Category: Letter

British School Parent Workshops

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Parents,
Over the course of the remainder of this school year the British School at El Alsson will be
running a series of workshops, hosted by the Principal and members of the Senior and Middle
Leadership Teams, to further update parents on key areas of school life and key areas of
practice within the school. These workshops will serve to support parents in their understanding
of the way the school works and how best to support their children in their learning,
development and progression at El Alsson. Our workshops will span a wide range of year
groups and are designed to update parents on long and short term planning and activities for
their children and the school. Each workshop will be hosted online via Zoom by the Principal
and a panel of senior or middle leaders. The workshop will contain an update from the panel
and then the opportunity for parents to ask any questions that they may have. Each workshop is
scheduled for 60 minutes.

The list of workshops and the targeted year groups can be found below. We ask that parents
sign up via the google form link for each session that they wish to attend. Once registration is
confirmed a link to the session will be sent out from our admin team. Each workshop will be
recorded and made available to those parents who have registered, in case parents are unable
to join the workshop as it happens live. These workshops are designed to give parents
additional information to the regular updates that the school provides on the day to day running
of the school, the progress of their child and other important information.

The last twelve months has been a very challenging time for our community and we hope that
these workshops will give staff and parents the chance to reconnect on key areas of school life
and the plans the school has going forward. We hope as many parents as possible can join us
for these workshops either live or via recordings that will be sent to parents who register.
Please complete the registration form at the link below and please remember to check which
year groups each workshop is designed for.

Parent Workshop Registration form

Finally, I would like to thank parents for their continued support through the challenging
circumstances that we are all still facing. We hope to see as many parents as possible in the
various workshops as we continue to build the partnership between home and school.

Kind Regards
Mr Matt Topliss

 

Principals’ Message to parents- 25th February 2021

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Parents,

We hope your child has had a wonderful first week back to school on campus. We were delighted to welcome them back, and know that learning alongside their peers at school is best, not just for their academic development, but also their social and emotional development and wellbeing.

Social Gatherings

We need your help to ensure that school remains safe for all students and staff. Please avoid allowing your child to participate in large gatherings outside of school in evenings/weekends. Please make sure that whenever your child is out in public places that he/she is taking necessary precautions (social distancing, face protection, sanitization) so as to minimize risk. Covid-19 is still very active in our wider community and we will continue to monitor positive cases that may occur within our community and will need to return some classes and students to online learning where positive cases appear.

If your child is at all unwell, or a member of your household is unwell, please leave your child at home until you are able to confirm that any illness is not Covid-related. If you suspect Covid, please alert our school doctor, Dr. Sally Gouda (sgouda@alsson.com).

Parking and Pick-up and Drop-off

We are also very concerned by some of the parking and picking up of students at the end of the school day. We are asking parents and drivers to please not stop on the main road and expect their children to cross the road. We are very concerned that a serious accident could happen and are working to ensure that the recent traffic congestion in the mornings and afternoons is rectified.

Ministry of Education mid-year examinations

Parents of students in Grades 4-11 / Years 5-12 should be aware that we have received updated information regarding Ministry Arabic Studies Exams. We will soon send you further details regarding internal examinations in these grade/year groups when we have clarity on the full details.

Please have a wonderful, and safe, weekend.

Kind Regards

Ms Allison Fleet and Mr Matt Topliss

School Principals

G9/Y10 Ministry Exams Update

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Grade 9 / Year 10 Parents,

Following the communication we sent to all Grades/Years yesterday regarding Ministry exams, we received updated information late in the afternoon yesterday via the Ministry of Education.

All students in Grade 9 / Year 10 will sit for a combined Arabic / National Social Studies exam on March 7th at 9:00 a.m.  This exam will be 2 hours in duration.

Students will not sit a mid-year Religion exam; instead they will sit a religion exam at the end of the year.

Arabic teachers will clarify for students the expectations for these exams and students will receive further information as to the location of their exam scheduled for March 7th.

We sincerely apologise for any confusion this has caused, but can only respond to information as and when we receive through official sources.

Kind Regards,

Allison Fleet & Matt Topliss

School Principals

5 positives from the pandemic for school leaders

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Whatever the future holds, school leaders must take confidence from how they adapted in 2020, says Matt Topliss

Matt Topliss

Coronavirus: Five positives school leaders can take from the pandemic

2020 provided challenges to school leaders across the world like never before – and taught us a lot, too.

We can now tentatively start to think about a post-pandemic world. But we must ensure that we do not ignore the opportunities the crisis has afforded us to develop our schools and the young people and staff within them.

After all, strategic planning and further development must continue as we navigate our way out of the crisis just as surely as we navigated our way through it.

Coronavirus: What schools have learned from the pandemic

Here are five positives we must remember whatever the future holds

1. Reshaping the school day

The pandemic resulted in a shortened school day, a reduced movement of students between classes, split and reduced break times and a greater reliance on digital and online learning.

In my school all these areas have been seen as huge benefits by all key stakeholders as this has allowed staff and students to rediscover their school-life balance and parents to organise their time more efficiently and even miss the dreaded Cairo traffic – an issue known the world over.

It will vary by location and setting, but leaders should not overlook what can be retained from these changes.

The school day has been so embedded into society, we never dared imagine it could be different. Now we have seen that it can be changed – even if through enforced circumstances – we should not forget what we have learned.

2. Improved logistics

As a large school, it has been essential that all aspects of school life have been organised in a more efficient and effective way.

This has included our arrival and departure arrangements in the morning and afternoon, our bus protocols and safety expectations and even how students eat and socialise while on campus.

Cashless payments and the acceptance of visitors on to site have also been part of life now and will continue to be.

It shows that if we want to make changes to areas of school life that have in the past felt too entrenched, it can be done.

3. Pupil wellbeing

The development of the school’s provision of wellbeing resources and more attention to the psychological development of students has been a central theme since schools reopened at the start of the academic year.

This is an area that all of education should welcome and continue to build on.

4. Reconnecting with staff and their development

One of the biggest concerns I had was the impact that ex-pat staff felt from not having the day-to-day interactions with their children and with each other.

This is an issue in all locations, but for international staff especially not being able to return to their home countries, welcome visitors or see loved ones could have had a significant impact on wellbeing.

So to see staff returning to school, to their classrooms and making a difference to young people provided a “bounce” with morale, even with anti-Covid measures in place. It was a powerful reminder of how important a motivated and positive workforce is to school life.

We must ensure that, as leaders, we focus on staff and their development as a mission-critical area of our planning.

5. Focusing clearly on priorities

Finally, the pandemic perhaps brought clarity to help us treasure what is important within our schools and find ways to maintain it: quality teaching for our pupils and that sense of school community.

After all, it was fundamental to the continued development and reopening of our schools that we embraced the possibilities and opportunities that were presented to ensure we delivered our number one goal: great teaching.

This willingness to adapt and the mindset change it has brought are something we should not take for granted – or let fade away.

We have seen what we can achieve when we need to, so let’s ensure that we keep that so that whatever the future holds, we are always ready.

Matt Topliss is British school principal at El Alsson British and American International School New Giza, Egypt

Beauty and the Beast Production Announcement

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Students and Parents,

As you are well aware, due to COVID-19, we have been unable to run any Performing Arts activities in recent months. As this is the case, we have unfortunately had to make the difficult decision to postpone the Senior Production of Beauty and the Beast for this academic year. Despite the amount of effort and work students have put into the production so far, their safety is our main priority. Therefore it would not be sensible to continue rehearsals at this point.

However, we will continue with this production as soon as we are entirely confident that it is safe to work together again. Potentially we are looking to move next year’s Middle School December show 2021 to make room for Beauty and the Beast in the new school year.

We appreciate all the hard work that students have put into this production so far, and we look forward to continuing rehearsals in the future.

If any student has concerns or questions they can get in touch with 

Mr. Phil (pbailey@alsson.com), 

Mr. Carr (American: acarr@alsson.com), or 

Mrs. Bailey (British: lbailey@alsson.com).

 

Out of School Gatherings

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Parents,

The school has made an excellent start to the school year last week and this has been based on students, staff and parents following the guidelines that have been set out. We thank parents, students and staff for the collective responsibility that has been shown to enable our school to reopen this week and now operate at full capacity. Continued support by all members of our community will ensure that learning can continue in a safe and healthy way.

It is also important for us as a school to remind parents of the need to exercise diligence and caution when considering whether their children should attend any unsupervised social gatherings, particularly during the current global pandemic. It is essential that all young people follow the guidance that has been set out about social gatherings and the need to be aware of the potential disruption to their lives if a suspected case of Covid-19 occurs within their friendship circles or school year groups.

If a child exhibits any symptoms we are asking parents to inform the school immediately and the school doctor will then be in contact. The child should remain at home and follow the guidance from the school doctor.

Kind Regards,

Allison Fleet and Matt Topliss
Principals

Siblings Pick up Gate to Change

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Parents,

After reviewing the numbers of car children at different gates we are going to change the pick-up gate for the siblings from the Primary / Elementary Schools – from gate 2 to gate 4 at 1.50pm. We are worried about the number of students and cars around gates 1 and 2 and as gate 4 seems to be quieter in the afternoon and there is more parking space, we think it will be easier and safer for siblings to go out Gate 4.

This will start on Sunday afternoon, September 20th.

Thank you.

 

 

A Thank You Message to All

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Parents,

The re-opening of the school has gone well! We are particularly grateful to you all as parents, for your patience in following and supporting all the new rules and systems, and in particular for your politeness and cooperation with the new car parking systems. We now have more than 1000 children arriving by car which is a ‘challenge’ for any school, let alone a school serviced by a half completed road and a roller coaster entrance! By the way, our special thanks goes to Mo Tantawi, Head of the Parents’ Council who has been there daily, helping with the traffic. He’s thinking about a career change!!

We are re-working the ‘traffic’ video we sent last week in Arabic. We hope you can show this to your drivers and ask them, please, please, follow the system! The only problem we have had is some drivers wanting to do things their own way!

We would also like to thank you for the many complementary messages you sent us about the new parking system and how well the school seems to be prepared. We are learning everyday, but fortunately so far, there has been nothing major and all the small things we have discovered have been fixed.

By the end of the week, all the children will be back, all of them attending everyday and we hope very sincerely, as you do, that this is the end of on-line learning. Your children need a ‘normal existence’, you need to stop being substitute teachers and for many of you, you need to get back to work without worrying about what your children are doing!

It is very difficult to assess the impact on the children being away from school for 6½ months. We are watching carefully and we would ask you to do the same; if there is anything that concerns you about your child, please, please talk to us so we can help and work together. This is so important.

It is indeed time to get back to the (new) ‘normal’.

With all our best wishes,

Colin Rogers, Soumaya Amr, Karim Rogers, Allison Fleet, Matt Topliss, the Senior Management teams, and all the Teachers and support staff

Summer Opportunities for Students

Posted on by Malak Fateen

Dear Parents,
We would like to share two summer opportunities for students; one targeting students aged 10 to 15 and another targeting students aged 3 to 15.

1. HomeHack

We’ve partnered with 7billionideas (the international award-winning entrepreneurship education company) to provide your child with discounted access to HomeHack Egypt over the summer holidays, a 4-day online digital course in which students turn a homegrown idea into a world changing product.
What is it about?
The course is for students aged between 10 and 15 and embeds an entrepreneurial skillset including curiosity, creativity, and innovation. HomeHack provides a different type of interactive and fun learning for the summer holidays and creates opportunities for the application of curriculum learning in new and unexpected ways.
How does it work?
The course is delivered online through 30+ live facilitated webinars. These are led by trained 7billionideas facilitators who will be on hand to inspire your child and explain key entrepreneurial concepts to them. Your child will always have an opportunity to ask questions and get help if needed.
During the course, your child will take part in 12 engaging activities which leads them through the development of their idea into a prototype, and a product. HomeHack covers topics such as team building, pitching, design, ideation, and more. At the end of the course, your child will have created an incredible product and plan for taking it to market!
Why should my child take part?
HomeHack teaches the skillset that best prepares your child to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Did you know that 85% of the jobs in 2030 are yet to exist? We think that developing an entrepreneurial skillset is key for students of all ages. It’s also a great way for them to take advantage of this time period by learning key skills such as time keeping and digital communication.
Online Safety
Your child’s safety is of utmost importance – the entire team is DBS certified and the facilitators are NSPCC CEOP certified to keep children safe online and be vigilant to online threats. This course is independently completed, meaning each child is safeguarded as they can only communicate with the facilitators.
When is it?
The course will run throughout the summer months with courses in Egypt starting on 6th July 2020.
How do I book my child’s ticket?
Go to 7billionideas.com/homehack to learn more and book your tickets.
To access an exclusive 50% discount on the regular £80 GBP price, enter code ‘BSME’ at checkout.
This is a challenging time for everyone, but I hope you will agree that there are plenty of reasons to stay optimistic. With initiatives such as this, we remain committed to equipping our students to face and solve the challenges of tomorrow. Whilst this course is not compulsory, we are hoping that this might provide interest for some students during the summer break.

2.Kids and Corona

Kids & Corona is a project focused on worldwide children’s participation in a painting project to express their feelings and thoughts on Corona. We aim to collect, document and exhibit visual content -drawings- to hearing children’s voice which is usually heard less during the crisis.
This project is divided into three steps:
i.    First, we would like to invite all young people to make a drawing about the current corona situation and in this way share with us their feelings and experiences.
ii.    Second, we will collect and document all paintings as a historical report of corona crisis from children’s point of view.
iii.    Third, the vast collection of children’s paintings will be exhibited online and will also be presented to museums for public exhibition.

By hoping to inspire thousands of children around the world we do this with the extensive collaboration with parents, teachers, pedagogists, scholars, schools, municipalities, NGOs, charities and every organizations and authorities related to children.

How to participate?
Ask your own children, students or children around you from 3 to 15 years old to draw a painting about corona.
1.     On the drawing, write:

  • First name of the child (optional)
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Name of your country.
  • What your child has created (in a short sentence)

2.     Participation is free of charge.
3.     Send the drawing to us via:
info@ArtisticEducation.org
https://artisticeducation.org/upload/
WhatsApp: † 31642420235

Kind Regards
Ms Allison Fleet and Mr Matt Topliss
School Principals