Dear Parents,
We have enjoyed a wonderful week of sports at OIS, from FS up to and including our first Inter- House Secondary sports competition. The health and well-being benefits of sports and exercise are well known, but we also see the enjoyment in students as they compete in a friendly and encouraging manner. There are many skills children learn through participation in sport and competition not only at events like sports day but also weekly through their PE lessons. The spirit which won our U-11 team the Fair Play Award at the recent BISQ Games is testament to some of these skills. This week, I saw a t-shirt worn by one of the young athletes at the Special Olympics World Cup in Abu Dhabi which read ‘Let me win, but if I don’t win let me be brave in my attempt’. This encapsulates the whole essence of what I wish for in all our students at OIS, winning is not the most important part, having the bravery to attempt to win and accept that you have tried your best… is. We must encourage our children to be brave in life, not just in competitions, but in their academic work, social development, individual pursuits and to stand up for what is right and just.
Thank you to the staff PTSA Committee and parents for supporting our sports day. Congratulations to all the competitors/participants and the PE staff for such a successful week.
New member of staff: We are delighted to welcome Mrs. Catherine Navarro, Primary Music Teacher, who joined us last week. Mrs. Navarro has a wealth of experience teaching music and she is looking forward to developing a wide range of opportunities and musical performances for our children.
IGCSE Verification Visit: I am delighted to inform you that following an inspection visit last week from Pearson/ Edexcel examination Board, our accreditation status for next year’s IGCSE examinations was verified. This was a site visit to ensure that all our arrangements and logistics are in place to support the requirements of the examination board. My thanks to Mrs. Johal, Mr. Gutteridge and Mrs. Laidlaw for their preparations and guidance on this.
School Calendar 2019-2020 : I have only now received the circular from the MOE&HE regarding term dates for private schools next year. I will submit our proposed calendar to the ministry, and once I have received their approval, I will publish our full calendar to all parents and staff. I hope this will be next week.
I can confirm that the start date for students (subject to any future change by the MOE&HE) term 1 will be 25th August 2019, the start date for term 2 will be 5th January 2020 and the start day for term 3 will be 12th April 2020.
Have a lovely weekend.
Regards,
Mr. Derek Laidlaw
