PARENT UPDATES 17 January, 2021
FROM OUR DIRECTOR Dear Parents,
I have been communicating regularly, with Mr. Ed Pearce, the new Director who will start after the summer break. Ed is very excited about joining Fairgreen and is already making plans to visit, should the current restrictions allow him to. He and I will ensure there is a smooth transition and Fairgreen will go from strength to strength. Our enrollment continues to follow a positive trend. Soon we should reach 500 students, which is incredible really, considering the challenges schools have gone through in the past 12 months. Many new students have been recommended by our current Fairgreen families, so thank you all for your support. Our teacher recruitment for next year is 95% complete and, at a later date, I will introduce you to some of the teaching superstars we have signed up for next year.
Huge thanks to those parents who use the main car park and have adopted the 'reverse parking' strategy. The way this has been adopted so quickly and effectively is really a tribute to all drivers. Anything that makes our school safer for children is worth doing.
We have just started work on a Yearbook. Although the number of events featured in the 2020-2021 Yearbook will be reduced, it will be a record of our resilience and the fun and learning our students have experienced in spite of the pandemic. We also have some exciting events coming up, including 'Fairgreen's Got (virtual) Talent and a few other unannounced attractions that the children will enjoy. Watch this space.
Finally, I am always looking for articles to share with you that I believe are helpful and practical. Believe me, there are many that are not! However, I came across this one that is full of great ideas and well written. I hope you find it interesting.
Have a great week.
Best wishes,
Graeme
MESSAGE FROM THE KHDA Dear Parents,
Thank you for your effort to keep your school community safe and healthy.
It's crucial that your school leadership, staff, students and parents remain vigilant and keep to the health and safety protocols during this time.
Please encourage all to read and make themselves aware of the existing protocols. Our compliance team will continue to conduct thorough visits to help you ensure that all protocols are being followed correctly.
We appreciate your support of school policies.
Regards,
Knowledge & Human Development Authority
REMINDER ABOUT UNIFORM POLICY Dear Parents,
The cooler weather has given rise to some questions regarding school uniform. Just to clarify our policy, which has been consistent since we opened back in 2018, children may travel to and from school with their own non-uniform jackets or tops. When they are in class and during the school day, we expect them to wear school uniform only. There is a zip top available for those students who are cold and of course they can wear short or long sleeved underlayers as required.
Please CLICK HERE to review the uniform policy.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
Matt Greenwood Primary Principal
Seema Desai Secondary Principal
IMPORTANT DATES NOW through 4 February: Fairgreen's Got Talent!
Our House leaders are excited to announce the Fairgreen's Got Talent Inter-House Virtual Talent Show. Students must send their recorded submissions by 4 February. See below flyer for details and below House update.
HOUSE UPDATE Dear Parents,
This is the current house points total. No Change in the standings this week, Aqua are still in the lead followed by Terra with Caeli only just beating Ignis into third place. FAIRGREEN'S GOT TALENT
Please encourage your children to enter into the Inter-House Talent Show.
How to enter:
What happens next?
Talent Show Viewing All classes will be able to watch the Talent Show in class on Thursday, 25 February, and we will share with parents online as well.
What kind of acts can enter? You can audition with any talent, here are some examples:
We love to see a variety of talents!
Please note: If you have a talent that involves singing or playing a musical instrument there is going to be a Music Inter-house Competition later this year so save it for then (and get practising).
From our Head of Counselling Dear Parents & Caregivers,
The online world is posing an ever-increasing risk to children, and it is important that schools, parents and caregivers work together to take an active role in teaching children about online dangers. Learning how to act safely when using the internet is an incredibly important part of safeguarding our children.
We are therefore delighted to announce that Fairgreen International School have shown our commitment to protecting our students online by contracting with the National Online Safety organization to provide resources for all parents and caregivers, which will also inform our students' learning and teachers' professional development in these areas.
The resources include Parent and Caregiver courses (presented by Myleene Klass), online video resources and weekly guides covering a huge range of topics, including:
To access these free resources, you must first create your account. To do so, please visit: http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/fairgreen-international-school and complete your details.
When you're all set up, you can set 'Parent/Caregiver' as your user type. Then, you will have access to National Online Safety resources via any device, including via our brand-new smartphone app. To download the app, please go to: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/national-online-safety/id1530342372 or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationaleducationgroup.nos
Answers to frequently asked questions and customer service can be accessed at: https://helpdesk.thenationalcollege.co.uk/helpcentre.
We hope you find these resources of great value.
Kind regards,
Jackie Greenwood Head of Counselling & Wellbeing
HIGHLIGHTS Students Ready for Emirates Lit Fest Competition
The excitement is high and the nerves are just beginning to appear as we inch closer to the day of competition. This year, two grade five teams of four students will eagerly take part in the Chevron Readers' Cup as part of the 2021 Emirates Literature Festival. The eight students have taken on the extra responsponsibility of reading three books in three months, answering questions and sharing opinions as well as attending meetings during lunch times. As well, we have seven students from MYP who are competing at their level as well. They also read three books for the competition.
"It has been tricky to meet with the COVID restrictions but it has been good to do this competition because we are developing our reading skills, reading stamina and note taking. I am really excited and nervous for the competition day." Emma, one of the participants.
The students have done extremely well up to this point, and we at Fairgreen are very proud of their commitment and wish them well for 17th January. Congrats to the MYP Inter-House Fitness Challenge Winners
MYP students competed in the Fairgreen PE Department's Inter-House Fitness Challenge where they showed great skill in a variety of activities, including: bleep test, burpees, agility run, press ups and step ups. Terra House were the overall team champions! Congrats to Terra and all of these top contenders! Grade 3 STEM Students Design and Build Toys
Ms Thomas's Grade 3 STEM students have been busy designing and making toys and their own "Covid Grabbers." They started by learning about levers, linkages and mechanisms, and how attaching fixed and movable pivots would make linkages move in different ways. They drew designs of the linkage they would use in their own moving image/toy; then built it. Once completed, students applied this learning to a real life problem. How can we access resources around our classroom while still maintaining social distance? They came up with the idea of an extendable "Covid Grabber" for which the students drew their design plans and just finished making cardboard and wooden versions. Grade 7 Art Students Paint Beautiful Landscapes
In her unit on Colour Theory with Grade 7, Head of Art Mrs Clarke asked students to choose a photograph that they took themselves of a landscape, or of a place that is special to them, and then recreate their photo using acrylic on canvas. They chose an analogous or complimentary colour scheme to paint their final piece. Their beautiful work will soon be hung in our art gallery!
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