March 2014
LOOKING BACK......
 The countdown has begun for the end of the
year’s fun and learning.
 The children faced the FA4 exam which was
closely followed by revision and
commencement of SA2 exams.
The MoNTH THAT WENT BY.........
 02.02.14 - Pen and Paper Assessment for FA4
commenced for Grade 1.
 5.02.14 to 20.02.14 - Change in school
timings 8am to 1:45.
 15.02.14 - Open House..
 16.02.14 to 20.02.14 - SA2 Revision.
ARABIC PUPPET SHOW
 Creating a link between education and
entertainment........
A FEATHER IN THE HAT......
 Royal Spell Bee Finals
The Emirates level competition was held on 22nd
February, 2014 at English Language School.
Ananya Noronah of Grade 1 I, won the First Prize and
received the award from the Principal, Mrs. Chitra
Sharma, amid applauds from the entire school.
JSS PS is proud of you, Ananya
NOTE FROM ANANYA’S MOTHER...
MRS. INDIRA.......
We would have never heard about a spelling bee competition, had it not
been for the circular inviting interested students to participate in the
competition. Once we had registered for the competition for Level 1,
the material was sent over by the school. It was a tiny booklet with
1000 words to learn ranging from 3 letter words to the longest word
being of 8 letters. Some of them were very easy – having done most of
the 3 letter words through the reading in school. The tricky words
actually were homophones, like WONDER and WANDER or almost similar
sounding words like AXLE and EXCEL. We helped Ananya by starting to
learn the basics rules of spelling first like, i before e except after c
AND breaking every word into syllables.
Round 1 at school was actually the easiest as all words really were from
the book and the rounds consisted of Dictation and Underlining the
correct word. There was a bit of challenge with underlining the correct
word because it is always a bit confusing when options of spelling the
word are given. Practise has no substitute and it put Ananya in good
stead. Ananya was happiest when she received her medal from school –
but this was just the beginning.
 Round 2 was a Northern Emirates round including students of schools from Umm
Al Quwain, Sharjah, Ajman and Dubai with three rounds – Dictation, Underlining
the correct spelling and Oral questions on Synonyms and Antonyms (without
spelling). The twists in this round however were – of the 20 words for dictation,
4 were to be given outside of the material; 3 of the 15 words for underlining the
correct spelling were to be given from outside of the material provided. This
was already going to be difficult, but we also received 98 words to be prepared
for synonyms and antonyms – words like BIRTHDAY, BORN and HUMBLE –
believe me, it was actually difficult to source synonyms and antonyms for such
words. At this stage – read and practise – that’s all we did – EVERYDAY and the
day before the competition for at least 4 hours! Homophones from outside of
the material were our biggest worry and despite all the reading and practise,
Ananya still got THREW wrong as she apparently wrote THROUGH – homophones
are very tricky and knowledge of the usage and meaning is extremely
important. VACUUM proved to be the most difficult word outside the material
that none of the children, as far as we are aware, prepared for. Only students
who made it through the written rounds (Dictation and Underlining) went through
to the orals. The orals were Ananya’s strength as she had really practised and
worked hard on them – understanding the application of every word and ensuring
each synonym and antonym used the same connotation. Success is sweet when it
comes after a lot of hard work and winning this level was a matter of pride as we
carried the name of JSSPS along with us.
Round 3 is the nationals. We have received the details of
the competition and I can say this for certain – it is not
going to be easy at all. The percentage of words from
outside the given material has increased and we have to now
prepare for 1000 synonyms and antonyms. There will also
be a word-builder out of a given set of words. It’s a test of
excellence and we have a strategy and plan which consists
of practice, reading and writing. But the final exams are
already underway and we have very little time with a lot of
material to cover. It is not going to be easy, but we will
give our best shot. Ananya has worked very very hard to
get this far and will not give up. She is already on the path
to perform well and give it her best shot.
In her own words, Ananya would say – never surrender, never
give up. Winning is not the only goal, the journey is what is
important – winning is just the icing on the cake of the
journey itself. We have only followed three rules through
this journey – practise, believe in yourself and your work,
listen.
FROM THE HEART........
Thank you ..............
Mrs. Indira Noronah
Team JSS PS.
ALL THE BEST..............
 The Principal and Vice Principal of the school,
conveyed their wishes to all the students, as
they gathered in the auditorium, before the
commencement of the SA2 exams.
SA2.......
 24.02.14 to 09.03.14
 School time :26.02.2014 - 6.03.2014
7.45am to 11.45am.
 Buses will leave at 12.00 noon.
LOOKING FORWARD TO...
 10.03.14 – 11.03.14 : Outing / Class Party.
 13.03.14 : Showing of SA2 Papers to parents.
 15.03.14 – 16.03.14 : Books and Uniform sale.
 30.03.14 : Online Results.
 06.04.14 : First day of new academic year for
Grade 2.
FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK......
A BIG Thank You!!!!
To all the Parents, for your continuous
support and co operation through the
year.
SIGNING OFF.........
Being a teacher does not mean I have all the answers.
It means I work everyday to be sure my students.....
REFLECT
SOLVE
CREATE
GROW
THINK