October 3, 2019 | Issue 1 CES NEWSLETTER Director's Headlines We are already delighted to be able to share with you our news so far this year even though it seems a few short weeks since the start of term. The academic focus this year has begun with all students receiving target grades in all of their subject areas. These targets are very aspirational but if you feel you need further information or clarification please ensure that you contact your child's teacher to clarify. It is a very important step in ensuring that all students are reaching their full potential and being the best that they can be by ensuring that we have a challenging start to the new academic year. We will be measuring progress at various points throughout the year and of course will be keeping you up to date on the progress that your child is making. The Guiding Statements (as shown below) of our school have allowed us to create a half termly focus to ensure that we are all working together as a strong community and ensuring that no one gets left behind. This half term the key word has been motivation. We are also pleased to share with you that our motivational quotation that we share every morning is making a real difference to students and brings a light of hope to our mornings. Please do ensure that you are motivating your children to have 100% attendance because by being in school every day enables them to make the progress that they deserve to make. Of course the students have had a very positive start to the new year. I have been so impressed by their excellent behaviour A huge thank you to all parents for welcoming me into school and showing me their support and I look forward to keeping you up to date throughout the year. Ms. Beth Meldrum Director
News from Early Years... Welcome to the start of another exciting year in Early Years; Foundation Stage (FS1 & FS2) and Key Stage 1 (Y1 & Y2) and to all the new parents joining us at CES this year, we look forward to working with you and your child. Wherever your child is in our school, many things will influence how successfully they settle in. Every child is different and will react to this new environment in their own way. Most children are very enthusiastic when starting the new school year and may continue to be so. However, some children appear to lose that initial enthusiasm fairly quickly and parents of these children may become disappointed and puzzled about this change. For the younger students, coming to school means making big adjustments, firstly the child has to separate from parents and family after the long holiday. They have to develop relationships with new adults. They have to mix and co-operate with a large group of children, many of whom may be strangers. They also have to manage and be responsible for themselves and their own belongings. Some children also find it difficult to get used to the change from preschool. There will be more structure to the day and, as the year progresses, they will be expected to concentrate for increasingly longer periods of time. No matter which year group your child is in, there are always changes to be made; routines are different, expectations are increased and the need for independence is greater. So during these first few weeks, teachers are getting to know your child, looking at how they can provide a learning environment that will nurture those changes and where their starting points are in their knowledge, understanding and skills. No doubt, you will be curious to know what your child has experienced each day. Some children will come home from school and talk non-stop, whilst others need time to wind down, eat and play before they are ready to talk. Sometimes the question "What did you do today?" is too broad for youngsters to answer. It may help if you narrow the question to "What story did you hear today?" "Who did you play with today?" "Did you play in the garden?" Keep it simple... What's been happening in KS1.... Well done to Year 1 and Year 2 for a great start to the year. The children have really helped our routines and expectations to be up and running so smoothly and so quickly. Our morning line-up is looking very smart with most classes ready well before the bell rings and singing the national anthem beautifully! We are also impressed by the very good punctuality shown as we begin the year, we look forward to this continuing. Our Year 1's have learnt the 'ropes' of their new playground areas and classrooms. We have begun swimming, already had our first library visit and given out lots of certificates in KS1 Assembly. We are especially proud of our newcomers to CES in Year 1 and 2. They are showing a love for their new school and enjoying learning with new friends and teachers. 1JA and 2MF were the first classes to receive 'Best Line' awards for their outstanding behaviour at line up time after lunch break. Well done! Tea with the Director: Our first FS & KS1 children invited to have 'Tea' with Ms Beth were from Foundation Stage; Lilia Mohamed Lashin and Carol Samir Halaka both in FS1B –, Tia Ahmed Shaker in FS2C. As well as from Key Stage 1; Ahmed Ramy Ahmed and Lamar Hesham Attia both in Y1IM and Taher Ziad El Hares in Y2LM. They made us very proud with their thoughts, comments and manners as they talked about their school life at CES with Ms Beth. Early Years Parent Tip #1 Praise and encouragement is extremely important. It is not just the act of praise or encouragement, but HOW you praise or encourage that is truly important in what is effective, positive and reinforcing for your child. Keep your praise and encouragement specific. When your child draws a picture, instead of saying, "This is great," talk to your child about it. You might say, "Tell me about these stripes here - are blue and pink your favourite colours? What kind of shape did you use here?" This way you can talk and learn together, while sending the message that the picture is important to you too. Upcoming events for this half term in Early Years: Learning Morning Year 2 – Thursday 3rd October Learning Morning FS1 – Monday 7th October Learning Morning FS2 – Tuesday 8th October Learning Morning Year 1 – Wednesday 9th October Parent/Teacher Conferences – Wednesday 16th October First Half Term - Monday 16th October through Thursday 24th October Global Citizens Day, 10th October. Best wishes from the CES Early Years Team (FS & KS1)!
Primary News Dear Parents Wow! What a start to the year. Can you believe it's been a month, so much has happened already! Yet in the face of new and improved changes, the children remain engaged and active learners. Across a range of lessons, I have seen strong relationships and routines building; children asking questions, being stretched and challenged. There is a great bubble of excitement and an eagerness to succeed spreading through all our classrooms. Students and teachers are all raising the bar of expectations. This infectious passion for learning is not only among the teachers and students. It can also be seen around the school. I couldn't photograph them all, but there have been some dazzling displays of student's learning, work and class themes. They all play a vital part in ensuring that the learning environment is stimulating and motivates students to learn. Thank you to all the extra hours, teachers and teaching assistants have put into designing and creating all our delightful displays. As I walk around the school it creates a strong sense of pride and acceptance. New beginnings can be scary at times, but not at CES. All new starters to the school were invited to a fun and relaxing Tea Party with yours truly (Mr Horn). Over some scrumptious sandwiches, delicious desserts and sweet drinks, it was nice to get to know each and every one of the new members of our CES family. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the dance moves that were on display and the great sense of coming together. Hearing all the great things that have already happened for our new comers and witnessing some of the friendship bonds that have already developed, reassures me that CES is the best place for them. Our value focus for this half term is motivation. There have been numerous examples of students demonstrating what motivates them – extrinsically and intrinsically. There has also been a wealth of examples of students demonstrating the power positive motivation can have to produce high-quality work and behaviour. In fortnightly values lessons, children alongside Miss Nardine and Mr Mina have been exploring the concept of motivation through practical activities and games. Team-work and communication skills have supported this. Followed by reflection time, the students ponder what motivates them; how they can stay intrinsically motivated as well as motivate others around them. Also this month, Year 6 have clearly demonstrated that they are truly motivated to master their accelerated Science curriculum. In their first biology unit on cells, they have shown great resilience in developing their understanding of more challenging scientific concepts and processes during lab sessions. But the learning did not stop here. As part of their homework, across the year group, students created models of animal cells using various designs. The attention to detail and quality of some of the work produced has truly been inspiring. It acts as a great reminder of the importance of being self-motivated in order to achieve your personal best. With all the great examples of learning happening at the start of this term, I have every confidence that your newly elected Student Councillors, alongside our Head Boy and Head Girl will support this. Head Boy: Adam Karim GhaziHead Girl: Tia Ahmed El Garhi I look forward to working alongside all of the representatives, to ensure that CES continues to be a place where we strive to achieve personal excellence. Thank you all for an exciting and happy start to the academic year. I am sure there will be more positive news to share as the year develops. Yours, Richard Horn Congratulations to Jenna Abuelnaga 5E Congratulations to Yassin Mohamed El Leithy Y6 D won the golden medal and first place in National Traditional Karate Competition (under 12 years old) that was held on August 31 2019.
Secondary News The secondary school students and staff have returned after the summer break. The new academic year see new members of staff and students joining returning members to the CES community. Routines are being established and all are settling into the new academic year. Throughout September students have been receiving aspirational targets in each of their subjects, developing new friendships and have been given the opportunity to be active members of the school community. After successful examination results for many CES students the pressure is on for all members of our community to aim high and succeed in the new academic year, all students throughout September have been set aspirational targets which we expect our students to reach and exceed in the academic year. The banners in front of the school demonstrate individual successes in external examinations and our year 12 students from 2018/2019 are about to embark on the next chapter of their learning. It is hoped that this success will inspire and motivate out current student body to aim high and succeed. At CES in September students have had the opportunity to take on responsibility roles, as class captains, student council, sport captains, and prefects. The PE department has undertaken trials for the selection of sport teams to represent the school and we all hope that their success will be celebrated in future newsletters. After School Activities have been advertised and signed up for, these supplement opportunities for student participation for those that are looking for something different. A range of activities are on offer for our students, including academic support sessions, MUN, knitting, chess, ukulele club and many more. These programs will extend into the rest of the academic year and it is hoped that many students at CES will try something new to broaden their horizons and interests. Student voice and responsibility are a focus for this academic year and all members of our student body will be work together to create a positive environment. Prefects and our lead students will be taking on supervisory roles in the coming weeks, and our seniors will have the opportunity to volunteer their time to assist younger students of CES in their learning. An excellent opportunity to give back to the community. The student council met for the first time on September 19th, their first opportunity since being elected to their new positions. They are the students that will represent the student body of CES and bring ideas to the table to make CES a better place to learn and grow. A new development is a student magazine, and the first issue will be made available soon. This project has been proposed, designed and written by our CES students for the students and we look forward to seeing how this develops throughout the year. Neil Smith Head of Secondary Student council members Sara Fady 7B Yaseen Ahmed 7C Julia Covre 8B Michael Moheb Gerges 8C Kareem Bassiouny 9C Salma Aboul Atta 9C Jana Ehab 10B Seniors Eyelul Kut Logain sayed Sami Karras Zeina Omar Jana Sobh Mona Hassan Congratulations Ali Ramadan Y10C for the diving sport in the yearly Egyptian national competition 2019/2020 Ali won the 1st place on the 3 meters board for the B boys (15 year) And the 3rd place on the 1 meter board for the B boys (15 year)
CAIRO ENGLISH SCHOOL PO Box 8020, Masaken Nasr City 11371, Cairo, Egypt • (+202) 2249 0200
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