(MENAFNEditorial) Mrs Fawzia Hassan Ghareeb presents trophies to the winners
[27 May 2012], UAE
The British Council awarded Al Khansa School and Al Edreeci School in Dubai and Khadeeja School in Ajman the International School Award (ISA) in recognition of their work to 'bring the world into the classroom.'
Mrs Fawzia Hassan Ghareeb, Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Operations, Ministry of Education, UAE presented the ISA trophy to the winning schools at the Connecting Classrooms' Day event held at the Ministry of Education office in Dubai.
Richard Cotton, Director, British Council, UAE said, 'Many congratulations to all the schools who have been successful in gaining the International School Award. The award is a recognition of all their hard work in ensuring that there is an international element to teaching and learning in schools here in the UAE.
'With employers demanding the soft skills needed to operate in an international workplace, it is vital for their success that all young people are equipped with a better understanding of their place in the world and of other cultures."
Mr Abdullah AbdulRahman Al Madani, Principal, Al Edreeci School said, 'The participation of our school in the International School Award helped us to develop the talents of our students and enhance their creativity.
'Our students participated in eight international activities through the International School Award. These activities demonstrated the international dimension of their creativity and displays the advanced level in which the Ministry of Education seeks permanent and continuous development at all levels.'
Mrs Rana'a Sidqi Al Barghouthi, the International Coordinator at Khaeedja School, said, 'I am overjoyed to know that Khadeeja School has been accredited with the International School Award. Our teachers and students are very excited that their documentation of the international activities done at the school over the past twelve months has received global accreditation. We can now say that we are a truly International school. Our Principal, Mrs Naseem Essa Al Matroushi, would like to extend her gratitude to the British Council in UAE for the support they provided to us to apply for the Award. Celebrations are still going on at our 'International School'.'
Mrs Nahla Metwally, the International Coordinator at Al Khansa School said, 'My students have been working in partnership with students from 10 other schools in the UAE and the UK through the British Council's Connecting Classrooms programme for the past two years.
The International School Award has helped us to bring all the international work we do in our school together. Students were particularly excited about working on the joint curriculum project activity on communication with St John Houghton school and Long Eaton school in the UK.
I would like to extend my gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Dubai Educational Zone for selecting our school to join the British Council's Connecting Classrooms programme as this has opened the doors and windows to new and better learning opportunities for all of us.'
All three ISA accredited schools have been working together as a cluster with a group of schools in the UK as part of the British Council's Connecting Classrooms programme. Their international work included the exchange of information and resource material prepared by the students on activities that supported their curriculum which included
• Participating in the 100 Words competition – a play based competition where each school worked with a school in the UK on any one of the Olympic themes. The students wrote and enacted the play which was filmed and shared with their partner schools
• How Do We Communicate – An activity that looked at the different types of communication – body and visual language.
• Climate Change – The students looked at the impact of Climate Change on Bangladesh. They exchanged data and ideas on how to reduce carbon footprints as well as took a pledge to take one action to reduce climate change
• Don't let the water run away - Water conservation activity. Students did a survey on personal use of water as well as tested the purity of the water they use. They analysed the statistics provided by their partner school to draw conclusions and make recommendations to save water.
• Energy for the Future – Students investigated their consumption of Energy, did a survey of personal energy use, researched energy resources in their local area [coal, nuclear, wind and gas (UK) versus solar and oil (UAE)], and produced a presentation to compare UK/UAE issues. These presentations were exchanged and suggestions offered on ways to overcome problems of depletion of energy resources
• They also explored art and music forms as an expression of identity and culture and did an activity around Creative Cooking.
2011 has seen more than 800 schools receive the International School Award accreditation. This includes a wide range of schools from a variety of different backgrounds and geographical areas across the globe.
The Award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus and Pakistan. Around 16,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools around the world since the scheme began in 1999.
The ISA encourages and supports schools to develop:
• An international ethos embedded throughout the school
• A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work
• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
• Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects
• Year-round international activity
• Involvement of the wider community
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.