Junior School 2018

Junior School 2018

Junior School

As we enter the festive season and approach the start of the New Year, we would like to reflect on all the great efforts the students have put into their studies over the last term and to celebrate all the exciting events that have taken place around the School.
In the Junior School, Pre-KG started their new Unit of Inquiry, ‘colours change in the natural world.’ As a fantastic learning spark, all our Pre-KG students went to visit The Dubai Miracle Garden where they were able to immerse themselves in a world of colour and discovery. Using the newly built dark dens and light cubes in their classrooms, they have explored, using their natural curiosity and investigation skills, the world of colour alongside learning about famous paintings and how artists use colour to create a sense of meaning within their work.

Learning about self-expression is a fundamental part of a child’s development and KG1 have explored this by first identifying what emotions are and then discovering how the arts can be used as a source of self-expression. They have immersed themselves in a world of drama, dance, art and music to develop their emotional intelligence. To demonstrate what they had learnt they held their first end of unit exhibition “Expression Exhibition”. They displayed their dance and artwork to their parents, discussing their learning processes and how proud they were of their final product. This is an incredible achievement and requires a lot of courage at just 4 years old!

Meanwhile, in KG2 students have been looking at how ‘Journeys change over time and place’. They have been exploring the different ways they can go on journeys, designed and made their own type of transport and have listened to talks from different people about journeys they have been on, including the life of a pilot and a trip across Africa. They also created a timeline to look at what transport was like in the past, and what we predict it will be like in the future.
Grade 3 demonstrated their individuality and their creativity when they designed and made their own musical instruments that could vary both in pitch and amplitude. They then worked together as a group to create their own band! Following their hard work, they held an exhibition where they performed songs created with their home made musical instruments that reflected their uniqueness. Grades 2 and 3 have also had some great residential trips. They had an overnight camping stay at school, which for many was their first experience of being away from home. Whilst Grade 3 went off on an adventure to Kalba, where their risk-taking skills were tested. All students thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and we look forward to hearing about Grade 4 and 5’s adventure to Dibba next term.

Grade 2 also celebrated the end of their unit on structures with an amazing trip to Legoland Dubai, where they studied different structures in the mini-world, as well as learning about coding and programing in a Lego-robotics workshop. They were also fortunate enough to have visitors to talk about their own experiences of structures, particularly the impact that a natural disaster can have.
Whilst Grade 3 explored migration stories, which gave them a deeper understanding of the challenges, risks and opportunities faced by people when moving to another country, they were also lucky to have many visitors who shared individual stories of their personal migration, looking at push and pull factors which contribute to people leaving their home country.
At NLCS we aim to instill an understanding of wellbeing in our students, which is why Grade 4 have been investigating how health and relationships affect their learning. They have explored which kind of learner they are, and have looked at multiple intelligences. They completed the unit by taking part in a dissection of an animal’s brain, in collaboration with Grade 8, to understand the different parts of the brain, and how different parts of the brain are responsible for how our body works.
Grade 5 have also been examining the links between science and technology and understanding how new technologies can sometimes create ethical dilemmas in today’s world. They were fortunate to have a variety of parent speakers, who came to speak to the students about their own field of expertise in the realm of science and technology. Grade 5 completed their unit by working in groups to research ethical dilemmas associated with a particular new technology, they then presented these in a variety of creative ways to the rest of the cohort.
In the Junior School, the Performing Arts Department has also been working hard to produce some fantastic productions this term. Grade 2 and 3 gave a wonderful performance of “The Wind in the Willows” which followed the adventures and escapades of Ratty and the infamous Mr Toad. Meanwhile, in the Senior School, Grade 9 and 10 drama students also performed in a Physical Theatre evening with the theme of “Dreams”. Their work was inspired by the likes of Frantic Assembly, Gecko, The Paper Birds, Antonin Artaud’s “Theatre of Cruelty”, Greek choral work and extracts from Sarah Kane’s “4:48 Psychosis”.

Towards the end of this term, Grade 6 and 7 also put on a brilliant adaptation of the “Grimm Tales”. Parents, students and staff were treated to a comical yet chilling series of performances that used shadow theatre and ensemble work to highlight the gruesome side of fairy tales.