Update from the Principal – 1st February

Update from the Principal

Dear Parents,

I walked into classes this week and had a brief conversation with a student in Year 6 about her work and what she was learning. The level of confidence, belief and undauntedness was unequivocal from her. It is another example of how impressive our students are when talking about a subject they are passionate about. We see this each and every day in such a warm, caring and calm environment, it is a privilege to be around such amazing students each and every day. These interactions are encouraged by our teachers who help, support and motivate our students with their inspiring lessons and learning. I am very proud to be working around our teachers and students.

Last weekend, I spent Friday and Saturday cheering on our students that participated in the BSME Under 11 Football tournament. On Friday, we supported the Girls and Saturday cheered on the Boys. Thank you to all parents that attended this great event with over 40 schools participating across the 2 days. To see our teachers there, encouraging students and supporting them with such energy and passion, was a wonderful moment. The BSME (British Schools Middle East) tournaments are the pinnacle of what we offer with sports and go further than the local fixtures, school tournaments and Bahrain wide sports leagues. With schools from Cairo, Qatar, Dubai and other places this was a fantastic experience for our students to test themselves against the best in the region. Despite some great performances, our students did not qualify for the final games on this occasion. A great weekend and we look forward to the next exciting opportunities for our students!

 

 

Thank you to the Early Years Team for a huge effort in the EY Sports Day, a fantastic event and further promotion of fun and a healthy lifestyle! We really appreciate the support form the parents and thank you very much for coming along.

This weekend we have the Fun Run on Friday (please join us and sign up for the Nadeen Green Family Fun Run here!) and the Duke of Edinburgh practice walk with our students on Saturday. There are lots of events for families to choose from and participate in. I can honestly say that our staff deserve all of the praise possible for their planning, organisation and attendance in all of these events.  

Thank you for filling out the Parent Survey, a full article is available here with all results, a presentation/summary, key headlines and an action plan is included, along with quotes from parents.

Thank you to Miss Rien for setting up our wonderful Art room on floor 2 this term. Walking into the room the students are inspired and calm, producing amazing work. To have a specialist Art room of this quality is another welcome addition to our facilities. We look forward to seeing their creations, ideas and imaginative pieces in the future!

Congratulations to Mr Andrew and the chess team for their success this week, all participating students gained a point for the team and competed extremely well in the tournament. Chess is very popular at Nadeen School and we are very proud of our students that are involved. Also, another celebration and this time for Mr Phil and the students that took part in the COBIS (Council of British International Schools) E-Sports competition. They claimed the win by having success in the capture the flag challenge in Moscow. A wonderful achievement!

If you would like to volunteer as a parent, there are 3 ways to do this currently:

    1. We are still looking for parents to volunteer for Extracurricular Activities. If you are a parent and keen to get involved more in the community, you are very welcome to contact the school and to either run, organise or participate in helping out at our ECAs. If you have time for this, please contact Miss Habiba at h.chilwan@nadeenschool.com 
    2. We also now have 8 display boards added to our main stage in the Performance Theatre and if you are keen to get involved, we need parent volunteers to help out with decorating the stage and displays in the theatre for our upcoming musical performance. These newly installed boards give us the opportunity to be creative and really make the stage come alive. Please contact info@nadeenschool.com 
    3. For the upcoming International Week: Thursday 15th February will be our International Week Food Fair and this is where we need you! The parents of the Nadeen Community Association along with as many parents of the school who wish to be involved will be putting on a fabulous display of food from around the world. This event will be organised by the NCA along with members of the Nadeen Administration and Academic Teams. Are you interested in participating and being a part of a group of parents from your country to make food, support the table set-up, sell the food, general support on the day, etc.? If so, please complete this form and you will be able to register your interest. Once registered, we will set up working groups for each country.

As a school, we are proud of welcoming over 65 nationalities into our campus. This not only enriches us as a community but also gives us opportunities to learn about diversity, culture and history from around the world. This is a strength of the school in how we welcome, embrace and warmly invite families and friends from around the world. This all ties into our values as a school as we show respect, unity, compassion and growth as individuals and as a team. We look forward to celebrating this even more as a school, in the classroom and around the community in the future.

Next week is House Sports week, Open Day on Monday 5th February (click here to RSVP) and Storytime in Early Years on Tuesday 6th February (click here to RSVP).

Updates

    1. International Thank you Day – Staff and students showed appreciation and created messages across the school.
    2. Nadeen Birthday Celebrations – we wished Nadeen school a very happy 46th Birthday!
    3. Ski Trip – Student Voice Article here: https://www.nadeenschool.com/ski-trip-january-2024-student-voice/ 
    4. Duke of Edinburgh – Practice Walk, thank you to everyone for supporting this as preparation for the upcoming year.
    5. PSL (Primary Sports League) Athletics Meet – Overall Winner for the first time ever in the history of the school. https://www.nadeenschool.com/nadeen-school-primary-sports-league-u11-athletics-meet/ 
    6. Duke of Edinburgh Presentation – thank you to Miss Jade for presenting and for organising the DofE for the school.
    7. Early Years Open Morning – thank you for visiting the classrooms!
    8. Parent Appreciation Day – gifts, cards and personalised cookies with Nadeen Flower on them.
    9. BSME U11 Girls/Boys – Competed over last weekend, Girls on the Friday and Boys on the Saturday.  Thank you for coming along and supporting the students.
    10. Early Years Sports Day – A wonderful morning, thank you for attending.
    11. Art Room – Open and completed by Miss Rien as mentioned in the last coffee morning regarding the deliveries.
    12. CaloOver 60 students signed up for Calo, if you are interested in signing up, please click here or +973 3363 3101
    13. Bus company – sending out details of the current routes to all parents, currently 4 buses and 62 students arrive by bus.
    14. Parent Volunteers We are looking for volunteers for help with the summer Production Matilda, Support on ECAs, decorations for the stage for upcoming performances, please contact info@nadeenschool.com 
    15. COBIS (Council of the British International Schools) ESports – congratulations to our Secondary students for winning in the ‘capture the flag event’! and thank you to Mr Phil for organising this.
    16. Secondary Chess Club – well done to the team, all students earned the team points in the tournament this week, thank you to Mr Andrew for organising this.
    17. Parent Survey – the results are here: https://www.nadeenschool.com/nadeen-school-parent-survey-2023-24/ 
    18. Nurturing Creativity and Appreciation for Art https://www.nadeenschool.com/nurturing-creativity-and-an-appreciation-for-art/ 
    19. Metacognition to drive student learning and achievement https://www.nadeenschool.com/metacognition-to-drive-student-learning-and-achievement/ 
    20. Secondary IGCSEs – The current Year 9 students will have information this week about the final syllabus codes and courses for the books needed for next year.
    21. Arabic Booster clubs We have 35 Arabic classes running during the week outside of lessons for students to sign up to. 23 of these Arabic sessions are from 7.30am in the morning during the week so there is something for all year groups. These are for all students. If you would like to know more about further Arabic classes and opportunities for your child to attend classes outside of the timetable before school, break and after school, please see the timetable here to contact the teachers running the sessions or email Miss Kawther for any general questions: k.ali@nadeenschool.com

Coffee with the Principal Questions

    1When will the books in the library be available for students to take out?

Our library is currently being audited by our librarian, Miss Mayada, and the team following a huge amount of donations and new books received (Thank you). We have also implemented a new system to use in our library. As of this morning, the audit is 95% complete. The books will be made available for students as soon as possible.

    2.  What is happening for Mental Health Awareness Week next week?

Next week, we will be raising awareness for Children’s Mental Health Week. This year, the theme is ‘My Voice Matters’. We will be acknowledging this each day with different activities and discussions in classes and forms. On Thursday 8th February students and staff are invited to add to their regular uniform with green accessories such as green socks, hair bands, bracelets, etc. to show support.

    3. When will the hot water in the changerooms at the swimming pool be fixed?

We are working with the building team and developers to get this urgent matter resolved as soon as possible, we have been informed it is fixed now (02/01/2024). This is linked to the use of solar panels and alternative solutions are being explored. We will provide updates as soon as we have feedback.

    4. Students are very excited about the Matilda production. Some of the after school sports activities take place at the same time as rehearsals. Please could this be looked at?

This will be looked into by Mr Tom and we will provide feedback.

    5. Can buses be booked and paid for on a monthly basis instead of a termly basis?

We will raise this with the bus company. There is an alternative bus company which is used by some other Nadeen parents. Please contact Miss Habiba (h.chilwan@nadeenschool.com) if you would like this bus company’s details.

    6. When will the stage curtains be installed?

These were ordered and paid for last term. We are awaiting input and approval from the building company for the mechanism which will be used to open and close the curtains and this will be finalised in the coming weeks.

    7. Can Secondary students use a microwave to warm their food and have access to hot water?

Miss Stephanie, our Head of Secondary is looking into a trial day for this and will be in contact. As always, student safety is our first priority.

    8. Can there be more sports tournaments arranged for parents to take part in?

Absolutely! We will work on adding more of these events and look forward to welcoming parents to our Nadeen Green Family Fun Run and Family Picnic in the Park taking place over the next two weekends.

    9. Can the community use the school’s facilities after school?

We will work on a way to accommodate parents’ requests to use the school facilities before and after school as school staff need to be present (First aid kit, Health and Safety etc.). We will create a form for parents to use to request the use of facilities and provide further information regarding this. This needs to be done with care as we need to ensure the safety of our community and students.

    10. Can the developers share with us a development plan of new attractions and developments coming to Dilmunia Island?

We will request this and will provide an update in due course.

    11. Can you get a survey from the developers of Dilmunia Island regarding the amount of cars entering the island to motivate the development of a junction on the highway?

The traffic on the island has been monitored and tracked.  Once the amount of traffic reaches a level, the new road will be developed.

    12. Can you arrange more fun local trips for students who aren’t able to attend the International trips?

Teachers can arrange trips for their classes to support either the IPC/Academic side of learning or can propose a trip for fun.

    13. Could the library be opened for Secondary students between 3pm and 4pm for them to do self study until the textbooks are available? 

Yes, if there is a teacher or adult to supervise or who is free for an ECA.

    14. When will the subjects for Year 9 students be finalised?

These have been finalised, please contact s.andronikos@nadeen.com 

    15. During Ramadan, could we arrange a whole school Ifthar event on the weekend including the reading of traditional stories, dancing and drummers, as well as students speaking on stage?

We will pass this recommendation on to our Arabic Department and will provide an update.

    16. Will there be a Year 1 to 4 Drama ECA?

This will be added and implemented after the half term break.

Have a great weekend!

Dr Paul Walton

Principal

p.walton@nadeenschool.com

 

The below image is from this morning’s Coffee with the Principal.

 

Latest Articles

Nadeen School: Primary Sports League U11 Athletics

Nadeen School Parent Survey 2023/24

Ski Trip January 2024: Student Voice

 

Nadeen School – All Events for 2023 – 2024: For a printable PDF click here

Key:
Whole School Dates (bold)
Awareness Days (Italics)
● Parent Presentations/Open Days (highlighted blue)
● Nadeen Community Association Events (highlighted green)
● Weekend Events (highlighted yellow)
Half-Terms/End of Term

Click here to see Google calendar for 2023/24

Click here to see 2024-2025 A4 Landscape calendar with all days and holidays

 

 

Urgent Communication  

All urgent updates continue to be sent via email or SMS for emergencies (School Closure).

Please monitor your emails for future updates as this continues to be the best way to send out clear and consistent communication to all parents. Check that you are receiving emails, have enough space in your email folder, that they do not go to your ‘junk’ folder and if you are unsure, please contact info@nadeenschool.com, see reception or phone on +97317728886 to personally check your contact email and phone number on record.

If you change any contact details, please inform the school immediately.

Health and Safety

All urgent Health and Safety announcements will be sent directly to parents via email.

We will continue to work together to follow all health and precautionary measures to prevent the spread of diseases as recommended by the Ministry of Health specialists. Together with your constant cooperation and taking responsibility by keeping your children at home when feeling ill, will also have a significant impact in limiting the spread of diseases.  Thank you to all members of the community in advance for this.

 

Please keep your child at home if he/she is ill, has flu or cold symptoms

Virtual Learning

Last year it was announced that it is no longer mandatory for schools to provide Virtual Learning for students, shared by the Ministry of Education in August 2022.

The Ministry of Education has announced that the syllabus system for the coming academic year 2022/23 in all kindergartens, schools, universities, government and private educational institutions at all stages will be mandatory attendance for all students.  The ministry clarified that there would be no choice for parents to attend their children to receive in-person or remotely learning, assuring its keenness to provide for all the requirements for a successful back to school.

At Nadeen School, following the announcement from the Ministry above, our provision for learning will be on site.