Month: December 2017

On Thursday 14^th December we held a whole school celebration for Qatar National Day which also marked the end of a successful first term at the RGS.

Pupils, staff and parents arrived at school in a range of wonderful clothing which represents the country we live in. There was traditional Qatari dress, colourful clothing linked to the Qatari flag and even military and police uniforms. Thank you so much to everyone for putting in so much effort.

The morning started with a whole school assembly, expertly presented by Haneen and Saif. We enjoyed singing and dancing performances and pupils from Early Years and Year 3/4 told us why they love Qatar. It was wonderful to see pupils having the confidence to stand on stage in front of an audience and I think everyone was impressed at how they performed.

Qatar National Day is celebrated annually on December 18th, commemorating the inception of the modern state of Qatar in 1878. It is a day to celebrate the unique history and heritage of the Qatari people and to keep past traditions alive. Therefore, throughout the morning, pupils took part in a series of activities to support their learning about Qatar past and present. These included Arabic bread making, Henna and Tattoo painting, storytelling in the Majlis, Arabic calligraphy, drumming and handball. Pupils in Key Stage 1 and 2 also had the opportunity to complete careful sketching of a camel and a falcon who visited our school for the day!

The final activity of the morning was our family picnic which took place outside in the Early Years garden. This was an opportunity for our whole community to come together and celebrate not only Qatar National Day but also the end of Term 1. It was lovely to see so many parents in school socialising with others and I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents for supporting this event and the School throughout term 1.

Our whole school community came together to celebrate International Day on Thursday 26^th October. It was a wonderful event as we helped our pupils gain an understanding of the many different countries that make up the world in which we live. It was also an opportunity for pupils to learn about, and appreciate the cultures of families who make up the multicultural environment at the RGS.

The day started with pupils, staff members and some parents arriving at school in national costume. We enjoyed a colourful assembly which was led by Ssuubi and Khaled and included wonderful performances from pupils in Early Years and Year 5/6. Year 1 pupils shared with us what they enjoy doing when they visit their home countries, and Year 2 read some entertaining poems they had written in their English lessons.  Thank you to all the pupils who performed in assembly, and Mr. Woodhouse for his hard work supporting students in music lessons.

 

In the week prior to International Day pupils had spent time learning about the countries that their friends and teachers come from, as well as the country that their teacher had chosen to represent this year. During International Day they had the opportunity to explore even more countries as they visited far flung destinations such as Japan, Australia, India and Mexico, where they took part in some great activities and collected passport stamps in their RGS passports! I was fortunate enough to pop into every classroom and see the interesting and engaging activities taking place. There was so much energy and enthusiasm in every classroom and a wonderful, broad range of learning opportunities for pupils to enjoy.

One of the highlights of International Day was the International Day Lunch which was organised by parent volunteers. Parents made a fantastic effort providing food from different countries for students to share, and also decorating their tables with flags, maps, signs and souvenirs from their chosen country. The food was delicious and I am looking forward to next year already!

I am sure everyone will agree that the day was a great success and one that was not only enjoyable for our whole school community, but also hugely beneficial for our children. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many parents who got so involved with the festivities this year.