Dear DAA High School Families, 

We are so very excited to see your children in just a few short days. We had an extremely well attended new student orientation on Wednesday and the school came to life with their excitement. These halls missed their energy, we look forward to a successful year.

Your child should have received a welcome email from their MEA (Advisory) teacher which provided detailed information on the first day of school. For those in group B (at home), this will include a zoom link so they can participate in the lesson.  If your child has not received this email, please email Lisa Foster, Dean of Students l.foster_daa@gemsedu.com.

On Sunday, August 30th, we will have an extended homeroom from 7:20-8:20 to ensure all students are able to log into our platforms, familiarize themselves with their schedule, have an overview of general logistics and get to know their advisory teacher and peers. 

By now, all students should have access to their Gmail account. The technology department has sent usernames and passwords for all of the learning platforms to students gmail accounts. 

Groupings ‘A and B’ Below you will find a visual to explain when each ‘group’ of students will be in school. We look forward to welcoming group A students on Sunday and group B students on Tuesday on campus.

For login or IT issues, please raise an IT ticket through the following link: https://support.zoho.com/portal/daastudenthelp/en/newticket

We have staggered timings to allow smaller groups of students flowing into the school. The high school start time is now 7:20am, instead of 7:40am. We have incorporated a ‘teacher office hour’ into the schedule to accommodate students, either in school or virtually to connect with their teacher to clarify any misconceptions/questions.  This addition to the schedule during e-Learning proved essential in keeping our students connected to their teachers and school community.

Uniforms will be worn by all students both on campus and at home. If you have PE, we ask that you come to school in your PE kit as change rooms are not accessible. You are able to wear your PE kit throughout the day. Also, a change for the upcoming year- shoes may either be black OR white as both match our new uniform.

We encourage all students to bring headphones/earbuds and not share between peers. These will be used often during class as well as during office hours when having a virtual meeting. 

With the staggered start schedule, we are asking help from our parents to also stagger drop-off times to help keep social distance protocols in place. High school students will enter through the pedestrian gate at 7:10. After passing through the thermal scanner, students will go directly to their MEA class. Please see the map below: 

There are a couple of items we wanted to make you aware of as you prepare for the beginning of the year. 

• Lockers - during the time of social distancing, lockers will not be in use. Students will carry their items in backpacks to each class. During PE, bookbags will be left along the wall in the gym. Change rooms are not in use during this time. 

• Bring your laptops charged each day along with the charger. Due to covid restrictions students will not be provided school laptops. 

• Students are encouraged to bring their own lunch from home. Pre-packaged lunches will be available for purchase for lunch. Water is available for purchase for 1AED. 

• Students may bring water bottles to drink throughout the school day. Due to covid restrictions there will not be water coolers available. 

• Students are encouraged to bring extra masks & writing utensils daily. 

• Don’t forget to make an appointment at Threads for your new school uniforms! (last year’s uniforms are still acceptable for wear)

If you have any questions about your schedule, please feel free to reach out to our counselors on the following links to book an appointment. 

To make appointments with High School Counseling Secretary for all general enquiries, please email Mrs. Jan Evans j.evans_daa@gemsedu.com 

Gr 9: Ms. JoAnn Porterfield A-Z https://jporterfielddaa.youcanbook.me  

Grades 10-12: 

Katrina Watson: A-C https://katrinawatson-4.youcanbook.me/  

Rhiana Courlander: D- Kep https://rhiana-2.youcanbook.me  

Steven Johanson: Kh-Q https://sjohanson.youcanbook.me/  

Trisha Johnson: R- Z https://mstrishajohnson.youcanbook.me/  

Wishing you all the best, 

Tammy Jochinke 

High School Principal, DAA