Panther Voices
June 2019 - Official Elementary Newsletter GEMS United School
From the Principal
Aroma Pannu
Elementary School Principal
Dear Panther Parents,
Welcome to the last edition of the 2018/2019 Panther Voices newsletter. Here you will find some of the recent elementary school events which highlight how our community has been curious and inspired to reach beyond. Our learners continue to inspire me to be inquisitive, empathetic, courageous, thoughtful and to learn something new each day.
The end of the academic year is a time for celebrations. I hope to see many of you on campus this week as we wrap up the year and celebrate the growth our children have made. It is also a time for reflections. Our faculty has been doing just that as we look back at year to build our plans for next year. As partners in learning I would welcome your feedback and reflections as well. It is also a time for goodbyes. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family the best if you are heading to new adventures: May the dreams you hold dearest, Be those which come true, The kindness you spread, Keep returning to you.
Thank you for your trust in US this year and I wish you a safe, relaxing and rejuvenating summer.
Kindly,
Ms. Aroma
Announcement and Upcoming Events
Spirit Week
Next week (June 23 - 27) student council is hosting a spirit week for all Gems US students to celebrate the end of another great year. Come join in the fun!
Celebration of Learning
KG2A - Sunday - June 23rd at 2:00-3:00 PM
KG2B - Sunday - June 23rd at 9:00-10:00 AM
Gr 1 - Wednesday - June 26th at 2:00-3:30 PM
Gr2 - Wednesday - June 26th at 1:30 - 3:30 PM
Gr3 - Wednesday - June 26th at 8:45 - 9:50 AM
Gr4 - Wednesday - June 26th at 12:00 -2:00 PM
ES Report Card
Elementary Report Card will be available in your child's PlusPortal e-Lockers after 4:00 pm on Thursday June 27th.
YearBook 2018-19
Yearbooks will be distributed to students who have purchased them during the last week of school. If you would still like to purchase a yearbook, the cost is 80dhs and payable to the Accounts department.
End of School
Thursday, June 27th is the last day of school. Release time for students is 12:00 PM.
June 23rd, 2019 (Sunday) - Grade 1 and Grade 2
Kidzania, Dubai Mall
June 24th, 2019 (Monday) - ES Student Council
Vox Cinemas, Mall of Emirates
June 26th, 2019 (Wednesday) - KG1 and KG2
Vox Cinemas, Mall of Emirates
June 27th, 2019 (Thursday) - Pre-KG
Extreme Fun, Motor City
Spring MAP Data
Every year students take the MAP test in the fall, winter, and spring to acquire a snapshot of their learning in Reading, Language Usage, Mathematics, and Science. These scores serve as indicators of growth, and during the course of the year teachers use their class data sets to help determine tasks and resources that are appropriately challenging for their students.
As we are coming to the end of the 2018-2019 academic year, we are analyzing the MAP data with our focus on assessing student progress and determining essential areas of support and challenge for the upcoming school year.
This new set of MAP scores provides information about the strides each student made as a learner and newly focused work opportunities to increase their achievement.
At times, an unexpected fall can occur in a child’s MAP score. This is no cause for concern, as the score is a single snapshot of a single point in time. Keeping this information in mind, we compare the year of data points with our internal measures for a balanced perspective and accurate gauge of student progress.
Your child’s MAP report is available in the E-Portfolio via Plus Portals. This report will show your child’s progress for the fall, winter, and spring test sessions of the academic year.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Director of Data and Assessment (k.matthias_gus@gemsedu.com) or our Divisional Principal (a.pannu_gus@gemsedu.com). If you are having technical difficulties accessing the E-Portfolio, please contact our Data Manager (s.vijayakumari_gus@gemsedu.com).
GUS Registrar
Returning to GEMS US for AY 2019-20
We are very excited to be welcoming back a large majority of our students next school year. If you have not had the opportunity to re-enrol your child please do so by contacting Ms. Moses at k.moses_gus@gemsedu.com as we are unable to confirm your child's placement without the re-enrollment process being completed. This information helps US in planning the schedules, teacher and class placements.
Leaving GEMS US
Please inform Ms. Moses at k.moses_gus@gemsedu.com to ensure that we can process and provide the final documents to you in a timely manner.
Uniform Reminder for AY 2019 - 20
We would also like to remind parents that ALL students will be required to wear the GEMS United School uniform this fall. BPA uniforms will no longer be permitted as outlined at the end of the last academic year.
Pre-Kg through Kg 2 students can wear the PE uniform of polo shirt and shorts each day. Students in grades 1-5 need to wear the official GEMS US uniform (button down shirt and shorts/skort/pants) on non-PE days. On PE days students in all grades can wear the PE uniform to school. Students in grades 5 are required to wear a tie to school. In the cooler months students need to wear the official GEMS US sweaters and/or hoodies. Plain sweaters and sweatshirts will no longer be permitted as part of our school attire.
GEMS US swimsuits are required from grades 2-8. High school students do not need to purchase swimwear unless participating in our Panther aquatics program. Pre-Kg through grade 1 swimmers can wear their own one piece swimsuit for swimming classes. In addition to swimwear, all students are required to purchase a swimming cap. Goggles are highly recommended.
Additionally, as you purchase new shoes, please be sure school shoes for students in grades 1-12 are ALL BLACK (including black soles and laces). Our Pre-K through KG2 students are to wear comfortable closed-toed footwear, but they can vary in color. For all physical education classes, students are to wear athletic shoes that may be of any color, but must have non-marking soles.
Caught on Camera
Elementary Summer Music Concert
The Elementary Summer Music Concert was a huge success leaving parents, students and teachers humming tunes and singing songs all day.
Pre-K to Grade 5 students showcased their hard work and talents, and made US all proud.
Thank you for helping with the concert.
“U made it happen.”
by: Kallina Chin
Grade 5 Completion Ceremony
What a bitter-sweet moment it was to say "goodbye" to our Grade 5 students during their completion ceremony. We wish them all the best as the start their Middle School journey.
Excitement and overwhelming joy from families just after they go up on stage...
Elementary Art show
Not only can we sing, play instruments and dance...we also showcased and celebrated our imagination, creativity and learning through art.
Elementary Film Festival
Lights, Camera, Action!!!
Our first ever student council sponsored film festival brought together some serious actors, directors, cinematographers, camera operators, production designers, costume designers and art directors to the fore-front. This was yet another way in which elementary school students were encouraged this year to be curious, inspired, and reach beyond.
Well done film makers. You impressed and inspired US with your films!
Sharing is Caring
Shared by: Mohammad Abusenenh
What is the best way to see what you learned? Teach it to someone else. That is exactly what our 10th and 11th graders did during Ramadan. The Islamic B students planned a lesson, designed 2 games and a hands-on activity to enhance learning, created a Kahoot for active engagement of content, and gave a survey to check for understanding.
The high school Islamic B students had so much fun interacting and teaching the grade 1 and 2 students. Using Kahoot and the Sphero SPRK+, which integrated ICT where huge hits with all students.
Elementary students had the chance to play an educational board game design by the high school students themselves. The younger students were very excited to have the older students join them and share their expertise. Grade 1B and 2A students benefitted from having a such great high school students share their wealth of knowledge.
Counselor Corner
Mr. Joseph Murphy
Director of Student and Community Wellbeing
The Power of Being Grateful
A week from today our community will break for summer break. For some this will be a final farewell, for others it will be a chance to spend time traveling to see family, while others will be connecting with family nearby. Schools are unique this way, each year we take a break from our Dubai family and then return with stories to tell our friends, family and teachers. A break from family is always a good thing! Enjoy it. Rest, read, explore and continue to build yourself up.
Year end is always a time for reflection and for our final Counselor Corner I wanted to highlight the benefits of gratitude to our mental and physical health. Ms. Aroma challenged our 5th graders at their celebration last Thursday evening. She challenged them to be grateful for the people, places, and experiences that have nurtured their growth to this point. I think this is a challenge we can all take on as we move through our daily lives.
Much of the literature connected to positive psychology and wellbeing highlights the mental and physical benefits of being grateful. A few of the key benefits of being grateful include….
â—Ź Gratitude opens the door to more relationships. Simple acts of gratitude can lead to new opportunities to build positive relationships.
â—Ź Gratitude improves physical health. People who are grateful experience fewer health issues and they are also more likely to exercise and maintain good eating habits.
â—Ź Gratitude improves psychological health. Gratitude reduces negative emotions.
â—Ź Gratitude enhances empathy.
â—Ź Grateful people sleep better. One way to build our gratitude habit is to write in a daily gratitude journal.
â—Ź Gratitude improves self-esteem which in turn helps us succeed in school, work and relationships.
â—Ź Gratitude increases our capacity to deal with traumatic life experiences. Gratitude fosters resilience.
Within our community we have much to be grateful for as we close the 2018-19 school year. Thank you for your ongoing support of the counseling team at GEMS US. Farewell to our departing families and thank you for being part of our family. To our returning families, have fun and recharge! See you in September!
Warmly,
Joe
Home-School Partnership:
Ways to support your child at home
From the Library
By: Tracie Landry
“If you're like most parents at this time of year, you're relishing the days of summer. No more homework struggles, standardized tests, or jam-packed afternoons of carting your children to and from extracurricular activities. The summer is a time to unwind and relax for parents and kids alike, but learning should not come to a halt. According to the foundation Reading is Fundamental, children who do not read over the summer experience a loss of reading fluency and comprehension skills. Students who engage in summertime reading actually gain skills.”
GET “READ-Y” FOR SUMMER
Once again, the GEMS US library is launching our “GET READ-Y FOR SUMMER” book checkout for returning students.
In order to participate, parents must complete this summer library book checkout form for each child. (https://forms.gle/eizWMSxWU4eHXC2j6) Books can be checked out from June 23 - 26.
In addition, students can participate in the GEMS US Year of Tolerance Summer Reading Challenge. You can download a copy here, pick one up in the library, or from classroom teachers in Elementary. The challenge tasks students to read consistently over the summer, and to read across a range of genres that let us see the world from someone else’s point of view. There are also fun activities including making book marks, making a recipe from a culture different from your own, and book “shelfies”. All participating students will be presented with a certificate in the fall and a voucher towards the purchase of a book during our Winter Book Fair.
Keeping Cool with Science
Shared by: Ms. Rachel Cook
Summer is a wonderful time to spend days observing nature, doing cool experiments in the yard, and have fun getting messy. Most children enjoy science experiments and investigations as a way to learn new things. Listed below are some websites that have wonderful ideas to keep cool in the summer while experimenting with color and textures to enrich your senses. Many of the items are probably already in your pantry. When the kids start to complain about being bored, check out some of these experiments. I know I will be doing some of these with my grand-children (ages 4 and 7). I wish everyone a relaxing summer with new experiences and stress-free science engagement.
https://lemonlimeadventures.com/must-try-summer-science-activities-for-kids/
https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/activities/summer-stem-activities/
https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/100-summer-stem-activities-science-experiments/
Math Spotlight
Shared by: Nioka Carter
Elementary Sports
This year was an absolute blast for our elementary Panthers. We had an incredible 15 elementary teams with many new sports for our students to develop and compete in. We had Soccer, Basketball, Track and Field, Tennis, Aquatics, Golf and Badminton and for a small school our students dedicated themselves to being curious about how to reach beyond in new adventures and activities. We are extremely proud to know that over 70% of our students in grades 3-5 joined one of our many Panthers sports teams this year. This figure does not include the many after school activities and outside sports teams and clubs that are students are involved in which really highlights what a happy and healthy community we have here at Gems US.
We also enjoyed much success with our U11 Boys competitive team being crowned regional champions, our Track and Field team had four finalists picking up two medals, our Aquatics team brought home a total of seven medals from swimming and Aquathons and our basketball teams finished on a high with our U11 boys wining their final tournament.
Elementary Sport Awardees
This past week we had the opportunity to recognize the amazing efforts and achievements of our Elementary Panthers and we also had some individual award winners too.
We had three students who were recognized for demonstrating the Panther way as student-athletes. Sofia, Oliver and Alfred consistently tried new Panthers sports and always arrived with a very positive attitude and a big smile on their face. We are #PANTHERPROUD of your amazing efforts this year.
Last year we started the tradition of recognizing an Elementary Sports Boy and an Elementary Sports Girl of the year from our grade 4/5 students. These students are selected based on the following criteria;
- Commitment to several Panthers Sports Teams
- Excellent Sportsmanship
- Hard work ethic and perseverance.
- Positive attitude and Impact on the Panthers Sports Program and as a student at Gems US.
This year’s Sports Boy and Sports Girls of the Year award recipients are – Thomas Buchard and Frederrikke Momme
Simply the Best Coaches
We would also like to thank all of the parents for all of their support and encouragement for our students to embrace new activities and to commit themselves towards their own physical and social development throughout Panthers sports program. Similarly we would like to thank our Elementary Sports coaches for all of their time and effort to provide these opportunities for our students.
All of our amazing sport achievements would not have been possible without a strong coaching department.
Thank you for an awesome year Panthers! Have lots of fun this Summer and stay active!
Field Trips
Elementary ELL 's Food Adventure at the Top Chef
Shared by: Samirah El Baf
The Elementry ELL students enjoyed a day of being a chef! This inter-active listening comprehension field trip took place at Top Chef in Jumeirah. Students had the opportunity to prepare food from scratch: guacamole, chicken and cheese quesadillas, fresh lemon pineapple mint drink, coconut ice cream and cake! They measured and cut everything by hand and fun was had by all while they put their listening skills into action.
3rd grade's Airmaniax and Switch Bowling adventure
Third graders enjoyed their final field trip of the school year on Thursday, June 13. We bounced our hearts out at Air Maniax, while developing our agility and teamwork skills. At Switch Bowling, we enjoyed a pizza lunch. Then, mixed teams of third graders took aim at the pins. It was wonderful to see the way our students engaged in a friendly competition, cheering each other and celebrating every spare and strike!
KG2's Trip to Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo
As the culmination to their science unit on animals and eco-systems our KG2 friends went to the Rainforest Cafe, Dubai Aquarium and the Underwater Zoo. Seeing these different habitats and the animals that we had been learning
about made our learning come to life. Observing the shark glide by, the colorful corals, and the schools of fish and comparing them to the animals of the rainforest helped us learn more about the beautiful world around us.
5th Grade's Just Play Adventure
The Fifth Graders had loads of fun while developing their gross motor skills, agility, flexibility, and teamwork on their last field trip to Just Play. Soccer, parkour, trapeze, tough mudder, bouldering wall and ninja warrior course were some of the activities they participated in, challenging themselves to reach beyond their own comfort levels.
Parents Association
Faculty Appreciation Brunch
Thank you to our hardworking and dedicated parents for the delicious faculty lunch. You sure know the way to our hearts!
An amazing spread of food and beautiful decor set the stage for our faculty to mix and mingle with each other and parents. The parent association also took 'personalization' to heart with their thoughtful and individualized gifts for the faculty.
Everyday needs
June Menus (Gr. 5-12)
Located on our GEMS US website under the Parents tab; you can also click here - June Menus
Slices Registration
Want to register for Slices canteen services? Click the parent Sign-Up link below.
Absences
When your child is ill or will not be attending school, you will need to inform the school about your child's absence to the following GEMS US staff member:
- Elementary (Pre-KG-Gr5): Notify Ms. Marlee Fernan at m.melendres_gus@gemsedu.com
- Secondary (Gr.6-12): Notify Ms. Reem Abdullatif at attendance_gus@gemsedu.com
Please include your child's name, grade & section along with a day of expected return (if known).
For extended absences , please complete the absence form and return to the appropriate staff member noted above for approval by the Principal.
Digital Learning Experts Available
If you have any wonderings about digital learning and the use of technology as a learning tool please reach out to our resident experts:
- Ms. Frost can be found in the LaunchPad C Block for support with SeeSaw and educational digital tools used at our school.
- Jennifer Hamlet in F Block, Room 004. She is available Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3-4 pm in "A" weeks to help with all things Google.
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