Dear Parents,
We are listening.
Since September we have been listening to feedback from parents in order for us to implement our continuous school improvement plan. We want you to know that we are resolution oriented – if you have a concern we will strive to resolve them. Thank you to the 100+ parents that came today to our informal coffee workshop today. Parents arrived eager to share "What's working well" and "What could improve". Senior leaders/ table facilitators took notes on chart paper and we are excited about the input and feedback we have received about our programs.
Underpinning all that we do is our goal to improve the quality of our academic program. The education of our students is at the heart of all we do.
Here is an update on some of the areas outside of academia in which we have received feedback and what we have done to improve.
Cafeteria - What we have done
Our school operations department has successfully re-arranged the queuing system. In the past students paid, collected their food and sat down. Now students collect their food, pay and then sit down. This system is much speedier. Thanks also go to the parents who are paying online, which results in faster service too.
We have also been working with Accuro to improve what is being served inside the cafeteria. We now have a pasta and Panini station available to the students. SLT frequently take the lunch from the cafeteria to check its quality and suitability for students. Any feedback goes straight back to Accuro who are working with us to keep improving.
KG Islamic Studies - What We Have Done
In October we added Islamic studies to the KG program. We heard it was important to you and while not a requirement from ADEC, we value your feedback and have added this lesson to KG students schedules. KG Muslim students now study Islamic Studies during the academic day.
KG access to Facilities - What We have Done
To meet your requests we have made the following changes:
- All Classes will have 2 cycles (1 cycle is 6 weeks) using the gym for their physical education class
- In addition to the 8 weeks of swimming lessons all KG students will receive this term, we will be adding a further 6 weeks of swimming lessons in the last term.
- Now the cooler weather has arrived, KG students are taking advantage of having classes out on the school sports pitch to learn the rules of cooperative games and refine gross motor skills
- Some specialist lessons will also take place as an outdoor activity
We have increased the amount of students performing at the community share so students have more opportunity to be on stage developing their performance skills.
School Cleanliness - What we have done
At the start of the year we hired a new cleaning company to take over the cleaning of the school. We have been training our new cleaning staff to keep the high standards that we expect at GAA. We continue to ask parents to let us know if they see anything which falls below our high expectations.
Communication -What we have done
Secondary parents are now able to see their child’s schedule and progress via the secondary portal plus portals. You can also message teachers directly using this site, in case you do not have their email address to hand. We recommend that you use this site if you have not done so already.
The launcher is now improved to feature teacher’s names, grade area and direct email addresses to help you get in touch when you need to. In case you don’t know the site, you can access it on http://tiny.cc/thelauncher
We have also organized email addresses for all secondary students, giving them immediate online access to teachers and classmates facilitating collaboration and discussions regarding group work.
Scheduling of Conferences
Feedback that we have received is that parents have been pleased with our new booking system for KG and Elementary three way conferences. For Secondary school, having parent conferences in the gym helped parents access all the teachers they wanted to speak to in one place, saving time.
School transport
We have increased the number of buses from 19 to 24 buses to meet demand to reduce the amount of time students spend on the bus. We have re-routed several lines in order to reduce the travelling time also. We will be having a new bus departing from Saadiyat Island as soon as we have 15 students registered for this service. If you are interested in this please contact [email protected]
Information Sessions
Each Thursday at 2pm since the start of October we have held an educational coffee seminar open for all parents to attend. Topics have included “Access to online Grades”, “Support Your Early Reader”, “MAP Testing”, “In touch with Dr. Miner” and next week we will have a presentation from on the school improvement goals.
We will continue to hold these sessions throughout the year. We are also looking at giving more opportunity to working parents to attend such meets. You will begin to see more things happening at 5pm to give everyone the same opportunity to receive face to face information regarding important matters.
I want to thank all those that came to today’s parents coffee session this afternoon. I will be studying the chart paper with great interest and this will form a framework for GAA’s planning. I look forward to see you next week for my presentation on the schools improvement plan in the auditorium at 2pm.
Have a lovely weekend
Kathryn Miner
We are listening.
Since September we have been listening to feedback from parents in order for us to implement our continuous school improvement plan. We want you to know that we are resolution oriented – if you have a concern we will strive to resolve them. Thank you to the 100+ parents that came today to our informal coffee workshop today. Parents arrived eager to share "What's working well" and "What could improve". Senior leaders/ table facilitators took notes on chart paper and we are excited about the input and feedback we have received about our programs.
Underpinning all that we do is our goal to improve the quality of our academic program. The education of our students is at the heart of all we do.
Here is an update on some of the areas outside of academia in which we have received feedback and what we have done to improve.
Cafeteria - What we have done
Our school operations department has successfully re-arranged the queuing system. In the past students paid, collected their food and sat down. Now students collect their food, pay and then sit down. This system is much speedier. Thanks also go to the parents who are paying online, which results in faster service too.
We have also been working with Accuro to improve what is being served inside the cafeteria. We now have a pasta and Panini station available to the students. SLT frequently take the lunch from the cafeteria to check its quality and suitability for students. Any feedback goes straight back to Accuro who are working with us to keep improving.
KG Islamic Studies - What We Have Done
In October we added Islamic studies to the KG program. We heard it was important to you and while not a requirement from ADEC, we value your feedback and have added this lesson to KG students schedules. KG Muslim students now study Islamic Studies during the academic day.
KG access to Facilities - What We have Done
To meet your requests we have made the following changes:
- All Classes will have 2 cycles (1 cycle is 6 weeks) using the gym for their physical education class
- In addition to the 8 weeks of swimming lessons all KG students will receive this term, we will be adding a further 6 weeks of swimming lessons in the last term.
- Now the cooler weather has arrived, KG students are taking advantage of having classes out on the school sports pitch to learn the rules of cooperative games and refine gross motor skills
- Some specialist lessons will also take place as an outdoor activity
We have increased the amount of students performing at the community share so students have more opportunity to be on stage developing their performance skills.
School Cleanliness - What we have done
At the start of the year we hired a new cleaning company to take over the cleaning of the school. We have been training our new cleaning staff to keep the high standards that we expect at GAA. We continue to ask parents to let us know if they see anything which falls below our high expectations.
Communication -What we have done
Secondary parents are now able to see their child’s schedule and progress via the secondary portal plus portals. You can also message teachers directly using this site, in case you do not have their email address to hand. We recommend that you use this site if you have not done so already.
The launcher is now improved to feature teacher’s names, grade area and direct email addresses to help you get in touch when you need to. In case you don’t know the site, you can access it on http://tiny.cc/thelauncher
We have also organized email addresses for all secondary students, giving them immediate online access to teachers and classmates facilitating collaboration and discussions regarding group work.
Scheduling of Conferences
Feedback that we have received is that parents have been pleased with our new booking system for KG and Elementary three way conferences. For Secondary school, having parent conferences in the gym helped parents access all the teachers they wanted to speak to in one place, saving time.
School transport
We have increased the number of buses from 19 to 24 buses to meet demand to reduce the amount of time students spend on the bus. We have re-routed several lines in order to reduce the travelling time also. We will be having a new bus departing from Saadiyat Island as soon as we have 15 students registered for this service. If you are interested in this please contact [email protected]
Information Sessions
Each Thursday at 2pm since the start of October we have held an educational coffee seminar open for all parents to attend. Topics have included “Access to online Grades”, “Support Your Early Reader”, “MAP Testing”, “In touch with Dr. Miner” and next week we will have a presentation from on the school improvement goals.
We will continue to hold these sessions throughout the year. We are also looking at giving more opportunity to working parents to attend such meets. You will begin to see more things happening at 5pm to give everyone the same opportunity to receive face to face information regarding important matters.
I want to thank all those that came to today’s parents coffee session this afternoon. I will be studying the chart paper with great interest and this will form a framework for GAA’s planning. I look forward to see you next week for my presentation on the schools improvement plan in the auditorium at 2pm.
Have a lovely weekend
Kathryn Miner
What's Happening at GAA Next Week?
National Day Holiday Update - school will be closed on Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd AND Thursday 4th December
Three Way Conferences
Thanks to those who attended the three way conferences last week. I hope that you found them useful and informative. Here is the information regarding parental attendance for this important event.
Thanks to those who attended the three way conferences last week. I hope that you found them useful and informative. Here is the information regarding parental attendance for this important event.
GEMS American Academy Community News
Parent Coffee and Information Series
In order to connect with the parent community on various important topics, we are introducing a parent coffee and information series. Here are the dates and topics of sessions we will be hosting over the next month:
- Presentation of School Improvement Goals by Kathy Miner – Thursday 20th November 2pm
Back by Popular Demand: “Support Your Early Reader-Writer,” with Laurie Socolow
Phonics? Sight words? How does a child learn to read and write? Laurie Socolow, the elementary literacy advisor, invites all parents of children in KG2 and Grades 1 and 2 to a presentation and discussion of how you can support your early readers and writers. Tuesday afternoon, November 18, at 1:45 p.m. in Room 149. (That’s the first door on the right when you enter the Grade 4 corridor.)
One more time: Words Their Way Workshop with Laurie Socolow
Laurie Socolow, the elementary literacy advisor, will be offering again the Words Their Way workshop. (This is the same workshop that was offered a couple of times in October.) WTW is the word study program used in Grades 1 to 5. This hands-on workshop will show you what your child is doing in class, and what you can do at home to support her or him. You will also receive an explanation of how the program supports your child’s reading, spelling, writing, and vocabulary acquisition. Please come! Thursday morning, November 20, about 8:20 a.m. in Room 149. (That’s the first door on the right when you enter the Grade 4 corridor.)
News From The Planetarium
The planetarium has been a busy place the past few months. We have held various special events from the Hijra presentation last month to a live stream viewing of the Rosetta mission’s attempt to land on a comet. The event was covered by The National and GAA’s own Athina Bohner was quoted: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/science/probe-touches-down-on-comet
To find out about upcoming planetarium events you can like the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gems-American-Academy-Planetarium/319735654728262
Or follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GAAPlanetarium
The next round of “Community Evenings” is planned for the 2nd week of December. More information to come about dates and time.
The planetarium has been a busy place the past few months. We have held various special events from the Hijra presentation last month to a live stream viewing of the Rosetta mission’s attempt to land on a comet. The event was covered by The National and GAA’s own Athina Bohner was quoted: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/science/probe-touches-down-on-comet
To find out about upcoming planetarium events you can like the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gems-American-Academy-Planetarium/319735654728262
Or follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GAAPlanetarium
The next round of “Community Evenings” is planned for the 2nd week of December. More information to come about dates and time.
News From the Library
Great News! We're running a Scholastic ISBC to earn free books for our school. We sent the Book Club leaflets home so that you and your child can choose from the latest exciting selection of books or go online to http://world-schools.scholastic.co.uk/gems-american-acad-abu-dhabi .
Please make sure you return your order to school by Sunday, November 23.