Themaid News | Monday, 9 March 2020

Dear Parents,

On Monday, we held a presentation on the International Primary Curriculum for parents.

Thank you to the parents who attended and participated in the workshop. I will add the presentation and information for parents to Class Dojo for those who were unable to attend.

Key Stage 3 students of English have enjoyed the last few weeks of studying Drama in our brand-new studio. Over the course of the unit, students have learnt a range of dramatic techniques and have grown hugely in confidence when performing in front of an audience and embodying characters.

Year 7 are preparing and practising scenes from the play, The Terrible Fate of Humpty Dumpty. This is a fantastic play written by David Calcutt which tells the story of bullying of a young boy in a new school, and the tragic consequences surrounding this situation. Students are learning about the negative effects of bullying on young people, and how to empathise and support others through embodying the various characters.

Year 8 and 9 are working towards refining their Shakespearean performances. In Year 8, students are working through extracts from Macbeth and looking at the central relationship of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, and how their ambition leads to their ultimate downfall.

In Year 9, students are enjoying playing with extracts from Romeo and Juliet, especially preparing the fight scenes for performance later in the term.  

Students are looking forward to the visit from Mr Raphael Peacock who joins us from The Julliard School for lessons and workshops again in April.

The School Production is in its final stages of preparation. The students are full of enthusiasm for the performances. Our Year 7 students have been very keen to support their peers who are part of the cast of Dr Seussical. They have used Art and Design Technology lessons to introduce craft knife skills to create the shapes of fish, and we spoke about a range of different sea life to get the students inspired in creating colourful and vibrant fish. They are all very excited to see them used by the cast of our first production at Themaid.

We hope you can join us on Wednesday 11 or Thursday 12 of March at 5.00 pm.

Congratulations to Jay Acevedo for being crowned the first Themaid Table Tennis Champion. He and other students will now compete in another tournament on Tuesday at the English Modern School.

As part of their new International Primary Curriculum unit ‘Tombs, Temples and Treasures’, Year 4 class learnt about mummification. They started by creating a tomb, decorating it with artwork in the style of the Ancient Egyptians. After learning about embalming and the process of how a body was embalmed and why they followed the steps to mummify a fish! I was very impressed with how resilient the students were when cutting open and removing parts of the fish! It was a fun and very messy entry point. It looked incredible and the smell is definitely something to forget quickly! Great learning in Year 4.

This week we have a regional Health and Safety inspection in school. Nord Anglia Education and staff at Compass International School take the health and safety of students very seriously and this visit will review policies and procedures as well as inspect the site for any potential hazards. We will continue to work on improving this aspect of the school and keeping up to date with world standards in this area.

Last Sunday, Themaid campus was very fortunate to have a visit from the AFCENT band, who entertained the students with their repertoire of popular songs. Primary students got a chance to let loose and show their dance moves as part of a very enthusiastic audience. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for all concerned and we look forward to welcoming them back in the future.

Our Friends of Compass School group (FCS) are well into planning and assisting with events during International Week. Please watch out for the programme and letters sent out to see if you can assist in any way. We are looking forward to the first International Week at Themaid, which is usually a school highlight.

On Thursday, Themaid campus is hosting a Staff v Students basketball competition at break time. All students will have the opportunity to cheer on their favourite teacher or student. I am sure it will be a fiercely fought competition and we are looking forward to it.

As I am sure you are aware, there are now some Covid19 cases in Qatar, which have been contained with all possible cases being quarantined or kept in isolation at the Communicable Diseases Centre. It is important to follow the Ministry of Health advice and pay particular attention to hand washing and where possible, avoid large gatherings, unnecessary travel and anyone who is sick.

In school, we have conducted a deep clean of the facility and have hand sanitizer placed throughout the building for students to use. The School Nurse has visited classes to teach children how to wash their hands correctly and about general hygiene. We will continue to update you if there is further information from the Ministry of Education in Qatar.  

And finally, congratulation to our secondary school choir, who were finalists in the Qatar Schools Choir Competition, hosted by Doha College. There were 27 choirs in the competition, demonstrating the importance of the event and the quality of the competition. The standard was exceptionally high and all schools should be commended for raising the profile of music and singing to such a high level. Compass and Oryx School secondary choirs got through to the final, with both giving excellent performances. Our students sang their hearts out and their harmonies and rap were very highly rated. Oryx School won the overall competition however our students had a fantastic experience and are already planning their next year’s entry. Well done to the students for their singing, dedication and practice. Thank you to Mrs Porter and Ms Hoare for leading and training the choir and organizing the practice sessions. A lot of time, work and preparation go into this level of competition and it was a great achievement to get through to the final.  

Kind regards,

Ann Djedid

Head of Campus, Themaid