dia wins award at the middle east hoirfest · pdf filethey won the award for est single voice...

SUNDAY, 06 MARCH 2016 Issue 199

PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS GENERAL SECONDARY

SCHOOL NEWS

DIA is proud to announce that the vocal ensemble The Symphonettes won the award for best A Cappella group

last week in the Middle East ChoirFest competition. There were many choirs from the region competing and the Year

11 girls gave a memorable performance which inspired their audience to clap and to want to join in with their songs.

They won the award for Best Single Voice last year, and this year they went on to collect an even more prestigious

award.

DIA’S “THE SYMPHONETTES”

EXPERIENCE CHOIRFEST 2016

ChoirFest 2016 was an extremely fun event

for The Symphonettes

Abhinaya Chandramohan,

Sara Atassi,

Tiana Atapattu,

Raina Shahzad

Zeina Zaki

Everything, from the initial warm up session

all the choirs had by singing along with The

Real Group (the competition’s judges), to

the performance onstage, to the final awards collection ceremony was exhilarating. While the sing-along warm up

helped diffuse some of the tension all of the contestants could feel pounding through the air, once the different

schools’ performances began, the tension began mounting all over again as each performance showcased the

exploding potential of each competing school. The Symphonettes arrived onstage with jittery stomachs and shaky

steps, but the performance was a surprising success as the crowd began clapping along to our songs. The level of

audience engagement immediately impressed the judges and boosted our morale, causing us to actually start

enjoying our performance and feeling more confident. Once our performance was over, we found that we were no

longer concerned about whether or not we would win any awards, because what was more important was that we

had enjoyed ourselves. This is why the fact that we did win the Best A Cappella Group category was a pleasantly

surprising bonus for us. The realization that we had brought success to DIA’s name gave us great joy and pride as we

collected our award and headed back home with a sense of achievement in our hearts.

Abhinaya Chandramohan, Year 11E

COMPETITIVE SPORTS NEWS PADIA

DIA WINS AWARD AT THE MIDDLE EAST CHOIRFEST COMPETITION

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe that we are already in the third month of the ‘new year’ 2016!

It has been a very busy two months with a range of activities and events that contribute to the holistic development of our students.

Before I update you on some of the upcoming events I would like to recognize some of the outstanding achievements of our students. You are already aware the our students attained levels well above the Middle East and International Average Scale Score in all Years 4 to 11 across each subject area with 10 of our students being awarded the IBT Honour Certificate and Award for Excellence, 5 for Maths, 3 Science and 2 English.

The DIA team finished 3rd in the world for the International Global Round of the Brain Ways Quest competition. This is the second year in a row that our students have secured a position in this competition.

We had a winner in the international Spelling Bee and in the local fencing competition and three of our diploma students secured the first place in the recently conducted Computer Programming Challenge conducted by Herriot Watt University.

Our students have attended model United Nations conferences in The Hague, Athens and Qatar and are now busy preparing for our very own DIAMUN which will host over 700 students from around the region.

We have an on-going calendar of student events with our sister schools: the musical soiree, literary soiree, debating competitions and for the first time this year an X-Factor talent show which show-cased the multiple talents of our students across the school.

Our younger students were invited to present at the What Works Early Years at KHDA. The presentation by 3 of our students was very well received by visitors.

The introduction of Arabic Days to promote the speaking of Arabic outside the classroom has proved popular with students taking the lead in creating videos to help their peers.

Due to the cooler weather we have had a series of sporting events both in school and as part of the Innoventures schools and in the local leagues. Sports Days were run for all sections of the school with the four houses fiercely competing for supremacy. Among the IVEI sporting fixtures DIA secured the overall first place in athletics, basketball, football and cross country. In this area our Under-11 girls beat 180 other girls and 29 schools to become the Dubai Champions for cross-country! The American University of Dubai Sports Challenge Championship trophy, competed by 20 teams from all over UAE, was won by the DIA U18 Boys team!

Water for Life, the longest running student led event in DIA, had its annual carnival this week. The funds raised will go towards providing potable water in a part of the world where it is needed the most. We observed Book Week in the Primary School which included all our mother-tongue programmes. Our grateful thanks to PADIA for treating our Primary School students to a movie night under the stars!

As a school representing over 80 nationalities we look forward to celebrating International Day on 10 March with our parents and students. This evening of food and entertainment from round the world, is not to be missed!

We now have notification of our annual DSIB school inspection which will take place from 21 to 24 March. As an involved parent at DIA you are urged to complete the KHDA Parent Survey using the link below. It is important that you select the correct school name from the list before answering the questions. Please do complete the survey before the start of the inspection as it will provide valuable information.

https://www.khda.gov.ae/Parents

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting your children’s learning at DIA. The success of the school is based upon a partnership between parents, students and staff and your input is valued and appreciated. Yours sincerely,

Pratibha Rao Principal

https://www.khda.gov.ae/Parents

ACADEMIC YEAR 2015 - 2016

Please Note: The above dates are subject to change. For calendar updates please refer the school website - http://www.diadubai.com/learning/academic-calendar/2015-2016/

MARCH 2016 Sunday, 6 March Year 6 Sports Day

Sunday, 6 - Thursday, 10 March Year 5 Camp

Monday, 7 March Year 1 & 2 Sports Day

Wednesday, 9 March Innovents Chess Competition, Grade 3- Grade 12 at RIS

Tuesday, 8 - Thursday, 10 March Emirates Literature Festival

Thursday, 10 March Literature Festival Character Day - SS

Thursday, 10 March International Evening

Friday, 11 - Thursday, 17 March Year 6 Cyprus Trip

Friday, 11 - Saturday, 12 March Bronze DoE Trip

Tuesday, 15 March Early closing PD day. Dismissal for all students at 12:00pm

Wednesday, 16 March DIAMUN Opening Ceremony

Thursday, 17 March PD Day (no school for PS & SS students)

Thursday, 17 - Saturday, 19 March DIAMUN

Tuesday, 22 March Year 9 Science Fair

Friday, 25 March - Saturday, 9 April Spring Break

U P C O M I N G V A C A N C I E S A T D I A

DIA is now accepting CV's from applicants for the following Secondary School positions for immediate appointment.

Secondary School - Part time College Counsellor

Secondary School - Full time Teaching Assistant to work with the SEN Coordinator

Interested applicants should forward a full CV by email to [email protected]

PLEASE TYPE THE POSITION APPLIED FOR AS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR E -MAIL

We thank all candidates, however only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS GENERAL

SECONDARY SCHOOL NEWS



PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

On the 22nd of February, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) hosted a What Works for Early Years conference at Emirates Aviation University in Dubai International Academic City. The purpose of the What Works conference was to provide a unique platform for educators from the private schools in Dubai to meet and share best practices and highlight inquiry based students’ projects. At this year’s conference, Avni Bansal, Layan Chreide and Maria Zehni from 1LB represented DIA in the students’ project exhibition. All three students confidently demonstrated their ability to be risk-takers by bringing conference attendees to their display table to share their acquired knowledge. The details of the project are as follows: Name of project: Trash Sculptured, Theme: Sharing the Planet: Reduced, Reused, Recycled, and Refused and Description: The effect trash has on our environment. Donica Cuspard Primary School Deputy Head

MONDAY FUN DAY

The Primary Student Council (PSC) hosted a fun day on

Monday 15th February. The students set up four stations

of fun and games in the quadrangle during lunch time, from

12 pm to 12.40 pm.

The participants were rewarded with Diamond

awards or house points and all proceeds will be donated to the GIVE foundation.

We look forward to more PSC events to enjoy !

COMPETITIVE SPORTS NEWS

PADIA



YEAR 4 CAMP Year 4 students had a great time on camp. It was great to watch all the collaboration and hard work amongst the Year 4 students. Well done Year 4s for being such excellent risk takers and attending camp for the first time.



YOGA FOR A GOOD CAUSE Year 4 students had a great time practicing yoga moves. Yoga for kids to support other children was a great way for students to see how they can be active and support a good cause like the children of the mountain www.childrenofthemountain.org

PARENT/CHILD CIRCUIT WORKOUT We had a great early morning training session with our swimmers and their parents on the 15th February. Parents and children gathered in the gym on Monday morning at 6am to have a fun workout with the Circuit Factory. This activity was done for our swim squad students as part of their dry land fitness training practice. A huge thank you to all parents and students who came to this activity.

BOOK WEEK BY HINDI MOTHER TONGUE STUDENTS



BOOK WEEK - CHARACTER DRESS UP DAY



YEAR 3 CAMP

‘The best day ever’…‘Camp was so much fun’…‘I loved the games’…‘I wish we could camp every weekend’…

On Thursday, 25th February, 130 very excited Year 3 students and 5 very brave teachers, spent the evening camping on the football field for the first ever Year 3 Sleepover. Students assembled at 5pm and were allocated their tents, they got settled, said good bye to their parents and were ready to start their evening.

From the ‘Hungry Hippo’s’ game, a small disco, doge ball to rounder’s and hot chocolate with marshmallows were only some of the activities offered.

What an awesome adventure!


SCHOOL NEWS

SECONDARY SCHOOL NEWS DP1 SEMINAR: STUDY SKILLS AND TIME MANAGEMENT

The DP1 cohort recently met with Miss Isobel Wood from Lanterna Education to discuss the best way for DP students to get the most out of their time. She gave many great tips on how to utilize “dead time” along with a number of online applications for revision. One app Miss Wood noted is the free language tool known as Memrise. Students can create a login and use this fun tool to recall words from approximately 180 languages http://www.memrise.com/home/. There are also revision tools for a

number of various academic categories such as Math, Science, History and Geography. Isobal, a former IB student who earned 45 points, also gave information on IB revision Summer Courses run by Lanterna along with scholarship information and free resources. Please visit http://www.lanternaeducation.com/scholarships/ if you are interested in participating in an IB Summer Workshop or if you would like to subscribe for free IB resources such as Extended Essay and TOK Guides.

Jennifer Hager, DP Coordinator

Time The problem with time

Is that even though It flows like a river

There’s always a drought When you need water

It always leaves you hanging When you need it most

Like a waterfall, It pushes you over the edge

Into the future When you need the past

But sometimes Just sometimes

You get a paradox A moment in time

When everything comes together When time finally decides

To lift you back up onto the boat

Time is alive And it always has a plan

It has a plan for you. It pushes you down a path

A path to success All you need to do

Is let the current guide you Let it show you

What lies just around the riverbend


PADIA

This poem on ‘TIME’ by Adam Ryan Watt (YR 9A)

was selected from many entries to be read out at the Literary Soirée, an Innovents

event which was held at Raffles World Academy on

10 February.

http://www.memrise.com/home/

http://www.lanternaeducation.com/scholarships/

THIMUN QUATAR

As we stepped off the plane in Doha Airport on a cold January morning, we didn't know what to expect. This was the first international conference for all of us and we were all filled with a mix of anticipation, nervousness and excitement for what was to come. The theme of the conference was Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, an extremely relevant topic in today’s troubling times. Our

delegation of 12 students represented South Korea, a nation none of us were really familiar with and so being the delegates of this country was an insightful experience. The topics debated ranged from the situation in Libya and Yemen to promoting the role of women in Afghanistan but all topics stimulated debate extremely well.

Since we were such a small delegation, we were all in different committees, but all of us made sure our voice was heard from HRC to ECOSOC and the GAs. The first day was mainly lobbying, and although all of us were in different committees, we always met during lunch to narrate the course of the day. Some of us had the opportunity to give opening speeches for the respective topics whereas others were planning their future speeches. Above all though, the best opportunity to make friends, and allies, was on the first day. The remainder of the conference was purely dedicated to debating so it was no surprise for anyone, to be waking up at 4 am writing last minute speeches, or even staying up so late finishing a resolution! On the other spectrum of things, first impressions and appearance played an important part of our routine, so it wasn’t just staying up/waking up early in the mornings to do work, but to get ready and look PROFESSIONAL!

The second day of the conference was the most intense considering a plethora of excellent resolutions and clauses were submitted the previous day to be debated upon. It was this day where everyone either gave enthusiastic or hesitant replies to being asked if they spoke yet. Some people boasted two speeches or more whereas others were just settling into the conference and flow of debate. The third day of the conference was no doubt one of the most bittersweet as while it was fun and probably the most enjoyable day of debate, none of us wanted to leave our new found friends behind. Later that night, we went to the Cultural Night held at Qatar Academy and were surprised at how cold Qatar could be during winter. We also managed to squeeze in some time for tourism, visiting Souq Al Waqeef and going to Doha City Centre.

In addition to the conference, our entire experience in Qatar was an unforgettable one. We got to meet wonderful people from all corners of the world. Trinidad, Sri Lanka, Shanghai, India, Singapore, Afghanistan, you name it! We all managed to make friends that will last for a lifetime and we’re all left with a thirst for more MUN and anticipation as DIAMUN 2016 swiftly approaches.

By Tessa and Zaha

A MEETING WITH NASA ASTRONAUT DR. DONALD A. THOMAS

“Keep your eyes on the stars!” These were the last words I took away with on my autograph last week, along with his signature, after an amazing talk with Dr. Donald Thomas, NASA engineer and Astronaut.

Being a student in the GATEWAY program, where we push the limits of our dreams, it was quite inspiring to listen to Dr. Donald’s journey towards becoming a NASA astronaut after four attempts to get accepted in the agency space program.

I was fascinated to listen to his stories and thoughts about life in space; trying to imagine how ‘eight and a half minutes’ is what it takes to leave earth in a rocket, that is less than my travel time to school every morning!

I also couldn’t describe my feelings when he displayed my home country image from space, saying that rarely he could notice borderlines between countries like he did with Egypt’s East border.

Passion and perseverance were the passwords to his success. He dreamt about becoming an astronaut since he was five and never gave up despite three unsuccessful admission tests to the agency program. ‘Never give up, it will take time’, he said. Each time he failed the admission test, he started looking at those who passed and looked at

what he did to have not passed the test in order to improve his chances for the following test. He worked hard and never gave up on his dream.

Life in space is no less exciting: orbiting the Earth 692 times, eating freeze-dried food, using no rinse shampoo, and sleeping tied to bed on a space shuttle where the word ‘fall’ has no meaning!

Teamwork is another key in space; everyone has a role that contributes to the success of the journey. A life full of lessons where fair share of work, obeying orders, focus and believing in what you do for the good of the team are the keys to a successful journey.

I feel blessed and grateful for what I learned in a couple of unforgettable hours of my life.

Nour Abdallah Year 9 I met Dr. Donald A Thomas twice over the course of a week. On Saturday the 13th of February, I met Dr. Donald at the RIPE market, where we were introduced and we spent the afternoon informally chatting with all the representatives of YLDP and the attendants at the Market, posing for pictures with most of the children. During this event I was mainly busy promoting the STEAM initiative, but towards the end I had the opportunity to have a chat with this remarkable man.

On the 15th of February, I met Dr. Donald Thomas again, at a seminar he gave at the American International School, where he gave an inspiring talk about keeping your eyes on the stars, where he recounted stories from his space flights. He also heavily stressed the importance of teamwork, and informed us about the two major shuttle accidents, and how they were caused by a small mistake by one member of the extended team creating the shuttle and rockets, both times this led to the loss of the entire crew. To conclude his presentation he explained how astronauts eat and drink, and other basic necessities in space. After his presentation, a few of us had the opportunity to engage with him on a more intimate basis, asking questions and getting our pictures taken, I also managed to get his autograph. All in all, meeting this astronaut was an inspiring and educational experience. Lukas Preining - Year 11


SCHOOL NEWS



U18 BOYS BASKETBALL

After a long 14-hour tournament our team managed to win the American University

of Dubai Sports Challenge Championship trophy. The event welcomed 20 teams

from all over UAE. This is a milestone for our school and an excellent historical

achievement .

IVEI INTER-SCHOOL FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT

On the 10th of January, 2016, DIA Wolves’ U14, U16 and U18 girls’ football teams played against either RWA or CAS. It was such a proud moment for us all, and we were all there to support each other, whether we were on the sidelines or the bleachers, but regardless of who was playing on the pitch, each person was there for the other, and we all had a great time!

At first, some of us were quite anxious about how this whole tournament was going to go, and whether we were good enough to beat the other teams, although, as soon as the whistle blew, the game started, and the pressure was on. It all went uphill when the U14’s scored their first goal, and ended their game with a 9-0 win.

The U16’s couldn’t feel more proud of the U14’s and their success, but when they started, they felt more powerful than ever and played their hearts out on the pitch; not just to represent their team, but to represent the school as well.

They played against CAS and the game was simply mind-blowing. They ended their match with a 8-0 win, also an incredible outcome, and very well-deserved.

Then there was the U18’s, who managed to let a goal slip, but later came out stronger than ever with 4 more goals and ended with a 4-2 win. It was incredible to watch. Even the referee was impressed to see so many talented girls on the pitch. Goal, after goal, after goal, it just never stopped.

We were even prouder to be the winners of all those games on our home pitch, but to see the beaming smiles on our coaches’ faces was even more rewarding. Just seeing how much they appreciate our hard work and effort, made us feel incredibly honoured and

PADIA

In conclusion, we feel very blessed for having such amazing coaches, team players and school, and wish the other teams good luck for their upcoming games, but for now, we’re just really glad we did well and made our school proud!

Beata McCaffrey Coach

U16 BOYS BASKETBALL

The DIA U16 Boys Basketball team were invited to participate in the OASIS International School Conference. This is the first time that DIA basketball team participated in an International event and won. This is a tremendous achievement and the students are elated and proud.

More information about the OASIS International School Conference here: http://www.oasisactivitiesconference.com/

Team: Tanishq, Uday, Ethan, Avineet, Nathan, Ahsan and Paul

DIA – CRICKET PREMIER LEAGUE ROUNDUP

LIMAYE LIONS ROAR AS CHAMPIONS OF DIA INAUGURAL CRICKET PREMIER LEAGUE

After an overpowering and undefeated run at the CPL games, Aahan Limaye’s Limaye Lions were the winners of the first DIA Cricket Premier League 2016. Sparsh Jain’s SATA Strike Force followed in 2nd

place, with Zohan Barkur’s Barkur’s Legion of Boom and Moiz Buch’s Buch Blasters in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

The first of its kind, the DIA CPL was extended by popular demand for a second set of games, and these games made the tournament all the more interesting. For example, a team that lost all its games in the first round: Sparsh Jain’s SATA Strike Force emerged to be 2nd in league just below the Limaye Lions.

The highlight of the tournament would undoubtedly be the fact that almost every single game went down to the last over and the ensuing pressure and excitement that came with it. It was often seen that parents and children who were merely passing by would get so en-grossed in the game that they would stay right till the end of it.

The “Red Green Black” cap winners for the CPL were as follows:

Red cap winner (Maximum runs) – Aaahan Limaye Green cap winner (Maximum wickets) – Saud Barkur Black cap winner (Most Valuable Player) – Abdullah Murad

http://www.oasisactivitiesconference.com/

Credit has to be given to the masterminds behind the CPL and for all their hard work throughout the league – Mr. Hitesh Bhagat & Mr. Mahesh Kumar.

The resounding success of the 1st CPL only foreshadows one thing – a bigger, better Season 2! Coming soon!

Sparsh Jain


SCHOOL NEWS


The month of March is a busy period of year for all, because it is a month of celebrations!

Year 6 is having their Pizza Party as a reward for being the best selling class of Winter Souk raffle tickets.

The little ones happily bounce on castles during their Mini-Olympics, the bigger kids get juicy, fresh and healthy fruit

for free for their Sports Days.

PADIA invites the younger children to their outdoor Movie Night on the football field - this year it is going to be the

movie "Inside Out" - with free popcorn and juices.

But most importantly: right now many voluntary, dedicated parents and enthusiastic children are preparing for our

biggest event yet to come: this week's 11th International Evening at DIA.

International Evening - 10 March SS Gelato Day - 13 & 14 April

Staff Appreciation Lunch - 10 May

PADIA

dia wins award at the middle east hoirfest · pdf filethey won the award for est single voice...

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