March 2014

LOOKING BACK The countdown has begun for the end of the year’s fun and learning. The children faced the FA4 exam which was closely followed by revision and commencement of SA2 exams.

The MoNTH THAT WENT BY Pen and Paper Assessment for FA4 commenced for Grade to Change in school timings 8am to 1: Open House to SA2 Revision.

ARABIC PUPPET SHOW Creating a link between education and entertainment

A FEATHER IN THE HAT Royal Spell Bee Finals The Emirates level competition was held on 22 nd February, 2014 at English Language School. Ananya Noronah of Grade 1 I, won the First Prize and received the award from the Principal, Mrs. Chitra Sharma, amid applauds from the entire school.

JSS PS is proud of you, Ananya

NOTE FROM ANANYA’S MOTHER... MRS. INDIRA We would have never heard about a spelling bee competition, had it not been for the circular inviting interested students to participate in the competition. Once we had registered for the competition for Level 1, the material was sent over by the school. It was a tiny booklet with 1000 words to learn ranging from 3 letter words to the longest word being of 8 letters. Some of them were very easy – having done most of the 3 letter words through the reading in school. The tricky words actually were homophones, like WONDER and WANDER or almost similar sounding words like AXLE and EXCEL. We helped Ananya by starting to learn the basics rules of spelling first like, i before e except after c AND breaking every word into syllables. Round 1 at school was actually the easiest as all words really were from the book and the rounds consisted of Dictation and Underlining the correct word. There was a bit of challenge with underlining the correct word because it is always a bit confusing when options of spelling the word are given. Practise has no substitute and it put Ananya in good stead. Ananya was happiest when she received her medal from school – but this was just the beginning.

Round 2 was a Northern Emirates round including students of schools from Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah, Ajman and Dubai with three rounds – Dictation, Underlining the correct spelling and Oral questions on Synonyms and Antonyms (without spelling). The twists in this round however were – of the 20 words for dictation, 4 were to be given outside of the material; 3 of the 15 words for underlining the correct spelling were to be given from outside of the material provided. This was already going to be difficult, but we also received 98 words to be prepared for synonyms and antonyms – words like BIRTHDAY, BORN and HUMBLE – believe me, it was actually difficult to source synonyms and antonyms for such words. At this stage – read and practise – that’s all we did – EVERYDAY and the day before the competition for at least 4 hours! Homophones from outside of the material were our biggest worry and despite all the reading and practise, Ananya still got THREW wrong as she apparently wrote THROUGH – homophones are very tricky and knowledge of the usage and meaning is extremely important. VACUUM proved to be the most difficult word outside the material that none of the children, as far as we are aware, prepared for. Only students who made it through the written rounds (Dictation and Underlining) went through to the orals. The orals were Ananya’s strength as she had really practised and worked hard on them – understanding the application of every word and ensuring each synonym and antonym used the same connotation. Success is sweet when it comes after a lot of hard work and winning this level was a matter of pride as we carried the name of JSSPS along with us.

Round 3 is the nationals. We have received the details of the competition and I can say this for certain – it is not going to be easy at all. The percentage of words from outside the given material has increased and we have to now prepare for 1000 synonyms and antonyms. There will also be a word-builder out of a given set of words. It’s a test of excellence and we have a strategy and plan which consists of practice, reading and writing. But the final exams are already underway and we have very little time with a lot of material to cover. It is not going to be easy, but we will give our best shot. Ananya has worked very very hard to get this far and will not give up. She is already on the path to perform well and give it her best shot. In her own words, Ananya would say – never surrender, never give up. Winning is not the only goal, the journey is what is important – winning is just the icing on the cake of the journey itself. We have only followed three rules through this journey – practise, believe in yourself and your work, listen.

FROM THE HEART Thank you Mrs. Indira Noronah Team JSS PS.

ALL THE BEST The Principal and Vice Principal of the school, conveyed their wishes to all the students, as they gathered in the auditorium, before the commencement of the SA2 exams.

SA to School time : am to 11.45am. Buses will leave at noon.

LOOKING FORWARD TO – : Outing / Class Party : Showing of SA2 Papers to parents – : Books and Uniform sale : Online Results : First day of new academic year for Grade 2.

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK A BIG Thank You!!!! To all the Parents, for your continuous support and co operation through the year.

SIGNING OFF Being a teacher does not mean I have all the answers. It means I work everyday to be sure my students..... REFLECT SOLVE CREATE GROW THINK