The Junior Reptonian - Repton School Dubai

National Day CelebrationIn the hectic conclusion to lastterm, we missed theopportunity to reflect on thesuperb celebration of Nationalat held at Repton on 1 stDecember.The event was a tremendoussuccess and enjoyed byeveryone who attended. Iwould like to thank Dina AlBasti and the ArabicDepartment for all their hardwork in organising the day. Iam sure that we are lookingforward to next year’s eventalready!Mark AtkinsHead of Junior SchoolLove in a BoxDuring the holiday season ourchildren were fortunate toreceive wonderful gifts fromfamily and friends, but forthousands of needy childrenthroughout the world, this wassadly not the case.THE REPTONIANThis week the boys and girls atRepton were told about ‘Love in aBox’, a charity which has, for thepast 19 years, sent holiday gifts tochildren for whom a toy, a pack ofcrayons or indeed a toothbrush areonly dreamed of luxuries.This year we have chosen to sendour ‘Love in a Box’ contributions toAgohelma, an organisation inEthiopia which cares for over 5000orphans. In due course, Mrs HelenSinnott will come to Repton to talkto the children about Agohelma, aplace, so dear to her heart, forwhich she is a tireless fund raiser.Repton children have been givenwritten instructions for thepreparation of the boxes but will,of course, need your support to fillthem.Should you have any queries, pleasecontact me atjeannine.gray@reptondubai.orgThank you. I know that Repton’sresponse will be a generous one,giving much pleasure to childrenwho will be overjoyed to receivetheir very own ‘Love in a Box’.Jeannine GraySenior MistressReptonians ReflectWhere do we begin? Last term wasgreat! We had a Tudor day wherewe dressed up as Tudors, didspecial Tudor activities and enjoyeda Tudor feast.National Day was fun; we had arange of exciting activities such ascamel riding, henna tattooing andsaw traditional Arabic dancing.Then we had Dubai Cares where wehad to read as many books as wecould in two weeks. Repton childrenread over 8000 books whichhelped to raise money for poorchildren.Our ‘New Shoes’ project wasawesome; we designed and madesandals for homework, andpeople who saw them displayedoutside our classroom thoughtthey were great!There was a dress up day forcharity and even the teacherswore fancy dress!The girls had an inter-housenetball tournament. Dahl won,but only by a couple of points.Orchard won the boys’ interhousefootball. Swimminglessons started at last and wehad fun learning Spanish withSenor Nolan.At the end of term assembly,the Head Boy, Head Girl andPrefects were announced and onthe last day some children in 5Ggot pen licences.So, overall we enjoyed the firstterm of Year 5 …well, as muchas you can enjoy school!Alice Thompson 5GIsobel Howard 5GFootballDubai Football League FinalsThe finals will take place atRashid School on Wednesday,14 th Jan, for Years 3 and 4 andRepton School P.O. Box 299331, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai

THE REPTONIANSunday, 18 th Jan, for Years 5and 6.Players are asked to returntheir letters to the PEDepartment as soon aspossible.Sharon HusseyHead of PEPE NewsP.E KitThe KS2 boys will all be playingrugby and it is paramount thatthey have gum shields. Forhealth and safety reasons,children without gum shieldswill not be allowed to play.Girls will be playing footballand will need shin pads - againto prevent unnecessaryinjuries.The children will also beexperiencing differentelements of athletics and willbe given advance warning as towhen trainers will be required.Rugby TrialsAll our KS2 boys will be trialledfor the School Rugby Team. Y3and 4 assessments will becarried out by P.E staff duringtheir P.E lessons. Y5 and 6 boyswill be invited on the followingafternoons for trials:Monday 12 TH Jan 2.30 -3.30YEAR 6Tuesday 13 th Jan 2.30 -3.30 YEAR 5Those boys selected to join theSchool Squad will be notifiedby letter. Those boys notreceiving a letter will not havemade the Squad this time.However, selection will beongoing throughout P.E lessons thisterm.Please note that a late bus willNOT be in operation until activitiescommence. It is thereforeimperative that you makearrangements for your child to becollected from Repton at 3.30p.mand that the children are aware ofsuch arrangements.Wishing you all a happy, healthy andactive New Year!Sharon HusseyHead of P.E.A Gentle ReminderLast term it came to my notice thatseveral children were beingcollected late at the end ofactivities or Prep.Please note:Prep finishes at 4.40pm and thechildren will be brought to theAdministration Centre (Block D) forcollection at 4.45pm.Parents are expected to collecttheir children promptly at 4.45pmfrom the Administration Centre(Block D).Late collection of pupils after Prepis unacceptable. The trafficdifficulties in Dubai are a knownfactor and it is the parents’responsibility to ensure that they,or their driver, arrive in good timeto collect their child.In exceptional cases, if a parent isdelayed, the school should betelephoned.A member of staff will remain onthe premises with any child who iscollected late.Collection of a pupil after 5.00pm,whatever the reason, will berecorded as ‘late’. The collector willthen be required to sign a ‘latecollection book’. A ‘latecollection’ form will be issued tothe parent/collector and theHead of the Junior School willbe informed. If three latecollection forms are issued, thepupil may be prevented fromattending Prep sessions for theremainder of the academicyear.For safety reasons, under nocircumstances will we allowchildren to wait with their oldersiblings until they are picked upby an adult.Your support in this matter willbe greatly appreciated.Mark AtkinsHead of Junior SchoolApproaches to LearningReading SkillsBeing able to read with speedand understanding is a greatasset for learning well. It alsomakes you familiar with otherwriting styles or genres whichyou may use to model your ownwriting.• Allocate some time everyday for reading. Onceyou form this habit, itwill be easy to continue.• Treat yourself! ArrangeDEAR (Drop EverythingAnd Read) Time. EnjoyRepton School P.O. Box 299331, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai

THE REPTONIAN30 minutes ofuninterrupted reading!• Ask librarians, yourteachers or your friendsto recommend books.• When researching, learnto ‘skim’ material. Lookfor key words to getthe general idea ofwhether the materialwill be useful.A Note from the MusicDepartmentWe would like to apologise forthe delay in the offer toprovide certain instrumentaldisciplines. As yet we havebeen unable to find a classicalguitar teacher and we have avery long list for piano. Allother instrument lessonsshould be underway, with asinging teacher joining us nextweekMany thanks for your patience.Terina FirthMusic DepartmentTennis Star!finals of an Under-12 internationaltournament. The second was theCapitala Cup that Alexei won inDubai in the 10U category. Alexeireceived his trophy in Abu-Dhabifrom none other than AndrewMurray.Well done Alexi!A Pause for Thought“A friend may well be reckoned themasterpiece of nature.”Ralph Waldo EmersonRead Write Inc.Could we gently remind you thatRead, Write Inc. books need to bereturned to school each day? Ifyou have any reading books or Read,Write Inc. books at home pleasewould you kindly return them?Thank you.Natalie ClaytonYear 1 LeaderThe CalendarJan 11 th : Team trials week.Jan 14 th : Football LeagueFinals @ Rashid School Y3 andY4Jan 18 th : Football league finals@ Rashid School. Y5 and Y6Jan 18 th: Activities and Prepstart.Looking ahead:Saturday, 24 th January: Y7Senior School entranceexaminations and entranceexaminations for externalcandidates to enter the JuniorSchool at all ages.Repton tennis star AlexeiPopyrin has been busy over theholiday period. Today he wasawarded with two trophiesassembly. The first was won inMiami, where he reached theAfter School Activities andPrepPlease note that After SchoolActivities and Prep will start onJanuary 18 th . There will be anumber of trials going on next weekand for information about these,pupils will be informed individually.Until activities begin, the childrenwill continue to be collected fromtheir classrooms at 2.20pm.Repton School P.O. Box 299331, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai