AL YASMINA SCHOOL STRIVES TO BE AN OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL, MAXIMISING THE LEARNING POTENTIAL OF ALL

THE SECONDARYPARTNERSHIP

AL YASMINA SCHOOL

CONNeCtBLOOMGrOwLeArNNurturePLAY

ABu DHABI ISSue 62012/2013

ALDAr ACADeMIeS

CONteNtSweLCOMe FrOM tHe HeAD OF SCHOOL 3

SuBJeCt SPOtLIGHt - GeOGrAPHY 4

MIND MAP AutHOr tONY BuZAN 5

SuBJeCt SPOtLIGHt - MAtHS 6

BOOK weeK BuZZ 7

Art StuDeNtS' IKeA PrOJeCt 10

YOuNG eNterPrISe GrOuPS 11

SPrING CONCert 13

rOMeO AND JuLIet reVIew 14

SCHOOL COuNSeLLOr 14

MuSCAt SwIMMING CHAMPS 15

wOrLD CHALLeNGe HArLeM SHAKe 16

StuDeNtS OF tHe MONtH 16

FOY uPDAte 17

Welcome to the latest issue of the Secondary PArtnership for the 2012/2013 academic year. The Secondary PArtnership is the publication for Al Yasmina's secondary school and is published eight times a year. Look for previous issues on the school website.

The Secondary PArtnership keeps you up-to-date with student activities across the secondary department. It also gives Al Yasmina School the chance to celebrate progress and achievement and provide more in depth information to parents on a wide variety of subjects.

We welcome your feedback. communications@alyasmina.sch.ae

The Secondary PARTnership Topics, trends, updates, views and news from the Al Yasmina Secondary Department

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Pictured on the cover: Year 8 Geography students kayaking in the Eastern Mangroves in Abu Dhabi 2

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“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself” - Henry Ford

I am always amazed at how quickly each term passes by and term two at Al Yasmina is no exception. I enjoy the opportunity to sit and reflect on the diversity of activities and events which take place in our school. As I write my monthly piece for the Secondary PARTnership, I am reminded once again how vibrant and dynamic the secondary school is.

At Al Yasmina we appreciate that every learner has differing needs and as mentioned on our website, lifelong learning is valued here and we take advantage of every opportunity to enrich the curriculum. Through real life experiences, educational visits, themed activities and visiting speakers.

It is no surprise then, that in support of our philosophy, term two has seen examinations, subject options process, the drama production of Chicago, International Day, the Austria Ski Trip, Duke of Edinburgh expedititons and numerous events and fundraisers.

Alongside this, we have had Year 8 Geography students kayaking in the mangroves in order to better understand management of that fragile ecosystem, English students attending a production

of Romeo and Juliet as part of the Abu Dhabi Arts and Music Festival, an inspiring presentation by Mind Maps author Tony Buzan, World Book Day activities, the Music Department’s Spring Concert, our sports teams challenging our competitor schools and our swim team giving their all at the British Schools in the Middle East Swimming Championships in Muscat.

The March issue of the Secondary PARTnership reflects all this activity and will hopefully make for a good holiday read as we head into the Spring Break, giving both staff and students the opportunity to recharge their batteries ahead of exam season pressures in term three.

Enjoy the read. Enjoy the break.

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL, MR GALE

GEOGRAPHY OFFERS GLOBAL PERSPECTIVEGeography in the secondary school has a global look to it, drawing on the knowledge and experience of students from various corners of the world, but firmly linked to issues facing the UAE.

“We have taken a theme-based approach, mapping out three themes – Our Hazardous World, Our Threatened World and Our Interconnected World,” says Ms Lawson, Subject Leader for Geography. “We’re currently focusing on sustainability.”

“Across the curriculum, at Key Stage 3 particularly, we’ve built it in to every year group, elements of looking at the world and how we can be more sustainable, but also with a focus on the UAE.”

Year 7 looks at what renewable resources are being developed in the UAE and how they are being used. Year 8 looks at management of the mangrove ecosystems as part of their “Fantastic Places, Changing Spaces” unit, and Year 9 studies the sustainability of tourism in the UAE. “The country is making massive steps towards becoming more sustainable and the students get a local perspective on what is happening.”

”Wherever possible we use local and regional examples in Geography, but as an international school we are able to draw from the cultural and geographical backgrounds of the students.” Ms Lawson gives the example of studying extreme weather and climate.”Some students have really never seen anything but a desert and experienced very little rain so it’s hard for them to get to grips with a concept like flooding. So we ask why the UAE is so hot and dry while other countries have rainforests. The range of nationalities at the school allows for a more global perspective.” In GCSE and A Level years, the course content is governed more closely by the requirements of the UK curriculum but every attempt is made to use global examples and experience.

Trips off-campus are always enticing for students and Geography offers plenty of scope, with excursions for most classes. Year 8 students have been kayaking in the mangroves this month, and Year 9 have already been to Dubai to see how tourism is managed there as part of their “Paradise Lost” unit. Year 10 have been out in the field for their controlled assessment - “How and why Abu Dhabi has changed in recent years”. They have collected data in Abu Dhabi and are currently writing it up.

Year 12 will also head into the city for their topic “Crowded Coasts” which looks at coastal management, and again for another topic called “Rebranding”. This looks at how places have had to adapt to ensure they continually develop, and how they relaunch themselves. They examine how Abu Dhabi has changed and how it has to keep modifying to stay competitive with other cities around the world.

Geography remains a popular optional subject at GCSE level, attracting just over 50 percent of the current Year 10s. The numbers drop a little at A Level, where there is big competition with Maths and the sciences. However, a recent survey of secondary students saw 98 percent of them rate Geography as a “good” or “excellent” subject to take.

“I like Geography because it is one of those subjects you can adapt to fit in with what’s going on in the world and because it is about the ‘here and now’, and the future,” Ms Lawson says. “I think it is really important that the students understand the planet that they live on and how it is going to change.

“It is quite a diverse subject and can be readily adapted to what is happening around us as it happens. This makes it constantly relevant to students.”

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IMAGE AND COLOUR KEY TO STUDY SUCCESS, SAYS MIND MAP CREATOR

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Senior students had their notions about learning, memory, and their own potential to achieve turned upside-down at an inspirational presentation by guest speaker Professor Tony Buzan on World Book Day.

The prolific author of books on memory, speed reading, and the innovative concept of mind mapping, told students in Years 9 to 13 that pages of notes are boring, daydreaming is productive, and image and colour are the keys to memory.

The prime language of the brain is image, not words. “The brain works by imagination and association. Build up these and learning will be easy.” It is human to love colour, it is a brain cell stimulator. Using it effectively is critical to success. “Colour helps us to organise our thoughts, it brightens things up and helps us concentrate.”

Writing notes in one dark colour is dull. Mono tone equals monotonous, he told students. “You will all be preparing for exams soon. You have to use colour if you are going to do well.” The mind map, or visual representation of a thought or concept, needs colour. “Every note you take, everything you want to remember, colour it.”

Daydreaming is also a visualisation of thought and should be encouraged, he said. A genius will have a “big” daydream, want to be great and will work to make it happen. In the classroom students should daydream, or visualise, concepts they are being taught so they have a picture in their head which helps them understand and remember. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” he reminded them.

A mind map always starts with an image in the centre and has branches radiating out from it. There is no limit to how many branches it can have. “The brain is no different, it has infinite potential to imagine and think. There is no such thing as a mental block.”

One single human brain cell is more powerful than a computer and we have millions of brain cells, so there is no limit to our potential to succeed, he told students. “You just have to use your brain well.”

“I’m not going to wish you luck because you don’t need it. You’ve got the potential. You’re in the starting blocks. Get out there and use the genius that you have and that you are.”

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Top Gear’s “Cool Wall” has come to Al Yasmina’s Maths Department, but with a twist. It is just one of the ideas staff have come up with to make maths fun and relevant.This Cool Wall celebrates the progress of secondary students. Those who have made three sub-levels of progress towards their target grades are deemed to be “sub zero” (the coolest of all!), those with two sub-levels “seriously cool”, and those with only one sub-level of progress “a bit chilly”.

Just as Top Gear illustrates their wall with photos of cars, the Al Yasmina board is covered with students’ photos. Results will be analysed each term and the wall updated.Mr Hetherington, Curriculum Team Leader for Maths, says staff are always thinking of ways to add value to the lessons, reward students, and provide real-life situations to illustrate the relevance of what they are learning in the classroom.

Only last term, groups of students in Years 9, 10, and 11, got maths-related work experience. A careers survey was undertaken and those interested in working in fields with a requirement for good maths skills got to make industry visits. One group went to stockbroking firm Century Financial Brokers in Dubai and another to architecture firm Design IEC in Abu Dhabi. “At the stockbroking firm they got to do a little trading, make and lose some money and see how easily it can happen in that game.”

The students who went to Design IEC got to take part in a “hands-on” workshop run by the managing director. “The students thoroughly enjoyed the visits,” Mr Hetherington says. Another industry day is planned for term three. He is keen to hear from any parents who know of firms which would be happy to be involved. 6

MAKING MATHS “SERIOUSLY COOL”The department is always looking for ways to both extend its most able students and encourage those who find maths more difficult. In KS4 (Years 10 and 11), gifted and talented students have been entered in Further Pure GCSE Maths, in addition to their standard Maths GCSE. This is seen as a great introduction to A Level Maths.

About 60 students in Years 9 to 11 have also competed in the UK Maths Challenge – a challenging multiple-choice exam. “There’s no point guessing the answers because they will lose marks for the wrong answers. It’s more of a Mensa-style IQ test than a maths test, so it’s really for the high-achieving students we have.”

Some Post-16 maths students are involved in a mentoring scheme to help prepare Year 9 students heading into GCSEs next year, and borderline C grade students in the current Year 11. It’s a win-win situation as the younger students benefit from the knowledge of the older ones, and the Post-16 students who are involved in the World Challenge get to satisfy the volunteering/community service component of the programme.

In addition to this, Maths teacher Mr Leach runs a regular Study Club after school for secondary students, with other staff planning more revision clubs in term three. World Maths Day on March 6 saw Al Yasmina students competing against their contemporaries from around the world via internet quizzes. “We try to offer as many open-ended enrichment activities as we can to make things a bit more interesting than just working out of a textbook.”

COOL WALL: from left Emily Rossiter, Gemma Parker, Paolo Pretorius and Arthur Noble-Ditchfield.

BIG BOOK SWAP

Book Week wrapped up with the Big Book Swap. Over the period of a week students were invited to bring in their pre-loved books to swap within the secondary school. Every book was swapped for a token and at the Big Book Swap on March 14, students exchanged their tokens for a “new” book from the collection. The book swap received more than 350 donated books, with around 250 going to new homes. The rest of the books will be donated to a charity collecting books for underprivileged children and children’s hospitals.

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BOOK WEEK BUZZ

MYSTERY STORY-TELLERS’ TALES

READERS’ CUP FINAL

On World Book Day, March 7, secondary students became mystery readers to students in the primary school. Years 7 - 11 visited primary classes to read some of their favourite stories and to listen to some of the stories written by the primary classes. “My children loved it,” said Year 2 teacher Miss Dean.

After elimination rounds at school last month, an Al Yasmina team travelled to Dubai on March 6 to take part in the Readers’ Cup final, run as part of the Emirates Festival of Literature. Mehek Mathur, Aysha Atti, Aran Quintana and Hannah Green fought against some tough competition from schools from Muscat and Dubai and were worthy runners-up, losing out by only 1-1/2 points to the International School of Muscat.

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BOOK WEEK COMPETITION WINNERS The winners were:

Guess the Teacher – Zunair KhurramAuthor Anagrams – Savannah AnsellWhere’s Wordell?--Sam ForbesMaths in Books – Mehek Mathur

Highest point score overall – Aysha Atti

Book Quiz – joint 1st place Jamie Queen and Neha Ali, 2nd place Fadhel Barakat

Competitions ran throughout the week:

Guess the Teacher with photos of teachers hiding behind their favourite books

Author Anagrams where students had to unscramble the authors’ names

Where’s Wordell? which involved students working out from photos where in the world Wordell the bookworm was readingMaths in Books to tie in with World Maths Day, which tested students’ knowledge of numbers used in literature

Book Quiz which pitted literature experts against each other in a four-round quiz.

ARAN YEAR 7’S KEENEST READER AGAINFollowing his success in the first term, Aran Quintana has topped the Year 7 Accelerated Reader programme again this term. The year group is piloting the research-based programme, which encourages students to develop a passion for reading and develop their skills as active readers. Students are given a range of books to choose from and take part in a quiz to test their comprehension skills after completing each book. Points are awarded to students each time they win a quiz and these points are exchanged for prizes. The students were given a period off timetable on the last Tuesday of term for a prize afternoon. The points will now be reset for the start of term three. Next term, there will be two prizes awarded per class for progress and effort.

Highest point score:Aran QuintanaGina CantelmiNour BarjesMehek MathurReem IbsaisFatima Anani

ProgressMohammed BakhitIbrahim Al MokatashTegan FriedenthalKarim MoukhtarNoah ColeyKayan Khraisheh

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From left is Zunair Khurram, Aysha Atti, Mehek Mathur, Sam Forbes, Fadhel Barakat, Jamie Queen. Not pictured: Savannah Ansell, Neha Ali

The classic sleek look of the IKEA chair is nowhere to be seen after colourful and quirky makeovers by Year 13 BTEC Art and Design students. In a collaboration between Al Yasmina and the local branch of IKEA, six chairs were donated to the Art Department for the students to complete the “Exploring Resistant Materials and Contextual Influences in Art and Design” unit of their BTEC diploma.

In return, the chairs have been on display at the Yas Island store over the past two weeks, making the vocational connection essential in any BTEC brief. Mrs Walsh, Art and Design Curriculum Team Leader, says she made the initial approach to IKEA after coming up with the idea of taking an existing product and upcycling it.

“IKEA was an ideal choice as it is both global and local. As their furniture range is flatpacked, it just made an ideal marriage.” She says she had already written up the brief for the students when she approached IKEA over the summer. They were looking to develop links with the local community and were keen to be involved. “BTEC is a vocational qualification, so our projects are very much connected to the world of work. It was important to get that connection.”

As part of their brief, the students had to select and research a 20th century Art movement. Armed with this information they had to redesign the chair in that style.

Jessica Vickery chose Art Nouveau; Haas Al Mashani, Surrealism; Nick Bryant, Op Art; and Liam Troup, Cubism.

Miniature versions of the chairs were created in the workshop before work began on the real thing. Each student had to address the challenges of their design and work with a range of materials, some of which they were not familiar with. It was a steep learning curve but the excellent quality of the outcome speaks for itself. IKEA created a multi-leveled display stand and installed lighting to display the students’ work.

The students provided information boards outlining the design of their chairs. The exhibition is likely to feature in IKEA’s own internal magazine. Best of all though, the Edexcel BTEC external verifier was at school on the last day of term and Mrs Walsh took her to IKEA where she assessed the works in situ. “It’s a bit of a coup, really.”

An unveiling of the chairs took place on March 21. Senior management, teachers, parents and, of course, delighted students were able to attend.

Mrs Walsh would like to thank Matthew Pritchard, our man at IKEA for his help and support throughout this project. She also looks forward to future partnerships with IKEA and the Al Yasmina Art Department.

STUDENTS GIVE IKEA CHAIRS RADICAL LOOK

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SCHOOL BUSINESSES GIVE CHARITY A HAND

Year 11 and 12 Young Enterprise groups Elegant Edge and Yazmania have both reported a successful year selling their products and have chosen to make charitable donations out of their profits.

Business Studies teacher Mr Dube says that the students are keen to show that despite running a “for profit” business, they still care about social issues. To this end, they have donated a total of 335Dhs towards World Challenge’s Uganda expedition in June.

The Young Enterprise scheme was launched at the beginning of the school year. The Year 11 company is Elegant Edge, which makes and sells custom-made jewellery. To date the company has sold at the Feline Friends charity event at the City Golf Club, school events like International Day and National Day, and through Facebook. The Year 12 company, Yazmania, sells custom made t-shirts at school events, including National Day, where they made bumper profits!

Both groups admit that the process has been challenging but enjoyable, Mr Dube says. “Team members have had to juggle studies, learn to work in teams, and get over their fears of selling to the public.”

The final event for the year is the nationwide Young Enterprise competition to be held at Marina Mall April 3-6. The purpose of the competition is to encourage young people to think about business as a career choice and to equip them with skills to enable them to be successful in a tough business world. Both teams will be dissolved at the end of May.

A group of Year 9s identified as Able, Gifted or Talented (AGT) have swapped a few of their free periods for extension classes in History, Science and English.

In History, 24 students attended a 45-minute session. Fifteen of them indicated that they would be taking History GCSE. “They were a very engaged and interactive group of students,” says AGT co-ordinator Miss Magee.

Looking at the feedback, the majority of students felt strongly that the session achieved its aims of deepening their knowledge of World War One, rather than trying to teach them something new.

EXTENSION CLASSES FOR AGT STUDENTS

In Science, the students are investigating Science in the News. They have been researching and analysing a variety of newspaper sources reporting on scientific topics. They have searched out “weasel words” in order to assess how accurate the reporting is.

In English, they explored different ways of promoting a cause, such as poetry, song, visual techniques and a variety of campaigns. This came after they had read To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with racism. Again, it was aimed at exploring the issues in more depth rather than learning anything new.

The sessions have been running since January and more are planned for other year groups. “So far the feedback from all the sessions has been really positive,” Miss Magee says.

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Back: Mr John O’Hagan (Parent Advisor) and Faisal Ali. Front: Shahmir Khan, Jake Hughes, Mitch Keel, Abigail Alexander, Clara Ziada, Dalia Audhali, Yea In Lim

“Team members have had to juggle studies, learn to work in teams, and get over their fears of selling to the public.”

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MR RICHARDS’ MATHEMATICAL CHALLENGECongratulations to Taisir Al Saqri, who provided the correct answer to last month’s challenge, correctly stating 13 plain pencils (8 pence each) and 4 coloured pencils (10 pence each).

This month a twist on a magic square

Fill in the empty spaces so every line adds up to the same, including diagonals. Which two numbers will be used to do this?

Please email your answers to crichards@alyasmina.sch.ae.

The solution and the person who solved it correctly will be published next month.

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MUSIC STUDENTS PERFORM AT ADMAF YOUNG ARTISTS DAY

Al Yasmina was well represented at this year’s Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival Young Artists Day. The 27-strong combined primary and secondary Brass Ensembles performed to a capacity audience at the event, held at Abu Dhabi Theatre on March 9. They played Break Loose by David Frost and an arrangement, by brass teacher Nick Hudson, of the Eye of The Tiger. The brass ensemble was joined on stage by drummers Sam and Josh Hudson and bass guitarist Liam Troup.

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FULL HOUSE FOR

SPRING CONCERTMusic students from across the school performed to a full house at the Spring Concert on March 20.

A total of 450 students from Year 2-13 were involved and performances included the Senior orchestra, Senior choir, Al Yasmina Singers, Intermediate choir, Junior choir, the Secondary and Primary Brass ensembles, Clarinet trio, Flute choir, Saxophone quartet, Junior string orchestra and two piano soloists – Isabella Jarman in Year 5 and Annia Mirza in Year 10.

The students had lots of fun and enjoying performing to such a big audience, says Mrs Hudson, Curriculum Team Leader for Music. The department’s next event is a student recital on Thursday April 25, at 2.45pm in the recital room.

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ROMEO AND JULIET GETS MODERN MAKEOVER

On Tuesday March 5 the Year 8 students went to the Abu Dhabi Theatre to watch Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Globe Theatre Company of London performed it. I expected it to be mediocre at best, but it exceeded my expectations greatly. The play was based on the traditional Romeo and Juliet, of two arguing families and forbidden love. The setting of the play was Verona, Italy.

The plot was traditional but was portrayed in a modern way.

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They still spoke in Shakespearean language but the characters and setting was modern day London. Their accents were almost Cockney, which was very interesting and gave it a nice modern twist. The actors were very good and consistent throughout. Most of them were extremely well suited to their roles. Romeo was very good and suited his character very well as a 14-year-old boy. His mannerisms and gestures were also extremely consistent.

On the other hand, Juliet was not as good. No doubt she was a good actress, she just wasn’t suited to Juliet’s role. She was quite manly and did not depict the typical image of Juliet’s girly character. Other than that, the characters were very well portrayed. The best part was how the actors sometimes entered from the back door and interacted with the audience very well. For example, in the one scene the policemen were asking the audience who did it and that added an element of excitement and thrill.

School Counsellor Vicki Bowen is offering parents the opportunity to speak to her about any issues they may have with their children at monthly drop-in sessions.

“This might be for advice, tips, strategies and support around their child’s behaviours at home. Anything regarding their child’s behaviours in school they will still speak directly to the class teacher as normal.”

Ms Bowen will be available on the last Wednesday of every month 12.30-2.30pm in Meeting Room 1, behind Reception. The dates up until the summer break are Wednesday April 24, Wednesday May 29, and Wednesday June 26.

Ms Bowen has made these times available to parents as some have attempting to call in at her office, but this is for students only.

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR OFFERS DROP-IN SLOTS FOR PARENTS

The humour was suited to our age group and was tailored extremely well to the conservative culture of this country and the audience.

Overall a brilliant performance. Very well executed, humorous and portrayed wonderfully. I really recommend it to anyone who enjoys an interactive fun performance. The set could have been changed a little more. But otherwise absolutely brilliant!

By Rachel Foulsham, Year 8 Hatta.

JAKE WALKS AWAY WITH COVETED GOLF PRIZE

I remember getting on the bus at the end of last year’s British Schools in the Middle East swimming championships and saying to the kids, “You have done it guys. Al Yasmina is no longer a participant, Al Yasmina is a contender. I had my confidence in the team but little did I know how right I was.”

We are back from the same competition a year later and my words seem to be carved in stone now. Sixty medals – 11 gold, 25 silver, 24 bronze, six BSME records and memories for a lifetime. All our swimmers achieved personal best times. This was the most successful swimming event yet. Our school swim team is in the top five teams in the GCC region.

Our swimmers provided some of the most exciting races of the competition. From close races and battles to the last stroke to record-breaking swims, they elevated us with great excitement and pride.

The achievement of those results has not been without sacrifice. Swimmers have committed time and effort in pursuit of goals and dreams.

Year 10 Muzeera student Jake Peate will be hoping his feet have stopped growing after he won an extremely valuable pair of custom-made shoes at a recent competition at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

The tournament was held over two days and was sponsored by the Italian handmade shoe company La Raimondi. More than 50 people took part and Jake won the 0-9 Division A, handicap group, with a score of 40 points.

First prize was to have a pair of custom-made golf shoes designed. Of course, Jake chose his favourite football team colours, West Ham Claret & Blue. The shoes are worth about 1800Dhs. “Good job he won them!” says his mother Sonia.

And there’s no chance of them finding their way into someone else’s bag – his name is engraved on the side!

Congratulations to all swimmers. We are very proud of you.

By Al Yasmina Swim Instructor Mr Todorov

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TALENT, DISCIPLINE AND HARD WORK PAYS DIVIDENDS FOR AL YASMINA SWIM TEAM

Early mornings while most people are still in bed, our children are covering an average of 4km in the pool, late afternoons another 4 -5km, weekends training, and competitions. Hard work, discipline and team ethos have been at the core of our success. We aim to achieve excellence and we can only do so by been excellent every day, every practice, every stroke and turn.

Record holders are:

Isabelle Darling (Year 4) – 50 Freestyle 37.59 and 50 Butterfly 43.19

Hayden Woodrow (Year 4) – 200 Freestyle 3.00.34

Cameron Oliver (Year 10) – 50 Backstroke 28.94, 100 Backstroke 1.02.51 and 200 Freestyle 2.04.51

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ATRIUM ANARCHY ALL IN A GREAT CAUSEThe atrium was a scene of complete madness this month as students took part in the viral internet craze The Harlem Shake, in support of the World Challenge expedition to Uganda in June.

Students paid a 5Dhs entrance fee to take part in what is best described as an absolutely random and crazy dance, with Mr Gale taking the lead. Students crowded around the banisters on the first and second floors to watch our Head of School lead their friends into the chaos.

Dana Nasser (Islamic Studies - native), Tahira Kalsoom (Islamic Studies - non-native)Mohamed Al Hashmi (Arabic - native),Zaid Jafarey (Arabic - non-native),Abdulla AlMheiri (UAE Social Studies),Ciara Loane (Art),Ryan Sayegh (Business Studies),Aurore Queromain (Drama),Abby McGough (DT),Alvinderjit Gurjit Singh (Economics),Ruby Hughes (English),

MARCH STUDENTS OF THE MONTHFadwa Qadan (French),Kayan Khraisheh, Jamie McMillan, Jamie Queen (Geography),Liam Bryant (History),Jake and Emily Rossiter (ICT),Aran Quintana (Mathematics),Liam Troup (Music),Fadwa Qadan (PE),Nicola Burgess (Psychology),Anissa Johnson (Science),Kaitlyn McVicar (Spanish).

We raised a total of 700Dhs, which will go towards funding our expedition this summer and we would like to thank everyone who got involved in our 30 seconds of complete anarchy, as well as the whole school for the support we have received throughout the year.

By Shahmir Khan, on the behalf of the World Challenge Team.

The Friends of Al Yasmina (FOY) have been able to contribute to several exciting school activities this year. These have included providing refreshments at functions such as the various sports and swimming days, the Year 2 Click Exhibition, welcome coffee mornings, and the Aldar Olympics. Putting the funds raised by FOY to a good cause is what we are all about and fortunately this month we are able to donate quite a bit.

We have also been very lucky this term to have been helped by a very enterprising young lady in Year 6 - Layla Jawhari who has raised the huge amount sum 1200Dhs on her own, and has very kindly donated it to FOY. This will be added to an amount at the end of the year that will be donated to charity.

FOY Veg has been getting some assistance with the vegetable boxes from the World Challenge team, so the funds raised this month have been donated to them to help with their Uganda fundraising. This month amounted to 1255Dhs. Further proceeds from FOY Veg will also go towards the World Challenge fundraising.

A total donation of 2000Dhs was distributed by FOY to all of the stalls participating in the hugely successful International Day. The Primary drama production of The Wiz will benefit from the donation of 5000 Dhs. Funds will help with props, costumes and lighting.

The Al Yasmina Spring Ball is a major event on the calendar next term and the funds raised will go towards Operation Smile, the charity which helps improve the quality of life for children with facial disfigurements. Make sure you get some friends together and organise a table or come on your own and meet some new people for a great night out.

We are looking at further ideas to assist the primary and whole school and will have an update as soon as it's available. Come along to the next FOY meeting on Thursday, April 18 at 8am. It is a great way to be involved with your child's education and contribute to some really worthwhile fundraising.

LATEST NEWS FROM FRIENDS OF AL YASMINA

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