HIGH SCHOOL

March 25, 2022

Mauritius trip

Written by Ozgu Aydin

The Mauritius biology trip was a highly engaging, enriching, and enjoyable experience. On the first days of our expedition, we spent time getting acquainted with the nature and ecosystem of the island accompanied by knowledgeable biologists who answered our every question. We traveled 3 neighboring islands, starting with Île aux Aigrettes, where we learned a lot about its flora and fauna and got to see its occupants: giant tortoises, pink pigeons, bats, African snails, and some invasive weeds which we picked off (and proceeded to get soaked in an unexpected downpour meanwhile). We also learned how to plant trees with the island botanist. It was a very fun and informative experience and a good change in weather for most of us.

The next day, we were able to observe the local coral species and learn about bleaching problems in Mauritius. We were also able to snorkel nearby these corals and fish to see them up close, which was a truly mesmerizing experience! Seeing the coral reefs in person for the first time really helped me put into perspective how important it is to preserve these species and take care of our ecosystems.

During the days following, we learned about pressing environmental topics such as global climate change and microplastics and their consequences on local coral reef populations, as well as the mangroves and wetlands in Mauritius. We also got to interact with the scientists and initiators of programs to combat these issues and spent the day learning about what we can do to minimize our impact along with companies such as Bis Lamer and Mission Verte.

We finished off our trip by visiting some museums, where we were able to see the famously known extinct dodo's skeleton, as well as a variety of other animals and organisms native to the island. We visited the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden with our expert guide Steve, where we observed and learned about more species native to the island and even got to see a rare chameleon!

Overall, this trip was an incredible experience for a nature and animal lover like me and I am incredibly thankful to all the DAA staff and team in Mauritius who made it possible.

engineering: Balsa Wood planes

Students in Intro to Engineering have been developing their solution fluency and design cycle thinking skills on a fun group project where they design, build, and test balsa wood gliders. It is a great project for the iterative process of design cycle thinking. To get the maximum flight distance they must perform many tests and make numerous modifications to their design. It’s a really entertaining way to give them practice with a thought process that we will refer back to throughout the rest of the class. Students also always enjoy a little competition!

10th annual career conference

The 10th Annual Career Conference was a great success yet again. Our Sophomores heard from 30 professionals within our wonderful parent community. We are proud of our Leopards who truly shone and thus many of the presenters offered internships based on what they had seen throughout the day. We are also fortunate to have outstanding grade 11 students who volunteered their time to lead an engaging pathways session for our Sophomores. It certainly was a great way to kick off Subject Selections.

UAS film festival

On Friday and Saturday last week, 6 budding filmmakers entered the UAS Film Festival 2021. Our students from Grade 10 pushed their creativity to its limits working to tight deadlines, having to find ingenious ways to get shots (more than a couple of chairs with wheels had to double as a dolly track) and write, pre-produce, shoot, score, and edit an entire film in less than 48 hours. The films are being submitted on Friday, and we are hopeful that the team will get to attend the premiere at Novo Cinemas on April 12th to celebrate their amazing work. Well done team!

2022/23 subject selection

Dear Class of 2023, 2024, and 2025 Families,

On Thursday, March 24th students participated in the High School Subject Selection Fair. During the Subject Selection Fair, students had the opportunity to meet with teachers and students, learn more about courses, and ask questions to guide their subject selection. We hope that students found these sessions helpful in finalizing their 2022/23 subject selections.

Students were asked to enter their selections in PowerSchool at the end of the Subject Selection Fair. Students are able to update their selections until April 15th, the date which subject selection closes. We ask that parents and students review the provided resources over spring break, and prepare to finalize their selections prior to April 15th.

Please contact Ashley Szar (a.szar_daa@gemsedu.com) if you have general subject selection questions, or your child’s counselor should you have student-specific questions. Refer to the High School Hub for counselor contact information.

core corner

ramadan schedule

As you know, the Holy month of Ramadan is almost here. Please see the schedule below for Ramadan timings:

bagels for books

On Thursday March 25th, we ran our first ever Bagels for Books event in which we gave away 100 free bagels to our ravenous readers as part of Reading Month here at DAA. Students who filled in a form were asked to write a brief review of a book they read. This enabled them to have a bagel.

Other students simply turned up with their book and told us all about it to receive their bagel on a first come, first served basis! It was great to hear so many interesting insights into the literary world and to see such a broad variety of books being read by our intellectual powerhouses! Hopefully this event will encourage students to pick up a book and we look forward to running more events like this in the future

hs counseling

3.24.22 SPOTS HS Counseling .pdf

GEMS Alumni app

Seniors! Have you registered for the alumni APP? Remember to stay connected beyond DAA using the app. Here's a link to register for an upcoming session. Register for the alumni webinar HERE.