> FIRST DAY BLUES
As the holiday season got over on Sunday, schools in the UAE registered good attendance
It was a sleepy start for some students on the first day of school on Sunday after over two-month long summer break full of fun and frolic. The yellow school buses were also back on UAE roads ferrying thousands of pupils to new classrooms but old friends. Abu Dhabi police handled 287 traffic accident reports between 8am and 2pm, mostly of minor nature relating to early morning school rush. In Dubai, over 243,700 students have enrolled for classes in private schools for the 2014-15 academic year. —
abu dhabi/dubai — The yellow school buses were back on the UAE roads from Sunday morning as most schools resumed classes after a twomonth holiday season. Private schools in the Capital registered good attendance with only a few reporting back-to-school blues.
The Operations Room of the General Directorate of Central Operation at Abu Dhabi Police handled 287 traffic accident reports between 8am and 2pm — mostly minor. No major accidents were reported in Dubai while reports from Downtown Abu Dhabi also said that traffic flowed steadily, primarily because many pri- vate schools have now shifted out of the city to operate in Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Khalifa City and Baniyas.
For Noor Fathima, a KG 2 student at Credence High School, Dubai, the reopening of schools is a ‘welcome change’. “I am very happy to go back to school because I can spend time with friends,” she said.
Her father Nasir Ali was also at the bus stop to see off his daughter on the first day of school.
Raina Shah, a Grade 9 student at The Indian High School, Dubai, said: “Going back to school after such a long break is always difficult and I have exams within two weeks of school reopening. On the positive side, school reopening is a time to go back to friends.”
Students following the US and British curriculum will begin their new academic session during this time of the year. For 7th grader Purnima Sharma from Dubai Scholars Private School, back to school marks the beginning of a new academic year. “I am waiting to know who my class teacher is and make new friends. I will have to study physics, chemistry and biology as separate subjects.”
Preparing kids for the first day of school is no easy task and Anuradha Viswanath, a parent, knows it all too well. “The first day of school is always a tough task. I started preparing my son a couple of days before.”
In addition to the 158 existing private schools in Dubai, 11 new schools have opened, providing a further 23,000 student seats. In total, over 243,700 students have enrolled for classes in private schools for the 2014-15 academic year.
Happiness and diversity
In a statement, Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, said: “Happiness and diversity in learning is integral to success in education, particularly in the multi-cultural environment of Dubai. The start of the new academic year is a catalyst for positive energy, providing a plat- form for future success and accomplishment.”
At the Philippine Emirates Private School (PEPS) in Abu Dhabi, 950 students of the 956 enrolees turned out on the first day.
“The others have yet to return from the Philippines,” said principal Rosemary Natividad.
“The only issue we had was some of the buses came late. This is usual on the first day, we have almost 300 new students and the problem was in locating where to pick them up,” said Natividad.
At the Al Rayyan National Private School, almost 70 per cent of its stu- dents turned out on Sunday. “I’ll give it a week’s time for the residents to come, but the response of is encouraging,” said Principal Dr Afsar.
Chaos
At the Twenty First Century Private Academy, Abu Dhbai, the first day of school was not so smooth. “It’s a disaster. The distribution of books and uniforms was not systematic. They should have allocated other classrooms and not just the administration, the queue was so long. Plus the weather is not helping, the air conditioning is not sufficient and they have to open the door and people are lining up there too,” said an annoyed mother, Emily Pangilinan.
“They said today is the first day of classes but that did not happen, the advisers just gave the list of requirements,” she added. What’s new this year though was the introduction of the “star section” or the grouping of high performing students.
Hazel Paloma, another mum, said her daughter, also in Grade 4 was excited to meet her friends but was surprised to find that there were only four she knew in the class.