3LN Coffee Morning

Our lovely class mothers would like to invite you to join them for coffee this Wednesday, September 30th, at 8:00 am at Paul on the ground floor of the Mall of the Emirates. This is a terrific opportunity to gather with other parents and get to know them a bit better, make connections, and enjoy some French coffee and patisseries. (Secretly, I wish I could come, too!) 

For more information, please contact Birey Ozer (Emre's mom) at bireyozer@hotmail.com. 
I'm sure it will be an enjoyable time!

Also, if you haven't yet joined the What's App group for 3LN, but would like to, please click here and you'll be added very soon. Many parents have already found the group very helpful. 

Two quick items...

1. What will we be learning this week? Don't forget that you can find out by clicking on the Assignment and News tab on the right. (Your child may be getting proficient in doing this by himself/herself, which shows fantastic independence and interest in school.) 

2. Also, thank you for your patience in waiting to see some lovely pictures of our class, which I've collected since the start of the year. I have a few sets to share with you; however, I'm just waiting on two more parents to let me know their photo preferences. If I don't hear back from by Wednesday, I will go ahead and share the ones I can on the blog. So, stay tuned!! 

PS. Thank you for all of your tremendous support! I feel it! 

Breast Cancer Awareness Day News

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, DAAPA in ES/PS will be hosting 

PINK DAY on Thursday, October 1st. 

A basket will be available in the foyer for your donations of scarves (new or old) that DAAPA is collecting for cancer survivors. Students in grades KG1 to grade 5 are encouraged to wear a pink shirt/t-shirt on Thursday to support a great cause! A voluntary donation of AED 5 is appreciated. Parents are also encouraged to dress in PINK to show your support as well. All donations will be given to an approved local charity.

DAAPA in ES/PS will be also be holding a PINK bake sale on Thursday, October 1st. Stop by the foyer in the PS/ES and buy some pink treats or trinkets for the whole family. 

Parents, if you would like to contribute, please drop off your pink baked goods for the bake sale in the ES foyer on Thursday morning. Volunteers are welcome to assist with the Pink sale. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to stayintouchwithdaaes@gmail.com. Thanks so much! 

News from the Class Mother of 3LN...

Dear Parents, 

Please take a moment to read this letter from our classroom mothers, if you haven't done so yet. I sent a hard copy of this letter home on Monday, but in case you missed it, I thought it wise to post it here, as well. Feel free to print it, send it in to school in a sealed envelope, and I'll be sure to pass it along. 

They are organizing a coffee morning in the near future, so stay tuned for those details. 

Thank you in advance for helping to make this school year exceptionally fantastic! 

Ms. Laura 

Annual Hoodie Sale

ANNUAL HOODIE SALE

The PS/ES annual hoodie pre-sale will take place on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th of September in the ES/PS Lobby at morning drop-off, KG 1 afternoon pick-up and regular afternoon pick-up on both days. (Sample sizes will be available to try.)  

Cost: AED 150 Cash only

Eid Mubarak!

To those who are celebrating Eid, I pray you will enjoy a blessed holiday with your family and friends. 

ASA Information

Dear Parents, 

Thank you for your interest in internal and external after school activities. Trimester 1 sign ups are now closed. 

If you have registered and paid for an external activity with the provider on Saturday or Sunday, you have secured a spot for your child. 

If you registered on the ASA website for an internal activity, your child will receive one of their 3 choices. Please note that on the week of September 27th your child will receive notification, as in all years past, as to which internal activity they have been enrolled in. 

This notice will include the date, time, location and any fee required to participate in the ASA. If after receiving this notification your child is no longer able to participate in the ASA, you must contact the providing teacher.  After school activities will begin on October 4th. 

Reminder that you must arrange for pick up for your child after the ASA is complete. Internal providers will bring children to the lobby, external will remain at their location. Please have a ride arranged to pick up at completion times. Busses will not be running for ASA students. 

Thank you once again for your interest and support in the After School Activity Program. 

Kind Regards, 

Becky, Vhairi, and Adam

ASA Update

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITY UPDATE

Dear Parents, 

The first term of after school activities are upon us.  Internal activity sign up for both PS and ES starts Thursday, September 17 at 3:30 pm. All sign up sheets and activity descriptions for term 1 offerings can be found at: https://sites.google.com/a/gemsdaa.net/primary-after-school-activities/home

*Please note, this site will not be fully operational until Wednesday Sept. 16th. 

External Activity sign up will take place on Saturday, September 19th, in the ES lobby from 10:00-1:00 PM and again on Sunday September 20th in the ES cafeteria starting at 7:30 AM and ending at 9:00 AM. All External offerings and descriptions can also be found on the ASA site.

The names and emails of the necessary contacts are available on the site if you have any further questions or comments.  

What's App Group for 3LN

Dear Parents, 

As a way to unify our class and also share important information on a more informal basis, many parents enjoy joining a class group on What's App. This is a parent-led initiative that we discussed at the Back to School Night; however, I am simply helping to facilitate it's initiation. (I will not be part of the group, but will leave you to have all the messaging fun.) 

If you would like to be a part of this group, please indicate your preferences here. 

Also, to ensure your privacy, there is no need to include your phone number here. Rather, I will share the contact information I have on file for you with Seyan (Janine's mother), who has graciously offered to start the group. If you'd prefer that I use a different number, please send me an email and I'll be sure to pass it along to her. 

Thanks so much and I'm looking forward to a great year ahead with very connected parents! 

Ms. Laura 

What's happening this week?

I hope you're all enjoying a happy and restful weekend. Please be sure to have a look at what your darlings will be learning and doing this week in the section entitled Assignment Sheet and News. (Even better, remind your child that he/she can start doing this independently, as well.) 

Also, please take note that we will be sharing cultural artifacts in Social Studies this week as a way to learn more about the incredible and diverse culture in our very own classroom. Cultural artifacts should be brought to school on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and will be sent home the same day. (I will remind children to handle any fragile artifacts with extra care.) 

Also, if you (or your child) would like to make/prepare/buy some of your traditional food to share with the class, you are most welcome to send it in on both Wednesday and Thursday, as we will continue sharing the artifacts for one period on Thursday. (This is optional!) And, depending on my energy level, I may also bring in some of my delicious American chocolate chip cookies. We'll see. :) 

Individual Student Picture Day

Students will have their individual pictures taken next week. Our class, 3LN, is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 16th, at 11:00 am in the ES Conference room. 

Please be sure your sweetheart is dressed in his/her formal uniform (with his/her tie), looking tidy and smart! (This is Day 4, which is not a PE day, don't worry.) 

Author Visit

On Sunday, the Elementary School will be hosting author Liliane van der Hoeven. All students will have a chance to hear her presentation about her process as a writer and the steps involved in publishing a book. She will speak about her newly released children’s book, The Key to Dubai. Liliane has visited us before and her presentations are always interesting and informative. 

For those students who would like to purchase a copy of the new book, they will be available at discounted price of 60 AED (normally 79 AED). Books will be signed by the author and delivered to students after the visit. 

We are looking forward to an exciting visit! 

Here are some recent articles from the local press: 

• 7Days
• Emirates 24/7
• Explorer Publishing
• Dubai International Writers' Centre

After School Activities (ASAs)

Dear Parents and Students,

DAA is looking forward to kicking off our Trimester 1 After School Activity Program. We have made some changes to our ASA calendar to more closely match our regular school year calendar and holidays. After School Activities will now be split into three trimesters. Each trimester will last a total of 8 weeks with activities running once a week. This will help minimize confusion about start and end dates, and help us create a more balanced program for your children. The ASA Program will be a combination of teacher lead and externally run activities related to sports, the arts, and academics.

On Saturday, September 19th from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm in the ES Lobby, you are invited to sign up for a wide variety of external after school activities including soccer, basketball, yoga, gymnastics, street jazz, tennis, karate, and swimming. Additional information about program dates, times, costs, and contacts will be sent out early next week. All providing groups will be at the sign up session to provide you with information about their program. If you are unable to attend this weekend sign up session, the providers will also be available in the ES Lunch Room on Sunday, September 20th from 7:30 am - 9:00 am for registration.

Thank you for supporting our ASA Program.

Term 1
Sign Ups: Sept 19/20

Start Date: Sunday, October 4

End Date: Wednesday, November 25

Term 2

Sign Ups: January 9/10

Start Date: January 17

End Date: March 10

Term 3
Sign Ups: March 19/20

Start Date: April 10

End Date: June 2 

Back to School Night

For those who were able, thank you for coming to our Back to School Night. I really enjoyed meeting a few new faces and also sharing a little about what we do here everyday.

If you were unable to attend, know that we missed you, but we understand that it's not always easy to get out at night, especially with other siblings, absent spouses, or other responsibilities.

To help you feel more in the loop, I would invite you to view the power point I shared last night. I hope it help to serve to answer any questions or simply provide a good overview.

I'm looking forward to a great year ahead!! 

Happy Week 2 and news for parents from 2014-15

As we begin our second week of school tomorrow, I hope you'll take a look at what I'll be teaching this week, as well as what else is happening (news, schedule, etc). You can always find this on the tab that's titled "Assignment Sheet and News."

I'll be posting some pictures soon, as well. (Some of your children may not appear as I either have not received your consent or you still need to let me know your preference.)  In any case, please send me an email if you have questions about pictures or ask on our Back to School Night, which will be on Wednesday, September 9, from 7-9 PM. 

Also, for my lovely former parents from 2014-15, I know that many of you are still receiving these blog updates by mail. I haven't had a chance to unsubscribe you, but if you'd like to do it yourself, it's very easy. Simply go to one of the emails you've received from "Marhaba," and scroll down to the very bottom. There is a option there to "unsubscribe from this list." It's that easy. And, while I have your attention, please know that I miss you and your darling! I've been able to hug many of the children (and a few of you adults) already, but for those I haven't seen yet, I hope I'll get to pass you in the hall very soon! (Oh, by the way. I'll be keeping our photos from last year up on the blog indefinitely, so know that if you haven't saved/downloaded your favorites yet, there all right where I left them. No worries.) ツ

News from the ES Music Dept.

Hello Grade 3 ES Parents,

My name is Miss Wyse and I am your new music teacher for 3-5 Music. I am very excited to be working with your wonderful children and my colleagues at Dubai American Academy. 

We have a winter concert for third grade in early December and I would love for your children to practice their music on a consistent basis at home. 

For easy access to all the info on this concert please use this link to my blog:

http://gemsdaaesmusic.blogspot.com

Thanks,

Miss Wyse