Lower School

Lower School

Academic Societies launched this term in the Lower School and all have been very successful in gaining members who are actively planning programmes for their peers. Grade 4 and Grade 5 subject leaders have been promoting their love and passion of subject to the younger Grade 2 and 3 students. Arts Society have been inquiring into different media types, whilst Technology Society have been exploring the impact of technology on our daily lives, and Science Society have been exploring the periodic table. We are looking forward to welcoming our guest speakers from the Senior School to help us to continue developing our subject expertise and passion for knowledge. The Lower School have also welcomed guest speakers who have added to their learning experience. The School Nurse spoke to Grade 3 about teeth and dental hygiene to help in their inquiry into the human body, whilst Grade 4 welcomed a guest from Shell, who added a great deal to their understanding of energy, and where energy comes from. These sessions are invaluable in enabling our younger students to explore the world around them and gain an insight into other cultures.

In addition to their newly formed Academic Societies, the Lower School, this term, held their first ever House Spelling Bee. Students from Grades 2 – 5 competed for their Houses to win points with the House Captains and Vice Captains helping to make sure there was no cheating! There were three tricky rounds where children had to verbally spell a word, fill in missing letters from a word and spell an extremely difficult word….including penitentiary and otorhinolaryngologist (an ear, nose and throat specialist doctor)! The Lower School audience and teachers also had the chance to join in and guess the spellings. Congratulations to Javi, who came out the winners with a massive 35 points.

Sport has also been at the heart of Junior School House competitions with football and netball providing an opportunity for students to represent their Houses with passion and determination. In the football tournament, Jais replicated their Senior School counterparts with an impressive overall victory whilst in Netball, Yibir proved to be too strong for their rivals. Overall, based on competitions since the start of the academic year, Javi remain in the lead in the Junior School.

Once again, our students have ventured outside of their classrooms to further their learning. In the Junior School, Grade 4 students visited the Sharjah Discovery Centre to learn more about their Unit of Inquiry on ‘how health and relationships can affect learning’. The trip helped the students understand how their diet can affect learning, and there was an interactive show ‘All about Food’ to help engage the students about nutrition.

Grade 4 have also been to Sustainable City this term to explore how the area is designed to negate and mitigate against the impacts of resource use and climate change. This trip has inspired some of our younger students to work closely with the Senior School Environmental Society and plans are being put in place for student-led initiatives to become a more environmentally-conscious community.

Grade 2 recently visited Dubai International Airport on a signs and symbols hunt. Their current central idea explores how signs and symbols help us communicate locally and globally. Whilst there, they discussed why companies often use logos rather than titles and names using language. They came to the conclusion that colours, signs and symbols were more likely to be recognised globally and less likely to have a language barrier.

Once again, our Grade 4 and 5 students travelled to Oman and explored their adventurous side. All students embraced the challenge and tried themselves out in all the activities. Rock climbing, mountain biking, trekking, overnight beach camps and a Dhow Cruise were enjoyed. Apparently, the food was great too! Students worked collaboratively during team-building exercises, and were true risk takers as they took on whichever challenge was set by Absolute Adventure.