Dear Parents and Children,

I feel slightly more settled in writing this newsletter than the last edition! I proudly look around the school and see our children moving from strength to strength. As we head towards the latter phase of the academic year it is worth reflecting on some of the aspects that make Kings’ Dubai such a special place to be.

Over recent weeks we have had many class assemblies which parents have been invited to attend. The assembly is an opportunity for the children to share with parents and the rest of the school work which is currently ongoing. The performances are quite daunting - especially for the younger children and a lot of hard work goes towards the preparation and practice of these events. The assemblies of late have been of an exceptionally high standard giving much information, a reflection of the work in progress, knowledge learned and usually there is a Mrs Anderson original song to accompany the theme! Thank you to the teachers, teaching assistants and pupils who work creatively to keep these events fresh and well produced.

There is some outstanding artwork on display around the school at the moment. At Kings’ Dubai we follow a less conventional Primary School curriculum which centres around core fine art skills and techniques, working on quality and development. The children learn processes which they can build upon and become accomplished competent artists. The media is largely restricted to powder paint, pencil, printing, ceramics and textiles and children are taught about composition, observation, colour mixing and technique. We avoid gimmicks and quick result craft activities which can quite often stifle children’s learning. Many parents have asked why we don’t send artwork home regularly to pin on the fridge and the reason is simple.... we value it too much and keep it as key evidence of achievement. At the end of the year the majority of the work will be sent home but some pieces will be kept in school as a record of your childs achievement and will move with them throughout their career at Kings. Please do take time to have a look in classrooms and corridors at the work on display.

Last week we held our annual swimming galas. These were rescheduled events from the Winter Term and I am sure you will agree they were worth the wait. The Foundation Children began the week with a demonstration to parents of their skills in the water. It is encouraging to see their confidence developing. Tuesday 6th May and Wednesday 7th May saw the Key Stage One and Two children compete against each other in their Houses. The galas served to highlight the unbelievable improvements we have seen with swimming at Kings’ over the previous year. It is incredible to think that in Year One and Two every single child is able to swim a 25M length of the pool and the speed at which our older children are able to perform is just amazing. The fastest time of the gala was Chris Mansell in Year 6 completing a length in free style of 16.56 seconds followed closely by Kirra Beckett in Year 5 with her record time of 16.57 seconds.

The strength of the Year 6’s was proudly displayed when they took great delight in beating the teachers in the final relay event! A great sporting event which allowed all children to compete against children of a similar ability and race for their House Team. A bout of illness in school meant last minute changes on the day and some events were without participants but overall a very proud and enjoyable gala. Huge thanks go to all of the teachers, with special thanks to Mr Penman, Miss Lisa Hancox and Mrs Sandra Furstenburg for their tireless efforts to ensure the event was successful. Windsor is the 2008 Swimming Champion, and the Best Supporters Cup went to Hanover. The children will receive certificates for the event in assembly next week.

As usual at this time of year we begin to look forward to the next academic year. For me, this year in particular, it is with very mixed emotions that we will be saying goodbye to some of our dedicated members of staff. I can confirm the following teachers will be leaving us to take up exciting new positions:

Miss Amy Cowin (Year 1 Class Teacher) moving to JESS Jumeirah. Miss Karen McDermid (Yr5 Class Teacher) and Mr John Kerrigan (Yr1 Class Teacher moving to Dukhan School in Doha. Mrs Alison Mitchell (Yr3 Class Teacher) will be finishing work and will be devoting her time to other pursuits. Mr Craig Jones (Yr 4 Class Teacher) has gained promotion and will return to the UK to take Deputy Headteacher position. Mr Jonny Penman (PE Specialist Teacher) is returning to the UK to pursue his career. Sharon Stedman will be leaving the post of School Nurse.

New teachers have been appointed, details of whom will follow in due course.

Thank you to all those who took the time to complete the recent survey sent out. The results have been very interesting and as soon as I have collated them I will share with you the findings and proposed action.As a direct result of this I have submitted a proposal to the Ministry for a change to the current timings of the school day. You will be notified of this as soon as it is approved.

Currently the children are working towards their end of year assessments and we wish them well. I am very proud of their academic achievements and hope this is reflected in their results.

Best wishes

Mrs Debbie Watson

Headteacher