MIDDLE SCHOOL

October 22, 2020

Dear DAA Middle School Families,

I hope you are all doing well! I am so proud of our staff and students as we progress through this first semester. It has been great going into classrooms and seeing the engagement of our students with the teacher and with each other. Teachers have been creative in keeping kids excited about learning and balancing attention between kids at school and kids online. It seems that students are adapting well and have hit their stride. It is nice to see classrooms with lively discussions between students!

On our professional development days this past week, we had several teacher-lead workshops. Those days are very helpful to continue our professional learning and enhance the learning experience for students. Thank you for your support at home as our staff were taking part in those PD sessions.

What's Happening at DAA

Updated Oct.25th

MAP Testing

As you know, your child began MAP testing in Science class this week. MAP tests take place in all four core subject areas in the coming weeks. For your reference, the tests will take place in the following order:

Week of Oct 19 - Science
Week of Oct 25 - Language Usage (in Social Studies Classes)
Week of Nov 1 - Math
Week of Nov 8 - Reading (in English Classes)

If you have a student who is 100% remote and would like to have them on campus to take the exam, please contact our attendance secretary, Alice, at msattendance_daa@gemsedu.com to set it up.

Great news!

Teachers will offer structured activities on Mondays and Wednesdays during their lunch break. The program will be running from October 26th to December 2nd.

Every MS student has received a sign-up form by email which gives them the opportunity to join one outdoor or one indoor activity. All participants will be required to sign-up before attending an activity and students will stay within their group as per the health and safety protocols. If they haven’t had a chance to sign up, please make sure to check out the links below:

MS/HS Musical Production 2020/21

We are excited to announce we will be having a school musical production again this year. However, due to the pandemic, there will be quite a few changes. Middle and High School students, if you have a passion for the performing and fine arts, this is a great opportunity to get involved in this after school activity on Monday and Wednesdays from November-January for a 10 week period. This is also a fantastic opportunity for High School students to gain CAS hours.

Please look at the google.slides presentation carefully and read all the information. You will need to complete the application form, and for those interested in auditioning to be part of the band or cast, you will need to record and submit an audition video.

The MS/HS Musical Production Team

DAA F1 Challenge 2020 Winners

The DAA Middle School staff and students have spent the last 4 weeks taking part in our very own driving challenge using Sphero Robots. The competition allowed all our learners to test themselves in their understanding of remote controlled robotics, as well as understanding scientific principles of speed, acceleration, G-forces, and friction. The challenge combined coding skills with driving skills on a real track. There were many participants in our inaugural year – but there can be only one winner.

The Student DAA F1 Champion 2020 is Facundo Tagliabue (G6), and our Staff Champion is also a new member of the DAA Family, Mr J. Brinkman.

Congratulations to our winners, who will receive a STEM Airplane Modelling kit each. Well done to all our other participants for making this a fun competitive challenge.

Thank you to all of our staff and students who took the challenge! The video below reveals this year’s winners. As they were not in school themselves, we will be awarding the prizes to our winners when they return to campus.

Click here to see who won! Keep your eyes peeled for the next competition!

Middle School Parent/Teacher Conferences

Our Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held virtually on November 18 and 19 from 07:30-15:00. A link with details about conferences and sign-ups be emailed to families in the first week of November. In the meantime, if you have any questions about a class, the fastest recourse is to contact the teacher directly.

Library News

Do you love books?

Do you love trivia?

Do you love trivia competitions about books?

If you answered yes to all three questions, then you absolutely must join our Readers’ Cup team for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2021!

The Readers’ Cup is a competition in which a team of four students read a selection of books and then compete in a quiz competition to show off their knowledge of the books.

The three selections for the first round are:

Registration for the competition closes on 28 October 2020, which is really soon! Email Ms. Mandy, the MS Librarian, today if you have questions or are interested in representing : a.gintaut_daa@gemsdaa.net

All of the information about the LitFest competitions can be found on the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature website.

MS Counselor's Corner

Pink Day Highlights Classroom Pictures!

Our A/B Schedule

Sunday, October 25 will mark the beginning of Week 1. We will see the A group on campus. Below is a reminder of our A/B schedule.

We would love to have more students in school! If you are considering your child returning to the blended model in school please inform Dr Reynolds (j.reynolds_daa@gemsedu.com) or Mrs Moffat Baxter (m.moffat1_daa@gemsedu.com) as well as our attendance secretary Mrs. Lomas (msattendance_daa@gemsedu.com).