Newton British Academy, Al Dafna

“An International Community of learners striving forExcellence and celebrating success”

NEWSLETTER – September 18-19

Dear parents and friends of NBA,

What a lovely start to the year we have had. It has been quite wonderful to see the children come back to school, rekindle old friendships and develop new ones. Our enrolment has been good this year and we are pleased, not only to welcome back our families of last year, but to welcome into our school family, new parents and pupils.This half term the Newton Value we are concentrating on is RESPECT. I have to say that our pupils are generally a very respectful group and this is because they have learnt about respect from their first teach-ers – their parents. We shall be building on this value by emphasizing the importance of maintaining good relationships with peers and respecting our school by arriving on time in the correct uniform.Within this Newsletter you shall be introduced to our new teachers, who we welcome with great pleasure. I know you will make them feel at home here at NBA. I have to say that our current team is perhaps the hardest working group of teachers I have had the pleasure to work with. I am delighted by the commit-ment and enthusiasm of the entire teaching team and I know that you will be as well.

ATTENDANCE AND LATECOMING TARGETS

We are committed to achieving the highest possible attendance rates and the lowest possible latecoming rates in Doha. Numerous studies around the world show the close correlation between attendance, late-coming and pupil achievement. We will not rest as a school until we have achieved the targets which are set for the benefit of the children. This means that you will have me nagging you by letter, at the school gate in the mornings and at every opportunity. Please understand that this is for the children. It would be very easy to ignore the issue, however, our duty as parents is to ensure that children come to school every day on time and prepared. Our duty as teachers is to ensure that stimulating lessons take place in a safe environment. If we all have this commitment we WILL build one of the best schools in the country.

ATTENDANCE TARGET ATTENDANCE ACHIEVEMENTMore than 97% 93%LATECOMING TARGET LATECOMING ACHIEVEMENTLess than 3% 5%

We are not far off. If we all push together we will achieve these targets.

Welcome to New Staff

Mrs Akhtar is our new Head of Primary. Mrs Akhtar is British and has been with the Newton Group for 5 years.“I believe education is a journey, therefore, we as educators strive to equip the children with the correct tools and encourage them to explore, grow and learn. Being in Qatar has given me the opportunity to travel to more than 20 countries! I am a keen traveller and enjoy seeing the world and discovering new places.”

Mrs. Nadia AkhtarHead of Primary

Ms MacMurray is our new EYFS Coordinator. Ms MacMurray is South African and has been with the Newton Group for the past 7 years.“I could ride horses before I could walk. I believe that you can develop a love for learning in any child; you just need to give them the right tools to express themselves.”

Ms. Kirsten Mac MurrayEYFS Coordinator

Mr Wallis is our newly appointed ICT teacher. Mr Wallis is British and is new to Newton and to Doha.“I have arrived in Qatar from my home in Africa, although born in the UK. I enjoy all sport and I am a level 3 ECB Cricket Coach. I believe you never stop learning and we need to learn how to lose before we can win!”

Mr. Graham Wallis Primary ICT Teacher

Mr Strydom is our new Year 6 teacher and is also the Team Leader for Years 5 and 6. Mr Strydom comes from South Africa and has been with the Newton Group for the past 7 years.“I have keen interest in sport and I enjoy being outside engaged in physical activity. I believe the greatest gift we can give our children is a good education.”

Mr. Ashley Strydom Year 6 Yeacher

Mrs Hammond has just joined us as a Year 5 teacher. Mrs Hammond is British and this is her first time teaching in Qatar.“I absolutely love animals, if it’s got four legs and fur it will probably find its way home with me. For me, primary education is about instilling a sense of awe and wonder in children so that they are inspired to learning about the world around them.”

Mrs. Charlotte HammondYear 5 Teacher

Mr Wilson has joined us with his wife Rebecca and daughter Amelia. Mr Wilson is from the United Kingdom and is a Year 5 teacher.“It has been a wonderful first few weeks in Doha and it has been a pleasure to meet you all. Doha is a big change for me as I am from the Lake District in England, where it is always very wet and windy. I am extremely happy to be part of the Al Dafna family and feel that, working together, we can strive to be successful people in the world.”

Mr. Blake WilsonYear 5 Teacher

Mr Uttley has just joined the Newton Group and is our new Year 4 Team Leader. Mr Uttley is British and has been teaching for the past 11 years.“I have a background in playing the guitar, recklessly throw myself into all sports and love Math problems. I believe that school and education is about finding your passions, facing the uncomfortable challenges head-on, and absorbing all that this wonderful world has to offer- simply; discovering what makes you, you.”

Mr. Stephen UttleyYear 4 Teacher

Mr Bradley is Irish and has joined as a Year 4 teacher.

"Adventures, mountains and the great outdoors call for me and I will always be there to answer. In adventures we learn and in learning we find adventures.”

Mr. Conor BradleyYear 4 Teacher

Mrs Williams is the new Year 3 Team Leader. Mrs Williams is British and although new to us in Newton has taught in the Middle East for 2 years prior to coming to Doha.“I took a short break from teaching to become a foster parent, to look after children who were separated from their families. I believe education should be about each child growing in self-confidence, learning to develop positive relationships and gaining a better understanding of the world they live in.”

Mrs. Athena Williams Year 3 Teacher

Ms Isaac is South African and has joined us a Year 3 teacher. Before joining the Newton Group, Ms Isaac taught at another school in Doha.“I have a fear of heights but I overcame my fear by going bungee jumping and sky diving. I believe that school should be a happy learning environment where we grow from our mistakes and blossom with new knowledge.”

Ms. Cara Dee IsaacYear 3 Teacher

Ms McCready is Irish and has just joined us as one of our new Year 2 teachers“I am looking forward to putting all of the experience and knowledge I have gained throughout the past 4 years training into all aspects of school life ! I love to travel all over the world but this is my first time in Doha, I am excited for it to be my new home for the foreseeable future.”

Ms. Tara Mc CreadyYear 2 Teacher

Ms McFadden is new to NBA Al Dafna but taught at one of the other Newton campuses last year. Ms McFadden is Irish.“I'm a passionate teacher from Ireland going into my 5th year of teaching in the Middle East. I endeavour to provide enriching and active learning experience for children.”

Ms. Adele Mc FaddenYear 1 Teacher

Ms McLoone is Irish and has joined us this year as a Year 1 teacher.“I taught drama at a New York based summer camp for 10 weeks. I believe that education should be child-focused. This will allow every child to develop a life-long love of learning to reach their full potential.”

Ms. Rachel Mc LooneYear 1 Teacher

Ms McBride is new to us this year and has joined us from Ireland as a Year 1 teacher. Before coming to us Ms McBride taught in the UK. “I am a typical Irish girl from the rugged countryside, growing up on a farm surrounded by animals. I love the outdoors and getting children to explore their environment to learn. I believe children learn best when they feel happy and confident in their environment. It is this type of environment I aim to always achieve in my classroom.”

Ms. Grainne Mc BrideYear 1 Teacher

Ms Doonan has joined us as a Year 1 teacher and is from Ireland.“Despite my best efforts not to be, I am extremely particular. I feel education should be about incorporating a diversity of teaching methodologies and strategies to suit the needs of the children. I feel it should be a hands on and minds on learning experience as I feel this is essential for the child’s learning process.”

Ms. Claire DoonanYear 1 Teacher

Ms. Kaylene GradidgeF1 TeacherMs Gradidge is new to Newton and has joined us from South Africa as a F1 teacher in the EYFS department."As much as I love teaching, I also love learning. I firmly believe that every child is gifted, they just unwrap their packages at different times!"

EYFS Parents Meeting

It was a pleasure to see so many parents attend the parents meeting at the beginning of the school year. It was a great opportunity for us to explain the EYFS curriculum, our policies, how we assess children, how we will communicate with parents and what parents can do at home to support their child. It was exciting to see how interested and involved parents were and we are hopeful that this will encourage open dialogue between parents and teachers throughout the year.

EYFS Phonics workshop

On the 11th of September the EYFS department held their first Parents workshop of the year. It was supported by many parents. During the workshop we explained the importance of reading to children on a daily basis as well as how we teach our synthetic phonics programme in Foundation 1 and 2. We focused particularly on the significance of teaching children how to identify and differentiate between sounds before any letter sounds are taught. It was great to see engaged parents asking questions and wanting to know how they can support their children at home. The next workshop will be examples of phonic activities and we are excited to show parents how much fun you can have with phonics!

PTA

On the 19th of September we held our first PTA meeting of this academic year. It was a pleasure to see so many of you attending this meeting, thank you all for coming.During this meeting we had the opportunity to meet some members of the PTA Committee, but we would love to see more parents joining this committee.The Arabic Coordinator, Ms Huda, made a small presentation about the Arabic curriculum and clarified some questions.

Teachers Attend P4C Training at NIS, Lagoon

Over the past number of weeks, seventeen of our teachers here at Newton British Academy, Al Dafna have completed their Level 1 ‘P4C’ training at Newton International School, Lagoon. The course was led by experienced ‘SAPERE’ (Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education) trainers from the U.K. who shared their expert knowledge and skills in the field. P4C (Philosophy for Children) is an approach to learning and teaching, now a recognised worldwide movement and practice, that was founded by Professor Matthew Lipman. P4C has developed over 35 years and is practised in approximately 60 countries across the globe. Children are taught how to create their own philosophical questions and are then strategically guided by their teacher to explore and reason these questions. Research has shown that regular P4C lessons contributes to improving children’s reading ability, writing skills and mathematics grades. P4C has likely benefits in other areas too; speaking confi-dence, listening skills, patience with other children and overall self-esteem. It was a very worthwhile professional development course and the teachers are very excited and motivated to introduce this new approach in our school. Congratulations to all the teachers involved. Further P4C training for all our teachers will take place in the near future.

KS1 Phonics Workshop:

It was great to see such a big turnout at the KS1 Phonics Workshop this month. Thank you very much to everyone who was able to come! It was an excellent opportunity for parents to get involved in their children’s learning journey. We had a quick PowerPoint to inform parents of the new phonics scheme that will be used in NBA Al Dafna this year. After this, the parents got to visit a range of KS1 classrooms where they got to get hands on and look at some of the phonics games which teachers recommend could be used at home to support the pupil’s learning. I am so grateful to all those who attended and I hope that you were able to use what you learned to help your child at home.

Prefect Training and Presentation 2018

We wish to congratulate the prefects of 2018-2019, with their presentation as prefects, on the 13th of September 2018. After completing their prefect training with the Principal, Head of Primary and Mr. Strydom, the prefects received their badges and were presented to the school assembly. The prefects indicated that their objective will be to make students feel safe and happy at school. “We want the students to feel that they belong and that they are a part of the Al Dafna team”. Congratulations to the prefects for being elected and we wish them all the best for the year ahead.

ECA news report:

ECA’s have now officially commenced and over 60% of our all students are actively involved in an after-school activity. From Gymnastics to Cooking and Ballet to Arabic lessons, just to name a few, we have tried our utmost to accommodate and cater for the needs of all the children, so that they can participate in at least one sport and/or a cultural activity. If your child was unable to participate during this term, please ensure that they register for the next term before the cut-off date because places are limited. We urge ALL children and parents to “GET INVOVLED”.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year together. Please remember that our first priority will always be the children. Please do not hesitate to make an appointment to see me should you have any queries or concerns or if you simply wish to come and say hello.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick SalvagePrincipal