ES WINTER CONCERT

“Celebrate the Holidays” is coming...to DAA!

Hello DAA community!

By now, you have probably heard your child/children sharing their excitement about our upcoming concert, “Celebrate the Holidays”. This is a huge undertaking for the Elementary School at DAA as all 500+ students are working together to bring this mini-musical to you in December.

By working together on choreography, songs, performance posture, stage etiquette, and spoken dialogue, your children have gained first-hand experience of preparing for a theatrical production! Hard-work, responsibility, commitment, dedication, and leadership are just a few of the life-skills that your children have practiced each and everyday in music class!

I have been amazed at the sense of responsibility that our students show. The ES Music Blog  is updated to reflect the activities happening in music class.

Great care was taken to organize the concerts so that holidays from different cultures were reflected throughout the performances. Depending on the grade level, the songs will reflect Ramadan, Diwali, St. Lucia Day, a freedom song from South Africa, SinterKlaas, Central American Spanish Christmas and songs that celebrate the winter and the holiday season.

Concert Times:

• 3rd Grade:  Tuesday, December9@11:50pm
• 4th Grade:  Wednesday, December10@12:30pm
• 5th Grade:  Thursday, December11@12:30pm

Concert Dress:

• Bottoms: Black trousers (or long black skirt BELOW THE KNEE is acceptable)
• Shoes: Black or dark-colored,closed-toe shoes (no light-up runners)
• Tops: Entirely Black OR Entirely White shirt/blouse--no designs, colors, words, etc.

This is a great opportunity for students to share their learning at home become your “teachers.” Consider taking time over the next couple of weeks to talk about, explore, practice, dance, and sing. Help us to make this an experience that the students won’t soon forget. They are so excited to know that YOU are excited to watch them!

Looking forward to seeing you at the performances and singing all the way.

Musically yours,

Ms. Rich kat.rich@gemsdaa.net

UAE Day Festivities

It's a big day with several special events planned. Students and staff are encouraged to come to school dressed in UAE national dress or they may wear the colors of the UAE flag (red, white, green, black).  The day will also be celebrated with a number of special activities, including an all-school singing of the national anthem on the school track.  Parents are welcome to join or watch this event which is set to begin at 10:20 on the large school track.  

10:30 am: Singing of UAE Anthem (world record breaking attempt to have most nationalities sing a single anthem), Please note that for those families who have requested that their children not sing in this event, these students will still stand with their class, however they are not required to sing.

10:35 am:  Ceremony ends and students return to class.

December 2-5...NO SCHOOL! Enjoy your holiday! 

Virtual Field Trip

Did you know we traveled allllll the way over to the "New World" (America) today? Yep. We had a great time learning more about the life of the Pilgrims, or Colonists, and felt like we went back in time a few hundred years. 

Here's one funny comment, I must share. While on our virtual field trip, the students saw a wooden chair placed high on the wall, off the floor, in one of the houses of the 1600's. I posed the question, "Why do you think they would put the chair way up there?" A few students gave some good responses, including the correct one, which was because there wasn't much space in the houses. But then one sweetie--achem, Lucia--said, "Ohhh...I thought it was a time-out chair." We all had a great laugh. So cute! 

If you would like to keep exploring Plymouth Plantation, you may do so here.  Have fun and Happy Thanksgiving to all those who will be celebrating!! I'm thankful for each of you. xoxo

Socks and Soles for Syria

Socks and Soles for Syria 

This morning, the students and I were very pensive about the children of Syria. We felt their pain as we walked and ran around the school track in nothing but our silly socks. Some children complained that their feet hurt and they wanted to put their shoes back on. Imagine walking around like this everyday, every night for weeks, months, and even years, and on difficult terrain.

Our hearts go out to Syria and we are very happy to help, even if it's in a small way. Thank you so much for digging out those gently used shoes from your closets. We received a generous amount and the children were vert excited to make a difference through sharing. We also posted a note on Socks and Soles for Syria Facebook page and received a response (see the bottom of this post to view the picture). 

The class view this short video and then wrote a reflection about the children of Syria. It was so touching to read what the students wrote, so I hope you'll take a few minutes to read them. After doing so, I'm sure you'll agree that they have practiced great empathy, which I hope they will continue to do for the rest of their lives. We also discussed the great power of hope, another tremendous feeling, which can have great implications on one's life. 

Let's all be mindful of keeping these precious children and their families close to our hearts and in our prayers, especially as winter comes. 

Please enjoy these pictures of our fun and meaningful morning. 

News to Note

Here is an update on some fun events we have coming up on Wednesday, November 26th...

Wednesday is Socks & Soles Run Dress Down Day! 

To go along with the support for Socks & Soles for Syrians, we will be having a dress down day!  No monetary donation required for dressing down, but please remember to donate gently used shoes if you can.  

Rules for Student Dress Down: PE shorts and a T-shirt (something to match your crazy socks) and, of course, crazy socks.  

We get to run around the track in just our socks and will do so on Wednesday morning from 8 am-8:30 am. 

Thanksgiving Lunch 

From 11:45 am-12:15 pm, all ES teachers and students will enjoy a picnic lunch together on the grass soccer field in celebration of Thanksgiving. 

Reminder: ­ if students have not ordered a box lunch, then they must bring a packed lunch from home, as there will be NO HOT LUNCH for grades 3-5 in the ES Cafeteria that day. Students are asked to bring a wadi blanket or other large blanket for them and their classmates to sit on.  

We are looking forward to a lovely, ES Community feast! 

Winter Concert Production

Please make note of the following dates. This is the information that Ms. Rich has shared on her blog. 

Dog Breeding Assignment

Inheritance and Traits Classwork Preparation 

As we prepare to work on breeding our own dog in class (and no, we will not be getting real dogs, as one student asked me), I wanted to pass along the information you will need to start thinking about the assignment. 

Please view this powerpoint and then watch Dogs 101 to learn more about the dogs you want to mix. Remember, you are trying to make a dog with the best physical traits, as well as personality traits, that will be able to do the job you have planned for it to do. (Please just skip to slide 7 on the slideshow and ignore the camel slides for this activity.) 

You may want to write down some brief notes about the traits that your two chosen dogs have. This will help you organize your information. If you decide to take notes, please bring them to class tomorrow. 

November News

Guest Speaker and Fun Run:  On Thursday, November 20th, we are pleased to have inspirational speaker, Fred Fox, speak to our Grades 3-5 students.  Fred Fox represents the Terry Fox Run for cancer awareness. Following his presentation, ES students will participate in a fun run around the DAA track.  For this reason, we ask all students to wear their PE uniform that day.

Thanksgiving, November 26th:  On Wednesday, November 26th all grades 3-5 classes will enjoy a picnic lunch together on the grass soccer field in celebration of Thanksgiving. Together with our school cafeteria lunch provider we are pleased to offer a 'Thanksgiving Picnic Pack' for those students who are interested in purchasing one (This lunch is optional. Children may bring their own lunch on this date. No hot lunch service will be available for ES students).  Please refer to the flier sent home earlier this week.  Orders are due back to classroom teachers by Wednesday, November 19th.

A note from the ES Student Council:  On Wednesday November 26th, in addition to giving thanks (celebrating American Thanksgiving) we encourage the students to also give….a pair of shoes.  The ES will be hosting a run around the track to increase awareness of the plight in Syria.  We are partnering with the charity Socks and Soles for Syrians to collect gently used shoes to send to Syria. As a symbolic gesture to the charity, students will be invited to run around the track in just their socks, silly socks encouraged!  We don’t really want them to donate the shoes off their feet, though.  So, please send your child to school on Wednesday with shoes you no longer need and would like to donate.  All sizes and styles are welcome, but please no high heels.

Book Fair

Dear Parents,

Our Fall Bookworm Book Fair is almost here!  The students are looking forward to the opportunity to enjoy more wonderful books. A great time to stock up for winter reading and get great gifts!

Each class will have a scheduled time, so if you would like to attend the book fair with your child, please do so at their scheduled class visit, or before or after school.  A money envelope will be sent home with each child so that they can purchase books even if you do not attend.

The Book Fair will be open as follows:

• Monday 11:00-3:30 
• Tuesday 7:30-2:00 (Our class will go from 8:30-9:10 am)
• Wednesday & Thursday 7:30-3:30

The average book price is around 50AED, though some are more and some are less.

If you have any questions, please email Deborah Knight <d.knight_daa@gemsedu.com>

Happy reading, 

The PS/ES Library

Camel Adaptation Rap

The students thoroughly enjoyed this fun camel adaptation rap, so I promised I'd post it. :)

If you wanted to read more about Dromedary camels and hear the sound they make, click here. 

Thanksgiving News

Thanksgiving, November 26th:  On all grades 3-5 classes will enjoy a picnic lunch together on the grass soccer field in celebration of Thanksgiving. We are working with our school cafeteria lunch provider to create a 'Thanksgiving Picnic Pack' for those students who are interested in purchasing one (This lunch is optional. Children may bring their own lunch on this date. No hot lunch service will be available for ES students).  More details will be coming out about this exciting event early next week.  Watch for the flier that will be sent home!

Heredity/Traits Videos

We had a great lesson on heredity and traits today in Science. To view the short videos we reviewed, click here and look under the science section. If you think of any more good questions, please write them down and we'll add them to our matrix on the wall. 

Hand washing Video

With flu season now upon us, it's very important that we take as many steps as possible to maintain good health and hygiene. 

Kindly view this short video, which is a good reminder for each of us. (The username and password are both Dubai.) 

Here are a few more tips from the PS/ES Nurse's Office: 

• cough or sneeze into a tissue, forearm or sleeve/collar (not your hand)

• open doors by pushing them with with their foot, arm, or back so they limit touching handles with germs on them

• keep hands away from where germs enter our bodies - eyes, nose, mouth and/or cuts

• hold students accountable for their coughing/sneezing/hand washing behaviors - have them police each other too!

Hand washing is the best activity to prevent the spread of germs and disease!

A little pony fun...

As my sister, Julie, and Mom are in the Shetland Islands at the moment, I thought I would take a few minutes to draw out some good lessons about geography and culture, asking such questions as: 

• Where in the world are the Shetland Islands? What is it like there? 
• What countries make up Great Britain? 
• Why would people in Scotland vote to remain dependent on Scotland (recent vote)? 
• Why are Shetland ponies so special? 
• How do they spin wool into yarn from sheep's wool? 

We enjoyed a brief discussion about these questions and watched this fun video, which is a local commercial in Scotland that my mom shared with me.  The class absolutely loved it. :) 

Here are some photos that my sister shared on her Instagram account. I included her captions, as well. Enjoy! 

Can't say I ever saw an "otter crossing" before, however we didn't see any otters! 😞 Drove most of the day, rarely seeing people but the Atlantic, the North Sea, lochs, and sheep abounded!

Went to the Jamieson Knit Factory today. The owner asked is we wanted to look around and gave us free reign in their factory. We walked all around taking pictures (he said was fine). A nice lady named Jo asked if wanted to know how to spin yarn from wool. It was fascinating!! Never EVER would that happen in America!! Then they left us alone in their store to try on their stuff and say just holler when we were ready to buy! 😳 Wow! #sotrusting #Shetland #lovethesepeeps

Love this little homemade fudge shop that specializes in something called "Scottish Tablet". It is like a creamy melt in your mouth type of fudge, very popular at weddings! 👍 #sogood #newfavoritetreat #Shetland 

Spent the day driving to Sandness on mostly one lane winding road, with sheep all over the place! Them back to Lerwick for a late lunch and a bit of shopping! 🐏 #stopforsheep #lovethisplace #Shetland

They have these "flotels" (floating hotels) in the Harbor to accommodate all the oil workers! #Lerwick #Shetland

Halloween Fun!

We greatly enjoyed our Halloween celebration on Thursday and you, parents, were a  huge part of our fun. Thank you so much for taking the time to engage in the festivities, share the excitement with your sweetie and also contribute items for the party. 

This cutie made for a very believable Harry Potter! 

Her homemade cookies went even faster than these cute cupcakes! 

 A very special thank you to Iliana and Ruba as they organized all the details, right down to the delegation of food, classroom decorations (Anna, Fyras's Mom, as well) and the preparation of some really creepy games! 

Ewww! I read a creepy poem  and children felt the remains of the "corpse," predicting what real-life items we were using. 

Thank you to all of your terrific mothers who took the time to come to our party and join in the fun!! 

Abdalla and his "creepy" fingers...

Joy, Jason's mother, spent hours and hours carving out these incredible fruit Jack-O-Lanterns, which the children really enjoyed. Thank you for all of your extra efforts, Joy!! 

I hope you'll enjoy these pictures, which capture the fun. Please feel free to download and/or share your favorites. :)  (Once you open this link, just scroll down to see all of the Halloween pictures.) 

Lastly, we were VERY surprised to receive a party gift at the end of the day made by Iliana (Lucia's mom). THANK YOU for your midday efforts to get these done on the same day! We love this memory! 

KHDA Parent Survey

KHDA Parent Survey

Last week you should have received a small card that was given to your child. Inside was a KHDA Parent Survey that you can complete online. If you haven’t already, please take the time to complete survey. Each family's opinion is very valuable and we appreciate your feedback. Thank you. 

UAE National Anthem

Dear DAA Parents,

On Sunday, 2 November, DAA will renew the practice of playing the UAE National Anthem each morning. While this is now a legal requirement for all schools in the UAE, DAA welcomes the custom as an opportunity to show our respect for the UAE’s independence and sovereignty.

Such a tradition is common in most countries of the world, certainly in the United States. This tradition is not a pledge of allegiance or something similar. Rather, it is an opportunity for those of us who are guests in the UAE (most of DAA’s community!) to show respect for our host nation.

In the Primary and Elementary Schools, the anthem will be played over the public address system system at 7:45 AM each morning. It will be preceded by a brief announcement, after which the anthem will be played, which takes about 60 seconds. Students who are already in class will be asked to stand and listen respectfully, as is required by UAE law. Students, parents, teachers, and guests who are in DAA’s hallways are asked to stop, stand, and wait in silence once they hear the public address announcement and anthem begin.  

In the Middle and High Schools, where there is no public address system, the anthem will be played from teachers’ computers at the beginning of first period (MS) or in homeroom (HS). Students will be asked to stand and listen respectfully, as is required by UAE law. 

Kind Regards,

Jim Hardin

Superintendent