News from our Secondary Principal, Katherine Banner
Student Spotlight
Tennis had a great week last week! We would like to congratulate the following students:
The top two singles players are Caitlyn De Freitas and Dhruv Nair who won with solid 8-2 scores each.
Our number two boys player, Mazen Saleh won a long, hard match with a score of 10-8 in a tie-breaker. Number three singles boy, Tariq Rajel, won his hard-fought match in a tie-breaker of 8-1. Excellent. Our number four girl's singles player, Jayna Poonoosamy, won with a solid 8-3 score. Her sister, Adiya, playing number 2 girl's singles barely lost in a tie-breaker of 1-7. Kirtanaa Krishnaswamy fought hard but lost to a former GAA player, Hannah, 4-8.
Joana Barata and Jayna P. Also fought hard with a fantastic comeback but lost their doubles 5-8. Priyanka Kannan and Andrea Yrigoyen had a very competitive match losing only 6-8.
It was a fantastic competition! Thank you Coach Cyndy Beck!
Freshmen Celebrate the First 100 Days!
In celebration of successfully completing their first 100 days of High School, Grade 9 students at GAA were treated to a stand-up breakfast when they arrived to school on Tuesday morning. Thanks to GAAPA and all of the parents who donated all the delicious food and drink for the students. During the celebration, students wrote a wish for their future that will be collected and framed for the Class of 2020. Students also indicated their place or birth on a world map to showcase the diversity of our Grade 9 class. To round out the event, our Secondary Principal, Ms. Banner addressed the students with an encouraging message of how to be successful in high school - learning from our mistakes, making good decisions and being good friends and classmates. Thank you again to all our parents who contributed breakfast items and to Maha and Judith for organizing the event.
Tennis had a great week last week! We would like to congratulate the following students:
The top two singles players are Caitlyn De Freitas and Dhruv Nair who won with solid 8-2 scores each.
Our number two boys player, Mazen Saleh won a long, hard match with a score of 10-8 in a tie-breaker. Number three singles boy, Tariq Rajel, won his hard-fought match in a tie-breaker of 8-1. Excellent. Our number four girl's singles player, Jayna Poonoosamy, won with a solid 8-3 score. Her sister, Adiya, playing number 2 girl's singles barely lost in a tie-breaker of 1-7. Kirtanaa Krishnaswamy fought hard but lost to a former GAA player, Hannah, 4-8.
Joana Barata and Jayna P. Also fought hard with a fantastic comeback but lost their doubles 5-8. Priyanka Kannan and Andrea Yrigoyen had a very competitive match losing only 6-8.
It was a fantastic competition! Thank you Coach Cyndy Beck!
Freshmen Celebrate the First 100 Days!
In celebration of successfully completing their first 100 days of High School, Grade 9 students at GAA were treated to a stand-up breakfast when they arrived to school on Tuesday morning. Thanks to GAAPA and all of the parents who donated all the delicious food and drink for the students. During the celebration, students wrote a wish for their future that will be collected and framed for the Class of 2020. Students also indicated their place or birth on a world map to showcase the diversity of our Grade 9 class. To round out the event, our Secondary Principal, Ms. Banner addressed the students with an encouraging message of how to be successful in high school - learning from our mistakes, making good decisions and being good friends and classmates. Thank you again to all our parents who contributed breakfast items and to Maha and Judith for organizing the event.
Senior Privileges
Senior privileges are now available to Senior Students who meet the criteria listed below. We are happy to announce that we have arranged access to the Parent Café for seniors with privileges as well. Students who qualify may pick up their Senior Privilege Cards in Mr. Lea’s office beginning on Tuesday, February 14, 2017.
Expectations:
Senior students who are in good standing will be given the privilege of:
With these privileges comes the following responsibilities/expectation:
To be in “Good Standing”, students must:
These past few weeks, our French 3 Class has been sharing their culture and traditions with the class by bringing in their traditional food. I wanted to share their journey with you with pictures we took while they presented their culture. In class, we have been learning about the various types of food and how we prepare them. This project is a unique one as it allows the students to learn more about their culture and the food they eat. This is very important for the students to get exposed to new and different cultures, but at the same time learning French!
We began our little journey with the Arabians, we had all types of authentic and wonderful breakfasts from Palestine to Lebanon to here, the United Arab Emirates! We then moved on to the Europeans; Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, and Romania with their simple, yet very fulfilling breakfast. We then ended that week with the Canadians’ very maple syrupy breakfasts. The next week, we started with the Indians and ate their delicious dishes from all parts of the country. On our last day, we ended our food project with the Asians’ and Africans’ appetizing and flavorful dishes.
It was an adventure for the class, we not only learned how to prepare the food and its’ characteristics, but we also learned about the country itself and the various rituals that are practiced in the country. This project was a great learning experience for everyone and allowed the students to practice their French while learning more about their own culture and those of others. It is a joy to learn new things everyday and culture is very important factor in our lives that is necessary to learn about.
Merci and Bon Appétit!
Avani
Breakfast from Around the World
These presentations were a successful attempt to help the students better understand the unit question, “How is your culture reflected in your food habits?”. Students also introduced to each other the different table manners of their cultures that they must keep in mind when eating a meal. This opportunity allowed for the students to explore their classmate’s cultures and emerge themselves in an experience that they had not had before. Many of the foods that were presented by the students are available and can be bought in the UAE, whereas some others could be prepared at home, as long as the right ingredients are available. Laila
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it is the only meal that keeps us going throughout the day. Our body is at its fasting stage when we’re asleep, and the first thing we eat, breaks our fast, which is where the name breakfast comes from. Those presentations weren’t only opening our minds to all of those different kinds of foods, we were also learning about the manners that come along with how you eat those dishes. We learned about how you can prepare those dishes, and how some of the ingredients are provided in the local supermarket so we could all enjoy them. Each dish from those different countries have a fascinating background to how it helped the economy of that country, and how we researched more about our own dishes and found out about their origin and history. It also shows us how we’re easily able to connect with other people by eating and trying their traditional food. Bassima
We learnt a lot about each other’s cultures and this project not only provided us with an in depth view of each other’s heritage, but it also showed us how different factors affected what people eat. This allowed us to make connections to a range of topics, like history and traditions. This project helped us to see how food is an integral part of who we are and our cultural identity. Jean
Learning about foods from around the world was very interesting since one also got to learn about where the food came from and how it came to be. Each culture was very unique in its own taste. Ahmed
We talked about the culture and the origins of the cuisine of our home countries, in French of course. To lengthen our vocabulary, we also discussed about how our dish was made and the ingredients for it, most of which was new to the students because of the different varieties of new ingredients that is used by another culture more often than our own. At the end of the presentations, we ate food from an entirely different culture and walked out the door learning something new about another country and our own in a different language. Kyle
We were divided into groups based on our origins and geographic zone. Each one of us had to cook a type of breakfast traditional for our country, to learn about that food history, how we can prepare it and finally to present our breakfast in front of the class in French. The best part was when we could taste the food that the other students brought for us. I discovered many new good flavors and I’ve learned how to cook some of the dishes here, in Abu Dhabi. For me it was one of the best projects I’ve ever had to make because I like to cook and also to taste new dishes from other cultures and countries. I think it’s a good way to learn about the differences between our life style. I’m happy I could be a part of this beautiful project! Eva
Regards,
Katherine Banner
Senior privileges are now available to Senior Students who meet the criteria listed below. We are happy to announce that we have arranged access to the Parent Café for seniors with privileges as well. Students who qualify may pick up their Senior Privilege Cards in Mr. Lea’s office beginning on Tuesday, February 14, 2017.
Expectations:
Senior students who are in good standing will be given the privilege of:
- Wearing their senior hoodies (provided the rest of their uniform is in order)
- Coming in late if their study hall block is first period only
- Signing out early if their study hall block is last period only
- Accessing the Cafe during breaks and study hall periods
With these privileges comes the following responsibilities/expectation:
- Students must maintain their good standing or the privileges will be revoked
- Students arriving late will sign in with Ms. Brown
- Students leaving early must sign out with Ms. Brown
- Students must understand that service priority at the Cafe will be given to faculty and parents. Students must wait patiently for an opportunity for service, and may NOT use delays at the Cafe as an excuse for tardiness to class.
To be in “Good Standing”, students must:
- Have all of their course work up to date. Teachers may request removal from the Senior Privileges list if students have missed assignments or are exhibiting poor behavior or work habits in class.
- Meet all graduation deadlines
- Meet all expectations of the GAA attendance policy
- Have no detentions in the second semester
- Have submitted their Extended Essay (IB students only)
- Have returned the Senior Privilege contract signed by the student and their parent or guardian indicating they understand the privileges and responsibilities for Senior Privileges
These past few weeks, our French 3 Class has been sharing their culture and traditions with the class by bringing in their traditional food. I wanted to share their journey with you with pictures we took while they presented their culture. In class, we have been learning about the various types of food and how we prepare them. This project is a unique one as it allows the students to learn more about their culture and the food they eat. This is very important for the students to get exposed to new and different cultures, but at the same time learning French!
We began our little journey with the Arabians, we had all types of authentic and wonderful breakfasts from Palestine to Lebanon to here, the United Arab Emirates! We then moved on to the Europeans; Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, and Romania with their simple, yet very fulfilling breakfast. We then ended that week with the Canadians’ very maple syrupy breakfasts. The next week, we started with the Indians and ate their delicious dishes from all parts of the country. On our last day, we ended our food project with the Asians’ and Africans’ appetizing and flavorful dishes.
It was an adventure for the class, we not only learned how to prepare the food and its’ characteristics, but we also learned about the country itself and the various rituals that are practiced in the country. This project was a great learning experience for everyone and allowed the students to practice their French while learning more about their own culture and those of others. It is a joy to learn new things everyday and culture is very important factor in our lives that is necessary to learn about.
Merci and Bon Appétit!
Avani
Breakfast from Around the World
These presentations were a successful attempt to help the students better understand the unit question, “How is your culture reflected in your food habits?”. Students also introduced to each other the different table manners of their cultures that they must keep in mind when eating a meal. This opportunity allowed for the students to explore their classmate’s cultures and emerge themselves in an experience that they had not had before. Many of the foods that were presented by the students are available and can be bought in the UAE, whereas some others could be prepared at home, as long as the right ingredients are available. Laila
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it is the only meal that keeps us going throughout the day. Our body is at its fasting stage when we’re asleep, and the first thing we eat, breaks our fast, which is where the name breakfast comes from. Those presentations weren’t only opening our minds to all of those different kinds of foods, we were also learning about the manners that come along with how you eat those dishes. We learned about how you can prepare those dishes, and how some of the ingredients are provided in the local supermarket so we could all enjoy them. Each dish from those different countries have a fascinating background to how it helped the economy of that country, and how we researched more about our own dishes and found out about their origin and history. It also shows us how we’re easily able to connect with other people by eating and trying their traditional food. Bassima
We learnt a lot about each other’s cultures and this project not only provided us with an in depth view of each other’s heritage, but it also showed us how different factors affected what people eat. This allowed us to make connections to a range of topics, like history and traditions. This project helped us to see how food is an integral part of who we are and our cultural identity. Jean
Learning about foods from around the world was very interesting since one also got to learn about where the food came from and how it came to be. Each culture was very unique in its own taste. Ahmed
We talked about the culture and the origins of the cuisine of our home countries, in French of course. To lengthen our vocabulary, we also discussed about how our dish was made and the ingredients for it, most of which was new to the students because of the different varieties of new ingredients that is used by another culture more often than our own. At the end of the presentations, we ate food from an entirely different culture and walked out the door learning something new about another country and our own in a different language. Kyle
We were divided into groups based on our origins and geographic zone. Each one of us had to cook a type of breakfast traditional for our country, to learn about that food history, how we can prepare it and finally to present our breakfast in front of the class in French. The best part was when we could taste the food that the other students brought for us. I discovered many new good flavors and I’ve learned how to cook some of the dishes here, in Abu Dhabi. For me it was one of the best projects I’ve ever had to make because I like to cook and also to taste new dishes from other cultures and countries. I think it’s a good way to learn about the differences between our life style. I’m happy I could be a part of this beautiful project! Eva
Regards,
Katherine Banner