Schools we all enjoy . . . . .

One of the great privileges of my job is that I get to meet such interesting people. A little

while ago, I was contacted by a school in Tanzania called The School of St. Jude. Would I

be interested in meeting the head, Gemma Sisia, who was visiting Dubai, and finding out

more about the school? Would it be possible for Gemma to meet some of our staff, as she

wanted to find out more about what we taught

at DBS, and how we taught it? I had heard about St Jude’s from a friend of mine who had

lent me Gemma’s autobiography last year. I was more than interested! I had been fascinated by the story of a person who had grown up in

country New South Wales, and, having visited Tanzania ten years ago, decided to found a school that would be free of charge for some of the most needy Tanzanian children. The story

of St. Jude’s is quite remarkable, as it has rapidly grown into a thriving institution with some 1300 students – and it’s still expanding.

The meeting between our staff and the teachers from St. Jude’s led to some really lively conversation. Of course we wanted to know about what was happening in Tanzania, but as

Gemma asked us more about DBS, the pride and enthusiasm shown by our staff for what we do here was just as inspiring! The conversation came to centre on what would be the best way

forward to develop the St. Jude’s primary curriculum. For our staff, there could be no doubt that the International Primary Curriculum should be part of what they do. Those of you who

have recently visited the Year 4 Art Gallery or who took part in the Parents’ Sports Day (an activity in the Y4 Health & Fitness unit) - which were both staged as part of this term’s Key

Stage 2 IPC programme and reported in this edition

of the Dispatch - can be in no doubt about the en-thusiasm and commitment of both staff and the

students for this work. Enthusiasm was again very evident during Year 2’s entry point for The Stories People Tell – another IPC unit. So – what’s the out-come of this work? Enjoyable and challenging pro-

grammes of study, which are as rewarding for teachers as they are for children.

If you want to find our more about Gemma and St Jude’s, see www.schoolofstjude.co.tz. I am rather

hoping that the meeting we had with Gemma, may lead to more contact with this very special school,

giving us another opportunity to think globally – another of our mission objectives.

Regards,

Andrew Homden

Principal

The Principal’s Message

Inside this issue:

Primary School News Foundation

2

Key Stage 1 3

Yr 2 IPC Unit - The Stories People Tell

4

Key Stage 2 5

Secondary School News Key Stage 3

6

Highlights from Youth Club June 2010

7

Highlights from DBS Prom 2010

8

Preview Art Exam 2010 9

DBS Sport 10—14

Newsletter of the Dubai British School

DBS Dispatch Summer Special Edition!

June 13 , 2010

Volume 2, Issue 8

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

2010201020102010

Special EditionSpecial EditionSpecial EditionSpecial Edition

Page 2 DBS Dispatch

PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

comed our new Founda-

tion 1 children this week

as they have been visit-

ing us as part of their

induction to school.

Foundation 2

The children

have had a busy

few weeks.

They have

worked hard at

becoming

independent

writers,

mathematicians,

scientists and they have enjoyed a trip to the

Dubai Mall Aquarium. At the Aquarium the

children joined the Penguin Parade, they sang

songs, heard stories and learnt about some of

the fish. They were very brave when they saw

the sharks and they even got to stroke a

Horse Shoe Crab!

Camel and Giraffe classes also performed their

first class assembly to Key Stage 1. The

children were amazing. They had worked hard

preparing for the assembly and really

performed well.

Foundation

Dear Parents

It is hard to believe that this is the final

term of this academic year and for some

children their last term in Foundation. The

move to the next year group is exciting

but can be stressful to some children and

for this reason we will be working on

different activities to ease this process.

Children in Foundation 1 will be joining

Foundation 2 for assemblies on Sunday

and will be visiting Foundation 2 classes

and spending time with the present

F2 teachers. For Foundation 2 we are

planning a transition programme with the

Year 1 teachers and Key stage 1 coordi-

nator.

Foundation 1

The children are still enjoying their food

topic with lots of cooking and baking

going on. We have been reading the

Gingerbread man and making gingerbread

men and making porridge just like The

Three Bears! We are really looking

forward to the Pizza Express trip at Ibn

Batuta

where we

will be

making

our own

Pizzas!

We have

also wel-

We all look forward to Springboks’ and

Zebras’ assembly which will take place

soon.

The weather is getting hotter now and we

ask you not to bring your children into the

Foundation playgrounds until just before

7.30. If you arrive later than 8’o clock we

ask you to report to reception where your

child can be collected and brought into

class by a member of the Foundation team.

Please remember to send your child into

school with a hat (named of course!) as we

like to use the outside learning areas as

much as possible.

As we are coming to the end

of term please inform your

class teacher as soon as

possible if you are leaving or

taking an early Summer break.

Foundation graduation will be taking place

on Thursday 24th June at 8.00 for F2 and

11.30 for F1.

Thank you

Sally Chapman and the Foundation team

Dear Parents

Our Year 5 and 6

children are currently

rehearsing singing, dancing, acting,

getting props and costumes together,

supported by staff and parents for

their Wizard of Oz production next

weeks. A nominal charge for tickets has meant that we have been able to order

costumes and not inconvenience parents with visits to Satwa. I think it is likely to

be the best Y5/6 production yet and I’m

sure will be very well received by our two audiences.

Another memorable event has been a

visit by Adrian Hayes, an adventurer who has been to the top of Everest, the

two Poles and is about to cross the Empty Quarter. He inspired the children

with his words, pictures and video clips.

They all hurried back to class after his

talk to check that he actually was in the Guinness Book of Records – which, of

course, he is. He hopes to return to DBS in the near future to inspire our

Secondary students.

Peter Moore

Primary Headteacher

Hannah and her Gingerbread man

Matthew and his Gingerbread

man

Our first class assembly

Waiting for the Penguin Parade

Volume 2, Issue 8 Page 3

Dear Parents

“Where

does the time go?” I

have lost count of the

number of times I

have been asked this question lately. It is

clear the time has zoomed past us because we have been

having so much fun at school! As we near towards the end of

this academic year, school is a very busy place indeed for

both the children and teachers. Although time is

precious, the next few weeks

are going to be jam packed with many fun and challenging

things for the children to do.

Already the children are clearly excited and looking

forward to their Summer holi-days. I always love to listen to

the children’s stories about their holiday adventures and

from the sound of it between all the DBS families the chil-

dren will be globe trotting all over the world!

A few key dates for the diary!

Monday 28th June

is our annual DBS Awards Ceremony

for the children. This is a time to celebrate the

achievements of children who have excelled in the subjects

of Art, Physical Education, Music,

French, as well as

awarding children

from each class for

their At-tainment,

Progress and Effort over the course of the year. There will

also be an award for Sports Personality of the Year and

Spirit of the School. In addition to this awards

ceremony the children will also receive their normal end

of term certificates for Effort, Progress, Achievement,

Behaviour and House Points

during our assemblies.

Tuesday 29th June will be an exciting day for the children

as it will be Party Day! The children need to wear their

uniform to school and if they wish to bring a change of

party clothes for the Teddy

Bear’s Picnic party they may get changed into these be-

fore the fun begins!

The teachers have now com-

pleted writing your child’s end of year academic report,

which will be distributed on Thursday 24th June. We

sincerely hope that you are proud of your child’s efforts

and if you wish to discuss anything further please do

not hesitate to make an appointment with either your

child’s class teacher or

myself.

Key Stage 1

Wishing you an enjoyable

end to our school year!

Miss Georgina Williams

Key Stage 1 Leader

“The timer has zoomed past us because we have been having so much fun

at school!”

Page 4 DBS Dispatch

The Stories People Tell

Year 2 IPC Entry Point

Week beginning 31.5.10

As our entry point for our new IPC topic we have

had lots of different surprise people reading us different myths, legends and stories from around

the world. We thought about the different ways that stories could be told, read, performed and

shown. We even read stories to each other that we

had found from countries we lived or were born in. We learnt the difference between a myth and

legend and have been preparing to write our own.

The Story tellers

Year 2 IPC Unit

Volume 2, Issue 8 Page 5

Where has the time gone? It’s hard to believe that we only have several weeks

to go before the end of another aca-demic year! However, no one is winding

down just yet and there are still plenty of activities going on in Key Stage 2.

Year 4 Art Exhibition

Last week Year 5 visited

Year 4’s Art Gallery as

part of their Picture Our

World unit. Our visit

started with formal invitations from our tour guides and an introduction on

arrival. Whilst being shown around the Year 4 children made note of their

visitor’s preferences and opinions of the work displayed. I must admit the juice

and cheese and biscuits certainly helped the ambience, making Year 5 feel very

welcome and important! At the end each child had to select their top three

pictures so that Year 4 could identify

which picture had proven to be the most popular and why. Overall Year 5

(children and staff) had a wonderful time and wait with anticipation to find out

which picture received the most votes. Thank you to the Year 4 children and a

special thank you to Mr. Hurn, Mrs. Fenwick and Miss Gardner who set up

the gallery over their weekend.

The Wizard of Oz

Now that the SATs are over Years 5 and

6 are going full speed ahead with their rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz. It really

is a great experience nurturing ‘old’ and discovering ‘new’ talent when a

production is put together. There is still lots of work to be done but I am sure

that ‘it’ll be alright on the night’ as they

say and most importantly that the children have fun.

Finally, please make sure your child has a

named water bottle in school, even though the children are presently only

going out at break-time due to the tem-perature it is essential that they stay hy-

drated and can fill up their bottles when required.

Enjoy the last couple of weeks of term!

Sonja Welner

Key Stage 2 Coordinator

Key Stage 2

Year 4 Parents Sports day

Wednesday 26th May

What a fantastic event the Year 4

Parent's Sports Day was! Such an athletic group of adults took part in

the Exit event for the Year 4 Health and Fitness unit of the IPC, in swel-

tering heat on the astroturf. The

children organised everything for the 90 minute event, from refreshments,

marshalling, instructing adults how to do each event, judging and there

were even some promising DJs to keep the atmosphere lively. Great

thanks must go to the whole Year 4 teaching team for producing the

event and a very enthusiastic and competitive group of parents ( who

actually broke the Tug-o'- War rope!)

Best wishes,

Garry Hurn

Year 4 Leader

Primary House Co-ordinator

Page 6 DBS Dispatch

Secondary School News

The end of term looms ever closer but, as you will read in this

newsletter, life in the secondary school continues at a hectic pace—both inside and outside of the classroom. School examinations for Years 7 to 10 are now finished and teachers are in the process of writing reports to update you on your child’s progress. These will be with you before the end of term.

This week we said farewell to our Yr 11 and 13 students; they have now started their study leave and will only be in school for their GCSE and A Level examinations. By way of a formal farewell to our leaving students, we held our annual Dubai British School Prom at

the Westin Hotel last week-end. Designer outfits and stretch limousines were a plenty as our young men and women celebrated in style. It was a very special evening, thoroughly enjoyed by all. Special thanks must go to Mr Stolborg, Lauren East and Laurie Kerr for the hard work and time they put into organising this event.

In the summer term, the prefects for the following year are chosen. The selection process is demanding; students are expected to make a presentation to staff and the outgoing prefect team and this is followed by voting and

interviews. Congratulations to

the students who were selected.

The Dubai British School Prefect Team for the next academic year:

James Lewin: Head Boy

Austin Old

Milad Nasrollahi

Greg Rostek

Sami Al Suwadi

Quincy Izibili

Lara Kitromilides: Head Girl

Beth Scott

Rebecca Moore

Negeen Izadian

Jenny Hutchinson

Tarlan Vazi

Finally, a date for your diaries.

The annual school awards

ceremony will be taking place on

Monday 28th June. Further

details of this will follow

Mark Ford

Head of Secondary

Key Stage 3

Buddy training

As part of our transition programme, the current Year 7 pu-pils attended an intense and invaluable training course designed to help them support the new Year 7 pupils next academic year. The training also allowed pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills as well as their ability to resolve problems and conflicts within peer group relationships. Buddies help the new entrants to our school settle in, find their way around and support staff in helping the new Year 7 pupils with any small problems they may have. Being a buddy is not for everyone and pupils were all volunteers. A big thank-you to Mrs Jewell, Mr and Mrs George and Mr Vadgama for run-ning the valuable sessions.

Transition day

This years transition day took place on Wednesday 9th June. The Year 6 classes were split into their form groups for next year and took on a secondary timetable, moving from class to class! A coffee morning for year 6 parents was also organised. Buddies were on hand to answer any questions.

Youth club

The final youth club of this academic

year took place on Wednesday 9th June from 7pm-9pm for Year 6, 7

and 8. The students had a fantastic time, as the picture montage on the

next page shows. It was also an op-portunity for Year 6 to take part as

part of their transition experience and good to see so many of them

there.

Alice Horton

Mrs Jewell and the Yr 7 Buddies

Buddies in training with Jo Jewell Parents at the Yr 6 Transition Day

Mr Ford and Mrs Horton

briefing Y6 parents

Volume 2, Issue 8 Page 7

Secondary School News

Youth Club June 2010

A fun and fantastic

evening was had

by all!!!!

The pictures speak for themselves

Page 8 DBS Dispatch

Secondary School News Key Stages 4 & 5

DBS Senior Prom Friday June 6th 2010 Senior secondary students celebrated the end of the academic year in style at the Westin Hotel on June 6.

After months of hard work, the organising committee must be congratulated for staging such a very successful

evening. As the accompanying photos show, it was a really memorable occasion, enjoyed by both students and

staff alike. Those who attended may now pick up their copy of the DVD containing all the photos and videos

from the evening from Mr Stolborg in the secondary ICT suite.

Highlights

from

the Fantastic

2010 Prom

Volume 2, Issue 8 Page 9

Secondary School News

GCE A Level & GCSE Art Exam 2010. These are just two pieces from the recent A Level and GCSE Art exam exhibition on show at school last week.

Full story, and more stunning images in the next edition

of the DBS Dispatch.

Things are hotting up and it’s not just the Dubai weather! Our sports teams have once again been heavily involved on all fronts, with the summer seasons kicking off in rounders, basket-ball and cricket.

PE Department

We started this term with our annual Primary House Swim Galas. Every child in KS1 and KS2 took part in a race and won points for their house. Children had great fun cheering on their team mates and were very pleased to see lots of parents supporting them too. We are looking at moving these galas a little earlier next year – the temperatures were sizzling for those not in the pool! The results are as follows…..

Swimming Galas

Dear Sports Fans!

Sports Personalities

of the week

Team DBS

For their fantastic efforts and

achievements this year .

To all DBS students who have

represented the school in a

variety of sporting events.

Excellent Job Team!

Page 10 DBS Dispatch

Primary PE

Years 1 & 2

1st Mekong

2nd Danube

3rd Nile

4th Amazon

Years 3 & 4

1st Amazon

2nd Danube

3rd Mekong

4th Nile

Years 5 & 6

1st Danube

2nd Amazon

3rd Mekong

4th Nile

Basketball

The Primary Basketball team played in their first ever game this term. Ten pupils from year 5 and 6 travelled to Wellington International School to play a friendly match. The standard of play was very high and pupils demonstrated some excellent skills and super teamwork. The match finished in a draw with both team scoring 14 points. This is definitely something we will build on next year.

Sports Teams

Cricket

Later on, in the same week, the cricket team from Wellington International came to DBS to play a friendly match. Despite the soaring temperature, the boys had good fun and displayed lots of skills that we had been practicing in the cricket ECA.

Before the children disappear for their summer holidays and parents start to buy new uniforms we would like to take this

opportunity to remind you what is required for PE lessons. Children need to have a school polo shirt, navy shorts and trainers preferably with white sole (not school shoes).

PE Kit

For swimming lessons, children need a plain navy DBS blue swimsuit/shorts (not bikinis, must be 1 piece), goggles, DBS swim cap (compulsory for KS2 students and above), flip flops. Can you also ensure that your child brings a water bottle and hat every day. If your child is unable to take part in PE due to illness, a note must be written in their home-work diary.

U13 Team

With the season over there is much to reflect upon. There have been

some superb displays, batting, bowling and fielding. Consistency, however, as with any sporting success, had a big influence. Lapses of concentration affected results which ultimately ended with the team struggling in league matches. However, looking at positives the team were exactly that - a team. When on top of games or when on the wrong end of ‘freddy-esque’ batting displays, the boys all stayed together, clapping and supporting each other. This was extended to the opposing players, with all games being contested in fantastic spirit.

The pick of the bowlers over the season were Jay Goreham and Isaac El-Hassan. Top run scorers were again, Jay Goreham, Isaac El-Hassan and Joel Wilson. Maybe the most notable performances in the field were from Matthew Heard (year 6) who showed real ability in the sport.

U15 Team

The under 15 cricket team had a very successful year

and only missed out on qualifying for the finals by batting points, having won the same number of games as the eventual qualifiers. We were drawn in the toughest group,

Volume 2, Issue 8 Page 11

Secondary PE Cricket

having to face the likes of Dubai College, English College, Wellington International School and JESS Arabian Ranches who are all renowned for their prowess with the leather and willow! We got off to a tough start facing Dubai College in our opening fixture, but despite playing against UAE internationals we put up a very good fight. We managed to bowl them out for 78 off 15 overs, thanks to the arms of Adil Randeree, Hazim Zia, Sam Wilson and Omar Bazian and thought we were in with a chance. However, their bowling line up was strong and we were unable to reach their target before the overs were up.

Basketball

Two games have

been played so far

this season, both

being

extremely

competitive. With

an even 1 victory, 1 defeat, the

boys know the remaining games

will be just as difficult. Notable

performances so far have come

from Harry Wilkins, Sulleyman

Sadhikov and Cyrus

Iibili.

Next up was English College where an impressive display from Hamiz Zia saw us come away victorious. Hazim’s 5 wicket haul, including a fantastic caught and bowled had EC all out for 73 off just ten overs. Sam Wilson did the rest. His 33 not out meant we reached their total for the loss of just 5 wickets from 14 overs. We struggled against a strong Wellington outfit before rounding up the season with an impressive win away at JESS Arabian Ranches. This was our best performance to date, bowling out a strong side for just 53 runs from 9 overs, with brothers Sam and Joel Wilson dispatching of 6 of the 8 JESS batsmen. Harry Wilkinson then stayed strong enough with the bat to ensure we reached their total in 10 overs for the fall of just 3 wickets. Lots of positives from a very successful season: well done to all the lads!

Page 12 DBS Dispatch

Sports Leaders Awards

‘Junior Sports Leader Award is a thrilling and challenging experi-ence that can inspire young potential in sports, allowing young people to engage in sporting activities. My peers and I have gone through a long course, teaching us how to motivate, lead and communicate with different types of age groups, we were asked to do events throughout the course such as the moderat-ing Primary Sports Day and Primary Swimming Gala. We were also asked to conduct a lesson of our choice to our peers, this then allowed us to develop our communication skills, comparing and contrasting the way we perform to different age groups, to improve our leadership. JSLA is a magnificent opportunity to improve general management skills and provide a stepping stone to employment offering a qualification to get started’.

Cyrus Izibili Year 10 Sports Leader

‘The Sports Leaders Award is all about enthusiasm, encouragement, and hard work. It’s every individual on its own, taking on a challenge and switching roles for the day, from becoming a student- to a teacher. It enforces good communication & leadership skills, which are guaran-teed to help you throughout your life! For me, taking the award was one of the best decisions because I started to understand how to get through to my audi-ence, otherwise know as my ‘students’ and how to make them understand the aim of lessons whilst enjoying them! Not only that, the award proved to be a great experience because I began to bond with who I thought I never would, including peers, younger students and teachers. It also gives you an opportu-nity to be a greater part of school life. As Sports Leaders we organized and ran sports days, and helped in swimming galas. In all, the Sports Leaders Award was something that I thoroughly enjoyed this year and something I looked for-ward too, it was a great experience and taught me many new and useful things that will be beneficial for sure. And for those of you that have the opportunity to take it? TAKE IT J you won’t regret it’.

Zoya Shaban 10B Sports Leader

Year 10 Sports Leaders in action!

…..It’s also about having fun!

Congratulations to all of the Year 10 students who have

successfully completed their Level 1 Sports Leaders Award.

The students have spent the last year developing their

leadership skills through sport and used them to organise and

run PE lessons for primary children and organise and staff

the primary sports days and

swimming galas. Here’s what a couple of them had to say!

“The Sports Leaders Award is all about enthusiasm,

encouragement, and hard work…”