www.sharjahenglishschool.org

Sharjah English SchoolIssue No.4 - June 2010

Class of

2010

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From the Principal’s desk 3

Primary News 4

Foundation Concert 6

A ‘funtastic‘ year in Foundation 8

Year 1 - Dinosaurs 10

Year 1 - Space 11

Year 2 - Photo gallery 12

Year 3 - Roman Day 14

A snapshot of Year 4 16

Year 5 18

Years 3 & 4 Disco 20

Year 6 - Dance Off 21

Cookery Club 22

The Lion King 2009 24

The making of Cats 26

Cross Stitch Club 29

Key Stage 1 Sports Day Photos 30

Key Stage 2 Sports Day Photos 31

News from the Secondary School 32

A proud day 33

Design & Technology at SES 34

Key Stage 3 - Local history and culture week 36

Mathematics and geometric patterns 39

Secondary Activities week 40

Geography and the rivers of Sharjah 42

ABRSM Examination Results 43

Sports photos 44

PSG - End of year report 45

Dates for your diary 46

SES Summer Sports Camp 47

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From the Principal’s desk...

As an eventful year draws to a close, I would like to say a huge thanks to parents for all the support they have given to the school throughout the year. Whether it has been addressing academic needs by helping students at home, attending meetings with staff, raising funds and attending performances and varied events, the school year has been characterized by the commitment and engagement of many parents; it is one of our undoubted strengths as a school that we can rely on such tremendous support.As we review the highlights of the past year, I must pick out for mention the graduating Year 13 students who are now completing their studies at SES by sitting their last few A Level papers. Their graduation ceremony marked the moment when the school can claim to have come of age, the moment that we finally cater fully for all ages from Foundation to the end of Sixth Form. As the school develops and grows in strength, this moment will remain a key one in our history. We are lucky to have had Mr. Jorge Ferrari on hand that day and he took some superb photographs of the group.Looking to the future we can now see the groundbreaking and site preparation for the new building getting under way. When completed the New Performing Arts Building will enhance the provision for students in many significant ways, and will allow us to develop some of our key strengths in music and drama. That the building has begun before the holidays is very positive, and we can return in September in an optimistic and forward looking frame of mind. There are plans and diagrams of the building on display for parents to see in both primary and secondary. I thank parents for their forbearance and understanding on the recent fees increase. As a school we, of course, regret having to make any such extra demand on parents. We do understand the nature of the economic conditions and the constraints that families are operating under. What I can offer parents is my personal pledge that all financial decisions I make will be scrupulously focused on enhancing the quality of education in the school and ensuring its development in difficult times.Sadly we lose some teaching and support staff as the year ends: Amanda O’Hara, Heather D’souza, and Stephen Halligan are all leaving after two years in secondary; David Main has been with us since January; they will be missed by students and staff. Jackie Welsh is also leaving the secondary section, where she has spent five years as head of PE, establishing an outstanding department. The PE department also loses Karen Southworth. Jennifer Smith and Anne Galbraith are leaving primary after serving a year here. Nasrine Davies, who has left before and returned to serve another great year with us, is also moving on. Annabel Semken, is leaving after eight years at SES. Also leaving are CAs Kathy McKillop, Kathy Sweeney and Virginie Hendricx. We wish them all well in their new endeavours and new locations. Thanks to all of you for what you have contributed to the school.I must conclude by thanking students and staff for all their hard work during the year. I wish them all a restful and enjoyable vacation.

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News from the Primary School

The end of a school year is always a time of mixed emotions: relief - that everything has been completed on time, shows produced and applauded, assessments taken, pride in the success of our pupils and their achievements and, inevitably, sadness that we will be saying goodbye to some of our students and staff as they leave to start the next chapter in their lives.

However, for me, the overriding emotion is satisfaction, which comes from the knowledge that the whole school, as a unit, has risen to all the challenges (and there have been many) which have arisen since September and confidence in our ability to face the future as part of a great school.

I hope you will enjoy this bumper edition of the newsletter. Our original intention was for Year 5 to be the featured ‘Spotlight on’, and they have collected an impressive amount of material for you to view. However, we have decided to include some now and save some for our first issue of the new academic year and allow you to focus on this extended version which celebrates lots that happened this year. Before I sign off I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge ‘thank you’ to my staff for their unwavering support and dedication to ensuring that we provide the very best for our pupils. I feel privileged to be the Head of such a talented, hardworking, caring group of professionals. I know that they will wish to join me in our sincere hope that you all have a lovely summer whatever you do. Enjoy!

Miss Jenefer Race - Primary Headteacher

Primary  Award  Ceremony

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News from the Primary School

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 On  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  7th  and  9th  June  the  children  performed  their  end  of  year  concert  

‘Farmer  Duck’.  

Farmer  Duck  is  the  story  of  a  poor  duck  who  does  all  the  work  on  the  farm  while  the  sleepy  farmer  stays  in  bed  all  day.

The  Poor  Duck                                   The  Sleepy  Farmer

The  Clever  Plan

Eventually,  all  the  other  animals  get  fed  up  with  the  lazy  farmer  so  they  decided  on  a  clever  plan  to  teach  him  a  lesson.

Foundation Concert

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One  night  while  the  farmer  was  asleep  the  animals  sneaked  into  the  farmer’s  house  and  gave  him  such  a  fright  that  he  ran  out  of  the  house  and  never  returned.

The  farmer  gets  a  big  fright

The  animals  all  lived  happily  ever  after

Once  the  animals  manage  to  scare  away  the  lazy  farmer  they  all  live  happily  ever  after  on  their  farm.

We would like to thank everyone who helped put Farmer Duck together

Foundation Concert

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A ‘funtastic’ year in Foundation

AUTUMN FESTIVAL AUTUMN FESTIVAL

CHRISTMAS CONCERT CHRISTMAS CONCERT

FUN SWIM FUN SWIM

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A ‘funtastic’ year in Foundation

FARM TRIP FARM TRIP

SHARJAH NATIONAL PARK SHARJAH NATIONAL PARK

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC TEDDY BEARS PICNIC

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Year 1- Dinosaurs

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Year 1 - Space

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Some photos from Year 2 - Bake Sale

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Year 2 - Easter Egg Hunt

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Year 3 - Roman Day

It  was  a  fabulous  day  for  the  Romans  in  Year  3.    It  was  celebrated  with  chariot  racing,  gladiator  fights,  Tug-­‐of-­‐war  and  feasting  in  Roman  style!    All  the  children  made  a  special  effort  to  dress  up  and  take  on  the  character  of  a  Roman  emperor,  empress,  gladiator,  lady  or  even  a  slave.    This  was  a  great  way  to  finish  the  social  studies  topic  that  the  children  had  been  studying  in  school.  

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Year 3 - Roman Day

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A snapshot of Year 4

There is never time to rest in Year 4. As well as challenging ourselves with academic activities, we also fill our days with energetic exercise, streamlined swimming, terrific topic work, super science sessions, marvellous mathematics, perfect performances, dynamic dancing, detailed designs, amazing art and fun-filled fieldwork…So now we are ready for a well earned rest and look forward to seeing what Year 5 has in store for us!

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A snapshot of Year 4

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Year 5PoetryYear  5  created  poems  about  the  night  sky,  linked  to  their  current  science  topic  –  Earth,  Sun  and  Moon,  as  a  homework  activity  in  preparation  for  their  writing  assessments.  Some  of  the  children  put  in  a  lot  of  effort  and  produced  lovely  poems.    Amelia,  Alena  and  Mathew  created  such  fantastic  poems  that  we  decided  to  share  them  with  you  –  well  done!  

The  Night  Sky

The  moon  is  round  and  bright,It  sends  a  silvery  light.A  white  ghostly  face,

In  a  dark  place.

The  stars  flash  and  shimmer,Their  light  is  slightly  dimmer.

In  the  night,Twinkle  stars  of  light.

The  clouds  of  fluffy  white,Form  shapes  in  the  glassy  night.

Cute  little  flakes,Float  about  in  shapes.

The  night  is  covered  over,In  a  dark,  ghostly  cover.

Tonight  is  a  very  dark  night,With  hardly  any  bright  light.

by  Alena  Koutouzova,  5JS

Mysterious  Night

The  night  is  mysterious,With  the  moon  in  the  sky,

It  shines  so  brightly,It  guides  passers  by.

The  stars  that  twinkle,They  shine  so  bright,They  make  the  sky,Seem  ever  so  bright.

All  tucked  upIn  my  cosy  bed,

Surrounded  by  teddiesWith  dreams  in  my  head.

by  Amelia  Bailey,  5JS

The  Night  Sky

The  night  sky  flies  over  head,Crawling  across  the  sun,

The  sun,  tired,  out  of  breath,Falls  down  the  high  mountains.

The  moon  rises,  without  a  worry,The  stars  glisten  in  the  sky,

The  sun  stays  back,  without  any  glory,Waiting  for  night  to  end.

At  last  it’s  early,The  moon  cowers  back,

The  sun  is  going  to  rise,  surely,The  alarm  clocks  go  off  with  a  beep.

by  Matthew  Bates

Science  DayThe  children  of  Year  5  ended  a  busy  assessment  week  with  a  fun-­‐9illed  day  Science  Day.    Sound  was  the  topic  under  investigation  by  the  young,  enthusiastic  

scientists;  they  carried  out  a  variety  of  enquiries  and  recorded  their  discoveries  throughout  the  day.    

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Year 5Victorian  Day  On  Victorian  Day,  we  had  to  follow  some  really  bizarre  rules,  like  only  speak  when  you  are  spoken  to  and  no  questions.    At  the  beginning  of  the  day,  my  friends  and  I  all  thought  it  was  going  to  be  fun  and  we  couldn’t  wait  to  start  the  day,  until  the  teachers  came.When  we  arrived  in  the  classroom  we  were  supposed  to  remain  completely  silent.    The  chairs  and  tables  were  in  rows  and  there  was  a  gap  in  the  middle  to  separate  boys  and  girls.    We  had  to  call  the  teachers  Ma’am  and  Sir  and  they  were  really  strict  and  inspected  us  for  9leas  and  nits.    For  science  we  learned  about  an  apple.  Some  people  smiled  about  this  but  got  in  a  bit  of  trouble.    In  drill,  I  started  laughing  at  one  of  Shayan’s  jokes  and  then  Mrs.  Baggaley  told  me  to  go  to  the  girls’  side  for  not  keeping  a  straight  face.    Afterwards,  in  poetry,  we  were  told  to  sit  and  face  the  board  for  not  reciting  our  poetry.      I  was  also  told  off  for  writing  with  my  left  hand  (good  thing  I  wasn’t  a  dunce!).    Daniel  got  caned  on  the  hand  three  times,  pretend  though!    At  the  end  of  the  day  we  had  to  recite  the  Lord’s  Prayer  too.At  the  end  of  the  day  teachers  were  back  to  normal,  we  got  a  certi9icate  and  we  took  a  cool  photo.It  was  kind  of  fun,  but  doing  it  everyday  with  your  teachers  really  that  strict  must  have  been  hard  work!  by  Ehab  Syed,  5JS

STUDY, STUDY, STUDY! THE DAY IS OVER WIES SWIGGING

VICTORIAN LEMONADE

FIRST DUNCE OF THE DAY LUKAS GETTING PUNISHED

KEEPING YOUR BACK STRAIGHT THE HARD WAY

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Years 3+4 Disco

Every year there is a disco for the years 3 and 4 and it is always a resounding success. This year was no exception with the costume theme being ‘Rock and Roll’ and ‘Animal Print’. The children dressed up in their finery and enjoyed dancing and bopping the evening away with our resident DJ Joe (Mr. Gill!). There was plenty of entertainment from games to dancing to feasting on pizza. Enjoy these snap shots from the evening.

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The theme for year 6 dance this Year was ‘stepping’ and both classes were challenged to a dance off in front of 5 judges!

Year 6 ‘Dance Off’

The students worked in small groups, choreographing their own stepping moves using their feet or hands to create the rhythm.

They were marked by the judges on the following points: unison, creativity, timing and confidence. We counted up the scores and then offered each class a chance to pick up some bonus points in the ‘freestyle’ section.

They were also shown a set step routine to demonstrate to the judges. We saw some fantastic routines and both 6KS and 6CS proved they could move with some rhythm!!

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Cookery Club

Cookery Club is always a busy time with many new recipes for children to try, both to make and to taste.It has also been an eye-opener for some children, realising there is all the work after the fun things have finished, such as washing up and drying but the children have enjoyed the challenge and persevered. For some children the cookery club became a place to be a risk taker and try new foods such as sushi or dips or smoothies and move away from the usual cakes and sweets. The two school terms have allowed the children the opportunity to experiment, using a variety of cooking implements from graters to juicers to blenders to sushi roll mats. Every week we tried to alternate a sweet dish with a savoury to help expand the palate of the young chefs! It has been a very successful club and I hope the children have gone home and recreated some of the dishes they have made in class since cookery club started. Well done!

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Cookery Club

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The Lion King -2009

At the end of the Summer term, 2009, our Year 6 production was the Lion King. The audience was enthralled by the tale of two brothers; Mufasa and Scar and their rivalry over who should rule the lion kingdom. Here are some of the photographs from the performance. The characters include: Simba, Nala, Zazu, Timon, Pumbaa, Sarabi, Rafiki, the hyenas and the wildebeest. Can you remember who played which part, or recognise any of the actors under the fantastic makeup?

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The Lion King -2009

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The making of Cats - Year 6

The  making  of  Cats  is  a  difficult  matter.  It  isn’t  just  one  of  your  holiday  games

Cats  first  opened  in  the  West  End  in  1981  and  then  on  Broadway  in  1982.  It  won  numerous  awards,  including  both  the  Laurence  Olivier  Award  and  the  Tony  Award  for  Best  Musical.  The  London  production  ran  for  twenty  one  years  and  the  Broadway  production  ran  for  eighteen  years,  both  setting  long-­‐run  records.  This  year,  for  two  performances  only,  Cats  is  coming  to  Sharjah  English  School.

Based  on  Old  Possum's  Book  of  Practical  Cats  and  other  poems  by  T.S.  Eliot,  the  musical   takes   place   in   a   junkyard   where   the   local   cats   are   auditioning   to   be  chosen   by   their   leader,   Old  Deuteronomy,   to   journey   to   the  Heavyside  Layer  to  be  reborn.

Work  began  in  earnest,  with  Mrs.  Davies  introducing  the  new  songs  to  the   Year  6s  back   in  the  Spring  term.   The   music,   composed   by  Andrew   Lloyd   Webber,   was   an  instant  hit  with  the  students,  who  immediately   began  practising   for  the   auditions   for   their   favourite  parts.

Auditions   midway   through   the   Summer  term   meant   that   some   children   were  thrilled   to   be   chosen   and,   unfortunately,  some   were   disappointed.   It   was   a  testament   to   the   character   of   all   of   the  Year   6s   that   they   were   able   to   come  together   to   support   each   other   in   their  different   roles   almost   immediately.   Class  rehearsals  began  after  the  SATs  tests,  with  M r s .   G a r r e t t   a nd   Mr s .   S t edman  choreographing   the   dance   routines   and  stage  movement.  

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The making of Cats - Year 6

The  children  have  rehearsed  meticulously  and  are  ready   to  take  their  curtain  call  as  they  show  their  hard  work  to  the  world.

Creating   the   setting   for   the   stage   has   been   a   long   and  complicated  affair.  Work  began  with  a  paper  design  from  Mr.  Shinn.   Mr.   Singh   used   his   carpentry   talents   to   extend   the  Primary   stage  and  the  set  began   to   take   shape.  After  many  painstaking  hours  of   careful  designing,  delicate  painting  and  pushing   through   hundreds   of   tiny   lights   (and   all   the   other  jobs   necessary)   by   Mr.   Shinn   and   his   able   team   (Mrs.  Roeterdink   and   Mrs.   DasGupta),   the   stage   was   finally  complete.

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The making of Cats - Year 6

The  designing  of   costumes  began  nearly   as  early   as   the   singing   itself,  with  Mrs.  Haynes   being   the   main   designer   and   a   tailor   coming   in   to   measure   all   of   the  performers.  Elsewhere,  Mrs.  Dougan  worked  tirelessly,  designing  and  creating  the  head  dresses.  Accompanied  by  an  astonishing  make  up  design  by  Mrs.  Ferrari,  the  look  of  the  characters  had  taken  shape  with  an  outcome  that  a  West  End  team  of  professionals  would  be  proud  of.

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Cross Stitch Club

I am always amazed at the progress made by the new members to the cross stitch club. Many of them struggle to even thread a needle at our first meeting. However, as you can see from the photographs, they produce some fantastic pictures. Well done everyone.

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Key Stage 1 - Sports Day

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Key Stage 2 - Sports Day

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News from the Secondary School

Hola a todos!!! Hello everybody!!The Spanish Club has been running since January and has been great fun. Before we started around 356 million people spoke Spanish; now ... more than 356 million!!!! We have enjoyed the club and all the participants are a little more confident about using Spanish. 

Therefore, we would like to continue next year, just in the Secondary, and would love it if more people want to join us. 

If you would like to join let me know and in September we can organize the groups to start in October....

Gracias a todos!!! Felices vacaciones!!!Hasta pronto!!"

Silvia FerrariSpanish Teacher

The answer will appear in the next issue of the newsletter.

Maths Problem Of The Month

Chess Board Problem

If the only moves allowed are one square to the right or one square down, it takes 14 moves to get from a8 to h1 (top left to bottom right).

How many different 14 move routes are there from top left to the bottom right?

!

Answer to last month’s problemYou don’t need a long tape measure but you do need to know C = πd or 2πr. The answer is 2π.

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A Proud Day

A Proud DayAt the end of May, the Secondary School held its annual prize day. This year the event also featured our first graduation ceremony for students completing A level studies and moving on to life at university. Eleven students, some of whom had attended primary school at SES, were sent on their way with a celebration of their achievements at the school. A proud day for the graduates, their parents and teachers and a landmark for the school. We wish all of these fine young adults a very successful future.

Photographs courtesy of Mr. Jorge Ferrari

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The ‘Educhair’ by Jinan Golley (Yr13)

Jinan decided to look into children’s chairs with the aim of making a multifunctional colourful and aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture. The second design consideration for Jinan was to make a long lasting product that was suitable for a wide range of children and appropriate for a range of ages. This would mean designing a product that could be interactive, educational and entertaining.

Design & Technology at SES

‘Is it a chair or a table?’ by Luca Ferrari (Yr13)Luca decided to look at the problem of space restrictions in apartments and houses. His aim was to find a solution to furniture taking up too much space and being difficult to move. His solution was to design a piece of furniture with multiple uses which is portable, therefore saving space: a chair that is lightweight and converts into a table!

Dressing Table Organizer by Olivia Bailey (Yr11)Olivia decided to design and make a product which could be placed on top of a dressing table and could be used to organize various possessions. It needed to store the possessions efficiently and the design needed to be simple and look modern.

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Design & Technology at SES

Skeleton Chair by Scott Warburton (Yr12)Scott's brief was to design a piece of furniture that suited a modern lifestyle and provides optimum comfort as well as looking the part. He particularly liked plywood and veneer and liked the idea of using a cost effective material to create a piece of furniture that looks attractive.

Watch Box by Andrew MacDonald (Yr13)Andrew decided he wanted to store all his music, movies, TV shows on one device and enjoy them on his HDTV. He also wanted the ability to browse the web, chat to friends and so on, from the same device. It was important to save space, be as convenient as possible and have access to a wealth of great HD content on the internet. Hence the birth of the Watch Box.

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Key Stage 3 - Local History & Culture Week

Local  History  and  Culture  week13th-­‐17th  June  2010  was  Local  History  and  Culture  week  at  Sharjah  English  School.Lessons  during  this  week  had  a  local  ‘flavour’  and  looked  at  Islamic  art  and  architecture,  the  geography  of  the  area,  geometric  patterns,  local  innovations  and  the  history  and  culture  of  the  area  in  which  we  live.      Each  year  group  visited  a  nearby  area  of  historical  or  cultural  significance  from  the  Sharjah  Islamic  Museum  to  the  Grand  Mosque  in  Abu  Dhabi.    We  also  had  Henna  painters  in  to  demonstrate  their  art.    

On  our  year  7  trip  we  visited  the  Jumeirah  Mosque  and  the  Dubai  Museum.    On  our  trip  to  the  mosque  we  learnt  a  lot  about  Islam  and  what  it  was  all  about;  we  heard  about  the  five  pillars  of  Islam.  It  was  enlightening  and  enjoyable.  The  girls  had  to  wear  scarves  to  cover  their  hair  and  we  all  learnt  about  the  role  of  a  mosque  in  the  Islamic  faith.  We  took  lots  of  pictures  and  then  headed  over  to  the  museum.    

There  were  different  things  to  look  at  and  the  displays  told  us  a  lot  about  the  history  of  Dubai.  The  pearl  diving  exhibitions  were  the  most  interesting.  We  all  managed  to  learn  a  lot  and  had  fun  at  the  same  time.  The  trip  has  really  opened  our  eyes  to  the  history  and  the  culture  of  our  country.

by  Leila  /  George  7SO    &  Siobhan  7AO

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Key Stage 3 - Local History & Culture Week

Year  8At  the  Sharjah  Museum  of  Islamic  Civilisation  we  saw  a  beautiful  cover  for  Ka’ba  called  the  Kiswah,  which  takes  a  year  to  make!  The  architecture,  patterns  and  pottery  were  amazing.  

We  also  made  model  waterways.    We  stuck  sticks  and  spoons  into  clay,  then  poured  water  over  them  and  they  turned  like  a  mill.We  learnt  many  new  things.  For  example,  we  learnt  that  in  ancient  times  they  used  stretching  as  a  cure  for  back  pain!    There  was  also  a  wide  variety  of  weapons  and  armour.  

We  enjoyed  the  museum  because  we  learnt  about  the  Islamic  culture.    

by  Mia  /  Adam  /  Agni  8SH

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Key Stage 3 - Local History & Culture Week

Year  9Year  9  went  on  a  field  trip  on  16th  June  to  the  Sheik  Zayed  Mosque.  This  was  to  learn  about  the  culture  of  the  country  during  the  school’s  culture  week.  There  were  many  facts  that  I  learned  during  the  visit  to  the  mosque.  One  of  the  amazing  facts  that  I  learned  was  that  the  carpet  design  in  every  room  of  the  mosque  matched  the  ceiling  design.    Another  fact  is  that  all  prayer  rooms  point  towards  Mecca.  These  were  not  the  only  facts  they  taught  me  about  the  culture.  Other  facts  were  that  men  have  to  pray  in  the  mosque  while  women  have  the  choice  to  pray  at  home  or  in  the  mosque.  There  are  5  different  prayer  times  (Fajr,  Dhuhr,  Asr,  Maghrib,  Isha’a).  This  experience  and  visit  has  taught  me  a  lot  about  the  culture  of  this  country,  the  country  that  I  live  in.by  Bryce  Mendonca

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Mathematics and Geometric Patterns

 In  keeping  with  the  Islamic  Week  Theme,  Yr.  7,  8,  and  9  have  been  looking  at  geometric  patterns  in  Islamic    art  and  buildings.    Patterns  of  the  Great  Mosque  of  Cordoba  in  Spain,  The  Huand  Hatun  Complex  in  Kayseri,  Turkey  and  Mustansiriya  Madrasa,  Bagdad  were  some  of  the  buildings  they  looked  at.  They  then  had  guidance  to  try  and  replicate  some  of  the  patterns.  A  couple  of    Year  7s  commented  that  they  found  it  dif9icult  drawing  these  patterns………..Think  of  carving  it  in  stone  and  wood  all  those  years  ago!KS3  have  also  been  looking  at  how  maths  is  used  in  everyday  life.  Some  instances  were  maths  at  The  Fairground,  The  Valencia    Planetarium,  Being  a  Chef  for  a  Day,  Skiing,  Garden  Design,  Running  a  Business,  The  London  Olympics  and,  yes,  even  the  dreaded  ……M25!!!Here  are  some  of  the  designs  from  this  week:            

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Secondary Activities WeekDuring the Key Stage 3 assessment week pupils had the opportunity to stimulate their mind and bodies in a variety of problem solving activities. These ranged from team building and problem solving exercises to scientific experiments and mini-drama productions. The week was enjoyable for everyone involved and emphasised for pupils the importance of maintaining an appropriate work/play balance throughout life. One afternoon, whilst our exams were taking place, some of the teachers put together something called “team building” for the entire Year 9 class. There were a couple of activities and the teachers picked our groups; the activities, both outdoor and indoor, were to do with mental and physical challenges. Everyone in the year really enjoyed the day, but we must admit that it was a little tricky with some of the activities and we needed the help of our teams. It was really nice to be grouped with people that you don’t often talk to much. We all had a great laugh. One of our favorite activities was the one Mr.Garrett was in charge of. You had to get your team through nets within a certain amount of time and limited space. Some teams picked people up, others tried running through - it was a great end of day after our exhausting exams!by Gabriela Toledo and Vince Heidenreich

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Secondary Activities WeekEveryone was really tense during exam week but thankfully we had after exam activities to relax us. After the exam we had 3 activities – Team Building, Drama and Science.In the Drama activity we were divided into groups of four. Then we were given three words that showed a quote, a location and a character. All these had to be included in our play. Also, we were given the choice of one prop to use in our drama. Our group took a fancy box. “Roads? Where we are going we don’t need roads,” was our quote. We got a scientist as our character and we got a laboratory as our location.After we discussed the script of our play, we got distributed to different parts of the school to practise it. We had around 45 minutes to prepare our drama after which we had to show it to the class. Unfortunately only four of the plays were shown as we did not have time to finish all the plays. All in all, we had a lot of fun.by Shruthi Manivannan 8SH

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Geography and the rivers of Sharjah!

 A Year 7SO study of how rivers work and shape the land culminated in the class making their own river basins, complete with V shaped valleys, water falls and confluences. We worked in groups. The models looked fantastic and will be judged in the last week of the school by Head of Geography, Mr. Rees. Lily Smythe from 7SO explains how the class made the models: “We had to scrunch up newspaper and mould these with cut up egg boxes to form the high mountainous terrain from where the river flows. We then used papier mache over this and moulded various landforms, such as waterfalls and gorges. After this, we painted the landscape and river and added features such as clouds, showing how water evaporates, condenses and finally precipitates. There were also model boats on the sea into which the river eventually runs, starting the cycle again. It has been good making models from what we learnt in class and I am looking forward to seeing which model wins the competition.”

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ABRSM Examination ResultsMany congratulations to all the SES students who recently sat their ABRSM * music examination. This represents an academic year of preparation and much hard work and practice in various musical skills, not just the playing of set pieces of music.

ABRSM conducts 80% of music examinations taken worldwide. The qualifications gained are world renowned; at the higher level these count towards university entrance points. Specialist music examiners travel to over 90 countries each year to conduct the examination. Each examiner is an established professional musician, and in addition to working for ABRSM, is active in their own field.

The exam itself consists of eight grades with a Prep Test for beginners and once the highest grade has been achieved a system of diplomas is available for advanced musicians.

Results are listed below along with the instrument grade taken and (P) (M) or (D) to denote level of pass.

Sabeena Sheth clarinet grade 1 (M) Rosalie Croxford clarinet Grade 5 (D)Keenan McClane violin Grade 7 (P) George Grayston violin Grade 1 (P) Soyeon Lee violin Grade 1 (D) Warren McClane cello Grade 5 (P) Amir Dawoodbhai piano Grade 1 (P) Charis Vaughan piano Grade 1 (P) Warren McClane piano Grade 2 (M) Georgina Liu piano Grade 6 (D) Ankara Angell piano Grade 3 (P) Rita Helmy piano Grade 1 (P) Jessica Passey piano Grade 1 (M) Leila Hamza piano Grade 5 (M) Georgina Williams piano Grade 2 (P) Nour Ghosn piano Grade 4 (M) Omar Ghosn piano Grade 4 (P) Talib Rahman piano grade 2 (P) Aziz El Kefi piano Grade 3 (P) Alana Raven flute grade 3 (P) Chiara Haynes flute Grade 2 (M) Marya Jawwad flute Grade 3 (P) Adam Bates flute grade 5 (P) Leila Hamza flute Grade 5 (P) Jonathan Mundy guitar Grade 3 (P) Marcus Moore guitar Grade 4 (M) Adam Master guitar Grade 1 (M) Joseph Leseelleur guitar Grade 1 (P) Lukas Bley guitar Grade 1 (M) Sam Peeters guitar Grade 1 (D) Mathias Wilkinson guitar Grade 2 (M) Jack Stephenson guitar Grade 2 (P) Saro Pourherton guitar Grade 2 (M) Nina Ferrari guitar Grade 2 (M) Arran Sidey guitar Grade 2 (M) Scott Hughes guitar Grade 2 (M) John Wilkie guitar Grade 2 (D) Filip Ivanovic guitar Grade 2 (D) Veronica O’Connell singing Grade 3 (D) Athena Matinong singing Grade 1 (D) Sarah Tadros singing Grade 3 (P) Robyn Boulton singing Grade 3 (D) Jennifer McDonald singing Grade 3 (M) Rosalie Croxford singing Grade 5 (M) Jade Sillere piano Grade 1 (M) Matthew Bates piano Grade 1 (M) Amaani Master piano Grade 3 (P) Veronica O’Connell piano Grade 4 (D) Victoria Tadros singing Grade 7 (P) Yiota Cornelisse singing Grade 6 (P) Patrick O’Connell singing Grade 2 (D) Anna Lis singing Grade 2 (D) Mintaka Angell singing Grade 5 (P) Katya Sheth singing Grade 3 (D) Gabriela Contreras singing Grade 3 (M) Jennifer Raad singing Grade 2 (P) Agni Hadjipetrou piano Grade 3 (D) Constantina Hadjipetrou piano Grade 3 (P) Anthony Davidson piano Grade 3 (M) Victoria Tadros piano Grade 7 (P) Yiota Cornelisse piano Grade 7 (M) Caitlin Collom piano Grade 3 (M) Naomi Healing piano Grade 4 (P) Alena Koutouzova piano Grade 4 (P) Anna Lis piano Grade 2 (M) Johanna Heidenreich piano Grade 4 (P) Harini Kannangara piano Grade 6 (M) Natash Dury piano Grade 1 (M)

The music theory examination results were also recently released and congratulations to Mintaka Angell for passing Grade 5 theory with distinction and to Georgina Liu for passing Grade 5 with merit.

If any parent would like further information about ABRSM or the examination system please contact me via school.

Suzanne McKay

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Secondary Sports Photos

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PSG - End Of Year Report

PSG End Of Year Report

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the 2009/2010 school year. Despite losing some key members of the PSG team at the end of the last school year, our fund raising efforts have been very successful. As always, the PSG funds are used for extras throughout the school that normal funds from fees do not cover.

The first event of the year was the Christmas Fayre, which was held at the end of November. As well as being an entertaining and festive afternoon out for the whole family, it is our biggest fund raiser of the year and we managed to raise more than Dhs 45,000.

The International Picnic, usually held at the end of February/ beginning of March, is a joint effort between the Primary School and the PSG. It began as a way to introduce parents and pupils to the myriad of nationalities, cultures and, of course, food, which families and staff involved with Sharjah English School represent. Thanks to the tremendous effort of parents and staff. We always have an excellent lunch and raise more funds for the school, this year over Dhs 5,000.

Our final fundraiser this year was the May Ball. We ventured out of Sharjah this time and held it at the exclusive Al Badia Golf Club. It was an enjoyable social evening, even showcasing some musical talent from the secondary school, when the ʻworld famous rock bandʼ The Sweet Young Things, put in a special appearance. Again, thanks to many generous contributions, we held a raffle and an auction, bringing the total raised for that event to about Dhs 25,000.

Throughout the year, the PSG has provided refreshments at inter-school sporting events and will, as usual, fund the end of year parties in the Primary School. Despite funding huge contributions to the school in the past, (including computers in the Primary and interactive whiteboards throughout the whole school,) we have decided to save the bulk of the funds until the new Performing Arts Building is nearer completion. We believe the school needs more shading in the recreation areas but while building is progressing, this could be awkward to manage. We would also like to contribute to the flourishing performing arts section in general and, again, would like to wait and see what is needed.

We are bidding a sad farewell to an active member of our small band of volunteers this year - we wish Ivana all the best in Doha. Thank you everyone once again for your support throughout the year and we look forward to welcoming new faces in September. Look out for news of our social coffee morning near the beginning of term.

PSG

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Sharjah English School - Academic Calendar 2010-2011Summer  Vacation

August  19th           A  Level  resultsAugust  24th           GCSE  Results

Winter  Term

September  5th         New  Staff  in  schoolSeptember  6th         All  Staff  in  schoolSeptember  13th         New  Students  in  schoolSeptember  14th         All  Students  /  Start  of  TermNovember  12th  to  14th       Half  TermNovember  15th         Arafat  Day*November  16th         Eid  Al  Adha  begins*December  2nd         National  Day  December  7th         Islamic  New  Year*December  16th         Last  day  of  term

Spring  Term

January  2nd           Start  of  Term  February  15th         Prophet’s  Birthday*February  18th  to  20th       Half  Term  March  31st           Last  day  of  term

Summer  Term

April  17th             Start  of  TermMay  27th  to  29th         Half  TermJune  30th           End  of  Term*Islamic  Holidays  –  to  be  con5irmed

Dates For Your Diary

Don’t  forget  to  check  the  school  

website  for  the  weekly  bulle5n  for  

updates  and  further  informa5on

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SES Summer Sports Camp

We have to advise you that ZAKS will not be available to sell school uniform on site at school before the start of the new year. The nearest ZAKS outlet is in Uptown Mirdiff You can find a location map on their website at www.zaksstore.com under ‘Contacts’.