LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Diary Dates
Tuesday 24th February – EY1a Assembly
Thursday 26th February – Road Safety Day
Tuesday 3rd March – Y5 Class Assembly
Thursday 5th March – Parent coffee morning 7.30am
Dear Parents,
The second half of term is now well underway and the children came back from their half term holiday
energised and full of enthusiasm. There is lots of great learning going on in classes, sports and ECA’s and
the school continues to improve and expand. We will shortly be holding a Global Classroom Story
Competition and a special focus on handwriting week. You will receive further details of these soon.
Thank you for returning your reenrolment forms to school. We have had unprecedented demand for
places this year from existing and new families so many year groups are already full. If you have not
returned your form, please do so urgently. Assessment for new Early Years One children will start next
week and you will be contacted with an appointment.
Our Parent’s ‘Drop in for Coffee’ mornings are proving very successful. It’s a lovely way to meet parents
and have a chat in an informal setting. They will be held on the first Thursday of each month for the rest
of the year.
The traffic flow outside school in the morning and afternoon is much better now. Could parents and
drivers please try to reverse park so that you can see children crossing when you leave? Please note that
there should be no parking in the drop off area.
Swimming will resume from the 1st March. Please make sure your child has their swimming kit on the
correct day.
Congratulations to Fares Kassem in Year 5 for achieving the Advanced Mental Arithmetic Certificate. He
has been learning new strategies and is a real whizz at maths. Ask him to demonstrate!
We would be delighted to hear of your child’s achievements in any subject or event outside of school so
that we can share and celebrate their success. Please let the Class teacher or me know so that we can
include it in assembly.
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
The Supreme Education Council will be in school on Thursday, Sunday and Monday to conduct their annual
survey with staff, children and parents. I would appreciate it if parents could complete and return the
survey promptly.
School Photographs will be taken on the 9th and 10th March. You will receive further details of the
arrangements with opportunities for family photographs.
Over the next few weeks, there are some fantastic learning opportunities for our children. Year 5 has just
visited the Museum of Islamic Art. The will soon be testing their independence skills by going on an
overnight residential trip to a Desert Camp. Year 1 are going to the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex to
have professional coaching and experience of playing tennis. The Program includes a tennis clinic, visit to
the kid’s zone and fun games (all on the sidelines of the WTA tournament).
The Nord Anglia Education team will be visiting us next week on a ‘Snapshot” visit to our school. I am sure
that many of you will have a chance to speak to Jayne Bennion to give her your impressions of the Campus,
what we are doing well and what we need to improve on.
Kind regards
Ann Djedid
Please do not hesitate to contact the School Secretary, Mrs Sally Horton rayyan@wclschools.org for
any administrative matters or myself if you have any concerns or issues.
Kind regards
Ann Djedid
Head of Campus
Compass Al Rayyan
rayyanprincipal@wclschools.org
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Dear Parents & Carers
Welcome to the newsletter.
It has been a very exciting time in school recently with classes starting their new IPC themes. I have
heard great things about the Volcanoes topic and I have read some fantastic persuasive writing from
Year 5.
We have reached the midpoint of the year and in general I am quite pleased with how things are
progressing at both campuses. There are several facilities improvements that have now been confirmed
including a refurbishment of the swimming pool at Gharaffa and the installation of a pool at Rayyan. The
pool at Gharaffa has a strange depth with no real shallow end at all. We will be refurbishing this to
provide a safer swimming environment in time for Term 3. At Rayyan the new pool will be installed for
the start of the new academic year. We are also working on plans to increase the number of full sized
classes at Rayyan and the development of new sports facilities. At Gharaffa we want to focus on the
further development of our Early Years provision and the provision of a new astro turf pitch for the older
children to enjoy. I will keep letting you know about the progress of these projects as we go through the
year. Needless to say, this being Qatar, all projects take longer than I would like!
Our enrolment process is well under way for the new year and already we are very full in Early Year and
Key Stage 1. If you haven’t completed the application for new enrolment or the re-enrolment forms yet I
would urge you to do so now so that we can guarantee your child a place at Compass in September.
Yesterday, we held our first French Carnival at Gharaffa campus and it was lovely to see lots of children
and families enjoying this exciting event. We hope to make this an annual part of our school calendar and
I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank Amandine Goffart our French lead teacher and the
team from the French Doha accueil for organising such a successful carnival.
There are loads more fun activities coming up.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Graham
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Sports Days
Early Years – Monday 26th January
On Monday, the children in Early Years 1 and 2 participated in their annual Sports Day at both Rayyan
and Gharaffa campuses. Taking advantage of the school’s facilities, children took part in a range of
activities that demonstrated their learning and ability whilst having fun.
During the morning, children completed challenges that involved fundamental skills such as agility,
balance and coordination. Further to this, students were able to demonstrate
their ability in jumping, running, balancing and throwing.
It was a great day, enjoyed by student, parents and staff. Well done to you
all.
Year 1 and 2 – Tuesday 27th January
On Tuesday, it was the turn of Year 1 and 2 children to participate in their
Sports Day. This event saw the Rayyan and Gharaffa campuses combine
together at our Gharaffa campus. The children participated in a range of skills
and activities, competing against other children in their year group.
During the events, children were able to win points for their house depending on their performance at
each station. Every child participated in eight single events and two team events and was eager to win
points for their team. Even teachers and parents participated in a traditional sprint race.
The children were exhausted but thoroughly enjoyed themselves as they contributed to this wonderful
event.
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Year 3 – 6 – Wednesday 28th January
On Wednesday, it was the turn of years 3-6 from both the Rayyan and Gharaffa campuses. This year the
event was hosted by Al Sailiya Football Club who have a partnership agreement with the Rayyan
Campus. The children were able to use the first team facilities and training pitch which was a lovely
experience. After a very foggy start, the sun broke through and made it a fabulous day for everyone. The
club and their members contributed greatly to the event and the school is grateful for their extreme
generosity.
The children once again participated in eight individual
events and three team relays throughout the day. They
were keen to win as many points as possible for their
house and were very competitive; even teachers
participated in activities in order to win more points!
This event topped off a wonderful week of sports with
every child participating and competing in a range of fun
filled events. Being able to use the facilities and grass pitch made it even more enjoyable for all and we
hope to develop this partnership and mutual support in the future. The highlight at the end of the day
was the ‘Sports Quiz’ round where two lucky children answered questions correctly and got a prize from
Al Sailiya Club.
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Since September we have been spreading our learning around to include some great home
learning. We have kept a class blog where work and pictures are shared and home challenges
set. It is a growing bank of excellent resources and has a growing community feel – next term we
are expanding to include more student led posts and learning comments. Pop over and visit:
http://missgqatar.edublogs.org/ Guest password – compass2014
As part of our IPC Active Planet topic we have been investigating the causes and effects of earthquakes and
volcanos.
“The Eyjafjoll volcano
“A volcano in Iceland kept
“Here in Qatar we a don’t
erupted for 4 months!”
live close to any volcanos
Nero
that is why we are curious
my dad away for 2 weeks in
2010 – he was trapped in
Singapore!” Nina
about them.” Amir
“The current state of
“There is an underwater
Mount Ediziza is dormant
volcano near Hawaii that
(sleeping) – it has been
will one day become an
dormant for 3000 years.”
island.” Graeme
Keane
“There is a romantic legend about the Popocatepetl &
Iztaccihuatl volcanos in Mexico.” Catalina
Due to limited display space Miss G also makes use of QR Codes to
share photos and work.
http://padlet.com/j_gilbert/BandWArtDa
y
What is a QR Code?
QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is a type of matrix
barcode which, when scanned with a SMART phone or tablet, takes you
straight to a webpage or file on the internet. These are useful to direct
people to specific information and much quicker than hyperlinks or typing
in given addresses.
http://padlet.com/j_gilbert/zubarah
QR scanners or readers are available for free in APP stores – download
and have a go! (If you don’t have access I have included the addresses too!)
http://padlet.com/j_gilbert/treasureprojec
t
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Parenting Workshop
Next Parenting Workshop at Compass International School Gharaffa on Tuesday
February 24
The Introverted and the Extroverted Child
Understanding whether your child is an introvert or extrovert and then aligning their
activities and social interactions accordingly can play a large role in reducing their
stress and improving their overall emotional well-being. In this workshop you will learn
about the differences between introverts and extroverts, how you can use this
knowledge to enhance your relationship with your child and how to nurture their own
strengths. The workshop includes tips for introverted parents who are raising extroverted
children and for extroverted parents who are raising introverted children.
Workshop leader is Marielle Evertsz, MSc, a Counselor and Parenting Coach with
extensive experience with children and their families in the health and education fields.
Cost per workshop: QR 200 per person or QR 300 per parent couple.
All workshops will be held at the Compass Gharrafa Campus.
Sign up: parentingcoachqatar@yahoo.com
Spotlight on…..
Fares Kassem
Fares has been working incredibly hard on developing his
mental mathematics skills outside of school. After 5 years
of sustained effort he has now achieved an advanced level 8 in a
mental maths programme. Well done Faris!
LEARNING WELL, ENJOYING LIFE, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Al Rayyan Record
Celebrating Success!
This year we are working to develop the house system and broaden the ways we celebrate success
within school. As part of this initiative a new system of collecting house points has been introduced –
Class Dojo. Using this online system, each child then has an electronic record of all the house points they
have collected and what they got them for. House points can also be added to Class Dojo by specialist
teachers and learning assistants. House points are awarded for positive behaviors such as hard work,
cooperation, initiative, enquiry skills etc.
Each month certificates will be awarded in the monthly house
meeting by the house captains to children who have achieved the
most house points in a particular category that month. January’s
criteria was the most house points earned overall that month.
February’s focus is on helpfulness. Regular, weekly certificates will still
continue to be given out in assembly.
Every month children who
have received a certificate
will feature on the new house
point board located in the
main school foyer. Please
come and take a look!