International field trips and inter-school competitions will be back at UAE schools in the new term after more than a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Schools have already started taking pupils on field trips to destinations within the UAE in the current term. But many had hesitated to return to international travel.
Private schools in the UAE closed for the winter holidays this week and will open for the new academic term on Monday, January 2.
Growth in pupil numbers and teachers joining schools
January term is typically a time when pupils join schools mid-year, especially if they are relocating from another country.
Simon Herbert, principal of Gems International School Al Khail, said many new pupils and a few teachers would be joining in the new term.
“A lot of pupils are coming to us even in January, so we've got some growth with new pupils coming in,” he said.
“We've got pupils from Russia and Ukraine and from Iran, we've got people from all over the world and from different [education] systems.
“If we've got room in the year groups, we take pupils from other schools in Dubai if they want to switch, though, in January, it's usually from overseas.”
Inter-school competitions will be back
Sports and dance inter-school competitions will resume in the new term as heads explained they had initially been cautious about large gatherings of pupils.
The Indian High School will be kicking off with an inter-school dance competition.
Chief executive Punit MK Vasu said it would be their first inter-school competition post-pandemic.
“We will be hosting the Indian Republic Day at our school, and this is the first time post-pandemic, because every year it was just a truncated version with less than 50 people,” he said.
Pupils can look forward to international field trips
Gillian Hammond, principal at Repton Al Barsha, said the Repton school group had around 11 international trips a year before Covid hit.
“We are starting to get back to those. We're running our international ski trips again to France, which we're really excited about. This will be our first one in February,” she said.
Pupils from The Indian High School will be travelling to India in January for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas where they will have the chance to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This will be the first time pupils at the school will participate in the youth conclave.
Parents are part of school life again
Mr Herbert said he was excited to have parents back on campus for events.
He said the school had been able to open up opportunities again in music, art and sports and would soon be putting on the musical Annie.
“The children are really looking forward to that. The big change for us since the pandemic is that parents can come back in,” said Mr Herbert.
“We have a really close relationship with our community, so we've got lots and lots of parents coming back into the school.”
Exams for Indian schools
Indian schools will get ready for major board exams.
India's Central Board of Secondary Education has not notified schools of class 10 and 12 exam dates.
Dr Beno Kurien, principal at International Indian School — Abu Dhabi, said things at the school were finally back to how they were before the pandemic.
He said pupils would be busy with exams in February until the end of March.
More classes on Blockchain and NFT
Several UAE schools have brought in lessons in blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other emerging technologies to prepare them for the job market of the future.
Ms Hammond said they would be launching a project named Web 3.0 month during which they would run blockchain and NFT workshops for parents.
“Then we're actually going to develop these theories with pupils who are going to have the opportunity to develop some digital art, then write the blockchain and protect the art using NFT, so that they own the rights to the piece of art,” she said.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
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DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Griselda
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MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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