From Internship to Impact

Yesterday saw the UAE recognise and celebrate mums. In fact, in the Arab world, there are over 10 countries that all celebrate the importance of mums on this day.

The history of it in the Arab world originates from Egypt. It was introduced in Egypt by a journalist called Mustafa Amin and was first celebrated in 1956. The practice has since been adopted by many Arab countries.

Recently, I've had the incredible privilege of connecting with professionals and leaders across the Middle East, India, and Asia. These conversations have surpassed the typical networking experience, becoming windows into diverse perspectives, rich experiences, and unique expertise.

It has become clear that collaboration is not just a buzzword but a powerful force that moves us beyond individual capacities and geographical boundaries.

For a moment I stood a little aside from the Community Iftar this week.  Alone, an onlooker, I watched a scene unfold.  Children ran and played.  Older children organised fun and games.  Adults talked and laughed, the sun turned the sky a rosy shade of pink and the smell of the imminent iftar filled the air.  A voice cried out in song.  New faces, familiar faces, old faces, smiling faces.  Standing alone, I couldn’t help but smile – and I couldn’t stop my heart from bursting with pride – at the sight of this community being together.

At BIS Abu Dhabi, Kindness, Honesty, and Respect are so much more than words. They’re our core values – the principles our community lives and learns by every day.

We know how important it is to instill values like these in our students. But how do we do it? In this article, we discuss our commitment to Personal, Social, and Moral Education – and how initiatives like the BISAD Diploma help to nurture socially responsible, culturally aware, well-rounded young people.

Student health and wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at BIS Abu Dhabi.

Putting wellbeing first ensures our young people are happy, healthy, and love coming to school every day. This, in turn, enables them to thrive academically and build strong social relationships.

Our teachers, pastoral staff, and two specialist counsellors drive our holistic approach, implementing whole-school support programmes, coming up with innovative ideas, and making sure your child receives the right care and attention.

In this article, we discuss some of our emotional support strategies – from encouraging student voices to the safe use of technology.

At this time of year around the world, many international schools are busy planning for the year ahead. One of the key aspects of that is recruitment. Schools are looking to add to their teams, trying to find the right people and make their school stronger. I particularly enjoy this time of year. I love getting to know people, unpicking what they have to offer. Looking to see if they could be a good fit for our team. Do they have the right qualities, the right attributes to be able to teach our children to give them more of an advantage?

My role in school has taken me on many journeys, more recently embarking on a collective mission to create a safe and enriching online environment for our young learners. On January 3^rd, we had the privilege of hosting an E-Safety Workshop, where we delved into the online world and practical measures aimed at ensuring our children's safety in the digital realm. Today, I'm excited to share with you some valuable insights from the workshop and offer practical tips to keep our loved ones secure while exploring the wonders of the internet.