A Few Items...

I hope you each had a lovely long weekend!  I know a few of you went to Wild Wadi on Friday night and it sounds like it was a fun evening. While you may have been sliding down the Jumeirah Sceirah, about 12 of us teachers rendezvoused at the Westin to visit with our former ES art teacher, Lauren Williams was in town from Norway for a conference. We had a really nice time and I hope you did, as well, wherever Friday night found you in Dubai. 

I want to take a moment to say thank you for making the time to come to school last Wednesday and Thursday to meet with me for our Hopes and Dreams Parent-Teacher conferences. Our 3LN family is made up of 22 students and I was thrilled to see each and every child's parent(s) come. One of the things that struck me most when I began teaching at DAA was just how supportive and involved the parents are at our school. Having 100% attendance for parent-teacher conferences just doesn't happen in my school district at home, so please know that I am very thankful that you care so much and make the time to get involved in your child's education. It really makes such a huge difference. I also so enjoyed having some one-on-one time to get to know you and your child better! You are truly such fantastic group of parents. 

I also wanted to let you know that you can read all about what your child is learning by clicking here or the tab over to the right called Assignment Sheet and News. I have also just posted some pictures of our most recent science investigations. Learning about forces and interactions through inquiry, testing hypotheses, and pushing experiments to the point of failure are all such important aspects of our hands-on science lessons.  Hopefully, the pictures and videos will reflect some of the great learning that occurred. 

Here are some other important things to note: 

• We took our final MAP test today, which was the math test. It went well pretty well, overall; however, some children felt discouraged by how difficult the test was. I reminded them that the nature of this test is that they will NOT know how to do everything and that's perfectly OK. Please reassure your child that as long as he/she did his/her very best, then they did great!! 

• On Wednesday, we will be going on our field trip to play mini-golf in the Wafi Mall. Please be sure you send a packed lunch and water bottle to school with child. Student should also wear their PE uniforms, as they will be having PE later in the day. We will be there from 10 am-noon. Students will eat their lunches there before returning to school. 

• October 31st is the Fall Costume Parade: The traditional fall costume parade lives on in the ES!  Students are invited to come to school in costume on Monday, October 31st (no scary costumes, blood and gore or weapons) and all will participate in a fall costume parade around the school track shortly after drop-off. Parents as well as the Middle/High School staff and students are invited to line the large track and watch. PS/ES students, with their classes, will make one full lap of the track and return to class. Please come and join the fun (feel free to participate by wearing a costume)! We look forward to seeing you there! Afterwards, you are welcome to come to our classroom to join us for our class party. More details will be shared soon. 

• We have a new class mother!!! A very sincere thank you to Doaa El Gamel (Mariam's mother) for taking on this role. She will be contacting you in the next few days with some important information, so please keep an eye on your inbox. 

• Thursday, November 10th, will be United Nations Day in the Elementary School. The ES UN Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate our cultural diversity at DAA, something we are truly proud of! ES students may come dressed in their country’s traditional dress or the colors of their country's flag.  The morning will begin with a Parade of Nations (similar to the parade that starts the Olympic Games) around the track. All children from grades 3-5 will be walking in the parade in groups with other children from their same country. Parents are invited to join us on the main field between 8:05 am and 8:30 am to watch the Parade of Nations. We ask that you please stand on the inside of the track to watch. Hope to see you all there cheering on the many United Nations of DAA! 

• Next Sunday, we will enjoy a noon dismissal in honor of Diwali. We will be learning more about this holiday on Sunday morning, so if your child would like to share something he/she knows with the class, please let me know by email and I'll allow them to speak to the class. (This is a perfect opportunity to get practice public speaking.) 

That's it for now. Thank you, once again, for all of your wonderful support!! 

Halloween Fun!

We enjoyed a "fang-tastic" parade and party today as the children were dressed in their costumes, excited to partake in the activities, and hungry for fun! 

The classroom mothers organized three thrilling games, which included guessing what food items were supposed to be the dead body parts of Mr. Brown, wrapping mummies, and dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller (but stopping to make a scary face when the music stopped). Needless to say, the children shrieked, cringed, and laughed wildly! 

After the games, we ate the delicious (and creatively prepared) food, which parents sent in. (Thank you!! Everything was so great!) 

I hope you'll be amused by these fun memories and, thank you, again, for those of you who were able to make it to the party. It was so nice seeing you! 

PS. Grade 3 teachers all dressed in a Star Wars theme, which was something we decided over the summer. (This allowed teachers to purchase things at home or have the time to make their costume.) I was so impressed by how fantastic everyone looked. Check us out: 

Our fabulous EAs made very believable students!! 

Don't forget to click on the blue link above to view all of the pictures. :) 

Fall Parade and Halloween Party

DAA will be celebrating the fall season through the annual costume parade. Students are invited to come to school in costume (no scary costumes, masks, blood and gore, or weapons) and all will participate in a fall costume parade around the school track. 

Parents, Middle/High School staff and Grade 5 students are invited to line the track and clap for the great costumes. All PS and ES students will make one lap around the track (with their classes) and return to class. 

Here is the schedule of how grades levels will walk around the track: 

Grade 5's will go first through the front foyer and walk around the track. Then...

• 8:10 ~ KG1 (exit: foyer and they will walk on outside lane of track)   

• 8:15 ~ Grade 1 (exit: glass doors close to middle of track and they will walk on inside lane of track)

• 8:20 ~ KG2 (exit: foyer and they will walk on outside lane of track)

• 8:25 ~ Grade 2 (exit: glass doors close to middle of track and they will walk on inside lane of track) 

• 8:30 ~ Grade 4 (exit: foyer and they will walk on outside lane of track)

• 8: 35 ~ Grade 3 (exit: glass doors close to middle of track and they will walk on inside lane of track)

Grade 5 will remain on the far end of the track and clap for all the other classes.

Immediately following the parade, please join us for our class Halloween party. We should arrive back into our classroom around 8:50 and will promptly begin some fun activities, which have been organized by our class mothers. Then, we'll enjoy some yummy food, creepy music, and socializing. 

Looking forward to seeing you then!! (Don't forget your camera.) :) 

UN Day News

Don't forget to bring your camera on Jan. 30th!

We are excited about our upcoming UN Day at DAA! Your participation is part of what makes this day so special, so please take a look at this important info and let me know if you have any questions. 

Our parade of nations around the track will commence at 8:15 am, then we will return to the classroom around 9 am. The classroom activities (with you, dear parents) will be for approximately one hour. Then, we will say good-bye to you and head to the auditorium (students only) at 10 am. 

Also, if any of you would like to share any interesting cultural items from your home country (stories, crafts, traditions, games,recipes, photographs, etc.), I would warmly welcome your participation! Kindly inform me via email and we will organize a time for you to come in on a different day during Parent Engagement Week (January 26-30). 

Looking forward to a fantastic week of great learning and connecting cross-culturally!