Several teachers and leadership staff will go back to school on Monday, August 19, as they prepare to welcome students after the summer break. For most of them, it is a whirlwind of activities, conducting trainings, doing paperwork and preparing lesson plans.
One such educator is Taher Gharib, Director at Salam Education. He said it is an extremely busy time for them. “We begin by welcoming both new and returning staff with professional training and team-building to make sure they are fully equipped. Our teachers and leaders devote significant time to reviewing data and planning tailored approaches to help every child.”
As an organisation that manages both Al Salam Community School and Al Salam Private School and Nursery, he said there was also a lot of paperwork to get through. “Managing admissions and registrations at the start of the year can also be demanding, as all students must be registered in the KHDA system before they can attend classes,” he said. “With many families returning to the UAE just days before school resumes, our team works round the clock to ensure a smooth and efficient start to the new academic year.”
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Most students across the UAE will go back to school after an almost two month-long summer break on August 26. While for some it is the start of a new academic year, for others it is the continuation of the year that began in April.
Setting a schedule
Afshan Yakoob, the director of Blossom Nursery at Maryam Island in Sharjah, headed back to school last week and said that her teachers have been busy preparing to welcome students back.
“Since we cater to students between the ages of one and four, it is important to prepare the classroom to provide a calming environment,” she said. “Teachers spend a lot of time preparing different kinds of workstations to keep children engaged and entertained. We have special welcoming activities and sensory play areas to make sure children are well settled-in.”
For her, the biggest challenge is setting a routine for students. “During summer, most children don’t have a routine and this impacts the transition back to school,” she said. “We ask parents to start easing back into a routine at least a week before school begins. Once the new academic year starts, we ask them to have breakfast with the child in the morning and have a routine before school so that it isn’t that they find themselves rushed to school soon after they wake up.”
She said that for new students, the biggest hurdle is separation anxiety. “We encourage parents to prepare children about what is to come,” she said. “We ask them to explain about school and promise them to pick them up at a certain time. This is so that the kids know they are not being abandoned and that the parents will return at a said time.”
Special students
Princiya Abdul Karim, the head of inclusion at Grammar School Dubai, started work last week. “All senior leadership members started last week,” she said. “There are staff induction programs, training on topics like child protection and curriculum planning being conducted. We have also planned a meet and greet for parents who want to meet the teachers before school begins.”
According to Princiya, she has a lot of tasks to get through before the school reopens. “The needs of my students are slightly different and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to it,” she said. “I have to coordinate transition meetings for teachers who will have special needs students in their classes with the old teacher so that they can understand the requirements of the children. This year, we are also trying out a new skill development and life lesson program for the students. There is a lot of groundwork that needs to be covered before the students come back in.”
Niju Sonu, who also begins her work on Monday, is the supervisor and coordinator at Abu-Dhabi based Future Rehabilitation Centre and according to her, the transition back to school after the summer break is especially hard for students of special needs. “They would have completely gone off track with their schedule over the summer break and transitioning back to school is very hard,” she said. “We prepare a visual schedule that they can follow. We also welcome them back with toys, sensory activities and other things that we know they will enjoy.”