PRIMARY points

FROM THE PS PRINCIPAL'S DESK  

 May 31, 2018

Dear Parents,


So great to celebrate PAWS by seeing so many classes meet their targets for the month of May. As we strive to end the year on a PAWSitive note, our students continue to demonstrate some PAWSome behaviors. Please take a few minutes to ask your child about their class achievement and how many more SPOTS  they still need to earn in order to acquire their next GOLDEN SPOT. 

mindfulness may

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.

We can train ourselves to slow down, to pause more, to give space for some ‘being’  instead of always ‘doing’

By Tessa Watt | April 20, 2017

SEWA Day and Ramadan in the PS, a time for giving…

Ramadan Kareem

This year we are celebrating SEWA Day during Ramadan in recognition of the hard-working support staff throughout DAA.  We will give care packages to the support staff to show our appreciation for their dedication and commitment to the school. Our goal is to teach students the importance of giving and taking care of others within our community. 

KG1 parents and students may donate toiletries such as:

KG2 parents and students may donate items such as:



Grade 1 parents and students may donate backpacks.

All items donated throughout the primary school will go into the backpacks you donate.

Grade 2 parents and students may donate non-perishable items such as:

Please ensure all donations can fit into a backpack.

All donations will be collected until June 7th

Thank you for your support and generosity!

book fair

Bookworm Book Fair will be help in the KG2 breakout area from Sunday, June 3 – Wednesday, June 6. Timings are from 7:45-1:15. Teachers have signed up for a specific time and date, while parents are welcome anytime. This is a great opportunity to select books for summer reading.

Seesaw End-of-Year Information for Parents

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 . 

Scarf Donation Initiative - a gentle reminder

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