Weekly-Newsletter-Issue-10 EIS

High School Weekly Newsletter P.O.Box 6446, Al Thanya Street, Umm Al Suqeim, Jumeirah, Dubai UAE Tel: 04 348 9804 Fax: 04 348 2813 Web: www.eischools.aeVol. 1, Issue 12 Dear Parents,17th Dec 2015 Our last day of term started very positively for us as we begin to hear news about which universities our students are getting accepted to. We had some very happy Year 13 students this morning already! Congratulations to the students who are beginning to get their acceptances to top notch universities, like NYU Abu Dhabi and Sheffield in the UK. More good news to follow, I am sure.Emirates International School - Jumeirah Like students, staff take time to reflect on the progress made so far this year. One of our newest initiatives this year has been to hold dual-language mini-staff training every first Sunday of the month. The content of these teaching and learning sessions is drawn from staff, students and known best practice in the field. I have particularly enjoyed the student videos, in which students have shared their thoughts about how they learn best. We have also introduced to staff, students and parents a consolidated Student Profile and Target setting template, which all students have been asked to fill in. This helps students understand where they are at present and how they can grow from this point forward. Please do take the time to review your child’s targets. I have been very impressed this semester with what our students initiate and carry out on their own. Whether it is building an irrigation system for the garden, or putting together a proposal to host a Model United Nations conference at EIS-J, or an evening of Slam Poetry, or the month’s long preparation that went into the Saving With Sounds event, it remains a moment of pride to see EIS-J students so very well engaged in promoting goodwill and well-roundedness. The students are so clearly embodying the holistic skills which the IB curriculum seeks to enable and that makes us proud to be educators. Finally, the end of this term also marks the voluntary end of service of one of our Science teachers, Mr. Muyren Thanabalasingham, who will be leaving us today to return home to the UK. We want to thank him for his constant professionalism while at EIS-J. He is a teacher truly dedicated to his subject and we want to wish him well as he continues with his teaching in the UK and beyond. Existing Science teachers will be taking over his timetable, and therefore, there will be some shuffling in the Science timetables once we return in January. We appreciate your understanding as we continue to deliver a strong science programme. Sincerely yours, Ms. Amber Koetsier Singh - Head of Secondary **********************************************************************************

!Buen provecho! Bon appétit!In November, students from Years 7-13 attended a live cooking class at the Pachanga Restaurant,Hilton JBR.On Sunday, 22 November fourteen students of Spanish prepared tortilla Española and paella de pollo(paella with chicken and vegetables) & legumbres. ¡Que rico! The chefs (one from Argentina) guided thestudents through the recipes; a very tasty conclusion to the unit on Culture and Food!On Thursday, 26 November, forty students ofFrench had a fantastic time cooking Frenchspecialties such as 'Coquilles St Jacques' and 'TarteTatin'.They enjoyed working under the supervision ofexperienced chefs, discovering new food, learningnew culinary skills, and showing their creativity!

Ms. Margaret Thomas - HOD MFL Department *************************************************************************************What a fantastic start to the Academic Year! This first Term 1, students have taken ownership of planningand leading very successful events, displaying amazing collaboration skills. These events benefited both thelocal and international communities.Pink Week, Movember, Saving with Sounds, and Islamic Week were just a few of the whole school eventswhich benefited the student body. Year 13 Emirati students were the catalyst in organising thisyear's National Day celebration and Year 10 Peer Mentors and Year 13 Prefects hosted a Year 7 MovieNight and Picnic, respectively.The Gardening / Eco-Club supported the Desert Group's education programme and also grew herbs andfruit, which were then sold to sustain the school gardens.Next term we have several more events: International Day (16th February), Sports Day, School Productionof Fame and Green Week. These events are already being planned, however, if you would like to be part ofany of these events, please contact me at [email protected], congratulations to the Barracuda House, House Champions of Term 1! Have a great holiday!Mr. Chris Burch - Dean of Students**************************************************************************************

Photos from Term 11 Flag Day2 National Day3 Desert Group planting4 Movember5 Year 13 and 7 PicnicMr. Chris Burch - Dean of Students

Food Around the World 2015Year 11 Spanish language acquisition students cooked up quite a dish in the kitchen, with severaltraditional cuisines from the Spanish speaking world, dishes hailing from Spain all the way to Peru inSouth America that could tantalise your taste buds. These amazing dishes were created byMiss Jeanette’s Year 11 students. The Objective of the unit was to learn language through cooking. Allstudents played a range of excellent culinary skills, and a fantastic display of good, old fashionedcooking. Mr. Alan Kaid - Food Technology

Years 12 and 13 ‘Environmental Systems and Societies’ Field Studies Trip 10 December 2015The EIS-J Year 12 and Year 13 ‘Environmental Systems and Societies’ students went on an intensive fieldstudies trip on the 10 December 2015 to the mangroves at Al Rafa’ah Archipelago and the desert atAlwadi. The students conducted ecological studies and learnt about systematic sampling withinterrupted line transects and random sampling with quadrats in the two different types of ecosystems.They not only studied about the ecological importance of these ecosystems, but also observed real-lifeexamples of the impact of human activities on the biodiversity of the mangroves at Al Rafa’ahArchipelago. Students were able to systematically study the effect that camel grazing had on thebiodiversity of the desert ecosystem at Alwadi, Sharjah. The Year 12 and Year 13 students collectedcohesive data from their field work and learnt statistical tools to process and analyse this data. They willbe writing field reports based on the data collected from these ecosystems. On the whole, the field studiestrip was an excellent opportunity to get in touch with the native wildlife of the UAE and applyingconcepts learnt in the subject to real ecosystems. Getting a feel of the mangroves Studying about mangrove sediment

Data collection at desert ecosystem Data collection at the mangrovesStudying the impact of camel grazing on biodiversity at desert ecosystem Laying line transects at the mangrovesMs. Sheetal Fernandes - Science Department***************************************************************************************

Department of TechnologyTerm 1 will come to a close on 17 December 2015. J ust to r eview what went on dur ing Ter m 1within the Technology Department:Year 7-9 – Completed a MYP project, following the design cycle, both in digital product and foodtechnology. The first round of rotation with food technology took place on 19 November 2015 and thestudents were introduced to the new project they need to start working on.Year 10 – On the final round of completing their first project on Database, following the MYP- DesignCycle.Year 11 – Completed a mini-project on the Green Community in November 2015. They are nowintroduced to the IB-MYP task (E-Portfolio), which is on “Cultural Heritage”. Students have tocomplete all four criteria, as per IB guidelines. Samples will be sent out for moderation. Students arerequested to complete Criterion B “Developing Ideas” during the Winter Break and submit them to theirrespective teachers by 14 January 2016.Year 12 Computer Science – Students completed their units as per IBDP syllabi. They alsoworked on a mini-project in Database. They are now busy preparing for their Mid-year Examinations,which are scheduled as soon as they return from the Winter Break in January 2016.Year 13 Computer Science: Students completed the IBDP syllabus and ar e nowconcentrating on their Internal Assessment (a project) to be completed and sent for moderation to the IBin March 2016. Also, students are now revising for their Mock Examinations scheduled soon afterWinter Break.On behalf of EIS-J Technology teachers, I wish everyone a blessed festive season and a bright hope forthe New Year 2016.God bless,Mr. Manoj Nicholas - HOD Technology***********************************************************************************

After School ActivitiesAfter-school Activities for Term 2 will commence the week of 17 January 2016, for nine weeks. The fullinformation booklet will be available at the start of Term 2, but here is a sneak peak of some superactivities on offer:Dragon Circus TrainingBody Jam and Hip Hop DanceNail ArtTheatre SportsRobotics TrainingGuitar for BeginnersVictorious YogaDrawing and paintingCoder's LoungeWriter's ClubBlankets for Babies (Knitting and Crochet Club)Academic support for both MYP and DP students will be offered, and we have a range of service-styledactivities. There's something for everyone, and we do encourage our students to be involved in ASA.Students with a 100% attendance record will also gain valuable house points!Note: Tennis lessons will begin a week earlier (Monday, 11 January). This is a paid ASA, held at theHabtoor Grand Resort and Spa. If you are interested in this activity, please contact Ms. Katie McFarlanefor more details.I'd like to wish you and your family a wonderful break!Ms. Katie McFarlane - ASA [email protected]***********************************************************************************