Qatar Academy Primary

Tel: 445 42322

Email: qasidra@qf.org.qa www.qasidra.com.qa

Upcoming Events

Dear Parents,

Welcome Back!

We are busy preparing for the start of the new 2016-2017 Academic year.

As you will have read in the Director’s Newsletter, our new campus isn’t ready for occupancy. Whilst we wait for the Qatar Civil Defense Clearance, we will resume school as we left off in June. This means that we will have our Pre3, Pre4 and KG students at Bani Hajer and Grades 1 to 5 at the EC campus.

We realize that this isn’t convenient, however, we want to reassure you that your child’s education programme will not be disrupted. We will proceed with establishing relationships, developing positive classroom agreements, begin reading routines and launch into the first unit of Inquiry for the year.

As always, keep an open dialogue with your child’s teachers and we hope to welcome you into school soon. As soon as we have any update about moving to the new campus we shall let you know.

Please add the upcoming events to your diary, or fridge!

Eid Mubarak!

Vision:LeadingLearning

Mission:QatarAcademySidraisasuppor8vecommunitythatengagesandempowersallinthepursuitoflearning,throughastudentcentered,inquiryapproach

4th September 2016

https://sites.google.com/a/qasidra.org/qasidra-ps-portal/home

Best,

Mr. Harish Kanabar,

Primary School Principal

P.S. Student class lists will be posted at the entrance of each school building on September 18th.

Thurs8thSept(newdate)

11:00amNewStudentOrienta2on

QASECCampusCafeteria

Sun18thSeptember

FirstDayofSchool!

6:30BHdropoff

6:40ECdropoff

Tues20thSeptember

BacktoSchoolNightandIntrotoPYPforNewParents

Thurs20thOctober

ParentCoffeeMorning

AssessmentinthePYP

Thurs20thOctober

StudentProgressReports

Sun23rdtoThurs27thOct

ParentTeacherConferences

Mon24thtoTues25thOct

BookFair

Tues25thOct

11amReleaseforParentTeacher

Primary Years Programme Information Session For parents who are new to the IB PYP (or indeed if you want a refresher) you are invited to attend one of the two (Back To School Night PYP sessions) shown on the next page.

Come along and meet your child’s teachers.

Information for Pre3 Parents TohelpthePre3studentsseNleingently,wewillbebeginningwitha

shortenedday.

18thSeptto22nd7amto10am

25thSeptto29th7amto11am

2ndOctonwardsfullday7amto12noon

Parentsareinvitedtovisittheirchild’shomeroomteacher,a3endoneoftheArabic/IslamicandPYPsessionatoneofthe:mesbelow.Parentswilllearnmoreabouttheteacher,classroomandhomeworkexpecta:ons,wheretoaccessinforma:onandmuchmore.

Arabic/Islamic,VisualArts,Music,PE,librarianstheschoolcounsellorwillalsobeavailableforyoutomeetandaskques:ons.

20th September EC campus Grade 1 to 5

20th September BH campus Pre4 and KG

Welcome to the QA Sidra community! The parents who live in close proximity to each other coordinate transportation together, either through carpooling, a pickup service like quick pick or if there are enough parents in an area they coordinate a bus. Currently the parents have buses running from the QF housing lots and Gharafa area and another one from the AlRayan Oasis compound. Here is the bussing service's contact info. Mr. Jalil Parkar., +974 66728034, 44605291.This is a parent led effort, not a service provided by the school. Thank you.

Thank you!Mariam Darwish PTA Chairpta@qasidra.org

Pick Up and Drop Off Timings

Bani Hajer Campus

Sun, Mon, Wed, Thurs

Pre3, Pre4 and KG

• 6:30am drop off

Pre4 and KG (Pre3 follows staggered finish)

• 1:30pm pick up

Tues

*Pre3, Pre4 and KG

• 12:30pm pick up

*Pre3-Please note this will be from Week 3 onwards

Education City Campus

Sun, Mon, Wed, Thurs

Grades 1 to 5

• 6:40am drop off

• 2:00pm pick up

Tues

Grades 1 to 5

• 1pm pick up

Students must be collected within 15 mins of school finishing

Map to QAS Bani Hajer campus

Primary Student Council Elections coming soon, watch

this space!

Chris8neCornejo-Pre3

I’vebeenaneducatorfor16yearsandhavebeenteachingatinterna:onalschoolsinthePhilippines,Kazakhstan, andChina.Most ofmy experience has beenwith the Early Years level and I am veryexcitedtoteachtheyoungestchildreninourschool-thePreschool3class.Inmyfree:meIenjoytraveling, photography, music, outdoor sports and ea:ng! I am looking forward to mee:ng thefamiliesandchildrenwhowilldefinitelyaddtothelaughterandsmilesinourschool.

JacobSpears-PermanentSubs8tute

Hi!MynameisMr.SpearsandIamfromthePortland,OregonintheUnitedStates.Imetmywife,Mrs. Jenna, inJapanandwebroughtourbubblybabygirlAria intotheworldthere. I receivedmyMaster’s Degree at Drexel University and con:nually look forways to improve uponmyself. Mypersonal:me(whennotspentcatchinguponsleep)involvesscubadiving,playingguitar,studyingnewlanguages,andreading.Ilookforwardtomee:ngallofyou!

JaniceMacintyre-EnglishLanguageLearnerSupport(ELL)

IamveryexcitedtobepartoftheteamatQatarAcademySidra. ImovedtoDohainAugustfromBri:shColumbia,Canada.Thisisthefirst:meIhavetaughtInterna:onallyandIlookforwardtoalltheopportuni:esthiswillprovide.MyroleatSidrawillbeontheLearningSupportServicesteamwith a focusonhelping studentswhoareEnglish Language Learners.I look forward todevelopingrela:onshipswithstudents,staffandparents. IamherewithmyhusbandwhoisworkingatQatarAcademyDoha.Ienjoyyoga,spinclasses,kayakingandanythingoutdoors.Iwishyouallawonderfulschoolyear!

Dr.FaisalAli-AssistantPrincipal&HeadofArabicandIslamicStudies

I amveryexcited to join theQatarAcademySidra family. I immigrated toCanada in1989 from theSomaliRegionof Ethiopia and called it home since then. I haveMaster’s&Doctoratedegrees in educa:on, and Ialwaysstriveforpersonalandprofessionalgrowth.Ihavetwenty-four(24)yearsofteachingandinstruc:onalleadershipexperience,where Iworked for15yearsasa teacherofArabicasa SecondLanguage& IslamicStudiesforallK-12Gradelevels,and9yearsasaschoolprincipal.Ihave5beau:fulchildren(3Boys&2girls). MyfamilyandIareexcitedtobelivinginDoha,wherewewillhavetheprivilegetoexperiencetherichandbeau:fulcultureofQatar.

IamlookingforwardjoiningQASidrafamilytobringoutthebestineverystudentattheschool.

RebeccaCyrus-Grade3

Hello!ImovedtoDohafrommyhomestateofNorthCarolinaintheUnitedStates. FormyBAIstudiedElementaryEduca:onattheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatCharlo3eandreceivedanM.EdinLiteracyEduca:onfromQueen’sUniversityofCharlo3e.ItaughtintheUSfor7yearsandthen spent 2 years teaching in Seoul, Korea. I amvery excited to teach abroad again and lookforward to learning aboutQatar and theMiddle East! Inmy free:me I enjoy traveling, scubadiving,tryingnewfoods,boxing,andspending:mewithfriends.

MarcDeragon-Grade2

AierteachingfortwelveyearsinNewYorkCity,Iwantedtoexploreanotherpartoftheworld,share my training and experience new cultures. Over the past nine years, I’ve taught inMyanmar, Hong Kong, Himalayas (India) and Namibia. I teach because I enjoy working withchildrenandwithadultswho feel it’saprivilege tomakeadifference inchildren’s lives. I amfascinatedbytheartoftheprofession,thebalancebetweenofferingguidanceandencouragingindependencewhilehavinghighexpecta:onswithuncondi:onalsupport.Iameagertobepartofthefun,learningandgrowthinthePrimarySchoolthisyear!

MerleSoodyall-PrimaryMusic/CulturalStudiesGrades1to5

Hello!MynameisMerleSoodyall.Iamamusicteacherandhavebeenteachingfor15years.Iplaythepianoandenjoyteachingguitaranddirec:ngyoungchoirs.IwasborninSouthAfricaandhavelivedintheUnitedStatesforthepast10years.IhavetaughtinSouthAfrica,MexicoandtheUnitedStates.MyhusbandisateacheratQADohaandIamexcitedtobehereatQASidra.Wehavea3yearolddaughter.Asa family,weenjoytraveling, tryingdifferentcuisinesandmee:ngpeoplefromdifferentcultures.WelovegoingonsafariandourfavoritecityintheworldisCapeTown,SouthAfrica.

RutaBaskevica-Pre3

AieradventurousyearsincolorfulBangladesh,busyChinaandmybeau:fulhome-countryLatviaIandmyfamilyof6areveryexcitedtobejoiningQASidracommunitythisyear.Iamapassionateearlyyearsteacherandamasterofcrea:ngwonderfulchildhoodmemories.Ienjoyturningmyclassroomintoadventurouswonderland,wherekidsarewondering,exploring,inquiring,tas:ng,smelling, feeling, experiencing their childhood to its fullest, at the same :me feeling secure,loved,cared,heardandrespected.IhaveaBachelorsDegreeinInterna:onalRela:onsfromRigaStradinsUniversityandaTeacher’sDiplomafromtheUniversityofLatvia.

SandjisBaskevica-PrimaryPE

IjoinQatarAcademySidrawithmyfamily-mywifeRutaisateacherofPre-K3andour4childrenarestudentsatQASidra.WecomefromLatvia,asmallcountry,butculturallyrichna:on,whichwewillsharewithyouasmuchaswecan.

Ihavetaughtat Interna:onalSchoolofRiga,Latvia for10years, Interna:onalSchoolofDhaka,Bangladesh for 2 years and Beijing BISS Interna:onal School, China for 2 years. I have beenteachingPYPPEfor14yearsnowandIamhappytobeabletocon:nuetohelpchildrenseethevalueofphysicalac:vi:estotheirwell-beingandhappiness!

LauraSmith-PrimaryVisualArts/CulturalStudiesGrades1to5

Ilookforwardtomee:ngyouallandtobepartofthedynamicandresponsiveprimaryschoolteamatQASidra. IhavebeenteachingVisualArts interna:onally fortenyearsnow,here inQatarandThailand.ThepastthreeyearsItaughtacrossthetransi:onofEarlyYearstoPYPatQADohawhichIfoundtobevaluable,funandinforma:ve.Ireallyenjoyadvoca:ngthearts,collabora:ngandmakingconnec:ons,andbuildingcommunitywithintheclassroom.AtheartIamaninterna:onaleducatorendeavoringtoprovideaspacetohonor,exploreandflourishasindividualswithamind-setofthinkinggloballyandac:nglocally.IlivehereinQatarwithmysix-yearolddaughterLaela.Inourfree:mewedevoteourselvestoapprecia:nglifeandhaving fun, being outdoors and spending :me with family and friends. In my own :me I seek to findbalanceinlifewithmusicandbooks,cul:va:ngmyownartprac:se.

JennyVonZastrow-CurriculumCo-ordinator

Hi,IamexcitedtobejoiningQASidrathisyearasCurriculumCoordinator.ThisismythirdyearinQatar,havingspentthepasttwoyearsworkingatQADoha.IgrewupintheUnitedStatesbutmypassion for interna:onal educa:on has given me the opportunity to live and work in manycountriesaroundtheworldincludingEngland,Uganda,Tanzania,Kenya,andMontenegro.Ienjoyspending:mewithmyfamilyandfriends,traveling,andstayingac:ve.

SheetalNair-KGInstruc8onalAssistant

Iamgoingtobeanewinstruc:onalassistantinKG.ThisisgoingtobemyfirstyearatSidrabutIhavebeenworkingasanIAinQatarfounda:onforthepast2years.IabsolutelyloveworkingwithyoungchildrenandIamsurethisyearisgoingtobegreatwithlotsoffunandlearningtogether.I have been living in Doha for the past 4 years with my husband. I am from India and I lovetravellingandspending:mewithmyfamily.Iamlookingforwardtomee:ngallofyouandcan’twaittospendthenextcomingyearlearningandgrowingwithyou.

JennaCirillo-Grade2

I am joining QAS with my husband and our six-month old daughter, Aria. I graduated fromuniversity in San Diego, California with a teaching degree in Elementary educa:on and aspecializa:oninESL.AierteachinginCalifornia,IbecamecuriosabouttheworldanddecidedtomovetoJapan.DuringthefiveyearsIlivedinJapan,Imetmyhusbandandhadmyfirstchild.Inmyfree:meIenjoyspending:mewithmyfamily,traveling,cycling,andscubadiving.IamexcitedtojoinQASandliveinQatar.

CharleneWoyczik-Pre3

IamfromthestateofWisconsinintheUSA.Ihavebeenateacherofearlychildhoodfor17years,fourofwhichwererighthereinQFatAwsajAcademy.MyhusbandandIhavefourchildrenandspendmostofourfree:meenjoyingac:vi:eswiththem.IamexcitedtobeapartofSidraandlookforwardtomee:ngmystudentsandtheirfamiliessoon!

InordertoplaceyourorderpleaseaccessthebelowlinkwithUniquegradesCode:INT18759Link-www.gradesstore.comToensuretheyearbeginningsupplyforallstudentsthepurchasequan8tyislimitedto4setsofbasicuniformsand2setsofsportwear.Foryourconvenience;pleasefindbelowthePopupscheduleforplacingordersanddelivery/collec:on.Loca:on:GYMattheQAS(Educa:onCitycampus)onSeptember8&BuildingConremainingdaysTimings:11:30a.m.–2:30p.m.

Important note: Kindly note that the embroidered logo patch will also beavailableforparentswhochoosenottobuyfromthesuggestedsupplier.Inthiscase,pleaseadheretotheschooluniformguidelines.