PRIMARY points

Mindfulness May: What is the best way to introduce mindfulness to my child?

The most important thing is to follow the oxygen mask principle: put your own mask on first, before you help the child. Small children are naturally mindful, noticing the world around them with great curiosity, fascinated by a leaf or stone they find on the road. We adults are often the ones who are hurrying them along, teaching them that life is all about getting to the next place. So the more we rediscover how to be mindful ourselves, the more we can appreciate and nurture our children’s innate capacity to be present in each moment.

To introduce the idea of mindfulness more directly to children, you can use simple games (link) getting them to tune into their senses. Instead of gobbling down a piece of chocolate or fruit, you can both try eating it very slowly, savoring the smell and texture and taste. Spend a minute or two outside just listening, inviting them to pay attention to all the sounds they can hear. Go for a mindful walk (link), noticing things that are interesting or unusual to look at. On journeys by car or train, find ways to encourage them to look out the window instead of spending all their time glued to phones and other devices.

Please note that we will be archiving ALL Seesaw classes on Thursday, June 28, 2018.

As our school is subscribed to a full ‘Seesaw for Schools’ plan, this means that you will still have access to your child’s work and journal even once a class has been archived.

As long as your child remains at DAA, you will be able to see his/her archived classes in the Seesaw Family app and download a .zip file of all your child’s work. When your child completes Grade 5 or if you leave DAA, you will still be able to download a .zip file with all of your child’s work.

Please note that downloading your child’s journal can only be completed when you are logged in to your Seesaw Family account from a desktop computer.

To download a .zip file of your child’s journal, please follow the steps in the link HERE.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Aarti Daswani at a.daswani_daa@gemsedu.com . 

Ramadan is the time of giving. In the Primary School, we have been talking about how lucky we all are that we have shelter and food, can go to school and are loved by family and friends.

We have been thinking about  how we can help a big number of people with a small gesture: 

We are asking DAA families to donate scarves for construction workers, who are working so hard in the heat while many of them are abiding by the Islamic traditions of fasting. Scarves protect the workers from the sun, keep them just a little bit cooler, and can keep the dust away.

Scarves can be small or large, but they should be made of a light material (cotton and not pashmina).

From May 20 until June 8, there will be boxes in the PS foyer as well as the atrium, where you can drop off your scarf donations. Student helpers will deliver the scarves to the Red Crescent just before Eid so they can be distributed to the construction workers.

Thank you so much, and Ramadan Kareem.

Wishing you all a mindful weekend.

Nathalie Salameh and Tooshna Gandhi

Primary Principal and Assistant Principal