BIS Abu Dhabi Times

BIS
ABU DHABITIMES
TERM 3 2021/2022
Visual Arts
Competition
Humanities
Championship
IB Graduation
Community
Celebration
1
Issue #08

Principal’s Note
TERM 3 EDITION
PRINCIPAL’S NOTE
I am delighted to share the Term 3 edition of the BIS Abu
Dhabi Times for the 2021-22 academic year containing all
the latest news from The British International School Abu
Dhabi.
The magazine truly celebrates the fantastic learning that
has taken place throughout the term as well as the amazing
additional activities students have had the chance to be
involved in. What is evident as you turn each page is the
passion that our students have to make the most of every
single opportunity there is. A recent inspection from the
BSO (British Schools Overseas Framework) stated “The
engagement of learners is outstanding, and a strength of
the school. Pupils relish and deeply appreciate learning
opportunities in lessons and within the wider curriculum.
The classroom is one of their favourite places to be”. It is
evident our students are thriving as a result of it.
As our IB Diploma, graduating class of 2022 threw their
caps in May, it was heartwarming to know that this young
group of adults are heading off to make the world a better
place with the endless possibilities that lie ahead of them.
A particular highlight of the magazine is Hamda’s Road to
University article on page 8, it has been a privilege to have
her at the school since the day it opened and to see her
fulfill her dreams as she graduated this year.
With Covid restrictions continuing to lift, it has been
fantastic to get our community back together through our
Year Group Coffee Mornings and End of Year Celebration
this term. The support from parents and staff and the
partnership they have with each other is an inspiration
to our students and only further supports them in their
journeys to achieve and to grow.
It has been a pleasure to lead the BIS Abu Dhabi community
since January 2015 and reading through this magazine
each term makes me so grateful that I have been a part of
such a wonderful adventure with parents, students, and
staff. I pass the reins of Principal to Liam Cullinan from
September, and I am confident, I leave this special place in
safe hands.
Finally, may I take this opportunity, whether you are
travelling abroad or staying in the UAE for the summer to
wish you a peaceful and enjoyable time and I look forward
to following another successful BIS Abu Dhabi year next
year. It is never goodbye, just farewell for now.
Patrick Horne
Principal
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Contents
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING
AT BIS ABU DHABI
HUMANITIES CHAMPIONSHIP
9 PRIMARY SCIENCE DAY
13 SAVE THE PLANET
13 19CREATIVITY, VISUAL ARTS ACTIVITY COMPETITION IN SERVICE
22 THE RETURN OF TEAM FALCON
4 IB GRADUATION
7 CHESS TOURNAMENT 16 COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
5 YEAR 11 AWARDS 11 BOOK FAIR
17 PARENT COFFEE
MORNINGS
8 ROAD TO UNIVERSITY 12 NURSERY STAY AND PLAY 18 ART EXHIBITION
YEAR 6 TO 7 PROGRESSION
YOUNG MUSICIANS
10 14 MATHS COMPETITION SUCCESS 21
COMPETITION
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3

Be Ambitious
IB Graduation Ceremony
With the sad passing of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of the Emirate of Abu
Dhabi, it seemed unlikely that the school would be able to hold
this year’s Graduation Ceremony. However, with permission
granted at the eleventh hour, staff had just enough time to pull
together a slightly adapted version of the previously planned
event.
Having put on their gowns, hats and sashes, students joined
their parents and teachers for light refreshments in the Drama
Studio. Many took advantage of the professional photographer
to have formal family photos or friendship group photos taken.
Patrick Horne, Principal opened the ceremony, welcoming
parents and graduating students and then Rachel Batty, Head
of Senior School, introduced each of the students in turn as
they came on stage to be awarded their graduation certificate
and receive academic awards.
Some of the graduating students have been at BIS Abu Dhabi
for a considerable number of years with students such as
Hamda having started on the very first day of the school
opening 13 years ago, while others have been here for at least
the last two years. Some have decided to take gap years to
complete internships and gain some relevant experience before
going to study, while others are heading straight to university
to study subjects such as Law, Business Administration,
Physiotherapy, Hospitality Management, Geography and
(particularly popular this year) Computer Science. As always,
our students have offers from universities all around the world,
from the University of Toronto, Canada, New York University
in the US, Imperial College London and London School of
Economics in the UK to The University of New South Wales in
Australia, Otago University in New Zealand, The University of
Groningen in the Netherlands and closer to home The American
University of Sharjah in the UAE.
While the school was unable to have any musical items, four
of our graduating students recited the Poem ‘If’ by Rudyard
Kipling. Thanks go to Christian, Rumesa, Inshirah and Mahra for
agreeing to perform at late notice. Oliver spoke brilliantly on
behalf of the students, reflecting on these last two tumultuous
years and considering with excitement the endless possibilities
that lie ahead of them all, before Christopher Lowe, Head of
Secondary, concluded proceedings with a similarly uplifting
message of hope. Finally, it was time for the tassel to be moved
from right to left which signifies the moment students officially
become graduates and with a final cheer and fling of caps into
the air, it was all over.
Congratulations Class of 2022!
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Be Ambitious
Secondary Headteacher’s
Commendation Award
Congratulations to the wonderful students who received the Secondary Headteacher’s Commendation Award in Term 3. This award is
of high significance, given only to students who teachers believe have academically excelled, and have done significantly well in their
studies.
Congratulations to Moaz and Saeed in Year 8 who have received
a joint Headteacher’s Commendation this term for their superb
revision video about the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil
War. Well done boys!
Well done to Year 11 student
Younes for achieving a
Headteacher’s Commendation.
His JavaScript simulation of
a planet orbiting a star was,
according to Mr. Lewis – ‘’Epic’’!
Great work Younes.
Congratulations to Owen in
Year 9 who has been awarded a
Headteacher’s Commendation
for his outstanding work on a
Juilliard Performing Arts home
learning project in Drama.
Year 11 Awards
This term all of Year 11 met in the hall to celebrate the achievements and efforts of the wonderful Year Group. In total, 70
awards were given out to students. Mrs. Baker, Head of Year 11 started the assembly by telling the students how proud
she was of their ‘hard work, resilience and efforts over the past two years’.
The awards were celebrated with rounds of applause and lots of cheers. Mr. Lowe, Head of Secondary School ended
the assembly by thanking the Year Team and their Form Tutors and wishing all students the best of luck for their
forthcoming exams and future studies in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
5

Be Ambitious
Education Perfect Global
Languages Championships
This term, BIS Abu Dhabi students
poised themselves to seek linguistic
glory once again by participating
in the Education Perfect Global
Languages Championships and,
true to form, the students put in a
fantastic performance over the course
of the marathon 7-day competition.
Flush with success off the back of the
school’s first place in the Northern
Hemisphere Championships back
in October 2021, students knew
they had a hard act to follow.
They did not disappoint. The
aforementioned competition
involved just 134 schools, compared
to 2,825 schools this time round,
which is around twenty times the
number of competitors! Thus, when
you consider that after a week of
hard linguistic graft, BIS Abu Dhabi
students gained 4th place overall,
that really is testament to their
dedication, teamwork, and effort.
The statistics speak for themselves:
students answered almost a million
questions in total, completed 1,382
hours of collective learning and
achieved 1st place in the UAE, 1st
place globally in Arabic out of 896
schools, and 1st place in French and
Spanish in the UAE – very impressive
indeed!
Students are also awarded
certificates for their efforts after
gaining 500 (Credit), 1000 (Bronze),
1500 (Silver), 3000 (Gold), 5000
(Emerald) and 10 000 points (Elite).
BIS Abu Dhabi students gained 155
Credit, 92 Bronze, 12 Silver and 8 Gold
certificates – congratulations!
Special congratulations also go to
Elyssar and Mykaila from Year 9,
Haaym Year 8, and Maryam from Year
12 for achieving Emerald Certificates
after gaining over 5000 points, and
Dongha from Year 9 for achieving an
Elite certificate with a massive 10 185
points, making him the 205th topscoring
student globally out of 210
000 students – that’s in the top 0.1%
of all students!
Well done to all who participated
and doing BIS Abu Dhabi proud in
yet another intriguing, illuminating
and inspiring Education Perfect
competition!
Junior Humanities
Championship
Students in Years 7-9 took part in the British Schools in the Middle East (BSME)
Junior Humanities Championships 2022 from 7th–9th June.
Despite starting a day later because of the long weekend, BIS Abu Dhabi came
first in the UAE in schools with 250–500 participants and 12th Globally. This was a
massive achievement with students answering over 21,000 questions about the
world around us.
Several students received awards including Anyssia from Year 9 – Gold, and Leena
from Year 9 – Bronze. Other students who received special credit were Alan from
Year 8, and Adithya, Adarsh, Zuni, and Eva from Year 7.
A big congratulations to all students that took part!
6

Be Ambitious
Be Ambitious
Chess Tournament
BIS Abu Dhabi’s first chess tournament against another school in
2 years was a fantastic success. The BIS Abu Dhabi vs Cranleigh
Chess Tournament showed the best of friendly competition.
BIS Abu Dhabi is very proud of the sportsmanship both teams
showed, congratulating each other with the customary ‘GG’
(good game) in the online chat.
Abu Dhabi was close behind with 64. However, BIS Abu Dhabi
managed to turn the game around in the Senior Tournament
with 58 points while BSAK received 40 points. Back and forwards,
both teams competed well, each taking a lead at different
moments throughout the game.
Congratulations to all students that participated!
BIS Abu Dhabi Junior Team won the Junior tournament with
143 Points to 88. BIS Abu Dhabi Senior Team won the Senior
tournament with 68 Points to 53.
The students also had a tournament against BSAK on Thursday,
19th May which went ahead with great results achieved from
students in both schools who played some excellent chess and
were great sportsmen and sportswomen.
BSAK lead the Junior Tournament with 71 points while BIS
Record Numbers in Maths
Challenge
On Thursday, 28th April, just over 100 BIS Abu Dhabi students from Years 6, 7 and 8 took on the Junior Mathematical
Challenge. Interest has grown for these competitions and the Secondary Maths Department now run a weekly
Co-Curricular Activity (CCA), looking at solving mathematical problems, often related to problems set by The UK
Mathematics Trust (UKMT). Their questions are
also included at the end of each maths test in
Key Stage 3.
With such interest, it was great to also see
impressive success! Overall, 78 students
achieved an award! Record numbers for the
school. Incredibly, Seunghoon already achieved
a Gold award in Year 6, with a further 15 students
from the Year Group achieving an award. In
Year 7 there were five Golds amongst the 29
awards achieved, with Imad performing the Best
in School with a score of 113. (Gold 84+). The
passion for these challenges in Year 7 has been
heart-warming.
In Year 8 a further 33 awards were achieved, with Asser preforming Best in Year, achieving a strong Gold, along with
three other students.
Congratulations and well done to all students that participated!
7

Be Ambitious
Road to University by Hamda, Year 13
Graduating from a school which I started from the day it was founded, I
think it’s safe to call this place my second home. There exists a picture of
me standing outside the school gates on my first day here. At this point, BIS
Abu Dhabi hadn’t even designed a school uniform yet. I remember walking
down the corridors of the school which only had one floor, to which it now
has three.
The seed of my passion was planted as early on as Primary School. Though
recalling the first few years is difficult, photographs and videos remind me
it was filled with nothing but joy. One year stood out to me over the rest of
my Primary schooling: Year 6. Ms. Doran, my former form tutor, will always
remain someone who has shaped me into the person I am today. Having
encouraged me to take on roles which I would have never dreamt of taking
otherwise, Ms. Doran revealed to me that I was much more than the timid
kid I always thought I had been. The year was thus filled with many of my
core childhood memories. Words would never do them justice, from school
trips to joining my first national competition; these experiences were the
driving force behind my ambition which carried itself through to the IB
Diploma Programme.
The point to which I started to grow up is unclear to me, as my teachers had always treated me as the capable
young woman I am. Through all the classes I took, there is one lesson which will stick with me as I go on: trial and
error builds character. This was a lesson I had struggled to learn, as I had the preconception that failure equated
to weakness. Attending the school taught me that this was in fact far from the truth, especially during my
Secondary School years. GCSEs are always nerve-wracking, but those years were personally ones I fondly look
back on. My favourite memories consisted of persevering through them together – as our common goals brought
us closer to one another.
From Primary to Secondary, seeing the IB Diploma students around the corridors was always inspiring to me.
I looked up to them as role models since the very beginning, and I always saw a future version of myself in
them. To me, it is incredibly admiring that the school has fostered a community full of both the inspired and the
inspiring.
Sifting through my memories and picking a single best part of growing up in this school is near impossible. A
single walk down a corridor would be a literal trip down memory lane. Typically, someone’s ‘best memory’ of
attending a school would be some big event – but mine are simple memories made daily which I continue to
cherish to this day.
Little me who had been excited about Architecture since Year 3 would be proud to hear that I am still planning
on becoming an Architect. Someone else who would be proud, is Mr. Deposé, who I owe my passion and love
for languages to – it feels like yesterday when I was sat in his Year 2 French class with my legs crossed and hand
in the air. He is the reason I’m choosing to take a year of an Intensive French course at Sorbonne University Abu
Dhabi, before going on to pursue Architecture.
To end, and as is the case with every student, a time I will cherish greatly is Graduation. Having done it at the
school which I had grown up in made this even more special. In June 2022, I graduated with the friends I had
made in Year 2. This is nothing less than a privilege; being lucky to be able to study in a school that is home to
one of the most loyal and giving communities which, I call family.
8

Beyond the Classroom
Primary Science Day
Science, Science, Science! Thursday, 26th May brought an array of scientists to the school (who knew scientists could
come in so many different forms)!
Students came dressed in a variety of interesting costumes which allowed them to conduct a range of scientific
enquiries. During the day, the students predicted, observed, measured, compared, and formed conclusions for their
own year group enquiries and the whole of Primary enquiry: ‘The older you are, the bigger your hands?’
So much science learning and fun was experienced by all!
Year 7 Science Fair
On Thursday, 30th June, students across Year 7 took part in the first BIS Abu Dhabi Science Fair.
Over the last few weeks in their science lessons, students have been planning and carrying out their own experiments
to display at the Science Fair. Students dedicated their time to ensure their project had a clear aim, method,
conclusion, and evaluation. They also created models and demonstrations to engage their audience and allow them to
communicate their ideas more effectively.
There were a wide range of projects on display at the Fair, including solar panels and balloon cars, an eco-village,
volcanoes, space clean – up, and hydraulic press experiment and an experiment into human anatomy!
The Science Department are extremely proud of all the hard work and effort that has been put into these projects –
well done Year 7’s!
9

Beyond the Be Ambitious Classroom
Year 6 Heart Dissection
In Year 6, the students have been learning about animals
including humans in their Science topic.
As part of this study, the students have learnt about the
human body and how the heart works. To deepen their
understanding, they had the opportunity to dissect a
sheep’s heart in the Secondary science labs. They all really
enjoyed the activity, and this really helped with their
understanding. Students then used this knowledge to
produce an explanation text on the heart.
Tan from 6A said - “I really enjoyed the fact that I could
visually see the atriums and valves in person rather than
looking at a diagram on a screen. I also enjoyed this
because I got to feel the heart and feel the size of the
heart.”
Year 6 to 7 Progression Classes
The Secondary department welcomed more than 160 Year
6 students in June as they experienced a day in the life of
a Secondary student.
Students took part in non-core lessons including Modern
Foreign Languages, Drama, ICT and History. The Year 6
students also had a session getting to know their soon to
be Head of Year- Mrs. Baker and they had an introduction
to the Secondary Library.
The day’s theme was ‘Countdown’ with students taking
part in a range of different activities including counting
in Spanish, German and French, creating dramatic
performances, making origami fish, creating black out
poetry, and building cars to race!
The Secondary teachers are now launching their own
countdown to welcoming this wonderful group of
inquisitive, well mannered, intelligent students to Year 7!
10

Beyond the Classroom
Book Fair
In April, there was a buzz around school as the students were all so excited to get their opportunity to go to the Book
Fair. To have the chance to choose their own books from a wide range will help them continue to develop their love
and passion for reading – leading to a greater vocabulary to apply to their writing too.
Some of the most popular book titles with the students in KS1 were the Julia Donaldson books, as well as The
Rainbow Fish. Whilst in KS2, the ‘A Murder Most Unladylike’ collection and the Harry Potter books proved to be big
hits with the students.
A huge thank you to Magrudy’s for giving the students a chance to shop their Book Fair! BIS Abu Dhabi staff were
able to safely usher hundreds of students through the fair - just in time for UN World Book and Copyright Day. Happy
reading!
GCSE Psychology
In Term 3, Year 10 and 12 students began their exploration of
their new topic: Developmental Psychology, by learning about
5 key areas of the brain.
Students worked together to produce 5 mini-knowledge dumps
regarding the forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain, cerebellum and
medulla. Some of them even used shower caps to create a lifesize
diagram of where these 5 regions are located. Next, they
will learn about how the brain forms neural connections that
help the way we develop an understanding of the world.
Parents, feel free to quiz the students on what they have learnt
about these five areas of their brain!
11

Beyond the Classroom
FS2 Stay and Play
On Wednesday, 1st June after two long years, it was wonderful, once again, to welcome parents into FS2 for a Stay
and Play session!
The focus of this Stay and Play was to show how the students experience Maths.
The students were really excited to show off their learning and it was a great opportunity for the parents to
explore the classrooms and the outside area, some for the first time!
There were lots of Maths activities on show and the parents had a chance to play with the resources and to chat to
the teachers about their children’s learning.
BIS Abu Dhabi is looking forward to hosting more Stay and Play sessions in the future!
Nursery Stay and Play
On Wednesday, 15th June Nursery students were
delighted to welcome their parents into school for
the very first Physical Development Stay and Play
session.
Students and parents worked together to complete
activities designed to develop and strengthen their
gross and fine motor skills. They raced bikes around
the bike track, climbed up to the slide and balanced
on the balance beams! Inside, they practised their
fine motor skills by feeding animals some food,
racing their parents to fill up the ice cube tray with
pipettes and freed some animals trapped in the
jungle!
Lots of fun was had by all, and parents got to join in
and experience some of the fantastic learning the
Nursery classes have been doing!
12

Beyond the Classroom
Save the Planet
This term, students in FS2 have been learning about saving the planet.
To showcase their learning, FS2 performed “Eddie and Kamil Save the World’ to a live audience of proud parents.
For the last two years, the world has been gripped by a pandemic. Slowly travel has opened up. Kamil was able to leave his
house and travel around Abu Dhabi. Then the border was lifted, and he could travel to other Emirates. Finally, the day came,
and he could get on an airplane and travel to a different country.
Eddie the Penguin and Kamil travelled to Antarctica, UK, Australia, and Brazil. On their adventures they realised that the
world is slowly getting hotter, and they found ways to cool it down. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Nursery Read and Relax
“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book” – Dr Seuss
On Friday, 1st July the students in
Nursery welcomed their parents
into school for ‘Read and Relax.’
They snuggled up and shared
their favourite stories together,
discussing the characters, setting
and parts of the story.
What an amazing way to celebrate
the students love of Reading in
Nursery!
13

Beyond the Classroom
Maths Competition Success
In June, six BIS Abu Dhabi students formed a team to enter an Abu Dhabi
Schools Maths Competition.
The students from Years 9 and 10 were competing against 6 top performing
schools. Over three events, the schools competed against each other by
solving maths problems, all based around the United Kingdom Mathematics
Trust (UKMT) maths challenge that the top students from BIS Abu Dhabi
compete in every year.
Successfully, BIS Abu Dhabi students thrived, finishing joint top at all three
events, scoring an incredible 100% at each event! This led to a tiebreaker for
the top two schools. Under time pressure, sadly BIS Abu Dhabi were pipped
to the final solution and were left to settle for a very valiant second place
overall.
The students really enjoyed travelling across to other schools, competing
against other students, and solving the problems. More competitions are
being planned for the future.
World Ocean Day
On Wednesday, 8th June the school was awash with a sea of blue as BIS Abu Dhabi celebrated World Ocean Day.
The students watched an informative presentation from Dain McParland who is a Marine Research Specialist at New York
University here in Abu Dhabi. He shared his first-hand experience of what climate change and pollution is doing to our
Oceans.
BIS Abu Dhabi students also showed their competitiveness when answering questions for the Kahoot Quiz, clearly
showing an understanding of why everyone must use reusable items.
Students were then invited to create a poster, using what they had learnt on how to save our oceans. Students chose to
create their posters either individually or collaboratively. The posters were then judged by 4Oceans which is an online
purpose driven business to eliminate the plastic crises in the oceans.
After careful consideration 4Oceans selected their winners! A huge congratulations to Charlie in FS2, Yun Year 1, Almaha
Year 2, Hamdan, Mariam and Mohamed Year 3, Juha Year 4, Emily Year 5 and Ioanna, Serena and Ela Year 6. In Secondary,
the winners were Maiya Year 7, and Haaym Year 8.
4Oceans selected these posters as the winners but would like to thank all the students for making posters and
understanding that keeping our oceans clean and free from rubbish is imperative.
Congratulations to all students that took part for their awesome creations and originality!
14

Beyond the Classroom
Young Leaders Conference
Excitement is building for the next academic year already as Ms. Goldsbrough and Mrs. Lowe are joining forces with
some awesome members of the BIS Abu Dhabi teaching staff to create a ‘Young Leaders Programme’ for students in
Secondary.
Ms. Goldsbrough and Mrs. Lowe have been collaborating on a project which will give the students the opportunity to
specialise in a particular area and mentor other students.
The 6 initial areas are:
1) Social Mentoring (for emotional and social support)
2) Paired Reading (assisting younger learners with reading skills)
3) Sports Leaders (leading in a variety of sporting disciplines)
4) Language Leaders (supporting in the language department)
5) Peer Assisted Learners - PAL (subject mentors)
6) MUN Leaders (developing debating skills and leading team debates)
Before the end of the school year, students will be given a synopsis of what is involved from each of the area leaders so
that they understand what each category is about. Next, students who are interested in joining will be invited to apply
for their chosen area giving reasons as to why they’d like to be a part of it.
The successful applicants will be selected and invited to join the first ‘Young Leaders Conference’ which will be a
fabulous day in September filled with workshops, collaboration, and reflections designed to train and support the
students in understanding their role, the attributes of an effective leader and time to meet their counterparts. There
will be opportunities for students to enhance and change their specialisms and mentor in other areas of interest to
them as they move through the academic year, however, staff would like them to be committed to their chosen area
for at least one term where possible.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the Secondary students to grow in confidence, to collaborate with other students
across different year groups, to help cultivate teamwork and to become effective and successful young leaders.
Students will inevitably learn and develop new skills which they will take with them and apply in their lives long after
leaving school.
BIS Abu Dhabi can’t wait to begin the marketing and recruitment process and hope that parents will help encourage
students to get involved in this new and exciting ‘Young Leaders Programme.’
Astronomy Lecture
BIS Abu Dhabi was proud to host Professor Macciò from New York University
Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).
Professor Macciò gave an Astronomy lecture to the Secondary students
taking them through the history of the universe.
It is a pleasure to host guest speakers again after COVID restrictions have
been relaxed. The gifted BIS Abu Dhabi students impressed the Professor
with some very sophisticated questions. The students found the lecture
insightful, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to Professor Macciò for visiting, and BIS Abu Dhabi is looking
forward to hosting more guest speakers in the new academic term.
15

Community
Community Celebration
On Tuesday, 28th June the BIS Abu Dhabi community got together at the YAS Conference Centre for an End of Year
Celebration and Farewell to Mr. Horne.
Due to COVID restrictions and the regulations in place the BIS Abu Dhabi community had not been able to get together
and celebrate National Day, International Day, Eid and so many more of the other school events for some time, this
get together was a fantastic occasion to have a final community celebration together before the end of the academic
year. It also gave the families an opportunity to bid farewell to Mr. Horne who has had such an impact in leading the
community since January 2015.
Live student performances and an exhibition of the incredible student artwork was on show as well as light
refreshments for everyone to enjoy. Parents, students, and staff all had a lovely evening celebrating the wonderful BIS
Abu Dhabi community!
16

Community
Parent Coffee Mornings
This term was full of excitement for the BIS Abu Dhabi community as the school hosted the first in-school Parent Coffee
Morning since the pandemic began.
Following on from the success of the whole school Coffee Morning, BIS Abu Dhabi announced the organisation of
a Parent Coffee Morning dedicated to each Year Group in the school. This was a fantastic opportunity for staff and
parents to meet whilst enjoying some delicious refreshments. For the newer parents, this was their first time attending
an event in the school and it was a joy to see such a great turn-out of happy parents. Parents also had the opportunity
to join a group tour to view the fantastic school facilities.
During this term parents also had the chance to get together to meet the in-coming Principal Mr. Cullinan.
It has been wonderful to have parents back in school, BIS Abu Dhabi is looking forward to hosting more events in the
new academic term!
Ramadan Challenge and
Donations
BIS Abu Dhabi students were super busy across the Holy Month of Ramadan
carrying out random acts of kindness and spreading the joy throughout their
communities.
Ramadan is a month of giving and reflection. In the spirit of this, BIS Abu Dhabi
announced a 30-Day Challenge, an opportunity for students and staff to show
their kindness and generosity and make a positive difference to others.
Many students took on the challenges which included car washing, picking
up litter, handing out cakes and treats to neighbours, holding doors open,
packing shopping for people in supermarkets, talking to someone new in
school, donating colouring books to children’s hospitals and donations to Red
Crescent along with many, many more. These caring acts not only spread lots
of joy around our communities, but they also gave the students the opportunity
to achieve Bronze, Silver, and Gold on their BISAD Diplomas and win points for
their House!
In addition, many thanks to parents and students for your generosity in
donating toiletries to our own BIS Abu Dhabi community. There were so many
amazing donations which were organised and divided into well over 100
gift bags for all the fabulous men and women that support BIS Abu Dhabi. A
selection of students handed these out to the security staff, cleaning staff,
maintenance team and the bus drivers which were greatly appreciated by all.
There were lots of smiling faces and happy people around!
17

The Arts
Art Exhibition
In Term 3, Year 13 Visual Arts students hosted their end
of course exhibition. The students worked really hard on
their wonderful creations. See below what they had to
say about their exhibition and the artwork they included
in their final show.
provide a visual memoir for the viewer, in which they
experience a little of my childhood, my emotions, and
my stance on certain issues that are closely linked to my
identity. As you go through my exhibition, you are taken
into a trip through time as the idea of memory becomes
more and more abstracted and fragmented to mirror the
inspiration. Words cannot portray how proud I am with
how it all came together at the end, walking through
the final exhibitions was breathtaking and knowing
the highs and lows we went through to get where we
are today, I am speechless every time I look at all our
accomplishments. This whole process taught me to be
resilient and patient, to persevere when things go awry,
and most of all discovering new things about myself
and my talent, all very valuable lessons for my future
ventures.”
Congratulations to all IB Diploma Visual Arts students on
a fantastic show.
Mariam: “My exhibition aims to explore the relationship
between human nature and technology, as the world
modernises, and becomes more reliant on technology.
This concept was inspired by the recent pandemic, as
I observed an increasing dependence on technology
through things such as remote learning and online
shopping. I am really proud of how my exhibition turned
out, and it has taught me important skills such as
perseverance that I believe will be beneficial at university
next year.”
Jomana: “My exhibition explores the concept of
memories and how they alter and ground our fragmented
identity. This concept was inspired by my identity to
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The Arts
Global Campus Visual Arts
Competition
Congratulations to all BIS Abu Dhabi students who undertook the challenge to create an artwork inspired by the key
advocacy themes of Climate Change, Education, Well-being, or Vaccinations, set by the Global Campus team for the
2022 UNICEF Visual Arts Competition.
BIS Abu Dhabi was super impressed with the range of ideas, art medias and techniques students used to create their
artwork submissions. The thoughtfulness with which students wrote about the importance of their advocacy areas, and
how this was represented within their artworks, was also a testament to how the students embody the school values of
kindness, honesty and respect towards each other and the planet.
A huge congratulations to the shortlisted students who
were chosen from over 100 entries!nBIS Abu Dhabi is
delighted to announce that a student was shortlisted in
each age category. Under 8 years: Valerlia with her piece
‘Recycle Inspector Bot.’ 8 - 11 years: Ruby with her piece
‘Hope your day brings you what it should... Happiness,
health, and everything good.’ 11 - 14 years: Adithya with
his piece ‘Earth Now and in The Future.’ 14 - 18 years:
Kyeong with her piece ‘There are more viruses in the
world than there are stars in the universe.’
Well done to the creative thinkers and visual artists of
BIS Abu Dhabi!
Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
A big well done to Lyla from Year 5, who participated in the Queen’s
Platinum Jubilee Pageant at Buckingham Palace. Lyla was part of a
choir of 400 children between 10 and 11 years old who sang on the
same stage as many celebrities at the prestigious weekend event.
Lyla said the choir got to sing the British national anthem with Ed
Sheeran and after performing, enjoyed watching the pageant from a
box nearby. “I had a great time singing with all the girls and boys from
London, and I got lots of experience from the event and rehearsals.
This is something that I’ll remember forever.”
19

The Arts
Senior Dance
It has been an exciting time to have dance back on the
Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) programme. The return to
dance allowed students to participate in the choreography
challenge for the British Schools Middle East (BSME) Dance
Festival 2022.
This year the BSME Challenge was handed over to Year 12
Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) students to allow them
to cover the creativity strand within the CAS programme,
along with achieving the required criteria for the CAS Project.
Daiana Nowaczynski and Abby Gill used the stimulus of
a painting called Nocturne in Black and Gold- The Falling
Rocket by James Whistler as a starting point for the
choreography. The BSME Dance Festival theme this year was
‘Art in Motion’. The premise of the painting was to convey the
mystical apparitions that appear and disappear out of the fog
at a firework display show.
Daiana and Abby worked with Secondary students to create
the dance. They showed tremendous creativity with their
beautiful choreography ideas, displayed a wonderful sense
of thought and consideration to the student’s ability. They
collaborated successfully with each other and the dancers.
They selected a magical piece of music that incorporated
the theme with their movement material creating a sense of
whole. The dancers were inspired to work with the Year 12
students, attending every dance rehearsal and committing to
the project.
Congratulations to all involved!
Student Dancers: Isabella, Georgia, Beatrice, Yasmeen,
Lojayne, Andrea, Mariana, Lilly, Jorja, and Darcy.
Boys Dance Project
BIS Abu Dhabi is delighted to work on the
British School Middle East (BSME) Dance
Festival 2022 - Boys Dance Project.
This project gave the boys an opportunity
to be both creative and physical whilst
working collaboratively with peers and
a male professional choreographer. To
train the students, BIS Abu Dhabi invited
Nader Musharbash, a professional
choreographer who has worked with
world famous artists such as Rita
Ora, Beyonce, Pink as well as major
TV productions, such as X Factor, Brit
Awards, and the MTV Awards.
A group of Year 5 and Year 6 boys had the
opportunity to dance with Nader over
two days to create a piece of dance based
on the theme ‘Art in Motion’.
Everyone is looking forward to the
outcome as the boys wait for the festival
results to be released.
20

The Arts
Young Musicians Competition
In the final week of Term 2, 6 BIS Abu Dhabi students took part in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Young Musician
competition alongside 190 competitors from 30 schools and academies across the Emirate. BIS Abu Dhabi have such
talented musicians in the school, and it was fantastic to see everyone sharing their instrumental skills with each other
once again. This was the first opportunity for students to perform their instruments individually in a public setting
since virtual classes and all the students took to the challenge with a high level of professionalism.
The standard for all categories of the competition, whether it was ‘Intermediate’ or ‘Advanced’ level players, was
incredible. Well done to Dominique from Year 5 (Intermediate Piano), Gemma from Year 11 (Intermediate Strings) and
Arya from Year 11 (Intermediate Piano) for getting through to the second round, and well done to Raych from Year 10
who made it through to the Advanced Rock and Pop Vocal Semi-finals.
Well done to all students that participated!
Juilliard Performing Arts
BIS Abu Dhabi had the pleasure of welcoming Stephen Dunn from the world-renowned Juilliard School of Performing
Arts to work with the students. Mr. Dunn led a Juilliard Creative Classroom workshop on ensemble skills, exploring
ways to be inventive with music whilst having lots of fun rehearsing as a group.
Stuti (Year 7 plays the Piano) – “Working with Steve from the Juilliard school gave me the chance to experiment,
explore and have fun with different ways of playing the music.” Sebastien (Year 12 plays the Clarinet) – “The workshop
was an enlightening experience; it allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the finer details of the music we are
rehearsing.” Kylie (Year 8 plays the Trombone) – “The different ways we learned to articulate music when playing was
really interesting and hearing Mr. Steve demonstrating on the trombone was great!”
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Sport
The Return of Team Falcon
It was with great delight that Term 3 saw the return of BIS Abu Dhabi Team Falcon on the sporting calendar!
BIS Abu Dhabi Team Falcon have participated in Volleyball and Basketball fixtures against other local schools; with representation
of squads from Year 3 all the way up to Year 13.
Teachers and parents have observed the progress and development of the teams throughout Term 3. To witness the smiles on the
students faces when ‘scoring a basket’ or ‘winning a point’ in volleyball has been amazing.
Team Falcon are extremely hopeful that the academic year of 22/23 will see the full return of school sport. Team Falcon will be
offering competition in – football, netball, volleyball, rugby, swimming, athletics, cricket, golf, basketball, and badminton. BIS Abu
Dhabi cannot wait to see what the students are going to achieve!
Gymnastics Superstar
A big congratulations to Year 2 student Aria who won the
Dubai Gymnastics competition that took place in June.
BIS Abu Dhabi is proud of Aria’s hard work and effort and look
forward to seeing all that she will be accomplishing in the
future!
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Where are they now?
BIS Abu Dhabi Graduate
Class of 2018
Aimee
Smyllie
What made BIS Abu Dhabi special for you?
I experienced so many new and amazing things whilst
at BIS Abu Dhabi that I would never have had the
opportunity to do elsewhere, and I felt as though these
opportunities were endless. BIS Abu Dhabi pushed me to
be the best I could be academically whilst also providing
the support and sense of community that I had not
experienced in other schools before.
Which school club, activity, trip, or project inspired you
the most?
The expedition to Tanzania is one trip I will never forget.
We took part in sustainable change projects in Tanzania
helping schools, families, and communities in different
ways such as building classrooms, goat sheds and
smokeless stoves. We even gave one family a goat to
give them milk and cheese to sell. An eye-opening and
heartfelt experience.
What is the most important lesson you learned at BIS
Abu Dhabi?
I learned so much with regards to different cultures.
Coming from only living in 1 town since birth to an
International School with people from all over the
world was a very interesting and insightful experience.
Understanding people’s cultural differences and finding
similarities and differences within each other’s life
experiences was a really lovely thing that I’ve been able
to take forward with me.
What ambitions did BIS Abu Dhabi inspire in you?
I have always been a drama queen, but BIS Abu Dhabi
helped me realise my own ambition to be an actress. I
got involved with as many drama, singing or dancing
activities as possible and acting is now the career I am
pursuing.
Which university and degree did you choose, and why?
I attended Goldsmiths, University of London and did a
BA Theatre and Performance course because performing
is at the heart of my passion. BIS Abu Dhabi gave me the
confidence within myself to take risks and therefore I
moved to London by myself to do what I love.
How did the IB Diploma help your experience at
university?
IB was extremely helpful in terms of knowing how to
write essays, handle academic pressure and keep on top
of deadlines. It also has provided me with a safety net
of academics if I ever wish to return to university and
pursue a new career.
What has been your proudest moment since
graduating?
Since graduating from BIS Abu Dhabi my proudest
moment would have to be getting my First Class
Honours in my Degree which I will be receiving this
summer (due to COVID restrictions last year).
What are you doing now?
I am currently trying to get as much performance
experience whilst also being able to gain work
experience in new fields. Performing is my long-term
goal, but as of right now I am starting a new job as
a real estate agent in Abu Dhabi which I am really
excited for. I’m focused on gaining new experiences,
meeting new people, and seeing where life takes me.
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