Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 24

The finals of the 31st edition of the Our Own Sharjah Inter-school Soccer Tournament held on 7th November, 2015 was inaugurated by Mr. Mohammed Khaleel Mohammed, Supervisor of English, Sharjah Zone, Ministry of Education, UAE. This year the tournament was conducted over three days and sixteen schools from all over the UAE played on a knock out basis.

The finalists were - The Westminster School, Dubai and Sharjah Indian School, Sharjah. At the end of the match, the score was 3-1 with The Westminster School lifting the championship trophy.

OUR OWN SOCCER TOURNAMENT 2015

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INTER CLASS GAMES 2015-16

CLASS ACTIVITIES

The various class activities conducted in Grades 5 and 6 added quality to teaching and

learning... The ‘FNC QUIZ’, ensured that our students remained abreast with current

events. ‘REELING IN HISTORY’, black and white illustrations, captured the past and the

present developments of UAE. The ‘MURAL’ with a sublime theme depicting the progress

of the UAE in all walks of life was noteworthy.

Inter class games are conducted through the year to encourage the students to compete in games such as table tennis, cricket, football and basketball.

Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 26

LANGUAGE WEEK— FRENCH

THE WEEKS...2015

MATH WEEK

Math Week comprised a host of activities including quizzing, sudoku, poster making and

‘challenge block’ to name a few.

The French language week was celebrated from 15th to 19th November. Students from

Grades 4 to 10 participated in various events to show case their talents including spell bee,

calligraphy, recitation, singing, quiz and skits.

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LITERARY FEST 2015

The English Week received a facelift with a new name ‘Literary Fest’ and a host of new

competitions. The English zealots found ‘Literary Fest 2015’ competitive, informative and

entertaining. Competitions like ‘Whose line is it anyway?’, ‘Turn Coat’, ‘Obstacle Race’,

‘Marathon’ and ‘Great Race’ need special mention as they were thoroughly enjoyed by the

students and the teachers alike. Recesses were made even more enjoyable with ‘Walk the

Ramp’ and ‘Radio Jockey’. In short, the Literary Fest 2015 achieved its goal of encouraging

maximum student participation, thereby enriching knowledge and honing linguistic and

literary skills.

THE WEEKS...2015

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‘LIVING THE WORLD’

The Social Sciences Week 2015, a weeklong series of events, took place between 25th to 29th October, 2015. It produced a plethora of different competitions like Geography symposium, advertising, interview with historical personalities, quiz (SPECTRA), debates (CROSSFIRE), poster making, business plans and role plays. The events also offered an insight into the past and present state of the UAE.

The week enabled the creative side of academics to blossom. The events were not only constructive but were also innovative enough to suit the audience’s needs. It was an exciting week which helped students to showcase their talents.

THE WEEKS...2015

SOCIAL SCIENCES WEEK 2015

Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 29

THE WEEKS...2015

HINDI WEEK The Hindi Week celebration was organized from 15th to 19th November, 2015 to improve and

explore the talent of students in the use of Hindi. Several activities like quiz, poetry writing,

essay writing, skits and presentations were conducted.

Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 30

THE WEEKS...2015

QIRA’AT COMPETITION

The Islamic Studies Department organized the annual Qira’at Competition in the school.

Students from Grades 5 to 10 took part in the competition with zeal and zest.

CENTRAL ISLAMIC FESTIVAL 2015

At the Central Islamic Festival 2015 held on 12th December, 2015, AMAAN IQBAL IBRAHIM,

IXE, won 2nd place in the Islamic Elocution. Our students participated in the Qira’at

Competition, Islamic Elocution and project making.

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CHILDREN’S DAY

Children’s day is to celebrate ‘childhood’ and to recognize that children are important and valued members of the society. Children’s day was celebrated with great vigor and fun in the school. At the assembly students delivered speeches about Jawaharlal Nehru in different languages. The song by the teachers sent a powerful message and their dance thrilled the students. Sweets and bookmarks were distributed to all the students in the school.

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SEWA WEEK The Sewa Week 2015 was celebrated with an altruistic desire to help those in need in

Yemen. The collection of rice and other foodstuff was accompanied by a cloth collection

campaign “Donate a dress, lessen the distress.” The students of OOB, in a philanthropic

effort, were able to collect 1.8 tonnes of clothes by the end of the week. The clothes

were immediately transported to Oasis Center, from where they would be shipped off to

Yemen. The school was also able to collect over a tonne of rice and other foodstuffs. The

students of OOB hope to increase these figures in the years to come along with their

efforts to provide relief to the people of Yemen.

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SPECIAL ASSEMBLIES

HAJJ AWARENESS

The Islamic Studies Department conducted a meaningful and informative assembly on the

Hajj. Rituals in the pilgrimage like Miqat, Tawaf, Sa’ee, Mina, the Day of Arafa and

Al-Udhuiya were enacted and presented to the students.

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INTER HOUSE CHOIR COMPETITION 2015

RHAPSODY 2015-16

The 1st ever OOB Inter House Choir Competition was conducted in the school auditorium on 18th October, 2015. Musically talented boys of Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 competed in the event with the Saturnian Starlings winning with their rendition of ‘Drag me Down’ by One Direction.

Rhapsody Club members enthralled their audiences with their performances during the recess.

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SYNERGY 2015

SYNERGY 2015, was conducted by the Junior Middle and Senior Middle Departments

on 18th and 19th November, 2015. It served as a wonderful platform for the music

enthusiasts, dynamic dancers and creative minds to showcase their abilities.

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PREFECTS’ TEA & EVENING CAMP

The Prefects’ Tea and Evening Camp was conducted on 12th November, after school hours. After the prefects were briefed on the comprehensive prefects’ evaluation, the juniors had a basketball tournament and the seniors, a football tournament.

The guest speaker, Mr. Ravi Mandola, a man with a deep passion for quizzing, gave the prefects a motivating and insightful talk on what his life was like.

After a mini dance-a-thon, with Mars House bagging the first place, the prefects had the traditional treasure hunt. Mars House emerged victorious in the hunt as they overcame the last obstacle, viz, a riddle posed by Mr. Mandola himself. Some of the senior most prefects were honoured for their long years of service. All the prefects were left with an entire day packed with memories to cherish and experiences to leave them reminiscing about the camp for years to come.

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EVENING CAMP FOR GRADE 12 The Evening camp for Gr 12 was held on 26th November, 2015. Inter class matches - football basketball and cricket tested their teamwork and stamina. The commerce batch won both the Inter stream basketball and football tourneys. After relishing some tasty bites they were given a test in histrionics – the skit competition, in which 12B and 12G were victorious. The camp concluded with the prize distribution. It was a day for the Grade 12 students to chill out, ahead of the gruelling days of preparation for the Board Examinations.

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FLAG DAY The School celebrated this auspicious day by saluting the flag of this land that has provided us safety and security and helped us fulfil our individual dreams and goals. The salute took place at 12 noon as directed by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum - Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.

Students filled with spirit and respect for their second home, decorated their respective class boards with the UAE flag.

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6958 students from GEMS schools across the UAE formed the world’s largest human

sentence – HAPPY NATIONAL DAY - as a tribute to the nation’s 44th National Day. 150

students and teachers from OOB participated in this event.

NATIONAL DAY — GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

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The whole school participated in praying for the martyrs of the UAE. Commemoration

Day events started at 8:00 am with the lowering of the UAE flag. At 11:30 am the whole

school stood to attention and observed a minute’s silence. The flag was then raised and

the UAE National Anthem was sung in unison at different venues in the school.

COMMEMORATION DAY

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The staff and students of OOB put up a grandiose celebration to mark the 44th UAE National

Day. The programme commenced with the UAE National anthem followed by a recitation

from the Holy Quran. The Leadership Team was welcomed in traditional Arabic style. The

programme included dances and songs portraying the glories of this wonderful nation,

culminating in the cutting of a huge cake.

THE 44th UAE NATIONAL DAY 2015

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SPECIAL VISITORS TO OOB

OOB was privileged to welcome SIR CHRISTOPHER STONE, Senior Vice-President —

Education who interacted with students. Students of Grades 11 and 12 presented Sir

Stone with their project—The impact of human activity on the environment, selected by

the National Children’s Science Congress, UAE to compete in India. The students

appreciated Sir Stone’s insightful comments and suggestions. A portrait of Sir Stone,

beautifully sketched by Shyamkrishnan Sudhir, 10 E was presented to him as a token of

our appreciation.

OOB was also privileged to welcome MR. SUKHVINDER BASSI, Senior Vice-President—

Schools who was Chief Guest for the Annual Concert—Chaplinesque. He was very

impressed with the whole production, especially the fact that it was a complete home

production.

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FAREWELL MRS. MINI TRIPATHI, HEAD PRIMARY

OOB bid farewell to the Head Primary, Mrs. Mini Tripathi on 17th December, 2015. Our

Principal & CEO Mr. Srivalsan Murugan expressed appreciation for Mrs. Mini’s untiring

efforts over the past 25 years of service to GEMS and wished her good luck for the future.

The Head Master, the Supervisors and Teachers of various departments shared their

experiences, feelings and thoughts which was followed by a beautiful song by the teachers

of the primary department. An album was presented to her by the teachers of the Art

department as a token of love and appreciation.

Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 44

ACE SCHOLAR BADGES—SECONDARY Ace Scholar badges were conferred by the Principal on the students of Grades IX and X for

the 1st Term of the academic year 2015-16. Triple Ace Scholar badges were introduced this

year to honour those diligent students who had secured the Ace Scholar Badges three times

consecutively. Kudos to the distinguished winners!!

SPECIAL ORIENTATION A special orientation programme was conducted for the parents of students of Grade X to

guide them on stream selections and career choices after Grade X.

Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 45

Chaplinesque - THE ANNUAL SCHOOL CONCERT A humble tribute to the brightest star of the silent era- Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin,

‘Chaplinesque’ was performed on 16th December, 2015 in the multipurpose hall of the school.

An adaptation of his first full length masterpiece – The Kid, the play portrayed an entire

gamut of emotions and brought out the versatility of the actors who enacted the myriad

characters who lived in the sleepy town of Moneymoore. The hilarious attempts of the tramp

to take care of the homeless kid, the angst and pain at their separation and the joyous union,

contribute to this genius stroke of work. The evening reverberated with the Chaplinesque

theme. It was indisputably a stupendous effort put in by the students and staff of the school.

The glowing praises and accolades to the in-house production bears testimony to the

prodigious talent of the school and was indeed superlative in every sense of the term. The

tramp came, saw and conquered the hearts of everyone alike.

Al Shoua’a— August — December 2015 46

Chaplinesque - THE ANNUAL SCHOOL CONCERT

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