Student Newsletter: Edition 2

KINGS' SCHOOLAL BARSHA

Inside this edition...Highlights from PSHE Day

Green Initiatives and Eco NewsYour Future: GCSE Choices

Messages from...

The Head Teacher

New Year, new challenges, new goals… Did youmake a New Year’s resolution?

Did you know that the Romans began each year bymaking promises to the god Janus, after whom themonth of January is named? A 2007 study atUniversity of Bristol showed that 88% of those whoset New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that52% of the study's participants were confident ofsuccess at the beginning. Men achieved their goal22%more oftenwhen they engaged in goal setting;while women succeeded 10% more when theymade their goals public and got support from theirfriends.

How will you make sure that you hit your goals?

Bill Turner

The Student Council

My name is Yasaman and I am your newly electedStudent Council Chairman for 2014-2015. I feelhonoured and privileged to be leading the StudentCouncil for our first year in Kings’ School Al Barshaand being the voice of my peers. My main agendafor this year is to involve all students in shaping ourschool, allowing their visions to become a reality.

I joined the Kings’ family in Year 7 and I havewitnessed and experienced the growth of thesecondary school. I am sure you would agree thatthe move to a new building has been very excitingand there are lots of great things ahead. This yearwill have challenges, but as they say……“all goodthings come to people who wait.”

Yasaman Ayati

Student Council Chairman

Front Cover Image

Are you ready for SportsDay 2015? The racestarts on 12th February.

Contents

News in brief

Eco News

PSHE Day

International Day

GCSE Choices/ASA

Sporting Roundup

What's on thismonth

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careforthewild.com/

At Kings' School Al Barsha on PSHE Day,Year 8 were delighted to receive guest speakerMrs Patsy Stagman. Patsy has workedtirelessly for Dubai Rhino Conservation overmany years to raise awareness of the

desperate situation for rhinos globally.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Sustainable Architecture

Students in Year 9 have beeninvolved in an exciting andchallenging architecture project.In Design and Technology,students were given a brief todesign a new restaurant that hadto be constructed out of recycledshipping containers. Studentsquickly mastered the use of 3Disometric plans and elevationdrawings. Once the designs werefinalised, students engaged in theconstruction of 3D models toscale.

A range of designs and modelswere submitted, demonstratingthe creative and architecturalflare of our students. Many of ouryoung architects have aspirationsthat their designswill in the futurebecome iconic buildings that willcontribute to the wonderfulsprawl of architectural landmarksfound in Dubai!

Congratulation to each studentthat participated in thecompetition and a particular welldone to the students below:

1st Place -WilliamWhite (below)

2nd Place - Sita Williams

3rd Place- Emily Tyrer

The judges special mentionaward - Alec De Rahm and NoraSubair.

D&T

MATHEMATICSFestive Fun

The Maths department decidedtheir monthly activity would alsopromote festive fun.

Whilst watching a clip from thefilm, Twelfth Day from 1955,students were given the followingnumerical conundrums tocalculate:

How many gifts were received intotal, calculate the nth days giftsand total gifts?

Howmany legs were on the gifts?

How much it would cost topurchase the gifts?

They could also challengethemselves musically by creatinga modern day version of the daysof Christmas.

Students loved the film and wereamazed that festive cheer couldbe promoted through the powerof calculation and mentalarithmetic!

We are pleased to announce theopening of a temporary library forstudents in the secondary school.

It is available before school from7.45am, lunch times and afterschool until 4.30 pm Sunday –Wednesday and until 3pm onThursday afternoons.

Students are encouraged toborrow books and to use thelibrary as a quiet place to study.

LIBRARY

Well done to all of the studentswho plucked up the courage toperform at our very first MusicAssembly! We had Zara on theHarp, Laila, Arjun and Sarah onthe Piano and Rania and Tarasinging and dancing! They did afantastic job and should be veryproud of themselves.

During the month of DecemberYear 8 took part in their very firstMusic ID unit in which they tookon the challenge to re-write thetraditional festive song “WeThreeKings.” The title was changed toour “Three Kings’ Schools.” Lyricshad to be adapted andinstruments tuned. Year 8 metthe challenge full-on producing amusically delightful classensemble!

If you are keen to be moreinvolved in music, please takeadvantage of the opportunitiesbelow. If youwould like to find outmore, please speak to Miss Black.

Secondary Band practice -Tuesdays at 7am

Choir practice - Mondaylunchtimes

Monthly music assemblies

MUSIC

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GOING GREEN

YEAR 9 ECO WARRIORS

Kings’ School Al Barsha isbeginning its journey to become agreen school, with ambitions to beaccredited as a Gold Eco School.The first steps will be to examinethe current environmental statusof Kings’ School Al Barsha and toidentify simple and easy ways toimprove our eco-credentials, such

When students were told that theyneeded to come into school in oldclothes and make sure they werewearing socks there wasbemusement. They arrived sockedup, ready to start Kings’ School AlBarsha first PSHE day withperhaps a little trepidation. Thetopic for the day was theenvironment, not just learningabout the damage being done withan enormous carbon footprint, buthow they could be global citizens,eco warriors and begin to make adifference, however small thatdifference might be.

Year 9 students started with aschool audit. Students needed toevaluate their environment and itproved to be quite an eye opener.From left on lights, to ice-box

empty classrooms, it was clear thatthings could be done to help anddone easily. Then came the desertclean up as the students werehorrified to see the amount ofrubbish that surrounded the schoolsite; plastic, glass, general rubbishthat was left lying around and inarea that is inhabited by manycreatures, the snake trail causedquite a stir amongst the girls, whilethe boys were intrigued by theplethora of animal trails thatpunctuated the landscape. It madethe students realise that they werenot the only occupants of theschool site.

Having collected heaps of rubbishstudents got their creative headson andmade designs from recycledmaterials that they then pitched to

as a greater focus on recycling andreducing energy consumption. OurEco Warriors will be recruitingmembers from the student body,who have a passion to make anenvironmental difference, both atschool and within the widercommunity. If you are interestedand would like to know more,

judges in Kings’ own version ofDragons Den. The activityprovoked a lot of thoughts aboutsustainability. The day finishedwith students devisingenvironmental policies for theschool that they presentedbrilliantly to Mr Turner. All theseideas will formulate Kings’Environmental Policy and willenable all the Kings’ students to beactive in cutting that carbonfootprint and making a difference.

It was a brilliant day where Year 9really displayed their ability to becreative, think critically, reflect andevaluate and most of alldemonstrate how important it is tostand up as global citizens and dotheir bit.

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On 27th November, secondary studentsparticipated in the first Personal, Social andHealth Education day at Kings’ School AlBarsha. Each year group had a differenttheme, but with the same intention thatthe learning experience in Personal, Socialand Health Education would be enhancedand enriched for every student.

PSHE DAY

Year 7 enjoyed a cultural day, wherethey sampled a range of activitiesfrom around the Middle East, anda trip to the Bastikiya area ofBur Dubai, where theylistened and learnedabout Dubai’s culture

and traditions at the SheikhMohammed Cultural Centre.

Year 8 developed theirunderstanding of selfless acts andwhywedo them.After learning thehorrific facts of the endangeredwhite rhino, the students setabout creating a small differenceto the lives of those that workclose to us. They got to knowmore about non-teaching staffat school, while also initiatingthe appeal for festive donations,such as gifts boxes, which was ahuge success under the watchfuleye of Mr Pugh.

Year 9 actively helped clean up a small part of the localenvironment, cleaning a small section of the desert in front of theschool. The rubbish collected allowed students to calculate the

amount of waste and types of rubbish that make its way into ournatural environments. Using recyclable materials, students thenbecame entrepreneurs, inventing new products, which were thanpresented to a panel of judges.

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With the Option Evening fast approaching, students in Year 9 will be thinking about their GCSE options.

At Kings’ School Al Barsha, all students will study a combination of compulsory and optionalsubjects. Deciding upon the optional courses to study can be difficult and students canfeel overwhelmed. Students should talk to a range of people to get different views.Subject teachers and form tutors will be able to help. Parents, older siblings andrelatives will also offer a variety of opinions.

A comprehensive information programme to help students' decision making willbe offered at Kings’ School Al Barsha, including assemblies, PSHE Sessions andan Options Evening on Tuesday 3rd February. At the Options Evening studentsand parents will have an opportunity to get more information about all thecourses offered. Once students havemade their option choices, each student willalso have a guidance interview with a member of the pastoral team.

Each student should reflect upon the subjects they are good at, are interested in andenjoy. The way courses are marked may also affect choices. Most courses will be acombination of exams, controlled assessments (work completed in controlled conditionsat school) and coursework, but the amount of marks awarded for each area can vary.

It is also worth looking ahead at the potential courses or careers that might be pursued in the future. A specific GCSE in asubject might be required to study it at A-level. However this is not always the case and some subjects can be studied atA-level and university, without having being studied at GCSE. Trades and professions also have recognised routes toqualifying, so it may help to work backwards when deciding what to do next.

The icould website (www.icould.com) is a great starting point to discover what careers are out there, and contains thousandsof videos of people talking about their jobs. If you have any queries regarding the Options process please contact MrGraizevsky.

GCSE OPTIONS

ASAPlease find below the After School Activities Programme (ASA) Term 2:

*Please note that some clubs are subject to a minimum number of students to run and where this is not achieved,may be removed from the ASA programme.

U14netball squad training has beenmoved to aWednesday from4.00pm–5.00pm to be joinedwith theU12netballsquad and held at Kings’ School Dubai.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

MORNINGU12 Netball Squad

Training (invitation only)U14 Netball Squad

Training (invitation only)Drama Rehearsals Year

7, 8 & 9Drama Rehearsals Year

7, 8 & 9

LUNCHTIME Year 7 Table Tennis ClubYear 8 & 9 Table Tennis

Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Drama Rehearsals

Year 7, 8 & 9 Hockey Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Fun Robotics Club (external

fee based ASA)

U12 and U14 Netball Squad Training Kings’

Dubai School (invitation only)

Year 7, 8 & 9 Fencing Club (external fee based

ASA)

Year 7, 8 & 9 Quiz Club Year 7, 8 & 9 Rugby ClubYear 7, 8 & 9 Mandarin and Chinese (external

ASA fee based)

Year 7, 8 & 9 Football Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Velocity Fitness (external fee

based ASA)

Year 7, 8 & 9 Athletics Club

Year 7,8 & 9 Arabic Poetry Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Debate Club

Velocity Fitness (2.45 – 3.45pm) (external fee

based ASA)

Year 7, 8 & 9 Science Arts & Movies Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Quran ClubYear 7, 8 & 9 Martial Arts

Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Arabic Arts Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Google Sketchup Design Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 Spanish Club

Year 7, 8 & 9 French Support (invitation only)

Year 7, 8 & 9 Arabic For Beginners

AFTERSCHOOL

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SPORTING ROUNDUPDecember Results Updates

On Monday 8th December, the Under 14s netballteam took part in a tournament against six otherschools held at GEMS Wellington School Oasis. Thegirls' performed brilliantly and only just missed outon making it through to the semi-finals.

On Tuesday 9thDecember, theUnder 12s andUnder14s Girls football team played FirstPoint School in afriendly 5-aside match. Our girls won 3 - 0 to bringtheir football season to a fantastic close.

On 13th December, the under-12's Boys footballteam woke early on a Saturday morning to competein the DESC football tournament. They were drawnagainst some of the top teams in Dubai, but playedvaliantly in their brand new football kit. Somesurging runs, passes and move sequences wereplayed,with one spectator commenting "Kings’ boyscompleted the best move of the tournament".Despite the hard fought games, we were unluckynot to have qualified. However the experience washighly valued and there is plenty fire in the boyseagerly awaiting the next competitive tournament.

Swimming

The swim squad completed their season with a final gala at Horizon School. All swimmers performed extremely well in bothage groups. The PE Department would like to thank all squad members for their commitment and early morning starts fortraining over the past term. Well done swimmers.

Sports in 2015

With the New Year finally upon us, a number of new sports will beintroduced at Kings’ School Al Barsha, including athletics, rugby andhockey. Tohelp promote each sport, the PEdepartment have launcheda campaign to appoint additional sports captain. The applicationprocess will remain open for a few more weeks for any who wish toapply. Our current Sports Captains have done a fantastic job,demonstrating commitment to their team, players and coaches andwe look forward to continuing to work closely with them this term.

The Under 12s and Under 14s netball teams are looking forward to thestart of the league. The first fixture will be the Under 12s playingagainst Horizon school. The netball team will be wearing a newfashionably designed kit which will ensure a great start to the year!

Kings' Al Barsha football squad finished their season on a high with adramatic win over Dubai College. The result was a testament to thehard work and enthusiasm that the squad showed over the season.The team finished third in their league behind Sharjah English Schooland overall winners ReptonSchool.Wenow look forward to theDASSAknockout tournament that is happening in January and hopefully wecan come away with some silverware. Congratulations to all squadmembers for a fantastic season.

New Year, New Kit.

February 2015

What's happening...

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Scan to visit our website

Options Evening6.00-7.30pm at Kings'

School Al Barsha.

Dubai TourOne of the region's mostanticipated cycling eventsreturns for its second year.At the Dubai International

Marine Club.

Dubai FoodFestival

Open until the 28thFebruary.

Dubai TennisChampionships

Top international playerscompete until 28thFebruary.

National WinterTournament: 50mNational Swimmingcompetitions opens to allages. At the HamdanSports Complex.

Go for an evening strollwith the family around

Barsha Park.Watch a film at the cinema

with the family.

Paddle-board around theBurj Al Arab.

U14 Netballvs Greenfields (away)

U12 Netballvs DESC (away)

U14 Netballvs Kings' School Nad Al

Sheba (away)

Have a theme night withthe family e.g. Italian night- pizza and pasta, Italianmusic, dress up in flag

colours.

Take a picnic to the beach.

Play boardgames with thefamily in the evening.

Hold a competition withyourself: What's the mostfun thing you can do this

month for free!

Sports Day

Q2 ReportsThey are available on the

Engage Parent Portal