Children from The Aquila School organise their school-opening event
The Aquila School, a brandnew international British school owned by International Schools Partnership and Dubai-based MBM Group, presented its students with a fantastic real-life learning opportunity when its students organised the school’s official opening event at its Dubailand location.
The launch event came soon after The Aquila School was awarded the Best Design Education Project of the Year at the Design Middle East Awards 2018, in Dubai last month. The award is a testament to the quality and design of The Aquila School’s building and facilities.
The school launch event, also held last month, was entirely planned and executed by a team of 14 Year 5 and 6 children. Traditionally, an important event such as the official launch of a new school would be the administration’s responsibility. However, Principal Wayne Howsen was adamant he wanted this to be organised by the children.
The Aquila School integrates an educational approach into its curriculum called Mantle of the Expert, which uses imaginary contexts to generate purposeful and engaging activities for learning. In this case, the students were cast as a team of experts working for a client (the school) on a commissioned project.
“We wanted to give the children the opportunity to plan and execute the event themselves so that they could really understand and learn what goes into organising an event — something they may need to do one day in the future,” explains Howsen.
Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), says, “It’s always great to welcome a new school to Dubai and we are pleased to witness the opening of The Aquila School. It is part of a community of schools that wants to make the most out of life and out of the city we live in. We’re looking forward to seeing how this new school progresses.”
Steve Brown, Group CEO of International Schools Partnership, adds, “The Aquila School is the flagship school of the International Schools Partnership. We want all our children and students to achieve all they possibly can during their time at school. The Aquila School’s unique learning-focused approach helps us to ensure that we can make that happen, and this launch event is an early prime example of that.”
The Aquila School opened in September to serve the growing educational needs of the surrounding communities in Dubailand, and across the emirate. It offers a British education to children from FS1 to Year 6 in their first year of operation, and in September 2019 Aquila will open its secondary school.
The school’s curriculum prepares children for a complex, challenging and competitive future by enhancing the traditional STEM curriculum (science, technology, engineering and maths) with the just-as-important arts. The STEAM curriculum combines the best of STEM learning, whilst integrating design, art, music and performance, to give life to learning.
For more information or to arrange a tour, please contact 04 586 2700, or visit Theaquilaschool.com