acs doha international school brochure
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ACS Doha International School BrochureTRANSCRIPT
WELCOME to our World
Experience the difference
“ The school is a place where students and parents have found a sense of belonging.” Parent
Walk with me
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Diane Hren Head of School
And you will quickly find there is something special about our school. Some people say it is our global perspective, others see it in the way we live our values. We also believe it is our all-encompassing commitment to instill the joy of learning into everything we do. You see we want your children to remain curious and motivated by the world they live in, now, and for the rest of their lives.
At ACS Doha, all this happens within a caring community environment that collaborates to inspire everybody in it – students, teachers and parents. We believe your children’s happiness and wellbeing is as important as their acquisition of knowledge and understanding, as both are fundamental to their future achievements.
Above all, we want our students to feel good about who they are and where they come from, to respect themselves and other people, and to prize learning as a lifelong journey.
Take a closer lookTo find out more about our school, please click here or use your mobile device to scan the QR codes in this brochure. QR readers can be downloaded free from the internet.
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10 good reasons to make us your next school
• As an established group of schools, ACS has over 45 years’ experience successfully delivering challenging and rigorous international programmes to local and expat families
• Our reputation attracts highly experienced, specialist subject-area teachers from around the world
• We build strong partnerships with parents
• We are an official International Baccalaureate candidate school* for the Middle Years Programme (ages 11-16), and Diploma Programme (ages 16-18)
• Our curriculum champions interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning that promotes creative and critical thinking skills
• We offer expert Learning Support, and English as an Additional Language
• We believe great learning takes place in and outside of the classroom
• Standardised testing in reading, writing, and mathematics is used to measure student progress and academic growth
• Our campus is purpose-built with new science and IT labs, music and art rooms, a large sports hall and an indoor swimming pool
• Our school community is genuinely inclusive, with over 40 different nationalities represented.
* Only schools authorised by the IB Organization can offer any of its three academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), or the Diploma Programme (and in addition the IB Career-related Certificate). For further information about the IB and its programmes, please visit www.ibo.org.
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Community spirit
Within our halls and classrooms, students, teachers and parents come together to bridge the gaps the world sometimes inserts between cultures and languages.
We actively promote global citizenship as the norm, stimulating our open international community to engage and affect the world around it… both near and far.
By understanding our differences we empower knowledge, embrace tolerance and create a school community where all belong, and where all are valued.
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“ The way our children think about the world is so different to someone who has not been in a class with 15 different nationalities.” Parent
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Our engaging environments, and rich variety of resources, only set the scene for what you can expect to find on any given school day. The real magic is in the palpable sense of warmth, responsiveness and respect we generate between students, teachers, and parents.
Take a closer look. What do you see? Purposeful play and contextual learning. You feel a ‘buzz’. Children are involved in their learning. Some are building a house with blocks. Others are writing stories. A group role-play being firemen. Teachers and assistants energise, acknowledge, and encourage the efforts of every child. Whether individually or in groups, each child is a picture of happiness and contentment.
Early Childhood
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The energy and laughter in the air speaks an honest truth: teachers and students enjoy being here. A step into any classroom quickly encounters the amazing community spirit we proudly celebrate. You notice students mingling independently and with purpose. Teachers stimulate learning without being intrusive.
We encourage students to be responsible for their learning choices. There is a sense of adventure in the inquiry-based learning: we see it in the confidence and enthusiasm of the students. Theirs is a willingness to continuously answer the question “What have you done today to make yourself feel proud?”
Lower School
“ Now I know what my child likes.” Parent
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Click here or scan the QR code for more on Lower School
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As an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme candidate school*, we know students are best able to increase their critical thinking and independence through guided inquiry and astute observation. By integrating core subjects we enable students to make links between different areas of knowledge that spark the very heart of their imagination.
We encourage and support each student to incorporate their own experiences and knowledge into new materials and ideas. Our expert teachers and staff guide all to enhance their intellectual, physical, and emotional skills through active engagement and empowerment. Students quickly become the driving force behind their own learning journey.
* See IB text on page 5.
Middle School
“ Really good teachers. Really good people.” Student
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High School will quickly become a second home to our students. It’s the natural place where young adults explore and strengthen their personalities and embrace individuality. We help them become confident, independent adults. Through a challenging academic programme, which includes our candidate status* to offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, we aim to equip each one with the ability to attend the university of their choice anywhere in the world.
Importantly, our teachers teach students before teaching subjects. Their insights help identify and guide each student’s ability, interests, and enthusiasm. We work together to ensure every student can see their own future clearly and achieve personal success. By encouraging them to do the things they most care about, we inspire them to hone the skills that will best equip them to meet their ambitions in full.
* See IB text on page 5.
High School
“ If High School is half as much fun as Middle School, I might want to return for seconds.” Student
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Click here or scan the QR code for more on High School
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ACS has a long history of harnessing new technologies to enhance the way we educate. We believe students should be equipped to access quality information and transfer knowledge quicker in their pursuit of independent learning.
Our approach is trans-disciplinary, which is a quick way of saying we use progressive technologies to enable our students to become better researchers, collaborators, and creative thinkers. We even challenge students to use their IT skills to pinpoint, inspect and solve real-world problems.
Off campus, the entire school community has 24/7 access to our virtual communication platform, Forum. We continue to ensure that students are e-confident and responsible digital citizens at school as well as from home, and encourage educational innovation through the thoughtful adoption of widely-used consumer technologies.
IT in Education
“ Using technology wisely can open up a new world of learning.” Teacher
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Click here or scan the QR code for more on the arts
Fresh approaches and imaginative interaction are the foundations of our programme. Our goal is to liberate every student’s creative energy through music, art, performance and design & technology in order to amplify their talents.
Through the arts we actively stimulate innovative thinking and problem-solving skills that enrich personal growth. We also give students a foundation in creative expression that will allow them to take full advantage of new learning opportunities, and showcase their ability.
We invite you to experience a range of arts that can unlock a host of hidden gifts. Come and meet our specialist staff and join us for the many concerts and special events that are held each year. Whether it is through drawing, painting, singing, playing an instrument, or writing an original drama, we energise children to express who they are and what they love most.
The Arts
“ We truly succeed when creativity is set free.” Teacher
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Our aim is simple: offer a great range of activities many students don’t normally experience, in a variety of different and stimulating settings.
Enthusiasm abounds as children of all ages interact with staff, busy concocting key learning moments at every turn. Each activity offers a fresh way of engaging and benefitting from the community spirit that underpins our entire school.
The confident faces of children taking part in these character-building activities reveals a deeper value. We give everyone the possibility to make new friends or strengthen existing relationships within a peer group made up of over 40 nationalities. Through these exceptional experiences we expand horizons.
Co-curricular opportunities
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Click here or scan the QR code for more on our co-curricular activities
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In physical education you will find an environment designed to motivate students of all ages to improve their physical and mental wellbeing, and boost self-confidence. Our approach offers both team and individual sports which fine-tune athletic dexterity and empower students to meet new challenges.
We work to ensure your child has a healthy, happy and active school life. Here, they can grow, play and learn in modern, purpose-built facilities, including our own indoor swimming pool. What students take from us will serve them both in and out of school today, and hopefully for the rest of their lives.
Sports
“ We work together and help each other become better sportsmen.” Student
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ACS DOHAINTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
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Through learning, inspire all to make a difference
In defining our Purpose we have distilled the many ideas, feelings and voices that make up our international community. ‘Through learning’ captures our endeavour to encourage lifelong learning in everything we do, and remain curious and motivated by the world we live in.
To ‘inspire all to make a difference’ expresses our collective desire to see and enable achievement as a personal goal. It embodies our drive to enrich and contribute positively to the people around us, both near and far.
Our Core Purpose
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Our Core Values
Engage in community • Motivate and value others • When every voice is heard, nobody feels left out • Strong partnerships between students, parents and staff create a genuine feeling of family • Pride in what we do energises the special environment we share • Place value on quality • Engage students in their own education • Together we are dynamic, viable, and secure • Value opinions • Respect for others builds self-respect • Invest in people and they will invest in you • Foster a sense of belonging to enrich a warm and friendly environment • Provide foundation and continuity to the many communities that make up our community • Take all from where they are to where they want to be • Remember, change is exciting as a shared experience • Our global community is an education in itself.
Be a catalyst for positive change • Action your wider responsibilities to the world • Always endeavour to do the right thing • Be an ambassador for our extended international community • Promote global citizenship through deeds as well as words • Collaborate to achieve a wider understanding • Get involved in humanitarian issues outside your comfort zone • Promote sustainability as an integral part of everyday life • Never tire of giving to those less fortunate • Strive to provide stability in an uncertain world • Try your best to make others happy • Accept opportunities to contribute in new and uplifting ways • Develop love for the people around you • See a world without barriers • Embrace social responsibility.
Promote excellence through learning and personal achievement • Share success • Ensure students leave with more than good grades • Encourage broad talents, as a good education is not all about one thing • Set individual goals, as achievement means different things to different people • The journey is important • Achieve because the focus is on students, lifelong learning and not just results • Inspire all to be the best they can be • Discover and liberate the motivation to succeed that lies in everyone • Embody an ethos that enables excellence, rather than one that delivers excellence at any cost • Encourage integrity as a form of personal excellence • Provide the opportunity for all to succeed through their own desire • Prepare flexible minds • Seed excellence into everything • Succeed with integrity.
Enrich the international experience • Value and appreciate your role as a contributing member of one Earth • See and affect the world on your doorstep and beyond • Appreciate that international is the norm here • Draw unity from the fact that everyone is from somewhere else • Develop hearts and minds that respect cultural differences • Bring a sense of commonality to diversity • Use diversity to enhance learning • Champion the understanding of all cultures • Remain open-minded and curious • Enjoy the benefits of being part of a cosmopolitan group • Treat all differences thoughtfully • Diversity is stimulating and motivating when understood • Make all feel accepted.
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Welcome, families from all over the world, and here in Qatar, to the exceptional learning environment our school has to offer. At ACS Doha we genuinely understand and satisfy the needs of students and their families undertaking a relocation, and all parents seeking the very best international education for their children.
Our aim is to provide every prospective family with the information and support they require to make the right educational decision. To find out more about the ACS Doha experience, please contact us to book a visit, and explore our comprehensive website.
Applications can be made online – either visit the Admissions page on our website or simply scan the QR code below.
Admissions
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Click here or scan the QR code to access our online application
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www.acs-schools.com Members of
ACS Doha International School PO Box 200568, Al Oyoun Street, Al Gharrafa, Doha, Qatar
Admissions Tel: +974 302 66800 Email: [email protected] [email protected]
© 2013 ACS International Schools.
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