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In the month of October in order to increase awareness on Breast

Cancer and to help those affected by it, an international initiative

known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) has been

organized by major breast cancer charities and is held annually

every year. Its aim is to raise funds for the research into the cause,

prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure for the disease. The pink

ribbon has been established as a symbol by the breast cancer

research foundation.

It has become a worldwide phenomenon and has acquired immense

support. The month has helped improve the knowledge of the

community regarding the disease, has helped provide emotional and

medical support for the unfortunate victims and has made

numerous strides to find a cure to end the foul and disastrous

disease.

Gems Our Own Indian School being active champions in promotinghealth and safety prior to above all else, unanimously decided tocome dressed in pink or white clothes and organized themselves inthe shape of the pink ribbon advocating their support of themovement. The students also donated 1 Dh each for a pink ribbon.

The Knowledge and Human DevelopmentAuthority (KHDA) organized #10min10dayscompetition to encourage parents to establishregular reading habits with their children. FirazPalathingal of 3A and his parents were honoredat KHDA on 19th September 2016 for being oneof the winners of this competition. Well doneFiraz! We are proud of you.

TECH-G WORKSHOP

Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM)-a combination of fields that lead the way to development.Students from our school had attended a 5-day STEAM workshopcalled Tech-G held on the 10th of July to the 14th of July at theUniversity of Wollongong in Dubai. This workshop covered topicssuch as Photoshop, Mobile Application Development, GameDevelopment and Robotics. This workshop encouraged women'sparticipation in the fields of STEAM.

Two of our students, Anusree Govind and JennieJoseph of grade 11, were winners of the Mini-STEAMcompetition held. The students found the workshopenjoyable and gained interest in this field.

Swimming Champs - Congratulations to Atharva Dhupkar of Grade 10 D andAakash Manieskharan of Grade 10 O for qualifying in the Nationals of UAE ClusterSwimming Championship to be held in Bhopal, M.P from 16th to 19th ofNovember. Together they have achieved 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 4 Bronze.

Atharva Dhupkar of 10D bagged 1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze medals in UAE Cluster Swimming competition.Events: GOLD - 100m freestyle, SILVER - 100m breaststroke, BRONZE50m freestyle50m breaststroke50m backstroke

Congratulations to AKHIL

PULIGADDA of the senior

section boys’ who stood first in

UAE EEG Paper Collection

Campaign.

He collected 16,202 Kg.

Akhil is also the UAE Topper in

NOF Mathematics Olympiad &

third topper in Chemistry

Olympiad.

The senior boys from the commerce department of GOOIS

participated in the "BORN TO INNOVATE" competition held by JSS

International School and clinched the first prize in their innovative

product- SPRINKLE ME

The innovation for the product SPRINKLE ME is a water sprinkling

alarm clock , the idea of which was fueled by the innate ability of

people around the world to rise with the sun; to wake up in the

morning.

The ensemble crew were AQEEL RASHEED, MOHAMMAD ZAKARIA,

MOHAMMAD AMEEN, MOHAMMAD FAIZ, NIHAL RAFEEK,

MOHAMMAD SHAAZ, PRANAV ANAND, MOHAMMAD SAFWAN,

HAMDAN HAMZA, BEVEN PEARLJU AND ARJUN GUPTA

The birth of this product was a combination of skill and fortitude

from the students of science and commerce department, wherein

the mechanics of the functional prototype as well as the down-

streaming process had to be meticulously coordinated with a

deadline of 72 hours.

The participating schools were met with a mixture of competitive

fervor and hospitality. Nine schools had their eyes on the trophy;

the bragging rights to having the best innovative invention.

The presentation process of the product at the venue invited a

range of questions from both judges and audiences as well as

competitors which were well dealt expertly by the GOOIS students.

The competition offered a plethora of products ranging from an application that would offer medical assistance to an alarm clock that would wake you up with sprays of water.

Born to Innovate

The shuttle times competition was held on 19th October in Salahudeen Sports Hall. The under 14 girls and under 16 boys reached the finals which was held in the Indian Club on the 26th October. They bagged the runners up trophy.

The under 16 boys comprised of Aakash Manishekaran, Adithya Biju, Nithin and Tom Joseph.

Our Nominee for the Mariamma Varkey Award

In line with our Founder's mission to raise the status of

the teaching profession within the country, and in

recognition of the drive and passion that Mariamma

Varkey has put towards education, GEMS Education

launched The Mariamma Varkey Awards for Inspirational

and Outstanding Teaching at GEMS. This award,

partnered with the Emirates Innovative Teacher Award

and the Global Teacher Prize continues to underline the

importance of the teaching profession and symbolizes

the fact that teachers throughout the world deserve to

be recognized, respected, rewarded and celebrated. The

Mariamma Varkey Awards for Inspirational and

Outstanding Teaching at GEMS recognized the GEMS

teachers who have been deemed to be the most

inspirational and outstanding practitioners, overall and

at each stage of schooling. From GEMS Our Own Indian

School Ms. Mini Mijo was nominated as the first

Mariamma Varkey Award Nominee.

Two of our primary sectionteachers, Ms. Rita Rubdi and Ms.Neelavani Dhas were awarded acertificate during the GEMSAwareness Day for successfullycompleting their InternationalProfessional Graduate Certificate inEducation Course.

The International ProfessionalGraduate Certificate in Education(iPgCE) is a higher education awardoffered by the University CollegeLondon (UCL), Institute ofEducation. The programme is aimedat teachers working in a GEMSschool who have previouslyundergone some form of teachereducation but wish to improve theirpersonal, professional andpedagogical practice benchmarkedagainst international standards.

On the 18th of September we at OOIS celebrated the long journey of more than 20 years of our loving Thomas Sir (Admin Officer). We had to bid him farewell with a lot of sweet memories with a host of teachers sharing their experiences that they had with Sir. He has been a strong pillar of GOOIS, helping and giving his valuable suggestions in the improvement of our school. His hard work and dedication is evident in every nook and corner of our school.

We will always miss our Thomas Sir.

Eid al – Adha Assembly

Eid al – Adha marks the end of Hajj, the supreme pilgrimage of Islam and involves “Feast of the Sacrifice”. Special assemblies were conducted by various sections of the school under the able guidance of the respective Islamic Departments. The assemblies represented the rituals involving the preparation to celebrate Eid al – Adha one of the two most important festivals in the Muslim Calender.

Henna Designing on Eid Al Adha Day Celebrations

Henna Designing was part of the Eid Al Adha celebrations on 19th September 2016. Parent volunteers were invited to do the henna designs. All the girls in Kindergarten were thrilled to have the henna designs on their hands.

Students of 3A presented an assembly on“Happiness is Reading” to commemorate theYear of Reading 2016. The students explainedthe benefits of reading with a skit, dance and afun song.

The Primary Little Readers’ Club was alsoinaugurated on this day to encourage ourbudding readers. The voracious readers of eachclass were chosen as the first members of theclub and were honored with a badge. Variousinteresting reading activities have been plannedby the club for each month.

The festive occasion of Onamwas celebrated in our school byvarious sections. All theteachers and the studentsperforming for the assemblywere decked in their traditionalattire. A splendid array ofevents were put up by thestudents that brought out thetrue spirit of Onam.

The celebration was welcomedwith fervor and enthusiasm inthe school. The essence ofOnam was brought alive by thecolorful performances. In thesenior boys section the eventtook on a new cast from therestarting with a short speech onthe importance of Onam to therigorous singing of OnamPattukal or Onam songs by ourenchanting singers.

Onam Assembly

The high point of the day was thetraditional folk performancePulikali, tiger dance or The 'playof the tigers' which revolvesaround the theme of tigerhunting. The hilarious antics ofthe student tigers and the hunterset the crowd rolling withlaughter. The scintillating musicand fast rhythmic beats addedcolour and vitality to the entireevent. It was a day that wouldbe cherished by every Keralitewho was present as it transportedthem to Gods Own Country,reminiscing about the wonderfuldays of Onam in their youth.Keeping in lieu with the legendassociated with Onam , whenKing Mahabali appeared on thestage to bless his subjects he wasgreeted with open arms.

The event culminated with the “Tug of War”another sportive festival of Kerala amongst thegrade 12 Commerce and Science students. It was amoment of nail biting tension and passion amongstall the spectators who viewed the tug of war. Aftermuch grunting and heaving, screaming and yells ofjubilation, the commerce team walked away beingthe proud winners. It was a gratifying day for allthose who were present, a moment to be capturedin their minds and hearts forever. The assemblywouldn’t have been possible without the tutelage ofMs. Mariam Philip , the Malayalam Head ofDepartment. It was her expert knowledge and visionthat rendered an assembly which was unforgettable.

In the middle school boyssection, a thought outmedley of the popular songsalong with the performanceby the Principal and theteachers abolishing thebarriers of culturaldifferences and beholdingthe virtues of unity indiversity was the highlight ofthe assembly.

The colossal culture waswell depicted throughthe colourful “Pookalam”on the stage which wasfollowed by the prayer,group songs and groupdances.

The girls sections presented performances likethe ‘Vanchi paatu’ and ‘Thiruvathira’. Thestudents also made a beautiful ’Pookalam’which drew the attention of many.

Onam was celebrated in KG and primary sections with much festivity too. Students danced and sang special festive songs. The speakers wore their Onam attire and posed happily for their friends.

Students learnt a few words such as Sadiya and they were shown some Pookal arrangements. The little boys and girls looked lovely in their onam attires.

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP DAYIn this era of global citizenship , it is imperative toprovide our students global exposure. Keeping this inmind the students of grades 1 and 2 presented afashion show representing different costumes aroundthe world and rocked the stage by blowing their kissof peace. The entire student community of grades 1to 4 came dressed in different costumes from aroundthe world and gave a talk about that country in theirclassroom. This helped in developing reverence forthe human family, and benefitted them in becomingmessengers of peace and nurturing global citizenshipamongst them. Students of 4B and 4G , trained byMs. Elizabeth and Ms. Dipika presented an assemblyon the theme.

TEACHERS’ DAYTeacher’s day was celebrated at Our Own Indian School on Monday 5th September 2016. The day was an opportunity to recognize andappreciate the significant contribution of all the teachers in transforming the lives of young minds. Special assemblies were conducted in thesenior section to express the love and respect to ones teachers. Teachers were also presented with beautiful handmade cards by the students.It was a day each teacher would cherish in their lives forever.

The primary students, under the guidance of a parent volunteer, put up a graceful dance for their beloved teachers.

A hilarious skit was put up by the Grade 11and 12 students which shared the glimpsesof classroom situations portraying theirvision of their loved teachers using their‘much used dialogues’. The teachers couldn’thelp but laugh at the familiar situationswhich were brought to life by the students.The students undoubtedly know everyteacher very well!

Grade 3&4 celebrated the World Oceans Day on 8th June .ECO club members, under the guidance of the ECOcoordinator Ms. Neelavani conducted assembly based onthe theme , ‘Healthy Ocean, Healthy Planet’. HeadmistressMs. Usha Balachandran, HOP Ms. Narayanan, SchoolEnvironment coordinator Ms. Allen Christline andSupervisor Ms. Sajna Santhosh pinned the badges for theECO Advocates. Headmistress led the students in the ECOpledge.

Grandparents Day Grandparents play a veryimportant role in one’s life. Tocelebrate them, a special assemblyfor grandparents was conducted.Grandparents of our students hadcome to the school to see thisspectacular assembly.

The assembly was addressed byour dear principal, Mrs. LalithaSuresh. It was indeed a goodgesture to show grandparentshow much they are loved andlooked upon.

Grandparents day was also celebrated by the KG section. The little ones were excited to see their grandparents at school .They also dedicated songs to their grandparents and gave them cards to express their love.

At the end of the show the children clicked photographs with their grandparents.

Grandparents Day

KG 1 and KG 2 students learnt to appreciate the food they ate and learnt that there are less fortunate students who are struggling without a proper meal a day.

KG 2 also learnt the UAE traditional food. In KG 1 students put up a skit on eating a healthy food.

Food Theme Assembly

Diwali Celebrations

Special assembly on Diwali was celebrated on 27th October, 2016. KG 2 students performed a

song on Diwali lights to light up the festive spirit. KG 1 students performed a skit on Family

Diwali celebrations.

Students were taught the importance of keeping away from fire works on Diwali day.

LITERARY ASSEMBLYThe literary club of the senior girls presented an assembly providing all support for the year of reading, through many performances. The enthusiasm seen among the students towards literature was very well appreciated by everyone.

GEMS Our Own Indian School, Dubai in association with The Indian Consulate hosted the 17th Inter School DebateCompetition Final Round on the 6th of October 2016 at GEMS Our Own Indian School, Dubai. Every year this event is heldin commemoration of the Father of our Nation - Mahatma Gandhi, the great soul who inspired the world with his faith intruth and justice for all Mankind. The chief guest for the day was, His Excellency, Mr Anurag Bushan, Consul General ofIndia.

17th Inter School Debate Competition

Young speakers from 9 prestigious schools of UAE presented their facts for and against the topic. These schools are:

Our Own English High School, Sharjah

(Boys)

GEMS Our Own Indian School, Dubai

Our Own English High School, Al Ain Our Own High School, Al Warqa

Our Own English High School, Fujairah Our Own English High School, Dubai

GEMS Modern Academy The Millennium School, Dubai

The Winchester School, Jebel Ali

The day witnessed some of the best argumentative

discourses of some of the finest debaters representing

the prominent schools of UAE. Thus this debate was a

fitting tribute to the Father of our Nation, an immortal

symbol of true patriotism; an individual who left

behind an incandescent light which still illuminates the

world.

Each debater celebrated the Mahatma’s vision andvalues.

The judges for the Final Round were:

Mr. Alex Abraham – Editor Gulf News

Bhaskar Raj - Business Editor &

Commentator on the financial news

and economy

Dr. Kavita Tiwari - Professor- BirlaInstitute of Technology

The topic for the Final Round was ‘Leadership today meansgetting along with people’.

The rolling trophy was awarded to Gems Our Own English High School, Dubai

Daschle Silvano D.P. Pereira, of GEMS Our Own Indian School, Dubai,

won the 1st Runner Up (Against) - Individual Trophy

AWARDS PRIZE NAME OF PARTICIPANTS SCHOOL

BEST TEAM ROLLING TROPHY

Greeshma Unnikrishnan ; Deepa

Dileep Menon

GEMS Our Own English High School, Dubai

BEST SPEAKER (AGAINST) INDIVIDUAL TROPHY

Akshit Sharma GEMS Our Own English High school, Fujairah

BEST SPEAKER (FOR) INDIVIDUAL TROPHY

Anushka Akhtar The Millennium School, Dubai

1st RUNNER UP (AGAINST)INDIVIDUAL TROPHY

Daschle Silvano D.P.Pereira GEMS Our Own Indian School, Dubai

1ST RUNNER UP (FOR)INDIVIDUAL TROPHY Vishrut Rana

GEMS Our Own High School, Al Warqaá

2ND RUNNER UP (AGAINST) INDIVIDUAL TROPHY

Deepa Dileep Menon GEMS Our Own English High School, Dubai

2ND RUNNER UP (FOR) INDIVIDUAL TROPHY

Alwin Roy Mathew GEMS Our Own High School, Boys’ Branch -Sharjah

The Complete List of Winning Schools

Gitex Competition

Gitex Technology week 2016, one of the biggest events inthe whole of Asia, where a number of people appear withtheir product to market them and gather sponsors orinvestors for their product. Our senior students ShazmaanMalek and Mohammed Hafiz of grade 12 got the muchawaited chance to participate when they were shortlistedfor the top 20 candidates for the Gitex Students Labcompetition. The selection process was done by asking thestudents to answer a few questions about their idea andwrite a 500 word essay about the product. After this, theidea was judged by the judges. If prototype was made, itcould be shown to the judges else, the idea itself was goodenough. On the final day of the competition, the studenstgot 3 internship offers, and 3 more investors for theirproject. According to Shazmaan and Hafiz “Though we didnot win the first prize, the whole experience was lifechanging. A week before, I knew what I had to do in futurebut I didn’t know as to HOW was I going to achieve myfuture. All I could say is, I can never see things the way Iused to see it before. In the end of the day experiencegained is what will stay forever, not the prize. A materialisticobject decays, experience stays forever.’’

Arabic Exhibition

The Arabic teachers andstudents had put up awonderful Arabic Exhibition.The students wrote manyarticles on different topicsand made models related tothe chapters they werestudying which wasdisplayed for the exhibition.

ARABIC EDUBITION

Students of grades 1 and 2 displayed their skills in Arabic and spoke about theresources they were using . They coined words and framed sentences and solvedpuzzles. Their performance and confidence of speaking in Arabic wasappreciated with an applause by all present there.

ISLAMIC CORNER:

Surrounded by the outline

of a mosque with its

minaret, the shelves in

grades 1 and 2 , were

adorned with models and

replicas depicting Islamic

culture and tradition . This

is to promote greater

understanding and

awareness of Islam. Some

of the models were the

pillars of Islam, model of

Kabah, Islamic traditional

dresses, prayer timings,

different names of the

prophets, different names

of the Allah, steps of

wudu, prayer positions,

traditional fruits etc. were

displayed. Students were

trained to speak about the

set up, and the various

classes made a visit to the

Islamic corner

EDUBITION-2016

The children of Grades 3 and 4 enjoy some hands on learning activities.

Art ExhibitionAn exhibition of masks by our talented students was held atOur Own Indian School. Lead by Mrs. Sampriti, it was indeed atreat to ones’ eyes. A huge number of masks were collectedand were displayed for students and teachers to feast on.

Visit to Al Manama SupermarketThe KG 1 and KG 2 students visited the Al Manama supermarket on 29th September and 3rd October respectively. They were given a tour

around the fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket and children were encouraged to name common fruits and vegetables, identify

their colours, compare their sizes and touch and feel them. It was a fun filled sensory experience.

It was an enriching experience for the

students. The students enjoyed

budgeting and buying things of their

choice.

Students of grade 4 also visited Al Manama Supermarket as a part of Math – Financial Literacy Activity.

Students of grades 3 & 4 visited ShaikhMohammad Center for cultural understanding asan educational tour. They visited the mosque andattended a talk on Islam and Ramadan

VISIT TO THE FAMILY GATHERING AT AL MAMZAR ELDERLY

FAMILY CENTRE

The 25 member team comprising ofSocial Welfare members and theirin-charge teacher, Psychologystudents and Hamdan awardaspirants of Senior Section Girls, aspart of celebrating 25 years ofexcellence of GEMS OOIS, visitedthe Al Mamzar Elderly FamilyCentre. It was a fulfilling andunforgettable experience in itself.The team greeted the 34 inpatientsand some outpatients at the centrewith roses, interacted with them,and also got to visit the facilities atthe centre for the elderly. Theyspent 2 hours spreading themessage of joy and care, throughtheir songs, cards, dances and giftsof their own paintings.

VISIT TO SPECIAL NEEDS FOUNDATION

On 12th October, 2016, the senior section girlsvisited the special needs foundation based inKarama Centre. And this is what they had tosay about the experience – “We were all veryanxious about meeting them. "Will they likeus?", "Will they be afraid of us?" were thecommon worries. The reaction we receivedastounded us. All of them were very welcomingand friendly. They were a little shy at first but aswe talked, they started communicating with us.The children were separated in different roomsaccording to their activities. Some of themwere doing painting, some were learning basiclife activities like preparing their own mealswhilst some were exercising in the gym. All ofthem were very warm and amiable. We evensaw some of their art works which werestunning. All of them were perfect in their ownways.”

The students of Gems OurOwn Indian School weretaken on a educational tripto Sharjah museum. Thistrip enabled our students tounderstand and appreciatethe Islamic culture. Ithelped the students torecognize the importance,relevance and value of theUAE Islamic culture andheritage, and be a part ofthe land that they are livingin.

Trip to Sharjah Museum

Grow Your FoodGrow Your Food is an initiative undertaken by Dubai Municipality to cultivate healthy life in UAE. A workshop explaining the significance of organic farming was taken in our school on 16th October 2016. They detailed the procedure to grow plants at home & the benefits of homegrown food. Students really enjoyed the session as it was very much informative & included several activities for children. They also showed & explained indoor gardening & the set up was given as a gift to our school.

A CPD was conducted by Dr. Anuradha of Connexions Department on Strategies for SEND for the primarydepartment. The workshop focused on strategies to identify children with special needs. It was an enrichingexperience for the teachers as they worked together in teams.

STRATEGIES for SEND WORKSHOP

DEWA CONSERVATION WORKSHOPIn order to embed the ideology of conservation ofelectricity and water practices into young minds,Ms. Amera Said M Aldahnan, Senior Officer fromDEWA conducted a workshop on 28th Sep 2016 inour school. The objective was to educate ourchildren about the different energy conservationstrategies so that they may stand proud andconfident tomorrow, creating and living in an eco-friendly environment.

MOBILE APPLICATION WORKSHOP

Two students, Anusree Govind andJennie Ann Joseph of grade 11,conducted a workshop on MobileApplication Development. Students ofgrade 7, grade 8 and grade 11 attendedthe workshop.

They briefed the attending students onthe working of a mobile application.They, then, proceeded to create aworking mobile application by using awebsite ‘iBuild’. The students selected apurpose that their application is toserve, created a design and brought itall on screen using the drag and dropmechanism. The workshop concludedwith happy faces that were satisfiedseeing their own creation working ontheir devices.

Jennie Joseph and Anushree Govind

were winners for the STEAM Workshop

conducted in Wollongong University,

Dubai in the month of July, 2016.

STEM DAYGrades 1 and 2, marked 2nd October 2016 as a STEMDay. The various classes were given different topicsto design, create and explore. Grade 2’s createdparachutes, raft, a basket ball holder, marshmallowtower, a cage for animals etc. Grade 1 studentscreated a tower with thermocol glasses, design withshapes , maze with Lego etc. They collaborated well,designed, faced problems and redid in order tosucceed in their project. It helped them indeveloping 21st century skills as collaborators,communicators, creators and critical thinkers.

STEAM Event

Our two teams from SeniorSection, activelyparticipated with theirinnovative WasteManagement projects andgained new insights oflearning in their efforts togrow towards greaterexcellence in STEAM Event,at Our Own High School, AlWarqaa on May 26,2016.

World Literacy Day

The 8th of September is

celebrated as world literacy

day, and this year was no

exception. This year marks

the 50th anniversary of

International Literacy Day

and UNESCO is celebrating it

under the banner “Reading

the Past, Writing the Future”.

International Literacy Day

2016 celebrates and honours

the past five decades of

national and international

engagement, efforts and

progress made to increase

literacy rates around the

world. It also addresses

current challenges and looks

to innovative solutions to

further boost literacy in the

future.

A debate was held between the 12th and 11th graders. Truly a

battle of wits and linguistic prowess, it was a splendid show. The

relentless remarks or the veteran 12th graders proved a challenge

to the inexperienced, yet passionate and vigorous 11th graders.

The result of the battle is yet to be announced, but both teams

are well deserving. This was followed by a mime that showed

that perseverance and hard work will lead one to victory. A

speech was given to further elucidate the importance of being

literate and the advantages it provides. The show was closed by

an extremely enjoyed rap battle that showcased lyrical prowess

of our students.

The students of 5th, 6th and 7th

recited poems and delivered speeches on different topics.

The 8th graders also put up a play on the ‘Merchant of Venice’ a famous play by William Shakespeare. The celebration was huge success and had many take aways.

LITERACY DAY

Literacy Day was also celebrated with great zeal in the Middle School Boys section

OPEN FORUM

The open forum was held on 3rd October 2016in the hall. The purpose of the session was totrain the students to speak and share theirviews and opinions for and against the topic:

‘PLAYING VIDEO GAMES OFTEN LEADS TOVIOLENT TENDENCIES IN STUDENTS’

The winners were:

1 .LEO

2. TAURUS

3. AQUARIUS

SPELL BEE COMPETITION

The Spell Bee Competition was held on 26th Sept 2016, Monday inGrade 8Q. The competition was aimed at creating awareness of thepossibility of using varied words in oral and written expressions. Thepresence of our dear Headmistress was sincerely appreciated by all.

Winners –

Grade 5 & 6- Mohammed Yaseen of Grade 6.O

Grade 7 & 8 – Christopher Harris of Grade 8.Q

CHARACTER DAY

The Character Day was held on 27th September 2016, in the Quadrangle. Characters from fairy tales, poems and

texts came alive on stage and the audience was enthralled.

Winners: Category: Grade 5 and 6 –Suraj Grade 6.O

Grade 7 & 8 had three winners

Cultural Day

Culture is the total way of life that people in thesociety are blessed with. Culture is thecharacteristics of a particular group of people,defined by everything from language, religion,cuisine, social habits, music and arts. UAE has adiverse culture.

To showcase the same, the students of the middleschool girls section celebrated cultural day bydressing up as Arabs and showing models related tothe culture of UAE . They also served delicious Arabicfood and performed the typical Arab dances. Theyindeed brought the culture alive in respectiveclasses.

Traditional clothes, food, dances, songs, posters, motifswere displayed by the boys to spread awareness of UAEtradition and culture.

It inculcates appreciation and love for the land and theruler.

Cultural Day was also observed in the Middle SchoolBoys section in collaboration with the Social StudiesDepartment.

Read and Lead

Read and Lead programencourages young studentsto read Arabic and educatethe young masses. 50students have enrolled forthis program where studentsof grade 9, 10 and 11 visitgrade 1 and 2 and readstories, teach alphabet,numbers, shapes and colorsin Arabic. It is carried outonce a week on Tuesday. Thefuture plan for this programis to create a literacy circlewhere students will circulatethe books like ‘The Gruffalo’and at the end of the yeargrade 1 and 2 students willbe familiar with the entirestory from the books.Students will also have a role-play in the class portrayingthe stories they have read.

The students prepared activities and did boost the whole message of the year of reading!

Mystery Readers in Kindergarten

Mystery readers came to kindergarten to read stories to the children. The Senior School Boys were the mystery readers

during the month of September. The children were enthralled by the surprise.

Children for Children ProgrammeThe program started with 25 mentors from grade 11 who will help 30 students from elementary school. The school counsellor has prepared a schedule for all the students and the mentors are trained to teach the young students.

An orientation was carried out on 3/10/2016, where the students were instructed about the program and the schedule was given to them. All the mentors had given their choice of preferred subject to teach the students. They engage the students in different activities to teach concepts, use objects and various learning strategies like mind map, visual and auditory medium to enhance their learning. At the end of the learning class, assessment is carried out effectively where the students have a learning outcome.

This program is working towards bringing together all segments of society thus creating happiness around which is also one of UAE National agenda. This program aims at achieving first rate education in the school and thus contributing to the national progress.

LA SCHOLAS CIUDADANÍA

In the month of May, ten ofour talented and promisingstudents were given theopportunity to participate in ayouth citizenship programorganized by Scholas. The five-day program was focused oneducating students about theirglobal citizenship andproviding the platform forstudents in the UAE forrecognizing the variousproblems that the world facesand create solutions for thesame.

An internship program that was held at KIMOHA ENTREPRENEURS LIMITED, DUBAI from 26th June to 21st August, 2016was attended by Deeksha of grade 11C. And here is what she had to say about her experience –

“During the 8 weeks span, I was working with the HR and Administration team there. I along with my counter internhad mapped out all our tasks during our stay there. Whilst working towards our daily targets, I learned a lot when itcame to office etiquettes and importance of time management. The organization had us learn a lot not just thetechnical and mechanical aspects of its firm, but also simple implementations of basic core values like hard work,honesty, integrity and most importantly team work.

Working with the HR had taught me how fragile and difficult it could be to look after all employees, everyone had adifferent problem, approach, and demands.

Administrating 300+ employees was quite the task, to say the least. Those files are etched in my head, till date!

It was very refreshing to see how they were willing to see another institution/ firm implement on their “GO GREEN”slogans by installing eco washrooms and motion sensitive lights all across, and even working on installing a solar panelfor further conservation of energy.

This whole experience was indeed an eye opener. I could never thank my school enough, for letting me on, andbelieving in me. All of my work related stereotypes were brought to an end, and boy was I surprised!”

Buddy Project

INTER HOUSE ACTIVITIESSenior School Girls section helped to cultivate better social skills, leading skills and teamwork skills through the Inter HouseActivities conducted on Oct 24th, 2016. The enthusiasm of the participants was equivalent to the contagiously charged andhighly energized gusto of any college youth festival. These co-curricular activities encouraged and monitored students toexpress their thoughts, to speak up and contribute their ideas. It also steadily trained students to believe in themselves andprovides the opportunity to have faith in others.

“AGENDA 2016’’On the 22nd of October 2016, DPS – Sharjah had conducted an event ‘AGENDA-2016’ at Emirates Aviation College, Dubai. It was an intriguing

questioning session on the topic “DNA of Modern Science and Transforming Lifestyle”

Students had the opportunity to clear their doubts with experts. It was a thought – provoking session.

SWACHH Bharat Clean Up RallySwachh Bharat, is a national campaign by the Government of India, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns, to clean the streets, roads and

infrastructure of the country. The campaign was officially launched on 2nd October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi, by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi. It is India's biggest ever cleanliness drive and 3 million government employees and school and college students of India participated in

this event.

On the 4th of October 2016, the School Council Body of GEMS Our Own Indian School commemorated the same by having a ‘Swachh Bharat

Clean-Up Rally: One Step Toward Cleanliness’.

Help the cleaning staff of our school, understand their point of views and share it with fellow students. Council Members of all grades divided

into various groups, borrowed brooms, mops, dust-pans, and other cleaning equipments from our staff and covered most of our school: the

Senior Girls Section and Middle School Girls Section corridors, Library corridors, staircases, Quadrangle and the Volley-Ball court.

The Council Body is proud to have conducted the Clean-Up Rally. We hope to continue to contribute to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation.

UNSC-Training SessionEvery year training sessions for UNSC are held for students of OOIS and other participating schools. This year the trainings session was held forall participating schools on October 26, 2016. Four schools participated in this session. The ‘Chair’ trained the upcoming delegates who werebriefed over the procedures of UNSC like raising the placards, drafting a resolution, making amendments to the resolution etc. The delegateswere equipped with the rules and procedures by the trainers through an informative power point presentation. The delegates discussed on thetopics allotted to them. The delegates were given the taste of dealing with an emergency crisis. Earlier four training sessions were held forstudents of OOIS starting from the month of June to October.

MATH CORNER BAFFLE MATICSTo make Maths interesting and to develop critical thinking skills in students, Senior Section introduced Math Corner-Baffle-Matics. One puzzle question and one SUDOKU question each were put up. The board managed to attract a lot ofstudents. The students enthusiastically participated irrespective of their grade. They also seemed excited for the nextchallenge to be put up and were keen to participate in it. Appreciation certificates were given to all the winners.

Himalaya Herbals Health Talk

Diabesity Talk by Dr. Abey

Eating Healthy is very important. Topromote healthy eating habits, the MiddleSchool Girls Section has assigned days forfruits and vegetables. The students bringdifferent varieties of fruits and vegetablesfor their breaks. The honesty store hasadded more zeal to promote healthyeating.

Healthy Eating and Honesty Store

Annual Sports Day 2016The much awaited Annual Sports Daywas held on Thursday 27th October2016. The students entered into thespirit of the occasion in a grand waywith the oath being administered bythe special guest of the day, MrsLalitha Suresh. The Principal andHeadmistress also took the salute ofthe impressive March Past. Once theraces began, the air was filled withcheering and encouragement for theyoung athletes. The overall experiencewas truly great and scintillating.

B-Fit ClubThe B-Fit Club under the leadership of Mrs.Beatrice had organized the aerobics programmefor its members. The middle school girls stayedback and performed a series of exercises in theform of aerobics. The students were also informedabout the importance of exercising regularly.

Scouts and Guides AnniversaryThe Scouts and Guides enrolment day was held on the 19th of October 2016. It also marked the first anniversary of the Scouts and Guides program in our esteemed school. The program was a grand ceremony and indeed a huge success. The program was observed by more than 100 parents.

Food Festival Activities

Students of KG2 were engaged in creative designing fruits. In KG 1 the students enjoyed the activity of the using their sense of smell to identify the food items. Both KG 1 and KG 2 were given sensory activities wherein they got to see, touch and feel various fruits and vegetables. They learnt

the value of eating fruits and vegetables as part of their balanced diet.

Table Manners

Students of KG 1 and KG 2 learnt special song on Table Manners. During the Art period KG 2 students creatively designed their table mat and learnt the use of it and in KG 1 students designed their cups and learnt to use them

properly