PARENT UPDATES 15 November, 2020
A NOTE FROM OUR DIRECTOR Dear Parents,
This is going to be a busy week, on campus and off. Interviews are taking place for the new Director position, with the successful applicant starting after the 2021 summer break. We had a very strong field and, following a truly global search, the Board has selected three candidates for final interviews. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, they are unable to travel to Dubai, but a rigorous process of interviews has been arranged online. Each candidate will be interviewed by the Board of course, and also by me. Our Senior Leadership Team will also speak with them, and panels of students, parents and teachers will also be allocated time to interview them. We are confident that, after this process, a strong school leader will be chosen and will then be given the opportunity to take our wonderful school through the next stages of its growth. We will of course keep you informed and let you know once the new Director has been appointed. Rest assured, there will be a smooth handover.
IMPORTANT DATES 15-21 November: National Anti-Bullying Week All this week, Fairgreen will be highlighting the importance of "Being a Buddy, Not a Bully" with our students as part of this year's National Anti-Bullying Week.
DHA-Sponsored Anti-Bullying Webinars Bullying Prevention Week is from 15th to 21st November here in Dubai, as per the Dubai Health Authority. DHA is offering a series of helpful workshops for parents and educators that you can register for. CLICK HERE to view the list and for links to registration.
Monday, 16 November: Odd Socks Spirt Day In honor of Anti-Bullying Week taking place from 16-21 November in the UAE, students can wear Odd Socks to school to show love and respect for diversity on this School Spirit Day on Monday, 16 November.
Tuesday, 17 November, 9am: Zoom Coffee Morning For KG1 Parents ONLY CLICK HERE to join the Zoom Webinar Meeting ID: 711 8685 7105 Passcode: V3sKMX
Thursday, 19 November, 9am: Zoom Coffee Morning For KG2 & Grade 1 Parents ONLY CLICK HERE to join the Zoom Webinar Meeting ID: 721 8114 0216 Passcode: 8m7644
HOLIDAY CARE PACKAGE
FROM OUR HEAD OF COUNSELLING Hello parents,
This is a special week here in the UAE and at Fairgreen. We will be participating in the Ministry of Education's Anti-Bullying Week by promoting with our students how important it is to be kind to one another. The MOE's theme for this year's Anti-Bullying Week is "Be a Buddy, Not a Bully." This simple message is so easy for children to understand and we hope that our extra efforts this week will contribute to our students' lifelong journey of taking care of their own wellbeing, and that of others.
Our Wellbeing Team has put together a challenge called the "Be Kind Bingo" to encourage students throughout the week to do random acts of kindness for others and for themselves as an effort to increase positivity and thinking of others, which in turn enhances their own wellbeing. Helping children to develop habits of being kind is critically important to preventing bullying behavior. Look out for the "Be Kind Bingo" sheet that your child will be using this week to track their random acts of kindness. If the student completes their entire Bingo card, he/she will earn 5 house points!
In classrooms, teachers will be planning their own activities around Anti-Bullying week. As well, in MYP, this week's DREAMS Wellbeing class lessons will be focused on being kind to others, including the impact of social media, about being a positive influence online, and the principal that you should refrain from saying anything negative that could hurt someone else. Helping students understand that the most important relationship they will have in their life is with themself, in developing their own self worth, which also acts as a prevention to harming others. In PYP Jigsaw, EYP and PYP students have started their new JIGSAW puzzle called ' Celebrating Differences'. This puzzle will give students the opportunity to think about how we are different, to embrace and accept that everyone is different, to remind students to include others when working & playing, identify when someone is being bullied and to know how to help, encourage different ways to solve problems by using kind words and to know how to give and receive compliments. In this week's PYP assembly, Primary Principal Mr Greenwood focused on anti-bullying messaging and lessons for our young students.
Odd Socks Day Odd socks day is tomorrow! As a school we will be wearing our odd socks as a way to remind ourselves to recognize and value one other for our own uniqueness, whether that's based on age, gender, race, religion or identity in all its forms. Together at Fairgreen, we all stand united against bullying, and together, as a community, we support and lift each other up not just this week, but every day.
Secret Buddies As a team of colleagues, we are enjoying engaging in our secret buddy initiative where most members of our work community share and deliver uplifting notes and small gifts of joy to let our colleagues know someone out there cares for them and thinks of them. We sometimes forget the gift of giving is more important than receiving. As we head toward the festive season this December, we encourage our community to help grow our rooftop garden by donating plants or materials, and to give toward our care boxes we are compiling for our support staff who do so much for our school. You can donate holiday gifts or canned food items to our reception by December 6.
Have a great week!
Kind regards,
Jackie Greenwood Head of Counselling
HOUSE UPDATE There has been a lot of change in the house points total this week. Aqua's lead is getting even smaller! Ignis have shot up to second, Terra have moved up to 3rd and Caeli are now sitting in 4th place.
Students can earn more house points this week by participating in Odd Socks Day on Monday....see above flyer under Important Dates for more information. Dubai Fitness Challenge: Well done everyone that has been active for at least 30 mins each day so far. We have had a lot of people using their house padlet to record their activities which is great. Could you please remember to also attach a photo as well. Here are some examples of students that earned a house point by being active and they took a picture before, during or after their exercise.
HIGHLIGHTS WELCOME OUR NEW WELLBEING CHAMPIONS Fairgreen's Wellbeing Champions are MYP students who have expressed a desire to help spread kindness and wellbeing around campus through different programs/activities they plan and implement. Students nominate themselves for this opportunity, then they interview for final consideration. Due to space limitations, only a certain number of students can be selected.
This is the first year that the Wellbeing Team have recruited wellbeing ambassadors from Grade 6. We are delighted to announce the new additions to our team of Wellbeing Champions: Allesandra, Corne, Iman, Isabella and Nadine.
OUR ROOFTOP GARDEN IS GROWING!
Ms Williams and her Grade 5 students recently got in some good work on the new rooftop garden. Our many thanks to our friends in The Sustainable City for stopping by to capture the experience! Check out their video HERE.
GRADE 9 INTERFACES WITH SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE EXPERTS
Grade 9 students had the opportunity today to learn from professionals in the field about sustainable architecture and design in Mr Landete's Design, Engineer, Construct course. Guests from Eedama, a Dubai-based independent training and consultancy agency that supports companies, schools, universities and communities in their sustainability initiatives, stopped by to share with students about the spheres of sustainable design, ideas for designing with sustainability in mind, and the process of becoming an architect. Students shared their ideas and understanding of sustainable design as well. Finally, our guests looked at students' designs and gave them constructive feedback on how to improve on the sustainable aspect of their work.
MYP BEGIN STRIKING AND FIELDING UNIT
MYP students are enjoying getting out on the sports field as they have started their striking and fielding unit. The weather has been spectacular for this outdoor unit, which is also a perfect activity for staying socially distanced!
UNIFORM SALE SHOP TIMING FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER
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