA

UAE Compassion

Thank you everyone who donated items for the UAE Compassion drive.  We delivered all the bags of warm clothes, food and blankets to Dubai Cares on Tuesday.

Have a fantastic weekend

NAS Dubai News Team