Staff Talent Show

Staff Talent Show tickets will be on sale starting Monday, May 25th. 

Tickets will be sold in the ES/ PS  & MS lobbies, from 7:30-8:00 AM and 2:30-3:00 PM each day until tickets are gone. There will also be tickets available from at the front desk secretaries throughout the rest of the day. (They sell out quickly, so don't wait!)

Tickets are donation only, although there is a suggested minimum of AED 10 per ticket. All money raised will be donated to Nepal relief efforts. 

There will only be one show, Thursday May 28th. The show begins at 6:30 PM, doors open at 6:15, and it will likely go until 8 pm. 

*Performers, you do not need to buy tickets for yourselves, though you will need to buy for anyone accompanying you*

Handy Links

As promised, here are some links, which I promised I'd post on the blog:

• World's Best Universities 
• This is what parenting looks like
• Lesson about pain (Don't keep it bottled up, but share it with someone you trust.)
• Roselle retires (Seeing-eye dog who saves man on 9/11) 
• The Best Kid Inventions in History 
• Inventions by Kids

• Oakley's puppies: 
• Video 1
• Video 2

Oakley's puppies are now 4 weeks old. How cute are they?! 

PS. I posted a few more pictures from March, April, and May. Enjoy! 

Book Fair

The Spring Bookworm Book Fair will be held next week in the ES Conference Room.  

Parents are welcome to shop with their children before or after school, or during their child’s scheduled class visit. (Our visit will be Tuesday, May 26, from 8:05-8:30.) Labeled envelopes will also be sent home with students if you would like to send money so they can purchase books. The average cost of a book is AED 50.

• Monday, May 25  11:00am - 3:30pm 

• Tuesday, May 26  7:30am - 2:00pm 

• Wednesday, May 27  7:30am - 3:30pm 

• Thursday, May 28   7:30am - 3:30pm

If you have any questions, please email Sarah Mollenkramer at s.mollenkramer1_daa@gemsedu.com

Thank you!

Dear 3LN Parents, 

I want to express my gratitude for the lovely Teacher Appreciation gifts you have given me over the last several days. Each one has been very touching and heart-warming, so please know that I'm very thankful.  

The luncheon we enjoyed yesterday as a staff was especially delicious. Having so many homemade dishes from from such a wide range of countries felt a little like our very own International Food Festival. It was truly amazing and made us all very happy! 

Thank you, again!! 

Ms. Laura 

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you are each having a lovely day! I want to thank you for those of you who were able to make it to our Mother's Day Morning Tea on Thursday. It was truly my delight and joy to honor you. I hope you felt as special as you are! 

Here is the short movie I showed entitled "The World's Toughest Job."  I also really like this one. 

And, finally, I hope you will enjoy these pictures. :)  

PS. A very special thank you to Yasmine for bringing in the delicious fruit platter, to Ajlal for the pie, and for Celine for donating the 23 fresh roses for the mothers, which was actually her own idea! These generous contributions are all so appreciated. 

Nepal Fundraiser

Primary and Elementary School Events (May 14):

More information about what we are doing and why: 

Following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25th, an estimated 8.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Three million of those are in need of food assistance. In our own DAA community, we have 20 Nepalese employees. 

What can we do to help?  All PS & ES students and families are encouraged to purchase prayer flags for Nepal that will be hung as part of a commemorative display in the PS/ES foyer at DAA. Money collected will be given to the people of Nepal through the Emirates Red Crescent foundation.

What is a prayer flag? Prayer flags promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. When prayer flags are displayed, it is thought that the good will and kindness of the wishes are spread to benefit all. Colors of the prayer flags represent: blue--sky and space; white--air and wind; red--fire; green--water; yellow--earth

What is the cost and how do I donate?

• 50 AED = 1 Nepali Prayer Flag
• 200 AED = Set of 5 Nepali Prayer Flags (all colors)

You may purchase a flag in two ways:  

1. Return the form that will be sent home on Monday with cash in an envelope to give directly to your child’s teacher on the morning of Thursday, May 14th. 

2. Come to the Nepal collection table in the PS/ES foyer on Thursday, May 14th from 7:15-8:15 am / 2:00-3:00 pm.

Dress Down Day to Support Nepal:  In this commemorative spirit, for a donation, all students are encouraged to wear a t-shirt in a color of the Nepalese flag (blue, white, red, green, or yellow) on Thursday, May 14th. Donations will be collected by classroom teachers. Students are asked to wear their usual uniform bottoms with their t-shirts. 

Earthquake Damage

Nepal: Children of the Mountain

DAA Fundraiser 

Nepal ( ***PLEASE NOTE: the beginning of the video is graphic and you should start the video at 0:40.) 

A welcome and a royal quiz!

With all the royal baby news, I thought it might be fun to challenge students to a quiz to test their inference, critical thinking, and research skills. 

I have posted it outside our classroom, along with a little box for the answers. Please encourage your child to try it (either at home or at school) and be sure to submit your reponses by Thursday, May 14th. 

Thanks so much and enjoy the royal thinking! (Perhaps one day, one of our students will be a royal!)  

Happy May!

Here are a few things we're working on this week: 

• Reading and Writing ~ Reading for research (gathering information to use for the writing work we are doing, which is a (chapter) informational book on a specific weather topic) 

• Math ~ Wrapping up Unit 8 on fractions...Test Monday! Beginning Unit 9 on Tuesday. 

• Social Studies ~ What would happen if we could create our own country? One man did just that! For our final project/summative, students will be creating their own country, which includes the formation of their own government, currency, budget, and institutions. If you are interested in seeing this project, click here. We began the project today and the class was buzzing with excitement about the possibilities!! We would like to wrap this up by Thursday and I'll be giving the students time in class to complete it. 

• Science ~ New unit on extreme weather begins May 10, God willing! 

• Word Study ~ We've regrouped our students based on their specific spelling abilities and things are going very well. Students go to their specific classes/teachers every Sunday through Thursday from 9:10-9:30 (with the exception of Tuesdays).

And, here are some extras, just for fun...

• Reminder to come join us for a Mother's Day Morning Tea on Thursday! 

• Congratulations to Princess Kate and Prince William on the birth of their precious daughter. We predicted names this afternoon, so we'll see who guessed correctly very soon! 

• Speaking of babies, check out these fun photos and videos of Oakley's puppies: 
• Nibbling Julie's toe
• Drinking milk
• Puppy dreams
• Puppy tickles 
• Photo album of puppies

I seriously cannot take the cuteness! 

MAP testing

It's the time again. MAP testing! To refresh your memory, this is a test given at least twice a year to measure academic progress. Hopefully, you saw the information in last week’s SPOTS. Additional information was also sent home with all grades 3-5 students last week. Please find the schedule here. 

In addition to the information already provided, the following tips are helpful for parents in preparing their children for testing:

• Make sure that your child is well rested on school days. Children who are tired in class are less able to pay attention or focus on the demands of a test.

• Give your child a well-rounded diet.  A healthy body leads to a healthy and active mind.

• Encourage your child to listen to directions and give every question their best effort.

Please feel free to avail yourself of this Point Point if you feel it would lower your child's test anxiety and give them an idea of what to expect. (Most will recall what the assessment is like, however, from our fall testing.) We will also set some testing goals in the morning, then begin the first test Sunday at 8:30 am.  

If you have any questions, please get in touch.  I have no doubt that each and every child will make great gains!