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Al Yasmina School Primary Newsletter

22 November 2012

Issue 10

Dear Parents,

Dates for your Diary

Sunday 25 – Tuesday 27 November Bookworm Fair

Monday 26 November - Next FOY Meeting at 8am

Monday 26 November - Individual photos

Tuesday 27 November - Individual photos

Thursday 29 November - National Day Celebrations

Thursday 29 November - Music Recital at 2.45pm

Thursday 6 December - Year 3 Ancient Egyptian Day

Saturday 8 December - Festive Fayre

Monday 10 December - Al Yasmina Festive Concert

From The Music Department

Well done to this week‟s Musicians of the Week

William Vandy (Key Stage1) and Ahmed Saif (Key Stage 2).

William (Year 2 Spoonbills) gave a very fine performance of “Ode to Joy” on

the cello for the whole class and Ahmed (Year 6 Falcons ) was super-

successful when he displayed his vocal ability. He sang “Born this Way” by

Lady Gaga for his class. Well done to both of you!

The primary children got a sneak preview of things to come this morning

when Sophia Meshal performed one of the songs from The Wiz. She

sounded amazing! FS2 – Orange class also performed in assembly this

morning. They sang „Ain‟t no mountain high enough.‟

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We have several dates for your diary:

Thursday 29 November –Monthly Music Recital at 2.45 in the Recital Room.

Thursday 6 December - Year 3 Ancient Egyptian Day

**Saturday 8 December - Festive Fayre. The following primary groups will be performing at the

following times:

11.20 Junior Choir

11.40 Intermediate Choir

12.00 Flute Choir

12.40 Brass Ensemble

**Monday 10 December - Al Yasmina Festive Concert

**If your child is involved in the above groups, please email cknapton@alyasmina.sch.ae stating

child‟s name, group, and whether they are able to attend the above 2 events. Many thanks.

From the Library

Bookworm Book Fair

Al Yasmina Primary Library is once again pleased to host its 5th annual book fair with the popular Abu

Dhabi children‟s book shop Bookworm.

This year FS to Year 6 will be given the opportunity to visit the Book Fair during school time to look at

the excellent range of books available. The children will also be able to buy books during their class

visit if parent wish them to do so. Pre-printed Bookworm envelopes will be sent home with children

on Thursday 22nd November. Parents of those children wishing to purchase books should send money

to school in these envelopes. The average cost of a book is 50Dhs.

Please note that the teacher takes no responsibility for any money sent into the school with pupils.

Parents are also invited to visit the book fair during the hours mentioned or with their children after

school. Book Fair hours are: Sunday 25 – Tuesday, 27 November 7.30am -3.30pm

In Al Yasmina Secondary Sports Hall

Sunday 25th November

Blue

Gold

Green

Yellow

Orange

Purple

Ruby

Larks

Doves

Storks

Spoonbills

Warblers

Wagtails

Parakeets

Mynahs

Eagles

Monday 26th November

Red

Jade

Amber

Cuckoo’s

Herons

Sandpipers

Curlews

Pipits

Wheatears

Sandgrouse

Nightjars

Sunbirds

Kestrels

Owls

Tuesday 27th November

White

Robins

Sparrows

Flamingos

Buntings

Terns

Ravens

Cormorants

Swallows

Falcons

Ospreys

Friend of Al Yasmina (FOY)

FOY Hamper Request

Just a reminder re donations for the Hamper stall, Tombola and decorate a Jar. Your child should

bring home a flyer today to jog the memory - as donations have been slow in arriving, we have

extended the deadline to Monday 26th November. Thank you to those who have already sent in

items.

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Children will receive 2 house points for each item brought in, so have a look in those cupboards over

the weekend.

FS1 and FS2 - Spa products - body wash, scrub, lotion, shower gel, hand cream, cuticle cream, nail

polish, nail file, aromatherapy candles or oils

Year 1 and Year 2 - Gourmet food - (nothing that needs to be refrigerated) - coffee, specialty teas,

fancy biscuits or crackers, nice jars, oils

Year 3 and Year 4 - Toys/items for children - board games, cards, small books, crayons, colouring

pencils, stickers, yo-yos, small puzzles, bubbles, balloons

Year 5 and Year 6 - Outdoor/garden - vases, candles, lanterns, small garden tools, seeds, hand scrub

and cream, gardening gloves

Cake Stall

Calling all bakers – we would like your help with baking for the Festive Fayre. Details on bake drop off

points will follow closer to the time. goodwins.uae@gmail.com

Second Hand Uniform Sale

The next Second Hand Uniform Sale will be held in the atrium on Wednesday 28th November from 1 -

3pm. We have plenty of winter jackets available!

Next FOY Meeting

The next FOY meeting is Monday 26th November at 8am in the Conference room. We are still in

desperate need for someone to take on the role of Secretary for FOY. It is not a very hard position at

all and Karen is only too happy to explain the role to anyone interested. Perhaps if you are thinking

of it, but not sure, you could come along to the meeting on Monday and have a try.

The Agenda is as follows:

* Secretary?? * Treasurers Report

* Charities - Decide on Local Childrens charity * National Day

* Festive Fayre * Christmas Concert

* Other Upcoming events * Wish list

* AOB

FOYVEG

FOY is considering a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Farmers' Services Centre that distributes food

from local farms. Similar to last year, Al Yasmina families could submit weekly (or monthly) orders (with

cash payment) for fresh vegetables (pure or mixed); or a soup or salad mixed box in either 2kg, 5kg

or 7kg weights. Produce is fresh and prices reasonable, with all funds received used to benefit local

farmers and FOY for the benefit of our students. At this point, we do not have enough interest to

make it a worthwhile venture. If you think you may be interested in receiving fresh, low-cost

vegetables at the school, please email Lisa Wall at foyveg@hotmail.com.

From the School Nurse

Head lice is a common problem amongst school-age children and, as well as being passed on to

other children at school, can also be picked up from home, play-dates, play-grounds, brownies,

karate club etc.

We do not routinely check for head lice within the school, as it has been proven to be ineffective, for

the following reasons (as per Health Protection Agency UK):

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“- Lice are taken into school from the community and not the other way round.

An effective head inspection requires damp hair and takes approximately 10 –

20 minutes to do – it is not possible to do this in a school environment.

- Lice move rapidly when disturbed and can go unnoticed during routine

school inspections.

- Early light infection will usually not be easily visible to the naked eye and will

easily be missed by routine school inspections.

- A child who is louse free at the time of inspection can pick up infection later

in the day.

- Routine inspections often provide parents/carers with a false sense of

security”

Head-lice are tiny wingless insects. They do not fly, jump or swim, but can climb from one hair to

another and are spread through close head-to-head contact. It is a common problem amongst

school-age children, because of the close contact through play. An infestation with head-lice does

not indicate poor hygiene or dirty hair. To detect head-lice you will need a fine-toothed detection

comb, which is combed through wet hair. This is made easier if you use lots of conditioner. Treat an

infestation (if live lice are seen) with either: a head-lice medicated shampoo, lotion or spray; or by

the wet-combing method. It is important to only treat if you see live lice, as it is known that the head-

lice can become resistant to some of the medicated treatments. Nits are the empty egg shells left

stuck to the hair shaft, when the lice have hatched. Nits can often be seen further down the hair

shaft, as the hair grows longer, even after successful treatment of head-lice. If your child has head-

lice please inform the school nurse or teacher, so that we can advise other parents to check their

children‟s hair. It is recommended that parents check their child‟s hair on a weekly basis, even when

there is no report of head lice within the year group.

Please look at this link for further information:

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx

From the PE Department

House Swimming:

On Sunday, Year 6 children represented their house in the annual house swimming event. As always

the races were very well competed with each house winning a number of races. In the end the

overall positions were 1st – Voyager, 2nd – Endeavour, 3rd – Challenger, 4th – Discovery.

Well done to all the children involved who swam so well for their house!

Year 5 children took to the pool on Wednesday to compete in the house swim. The enthusiasm

displayed by all children was fantastic, they chanted for their house and swam their hardest in every

race. The result came down to the final relay as points were so close. Final standings were: 1st –

Voyager, 2nd – Discovery, 3rd – Challenger, 4th – Endeavour. He next House swimming event will be

in term 2, Year 4 on 19 March 2013 and Y3 on 20th March 2013.

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Swim Squad:

This week the Al Yasmina swim squad competed in the Al Muna Swim Gala. The squad swam

superbly to dominate and win the competition overall.

Our swimming stars for the event, who each got a medal were as follows:

Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

Luke Gillroy Hayden Woodrow Thomas Clifton Alexander Darling

Sidney Venus Rebecca Gillroy Isabella Palmer Tanami Loftus

From the Arabic Department

Year 2 Native enjoy building palace from sands and wood which is

related to the Arabic lesson the group called

(Al Farawla) won the trophy in Arabic class. Well Done!

إطار األنشطة اهلادفة إىل تعزيز املهارات اللغوية املختلفة ، مت تنفيذ مسابقة بني طالب الصف الثاين في لبناء أمجل قصر من الرمل واخلشب واملكعبات ...إخل... فازت فيها جمموعة الفراولة اليت أمتت بناء القصر

لكأس يف الوقت احملدد بفضل التنسيق والتعاون بروح الفريق فحصلوا على ا .

وأطيب التمنيات للجميع.... فهنيئا جملموعة الفراولة هذا الفوز ...

Science Challenge

Congratulations to our science challenge winners this week, Ishtanetra

Siva and James Kay. Both children showed they are on their way to

becoming mini scientists. James presented his results in a fantastic line

graph and Ishtanetra was able to make her own hypothesis.

Check your emails on Monday for the next Science Challenge. I look

forward to seeing your entries.

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Foundation Stage 1 (FS1)

FS1 have had an extremely busy week this week learning all about the food and culture of Italy. We

have enjoyed making pizza dough, using spaghetti to form letters in our name, counting out pizza

toppings accurately and talking about healthy eating. We even had a chance to showcase our

talents and visit Year 2 to show them our beautiful sunflower paintings from the previous week, yes we

are definitely future Van Gogh‟s! A big thank you to all of the parents who sent in food for the

children to taste. Also thank you to those parents who came in to talk to the children about their

native country. This is valuable learning for the children and we appreciate it very much.

Next week we are looking at the theme „Food from the UAE‟. This is a fantastic opportunity for the

children to learn more about the local culture and customs for which we are going to have a fun

filled week of UAE activities leading up to the UAE National day celebrations. We will be tasting

different foods from the UAE, talking about the national dress and the UAE flag amongst lots of other

things. We just can‟t wait for the celebrations to begin! We would welcome any kind of input or

talks about the UAE from parents, thank you in advance for your support.

Congratulations to last week‟s

„Stars of the Week

Last week the stars of the week were:

Tamika Heath from Yellow Class, Ahmed Al

Magboul from Green Class, Archie Woods

from White Class, Salma Al Riyami from Blue

Class, Zeineldin Said from Red Class and

Ioannis Pavlou from Gold Class (individual

photo).

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Foundation Stage 2 (FS2)

This week FS2 visited Italy! They made their own Italian skewers using

mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and cucumber-the colours of the Italian flag!

All the children enjoyed tasting what they had made, they then made

menus to illustrate the lovely food they had tasted.

FS2 also made Italian flags using pasta which they painted green, white

and red. Luckily, there was lots of pasta left over, so the children decorated

it in their favourite colours and made necklaces!

Our budding artists studied Leonardo Da

Vinci‟s Mona Lisa. They recreated the famous

painting using different mediums with

amazing results! Look out for our artwork in

the classroom.

After learning about the volcanoes in Italy,

FS2 created their own volcanoes using

bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. It was

really exciting seeing the scientific reaction

when the ingredients were mixed together

and it was even more authentic when we

added food colouring and liquid soap too!

FS2‟s mathematicians looked at 3D shapes this week.

They investigated which shapes roll and which shapes slide, and which ones

do both! They also learned the names of 3D shapes and made their own 3D

shapes using construction materials.

Next week FS2 will be visiting Asia to learn about the sights, sounds and tastes of the region. They will

be tasting exotic Thai food and looking at the differences and similarities between Abu Dhabi and

Asia. The children will also be learning about time and sequencing events in their lives. They will be

thinking about the sequence of events during their day, from when they wake up to when they go to

bed! Knowing how busy our FS2‟s like to be, there will be lots to remember!

FS2 will be using their imagination to write a story about flying in an aeroplane. Will they be the pilot or

the passenger? Where will they fly?! We‟re sure there will be lots of exciting adventures being

recorded.

You can help your child at home by talking about things they may already know about Asia and

finding out a few new facts. Also take time to talk about the things they have to do every day, and

the sequence in which they do them. Keep encouraging your child to read to mum, dad and other

family members as often as possible. It is fun for them to practise their handwriting skills by writing out

the words from their reading books!

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Phonics focus. Phase 3 sounds- ch, th/th, sh, ar, or, igh, ur. Phase 2 tricky words- said, put, was, went

Reminder- Thursday, 29th November, National day. Remember to dress in the appropriate colour for

your class to help create a human UAE flag! Helpful websites http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/

Congratulations to last week‟s „Stars of the Week

Youssef Mikhail-Jade, Amelia Broderick-Orange, Khalid Al Mutawa-Purple, Paulina Maluck-Ruby,

Bayan Khraisheh-Amber. Well done guys, we‟re proud of you!!!

Year 1

This week we have been very excited about planning and writing our own

version of Handa‟s Surprise story. We have been practicing writing a

question using a capital letter, adjectives and a question mark using the

phrase from the story “Will she like the ….?” . We have also thought of

making our own creative version of the story. In maths, subtraction and

doubling have been introduced and more activities on this topic will be

planned next week to consolidate learning. Science was also blast as

children had to investigate what materials attract magnets. We have

discussed how magnets are useful in our daily lives.

Children also learnt lots of facts by learning about historical house hold items from the Victorian age.

Children learnt to appreciate the technological advanced they had at home compared to the past.

Next week we will read „Hump‟s Travel‟. In the story, Hump the camel travels around the UAE. So we

will be learning lots of facts about the UAE heritage and geography as well as camel facts which will

be linked to literacy lessons. Hence, lots of our learning will built on UAE heritage as the National Day

is coming up.

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Reminders

Please send in a signed trip form for the Heritage Centre Trip as well as a contribution of 30 AED. The

last date for handing this in is the 4th of December however earlier is

always appreciated. Please note children who do not have the

completed form by the due date will not be allowed on the trip and

they will be given work to complete at school.

Congratulations to last week‟s „Stars of the Week‟

Back: Shreenah Kindi – Doves , Ateeq Abdulla Al Hosani –

Larks and Mohamed Khoori - Sparrows.

Front: Ahmed Al Ketbi – Cuckoos and Munashe Chinengo- Robins

Year 2

Well, what an exciting week we've had in Year 2 this week! We

have been busy making a time machine and do you know we also

learned that our time machine actually works! On Monday Mrs

Chumley came all the way from 1666 where she had just escaped

the start of the Great Fire. Mrs Chumley was very shaken but was

reassured by the children's thoughtful questions and key facts they

shared with her about what happened during the Great Fire.

We then thought the time

machine had used up all its

powers until, the next day, the

one and only Mr. Samuel Pepys

came to visit us too! Mr. Pepys

was very shocked to have

arrived in 2012. The children had

some interesting questions for

Samuel such as „How did you

feel when you first saw the fire?‟

and „How many people died?‟

Some note takers used their

quills to note down what Samuel told us.

Next week we will begin to create a newspaper article describing the Great Fire as it happened!

In Maths the children have been introduced to solving multiplication word and number problems

using repeated addition and arrays. An array is a display of objects or symbols used to show a

multiplication number sentence.

For example 2 rows and 3 columns(2x3)

Next week in Maths the children will begin to learn about division using sharing and grouping.

For science the children have been continuing learning about materials by describing materials and

their properties. Next week we will continue learning all about properties through and investigation.

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Congratulations to last week‟s „Stars of the Week‟

Last week‟s Star of the Week in Year 2 were Morgan Pharoah from Sandpipers, Ayesha Salam from

Flamingos, Aiham al Braik from Storks, Abdulla Ali from Spoonbills and Mia Greene from Herons.

Year 3

This week in Literacy the children were learning to include dialogue in their

stories. We looked at the use of speech marks. Next week we will be looking

at writing instructions for different purposes.

In Math we have been learning different methods to measure. We have

been learning to estimate length and measure accurately. Next week we

will begin to look at fractions of groups and numbers. In Science, we potted

our plants and talked about what plants need to survive. We have been

thinking about different things we could find out ie what

happens when a plant is given no light. Next week we will be

writing up our experiments to see what we found.

In Art we have finished off our canopic jars. We will start to look

at using different water colour techniques to paint pictures of

pyramids.

In Topic this week we compared Modern and Ancient Egypt.

We found similarities and differences. We will look at the

Aswan Dam next week and discuss positives and negatives.

Congratulations to last week‟s „Stars of the Week

Omar Abu Saleh - Buntings, Hamad Al Reyami – Curlews, Luke Banaghan – Cormorants, Zayaan

Siddiqui – Terns and Juan Moreira Ponce- Ravens.

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Year 4

In Literacy this, week Year 4 have been getting their noses into

some information texts. We‟ve learnt all about how to use the

key features of an information book to find facts. Not

„content‟ with that (see what I did there?), we also learnt how

to skim and scan for information and make notes. All this was

so we could construct some fantastic information displays

about famous buildings. Thursday morning we were treated to

a talk from ex-Australian Channel 9 News reporter, Kellie

Curtain. See next week‟s newsletter for all the info.

In Maths we‟ve been dividing our attention between fractions

and decimals. No quarter was given as we discovered all

about equivalent fractions and fractions of shapes. We then

got straight to the point when it came to decimals. Who knew how important they were? Money,

measurements, disappointing iPhone OS updates… those decimals get everywhere! Luckily we

weren‟t half bad at them. In Science we are continuing to explore the properties of solids and

liquids and are moving on to separating materials. Pipits class even fried an egg in their lesson to

demonstrate and „irreversible change‟. How egg-citing! Sorry.

Degrees of separation, courtesy of Sandgrouse

Next week in Literacy, inspired by the National Day celebrations, we will be

making an information leaflet about national celebration days from our

own countries. In Maths we will continue our fraction work by looking at

fractions of amounts (at least I thought that‟s what Miss Phillips said, it might

have been fractions of a mouse – eek!) And of course, we will be getting

ready for a fantastic day of fun and celebration for National Day!

Congratulations to last week‟s „Stars of the Week

Zach Aker (Sandgrouse), Hayei Al Hameli (Wheatears),

Harriet Hughes (Pipits), Wren Hutcheson (Wagtails) and

McKenzie Venus (Warblers).

Year 5

It has been yet another jam packed week in Year 5 with the children particularly enjoying finding out

about Formula 1; its history, future and impact on our local community. The children‟s mood boards

for their personalised F1 cars are also really starting to take shape and convey a strong image of their

unique personalities.

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„Instructions‟ have been the focus of

Literacy this week. On Sunday we

made Fruit Kebabs by following a

recipe and on Monday we played

card games following instructions

which we then had to evaluate,

depending on how effective they

were. We also came up with

instructions on how to make the

perfect teacher – this

could be tried out at

home!

In Maths we have

continued to explore

measure – of time, length

and mass. Did you know

that horses are measured

in hands?!

Our learning in Science has been excellent as we have looked at the science behind night and day.

We have investigated time zones, why we have these and learnt the basic facts about the Earth‟s

rotation and orbit around the Sun.

Next week In Maths we embark on fractions and equivalent fractions. In Literacy we will develop our

skills in writing different types of instructions with the end of week aim being to write instructions for a

U.A.E themed board game. In science we are looking at how the Earth‟s tilt and orbit effects the

seasons. For ICT we will learn how to include formulae within cells on a spreadsheet in order to

master short cuts and appreciate the usefulness of spreadsheets. History will involve further

international research on the host countries of F1. We also have, of course, our National Day

celebrations to look forward to on Thursday. We will base the majority of our learning that day on

U.A.E themed tasks and activities... it‟s sure to be red, green, black and white!

Congratulations to last week‟s „Stars of the Week

Well done to Faisal Elias (Mynahs), Ty Power (Parakeets),

Nicole Mueller Arboleda (Sunbirds), Abigail Thorpe

(Nightjars), & Daniel Blake (Swallows)

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Year 6

What an exciting week Year 6 has had this week. It has

been full of fun and interesting learning. This week in

Literacy the students have been looking at debating!

Children have debated such issues as „Should Children

Wear School Uniform?‟ and „Should mobile Phones Be

Banned in Schools?‟ There have been some heated

debates! We have been looking at writing balanced

arguments and the skill of rebuttal!

In Numeracy, children have been examining number and

calculations. They have used fractions, including improper

fractions, mixed numbers, denominators, fractions of

shapes, numbers and percentages. They have also been

practising formal written methods of addition, subtraction,

multiplication and division.

Science was “forceful” again, as the students tested their

understanding of air resistance. They tested their

parachutes and, working in groups, the students

conducted an investigation to see who could make the

most effective paper aeroplane! In our topic, we have

been learning more about The Aztecs and preparing for

our chocolate day!

Well done to our stars of the week this week!

Rinki Gubta (Eagles), Jaimy Vlassenbroek (Kestrels), Abdulla

Mazroie (Owls), Adam Tlemsani (Ospreys), Trinidad

Carrasco (Falcons)