Update from the Principal – 1st September

Posted September 1, 2022 by Paul Walton in Nadeen News, Nadeen News 1831

Update from the Principal.

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your help, support, and time through a very busy and enjoyable first week back.

I’ve spoken to a lot of families, parents and members of the community and very much enjoyed gathering as much feedback as possible.

It has been a great start with lots going on, but we have a lot to do together over the coming months. There are key areas we can improve, and we will work through these one at a time to make good solid progress. Some of these will also be ongoing and need regular reviews and updates! – It’s an exciting time to really do our very best for the students at school. I can’t wait for next week.

Please RSVP click here

This week, I have been in many events, led four presentations, attended meetings, drop offs and also really enjoyed being in the assembly where we had all of the students together. This was a real highlight of my week, to see everyone start the new year together. To get the chance to say hello to all students, talk about what I’ve seen so far and congratulate them on a very positive start was a real privilege for me.

On Sunday, I am looking forward to visiting all classes, seeing the students with the teachers, and making sure I can see as much engagement, fun and learning as possible.

Next week, we have some very interesting events to look forward to. The Inclusion Presentation on Monday 5^th September at 1pm and also the eSafety presentation on Wednesday 7^th September at 1pm and again at 5pm.

I had a coffee morning with parents today and it was very helpful to listen to one another, share thoughts and comment on various aspects of the school. Thank you to everyone who attended, it was very helpful, and I do appreciate your time today. I very much look forward to the next one!

Please find below, the updates I shared from my slides this morning:

Coffee Morning:

Purpose

Opportunity for all parents to come along.
New families to meet parents in the same year group as their children.
All bullet points today will be included in the Update From the Principal.
Updates, Looking ahead, Upcoming events, discussion.
I’ll be around at the end to talk about any individual questions regarding your child.

Updates

Orientation Day 25/08 – Thank you, very positive, informal, meeting all staff and to walk around the school site.
First Day back 28/08 – Information sent out, need to update Parent Handbook with feedback received*
Meet the Teacher 30/08 – excellent event, all staff were brilliant and both presentations (Teacher and Paul) should have been received, please check you have received this.
Extra-Curricular Activities Presentation 31/08 – completed, presentation sent to team to share with parents. (16 shared yesterday by parents, thank you).
Website Staff Bios – The Bios, backgrounds of teachers are currently being populated on the website (All leadership, admin and academic staff invited), end of September. About Us/Our Team/
eSafety Page created – please share any articles with me that have been useful, https://www.nadeenschool.com/esafety/ 7th September.
Principal welcome – https://www.nadeenschool.com/principals-welcome/
Latest News – All articles (9), information and Updates. https://www.nadeenschool.com/news/
Thursday updates – (2 at the end of each week), one from your child’s teacher today (Via email) and one from Mr. Paul (Latest news).
French Teacher – Started today at school (Looking at french lessons throughout the school years 3-7 to start with and an Extra-Curricular Activity. We plan to have 2 French clubs (All ages).
Breakfast Club and Stay and Play – open to register now. Please email Miss Karen (Information in the Extra-Curricular Activities Presentation)

Looking Ahead

eSafety – Information sent out (MTT, webpage and eSafety presentation), need to update Parent Handbook*
Extra-Curricular Activities – please keep sharing any contacts or recommendations, even if we get a few extra this would be amazing! (16 shared yesterday by parents, thank you).
Teacher Feature – Short article about an individual teacher every week or 2, to introduce them (Informal), why they are a teacher, something about them, what they enjoy, what do they feel about Nadeen?
Onsite events – (38 this term), PTA, Whole school and some Awareness Days.
Email address – when emailing staff, please use the format and domain: initial.surname@nadeeninternationalschool.com
Drop off – please keep driving safely, very organised in the morning and it sets the positive/caring tone very well.
New Building Visits – (169 days to go) 4 week plan for all staff to visit at the start of the term as mentioned in the Meet the Teacher presentation.
BSO Inspection Report – due very soon, this will be shared out to all families.
Nadeen School Newsletter – coming soon, teachers working with students to create a student-led newsletter.
PTA – volunteers (After Upcoming events slide)

PTA at Nadeen School – Volunteer today!

We have a very active, positive, and supportive PTA at Nadeen School, an important part of our school community.
Looking for volunteers to join the PTA this year, there are many roles!
These roles are open to anyone, past members, PTA previous schools, never done this before, any help is very much appreciated.
There are 3 main events by the PTA, one planned each term (Festive Fair, International Day, plus one more in the summer term), plus a few smaller events (Halloween Pumpkin Sale, Valentines Day, Uniform Sale etc.). The PTA plan and organise these events.
If you are interested, please email the school. info@nadeenschool.com
The first PTA meeting will be held on Monday 19th September at 8.00am (Venue TBC).

Our next Coffee with the Principal is at 8.00am, Thursday 6^th October.

We have several updates to share with you below:

Communication – All parents should now have received an introduction from the classroom teacher. Please use this email as the main communication to the classroom teacher.
Communication – There will be an update from the Principal each Thursday from school, latest news on the website, a school newsletter (coming soon), first Thursday of each month for coffee with the principal and many exciting school events coming up on our events page on the website.
School Newsletter – coming soon! (Hopefully as student-led as mentioned in our presentations this week).
Extra-curricular clubs – these will be created next week and emailed out to all parents soon. We aim to start clubs from Sunday 18th September with a provision of ‘free’ clubs and ‘paid’ clubs.
Social Media updates – Please follow our Facebook and Instagram pages to see the latest photos, posts and updates about our new school campus in Dilmunia. It looks incredible and it is great to see the progress each week of everything coming together.
Using gates – As of Sunday 4th September, at Pick-up, parents can enter through the main gate (Building 2) and exit through the playground gate (Building 1). This will ease the congestion of using one gate.

Some of the questions raised today are below, with a comment included:

Please can we have more emphasis on Arabic books in the library? – we have a selection of Arabic books already in the library, we are looking to purchase more and students can check these out at any time to take home. We will also host another Arabic book fair.
Please can we have Arabic during the school day for non-Arabic students? – We will look at re-introducing the 2 sessions of Arabic culture (Which included learning conversational Arabic) back into the timetable for all years.
Will there be sessions ran this year to talk more specifically about areas such as neurodiversity, etc. ? – Yes, we will start with our Inclusion presentation on Monday 5^th September and then arrange further workshops and discussions throughout the year.
When will the uniform shop include a wider range of clothes including a choice for Skorts? – The uniform supplier is being review and we are in the middle looking at options to give families a wider choice.
Would it be possible to have a parent social/welcome back picnic at the start of next year? – Yes, this is a great idea and we look forward to having this in our new campus for August 2023. Joining the PTA now would be a great way forward to meet other families.
Is there an opportunity for a referral process for new families joining the school? – We are looking at our current fees, Terms and Conditions and how we value our families moving forward. There are 4 or 5 proposals that are directly related to this, an update will be sent out in due course.
Will Year 8 and 9 open next year? – We are having a Nadeen School Presentation 2023/24 on Wednesday 14^th The purpose of the presentation is to gauge firm interest in who would like to enrol in the school for August 2023/24, including a plan moving forward. Everyone is welcome, we anticipate a great deal of interest as we move to the new campus and after this meeting will update you on this.
Can parents get involved and share expertise with the community? – Yes, through the PTA and please get in touch with us for Extra-Curricular Activities and International Week. There are many opportunities for you to come in and share.
Can the school continue to send out guidance on age-appropriate movies, apps etc? – Yes, we will continue to do this.
Can we add more local cultural trips and visits to our school calendar? – Yes, we absolutely want to do this and will increase the amount of trips to local heritage sites throughout this year.
Could the school possibly set up a session for parents to learn Arabic at school? – Yes, we look for volunteers who would like to register for this and I will set up this for the next Coffee Morning. If you would like to register, please attend.
Will another survey be sent out to students and parents regarding languages and which languages we would like to see in the future? – Yes, during this school year.
Could Year 5 bags be taken into the classroom out of the sun? – The contents of bags can be brought inside the classroom, we will review this over the next week.
Could we consider using one gate to enter and one gate to exit the building? – Yes, we will look into this and try and do this on Sunday 4^th
Can we share out any apps or technology on how parents/staff can work with children with Dyslexia – Yes, this will be a part of our technology presentations throughout this year, starting with eSafety Presentation at 1pm and again at 5pm on Wednesday 7^th

Thank you so much for all of your questions and discussion today.

All of the Principal updates sent out previously will be included at the bottom of this page.

Have an amazing weekend!

Paul Walton

Principal

Uniform Guidelines (As sent home by Teachers)

Please can I remind you of our uniform policy regarding jewellery and long hair. This is part of our health and safety for all children in the school. We have discussed this with the children in class this week.

From the Parent Handbook:

JEWELLERY: No jewellery may be worn in school aside from small metal stud earrings for those with pierced ears. Necklaces, bracelets, rings and other jewellery may not be worn. Jewellery may not be worn during PE or sports sessions.

HAIR: Girls’ hair should be tied back from the face. Excessive hair clips and hair adornments are not permitted, except on party days.

SHOES: Children are expected to wear “proper shoes” – not slip-on shoes, Crocs, shoes with heels, boots, or other unsuitable footwear. Please note that children are permitted to wear sandals without socks on the proviso that the sandals are well-fitting.

Secondary (Year 7 Drop off routine)

Students in Secondary are able to enter the school premises independently of their parents from the drive through area. Parents are able to drop their children off and students can walk in on their own from the drive through area. For safety, however, in the afternoons, we ask that students wait inside the school premises to be picked up, waiting with their younger sibling or for the school bus as per the usual processes.

Key Dates – (Whole School Days in bold)

Sunday 28th August – First Day back at School!
Tuesday 30th August – Meet the Teacher/Curriculum evening (A session for parents to find out what the students will be learning and opportunity to ask any individual or day to day questions).
Wednesday 31st August – Music/Sport and After school club presentation for Parents and Students (A presentation to introduce the after school provision and opportunity to ask about clubs, activities etc).

Monday 5th September – Inclusion Presentation
Wednesday 7th September – eSafety Presentation
Tuesday 13th September – Roald Dahl Day
Thursday 15th September – Dot Day
Wednesday 21st September – International Day of Peace
Thursday 22nd September – Unique Me Day
Thursday 29th September – International awareness Day of food loss and waste

Sunday 2^nd October – International Music Day
Monday 3^rd-6^th October – Dyslexia Awareness
Thursday 6^th October – Coffee with the Principal
Wednesday 12^th October – World Crazy Hair Day
Thursday 13^th October – Art Exhibition
Sunday 16^th October – World Food Day
Thursday 20^th October – Student Appreciation Day
Half Term/End of Maths Theme Block
Monday 31^st October – Hallowe’en

Thursday 3^rd November – Coffee with the Principal
Thursday 3^rd November – Student Council: Hallowe’en Disco
Tuesday 8^th November – Boys PSL Fixture
Tuesday 8^th November – Tongue Twister Day
Wednesday 9^th November Girls PSL Fixture
Sunday 13^th November – Remembrance Day
Monday 14^th November – World Diabetes Day
Monday 14^th-17^th November – Nursery Rhyme Week
Friday 18^th November – Festive Fair
Sunday 20^th November – World Cup Day
Monday 28^th November – EYFS Sports Day
Tuesday 29^th November – KS1 Sports Day, LKS2 Sports Day
Tuesday 29^th November – St Andrews Day
Wednesday 30^th November – UKS2 and KS3 Sports Day

Thursday 1^st December – Coffee with the Principal
Sunday 4^th December – International Hour of Code
Sunday 4^th – 8^th December – English Book Fair
Tuesday 6^th December – EYFS Christmas Show
Wednesday 7^th December – KS1 and KS2 Festive Singing
Tuesday 13^th December – Bahrain National Day
Final Day of Term

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.

Previous Updates

Please find all of the previous updates below.

All updates are sent out at the end of the week and published in the ‘Latest News’ section of the website.

18^th August – Update from the Principal (Final Preparation for the Orientation Day)

11^th August – Update from the Principal (Planning for INSET training)

4^th August – Update from the Principal (Summer update)

14^th June – Looking forward to the new school year

Virtual Learning

As you might have seen, this summer it was announced that it is no longer mandatory for schools to provide Virtual Learning for students, shared by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday 2nd 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.

For students unable to attend or overseas, we will offer an extra provision to help support with Year 3 and above, including:

Students will be included in Google classrooms to have the same access as those onsite.
A link to a curriculum plan for all year groups.
A weekly class email from the teacher.
An appointment to discuss your child/their progress over email or an online meeting when required.
Access to our book list covered in school.
The resources from the online subscriptions used on site will be available.
An opportunity for a teacher/student conference if needed, as directed by the class teacher.

We hope all students have the opportunity to be back on site. We look forward to the new academic year and following the Ministry guidance above for our students at school.