Palace Museum Field Trip- December 2010

Our first field trip for the Al Taqwa Kindergarten students was to the Al Ain Palace Museum, which is the former birthplace and private residence of Sheikh Zayed, the late president who is recognized as the founding leader of the UAE. Sheikh Zayed had the foresight to propose and support the education initiative that is presently being implemented by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (my employer).

The Palace museum is a  majestic fort which lies in the center of town at the edge of the Al Ain Oasis. It is a beautiful place to take a quiet walk and explore the gardens, courtyards, long corridors, gorgeous carved wood windows, paintings and photographs of former leaders and historic Al Ain.

The students enjoyed seeing the “old” kitchen and the many rooms which were decorated historically as a tribute to their culture. I enjoyed visiting with the guards <wink>.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Read Full Post »

Special Moments in Time- November 2010

I was so proud of my daughter, Lauren, when she walked in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk in October 2010. Three thousand very brave women and men committed to walk 60 miles in three days through Atlanta to help raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. What an accomplishment for Lauren and her friend, Holly. I was there in spirit! As she said, “this event changed me as a person, as a woman… I will never be the same!”

Look through the pictures below and see those sweet shoes, cute little bones, and that wonderful daughter of mine!

Unfortunately, I had to miss the Atlanta Walk due to my move to the UAE.  When I became aware of Dubai’s Pink Walkathon for Breast Cancer Awareness, which is held yearly in late October and sponsored by Burjuman (one of Dubai’s mall conglomerates), my friend Kate (from New Zealand) and I committed to walk the 3.8 km. The Sheikh from Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates, died on October 27th so the event was postponed to November 7th. We got up very early that morning and drove to Dubai, which is only 120 km from our home.

What a glorious event! I shared the streets of Dubai with 8,000 people living in/around the UAE, who came together for one cause.  Our walk began and we were directly behind these students. Their 3-minute Facebook video says it all …

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=499472571473

Click on video tab.  Click on RIS Burjuman Walk.

My pictures do not give justice to the exciting event  (last row above). Like my Lauren, I experienced many different emotions throughout the walk … exhilaration to be among so many people dedicated to one cause, the  joy of seeing a concerted effort, but, most importantly, the knowledge that this journey was a “life changing” experience. Maybe this is the year that YOU dedicate your time to a worthy cause …

Read Full Post »

What a lovely place- Al Taqwa KG!

There is an overused word in the UAE  and the Middle East- “Inshallah”, which has many meanings.  The word can mean any one of the following variations: If Allah (God) wills; When Allah (God) wills; If Allah (God) wishes; you get the picture. So I was blessed that God willed  my school placement to be Al Taqwa KG! I absolutely love the children, the principal, the teachers, and the support staff!

Quoting from the school improvement plan (that I wrote), “Al Taqwa Kindergarten, a school governed by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), is located in Al Yahar in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The school is comprised of twelve kindergarten classrooms, seven KG2 and five KG1. Built in 1990, the school houses 200 students comfortably. Enrollment in the kindergarten program for this school year is approximately 306 students. Based on gender, 156 students are girls and 150 students are boys. Due to excessive enrollment and limited space options, there are 86 students on a waiting list.” The school logo, pictured on the outside of the building, speaks volumes ..

The school administration is the responsibility of Noura Barack Aldhahri, the acting Principal, and one Head of Faculty — yours truly! Our primary goal as school administrators is to implement  ADEC’s New School Model. This model- patterned after New South Wales (Australia) ideologies- is well researched and should bring about great changes in the education system because the curriculum/outcomes are based on sound pedagogy, to include higher order and critical thinking, and methodologies focused on student-centered engagement.

There are seven Licensed Teachers and twelve Arabic teachers on staff to teach the students to become biliterate- not just bilingual but readers, speakers, and communicators in two languages, Arabic and English. This is a first day of school picture– look closely I’m in back row.

If this large-scale social experiment works, the UAE will produce some of the highest-quality, globally prepared workers by 2030. Here are a few pictures of the future world leaders from Al Taqwa KG …

 

 

 

 

 

To think … I arrived on the ground floor to implement this important educational initiative, and I am a part of this awesome venture. I pinch myself every day to be sure I am in the real world! Camel nudges to all of you!

Read Full Post »